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Wednesday, May 14. 2008News: ZZ Top Kicks off Last Season At The Backyard.
club kingsnake staff Gee whiz, another venue bites the dust. One of my favorites too. This summer will be the last season for Austin's The Backyard, at least in it's present location. Tim O'Connor owner of The Backyard and Direct Events announced back in April that the venue would close at the end of the summer and that they are working with the City of Bee Cave to develop a new Backyard. Until then we have all summer to enjoy a bunch of neat shows. First off will be ZZ Top this Thursday and tickets are still available. We have a request in to shoot the show so we've got our fingers crossed that we will be there. I got to shoot Billy Gibbons backstage at Rocky Ericson's Ice Cream Social during this years SXSW, but have been dying to shoot the whole band for a long long time, and this might be my last opportunity for a while. On June 1st The Backyard will host The Steve Miller Band along with Joe Cocker, then 311 and Snoop Dog will be pulling a 2 nighter on August 2nd and 3rd. I got to shoot 311 at The Backyard last year and it was a great show. In fact I saw a bunch of great shows at The Backyard last year including The Black Crowes, Incubus, Chris Isaac, Dream Theater. Redemption, Into Eternity, David Alan Coe, and Widepread Panic. I will really miss The Backyard. For tickets to any of their upcoming shows see http://www.thebackyard.net/ Technorati Tags: Austin, ZZ Top, Steve Miller Band, Joe Cocker, 311, Snoop Dog, The Backyard Tuesday, May 13. 2008CD Review: The Mars Volta - Bedlam In Goliath Bedlam In Goliath, the latest CD from The Mars Volta gave me a headache the first time I listened to it. There was just so much musical information flying out of the little silver CD, my ears and my brain just couldn't keep up. An astoundingly rich melange of styles, sounds, and harmonics, that borrows from many, yet isn't derivative, sounds fresh, and is crunchy like a shovel to the face. Zeppelin, Zappa, ELP, Santana, Jeff Beck, there are hints of each interwoven into a whirling dervish of musical sights sounds and colors. My favorite songs included "Abernikula", "Wax Simulacra", and "Goliath". These guys play like they all have bees in their pants. If the Tasmanian Devil played in a band, this would be it. Track list under the jump. Continue reading "CD Review: The Mars Volta - Bedlam In Goliath" Monday, May 12. 2008CD Review: Kick to tha Head - "As we think...So We Are" www.myspace.com/kicktothaheadHometown - Springfield, IL Turkey Vulture Records Not the heaviest hardcore out there but a good taste of a lighter side, Kick to Tha Head's newest release is worth a listen for HC fans out there. The rhythmic guitar and blasting drums give it the classic sound. Kevin’s vocals sometimes have a bit of the Cookie Monster grumblings. The classic hc/punk sound that I remember from the area is the most evident on the songs “Fake” and “Heads Held High” and they are also my two favorite tracks. The almost march quality to the drums and guitar on “Fake” are classic and clean. “Heads Held High” holds a little extra after the music ends so hold out and don’t take the CD out. “Anthem” brings the speed down a notch to a slightly slower grind that has a very thrashy feel. However I suspect this one makes for the best pit on the album. Over all, a classic hardcore release. Track list under the jump. Continue reading "CD Review: Kick to tha Head - "As we think...So We Are"" Sunday, May 11. 2008Concert Review: Pepper at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas
club kingsnake staff Pepper Hometown: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii http://www.pepperlive.com Pepper Concert Photos Thursday, April 17th, 2008 Stubb's Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas) Also: Red Eye Empire , Iration, Supervillains It looks like Austin might see a bit more of Pepper in the future, according to Yesod Williams, drummer for the dub/punk trio Pepper. Yesod's grandmother has re-located to right here in the river city, and to prove his point he brought her up onstage after the third song of their set to say hello, among other things, to the audience. I was introduced last year, long distance, to Yesod and the band Pepper by my buddy Skillet, front man for the band Wanted Dead. I hooked up with them for their sold out gig at Antone's, and much as I like Antone's I was dieing to get the band under the lights at Stubb's. Antone's is a tough shoot when it's sold out and I wasn't happy with the pictures I took. Stubb's has a big stage, nice light kit and a big photo pit to work out of. I knew that no matter how much running and jumping they did, nor how crowded it was, I would be able to take a few good shots. Pepper has a very energetic stage act, are usually a fun band to see live and as a bonus they always attract the babest of babes. It must be those tan muscular surfer bodies. Continue reading "Concert Review: Pepper at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas" Saturday, May 10. 2008News: Austin Road Shows In May
How bout a couple of tickets to the Pennywise show over at Emo's. If mohawks and slam dancing aren't her thing Wilco (sold out!) will be at Stubb's and Maroon 5 will be over at the Austin Music Hall. You could even take her out to see Richard Marx out at the One World Theatre. Really though the best mothers day show is over at La Zona Rosa. The Mother’s Day concert benefiting the Give Love Give Life campaign to promote ovarian cancer research and healthcare for American women and children. Featuring two of Willie Nelson’s daughters, singer-songwriters Paula Nelson and Amy Nelson, and a granddaughter, Martha Fowler, and their bands along with the show’s centerpiece and co-creator, Native American recording artist John Trudell, tickets are only $25 and mothers get in free! All that happens in Austin tomorrow! The rest of May looks pretty good too. Besides the second sold out night of Wilco at Stubb's on Monday, you have the Nylon Magazine tour with She Want's Revenge on Thursday, and then Stubb's has the Texas Rockabilly Festival Friday and Saturday with Reverend Horton Heat, Lee Rocker and a list of others. May 15th brings Texas boys done good ZZ Top over to The Backyard for that venue's final season, at least at the current location (more on that later). Roky Erickson also plays that night over at Emo's. Mindless Self Indulgence is at La Zona Rosa on May 16th. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is at Antones on May 19th. Bob Schneider will be doing the Rock And Restock benefit over at Stubb's on May 22nd. Junior Brown is at Antone's on May 23rd. Big Head Todd & The Monsters will be at Stubb's on May 30th, the same night The Black Angels are having a CD release show at Emo's. For more Austin gigs in May check out Pollstar. Technorati Tags: Austin, Pennywise, Wilco, Richard Marx, Paula Nelson, She Want's Revenge, ZZ Top, Roky Erickson, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Big Head Todd, Black Angels Friday, May 9. 2008Concert Review: Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas
club kingsnake staff Dimmu Borgir Hometown: Oslo, Norway http://www.dimmu-borgir.com/ Dimmu Borgir Concert Photos Monday, April 21st, 2007 Stubb's Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas) Also: Keep of Kalessin, Behemoth Ah, it seems like yesterday that these three bands were "new." Here I am standing in a sea of hundreds of people on a Monday night. Now understand, Austin is not bad for national acts as far as metal is concerned, but it's not often the famous Stubbs BBQ hosts a night of black metal. This tour would have been considered underground ten years ago; now it has come full circle. These bands are veterans and this is considered mainstream by most. It's safe to say these are bands that may have lost their original fans and gained ten times as many new ones. This is not my idea of "true black metal," nope, not at all -- though I will give respect to Dimmu for keeping the theme evil. Dimmu has always been pretty much the same, although the sound of the records gets better with every release and they have really perfected their style of metal. Continue reading "Concert Review: Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas" Thursday, May 8. 2008Concert Review: Rush, Frank Erwin Center, Austin Texas
club kingsnake staff Rush Hometown: Toronto, Ontario. http://www.rush.com Rush Concert Photos Wednesday April 23rd, 2008 Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas) When I was in 8th grade I bought 7 albums, my first major music purchase. It set me back about $50 which back then was about 5 tanks of gas in the family station wagon. For a long time they were my only records. I remember most of them, Kiss Rock And Roll Over, Pink Floyd's Animals, The Eagle's Hotel California, Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same were a few of them, but my favorite of the bunch was Rush's 2112. Of all the albums it took me on a wild journey. Neal Peart's drums on "Passage to Bangkok" blew me away, and the whole masterful 2112 opus combined hard rock and progressive rock in a way never done before. Shortly after I saw Rush play down in San Antonio on their Farewell to Kings tour and it was almost a religious experience. I had all 5 of Rush's first albums before I even heard them on the radio here in Austin. I even owned them all on 8-Track tape. Clint, our Toronto based writer always gives me crap over my Rush fixation but back in the day, in the 70's before even AOR stations were playing Rush, they had a huge fan base in Texas, emanating out from San Antonio. KISS-FM, San Antonio's hard rock FM station, and more specifically Joe Anthony, had a pipeline to great metal and rock talent and was responsible for introducing bands like Rush, Moxy, Legs Diamond, April Wine, Judas Priest, Budgie, and AC/DC, to Texas. Without Joe's influence on the scene down in San Antonio, I doubt that metal would have thrived as a genre like it did, and I don't think that Rush would have grown as big as they did without the audience they established here in the 70's. Continue reading "Concert Review: Rush, Frank Erwin Center, Austin Texas" Wednesday, May 7. 2008Concert Review: Gigantour 2008, Toronto, Ontario.
The Arrow Hall. Toronto, Ontario. April 30, 2008 Jeff recently posted his Ten Bands I Have To Shoot Before I Die, and while mine is maybe a little more ever changing and ever growing I knew with the announcement of a Gigantour stop in Toronto I would be able to tick two bands off my list. Fighting an ass-kicking cold that had been speading through my home, family, friends, and city I fortified my self with the potentially lethal combination of Contact-C and Amp energy drink and headed to the airplane hangar come concert venue known as the Arrow Hall to get my metal on. First to take the stage were California's High on Fire. This power trio plays pretty straight forward metal that harkens back to Motorhead and Venom. They were a good warmup act, but didn't light me on fire. Job For a Cowboy were a band I have wanted to see for a while. Yeah, they have one of the coolest band names in rock, but there's also something about their brand of Death Metal that raises it above the rest of the genre. Seeing them live simply confirmed my initial impressions. The musicianship is exceptional, and their stage presence is fantastic. I will go on record as not being a fan of Death Metal in general. Job For A Cowboy has won me over (to the dark side?) though and I'll be exploring this genre more deeply in the future. Maybe I'll find a few more gems like JFAC. Continue reading "Concert Review: Gigantour 2008, Toronto, Ontario." Tuesday, May 6. 2008Concert Review: Ministry at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas
club kingsnake staff Ministry Hometown: Chicago, Il. http://www.ministrymusic.org Ministry Concert Photos Tuesday April 15th, 2008 La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas) Also: Meshuggah I had a sense of dread when I showed up at La Zona Rosa for this gig. Don't know what or why. Maybe it was because they'd turned me down to shoot their last tour, maybe it was the predictions of other photographers that had shot them before, or maybe it was the evil smile of the red-headed roadie vixen as she looked at the ominous chain link fencing behind the opening band, and smirked at us photographers. It could have also been the fact that their was an electricity in the air caused by something other than the adrenaline, or meth, running through their audience. Securities short hairs were up because the opening band was a no show and the venue was afraid that the late start might cause a riot. Actually the crowd was pretty oblivious to the no show, and I am sure the bartenders did their best to keep the crowd occupied. I don't think anyone even noticed. Continue reading "Concert Review: Ministry at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas" Monday, May 5. 2008Concert Review: Saves The Day at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas
club kingsnake staff Saves The Day Hometown: Princeton, N.J. http://www.savestheday.com Saves The Day Concert Photos Thursday April 10th, 2008 La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas) Also: Armor For Sleep, Set Your Goals, Metro Station, Lydia I started my night at La Zona Rosa, but had to miss the middle band on the bill to scoot over and cover The Mars Volta around the corner. I almost didn't come back. The fact that I had to pry myself from the Volta's set is more a factor of how blown away I was, and not reflection on the quality of the bands at LZR. In almost a repeat of the previous night La Zona Rosa had packed the venue with a multi-band touring bill, booked as the Bamboozle Road Show, with a slew of neat bands to check out. Opening the set was the band Lydia out of Gilbert, Arizona, which has a richly layered sound. A dark, rainy day gray kind of music, not so cheerful or pop driven. Big sweeping epics of angst. These were probably my favorites of the night and it will be interesting to see how they mature out over time. Their debut album is out on the label HourZero and is called This December; It's One More and I'm Free. I think it's worth checking out based on their MySpace cuts and their live set. Continue reading "Concert Review: Saves The Day at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas" Thursday, May 1. 2008Ten Bands I Have To Shoot Before I Die
club kingsnake staff Ok, music photographers out there know what I am talking about. We all have bands that we would like to shoot but haven't yet either through lack of touring, not having the stones to get the credentials, or draconian photo policies. I got to take one of those bands off my list last month when I got an opportunity to shoot Rush, a band on my list since the 70's when their album 2112 was one of my first album purchases. What a fantastic show to shoot too, I want to thank Alex, Geddy, and Neil for giving me the opportunity and for inviting me to stay to watch the whole show. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to shoot the gods of my youth, and how appropriate that I should get to shoot their Snakes and Arrows tour! That got me to thinking, again, about all the other bands that are on my "must shoot before I die" list, who ranks, why, and just how far would I go to shoot them. After much internal dissension, here is my list, but I am terribly conflicted. Now a few disclaimers, the majority of the important band members must be alive, and there must be more than a small hope that they will either tour or play together again. 1. Led Zeppelin - I would go anywhere in the world for an opportunity to shoot them. I don't see it happening 2. The Rolling Stones - When they played Austin they only allowed 3 photogs to shoot. Next time I plan on being one of these 3. 3. U2 - They will never play Austin, but if I had a photo pass I'd fly to either coast. 4. The Sex Pistols - I would go anywhere in the states to shoot them. I would fly to London if the photo shoot included at least 2 minutes of verbal abuse directed at me by Johnny Rotten. 5. Pink Floyd - Who wouldn't want to shoot an inflatable pig? Got to be the whole band though. 6. KISS - This would be a can't miss for me, BUT it would have to be the original 4 members. 7. Judas Priest - This one may come true this summer! Not bloody likely, but it might. 8. ZZ Top - This one may come true THIS MONTH! YAHOO! And at The Backyard too, one of my favorite venues! 9. The Cure - This one may come true in June! Got my fingers crossed for their stop at the Austin Music Hall. If I don't get it I will be hosed all the way around since the show is way sold out and I didn't get a ticket. 10. Motorhead - This one may come true this summer, but very unlikely. They clamped down on photogs like the hand of god reaching down from the heavens to smite them at their recent Stubb's gig during SXSW What bands would be on YOUR list and how far would you go to either shoot them or see them? Tuesday, April 29. 2008Concert Review: Protest The Hero and Chiodos at the Sound Academy
April 25, 2008 The Sound Academy (formerly The Docks). Toronto, Ontario There was a weird vibe surrounding The Sound Academy when I arrived for the co-headliner Protest The Hero/Chiodos show. I wasn't in a bad mood so I don't think it was transference on my part. Au contrair, I've been excited about this tour, dubbed "Beer The Musical", since I heard about it well over a month ago. Also when I mentioned my felling to a few others they pretty much agreed and were glad it wasn't just them. After some serious consideration (lord knows I must have spent 10 minutes thinking about it) I think it may just be growing pains. What was once The Docks is now the Sound Academy, and seems poised to become the go-to venue in Toronto for not-quit-big-enough-to-play-arenas bands.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Protest The Hero and Chiodos at the Sound Academy" Tuesday, April 22. 2008News: Rush Brings Snakes And Arrows to Austin; Filter Show Moves to Emo's
club kingsnake staff There have been so many good bands coming to Austin the last couple weeks it almost feels like SXSW again... almost. Some of the shows I have covered in the last 10 days include The Mars Volta, Ministry, Dimmu Borgir, Saves The Day, Pepper, and Say Anything, just to name the headliners. Coming up this week we have Canadian prog-rockers Rush making their first stop in Austin for a long, long time tomorrow. We have been invited to cover the show, but if you want to go you'd better hurry because tickets for their Frank Erwin Center appearance have almost sold out. Filter will launch first tour in 6 years NOT at Stubb's BarBQ in Austin as planned, but over at Emo's instead on Thursday. Filter frontman Richard Patrick last played Austin heading up the band Army of Anyone with Robert and Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots back in January of 07. The DeLeo's are off touring with the re-union of Stone Temple Pilots. Considering Scott Wieland's tour track record of late, I am glad I don't hold the insurance policy for that. I'm laying odds that STP won't make it through a third of their tour. Any takers? I would much rather see Filter than STP so look for me over at Emo's. David Alan Coe brings outlaw country back to Stubb's on Friday, on Sunday the "Get A Life" tour plays Stubb's with Army Of Me, Straylight Run, and Street Drum Corps, and on Monday My Chemical Romance and Billy Talent also play Stubb's. You can also catch Joe Jackson on Monday over at The Paramount. Wednesday April 30th ends the month with Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and N.E.R.D. over at the Frank Erwin Center. What a busy end to April! Technorati Tags: Austin,Filter, Rush, David Alan Coe, My Chemical Romance, Joe Jackson,Emo's, La Zona Rosa Monday, April 21. 2008Thirteen Great Political SongsConcert Review: Three Days Grace at the Asphodel - Norwood Community Centre
April 19, 2008 Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre There's local boys done good, and then there's Three Days Grace. With two members hailing from Norwood, Ontario, and one from just down the road in Peterborough one of hard rock's most successful bands played a benefit concert to help complete the construction of the very facility in which they performing. As I parked a good ten or fifteen minute hike down the road from the arena I began to get an idea of the scale of the event about to take place in the tiny town. This was a village of 1300 that had sold out a 2000 seat arena! An hour before the doors were to open the line snaked around the parking lot and steadily grew and spread onto the adjacent fair grounds as I strolled around snapping photos. I didn't relish the idea of joining the end of the line which probably stretched to somewhere near the downtown strip. Luck would have it that my media contact came outside to find me and escorted me into the building just before the doors opened. Continue reading "Concert Review: Three Days Grace at the Asphodel - Norwood Community Centre" Saturday, April 19. 2008Concert Review: The Mars Volta at the Austin Music Hall, Austin Texas
club kingsnake staff The Mars Volta Hometown: El Paso, Texas. http://www.themarsvolta.com The Mars Volta Concert Photos Thursday April 10th, 2008 Austin Music Hall (Austin, Texas) Ok, sometimes I miss really really good bands completely, and it makes me wonder if I have been living under a rock. I think the problem is that I don't listen to much FM radio anymore and never activated the satellite radio in my car. Relying instead on my CD collection stored on my iPods and the never ending flow of CD's mailed in for us to review, sometimes big acts sneak up on me. That said - WOW! The Mars Volta is like wow - man. No one had given me much of a heads up on The Mars Volta. Though I had heard they were pretty cool, no one had ever given me much more to go on. I really didn't know what to expect. For all I knew they could have been some electronic accordion band from Europe. What they turned out to be is a bad ass rock and roll band that has the look, feel, and sound of a modernized Led Zeppelin moved south of the border. Combining elements of progressive rock from the seventies, metal, thrash, and flavored with distinctive tex-mex spices they sound like Yes on speed, or a harder faster Incubus. Blazing guitar runs by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez with frantic almost flamenco like jumps and spins by frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, its hard to imagine that they keep up the pace for their whole show, but they do. I almost didn't even notice that many of the lyrics were in Spanish. Continue reading "Concert Review: The Mars Volta at the Austin Music Hall, Austin Texas" Friday, April 18. 2008Concert Review: Say Anything at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas
club kingsnake staff Say Anything Hometown: Los Angeles, Ca. http://www.sayanythingmusic.com Say Anything Concert Photos Wednesday April 9th, 2008 La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas) Also: Manchester Orchestra, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves, Weatherbox Fronted by Max Bemis, the Los Angeles based six piece power-pop/emo rockers Say Anything brought the end of their tour through Austin with a stop at La Zona Rosa last week. With a little help from our friends over at Direct Events I was invited up to shoot and cover the show. With an early door, and some un-cooperative dogs conspiring against me, as well as Austin's notorious traffic I arrived late, just catching the last song by Weatherbox. That was a shame too, because they sounded really interesting. Based out of San Diego they are fronted by Brian Warren, ex of Mister Valentine and are worth checking out next time they come to town. I know I will try to be there. Continue reading "Concert Review: Say Anything at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas" Monday, April 14. 2008Working Class Hero: Covers of the John Lennon classicThursday, April 10. 2008Interview with the unstoppable multi-band playing maniac Dave Witte! I had the chance to catch up with a good friend of mine, Dave Witte, drummer for the extremely popular thrash band Municipal Waste. In the early 90s our bands did many shows together and even way back then Dave was very well respected. Dave is having the time of his life playing for Municipal Waste, and I had a killer time at the show talking about all he'd done since I last saw him. Dave rules! Read on...Club Kingsnake: Of all the bands you have played with which one of them was your favorite? I understand if you name a few bands as you have done so much since Human Remains.... did a clash of personalities or musical tastes have anything to do with you playing in so many bands? Dave Witte: Human Remains was my first real band so that has a place in my heart that no other band can match. As for playing in so many bands, I guess I had more needs to express myself in multiple ways than others, I wanted to do everything I could so I was always in a few bands at the same time. Club Kingsnake: Did playing fast get old for you? Do you prefer the older style of say Municipal Waste over the blasting? Dave Witte: Never. I love the speed aspect of drumming and music in general. Speed has its place in every kind of music.. I just think people lost the creativity of speed and it became more of a contest with the music taking a back seat. I still love blasting and I sure did my share of it, but for me personally...you can only do the same thing for so long. Club Kingsnake: How much cooler is life since you left that shit hole of a state New Jersey? Dave Witte: Way cooler. Whenever I go back, I can only take it for a few days and I just wanna leave. I'm so much more relaxed and I enjoy the quality of life as opposed to being high strung and stressed out in the rat race. I can't deny where I am from at the same time, I learned a lot of great things and met some really great people living in NJ and for that I am grateful. Scott Ruth and Jack Monahan had a lot to do with my musical upbringing and if I wasn't in NJ I probably wouldn't have met them. I also wouldn't have met Martin O'Connor, Mot, Donut, Bekov, Wickmen and Nokturnel.  Club Kingsnake: Do you have any endorsements, how'd that come about? Dave Witte: Yes, I proudly play Trick drums, Paiste cymbals and Vic Firth drumsticks. I submitted myself for all these companies time after time and never gave up. It was hard work, but I never gave up. There were some people that really helped me with Paiste 'caue they were super hard to get through too. They get thousands of submissions yearly ya know?. Chris Hornbrooke (Poison The Well), Aaron Harris (Isis), Mike Ambrose (Set Your Goals) and Matt Byrne (Hatebreed) really went to bat for me and I'll never forget that. Club Kingsnake: I noticed Municipal Waste has an outrageous amount of views/plays on your myspace page. When I spoke to the guys about it they all seemed shocked. Who keeps up on the industry stuff and who handles booking the tours? You guys play everywhere and never seems to stop....is this all planned out far in advance or are you able to pick up and leave at a moment's notice? Dave Witte: I never really pay attention to the Waste myspace page, or read the interviews or press about us. I know there is a good and bad and fortunately more good than bad. We are lucky to be able to work so hard to get a great response. The music we write is what carries us after all, but the people who come see us show after show is what keeps us going. We are a pretty democratic band and all handle duties within the band. We all work together to plan our schedule around our lives for the year, it's planned pretty far in advance. We have plans into December '08 at the moment. Club Kingsnake: Name a few drummers who you think are worthy of praise in the extreme metal scene. Dave Witte: One of the greatest and most underrated is Brandon Thomas of Ripping Corpse/Dim-Mak. He had the biggest effect on m when I was younger. Roddy, Laureno and Longstreth are in leagues of their own. I'd say Nick Barker is the Neil Peart of extreme metal drumming. Everything beat and fill is so tasteful and thought out, I love listening to him. The drumming on Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon is perfect. Club Kingsnake: Is playing drums for you a full time thing or do you also have a day job? Dave Witte: I still work 'cause I like to be constantly busy. I work in a kitchen for a catering company. I love it and the people who work there. They are the people who let me come and go over the years as well, so I'll work when they need me. Club Kingsnake: Do you have any desire to play in the technical metal category any more? Is it more rewarding to play music people have an easier time following? Dave Witte: Yeah, that part of me is still there. After a while of playing the same songs all year long I need another something ya know? I don't miss the pressure of technical music. When I was younger and I would make mistakes, I would get really down on myself. I've learned to let that go and have a good time, it's a better mental state. Club Kingsnake: You guys are so god damned lucky to have a spot on the At the Gates tour. Tell me a little about the friendship you have with them and how long have you known those guys? Dave Witte: We are very lucky and we know it; it's a dream tour for lots of people. I've been a fan since Gardens of Grief, so it means a great deal for me. Anders and I were pen pals in the early 90s death metal underground before email existed and we traded demos. The Waste also toured with The Haunted last year as well. Needless to say we all very excited when they invited us on the tour. Club Kingsnake: Hollywood seems to have run out of ideas with tons of remakes hitting the cinema. Do you see the same redundancy is metal? Dave Witte: Yeah, of course, but I'm a firm believer that the clones are needed to spawn the next thing. Everyone jumps on some band wagon one time or another and in time, "that one band" will realize and change. Take At the Gates, for example; they came out of Sweden in the death metal heyday, evolved into greatness and changed the whole US hardcore scene. I'm still waiting for something to come out of there though, haha Human Remains was a total Ripping Corpse worship clone before we figured it out, but we flew over people's heads, we went way out there. Wednesday, April 2. 2008Concert Review: Sum 41 and Die Mannequin at the Kool Haus
The Kool Haus. Toronto, Ontario. March 27, 2008 When I arrived at the Kool Haus I was surprised by how thin the crowd seemed. Yeah, it was early but with this being Sum 41 I expected more early birds. Only a few months before the Sums had been scheduled to play the cavernous Air Canada Centre. This was before Deryck suffered a herniated disc and they had to cancel their co-headlining tour with Finger Eleven. So I expected the packed like sardines turn out so often seen at the Kool Haus.
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