CWG Magazine » Coldiron Continuum

Gene Hoglan of Fear Factory- The Continuum Conversation

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:44:34 +0000

Is Gene Hoglan the nicest metalhead ever?

That is the question that was left in my head after spending a half an hour on the phone with him today.

This guy has been doing the metal thing for three decades. He has played with damn near every amazing metal band in existence during that time. He is gonna go down as one of the greatest heavy metal drummers ever.

What was I expecting? I wasn’t sure. I saw some youtube clips of him talking and he seemed like a nice guy.

The man I talked to on the phone was way beyond that. This guy talked to me like an actual person. Not a media obligation. Not someone who could help him make money by writing about him. Nothing like that. He talked to me like he had known me for years, like we do this all the time. Like he had thoughts and ideas he wanted to share with me. And he did. Big time.

We started off the conversation talking about his new DVD, “The Atomic Clock” which can be purchased here. Check out the trailer for the DVD here. We talked all about it for a while and he really shared with me what it was all about and why he made it.

From there, I hit him with some random facts about him that I found in my research for this interview. We talk about the experience of drumming for two different bands in one night, writing lyrics for Dark Angel albums, how he became a drummer and his all-around musical skills, and his musical idol (listen to the interview for his surprising response).

This is a solid 30 minutes of talking with a legend of the metal community and someone who wants you (and me) to know what makes him tick.

He is Gene Hoglan, aka- “The Atomic Clock.”

Enjoy and follow along with my conversation with him below.

Gene Hoglan of Fear factory

00:05: Opening greetings.

00:45: “Jamming with the Stones.”

About the new DVD

1:40: The main order of the day…

1:50: Gene’s new DVD- “The Atomic Clock.”

3:45: “At the end I want people to think that this was a couple hours well spent.”

6:45: The origin of The Atomic Clock.

8:10: About the DVD extras…

10:20: “There are no instructional DVD’s with extras on them.”

12:00: ‘The Hoglan Blast.’

13:50: Where to get the DVD. Here and here.

Some random stories

14:25: Playing drums for Strapping Young Lad and Opeth in the same night… for 20 nights!

16:20: “Anybody can do anything…. but not as good as me. (sarcasm)”

16:45: Writing lyrics for Dark Angel albums.

20:20: Started drumming at 13, playing guitar since 15.

21:15: Jason- “Lemme get this straight. You’re telling me that you are a better guitar player than a drummer?!”

22:20: Gene the all- around musician.

24:58: Gene’s musical idol is…

27:30: Jason- “You are super- articulate and awesome man.”

28:00: Closing thoughts and comments.

Find more on Gene here and here.

Stay tuned for updates on Gene and Fear Factory, here as always, in the Continuum.

Cam Pipes of 3 Inches of Blood- The Continuum Conversation

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:01:32 +0000

Four full length albums, 2 EP’s, the summer Mayhem tour and rocking the pants off of everyone they meet. 3 Inches of Blood is tearing up the country and melting heads everywhere they go.

Their latest album, “Here Waits Thy Doom” was recently re-released and can be bought here.

Today I bring you my conversation with Cam Pipes, vocalist of 3 Inches of Blood.

Follow along and listen to the singer talk about the tour, the album, wheelchair crowd surfing and much more.

3 Inches of Blood

00:10: Opening greetings.

00:45: The summer Mayhem tour “like summer camp.”

2:10: Activities on the day of a show.

4:00: The beautiful thing that is summer tours.

5:15: Making new fans.

6:20: The summer of 2010 is taking summer tours to a new level.

8:30: “What does it mean to you to have people that have never heard of you rocking out to your music?”

9:00: “Wheelchair crowd surfing?”

11:15: The re-release of, “Here Waits Thy Doom.”

13:00: Recording three cover songs.

14:20: The status of Jamie Hooper.

16:00: “The Goatriders Horde” and “Ride Darkhorse Ride.”

17:20: “I wasn’t really that accomplished as a bass player.”

18:30: Learning to sing.

19:30: “Did you know all along that you were destined to do this?”

20:20: “You must see shit that most people can only dream about.”

24:30: Other Canadian bands.

Find more on 3 Inches of Blood here.

Stay tuned for updates on 3IOB, here as always, in the continuum.

CWG Owner Jim Markunas- The Continuum Conversation (updated)

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:45:25 +0000

Continuing the summer podcast series, I recently went on the record with Jim Markunas.

Jim is the owner and CEO of CWG Magazine online, not to mention my boss.

I got him on the record to help inform our audience about all things going on with CWG. Along the way, we talk about the key members of CWG, its’ history, our plans for expansion, the amazing CWG staff and the recent Country Throwdown and Mayhem tours.

From there, it turns into a conversation about funny stories we have had with CWG. These stories range from Jim’s interview with Rob Zombie, to my hatred of Nickelback and many anecdotes in between.

So, sit back, enjoy, and listen to the story of CWG from the man who created it.

The Jim Markunas podcast updated

00:10: Opening thoughts.

00:30: Hustle and Flow

1:00: Meet Jim Markunas.

1:35: Jim’s goals for CWG.

2:10: About other publications.

3:30: The story of the creation of CWG.

4:30: The origin of the name, “Chicks With Guns.”

5:00: No chicks, no guns.

5:30: The state of the company.

6:00: CWG’s strengths and weaknesses.

6:30: “I am constantly in awe of how talented our staff is.”

7:00: The new advertising specials and promotions.

8:45: Increasing size and notoriety.

9:05: The key players at CWG.

11:15: CWG coverage of, ‘Country Throwdown.’

12:30: The Kevin Lyman interview.

13:30: The summer Mayhem tour.

14:00: Meeting Rob Zombie.

16:00: An Atreyu story.

17:30: The “boner pants” story.

20:30: The Radiohead, Kid A cop out disaster.

23:30: Nickelback sucks ass.

26:40: The fall season at CWG and what is coming up.

29:30: Final thoughts.

Stay tuned for updates, here as always, in the Continuum.

TDWP Rocks Sacramento… again

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:45:44 +0000

7-23-10

I arrived at my favorite local venue early in the afternoon. Four hours early actually. The reason: an on-site interview with The Devil Wears Prada. This was something I had been looking forward to for some time. I last saw them play here in Sacramento in December of last year (check out that story here). Today I would get to talk to them about their ongoing “Back to the Roots” tour, their upcoming, “Zombie EP” and see what is going on with them in general. Recorded out back of the venue under a tent in blistering heat, singer Mike Hranica and guitarist/singer Jeremy DePoyster gave me their insights and told me what was going on with the band (they also have the nicest tour manager in the business).

talking with Mike Hranica

Listen below and follow along as I chat up Mike and Jeremy:

TDWP July 2010

00:15: “Back to the Roots.”

1:30: Playing the same venue back to back nights.

2:15: The Zombie EP.

3:30: Mike- “This is meant to be our heaviest material.”

5:10: Mike- “A concept we didn’t want to be taken too seriously.”

7:15: “Survivor.”

7:50: “Escape.”

9:10: The intern gets his feet wet.

11:10: Jason- “Thanks for taking the time guys.”

From there, we had a couple of hours to kill, so we found a local restaurant with great air conditioning and chilled out for a while and talked some business.

Eventually we made our way back to the venue and got inside. I sent my interns into the crowd to go have some fun and get a great experience for themselves while I did some work. For this show there was no front barricade and no photo area (hear Mike talk about that above). I tried to scope out the angles and see if there was somewhere to get some shots… there wasn’t (although I got plenty of pics of the band backstage right before they went on), thus- I have no pictures of the band’s performance. That said, they put on a helluva show.

TDWP- Minutes before going on stage

They played a solid hour or more, headlining the show and giving about 500 teenagers everything they could handle and more. The venue was near capacity, with people elbow to elbow all the way to the back. The weather in Sacramento was 90+ degrees outside, with 500 people crammed into a fairly small venue. The heat gave rise to even more intensity in the audience, the performers and the show in general. Every time a mosh pit erupted the place felt very small, but full of love, lol.

As for the band, their instrumentation was outstanding. Drummer Daniel Williams killed it on his kit, while Jeremy, Chris and Andy killed it on their guitars and bass. The story, however, was of course Mike Hranica.

The guy was unbelievable. It should be noted that I see a lot of hardcore bands at this venue. Mike Hranica carries a charisma and power that few hardcore singers possess. He can make the same movements on stage seem fresh every time he does them. He screams with his entire body. Every time he gets into a good one you think his head is gonna burst. He is fit as heck also, like a track star or something. Once his shirt comes off, he looks like a blown up caricature of Bruce Lee whooping someone’s ass. The guy is short, but on stage he is HUGE. He is the freaking man.

I keep searching for ways to explain the intensity of his screams. I can personally testify that his intensity is NOT drug- induced. My latest theory is that he is some kind of mutant, perhaps with four or five lungs in his chest? Maybe any time he needs a little extra he shifts into “four lung mode” or something. Maybe for the encore he quickly turns and inserts and extra lung and battery into his gut? Maybe God loans him the strength before every show. Or maybe, just maybe, he is just a professional that is really freaking good at what he does. Maybe this is a special performer in a special band.

Maybe they are onto something great. Wanna find out? The “Back to the Roots” tour rolls on this summer. Find them at a show near you and see what I am talking about.

Find more on TDWP here.

Buy, “With Roots Above and Branches Below” here.

Mathew Bosher of Decortica: The Continuum Conversation

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:28:45 +0000

A couple of months ago, Australian rockers Karnivool came through my town. Find a taste of that coverage here and here.

To my surprise, after that, I started getting emails from that side of the world from bands that liked the story and wanted me to notice them.

One of these bands stood out to me a lot when I checked them out. Flash forward a couple of months and I am here to introduce you to Decortica of New Zealand.

This is a band that that is considered “Alternative.” In truth, their music goes way beyond that and crosses genres big time.

Experimental? Progressive? Art rock? Beautiful? Yes, yes, yes and yes!

Radiohead (at times), The Mars Volta, Deftones… now you’re starting to get the picture.

Decortica IS Mathew Bosher (vocals/guitar), Antoinette Lee (bass) and Tory Staples (drums).

Their new record is a concept album of sorts called, “Love Hotel” and is scheduled for a fall release. The first single is called, “Monster in a pretty Dress” and can be found on their web site here.

Mathew recently called me and gave me a solid 30 minutes on the phone for this podcast. In our conversation, we talk about the band, their previous album, the new album and its’ concept(s), and the New Zealand music scene.

Follow along below as Mathew beautifully articulates his thoughts and gives me some real insight into his world.

Decortica

00:01: The formal introductions.

00:45: America, meet Decortica of New Zealand.

1:15: The band members.

3:05: “A New Aesthetic.”

5:00: “The term ‘alternative rock’ hardly does you justice.”

6:50: “The solution was to be more progressive.”

8:00: “Love Hotel.”

9:00: “On top of everything else, you write a concept album?!”

10:00: “An overarching narrative.”

12:00: The Tokyo theme and all the research that led to it.

15:00: From fantasy to reality.

17:00: ‘An outsiders perspective.’

18:00: “You wanna keep it interesting for yourself.”

18:45: “Monster in a Pretty Dress.”

21:00: “Ennui.”

21:30: ‘Profound boredom and melancholy.’

24:00: Touring?

25:15: About New Zealand venues….

27:00: About the New Zealand music scene.

30:00: “I’m proud to help in any way I can.”

30:30: How to get the new record.

31:30: Closing comments.

Find more on Decortica here.

Stay tuned for updates on Decortica, here as always, in the Continuum.

Metallica’s Kill em All: 27th Anniversary

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:25:35 +0000

On the 27^th anniversary of this amazing album, I take a minute to pay tribute.

Holy shit! Where do I even start? How about this simple statement: Kill Em' All is the greatest metal album of all time. Period. Wanna disagree with me? Perfect, let’s chat! Ok, if I back down just a little, you can get me to agree that it might only be the greatest thrash metal album ever.

We’re talking about an album that was recorded in just two weeks.

We’re talking about the catchiest, meatiest, fastest guitar parts (mostly written by Dave Mustaine and recorded by Kirk Hammet) ever caught on an album.

We’re talking about the greatest front man of a heavy band ever at a time when he knew how fucking amazing he was and wanted the world to know it too.

We’re talking about the first release by the biggest heavy band of all time.

We’re talking about a bass player that would have gone down as one of the greatest ever, were it not for his untimely death.

How the album came to be:

Metallica took their English influences such as Priest, Maiden, Motorhead, Diamond Head and so on, combined them with some punk guitars and style and then topped it all off with the most aggression and biggest ‘Fuck You’ attitude that had ever been seen at the time. Dave Mustaine is credited on four songs on the album, but it is safe to say that he and Hetfield wrote this masterpiece together.

The album is 10 songs of fury. Here are some of the highlights:

“Hit the Lights”: Perfect opener. Aggressive, pissed off, shocking. A perfect warm up for the carnage to follow.

“The Four Horseman”: Originally titled “The Mechanix” (and found on the first Megadeth album titled as such). The song incorrectly identifies the four horsemen as: Time, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Bible lovers can go cringe now.

“Jump in the Fire”: A song lyrically written from Satan’s point of view (the title refers to sex), with a genius rolling guitar riff that feeds right back into itself for a loop that could go on forever.

“(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth”: A Cliff Burton bass solo that cannot be given justice with words alone… so I won’t.

“Whiplash”: The first single from the album, one of the most well known, but (in this writer’s opinion) not even one of the better songs on the album.

“No Remorse”: Some of my Metallica- loving friends swear that this is the best song on the album. I think they might be right. Players of the original video game Doom probably know this song and don’t even realize it.

“Seek and Destroy”: If Metallica has a theme song, this is it. The song now closes almost every Metallica concert as fans use the last of their energy to shout, “Seek and destroy.”

In my opinion this album is the essence of metal. It is the greatest metal ever recorded. The instrumentation, musicianship, and attitude on display on this record have never been matched and probably never will. 27 years later and I still consider this album the holy grail of metal.

Fred Mascherino of Terrible Things: The Continuum Conversation

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:27:47 +0000

Is there such a thing as a pop-punk Supergroup? The world has wondered and will soon find out. Formed of former members of Coheed and Cambria (Josh Eppard), Taking Back Sunday (Fred Mascherino) and Hot Rod Circuit (Andy Jackson), Terrible Things stands ready to make their presence known and are already well on their way toward doing so.

The new album is currently without a title and drops on August 31^st.

The band is currently out playing selected dates on the Warped Tour, which will be followed by an expansive U.S tour with Mae.

Yesterday I got on the phone with Fred to chat him up about the band, the amazing new album and all things going on with Terrible Things.

In particular, I wanted to hear from his own mouth the incredible true story of the events that led to his desire to make this record. This is a concept album of sorts, based on the tragic series of fires started in his hometown of Coatesville, PA. In 2007.

Fred turns out to be incredibly quote-worthy.

Follow along below as Fred and I talk about the fires, the record and the formation of Terrible Things.

Terrible Things

1:30: The formation of a pop-punk supergroup.

4:00: Prior successes lead here?

6:00: Is Terrible things permanent or just another side project?

6:45: The release of the new record.

7:30: A hometown up in flames and how it led to a great album.

10:15: “Conspiracy song.”

10:45: About the songwriting process.

13:20: The best foot forward?

14:00: “Revolution.”

15:15: Fred- “It’s not a revolution until we say it is.”

15:30: “There’s a lot of people fired up… while they sit in front of their T.V’s.”

17:30: “That’s the change I want to see, and I want to do something about it.”

18:30: “It’s a common theme to be struggling and to feel helpless.”

19:30: Recent shows and the Warped Tour.

20:30: Final thoughts.

Find more on Terrible Things here.

Stay tuned for updates on Terrible Things, here as always, in the Continuum.

Richard Patrick of Filter- The Continuum Conversation

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:32:41 +0000

Last Friday, July 9^th I got on the phone with Richard Patrick of Filter, primarily to talk about the new record (which can be pre-ordered here). The conversation ended up going in many directions.

The first few minutes are Richard and I talking about the name Filter, what it means to him and many of the people he’s played with over the years. He talks about the process of finding talented people all around him and working with them.

From there we talk, at length, about the new record, “The Trouble With Angels.” Our conversation jumps around quite a bit, as Richard anticipated many of my questions and started answering them before I could ask them.

Along the way we talk some history. Richard talks about his experiences with Trent Reznor in the 90′s. I remind him of the impact of his breakthrough, “Hey Man, Nice Shot,” and ask him how he feels about his place in rock history (not thrilled). We talk about “Take A Picture” and the newer, “Fades Like a Photograph” and what it means to him to have his music played at High School proms (happy).

We wrap up with some more talk about the album, the first single and touring.

Richard answers every question I give him thoughtfully and honestly. He speaks his mind about music, business and the world. He gets a little scatterbrained at times, but he is beyond cool.

For fans of Filter, this is a must- listen conversation, as you will hear things you have never heard and get the scoop on the new record a month early. 45 minutes of talk with the man who has defined the band.

For anyone that can remember when, “Hey man, nice shot” was new or loves their 90′s rock music- you gotta hear Richard talk about those days.

For everyone else- just listen because Richard is a badass and his band is awesome.

Follow along below:

Richard Patrick of Filter

00:00: The difference between Filter and Richard Patrick.

00:45: “The appearance of a band.”

1:30: “The one consistency is me.”

4:30: NIN andQueens of the Stone Age as examples.

5:30: The fan in me comes out and lets Richard know how amazing I think he is.

6:15: ‘Nice shot’ revisited.

7:20: “Take a picture.” Richard- “Some of the most embarrassing lyrics I’ve ever written.

8:15: Richard- “I don’t wake up heavy and angry every day.”

10:00: Begin talk about the new record.

10:30: “The inevitable relapse”- thoughts, ideas, misconceptions and more.

12:20: Richard- “The people around me didn’t want me to get sober.”

14:30: “No Love.”

16:00: Giving much credit to the people that helped him make this record.

16:30: “No re-entry.”

16:45: A discussion of song composition.

17:35: “A song has to have a beginning and an ending.”

18:30: “Bob Marlette (producer) is the greatest.”

19:30: “The happiest record I’ve ever done.”

21:15: Jason- “The solo on Absentee Father is ridiculous.”

22:30: A response to some critics that think Richard has gone soft.

23:30: … about the technique of screaming properly. (a story from Chris Cornell)

26:00: Richard talks about some of his favorite vocalists.

29:00: Richard- “If I sat back and thought about that stuff I would go insane.”

30:10: Richard- “The most important thing to me is writing a great record.”

33:00: The first single is “The Inevitable Relapse.”

33:15: “Fades like a photograph.”

37:45: Upcoming shows…

41:00: Buy the new record!

Find more on Filter here.

Read the CWG review of the new record here.

Pr-order the new record here.

A Father’s day lesson learned

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:00:54 +0000

I used to think that Father’s day was just another pointless made up Holiday. There are so many things that I resist just for the sake of resisting them. Things like Father’s day, Mother’s day and Valentine’s day lost a lot of meaning for me over the last 10-15 years. I could never understand why we needed a special day and a special excuse to tell each other that we love them. Why do I need a special day to tell my Dad I love him? My Mother? My girlfriend? I never got it and nobody has ever been able to make me understand.

The last couple of years (and especially today) have really made me feel good. It’s got me thinking that maybe I shouldn’t be so blindly dismissive of so many things in the world. Obviously, becoming a Father has helped teach me this lesson.

People I barely know keep telling me “happy Father’s day.” Once upon a time, I would have looked down on people saying that to me. I literally would have wondered to myself what the heck they were thinking. I think I get it now. It makes me (people) feel good. If it makes us feel good and it doesn’t hurt anyone, where is the problem? In this case, I think I have learned and grown as a person. From here on out, I will give due respect to some of these special days (even if they ARE made up).

My (sometimes) amazing Dad

This is a music column, and so I will close with a music story about my own Father. Last night, some friends of mine gathered at a local bar for a karaoke jam. It was an amazing night on many levels. One thing that really grabbed me was my choice in songs I sang. My first one was a duet with my Dad. We sang a song by an artist that I grew up listening to, Huey Lewis. Our rendition of “I want a new drug” was well… something. Later in the night I was picking songs I love and that I wanted to sing. Songs from the era after growing up with my Dad. This led me on a tangent of Deftones (Back to School), Pantera (Cowboys From Hell) and Metallica (I disappear) tunes. I was really able to get into those songs thanks to help from one of my best friends. This got me thinking about a whole nother’ tangent of stuff, but that is for a future column.

For now, happy Father’s day to all the Fathers and sons out there. Extra love to my amazing Dad Mark and my son Zackary.

My Dad, my Son and I

Stay tuned, as always, to the Continuum.

Ratchet Rocks Vallejo

Jason Coldiron (Rock/Metal Editor) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:44:37 +0000

My friend Ruthie Pacheco (photos credited to her) and I arrived at the show in Vallejo, Ca around 9:30, which turned out to be a few minutes before the first band went on. The main event of the night would be the hometown Ratchet, who had played the night before in Yuba City.

I made the rounds, saying hello to people, friends, the bands, and so on. Everyone was really cool. I recorded a short promo of the night with Ty Kaufman and Brian Giguere of Ratchet. That clip can be found here. After doing the promo, the three of us shared a shot of whiskey and a great moment together.

The first couple of bands played. I checked them out. Neither of them was half bad.

The venue was unbelievably hot. It had been a warm day in the bay and apparently the place just didn’t cool down. Did they even run the air? Not likely. Moving on…

Around midnight the hometown boys, Ratchet, took to the stage.

The set began with their trademark opener, “Decide,” which features a killer opening. It cannot be understated how important it is for a band to grab an audience’s attention immediately with their first notes and words. “Decide” is a perfect opener for shows and they have used it all three times I have seen them. (read a review of another of their shows here). The guitars kick in and Brian yells, “decide! Decide! Decide!” Fantastic opener.

From there, they led into my personal favorite song of theirs, “more.” Some of the lyrics are on the band’s shirts. This is also one of my favorite songs to sing in the shower at home. The chorus of, “you were the one who….” sticks in my head like a nail in my fucking temple.

They continued on, ripping through song after song.

The incredible heat in the venue proved a perfect excuse for Ty to take off his shirt (not that he would ever need an excuse for that).

The ripping continued. All band members were on point, but I gotta shout out to their bass player, Jonny Walker (how awesome is his name?!). He is an extremely talented musician, to be sure. In talking to him, he mentioned that he has been working on his stage presence. It really came through tonight. On this night, he played with the confidence of a rock star (which he really is). Cheers to Jonny, keep it up my man.

Jonny Walker, working his magic

The set carried on and finished up in about an hour’s time.

An important note about rising bands, particularly those trying to expand. You MUST be able to blow up when you play your home City, your home venue, and so on. It is critical. If you can’t dominate in your own house, how the hell do you expect to do so on the road?! Ratchet has this covered. There was a house full of fans that wore their shirts, knew their lyrics, even a fan that offered to jump in and play acoustic guitar for them on a song. This is the kind of stuff that is essential for rising bands. This is a band that has a key element covered. Cheers to Ratchet.

The band was on top of their game tonight, giving their beloved home crowd the performance they were dying for.

Look for Ratchet coming to a California (and Reno) venue near you in the near future and check out their web site here.

Download their single, “Needy Bitch“