Author: Troy Culpan

Steel Panther – The Big Top, Sydney – May 18, 2018

Steel Panther – The Big Top, Sydney – May 18, 2018

They’re back! The band that can’t seem to stay away, and why should they when sold out signs keep appearing whenever they hit our shores. Tonight Steel Panther are doing something a little different and they’re bringing the Sunset Strip to us, I’ll explain more about that later. Tribal drums fill the venue and some Van Halen get us ready […]

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Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch

Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch

“We are blessed and very fortunate to have the opportunity to do exactly what it is that we love, that’s writing music, playing live, meeting with the fans, doing the various charity works that we do, we’re very fortunate and we’ve done it for ten years now and I’m hoping for at least another ten.” From Release: Confidently leading heavy […]

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Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns

Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns

“So it’s just blending that kick in the teeth with a better musical outfit now and kind of combining the two and with very little competition in the sleaze rock world we’re not competing against anybody so I don’t listen to anybody else either.” From Release: L.A. GUNS was formed in 1982 by guitar player Tracii Guns and, then unknown […]

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Sevendust – All I See Is War

Sevendust – All I See Is War

I’ve always been a Sevendust fan, there’s just something about the way they make music that works, the melodies, the tone, the whole damn package. So when it’s new Sevendust album time there’s always a bit of an internal fist pump as I know what I hear is going to be good! Here we have ‘All I see Is War’ […]

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Biffy Clyro – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – April 30, 2018

Biffy Clyro – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – April 30, 2018

It’s been about four years since we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing Biffy Clyro live in Australia and tonight at The Enmore this place is full and you’ve gotta love that, and gotta love that people are well on board with Biffy!! Seeing these guys a few times before I can tell you that tonight will be nothing short of […]

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Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of Seether

“It’s a double edged sword because all the pressure is on your shoulders and you have to perform and put out an album that can live up to all the expectations but can also stand up to the others, and I mean I think the songs on this record are personally my favourites in a long time just because they […]

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Simple Plan – The Big Top, Sydney – April 27, 2018

Simple Plan – The Big Top, Sydney – April 27, 2018

Tonight is a celebration of Simple Plan’s album ‘No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls’. A celebration you say? Why yes I did, but what blows me away is that it’s the 15th anniversary of it. Are you kidding? Way to make everyone feel old! In saying that though and in seeing Simple Plan a number of times before I can’t […]

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Stereophonics – Sydney Opera House – April 26, 2018

Stereophonics – Sydney Opera House – April 26, 2018

I love the Opera House as a venue, there’s just something about bands playing in such an iconic venue that makes the show feel even more special and tonight I get to pop my Stereophonics cherry at this very place. From everything I’ve heard and I suppose from the two sold out nights something tells me I’m in for a […]

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Sister Switchblade

Sister Switchblade

“We all generally know if it’s going to work or not after running through it so we either move forward with an idea or put it in the basket for later.” Sister Switchblade is a rock band out of Perth, Australia. Their latest release ‘Best Served Cold’ is as described by singer, Andy “Aussie rock groove meets 80’s sunset strip […]

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Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of Stryper

“As I was writing the album I was really trying to make sure that each song made its own statement, musically, lyrically, in terms of energy it was very important to me that every song stood on its own yet at the same time that we retain the continuity and it had a great flow from beginning to end that’s […]

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Sébastien Lefebvre of Simple Plan

Sébastien Lefebvre of Simple Plan

“…I think that hopefully the fact that the songs are good has something to do with it, aside from that I think something that we’ve noticed over the years is whenever we’re very, very personal with a song that’s when people can relate to it the most.” From Release: Multi-platinum Canadian pop-punk legends SIMPLE PLAN will bring their ‘No Pads, […]

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Ross Knight of The Cosmic Psychos

Ross Knight of The Cosmic Psychos

“I’m not quite your Axl Rose who sits down for six months to just find two words, mine just falls out of my ass really quickly and if I don’t write it down quick I’ll forget about it, so I think for every eleven albums I’ve written songs for I’ve probably forgotten fifty albums.” From Release: The Psychos are back, […]

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Joey Tempest of Europe

Joey Tempest of Europe

“…we do stuff together but we also try to dig deeper with each record and find the expression rather than copy ourselves from the past or anything, we think there’s room for nostalgia in the live concert but in the studio we don’t find any room for nostalgia like that.” From Release: Sweden’s legendary hard rock band EUROPE, best known […]

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Stix Zadinia of Steel Panther

Stix Zadinia of Steel Panther

“…we want Steel Panther to be a place where people can come and be a freak for ninety minutes, that’s always been the message. We have fun and we figure if it starts with us and it goes out to the crowd then they’re gonna have fun and we’re gonna have even more fun.” From Release: The Sunset Strip’s favourite […]

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Tim Alexander of Primus

Tim Alexander of Primus

“When we’re in the studio we’re kind of writing as well, we don’t sit and record everyone’s parts together, then one person might know what he’s doing and the other ones won’t and it wouldn’t make sense.” From Release: Primus is responsible for some of the most cutting edge and original rock music of the 1990’s. They were strictly an […]

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JD Cronise of The Sword

JD Cronise of The Sword

“…I think these days I think I’ve observed a lot more just because time has passed and I’ve had time to do so and I’ve just taken in and studied a lot more music and just the craft of song writing.” From Release: Even at this point in their career, there can often be difficulty when it comes to describing […]

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Jahred Gomes of (hed) p.e.

Jahred Gomes of (hed) p.e.

“I can’t just say whatever pops into my head these days because I have a ten year old son and it really does affect me. When there probably was a time I would write or sing anything just to shock people now I would not take that path artistically.” From Release: Fusing rock, punk, rasta, gansta rap and soul into […]

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Ben Johnston of Biffy Clyro

Ben Johnston of Biffy Clyro

“I think as you watch us there are some bands you can tell they’re putting it on, but we very much mean it and we demand a lot of ourselves and I think people see that and then put that kind of pressure on themselves and boost themselves to get into it and keep us going…” From Release: Biffy Clyro […]

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Andrew Strong

Andrew Strong

“…it’s a great thing and it’s not that often that you can be a part of something where you can talk about, actually it’s been more than twenty five years, it’s been twenty seven years since the movie so yeah it’s great, great that it stood the test of time.” From Release: In 1991, Strong was introduced to the world […]

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Fall Out Boy – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney – March 2, 2018

Fall Out Boy – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney – March 2, 2018

They’re back! It’s been a few years since we’ve seen Fall Out Boy in Australia and I’ll tell you what hasn’t gone by the wayside, their fan base! This place is pretty damn full besides a couple of curtains upstairs and it looks great in here. I’ve perched myself at the back of the venue near what looks like a […]

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Andrew W.K.

Andrew W.K.

“I feel very much like I did back in 1998 / 1999 I’m still climbing the same mountain, maybe I have some new tools I certainly think that through practise and continued effort you develop additional skills and refine your approach to get into that peak but I still haven’t gotten to that climax and in way I’m thankful because […]

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Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker

”… I haven’t been listening to music since I was seventeen and haven’t copied anyone since I was seventeen, I became a trend maker rather than a trend follower and so I just always make sure because my focus is the lead guitar, the art of lead guitar is pure self-expression that’s what I do.” From Release: Michael Schenker is […]

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Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society

Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society

“I mean everyone asks, “Zakk, is this a greatest hits record?” and I say no in order for it to be a greatest hits record you need that one vital, important ingredient and that would be hit songs, we don’t have any hit songs. So that’s the reason it’s ‘Grimmest Hits’.” From Release: One part invading horde and all parts […]

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Joe Principe of Rise Against (Video Interview)

Joe Principe of Rise Against (Video Interview)

“I always say our shows are kind of an interactive experience, we feed off the crowd and the crowd feeds off of us and we’re all kind of in it together, there’s no like up on a pedestal like this rock star band. We want to get down in the trenches with our fans and I love that.” From Release: […]

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Evanescence – Sydney Opera House – February 14, 2018 

Evanescence – Sydney Opera House – February 14, 2018 

Evanescence are back in Australia and tonight they’re here to do something pretty special. Not only have they reworked their songs for their newest album ‘Synthesis’ but they’re here to play it in full tonight with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in probably the most iconic venue you can get, the Sydney Opera House. The orchestra warms up for us and we’re […]

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Rise Against – The Hordern Pavilion, Sydney – February 13, 2018

Rise Against – The Hordern Pavilion, Sydney – February 13, 2018

Rise Against are making a habit out of coming to Australia and there’s no problem with that at all. They’re back in Sydney tonight at this top of their ‘Wolves’ tour and the Hordern is ready for a dose of punk rock and roll! Pagan and Bare Bones opened the night and both came out firing and delivered a tight, […]

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Claim The Throne

Claim The Throne

“I think this album is the most stylistically diverse of our albums, but somehow manages to still sound like Claim The Throne. Each song was like a little project by one person that was jammed out and built upon by the other members.” From Bio: Ripping apart folk metal with a merciless assault, finally a band is delivering an extreme […]

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Will Hunt of Evanescence

Will Hunt of Evanescence

“So we’ve gotten this to a point where we’re really happy with it, it’s a very different experience, I’ve had a lot of people describe it as somewhat cinematic, really emotional, it’s a different thing it’s still Evanescence through and through but it’s a different experience for sure…” From Release: Two-time GRAMMY award-winners Evanescence are heading to Australia for Synthesis […]

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Jerry Horton & Tony Palermo of Papa Roach (Video Interview)

Jerry Horton & Tony Palermo of Papa Roach (Video Interview)

“We just like those moments of having everybody involved, so we sort of tailor our set around that type of dynamic.  We have a song for people to jump to, we have a song for people to sing along to, there’s just a few different things we like to have the crowd do and we’ll find a song that’s best […]

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Foo Fighters – ANZ Stadium, Sydney – January 27, 2018

Foo Fighters – ANZ Stadium, Sydney – January 27, 2018

Tonight is destined to be a kick ass night of live music! The Foo’s are back in Australia and ready to rock ANZ stadium. The weather is perfect and there are a heap of people in here early to make sure they catch the supports, or maybe just to get a good spot down the front for their favourite band. […]

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