Concert Review: Hollywood Undead

If there’s one thing Minneapolis knows, it’s music. We know there are some hardcore music fans out there, so we cater to their needs with some pretty awesome shows. This weekend, it’s 93x Fest and there’s a whole lot of great bands in town. The one that sticks out the most, is Hollywood Undead. Talk about excitement. You can feel it vibrate through the crowd even though its cold and rainy. What’s a little water to cool down the rampant temperature rising that’s caused by some badass music?

I know there’s a lot of talk about bands that wear masks and that it confuses people. We get it. But do you? If you were to listen to the heavy beats, tempting rifts and swift vocals, you’d never know these boys “hide” their faces behind masks that identify each as an individual. The moment Hollywood Undead step out onto the stage, you instantly know why they have a hardcore group of fans/followers. They grab your attention and shake it up. The energy in which these guys perform at is phenomenal. You don’t need to see expressions to know that they’re making a statement in every song played. You feel it. They interact with the crowd that isn’t always seen. It’s almost as if they dared every single person not to feel the music and not get into it. Let’s just say that everyone didn’t bother taking up the dare, they were singing and jumping without realizing it. The multiple fist pumps and screaming choruses heard from the crowd, is just one more reminder that HU is indeed that damn good.

Aside from the crowd, this band knows how to make it and how to guarantee a future in this industry. They value their fans and create a bond with them that few bands do. Their ability to perform live is always a treat and one no one forgets about. You’ll be surfing the net as soon as you get home to see when they’re in town next, what new gear they have, when they’re in town next and most importantly, listening to their music on repeat for the next few months. All in all, Hollywood Undead is one of the best bands to see live, hands down.

Escape the Fate Interview

(photo credit: P.R. Brown)

ESCAPE THE FATE

(Band Members: Craig-Vocals, Bryan-Guitars, Max-Bass, Robert-Drums)

There are only a few bands that can say they’ve toured with some of todays biggest names in rock music and Escape the Fate has that honor. We got a chance to talk with Robert about those experiences and what he’s learned from them.

STILLCODA: YOU GUYS JUST GOT DONE WITH ROCK ON THE RANGE AND VARIOUS OTHER BIG FESTIVALS/SHOWS, HOW’S IT GOING SO FAR?

ROBERT: Other than some technical difficulties on some shows and some random things, everything’s going fucking great! We’re playing with amazing bands and personally Avenged Sevenfold has been my favorite band since high school, so getting to play with them is has been a dream come true. It’s been something on my bucket list, ya know? They’re reminder, a motivation for why you do what you do and what you do it for. I saw them play at small places when they first started then got to watch them get larger and larger, so it’s a surreal type of thing. We’ve been able to play with Three Days Grace and now Motley Crue, it’s definitely an incredible experience. Every festival is a different type of crowd, so it’s awesome for us to be able to branch out whereas we’re used to Warped Tour type crowds. It’s incredible watching all these different crowds watching us and seeing what they like and by the end of the set, it’s just madness.

STILLCODA: WHEN YOU’RE WATCHING THESE BANDS PLAY, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT CATCH YOUR EYE, THAT MAKE YOU WANT TO INCORPORATE THEM INTO YOUR SET?

ROBERT: I guess for an example, I was personally never a fan of Korn but once we played with them (as well), it was one of the most intense show exchanges of your life. You see what they’re doing that works really well for them musically, stage wise, what people like and what their favorite parts of each of the songs are. So seeing that, makes me want to write a song like that. Watching Avenged Sevenfold, they’re all about flames, pyros, everything intense. Your first reaction is “Holy fuck!” It’s all about grabbing your attention and it works! They don’t fuck around when it comes to production, pyro and making it a spectacle. It’s all about bringing the song out and making it as big as you can. Then there are those bands that strip it down and have just the band. Their songs are gnarly enough that that’s all they need.

STILLCODA: WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT INSPIRE YOU FROM THE FANS?

ROBERT: It’s more about the show ya know? Just seeing the fans dancing around in the pit, singing a song, just knowing that they’re having a great time is worth it. You’re making them happy basically and that’s enough for me really. When someone tells you that you’ve helped them get through something, it means something. I understand it as music has done that for me too so it’s incredible to be on the other side. It’s makes you feel like you have a responsibility. I don’t have a real job, I play music so that’s my responsibility. You don’t need it to physically survive, you need it to spiritually survive.

STILLCOA: WHAT’S ONE OF THE SONGS OFF OF THE NEWEST RECORD ESCAPE THE FATE THAT TENDS TO “HIT” YOU MORE THAN THE REST?

ROBERT: I really enjoy all of our songs as it’s my band that’s doing it, you take pride in knowing you did it. There are songs for different reasons, like Massacre. It’s basically about a lot of addictions and it’s an aspect about the band that we’ve all had to deal with at one point. Personally, I’m not a drug addict, but I have to deal with it. It’s a song about how it affects everyone. Lyrically, it’s meaningful, it’s pissed off, you don’t feel light dealing with those emotions with your addictions. The Aftermath is a song that is a musically mastered song when we play it. Each band member can do their own part and do their best and it shows. The whole album is basically a story of our lives.

STILLCODA: WHAT SYMBOLIZES ESCAPE THE FATE:

ROBERT: Ah man, the name in itself symbolizes us. We always seem to shoot ourselves in the foot (laughs). For example, our headlining tour back in February, we were in New York, it was sold out and it was a huge show. There were celebrities there and it was just an incredible set. We felt like, yes we’re finally making it! This is our climax, we’re finally here! Then when we’re back on the bus, our guitar player is about to go home, our bass player is strung out, everyone is stressed. On the outside, everything’s working for us but it’s not always the case. It’s like how can we get to the next level and fuck ourselves? (laughs) I don’t know, but we’re not the only ones that go through it, other bands do to so I guess that helps. It’s definitely not an easy journey dealing with the stress, but defiantly one we’d take again.

STILLCODA: YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND THERE’S MORE COMING IN THE FUTURE FOR THIS BAND!

ROBERT: Oh yeah dude! We can’t wait, no matter what, we love this!

STILLCODA: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH US TODAY, ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO SAY TO THE FANS?

ROBERT: Yeah, we love you! (laughs!)

Make sure to check out Escape the Fates sites for their latest news, tours and more!

Website: www.escapethefate.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/escapethefate

Twitter: twitter.com/escapethefate

Myspace: www.myspace.com/escapethefate

CD Review: Madam Adam

MADAM ADAM

(The band - vocalist/guitarist Scott Gould, bassist Kenny Varner, guitarist Drew Reindollar and drummer Matthew Reindollar)

New off of Roadrunner’s Records label, MADAM ADAM self-titled debut album definitely has the potential to be at the forefront of the modern rock music world. It’s great to hear all these new bands with solid albums placing them as contenders to their contemporaries.

Hailing from Charleston, South Carolina this four-man band rocks hard. Lead singer Scott Gould has a great voice. It is scratchy yet powerful, lending their songs rough eloquence and edginess so wanted in the rock genre. They will appeal to all ages, from those who grew up to the classic rock of yesterday to the modern rock of today.

Falling from Grace – reminds me of some great anthems from Breaking Benjamin. The melodies and harmonies - so classic of Break Ben - mingle in this song. Being just the second song on the album, it certainly caught my attention with a desire to continue on the next track.

The lyrics are not complicated lines of prose, but catchy enough to get into, with some deep messages. Forgotten comes to mind with words such as “traumatic wounds, ugly abuse didn’t know the heart was made for that, is love in bloom or dead in the womb, paint my picture black….”

Still with such images coming to mind, their songs are an instant head bobber, even in their more ballad-like tunes. If you are familiar with mix master producer Skidd Mills, then you are probably fans of Saving Abel, Saliva, Skillet (whom we got to see one of their debut concerts and knew they would go places) and Sick Puppies.

In their entirety, MADAM ADAM is solid in both lyrics and instrumentals. What I had hoped for was a few more risks in their music that truly stamps them as brand new sound in the rock world. Just from listening, I know they are capable of achieving some awesome sounds and their love of music will push them to go even further in their future endeavors. I am eager to hear what will come from them next. Fans will definitively gravitate to their sound and hard-hitting tunes and from what I hear, but yet to experience, excellent performances.

Keep up with all that MADAM ADAM is currently doing on their website at

www.madamadam.com

and check them out on facebook,

www.facebook.com/pages/Madam-Adam

and request them on your local rock station!

You can also catch them on tour now!

Review by Morris Goodwin of STILLCODA