Sunshine For The Blind

As the creative outlet for one-half of DNA Studios’ production masterminds, Brian Daly, SUNSHINE FOR THE BLIND, has been performing guitar rock with pop inflections in the Madison area for the better part of the last decade. Their latest album, Second Self, is an absolutely sonically masterful collection of straight-up classic alternative rock songs. There’s plenty of excellent guitar work, big chorus hooks, and a solid (and wonderfully complex) rhythm section provided by bassist Ken Stevenson and drummer Andrew Rohn.

As the guitarist and vocalist for SUNSHINE FOR THE BLIND as well as one of Madison’s most prolific audio engineers, Daly has been into music since he was a kid, “I have always experienced music that I like as transporting,” he says, “as an entry to another world. A world that generally seemed better than the normal world..  Part of this experience was a desire to create music myself. This isn’t logical; it’s possible to love music and not want to make it. But I was infected with this viral aspect of music.“

Guns n’ Roses

Richard Fortus has graced the stage with artists like Rihanna,The Psychedelic Furs, Nena, Love Spit Love, Honky Toast, The Compulsions, Thin Lizzy, and most recently Guns N’ Roses, with a stage presence that is nothing short of amazing. His work with the music production company Compound has seen his work featured in various tv, film, advertising and videogame projects. Fans of the former television show Charmed have enjoyed his work on the theme song as well. His work ethic and drive led to his being one of the most sought after first call sessions artists in NYC.

Maximum Ink: Who were some of your earliest influences?
Richard Fortus: The Beach Boys, Beatles, Stones, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, T Rex, Neil Young.

MI: As someone who has studied music professionally do you recommend formal training to others? What advice would you offer the musicians of tomorrow?
RF: It really depends on what you want to do. It’s definitely not necessary, but I always wanted to gain all the skills possible to be as good of a musician as possible. I always wanted to learn everything I could about music. You never stop learning.

MI: You started playing the violin and drums as a child. What made you want to become a guitarist?
RF: There were always guitars around the house when I was growing up. I was always pretty intimidated by them because they had 6 strings and I had my hands full with 4! I always loved guitar though. Guitars are just so sexy! 

When I was about 12, I used to jam with other kids and they started showing me stuff. I became fairly adept very quickly. I always hung around older kids that were much more advanced. They hung out with me because at a very young age, I was a pretty solid drummer and they all played guitar.

Madison bands battled to win the annual Band to Band Combat

Again this year, the Band to Band Combat competition presented by Isthmus strove to grow the local music scene by providing artists the opportunity to share their work with a wide audience.

Gabriel and the Apocalypse

“Longevity comes from doing something different and having artistic integrity.” These words, spoken by Lindy Gabriel, lead vocalist of Minneapolis’ own Gabriel and the Apocalypse Lindy Gabriel explain her life surrounded by music and doing what it takes to make it in a music industry oversaturated with bands. Her voice and sound transcend a lifetime of musical, personal and intellectual experiences, accompanied by guitar drum and bass work that flows like brush onto easel painting a hard rock masterpiece. There are so many bands out there today, sometimes it’s hard to find your way through all the clutter, but Gabriel and the Apocalypse are definitely a diamond in the rough. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue sat down with the band’s talented vocalist Lindy Gabriel to discuss their music, her upbringing and their experience so far in the crazy music industry.

Maximum Ink: Tell me about when you first started singing. Where and how did you get your start? Did you always know you wanted to sing rock and metal?
Lindy Gabriel: I started singing when I was six years old. I always knew I wanted to sing and be a performer. I grew up with it. My parents have been playing in rock bands for many, many years, even before I was born. I started playing bass and guitar at the age of ten and started my first real band at eleven, playing gigs and all. This is what I have always done.

Whisky Pig

Is it just me or does it seem like every single band that experiences any type of success always seems to sellout one way or another throughout their career. Now granted there are the Slipknots and Korns of the world that have really always done it their own way, but they’re so successful that they can do just about anything they’d like. When it comes to small or local bands, even the slightest smell of success can make the best bands sellout into mainstream lyrics, sounds and music. When it comes to the Madison band Whisky Pig, this is quite the contrary. In fact, just about everything this hardcore groove metal band does is out of the ordinary, and we love it. The self-proclaimed “sluttiest band on the block” plays music that makes you bang your head, then laugh your ass off when you truly listen to the dirty lyrics.

Tiger Clutch

Tiger Clutch might be the greatest glam rock band you’ve never heard. With influences based on Judas Priest, Nirvana, and Kick Axe, Tiger Clutch are five local musicians who play the part of grizzled hair metal veterans, having rocked, partied, and screwed their way through decades of music history. When it’s time to rock, they take the stage names of Thor (singer and local comedian David Leon), The Blast (guitarist Derek Reinfried), Brick Johnson (guitarist Joe Cushman), Shredderella (bassist Jennifer Reinfried), and Beatz “Off” McKenzie (drummer Riley Heninger). With a rock fist in the air and their tongue firmly in their cheek, they release their latest (in reality, first) album on Thursday December 1st. We took a few minutes to discuss the new record with them.