Janus mixes alternative, neo-prog, metal

I had the chance to interview Mike Tyranski from Chicago-based hard rock band Janus yesterday. I'll post the interview soon! Here's their video for "Eyesore."

Janus MTV Music

Interview: Chevelle's 'Letter from a Thief'

If Chevelle had any particular goal with its latest release, "Sci-Fi Crimes," it was to make a record that represents how the band sounds live. And drummer Sam Loeffler says, thankfully, that plan came together.

"We didn't use auto tone on the vocals; we didn't use samples of the drums; and we recorded the whole songs through," Sam said, chatting from his hometown of Chicago. "We wanted it to sound like we sound onstage."

Despite its title, "Sci-Fi Crimes" isn't an album that deals solely with aliens or supernatural encounters. Instead, the title started out as a joke and ended up inspiring the song "Roswell," which lead vocalist and guitarist (and Sam's brother) Pete Loeffler came up with after reading a story about a woman who claims a spaceship took off from her backyard.

"It's a really interesting story, but that's not so much the theme of the album," Sam said. "It was hard to name the record because the songs all have different themes."

Chevelle's first single, "Jars," has nothing to do with aliens. The deep, down-tuned rock ditty is actually a tongue-in-cheek reference to "wanting to save the world."

"It's like you're trying to put the whole world into jars for safe keeping," Sam said. "So it's kind of about recycling and the green movement. Which of course is a great thing; it's just taking it to the extreme.

Like "The Red" and "I Get It" before it, the album shot up the rock radio chart and was the most added song on rock and active rock radio when it was released.

Nobody is more surprised by the single's success than Chevelle.

"We were surprised that song was picked as a single because we really didn't think that it was the strongest song on the record," Sam said, laughing. "But everyone was sort of attracted to it. We played it to friends and people at our label and they'd be like, 'Oh, that's the single.' "

The next single, "Letter from a Thief," is going strong, too.

Overall, the band hopes fans will dig the variety on the album.

"I imagine people will be surprised by the fact we did an acoustic song again," Sam said, referring to the downscaled "Highland's Apparition."

"I don't know if I can say it's our best record, because we're pretty close to the records, but I certainly hope it's our best record," he added. "And if it is I think it's because we developed as songwriters."

The guys - Sam, Pete and their brother-in-law Dean Bernardini on - started Chevelle in Chicago in 1995. Since then, the band has released five studio albums, and Sam says he thinks the group is coming full circle.

"I think if you go long enough in a progression, you'll sort of turn around and come back," he said. "This record is probably closest to point No. 1 than any other record we've done."

And what's it like being in a band with your brother 15 years and counting?

"I can't image what it would be like to be in a band without my brother," Sam said. "My main reason for playing music when I started was because I was fan of what he was doing. I love playing drums and I'll always be a drummer, but I don't know that I would have the drive if I didn't have his music to drive me."

-Anne Erickson, Gannett LSJ/NOISE

Interview: Cavo frontman talks about his love for grunge

Cavo lead singer Casey Walker always knew he had a knack for music. But it wasn't until he saw Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder onstage that Walker felt called to be a singer.

"When I saw Eddie singing, I was floored," he said, speaking from a tour stop in Oklahoma City. "My whole world changed. You can just tell that what he's saying is important to him. He puts his heart and soul into every song."

When you hear Cavo, the Pearl Jam influence makes sense. On the St. Louis-based band's major-label debut, the guys make it clear they don't want to be a pop band; instead, they delve into straight-ahead, post-grunge rock with catchy, brisk riffs and raspy vocals.

Cavo is currently on a 75-date tour, and they don't plan to stop anytime soon. First, there was Crue Fest 2 in August. Then a tour with Shinedown and Sick Puppies. And now, the band is on its first arena tour, opening for Daughtry and Theory of a Deadman.

Despite the exhaustion that naturally follows so much time on a tour bus, Cavo remains wide-eyed and excited about performing every night. Even if it means playing their hits singles "Champagne" and "Crash" over, and over.

"The best thing about the journey of being in this band is getting to play our music," Walker said. "These songs are all snapshots of periods in our lives, and when you see people appreciate that, it's the best feeling.

"When a person says, 'Your song got me through the hardest part of my life,' that means so much to the whole band."

-Anne Erickson, Gannett LSJ

Interview: Shaun Morgan of Seether

Being different has never bothered Shaun Morgan.

"We don't really follow trends," said the lead singer of South African hard rock band Seether.

"We're not underground, we're not emo, we're not punk rock, we're not metal. We don't really have a place."

Not having a place seems to work for Seether. With three chart-topping albums since 2002 and numerous No. 1 radio hits including "Fake It" and "Rise Above This" off their current full-length Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, Seether is one of the biggest modern rock bands on the planet right now. Loud guitars, murky riffs and aggressive-yet-introspective lyrics characterize the group's Nirvana-inspired sound.

Speaking enthusiastically from a concert stop in the U.K., Morgan wasn't taking interviews at press time, but made a special exception to talk with us.

"Fake It" is huge. (The track, which criticizes materialism, reached No. 1 on the Billboard rock charts.) I heard the song started out as an experiment.

(He laughs.) Yeah, I was having one of those days where I was kind of in a weird mood, and I had this drum beat with this swing to it, and I was like, "Man, that's kind of weird, let's see what I can do with it." So, "Fake It" originally started off as just being a complete joke to amuse myself.

Dating and breaking up in the public eye must be rough. You took the high road when Amy Lee (of Evanescence) put your personal relationship out there with "Call Me When You're Sober."

Yeah, I did write some songs that were complete lash backs, but those I knew were never intended to be used, they were just for me, personally. I'm not going to say that some songs don't touch on that subject, but not in an obvious fashion. I'm never going to air out anybody else's dirty laundry. That's not who I want to be. And I think that was the route she felt she needed to take. ... But I'm telling you, as much as you've just given me accolades, it was a tough decision to make.

Your current single, "Rise Above This," comes from a very private place. (Morgan wrote the song for his brother who has since taken his own life.) Do you have mixed emotions about its success?

I think it's a positive thing. If you consider it to be a tribute to somebody, then you'd rather it was successful than it wasn't. It's weird having my diary on the radio, but I couldn't do it any other way. It is the way I write music, and it is very personal to me. I don't think it's more important than other songs we've done, but it helped me through a rough time, and that's really what its intention is. That it can help other people.

-Anne Erickson, Gannett LSJ

Soundgarden

Soundgarden is back! Click here for the website.

And the top act of the decade is...

The Dave Matthews Band. Yep.

According to Pollstar, the guys grossed nearly $530 million over the last decade, beating out the Rolling Stones, U2 and Madonna. Congrats, guys, on being the top act of the 2000s.

Here's a list of the top 10 touring artists of the decade (click here for the full story):

1. Dave Matthews Band

2. Celine Dion

3. Kenny Chesney

4. Bruce Springsteen

5. The Rolling Stones
6. U2
7. Madonna

8. Eagles

9. Elton John

10. Jimmy Buffett

Top concerts of 2009

Going to concerts is like paradise to me.

And a lot of other people seem to feel the same. According to Pollstar, the concert business had an up year, and the number of tickets sold in 2009 increased over 2008. Sweeeet!

Here's Pollstar's Top 10 Concerts for 2009 (click here for the Top 50):

1. U2

2. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

3. Elton John / Billy Joel

4. Britney Spears

5. AC/DC

6. Kenny Chesney

7. Jonas Brothers

8. Dave Matthews Band

9. Fleetwood Mac

10. Metallica

Other notables: Nickelback (No. 11), Coldplay (19), No Doubt (24), Motely Crue (39) and Kings of Leon (43).