A video to check out! Sure it's for a shark book related contest, but it's pretty creepy!

So I've taken the plunge and entered into a little contest to attempt to get my likeness placed into the next book in Steve Alten's MEG (big badass shark novel) series. Sure, you may call it cheesy, but since Alten is one of my favorite authors, I think its pretty cool.

Here is a trailer for his latest book entry in Alten's MEG series, entitled MEG: HELL'S AQUARIUM. There's more than just crazy giant shark action. There's environmental issues, theories on previously extinct sea creatures, and, of course, flesh flinging in all directions! It's a great, suspenseful summertime read...especially if you're at the beach!

So, the more you click on THIS LINK, the better my chances of getting into the book. Also, you should check out the book, because, like I said, it's really fun, and really suspenseful!

Enjoy!

My first interview with a Soundtrack composer, or How awesome it would be to be in San Diego between July 23-25

So, as many of you know, I've been a soundtrack / film score fiend for as long as I can remember. I collect scores (on CD and vinyl), and I used to do some soundtrack copywriting for Muze, before they were bought by Macrovision. That little void was what prompted me to pitch an idea to Examiner - to allow me to share my knowledge and passion for soundtracks with the masses via their site. Soon after, in addition to being Heavy Metal Examiner, I became Soundtracks Examiner.

It's been a rough road, because soundtracks are like the red-headed stepchild of the music industry - unless it's a Broadway musical, a Disney production, or Twilight, most people don't really care about soundtracks. It's definitely been an uphill battle to share the joys that film scores bring me.

However, today is a banner-day for me, as I have posted my first interview with a composer...and not just any ol' lacky from Media Ventures / Remote Control Productions (though they do seem to nab a lot of the high-profile movies these days). I was given the opportunity to spend some time with Battlestar Galactica / Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles / Eureka music-meister Bear McCreary.

Here's a taste:

On the subject of Battlestar Galactica, word is out that you’ve completed compiling the music for the Season 4 two-disc set. How did this project grow beyond the confines of one disc?

Fans have been bugging me for a two-disc album since the beginning of Season 4. I’ve honestly been fighting it. I wanted to compose a nice companion piece the ever-expanding BSG universe. I don’t like having filler on my soundtrack albums, so if a cue isn’t good enough for me to put it on CD, I don’t put it on for the sake of filling space. So I really didn’t think I could fill two CDs, but when I got to the end, I realized that the finale alone had over 60 minutes of scoring that I thought was really good. There was maybe 100 minutes of music in that episode, but there was about 65 minutes of it that was worth putting on CD. So it was then that I realized that we really did have to do a two-CD set to do the show justice. I mentioned it to La-La Land Records, and I believe their words to me were, “well, duh!”

Regarding your latest release, Caprica, it sounds to me more emotive and character-centric than the Battlestar scores, which are very atmospheric, encapsulating all the action and drama of the environment.

Well, Caprica has a much smaller cast, and that cast can essentially be divided into two families – The Adamas and the Graystones. So I wrote two themes, one for each family, and they serve as the thematic thread that ties the Caprica score together. Battlestar, as you mentioned, tends to be attached to arcs, subplots, and sometimes thematic ideas. There are also themes for every single character on the show, and there are at least 50 of those alone, not that they all get used all the time. So Caprica was a very different approach.

Check out the full monstrosity here!

Thanks!

You guys deal with Michael Jackson, I'll concern myself with Midnight

With so many celebrity deaths bombarding the public conscience over the past couple weeks, one would think that the wave had finally ended. But just this morning, I awoke to find the following blog entry from legendary progressive/power metal band Crimson Glory in my email bin:

"On July 8, 2009, founding member and original frontman Midnight passed away at 3:30am surrounded by his family. The band is deeply saddened by the passing of their friend and brother. An official statement will be forthcoming later today or tomorrow."

Those three little sentences shook me to the core; not only because I am a fan of CG and Midnight’s later work, but because I had also been recently emailing back and forth with the man about conducting an interview to be featured here at Examiner. I’m having a REALLY difficult time writing this, because I now have to discuss one of metal’s unspoken great singers in the past tense.

I've done a rather extensive eulogy/tribute to Midnight, and felt it more appropriate to place it in a public forum, so even people who were not aware of him can now get at least a glimpse of his creativity here.

RIGOR MORTIS Is Setting In! Texas' Beloved Thrash Metal Band Is Back!!!

As excited as I was to do the Iron Maiden interview, I was even more stoked to sit down with three of the four founding members of Texas' Rigor Mortis. As an adolescent, I thought the band was among the better thrash bands of the era, largely because of guitarist Mike Scaccia's unique picking technique. Unfortunately, the masses didn't really pick up on it until he left the band to join Ministry.

But regardless of all that, I had a great time with Casey Orr, Bruce Corbitt, and Harden Harrison.

Here's a taste of all the formaldehyde-y goodness:

Is Scaccia still as fast as he used to be? How did his guitar style develop? Was it originally an accident, a joke, or was it something that he really worked at? I don’t think the term “speed metal” has any relevancy without Scaccia’s work on those Rigor Mortis albums.

CASEY: Mike’s a mother***er, ain’t he? Yeah, I’d say he’s every bit as fast as he ever was. He’s a freak of nature. He doesn’t play the guitar; it just bends to his will! I used to say that trying to keep up with him felt like running down a steep set of stairs too fast, knowing you’re going to trip and end up at the bottom in a broken heap!

BRUCE: I met him when he was 16 and he was already able to do that unique picking style at that time. He told me back then that after he first started playing guitar, that for some reason he was just always able to do that. So it was just something he tried, and it came natural for him. People have said his picking style is sort of like a bumble bee. He is just as fast as he used to be, maybe just a slight adjustment with how he does it as he gets older.

HARDEN: Yeah, he’s fast as ever. It’s an inborn nervous twitch type of thing, but he also worked very hard at mastering the guitar and practiced more than anyone I’ve ever known...or even heard of.

Read the whole massive monstrosity here!

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!

Catching waves with guitar hero GARY HOEY! An interview with a genius!

I am ultra-excited to be able to present this to everyone. After admiring the guitar wizard from afar for over ten years, I finally got an opportunity to interview with one of my musical heroes, GARY HOEY.

Here is a bit of a teaser:

When someone utters the term “guitar hero”, several names (aside from the obvious video game) are immediately conjured – legendary axemen like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Yngwie Malmsteen are but a few. For some strange reason, Massachusetts born (and [spiritually] California-raised) string-smith Gary Hoey is rarely at the forefront of the guitar-slinging pantheon. But he is there nonetheless, shredding licks and melting picks along with those the public deems “godly”. He does not rest within the confines of any one genre; his music embraces multiple styles (sometimes simultaneously), including metal, rock, blues, surf, and a touch of good old funky jazz for flavor.

During the past two decades, Hoey has recorded nine incredibly diverse studio albums (one of which being the soundtrack to the cult surfing film The Endless Summer II), an intense live album, and three very well-received Christmas albums. He also has provided music for DISNEY, ESPN, No Fear, and has even performed the National Anthem for the New England Patriots, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox. Last year, he became the host of the inaugural Rock the Waves Cruise in coordination with Best Music Cruises. And this year, he is setting sail again.

Prior to he and his band (bassist Erik Kontz and former Event drummer Matt Scurfield) entering the studio to record the next album, Hoey is embarking on a brief clinic tour, where he will be demonstrating some new gear from Fender.

Check out the full interview here!

Seeing Red: An interview with Russian folk metal band KALEVALA!

I recently did an interview with the Russian folk metal band KALEVALA for my gig at Examiner.com. I don't normally plug my other stuff here, but I think this band really needs to get noticed. Here is my lead-in to help get you in the mood:

It may seem an obvious notion, but MySpace truly does offer a world of music at one’s fingertips. Anyone can log on and search for new music by style, looking through Top Friends of other bands, or simply wait for those pesky Friend Requests to pile up in one’s in-box. Many bands abuse this capability and use MySpace simply as press release fodder (like having x-amount of MySpace friends means anything to the industry). However, there are those honest bands who use the tools simply to promote their music and put it out there for anyone to enjoy.

It was here that I stumbled upon a genre of music that I previously was unaware of, that of Russian folk metal. About a month ago, I received a Friend Request from the Moscow-based band Kalevala, most likely due my “Friendship” with bands like Korpiklaani and Moonsorrow. But rather than delete this message, I became curious, largely due to the name; why would a Russian band name itself after a collection of Finnish folklore? So I went to the page and checked them out. A week later, I had the CD, courtesy of Napalm Records European mail order (it is not available stateside, unfortunately).

I was enthralled with the music so much, I decided to research music in the area and was surprised to find an entire scene of great folk music in the Russian vicinity; bands like Tenochtitlan, Arkona, Pagan Reign and several others, some of whom have been releasing music for ten years. Until this point, my only exposure to Russian hard rock / metal was limited to Autograph and Gorky Park. Unfortunately, this phenomenon was not covered in Sam Dunn’s documentary Global Metal, and shame on him for overlooking it. Regardless, my eyes have been opened to a new wellspring of fantastic music, and all started because of a band called Kalevala.

You can read the interview here!

Thanks for checking it out!