Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews

While the lineup for the 2013 Rock on the Range festival will not be released until early 2013, the festival organizers have announced that they will expand the festival to a three-day event. In previous Rock on the Range festivals Friday night has been a kickoff show featuring some good acts, but none of the heavy hitter big time acts that headline the other days. Rock on the Range will celebrate its seventh anniversary this year and we  have attended the festival the past two years. It is without a doubt a festival that simply must be on the ‘bucket list” for fans of rock music. We have found so much to like in this festival and they seem to be pretty responsive to feedback and fan ideas to help make an amazing event even better each year.

“We are constantly working to improve upon the success of Rock On The Range,” says Gary Spivack, co-executive producer of the multi-stage music and lifestyle event for Right Arm Entertainment. “For one, we’ll have more ticket buying options than ever before and incentives for the ‘Rangers’ to buy early. Also, no longer will the Friday night be solely a ‘pre-party;’ it will be incorporated into the full weekend truly making ROTR the biggest destination festival for rock ‘n roll in the United States.”

Rock on the Range 2012

Rock on the Range not only features a lineup that is a regular who’s who of giants in the world of Rock and Roll, but is a three stage experience that is something you simply have to see to believe. The standing room general admission areas at Rock on the Range are not for the faint of heart. We have referred to the festival on more than one occasion as the World Championship of Crowd Surfing. Here’s a little of what the crowd surfing looks like from Bullet for my Valentine’s set from 2011.

We have not yet 100% committed the festival to our schedule yet this year, but the past two years, we have included the festival in May along with the M3 festival to make for an unbelievable spring. Rock on the Range takes place this year on May 17, 18 and 19 at The Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Pre-sale layaway tickets, including Weekend Field GA and Weekend Stadium GA tickets, go on sale Cyber Monday: November 26 at 10:00 AM ET through www.rockontherange.com. A four ticket minimum purchase is required. Layaway tickets will be available for purchase through February 28, 2013 and regular tickets will go on sale in January, 2013.

K-rock

As we cover music along the East Coast and beyond, we catch a lot of shows in Baltimore, MD. Loving The Lie is a band that is a fixture in the Baltimore live music scene and for good reason. Loving the Lie knows how to fill a room, but more than that, the guys know how to put on an entertaining rock show and set a party atmosphere in motion with the crowd.

Fans of the band have been waiting for a new release to follow up their first release “Legends of Charm City” (2008), but that wait is about to come to an end. On November 30, the band will release its new EP “Someone Wants You Dead” at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore.

We’ve had a chance to listen to the EP and think that “Someone Wants You Dead” is an album worthy of attention beyond the borders of Charm City. The band has added a bit of a heavier edge to their music on the first single Dearly Departed which has some great rock radio potential. We asked Loving the Lie lead singer Kevin Hock to tell fans what they could expect from this single. “Dearly Departed” is the first single. It’s angry, it’s heavy (for us), and it’s going to kick your face in”.

I agree with Kevin and definitely like the heavy style of Dearly Departed and look forward to hearing how it sounds live. The other heavier tune on the album is Infinity which shares the same heavy riffs that are a cool side of Loving the Lie we have not really heard before.

The cool thing about this release is that it shows the versatility of Loving the Lie and their ability to switch between musical styles from “in your face” hard rock tunes to some great alternative/hard rock tunes to some more experimental styles, all of which the band is able to combine as they have crafted them into a solid rock and roll album.

The second and third tracks Lost in Transition and the title track Someone Wants you Dead have a rock/punk/alternative blend that is familiar, but not cliche’. They are in fact my favorite two tunes. These are great songs to crank up on the radio and blast with the windows down. You can see the band’s music video for Lost in Transition at this link.

I asked several members of Loving the Lie which tune on the album was special to them and got different answers. Kevin Hock commented “Rewrite the Ending is very special to me. It’s the most dynamic, a big departure from our angry songs like Dearly Departed. The final minute of the song is my favorite LTL moment so far”.  Drummer Josh Hughes pointed to a different tune saying Infinity. “It’s a great example of the direction I see our music going. Melodic and with an intelligent hard edge”. Guitarist Matt Silkworth shared my opinion of a favorite tune stating “I love the new songs but the fans really love Lost in Transition, and so do we. That one will always be special”.

“Someone Wants You Dead” is an album we recommend checking out, and Loving the Lie is a band we definitely recommend seeing live. You can combine both experiences by checking them out live at the release show for this album in Baltimore, MD on November 30 at Ram’s Head Live.

K-rock

There is a brand new band that we are following closely out of Baltimore, MD called Chemical Red. The band is comprised of former members of Cold Harbour and Roll It Over and features the awesome vocal work of Mark Richey. We had the chance to interview Chemical Red in the studio while they were recording their upcoming album  “Hollywood Scars”. The band is planning their first live shows  as acoustic performances in North Carolina on November 24 and in Baltimore on December 1 with Parabelle.

Chemical Red

The first video is an acoustic performance of “Barely Breathing” which is a very cool tune that we are giving a solid “must hear” recommendation to. We had the pleasure of hearing the “plugged in” and powerful version of this tune being edited in the studio and can tell you this is one to look forward to. Here is the new video from Chemical Red : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGa-RGQu9cE&feature=youtu.be

You can learn all about Chemical Red by watching the interview we did with guitar players Eric Robinson and Jarred Swope, and drummer Joe Valenza in the studio at Deep End Studios in Baltimore at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JzsPjGOFz4&feature=plcp

We are very excited about this band and can’t wait for the release of “Hollywood Scars”

K-rock

Now that the Presidential Elections are over it is time to think about a whole new campaign! Starting December 1 we will unveil the nominations for the Second Annual Golden Horns Awards. For those of you unfamiliar with the awards, they are the Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews’ awards in various categories for rock music artists for the past year. The nominees are selected by a top secret MARR Rock Army Nominating Committee and then are voted on by readers of the website.

The “actual” MARR Golden Horns Award

Last Year Pop Evil Won Artist, Album and Song of the Year and we were honored to present them with the Golden Horns Award on stage at a sold out show on St. Patrick’s Day. You can see us presenting that award to the band on stage during their set via this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3HYMqhUUt4&feature=plcp

So as the time draws closer to nominate this years’ awards nominees, we thought we might give you a glimpse of who a few of the frontrunners MIGHT be. These are just some of my own thoughts as possibilities and the nominating committee will make the final decisions. We also put out a few posts on Facebook and see what kind of nominees our readers are looking for. Your input is definitely taken into consideration by the committee. The only real rule on nominees is that they must be a rock music band (we don’t really cover other genres) and that the nominated song, album or video must be a 2012 release.

So who are some possible nominees I am considering? (Yes, I am on the nominating committee) Tonight I share a few thoughts as possibles for Album of the Year. We welcome feedback on our Facebook for your suggestions to all of the categories including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Breakout Artist of the Year, Comeback Artist of the Year and this years’ new category Live Concert of the Year

Here are just a few of my personal frontrunners for Album of the Year. It is on no way a complete list, just what jumped into my head while writing this article:

Album of the Year Potential Nominees:
Shinedown: Amaryllis
Halestorm: The Strange Case Of…
Kiss: Monster
Linkin Park: Living Things
My Darkest Days: Sick And Twisted Affair
Otherwise: True Love Never Dies
Rush: Clockwork Angels
You Me At Six: Sinners Never Sleep
Charm City Devils: Sins
Papa Roach: The Connection

There are so many more that are possibilities. It is so much fun for us to ponder and exciting to see the votes coming in. Stay tuned and we will announce the nominees December 1.
K-rock

Aerosmith – Music from Another Dimension – Released November 6, 2012

The new Aerosmith album has my mind wandering all over the place. There are parts of this album I love, a few parts I am indifferent to, a few parts I could really do without and then some interesting combinations of contributors to the release that make for good conversation. So let’s look into each of these topics separately as I try to dissect the album and give you my opinions.

There are four songs in particular I want to highlight that I love on this album. The first single off of this release Legendary Child is a great tune and as I said when it came out, is almost like a little “mini historical” look back at the band and their various styles over the decades. The very first track, Luv XXX, has a very cool and catchy guitar riff to it and features what some have referred to as a Beatles influence to it (I don’t personally hear the Beatles in it, but I have noticed many others have mentioned that observation. This may be due to Julian Lennon’s presence on backing vocals). “Oh Yeah” is a very cool, bluesy sounding tune that is one of those Aerosmith tunes that shows their diversity and ability to play multiple genres of music. My very favorite and most noteworthy tune on the new album is easily the nearly 7 minute long Street Jesus. This is classic Aerosmith at its finest. You could imagine this tune on “Rocks” or “Toys in the Attic”. It is a great tune.

The ballads on this release are the part of this album that I am really indifferent to. There are essentially 4 ballads on the album, none of which caught my attention. The Aerosmith ballads are in my mind what launched a whole new audience for later era Aerosmith. Unlike a few “purists”  who really prefer only the harder side of the band, I’ve enjoyed all of the era’s of Aerosmith’s music including the later (post 1989) ballads that many purists may consider an era when the band went too “pop”. The ballads on this release are not horrible, but are not up to par with the now legendary Aerosmith power ballads we’ve come to expect.

The part I can do without refers specifically to three songs: Tell Me,  Something and Another Last Goodbye, which I will just say I think should have been left off the album all together.

Some interesting features on this album include the already mentioned appearance of Julian Lennon, and a few other notables.  One of the ballads Can’t Stop Loving You is a duet featuring Steven and Carrie Underwood. The more unusual guest appearance is from none other than Johnny Depp on backing vocals on Freedom Fighter. Freedom Fighter features Joe Perry on Lead vocals as a bit of a diversion as well.

There are two last tunes that fall into categories of their own. The aforementioned Freedom Fighter takes some getting used to, but grows on you. You have to switch gears a bit and get ready for a tune that is not typical in Aerosmith style completely. It has a bit more of a southern rock style flare to it, but overall is a solid tune. Lastly, sitting way down as the tenth song on the release is a reasonably catchy little tune entitled Lover Alot that I am still decided on. The song features a memorable sounding chorus and some playful lyrics that seem to have Steven Tyler “isms” written all over them.

So there you have essentially the tale of how this album broke down for me into four distinct categories. It is not possible for me to give this one a whole hearted “must buy” recommendation. As I have broken it down, there are things to love, and things that are forgettable. One thing about this band remains unchanged by whatever opinion we have of this release.  We love Aerosmith as a band and have been listening to them for more than three decades. Above that, we will definitely continue to see their amazing live show at every opportunity, as they have not let us down yet.

K-rock

Should I go see Geoff Tate’s Queensryche or not? That is a question I’ve been asked multiple times since we had our first chance to see Geoff two weeks ago. We saw Geoff Tate at the House of Rock in White Marsh, Maryland on 10/22/12. I wanted to give it some genuine thought before trying to make a recommendation to all of you. I decided that there is no way to simply give you my opinion that will be of help to you in making a decision. I think the best thing to do here is first share my thoughts on Queensryche in general to give you my perspective, then give you a list of who SHOULD go to see Geoff Tate’s Queensryche, and who SHOULD NOT.

I have been a big fan of Queensryche from the first time I picked up their debut EP. I would definitely have them in my list of top ten favorite bands if I were asked to create one. I sort of lost touch a bit with them around the time of Mind Crime II, only to have my interest reinvigorated with the release of American Soldier. I never actually saw the band play live prior to American Soldier despite how much I love them, but have seen them multiple times since that release prior to the breakup. If asked to pick my favorite album, I would unquestionably pick The Warning as my favorite, and Dedicated to Chaos as My Least favorite. As far as the whole breakup of the band, I have had a sort of neutral stance on it for now. We will be seeing Geoff Tate’s version again in December on the Shiprocked Cruise, and the other Queensryche on a different cruise in March. I will be better able to compare the two at that point. I also want to hear what kind of music each band creates independent of one another before I can judge the merits of each band. So there you see my perspective. Now here is my take on who should and should not see Geoff Tate’s Queensryche.

Who Should NOT Go See Geoff Tate’s Queensryche:

If you are expecting to see an all Queensryche set with no Geoff Tate solo stuff you will be very disappointed.
If you are one of those ever present fans who insists on yelling “mind crime” after every song, please do not go. Geoff played “Eyes of the Stranger” from that album and that was it.
If you believe that Geoff Tate should retire because he cannot hit all of the notes in the same octave that he did in the 1980s. Geoff does drop down an octave from time to time. Personally, I have no problem with it and think the guy sounds great.
Fans looking for 80s metal. Geoff’s new stuff is definitely not in that style.
For now, the musical drama/theatrical performances of the concept albums seem to be gone, at least for now.

Who SHOULD Go See Geoff Tate’s Queensryche:
Fan who enjoyed Geoff Tate’s first solo album (yes we saw lots of them there who knew all the words) will find lots of tunes in the set.
If you like live music and don’t mind a bit of departure from a steady diet of “Queensryche’s Greatest Hits”.
If you wan to catch a full band with keyboards, two guitar players and Geoff on the saxophone playing a solid set of some live music you won’t hear on the radio.
If you are looking for a FULL set, Geoff played a very long set of music. In my opinion he did a great job mixing old Queensryche, band new stuff, his solo stuff and some later Queensryche tunes.
If you have an open mind and are tired of “the sam old style of music” at rock shows, Geoff stick to the progressive side of music and does play the “required” radio hits (Silent Lucidity, Jet City Woman and a ferw others) but puts on a nice progressive musical performance.

A few more comments on the Geoff Tate’s Queensryche show. I thought Geoff and his band put on a GREAT show. I was a bit confused by the lineup as clearly the announced new Queensryche with Rudy Sarzo (Geoff’s Son in Law was on bass), and Bobby Blotzer were not there and others performed. I was frankly uncertain who the lineup was and am hopeful that the full announced lineup will be on the ship with us in December. As far as the soap opera drama etc. I do not recall Geoff making any derogatory comments (if he did I don’t recall them) about his past bandmates. I must say also that Geoff appeared genuinely to be having a great time up there. His personal demeanor seemed happy and he was very warm towards the crowd, making eye contact, hand shaking and interacting with the crowd in a very relaxed way.

We were unable to stay after the show to meet Geoff and honestly have never met him, but are hoping to do so on the cruise. While I am not as big of a fan of Geoff’s solo stuff or the later queensryche tunes as I am of Rage for Order, Mind Crime and The Warning, who is? I am still a big fan and really enjoyed Geoff’s show. I will definitely  see them again if the opportunity arises and look forward to seeing them on Shiprocked. In the end I give the show an excellent rating and think that if anything good at all can come from the breakup (which I definitely wish had not occurred) it is that I can see Queensryche twice as often now.

You can see the full setlist from the show at The House of Rock on 10/22/12 at this link:

K-rock

We are proud to report that due to the amazing response to the MARR Rock Army over the past 2 years that we have outgrown our previous website. We are currently re-constructing the new home for the MARR Rock Army. Stay tuned!