AVALANCHE EFFECT stand for change – not as a rupture, but as a driving force.

With a keen sense for atmosphere, heaviness, and emotion, the band from Münster has crafted their own sound in modern nu-metalcore: powerful, honest, and uncompromising.

The interplay between Bene’s distinctive clean vocals and Nils’ deep gutturals breaks down genre boundaries – whether it’s epic choirs, dark rap parts, or crushing blast beats. Everything is allowed, as long as it captures the right vibe.

These songs are more than just music – they’re reflection, expression, and release. The lyrics dive into self-doubt, emotional struggles, and inner battles, inviting listeners to reconnect with themselves or simply let go.

With every release, their sound and ambition evolve – always in pursuit of the perfect balance between raw intensity and emotional depth. One thing becomes clear the moment you press play: this isn’t about trends.

It’s about identity, conviction, and real emotion.

AVALANCHE EFFECT stand for change – not as a rupture, but as a driving force.

With a keen sense for atmosphere, heaviness, and emotion, the band from Münster has crafted their own sound in modern nu-metalcore: powerful, honest, and uncompromising.

The interplay between Bene’s distinctive clean vocals and Nils’ deep gutturals breaks down genre boundaries – whether it’s epic choirs, dark rap parts, or crushing blast beats. Everything is allowed, as long as it captures the right vibe.

These songs are more than just music – they’re reflection, expression, and release. The lyrics dive into self-doubt, emotional struggles, and inner battles, inviting listeners to reconnect with themselves or simply let go.

With every release, their sound and ambition evolve – always in pursuit of the perfect balance between raw intensity and emotional depth. One thing becomes clear the moment you press play: this isn’t about trends.

It’s about identity, conviction, and real emotion.

Black River Delta is blues-rock band originating from Bollnäs, Sweden. The foursome have released three studio albums – Devil on the Loose (2016), Vol. II (2018), and Shakin’ (2021).

The band’s gritty blues-rock sound draws from classic blues legends like Robert Johnson, the raw style of R. L. Burnside and modern artists as The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr. and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Their ability to combine age-old blues with modern rock has taking them on several tours across Europe and North America, and has caught the attention of artists like blues legend Joe Bonamassa, calling Vol. II one of the best albums of 2018 and even inviting the band to perform on his annual cruise festival.

Black River Delta’s new album Shakin’ is available NOW via Sofaburn Records.

Black River Delta is blues-rock band originating from Bollnäs, Sweden. The foursome have released three studio albums – Devil on the Loose (2016), Vol. II (2018), and Shakin’ (2021).

The band’s gritty blues-rock sound draws from classic blues legends like Robert Johnson, the raw style of R. L. Burnside and modern artists as The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr. and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Their ability to combine age-old blues with modern rock has taking them on several tours across Europe and North America, and has caught the attention of artists like blues legend Joe Bonamassa, calling Vol. II one of the best albums of 2018 and even inviting the band to perform on his annual cruise festival.

Black River Delta’s new album Shakin’ is available NOW via Sofaburn Records.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

It has been the motivational “catchphrase” for the Swedish boys in CRASHDÏET ever since they started out back in the beginning of 2000.

They’ve clearly gone through turbulence a number of times their career, with deaths, line-up changes and a history of abuse that would make Mötley Crüe's “The Dirt” sound like a children's book. However, the boys have become known for picking up the pieces and returning to the scene, every time they crash. Their undeniable flirt with the 80s big arena rock bands like Guns N’ Roses, Kiss, Skid Row etc., combined with a notable element of punk, has made them a significant name in the revival of the sleaze and glam (or hair metal) genre. CRASHDÏET released their critically acclaimed debut album “Rest in sleaze” in the fall of 2005 through Universal Music, giving them a spring of success in their home country. But shortly after, in January of 2006, their frontman and founder Dave Lepard, was found dead in his home after committing suicide. The surviving members have carried on the torch ever since, recruiting new frontmen, touring the world and releasing studio albums for their widespread fans.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

It has been the motivational “catchphrase” for the Swedish boys in CRASHDÏET ever since they started out back in the beginning of 2000.

They’ve clearly gone through turbulence a number of times their career, with deaths, line-up changes and a history of abuse that would make Mötley Crüe's “The Dirt” sound like a children's book. However, the boys have become known for picking up the pieces and returning to the scene, every time they crash. Their undeniable flirt with the 80s big arena rock bands like Guns N’ Roses, Kiss, Skid Row etc., combined with a notable element of punk, has made them a significant name in the revival of the sleaze and glam (or hair metal) genre. CRASHDÏET released their critically acclaimed debut album “Rest in sleaze” in the fall of 2005 through Universal Music, giving them a spring of success in their home country. But shortly after, in January of 2006, their frontman and founder Dave Lepard, was found dead in his home after committing suicide. The surviving members have carried on the torch ever since, recruiting new frontmen, touring the world and releasing studio albums for their widespread fans.

DeWolff are a young Hammond/guitar/drums three-piece from The Netherlands making an explosive mix of electrified southern bluesrock with a dash of soul and psychedelica. They are some of the meanest, energetic, road-hardened and virtuosic musicians around and have been playing together for half their lives.

Now, still in their mid twenties, they have already released 9 studio albums (7 of which hit the Dutch Top 20), 3 live albums, 2 EP's and even recorded an album with Black Keys-producer Mark Neill. Furthermore they have their own fully analog studio where they not only produce their own but also produced many other critically acclaimed albums, and which has already become a cornerstone in the new chapter of Dutch roots-rock history. Even Luther Dickinson regularly comes over to record some songs together.

They have already played over a 1000 shows in Europe, Australia, Indonesia and Russia and since 3 years they even organise their own festival 'DeWolffest'. In 2019 the band picked up the prestigious Edison Award (Dutch Grammy) for ‘Best Rock’ and in 2020 they received a Buma Award for "Best Sync". Their last tour saw the band play over a 100 shows across 13 countries – The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Italy, Denmark, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Austria and their first trip to Indonesia!

They also toured with the likes of Toto, The Black Crowes, The Black Keys, Deep Purple, Ten Years After and Wolfmother and picked up fans in e.g. Seasick Steve, who once woke up backstage at a festival to hear them play, thinking he heard the Allman Brothers playing from 1972, and Roger Glover who has openly declared his love for the band.
Even though they're already blasting for more than a decade, these guys are just starting...

In May 2024 DeWolff travelled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record their 10th studio album with Grammy Award winning producer Ben Tanner at two legendary studios: FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Heroes like Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, the Stones, Leon Russell, the Black Keys and hundreds of other legendary artists recorded world-renowned albums at these studios. "You can really feel some kind of rock 'n roll magic in the air there. Right when we played our first notes there I got goosebumps: here was that sound I've been hearing on all those classic albums! This definitely was one of the best recording experiences we've ever had. Even the grand piano Leon Russell used was still there, just like the electric Wurlitzer piano that was used on "I Never Loved A Man" by Aretha Franklin!" says Pablo van de Poel. It will come as no surprise that this 10th DeWolff album shows influences of the rich musical history that was literally written in those same studios 50 years ago. But still, DeWolff will always sound like DeWolff: a fiery wayward steam engine blasting right through its own time zone, leaving you spellbound and speechless at the crossroads of blues, soul, psychedelic and southern rock, with a Dutch twist.

DeWolff are a young Hammond/guitar/drums three-piece from The Netherlands making an explosive mix of electrified southern bluesrock with a dash of soul and psychedelica. They are some of the meanest, energetic, road-hardened and virtuosic musicians around and have been playing together for half their lives.

Now, still in their mid twenties, they have already released 9 studio albums (7 of which hit the Dutch Top 20), 3 live albums, 2 EP's and even recorded an album with Black Keys-producer Mark Neill. Furthermore they have their own fully analog studio where they not only produce their own but also produced many other critically acclaimed albums, and which has already become a cornerstone in the new chapter of Dutch roots-rock history. Even Luther Dickinson regularly comes over to record some songs together.

They have already played over a 1000 shows in Europe, Australia, Indonesia and Russia and since 3 years they even organise their own festival 'DeWolffest'. In 2019 the band picked up the prestigious Edison Award (Dutch Grammy) for ‘Best Rock’ and in 2020 they received a Buma Award for "Best Sync". Their last tour saw the band play over a 100 shows across 13 countries – The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Italy, Denmark, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Austria and their first trip to Indonesia!

They also toured with the likes of Toto, The Black Crowes, The Black Keys, Deep Purple, Ten Years After and Wolfmother and picked up fans in e.g. Seasick Steve, who once woke up backstage at a festival to hear them play, thinking he heard the Allman Brothers playing from 1972, and Roger Glover who has openly declared his love for the band.
Even though they're already blasting for more than a decade, these guys are just starting...

In May 2024 DeWolff travelled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record their 10th studio album with Grammy Award winning producer Ben Tanner at two legendary studios: FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Heroes like Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, the Stones, Leon Russell, the Black Keys and hundreds of other legendary artists recorded world-renowned albums at these studios. "You can really feel some kind of rock 'n roll magic in the air there. Right when we played our first notes there I got goosebumps: here was that sound I've been hearing on all those classic albums! This definitely was one of the best recording experiences we've ever had. Even the grand piano Leon Russell used was still there, just like the electric Wurlitzer piano that was used on "I Never Loved A Man" by Aretha Franklin!" says Pablo van de Poel. It will come as no surprise that this 10th DeWolff album shows influences of the rich musical history that was literally written in those same studios 50 years ago. But still, DeWolff will always sound like DeWolff: a fiery wayward steam engine blasting right through its own time zone, leaving you spellbound and speechless at the crossroads of blues, soul, psychedelic and southern rock, with a Dutch twist.

Dregen is a pioneering Swedish rock guitarist and songwriter, best known for his roles in the bands Backyard Babies and The Hellacopters. Growing up in Nässjö, Sweden, he co-founded Backyard Babies, a band that became a significant force in Scandinavian rock with its energetic blend of punk and glam. The band's debut album in 1994 garnered a loyal following and critical acclaim, setting the stage for a successful music career.

In addition to Backyard Babies, Dregen gained widespread recognition through his work with The Hellacopters, a band he co-founded with Nicke Andersson. With The Hellacopters, Dregen helped to shape the Swedish garage rock revival, earning a Swedish Grammy and touring internationally. After leaving The Hellacopters, he re-focused on Backyard Babies while also working with Finnish rock legend Michael Monroe, further expanding his influence and reach.

In 2013, Dregen released a solo album, showcasing his unique style and versatility. Beyond music, he has explored other creative avenues, including art and even launching his own beer. With recent reunions of The Hellacopters for tours, Dregen continues to leave his mark on the rock world, connecting with fans and remaining a dynamic figure in music and culture.

Dregen is a pioneering Swedish rock guitarist and songwriter, best known for his roles in the bands Backyard Babies and The Hellacopters. Growing up in Nässjö, Sweden, he co-founded Backyard Babies, a band that became a significant force in Scandinavian rock with its energetic blend of punk and glam. The band's debut album in 1994 garnered a loyal following and critical acclaim, setting the stage for a successful music career.

In addition to Backyard Babies, Dregen gained widespread recognition through his work with The Hellacopters, a band he co-founded with Nicke Andersson. With The Hellacopters, Dregen helped to shape the Swedish garage rock revival, earning a Swedish Grammy and touring internationally. After leaving The Hellacopters, he re-focused on Backyard Babies while also working with Finnish rock legend Michael Monroe, further expanding his influence and reach.

In 2013, Dregen released a solo album, showcasing his unique style and versatility. Beyond music, he has explored other creative avenues, including art and even launching his own beer. With recent reunions of The Hellacopters for tours, Dregen continues to leave his mark on the rock world, connecting with fans and remaining a dynamic figure in music and culture.

EL*KE: Die Wiedergeburt einer RocklegendeIm unaufhörlichen Wandel der deutschen Rockszene gibt es wenige Bands, die so nachhaltig Eindruck hinterlassen haben wie EL*KE. Ursprünglich aus Haren im Emsland stammend, nahmen sie die Musiklandschaft mit ihrem unverkennbaren Stil und ihrer explosiven Energie im Sturm. Ihr Name, inspiriert von einem markanten Autokennzeichen, das bei ihren Auftritten stets präsent war, steht heute synonym für rohe, unverfälschte Rockmusik. EL*KE begann ihre Reise in den frühen 2000er Jahren und zog Ende 2002 nach Berlin, um dort ihre musikalischen Ambitionen zu verwirklichen. Ihre Karriere nahm rasch Fahrt auf, mit kraftvollen Alben und mitreißenden Live-Auftritten machten sie sich schnell einen Namen. Ihr Debütalbum "Wilder Westen", produziert von Olaf O.P.A.L. und veröffentlicht im August 2005, setzte einen neuen Standard für deutsche Rockmusik. Bekanntheit erlangte die Band durch zahlreiche Auftritte bei renommierten Veranstaltungen wie der Boarderweek in Val Thorens und dem Taubertal-Openair-Festival. Ein besonderer Höhepunkt ihrer Karriere war der Auftritt am 10. September 2005 beim Abschlusskonzert der "Friss oder stirb"-Tour von Die Toten Hosen, wo sie als Vorband neben New Model Army und den Beatsteaks die Bühne rockten. Ihr zweites Album, "Wir müssen hier raus", erschien im Januar 2007 und zeigte die Band in Höchstform. Mit Songs wie "Ich mag dich" und "Traumfrau" bewiesen sie erneut ihre Fähigkeit, kraftvolle und eingängige Rockhymnen zu schaffen. Ein besonderes Highlight ihrer Karriere war die Beteiligung am Soundtrack des Films "Die Welle" im März 2008. EL*KE lieferten eine beeindruckende Coverversion des Ramones-Klassikers "Rock 'n' Roll High School", die von Schauspieler Jürgen Vogel im Film performt wurde.
Das dritte Album "Häuser stürzen ein" wurde am 4. Juli 2008 veröffentlicht und zeigte die Band von ihrer besten Seite. Mit Beiträgen wie dem von Farin Urlaub geschriebenen Stück "Warum auch immer" und der Begleitung von Billy Idol auf seiner Deutschland-Tour im Sommer 2008, sowie Auftritten bei Rock am Ring und Rock im Park, bewies EL*KE erneut ihre Vielseitigkeit und ihren unermüdlichen Tatendrang. Nach der Veröffentlichung ihres dritten Albums "Häuser stürzen ein" im Juli 2008 und Auftritten mit Größen wie Billy Idol und Iggy Pop & The Stooges, sowie Festivals wie Deichbrand, Rock am Ring und Rock im Park, legten EL*KE 2009 eine längere Pause ein. Doch das Jahr 2023 markierte eine aufregende Wende in der Geschichte von EL*KE. Mit neuer Band-Besetzung kehrten sie im Juni 2023 auf die Bühne zurück und feierten ihr LIVE-Comeback vor 10.000 begeisterten Fans auf dem Lautfeuer-Festival in Lingen. Dieser triumphale Auftritt zeigte, dass die Leidenschaft und die Energie, die EL*KE ausmachen, nichts von ihrer Intensität verloren haben. 2024 wird ein besonderes Jahr für die Fans von EL*KE. Die Band plant die Veröffentlichung einer Tribut-EP mit dem Titel "EL*KE spielt Gundermann". Diese EP ist eine Hommage an den legendären deutschen Liedermacher Gerhard Gundermann. Bekannt für seine tiefgründigen und sozialkritischen Texte, hat Gundermann die deutsche Musikszene nachhaltig beeinflusst. EL*KE's Interpretation seiner Songs wird sicherlich eine spannende Mischung aus Gundermanns poetischer Tiefe und EL*KE's energetischem Rocksound bieten. Diese EP zeigt die Vielseitigkeit und das musikalische Können der Band, indem sie sich neuen Herausforderungen stellt und gleichzeitig ihre Wurzeln ehrt. Doch damit nicht genug: 2025 wird EL*KE ein brandneues Album veröffentlichen. Details zum neuen Album sind noch spärlich, aber die Fans können sich sicher sein, dass EL*KE ihren typischen kraftvollen und unverfälschten Rocksound beibehalten werden, angereichert mit frischen Einflüssen und neuen musikalischen Ideen. EL*KE sind mehr als nur eine Band – sie sind ein Phänomen, ein lebendiger Beweis dafür, dass echter Rock 'n' Roll niemals stirbt. Mit ihrer unverwechselbaren Mischung aus kraftvollen Riffs und tiefgründigen Texten, ihrer ungebrochenen Leidenschaft und ihrem authentischen Stil, haben sie eine neue Ära ihrer Karriere eingeläutet und sind bereit, ihre Geschichte weiterzuschreiben.

EL*KE: Die Wiedergeburt einer RocklegendeIm unaufhörlichen Wandel der deutschen Rockszene gibt es wenige Bands, die so nachhaltig Eindruck hinterlassen haben wie EL*KE. Ursprünglich aus Haren im Emsland stammend, nahmen sie die Musiklandschaft mit ihrem unverkennbaren Stil und ihrer explosiven Energie im Sturm. Ihr Name, inspiriert von einem markanten Autokennzeichen, das bei ihren Auftritten stets präsent war, steht heute synonym für rohe, unverfälschte Rockmusik. EL*KE begann ihre Reise in den frühen 2000er Jahren und zog Ende 2002 nach Berlin, um dort ihre musikalischen Ambitionen zu verwirklichen. Ihre Karriere nahm rasch Fahrt auf, mit kraftvollen Alben und mitreißenden Live-Auftritten machten sie sich schnell einen Namen. Ihr Debütalbum "Wilder Westen", produziert von Olaf O.P.A.L. und veröffentlicht im August 2005, setzte einen neuen Standard für deutsche Rockmusik. Bekanntheit erlangte die Band durch zahlreiche Auftritte bei renommierten Veranstaltungen wie der Boarderweek in Val Thorens und dem Taubertal-Openair-Festival. Ein besonderer Höhepunkt ihrer Karriere war der Auftritt am 10. September 2005 beim Abschlusskonzert der "Friss oder stirb"-Tour von Die Toten Hosen, wo sie als Vorband neben New Model Army und den Beatsteaks die Bühne rockten. Ihr zweites Album, "Wir müssen hier raus", erschien im Januar 2007 und zeigte die Band in Höchstform. Mit Songs wie "Ich mag dich" und "Traumfrau" bewiesen sie erneut ihre Fähigkeit, kraftvolle und eingängige Rockhymnen zu schaffen. Ein besonderes Highlight ihrer Karriere war die Beteiligung am Soundtrack des Films "Die Welle" im März 2008. EL*KE lieferten eine beeindruckende Coverversion des Ramones-Klassikers "Rock 'n' Roll High School", die von Schauspieler Jürgen Vogel im Film performt wurde.
Das dritte Album "Häuser stürzen ein" wurde am 4. Juli 2008 veröffentlicht und zeigte die Band von ihrer besten Seite. Mit Beiträgen wie dem von Farin Urlaub geschriebenen Stück "Warum auch immer" und der Begleitung von Billy Idol auf seiner Deutschland-Tour im Sommer 2008, sowie Auftritten bei Rock am Ring und Rock im Park, bewies EL*KE erneut ihre Vielseitigkeit und ihren unermüdlichen Tatendrang. Nach der Veröffentlichung ihres dritten Albums "Häuser stürzen ein" im Juli 2008 und Auftritten mit Größen wie Billy Idol und Iggy Pop & The Stooges, sowie Festivals wie Deichbrand, Rock am Ring und Rock im Park, legten EL*KE 2009 eine längere Pause ein. Doch das Jahr 2023 markierte eine aufregende Wende in der Geschichte von EL*KE. Mit neuer Band-Besetzung kehrten sie im Juni 2023 auf die Bühne zurück und feierten ihr LIVE-Comeback vor 10.000 begeisterten Fans auf dem Lautfeuer-Festival in Lingen. Dieser triumphale Auftritt zeigte, dass die Leidenschaft und die Energie, die EL*KE ausmachen, nichts von ihrer Intensität verloren haben. 2024 wird ein besonderes Jahr für die Fans von EL*KE. Die Band plant die Veröffentlichung einer Tribut-EP mit dem Titel "EL*KE spielt Gundermann". Diese EP ist eine Hommage an den legendären deutschen Liedermacher Gerhard Gundermann. Bekannt für seine tiefgründigen und sozialkritischen Texte, hat Gundermann die deutsche Musikszene nachhaltig beeinflusst. EL*KE's Interpretation seiner Songs wird sicherlich eine spannende Mischung aus Gundermanns poetischer Tiefe und EL*KE's energetischem Rocksound bieten. Diese EP zeigt die Vielseitigkeit und das musikalische Können der Band, indem sie sich neuen Herausforderungen stellt und gleichzeitig ihre Wurzeln ehrt. Doch damit nicht genug: 2025 wird EL*KE ein brandneues Album veröffentlichen. Details zum neuen Album sind noch spärlich, aber die Fans können sich sicher sein, dass EL*KE ihren typischen kraftvollen und unverfälschten Rocksound beibehalten werden, angereichert mit frischen Einflüssen und neuen musikalischen Ideen. EL*KE sind mehr als nur eine Band – sie sind ein Phänomen, ein lebendiger Beweis dafür, dass echter Rock 'n' Roll niemals stirbt. Mit ihrer unverwechselbaren Mischung aus kraftvollen Riffs und tiefgründigen Texten, ihrer ungebrochenen Leidenschaft und ihrem authentischen Stil, haben sie eine neue Ära ihrer Karriere eingeläutet und sind bereit, ihre Geschichte weiterzuschreiben.

BIOGRAPHY

In an era where pedalboards, laptops and samples have become commonplace, Eric Steckel goes against the grain and harkens his listeners back to the days when great guitars were played loudly through great amps. Hailed by many as the top rising star of Blues/Rock, Eric delivers a powerhouse performance that has left audiences in 25 countries (and counting) mesmerized. He brings an energy and passion to the stage that never disappoints and is a must see for fans of vintage guitar rock.

Few young guitarists can improve on Eric Steckel's impressive resume. Eric's debut CD, "A Few Degrees Warmer", was recorded live in April 2002 when he was just 11 years old. It wasn’t long until he appeared at the 2003 Sarasota Blues Festival where Eric's powerful set became the talk of the day. Before the night was over Eric was introduced by British Blues/Rock legend, John Mayall as the youngest guitarist ever on stage with the Bluesbreakers. Eric left a lasting impression on Mayall and, in 2004 Mayall invited Eric to appear in Sweden, Norway and Denmark during The Bluesbreakers’ Scandinavian Tour. In early 2005, Eric traveled to Los Angeles where he joined Mayall for session work on the "Road Dogs" record.

Eric then spent the following years filled with marquee festival dates and sold out concert tours in Holland, Germany, Belgium and Italy. He opened for Johnny Winter at The Paradiso in Amsterdam, thrilled audiences at the Tegelen Bluesrock Festival and shared the prime-time bill with Gregg Allman at the legendary Pistoia Blues Festival.

Throughout his teens and young adulthood, Eric released several critically acclaimed live and studio albums. 2006's "Havana" was a hit among Blues guitar lovers and tracks from this album are still featured often on SiriusXM's Bluesville station. 2008's "Feels Like Home" featured the talented Duane Trucks on drums and recalled the 70's southern rock era. Hits from this album such as "The Ghetto" and "Just Walk Away" receive regular airplay to this day. In 2012, after years on the road, Eric entered the studio once again to record a powerful modern Blues record. "Dismantle The Sun" emerged. In 2015, Eric embarked on a quest to record a fully transatlantic studio album with some of the finest producers, engineers and musicians he knew. This led to "Black Gold" being recorded in both Nashville, Tennessee and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Eric's current album "Polyphonic Prayer" is his most successful album to date and features Eric on every instrument besides the drums.

Road-tested and seasoned from 20+ years on stage and in the studio, Eric delivers his signature blend of Bluesmetal worldwide to appreciative guitar lovers in 25 countries and counting.

Eric has been featured in Top Guitar Magazine, Guitar World Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Blues Rock Review Magazine, Maxazine, Nightwatcher's House of Rock, The Allentown (PA) Morning Call, The Doylestown (PA) Intelligencer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The (NY) Times-Herald Record, Music Head Magazine, The Warren (NJ) Reporter Forum, The Easton (PA) Express, The Bridgewater (NJ) Courier Times, The Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune, the Lancaster (PA) Sunday News and The Florida Times Union. International press includes features in the Haagshe Courant, De Telegraaph, BluesMagazine (NL) and a MusikMaker (NL) feature. Eric was also featured in a Comcast CN8 TV News Extra and he has appeared on NBC 10 in Philadelphia, Comcast CN8, Fox Philadelphia, SNN6 in Sarasota and Reuters TV.

BIOGRAPHY

In an era where pedalboards, laptops and samples have become commonplace, Eric Steckel goes against the grain and harkens his listeners back to the days when great guitars were played loudly through great amps. Hailed by many as the top rising star of Blues/Rock, Eric delivers a powerhouse performance that has left audiences in 25 countries (and counting) mesmerized. He brings an energy and passion to the stage that never disappoints and is a must see for fans of vintage guitar rock.

Few young guitarists can improve on Eric Steckel's impressive resume. Eric's debut CD, "A Few Degrees Warmer", was recorded live in April 2002 when he was just 11 years old. It wasn’t long until he appeared at the 2003 Sarasota Blues Festival where Eric's powerful set became the talk of the day. Before the night was over Eric was introduced by British Blues/Rock legend, John Mayall as the youngest guitarist ever on stage with the Bluesbreakers. Eric left a lasting impression on Mayall and, in 2004 Mayall invited Eric to appear in Sweden, Norway and Denmark during The Bluesbreakers’ Scandinavian Tour. In early 2005, Eric traveled to Los Angeles where he joined Mayall for session work on the "Road Dogs" record.

Eric then spent the following years filled with marquee festival dates and sold out concert tours in Holland, Germany, Belgium and Italy. He opened for Johnny Winter at The Paradiso in Amsterdam, thrilled audiences at the Tegelen Bluesrock Festival and shared the prime-time bill with Gregg Allman at the legendary Pistoia Blues Festival.

Throughout his teens and young adulthood, Eric released several critically acclaimed live and studio albums. 2006's "Havana" was a hit among Blues guitar lovers and tracks from this album are still featured often on SiriusXM's Bluesville station. 2008's "Feels Like Home" featured the talented Duane Trucks on drums and recalled the 70's southern rock era. Hits from this album such as "The Ghetto" and "Just Walk Away" receive regular airplay to this day. In 2012, after years on the road, Eric entered the studio once again to record a powerful modern Blues record. "Dismantle The Sun" emerged. In 2015, Eric embarked on a quest to record a fully transatlantic studio album with some of the finest producers, engineers and musicians he knew. This led to "Black Gold" being recorded in both Nashville, Tennessee and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Eric's current album "Polyphonic Prayer" is his most successful album to date and features Eric on every instrument besides the drums.

Road-tested and seasoned from 20+ years on stage and in the studio, Eric delivers his signature blend of Bluesmetal worldwide to appreciative guitar lovers in 25 countries and counting.

Eric has been featured in Top Guitar Magazine, Guitar World Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Blues Rock Review Magazine, Maxazine, Nightwatcher's House of Rock, The Allentown (PA) Morning Call, The Doylestown (PA) Intelligencer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The (NY) Times-Herald Record, Music Head Magazine, The Warren (NJ) Reporter Forum, The Easton (PA) Express, The Bridgewater (NJ) Courier Times, The Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune, the Lancaster (PA) Sunday News and The Florida Times Union. International press includes features in the Haagshe Courant, De Telegraaph, BluesMagazine (NL) and a MusikMaker (NL) feature. Eric was also featured in a Comcast CN8 TV News Extra and he has appeared on NBC 10 in Philadelphia, Comcast CN8, Fox Philadelphia, SNN6 in Sarasota and Reuters TV.

Garret T. Willie is an old soul masquerading as an uncommonly wise, weathered, witty and world-weary 23-year-old and he's about to give rock 'n' roll a formidable 21st-century kick in the ass.
He hails from Cormorant Island, off the coast of British Columbia but while Willie’s Indigenous backstory also gives him more right than most to sing the blues – he’d rather that not be the whole story.
Willie is the personification of an open book in the lyric sheet to his debut record Same Pain. What he offers the world is something it has genuinely been missing for awhile: a contemporary take onhardscrabble blues and the purest and rawest rock 'n' roll to follow its teachings thereafter.
He’s studiously schooled in all the right source material, from Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King and Muddy Waters to Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Stevie RayVaughan, and everyone else who’s carried the torch into the present, with a little Johnny Cash andHank Williams thrown in for some outlaw-country flavour on the side.
And that’s why, on Same Pain, Garret T. Willie can not only really rip it up on the guitar, but also with the gut-busting honesty of someone who understands that if you ain’t lived it, you shouldn’t sing it.

Garret T. Willie has absolutely no interest in emulating the musical past and his heroes. His interest isonly in channeling every ounce of the classic blues and rock 'n' roll he venerates so deeply intosomething new.

Garret T. Willie is an old soul masquerading as an uncommonly wise, weathered, witty and world-weary 23-year-old and he's about to give rock 'n' roll a formidable 21st-century kick in the ass.
He hails from Cormorant Island, off the coast of British Columbia but while Willie’s Indigenous backstory also gives him more right than most to sing the blues – he’d rather that not be the whole story.
Willie is the personification of an open book in the lyric sheet to his debut record Same Pain. What he offers the world is something it has genuinely been missing for awhile: a contemporary take onhardscrabble blues and the purest and rawest rock 'n' roll to follow its teachings thereafter.
He’s studiously schooled in all the right source material, from Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King and Muddy Waters to Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Stevie RayVaughan, and everyone else who’s carried the torch into the present, with a little Johnny Cash andHank Williams thrown in for some outlaw-country flavour on the side.
And that’s why, on Same Pain, Garret T. Willie can not only really rip it up on the guitar, but also with the gut-busting honesty of someone who understands that if you ain’t lived it, you shouldn’t sing it.

Garret T. Willie has absolutely no interest in emulating the musical past and his heroes. His interest isonly in channeling every ounce of the classic blues and rock 'n' roll he venerates so deeply intosomething new.

Garrison Keillor did “A Prairie Home Companion” for forty years, wrote fiction and comedy,
invented a town called Lake Wobegon where all the children are above average, even
though he himself grew up evangelical in a small separatist flock where all the children
expected the imminent end of the world. He’s busy in retirement, having written a
memoir and a book of limericks and is at work on a musical and a Lake Wobegon
screenplay, and he continues to do “The Writers Almanac” sent out daily to Internet
subscribers (free).

He and his wife Jenny Lind Nilsson live in Minneapolis, not far from the YMCA where he
was sent for swimming lessons at age 12 after his cousin drowned, and he skipped the
lessons and went to the public library instead and to a radio studio to watch a noontime
show with singers and a band. Thus, our course in life is set.

“Fans laughed, applauded and sang along throughout Sunday night’s two-hour show” -
Jeff Baenen, AP News

“His shows can, for a couple of hours, transform an audience of even so-called coastal
elites into a small-town community with an intimacy only radio and its podcast
descendants can achieve” -Chris Barton, LA Times

“[Keillor is] an expert at making you feel at home with his low-key, familiar style.
Comfortable is his specialty.” -Betsie Freeman, Omaha-World Herald

Garrison Keillor did “A Prairie Home Companion” for forty years, wrote fiction and comedy,
invented a town called Lake Wobegon where all the children are above average, even
though he himself grew up evangelical in a small separatist flock where all the children
expected the imminent end of the world. He’s busy in retirement, having written a
memoir and a book of limericks and is at work on a musical and a Lake Wobegon
screenplay, and he continues to do “The Writers Almanac” sent out daily to Internet
subscribers (free).

He and his wife Jenny Lind Nilsson live in Minneapolis, not far from the YMCA where he
was sent for swimming lessons at age 12 after his cousin drowned, and he skipped the
lessons and went to the public library instead and to a radio studio to watch a noontime
show with singers and a band. Thus, our course in life is set.

“Fans laughed, applauded and sang along throughout Sunday night’s two-hour show” -
Jeff Baenen, AP News

“His shows can, for a couple of hours, transform an audience of even so-called coastal
elites into a small-town community with an intimacy only radio and its podcast
descendants can achieve” -Chris Barton, LA Times

“[Keillor is] an expert at making you feel at home with his low-key, familiar style.
Comfortable is his specialty.” -Betsie Freeman, Omaha-World Herald

The Gems, a Swedish rock trio formed in early 2023, consist of former Thundermother members Guernica Mancini (vocals), Emlee Johansson (drums), and Mona "DeMona" Lindgren (guitar/bass). Their debut album "Phoenix" was released on January 26, 2024, on Napalm Records. The album features a blend of classic rock influences with modern production and visuals, aiming to revitalize the genre.Prior to forming The Gems, the trio toured with bands like the Scorpions and performed at major international festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Sweden Rock Festival, and Alcatraz Open Air. Their experience and dedication have established them as a formidable presence in the rock scene.

The Gems' mission is to evolve the music they love by combining classic rock elements with modern production techniques and futuristic visuals. Their debut single "Like a Phoenix" released in the summer of 2023, reached No. 2 on the German Rock Radio Airplay Charts, showcasing their potential and resonating with rock fans worldwide.

Following the album's release, The Gems embarked on a European tour, further solidifying their reputation as rising stars in the classic rock scene. Their commitment to hard work and innovation continues to drive their success and influence in the music industry.

The Gems, a Swedish rock trio formed in early 2023, consist of former Thundermother members Guernica Mancini (vocals), Emlee Johansson (drums), and Mona "DeMona" Lindgren (guitar/bass). Their debut album "Phoenix" was released on January 26, 2024, on Napalm Records. The album features a blend of classic rock influences with modern production and visuals, aiming to revitalize the genre.Prior to forming The Gems, the trio toured with bands like the Scorpions and performed at major international festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Sweden Rock Festival, and Alcatraz Open Air. Their experience and dedication have established them as a formidable presence in the rock scene.

The Gems' mission is to evolve the music they love by combining classic rock elements with modern production techniques and futuristic visuals. Their debut single "Like a Phoenix" released in the summer of 2023, reached No. 2 on the German Rock Radio Airplay Charts, showcasing their potential and resonating with rock fans worldwide.

Following the album's release, The Gems embarked on a European tour, further solidifying their reputation as rising stars in the classic rock scene. Their commitment to hard work and innovation continues to drive their success and influence in the music industry.

Celebrated guitarists, producers, band leaders and sonic shamans Luther Dickinson and JD Simo join forces in a trailblazing collaboration. The duo, known for their individual successes, mutual admiration, and deep friendship, have finally come together to create a musical project that transcends genres.

Luther Dickinson, one half of the 5-time Grammy-nominated North Mississippi All Stars and former Black Crowes lead guitarist has extensive production and session credits for artists like John Hiatt, Cedric Burnside, and William Bell.  JD Simo, the leader of his own solo project, boasts session and production credits for Jack White, Beyoncé, Chris Isaak, Stevie Nicks, Phil Lesh, and Baz Luhrmann's Elvis movie.

United by shared loves and a strong friendship, Luther and JD found themselves collaborating in the winter of 2022. The creative alchemy unfolded in JD's House Of Grease studio in Nashville, TN, where they were joined by JD's longtime partner, Adam Abrashoff. Together, they delved into a rich musical tapestry of old spirituals and hill country blues, infused with Afrobeat rhythms and psychedelic abandon. – melodies that float on the edge of danger in a beautiful and mystical dance.

Luther expresses the profound connection, stating, "We found our tribe in each other," while JD adds, "It's like turning on a faucet. It's so easy for us because we have the same sensibilities and influences, but we play nothing alike somehow. It's so beautiful and special."

What sets this collaboration apart is the dynamic interchange of bass, baritone, and guitar duties between Luther and JD, creating a unique sonic landscape, at once daring and seductive. JD predicts, "It's gonna be a fun show to watch, with these fat grooves and Luther and I switching instruments and such!"

The project will debut with digital singles in the spring of 2024, offering a taste of the magic these two maestros have conjured. A full-length album is set to follow later in the year, promising a musical experience built on love, truth, and GREASE!  

Join Luther, JD, and Adam on this extraordinary journey – keep it greasy!

Celebrated guitarists, producers, band leaders and sonic shamans Luther Dickinson and JD Simo join forces in a trailblazing collaboration. The duo, known for their individual successes, mutual admiration, and deep friendship, have finally come together to create a musical project that transcends genres.

Luther Dickinson, one half of the 5-time Grammy-nominated North Mississippi All Stars and former Black Crowes lead guitarist has extensive production and session credits for artists like John Hiatt, Cedric Burnside, and William Bell.  JD Simo, the leader of his own solo project, boasts session and production credits for Jack White, Beyoncé, Chris Isaak, Stevie Nicks, Phil Lesh, and Baz Luhrmann's Elvis movie.

United by shared loves and a strong friendship, Luther and JD found themselves collaborating in the winter of 2022. The creative alchemy unfolded in JD's House Of Grease studio in Nashville, TN, where they were joined by JD's longtime partner, Adam Abrashoff. Together, they delved into a rich musical tapestry of old spirituals and hill country blues, infused with Afrobeat rhythms and psychedelic abandon. – melodies that float on the edge of danger in a beautiful and mystical dance.

Luther expresses the profound connection, stating, "We found our tribe in each other," while JD adds, "It's like turning on a faucet. It's so easy for us because we have the same sensibilities and influences, but we play nothing alike somehow. It's so beautiful and special."

What sets this collaboration apart is the dynamic interchange of bass, baritone, and guitar duties between Luther and JD, creating a unique sonic landscape, at once daring and seductive. JD predicts, "It's gonna be a fun show to watch, with these fat grooves and Luther and I switching instruments and such!"

The project will debut with digital singles in the spring of 2024, offering a taste of the magic these two maestros have conjured. A full-length album is set to follow later in the year, promising a musical experience built on love, truth, and GREASE!  

Join Luther, JD, and Adam on this extraordinary journey – keep it greasy!

JD Simo’s talent has no boundaries.  His love of music is just that - a love of ALL music - and he has mastered every genre he’s explored.  His remarkable talent and versatility has led to recording sessions with artists including  Beyoncé, Dolly Parton, Tommy Emmanuel, Jack White, Joe Bonamassa, The War and Treaty, Chris Isaak and Stevie Nicks.   He’s also been blessed to share the stage with folks like the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and collaborate with BlackBerry Smoke, Luther Dickinson and Anson Funderburgh. As a further testament to the depth of his talent, the world of film came calling when JD was chosen to flesh out and perform every single guitar note on the soundtrack to  Baz Lurhman’s film “Elvis”.
 
Like many artists and creators during the COVID shutdown, JD found a liberating outlet through social media, releasing a relentless treasure of exploratory jams from “The House of Grease” . With each installment he reached a growing audience of roots music fans as well as guitar gearheads wanting the latest on that JD Simo rig rundown.  While this tour will feature songs from his recently released album, Songs From the House of Grease, fans will also be rewarded as Simo digs deep into the inspiration he has found in everything from Afrobeat to Maxwell Street era Chicago Blues, from soulful funk jams to psyched out jazz-rock.  Come early, stay late…the show will show will be presented in two sets.

JD Simo’s talent has no boundaries.  His love of music is just that - a love of ALL music - and he has mastered every genre he’s explored.  His remarkable talent and versatility has led to recording sessions with artists including  Beyoncé, Dolly Parton, Tommy Emmanuel, Jack White, Joe Bonamassa, The War and Treaty, Chris Isaak and Stevie Nicks.   He’s also been blessed to share the stage with folks like the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and collaborate with BlackBerry Smoke, Luther Dickinson and Anson Funderburgh. As a further testament to the depth of his talent, the world of film came calling when JD was chosen to flesh out and perform every single guitar note on the soundtrack to  Baz Lurhman’s film “Elvis”.
 
Like many artists and creators during the COVID shutdown, JD found a liberating outlet through social media, releasing a relentless treasure of exploratory jams from “The House of Grease” . With each installment he reached a growing audience of roots music fans as well as guitar gearheads wanting the latest on that JD Simo rig rundown.  While this tour will feature songs from his recently released album, Songs From the House of Grease, fans will also be rewarded as Simo digs deep into the inspiration he has found in everything from Afrobeat to Maxwell Street era Chicago Blues, from soulful funk jams to psyched out jazz-rock.  Come early, stay late…the show will show will be presented in two sets.

Described as “a gift to those of us who still believe in magic” (The Observer), London siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Durham are awesomely talented songwriters and multi-instrumentalist musicians.

They have sold over a quarter of a million albums worldwide, sold out headline tours, played Bestival and Glastonbury numerous times, they’ve opened shows for some big names -hello Mark Ronson and Coldplay. Starting out young, they have inspired audiences and gathered an impressive fan base from Amy Winehouse and Eagles Of Death Metal to David Lynch.
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have come a long way since they broke through in 2006 with their second single, ‘Mean Son Of A Gun’. The trio of siblings, from a musical family – dad, Graeme Durham, an engineer at London’s Exchange studio, mum, Ingrid Weiss, the former drummer in post punkers ‘The Raincoats’ – have since then cemented their reputation with three critically acclaimed albums, 2008’s self titled debut, 2011’s ‘Smoking In Heaven’ and 2015’s ‘The Third’, and their most recent fourth, ‘Superscope’, which is quite frankly their most accomplished to date.

"Superscope is an addictive album, shooting clean and pure into your veins. Add this to your party mix and just try to keep your hips from shaking." - Soundblab

Their third album Kitty Daisy & Lewis The Third is a sparkling analogue production, produced by Mick Jones of The Clash, and recorded in a derelict Indian restaurant in Camden Town.

Each rotating on different instruments with a set that includes R&B, jazz, soul, blues, ska, country, rock 'n' roll and more, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis mix up genres to perfection!

Described as “a gift to those of us who still believe in magic” (The Observer), London siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Durham are awesomely talented songwriters and multi-instrumentalist musicians.

They have sold over a quarter of a million albums worldwide, sold out headline tours, played Bestival and Glastonbury numerous times, they’ve opened shows for some big names -hello Mark Ronson and Coldplay. Starting out young, they have inspired audiences and gathered an impressive fan base from Amy Winehouse and Eagles Of Death Metal to David Lynch.
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have come a long way since they broke through in 2006 with their second single, ‘Mean Son Of A Gun’. The trio of siblings, from a musical family – dad, Graeme Durham, an engineer at London’s Exchange studio, mum, Ingrid Weiss, the former drummer in post punkers ‘The Raincoats’ – have since then cemented their reputation with three critically acclaimed albums, 2008’s self titled debut, 2011’s ‘Smoking In Heaven’ and 2015’s ‘The Third’, and their most recent fourth, ‘Superscope’, which is quite frankly their most accomplished to date.

"Superscope is an addictive album, shooting clean and pure into your veins. Add this to your party mix and just try to keep your hips from shaking." - Soundblab

Their third album Kitty Daisy & Lewis The Third is a sparkling analogue production, produced by Mick Jones of The Clash, and recorded in a derelict Indian restaurant in Camden Town.

Each rotating on different instruments with a set that includes R&B, jazz, soul, blues, ska, country, rock 'n' roll and more, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis mix up genres to perfection!

Kitty Liv has fired up music lovers around the globe from a very early age, co-fronting family band ‘Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ selling overa quarter of a million records. The band toured the world numerous times, gaining fans by the likes of Amy Winehouse, MarkRonson and Coldplay.
She is now gearing up to storm an even broader fan base with a solo album project that marks a completely different direction forher. As a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kitty is resonating with a more expansive set of her influences, from ErykahBadu and D’Angelo to Al Green and blues legend Howlin’ Wolf, to produce a body of personal songs that evoke the primal depths of Soul, Gospel blues & Rock and Roll.

There's a deeper vocal riding over the songs, almost channeling her demons. Kitty has been developing her ideas over several yearsand is currently capturing some stunning performances in the studio.

Born and bred in Camden Town, Kitty lives and breathes music, founding Durham Sound Studios and collaborating with othermusicians and artists, to capture magical moments on sparkling analogue recording gear. When someone has been playing music, recording and writing from the age of seven, it’s only a matter of time before they take aquantum leap into a new paradigm.

Yes she can play guitar, piano, banjo, drums, upright bass and harmonica, but her solo project sees her fronting handpicked musicians and singing her own songs. Whether she’s with the band or taking to the stage solo, Kitty’s live performances promise athrilling mix of original tunes, packed full of solid grooves and charming melodies, leaving the audience feeling they have witnessedthe real, breathing, authentic deal.

Her new adventure sees the singer and highly skilled multi-instrumentalist stepping into previouslyuncharted musical territory.

Her debut album is about to be unleashed.

Kitty Liv has fired up music lovers around the globe from a very early age, co-fronting family band ‘Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ selling overa quarter of a million records. The band toured the world numerous times, gaining fans by the likes of Amy Winehouse, MarkRonson and Coldplay.
She is now gearing up to storm an even broader fan base with a solo album project that marks a completely different direction forher. As a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kitty is resonating with a more expansive set of her influences, from ErykahBadu and D’Angelo to Al Green and blues legend Howlin’ Wolf, to produce a body of personal songs that evoke the primal depths of Soul, Gospel blues & Rock and Roll.

There's a deeper vocal riding over the songs, almost channeling her demons. Kitty has been developing her ideas over several yearsand is currently capturing some stunning performances in the studio.

Born and bred in Camden Town, Kitty lives and breathes music, founding Durham Sound Studios and collaborating with othermusicians and artists, to capture magical moments on sparkling analogue recording gear. When someone has been playing music, recording and writing from the age of seven, it’s only a matter of time before they take aquantum leap into a new paradigm.

Yes she can play guitar, piano, banjo, drums, upright bass and harmonica, but her solo project sees her fronting handpicked musicians and singing her own songs. Whether she’s with the band or taking to the stage solo, Kitty’s live performances promise athrilling mix of original tunes, packed full of solid grooves and charming melodies, leaving the audience feeling they have witnessedthe real, breathing, authentic deal.

Her new adventure sees the singer and highly skilled multi-instrumentalist stepping into previouslyuncharted musical territory.

Her debut album is about to be unleashed.

Kyle Gass of Tenacious D is finally back on tour in October! After a one-year "vacci-cation" on his Californian farm, posting tons of fun videos on his social channels while waiting for his shot, Kyle Gass of Tenacious D did what he does best: Killing time by writing great songs. When he finally got the call, Kyle got really, really nervous which resulted in the new single release of "Vaccinated" - a parody of the Ramones classic "I Wanna Be Sedated" with a video featuring longtime friends like Jack Black, Amy Lee, John C Reilly, Steve Lukather, and many others. 

Not only because of the incredibly great response to the "Vaccinated" release, but rather because he was tired of drinking home-squeezed orange juice all day, Kyle went for it again. He knew the time was as ripe as the fruits on his citrus trees for the world needs to be saved with his super rock power. So, he rounded up the most virtuosic musicians in California to put on a rock show the world has never seen. Kyle and his band of bros will blow the thick layers of dust off your ears like a rock ‘n’ roll hurricane you have never experienced before. 

The couch apocalypse is over, it’s the beginning of a new era: The Kyle Gass Must Save The World Tour 2021 is on. You’re welcome. 

Kyle Gass of Tenacious D is finally back on tour in October! After a one-year "vacci-cation" on his Californian farm, posting tons of fun videos on his social channels while waiting for his shot, Kyle Gass of Tenacious D did what he does best: Killing time by writing great songs. When he finally got the call, Kyle got really, really nervous which resulted in the new single release of "Vaccinated" - a parody of the Ramones classic "I Wanna Be Sedated" with a video featuring longtime friends like Jack Black, Amy Lee, John C Reilly, Steve Lukather, and many others. 

Not only because of the incredibly great response to the "Vaccinated" release, but rather because he was tired of drinking home-squeezed orange juice all day, Kyle went for it again. He knew the time was as ripe as the fruits on his citrus trees for the world needs to be saved with his super rock power. So, he rounded up the most virtuosic musicians in California to put on a rock show the world has never seen. Kyle and his band of bros will blow the thick layers of dust off your ears like a rock ‘n’ roll hurricane you have never experienced before. 

The couch apocalypse is over, it’s the beginning of a new era: The Kyle Gass Must Save The World Tour 2021 is on. You’re welcome. 

What does KG do when he’s not playing with the Greatest Band in the World? He assembles an otherworldly super-team of badass dudes to back him up in his own project, The Kyle Gass Band. Along with The D’s longtime electric guitarist, John Konesky, resident Sasquatch and guitarist/vocalist, Mike Bray, mythical bass legend, „Uncle Jazz“ and percussion genius/international heart-throb Tim Spier, the rollicking gentlemanly ensemble traverses hill and dale to bring earth-shattering rock and roll to the wanting 100’s. If you’re lucky enough to catch this man-herd on the road, you’ll surely count it as one of your finest living days. If you’re less lucky (but still quite fortunate) to have only cast ears on the debut recording, then consider yourself nothing short of pregnant. 2 years off-and-on, and in between Tenacious D mega-tours, the accomplished men honed their sound and forged a master-work only craft-able by the deepest knowledge of a master.
Men, women, children, domesticated house pets, earth roaming wild mammals, sea-dwelling creatures of the deep, insects, species yet unknown, gods and leaders, universal truths, and earthly lies; all lay wanting in subjugation to the new interstellar constant that is the Kyle Gass Band. Get the record today, throw on some headphones, and take the journey, friends, for you have something the band can never have… The ability to listen, with child-like wonder, to the magic of song, while having no earthly clue how to create such brilliance… Such is the albatross of genius.. Such are the chains of unparalleled skill… Such is the KGB.

What does KG do when he’s not playing with the Greatest Band in the World? He assembles an otherworldly super-team of badass dudes to back him up in his own project, The Kyle Gass Band. Along with The D’s longtime electric guitarist, John Konesky, resident Sasquatch and guitarist/vocalist, Mike Bray, mythical bass legend, „Uncle Jazz“ and percussion genius/international heart-throb Tim Spier, the rollicking gentlemanly ensemble traverses hill and dale to bring earth-shattering rock and roll to the wanting 100’s. If you’re lucky enough to catch this man-herd on the road, you’ll surely count it as one of your finest living days. If you’re less lucky (but still quite fortunate) to have only cast ears on the debut recording, then consider yourself nothing short of pregnant. 2 years off-and-on, and in between Tenacious D mega-tours, the accomplished men honed their sound and forged a master-work only craft-able by the deepest knowledge of a master.
Men, women, children, domesticated house pets, earth roaming wild mammals, sea-dwelling creatures of the deep, insects, species yet unknown, gods and leaders, universal truths, and earthly lies; all lay wanting in subjugation to the new interstellar constant that is the Kyle Gass Band. Get the record today, throw on some headphones, and take the journey, friends, for you have something the band can never have… The ability to listen, with child-like wonder, to the magic of song, while having no earthly clue how to create such brilliance… Such is the albatross of genius.. Such are the chains of unparalleled skill… Such is the KGB.

Kyle Gass Company – The Greatest Acoustic Band in the Universe Hits Europe, May 2025

Prepare yourselves, Europe: Kyle Gass Company, the most epic, earth-shattering acoustic trio the world has ever known, is coming your way this May 2025. Led by the unparalleled Kyle Gass – musical maestro, guitar legend, and lyrical genius – this trio promises a show so incredible, it will leave audiences in stunned awe.

Joined by virtuoso guitarist John Konesky and the golden-voiced Mike Bray, Kyle Gass Company brings a setlist that’s nothing short of perfection. Expect fiery originals from the Kyle Gass Band, jaw-dropping covers, and a few surprise moments that will surely go down in history. With unmatched musicianship, razor-sharp humor, and an energy that shakes the heavens, this is not just a concert – it’s a musical awakening.

Do not miss the acoustic event of the century. Kyle Gass Company is here to change lives, one mind-blowing chord at a time. Tour dates and tickets coming soon – don’t just hear about it, be part of it!

Kyle Gass Company – The Greatest Acoustic Band in the Universe Hits Europe, May 2025

Prepare yourselves, Europe: Kyle Gass Company, the most epic, earth-shattering acoustic trio the world has ever known, is coming your way this May 2025. Led by the unparalleled Kyle Gass – musical maestro, guitar legend, and lyrical genius – this trio promises a show so incredible, it will leave audiences in stunned awe.

Joined by virtuoso guitarist John Konesky and the golden-voiced Mike Bray, Kyle Gass Company brings a setlist that’s nothing short of perfection. Expect fiery originals from the Kyle Gass Band, jaw-dropping covers, and a few surprise moments that will surely go down in history. With unmatched musicianship, razor-sharp humor, and an energy that shakes the heavens, this is not just a concert – it’s a musical awakening.

Do not miss the acoustic event of the century. Kyle Gass Company is here to change lives, one mind-blowing chord at a time. Tour dates and tickets coming soon – don’t just hear about it, be part of it!

Larry McCray is no stranger to the deep and endless world of the jam band universe.
Releasing his first two albums on Virgin records in the early 1990’s, Larry has toured the world, sharing the stage with some of the most important performers in the history of Rock and Roll. BB King, Albert King, Freddie King, Bobby Blue Bland, The Allman Brothers, Dickie Betts and Great Southern, Warren Haynes, Phil Lesh, and on and on. Allman Brother fans have relished in his recording of the Warren Haynes penned “Soulshine” first recorded on Larry’s second Virgin release, Delta Hurricane. McCray fans will not have to wait much longer for new music as the recently recorded, and soon to be released Larry McCray record produced by none other than Joe Bonamassa will hit the universe in March of 2022. The record is filled with amazing songs, guitar solos, and fantastic performances by Joe B’s backing band including the legendary keyboardist Reese Wynans !

Larry McCray is no stranger to the deep and endless world of the jam band universe.
Releasing his first two albums on Virgin records in the early 1990’s, Larry has toured the world, sharing the stage with some of the most important performers in the history of Rock and Roll. BB King, Albert King, Freddie King, Bobby Blue Bland, The Allman Brothers, Dickie Betts and Great Southern, Warren Haynes, Phil Lesh, and on and on. Allman Brother fans have relished in his recording of the Warren Haynes penned “Soulshine” first recorded on Larry’s second Virgin release, Delta Hurricane. McCray fans will not have to wait much longer for new music as the recently recorded, and soon to be released Larry McCray record produced by none other than Joe Bonamassa will hit the universe in March of 2022. The record is filled with amazing songs, guitar solos, and fantastic performances by Joe B’s backing band including the legendary keyboardist Reese Wynans !

Biography

MONO INC. emerged from the ashes of several band projects, from the frustration of being forced in unwanted directions by major record companies and from an ardent desire to make uncompromising music.

In 2000 Martin Engler (drummer, songwriter and producer), Carl Fornia (guitar) and Miky Mono (vocals) relaunched their previous band project as MONO INC. From 1995 to 1997 the three had already played together in the band Wild Thing and then from 1998 to 2003, initially as a trio under the name Mono69, they went in search of their own special sound. In 2003 Manuel Antoni joined as bass player, completing the quartet, which is why the Monos call 2003 their founding year. Independently, they produced their debut album “Head Under Water” and submitted it to all major labels. They were rejected consistently. Since the band was unwilling to compromise its style for a coveted record deal, they decided in 2004 to set up their own independent label NoCut. The mechanisms of the music business were well known to Martin and Carl: Martin had professional experience as songwriter and producer under contract with EMI for various interpreters since 1990 – Carl on the other hand because he gave up his mechanical engineering studies in 1993 to join a music management company in Hamburg.

In 2004, “Head Under Water” was re-released by NoCut. Two singles from the album made it into the most important German trend charts of the time for rock, metal and Gothic: DAC, MRC30 and Native25. With the debut in their luggage, the band played an extensive tour as support for the medieval rock band Tanzwut and was able to land their first festival slots, one, for example at the Wave-Gothic-Treffen.

By the end of 2006, when the band gathered in the studio to prepare for their second album, the breakup between the band and their front man occurred due to different life plans and musical differences. Carl and Manuel convinced Martin to take on the role of lead singer from now on, because they knew his voice as the main songwriter from the demo tapes and they also knew the authenticity that goes with it when the composer is also the front man, as correct and saw a logical step for the future. Martin said later in an interview that he was already queasy when the two pointed their fingers at him and said, “You have to do this!” And he also struggled with the decision for a few days. In retrospect it was probably his best career decision. He didn’t want to be a singing drummer, however, and insisted someone else had to take his place on the drums.

He was replaced on the kit by 19-year-old Katha Mia, the only female to audition for the part. She impressed the three gentlemen of the band with her talent, enchanting beauty and straightforward beats. The decision to cast her was made in seconds.

With this exciting new line-up complete, the band set out to record their second longplayer, “Temple of the Torn”, slated for release on June 15th, 2007. In the second half of the year, they had a major breakthrough. Their song “Burn Me” was chosen as theme music by the German network DSF for their new TV series “Traumberuf Rennfahrer”. The series was launched September 2007 and ran through June the following year, giving the band major media exposure.

Their third album “Pain, Love and Poetry” hit the Gothic scene in April 2008. It was a mere eleven months after their previous album. They convinced Katha Mia to add some background vocals, in addition to her drumming. It was a smart move. The up-tempo single “Get Some Sleep” got regular play in the clubs from scene DJs and quickly became an underground hit. The accompanying video clip was recorded at the world-famous M’era Luna Festival in Hildesheim, where MONO INC. In 2008 they were allowed to appear for the first time as the opener (in the morning at 11 a.m.) in order to win over new fans in just 25 minutes of playing time. Another single from the album, “Teach Me To Love”, a romantic duet with Lisa Middelhauve of Germany’s top metal band Xandria ) topped the playlists of independent radio stations and drew significant print media attention. In 2009, MONO INC. with “Pain, Love & Poetry” in their luggage on extensive tours as the opening act for Subway to Sally and ASP and appeared at over 40 concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The band enjoyed increasing popularity and their following grew steadily, also because they were the first band ever to convert their tour diary to video format for reading on their concert tours and thus the fans could be close to success and failure. The format MONO INC. TV still exists, watched by millions of fans from all over the world. 

On September 17th, 2009, the album “Voices of Doom” was released, which received a lot of attention and positive reports. The title track “Voices of Doom” as well as the track “Gothic Queen” are integral parts of every MONO INC. show to this day. They were the first singles to break the 1 million view barrier on YouTube. The 8-minute ballad “If I Fail”, however, went unnoticed by the band and label for reasons that are still unknown in China.

The breakthrough followed in 2010, when MONO INC. went on a major arena tour as a support act for UNHEILIG. This tour brought the band so much attention and popularity that they then ventured on their first extensive headlining tour and proudly reported a number of sold-out venues. Out of gratitude and humility, the band began their social commitment for the Bärenherz children’s hospice during this tour. The close connection to this charitable institution continues to this day. Over the years many successful events and campaigns have been initiated and plentiful donations have been generated. Tragically, founding member Miky Mono was killed in a microlight aircraft crash at his Spanish home on Mallorca. The band processed this personal shock in several texts and various touching live moments.

On March 18, 2011, the album “Viva Hades” was released, which was the first MONO INC. album to enter the official German album charts at number 50. The album, which was released for the first time not only as a regular CD, but also as a DVD limited edition of 2,000 pieces, was well received by the domestic and foreign press. The now legendary MONO INC. Raven can be seen for the first time on the cover of this album. Another successful headlining tour soon followed with the support act Lord of the Lost, which included appearances in Austria and Switzerland, as well as guest appearances at major festivals.

On August 17th, 2012 the concept album “After the War” was released , which entered the Official German Charts at # 6 and was the first Top 10 success in the band’s history. The title song was successfully released as the first single, later followed by “Arabia” and the double single “Wave No Flag / From the Ashes”. The song “From the Ashes” was featured live during the cruiserweight world championship boxing match between Yoan Pablo Hernández and Troy Ross on September 15, 2012, in the Stechert Arena in Bamberg during the entrance of Hernández. The “After the War Tour” was extended by thirteen additional concerts due to the numerous sold-out venues. Pyro effects and video walls were also used in what turned out to be the most successful tour in the band’s history up to this time.

Until then, MONO INC. had only recorded English texts. The album Nimmermehr, released August 9, 2013, for the first time included some German lyrics. It entered the official German album charts at number three in the first week after its release. The single “Kein Weg zu Weit”, released as a duet with New German Wave Legend Joachim Witt, brought the band into the recycled playlists on the German mainstream radio landscape for the first time, and major TV stations such as ARD and RTL were taking notice. In an emotional music video, the problem of domestic violence was thematized. In it, Martin dealt with many of the fears of his own childhood, which was marked by violence and pressure. According to his own statements, it was the collaboration with Jochen Witt that inspired Martin to turn to his native German language for the first time. On the accompanying tour, where MONO INC. were billed for the first time as headliner in larger halls, Jochen Witt also joined the band as a special guest, where he not only sang “Kein Weg zu Weit”, but also his greatest hits such as “Der goldene Reiter” and “Die Flut” in a duet with Martin and the band.

On August 22, 2014, the unique double album “The Clock Ticks on 2004-2014” was released. It consisted of a best-of CD and a second disk with acoustic versions of earlier songs. With the release, MONO INC. launched their first acoustic tour, accompanied this time by a cellist and a pianist. It was a sensual format, providing goose bumps for fans and band alike. Katha Mia and the guest pianist swapped roles for some of the titles. Katha Mia was heavily pregnant during the tour.

After only a 3-month maternity leave for Katha, the next studio album “Terlingua” was released on May 22, 2015. It was named after a tiny town in south Texas just a few miles down the highway from the makeshift studio where they were recording.

Engler later said:
“In absolute seclusion there, we had one of the most important experiences for the future of the band. It was a confined space without Wi-Fi or cell phone network or other distractions. We only had each other, and we shared our tasks – creating our music, catering our food and learning in time that we could blindly rely on each other. Thank you, Terlingua, for broadening our horizons, for vital experiences and for the chance to take on new perspectives.“

Inspired by the setting and the Texas way of life, the album was quite different in sound, mood and content from any previous or subsequent MONO INC.production. The album provoked plenty of discussion. Not every fan or critic liked the fact that MONO INC. was including unfamiliar country, lending the result an American flavor. Still, it contained many German lyrics. Nonetheless, “Terlingua” climbed back to #6 in the official German Album Charts . At its release, Martin made it clear that this would end his „German phase“ for the time being. The experiment was fun and inspired new songs. But the concept for the following album did not allow for bilingualism. After two extremely successful TERLINGUA tours in 2015, the band withdrew from the public for six months to recharge their batteries.

On March 11, 2016, the album “MONO INC. Live” was released. In addition to the double audio, the fans were happy about the visuals on the double DVD or Blu-ray. The concert was recorded on November 17, 2015, with a sold-out crowd in Dresden as part of the TERLINGUA tour. The release was celebrated with a cinema premiere on March 5, 2016 in the Hamburg UCI cinemas, where band and fans could enjoy the result on the big screen together.

On January 13, 2017, the concept album “Together till the End” was released. As Martin had announced, it once again contained only English texts. This time, it secured a place in the Top 10 of the Official German Charts at # 6. The title track of the album has meanwhile become THE motto of the fan community and gives the fans an intense feeling of togetherness. The single “Children of the Dark”, on which MONO INC. got vocal support from their friends Joachim Witt, Chris Harms (LORD OF THE LOST) and Tilo Wolff (LACRIMOSA), finally brought the much-awaited international breakthrough. The song is now considered THE anthem of the black scene worldwide. The music video for “Children of the Dark” already has more than 15 million views. Another special collaboration on the album is the song “Boatman”, which is a duet with Ronan Harris from VNV Nation. With the new album under their belt, they went out on tour, including this time their first excursion through the People’s Republic of China. They also played at large EU festivals such as Wacken Open Air, M’era Luna and Summerbreeze.

The tenth studio album, ”Welcome to Hell”, was released on July 27, 2018 and once again consisted of texts in English without exception. The album consisted of 2 CDs: while the first CD got down to business in the usual rocky manner, the second CD contained classic versions of the songs. On “Welcome to Hell” MONO INC. presents an extremely critical merging of history and current events. Superficially, everything on the concept album revolved around the era of a plague epidemic in the early 18th Century. Between the lines, however, the title of the song refers the violent protests at the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017, to the the great refugee crisis, the war in Syria and other timely grievances. Martin said in an interview: „We never wanted to be a political band. But it was time for us to stand up for our values publicly“. The album entered the Official German Charts at #2 and stayed in the Top 100 for many weeks.

In spring 2019, MONO INC. on a symphonic tour, on which they presented a special symphony program in selected locations – primarily atmospheric theaters – together with a string ensemble and a pianist. This concept aroused such interest from fans and media alike that the tour was completely sold out months in advance. The ambience was dark and sensuous, and the musicians dressed in the same way. In the first part of the show, the songs from the then current album WELCOME TO HELL were celebrated. After the break, a selection of older pieces and greatest hits were presented in this extraordinary sound dress in the second part. During the tour, the band decided to record the concert in Haus Auensee in Leipzig and release it as a double album. SYMPHONIC LIVE was launched on May 24, 2019 at the end of the successful tour. In addition to the normal 2 CD version, there was an exclusive album version that also contained a DVD with the complete show. SYMPHONIC LIVE shot to # 5 in the official German charts in the first week after its release, which is more than unusual for a live album.

On January 24th, 2020 the band released studio album number 11 with “The Book of Fire”. The new concept album shot straight to # 1 in the official German album charts. MONO INC. kidnapped their fans to the time of the Inquisition, whereby the plot should again be understood as a parable. The band set new standards by telling the entire story of the young healer Aellin in their first Earbook , which was published at the same time . In 12 chapters, the audience was able to immerse themselves in the historically researched tragedy of the inquisitorial epoch and fully grasp the background of the English texts. In the audio book, the story was read out personally by Katha Mia and Martin Engler, accompanied by piano versions of “The Book of Fire” played by Martin .

In the beginning of March 2020 MONO INC. were ready to present THE BOOK OF FIRE live to their audience on their biggest tour to date. In addition to shows in the sold-out Haus Auensee in Leipzig, the Sporthalle in Hamburg or the Columbiahalle in Berlin, also for the first time in the band’s history shows in Central and South America were planned, where the band’s second-strongest fan base is now based after Europe.

The fact that there was an enforced break from March 2020 to April 2022 is little more than a footnote these days. After all, the 4 monos had fallen somewhat softly during the pandemic because a) their fans gave them a great deal of support and b) they were invited to so-called Strandkorb Open Airs.

In April 2022 THE BOOK OF FIRE tour continued with a lot of energy, momentum and great emotion. Over 50 shows in Europe were on the tour schedule, which is why new songs were written all the more surprisingly and unexpectedly. One idea worth pursuing followed the next. The result was a new album, which was to be called „Ravenblack“, released in January 2023 and again reached #1 in the official German album charts. Consequently, such an album had to be framed by a tour, which lasted from April to September 2023.

The next step was inevitably a necessary break, having been in the red from April 22 to September 23. Time to reflect and mentally prepare for MONO INC. Symphonic – The Second Chapter.

With fresh energy, the time had come in April 24: 18 concerts under the MONO INC. Symphonic banner were on the calendar. A highlight for everyone involved, which was captured on film in Stuttgart in order to release the result as a live CD/DVD/BluRay in August 2024.

Biography

MONO INC. emerged from the ashes of several band projects, from the frustration of being forced in unwanted directions by major record companies and from an ardent desire to make uncompromising music.

In 2000 Martin Engler (drummer, songwriter and producer), Carl Fornia (guitar) and Miky Mono (vocals) relaunched their previous band project as MONO INC. From 1995 to 1997 the three had already played together in the band Wild Thing and then from 1998 to 2003, initially as a trio under the name Mono69, they went in search of their own special sound. In 2003 Manuel Antoni joined as bass player, completing the quartet, which is why the Monos call 2003 their founding year. Independently, they produced their debut album “Head Under Water” and submitted it to all major labels. They were rejected consistently. Since the band was unwilling to compromise its style for a coveted record deal, they decided in 2004 to set up their own independent label NoCut. The mechanisms of the music business were well known to Martin and Carl: Martin had professional experience as songwriter and producer under contract with EMI for various interpreters since 1990 – Carl on the other hand because he gave up his mechanical engineering studies in 1993 to join a music management company in Hamburg.

In 2004, “Head Under Water” was re-released by NoCut. Two singles from the album made it into the most important German trend charts of the time for rock, metal and Gothic: DAC, MRC30 and Native25. With the debut in their luggage, the band played an extensive tour as support for the medieval rock band Tanzwut and was able to land their first festival slots, one, for example at the Wave-Gothic-Treffen.

By the end of 2006, when the band gathered in the studio to prepare for their second album, the breakup between the band and their front man occurred due to different life plans and musical differences. Carl and Manuel convinced Martin to take on the role of lead singer from now on, because they knew his voice as the main songwriter from the demo tapes and they also knew the authenticity that goes with it when the composer is also the front man, as correct and saw a logical step for the future. Martin said later in an interview that he was already queasy when the two pointed their fingers at him and said, “You have to do this!” And he also struggled with the decision for a few days. In retrospect it was probably his best career decision. He didn’t want to be a singing drummer, however, and insisted someone else had to take his place on the drums.

He was replaced on the kit by 19-year-old Katha Mia, the only female to audition for the part. She impressed the three gentlemen of the band with her talent, enchanting beauty and straightforward beats. The decision to cast her was made in seconds.

With this exciting new line-up complete, the band set out to record their second longplayer, “Temple of the Torn”, slated for release on June 15th, 2007. In the second half of the year, they had a major breakthrough. Their song “Burn Me” was chosen as theme music by the German network DSF for their new TV series “Traumberuf Rennfahrer”. The series was launched September 2007 and ran through June the following year, giving the band major media exposure.

Their third album “Pain, Love and Poetry” hit the Gothic scene in April 2008. It was a mere eleven months after their previous album. They convinced Katha Mia to add some background vocals, in addition to her drumming. It was a smart move. The up-tempo single “Get Some Sleep” got regular play in the clubs from scene DJs and quickly became an underground hit. The accompanying video clip was recorded at the world-famous M’era Luna Festival in Hildesheim, where MONO INC. In 2008 they were allowed to appear for the first time as the opener (in the morning at 11 a.m.) in order to win over new fans in just 25 minutes of playing time. Another single from the album, “Teach Me To Love”, a romantic duet with Lisa Middelhauve of Germany’s top metal band Xandria ) topped the playlists of independent radio stations and drew significant print media attention. In 2009, MONO INC. with “Pain, Love & Poetry” in their luggage on extensive tours as the opening act for Subway to Sally and ASP and appeared at over 40 concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The band enjoyed increasing popularity and their following grew steadily, also because they were the first band ever to convert their tour diary to video format for reading on their concert tours and thus the fans could be close to success and failure. The format MONO INC. TV still exists, watched by millions of fans from all over the world. 

On September 17th, 2009, the album “Voices of Doom” was released, which received a lot of attention and positive reports. The title track “Voices of Doom” as well as the track “Gothic Queen” are integral parts of every MONO INC. show to this day. They were the first singles to break the 1 million view barrier on YouTube. The 8-minute ballad “If I Fail”, however, went unnoticed by the band and label for reasons that are still unknown in China.

The breakthrough followed in 2010, when MONO INC. went on a major arena tour as a support act for UNHEILIG. This tour brought the band so much attention and popularity that they then ventured on their first extensive headlining tour and proudly reported a number of sold-out venues. Out of gratitude and humility, the band began their social commitment for the Bärenherz children’s hospice during this tour. The close connection to this charitable institution continues to this day. Over the years many successful events and campaigns have been initiated and plentiful donations have been generated. Tragically, founding member Miky Mono was killed in a microlight aircraft crash at his Spanish home on Mallorca. The band processed this personal shock in several texts and various touching live moments.

On March 18, 2011, the album “Viva Hades” was released, which was the first MONO INC. album to enter the official German album charts at number 50. The album, which was released for the first time not only as a regular CD, but also as a DVD limited edition of 2,000 pieces, was well received by the domestic and foreign press. The now legendary MONO INC. Raven can be seen for the first time on the cover of this album. Another successful headlining tour soon followed with the support act Lord of the Lost, which included appearances in Austria and Switzerland, as well as guest appearances at major festivals.

On August 17th, 2012 the concept album “After the War” was released , which entered the Official German Charts at # 6 and was the first Top 10 success in the band’s history. The title song was successfully released as the first single, later followed by “Arabia” and the double single “Wave No Flag / From the Ashes”. The song “From the Ashes” was featured live during the cruiserweight world championship boxing match between Yoan Pablo Hernández and Troy Ross on September 15, 2012, in the Stechert Arena in Bamberg during the entrance of Hernández. The “After the War Tour” was extended by thirteen additional concerts due to the numerous sold-out venues. Pyro effects and video walls were also used in what turned out to be the most successful tour in the band’s history up to this time.

Until then, MONO INC. had only recorded English texts. The album Nimmermehr, released August 9, 2013, for the first time included some German lyrics. It entered the official German album charts at number three in the first week after its release. The single “Kein Weg zu Weit”, released as a duet with New German Wave Legend Joachim Witt, brought the band into the recycled playlists on the German mainstream radio landscape for the first time, and major TV stations such as ARD and RTL were taking notice. In an emotional music video, the problem of domestic violence was thematized. In it, Martin dealt with many of the fears of his own childhood, which was marked by violence and pressure. According to his own statements, it was the collaboration with Jochen Witt that inspired Martin to turn to his native German language for the first time. On the accompanying tour, where MONO INC. were billed for the first time as headliner in larger halls, Jochen Witt also joined the band as a special guest, where he not only sang “Kein Weg zu Weit”, but also his greatest hits such as “Der goldene Reiter” and “Die Flut” in a duet with Martin and the band.

On August 22, 2014, the unique double album “The Clock Ticks on 2004-2014” was released. It consisted of a best-of CD and a second disk with acoustic versions of earlier songs. With the release, MONO INC. launched their first acoustic tour, accompanied this time by a cellist and a pianist. It was a sensual format, providing goose bumps for fans and band alike. Katha Mia and the guest pianist swapped roles for some of the titles. Katha Mia was heavily pregnant during the tour.

After only a 3-month maternity leave for Katha, the next studio album “Terlingua” was released on May 22, 2015. It was named after a tiny town in south Texas just a few miles down the highway from the makeshift studio where they were recording.

Engler later said:
“In absolute seclusion there, we had one of the most important experiences for the future of the band. It was a confined space without Wi-Fi or cell phone network or other distractions. We only had each other, and we shared our tasks – creating our music, catering our food and learning in time that we could blindly rely on each other. Thank you, Terlingua, for broadening our horizons, for vital experiences and for the chance to take on new perspectives.“

Inspired by the setting and the Texas way of life, the album was quite different in sound, mood and content from any previous or subsequent MONO INC.production. The album provoked plenty of discussion. Not every fan or critic liked the fact that MONO INC. was including unfamiliar country, lending the result an American flavor. Still, it contained many German lyrics. Nonetheless, “Terlingua” climbed back to #6 in the official German Album Charts . At its release, Martin made it clear that this would end his „German phase“ for the time being. The experiment was fun and inspired new songs. But the concept for the following album did not allow for bilingualism. After two extremely successful TERLINGUA tours in 2015, the band withdrew from the public for six months to recharge their batteries.

On March 11, 2016, the album “MONO INC. Live” was released. In addition to the double audio, the fans were happy about the visuals on the double DVD or Blu-ray. The concert was recorded on November 17, 2015, with a sold-out crowd in Dresden as part of the TERLINGUA tour. The release was celebrated with a cinema premiere on March 5, 2016 in the Hamburg UCI cinemas, where band and fans could enjoy the result on the big screen together.

On January 13, 2017, the concept album “Together till the End” was released. As Martin had announced, it once again contained only English texts. This time, it secured a place in the Top 10 of the Official German Charts at # 6. The title track of the album has meanwhile become THE motto of the fan community and gives the fans an intense feeling of togetherness. The single “Children of the Dark”, on which MONO INC. got vocal support from their friends Joachim Witt, Chris Harms (LORD OF THE LOST) and Tilo Wolff (LACRIMOSA), finally brought the much-awaited international breakthrough. The song is now considered THE anthem of the black scene worldwide. The music video for “Children of the Dark” already has more than 15 million views. Another special collaboration on the album is the song “Boatman”, which is a duet with Ronan Harris from VNV Nation. With the new album under their belt, they went out on tour, including this time their first excursion through the People’s Republic of China. They also played at large EU festivals such as Wacken Open Air, M’era Luna and Summerbreeze.

The tenth studio album, ”Welcome to Hell”, was released on July 27, 2018 and once again consisted of texts in English without exception. The album consisted of 2 CDs: while the first CD got down to business in the usual rocky manner, the second CD contained classic versions of the songs. On “Welcome to Hell” MONO INC. presents an extremely critical merging of history and current events. Superficially, everything on the concept album revolved around the era of a plague epidemic in the early 18th Century. Between the lines, however, the title of the song refers the violent protests at the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017, to the the great refugee crisis, the war in Syria and other timely grievances. Martin said in an interview: „We never wanted to be a political band. But it was time for us to stand up for our values publicly“. The album entered the Official German Charts at #2 and stayed in the Top 100 for many weeks.

In spring 2019, MONO INC. on a symphonic tour, on which they presented a special symphony program in selected locations – primarily atmospheric theaters – together with a string ensemble and a pianist. This concept aroused such interest from fans and media alike that the tour was completely sold out months in advance. The ambience was dark and sensuous, and the musicians dressed in the same way. In the first part of the show, the songs from the then current album WELCOME TO HELL were celebrated. After the break, a selection of older pieces and greatest hits were presented in this extraordinary sound dress in the second part. During the tour, the band decided to record the concert in Haus Auensee in Leipzig and release it as a double album. SYMPHONIC LIVE was launched on May 24, 2019 at the end of the successful tour. In addition to the normal 2 CD version, there was an exclusive album version that also contained a DVD with the complete show. SYMPHONIC LIVE shot to # 5 in the official German charts in the first week after its release, which is more than unusual for a live album.

On January 24th, 2020 the band released studio album number 11 with “The Book of Fire”. The new concept album shot straight to # 1 in the official German album charts. MONO INC. kidnapped their fans to the time of the Inquisition, whereby the plot should again be understood as a parable. The band set new standards by telling the entire story of the young healer Aellin in their first Earbook , which was published at the same time . In 12 chapters, the audience was able to immerse themselves in the historically researched tragedy of the inquisitorial epoch and fully grasp the background of the English texts. In the audio book, the story was read out personally by Katha Mia and Martin Engler, accompanied by piano versions of “The Book of Fire” played by Martin .

In the beginning of March 2020 MONO INC. were ready to present THE BOOK OF FIRE live to their audience on their biggest tour to date. In addition to shows in the sold-out Haus Auensee in Leipzig, the Sporthalle in Hamburg or the Columbiahalle in Berlin, also for the first time in the band’s history shows in Central and South America were planned, where the band’s second-strongest fan base is now based after Europe.

The fact that there was an enforced break from March 2020 to April 2022 is little more than a footnote these days. After all, the 4 monos had fallen somewhat softly during the pandemic because a) their fans gave them a great deal of support and b) they were invited to so-called Strandkorb Open Airs.

In April 2022 THE BOOK OF FIRE tour continued with a lot of energy, momentum and great emotion. Over 50 shows in Europe were on the tour schedule, which is why new songs were written all the more surprisingly and unexpectedly. One idea worth pursuing followed the next. The result was a new album, which was to be called „Ravenblack“, released in January 2023 and again reached #1 in the official German album charts. Consequently, such an album had to be framed by a tour, which lasted from April to September 2023.

The next step was inevitably a necessary break, having been in the red from April 22 to September 23. Time to reflect and mentally prepare for MONO INC. Symphonic – The Second Chapter.

With fresh energy, the time had come in April 24: 18 concerts under the MONO INC. Symphonic banner were on the calendar. A highlight for everyone involved, which was captured on film in Stuttgart in order to release the result as a live CD/DVD/BluRay in August 2024.

After the recent release of the first pre-single, "One Of These Days," the new and fifth studio album by Mother’s Cake, titled “Ultrabliss”, has been released on October 18, 2024, via Embassy of Music.

Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's cult film “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) and largely free from structural constraints of traditional songs, the Austrian band unleashes their musical imagination with the finest jams and dancefloor fillers. “Ultrabliss” unites nine extremely varied tracks with elements of classic rock, krautrock, and prog-rock that are sure to please fans of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, as well as followers of the Red Hot Chili Peppers or British indie icons like Franz Ferdinand, the Arctic Monkeys, or Kasabian. Like its predecessor “Cyberfunk!”, “Ultrabliss” was recorded at Sevenarts Studio, Überlärm Studio, and Moonwalker Productions Studio, and once again sonically brought to life by singer, guitarist, and songwriter Yves Krismer in collaboration with Manuel Renner and Raphael Neikes. Neikes, who plays guitar and keyboards live, has become the fourth band member. Founding drummer Jan Haußels has amicably left the band after the album sessions and will be replaced by Alex Kerbl on drums from now on.

Mother’s Cake are:

Yves Krismer – Vocals, Guitar

Raphael Neikes – Guitar, Keyboards

Benedikt Trenkwalder – Bass

Alex Kerbl – Drums

Studio Discography:

Creation’s Finest (2012)

Love the Filth (2015)

No Rhyme No Reason (2017)

Cyberfunk! (2020)

Ultrabliss (2024)

After the recent release of the first pre-single, "One Of These Days," the new and fifth studio album by Mother’s Cake, titled “Ultrabliss”, has been released on October 18, 2024, via Embassy of Music.

Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's cult film “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) and largely free from structural constraints of traditional songs, the Austrian band unleashes their musical imagination with the finest jams and dancefloor fillers. “Ultrabliss” unites nine extremely varied tracks with elements of classic rock, krautrock, and prog-rock that are sure to please fans of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, as well as followers of the Red Hot Chili Peppers or British indie icons like Franz Ferdinand, the Arctic Monkeys, or Kasabian. Like its predecessor “Cyberfunk!”, “Ultrabliss” was recorded at Sevenarts Studio, Überlärm Studio, and Moonwalker Productions Studio, and once again sonically brought to life by singer, guitarist, and songwriter Yves Krismer in collaboration with Manuel Renner and Raphael Neikes. Neikes, who plays guitar and keyboards live, has become the fourth band member. Founding drummer Jan Haußels has amicably left the band after the album sessions and will be replaced by Alex Kerbl on drums from now on.

Mother’s Cake are:

Yves Krismer – Vocals, Guitar

Raphael Neikes – Guitar, Keyboards

Benedikt Trenkwalder – Bass

Alex Kerbl – Drums

Studio Discography:

Creation’s Finest (2012)

Love the Filth (2015)

No Rhyme No Reason (2017)

Cyberfunk! (2020)

Ultrabliss (2024)

You must have a certain maturity to cope with a Motörhead Tribute Band. These three
musicians meet all demands.
Since 2012 Motörizer celebrate their "Motörhead Tribute Show" trying to achieve a suitable
tribute to their biggest musical influence of the last 35 years. A Motörizer Show lasts 60 - 90
minutes and contains the complete set of the legendary "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith" from
1981.
After Lemmy's death 2015 the life of Ian Fraser Kilmister and the music of Motörhead is
celebrated with every Motörizer Show to keep the memory alive.
("... don't forget us“)

You must have a certain maturity to cope with a Motörhead Tribute Band. These three
musicians meet all demands.
Since 2012 Motörizer celebrate their "Motörhead Tribute Show" trying to achieve a suitable
tribute to their biggest musical influence of the last 35 years. A Motörizer Show lasts 60 - 90
minutes and contains the complete set of the legendary "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith" from
1981.
After Lemmy's death 2015 the life of Ian Fraser Kilmister and the music of Motörhead is
celebrated with every Motörizer Show to keep the memory alive.
("... don't forget us“)

NESTOR are five childhood friends who formed a band over three decades ago in their hometown of Falköping, Sweden.

Now the rockstar dreams of their youth have been revitalised and once again the band embraces influences from the 80s with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart.

With three previously released singles this year and over a million plays combined for the songs and music videos, the hype is enormous for the album “Kids In A Ghost Town” from Swedish nostalgic rock band NESTOR, that was released on October 22nd.

The before mentioned singles “On The Run”, “1989” and latest single “Tomorrow” (featuring none other than 80s pop icon Samantha Fox) are accompanied on the album with seven more tracks, all of them equally worthy of recognition.

There are certainly no fillers on this AOR milestone in the making - three of the songs have also been co-written together with acclaimed song writer Andreas Carlsson, whose previous works includes songs for Bon Jovi, Europe, Paul Stanley and others.

The album is released through the band’s own label Black Diamond Music and is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.

NESTOR are five childhood friends who formed a band over three decades ago in their hometown of Falköping, Sweden.

Now the rockstar dreams of their youth have been revitalised and once again the band embraces influences from the 80s with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart.

With three previously released singles this year and over a million plays combined for the songs and music videos, the hype is enormous for the album “Kids In A Ghost Town” from Swedish nostalgic rock band NESTOR, that was released on October 22nd.

The before mentioned singles “On The Run”, “1989” and latest single “Tomorrow” (featuring none other than 80s pop icon Samantha Fox) are accompanied on the album with seven more tracks, all of them equally worthy of recognition.

There are certainly no fillers on this AOR milestone in the making - three of the songs have also been co-written together with acclaimed song writer Andreas Carlsson, whose previous works includes songs for Bon Jovi, Europe, Paul Stanley and others.

The album is released through the band’s own label Black Diamond Music and is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.

Ollie T (Olli Tukiainen) ist ein finnischer Gitarrist, der vor allem durch seine Arbeit mit den Bands Poets of the Fall und Old Gods of Asgard bekannt wurde. Seine Leidenschaft für das Gitarrenspiel entdeckte er im Alter von 12 Jahren. Im Laufe der Jahre verfeinerte er sein Können durch ein Musikstudium am Helsinki Pop & Jazz Konservatorium, wo er seine Fähigkeiten entwickelte und verschiedene Musikstile erkundete.

Im Jahr 2005 veröffentlichten Poets of the Fall ihr Debütalbum, das den Beginn einer erfolgreichen Karriere für die Band markierte. Dieser Erfolg führte dazu, dass Ollie mit Poets of the Fall international auf Tour ging und sein bemerkenswertes Können in verschiedenen Projekten präsentierte, darunter das preisgekrönte Videospiel Alan Wake 2.

Nach Jahren des Songwritings und der Arbeit an Solomaterial veröffentlichte Ollie T 2017 seinen ersten Solotrack "Firefly". Dies markierte den Beginn seiner Entwicklung als Solokünstler, die in seinem Debütalbum "Lost Within the Fire" gipfelt, das Ende 2024 erscheinen wird. Dieses fesselnde Album bietet eine breite Palette von Stimmungen, von sanften Balladen und ruhigen Melodien bis hin zu extravagantem, mitreißendem Gitarrenchaos, wie es erstmals in "Firefly" zu hören war. Das Album präsentiert zudem die Talente aller Mitglieder von Poets of the Fall, einschließlich Gesangsparts des Sängers Marko Saaresto.

Ollie T (Olli Tukiainen) ist ein finnischer Gitarrist, der vor allem durch seine Arbeit mit den Bands Poets of the Fall und Old Gods of Asgard bekannt wurde. Seine Leidenschaft für das Gitarrenspiel entdeckte er im Alter von 12 Jahren. Im Laufe der Jahre verfeinerte er sein Können durch ein Musikstudium am Helsinki Pop & Jazz Konservatorium, wo er seine Fähigkeiten entwickelte und verschiedene Musikstile erkundete.

Im Jahr 2005 veröffentlichten Poets of the Fall ihr Debütalbum, das den Beginn einer erfolgreichen Karriere für die Band markierte. Dieser Erfolg führte dazu, dass Ollie mit Poets of the Fall international auf Tour ging und sein bemerkenswertes Können in verschiedenen Projekten präsentierte, darunter das preisgekrönte Videospiel Alan Wake 2.

Nach Jahren des Songwritings und der Arbeit an Solomaterial veröffentlichte Ollie T 2017 seinen ersten Solotrack "Firefly". Dies markierte den Beginn seiner Entwicklung als Solokünstler, die in seinem Debütalbum "Lost Within the Fire" gipfelt, das Ende 2024 erscheinen wird. Dieses fesselnde Album bietet eine breite Palette von Stimmungen, von sanften Balladen und ruhigen Melodien bis hin zu extravagantem, mitreißendem Gitarrenchaos, wie es erstmals in "Firefly" zu hören war. Das Album präsentiert zudem die Talente aller Mitglieder von Poets of the Fall, einschließlich Gesangsparts des Sängers Marko Saaresto.

S8NT ELEKTRIC is a young rock band from Los Angeles, California, that is about pushing the limits in EVERY. POSSIBLE. WAY.

Everyone has heard the age old rock n’ roll cliche “Living on the edge,” but S8NT ELEKTRIC never quite fit into that stereotype. They’d rather live life “OFF THE EDGE,” pushing themselves to face their deepest fears and conquer their biggest dreams, all for the world to see on video. S8NT ELEKTRIC combines an adrenaline junkie attitude with honest songwriting. They’re a band about adventure, living life to its fullest, and expressing themselves unapologetically. Founded by frontwoman and powerful lead singer Bri Carbajal, and guitarist, songwriter, producer Niko Tsangaris, the band has toured Europe every summer, opening for artists like Wolfmother, Mammoth WVH, MC5, Dirty Honey, and WARGASM, as well as playing huge festivals such as Bottlerock, Rockville, Prague Rocks, and Azkena Rocks. "XTC" is the first single off S8NT ELEKTRIC’s debut album “OFF THE EDGE'' which will be released in 2025. 

"I came up with the original melodies and lyrics for 'XTC' after the first time I did Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu", comments guitarist Niko Tsangaris. "I had always wanted to fight, but I always felt that I was 'too weak'. However that day I pushed through my fear and had my first class. I got my ass kicked, to say the least. But I left with such excitement and joy because I had finally conquered my fear. In the car, I put on the instrumental track and the first lyric that came out of me was 'I feel so alive'. That feeling of pushing past my own limitations was so freeing. And since the beginning of this year it has become our mission statement as a band, to live 'Off the Edge'. To take the leap into the unknown, to adventure, and to realize our true potential! So we figured the most fitting way to express that would be to skydive with all our bandmates for the music video. It was all of our first time and it was exhilarating! The first thing we all said when we got down was 'We have to do that again'! That is the exact feeling that we aim to capture with everything we do, and we’re only upping the anti from here."

S8NT ELEKTRIC is a young rock band from Los Angeles, California, that is about pushing the limits in EVERY. POSSIBLE. WAY.

Everyone has heard the age old rock n’ roll cliche “Living on the edge,” but S8NT ELEKTRIC never quite fit into that stereotype. They’d rather live life “OFF THE EDGE,” pushing themselves to face their deepest fears and conquer their biggest dreams, all for the world to see on video. S8NT ELEKTRIC combines an adrenaline junkie attitude with honest songwriting. They’re a band about adventure, living life to its fullest, and expressing themselves unapologetically. Founded by frontwoman and powerful lead singer Bri Carbajal, and guitarist, songwriter, producer Niko Tsangaris, the band has toured Europe every summer, opening for artists like Wolfmother, Mammoth WVH, MC5, Dirty Honey, and WARGASM, as well as playing huge festivals such as Bottlerock, Rockville, Prague Rocks, and Azkena Rocks. "XTC" is the first single off S8NT ELEKTRIC’s debut album “OFF THE EDGE'' which will be released in 2025. 

"I came up with the original melodies and lyrics for 'XTC' after the first time I did Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu", comments guitarist Niko Tsangaris. "I had always wanted to fight, but I always felt that I was 'too weak'. However that day I pushed through my fear and had my first class. I got my ass kicked, to say the least. But I left with such excitement and joy because I had finally conquered my fear. In the car, I put on the instrumental track and the first lyric that came out of me was 'I feel so alive'. That feeling of pushing past my own limitations was so freeing. And since the beginning of this year it has become our mission statement as a band, to live 'Off the Edge'. To take the leap into the unknown, to adventure, and to realize our true potential! So we figured the most fitting way to express that would be to skydive with all our bandmates for the music video. It was all of our first time and it was exhilarating! The first thing we all said when we got down was 'We have to do that again'! That is the exact feeling that we aim to capture with everything we do, and we’re only upping the anti from here."

A formidable force in the realm of Power Metal, wielding a polished sound infused with grand symphonics and intricate layers of Prog-Metal intricacy.
Hailing from the vibrant music scene of Sweden, Saint Deamon emerged onto the stage in the late 2000s, boasting an impressive lineup of former members from acclaimed acts such as Highland Glory and Dionysus.

With their distinctive blend of musical prowess, the band quickly solidified their position as one of the European Power Metal icons, unleashing a series of hardcharging albums that have left an indelible mark on the genre. Notable releases in their discography include "In Shadows Lost from the Brave" (2008), "Pandemonium"(2009), "Ghost" (2019), and their most recent opus, "League of the Serpent" (2023). The inception of Saint Deamon dates back to 2006, and over the years, the band has evolved and refined their sound, reaching new heights with each album. The addition of Norwegian vocal powerhouse Jan Thore Grefstad (formerly of Highland Glory), guitarist extraordinaire Toya Johansson, bass virtuoso Nobby Noberg (formerly of Dionysus), and the recent inclusion of drummer Alfred Fridhagen has further strengthened their musical arsenal. In 2008, Saint Deamon unleashed "In Shadows Lost from the Brave" upon the world, featuring the unforgettable anthem "My Heart" as a single, catapulting the band to international acclaim. Beyond the studio, Saint Deamon's live performances are a testament to their mastery, showcasing exceptional musicianship and awe-inspiring vocals that few can rival.

Saint Deamon continues to push the boundaries of their genre, forging ahead with their powerful live shows and a commitment to creating music that resonates with the hearts and souls of fans worldwide. With their unwavering dedication to their craft, Saint Deamon is a band that stands as a beacon of excellence in the world of Power Metal.

A formidable force in the realm of Power Metal, wielding a polished sound infused with grand symphonics and intricate layers of Prog-Metal intricacy.
Hailing from the vibrant music scene of Sweden, Saint Deamon emerged onto the stage in the late 2000s, boasting an impressive lineup of former members from acclaimed acts such as Highland Glory and Dionysus.

With their distinctive blend of musical prowess, the band quickly solidified their position as one of the European Power Metal icons, unleashing a series of hardcharging albums that have left an indelible mark on the genre. Notable releases in their discography include "In Shadows Lost from the Brave" (2008), "Pandemonium"(2009), "Ghost" (2019), and their most recent opus, "League of the Serpent" (2023). The inception of Saint Deamon dates back to 2006, and over the years, the band has evolved and refined their sound, reaching new heights with each album. The addition of Norwegian vocal powerhouse Jan Thore Grefstad (formerly of Highland Glory), guitarist extraordinaire Toya Johansson, bass virtuoso Nobby Noberg (formerly of Dionysus), and the recent inclusion of drummer Alfred Fridhagen has further strengthened their musical arsenal. In 2008, Saint Deamon unleashed "In Shadows Lost from the Brave" upon the world, featuring the unforgettable anthem "My Heart" as a single, catapulting the band to international acclaim. Beyond the studio, Saint Deamon's live performances are a testament to their mastery, showcasing exceptional musicianship and awe-inspiring vocals that few can rival.

Saint Deamon continues to push the boundaries of their genre, forging ahead with their powerful live shows and a commitment to creating music that resonates with the hearts and souls of fans worldwide. With their unwavering dedication to their craft, Saint Deamon is a band that stands as a beacon of excellence in the world of Power Metal.

2022 is upon us. Another fresh new reset of the month odometer!

But this particular New Year is especially exciting and significant for Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum legends Smash Mouth...as it neatly coincides with a fresh new beginning for the San Jose rock/pop icons. This year welcomes a shockingly improved and utterly re-energized Smash Mouth with the proud introduction of their hugely-talented new frontman Zach Goode.

The New York City-born, Los Angeles-based Goode boasts a dazzlingly impressive, never ending list of stage credits as both actor and singer. His beautifully rough-and-tumble...yet pitch-perfect and rangy...vocal style instantly proving a perfect match for Smash Mouth’s beachy brand of high energy Alt-pop.

 A look back at Smash Mouth’s formative years shows a band determined to make an impact from the get-go. Formed in late 1994, the band immediately begins recording demos and showcasing in both San Jose and Hollywood. In June of 1997, Smash Mouth is signed to Interscope Records when label brass catch wind of an unknown (and unsigned) band being ADDED to monumentally influential L.A. radio station KROQ’s playlist after only one spin of their song “Walkin’ On The Sun”.

Smash mouth’s major-label debut “Fush Yu Mang” goes more than DOUBLE PLATINUM and sets the table for what most consider their masterpiece; 1999’s brilliant follow-up album “Astrolounge”. Boasting three top-ten hits (All-Star...Then The Morning Comes...Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby), sales for “Astrolounge” nearly double those for “Fush Yu Mang”. Approaching nearly QUADRUPLE PLATINUM status.

Several catch phrases come to mind with Smash Mouth at the dawn of 2022. Onward and upward! Bigger and better! New and vastly improved! But here’s the reality: Smash Mouth is now poised to consistently deliver the best live show you’ll see in 2022. And here’s why: Ammunition. Smash Mouth has the best songs. And more of them than any of our friendly competitors. Period. And in new recruit Zach Goode, Smash Mouth has landed the perfect commanding/veteran frontman who will return them to the top of the mountain. And keep them there.

So buckle your seatbelt and brace yourself for Smash Mouth in 2022.

It’s guaranteed to be a thrilling and fulfilling top-billing super-thing.

You’ll see...

...and hear.

2022 is upon us. Another fresh new reset of the month odometer!

But this particular New Year is especially exciting and significant for Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum legends Smash Mouth...as it neatly coincides with a fresh new beginning for the San Jose rock/pop icons. This year welcomes a shockingly improved and utterly re-energized Smash Mouth with the proud introduction of their hugely-talented new frontman Zach Goode.

The New York City-born, Los Angeles-based Goode boasts a dazzlingly impressive, never ending list of stage credits as both actor and singer. His beautifully rough-and-tumble...yet pitch-perfect and rangy...vocal style instantly proving a perfect match for Smash Mouth’s beachy brand of high energy Alt-pop.

 A look back at Smash Mouth’s formative years shows a band determined to make an impact from the get-go. Formed in late 1994, the band immediately begins recording demos and showcasing in both San Jose and Hollywood. In June of 1997, Smash Mouth is signed to Interscope Records when label brass catch wind of an unknown (and unsigned) band being ADDED to monumentally influential L.A. radio station KROQ’s playlist after only one spin of their song “Walkin’ On The Sun”.

Smash mouth’s major-label debut “Fush Yu Mang” goes more than DOUBLE PLATINUM and sets the table for what most consider their masterpiece; 1999’s brilliant follow-up album “Astrolounge”. Boasting three top-ten hits (All-Star...Then The Morning Comes...Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby), sales for “Astrolounge” nearly double those for “Fush Yu Mang”. Approaching nearly QUADRUPLE PLATINUM status.

Several catch phrases come to mind with Smash Mouth at the dawn of 2022. Onward and upward! Bigger and better! New and vastly improved! But here’s the reality: Smash Mouth is now poised to consistently deliver the best live show you’ll see in 2022. And here’s why: Ammunition. Smash Mouth has the best songs. And more of them than any of our friendly competitors. Period. And in new recruit Zach Goode, Smash Mouth has landed the perfect commanding/veteran frontman who will return them to the top of the mountain. And keep them there.

So buckle your seatbelt and brace yourself for Smash Mouth in 2022.

It’s guaranteed to be a thrilling and fulfilling top-billing super-thing.

You’ll see...

...and hear.

Nine albums in thirteen years, all albums have attained gold and platinum status, and have been in the Top 5 of the German Album-Charts.

The latest two albums in a row hit #1 in the German Charts. And “Dos Bros” sold over 300.000 copies. Winners of the ECHO award for Best National Band in the catargory Rock/Pop.

The BossHoss are one of Germany’s top live acts and have played more than 1,500 live shows since 2005 in 23 different countries. 300,000 concert-goers per year. Playing to arenas with a capacity of 10,000 upwards. Festivals like Rock am Ring/Park(G) Download (UK) Donauinselfest(A) Gurten(CH) Szigit (HUN) Woodstock (PL). The BossHoss have a huge and loyal fan following.

Massive presence and popularity in mainstream television. Three series as coaches on „The Voice of Germany“ Pro7 (4m viewers per show). 2016 & 2017 Guests and one time hosts of Germany’s most lauded music program „Sing Meinen Song“ Vox (2m viewers per show). Double award winners „Goldene Kamera“ and also „Deutscher Filmpreis“.

Nine albums in thirteen years, all albums have attained gold and platinum status, and have been in the Top 5 of the German Album-Charts.

The latest two albums in a row hit #1 in the German Charts. And “Dos Bros” sold over 300.000 copies. Winners of the ECHO award for Best National Band in the catargory Rock/Pop.

The BossHoss are one of Germany’s top live acts and have played more than 1,500 live shows since 2005 in 23 different countries. 300,000 concert-goers per year. Playing to arenas with a capacity of 10,000 upwards. Festivals like Rock am Ring/Park(G) Download (UK) Donauinselfest(A) Gurten(CH) Szigit (HUN) Woodstock (PL). The BossHoss have a huge and loyal fan following.

Massive presence and popularity in mainstream television. Three series as coaches on „The Voice of Germany“ Pro7 (4m viewers per show). 2016 & 2017 Guests and one time hosts of Germany’s most lauded music program „Sing Meinen Song“ Vox (2m viewers per show). Double award winners „Goldene Kamera“ and also „Deutscher Filmpreis“.

The Grand East - Biography

It was the summer of 2020. Two years after their latest release, DIY-psych-soul-rockers The Grand East drop their new single ‘Absolute’. It took a bit, while the band was playing
an enormous amount of festivals and radio/tv-shows throughout Europe in the last years. Now drummer Ima quit and Corona threw a spanner in the works of a large Eastern Euro- tour, Arthur Akkermans, Niek Cival en Teun Eijsink retreated theirselves in a new build studio to work on new songs.

‘Absolute’ defines the new The Grand East, still their musical outbreaks can feel like
psychedelical trips, in 'Absolute' the band found a more electronic and meditative sound.
'Absolute' got it's poppy chillness by it's subtile surprises that leads you by the edges of the river Saint John. Like Kevin Morby meets Warhaus in the bedroom.
Originally the foundations of the song were recorded as part of the band’s appearance in
‘Wolffcast’ a podcast made by their musical friends DeWolff. The single is a reflection of the actual state the band is in at this very moment. Not restricted by the absence of a drummer, they downloaded a HTML Drum Machine which brings in it's ongoing cadence. The artwork has been designed out of charcoal by vocalist Arthur Akkermans.

The Grand East got to know eachother as kids, playing the fields and forests in far East part of The Netherlands. Rider dirt bikes, drinking their first beers together. During highschool this brotherhood formed a band that now musically sticks together like glue. Over the last 5 years The Grand East is playing shows throughout Europe. In their home country The Netherlands, the band hits many famous clubs like Paradiso and AFAS Live and gets to play the main stages of festivals like Zwarte Cross, Dauwpop and ESNS.

The Grand East - Biography

It was the summer of 2020. Two years after their latest release, DIY-psych-soul-rockers The Grand East drop their new single ‘Absolute’. It took a bit, while the band was playing
an enormous amount of festivals and radio/tv-shows throughout Europe in the last years. Now drummer Ima quit and Corona threw a spanner in the works of a large Eastern Euro- tour, Arthur Akkermans, Niek Cival en Teun Eijsink retreated theirselves in a new build studio to work on new songs.

‘Absolute’ defines the new The Grand East, still their musical outbreaks can feel like
psychedelical trips, in 'Absolute' the band found a more electronic and meditative sound.
'Absolute' got it's poppy chillness by it's subtile surprises that leads you by the edges of the river Saint John. Like Kevin Morby meets Warhaus in the bedroom.
Originally the foundations of the song were recorded as part of the band’s appearance in
‘Wolffcast’ a podcast made by their musical friends DeWolff. The single is a reflection of the actual state the band is in at this very moment. Not restricted by the absence of a drummer, they downloaded a HTML Drum Machine which brings in it's ongoing cadence. The artwork has been designed out of charcoal by vocalist Arthur Akkermans.

The Grand East got to know eachother as kids, playing the fields and forests in far East part of The Netherlands. Rider dirt bikes, drinking their first beers together. During highschool this brotherhood formed a band that now musically sticks together like glue. Over the last 5 years The Grand East is playing shows throughout Europe. In their home country The Netherlands, the band hits many famous clubs like Paradiso and AFAS Live and gets to play the main stages of festivals like Zwarte Cross, Dauwpop and ESNS.

THE LAST INTERNATIONALE, also known as TLI, is a NY band formed by singer Delila Paz and guitarist Edgey. Their debut album, We Will Reign, was released on Epic Records in 2014. The record was produced by Grammy Award-winning rock producer Brendan O'Brien and features drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine), who joined and toured with the band throughout the duration of that record cycle. The Last Internationale's second album Soul On Fire was released October 2019. The album was executive-produced by Tom Morello with Joey Castillo (Queens of the Stone Age) on drums. The album's first single, "Hard Times," reached #1 on the iTunes blues charts in the UK and hit the top 20 in many different countries around the world.

In 2020, the band released Live at Arda Recorders, a live studio album that was recorded during the covid lockdowns. In June 2021, TLI’s Delila Paz was featured in Tom Morello’s song "Radium Girls” alongside Aimee Interrupter of The Interrupters, Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, and Mish Way of White Lung. The Last Internationale’s long-anticipated 3rd studio album, Running for a Dream, was released on march 31, 2023. It features Joey Castillo and Eloy Casagrande of Sepultura on drums. 

Especially known for their powerful live performances, TLI has shared the stage with acts such as Robert Plant, Neil Young, The Who, Kings of Leon, Slash, Scott Weiland, Weezer, One Republic, Tom Morello, Lenny Kravitz, Incubus, Royal Blood, The Cult, Rival Sons and many more. This past summer, they toured with KISS, Deep Purple, and opened for Guns and Roses and played most of the major festivals throughout Europe, including Pink Pop, Rock Werchter, Hellfest, Mad Cool, Lollapalooza, and Hyde Park.

TLI was featured on David Letterman and more recently on the hit tv show Taratata in France. The Last Internationale recently finished their summer tour in Europe, opening for Guns N’ Roses and playing various festivals. Their music can be heard on TV shows such as The Blacklist, Banshee, True Detective, and others.

Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave): "The Last Internationale are one of my favourites in the next wave of rebel rockers. They're raw and real and mix East Village rock sensibilities with Battleship Potemkin firepower."

THE LAST INTERNATIONALE, also known as TLI, is a NY band formed by singer Delila Paz and guitarist Edgey. Their debut album, We Will Reign, was released on Epic Records in 2014. The record was produced by Grammy Award-winning rock producer Brendan O'Brien and features drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine), who joined and toured with the band throughout the duration of that record cycle. The Last Internationale's second album Soul On Fire was released October 2019. The album was executive-produced by Tom Morello with Joey Castillo (Queens of the Stone Age) on drums. The album's first single, "Hard Times," reached #1 on the iTunes blues charts in the UK and hit the top 20 in many different countries around the world.

In 2020, the band released Live at Arda Recorders, a live studio album that was recorded during the covid lockdowns. In June 2021, TLI’s Delila Paz was featured in Tom Morello’s song "Radium Girls” alongside Aimee Interrupter of The Interrupters, Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, and Mish Way of White Lung. The Last Internationale’s long-anticipated 3rd studio album, Running for a Dream, was released on march 31, 2023. It features Joey Castillo and Eloy Casagrande of Sepultura on drums. 

Especially known for their powerful live performances, TLI has shared the stage with acts such as Robert Plant, Neil Young, The Who, Kings of Leon, Slash, Scott Weiland, Weezer, One Republic, Tom Morello, Lenny Kravitz, Incubus, Royal Blood, The Cult, Rival Sons and many more. This past summer, they toured with KISS, Deep Purple, and opened for Guns and Roses and played most of the major festivals throughout Europe, including Pink Pop, Rock Werchter, Hellfest, Mad Cool, Lollapalooza, and Hyde Park.

TLI was featured on David Letterman and more recently on the hit tv show Taratata in France. The Last Internationale recently finished their summer tour in Europe, opening for Guns N’ Roses and playing various festivals. Their music can be heard on TV shows such as The Blacklist, Banshee, True Detective, and others.

Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave): "The Last Internationale are one of my favourites in the next wave of rebel rockers. They're raw and real and mix East Village rock sensibilities with Battleship Potemkin firepower."

Splitting their time between music, Skateboards, Motorcycles and sharing every moment along the way; The Picturebooks have become more than a band.

This two-piece, slide heavy Rock/Blues/Alternative/Country HAMMERFIST of a band has cultivated a rabid and loyal fanbase that gravitates to the band as much for their lifestyle as they do for the music. With five albums under their belts and relentless touring worldwide with over 400 shows in the last five years alone, Fynn Grabke (Guitar/Vox) and Philipp Mirtschink (Drums/Percussion) have truly paid their dues; playing venues of all sizes to sharing the big stages with the likes of Clutch, Wolfmother, Pretenders, Black Stone Cherry, Monster Truck, Highly Suspect, Kadavar, Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, and more.

With their 5th album "Albuquerque" now officially released, the boys cannot wait to hit the road again.

Splitting their time between music, Skateboards, Motorcycles and sharing every moment along the way; The Picturebooks have become more than a band.

This two-piece, slide heavy Rock/Blues/Alternative/Country HAMMERFIST of a band has cultivated a rabid and loyal fanbase that gravitates to the band as much for their lifestyle as they do for the music. With five albums under their belts and relentless touring worldwide with over 400 shows in the last five years alone, Fynn Grabke (Guitar/Vox) and Philipp Mirtschink (Drums/Percussion) have truly paid their dues; playing venues of all sizes to sharing the big stages with the likes of Clutch, Wolfmother, Pretenders, Black Stone Cherry, Monster Truck, Highly Suspect, Kadavar, Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, and more.

With their 5th album "Albuquerque" now officially released, the boys cannot wait to hit the road again.

The Protomen are more than just a concept rock band from Nashville, TN... they are messengers, riding atop an Iron Stallion (read: inside a mildly shitty tour bus) on their way to deliver the most vicious rock 'n' roll fable that the world has ever known. With several planned albums, and a live show that can crumble mountains, the future is in their hands.

Their first record, Act I, includes elements of Ennio Morricone, Queen, and Black Sabbath, that culminate in a listening experience unlike anything you've ever heard. If you're afraid of lo-fi sky cracking distortion and epic chaos, you won't survive this album.

Act II is a departure from the signature distorted sound of the first record. It focuses on a time before “the world fell under darkness.” It’s a brighter and more optimistic look at the world The Protomen have created. The album is split into two separate eras (and sounds) and gives the feeling of two distinct albums in one. Act II was co-produced by Alan Shacklock (Meatloaf, The Alarm, Bonnie Tyler, Babe Ruth, Roger Daltry) and The Protomen.

The Protomen have spent the last 15 years building a large and fiercely devoted fan base by kicking some major ass, playing some of the largest US festivals, occasionally opening for the likes of Tenacious D and Andrew W.K., and headlining their own tours across the US and choice parts of Canada, Australia, and Europe.

Most recently, their cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight,” from their 2015 release, The Cover Up, was used in Season 3 of Netflix’s COBRA KAI. That’s right. The Protomen were in a scene with Macchio.

As for the future, The Protomen are currently in the studio working on their more-epic-than-epic new album, Act III. When that drops in the very near future, they’ll hit the road on a huge Act III world tour. 

The Protomen are more than just a concept rock band from Nashville, TN... they are messengers, riding atop an Iron Stallion (read: inside a mildly shitty tour bus) on their way to deliver the most vicious rock 'n' roll fable that the world has ever known. With several planned albums, and a live show that can crumble mountains, the future is in their hands.

Their first record, Act I, includes elements of Ennio Morricone, Queen, and Black Sabbath, that culminate in a listening experience unlike anything you've ever heard. If you're afraid of lo-fi sky cracking distortion and epic chaos, you won't survive this album.

Act II is a departure from the signature distorted sound of the first record. It focuses on a time before “the world fell under darkness.” It’s a brighter and more optimistic look at the world The Protomen have created. The album is split into two separate eras (and sounds) and gives the feeling of two distinct albums in one. Act II was co-produced by Alan Shacklock (Meatloaf, The Alarm, Bonnie Tyler, Babe Ruth, Roger Daltry) and The Protomen.

The Protomen have spent the last 15 years building a large and fiercely devoted fan base by kicking some major ass, playing some of the largest US festivals, occasionally opening for the likes of Tenacious D and Andrew W.K., and headlining their own tours across the US and choice parts of Canada, Australia, and Europe.

Most recently, their cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight,” from their 2015 release, The Cover Up, was used in Season 3 of Netflix’s COBRA KAI. That’s right. The Protomen were in a scene with Macchio.

As for the future, The Protomen are currently in the studio working on their more-epic-than-epic new album, Act III. When that drops in the very near future, they’ll hit the road on a huge Act III world tour. 

“A great artist...impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos...He makes playing rough feel easy.” – Blues Music Magazine

“With a sterling reputation, guitarist and vocalist Tommy Castro is one of the foremost practitioners of electric blues. Searing delivery...rousing and teeming with emotion. [He is] a sheer, soaring tour-de-force.” – Living Blues

“Castro plays gritty, string-bending blues like a runaway train....a glorious blend that rocks the soul and lifts the spirits.” – No Depression

“Soaring vocals and swirling leads...showcasing Castro’s testifying, confessional vocals [and] resonant emotional power as a singer.” – AllMusic

Multiple award-winning, California-based blues and rock sensation Tommy Castro is the guitar slinging, soul-singing leader of the telepathically tight and wildly raucous Tommy Castro & The Painkillers. He’s released 17 previous albums over the course of his four-decade career. Each release features its own individual sound and style, ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues and soul to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll. With his new album, Closer To The Bone, Castro has returned to his roots, delivering what he calls “a real blues record, the way they would have made them back in the day.” Closer To The Bone is the most unvarnished, straight-ahead blues release of Castro’s career, one that bristles with every ounce of his dynamic energy and raw emotion.

On Closer To The Bone (Castro’s 8th Alligator release), Castro and his Painkillers—bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Mike Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown—mix new Castro originals (Ain’t Worth The Heartache, Can’t Catch A Break, Crazy Woman Blues) with songs originally performed by many of Castro’s friends and heroes. Artists and their songs include Johnny Nitro (One More Night, on which Castro plays his treasured 1966 black Fender Stratocaster, a guitar once owned by Nitro himself), Magic Slim (Hole In The Wall), Ron Thompson (Freight Train), Mike Duke (Keep Your Dog Inside) and Chris Cain (Woke Up And Smelled The Coffee). Castro additionally chose obscure songs by Wynonie Harris (Bloodshot Eyes), Eddie Taylor (Stroll Out West), Jimmy Nolen (The Way You Do) and Johnny “Guitar” Watson (She Moves Me). According to Castro, “These are not the obvious artists people generally cover, and that was most definitely on purpose.”

Closer To The Bone was produced by master guitarist and studio wizard Christoffer “Kid” Andersen (producer of over 100 albums), at his now-famous Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California. Closer To The Bone finds Castro at the top of his game, bringing his seemingly limitless energy and boundless talent to the studio. Guests on the album include labelmates Andersen, Rick Estrin, Chris Cain and Billy Branch, along with saxophone player/vocalist Deanna Bogart, keyboard wizard Jim Pugh and, on three songs, the voices of The Sons Of The Soul Revivers.

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of six-string stars like Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal and Mike Bloomfield. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at a local club, JJ’s Blues Bar. Castro often jammed at JJ’s, dreaming of busting out and making a name for himself. He created his own personal sound and style by mixing the blues, R&B and funk music he loved into his own, instantly recognizable brand of uplifting, soul-healing music.

As his reputation spread, Tommy played in several Bay Area bands, quickly making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he became lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry before joined popular Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones, gigging all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing their first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band were selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought Tommy in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed live performer.

After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, launched to massive popular and critical acclaim. 2011 saw the release of the raucous Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue—Live!. In 2014, Castro & The Painkillers released The Devil You Know, followed by Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and the irresistible Killin’ It—Live in 2019. With 2021’s A Bluesman Came To Town, Castro told the story of a young musician’s journey through the blues world. AllMusic said the album was “a towering achievement.”

Castro received his fourth prestigious and coveted Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year in 2023. He’s taken home a total of 10 Blues Music Awards and is among the genre’s most decorated artists. Castro’s relentless road-dog approach—gig after gig, 150 nights a year—continues to earn him loyal, lifelong fans everywhere he plays. The Washington Post says Castro is “phenomenal and funky” with “soulful vocals and inspired blues guitar.” Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ deceptively simple approach on Closer To The Bone delivers one thrilling performance after another. Says Castro, “Here, I’m not the contemporary guy, not the rock guy, not the soul guy. This is the deeper blues side of me. I know, with these songs, I am at my most authentic.”

“A great artist...impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos...He makes playing rough feel easy.” – Blues Music Magazine

“With a sterling reputation, guitarist and vocalist Tommy Castro is one of the foremost practitioners of electric blues. Searing delivery...rousing and teeming with emotion. [He is] a sheer, soaring tour-de-force.” – Living Blues

“Castro plays gritty, string-bending blues like a runaway train....a glorious blend that rocks the soul and lifts the spirits.” – No Depression

“Soaring vocals and swirling leads...showcasing Castro’s testifying, confessional vocals [and] resonant emotional power as a singer.” – AllMusic

Multiple award-winning, California-based blues and rock sensation Tommy Castro is the guitar slinging, soul-singing leader of the telepathically tight and wildly raucous Tommy Castro & The Painkillers. He’s released 17 previous albums over the course of his four-decade career. Each release features its own individual sound and style, ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues and soul to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll. With his new album, Closer To The Bone, Castro has returned to his roots, delivering what he calls “a real blues record, the way they would have made them back in the day.” Closer To The Bone is the most unvarnished, straight-ahead blues release of Castro’s career, one that bristles with every ounce of his dynamic energy and raw emotion.

On Closer To The Bone (Castro’s 8th Alligator release), Castro and his Painkillers—bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Mike Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown—mix new Castro originals (Ain’t Worth The Heartache, Can’t Catch A Break, Crazy Woman Blues) with songs originally performed by many of Castro’s friends and heroes. Artists and their songs include Johnny Nitro (One More Night, on which Castro plays his treasured 1966 black Fender Stratocaster, a guitar once owned by Nitro himself), Magic Slim (Hole In The Wall), Ron Thompson (Freight Train), Mike Duke (Keep Your Dog Inside) and Chris Cain (Woke Up And Smelled The Coffee). Castro additionally chose obscure songs by Wynonie Harris (Bloodshot Eyes), Eddie Taylor (Stroll Out West), Jimmy Nolen (The Way You Do) and Johnny “Guitar” Watson (She Moves Me). According to Castro, “These are not the obvious artists people generally cover, and that was most definitely on purpose.”

Closer To The Bone was produced by master guitarist and studio wizard Christoffer “Kid” Andersen (producer of over 100 albums), at his now-famous Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California. Closer To The Bone finds Castro at the top of his game, bringing his seemingly limitless energy and boundless talent to the studio. Guests on the album include labelmates Andersen, Rick Estrin, Chris Cain and Billy Branch, along with saxophone player/vocalist Deanna Bogart, keyboard wizard Jim Pugh and, on three songs, the voices of The Sons Of The Soul Revivers.

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of six-string stars like Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal and Mike Bloomfield. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at a local club, JJ’s Blues Bar. Castro often jammed at JJ’s, dreaming of busting out and making a name for himself. He created his own personal sound and style by mixing the blues, R&B and funk music he loved into his own, instantly recognizable brand of uplifting, soul-healing music.

As his reputation spread, Tommy played in several Bay Area bands, quickly making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he became lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry before joined popular Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones, gigging all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing their first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band were selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought Tommy in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed live performer.

After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, launched to massive popular and critical acclaim. 2011 saw the release of the raucous Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue—Live!. In 2014, Castro & The Painkillers released The Devil You Know, followed by Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and the irresistible Killin’ It—Live in 2019. With 2021’s A Bluesman Came To Town, Castro told the story of a young musician’s journey through the blues world. AllMusic said the album was “a towering achievement.”

Castro received his fourth prestigious and coveted Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year in 2023. He’s taken home a total of 10 Blues Music Awards and is among the genre’s most decorated artists. Castro’s relentless road-dog approach—gig after gig, 150 nights a year—continues to earn him loyal, lifelong fans everywhere he plays. The Washington Post says Castro is “phenomenal and funky” with “soulful vocals and inspired blues guitar.” Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ deceptively simple approach on Closer To The Bone delivers one thrilling performance after another. Says Castro, “Here, I’m not the contemporary guy, not the rock guy, not the soul guy. This is the deeper blues side of me. I know, with these songs, I am at my most authentic.”

All of us are broken. But no one is beyond repair. It's a philosophy that Walter Trout has lived by during seven volatile decades at the heartof America's society and blues-rock scene. Even now, with the world more fractured than ever – by politics, economics, social media and culture wars – the fabled US bluesman's latest album, Broken, chronicles the bitter schisms of modern life but refuses to succumb to them.

"I've always tried to write positive songs, and this album is not quite that," considers the 72-year-old of an all-original track listing that rages and soothes. "But I always hold on to hope. I think that's why I wrote this album." For the last half-century, however rocky his path, hope and resilience has always lit the way. The beat of Trout's unbelievable story are well-known: the traumatic childhood in Ocean City, New Jersey; the audacious move to the West Coast in ྆ the auspicious but chaotic sideman shifts with John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton; the raging addictions that somehow never stopped the boogie when he was with Canned Heat in the early-ྌs. Even now, some will point to Trout's mid-ྌs guitar pyrotechnics in the lineup of John Mayall's legendary Bluesbreakers as his career highpoint. But for a far greater majority of fans, the blood, heart and soul of his solo career since 1989 is the main event, the bluesman's songcraft always reaching for some greater truth, forever surging forward, never shrinking back. It's a peerless creative streak underlined by the guitarist's regular triumphs at ceremonies, including the Blues Music Awards, SENA European Guitar Awards, British Blues Awards and Blues Blast Music Awards. The iconic British DJ 'Whispering' Bob Harris spoke for millions when he declared Trout "the world's greatest rock guitarist" in his 2001 autobiography, The Whispering Years. If he were a less questing artist, Trout could mark time and dine out on those past glories, leaving the polemics and calls-to-arms to a younger generation. But that's not enough, considers the still-hungry veteran. "I have to grow. I want to be a vital contributing artist. I feel young. I know I'm not. But in my head, I'm still 25, wanting to get better and do something I haven't done before. I have more to say." The album was recorded at Kingsize Soundlabs in LA with producer Eric Corne. "This is our 15th album together," calculates the bluesman. "Eric and I just have a way of working, man. A friend who came into the studio and watched us and said, 'Man, you guys are like a machine'. It's unspoken." A few collaborators joined Trout for the first time. "I thought my friend Beth Hart could relate to the title track, Broken," he says of the warrior princess whose fiery vocals coil with his own. "Dee Snider from Twisted Sister put up a live cut of me on his Twitter and said: 'Listen to this fucking guitar hero'. We started talking and became friends. He came into the studio, and I knew I had to write him a song. Bleed came about when we were pretty much done. My drummer Michael Leasure said to me, 'Hey, Walter, you played with John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat, this is your 31st album and you've never played a boogie. What's the deal?' So I said, 'OK, fuck it, let's do a boogie'. I can kinda play harmonica, but I thought, 'Let's elevate this thing'. There's a young harmonica player in England who's the best I've ever heard, Will Wilde. He has the soul and the power of Paul Butterfield but couples that with blinding virtuoso technique." Elsewhere, the wistful Talkin' To Myself, Trout took inspiration from the hits that crackled from AM radio in his youth, and no words were required for the tender instrumental Love Of My Life ("Of course, it'sabout Marie"). With gallows humour, Trout notes that his new album opens with a track called Broken and ends with one called Falls Apart. He can't deny the link between the personal and the socio-political mood in the air, and as such, between those two book ends lie some of the most raw and bruised songs of his career. Still hope leads the way with the notionthat music can help us overcome brokenness - one note at a time.

All of us are broken. But no one is beyond repair. It's a philosophy that Walter Trout has lived by during seven volatile decades at the heartof America's society and blues-rock scene. Even now, with the world more fractured than ever – by politics, economics, social media and culture wars – the fabled US bluesman's latest album, Broken, chronicles the bitter schisms of modern life but refuses to succumb to them.

"I've always tried to write positive songs, and this album is not quite that," considers the 72-year-old of an all-original track listing that rages and soothes. "But I always hold on to hope. I think that's why I wrote this album." For the last half-century, however rocky his path, hope and resilience has always lit the way. The beat of Trout's unbelievable story are well-known: the traumatic childhood in Ocean City, New Jersey; the audacious move to the West Coast in ྆ the auspicious but chaotic sideman shifts with John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton; the raging addictions that somehow never stopped the boogie when he was with Canned Heat in the early-ྌs. Even now, some will point to Trout's mid-ྌs guitar pyrotechnics in the lineup of John Mayall's legendary Bluesbreakers as his career highpoint. But for a far greater majority of fans, the blood, heart and soul of his solo career since 1989 is the main event, the bluesman's songcraft always reaching for some greater truth, forever surging forward, never shrinking back. It's a peerless creative streak underlined by the guitarist's regular triumphs at ceremonies, including the Blues Music Awards, SENA European Guitar Awards, British Blues Awards and Blues Blast Music Awards. The iconic British DJ 'Whispering' Bob Harris spoke for millions when he declared Trout "the world's greatest rock guitarist" in his 2001 autobiography, The Whispering Years. If he were a less questing artist, Trout could mark time and dine out on those past glories, leaving the polemics and calls-to-arms to a younger generation. But that's not enough, considers the still-hungry veteran. "I have to grow. I want to be a vital contributing artist. I feel young. I know I'm not. But in my head, I'm still 25, wanting to get better and do something I haven't done before. I have more to say." The album was recorded at Kingsize Soundlabs in LA with producer Eric Corne. "This is our 15th album together," calculates the bluesman. "Eric and I just have a way of working, man. A friend who came into the studio and watched us and said, 'Man, you guys are like a machine'. It's unspoken." A few collaborators joined Trout for the first time. "I thought my friend Beth Hart could relate to the title track, Broken," he says of the warrior princess whose fiery vocals coil with his own. "Dee Snider from Twisted Sister put up a live cut of me on his Twitter and said: 'Listen to this fucking guitar hero'. We started talking and became friends. He came into the studio, and I knew I had to write him a song. Bleed came about when we were pretty much done. My drummer Michael Leasure said to me, 'Hey, Walter, you played with John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat, this is your 31st album and you've never played a boogie. What's the deal?' So I said, 'OK, fuck it, let's do a boogie'. I can kinda play harmonica, but I thought, 'Let's elevate this thing'. There's a young harmonica player in England who's the best I've ever heard, Will Wilde. He has the soul and the power of Paul Butterfield but couples that with blinding virtuoso technique." Elsewhere, the wistful Talkin' To Myself, Trout took inspiration from the hits that crackled from AM radio in his youth, and no words were required for the tender instrumental Love Of My Life ("Of course, it'sabout Marie"). With gallows humour, Trout notes that his new album opens with a track called Broken and ends with one called Falls Apart. He can't deny the link between the personal and the socio-political mood in the air, and as such, between those two book ends lie some of the most raw and bruised songs of his career. Still hope leads the way with the notionthat music can help us overcome brokenness - one note at a time.

Around March 2020 the world took a break from live music with the onset of a worldwide pandemic, incase you hadn’t heard? When the world stage shut down, Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale took to the home studio playing all of the instruments, crafting out album #6, “Rock Out”. With mental health becoming one of the most prevalent issues during the pandemic, Stockdale used the majesty of rock with all of it’s chakra healing qualities to guide himself with the creation of “Rock Out”. The idea of Rock’n’Roll giving pure transportation to a better place amidst all of the monotony of daily covid life became a self help cathartic release delivered with a New York Cab driver twang. If you can’t travel during a pandemic, you can get in a cab straight to Hells Kitchen with this little number.

Moving along it’s time to go trans Atlantic back to the mother land of British Rock with the familiar yet unfamiliar “Feelin Love” it’s Cream, it’s Deep Purple, it’s some other band who knows but it’s 2021 and it’s fresh off the ranks in the form of Wolfmother. The track, swings and pumps along in it effortless, unaware manner, then leaves you hanging for a massive POG induced, riff laddened chorus with “Feelin Love”.  Then it’s time for some angst and existential crisis with the self imposed neurosis of “Humble”. Life has become extremely pragmatic and the world has been contact traced into the wrath of drop D relentless riffage. With enough tension to melt a Marshall amp the “waiting for Goddo” type theme entertains the daily musings of delusion and procrastination. This is resolved in humility to accept ones fate and do the best one can. It is a silent victory essentially over nothing except daily existence with a song to show for it. After completing this all on electric drums and plug in amps ... and everything very digitised and laptopish.

Stockdale contemplated the idea of re-tracking with live drums with over dubs. Rather than going to L.A to a fancy studio that looks good on paper, Stockdale went local and recorded the whole record for the most part in his home studio, with a local 19 year old second year student from SAE Insitute in Byron Bay. Yes the Grammy award winning, multi platinum artist put his creative vision in the hands of a  local, novice with little experience. Maybe there’s a side of Stockdale that achieved this success while being a novice with no experience himself, sometimes unbridled youthful enthusiasm will get the results un denounced to itself. Though the ears don’t lie and if it sounds good that’s all that matters. From here Stockdale called on longtime touring cohort Hamish Rosser to contribute drum duties. Most of the record was tracked in one day in Stockdale’s front room in time for school pick up. Did someone call this 'Dad rock' ... ?  So the drums were smashed out in one session. Then a few more songs were written just to beef it up and give it some extra  kick ... tracks such as “Outside”, “Only Way” and “Humble” were last minute creations, that were now rehearsed and fleshed out with a band at Stockdale's new Wolf Cave (which was a former art gallery up at “Bangalow Plaza”). A legendary veteran of many a great record, Paul Pilsnenks dropped in to engineer “Humble” which was completely tracked in about 3 hours one night in September 2021.

All in all, this record in it’s various incarnations from demo to live band recording was in it’s gestation period for about a year and a half. Also Alexx McConnell stepped in on bass duties for “Humble” and “Only Way”  becoming a local recruit for shows after all of the travel restrictions that were made throughout the year, which afforded Wolfmother to do online gigs and a handful of local shows. One could say this record was an ode to the front men and riff masters of yester year via, London, New Jersey, Birmingham through to Pasadena then Byron Bay and back;  it’s a soundtrack for an imaginary stadium tour of 1982 that never happened. Yet it exists none the less in Mp3 and WAV format on your chosen digital platform be it iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music etc. May the algorithms be kind and get this thing heard by many a fan and possible new fans, keeping the Rock’n’Roll dream alive. Remember when in doubt, 'Rock Out!'

Around March 2020 the world took a break from live music with the onset of a worldwide pandemic, incase you hadn’t heard? When the world stage shut down, Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale took to the home studio playing all of the instruments, crafting out album #6, “Rock Out”. With mental health becoming one of the most prevalent issues during the pandemic, Stockdale used the majesty of rock with all of it’s chakra healing qualities to guide himself with the creation of “Rock Out”. The idea of Rock’n’Roll giving pure transportation to a better place amidst all of the monotony of daily covid life became a self help cathartic release delivered with a New York Cab driver twang. If you can’t travel during a pandemic, you can get in a cab straight to Hells Kitchen with this little number.

Moving along it’s time to go trans Atlantic back to the mother land of British Rock with the familiar yet unfamiliar “Feelin Love” it’s Cream, it’s Deep Purple, it’s some other band who knows but it’s 2021 and it’s fresh off the ranks in the form of Wolfmother. The track, swings and pumps along in it effortless, unaware manner, then leaves you hanging for a massive POG induced, riff laddened chorus with “Feelin Love”.  Then it’s time for some angst and existential crisis with the self imposed neurosis of “Humble”. Life has become extremely pragmatic and the world has been contact traced into the wrath of drop D relentless riffage. With enough tension to melt a Marshall amp the “waiting for Goddo” type theme entertains the daily musings of delusion and procrastination. This is resolved in humility to accept ones fate and do the best one can. It is a silent victory essentially over nothing except daily existence with a song to show for it. After completing this all on electric drums and plug in amps ... and everything very digitised and laptopish.

Stockdale contemplated the idea of re-tracking with live drums with over dubs. Rather than going to L.A to a fancy studio that looks good on paper, Stockdale went local and recorded the whole record for the most part in his home studio, with a local 19 year old second year student from SAE Insitute in Byron Bay. Yes the Grammy award winning, multi platinum artist put his creative vision in the hands of a  local, novice with little experience. Maybe there’s a side of Stockdale that achieved this success while being a novice with no experience himself, sometimes unbridled youthful enthusiasm will get the results un denounced to itself. Though the ears don’t lie and if it sounds good that’s all that matters. From here Stockdale called on longtime touring cohort Hamish Rosser to contribute drum duties. Most of the record was tracked in one day in Stockdale’s front room in time for school pick up. Did someone call this 'Dad rock' ... ?  So the drums were smashed out in one session. Then a few more songs were written just to beef it up and give it some extra  kick ... tracks such as “Outside”, “Only Way” and “Humble” were last minute creations, that were now rehearsed and fleshed out with a band at Stockdale's new Wolf Cave (which was a former art gallery up at “Bangalow Plaza”). A legendary veteran of many a great record, Paul Pilsnenks dropped in to engineer “Humble” which was completely tracked in about 3 hours one night in September 2021.

All in all, this record in it’s various incarnations from demo to live band recording was in it’s gestation period for about a year and a half. Also Alexx McConnell stepped in on bass duties for “Humble” and “Only Way”  becoming a local recruit for shows after all of the travel restrictions that were made throughout the year, which afforded Wolfmother to do online gigs and a handful of local shows. One could say this record was an ode to the front men and riff masters of yester year via, London, New Jersey, Birmingham through to Pasadena then Byron Bay and back;  it’s a soundtrack for an imaginary stadium tour of 1982 that never happened. Yet it exists none the less in Mp3 and WAV format on your chosen digital platform be it iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music etc. May the algorithms be kind and get this thing heard by many a fan and possible new fans, keeping the Rock’n’Roll dream alive. Remember when in doubt, 'Rock Out!'