My 'Dethly Encounter with yet another awesome musician

As you know by know, I've been using this blog to share my run-ins (mostly intentional, and unfortunately, not in-person but via phone) with some of my favorite musicians.

This time, I'd like to share with you a bit of a Cinderella story of sorts. Once upon a time there was an incredibly creative power/thrash metal band from Colorado called Jag Panzer. The band made some great albums, my favorite being the MacBeth-imbued conceptual piece, Thane to the Throne. Jag Panzer contained an amazing array of gifted musicians, and one that shined just a bit more brightly than his peers - led guitarist Chris Broderick.

The guy's work was just insane, and if you have ever gotten a chance to see the band's official DVD, The Era of Kings and Conflict, you may have seen a glimpse of Broderick' spiderlike phalanges. Fast-forward a few years, and we find CB in the court of King Mustaine and his motley band of thrashoholics. Megadeth's new album, Endgame, will be the first studio album on which Broderick's has appeared since 2004!!!

Anywho, check the link HERE for my exclusive interview with Chris.

I truly hope you all enjoy it!

Put them in the IRON MAIDEN! Excellent!!!!

As excited as I was to do the Gary Hoey interview, I was even MORE chuffed to get an opportunity to speak with a member of the band that almost wholly inspired me to pick up a musical instrument, IRON MAIDEN. Last week, I had a great phone conversation with drummer Nicko McBrain. And although the conversation was cut short, due to a restrictive schedule, I managed to get some great stuff out of him.

Here's a teaser:

Iron Maiden is a band that needs no introduction. The band’s name is legendary, and their concerts border on religious experiences. This week, the Flight 666 documentary movie hits stores (and recurrent airplay on VH1 television). Through the film, we see these legends as men – jovial, emotional, and philosophical. But rarely, do we ever get the opportunity to interact with these fables of the flesh.

Examiner was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with the jolliest of all these hallowed beings, drummer Nicko McBrain to discuss some of the background and internal nuances of the movie. Read on, as we talk with Nicko about Flight 666, the dangers of golf, pizza etiquette, and Anvil!

Was there an extensive group discussion about participating in this movie, or was it an executive decision from Rod Smallwood [manager] saying that you had to do it?

No, no, no, Lord almighty. There were many, many discussions. It kicked off one night after a show in Europe. We were talking amongst the band – we do talk to each other, contrary to popular belief. Bruce came up with the idea about getting our own jet airliner and touring around the world.

We discussed the places we’ve never been to, places we wanted to go to, how much money it costs to tour these places, and how cost-prohibitive these places were. And Bruce said, “Well, we’ll have our own magic carpet!” Then we started thinking that that might be a great idea; we could get a 747! And Bruce said that he was thinking more along the lines of a 757, because he wasn’t rated for the 747. Then we pitched it to Rod, and discussed the logistics of where we wanted to go. And originally, the idea for taking the 757 was so we could take all our gear, have Bruce pilot it, and bring all of our family along. Then someone said, “Well, we have to take all the journalists of the world with us, too, because this is an historic event!”

“Hhhhhmmmm,” said Rod, “why don’t we document this here bloody trip. It is historic, after all. Nobody’s ever done this before - customize a 757 and whatnot. Even better, we should have a documentary crew 24/7 for the duration of the tour!” Boy, that’s when it went down like a fountain in a 2-man submarine, believe me. There was a bit of rumbling, a bit of grumbling, some trepidation…my lord, trepidation! So yeah, it wasn’t a matter of “yeah, let’s all do it.”

Read the whole interview here!