Jimmy Kay from Canada's The Metal Voice (https://www.facebook.com/themetalvoice) recently spoke with Megadeth'sDave Mustaine about the upcoming Megacruise, Megadeth's new album, Mustaine Wine and A Tout Le Monde Beer and the possibilities of working with Jeff Waters of Annihilator and Michael Sweet of Styper sometime in the future.
When asked how he would differentiate the Megacruise compared to all the other Metal cruises out there
"As far as I know all the cruises in the USA that had happened are on the East Coast, we are the first metal cruise on the west coast, so we're pretty stoked about that. I've been to both sides of the nation and I think that California is probably the most famous State for the beach cities, though Florida is pretty close. The cruise leaves Los Angeles and goes to San Diego which has great weather all year long, then to Ensenada, Mexico which is really quaint small city, then we're going to u-turn and go back to Los Angeles. I'm just excited because we've got great bands and mostly every band on the tour are my friends that I've grown up. Some of the bands are new bands and I looked forward to getting to know them. The majority of the bands, Anthrax, Armored Saint, Overkill, etc.. are like my brothers that have carried the flag for American metal for 3 almost 4 decades. You can find the full list on our website but we still have a few more slots left. We're just trying to make this be one of those cruises that you know people say you know this was the one cruise you can't miss. I mean the cruise has been on sale for a couple weeks now and the sales have been phenomenal."
"In terms of activities there's a movie theater on the boat and we are discussing the movies we wanted to play and I was thinking maybe, some documentaries on some of the bands, maybe movies that I like, like 'The Good The Bad and the Ugly 'and 'Mad Max' stuff like that. We also have been talking about a Mega karaoke contest so we will have some Megadeth tribute bands on board to help. The contest will be the tribute bands plays and you have one of the fans on the cruise sign up and they sing with the band with lights, with the PA, with an audience and after they are done, we judge you. "
When asked about the wine tasting on board the Megacruise
"I think it's gonna be called wine guzzling when people get a grip on how good the stuff tastes but yeah we've got several varieties of Mustaine wines that we will be bringing with us. It's the end of these wines with very limited inventory so depending on how many people buy the wine before we get out on the cruise, we may not have any left. Our wine business is doing really well but a problem with alcohol businesses is that a lot of people in the alcohol business they see people like myself coming in and they think f**k this musician they come in and put their name on the wine bottle and then try and take money out of our business. That's not me. I'm in for a long haul, we did our vineyard at my house, I hand planted those vines I didn't pay someone to do it, I did it."
When asked about the musical direction of the new Megadeth album to be released in 2019
"I don't how to answer that because if you want me to say what record it sounds like, it sounds like a combination of everything. When I write a riff if I don't like it I don't record it, if I do record it, I save it and if I don't use it now I'll use it at some point. There is a complete finished song left over from Dystopia that I forgot we did . When were in the studio and you're doing 16 songs and you're working your ass off every day sometimes, somethings just slip through the cracks like this song. We've already got a huge head start on this new record. Kiko just came out to see me, Dirk was here before him and David Ellefson will be visiting me shortly to start playing some bass stuff. We're doing things a little bit differently this time we're kind of approaching the songs one riff at a time and just kind of focusing on the riff and if the riff doesn't sound good on its own and then why put it in a song? A lot of people when they write songs they'll put a part in section in the song just because they need something in there. For me I don't like doing that. I don't want that one part of the song where there's a weak spot. I've tried just about every way to write a song over my career and I found this way's probably the best way because if you have a riff and it's not it's not carrying its own weight and it doesn't sound cool , how can it possibly sound cool to good lyrics over it."
When asked if his lyrics on the new album will be politically inspired by the politics in USA today
"I've kind of toned it down a little bit with the political stuff to where it's more about being a one world kind of people, about the stuff that affects us as people not so much as citizens of any particular government or nation. Why I put an unnecessary walls up between us right."
When asked if he would ever work with Jeff Waters of Annihilator or Michael Sweet from Stryper
" Jeff Waters is an amazing talent and has had a really unfair run because of the same thing I suffered from lineup changes and and it's a bummer. You start off with one vision and then that vision changes over time from different members in the band and it's usually because of one of the four P's power, property, Prestige or Pussy For us every time you've ever had a breakup it's been over drugs money or women. So we yeah would be great to do something with those guys. I don't know how people would actually respond to me doing something Michael Sweet because of the Stryper but I I really care a lot about Mike he's been to my house for dinner several times."
New Tesla album 'Shock' will be a more polished production, 80's sound- Guitarist Frank Hannon
Jimmy Kay from Canada's The Metal Voice (www.facebook.com/themetalvoice) recently spoke to Tesla's guitarist Frank Hannon about his new solo album of covers called "From One Place To Another Vol. 2" which wass released on May 2019 as well as the musical style on the upcoming new Tesla album called Shock that will be produced by Def Leppard's Phil Collen and released in February 2019
When asked about how many cover solo albums he is planning on releasing in the near future
"I'm a fly by the seat of my pants artist this whole thing wasn't even planned to be a series. I was just recording songs for fun and for a challenging exercise to develop my singing voice. I learned to play guitar by learning from the old masters Jimi Hendrix, Check Berry, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads, you learn guitar from learning from your elders. So I said I really want to learn to sing better, so I started recording. Then one of my business associates said hey man you should put this out, there was so much material we had to spread it out over time. I don't know if there will be more albums in this series because I do have some original songs that i am writing for my solo projects coupled with the fact that Tesla has a new album coming out in February of this year 2019. So I don't know what is going to happen in the future. Keep in mind not only do i have these cover albums but I also have 6 solo albums."
When asked about the intricacies of singing and playing guitar on this covers album
"There are different approaches of playing guitar you can noodle, you can play fast, shred or you can play melodies. I like to shred and I like simple melodies that make you feel a certain way that you remember. So I think actually singing actually makes you a better guitar player cause it can make think more about the song in general then just noodling on the guitar."
When asked about him covering Black Sabbath's song Sweet Leaf on his covers album Vol 2
"I like punk music, I like Metal, I would like to cover Judas Priest the Ripper. There is a song that Judas Priest does called Running Wild I love that song and would love to do that. I love all the spectrum's everything from the Grateful Dead to Iron Maiden to Black Sabbath. I love it all so why not? "
When asked about his new video and song covering Deep Purple Hush and what he brings to that classic song
"The melody is what you keep from the original, it's the melody that lives forever so you pull that and then what I did I got rid of the 3/3 organ stuff that Deep Purple did and I put in Randy Hansen to play some funky Jimi Hendrix style guitar and percussion. You keep the melody the same but you crank up the guitar and put different kind of sounds to it. "
When asked about what Phil Collen will be bringing to the table producing the new Tesla album Shock
"Phil really helped us, Phil had a bunch of song ideas and a lot of the writing on the new album is co-written by Collen he interjected a lot of positive energy into us. Phil is bringing production quality and details that we would have not done and haven't done in the past. Some fans may not like it, some fans are gonna love it. This is something that we wanted to try we never worked like this before. Mutt Lang is a producer that really has techniques that are very detailed in the studio and Phil Collen obviously has experience with all that and he brought that type of approach to making the Tesla record which we never done before. the sound on this new album is really powerful."
When asked about the musical direction of the new Tesla album:
"It definitely has an 80's kind of polished production but there really is no direction we don't really put ourselves into one sound we got elements of metal, country etc..
This new album has the big production but every song sounds different, you are going to hear some slide guitar riffs there and then there is also hear some Queen, Beatles, big Beatles vocals type influences on it. You are going to hear some Def Leppard style influences and there is some of that big back vocals too. We are going to be on tour in February playing new songs off the new album and if you buy a ticket to the show in February 2019 it gets you a copy of the new album in advance. So February March 2019 the new Tesla album Shock."
Hannon's "From One Place... To Another Vol. 2" was released on May 18, just four months after the initial installment in what is planned to be an ongoing series of solo cover albums.
"From One Place To Another Vol. 2" track listing:
01. Hush (featuring Randy Hansen)
02. Lord Of The Thighs (featuring Graham Whitford)
03. You Can't Always Get What You Want (featuring Duane Betts)
Aldo Nova has finished a Rock Opera that took him 8 years, Mastered & Mixed ready to go
Jimmy Kay from Canada's The Metal Voice (https://www.facebook.com/themetalvoice) Spoke To Canadian solo Artist Aldo Nova about his new Album 2.0 coming out on October 19 2018 via Megaforce, his upcoming Tour and his Rock Opera that he has been working on for the past 8 years.
When asked about his new Album 2.0 a re-recording of his classic songs
"It happened casually it wasn't planned, on April 1 2017 was the 35 anniversary of my debut album and usually when there are landmark albums like that record companies and bands what they do is remaster, repackage those albums. So I knew that Sony would want to remaster. So I thought to myself what can I do that would be really special for the anniversary, something special for me, my fans and something that would get new fans. Then I got the idea why don't I redo everything from scratch and turbo charge the songs while keeping the innocence of the songs that I had when I was 22 years old and add the 35-36 years of experience that I have now. If I can do Fantasy and get it to be exciting at the point where it excites me I will keep going otherwise I will drop this whole concept. I wanted 2.0 to sound like you were coming to see me at a live concert, that's why there are extended solos, there is breaks, time changes and key changes. It's a guitar oriented album. I also wanted 2.0 to have a more timeless sound to the album and today a mix of both worlds. I really worked hard on the arrangements to be exciting to me. Plus I added a new song called 'I am a survivor' and people have been telling me it's a standout track. "
When asked about how his debut album was the template and blueprint of the 80's sound
"Many bands copied that formula. I think I was the template for a lot of bands that followed"
When asked about the ups and downs after the success of his albums in the 80's
"I got shafted financially so much back then and I am feeling it today more than ever, when I go back and look at all these old contracts. The first album, I had my dreams come true to be a successful musician. I got to play with Cheap Trick, Blue Oyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, there really was no down side, even with my second album there was no down side. The down side really started to get bad on my third album Twitch, that is when the record company really got involved and that's when I really started to hate music and hate the whole business. The contracts were really unfair I had a manager that was extremely crooked when it came time to buy a house in New York after my first album sold a couple of millions of albums I couldn't. Nothing really expensive ($200,000) and I went to the accountant and they told me I don't have enough money and I said what do you mean I sold a couple of million albums, I toured the world. he said your manager put all your money into your tour. :
When asked about his contribution to Bon Jovi's debut album
"Jon Bon Jovi's cousin Tony Bongiovi mixed my first album at the Power Station in New York and I got to know Jon at the coffee machine andi invited him to hear my songs. So when it came time for Jon to do the demo of the song Runaway and others his cousin called me up and I was more than glad to come and do it, Jon and Tony were my friends. I went into the studio and it was me on guitar, I did all the background vocals with others and I played keyboards on a lot of tracks on that album too. I was pretty involved with the debut album especially from the initial track Runaway. That track basically got them the record deal they got so much airplay from it , it did really well."
When asked about him losing confidence in his voice in the late 80's
"I lost confidence in my voice many times because I was in such a bad marriage, I stayed in it too long. It's kind of hard being told you have a bad voice and after a while you start believing it. Also there was a physical side why I could not sing. Your mind is a powerful thing. I think at that point of time I convinced myself I could not sing but it came back naturally. "
When asked if he will be releasing a new album with new material
"From February 2008 to 2016 I have been working on a Rock Opera called Space and I have been working on it non stop night and day for 8 years. I kept writing song after song. Now I have a 32 song rock opera ready to go. It's mixed it's mastered and it's played on by the best players. It's style classical, heavy rock , my voice changes in almost every song to suit the characters."
When asked if he will be touring
"I will be touring the most extensively as possible, the band is set and I am in shape."
Nova initially gained fame with his self-titled debut album Aldo Nova in 1982 which climbed to Billboard's number 8 position, and its accompanying single, "Fantasy", which climbed to number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The debut album reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 14, 1982, Platinum on February 14, 1989, and Double Platinum on December 5, 1994
Nova provided guitar, keys and background vocals for the demo of BON JOVI's first hit, "Runaway", and ended up playing with an assemblage of session musicians throughout BON JOVI's 1984 self-titled debut.
01. Fantasy 2.0
02. Ball and Chain 2.0
03. Heart to Heart 2.0
04. It's Too Late 2.0
05. Can't Stop Lovin' You 2.0
06. Foolin' Yourself 2.0
07. I'm a Survivor
Accept will be touring with an Orchestra all over the world in 2019 - Wolf Hofmann
For The Metal Voice (https://www.facebook.com/themetalvoice) former Anthrax singer Neil Turbin interviewed Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann in Pasadena, California USA at The Rose on September 29 2018.
WATCH HERE:
Wolf Hoffmann spoke about the bands upcoming plans to tour with an orchestra all over the world, new album update and their new live album Symphonic Terror Live at Wacken 2017 that will be released on November 23 2018 via Nuclear Blast.
When asked about the new live album Symphonic Terror Live at Wacken 2017:
"It's going to be a live DVD/CD of the show we did live at Wacken with 50 piece orchestra it was incredible, I always wanted to do that and it finally all came together when we played at Wacken a 2 hour set. I also played some stuff from my solo album 'Headbangers Symphony' and we played a bunch of Accept songs that were never done with orchestra. I have always been a fan of classical music however I was never a classically trained musician. My solo album was more like a tribute from an outsider. I just grew up wanting to make noise with Marshall stacks. A lot of these classical pieces are beautiful and I always thought it would be so cool to have a bunch of violins on stage and combine the two worlds."
When asked if they plan to tour with an orchestra:
"The orchestra at Wacken was meant to be a one off but then everybody loved it so much and we loved it so much he decided to bring this out on the road with us somehow because that what it waere it was meant to be. So we will be performing with an orchestra next year all over the world. It will start in Europe then Russia then the rest of the world."
When asked about details of an upcoming studio album:
"We have been so busy touring and with the classical album coming out so no time yet to work on. Yes we will make a new album but when we will get started I don't know yet. I can't write on the road. Then will be a time when I set the time aside and focus and dig into it. The musical direction is not going to change dramatically we don't want to, we haven't changed our style on the last four albums.
When asked about his writing style:
"I am not trying to write any different I'm trying to write in the frame of mind that we had back in the day, how we felt back then and trying to recapture that even though it's 40 years ago. I think we found out style and we are trying to write songs that could have been written 30 years ago. We are trying to write old school songs with modern tools and technology. It sounds simple but it really isn't. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel but we want to build on what we have.
Jimmy Kay from Canada's The Metal Voice (https://www.youtube.com/user/voicemetal) spoke to Canadian singer Lee Aaron at this years Heavy Montreal festival on July 28
When asked about the origins of the band name Lee Aaron
"When I was 15 years old I was in a hard rock band in high school and we were looking for a name and we wanted a name like Jethro Tull , Max Webster something that didn't really mean a particular person. So we put some names in a hat and we came up with Lee Aaron. Then after a year the name became synonymous with me, people thought I was Lee Aaron because I was the front woman."
When asked what were the challenges of being a woman in the hard rock world in the 1980's
"The challenges were, there were very few women doing it and it was much more of a sexist form of culture, so there was this pressure to look good and sing amazing and we were treated more of a novelty in the beginning. It was easy for people to get to interview you because you were an anomaly. At the same time the thing that has sustained my career over many years is the fact that I am actually a songwriter, I still have a voice and I am a producer."
When asked about her new album Diamond Baby Blues
"I guess because of the 80's challenges I still write songs of empowerment, so Diamond Baby Blues the new album of mine, that's song in particular Diamond Baby, it's a song about rising above obstacles and the fact that we are all diamonds in the raw and we all need to uncover our personal power."
When asked about the song Metal Queen
I throw the terms metal around loosely what's metal to one person is different to another. I consider myself to be more in the melodic rock with big guitars. So the song Metal Queen was a very melodic song , with a strong chorus. I think it was more the fact that I wrote a song called Metal Queen that label was put upon me. "
When asked about her bankruptcy in the Grunge era
"When grunge came along it kind of sidelined everybody career and that was a really tough time and I continued to make new music. But previous to that my manager and lawyer talked me into to go independent, my own label. I borrowed almost a half a million dollars and then grunge came along and I was 400.000 dollars in debt. So I had to decide to go If I should go bankrupt and start fresh or do I spend the next ten years of my life to make music to pay off debts which is not inspiring. So I went bankrupt and it was like the Phoenix rising from the ashes for me. "
When asked if she would ever Consider doing a contemporary Metal Album
"My inclination is to never go down the straight and narrow path and to not be like everybody else, you never know, I'll say never say never but its not something I am strategically planning at this point. "
When asked about his legendary answering machine messages
"Actually there was a bootleg a long time ago of my answering machine messages. There was a period, especially in the 90's when I would just make these epic answering machine messages and I sort of got known for it, so then I felt obligated to continue. One time I did Pilsonian Rhapsody, I actually did, Bohemian Rhapsody done to an answering machine message. I went crazy with all the voices and music. I did the Batman theme, but of course I said PIL-SON instead of Bat-man and again played all the instruments. If you can ever hear the bootleg there are some pretty hysterical stuff."
When asked which of the three bands Dio Foreigner and Dokken he is most proud of
"It would be Dio because there was a connection about Dio. It was the most heaviest powerful band I had been in and I took what I learn in Dio and brought in back to Dokken later on. I would say Dio but I am really proud of Foreigner. Foreigner is on a headlining tour now and we worked our asses off to get back here of course we have Mick Jones great songs but we had to work our way back".
When asked if Foreigner will be writing a new studio album
"I don't see us do a whole record of new material like we did in 2009 that was a tough situation for us because we are on the road so much that it was really tough for us to come up with a whole record of new material, it was a lot of work and a lot of stress. I don't really see that happening again. What I do see happening is what we had done on the last couple of years is that we will put out a new song here and there maybe include it in some package. I see us going recording of new songs but not full albums."
When asked if Foreigner is still Foreigner without Mick Jones can the band exist without Mick
"It's a fair question but I will ask anybody who asks that have you seen the band live. When Mick is not there, it's still very much Foreigner. It's sanctioned by Mick. I understand how people feel about original members but with Foreigner it's really about the songs. Lou Gramm was one of the greatest rock voices ever and it's not taking away from Lou it's actually flattering Lou that his performances were so universal that we can carry on and do those songs even when he is not there, so we can also do those songs when Mick is not there. The only way it could exist without him being there is if he passed away because he will always be connected to Foreigner. Even if Mick Passed away the legacy of the music is so strong to me yes Foreigner could exit but I don't anticipate it existing without Mick in some way or form."
When asked if there are any unreleased Dio Songs?
"As far as me having it no, as far as being unreleased material yes there is. There is actually a fair amount of unheard material. There is talks and they are in the works of someday the music seeing the light of day. In order for it to be releasable there would have to be things done to it . Yes there is Ronnie on songs that people have not heard does exists.
However I do remember playing Ronnie a riff and us starting to work on a song and I believe the riff is going to surface on the upcoming Dio Disciples record."
When asked if there will be a new studio album and a US tour by the classic Dokken lineup
"The reunited Dokken gets offers all the time and we talk about most of them, we are all on speaking terms and we get along fine. It's down to opportunity. I think all of us have somewhere in us where we would like to do perhaps one final studio record together. So I see that as a distinct possibility somewhere down the line but as a whole US tour the problem is kind of obvious it's our scheduling. Maybe someday some limited shows, its not impossible and I think a recording is possible but it's kind of first things first. The last time we talked about a recording Don was starting to work on his Dokken album, fair enough, there is no hurry. Maybe some day but nothing in the books right now."
When asked who much truth there was to the bickering and hatred of Don Dokken and George Lynch
"It was a drastically over hyped version that something that is essentially true. The two of them get along pretty good now but there was a time in the early days they didn't get along great. What really blew it all up is when we were doing publicity for the Tooth and Nail record we had a publicist who wanted to come up with a publicity angle that would really help sell the band. So what they centered in after talking with everybody was wow Don and George don't like each other and that just exploded and it became the media hook that got stuck with the band and then it became a self fulfilling prophecy and then it became our worst enemy. Did George like the fact that the band was called Dokken, of course he didn't like that he just wanted to have a regular band name. "
When asked when he joined the band was he an equal partner in Dokken
"It was equal right from the beginning and that was the brain child of our managers Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch and they new about the personalities of the band and the name so right from the start it was an equal split except for Breaking the Chains album cause I wasn't on it but they gave me a little piece of it. Don and George also encouraged me to write and to be a participant right from the beginning. "
When asked how the whole band fell apart after Back for the Attack Album
"It was our personalities exaggerated by drugs."
When asked about him producing the new Last in Line album and a timeline on it's completion
"Right now they are talking about January 2019 as a release date, the record is not completely done recorded."
When asked about his memories of the late Vinnie Paul from Pantera
"I didn't know him well, actually Pantera opened for Dokken on our very first tour, Pantera they were really sweet to us, they were just starting out. My memory of Vinnie was that he always brought fun with him, he was a very nice man. There were some strip club trips in the 90's , he was always up for a good time. I hope he rests in peace."
When asked about his new band/ project and new album project with George Lynch, Robert Mason (Warrant) and Mick Brown
That record is actually done although it;s going to come out until April 2019 it is phenomenal, it's a very inspired piece of work. We have a new band name but we are not announcing it yet. George is playing his ass off on it. The music is very natural to what we are there is a bit of Dokken in there, there is a bit of Lynch Mob in there, it's kind of that direction although it gets a little deeper, we got pretty musical and deep on this record. We are trying our best to do a couple of live shows at some point. The whole record is recorded and done it's being mixed right now to be released April 2019."
For Canada’s The Metal Voice (https://www.facebook.com/themetalvoice) former Anthrax singer Neil Turbin reports on Lemmy Kilmister's Funeral at the Chapel at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery and at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, recapping the service and memorial along with Jimmy Kay.
Speaking with Doro Pesch in regards to her fondest memory of Lemmy
"Lemmy was one of my closest friends I loved him so much I knew him from 83 on when I couldn’t even speak English."
"Lemmy Saved my life. My Dad died and Lemmy called me one day later and he gave me so much inspiration, so much hope that I could go on and then we wrote some nice songs together and we recorded some songs together."
Speaking with Lucky Lehrer from the Circle Jerks about his favorite Lemmy story
"Circle Jerks were opening for Motorhead in Seattle and in New York. So the Seattle show they had gotten this car and a couple of sledgehammers in front of tower records all of us were smashing up this car. Pretty much beat the car to a pulp. Philthy was there, Fast Eddie and Lemmy and all four of us. Then we made our way back to New York and we were staying at the same hotel and that was pretty insane."
