Artist
Jill Janus is the vocalist of heavy-metal act Huntress. The band released its sophomore album, Starbound Beast, earlier this year. Currently the group is on the road with Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and Testament. Below, the vocalist contributes the fifth in a series of guest blogs.
Hey Revolver!
I'm writing this guest blog during the final days on tour with Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament and Huntress. I've become friends with all the bands and crew, learned a lot about touring with a legitimate production and have been offered up some amazing advice. I wanted to share some insight with my fellow musicians, especially those just beginning their journey as a touring band.
I asked Testament's Chuck Billy and Gene Hoglan, "What advice would you give a novice metal band?" Chuck offered up some pointers for metal vocalists, stating that vocal training and maintaining your health is vital to a long career. Listen to entire the audio recording below:
Gene's response was really cool, stating that it's important to find band members you like hanging out with, looking at a band like family, knowing you've got each other's back. He also puts great importance on learning how to read a contract and understanding the legality of the music business. Listen to entire the audio recording below:
I also asked Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler to give me three guidelines to help the novice metal band. His response:
1. Don't eat sushi before a flight.
2. Don't expect your singer to carry shit.
3. The most important member of your band is the soundman.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with me Chuck, Gene and Chris! My final guest blog is coming next week. I'm going to miss these dudes!
Stay cool,
Jill Janus
Mike Hranica is the frontman of metalcore act The Devil Wears Prada. Recently, Hranica wrote a short fictional book, Home for Grave, which you can purchase on his website. The Devil Wears Prada's most recent album, 8:18, was released earlier this fall. The band is currently on a headlining tour of the country and dates can be found here. Below, the vocalist and writer contributes the second in a series of guest blogs.
"Is the process cathartic?"
"Is writing, for you, a means of catharsis?"
So they ask.
It's difficult to imagine writing without such an emotionally expunging element. I think that's what I find to be most interesting about the question. Creating something with your own personal identity includes an extraneous amount of side effects, some better than others. A more primary side effect is a product's transformation with time. Some of the things we do (or write) might age like a guitar of the finest vintage, or turn moldy and rot in the back of a forgotten refrigerator.
I believe there is great deliberation to be devoted to these sorts of things. Even with all the pain it might bring, inspecting how things grow, or get older, or die is a part of the process. With Prada having cooked up so many songs over the past eight years, it is my responsibility to watch and wonder. Sometimes it just so happens that such inspection is prescribed: sort of like an interview or writing a blog on my hazy misunderstanding of touring.
After my last post here on Revolver, a gentleman on twitter told me, "Directionless can have its virtues." Needless to say, the idea has had its resonation. I can't tell how much friction exists between accident and calculation.
Take care.
Jill Janus is the vocalist of heavy-metal act Huntress. The band released its sophomore album, Starbound Beast, earlier this year. Currently the group is on the road with Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and Testament. Below, the vocalist contributes the fourth in a series of guest blogs.
Hey Revolver!
Huntress is deep into touring with Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and Testament. We've already hit Canada twice and the shows were sold out. Canadian fans truly worship heavy metal. Bands traveling this time of year in Canada with a van and trailer be forewarned—the weather can be brutal and road conditions can become extremely dangerous. Our good Canadian friend Cam Pipes, vocalist of 3 Inches of Blood remarked that, "Booking agents and bands on a bus don't understand how dangerous it is to tour Canada October-March especially if you're in a van." Huntress learned just how dangerous it can be…
Huntress was traveling from Calgary to Saskatoon when the highway iced over. We started sliding a little, but kept pushing on. More sliding, more snow, and we started seeing more accidents on the side of the road. We stopped to put on chains, but that wasn't enough. We spun out, nearly being hit by a semi truck and jack-knifed our trailer. No one was hurt, no real damage to our van, but it messed up our trailer hitch. My bandmates handled a very scary situation like warriors. After 36 hours driving at 20mph, we finally crossed the US Border. We were unable to play the show in Saskatoon, which was a bummer. But no show is worth losing your life over.
Touring Canada is always profitable and Canadian fans are very supportive to bands. The Lamb of God shows were all sold out and the audience reaction was wild. I've also experienced a new level of fan love, having my autograph tattooed on the flesh of pretty girls. I'll admit it, I feel humbled by the gesture to ink my name on your skin—it's even a little bit confusing to me. My life consists of relentless touring, songwriting, recording and the occasional interview. But I haven't taken a moment to acknowledge any fame during this stage in our young career. I won't watch interviews I've done, I don't read reviews. Like I've said before, feedback whether it's positive or negative, I don't let it affect my path. So, I only live for my purpose and block out noise. I've had success as a DJ prior to forming Huntress and I felt the heat of fame before–I don't like it, but I understand it's part of the game. Now that Huntress is gaining visibility and expanding our fanbase, things are starting to get weird. But that's cool, it's never weird enough.
Canada, you're awesome. I already miss you and we can't wait to storm your stages again. But I think we'll let it thaw out before attempting another tour up North in a van!
Stay heavy,
Jill Janus
Mike Hranica is the frontman of metalcore act The Devil Wears Prada. Recently, Hranica wrote a short fictional book, Home for Grave, which you can purchase on his website. The Devil Wears Prada's most recent album, 8:18, was released earlier this fall. The band is currently on a headlining tour of the country and dates can be found here. Below, the vocalist and writer contributes the first in a series of guest blogs.
Tour is here, and while this marks a pinnacle point within the TDWP timeline and what we've been working towards for years and years, I'll do my best not to restate and retrace all of the banal blogs that constantly roam and intertwine the interwebs.
Big thanks to Revolver for asking me to be a part in this, I'm always grateful to write and discipline myself into something a little bit different than what I might usually be accustomed to. What is my objective? I'm not entirely sure, I just know how monotonous and repetitive these sorts of things can be.
"Damn the jejune!" I cry from the rooftops (or the stage Prada will be performing upon tonight in Indianapolis).
The misconception of tour glamour is hard to explain, in fact I'm having a hard time knowing where to begin. I'm told that The Devil Wears Prada is fun to be around, although I of course maintain a sort of hesitant skepticism in accepting such a compliment, seeing as that I am completely too close to the subject at hand. With that said, I'll do my best to be objective and say that the TDWP tour bus or dressing room is a good place to be. I'll start there.
Beers are consumed, the ever-so-familiar bottle of Jack is passed around, but I consider us a tame group. I say we drink, we don't party. I'm not sure that there is much more to be explained in direct regards to touring. All of the glamour and obnoxious sheen expected in every daily interview is nonexistent. Nothing.
I've spent my fair share over the past few weeks and months trying to further understand this lifestyle. I've been attempting to actually figure out what it is that I am doing. I keep feeling old, but I never understood youth. I blame touring. These ideas became more evident around July and August of this year, when I was able to be home for a Chicago summer for the first time since I joined this band.
Nevertheless, I think there is much to be understood from all of these towns and cities. And I think what is most important is the life and color that is born into these new songs from 8:18 when existing from a stage. Breathing there on a stage, to the most wonderful metal listeners that spent their hard-earned money to come see my silly band. That is true. That is what this whole musical entertainment thing is meant to be.
I beg your apologies if this rant has been directionless or perhaps overly-abstract. It turns out that I'll be writing a couple of these things, so with time I might be able to give further detail to whatever it is that I'm trying to understand while living life on the road.
Cheers, thank ya.
Aryn Jonathan Black is the vocalist for Texan rock act Scorpion Child. The band released its self-titled debut album this year and spent the summer on Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest. This blog comes from their headlining tour with Kadavar, Gypsyhawk, Wilson, and Mothership. Check out their song "Polygon of Eyes" at the bottom of the post.
Day 2
September 13, 2013
No Rest For The Wicked
I've been trying to sleep for ten hours but I feel like I've only accomplished ten minutes of actual rest. Although I've slept many days and nights in the back of a van, this brand of bouncing and shaking is a poor recipe for slumber and it's no wonder that I'm awake when we pull over to get gas. I blindly fumble for my phone in the darkness of my cubbyhole to check the time. I've convinced myself that if it's morning time then I'll just start a new day. Maybe I'll make a pot of coffee and commit to staying up for a while. Lord knows I've got all day to catch up on sleep anyway.
It's 7:30 am. I can see the light of the dawn already creeping into the cracks of my curtain. There's the soft bustle of early movement in the cabin and the overwhelmingly welcome smell of coffee being made. Tiger has beaten me to the punch. I manage to dress myself in the limited room I have and I slip out of bed to join the few early birds that can't sleep either. Josh, our soundman for this trip, has taken over driving duties at some point during the night. Before we realize what's happening, he's maneuvered the bus down a slim path along the waters of Trinidad Lake. The vast majority of us are awake now, eating cereal, drinking coffee, waking and baking. We pile out into an overcast and luscious landscape and head down to the waterfront. The morning clouds seem to be billowing out of the distant mountains and the damp morning air is surprisingly chilly against the skin. I'm still just waking up and the world that surrounds us at this moment is perfect for dwelling in a dream state. There isn't much to do out here, but that's the beautiful part of it all. We've made it to Colorado already. There's no rush to get to Denver just yet. We've got so much time to be leisurely. I can't pass up the opportunity to capture this moment and the way the light is falling on everything in sight. I snap off a series of photos. Handfuls of rocks are collected and studied. Really, the complacent boredom of it all is perfect for the time and place. We all pile back in, Josh miraculously gets this behemoth of a ship turned back around and most everyone crawls back into their holes. I pour myself another cup of coffee just south of Colorado Springs. The sun is a little brighter but the clouds maintain the quiet and blurry morning temper as we climb higher in altitude up the mountains. I can feel the air getting thinner and my head becoming lighter.
Sometime in the afternoon, we arrive in Denver. Once again, I failed to catch any sleep although I gave it my best shot but after a couple of sandwiches for lunch I'm beginning to feel human again. Everyone watched the second half of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. I'm usually able to fall asleep when I know every line in a movie but not this time. Lunch time is accompanied by a viewing of The Incredible Shrinking Woman—never seen it. Although it's only Friday, it feels like a lazy Sunday afternoon, so it's nice to have the luxury of doing jack shit. Holy nuts—we just passed Mile High Stadium! Watched the opening game last week against the Ravens and the Broncos killed it. Last time we came to Denver we had the pleasure of hanging out with Tig Notaro's brother. Just one of those random things that happens when you're on the road. Cowart and I met the guys from Living Colour last time we were in San Francisco. Anyway, I feel like we should give that guy a call.
I just realized that Weston didn't send the professional camera with us. Son of a bitch.
Tomorrow night is our first show of the tour. It's a snowboard film festival from what I gather. But whatever the fuck it is, we get to play on the bill with Pentagram—not a bad way to start things off at all! We arrive at some warehouse strip because we apparently have no other place to park this beast. The festival grounds aren't completely set up yet due to unfavorable weather conditions, so the promoters have directed us to their headquarters. From the looks of it, tomorrow's weather should be perfect for an outdoor show. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Shaun Diettrick Avants is the bassist for Texan rock act Scorpion Child. The band released its self-titled debut album this year and spent the summer on Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest. This blog comes from their headlining tour with Kadavar, Gypsyhawk, Wilson, and Mothership. Check out their song "Polygon of Eyes" at the bottom of the post.
Day 1
September 12, 2013
Bon Voyage!
It seems as though everyone, for the most part, has arrived a little too early to the Whitecrowe house and rehearsal space this afternoon. It's barely past noon yet you can feel the excitement and anxious temperaments buzzing about. As I arrive, most of the band are loading their luggage onto the bus, last minute gear finds a spot in the over-sized trailer, and personal effects are laying claim to everyone's bunks. We've all been chomping at the bit to get this tour started ever since we began to piece it together back during the Mayhem Festival in July. For almost a month, most of us have been finding ways to fill the time at home—practically all of us feeling trapped in a stasis until we can settle into what we've called home for the majority of this year alone. This time, however, we've graduated from the small confines of our trusty van and into the new, welcoming, and spacious world of the bandwagon.
By this time, Aryn has dubbed our trusty vessel The Black Pearl in lieu of eight musicians and three crew members setting sail on the highways of North America for the next month. The Texas heat is in fine form today and we can hardly wait to find ourselves in cooler temperatures. In the meantime, most of us have already started to find comfort on the bus. Although I'm not the last to arrive, most of the storage below the bus has been already taken with luggage but I manage to find some room on the other side. I throw my bag in the bed I claimed just the day before. I organize the handful of movies I brought along into a cabinet by the television. I plug in the coffee maker. A dozen vitamin bottles get organized into a row. Just as everyone has seemingly nested into their month-long home, Tom arrives just as I'm showing my wife, Liz, just how small and impractical my bunk would be if she was allowed to travel with us.
As the minutes continue to roll by, a debate sparks over the logistics of waiting to do last minute errands before we embark on our journey or before. It becomes evident that we may as well wait out the local traffic and rush hour, so we soon find ourselves split into several groups and headed to Walmart for group provisions. Two hundred dollars later we're loaded with groceries, a new vacuum, and an ice chest, the majority of the group has arrived back at the bus. Liz and I begin to domesticate as much as we can; putting away food and supplies and organizing the kitchen area. In the meantime, Aryn and Katie have finally shown up and provide a domestic touch of their own with a throw for the couch and a mat for the countertop. It almost seems as though we're ready to roll out.
Kadavar, however, have yet to return from the shopping experience. One can only imagine what it's like for the Germans to find themselves in the epitome of American commerce. How overwhelming it must be to experience a place where you can obtain anything and everything you could possibly need in one stop. To us Americans, it's a trip we've all made a thousand times in our lives. It's a cultural cornerstone for almost every consumer in this country. So, as the rest of us have made our purchases and returned back to the bus, it feels like hours have passed when our European counterparts return from their first adventure. Many beers and bowls have been consumed during the wait, which effectively finds Tom and I testing out the napping potential of our bunks.
Finally, the moment to depart is upon us. After several phone snapshots of the entire cast in front of the ship, affectionate handshakes and hugs are exchanged and we all climb aboard to officially begin the journey. Our friends send us off like proud parents, waving until we're out of sight. This is the first time most of us have felt the Black Pearl move. Everyone begins to test their sea legs in the midst of the beginning celebrations. Cowart manages to roll up a joint in all the turbulence as I find a way to brace myself and pour a christening round of whiskey drinks for the group. Doogans has gracefully succeeded at figuring out the satellite cable and soon we're all tuned in to the Thursday night football game between the Jets and The Patriots. The sun has disappeared in the distance by this time somewhere beyond the hill country and we find ourselves truly for the first time all together in what will be the setting for thirty days. I've already begun to practice my very limited amount of German—most of my vocabulary involving narcotics and musical references. We explain the rules of the American football amidst casual conversation about guitar pedals and cultural differences. So far, the mood bodes well for this new family and I'm fairly sure everyone will be getting along swimmingly. It's already been a long day and with all the consumption that's already taken place, I find myself in my bunk attempting to genuinely sleep for the first time. I smoke some weed. I watch a Justice League movie somehow with our shitty internet. I close my eyes. Despite my beliefs that the movement of the bus will lull me to sleep, I find the results are quite the contrary.
Mark Hunter is the vocalist and founding member of Cleveland metal act Chimaira. For more than a decade, Chimaira has been imposing its gravity on the metal community by continually touring the globe and selling more than a million albums worldwide. Their brand of heavy music has evolved and transcended both itself and the trends while maintaining its persistent, bludgeoning force. The band released its new album, Crown of Phantoms, on July 30th. Watch the video for the new song "No Mercy" at the bottom of this post.
Drive |drīv|
"If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business."—B.C. Forbes
What motivates us? Most would assume money, but a study at M.I.T lead researchers to understand that high cash reward does not motivate people at all. Monetary reward actually stifled creativity in test subjects. While cash rules everything around us, outside of monotonous activity, we perform better when it's out of the equation.
Science points to three alternative methods of motivation:
- Autonomy – Self-Governing, we like to be in charge of our day.
- Mastery – Our desire to improve.
- Purpose – We want to feel as though we are doing something larger than our own lives.
Autonomy:
Nobody likes answering to the boss. When you're at work performing a mundane task for "the man" a general thought, besides getting the hell out of there, is how much more money you could be earning for your time. Your creative side is nonexistent. You head home to watch TV or sit on the net, rinse, wash, repeat. A vicious cycle.
Then, one day your boss decides to put you in charge. Suddenly, your brain feels as though it's exploding with ideas and a drive you haven't felt since the last time you did something you actually wanted to do.
Why does this happen? It's because you are in charge. You get to call the shots. You are king for a day, and that makes people feel good. It motivates us, puts a fire under our ass and reminds us that we're alive.
When it comes to Chimaira, I feel it's best we have complete autonomy. We write what we feel. We don't answer to anyone. This power enables us to be who we need to be, and it motivates us to express the true nature of who we are. Money comes into play to enable the mechanics. Flights, gas, studio time, lodging, bills, there are a ton of things that need to be covered with cash. It's understood we need X to pay for Y. A minor portion of our drive will be to increase X so we can have more fun with Y, but that's the limit of money's power when it comes to creativity.
The goal is to remove money by earning enough or adapting to remove it from the equation. Creativity is therefore able to increase.
Mastery:
There's a reason our guitarist, Emil, is rarely seen without an axe in hand. He is mastering his craft and adopted a lifestyle that affords him the time to do so. If you work at a job you can't stand, chances are the only time you can find motivation is when you're doing the things you love. Perhaps you're into fishing, hitting the gym or video games. You wish you had all the time in the world to work on your passion.
Doing something because it's fun while improving is a powerful form of motivation. Look at Linux for example. The supercomputers that run the world thrive on open source technology. People all over the world will spend hours upon hours working for free just to feel a part of it all.
Why are they doing this? It's challenging, fun and a contribution is being made. Bring mastery into the heavy metal world and what you find are musicians simply aiming to get better at what they do. Few flourish financially.
Purpose:
Chimaira have been touring in a bus for over a decade, but on this most recent run we decided to take a sprinter van. The drives were short, and it was a good way to increase profit. Sprinters are pretty cool. Inside they are like a tiny bus complete with bunks and satellite TV.
Driving through the Midwest was a great way to bond, meditate, and it gave me a deeper sense of purpose. I had more fun waking up and driving to the next venue, keeping our own schedule (autonomy), and accomplishing what we set out to do on a day-to-day basis. For me, it was highly motivating.
It would be nice if more employers would implement similar philosophies into their paradigm. Happier employees will increase profit. Win win. Everyone loves getting a big pile of money, but sometimes we want the satisfaction of accomplishment on our own terms. It's an indescribable feeling that's not easily replicated.
Sometimes I struggle with motivation. I can be pretty lazy, but I'm driven to improve. I'm finding ways to work laziness into my schedule instead of it come accidentally.
Life hack—fill up every hour of your day on your calendar. Take time management to the extreme.
What drives you? What do you wish you could spend more time on?
Thanks for reading!
According to singer-guitarist Alexia Rodriguez, the title of Eyes Set to Kill's new album is a reference to her feeling that the screamo act had been trying out different "masks" over its career, but that now the bandmates have found themselves. And indeed, while the successes of ESTK's fifth LP—their strongest, heaviest, and most cohesive yet—could easily be attributed to the crisp production from Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan) or the songwriting and drumming contributions of Suicide Silence skinsman (and supposedly Alexia's love interest?) Alex Lopez, the truth is more likely, as the frontwoman contends, that Eyes Set to Kill have finally come into their own. WILL NAVIDSON
Check out "Lost and Forgotten" off Masks below.
Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada have never shied away from preaching, but this is the first time they've named an album after a Bible verse. Romans 8:18: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." It's unclear what kind of "sufferings" have been plaguing TDWP, but 8:18 is definitely bleak, harrowing, and fucking heavy. The only slivers of light are the sugary vocal melodies that color most songs. Elsewhere, the rhythms batter, the guitars assault, and even the keyboards are dark and minor key. TDWP's "sufferings" are modern-metal fans' "glory." JON WIEDERHORN
Check out "Martyrs" off 8:18 below.
After splitting up in 2008—less than a year after releasing the acclaimed Midnight in America—reunited Iowa punks Modern Life Is War have unveiled an unexpected fourth full-length. Fever Hunting catapults the listener back to the all-ages matinees of the '90s, when bands like Fugazi, Quicksand, and Handsome forged the melodic post-hardcore that lurked on the outer edges of emo. Luckily, MLIW are excellent students and practitioners of the style. Standout tracks include the jangling, demented "Dark Water," the dramatic, brooding "Brothers In Arms Forever," and awesomely titled anthem-blast "Media Cunt." J. BENNETT
Check out "Chasing My Tail" off Fever Hunting below.