Kategorien
2015

Social Distortion 22.04.2015 Zenith München


Social Distortion

Mike Ness und Social Distortion haben mal wieder in Deutschland vorbeigeschaut und dabei auch München besucht. Diesmal gab es die Tour zum 25 jährigen Ihrer selbstbetitelten Platte. Die Lieder davon gab es dann auch und noch ein paar mehr aus dem großen Fundus des Social Distortion Repertoires.
Anbei einige Konzertbilder von diesem Event.

Social Distortion came around to Germany and fortunately played a gig in Munich at the Zenith. 25 years of their self-titled album was the tour “motto” and the set list plus other hits of their huge repertoire.
And, Social Distortion with Mike Ness delivered another good time live show.

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2015 Allgemein

Rock The Cam on a mission

How much can an old man take?
Rock The Cam wants to know it!

The mission is: 3 weekends, 3 countries, 3 festivals

I know that out there, there are tougher ones, but I don’t care, sometimes one needs a mission and this is my mission for June 2015: The Festival Mission!

 

Part 1

Download Festival 12-14 June 2015

So the plan is going to UK and to enjoy the Download Festival at Donington Park. Reasons why?
– UK is always cool and famous for its fantastic weather (trying to get sunburned).
– Seeing the ’spiritual home of British hard rock‘
– It fits to my schedule.
Some bands from the line-up: Slipknot, Judas Priest, Five Finger Death Punch, Corrosion Of Conformity, Antemasque, Gnarwolves, A, Muse, Faith No More, Rise Against, Marilyn Mansion, Body Count, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Slash, Billy Idol, L7, Fidlar

 

Part 2

Hurricane Festival 19-21 June 2015

Next festival stop is planned at the Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel Germany. Reasons why?
– Cause Hurricane is Hurricane.
– It’s totally stupid to travel through Germany from the South to the North, foolishness is always good.
– It fits to my schedule.
Some bands from the line-up: Placebo, Gaslight Anthem, Deadmou5, NoFx, Alt-J, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cat Empire, Cro, Die Antwoord, Oscar And The Wolf, DubFx, Archive, The Notwist, Turbowolf, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Death From Above 1979, Band Of Skulls

 

Part 3

Bråvalla Festival 25-27 June 2015

To end the threesome I have chosen Bravalla Festival in Sweden. Reason why?
– Sweden rocks!
– Swedish girls (rock the cam).
– It fits to my schedule.
Some bands from the line-up: In Flames, Arch Enemy, Papa Roach, Every Time I Die, Steve Aoki, Parkway Drive, Robbie Williams, Refused, Wu-Tang Clan, All Time Low, Milky Chance, R3hab, Kent, Sabaton, Katzenjammer, Red Fang, Moudest Mouse

Let’s see how things turn out and hopefully I can present you some new concert pictures from the events.

#HowMuchCanAnOldManTake

Kategorien
2015

Jessica Hernandez 22.04.2015 interview

Interview time with Jessica Hernandez

The god of music had a good day and allowed me little creeping want-to-be journalist worm to have an audience with one of the rising ambassadors of rock music: Jessica Hernandez!


Jessica Hernandez interview in progress

So it was written in the knowing book of history the 22nd of April in the year that Percy Sledge died, that on this Wednesday in Munich, Rock The Cam was given the chance to soak up the wisdom, knowledge and visions of this fantastic female artist.

And who is she? What kind of person is this Miss Hernandez you may ask? If you do, I may answer: how should I know? I had my 15 minutes of “star fame”, how should I know after this little time who she is? But (the famous but) I am pleased to give you a hint how it was doing the interview: good time! A pleasant quarter of an hour in my life, let’s go Jessica:


Jessica Hernandez interview pose

How everything started

RTC: Hello Jessica, what made you start playing music?
J: I don’t know, I’ve been singing since I was little, since I remember I think singing is the main thing which got me into music and into other styles of music. Then I started doing theater and all kind of stuff that was musical. The older I got, I got into different types of music. I was into Punk, into Ska, I was into Surf Rock, old Jazz, Latin music and the older I got I wanted to perform and write, this was there since I was a child.

RTC: Did you do some music in school?
J: Ja ja. From early age, when I was about 3 I was doing choir.

RTC: Aha, and with 3 you knew you gonna tour with Social Distortion!
J: Ha, ha, now it is Social Distortion (while saying this Jessica is having a look like she still cannot really believe it). I still have notebooks from preschool Kindergarten saying one day I want to be in a band.

How influencing parents can be

RTC: Your parents supported you when you said this is the moment you want to do music not just for fun but for fun and for life?
J: Ja, there was definitely a moment, when I was in college living in Chicago, actually studying fashion design –which is also a very crazy thing in getting through and surviving- difficult industry, when I had this moment. I told it my parents, when I was 19, you know I want to do music seriously and I think I’m gonna leave college and they were all about it! They were super exited and I was not expecting that but they thought I should be singing. They said this is what you need to be doing like you were meant to do this.
They were super supportive and they were more exited then I was, I was nervous.

RTC: Are they coming to your shows?
J: My dad was at our show in London, in Amsterdam and he might come to our show in London at Shepherd’s Bush.

RTC: But he is not from Europe?
J: No, but they like to come to shows and they are super exited.

A Rock band

RTC: You mentioned you got a lot of styles involved; you grew up with a lot of different things, so how your mother would describes your music to their neighbors?
J: She probably says: she plays in a Rock band

RTC: So I guess your parents weren’t into Punk or Ska?
J: My mom was but still she would describe it as a Rock band.
She got me into 80s New Wave, my mom is pretty young, so she was listening to The Clash, The Cure, Joy Division all those bands. She got me into that scene and my dad who is a little older than her was listening to Alice Cooper, The Stooges, all that stuff. So it is cool having these sides of that music history to influence me.

In Europe with Social Distortion

RTC: Your first time in Europe?
J: 1st time touring, but have been to Spain, France and UK with my family.

RTC: How is the difference when it comes to touring between US and Europe?
J: Oh, different comparison, in the US we do our own headlining tours and so we play smaller clubs, so it is a crazy thing to go from doing our own headliner shows in US with between 500-1000 people –depending on the city- to then first touring in Europe opening in these giant venues for Social Distortion. See it’s hard to even compare, I think it will be different if we were doing the same style of touring as we do it in the states.

RTC: How did you landed with Social Distortion?
J: Honestly it was through luck and friendship. We met them when we did Riot Fest in Chicago and we were on the same bill.

RTC: So you blew them away and they came up to you and said: hey Jessica, if they don’t wanne see us, please open up that they have a good experience!
J: Ha haha, no the guys saw us performing and their manager saw us performing and we ran into them backstage at the artist tent and talked. Later the manager said: you know, the guys were really impressed with your performance, would you consider doing shows together? Ah ja, that would be a honor, I would love to open for them.

RTC: and wondering if this is true or wondering what’s in your drink…
J: Yes exactly like that. A few weeks later they called up and asked if we want to open for them at New Year’s Eve in California and we said YES and so we did this big New Year’s Eve show in Pomona at Fox Theater. It went really well and we went on with the guys really well and then they invited us to do that European tour.

Small record label – a good decision

RTC: How do you choose your record label?
J: It was hard for me I switched around a lot, when I first started I was a solo artist and was more a singer/ songwriter doing more acoustic, cause I didn’t had a full band. In that moment I was signed to a major label called Blue Note Records which is more known for Jazz and they were doing it more of a kind of an experience. Let’s do something different and I wasn’t really happy and they ended up being bought out by another major Warner Brother and I was really lucky because in this transmission the head guy there Don Was who is/ was the president, he is from Detroit actually, called me and told me before anything happened, hey take your record before Warner Brother notice it and I help you find a new label, cause I’m worried about the new label and the people that they might not care. They did not find you and have no invested interest, so I was really lucky that he was looking out for me and helped me out. He and the “old” people introduced me to a lot of good new people; I found a manager, found Richard whom I work with now. He is with Instant Records, which is our label now. I had a bunch of meetings with a lot of different people and since I was on a big label already I wanted to do something smaller but be a priority at an indie label, rather than be some random person on a big label. It was a good decision.

The 48 hours artist day

RTC: How you do it with the covers, do you do it on your own?
J: I do everything on my own; I write all of our stuff, some of our music videos and I completed a shot myself and directed myself.

RTC: Boah, your day has 48 hours?
J: Ha ha, you got a lot of time in the van. On the drives I usually sit on my computer, work on lyrics, work on music videos, ideas, whatever.
I still sew a lot and make a lot of my clothes so I like being creative in a lot of different ways.

Sewing and shopping

RTC: You have a sewing machine in your van?
J: (Smiling) Not in Europe but in the US! You never know when there is an emergency (smiling big eyes look).


Jessica Hernandez totally relaxed photo pose

RTC: How you do it on tour with clothes and shoes in a little van with limited space?
J: Look there (pointing to a small suitcase), I think I brought less stuff than the boys, but I shop a lot on tour. I like to bring a small suitcase with my favorite show clothes and then at each town if possible I like to go to thrift stores, vintage shops.

Listen to Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas!

RTC: Why should more people listen to Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas?
J: I think it is different than a lot of other music out there now (thinking and then smiling) guess everybody is saying that (more smiles). I really have no good reason, it’s like everyone wants that everyone listen to their music, so it is hard for me to say why. If you like to finding new music and you like stuff that is kind of eclectic and comes from a lot of different influences or you have a wide musical taste, then you might like it and you should try it out!

Song time

RTC: What was the best song you have been involved?
J: Hmmm I don’t know if I have a favorite one. I think I have one, it is not the best one musically but emotionally, it’s called Young, Dumb and Drunk. It’s not out yet, it’s actually one of the songs that is older but I never released it, perhaps cause it is personal, every time I recorded it, it’s not, it’s not right!

RTC: You need more time for it.
J: Yes exactly, I need more time for it to make it like it should be.

RTC: And which is the song you wished to have written?
J: (Long break, thoughtful face) what will it be? I feel there are a lot of songs by David Bowie that I wished I wrote. He just did a good job by combining Pop with Punk with Garage Rock, this cool combination is interesting for me as an artist. For me he is really inspiring because this is what I eventually wanted to do. This is what I love about being an artist, cause artist they can do a little bit of everything. I think even Punk Rock used to be more like this than it is now. Punk artists in the beginning had dance hits, still being so raw and still being themselves but hits.

Show time

RTC: What was your first show?
J: First show was Johnny Buffet (I did not get the name) he is very American, guess you don’t know him (Jessica you are right, don’t know him and don’t know how to spell his surname), my parents took me there.

RTC: And which show really caught you?
J: Probably when I saw No Doubt open for the Rolling Stones and it was a dream for me cause I was really young and No Doubt was my favorite band, I was obsessed with Gwen Stefani and they were opening for THE Rolling Stones. That was where I was really wow (making a WOW face!) like the whole time.

Festival time

RTC: Last question is: Imagine you are god and you are able to set up a festival of your choice (even dead people or dissolved bands), name me the 5 headliners:
J: Screamin‘ Jay Hawkins
Ella Fitzgerald
Tom Waits
Hank Williams
David Bowie

I had a lot of fun doing the interview and sooner or later Jessica Hernandez will present a joke here as well. Thanks Jessica for your time and thanks to Claire and Dennis making this possible. Now use this link and look at some Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas concert pictures from the Munich show at the Zenith.

Kategorien
2015

Jessica Hernandez And The Deltas 22.04.2015 Zenith München


Jessica Hernandez And The Deltas

Das war mal was, als Vorgruppe bei Social Distortion gab es Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas. Und was die aufgetischt haben, hat mir schon gut gefallen. Abwechslungsreich und rockig, was erzählte der Typ neben mir? „So wie Amy Winehouse nur mit mehr Schwung“; kann ich so stehenlassen. Also wenn die Detroit Connection alias Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas deine Heimatstadt aufsucht, dann geh die live anschauen!

Wednesday night in Munich and Social Distortion in town at the Zenith and before it was Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas from Detroit, and I was impressed. I liked what Jessica Hernandez and her boys were doing. Different music styles and always a touch of rock. What did this tattooed-one next to me say? „Hey like Amy Winehouse but with more pep“. So if Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas are hitting your town, you should go and see them live.

The Jessica Hernandez interview is here for you.

Kategorien
2015

Levellers 20.04.2015 Backstage München


Levellers

Das war ja eine Freude, die Levellers hatten sich seit langem mal wieder live angekündigt. Gut gelaunt ins Backstage in München gegangen und siehe da, teilbestuhlt. Zu Beginn gab es den „Levellers“ Film A Curious Life, der viel und noch mehr aus der Geschichte der Band zeigt (sehr unterhaltsam). Und dann wurde kurz umgebaut und die Jungs kamen auf die Bühne, setzten sich nieder und das Akustikkonzert begann. Was soll ich schreiben, irgendwie nicht die jüngsten Männer auf der Bühne, irgendwie nicht die jüngsten Leute vor der Bühne, aber die Lieder, die haben einfach eine Kraft und ab ging die Zeitreise, dahin wo wir alle jünger waren. So blöde es auch klingt: die Energie und Magie der Musik! Das war ganz großes „Kino“! Ein super Programm bei dem die jetzt jungen Leute nicht mehr teilbestuhlt waren, sondern sich zum mehr oder weniger Tanzen aufmachten. Beim Rumschauen hatte nicht nur ich ein glücklich, dümmliches Grinsen im Gesicht. Hoffentlich bald wieder.

After a long time The Levellers made it to Munich and I went with a smile on my face to the Backstage seeing them perform. Before the show there was the Levellers’ film called A Curious Life showing a lot of their history and more (if you are into the band, really good to watch). After the film a little break and Mark Chadwick, Jeremy Cunningham, Jonathan Mark Sevink, Matt Savage, Charlie Heather and Simon Friend came on stage. Sitting down and here we go! The magic of Music: yes really, not the youngest people on stage, not the youngest people in front of the stage, but the songs kick in and it feels like back then. What a Beautiful Day with the Levellers.

Kategorien
2015

Levellers 20.04.2015 a curios life tour poster

A Curious Life, film and acoustic tour Munich Backstage: Levellers 20.04.2015

Juppa, einfach den Link anklicken und dann schaffst sogar du es zu den The Levellers Konzertfotos, wirklich wahr, Rock The Cam glaubt an dich!

Levellers

If you follow the link you come to the concert pictures of The Levellers from their Munich show.

Kategorien
2015

Guster 14.03.2015 Orangehouse München


Guster

München, Mitte März: die Temperaturen leider noch nicht ganz so frühlingshaft. Gut, dass sich die Band Guster aus Boston, Massachusetts auf den weiten Weg nach München gemacht hat, um die Leuts im Orange House des Feierwerks ein wenig einzuheizen. Guster, das sind Ryan Miller, Adam Gardner, Brian Rosenworcel und Luke Reynolds und machen seit über 20 Jahren gemeinsam Musik und wenn Bandmitglied Ryan Millers Mutter die Musik beschreiben sollte, die ihr Sohnemann macht, würde sie am ehesten die Beatles als Vergleich heranziehen. Aber eigentlich machen Guster ihr ganz eigenes Ding und vor allem machen sie extrem viel Spaß (was die Beatles natürlich auch tun).

In Deutschland sind Guster noch nicht allzu bekannt, was daran liegen könnte, dass die Tour für ihr neues Album Evermotion sie zum ersten Mal hierher geführt hat. Hoffentlich folgen weitere Besuche, denn das Konzert im Orangehouse war einfach klasse, gute Stimmung (dabei auch viele Amis + betrunkene Dänen), viel Gerede mit dem Publikum und tolle Lieder die live meiner Meinung nach fast noch besser sind wie auf Konserve.

Munich, in the midst of March with temperatures that aren’t the spring like as you wished them to be. Good thing that the band Guster from Boston, Massachusetts have come the long way to Munich, to heat up the Feierwerk’s Orange House. Guster, consisting of Ryan Miller, Adam Gardner, Brian Rosenworcel and Luke Reynolds have been making music for the past 20 years and if Ryan Miller’s mom should describe the music her son is making, she would probably name the Beatles as a reference. However, in reality Guster make their very own kind of music and you can definitely enjoy them very much (like you can enjoy The Beatles of course).

In Germany, Guster are not that famous yet, the reason probably being that the tour for their newest album Evermotion brought them here for the very first time. Hopefully this was not their last visit, cause how they performed that evening in Munich was great! Good vibes, audience was partying (including lots of Americans and some drunken Danes), talks on stage with the audience and great songs.

Interview with Ryan is coming when it is the time for it…

text by NM