January 2009
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The era of thrash metal one once knew has been reborn in a much more mature style and sound with such heavy aggression you'll fall face first after witnessing such a fiery pit. The pit straight out of hell thanks to these clone like figures bringing back the heat waves of the era we once knew to be claimed by thrash legends Sodom, Kreator, and Slayer but this time vengeance is upon the horizon and it brings to you Avenger Of Blood! With their sophomore release notched tightly under their bullet belt attire Avenger of Blood have taken a leap through the fiery hell hole into the center stage front of hell itself, with "Death Brigade," it alone being categorized as 100% chaotic thrash metal! These guys proudly wear their influences on their sleeve. "Death Brigade," artwork done by Joe Petagno depicts the band as conquering skeletons which have already consumed your soul since the very beginning. I conducted an interview with the thrash skeletors at their first official gig of the New Year this is how it turned out....


1. First I'd like to say Happy New Year to you guys. Did you guys have any New Year's resolutions?

Band: Thank you, Happy New Year to you, TAKE OVER THE WORLD and we all just want to play a lot and TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!! Just create new material and head over to Europe and TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!

2. Is this your first official gig of 2009?

Chris: Yes believe so well aside from the fact that there weren’t that many people out there tonight, it was fun I had a good time.
Sal: First time Chris and I switched vocals on and off throughout the set which was totally weird.

3. Any plans for a new record?

Band: Definitely a new album will be out and we have a few new songs in the works. We're getting there.

4. How was it like playing back in October with Appease the Beast 2?

Band: It was okay we got ripped off though, to be frank it was a BS gig, but the bands were cool. And the time slot was messed up on all the bands when they were suppose to go on so we had like 20 people and the other bands had like 4,000. (Laughs)

5. Have you guys had a chance to play the Los Angeles Murderfest?

Band: No heard about it , we’ll probably try for next year there’s things we got to take of before getting on any festivals out here. But we will be getting there soon enough.



6. Where did the name come about?

Shannon: The other guy I formed the band with, he had the name and he made a demo by himself and then when I joined and thought it was a cool name and it means "revenge" seriously does mean "revenge" so many other bands being named that. We just decided to keep the name and then he quit and we just stuck with the name.

7. How did the process for "Death Brigade," come about are you satisfied with it?

Shannon: Well when we did the two songs on "Speed Kills Again Combination," it just kinda lead to signing with Heavy Artillery Records and we already had half the songs written for it already and we had so much time to write 5 more so we like busted it out in less than a month and then went in and recorded the whole thing, it was a better experience than recording our first album. But it still kinda had problems, ya know we felt pretty rushed, and were very rushed and the guy who recorded us wasn't necessarily a producer and we kinda knew that so it was kinda us doing it ourselves and sometimes you do something and hope you can fix that but it don't get fixed and has those kind if problems but overall album is very cool and I'm still happy about it. The cover was done by the guy who’s done all the artwork for the Motorhead albums Joe Petagno.

8. How about any merch didn't see anything out there this time or last time.

Band: We have our new 7 inch "Speed n’ Spikes Vol. 5," released by Relapse and some babydoll t-shirts and some 3X-L t-shirts out there.

9. How did "Speed n’Spikes Vol. 5," come about?

Band: It’s pretty cool and It just came out it’s a split with Witchhaven and there a great band by the way. They’re pretty cool.



10. Any plans for Valentine’s Day or upcoming months?

Chris: I'm going to buy some candy hearts and go send them to all my Ex-GF's and it’s Marcs Birthday so that’s about it really.

11. What was it like when you played with Warbringer back at the Whisky?

Chris: Oh I love Warbringer they kick ass but that show was terrible for us. Band: That show sucked for us and the Whisky sucks but Warbringer is kick-ass band. We will be playing with them again possibly doing 3- 4 dates with them in June but it’s just in the talking process right now. They’re doing some big shows right now. Their manager lives in Las Vegas and we're jealous of them but its good fun and proud of them. They opened for us at one time and then next thing you know there huge! Our time is coming!

12. Have you guys written or played any cover songs?

Band: We use too, one time we played with Metal Church, we played an hour of cover songs and covered Slayer, Judas Priest, S.O.D., Kreator, Venom.
Chris: Judas Priest really? (Laughs) I had no idea.

Shannon: We did 3 Judas Priest songs, 4 Venom songs, 4 Slayer songs 3 Kreator songs, 2 S.O.D songs and we’re talking about releasing possibly an EP or LP of just cover songs and one new Avenger of Blood song on there it’s kinda a tribute to all of our favorite bands ya know.

Is there one band that you would love to tribute too?

Sal: ABBA.
Chris: For me Death by far dude, Violator dude, Exodus I love those bands.
Surprised none of you picked Pantera since everyone loves them.
Sal: I love Pantera but none of these guys do, I’m a Metallica and Pantera freak these guys hate that crap.
Chris: I dig it it’s not my favorite band, but I like it.
Since you’re a Metallicahead whatca think of their new album?
Sal: Oh not good, I’m an old Metallica fan.
Chris: Best album they’ve released “Saints,” ”…And Justice for All,” to me, I thought it was better than “The Black Album,” I hated “The Black Album,” that album destroyed oh don’t even get me started.
Shannon: That crap should have never been released.
Sal: That’s the thing thought with Metallica but everything passed “The Black Album,” is not Metallica. It’s a good album but it’s not Metallica and “St. Anger,” that was a joke.



13. Have any funny tour stories?

Shannon: Well every time we go somewhere doesn't matter every time we get lost. We miss turns, we’ll be going like 40 miles down the road and have to turn around and go back because we forget our crap. Our manager Mike will fall asleep at the wheel and we'll all be passed out and Shannon will stay up just so we don’t die.
Manager Mike: Haven’t killed anybody yet.
Chris: came close to killing me a couple of times.
Manager Mike: Almost drove off a cliff, travel is an adventure. That’s what cruise control is is for. (Laughs)
Shannon: We did this West Coast tour with Godless Rising and this band from Texas, so we go from Phoenix, to L.A., Vegas, to San Francisco, and there was suppose to be a show in Oregon never even got booked and then we went to Seattle kicked ass in Seattle and we were like alright we’re on a high and then went to Portland, and the show that was supposed to be there wasn’t booked and they had no idea we were coming there and then they hooked up a show for us and then got us some beer and pizza and chicken wings! There was this dude in the bar and he called all his friend so there was like 30 people there and then by the time we got on the whole place was filled up. Also a lot of people had dreadlocks and Omaha didn’t have addresses and the people from Kansas City took complete care of us from hotel to food to everything. We would love to play Italy, Germany, France, Serbia, and WE WANT TO RULE THE WORLD AND GO EVERYWHERE!

14. Are you guys looking forward to the Superbowl?

Band: Not really into sports, we're all going to be doing our own thing that weekend.
Chris: I don’t give a crap about football but I don’t watch football too much if the Giants aren’t playing I don’t care.
Marc: I’ll be out hunting so I don’t really care for the Superbowl.

15. Any final thoughts or comments?

Band: Bring the funk, and go check Avenger of Blood on stupid MySpace and check out our website www.avengerofblood.com which will be redesigned next month and get the new vinyl and pick up "Death Brigade," buy it online or anywhere go online to buy our merchandise!
12:46 PM
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It's ten o'clock do you know where your soul is? I know where stuck in the fiery depths if hell! Allowing the heat wave of the fire consume you having each droplet of sweat turn into mist which slithers its way throughout the hell hole leading down a path of pure destruction. This cause of destruction can only led to a stage set up with instruments only Satan himself can control. Thus he gives you Avenger of Blood! Doing their first performance of this New Year letting it roll right off their backs with ease as their set list consists of a 45 minute set up the band rocked the Knitting Factory venue completely to the small packed house of people that showed up wanting rock out right along with the band. The band themselves was highly energetic doing windmills every splitting second each song was played through playing hits off their latest "Death Brigade," throwing out some amazing guitar styling riffs with rocking solos breaking the sound waves completely. Songs rocked out included "Vicious Onslaught," "Assassins," "Beneath the Curse," "Sadistic Inquisitor," plus new tune "Hell Patrol," along with of course the title tune "Death Brigade." During their performance one of the fans in the audience was rocking out hard as Sal Lalli (Guitarist/Vocalist) was getting the crowds energy up and running a fan rocked out so hard to gain some attention the guitarist was rotating the microphone around facing it towards the crowd it plopped head on into the fans eyeball. Guitarist Sal Lalli bent down and apologized to the die-hard fan just wanting to show some heavy metal support. All in all Avenger of Blood through together a killer show on the chilly but fiery depths of Hollywood Blvd letting everyone know around them that hell had been brought upon Los Angeles.
11:46 AM
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1. Do you feel like your past plays a part in motivating your efforts?

Yes it certainly does. We have always been very dedicated metal musicians. This was the kind of Music we really wanted to play when we started in 1994. Although at that time we could not play our instruments very well. We all learned to play our instruments ourselves, never had lessons and practiced very much. At the end you could say this approach of making music delivered Mortal Form an authentic sound that gives a perfect view of the influences of the different band members. So in that case you could say the past motivated our efforts now.

2. Do you feel your music and your efforts coincide with one another?

Yes, it certainly does. As I said in the previous question, we invested a lot of time in Mortal Form. Not only to compose songs but also to learn how handle our instruments well. At the moment we think we have the perfect line up. It feels great to compose good sounding songs together and everyone is very motivated at the moment. Everything we have done in the past and the great musicians in Mortal Form now both come together on Taste the Blood and reflects the past as well as the present on a good way.

3. Is there a message you carry within your music that you want to express to your listeners?

There isn`t really a message in our music. I guess you can, musically seen, say that we want people to know that Mortal Form is band that likes to mix traditional styles of metal without doing concessions towards commerce. Besides that we hope that our music sounds authentic enough to stand out in the sea of many great death and thrash metal releases that are available at the moment. Lyrically seen Taste the Blood mainly is about different wars and conflict situations around the World and of course the fact that the past will repeat it selfs. There always will be wars of conflicts. I guess you could say we would like to share our view on these subjects with our listeners.




4. What is Mortal Form doing differently on the new album “Taste the Blood,” to warrant the attention of some of the younger kids who are just getting into heavy music now? Do you feel you're a logical progression for kids to get into the way most people get into metal and hard - through the more popular bands?

At the moment Mortal Form isn`t a popular band like the more popular bands you related to in your question. Mortal Form just released the debut. I guess time will tell. I think we can certainly get the attention of the younger kids who just got in to metal. Just like myself most of that kids, I hope, started listening to the more traditional bands from the past like Slayer, Kreator, Testament, Cannibal Corpse, the old In Flames or Pestilence for instance. Our music certainly has something to offer for fans of the before mentioned bands. I just hope the younger generation metal kids will pick up our release through the promotion our record label My Kingdom Music is doing at the moment. There are a lot of reviews of Taste the Blood online and people can listen to some tracks on our myspace www.myspace.com/whendeathmeetsthrash.

5. Mortal Form helped push the band to a higher level through “Taste the Blood”. Being that it's been over a decade and that even more extreme music is catching a lot of attention right now, do you worry that this record might just maintain your current fans as opposed to gaining a number of new ones?

No, I guess there always has been and still is a great market for extreme music. The fans of extreme music are very devoted and dedicated and I don`t see death metal fans going to listen to dance music any time soon, haha. On the other hand Mortal Form fans are patient ones. This is our debut release after a lot of years and our fans always have been very supportive and patient towards us. Now the time and the circumstances were right to release Taste the Blood. The older fans are very satisfied that there finally is a release available from us, and with the before mentioned promotional activities we hope to gain a lot of new fans. Especially abroad. We want to know how the world thinks about our music!!

6. Being where you're at in your career, where you're able to draw a large crowd, do you ever come across shows where you feel like you're playing for a group of people who are just staring at you, acting almost like they have no idea who you are? If they still happen, how do you handle boring live shows?




At the moment we started booking some live shows after some time again so it didn`t happen so often lately. In the past we certainly played some of these shows. What do we do? Well, in the first place we make music for ourselves. We like playing our instruments and compose songs. If people like that, perfect! If people don`t like what we are doing at our live shows, just leave. We try not to give these people attention and focus on the people that do like our music. In every venue we have played was at least one metal fan that liked our music. That`s what makes a live show a success. Besides that we have great band, musically but certainly also personally. We have a lot of fun with the guys when we are "on the road". So we laugh about it and say that we don`t want to play in that shithole anymore and get fucking drunk, hahaha.

7. As the years have gone on, it seems like there are bands few and far between who are satisfied with their labels. What is your take on labels in general, these days?

Well we actually don`t have that much experience as it comes to labels. For Mortal Form this is our first record deal. We really did not know what we could actually expect. Till now we are very, very satisfied with our label My Kingdom Music and the effort they put in promoting and distributing Taste the Blood. We get great reactions from all over the world. You could say that a great network and experience is very important for both label and bands. They also gave us the opportunity to display our music on the rest of the world and that`s very cool. And the final very important thing is honesty. Mortal Form is a band with honest guys. If we say we do something than we do it. If anyone else says they want to do something for the band, cool. Just do it. If they don`t there is no trust. And trust is the base for a good and steady relation now and in the future. A band can`t do without a label and a label can`t do without bands.

8. How did such an odd name come to be?

You ask me, haha. No really, we just thought it would be a cool name and it suits our mortal music pretty well.

9. Your lyrics are obviously quite interesting. How do you feel when that seems to be lost with some listeners whom only seem to hear the aggressive side of the music being played?

It has two sides to it. We are very pleased to hear that a lot of listeners also read the lyrics. Our vocalist Rogier puts a lot of time in them and there also is a message that we want to bring over with them. Sometimes this message is a history lesson, sometimes its`s our point of view on a certain subject. Our lyrics just aren`t simply about killing, cut of limbs or mutilated bodies. That`s a choice of course. On the other hand if people like our music and don`t spent time to read the lyrics that`s also fine to me. Some people just don`t care what`s in them. That`s also a choice.

10. What do you think is the most harmful thing happening to the underground music scene right now, and what do you think could curb that?

Phew, that`s a hard question. Thanks for that, haha. I actually don`t know. I don`t think there are harmful things happening to underground music scene at the moment (is there?). The underground music scene is built on both very devoted bands and fans who oftenly like that music for (a) decade(s) now. I guess things are pretty much flourishing again right now. At a moment I really missed the "tape trading era". But now with media like myspace it`s very easy for underground bands to present themselves to a big audience. I guess it gives the scene more possibilities. That`s a great thing. I hope this will go on for some time in the future.

11. What are the plans for touring noticed you have a few dates listed.

Yes that`s true. We hope do a lot of live shows to promote Taste the Blood in Holland and abroad. We have to wait and see what the future will bring. We just inked a booking contract with the Prophecy Agency, a professional booker from Holland. We hope he can do a lot for us (check out www.theprophecyagency.nl) for instance with bands like Sinister who is also in his roster. Besides that we are trying to get booked for the big summer festivals. At the moment we are confirmed to play at the Black (Motor)Cross Festival (one of the largest festivals in Europe) in July with for instance Arch Enemy. We hope to do a tour in fall if things work out.

12. What does the immediate future hold for Mortal Form?

I hope doing as much live shows and promotional activities as possible. Besides that we are working on new merchandise (shirts and sleeves) and are building a new website for www.mortalform.nl.

13. What is the one thing that you would still like to accomplish with Mortal Form that you haven't yet done?

Going on a good organized worldwide tour with a great headline act, drink as much as possible and having a group of playmates around us that even makes the Heff jaleous, haha. And of course hoping to produce many more great metal albums.

14. Was there any song that sticks out as one where you knew “Taste the Blood,” was going to be the album that it became?

Not really. I guess it has been the process of writing the album. Most of the songs are really written by the entire band. The feel we got writing these songs produced a feeling that Taste the Blood was going to be a release we could be proud of.

15. Thanks for the time and such a great record.

Thanks to you for showing interest in Mortal Form and keep on the good work! Just for the record, check out the following pages if you want to know more about Mortal Form. www.mortalform.nl (band page) www.myspace.com/whendeathmeetsthrash (band myspace) www.mykingdommusic.net (labels page) and www.theprophecyagency.nl (booking agencey) if you want to book us for a venue near you!!!

Cheerz Teun Mortal Form
2:01 PM
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Melody Maker's EP "Symphony Of Hatred," consisted of 4-tracks is their newest release from their previous works “The Revenge from Bleeding Lolita," which sold millions of copies within its first week alone selling out soon after but that was then and this is now and this installment takes Melody Maker to a whole new level.
"From Dying To Death," begins the record with a stirring twist of fate as the vocals begin to expand screeching and growling the lyrics loud and clear as the backing vocals help letting the guitar riffs create upon each note played. The drumming being played fast and hard keeping up with the guitars and vocals easily never missing a beat, as the track soon turns into "The Imposter." A riff twister allowing the guitars to come up with crafty creations that keep on building upon one another until they turn into a killer roaring solo that breaks the sound barrier letting the vocals wrap everything up sounding very similar to Cradle of Filth's "Her Ghost in the Fog."
The two remaining tunes "The Mannequine of the Beauty Queen," and "Suicide After Prom Night Massacre," both go directly into one another after one finishes the next one fills right in, each track is completely different though, "The Mannequine of the Beauty Queen," has a more darker in depth feel and vibration than the ending tune does which is a more uplifting and has a more mellow feel as it concludes the record. All in all Melody Maker is a keeper act to keep in mind and have your eyes spread wide and open because their musical capture is to eye catching you won't want to miss a minute of it!
1:43 PM
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1. Introduce yourself and what has the response been so far for "Pick Up The Pieces,"?

I'm Ryan, Pick Up the Pieces has been doing very well people are really into it, Its a step away in some ways from our first record Things Aren't So Beautiful Now, And we are all really stoked that kids are into the new CD as much as they are.



2. How did the band's sound progress from "It's Hard to Move You," to "Pick Up The Pieces,"?

I'd say that Pieces leans more into the rock then Its hard to move you, Its hard to move you was pop and very very radio friendly I mean don't get me wrong Pieces is radio friendly as all hell, but the direction that was taken on the new record was more rock, Kelvin had a lot to say on this record about the past year and half of the bands life.

3. Where did the album title come from?

It came from the title and opening track Pick Up The Pieces.

4. Are you excited for the Superbowl?

I personally hate sports, No offense to anyone I'll still love you if your into sports, I don't even know who's in the super bowl.

5. Do you or the band have any pre-concert rituals?

Loads of warming up normally

6. What are your tour essentials?

Mine personally are my iPod you need it for all those late nights driving,my laptop,my phone, Axe, and my four best friends, I just realized I need technology so much




7. What was the first concert you attended as a fan?

It was in 2004 i think, and it was Fall Out Boy, Matchbook Romance, Taking Back Sunday & The Used, Yeah I'm a loser I waited until after high school to go to my first show.

8. Any tour horror stories?

This is the first one that comes to mind with me, We were driving to Bakersfield from Modesto, We were trucking it trying to get there on time (We try and be on time) Phil was driving and decided to pull into a rest stop to go to the bathroom, I get out of the van and some guy comes up and says "You should check your trailer your tire is smoking" so we walk back to the trailer and see that our tire has black crap all over the rim and come to find out our ball baring I think it was was seizing and our tire nearly fell off, Thank you business looking white man at the rest stop!

9. What do you do when you're not on stage or in the studio? Do you have a "day job"?

Yup we have day jobs.

10. Was there ever a record that you didn't go out on tour to support it?

"It's Hard to Move You," was the only record we never went out to support but it was never released.

11. Any final thoughts of wisdom?

You shouldn't take life to seriously. You'll never get out alive. quoted from the great Van Wilder.
3:13 PM
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1. Can you shed some light on the band's history and briefly summarize the saga of Melody Maker for those who are not yet familiar with the band?

We were born in January 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia. All the members in the band are a family. We play a dark combination of music from Gothic to Metal Core and Black Metal which of course is a more modern way. We’ve had a lot of fans in Indonesia and Malaysia. When it comes to performance we wear a gothic costume such as Cradle of Filth or moi dix mois from Japan. We're also influenced by dir en grey, malice mizer and moi dix mois also from Japan. Basically stuff like that to get our energy plumping.

2. You have a brand-new EP, "Symphony Of Hatred," out in the open, what can you tell me about its creation - writing, recording, and how you managed to capture that classic style you're known to carry out when expressing yourselves musically.

"Symphony of Hatred," is our newest EP and we plan to release our second LP in mid 2009. Every member has given contribution to creating the music; we’ve had a lot of inspiration when creating this EP. Every song on this album is so brutal and fast with darkness covered all over, being absolutely everywhere in every part of each song played. As for in recording style we recorded all of the songs at our home studio, using nuendo3 software to record them; taking a guide mixing and mastering the process until everything is working mode in our studio.



3. What kind of expectations did you have for the album when you first started writing the new material? How do you feel about the record now, that it's been unleashed upon the masses?

We had a lot of expectations, mostly from our fans firstly, they were the ones that understood and knew everything about us. When we released the first album “The Revenge from Bleeding Lolita,” that album from just its first week was completely sold out so fast; we hope it can happen for the second album too. As for today's recording sessions they're going amazingly well. All of us are enjoying it more than before because we're more experts on the subject.

4. Traveling across the world to share your music, where have you guys been? What are the plans on the road? Any particular destination spots you have in mind?

We’re playing some big events in Indonesia and several countries in south Asia. We would really appreciate to be able to be playing in US or England when the time comes. We’d guess that our music would be more exploding out there. But until then we have many obstacles to promote Melody Maker before heading out there maybe you can help us?

5. Where did the name Melody Maker come about?

The Melody Maker's name came from my favorite British magazines we first used the name The Vandalish from 2001 - 2004. But since 2004 we’ve stayed with being known as Melody Maker from now on. I think it’s going to be a universal name, because the name doesn’t depend on any kind of music. The name made us become free to mix all kinds of music, but most of it was Metal and Gothic definitely all the way!



6. As a band how has Melody Maker grown between “The Revenge from Bleeding Lolita and “Symphony of Hatred"?

We’ve had a lot of progress up until now. The first album was slower than the second album. The sounds on the next album will be more kick ass than before. We’re so concern about the sounds parts. Our first album was sold out in just 3 months. All of us have never been satisfied in creativity before....we're always training our self to be expert musicians all the time. Until Melody Makers can be the most popular artist in the world!

7. How did you guys get into the metal scene in the first place? What drew you towards it, and why do you still devour every minute of it?

The first time we got into the whole metal scene was in 2002. Indonesia had the biggest Metal Scene around especially Asia. Indonesia had a billion metal fans there. It made us come alive and realize that this was what we wanted to do. Since then the metal fans have always held that loyalty and always appreciated us and gave us support every time we walked onto the stage it felt so spiritual.



8. What inspires you to create this music?

Wow that’s a difficult one to explain it one by one, haha we’ve had a lot of influences but the 10 names listed below are the most influential band of us:

CRADLE OF FILTH
DIMMU BORGIR
MOI DIX MOIS
DIR EN GREY
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS
MALICE MIZER
AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK
SUICIDE SILENCE
BLEEDING THROUGH
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
and many more!

9. Where do you see yourself and Melody Maker in twenty years?

To still be alive and well; having made loads of fans and friends from all around the world. The most important part would be to be able to play on stage alongside Cradle of filth or maybe Lamb of God.

10. Do you have any parting words or messages?

To face any obstacle with smile, and give the world the best music, having the world bring you the best life ever. And one other thing, don’t forget to pray to the God for what you do want out of life. That’s all Natalie sorry for any misspelled words....because of my English is bad but you already knew that, hahaha. I always wait to hear any good news from you. Cheers, Respect from Indonesia Mehdy Filth

www.myspace.com/themakersfamily
12:01 PM
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An interview with Keith Holuk:

Could you please tell us more about the history of the band, how things started?

We gave birth to Ligeia in late 2003, early 2004. Phil, Ryan and I started jamming in one room apartment I was living in at the time and we recorded a 3 song demo with Ken Susi after only being a band for a month.

What's your opinion on your first album "Your Ghost Is A Gift" nowadays? Are you still satisfied with the songs on it, the production, and the artwork?

I'll be honest and say we don't have any problems with the production, Ken did a great job. As far songs go, we are glad kids are still connecting with the old record, but looking back on the song structures we feel we did a much better job this time around with "Bad News".

This past summer you released your new killer album "Bad News", where did you record it, who produced it? Can you tell us more about the recording process? How are the reactions on this one so far?

Ken recorded our new album, the process only took about 3 weeks. The reaction for the new album has been awsome so far, we definitely chose our side with this record, lyrics are very blatant, in your face and the music makes way more sense.

Who writes the lyrics, what are they about? Is there any concept in them? Are the lyrics an important aspect of the band or are they just there to guide the music?

I write the lyrics, our last album and "Bad News" differ tremendously. The last album was based around dealing with crisis and venting about horrible relationships. At the time writing was the only outlet I had for dealing with my feelings, so I just poured everything into those songs. This time around with "Bad News" I didn't want to recreate the lyrics from the last record, because that's not where I am at anymore. "Bad News" is the aftermath of crisis and it's way more realistic. I feel a wider audience will be able to connect with "Bad News".

How did you get in contact with Ferret Music? Are you satisfied with their work? Why did you signed with them?

We passed a bunch of different demos back and forth to Carl and he picked us up during the recording process of "Your Ghost Is A Gift". We were orginally going to sign with Prosthetic Records but once Ferret became interested in signing us, we felt that Ferret would be a way better label for us stylistically.

When it comes down to writing a new song or an album whats the process like?

Well, Ryan writes all the riffs, I write the vocals and lyrics. Usually we will just focus on one or two songs and after the songs are structured I will write lyrics for them, but I usualy write the vocals in the process of writing the songs.

Have you played live a lot?

We've been touring non stop since 2005, we did over 300 shows in 2006 and we have been keeping extremely busy ever since.

What are your expectations for Ligeia in the future?

World tours with Hannah Montana!

What's your opinion on the whole music industry right now?

The whole industry is fucked, cd sales decline 30 percent in the last year, cds are obsolete now, kids just download music for free from the internet. So touring and selling merch is really the only thing we have left.

Currently all over the news is the out-raging gas prices, what are your thoughts on that issue?

Gas prices are killing us financially and bands are starting to drop like flies because it. So please pick our cds in stores and buy merch from us so we can continue to keep touring.

What do you know and think of Romania?

All I know is, we want to tour Romania this year so if anyone is interested in booking us, hit us up on our MySpace page.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview, any thoughts or comments?

Yes! Check out our new album "Bad News", it's in stores now and available on iTunes!

http://www.ferretstyle.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ligeia
3:44 PM
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An interview with The Band:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in East Of The Wall, and how long the band has been together?

Kevin Conway: Guitar. The band has been together for 5 years. The original members (Brett, Mike, and Jeff) played for almost 2 years and put out the EP.

Matt Lupo: Guitar. I got Jeff and Mike drunk and took them to my room, at which point I played for them their own cd, to which I had recorded my own guitar parts. THAT is the way to audition for a band.

Brett Bamberger: Bass. I tricked Conway into spending thousands of dollars and a good amount of his free time for the band once Jeff quit. Best move of my life.

Where is the band from and what is "the experimental scene" like there?

Kevin Conway: We're from various parts of New Jersey. The experimental scene here is small but quite good. We're able to play shows with "experimental" bands like So Is The Tongue and A Fucking Elephant on a regular basis, so that's a plus. I wouldn't say it's necessarily a really popular style of music around these parts, but people do come out to the shows and that's all you can ask for.

Matt Lupo: Actually, there's some pretty crazy stuff going on around here. Can't say that I like ALL of it, but I'm glad it's happening all the same. I think that band of robots started here. Also, that band Big Mechanical Bull is (I'm pretty sure) from around here. They're kinda like rodeo metal. Awesome.

Brett Bamberger: Mainly booth walks and adult squid orgies.

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Farmer's Almanac"?

Kevin Conway: Pretty sure "Farmer's Almanac" was Brett's idea. There's really no story behind it. It just felt like it fit pretty much immediately. We think it captures the vibe of the record really well.

Matt Lupo: I like to think of it as a guide for us that we WISH we had in writing our music. We're always trying to harvest this really perfect emotional product from our brains and turn it into music and that doesn't always go so smoothly. Woulda been nice to have our own farmer's almanac to give us some help.

What do you know and think of Romania?

Kevin Conway: Your website is basically the only thing I know of that's from Romania. But it's pretty cool that anyone over there has heard our stuff before.

Matt Lupo: I was in a class with someone from Romania last semester. She was very nice and gave a great presentation for class. I think it might have actually been about farming.

Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

Kevin Conway: This guy Eric Nyffler did the artwork and we're thrilled with how it turned out. We pretty much just gave him a basic concept and color scheme and he ran with it. From the first draft he sent back to us we knew he was on to something awesome. He did a really great job of getting the vibe we were looking for.

Matt Lupo: The dude is awesome and the first draft he sent us made us so happy. We gave him a few suggestions and he took those to the bank. When he sent us the finished product I pretty much looked at it and said "That's the best album artwork I ever seen!".

Brett Bamberger: I've only seen the guy when I've been completely wasted. He sounds great on the phone though.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

Kevin Conway: Well there's two different ways to look at it. On the positive side, I think MySpace is great in the sense that it's really the best way to promote your music these days. For a band like us, we don't do a lot of touring. If not for MySpace, not too many people outside of New Jersey would have heard our stuff. Since we have a MySpace page, people all over the country get to hear our stuff. On the flipside, MySpace has really changed a few things in a negative way. For example, there is now a plethora of bands that have gotten famous solely because of how many friends they have on MySpace. It seems like the record industry has gotten really concerned with meaningless MySpace statistics. I think we'll see over the next few years some of these MySpace phenomenon bands will disappear. I don't know how much staying power their music has.

Matt Lupo: How else would I keep up with everything my friends are doing? Twitter?

Where did you get ideas and inspirations for some of the riffs on "Farmer's Almanac"?

Kevin Conway: I think we just have an unique chemistry when the 4 of us are in a room together, and this ends up being the driving force behind most of the music. For example, when we wrote 'I Am Crying Non-Stop Hysterically', I brought most of the riffs for the song in and played them for everyone. I had a pretty solid concept of what the song was going to sound like. By the time everyone wrote their own parts for the song, it had become something totally different. That seems to be a frequent occurrence with us. Once we get in the room and start doing what we do, things just sort of take shape. There's not a whole lot of planning in advance.

Matt Lupo: We've talked a lot recently about how we've changed since the EP. I like both incarnations of our style equally, and I'd really like to take a stab at trying some material back in the original style, as that was what attracted me to this band in the first place. We'll see what happens.

What are your future plans for East Of The Wall?

Kevin Conway: "Farmer's Almanac" will be coming out on Forgotten Empire Records in mid-November. After that, we have a split EP coming out on Level Plane Records with Rosetta and Year Of No Light. There will be 3 new songs on that one. We've already started writing the next full-length record and have one song finished and a few other ideas that we're working on. Beyond that it's hard to say. Either way, I think you'll be hearing a lot of material from us over the next year or so.

Would you ever want to do an all acoustic show?

Kevin Conway: Definitely. Larry from All Parallels actually just recorded an acoustic version of 'Century Of Excellence' and we might do something with that. I think a good portion of our music would sound really good played acoustically, so who knows? I would definitely entertain the possibility.

How did you come up with the band name?

Matt Lupo: It centers around the concept of espionage and being a spy on the other side of the wall. Think of a spy living a life that's basically a complete lie and trying to cope with that: being in enemy territory, pretending to be someone you're not, and searching for emotional resources to support you in this endeavor. Getting to know people and the culture and maybe even falling in love with someone and not knowing how much of your life is made up and how much of it is real. Did you fall in love with this person because it's your job? Or do you really care for them? Are you listening to the music of the culture that you're situated in because you need to appear to be one of the locals? Or do you actually like those songs? Losing track of who the real you is, and coming to realize that "you are who you pretend to be". And then think about how this translates into playing music. When we play as a band, where does Matt as an individual end and where does East Of The Wall begin? Should this music actually be an accurate representation of who we are deep inside? Or is it an opportunity for us to "play spies" and become something entirely different? I actually expanded on this idea in a song of my own, which is up on my own MySpace page.

Brett Bamberger: Yeah, don't listen to him he's not an original member. If you ask him where he came up with the band names "trap" or "nothing", he'd probably give you a more accurate response. Be wary not to judge him though, my first band was named "ugly" (I was 13).

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definitely want to tour with?

Kevin Conway: We haven't done a full tour since I joined the band. There's a million bands I would love to tour with. Off the top of my head, Dysrhythmia and Don Caballero are 2 bands that I think would be a lot of fun to tour with.

What's your number one favorite style of music to listen/play?

Kevin Conway: That's a tough one to answer. I listen to a really wide variety of music, but I tend to gravitate towards metal, experimental and jazz. That being said, I don't think I've encountered a style of music that I don't enjoy in some form. In terms of playing, I'm most comfortable playing heavier stuff, and occasionally some Naked City type experimental stuff. Playing music is fun no matter what. I don't think it's possible for me to have a bad time if I have a guitar in my hand.

Matt Lupo: I have this problem where I really want to play basically everything that I listen to. It's not even like I get on kicks. I just listen to stuff and get kinda bummed that I will not have enough time in my life to play all the different types of music I want to. Take jazz for example. I would love to play in a little jazz quartet, just standard tunes, nothing too crazy. And also, how about an ambient/drone kinda band? I'd be into that too. Maybe next year.

When you look back on when East Of The Wall first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

Kevin Conway: East Of The Wall existed for a few years before I joined the band, but I was a huge fan. I used to listen to the first EP constantly and still love it to this day. Jeff's guitar playing on that record is really incredible. I think the band has changed a lot since then. What Beards and I do is really different than Jeff, and the dynamic has changed a lot because of that. At the end of the day, I'm incredibly proud of the record we just made and our new material is shaping up really well. It's really amazing for me to be involved in a project I care about so much and to get to play with the guys I get to play with.

Matt Lupo: There's always room for some more blast beats.

Brett Bamberger: I've always held East Of The Wall very close to my heart. Despite all the line up changes the music has always put me in the same spot. I think of us as the same unit that we have always been. Maybe just a bit more dense nowadays.

What do you think of your friends in Biclops and all the projects you guys are involved in now and in the past?

Kevin Conway: Those Biclops guys are dicks. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. Actually, me and Brett both play in Biclops. It's a lot different than East Of The Wall, so it's nice to have another creative outlet. There should be a Biclops record out sometime next year, so be on the lookout for that. In terms of Day Without Dawn/The Postman Syndrome, I was a really big fan of those bands also. Out of Biclops and East Of The Wall, I'm the only guy who wasn't in The Postman Syndrome. That band had a huge influence on me as a musician, so it's really cool to be a part of that musical family now.

Matt Lupo: "Understanding Consequences" (Day Without Dawn album) is one of my top 3 favorite albums for 2008. And 'Beasteater' (Biclops song) is one of my favorite songs ever. I regret that I haven't played music with Chris in a while. I pretty much grew up playing music with him and learned so much from that guy. We do have some unreleased material. Maybe we'll finish it up some day. It's some of the most solemn music we've ever written.

Brett Bamberger: Squid & South Gunn are the bomb.

Any final words of wisdom, thoughts or comments?

Kevin Conway: Don't shit where you eat.

Matt Lupo: Always bring baby wipes with you. That way, if you have to eat where you shit, it's not that big deal.

Brett Bamberger: When you go out to eat tip your server well, or else they will have to eat your shit, be forced to get another job & not play their bass guitar. And thank you so much for this opportunity to share our thoughts. Can't wait to see it on your site!

http://www.forgottenempirerecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/eastofthewall
3:42 PM
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1. Can you shed some light on the band's history and briefly summarize the saga of Blood Red Throne for those who are not yet familiar with the band?

Tchort and Død played in Satyricon between 1996 and 1999, but our passion for death metal resulted in forming BloodRedThrone in 1998. We got the very talented Erlend Caspersen on bass some time after and the three of us are still the remaining original members of the band. We're about to release our fifth studio album through Earache Records and we hail from Norway!

2. You have a brand-new record, "Come Death," out in the open, what can you tell me about its creation - writing,recording, and how you managed to capture that classic style you're known to carry out when expressing yourselves musically.

Well, Come Death is not brand new at all anymore, hehe, and we have a new album comin' out in May, but anyway, we wanted a more old school feel to it on Come Death, so Tchort and I on guitars made some cool riffs and put them together nicely. We always write our songs separately and this time I wrote six of the songs, while Tchort wrote two. We also added one of our all time favorite bands; Gorguts, and included a cover of the track Disincarnated from their best album, Considerd Dead! We went to a local studio, dUb Studio and recorded all instruments and vocals, but we mixed the album in Sweden in Studio Deadline.We're very happy with the sound and the songs indeed and this is the path we want to go!




3. What kind of expectations did you have for the album when you first started writing the new material? How do you feel about the record now, that it's done, pressed, and soon to be unleashed upon the masses?

Well, the previous album to Come Death was Altered Genesis and that is our most brutal and intense album in our discography, so we knew some expected this to be continued. But we were a bit fed up with all the bands playing extreme all the way. We wanted to get back to our roots and incorporate the classic stuff from bands like Obituary, Death, Gorguts, Pestilence and so on. But of course, combine this with modern extreme metal, so the whole album is a perfect mix between all the elements we enjoy. The album's been out in the stores for one and a half year now, so the response has mostly been very good. We also introduced our new singer and drummer on Come Death and though some misses our former singer, Come Death has been well accepted by our fans!

4. Traveling across the world to share your music, where have you guys been? What are the plans on the road? Any particular destination spots you have in mind?

We've done several European Tours, we've been in England and Scandinavia, but we haven't been to the US or South America or Japan for that matter. These are continents we really want to visit and we're currently workin' on some US and South America dates! In Europe, Netherland and Belgium have always been great countries for us to play in!




5. Has your band had the Los Angeles Murderfest experience? Is that something you'd be interested in?

Nope, we haven't, but as I mentioned, the US is a big goal for us. We have many fans over there and we often get questions from US fans who wonder when we will get over! So, let's hope 2009 will make this happen!

6. Is the tour you're on now in support of a new album you're working on?

Hm, we're not on tour. The latest tour we did was with Divine Heresy, December 2007! Anyway, we're in studio these days recording our fifth studio album, entitled Souls of Damnation and after this there will be quite some touring for us!

7. What shaped together Blood Red Throne and how has your sound progressed?

Like I said, the passion for death metal has been huge to Tchort and I and I got to know Tchort right after he quit Emperor in 1994, and we soon hit it off and knew we had to form a band together! We've pretty much had the same riffs and sound going on, but there's a great improvement productionwise from our two first albums to our 3 latest!

8. Aside from expecting an awesome record, what else can we expect to see from you guys?

Well, this time there will be a dvd release ro celebrate our ten years anniversary! And most likely, we will visit countries and continents we haven't been before!

9. How do you feel it fits in with the rest of your releases?

Souls of Damnation will be a continuation of Come Death, but I think with even cooler production. Fans also requested more solos, so this time there's some lead shit on every song, hehe!

10. How did you guys get into the metal scene in the first place? What drew you towards it, and why do you still devour every minute of it?

Personally, I got into metal as my mom listened to a lot of rock music and some metal. So, I stole her Tell No Tales cassette by the Norwegian band TNT back in 1987, and from then I've been addicted to metal. I got into more extreme metal in 1992, when my friend showed me bands like Pestilence and Obituary! I like all kinds of metal music and I just feel empty without music. It's a huge part of my life and I listen to metal every day!

11. What's kept you guys together for such a long time, having gone through line-up changes, solo/side projects, and all that jazz. What makes you guys stick it out until the very end of your days?

I wonder that too sometimes! I guess Tchort and I have a invisible bond having played together for more than 13 years. We like each other's songs and way of playing and we never question each other's songs. We know it's quality anyway. Last original member, Erlend, is also so smooth workin' with and he's just an easy going guy with extreme skills. Vald, the singer, is also the greatest to work with and there's never any problem with him. But we have tough days too and it's not always easy when the band never meet as a band and rehearse. But, no pain, no glory!

12. What is the writing and recording process like for Blood Red Throne?

For me, I record everything at home in my home studio. It usually starts with a riff I have and I record it with a drum beat. Almost suddenly after that, I have an opinion of what kind of drum beat or guitar riff should come next and this continues to a whole song. I also like having verses and chorus to some extent, and not just have a thousand riffs put together. Then I e-mail the song to the drummer and we take it to rehearsal to see if everything works and maybe add some of his ideas. I make the necessary changes back home and e-mail the song to Erlend. Mostly, he figures out all the riffs and send it back to me. Then, I send it to Vald (Singer) and he makes his lyrics and vocals and some of it we get to listen at rehearsal. If not, we do on the album, haha! Tchort also likes to jam on his riffs at rehearsal with our drummer and the rest of the band rarely hear his songs until they're on the album!

13. What inspires you to create this music?

17 years of explosion to this music and a personal ego and creativity to make our own music. We also think it's important for Norway to have a few great death metal bands!

14. Where do you see yourself and Blood Red Throne in twenty years?

Most likely dead and buried, but you never know. Not because it's hard to play, but it's not easy keeping a band together for ages anyway!

15. Do you have any parting words or messages?

Thanks for supporting Norwegian death metal and catch us live someday. We will destroy! Also check our new album featuring a DVD when it's released in May! Cheers in hell!

http://www.myspace.com/bloodredthrone666
1:19 PM
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Set List:

Iron Madien's Nikko McBrain:

Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Trooper

Papa Roach:

Alive
To Be Loved
Getting Away With Murder
Lifeline
Forever
Between Angels and Insects
Broken Home
Dead Cell
Scars
Last Resort

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Guitar Center is a known franchise and surplus outlet throughout the U.S. and they've handled various amounts of events most handled right in the heart of Los Angeles. Tonight's event is one handled annual and they're celebrating its annularity in style! Celebrating twenty years of its Drum Off, Guitar Center has searched far and wide going through almost 5,000 entries and narrowed it down to a mere 6 undiscovered drummers from all over the U.S. Each of the six going head to head to win $45,000 to use however they please! Each will be judged by skill and performance and interaction with the audience and of course their own creativity if they please, being judged by some of the biggest drummers around including: including Adrian Young (No Doubt), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Danny Carey (Tool), and The Rev (Avenged Sevenfold).The event hit it off around 7:30P.M. sharp with the T.V. monitor showing an explosion in flames as the counter counted down the clock until it reached 0, the event hit it off nicely with the armature department having the members of Shadows Fall including drummer Jason Bittner take the first set up playing a set of three tunes that got the audience all hyped up! Soon after the head to head junkies Thomas Lang and Thomas Pridgen started drumming one another showing who was the better blaster. After the set of armatures left the stage the real fun was just beginning. The six comparators each playing a mere 5 minute set pulsing out as much energy as they possibly could during their set ups each giving it all they got. Before each performer a short 2 minute clip of their brief reasons why they were here and what we were expecting to witness from them. After the headbashing consumed us the legendary drummer of Iron Madien Nicko McBrain performed a brief 2 tracks of heavy metal classics "Hallowed Be Thy Name," and "The Trooper," doing an amazing job from start to finish. Host of the extraordinary event Stephen Perkins came on/off the stage as he introduced each performer and wrapped it all up with a headlining performance by Papa Roach! Papa Roach ended the night doing a 60 minute set of older material and newer material each song played got the crowd really entertained as the audience sang-a-long to every song performed, set included “To Be Loved, Scars, Broken, Dead Cell, Hollywood Whore, Lifeline, and Last Resort,” each one expressed with such aggression and rage you could feel the heat of angry raging through the musicians veins.
12:33 PM
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1. Hey what's up? How is the holiday season treating you guys? Any New Year’s resolutions?

Hey… holiday time always feels good you know! Chilin' with the guys, having fun, visiting family and so on! And of course there are resolutions for the New Year, writing new stuff and touring as much as we can!

2.How is the current feedback of "True Kids Superbrawl" being thrown about?
Haha….good question.

There are a lot of reviews going into different directions. Unfortunately there are much more negative reviews about our LP than positive ones. But I have to say that we're doing this shit since two years now and we're still having fun and the guys in the pit love it. So of course it's not nice to read such bad critics, but we're not going to change our style because of some fags who don't like us or our music!





3. What was it like playing with Six Reasons to Kill? I’ve interviewed them before great guys.

Yeah, you're right. They are really cool people and they've got a really Solid band going, so it is always nice to share the stage with them. And the first show with 6RTK basically leads to the contract with bastardized, so of course it was great to play with them ;)

4. What do you think of your passed creation Elephant Man compared to Snatch Club is it the same style or totally different?

Snatch Club is not Elephant Man anymore. It's not the same style but it's also not totally different. We got much more hardcore and beat down influences now with Snatch Club than before, but I think we still love the hard tunes and we're still blowing the ears of our fans. i also have to say, I’m sure we don't reached our limits! We got our first album out and i would say there is more potential. so be prepared for more snatch-tunes!

5. Future plans for Snatch Club?

World domination :) future plans.....of course writing songs for the next record. This year we are planning a tour over Europe, maybe some collaborations with bands we got to know the last months. Who knows?! But anyway, we're going to hit the stages in your area and we'll bring the Snatch Club in your town!!!!

6. What is the German music environment compared to the US environment?

4000 miles away. No but seriously we don't have any experience with the US music environment, since we haven't played any shows in the US so far, so it's hard to answer this question.

7. If you could describe your style in just 3 words, what would they be?

IN YOUR FACE!





8. How did you get involved with Bastardized?

Like I mentioned before, we played a show with six reasons to kill in winter 2007. After we hit the stage, Marco (Guitar-6RTK) talked with us about sending a demo to Bastardized. So it happened, a few weeks later we signed the contract. I think such a deal is a great opportunity for bands like us and we are really pleased about this collaboration.

9. Is there any band out there that you look up to the most when writing/recording music?

You can't generalize it for every one of us. We all got our influences from different bands, are listening to different music, so I can't name just one band for us all. My own influences are somewhere between nasty and white chapel. There are a couple of bands that inspire us in the way we write or even record our music. We are proud to be a part of this music scene and that’s it. We don't want to stay on top or reach levels; no one has ever reached before, just want to have fun with other bands and the people who love the music.

10. Last words?

Not guilty! Haha Yeah, thank you for listening and hopefully I could answer your questions. Keep it up guys and stay tuned for more Snatch Stuff!!! Cheers, Tobi & SC

http://www.myspace.com/snatchclubmusic
11:51 AM
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A snazzy night club filled with some of the high classed individuals who think they have it all expensive cars, houses, even husbands and wives but tonight that’s not the case. Tonight we pay our respects towards rock/pop/souling Diva Karuna! This set of musicians rocks the Los Angeles turf with roaring guitars and creative blast beats from the drums and rattle sensations of the bass riffs, mix it all together and you get the dazzling vocals of Karuna herself giving her upbeat popping rock and roll style. Playing a 30 minute set list consists of several tunes off their latest LP "Not 4 Sale," such as "Choose You," "Don't Doubt," "In Love," and wrapping it all up with "Scream," getting the whole crowd hyped and excited full of high strung energy for the rest of the night.



Aside from this high flying adventure of a performance their debut LP isn’t all that bad either, serving you a course a tunes ready to get your body dancing to the beat of every song played through from beginning to end. “Not 4 Sale,” takes apart a soul smooth artist mixed together with the rocking and rolling guitar soloing riffs with pop-punk bass riffs you can’t get out of your head.




Karuna has performed all around Los Angeles, taking her blend of pop/rock/soul coined "Urban Rock," to such renowned venues as Temple Bar, The Roxy, The Gig, Highlands and Little Temple, to name a few. Her highly successful “Not 4 Sale” friends and family album release party at Cinespace, sponsored by KISS FM, brought in a 1000 fans! She also recently opened for R&B act Marques Houston at UCLA. With a growing fan base and a debut album just being released, Karuna is an artist to watch out for. Karuna stirs up the whole music scene capturing all the fun and excitement in just a matter of moments so be sure not to miss a minute of this high pulsing surge of energy!

9:49 AM

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