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TotalRock Newsletter: June Edition

Written by Tony Wilson on June 5, 2021

Malcolm Dome

A Piece Of My Mind

How times change, eh? In the ’60s and ’70s, sybaritic behaviour from rock musicians wasn’t only expected but encouraged. In fact the whole concept of ‘rock star attitude’ has become part of the broader landscape of society. Look at the number of times that politicians, sports personalities and others with a high profile have been referred to as ‘rock stars’?

But in 2021, things have shifted somewhat. There is now rightly outrage at the way some have (mis)behaved in the pursuit of decadence. The extremes to which certain musicians have gone to satisfy their appetites for bacchanalian desires is now perceived as appalling rather than aspirational.

All of which brings us to Marilyn Manson. The recent accusations against him by a myriad of women have justifiably shocked people. But I am not here to judge him – this will happen in time. Rather, what I find revealing is the hasty manner in which those closest to him in a business sense – management, record label, etc. – distanced themselves from such a ‘prime asset’.

You’d have thought that, under the circumstances, they’d have trodden a cautious path, waiting to see what independent investigations revealed. After all, there is a difference between accusations and guilt. Instead, they rushed to throw Manson under the bus; let’s face it, their actions indicated they were convinced of the veracity of the claims. And if this was the case, does it confirm suspicions that, while certainly NOT complicit in Manson’s alleged misdemeanors, they may have been aware of his activities? And as long as these weren’t in the public domain, it was OK to carry on making money from his music, acting and so forth? But once it became common knowledge – that’s when they had to weigh up whether it made business sense to back him or not. And chose the latter.

Am I being unfair? Perhaps those people were so horrified by the seriousness of these allegations that they believed there was no alternative but to sever all connections. But it all goes back to the ‘rock star antics’ which prevailed decades back. In that era, it is just possible the victims would have been dissuaded from going public. But in the third decade of the 21^st Century, they are encouraged to pursue justice, and those around the perpetrators feel the best way forward for them is to discontinue their partnerships. Both approaches are equally as artificial and superficial. It all comes down to one thing – what is financially better?

Is this cynical? Of course it is. But it is also reality.

Band of the Month

The L. A. Maybe

If you’re going to lose your job you may as well make it for something worthwhile right? Well, Alvi Robinson certainly knows how that feels. As the singer in AC/DC tribute band Thunderstruck, he got fired from his regular day job as a technician after landing a once-in-a-lifetime shot to be temporarily replace the side-lined Brian Johnson for DC’s ‘Rock or Bust’ tour. Having to keep the audition so secretive, he couldn’t give his employers a feasible excuse for why he couldn’t work and so they promptly fired him.

Despite the fact that a well-known, ginger-haired, bandana-wearing singer beat him to the post, he has no regrets and it’s just as well as the band that is now fronting, TotalRock’s June Band of the Month, is AC/DC’s loss and rock music’s gain.

The L.A. Maybe is a 6-piece rock n’ roll band hailing from the South Carolina. Drawing their influence from the classic sounds of Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Van Halen they offer a fresh take on a classic sound with anthemic choruses, riffs that Slash would give a nod to and a general no-frills approach.

Fuelled by South Carolina moonshine and southern sunshine, the band are ones to watch. Check out debut album, Dirty Damn Tricks and hear for yourself.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1okQcIgeXHcycK5Q7QwTIk

Last month's big stories

KK's Priest

This month saw an announcement that many heavy metal fans the world over have been keenly waiting for: the eagerly anticipated return of heavy metal legend KK Downing with his new band KK’s Priest. The band, featuring former Judas Priest singer Tim Ripper Owens on vocals, is set to release their debut album `Sermons Of The Sinner` on August 20^th via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records. The incendiary first single and new video can be seen below

TotalRock Sessions

In related news, the full lineup from the first `TotalRock Sessions: From KK’s Steelmill` has been revealed. In partnership with House of Tours, the legendary rock radio station TotalRock will be presenting an incendiary livestream on Saturday June 12^th2021. For full story and tickets for the event click here.

Mustaine Ejects Ellefson

Following several weeks of rumours and speculation amongst fans and musicians alike, Megadeth have announced the departure of founding bassist David Ellefson. In an official statement released on the band’s website, frontman Dave Mustain wrote that “While we do not know every detail of what occorred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward”. Ellefson has denied any wrongdoing. Megadeth’s new, aas yet untitled studio album, is expected later this year
Read more… https://totalrock.com/megadeth-part-ways-with-co-founder-david-ellefson/

Nick Menza

In other Megadeth news, new footage has been released of legendary Megadeth drummer Nick Menza hosting his last ever drum clinic in 2014. The footage, taken from his final drum clinic in New Mexico, will feature as part of a swath of new and unseen material in the upcoming documentary `That Was My Life – The Story Of Nick Menza`.

Sabaton New Single

In more heavy metal news, Swedish metal giants Sabaton have released a special new single in honour of Victory Day of Russia in WW2. The single `Defense Of Moscow` is a cover of a classic Russian artist Radio Tapok, known for covering rock songs in Russian. Sabaton are currently writing and recording a followup to 2019’s critically acclaimed album `The Great War`.
Read more… https://totalrock.com/sabaton-announce-new-single-defence-of-moscow-plus-limited-7-vinyl/

Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin

A lavish new coffee table book celebrating the life and times of legendary guitarists Randy Rhoads is now available for pre-order. `Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin` is set to showcase newand unseen images of Randy both onstage with Ozzy Osbourne as well as offstage and behind the scenes. The book will span 280 pages and feature an introduction by Ozzy Osbourne himself, as well as an epilogue by Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello.

Featured Interviews

Dawn talks to Conny Bloom and Andy Christell of The Electric Boys about their new album ‘Ups!de Down’ and to Rocco Valentino of Roxville about their debut album ‘Fallen From Grace’

Electric Boys & Roxville

Click here to listen

Dawn talks to Lee Aaron and finds out what happened when her band locked themselves in a room for five days in the Pandemic till they had produced her new album ‘Radio On!’

Josh Todd gives us the background on the new Buckcherry album ‘Hellbound’ and tells us how as someone who finds it hard to stay in one place for long has fared in the Pandemic… click image

Josh Todd

Axel Ritt of Gravedigger tells us about his new project Hellryder, their debut album ‘The Devil is a Gambler’ and how he will never give up his crusade for animal rights… click image

Axel Ritt

Rob Wylde of Midnite City tells us about their latest release ‘Itch You Can’t Scratch’ and how the band are building up to their appearance at Call Of The Wild… click image

Rob Wylde

THE SWAG BAG

Win: A Black Sabbath Super Deluxe 'Sabotage' Box Set

Click here to enter this fabulous giveaway

May's Number Ones

The most played track’s each week in May – Click to listen

7th: Buckherry – So Hott
14th: Fear Factory – Disruptor
21st: Frank Turner – The Gathering
28th: Troy Redfern – Waiting for Your Love

Show of the month

21st Century Prog

Tom Gillitt 21st Century Prog It’s no coincidence that the Times newspaper in 2018 described the English prog musician Steven Wilson as ‘the most successful rock artist you’ve probably never heard of’ and yet this so called unknown (at least to the mainstream media) went on to sell-out a three-night residency at one of the world’s most iconic venues: London’s Royal Albert Hall. The fact that he’d done the same thing two years before seems to have passed the journalist by.

And in a nutshell, this concise tale reflects the state of progressive rock music in the 21^st Century-revered and loved by its dedicated fans but disdainfully ignored by much of the music press and traditional TV & radio media.

So back in 2014 when I became involved in the start-up and development of a local radio station in Surrey, I took the opportunity to try and give a platform to those contemporary bands and artists who rarely got played on the airwaves primarily because their music was often descried as some derivative of that unfashionable genre ‘Prog’.

For people of a certain vintage, that conjured up images of pomposity, tedium and pretentiousness with nothing to do with music but everything to do with the self-importance of the artist. Looking back to the supposed heyday of classic prog in the 70’s some of these criticisms may have been valid but to alienate a whole new generation of musicians with that dated and outmoded view seemed to me patently unfair.

So the 21stCenturyProg radio show became a weekly flag waving stage for progressive rock bands from around the world to be heard and to publicise their art. The programmes went on to be the most downloaded of the stations output and for almost four years occupied my every Monday evening broadcasting live from Studio No2.

The irony which is never lost on me is that if you ask ten different people what they think of when they hear the term ‘progressive rock music’, you’ll get ten different answers and that’s what makes the music so unique and unpredictable. The best encapsulates the traditional forms of rock, pop and blues, fuses it with some jazz and folk, mix in some classical, metal and psychedelia and before you know it…you’re hooked.

After a hiatus of three years off the radio, I was delighted to be asked by Tony to present the show again on Total Rock. The rise of the internet and decline of the worldwide pop industry has allowed niche music to flourish and for the first time in a long time, genuinely innovative artists have finally been able to get their music heard. Total Rock is embracing that change and with the use of all the new and varied media platforms, is clearly leading the charge.

So please give the show a listen every Thursday afternoon between 1-3 pm and judge for yourself, you might just hear something you actually like.

Coming on TotalRock in June

The Dirtchamber – 6pm
4th – Go Ahead and Die with Igor Amadeus Cavalera #206
11th – Fear Factory with Dino Cazares #207
18th – Tetrarch with Diamond Rowe #208
25th – Atreyu with Dan Jacobs #209

Hobo On The Radio – 5pm
10th – Nick DiSalvo from Elder to talk about his new solo album
17th – A joint interview with Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri about their new band Stöner

Dawn Osborne In Session – 4pm
6th – Axel Ritt of Hellryder,
20th – Call of the Wild special with Interviews with Ricky Warwick, Nathan James of Inglorious, Leigh Matty of Romeo’s Daughter and Rob Wylde of Midnite City and Tigertailz

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Tony Wilson

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