The Dirty Three

The fluid ease with which Dirty Three create the romance of tidal pulls and the despair of lonesome oceans in their new CD, Ocean Songs, is both tranquilizing and electric. Drums, guitar and violin serve a common purpose, swirling with deliberate ingenuity that lulls and soothes while cutting against the grain. Billowing sails and creaking timbers have room to stretch out. Gurgling mysteries lay simmering beneath the trio’s simple nuances and subtle twists.

Formed in a bar on the rough side of Melbourne, Australia, Dirty Three sound both weathered and full of life, deliberate, yet lazy. Warren Ellis’ winding gypsy fiddle skims and plummets while the cavernous drums of Jim White sound like sharp splashes and plodding depth charges. Their spacious longing can turn romantic and does so several times, stunningly in, “Sea Above, Sky Below,” while the sullen, barren slogging of “Authentic Celestial Music” forms a musical mechanical contraption that starts out of breath then steps up the pace. The ambling ambiance is both hypnotic and ambient, gracefully stumbling in slow motion then turning dangerously monomaniacal. No better example of this appears than Mick Turner’s breezy guitar playing on the whispery “Distant Shores,” a three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn from his crashing, savage churning in “Deep Waters.”

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Mpire Of Evil

The land down under’s Joe Matera caught up with former Venom and Atomkraft bassist and frontman Tony Dolan to answer questions on post-Venom band Mpire of Evil.

Maximum Ink: Can you give us some background to how MPIRE OF EVIL came to be formed?
Tony Dolan: Well MPIRE of EVIL are myself, Mantas and Antton, all former Venom band mates. Mantas was doing his project called Dryll and needed a drummer to fill in as his had broken his ankle and Antton stepped in to lend a hand. They played a local show and did Venom’s Black Metal and people started saying, ‘what if they got Tony in, what would that be like?’ The boys thought that also and then I got a call. I said yes straight away as I have always enjoyed working with Mantas. He is a great player and so tight…it’s a joy to play with him especially live. As for Antton? Well, I’d never had a drummer that good and I loved his playing on the Resurrection album so it was for me a no brainer, we began to write and here we are. Actually what was bizarre was that after a few months of talking and writing, I got up to Newcastle (I live in London) and we thought we should have a rehearsal/jam to see what would happen. We played about 6 or 7 songs, one new and other Venom songs and it was like we’d been playing them as a band for years.

MI: Tell us about the upcoming EP?
TD: Well the thoughts on an EP were that we wanted to release something pre album so we could start doing shows but that hasn’t happened as it’s taken up all our time. But we will still release the EP and then a month or so later the full album. In true Neat/Venom tradition we have placed 2 tracks on the EP that will not appear on the album release initially and we have recorded another 4 tracks for the EP. The title is ’The Creatures of the Black’ and it features 6 tracks, including 4 covers by bands which influenced us to start playing and wanting to be in our own bands:

MI: The Creatures of the Black – Reptile – Motorhead (Motorhead) – Exciter (Judas Priest) – Hell Ain’t a bad Place to Be (ACDC) and God of Thunder (KiSS).
TD: The EP will appear as a special Vinyl release through Iron Pegasus Records and the CD through Scarlet Records. People will ask why we’d do the covers but we wanted to make a statement that we weren’t attempting to be 21 again and to compete. We are what and who we are full stop. It’s not 1980 anymore but what great decades ,70’s,80’s, and what an influence on Metal/Rock?

MI: You’ve mentioned signing with Scarlett Records and a new album in the works…
TD: Yes, we have signed our deal with Scarlet and are very happy to be with Fil and the team. They will be releasing the EP first then the album which is called, ‘Hell To The Holy’ and it will feature that title track…and around 11 more…some titles include…Hellspawn - The 8th Gate – Wake Up Dead – The Circle Pit – Metal Messiah and others not yet defined.

MI: There is a tour also this summer, any plans for US dates?
TD: Yes right now we are planning the full tour for 2012, festival dates as well as 30 dates in Europe then we want to play the US and South America. We are talking to several booking agents right now. But basically we want to play as much as possible in 2012.

MI: And if so, would Madison, Wisconsin be on the schedule?
TD: It is NOW! If they want us?

MI: Will MPIRE OF EVIL be including any Venom material in the set list?
TD: Well we did speak at length about that and we are not Venom, there is a Venom out there but we all feel there are certain songs we would like to play live and why shouldn’t we? They are ones that Mantas, Myself and or Antton wrote, so yes.

MI: What music do you think kicks ass right now?
TD: Well I am into the underground so there are tonnes of acts, the list is too long. I try to help young or upcoming bands as much as possible, maybe one day I shall do the label thing myself. I am still loving Destruction, who are getting even better with age, Slayer, Rammstein but newer stuff I am really still liking some Black Metal and Death metal acts. Antton is still a huge Pantera guy and as Phil is a friend, he loves Down amongst many many others, as he is a HUGE metal fan as he always has been…and Mantas loves Machinehead, Slipknot, Zakk Wilde, As I Lay Dying…and lots more…

MI: Who is your favorite Porn star and why?
TD: Diamond Jackson hands down, why? Are you kidding me? Amazing body, amazing business mind, amazing woman and an Ebony dream - perfect! Can you hook me up? 

MI: If you could take one food item to Wisconsin, what would it be?
TD: Marmite, just to watch peoples faces when I ask them to try some.

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Drain S.T.H.

Looking for the foolproof way to ruin a perfectly conversation? Drop the phrase “girl band” while talking to the members of Drain (they write the name Drain S.T.H. to specify they’re from Stockholm, not the Butthole Surfers side-project). The Swedish quartet got the break of a lifetime when Type O Negative asked them to be a support act on their recently completed tour, and they took full advantage of the situation, winning over crowds with metallic grind, heavy crunch, and a foreboding presence. As a result, they earned a spot on the second stage on this summer’s Ozz Fest tour. When they settle into a groove, vocalist Maria Sjoholm, guitarist Flavia Canel, Bassist Anna Kjellberg and drummer Martina Axen can channel their energies just as powerfully as any of their testosterone-driven peers, carving their won little niche in a heavy genre dominated by men.

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ILONA EUROPA

Singer/Songwriter Ilona Europaʼs unique sound of pop combined with rocktronica has landed her to features in Billboard Magazine, REMIX Magazine, Women Who Rock Magazine, EQ Magazine, and Best Magazine, to name a few. Her single “Live Forever” debuted at #66 on the Billboard Global Dance Traxx chart and her single, “Degree of Love” was licensed (along with numerous additional Europa tracks) for the blockbuster dance game HELIX which debuted on the NIintendo Wii system in the USA and is scheduled for International versions on Wii, Playstation and Xbox. Her single, “Because I Love You” remixed by Madonna and Seal favorite Josh Harris is enjoyed 10 weeks on the Soundworks Record Pool Chart. Ilona’s music is a mainstay feature in Abercrombie and Fitch and Adidas stores, and on CW TV and Playboy TV. Known for her singles, her latest full album release, “EURO-CIZE, By ILONA EUROPA,” is currently available world- wide on CD and is available for download globally through every digital music store. Ilona Europa also holds an agency position as talent agent for the prestigious VOX agency in Los Angeles, California, and is a music producer and corespondent for CWG Music Magazine. Ilona is the only named vocalist ever to provide a professional loop library for SONYʼs Acid Loop libraries – ILONA: Universal Female Vocal Toolkit, and she was called on by Sony to support their CineScore Film Library with her vocals.

Maximum Ink: What was it like when you first knew you wanted to be a musician?
Ilona Europa: I remember this day very well. I was maybe 7 years old. It was a very cold winter early morning. My father woke me up for school and the radio played one song after another that I loved. I closed my eyes and saw myself on the stage singing with all the singers,  I was listening too. 15 years later I was singing with them professionally in many shows and tours. I believe in the power of visualization of your dreams and always say - what is important is not the goal but the journey to get there. Of course I was studying music ‘till I was 23 and finished the Music Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in vocals. I also won many talent festivals and toured the world singing with bands and orchestras.

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Bradley Fish

Bradley Fish has become the ultimate nomad. It makes sense though, he’s been perfecting it most of his adult life along with his passion, music.

A musical chameleon with a music degree to match, Bradley left his native Illinois for the much more liberal Madison, Wisconsin in the mid 1990’s and literally lived in a tent in a friend’s back yard while giving guitar lessons to local students. He also played many a night on State Street and could always be spotted with a guitar, head full of dreadlocks and a tie-dye t-shirt.

Eventually, the success of lessons, shows and street playing allowed him to set up his own place and live life from music. His solo shows were “one man band” style, and he wore bells, shakers and other noise makers on his legs and feet and play guitar, dulcimer, Chinese zither and whatever other instrument he could find. Bradley is also part comedian and his laugh is infectious. Some of his videos on YouTube feature this “humor” with his controversial song “Jewish Girl Blues.” Totally tongue in cheek, the song pokes fun at the plight of Jewish men who are pressured by old tradition to find and marry a Jewish girl, only in this video, he marries a few to cover the bases.

Besides playing as a one man band/comedian, Bradley has been in a ton of bands. In the mid-nineties, Bradley enlisted the help of a plethora of local Madison all-stars to play in his band, The Aquarium Conspiracy, and record on his first album. After some success it was hard to keep the “band” booked as scheduling of “all-stars” isn’t so easy.

The late nineties put the hippy in Bradley out to dry when he hooked up with Rökker, Philly, Mike McGinnis and Jeff Muendel to re-package the old Aquarium Conspiracy music plus new songs to a heavier format… a ROCK BAND called Bradley Fish’s Electrifried Band. Zany publicity stunts propelled his popularity, but something still seemed missing.

Following his mother’s advice to visit Israel, Bradley sold off most of his belongings, shipped the guitar and Marshall amp to his new home in Tel Aviv where he would work for the high-level audio software company Waves as well as get signed to Sony Records to sell CD’s full of loops. But Tel Aviv didn’t suit him so off to Jerusalem he went where he started a recording studio in his apartment just off the market. But the nomad in him would strike again.

Before he sold off all his belongings and shipped the rest back to the states, Bradley recorded his new album “Time To Rise”. Set to be released on October 12th at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, “Time To Rise” will take Bradley across the country as he promotes and tours in total DIY fashion. You see, Bradley purchased a big, purple van which you can’t miss. Instead of the tent, or an apartment or home, he has trimmed his possessions to the minimum and uses a fusion of old and new technologies to make the “Purple People Eater”, his fond name for it, into a mobile home/office, decreasing his lodging expense.

Bradley also went back to his one-man-band show but this time it’s a complete mix of analog and digital as he uses the laptop to control the layers of his improvisational playing on the many different instruments in his possession. Guitar and dulcimer remain his favorites while he incorporates bass, drum loops and “other” sounds into his repertoire.

Here is my conversation with adventure looping musician Bradley Fish. He is back in the Midwest after his 6 year residence in Israel and touring this fall with a new album.

Maximum Ink: Bradley, Are you a one man show or would you rather mash with others?
Bradley Fish: I love playing in bands. I must have been in a few hundred of them, practically every style you can imagine and have learned from a ton of great musicians over the years. The thing is, bands have a 99.9% chance of breaking up and solo acts are the inverse of that. So in a business that’s already known for being very unstable, being a solo act lets me enjoy a certain degree of stability. Plus, as a solo act, I can decide to rehearse spontaneously at 4 in the morning, make radical changes in a musical direction, or play a freaky gig for naked desert-trance-hippies for gas money and organic yogurt - without consulting or convincing anyone and still keep the act together for years on end.

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Jessie Galante

Jessie Galante had been working in rock since the 80’s when she was in the band Actor in Buffalo, NY. Her first solo album was later released under the name Gesua, her Sicilian name. She also lived for a time in Holland.

Jessie’s newest album “Spitfire” was co-produced by Larry Swist (who worked with Lou Gramm, Ike and Tina Turner, Sly and the Family Stone) and Grammy award winner Mick Guzauski (who mixed Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Anastacia, KISS, Madonna, Celine Dion, and Earth, Wind, and Fire. The album also features covers of Sass Jordan’s “High Road Easy’”, and Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination”. 

There is an impressive lineup of artists from America and from Europe on the album as well. From the US is bassist Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz, Joss Stone, Janet Jackson, Everlast), guitarist Rob Bailey (Billy Joel, Jive Jones, Mandy Moore, Anastacia), drummer Frank Ferrer (Guns N’ Roses, Tommy Stintson, Psychedelic Furs), and From Hungary she has Janos Szuccs and Peter Raso on guitar, Tibor Ferenczi on bass, and Jano Takacs on drums who joins her band for her seasonal European work.

Maximum Ink: What was it like to grow up in a Sicilian household? What is your fondest early memory from those days?
Jessie Galante: Our home was a lot of fun. I have four brothers and we are very close thanks to our parents who believed in doing everything as a family. Music was a big part of our lives as my father used to listen to traditional Italian/Sicilian music and play clarinet and my mother had an amazing singing voice. All five of us played an instrument until I eventually turned to singing. As it turns out four out of the five of us now have careers in music. The fondest memory I have from those days is sitting around the kitchen table at dinner time yelling, laughing, screaming at each other….chaotic! I miss those days. However to this day, when the five of us get to get together, which is rare because we are spread out all over the country, we turn into kids again and act the same way.

MI: How old were you when you first knew you wanted to be a singer?
JG: I was a late bloomer when I decided I wanted to make music my career. When my father passed away it was a wake up call for me. At that time, I was married, had a house and a great job, but with my father passing away, I looked at my life….it was boring!  So I left my job, left my husband, sold the house and ended up singing in a very popular band six nights a week!

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Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan is best known for his work in Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Over the years he has made several guest appearances with other artists. He has countless albums to his credit. Ian has also worked on four published books in his time. I recently caught up with the legendary frontman to see what fans can expect next.

Maximum Ink: Who where some of your earliest influences?
Ian Gillan: Well I grew up in a musical family so opera and jazz piano (boogie-woogie) were there from early days. Also I was a boy soprano in the church choir – yes I know!!! But it was really the young Elvis, Little Richard and Chuck Berry that hit the spot.

MI: What was it that first led you to consider a career in music?
IG: I never really considered it to be a career, in fact I haven’t given it much thought; it just kind of happened. 

MI: You performed at the Jeff Healey tribute concert in Toronto in 2008. Did you know Jeff? Did you ever have the chance to work with him?
IG: Yes, I knew Jeff; he used to jam with us every time we played Toronto and he did me the great honor of recording a contribution to my anniversary album ‘Gillan’s Inn’. There’s some nice footage of him on the visual element of that record too.

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