"Can I get a Amen?"

Halestorm.

Southampton O₂ Guildhall

12.03.15

I’m back!

And I’ve been a busy bee. Between my job, mountains of assignments and my commute I’ve been struggling with maintaining any kind of social life. But I managed to go to a gig this week! I know! Be proud of me! Want to know why I love and fully promote going to as many live shows (both music and theatre) as you can? Because nothing truly beats that experience. No live show ever gives you the same experiences. There’s something truly remarkable about such a large body of people all coming together because of one common interest. Everything is forgotten about: the world, life, love, and religion. All that matters is that moment. Right there. This is one of the reasons I want to be a live performer so much, because of the power it can have over people and their lives…in a non-creepy, dictatorship, egotistical manner of course.

So I finally got round to seeing Halestorm headline. I’ve seen them live once before, supporting Alter Bridge along side Shinedown. Again I was completely blown away by this band’s performance. Lzzy Hale (singer and guitarist) is an inspiration to any girl wanting to be in Rock. Although in recent years more female artists are emerging, they mainly surface in R&B or Pop genres, or they’ll front the softer elements of Rock such as Pop Punk. But not Little Miss Lzzy. Nope. She’s taking hold of the rock world and shaking it up. Following a similar style to Metallica’s James Hetfield or Shinedown’s Brent Smith. This woman is not afraid to use her sexuality to enhance her front woman traits. She’s proving women know how to play heavy Rock whilst still maintaining her feminine side. She’s also adamant to show we are capable of singing and writing about more than love and breakups; though still is able to show this side simultaneously to her insistence that women can be just as aggressive, sexually raw and ambitious as men. What’s more, her vocal range and delivery is exceptional, with so much power it’s awe-inspiring. Along with rarely putting down her guitar, occasionally soloing but primarily maintaining the groove and grit in the rhythm. WHILST delivering an amazing stage presence and interaction with fans in something like eight-inch heels! Now it’s easy to assume that someone of the above description would be quite arrogant and self-involved. But no. Far from. Lzzy is the most humbled, sweetest performance I have had the pleasure of seeing live.

My respect for this woman increase by ten fold after Thursday nights performance, as she still gave a remarkable show whilst having the typical British cold. Her vocals remained powerful and exceptional despite losing her voice, thus proving how much of a professional she is and how proper, frequent vocal warm ups are completely necessary. Furthermore, she is fully aware of what her vocal chords are capable of without over-straining them or doing anything that would severely damage them. Yet you could only tell her voice was more fragile when she spoke between songs. Like I said a professional.

Another element of the show that I personally found remarkable was Arejay’s ten minute drum solo. Yup you read that right. A ten minute drum solo. In which he was the only body on the stage. There are only a handful of drummers who are capable of maintaining an audiences attention for that duration of time. Hell there's few frontmen who can do that effectively! But Arejay successfully kept his audience captivated for the entire time before the remaining members of Halestorm returned to join him.

 If you ever get the chance to see this band live do it. You won’t be disappointed.

Here's the setlist for you guys, definitely give it a listen if you haven't already!

"Tonight I'm Sleeping with Sirens"

Well hello there, I know it’s been a while but trust me this has been worth the wait. Firstly let’s get formalities over and done with shall we? How have you all been? Hoping your New Year was accompanied by a terrific hangover, if not you weren’t doing it right, but hope it was amazing all the same. Okay enough of all that back to the part you’ve all been waiting desperately for, a new article, some more wise words of wisdom from yours truly. This time we’re lucky enough to have some live photographs, that’s right people Rebel Yell is going up in the world! So I’d like to thank you to Sammi Doherty in advance for letting me use her awesome photos. Everyone say thank you…they’ll be up shortly for you all.

Rory Indiana with Empire's lead singer Joe Green.
Left to Right: Dan Ely; Harry Ward; Joe Green; Ben Clement; Rory Kaye.
Photo By: Sammi Doherty

It’s a Tuesday night here in Brighton, and I’m spending it at the recently reopened “The Hope” so far the ambiance here is so quirky you’ve just got to love it. They have random things hanging from the ceiling, such as guitars, book pages and God knows what else; what’s more they have a caravan as their kitchen…trust me it works. But I’m not exactly here to admire the decor, Rebel Yell hasn’t gone into home interior quite yet. Up stairs is where I’m heading though, ya see remember a little band called Rory Indiana? I harped on about them a few months ago? Well I’m here to rattle on about them again, I know you all loved what I had to say before and you’re going to love this just as much. Now one great thing about being here in Brighton is how much music is out here, especially undiscovered bands or those who are just starting to make a name for themselves. There’s nothing better than just randomly showing up to a gig and going with it…okay you can probably think of much better things but it’s definitely in the top ten. And granted this particular gig wasn’t a spontaneous decision, I decided to come about a week ago…again not the point though. The first time I saw Rory Indiana was completely spontaneous, as a result I’ve been infatuated with their music ever since. Plus all the guys are absolute sweethearts…okay out of all words I could have used to describe them I don’t know why I settled on that one, just humour me and go with it…on the few times I’ve met them/spoke with them they’ve always been so grateful and genuinely ecstatic that their music is reaching a wider audience outside of their immediate social circle. That’s a quality that I’ve found a lot of bands lose early on in their career, they seem to forget that the way to keep people around isn’t purely through brilliant music, but actually interacting and having a sense of humility; nine times out of ten people are more compelled to follow a band who try to keep as connected to them as possible. This is a quality I hope that Rory Indiana will continue to illustrate as they excel through the industry.

We all here know how I like to babble on about all sorts of random and most of the time pointless things, and trust me I’ll get to the crucial topic somewhen today, but for now just deal with this, after all my blog my rules. Anyways, we all are aware that I’m an aspiring musician; this being a side project I started a few years back. Hopefully you’re all also aware that I’m not “major label bad, indie goo” like most naïve musician I encounter. But I do understand how important it is for smaller bands to break into the medias attention. There are some out there who deserve so much credit for the work their putting out there, for their talent to be recognised and appreciated. Hence why I keep bombarding you with people like Rory Indiana. I’ve been following this band for a number of months now…not literally of course because that would be both creepy and stalkerish, and I don’t recommend stalking a band, it most probably will end badly for you. Wait where was I? Oh yeah, I’ve been following Rory Indiana for a number of months now and I’ve already seen vast improvements to their set and performance, their hard work is definitely starting to show through. Determination and dedication is key to this industry, and to any job really. 

Recently the band have been out to Sweden to play a few college gigs over there, this is their first step into targeting an international audience. The video below is taken from an acoustic set. Personally I think for a band who produces music like these guys it’s extremely difficult to strip back a song to just an acoustic guitar and vocal line effectively. This accents the bands potential and talent extremely well, as it is evident that Ben Clement’s guitar technique is close to flawless in this example, as well as demonstrating how powerful Rory Kaye’s voice actually is; plus you can really appreciate and hear the genius behind the lyrics. What’s more, both put the same amount of enthusiasm and energy into this performance as they would in a regular show…well not exactly the same…the same level definitely but illustrates how the guys are capable of adapting their performance strategies to be appropriate to the audience they’re playing to.

Okay, so the gig as usual the band did not disappoint, even as they were setting up the energy and anticipation in the room immediately heightened. The guys effectively interwove songs from their EP “Emiricism” which you can purchase here.

(see what I did there aye? Now that’s what you can call proper product placement! Wait is it product placement? Or just simple marketing? Oh whatever it is it was subtle until I pointed it!) But if you guys are broke students like myself (although I own the EP and highly recommend that you do to) you can listen to it on Spotify here.

Dan Ely on Bass
photo by: Sammi Doherty

 Anyways back to the gig! Like I said the boys didn’t disappoint. I have determined it’s difficult not to move in some way to their music, if you’re not moshing, your head is at least involuntarily keeping in time to Harry and Dan’s groove. For some reason I always find myself watching drummers and bassists at gigs, maybe because I don’t play those instruments or I’m genuinely intrigued by the whole rhythm section; each element of a band can make or break a song, but if the rhythm section is even slight off then the while thing can just be lost. A strong bassist and drummer is a must have as they provide the voodoo that makes the audience move. Now on the above EP there are some section you hear and think “nah that can’t be reflected right in a live performance” tonight I was stood corrected as the band perfectly orchestrated throughout their entire set. This is a band that take what they do on stage seriously, and you can definitely see and hear they spend hours to make their live sets as tight as possible. There are many beyond fantastic guitarists out there, most that surpass the typical “Slash” approach, I’m talking more Angus Young, Gary Moore technically gifted as well as practically. Tonight Ben Clement illustrated how he belongs in the same league as those guys, sure he’s only young and has a way to go, but the potential is there and prominent. Rory is no exception from the rest of the bands brilliance, this quintet support each others talents and roles on the stage; a strong unit is key. Not once did Rory’s vocal falter, instead it remain as strong and powerful as the above acoustic video. One thing I find fascinating about his vocals is the amount of emotion he is able to portray in it; it’s something that never ceases to amaze me. 

Watching each member on stage you can see how immersed and lost they get in their own music.
This is a type of passion that cannot be faked purely for stage use. 
Although still a band trying to break into the industry, they treat their crowd like each and everyone is there for them, and they’re giving them the best show they possibly can; to the degree audience interaction involved Ben and Dan coming into the crowd to rock out.

If you haven’t been able to see the guys live before, I’m telling you try and see them, if not here's a little teaser what they are capable of (taken from Old Market December 2014):

They’re a band that I will continue to go and see live as often as I can, as well as keeping up with all their new releases; such as new video to be released.

That video came out today, and I can safely say that the boys have once again out done themselves!

It’s hard to write about a live gig, it’s the kinda thing you need to witness for yourself, hence why I completely encourage you to go and see these guys live. I promise you will not regret it at all, instead they are a band that leave you hungry for more.

Something that makes their shows remarkable to someone like me is that fact they all are students at the same school as me. Sharing similar goals as them, it makes the whole idea a lot more tangible and realistic. Everyone has influences in whatever they do, they have the top dogs on their pedestals influencing them, but they also have the ones climbing their way up despite all obstacles in their way. For my Rory Indiana and those guys. Proving to me that if you want something bad enough and you’re willing to do all it takes to go after it, and still be genuinely authentic and nice people through it all, then you can.

Now the photography that will shortly be following this post was taken by Sammi Doherty. I work and know so many talented people, each deserve their share of credit so definitely check her out here:

https://www.facebook.com/sdlivephotography?ref=ts&fref=ts

So go on, give them another listen. Join their mailing list. Fall in love with their music like I have.

Until next time,

Rebel Yell.

Top Tracks of the Year!

So what tracks have made my year, well let's have a look-see shall we?

1) Black Veil Brides - "Goodbye Agony"

2) The Relapse Symphony - "One More Yesterday"

3) Prince - "When Doves Cry"

4) Fearless Vampire Killers - "Neon In The Dancehalls"

5) Green day - "X-Kid"

6) New Years Day (feat. Chris Motionless) - "Angel Eyes"

7) We Are The In Crowd - "Best You've Never Had"

8) Nina Nesbit - "Selfies"

9) Deaf Havana - "Past Six Years"

10) Rory Indiana - "Sanctuary"

Rock Of Ages

Hello my pretties. How are we all this fine day?

Good? Well it’s just about to get a hell of a load better with this new stream of information I’m about to throw your way! That’s right prepare yourselves. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. And most important of all, Rock-ally.

At the beginning of the week I was lucky enough to head off to New York City…I’ll give you all a moment or so to be jealous…

…

…

Right that’s enough time! Now being a teenage Brit there is plenty to get excited about, from the Statue of Liberty (the geek in me) to Times Square (the teenager in me) but thing that was the make or break deal for little ol’ moi was the Broadway show. Okay so you go into a situation with fairly high expectations so you kinda expect to be let down a tiny bit right? I mean you’ve placed whatever it is that your heart desires on some high pedestal almost so high that you can barely see it. That has a lot to live up to am I right? Well what if I said this particular thing exceeded that pedestal? That’s right. Blew even me out of the water with it’s sheer epic-ness. Impossible? Well I’m here to tell you that that is in fact possible!

Back to me for a brief moment…me stealing the lime light from a review/story? This never happens! (looks briefly away avoiding all eye contact)…ANYWAYS back here at home I had been waiting…somewhat…patiently for Rock Of Ages to reappear in the wonderful world of the West End, but when I was told I was able to choose the Broadway production in which we were going to see, can you imagine how excited I got when I saw that the show was being reintroduced in New York? I know bless my little cotton socks!...want to know something ironic? As soon as I booked these tickets the West End decided that hey we’re going to put Rock of Ages on again here! I know right! Typical!

I may have been born in the 90’s but my heart definitely got lost somewhere between the 70’s and 80’s so this production is more than my cup of tea to say the least.

Okay going slightly on a tangent let’s stop that before I end up completely off-road. So like I said, this show was a major deal breaker for me, so no pressure my little acting friends.  But like I said, the show was even better than I could have imagined. If you’ve seen the film…which I’m sure most of you have, if you haven’t where have you been? Under a rock?!...then forget it. Personally one of the most favourable things about the stage production is how different it is from the film. Don’t get me wrong I love the film, but through changing aspects it made them impossible to compare completely…although won’t lie I have to say that the stage production outweighs my love for the film.  Pretty much all that is the film and stage production have in common is the characters, overall outcome, setting and music. The only major thing that was altered was how the characters get from A to B, most of the known attributes are there, just individual character stories take slight detours.

Warning this next section may sound like a list of names and bullet points thrown together, but there are specific people that I think need recognition for this production at the Helen Hayes Theatre, so I apologise for any jolted reading style!

Beowulf Boritt’s set was remarkable. Throughout the entire production the set stayed almost the same, with two sections coming out to open the audience to almost a side story e.g. the men’s room of the Bourbon Room opening into Mother’s office. What’s more, this set was always under the eye of the audience. A curtain never came down. The audience are witnesses to everything that goes on and off that stage from the very beginning to the very end.

All the people behind the stage from directors to costume designers, their works can not really be faulted. The set and costumes and how it all flowed together make the play seem appropriately realistic, with the rock and roll dream-like hazy…or maybe that was just all the hairspray and smoke of the 80’s…who really knows hmm?

Now for the particular production I went to see, Costantine Maroulis returned as the protagonist Drew. Honesly there is no one more perfect for this role. Maroulis manages to add the rock and roll edge whilst still maintaining a teenage…awkward yet charming…quality about his character. He manages to let the audience love his character for all his traits, both good and bad, and ultimately it is his personal journey that they are carried away with. After all who can resist a struggling musician, with one driven dream and an awesome taste in music?!

Another character that really had me was Genson Blimline as Lonny. In the film this is Russell Brand’s character, but again Blimline’s performance any day! Not only was it his characters role to play both an included part but also acts as a narrator to help the audience through the above mentioned haze. What’s more, he managed to keep his humour universal, there was only one USA specific joke that was soon made clear shortly after, to me that is both good writing as well as good acting. As soon as you lose an audience member nine times out of ten they are impossible to get back. One line that has been stuck in my head, and probably the most iconic for me was (knowing my luck I’m going to quote this wrong now…ahhh well!):

You think I’m happy being in a play about poop jokes and Whitesnake songs?

…

HELL YEAH I AM! I LOVE WHITESNAKE

Still makes me chuckle!

Moving swiftly on as I aware that I am running out of time to write this! Not that any of you are aware, after all why would you know my schedules? If you have an answer to that question, it would be much appreciated if you kept it to yourself…thank you very much!

Last, but certainly by no means least because there are so many other actors and behind the scenes production people…that I want to mention but I think this blog would run out of space before I was through…

Anyways, Frankie J. Grande’s performance as Franz had to be my favourite! How can you not love his character?! He is funny and can sing, and let’s face it he’s just full out adorable! This type of character I find is very easy to go wrong with, you can so easily be too extravagant or too…plain?...with it, but Grande manages to give it the appropriate amount of flair and colour.

The session musicians. My hat goes off for you. Sure 80’s rock isn’t no Beetoven, but I’m not sure people realise how much it takes to perform with all the energy that is necessarily required…after all that era is made up of 50% music, 20% hairspray, another 20% the look (glitter, make up, leather and tight clothing) and 10%...well lets keep that 10% as censored okay?

So did this make my trip?

HELL YEAH IT DID!

See what I did there aye? Aye?

Now I’m back in good ol’ Blighty. One thing I’m going to greatly miss is that production as I could just watch it again and again and again and again without getting bored and finding it equally as funny!

Next task is to see the West End version, because if I can’t see the Broadway version again due to a 9 hour flight across seas, then I’ll have to make do with the next best thing.

If you are playing on visting New York, or live near there, or have something like £1000 to spare for a trip over I highly recommend this production! And you know I’m 99% right about this kind of thing…don’t question me just go with it!

Purchase tickets here: http://rockofagesmusical.com/ticketsbroadway?gclid=CjwKEAiA2dSkBRCX8KmK5YrFviwSJACeYweC0YZ6I67TZLECmASDo68U5RvxPRdeu8KESxxaBl-jahoCiTvw_wcB

For now,

Rebel Yell

"Like Lions We Rise"

Finally, last night the hermit that I am ventured out. Made my way down to ‘The Haunt’ along Brighton beach, once again not thinking my outfit through and coming close to freezing to death in the process, but I can safely (and happily say) it was completely worth it.

Rory Indiana Left to Right:
Ben Clement; Dan Ely; Rory Kaye;
Josh Gale.

Honestly of the best things to witness is a crowd going mental for small town bands, whether their friends of the performer or just that drunk. Either way.

However, the people I specifically went down to see was the local band called Rory Indiana. Remember I might have mentioned that I’m currently studying towards a music degree? Well this four piece are from that very school. Yup I’m at school with the next generation of rockers, dj’s, managers etc. What is mind blowing is the potential that I’m surround by, Rory Indiana proving that last night.

The guys knew exactly what they were doing on that stage. It was clear they knew how to dominate it and keep an audience captivated by their addictive songs. They are one of those bands you can’t help by at least semi-mosh too.

Now this was my third time seeing the band live, one at a school event in a theatre, another in a club, in which they are amazing enough to make me look them up later and listen to their EP Empiricism on Spotify (do it now. Even if it means you have to stop reading this. Go. Listen. Now. Then come back!). Knowing a little more about their music really changes a perspective on a gig, greater sense of familiarity to a degree, so this aided the adrenaline I suppose.

Although they are not a huge name yet, it is evident that they are in fact

Rory Indiana's EP
"Empiricism"

heading places within the industry. The band were supporting Red Kites who were hosting their singles launch, each member of Rory Indiana joined the crowd and became audience members to the guys that gave them the opportunity to play live again. This is a quality they do not want to lose. Being aware of the people that are helping them get places. The thing that makes them a worthwhile band to see is how sincere they are to new ‘fans’ or people who genuinely enjoy their music. Me being me went to talk to Rory (vocal and rhythm guitarist) after the gig, and he seemed genuinely taken back and grateful at someone listening to his band on Spotify then actually buying the EP as well. It is characteristics such as these that will help them achieve great things.

Check out their video to "Sanctuary" such a brilliant song, the video does it every bit of justice:

This is something that larger bands fail, or are unable to do. So it is amazing seeing how smaller bands still have the ability to be blown away just as much as their audiences.

To me these guys are proving that it is possible to achieve whatever it is you want in this industry. And trust me when I say I will be following in their footsteps.

So if you ever have a chance to go see them live. Do it.

Listen to their EP.

Website: http://www.roryindiana.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/roryindiana

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoryIndianaOfficial 

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/roryindiana

Rebel Yell.

"Louder Than War"

As mentions in my last post, I’m currently studying towards a degree in Songwriting. Part of that course involves Music Business in which today we received a talk from John Robb; a punk genius who is gradually conquering every possible music platform, from frontman to television to journalism.

John Robb of The Membranes
and founder of "Louder Than
War"

Being a young and relatively impressionable teenager, whose drug is music and aspires to be both a phenomenal artist/musician on stage and through records (…eventually) as well as a journalist, he is pretty much the perfect guest speaker for me…and of course the rest of the class… But to make it even more puzzle-piece perfect he is someone who lived and breathed the original Punk movement during the 1970’s, that’s somewhat remarkable for someone who is heavily influenced by that era, and the musical styles it parented (that someone being me if you didn’t get that).

There was so many points that remain echoing in my mind, that I’m going to share with you…aren’t you lucky? Not that you have a choice really…well you do, you can always stop reading…but why would you want to do that aye?

1)   “Be your own manager first”

In school, we’re bomb-barded with the importance of networking (meeting potential people to work with) which is great, and definitely something that needs to be done if you want to get anywhere in the music industry. But we are continuously told to use these people to the best of their abilities…rarely are we told to learn every aspect from management to production to promotion…or at least it’s not something that is particularly stressed. We do get told to learn as many instruments as possible though…like bass…there is strange shortage of bassists in my generation…across most generation actually…so aspiring musicians PICK UP A BASS GUITAR AND PLAY IT!

Basically learn what you can at every opportunity.

Leading neatly on to my second point…

2)   Learn everything and anything

The Clash a perfect example, known
for their knowledge about politics,
Reflected in their lyrics.

Despite popular belief Punks weren’t that stupid. They knew exactly what they were to the world and didn’t stop. 30 – 40 years later they’re still dominating parts of the globe, converting minds like mine.

I have always been a huge believer that a musician is not only as good as their instrument but also knowledge of the industry. You could be an absolutely fantastic guitarist who has the potential to take over the world, but a slip by a manager or promoter could cost them their career. Something that can be prevented if they had some clue what was going on behind the scenes and actually understanding it.

In the next three years I plan on learning not only how to be a great Songwriter (being able to write for multiple genres, for other artists as well as myself) but how the decks work in a studio (ya know the space ship devices producers know how to use like it’s snooze button on your alarm). I plan on being able to promote myself…if I can’t promote my own music, how can someone else possible know where to start? The list is endless…so I won’t bore you with the rest of the tiny details…besides I have more for you to hear!

3)   “Being a musician means problem solving”

Have you heard of that band called The Beatles?

Sooooooo many people think that to be in a band and get signed will be a piece of cake…well if you make it that easy…you haven’t made it the right way.

Can you tell me an over night sensation that is still selling a significant amount of records, selling out arenas and stadiums in the past 5 years? Because I can guaranty you can’t. And if you can then they most probably have been working towards it for years just public doesn’t know about it.

All the major bands that have survived the decades came out of nothing. Look at The Beatles…a four piece from Liverpool…who spent (on five separate visits) over two and a half years in Hamburg, Germany. Playing what would be 281 concerts, primarily playing covers just to understand what audiences liked and disliked...now they’re arguably the biggest band in the world…after breaking up over 40 years ago.

It’s not supposed to be easy. Ever heard the saying, “anything worth fighting for won’t be easy but will be worth it” ? The exact same principle applies here.

So what does that tell you about making it in the industry and staying in the industry?

4)   To be the best put yourself in it.

It’s a known fact that if you’re physically or mentally or emotionally involved in something you’re immediately going to have a different outlook on it. You need to use that to fuel the drive and ambition.

In the terms Songwriting, if a vocalist was completely detached from a song how would they convince the audience to feel anything?

Music strikes a chord (excuse the pun) that only art can. It is something that has the ability to make you laugh, or cry. But if the band or artist can’t sell it right, then that emotion won’t hit.

Now lastly, because I am fully aware at my rambling on about something that it pretty intense compared to my usual posts.

5)   DIY Culture

Something that intrugied me was how John Robb kept referring to the Punk movement as a DIY Culture, physically because compared to MOD’s and Rockers, it was an aesthetic look that pieced together all the past genre components to create a futurist look (for the time).

That made me think how arrangement and sound for music in this century is a DIY culture too…we are taking the best pieces from the 20^th Century, from Punk to Dance to Pop and making it something of our own now…for instance the new wave of Dubstep Jazz combination (trust me) to the literal sense of remixing.

All in all?

It was interesting hearing about all this from someone like John Robb, and how he perceives the musical world.

I’m not saying I agree with everything he says, but there are valid points such as the ones above that made me think as a musician, a writer and someone who wants and will make a name for myself in the music industry. No matter what.

Rebel Yell.