Darren DPaul Wise, the Dallas-based guitarist, is currently the music director for the Drew Pearson Live television show on ABC. This is a sports and entertainment primetime NFL pregame show based on the late night talk show format with a live on-set band led by DPaul. All themes and segment music have been written, recorded and produced by DPaul since 2013. His background includes multiple signed bands, session work for record labels, touring guitarist, published hit song writer and music for NASCAR, MLB, NBA, Chevrolet, various TV shows and commercials.
Just recently Metal Shock Finland‘s Tarja Virmakari had a pleasure to interview Darren, talking about his creative and successful career, but also how Covid-19 is changing perspectives on life.
– Hi Darren, and welcome to Metal Shock Finland. How are you doing today?
All good, just working on some music.
– We’re living now difficult times for the Covid 19 pandemic, how has it influenced your work in terms of music?
It’s actually giving me more time to work on music.
– What will be the first thing you’ll do when this situation is over?
Start performing live music again!
– In your opinion, it will change our life in some way, or will we return to our old habits?
It might give people some new perspective on life.
– How do you see the music business today, leaving out this current world situation?
Music is being consumed in many different ways now and that will continue so it should be embraced.
– You have a long and successful career as a guitarist, and you’re also the music director for the Drew Pearson Live television show on ABC. Can you tell us more about it?
I love writing music for any project I’m working on, it’s all a creative process.
– Your background includes many things, what can you reveal about the activities you are involved in?
I’m working on some solo guitar tracks and on a new original music project with some great people. Looking forward to getting that out there!
– Just recently you announced your artist relationship with Gibson Guitars. What can you tell us about this collaboration?
I started off playing Gibson guitars and I’m very happy to be playing them again! Great company, great people!
– What are your musical highlights, so far?
Having a couple of hit songs and working on the Drew Pearson show. It’s also great to work with people who have a real passion for what they do.
– What are your future plans? New shows, live dates, albums, new videos?
About to make a new video for a guitar track and then get into the studio with my new original project.
– If it wasn’t music, what would you be doing?
Musics pretty much all that I do so not a lot of outside interest.
– What are your advices to up-and-coming musicians?
Do the best job you can on everything you’re involved in. Your work ethic and attention to detail will help build your reputation as a professional.
– I thank-you for this nice chat, and now the word is yours, what is your message to Metal Shock Finland readers?
CARNIÇA(Portuguese word for “Rotten Flesh”) is a traditional Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1991 in southern Brazil, with several demo-tapes and four full-lengths released, the group is now preparing to celebrate 30 years next year with the release of a new album. Some plans had to be postponed due to quarantine, but the band takes the time to compose the songs on the new album, in addition to preparing a single for soon and participation in some tributes.
The four-piece band is formed by Mauriano Lustosa (vocals), Marlo Lustosa (drums), Parahim Neto (guitars) and Vinicius Durli (bass), and their four full-lenghts are “Rotten Flesh” (1999), “Temples Fall…Time to Reborn” (2011), “Nations of Few” (2012) and “Carniça” (2017).
Mauriano Lustosa, lead singer and founder of the band, tells some of these plans and a little more about the band to Metal Shock Finland readers.
The band will celebrate 30 years in 2021, are you preparing any special things to celebrate this brand?
Mauriano: Yes! Finish 30 years on April 21, 2021. We are planning to release a new album, turn northeast, release a video and participate in less than 3 tributes for great Classic bands.
You use to call your sound “Heavy Rotten Metal”, tell us more how about this label.
Mauriano: The inclusion of Rotten is kind of an adaptation to the producer, because we play and we are a Heavy Metal band. There is a lot of tradition in our DNA. Maybe Rotten comes, maybe because the band is called “Carniça” (rotten flesh).
Paralleling the time you started and the current times, compare how the recording conditions were at the time when you have recorded the first LP and the conditions nowadays.
Mauriano: Ahhhh. The thing has completely changed!!!! Just to give you an idea, we are now recording a single during quarantine period. Each at home, in our home studios. In the past, It used to be a legend to record. It has no equipment and no technician can use it. Recording Metal was an epic !!!! Today any kid does a great job. Of course, those recordings sometimes sound similar. Many bands sounding the same in the recordings ….
The band also has a tradition of record personal versions of metal classics in your albums, such as Slayer, Wasp and more recent, a version for “Midnight Queen” of brazilian Death/Black Metal pioneers Sarcófago. Tell us more about these versions and their importance to you as a musician or even a fan.
Mauriano: We still had Venom. Not to mention several participations in tributes, whether official or not … Man, it’s a tribute, a vote of recognition for bands that inspired us to be alive today. We are about to launch the 5th. album and it will certainly have a cover. Also, live, Always we play the set list of the album we are promoting plus a cover.
Speaking about versions, you are also about to participate in some tributes, tell us a little more about these news.
Mauriano: The first is the tribute to the KISS Brazillian Rock City. We will be participating with the song “Love Gun”. The second is a tribute to the GREAT IRON MAIDEN, “South Americans Irons”. We already have the song ready, but because of the pandemic everything is stopped and we cannot disclose which song we will play. The third is a tribute to Slayer and we are in the process of closing. It is 99% correct !!!! Participating in tributes is an excellent showcase for the band. We make ourselves heard with greater scope ….
Almost 3 decades on the road, how do you see the situation of copyright bands, because even with all the market changes, many artists continue to release new works, although even some, including you, had some gaps, others also came to declare that they did not new discs are worth burning.
Mauriano: Nowadays an authorial band records and keeps itself alive due to stubbornness and love for what it does. It is very exhausting and expensive to keep a band recording, promoting, playing live. Carniça, for having many years active, manages to sell merchandises, CDs … But in reality, it is tied in the financial aspect. And if you analyze it well, this is already a big thing. Many bands pay “producers” or “agents” to be able to play festivals or open to bigger bands. I don’t know, everyone knows what is best for their career and how to manage it in the best way. We don’t pay, we get paid. We play a few live shows on a year, but when we do, we play on a cool stage, with cool equipment and turning on the horn with every chord. Authorial Metal, mainly here in Brazil, is something for those who have passion, perseverance and the desire to see their work spanning decades !!!!
On March 22nd 2019, Italian glam-rockers VAIN VIPERS released their acclaimed self-titled debut album via Volcano Records. Today the band teams up with Metal Shock Finland to premiere worldwide their new video ‘Let’s Party’ from the album. Watch it here:
To celebrate the video premiering Metal Shock Finland‘s Tarja Virmakari had a pleasure to interview the guys, so let’s learn more about the band, video and their debut album:
1. Hi VAIN VIPERS, and welcome to Metal Shock Finland. Your self-titled debut album came out a year ago, via Volcano Records, how it has been received among your fans?
This is our first album. We had excellent feedback from local and non-local fans, much more than our expectations. We have sold several CDs in Italy and Europe and even in Japan, America and Australia.
2. What can you tell me about the influences and topics of your songs?
Our songs topics are the classic themes of the genre. The influences comes from the music we have listened since our childhood, combined with a modern touch.
3. How have you supported the album in this past year?
We have self-produced some videos for the singles of the disc and tried to play as much as possible despite, currently, the music scene in Italy is not the best.
4. Today we have a pleasure to premiere worldwide your new video ‘Let’s Party’ from the album. What is the story behind the song and video?
In the video you can see exactly what can happen at one of our gig… and that’s what always happens every time we go out together… which is the fourth essence of the “Let’s Party” and our way of being. This time we choose to pay tribute to our fans with a video dedicated to them, getting out of the habit of having a plot-based video.
5. What will happen next in the VAIN VIPERS -camp? Future plans?
We are composing new songs and we hope to come out soon with a new album. We are also looking for new gigs to continue promoting the album.
6. And now the word is yours: what is your message to your fans and Metal Shock Finland readers?
We want to thank them for all the support they have shown us and that continue to show us. To the Metal Shock Finland readers, we invite them to go on youtube and find our videos or on Spotify / Itunes to listen to our album. Come and join us to the Party!!!
—————-
VAIN VIPERS are an Italian glam-rock band, they were formed in 2013 by Scott and Wild (ex Cryin’ Angels). In the spring of 2016, after several lineup changes, they finally found their current singer: Mick (ex Sex for Cash and Shabby Trick, currently in Crying Steel) and in early 2017, their drummer, Aaron. From there, they began appearing in many italian clubs, sharing the stage with the famous rock bands Bai Bang, Rakel Traxx, and Stop Stop. In May 2017, the single “Lost in Your Eyes,” was finally released, and with it their first music video. At the dawn of 2018 it was time to start on their first LP, recorded entirely at Roberto Priori’s Pri-Studio. At the end of that same year, they found in Volcano Records the thing they’ve been looking for: A label, an agreement, and an album release.
“Vain Vipers” tracklist:
1. I Hate You
2. Bitch Please (Shut Up)
3. Kissy Doll
4. Lost In Your Eyes
5. Let’s Party
6. Reach Me In The Dark Side
7. 80’s Whore
8. Devil Is Waiting
9. Rock ‘n’ Roll
10. Weeping
Running Time: 48’33”
Italian singer/musician, vocal coach, record producer, songwriter MR.JACK released his first solo album “Long Road” on March 20, 2019, produced by Wanikiya Record and recorded at Mountain Rock Studio, in collaboration with Metal Shock Finland, Metal in Italy and Italia di Metallo. “Long Road” features great special guests of the rock and metal scenario all made in Italy.
We had a pleasure to interview MR.JACK, via the video interview, which can be seen below. Among the topics, of course, his latest solo album, the details around it + his ‘Da Jack Live Club’ and future plans.
Watch the interview below + questions listed under the video:
The questions we made to MR.JACK are:
1. Hi MR.JACK, our readers already know you via our articles about your music and latest effort and debut solo album “Long Road”, which was released on March 20, 2019 via Wanikiya Record, and in which also Metal Shock Finland was involved, as one of the sponsors. What drove you, in the first place, to start working on “Long Road”?
2. What can you tell us about the song topics and what inspired you in the songwriting process?
3. “Long Road” mixes genres, from Metal, to rock, ballad, hard rock, why this choice?
4. “Long Road” features a long list of special guests, great names, all made in Italy! could you please tell us, shortly, about each of them and their input in the album?
-Freddy Delirio (Death SS)
-Maestro Mistheria (Vivaldi metal project , Keyboard of Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden)
-Tomas Valentini (Animae Silentes – Skanners)
-Valerio Edward De Rosa (Soul of Steel)
-Steve Volta (Pepetual Fire)
-Raffaele Albanese (From the Depth – 5th Element Project)
-Mario Zeoli (Red Sofà Lab, The Angelis, Thirdston3)
-Marco Angelo
-Alessandro De Fusco
5. The album came out last March, how the album has been received by your fans and music scene?
6. Let’s go back to past, you started to sing and play with various bands at age of 14. But what was the moment when your knew that Music will accompany your entire Life in various ways?
7. You’ve done several collaborations with great artists along your long road, what are your highlights so far?
8. Not long ago you made one of your long time dreams come true, opening ‘Da Jack Live Club’, giving a great platform to many bands to play their music live. While telling us more about your club, please tell us also from where you take your endless passion and energy?
9. What are your next plans for the future?
10. What is your message to young people of today, when too many times the future doesn’t look bright to fullfil their dreams?
Thanks a million for your time and for this chat, Jack, may your future bring along satisfactions you can’t even dream of yet…
Jimmy Schulman’s fluid bass work was the perfect complement to and anchor of Dan Lorenzo’s monster riffs in HADES in the mid-80s and again pm the band’s 2001 reunion-era album. Now, Schulman is at it again, adding his bass prowess to Lorenzo’s latest band, VESSEL OF LIGHT.
The group’s stellar new release, “Thy Serpent Rise”, is the first to feature Schulman and fellow former Hades drummer Ron Lipnicki, joining founding members Lorenzo and singer Nathan Opposition. It’s Vessel of Light’s second full-length disc (in addition to a debut EP). The disc is out now on CDbaby.com and and will be available on all platforms Nov. 1. U.S. distributors are All That Is Heavy and Cobraside. The album can also be ordered at DanLorenzo.net
Schulman shines on tracks such as “Meet and Bone” and “Rush of Blood”. On the latter he takes the spotlight during the solo section. Even a short clip of the band performing new song “Abandon Light” at a recent show in Brooklyn (watch here) is evidence that Vessel of Light is a live force not to be missed.
We recently spoke to Schulman about Vessel of Light and reflected on the Hades days.
How did you come to join Vessel of Light?
They were happy being a studio project originally and then the next thing you know a gig popped up and Dan asked me and (drummer Ron Lipnicki) to play the show. It seems Ron and Dan and I are like family. I’ve been playing on and off with Dan for 35 years and he’s a riff monster. I love the challenge of playing bass to his riffs. We started rehearsing some of the tunes. When Dan gave me the EP, I thought it was genius. It was especially cool listening to him with a different singer. I really like the tone of Nathan’s voice and I loved his vocals. They wrote some really good songs together. They were catchy but still heavy. We played and it was unbelievable, a lot of fun. Talks of Ron and I joining the band started really happening then.
What are your responsibilities as the bass player in Vessel of Light?
I’m the same player no matter what. You give me a riff, you give me a song and I can work around that either by playing along or adding something to the song. I can do a lot. It depends on what is needed but it’s always based on the riff.
Tell us about “Meet and Bone”, the first single from “Thy Serpent Rise”
“Meet and Bone” is Lorenzo riffing at its finest. It’s an exciting song to play. The riffs don’t stop. His riffs just roll over one into the next into the next and the fact that Nathan can find space in there to sing and have a hook just amazes me. Nathan is such a talent. I think they were meant to write music together.
On “Rush of Blood” you get some spotlight in the middle solo section which only features lead guitar and bass, with no rhythm guitar track.
I came in thinking less is more and Dan was mentioning Non-Fiction was the only project where there was never a rhythm guitar track. I heard the rhythm track behind the solo on “Rush of Blood” and then I asked Dan to consider pulling the rhythm track and leaving in the lead guitar and bass. I thought it would sound like a groovy, bluesy sort of thing.
In late September the band played a weekend of shows. How has Vessel of Light progressed as a live act over the past year?
It really clicked from the start. For the first show last year we had never rehearsed with Nathan and he flew in that morning before the show. We got onstage and it was as if we’d been playing together for a long time. That goes to prove that Dan, Ron and myself really know each other and are a tight trio and then with Nathan coming in, it was like, ‘wow, this is amazing.’ We’ve done weekends worth of shows and as we do more of them the more addicting they become. Its’ all great, whether we’re paying before 15 people or 600. We’ll never turn down an opportunity to play before a headliner. We’d love to play before a large audience before a national act.
What lies ahead for Vessel of Light?
Dan is already writing the next album. In 2020 we’ll continue to play and see what happens. We’re all already very excited about that.
Let’s talk about your history with Dan Lorenzo starting back with Hades. Dark Symphonies just rereleased the band’s first two albums, “Resisting Success” and “If At First You Don’t Succeed,” each with a second disc of rarities. What do you remember about joining the band?
I remember listening to all the older songs. “The Cross” was great. Then Dan played me demos of “The Leaders” and “Nightstalker” and I was like, I’m all in. This is it. The music was ahead of its time, a sign of things to come, and I wanted to be a part of it. It was interesting to be in the studio back then. “Resisting Success” was a raw album that was indicative of the time.
The band made a huge leap musically with sophomore effort “If At First You Don’t Succeed”
The band was coming together as a live act and we had all new songs and they were all tremendous songs. Everybody was bringing their talent and ambitions to the table.
Any favorite rarities on the bonus discs?
“Bete Noir.” I pushed for that to be included. It was exciting to have a song of mine that was never heard see the light of day. Everybody gave a great performance. I’m definitely proud of.
Check out the band’s new single “Meet & Bone”, taken from the upcoming album “Thy Serpent Rise”. Stream and buy ‘Meet and Bone’ at this location.
We had the honor to talk with Megadeth’s legendary bassist David Ellefson before the next leg of his “Basstory Tour”. We discussed his latest book “More Life with Deth” and the structure of the tour that will take him to Europe and Latin America, including a special date in Wolverhampton, where he will be joined by K.K. Downing, Ripper Owens and Les Binks to play a set of Judas Priest classics.
David also told us about the story behind his eclectic compilation album “Sleeping Giants” featuring previously unreleased tracks, including collaborations with John Bush, Chris Poland and David Glen Eisley. Of course, we also talked about the present and future of Megadeth, including the upcoming Megacruise, the recording of the new album and the recovery process of Dave Mustaine.
We leave you the full transcript (slightly modified to improve readability) of the interview below as well as the original audio version on YouTube:
David (MSF): You’re currently promoting your latest book “More Life with Deth” through a series of bass clinics, signing sessions and shows. The next dates are in the UK, mainland Europe and Latin America. Can you describe a little bit the concept behind these different variations of the “Basstory Tour”?
David Ellefson:
Yeah, everyone is gonna be a little different, you know. The first show, that I’m kicking off with, started originally just as a kind of book signing at KK’s Steel Mill (K.K. Downing’s club) up in Wolverhampton. And K.K. (Downing) being a dear friend, obviously we like to play music, and we’ve never played music together. So, we’re gonna get on stage and fire up a big thing with Tim “Ripper” Owens, Lis Binks, my partner Thom (Hazaert) and A.J. Mill. We’re gonna fire off one show, so that’s kind of a standalone show on November 3rd. And then, November 4th we’ll be down to London in the Underworld. That’s going to be a bit more similar to what I’ve been doing here in America with the Sleeping Giants band, being a full band set, playing some of the classic songs people know me for, as well as material off my own Sleeping Giants album, and book signing afterwards. And I’ll do that same type of thing across Europe, across Italy and one date in Switzerland. And then, when I wrap up in Rome, a couple days later I will be starting the Latin America Basstory. That’s going to be slightly different, I’m going to actually use some local musicians in every city, and part of that is just because I want to involve local musicians as well as fans. There’s a lot of cover bands, tribute bands of various musicians who … I just thought it would be fun for them to get up and to basically play some songs together. So, that’ll be a little bit more like my Basstories were in 2018 and even earlier this year in 2019, when I was doing Basstory across Europe. So, everyone is going to be a little bit different, which I think sets the stage for a unique experience for the fans and everybody who comes to these shows.
David (MSF): Yeah, definitely. This is your second book after 2013’s “My Life with Deth”. Have you found something therapeutic about writing that you couldn’t express through music or what was your motivation to write this second part?
David Ellefson:
You know, I like to write. I found over the years, you know, that probably if there was a word for me, it would be “communicator”. And sometimes, I do that with a bass, sometimes I do it with a guitar, sometimes I do it just like you and me are doing right now talking over the phone, other times it’s writing a book, maybe it’s doing a Basstory masterclass clinic performance, etc. So, it’s all about just communicating, you know. Communicating thoughts, ideas, creative things. Creating it out to your audience. The books are just one of those ways to do that. You can do things in a book you can’t do in a song, and vice versa. I think with “More Life with Deth”, the thing is … I kind of hit a sweet spot on it, because a lot of this stuff with social media, it’s like everything is so immediate. And people kind of know I’ve got a record label, I’ve got a coffee company. So, I talked about those things in the book, some of the backstory to them, got a little deeper into some of the underpinnings and workings of those processes. But I think the one thing that was kind of an unexpected sweet spot in the story for me was, as I started talking about acquiring the rights to Combat Records, and relaunching that record label, it took me way back to the origin of Megadeth, to 1983. When, and how the band started. And I had some of my childhood friends from Minnesota who moved out to California, when we met Dave and got the band started. And I had them weigh in and give some personal testimonies about that. I think those, to me … I had as much fun reading their personal testimonies in my book as I did reading what I wrote about it. So, the Combat events really took me back to the earliest days of Megadeth, and that’s largely been an untold part of the Megadeth history. Kind of “Rust in Peace” onwards it has largely been told and pretty well known. A lot of those artifacts live online, on YouTube and whatnot. But the early days in the 80s, it was really fun to go back and open that chapter up, and really dig deep in and again, get these personal testimonies from other band members and friends who were with me on the journey back then.
David (MSF): Yeah, that’s very interesting. You mentioned the compilation album “Sleeping Giants” and there’s a lot of metal stuff in it, with different musicians. But I was very surprised by your collaboration with David Glen Eisley. What’s the story behind his partnership?
David Ellefson:
With the Sleeping Giants songs you mean?
David (MSF): The one’s with David Glen Eisley, this kind of soft rock tracks …
David Ellefson:
You know, in the “Countdown to Extinction Tour” in 1993 we had a tour break, and I met up with a friend of Nick Menza’s. His name was Pat Schunk, and we used to mountain bike, riding in the hills there in Los Angeles and hang out. Pat and I became fast friends, and we started doing some writing, because he’s also a songwriter, so we began doing some writing together. I put some of those songs on “Sleeping Giants” because there were some demos that we’d written, and I really just loved the songs. One of them “If You Were God”, which features John Bush on vocals, was something I actually did bring in as a consideration to the “Youthanasia” record, and it didn’t really fit the scope of where we were in that record, so it didn’t make the cut. But it’s a great song, and I have always loved it. I wrote the music, Pat wrote the lyrics and John Bush sang it. So, you know, to include that it’s been really fun because John Bush and I, we do stuff with Metal Allegiance and we’ve been friends for many years. So, it’s been fun to really collaborate with him again, even on stage, singing that song when I do Basstory shows. And then some other stuff, some stuff that I did with F5 during the 2000s, you know. That David Glen Eisley stuff, you know he was a friend of Pat Schunk’s, they were in a group together called Dirty White Boy, which featured David Glen Isley, some members of the group called Autograph, who were a pretty popular radio rock band here in America during the 80s. And, you know (we wanted) to write, and have different singers come in. These were really just demos and I thought, these things have been sitting in the vault, literally sleeping in the vault, yet I felt they were pretty cool songs. I mean, I think the title “Sleeping Giants” is not only a good title for the lead off track on the record, but it’s also a good description of the songs that are embodied on the album.
David (MSF): Yeah, exactly. Since we’re slowly running out of time, I don’t know if you’re okay with a couple of Megadeth related questions (David agrees). How’s the process of the new album going on, do we have any potential release date for it?
David Ellefson:
You know, we don’t. I mean, with Dave’s throat cancer treatments, that he has now completed, he’s just going through the recovery now and we’re hopeful and optimistic about a full recovery for him with that. But yeah, once he’s through with that process, and we’re gonna just let that take as much time as it needs, then we will resume with the album. I’d like to hope maybe in 2020 we’ll be able to get a new album out.
David (MSF): Hopefully it works out. Considering Dave’s health situation, the upcoming Megacruise and the dates you have confirmed for the beginning of next year in Europe. How do you see Dave’s recovery in order to perform live?
David Ellefson:
I think with the cruise, we’re really just taking that a day at a time. Me, Dirk and Kiko are gonna be on the boat, holding down the fort and doing some musical stuff ourselves on there, to just kind of keep a celebration of all things Megadeth. But, you know, we’re definitely giving Dave the time and space to heal and recover, that’s first and foremost for this week. And then, moving into the new year with the Five Finger Death Punch + Bad Wolves tour, you know, hopefully Dave will be ready to go. Sometimes, life throws you a card you didn’t expect and you just try to, you know … Megadeth we’ve always been a resilient band, we’ve always just worked around obstacles. Dave is a fighter, as we know, I was just talking to him and he sounds very optimistic about the future for Megadeth.
David (MSF): Yeah, that sounds great, hopefully he recovers soon. Well, thank you David for your time, it was a pleasure to talk with you. Take care, have a great Megacruise and send my best wishes to Dave!
David Ellefson:
Ok man, thanks David. See you!
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
