In one of the most fun interviews that we have ever done here at Subculture we this week chatted to Jeff Hortilossa about his brand new EP The Horticulture Vol 1.
Category: Rock
After being with legendary rock group Deep Purple since 1969 you could forgive Roger Glover for being a little ho-hum about the release of a new album – after all Whoosh! will be his twenty-first album with the Hall Of Fame listed band. Instead when I get the opportunity to talk to him about the album I find out he is just as excited as he would be if this was the band’s first album.
“There is that magical moment between finishing an album and releasing it,” he says as we talk about how he is feeling at the time. “Of course this has been a slightly longer one because of the virus, but during that time it is still ours. Then when it is released it is not ours anymore, it is out there in the world on its own – coping the best it can. It is nothing to do with us anymore.”
“So yes at the moment there is still that magical moment,” he says with a slight chuckle. “I am still hanging onto this little treasure that nobody else knows about at the moment. But then it comes out and then it is anybody’s business.”
Yes, as they say nobody can dodge Covid-19, not even a multi-award winning band like Deep Purple. While their fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of the album (it was originally due out in June) they now have to wait until early August before the album will drop.
“It was the record label’s decision,” explains Glover. “It was pushed by three or four months because basically there would be no shops open. That would mean the only way that you would be able to buy the album would be by downloading it, but a lot of our core audience prefer the physical thing – either the actual album or the CD – and seeing that they couldn’t buy those they pushed it back.”
“I mean music stores are already doing it rough,” he says continuing. “The whole music business is in turmoil. Streaming and downloading has become the thing but we are one of the older acts that still believe in albums. To me an album is a sign-post to the state of the band at that particular year and that is important to us and I think that it is important to our fans.”
Whoosh! Is out on June 12th through earMusic. You can listen to our full interview below.
2020 has been a strange year for American hard rock band Pop Evil. It should have been a year when they were extremely busy. They have a new album coming but instead of being out there on the road Covid-19 has seen them become restricted to just releasing singles for their fans. Mind you the release of singles like “Work” and “Let Chaos Reign” have made fans very excited… and that is something that lead singer Leigh Kakaty is very aware of when we catch up with him.
“All these songs were written way before the pandemic hit,” says Kakaty as we talk about the fact that their themes almost make them a soundtrack for what we are going through at the moment. “So it is very interesting how songs can almost predict the future in a way. These themes are hitting hard now, they are hitting harder now then what they even did back then.”
That discussion leads us both to start talking about the foundations of these tracks. “They all came out of the writing process of what is going to be out sixth studio album,” he explains. “I just went out and the band really trusted me this time. They don’t write a lot of lyrics so I just needed to go out and write, but to also go out and see where my mind was. So I was out in LA and I just thought ‘you know what we really have to go hard on this record… it is a statement record.’ We’ve done five albums so I knew that we needed to weed out the crap and amp up the stuff that we had done well.”
“The one thing that I knew that I wanted was infections guitars,” says Kakaty continuing. “When we go back over our back catalogue you can hear that the choruses are very alive but there are also a lot of words… so there is not much of an opportunity for the music to do the talking so I decided that this time around that I really wanted everything to be very guitar driven.”
“Work” and “Let Chaos Reign” are out now. You can hear the full audio interview with Pop Evil above.
Founding KISS guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member Ace Frehley announces the release of Origins Vol. 2, his highly-anticipated second collection of eleven rock ‘n’ roll covers, due out on September 18, 2020. Today, he also releases the first single, a flawless cover of Deep Purple’s 1972 hit, “Space Truckin’” available now on all streaming platforms, and as an official music video.
Recorded at The Creation Lab in Turlock, CA, Frehley recorded guitar, bass, and vocals on “Space Truckin’” with long-time studio drummer Matt Star and keyboard player Rob Sabino (Peter Frampton, Simon & Garfunkel).
Ace offers, ‘’Space Truckin’ was recorded years ago, and then I just re-recorded some parts and changed it a little. We never ended up putting it on a record, so it was just sitting around. It turned out very well. Rob Sabino is a very accomplished studio musician, and we actually grew up in the Bronx together, so we go way back.”
The official video for ‘Space Truckin” was directed by eOne’s Ken Gullic (VP, Sales & Acquisitions, Music) and animated by Chris Fequiere, the same team behind the “Mission to Mars” music video from Frehley’s Spaceman album in 2018.
Frehley has also re-signed with eOne for more new releases, which extends his original deal signed in 2013. During his tenure, he has released three albums worth of new material, Origins Vol. 2 is the fourth. A new studio album is planned for 2021 with two additional releases to follow.
eOne’s Scott Givens, SVP, Rock & Metal, Music says, “I am thrilled to extend our partnership with Ace Frehley. He is a core artist for eOne and I look forward to more continued success with him.”
eOne’s Ken Gullic, VP, Sales & Acquisitions, Music, offers, “We were warned, before our first meeting with Ace in 2014, that he’d never deliver an album or get on the plane for that very meeting. He showed up with an early version of Steve Miller’s “The Joker” in hand and then cranked out eleven brand new songs at lightning speed for his first top 10 solo album ever, ‘Space Invader,’ just in time for his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction as a KISS member in 2014. With nine albums into his vibrant solo career, one that clearly stands on its own, it’s time for Ace to be considered as a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted solo performer too.”
Frehley continues his reflections on a lifetime in music with this release of Origins Vol. 2. No stranger to cover versions throughout his musical history — having recorded, rebranded and repossessed such notable nuggets as ‘New York Groove,’ ‘Do Ya’ and ‘I Wanna Go Back’ throughout his eight previous studio efforts — this new collection presents a thoughtful and exciting selection of songs that inspired and helped shape the legendary guitarist. That spirit of fun is carried through with exquisite execution, and guitar aficionados will enjoy Frehley’s fresh interpretations of these classic songs.
Origins Vol 2. features some extraordinary guests, including Robin Zander of Cheap Trick on Humble Pie’s ‘30 Days In The Hole,’ and former KISS comrade Bruce Kulick on Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Manic Depression.’ Origins Vol.1 alumnus John5 also returns, playing on Cream’s ‘Politician,’ and The Beatles’ ‘I’m Down.’ Finally, the exquisite Lita Ford returns on vocals, this time on The Rolling Stones’ 1968 hit ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash.’ Full tracklisting below.
Track List:
1. Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin)
2. Never In My Life (Mountain)
3. Space Truckin’ (Deep Purple)
4. I’m Down (The Beatles)
5. Jumpin’ Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones)
6. Politician (Cream)
7. Lola (The Kinks)
8. 30 Days In The Hole (Humble Pie)
9. Manic Depression (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
10. Kicks (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
11. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (The Animals)
12. She (KISS) [Bonus Track]
Origins Vol. 2 will be the followup to 2016’s Origins Vol. 1, which hit #23 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and was his second highest-charting solo album and his 4th Top 40 album.
Pre-orders are available today at www.acefrehleyorigins.com — which includes an exclusive 180g Opaque Gold Double LP variant (limited to 1000 copies + download card).
The second song of the Kurukulla sessions is out! The Ladies of Tarah Who? Have chosen to play a very old song called “In A Rush” . A song written in 2006, when Tarah made the decision to move from Paris, FR to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of music. Here, the Ladies of Tarah Who? Are taking a break from the agressive punk rock you may be used to.
Hard Alternative Rock Band ANOTHER DAY DAWNS has released the official music video for their newest single, “Forget Me Not.” Directed by Cyrus Entezam, “Forget Me Not” features Josh Balz (Formerly of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE.)
Formed in 2010 the Lehighton, PA based band Another Day Dawns continues to be the most talked about up and coming rock act in the Northeast to Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. Led by Lead Singer and front man Dakota Sean, Guitarist Tyler Ritter, and Drummer Nick McGeehan, the band released their EP A Different Life in February 2018 which landed them a charting spot on Billboard which solidified their foundation in the active rock market. In December 2019, early member Jerome Betz returned to filling out the rhythm section on bass.
Hitting the road with bands such as Hinder, Issues, Cold, and Buckcherry, the band has created an established following in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Throughout the last two years the band has performed in multiple venues with 400-1200 capacity, filling hundreds of seats, and grossing over 13K in followers on their social media accounts.
Fleetwood Mac’s third studio album, ‘Then Play On’, will be reissued on CD and vinyl on September 18 via BMG.
This deluxe, expanded bookpack edition of the album will feature the original UK tracklisting, plus four bonus tracks; all mastered at half speed for dynamic range, and with the vinyl 2 LP version being pressed on 180g audiophile black vinyl.
The CD will come with a mediabook, whilst the 2LP will come with a 16 page book pack, with both featuring brand new sleevenotes by Fleetwood biographer Anthony Bozza and a personal foreword by Mick Fleetwood himself.
The Celebration Edition is being reissued as a prelude to the worldwide release of the Mick Fleetwood And Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green concert film later this year.
First released on September, 19 1969, ‘Then Play On’ was the first of Fleetwood Mac’s original albums to feature Danny Kirwan, and the last with Peter Green.
Taking its title from the opening line of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night – ‘If music be the food of love, play on’ – the album offered a broader stylistic range than the classic blues of the group’s first two albums.
Featuring some of the early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac’s most notable songs, such as ‘The Green Manilishi’, ‘Searching For Madge’, and ‘Oh Well Pts. 1 & 2’, the album is revered as a genre-pushing record and a lynch-pin piece of the vast Fleetwood Mac repertoire.
‘Then Play On’ went on to reach #6 in the UK, subsequently becoming the band’s fourth Top 20 hit album in a row, as well as their third album to reach the Top 10.
Tracklisting
1. Coming Your Way
2. Closing My Eyes
3. Fighting For Madge
4. When You Say
5. Show-Biz Blues
6. Under Way
7. One Sunny Day
8. Although The Sun Is Shining
9. Rattlesnake Shake
10. Without You
11.Searching For Madge
12. My Dream
13. Like Crying
14. Before The Beginning
15. Oh Well – Pt. 1
16. Oh Well – Pt. 2
17. The Green Manalishi ( With The Two Prong Crown)
18. World In Harmony
Pre Orders For Then Play On are available now
https://mfaf.lnk.to/ThenPlayOnPR
PJ Orr return with a brand new video – check it out right here.
This week on Subculture we spoke to Australian singer-songwriter Mike Elrington about his brand new single “She’s On My Mind Again.”
You can take a listen to the interview right here.
UK singer-songwriter Gerry Duncan wrote a track for the new James Bond film No Time To Die. While the song wasn’t used in the film it has gone on to become hit in its own right.
This week on Subculture we spoke to Gerry to find out how the song came about.