A Ripple Conversation With John Miles From Chuck Spadina

When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphanies since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.

 

What have been your musical epiphany moments?

 

In my younger years 8-9 years old I had an older cousin Calvie that turned me on to Guns and Roses / Poison / rock and roll posters and leather jackets but I think my biggest epiphany was during a game of road hockey when I was a pre teen. I remember a buddy of mine breaking out this ghetto blaster and playing the Green Day Dookie cassette it blew my mind. The melodies and lyrics compared to the hair metal I was listening to were just incredible. I was a punker for life after that. Am I dating myself too much?? Cassette tapes. Ha!

 

Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?

 

Song writing process for me is really basic i will literally have music / lyrics pop into my head it doesn't stay long and I try to capture as much as possible. I usually run to my audio recorder on my phone / grab my acoustic and try to play what's in my head. I record it as quick as possible. I literally have a few minutes to do this or it will leave my brain again. If I don't record it I spend the rest of my afternoon angry at myself for not recording it. I'd be lost without phone recording capabilities. I have 100s of song blurbs recorded on my phone. From there I write lyrics down on paper in my horrible hand writing. I show up at practice and get the guys all amped up for new material. They're all such wonderful musicians we usually have the base for a song within a couple of tries. We build from there. Try to up difficulty because my songs are all 3 chords. Viola. Punk tunes.

 

Who has influenced you the most?

 

My biggest influence in music is my dad. He's a pro blues harmonica player and a wonderful musicians as well. He bought me my first guitar. He played great music around me as a kid from Tom Petty to Cat Stevens. He encouraged me to keep at it. You wanna hear him play harmonica? It's unreal.

 

Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?

 

I'm always looking for new music. I've been listening to "The Bronx" alot lately. Killer band. I'm a music junkie. I'm not limited to just punk rock. I can have John Prine spinning in the morning and NOFX on in the afternoon. I'm all over the place. I like rap. I like metal. I like country. I just love everything if it's genuine. I don't like getting Pigeon holed on music genres. No time for gatekeeping

 

We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?

 

I grew up in eastern Canada. Al's from Vancouver Island. Jeff and Mike are from Alberta. My home town of North sydney on Cape Breton was a great little place to grow up. I loved it there. They had a great punk music scene when I was a kid. I miss it like crazy.

Where'd the band name come from?

 

Chuck Spadina was a stage name rejected by Keanu Reeves Hollywood agents. I saw a story about it on line and thought it would be a funny band name. I'm a big bill and Ted fan so it was a no brainer for me. The guys took a bit of persuasion but they warmed up to my crazy idea.

 

You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?

 

Back to the future part 4. No question. This was an easy one.

 

You now write for a music publication (The Ripple Effect?).  You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?

 

A Chuck Spadina song or someone else's song? Tough one. Free bird. I think far too often about my own mortality and when I was messed up in the mid 2000s I made a pack with a buddy of mine to kick my ashes off a cliff during the freebird solo. I could easily write 1000 words about the chaos in my life at that point. Ha!

 

Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?

 

God damn spinal tap. Great stuff. When I was a kid playing in my punk band we had this amazing outdoor festival on a harbour. I jumped in the harbour mid set and swam away. That's all I have to say about that. Forrest Gump

 

Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you and for your fans?

 

Playing live is my biggest passion. I love it. I just try to throw as my energy and heart at the crowd as possible. I just got amped up. I usually feel like throwing up for 3 hours prior to the set but I'm working on some breathing techniques to curb that.

 

What makes a great song?

 

Verse chorus verse chorus. Bridges are great too but not always. I love a hard rock solo.

 

What one single album do you wish that you'd written or performed on, and why?

 

I wish I wrote nirvana nevermind just can't imagine the chaos in Kurt's life and what that experience would have felt like. I bet they didn't think it would be this big.

 

What piece of your music are particularly proud of?

I like all our songs. New album is going to have some rippers too. I'm super proud of our debut album Rough year. Plug plug

 

Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?

 

Shaela miller. Country singer from Alberta. Great stuff. I also like Tim Huss writing he's another country guy. For punk tunes I really like teenage bottle rocket. Weaslecore kind stuff. Fun simple fast. Lyrics aren't too deep. Just fun stuff. Check out the Bronx too.

 

Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

 

Digital. We are poor. CDs are second because they're affordable. Vinyl is out of the question. It's Chuck Spadina not Chuck Rockefeller

 

Whiskey or beer?  And defend your choice

 

Beer. Too many bad experiences on whiskey. I'm a rational human on beer. Not so much on whiskey.

 

We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?

 

Sacks thrift ave has killer vinyl in red deer. We rehearse in the basement.

 

What's next for the band?

 

New record. Festivals. Great shows coming up. The vat on Feb 17th with trashed ambulance and the off sailors.

 

Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?

 

Thanks for doing this.

 

Morass Of Molasses Bring The Apocalyptic Doom On 'End All We Know'!

We're absolutely frothing about this weeks release! Morass of Molasses have been some of our favorites in the underground for years now, and we've been entrusted with unleashing the apocalyptic magic of their brand new album 'End All We Know'.

It's a monolithic stoner blues effort and an album we think you're going to fall head over heels for as we have.

Get your copy here:

https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/end-all-we-know

 

Morass of Molasses create a rich blend of lumbering heavy blues riffs and emotive vocals. They have effortlessly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with live, having shared stages with such luminaries as Crowbar, Orange Goblin, Elephant Tree, and Green Lung. In the post-pandemic world, the band release their 3rd studio Album ‘End All We Know,’ a diverse collection of songs that continues their trajectory into new and unexplored musical territory.

 

We've pressed this record on CD and LP including a limited edition "Armageddon" pressing featuring black and clear galaxy marbled vinyl!

 

Grab yours here:

https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/end-all-we-know

 

Happy listening,

Ripple Music

The Xroadie Files

Mark Murdock- False Readings

Mark Murdock- Drums/Keyboards/Synthesizers/Percussion, Tim Pepper- Vocals, Fernando Perdomo- Guitar, Ron Howden- Drums, Derek ‘Mo’ Moore- Bass, Ryche Chlanda- Guitar, Kendall Scott- Synth, Ken Hall- Guitar, Katsumi Yoneda- Guitar, Dave Juteau- Guitar, Daniel Kubota- Guitar, David Rambeau- Guitar

 

Distant Sirens is a very catchy prog rock tune with amazing musicianship and vocals. Volatility Swaying close your eyes and let the memories flow. Remain in Darkness take a trip back to the magical music of the 70s and enjoy the journey. Until I Reach the End screaming leads pounding drums thumping bass catchy riffs and melodic vocals. Pure as the Driven Snow the emotions just send shivers down your spine. False Readings is a very catchy tune that just sticks in your head for days. Symposium of the Greatest Failures one excellent melodic musical mind trip. Singularities is a very bluesy jazzy tune with great music. The Extremities of My Dreams drifting on a melodic cloud of memories. Ending World Overture searing leads steady rhythms and great musicianship.

 

Knogjärn- Mera Bedovning

Kim Eriksson – Vocals, Markus Hurtig – Guitar, Rasmus Sörbom – Bass, Johan Hidén -Drums

 

BEDÖVNING pounding drums crunchy riffs thundering bass and strong vocals. EN SISTA GÅNG fist pump head bang and just thrash about. INTE MITT FEL lost in strange musical dreams. VARJE GÅNG sway groove and just rock till you drop. VAD DU ÄN BEHÖVER fist pump head bang and foot stomp. ALDRIG MER cose your eyes and dream. KOPPLET RUNT MIN HALS thrash shred and tear it up. FEL has a very catchy groove and great vocals. VAD VILL DU HA slow grinding metal music. 365 just drift in your imagination. AKTA DIG sway groove and fist pump. SNABBHATSKEDJA hit the pit and mosh till you drop.

 

Prog Collective- Seeking Peace

STEVE HILLAGE, JON DAVISON, James LaBrie, Graham Bonnet, Steve Morse, Steve Stevens, Jordan Rudess, Geoff Downes, Patrick Moraz, Frank DiMino, Chester Thompson, Billy Sherwood, David Sancious,

 

Electric World just close your eyes and take one magical musical journey. Seeking Peace drifting on a cloud of memories. In An Instant take a trip back in time to the magical prog rock of the 70s and enjoy the journey. Finally Over soft melodies envelops your spirit. A Matter Of Time melodic vocals steady bests and great music. Take The Path is a very catchy tune that sticks in your head. All Is Meant To Be lost in the depths of imagination. Electric World (Full Length Version) just let the amazing prog rock pull you in. All Is Meant To Be (Full Length Version) soaring keyboards s melodic vocals pounding drums with thumping bass.

 

 

Vick LeCar's Gallus Rex- ST

Vick Lecar- Guitar, Rueben Williams- Vocals, Jonathan Limjuco/Cujo - Bass, Eric Bolivar- Drums, Vegas Butler's - Backup Vocals, Nick Knee_case- Keyboards.

 

Riding High sway groove with a tune with lots of Whitesnake influences. When It Rains close your eyes and drift in your dreams and memories. Dead On The Inside take a trip back in time with a very bluesy tune that just chugs along. If Heaven Takes You First lost in the depths of your imagination. My Guitar And I screaming leads soulful vocals soaring organ pounding drums with thumping bass.

 

 

Die Oberherren- Die by My Hand

Band Members- ????

 

The Horned One Stabs close your eyes and drift away in your dark imaginations. By the end of the Shore sway groove and let the emotions envelop your spirit. Catrine strange memories pull you into deep depths of dreams. The Blood or the Wine stand clap foot tap and just rock to a catchy tune. Clans of Darkness and Smoke lost in memories and emotions. Guns and Pills gothic music that envelops your senses. Black Nightshade will have the crowd on its feet just grooving. Something Wicked sway sing shout and just flow with the music.

 

 

-Xroadie

Watch The New Video For "Asgardian Micro Whitey" From Robot Death Monkey!

Direct from the horses mouth, aka the band...

 

Greetings,

 

Following our December 2022 DIY relealse "Intergalactic Party Powder"  Robot Death Monkey are back with a music video for the smash hit "Asgardian Micro Whitey"  Filmed at the iconic Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Stay Rad

 

Robot Death Monkey

 

Bandcamp Link: (Free Download NYP)

https://robotdeathmonkey.bandcamp.com/album/intergalactic-party-powder

 

Spotify song Link:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0MYQph1PXR1ytu79pZfXfT?autoplay=true

A Fistful Of Questions With Katerina From Escuela Grind

     Vocalist.  Disco enthusiast?  Firebomb!  This round of Fistful of Questions goes out to Escuela Grind vocalist Katerina.  

 

What is your full name?

 

Katerina Economou, I’m the vocalist of Escuela Grind

 

What was the first instrument that you played?

 

I always sang, but the first instrument I played was the clarinet

 

Tell me about one of your first musical memories?

 

I was exposed to live music and theatre from an early age. My parents used to have a restaurant where they would have acts come in and entertain and I loved staying up late watching people dance. My first concerts were Foreigner and The Village People when I was 5, and it was so enticing and exciting.

 

Tell me about the genesis of Escuela Grind. 

 

Jesse and I started Escuela with our original guitarist back when we lived in Ithaca NY. It is a small college town and there were very few heavy bands. We had a more fastcore and powerviolence sound back then. But we started playing a lot of shows early on, in as many places as we could. Back then Jesse and I also were in school, so one day when I started screaming “escuela” over a d-beat, the word stuck and became our name.

How long did it take you to write and record Memory Theater?

 

The process of Memory Theater was a long one. We started writing the first songs before the pandemic hit when we were about to release our first self-recorded album. Then when we were forced to lockdown, we all lived together and spent our months writing, demoing, editing, and rerecording. We wrote these songs with the vision of how people would move to them when we were able to play shows again. There was an emphasis on peaks and valleys in the dynamics of the songs. We recorded the album with Kurt Ballou in August of 2021 and it was picked up by our label MNRK Heavy while we were constantly touring during 2022. The final release date was September 30, 2022. So overall it was over 2 years in the making!

 

If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?

 

Yo, I’d kill to be in any formation of The Revolution, Prince’s band. Although I’m non-binary it’s important to me that Prince preferred working with women musicians, and they all had style and substance together. Peak musicianship and iconic music

 

Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it?  If so… What was the song and artist?

 

I always feel this way about music, haha. Being mostly a vocalist, I think it would be a challenge to write songs that don’t have any vocals or something non-human. That’s probably why the first album that came to mind was Discovery by Daft Punk. It’s such a great album top to bottom and I wish I wrote all those songs. Simple, effective, and catchy with enough nuance to keep me listening for all these years.

 

Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?

Tons of non-metal inspirations. Too much to write about but, I am a huge fan of RnB, House and Disco music. So I think people would be most surprised to find that Escuela Grind has this influence in my vocal patterns.

 

What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?

 

There are so many talented bands that we get to share stages with and see all over the world. I’ve been blown away by a lot of bands in just this year so I’ll give you a short list. For thrashers and metal heads: we got to play with Midnight a few times this year and they were so tight and theatrical I was taking notes. For the hardcore/hardcore punk/metalcore kids there’s a huge range in this genre… Gates to Hell, Denial of Life, Dose, Infest, Gel. Death Metal is totally taken over by the old school-new school, 200 Stab Wounds are a favorite and really cool dudes. Grindcore is so fun to watch and I’m usually most captivated by a good grind drummer so Deterioration and Wormrot stand out to me for having badass drummers and different songwriting.

 

Do you have a favorite venue to play at?

 

Patronaat in Haarlem Netherlands was my favorite venue we have ever played at. The venue itself sounds amazing, has all the amenities, and was laid out intuitively. The staff was so kind and accommodating. They really went above and beyond to make our show special and we are so grateful.

 

Do you have a pre-show ritual?

I stretch and do vocal warmups, usually behind the merch table, before we are on stage. I used to have to calm my stage fright down a lot, so I would go to the bathroom and talk to myself in the mirror. Assured myself I was good enough/ cool enough and that the show was going to go well. While I don’t have to do that anymore, I still get very nervous so it’s helpful to have a way to hype myself up.

 

What is your favorite thing about touring?

 

Aside from being able to play the music that we’ve created every night and sharing all those emotions on stage… Definitely all the site-seeing and the food we’re able to fit in before and after our gigs!

 

Is there a city that you love to hit while on tour?

 

We have a great love and admiration for the small cities because often they have the most enthusiastic and exciting crowds. Missoula Montana and El Paso Texas stick out in this way. On our last US tour, we performed basically outside at a garage in Missoula in 18 degree fahrenheit weather. There was snowy slush on the ground and it was absolutely freezing, but kids still danced and packed the place out. It was insane, and so fun to experience.

 

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on the road?

 

Maybe this is not necessarily the “weirdest” but it is certainly the most uncanny experience. On our last tour we played a record store in Wyoming. That night Krissy, Jesse, and I each bought one thing. Jesse bought this stone pyramid thing that we were all saying how it was magic and we were gonna manifest something with it. Krissy bought a Dropdead record, and I bought this cool little Napalm Death toy. That night we got an email asking us to join on this month long European tour with Napalm Death and Dropdead… it was really cool and bizarre we were definitely freaking out in the van.

 

What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?

 

Hit the ground running and don’t let anyone tell you something is “cringe” or you can’t do something. Make it happen for yourself. Book shows, tour in your small car, borrow gear, learn how to record yourself, work the extra hours… These are all valuable skills that you can use in the future for any band you have, and it is very rewarding to be in control of your own progress like that. I know it’s all easier said than done, but if you really want it you can make it happen for yourself. When we first started Escuela Grind we did all the things I just mentioned while having 2-3 jobs to pay for the expenses. We believed in ourselves and the vision and have no regrets now because of the work we put in.

You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time.  What album will it be?

 

Parlamentarisk Sodomi’s “Der Anarkistiske An(n)aler”… I used to have this as like the only CD in my car for a whole year and it never gets old. I listen to it all the way through at least once every tour. I love screaming along with this album and air-drumming like crazy on it.

 

You are writing a book about your life thus far.  What is the title of that book?

Short and Loud.

 

     Massive thanks to Katerina for taking the time to answer my questions and for using “Yo” in this interview.  I appreciate you.  If sonic savagery is your cup of tea, then I strongly recommend you press play on Escuela Grind’s latest album Memory Theater.  Doing so will allow you to get your head kicked in in the privacy of your own home!  

 

~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson host of the Fistful of DOOM show)

 

Ps-  I’ve got their latest album on pink vinyl.  Just sayin… 

 

https://escuelagrind.bandcamp.com/album/memory-theater