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Details: American Head Charge at Vega 3/3
AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE HAS RESURRECTED! Having survived severe addictions, countless tours, the major label minefield, and the death of guitarist Bryan Ottoson, they have returned to create new music and decimate crowds across the globe. Following the 2007 deactivation of the band (due to reasons that aren’t terribly interesting), the classic line-up of vocalist Cameron Heacock, bassist Chad Hanks, keyboard player Justin Fowler, drummer Chris Emery and guitarist Karma Cheema is back! To solidify their return, they’ve added guitarist Ted Hallows to round out the lineup.
In November 2011, the band quietly embarked on a 10-date Midwest tour, cheekily dubbed American Head Charge’s Tourette, that saw them triumphantly returning to markets they hadn’t played since their earliest days. The run concluded with a sold-out show at the 1,200 capacity Primetime in Burnsville, MN. In the middle of the tour the band took a day off to record live-to-tape 4 new songs and a cover of the Patti Smith classic “Rock N Roll Nigger”. These 5 songs, formally christened the Shoot EP, were recorded by Don Debiase at Studio D Productions in Cleveland, OH, and mixed by Dave Fortman at Balance Productions in New Orleans, LA. Artwork was created by Sam “Mister-Sam” Shearon. “We’re extremely proud of this little gem. For an EP, it was a long, arduous process that spanned 5 states and 6 studios, but we persevered and succeeded.” notes bassist and co-founder, Chad Hanks. “This is our first major step back into the game, and the next step in serving up a full-length AHC record. The “heavy music scene” is even worse off than we left it 6 years ago. We’re looking to rectify that.” “Shoot” was self released by the band on CD and digitally on July 23, 2013. The first leg of the Shoot Tour soon followed on August 2nd in Madison, WI and wrapped up on September 6, 2013 with a blowout homecoming event at the famed Minneapolis concert venue, First Avenue. The band continued on with the Shoot Tour II in November of 2013 which marked the first time the band toured the UK in several years and then returned to the US in February for third and final leg, Shoot Tour III that concluded on March 1, 2014.
In January, 2012, the band made their first appearance at the NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA and headlined the Schecter Guitars party at The Juke Joint. Making the most of their journey west, the band played another 9 shows and dubbed the run the West Coast Tourette. Shortly after the Tourette wrapped, AHC were invited by fellow midwesterners Mushroomhead to join them on their Head2Hed 3 tour (featuring Mushroomhead and Hed PE). After (nearly) 40 shows across the USA, plus another dozen headline shows after that, the band decamped to the studio to complete the Shoot EP and work on new material for their upcoming fourth album.
American Head Charge burst onto the national scene in 2001 with their Rick Rubin produced American Recordings debut The War of Art. Aggressive, strange, cathartic, dangerous and, perhaps most importantly, different, they blended the industrial grind of Ministry and Marilyn Manson with the tripped-out melodic experimentation of Faith No More. OZZFEST 2001 and a worldwide tour with Slipknot followed. During that time, The War of Art went on to sell in excess of 250,000 units, and it propelled the band to international acclaim with the singles “All Wrapped Up” and “Just So You Know.”
The follow-up, The Feeding had its genesis during the limbo in which AHC found themselves after touring intensively behind their debut — two years of prolonged exile from the road and ongoing internal tumult that found several band members in a virtual death match with their personal demons. American Recordings turned a deaf ear to their bold sonic forays, but Greg Fidelman, who’d engineered The War Of Art, embraced the band’s new material. The band requested to leave AmericanRecordings, and signed with Nitrus/DRT. “Rick Rubin was gracious enough to let us leave American Recordings without hassle. It could have been a litigious nightmare,” adds Mr. Hanks.
AHC’s final release before dissolving in 2007 was a DVD/CD compilation ironically titled Can’t Stop the Machine, a 75-minute documentary with tour and studio footage from the five year period between the release of The War Of Art and the conclusion of the touring for The Feeding. Packed with numerous extras, music videos and live, remixed, and unreleased tracks, viewers are granted an all-access pass to the enigmatic band like never before. It also includes jarring and candidly-honest interviews with members both past and present. Holding nothing back, the film captures the dark genius inherent within American Head Charge.
American Head Charge have supported Wayne Static on a few select dates of his 15th Anniversary Wisconsin Death Trip Tour and have returned to the UK to perform at the Download Festival along with a performance in London with Kill Devil Hill in June 2014. Based on the success of their recent Indiegogo campaign to help fund the recording of a new album, American Head Charge will be entering the studio this summer to begin recording a new album.
American Head Charge have literally survived it all, and are back to show that they are the stuff rock and roll is made from.
THE MAENSION
All too often hard rock stands rooted in the past. THE MAENSION, however, make music that’s meant to last beyond tomorrow. The Hollywood quartet cultivate a sound of their own aptly dubbed, “FutuRock”, on their 2014 full-length debut, ÆVOLUTION. They successfully live up to that moniker as well.
“We’re a hybrid of Art Rock, Alt Metal and Prog Rock with some electronic elements,” explains singer/songwriter MARK MAENSION. “The idea is to be unique. Every song has a different identity, and that’s purposefully done to achieve something broad. We like to crossover and always deliver the unexpected.”
After playing packed houses all over Europe and the United States in 2013 and 2014, the group finished assembling what would eventually become their formal introduction. Mark split his time between producing other acts from his intimate and high-tech Hollywood studio and writing music for the album. Those sessions yielded the nine tracks comprising ÆVOLUTION.
“Everything progressed since I first moved to Los Angeles from Italy many years ago,” he admits. “This is the evolution of what I want this group to represent. Hence, the title.”
The single “Chrysalis” evinces the entrancing intersection of styles at the heart of THE MAENSION. In between pummeling riffs, a distinct groove, and shimmering electronics, Mark trades visceral, vital, and vibrant vocals with iconic Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.
“It was the craziest thing,” he recalls. “I was playing the song loudly one day, and Fred heard it from my studio. He loved it and asked if he could add vocals. Within less than thirty minutes, he ripped it on the spot. I still can’t believe it. Growing up in Italy, people thought I was crazy when I said I was going to move to California and make music. I lost a lot of ‘friends’. So, the whole song is a fuck you to everyone who doesn’t believe in you. When you achieve what you said they would, they all come back and try to be your friend. It’s so perfect that Fred is on it.”
Elsewhere on the record, the enchanting keytar hum of “Silence” bleeds into the anthemic and incendiary “Freak”. The latter remains a bruising clarion call. “Just because you look a certain way, you’ll get judged,” sighs Mark. “I don’t care if you call me a freak, since I know you wish you had the freedom to do what I fucking do.”
Then there’s “Retrospection” which builds from an ominous clean guitar into an epic swell. The album closer “The Riddle With No Answer” tempers a throbbing off-time bounce with impressive guitars and a searing hook over the course of seven minutes. THE MAENSION foster hard rock’s evolution at every turn.
“I’d love for people to embrace the concept of an album once again,” Mark leaves off. “Every song is a story in and of itself. They’ve all taken me so much time, and I put so much effort into each detail. I hope everyone can feel that passion and be inspired to create whatever drives them.” — Rick Florino, October 2014
Dreamkiller [2011 Independent Artist Music Awards ROCK BAND OF THE YEAR] is a melodic hard rock band that presents elements of soulful melodies, jazzy harmonies, catchy rock hooks and prides themselves on colorful lyrics that include positive themes of strength, perseverance, conquering your fears head-on, as well as pushing with no limits to accomplish your goals.
The band was founded in 2004 by triple threat, Christy Johnson, [2010 Los Angeles Music Awards NATIONAL FEMALE VOCAL PERFORMER OF THE YEAR; 2013 International Music & Entertainment Awards ROCK FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR] who has been featured in such films as “Tobe Hooper’s Mortuary”, “National Lampoon’s Pucked”, web series and soon to be feature film, “GHOST TREK”, and was recently cast as Judy Hartley in the upcoming re-imagining, “Night of The Living Dead: Genesis”. Involved in arts her entire life, Christy holds a MA and BA in Acting. Brad Ward, the lead guitarist/backing vocals for Dreamkiller, has been honing his skills for 20+ years, most recently earning a Pro Rock Guitar Certificate from Berklee Online in 2012. Billy Shultz, rhythm guitarist/backing vocals for Dreamkiller, has been a dedicated musician for over 10 years. His influences range from classic rock, country, heavy metal and alternative rock, bringing unparalleled energy and diversity to all past, present and future projects. Steve Lucas is a powerful bassist. A veteran of the North Carolina music scene, he provides thunderous bass lines and rhythmic grooves that will make your head spin. Bryan Barr, drummer for Dreamkiller, is a diverse self-starter, possessing a foundation of jazz and metal drumming. Eagerly coupling this with musical education has allowed for the undertaking of new and attainable goals, creating an asset and team player for musical opportunities to come.
DREAMKILLER
Music from Dreamkiller has received placement in 11 different films so far, many of which have been released worldwide and have won numerous awards. Notably, their single “Absolution” is currently being utilized in “Monster Jam” experiences globally and their track “Lyrik’s Battle” was named as #7 of the Top 10 Most Requested Tracks of 2012 on the nationally syndicated FM/internet broadcast Rock Solid Pressure Show. Along with receiving numerous accolades, they have played the main stage of Rockapalooza, Megaton, performed at the Vans Warped Tour, showcased at numerous music conferences and tour nationally in support of their full-length concept album “Sleepless Dreams”. They are currently working on their upcoming album with tracks mixed by Grammy award winning producer, Toby Wright. Most recently, Dreamkiller picked up a sponsorship by COLDCOCK Whiskey, American bourbon blended with herbs including green tea, hibiscus, ginger, eucalyptus and many more.
