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Affiance's Patrick Discusses Crowd Funded EP, Touring, and Band Insight
Affiance had put together a crowd funding campaign to help write, record, and release their EP "Gaia". Thus, it then lead them to go out on the road currently, playing shows, doing what they do best, to get their name and word of their new EP out to everyone and everywhere possible! Drummer Patrick Galante, discusses some insight into the band, touring, the EP release, and so much more!
1. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
Patrick: Affiance, formed with Brett and Dennis in Cleveland Ohio, has been a group since 2007, but it wasn’t until 2009 that things really started to get serious. With the joining of Dominic in 2008 and then myself (Patrick) in 2009, Affiance had found it’s core 4 line-up and wrote our first LP “No Secret Revealed". There have been many musicians to come and go from Affiance but the 4 of us have done every tour and performed on all 3 full lengths as well as the upcoming EP.
2. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Patrick: The name “Affiance” was first brought to the table by an original member who’s not with us anymore. It’s a very powerful word and makes for a perfect band name. The word itself means "to betroth in faith and confidence”. It’s where the word “fiancé” comes from. We like to say that our word is our bond and the name Affiance represents that perfectly.
3. Tell us about your thoughts on your local music scene? Are there any new and upcoming bands that you are into?
Patrick: The Cleveland scene is solid. One of the best in the nation. Thought there seems to be a divide between various genres, you can find quality metal, punk, hardcore, rock, indie, and rap. Mushroomed, Chimaira, Ringworm, MGK, Black Keys, are all from the area. As far as up and coming bands, Check out Wide Eyes out of Akron. Their guitarist Danny Cullman engineered and helped produce our new EP. They are instrumental, but they are so talented. Bands that play with us like Along Came a Spider, Fallen Captive, Sentients, Motives, they all have something going of them and have potential to do cool things!
4. How would you describe your style?
Patrick: Our style definitely has changed for the better throughout the history of the band. Starting as more of a post-hardcore band with ‘80s metal influence we’ve grown to be our own breed, mixing old school metal with modern and progressive metal, all with a very large amount of clean singing, which really separates us from the rest. As we get more modern and heavier musically, Dennis definitely changes up his style of vocals, but it always comes back to his insanely powerful and dynamic voice which makes us who we are.
5. What's the story behind the song and video for "Gaia”?Patrick: The main motif for the song “Gaia” would have to be the line “How can we live if she dies?” The “she" being Mother Earth. We wanted to show intense images of the destruction that we are capable of and that she herself is capable of to really bring the message home.
6. Let's talk a little about your newest EP, "Gaia", what are the listeners in store for with this release?
Patrick: Listeners are in store for that signature Affiance sound with Dennis’ voice leading the way. This EP does bring a lot of heavier parts with it too, as well as a softer, more “pretty” song. We think that old fans and new fans are going to love it. The response to the 2 songs we’ve put out so far has been awesome!
7. What's your take on the EP "Gaia" as a whole?
Patrick: It’s definitely an example of how we are growing as musicians and writers. The dynamics of this record make for an intense listen from start to finish. These are some of the best songs we’ve written and we’re excited to keep on this path for our next full length.
8. What song do you enjoy playing the most?
Patrick: From “Gaia”? Definitely the opening track “Reboot”. It’s bouncy, it’s heavy, it’s catchy. The perfect jam.
9. What have you done to prepare yourselves for the tour?
Patrick: Well, the tour that we just got off with Ice Nine Kills was definitely a good way to prepare ourselves for the upcoming EP release headliner we’re about to do. We needed o get back into the swing of things after taking some time off from touring, but we’re back and better than ever.
10. What can fans expect to hear? More new songs or old songs?
Patrick: It’s nice being able to play a long headlining set because we can play most of the new EP and also throw in all of the old favorites from our past 3 records. There’s going to be a good balance, but we’re super exceed for everyone to hear all the new ones.
11. Once the tour is over, what do you have planned afterwards?
Patrick: We’re planning on starting the writing process for the next full length and hopefully getting our butts overseas again. It’s been too long since we’ve shared our metal with Europe and are really itching to get back over there.
12. How easy is it to keep the motivation going on a daily basis for Affiance?
Patrick: Affiance is our baby. It’s our love. It’s our career. When you’re apart of something that you love so much and that you want to make successful more than anything, motivation comes easy. We’re fully prepared to make this year awesome for us, just like we will next year, and for the years to come.
CHRIS CORNELL ANNOUNCES SECOND NORTH AMERICAN LEG OF HIS ACCLAIMED HIGHER TRUTH WORLD TOUR
Chris Cornell has announced the second North American leg of his critically acclaimed Higher Truth World Tour. The tour will kick off on June 16 in Clearwater, FL and travel up the East Coast through the Midwest and up to the Pacific Northwest before winding down on July 27th in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Along the way Cornell will make his first appearance at the Ravinia Festival on July 3rd in Highland Park, Illinois.
TOUR DATES:
Jun. 16 - Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
Jun. 17 - Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre
Jun. 19 - Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center
Jun. 20 - Charlotte, NC @ Blumenthal PAC - Belk Theater
Jun. 22 - Richmond, VA @ Carpenter Theatre at Richmond Center Stage
Jun. 23 - Baltimore, MD @ Hippodrome
Jun. 25 - Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
Jun. 26 - Waterbury, NY @ Palace Theater
Jun. 28 - Worcester, MA @ Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts
Jun. 29 - Englewood, NJ @ Bergen Performing Arts Center
Jul. 01 - Albany, NY @ The Palace theatre
Jul. 02 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Devos Performance Hall
Jul. 03 - Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival
Jul. 05 - Madison, WI @ Overture Hall
Jul. 06 - Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace
Jul. 08 - Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre
Jul. 09 - Indianapolis, IN @ Old National Centre - Murat Theatre
Jul. 11 - Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center
Jul. 12 - Davenport, IA @ Adler Theatre
Jul. 14 - Sioux City, IA @ Orpheum Theatre
Jul. 17 - Eugene, OR @ Hult Center - Silva Concert Hall
Jul. 18 - Yakima, WA @ Capitol Theatre
Jul. 20 - Spokane, WA @ Martin Woldson Theater
Jul. 21 - Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre
Jul. 23 - Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Jul. 24 - Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall
Jul. 26 - Regina, SK @ Conexus Arts Center
Jul. 27 - Winnipeg, MB @ Centennial Concert Hall
Rob Zombie Announces Summer 2016 Co-Headlining Tour with Korn
Rob Zombie and Korn have just announced a national co-headline tour, slated to kick off this summer. The metal favorites will stop in 26 cities across North America from Los Angeles to Boston. Tickets will be available starting March 11 at www.livenation.com. Certain dates on this tour are part of a unique “Ticket to Rock” offer that allows audience members access to 3 shows with one pass. The Zombie/Korn tour will be following a string of co-headlining dates with Disturbed along with numerous US festival appearances.
TOUR DATES:
7/19 – Englewood, CO at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
7/20 – Salt Lake City, UT at USANA Amphitheater
7/22 – Albuquerque, NM at Isleta Amphitheater
7/23 – Phoenix, AZ at Ak-Chin Pavilion
7/24 – Irvine, CA at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
7/26 – Nampa (Boise), ID at Idaho Center Amphitheater
7/27 – Auburn, WA at White River Amphitheatre
7/29 – Mountain View, CA at Shoreline Amphitheatre
7/30 – Las Vegas, NV at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
8/2 – Austin, TX at Austin 360 Amphitheater
8/3 – The Woodlands, TX at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/4 – Dallas TX at Gexa Energy Pavilion
8/6 – Noblesville, IN at Klipsch Music Center
8/7 – Cincinnati, OH at Riverbend Music Center
8/9 – Maryland Heights, MO at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/10 – Kansas City, MO at Sandstone
8/21 – Clarkston, MI at DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/23 – West Toronto, ON at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
8/24 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH at Blossom Music Center
8/25 – Burgettstown, PA First Niagara Pavilion
8/27 – Syracuse, NY at Lakeview Amphitheater
8/28 – Boston, MA at Xfinity Center
8/30 – Holmdel, NJ at PNC Bank Arts Center
9/1 – Hartford, CT at Xfinity Theatre
9/2 – Camden, NJ at BB&T Pavilion
9/3 – Bristow, VA at Jiffy Lube Live
Deicide Announces "In The Name Of Satan" Tour
Deicide has announced a new headlining tour entitled the "In The Name Of Satan" Tour. Check out the list of dates below.
TOUR DATES:
04/29/16 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
04/30/16 Chicago, IL Cobra Lounge
05/01/16 Sioux Falls, SD Biggs
05/02/16 Omaha, NE Lookout Lounge
05/03/16 Denver, CO Marquis Theatre
05/04/16 Billings, MT Pub Station
05/06/16 Salt Lake City, UT Metro Bar
05/07/16 Jerome, ID Diamondz
05/08/16 Seattle, WA Studio Seven
05/09/16 Portland, OR Bossanova Ballroom
05/10/16 Oakland, CA Metro Opera House
05/11/16 W. Hollywood, CA Whisky
05/12/16 Phoenix, AZ Joe's Grotto
05/13/16 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
05/14/16 Oklahoma City, OK 89th Street
WHITECHAPEL Announces Headlining US Tour With Fit For A King, The Plot In You And Enterprise Earth
WHITECHAPEL will head back out on the road and the seventeen-date journey will kick off May 4th in Fayetteville, Arkansas and wrap up on May 22nd in Wilmington, North Carolina. Support will be provided Fit For A King, The Plot In You, and Enterprise Earth.
TOUR DATES:
5/04/2016 Georfe's Majestic Lounge - Fayetteville, AR
5/05/2016 The Outland Ballroom - Springfield, MO
5/06/2016 89th Street Collective - Oklahoma City, OK *
5/07/2016 Jakes Sports Cafe - Lubbock, TX
5/08/2016 Rock Island - Wichita, KS
5/10/2016 Lefty's Live Music - Des Moines, IA
5/11/2016 Gabe's - Iowa City, IA
5/12/2016 The Stache - Grand Rapids, MI
5/13/2016 Basement Transmissions - Erie, PA
5/14/2016 Reverb Concerts - Reading, PA
5/15/2016 Cafe 611 - Frederick, MD
5/17/2016 Higher Ground South - Burlington, VT
5/18/2016 Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY **
5/19/2016 The Canal Club - Richmond, VA
5/20/2016 The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC **
5/21/2016 New Brookland Tavern - Columbia, SC
5/22/2016 Ziggy's by the Sea - Wilmington, NC
* WHITECHAPEL, Fit For A King, Enterprise Earth only
** WHITECHAPEL, The Plot In You, Enterprise Earth only
AMKEN's Giannis Talks History, Releases Thus Far and Plans to Play Gigs!
Thrash metal act AMKEN got their start with their debut EP and soon will release their debut full-length. That said, they have plans to play in various spots and hope to see everything at one of their gigs! Guitarist Giannis K discusses the band's history, releases, and plans to play those shows and much more.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Giannis: AMKEN was founded by the two guitarists, Vanias and myself, back in 2011. Our first “real” line-up was the one that took place about two years ago with Sokratis on the drums and Kostas on the bass guitar, leading us to release our debut EP. Not very long after this event Vasilis entered the band replacing our previous bassist, forming our current line-up. We were feeling stronger than ever at the time so we made some pretty cool gigs in Greece, Germany, Cyprus and a tour in Italy just a few months ago. We also played Schoolwave Festival last summer in front of more than a thousand people! That was pretty dope experience I must say by the way. And here we are now having recorded our upcoming first full-length album, ready for its official release! Time to go crazy again! (laughs).
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Giannis: To start with, AMKEN doesn't really mean anything...! There came the time that we wanted to find a name for our band, but we preferred it to be a one-word one, so after a long beer-drinking session someone came up with AMKEN... and we kept it! Now in some languages it does mean something I think, but I can't really remember what... sorry!
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Giannis: AMKEN is based in the heart of the Greek metal scene in Athens, the capital of Greece. Our scene is growing pretty fast the last years; especially on thrash people around the world are talking about “the new wave of Greek thrash metal”, whatever that may mean... I would prefer not to mention anybody in case I don't do justice to somebody else, 'cause there are really so many good bands that set the bar higher and higher nowadays. You know, making good live shows, recording albums that are worth checking out, in general trying to take the next step forward... It's an amazing time for Greek metal actually!
4. How would you describe your style?
Giannis: I'd say we obviously play thrash metal, but neither between the norms of old-school nor modern. We are trying to create our own style in a way, but OK, you could say we are closer to the more old school flair...! What we play is aggressive, kind of fast and evil at times... or fun. What's important to us anyway is to create primarily good songs that ourselves, as fans, would like to listen to. I mean, we don't say one day "now we'll write a thrash song" and do so; the music comes out naturally, without any labels. If we like it we'll definitely work on it.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Giannis: On November 30th 2014 we released our first EP called "Adrenaline Shot", which consists of our four first songs. It was pretty well received by the fans and the reviews were very supportive, enabling us to make some cool shows and re-release it as a split via EBM Records last year with Peruvian thrashers Maze Of Terror. Our first video clip for “Zombie Pets” came out before even the EP was released, which really gave us a good push in the underground scene at the start. You should check it out if you want to catch the spirit of those days!
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Giannis: At the time being our first full-length album is ready and expecting to see the light of day. I am pretty sure that people who liked our first EP are going to love this one! When you listen to it you can feel that we have matured as musicians and as people, too. It is angrier and more thrashy than "Adrenaline Shot" and it becomes obvious that Vasilis has helped a million in writing better music! It consists of eight brand new songs that we are really proud of and it is due to be released in 2016. Keep an eye open for our forthcoming video clip!
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Giannis: Of course we do! There are already plans for Greece, Spain and the Netherlands that will actually be announced in the coming weeks. We do our best to book even more shows and see you all in one of our gigs!
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Giannis: We want to try the hardest we possibly can to get people to listen to our band, tour as much as possible supporting our first full-length album and grow better every day.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?Giannis: Our Bandcamp page amken.bandcamp.com does pretty much all that, but you can also check our Facebook page facebook.com/amkenthrash for the latest news and more info. If you're in for more videos and stuff check us out on youtube.com/amkenthrash and find our official store on amken.bigcartel.com.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Giannis: What we try to do is to be a thrash band in our own unique way. When someone listens to our record we don't want them to be like "I've already heard that a thousand times"... That's a bit hard, but it's our ultimate goal! We want the listener to be like "Already? I have to listen to this again!" after finishing listening to our record.
