by Connor J. Frontera
Reconnecting with his mentor, Frontera speaks with professional harmonica player Michael Rubin about his new Live Album “Live at Church;” an album packed with excellent musicianship and beautiful harmonies. Additionally, master harmonica player Rubin shows off the new DM48 Midi Harmonica Controller. More information about Rubin can be found at his website and YouTube channel.
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by Anthony Carioscia
Although In Flames and Katakylsm were playing The Chance in Poughkeepsie, I had no interest. I don’t care for Katakylsm, plus I had a good feeling In Flames wasn’t going to play anything before Clayman (I’d later find out I was right).
Instead, my friend Don and I decided to go see Amon Amarth and Goatwhore for a much better show at The Paramount in Huntington, Long Island. Upon getting there we realized it was a pretty nice place and hung out at a bar for a bit before going inside. Once inside, we spoke with some cool Long Island metalheads until it was time for Goatwhore to get on stage.
Goatwhore
Though we’ve both seen Goatwhore so many times (this was my sixth to be exact), they never get old live. The last time I saw them was 3 years ago, so you could say it had been awhile. The energy of their performance was insane and it was cool to see them play for a bigger crowd. We also got to hear all kinds of classics such as “Baring Teeth for Revolt” and “Apocalyptic Havoc.”
Amon Amarth
After Goatwhore finished, it was time for the band I was most excited about. Back in High School, Amon Amarth was one of the first death metal bands I had ever listened to and I still consider their early material through 2008 to be top-notch melodeath (the stuff after…not so much).
Their set tonight had a lot of newer songs and although I’m not a fan of that era, their performance on those tracks was great. Amon Amarth also played many great old-school tracks, including “Death in Fire,” “Twilight of the Thunder God,” “Pursuit of Vikings” and my all time favorite “Cry of the Black Birds.”
Out of the 2017 shows I’ve been to so far, this one was my favorite. Both bands had tons of energy and because the show only consisted of two great bands rather than an endurance test with four or more good and bad ones.
by Connor Frontera
Connor recently started a thread on the Harmonica Gear Facebook page that turned into a great discussion, where many people weighed in the value of custom harmonicas.
Additionally, Harp House interviews Midwest Harmonica Workshop founder Sean Whalin O’Phelan to talk about the workshop and this year’s attendees.
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by Connor J. Frontera
A small Facebook conversation with newly endorsed Seydel player, Russell Huffer, sparked big thoughts about which position to use when playing different music.
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Kreator was one of the first non-Big Four thrash bands I got into and had yet to see them. With a bill featuring Obituary, Midnight and Horrendous, I felt the time had finally come for me to see the teutonic thrash titans.
This show was a no-brainer as Obituary has always been a favorite of mine, Midnight is one of my favorite newer bands and Horrendous is pretty cool too. The day came and my friends Jay, Branden, Scott and I rode the bus to NYC. Jay and Scott went to the Blue Ruin for some drinks while Branden and I got some pizza before catching a cab to Irving. When we got there, Horrendous had started their set.
Horrendous
I was excited to finally see the old school death metal throwback Horrendous as I missed them at last year’s Maryland Deathfest. The band had great energy and made their long songs feel quick.
Midnight
Second band on was the almighty Midnight. Before they played I ran into my friends Jason and Nicole (the latter who wanted to see Midnight badly). After buying a Cause of Death shirt, Scott and Jay showed up. The band started with “Vomit Queens” so I knew I was in for a fun ride. The band had amazing energy and played many great tracks such as “Black Rock and Roll.” No doubt about it, Midnight was the second best act of the night for sure.
Obituary
Next on were death metal classics Obituary. This was my third time seeing them, the first being at MDF 2015 and second being with Cannibal Corpse and Cryptopsy at this same venue. Although the band was really good both times, this set blew the others away because it was loaded with classics. “Internal Bleeding,” “Chopped in Half,” “Turned inside out,” “Slowly We Rot” and more hits from their catalog were featured. As always, the energy combined with a great setlist made them the best band of the night.
Kreator
In the ninth grade, the only thrash bands I knew were the Big Four, Sepultura and Suicidal Tendencies, my teacher(who also happened to be the singer for All Out War) recommended me a list of bands which included Kreator. After hearing “Betrayer” for the first time, I was hooked.
While I was glad to finally see Kreator, their set sort of bored me. They mostly played songs from the last two albums while throwing in some greats such as “Tormentor,” “Extreme Agression,” “Flag of Hate,” “Enemy of God” and “Pleasure to Kill.” I enjoyed them during these tracks while Jay only enjoyed them during “Pleasure to Kill,” “Tormentor” and “Flag of Hate” as he is only a fan of the first three albums. On the other hand, Branden loved every minute of the set as he loves their 2000 and onward stuff the most.
After Kreator finished, we left the building, got more pizza and hopped on the bus back to Middletown.
Chase Mason from Arizona’s Gatecreeper pops by to chat about the band’s album “Sonoran Deprevation,” the state of the music industry, and more.
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by Connor J. Frontera
In this episode, Connor interviews harmonica “Royalty” Janalyn Miklas to discuss women in the industry and the future of the instrument. Miklas also shares a few funny and personal moments about her most embarrassing performance.
Check out some of Susan Sauter’s work here.
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This year’s Grammy Awards collaboration between Metallica and Lady Gaga was a very controversial one, but the gruesome twosome aren’t finished yet.
In an exclusive interview with Metallica’s bassist Robert Trujillo, the former Ozzy Osbourne and Sucidal Tendencies player explained that although they are currently touring in support of their latest album Hardwired to Self Destruct, the band has already written their next album, which will feature Gaga as a second vocalist on each track as well as playing piano on certain tracks.
“When James’ mic went out at the Grammy’s she (Gaga) took the reigns and absolutely knocked it out of the park,” Trujillo said. “We realized we had something special and decided to take it to the next level.”
The album will also feature many more guest appearances on each track and will include previously archived sound clips of Lou Reed and Cliff Burton.
The untitled album is scheduled to be released sometime in the fall and will come with a bonus disc featuring the band (with Gaga) covering songs from the latest Diamond Head album (self titled) as well as other favorites from both camps. Both tracklists with their working titles and the full list of covers can be viewed below.
“We’re all stoaked for this to come out and it was really awesome to work with her,” said Trujillo. “It’s something wicked that both ‘Tallica fans and Gaga fans are really going to appreciate.”
Tracklist
1. Death by Chicken Suite (Instrumental featuring unreleased Cliff Burton bass tracks)
2. Frantic II (featuring Doty Wiggins from the Shaggs)
3. Some Kind of Fame Monster
4. Killed This Way – (featuring Fred Durst, MC Ride and Ynwgie Malsteem)
5. Marionette Death (Featuring Chelsea Wolfe and Deep Forrest)
6. Paparazzi Inc. (Featuring Willie Nelson, Ozzy Osbourne, and Mobb Deep)
7. Fashion Nightmare (Instrumental mostly with stock spoken word by Lou Reed)
8. Love Game of Death (20 minute epic featuring Neil Peart and Kanye West)
Bonus Disc
1. Diamonds – Diamond Head
2. Bones – Diamond Head
3. Wizards Sleeve – Diamond Head
4. Blood on My Hands – Diamond Head
5. My Pal Foot Foot – Shaggs
6. Poker Face (Metal Remix)
7. Tornado of Souls – Megadeth (Featuring Dave Mustaine)
8. Heathens – 21 Pilots
9. Lemmy Rising (Motörhead medley featuring covers of “Overkill,” “Ace of Spades,” “Orgasmatron,” “Jack The Ripper,” “Mean Machine” and “No Class”)
10. April Come She Will – Simon & Garfunkel
11. Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread) – Johnny Mercer
by Connor J. Frontera
SPAH is the biggest annual Harmonica Convention in North America. The convention may be in August, but it’s time to start planning NOW! Frontera breaks down everything you need to know about the 2017 convention. His conversation with SPAH’s President Michael D’Eath elaborates on the Organization’s goals.
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For this podcast we see the “classic” lineup of Dallas, Tx thrashers Insinnerator in a returning Christopher Atomic Thrasher along with newcomers Juan Speed and Benjamin Shanks. We talk metal, politics, the Legend of Zelda, and more.
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