Avenged Sevenfold drummer found dead

By now you probably know that Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan was found dead in his southern California home on Monday. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Please keep them in your prayers. More info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34617808/ns/entertainment-music/

Bands to look out for in 2010

Just for kicks, here are a few new-ish bands to look out for in 2010:

Who: Shaman's Harvest

Song: "Dragonfly"

Sound: Straight-ahead hard rock.

Who: Them Crooked Vultures

Song: "New Fang"

Sound: Dave Grohl + Josh Homme + John Paul Jones = yay

Who: Janus

Song: "Eyesore"

Sound: Epic, melodic alternative/neo-prog.

Linkin Park, Green Day, Seether, Killswitch Engage winners in the 2000s

Rock music of the 2000s: A look back

By Anne Erickson (Originally published in NOISE)

Most any music fan would attest to the fact that while the '90s were all about grunge, hip-hop pretty much dominated the '00s. Still, a plethora of rock genres gained fans in the past decade. Grrr!!

Post-grunge proved popular with the mainstream, as Creed, 3 Doors Down, Seether, Nickelback and the Foo Fighters owned rock airwaves. Post-hardcore bands like Silverstein and Senses Fail won the hearts of young, exuberant music fans, while British Invasion groups Muse, Coldplay and Radiohead hit it big with highbrow listeners.

Metal-core found its way to the masses with groups like Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage and All that Remains. Hardcore punk from A.F.I. and Rise Against flourished. Pop-punkers Green Day, Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World and Weezer stayed influential throughout the decade, while nu-metal, alternative metal and rap-rock came on strong early with Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence and Papa Roach.

Emo, no doubt, became massive, via Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, as did New Wave/synthpop from the Killers, Franz Ferdinand and MGMT. Indie and garage rock broke through the major-label cloud with Kings of Leon, Against Me and Death Cab for Cutie.

And what was the best-selling rock album of the decade? Creed's "Human Clay."

Fave album of the 2000s

The 2000s brought many awe-inspiring albums. Here's my favorite. Surprised? Didn't think so.

• Album pick: "Sing the Sorrow," by A.F.I., 2003

• Why: I'll never forget the first time I heard this album. I felt thrust into an alternative reality and I fell in love. "Sing the Sorrow" marked A.F.I.'s transition from indie record label Nitro to the major-label fanfare of DreamWorks, but the band stuck with their punk-hardcore roots, all the while evolving into a darker, Goth-punk sound. Producers Butch Vig (Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins) and Jerry Finn (Rancid, Green Day) surely had something to do with that. Theatrical. Meaningful. Beautiful.

Members of Christian hardcore band Gwen Stacy have taken heat for their beliefs

Christian bands are firmly part of the post-hardcore, post-punk, modern rock world. The presence of popular, Christian-turned-mainstream groups such as Anberlin, Underoath and Flyleaf cements this trend.

Gwen Stacy is one more to add to that list. The Indianapolis-based metal-core band is on a mission to serve Christ. But they're not going to shove it down anyone's throat.

"We believe there's a certain respect everyone deserves, and we don't think less of anyone who thinks differently than us," drummer T.J. Sego said, chatting from a recent gig in Nashville.

"We're not ashamed of our faith and we definitely talk about it, but we share the stage with people who don't always agree with our views.

"Our values are a huge part of why we do what we do, but as far as being pushy, we flat-out think that's wrong."

Of course, not everyone plays the politically-correct card so well, and Gwen Stacy has taken some heat for their beliefs. Hey, nobody ever said standing up for what you believe in is easy.

"We had a tour last year where at half of the shows we were played, we were getting things shouted at us from the crowd," Sego said.

Not that he sweats it.

"As long as people are listening to us, whether they respond positively or negatively, I'd rather have kids saying something bad than nothing at all," he said.

What's a little more frustrating is that some in the Christian community have criticized Gwen Stacy for being too accepting of non-Christians.

Again, that doesn't ruffle the band.

"We've gotten some negative feedback from Christians, but in general, people seem to like that they can go to a show and see a Christian band that isn't going to tell them what to do," Sego said.

"A lot of our message is that even though we're Christians, we can relate to you. What we write is really for everybody, because we write about a lot of different things."

Gwen Stacy is currently headlining the Holiday Havoc 2009 tour. Playing live is everything to them. It's a chance to show off their creative blend of growing vocals, tumultuous guitars and hauntingly dark airs. It's also a chance to earn more fans.

"With bands like us who don't get radio exposure, the only way to get fans is to work for them," Sego said. "You do that through touring."

When Sego, vocalist Geoff Jenkins, guitar player Patrick Meadows and bass player Brent Schindler have any time off, they usually spend it hanging out with their close friends.
And, of course, there's always more work to do.

"I spend a lot of my personal time writing, because if I don't have anything to do for a while, I go crazy," said Sego, who co-writes the band's lyrics with Schindler.

"Our faith and beliefs are the foundation of our band, and that's definitely reflected in our lyrics," he added. "We want people to walk away with a group of different emotions and reactions, and also to walk away clear about what we believe."

By Anne Erickson

(Originally published in NOISE)

Hard-riffing rock with Red

Hey, everyone! Here's a story/interview about one of my favorite bands: Red. Hope you enjoy it! (Originally published in the Gannett Lansing State Journal.)

Red rocks with Christian edge

Anne Erickson aerickson@lsj.com

When the guys of hard rock band Red found themselves in a highway van crash in 2007, they probably never figured that a brush with death on tour would end up inspiring them to push even further with their music.

"It changed us," guitarist Jasen Rauch said, chatting from the road in Ohio. "We have yet to write a song specifically about that event, but having a near-death experience like that gives you a different lens to look at life through."

"When we were writing this new album, I think that experience allowed us to revisit some of the issues on our last album from a new perspective."

That new album is February's "Innocence and Instinct." A follow- up to their Grammy-nominated "End of Silence" debut, the new disc pulls no punches and shows a heavier, more mature Red. The title represents the struggle within us: the fight between morality and the temptation of human instinct.

"There's a good side and a bad side to all of us. Like the devil on your shoulder," Rauch said.

"The record is bipolar in nature."

The guys of Red - who open for Saving Abel at Common Ground on July 9 - first got together in Nashville in 2004. After taking two years to write and record a demo, the band generated enough fans and online buzz to get label interest and quickly inked to Sony Music.
At the heart of Red's music is a deep, honest faith. Each of its members is Christian, and the band is a regular on Christian rock playlists and at faith-based music festivals. Even so, it's hard to tell the band's Christian roots by listening to their music. Heavy and primed for secular radio, Red makes fierce, emotional music filled with loud-soft dynamics, lurching riffs and angst-fueled vocals.

Themes are universal: fear, anger, loneliness.

"Keeping certain things ambiguous is always a priority for us," Rauch said. "Not that we want to mask what we are talking about, but we want the songs to allow room for growth in the listener."

"People come up to us and say our song 'Pieces' got them out of depression or stopped them from killing themselves. But then, someone else will say they wanted that song played at their wedding. Those are two very different perspectives."

Right now, rock radio is all over the band's single, "Death of Me." When Red breaks into the hard-riffing song at shows, fans sing along and cheer so loudly you can hardly hear the band.

"I think originally, the song started as just a jaded song against people who burned you or used you in the past," Rauch said. "But it morphed and matured into this song about your own inner demons and inner struggles."

" 'You'd be the death of me,' you're saying to yourself. It's that demon you keep fighting over and over again, that you keep struggling with but are also at the mercy of this thing."
In the end, camp Red - which includes Rauch, Michael Barnes (vocals) and brothers Randy Armstrong (bass, piano) and Anthony Armstrong (guitar) -- is all about staying connected with the fans."

"Being close to our fans is something we always wanted," Rauch said.

Oh, Sleeper - not your typical metalcore band

I recently wrote a story on Christian metalcore band Oh, Sleeper. They're on Solid State Records, the same label as Demon Hunter, Haste the Day, Underoath, etc.

Here's the story (originally posted on LSJ.com)!

Metal band has Christian roots but don't expect them to preach

By Anne Erickson, Lansing State Journal

"I like knowing that somebody out there is listening to our music and are getting more out of it than moshing at a show. It means a lot when people are really relying on our songs to help them through something, because music was really magical for me when I was younger."

That's the favorite part of making music for Ryan Conley, drummer for Fort Worth, Texas, metal band Oh, Sleeper. Granted, they aren't your typical hard rock band. The group's tracks are fierce, brash and menacing, but there is also an underlying message of hope in the final outcome.

"We all agreed that if we were going to do this aggressive music, we also wanted to play music that was victorious, music that would help people conquer their problems and not just whine about them," said Conley.

The guys of Oh, Sleeper are vets of the Texas hardcore scene. Three of the group's five members hail from former Christian emo band Terminal. After Terminal broke up, the guys took some time off and then put together Oh, Sleeper, which includes Conley, vocalist Micah Kinard, guitarist Shane Blay, guitarist James Erwin and bass player Lucas Starr.

Oh, Sleeper's recent full-length, which is out on Solid State Records, is titled, "When I Am God." It's a purposely controversial title from a band that's mostly made up of Christians, but doesn't want to push its beliefs onto anyone.

"Christianity is a big part of the band, but we're very much against commercializing Jesus and the belief of Christianity," Conley said. "When I Am God is more or less a way of saying that we want to let God be God, and to let us be followers of Him."

In the end, the album is about serving the band's fans.

"We basically want to make music that helps people," said Conley. "We are not a ministry, and we're not here to preach to kids. We play music to help empower kids to live their lives the right way. If it helps them get through the breakup of their girlfriend or suicidal tendencies, then that's what I want."