Month: October 2021

Californian hard rock band BUCKCHERRY performed their first of two shows in Ottawa on Friday, October 22, 2021. This concert had been rescheduled twice due to the pandemic and split into 2 separate shows to meet current pandemic health restrictions in Ontario. The crowd simmered with excitement as BUCKCHERRY are one of today’s top live performers and a favorite for rock fans worldwide because of their constantly touring.

The stage went dark and the opening riff to So Far blared through the speakers. This was a welcomed dose of rock after a long, suffering year-and-a-half with cancelled shows because of Covid-19. Playing to a fully masked, 50% capacity restricted, socially distanced and seated-if-you-have-a-drink crowd, Josh Todd commented after So Hott and Ridin’ “I hear y’all got hit pretty hard up here”.

It has been 18 months since the last international mainstream act had played in Ontario. “It’s been awhile since y’all have seen a rock ‘n roll show” said lead singer Josh Todd. Josh then asked if anyone liked cocaine, sequencing into his first major hit, Lit up. After the cheering died down, Josh took a minute and welcomed everyone and introduced the band. He referenced the pandemic, “23 years in this business and I ain’t seen this sh*t before”. His words were true and, of course, we’d all had dealt with it.

He then played all his hits from his eight-album catalogue from Everything, Sorry, Too drunk to f*ck and the title track HELLBOUND from their most recent album of the same name. The big surprise was their cover of Bryan Adams “Summer of ’69” because, to them, it’s “Canada’s favorite song” before they played their prominent hit “Crazy Bitch”. They quickly closed out the show with Dead as a fast encore to meet 11 pm curfew for health restrictions.

With no props or pyro, BUCKCHERRY just rocked out the entire evening with good riffs, solid rhythms and strong vocals. Opening up the evening was HARD LABOUR, a Rock n Roll trio based out of Ottawa Ontario.

GEMINI SYNDROME -‘Initiation’ Tourwith support from Ovtlier, Pushing Veronica & Them Damn Kings!
11/02 – Lakewood, OH – The Winchester Music Tavern – 12112 Madison Ave. Doors 6 p.m. – Show 7 p.m. – All Ages – tix GA $15

A alternative metal band GEMINI SYNDROME are embarking on their first headline tour in support of their long-awaited new studio album 3^RD Degree – The Raising. The band will be joined on the first leg of the tour by Ovtlier, and on the second leg by Oh! The Horror. Also joining the tour are Pushing Veronica and Them Damn Kings. All tour dates are listed below. Please contact us for reviews or feature opportunities.
GEMINI SYNDROME are offering special VIP packages for the tour. These packages include a special private acoustic performance, a VIP ‘Synner’ laminate, autographed poster, and meet & greet session with the band. (*VIP Packages must be purchased in addition to a regular concert ticket.) 
Tickets, and VIP Packages for all shows are available at: http://GeminiSyndrome.com
The band’s new studio album 3^rd Degree – The Raising was released worldwide on October 15, 2021 via Century Media.
“We’re very excited to be back out in the road again this fall. It’s a time of transformation on our planet and our lives in preparation for the rebirth of the approaching solstice. We’re grateful to share this INITIATION with all you Spiritual Soldiers on the frontline helping to bring music back to this fucked up world,” says GEMINI SYNDROME vocalist Aaron Nordstrom.
Drummer Brian Steele Medina continues, “We love nothing more than performing and creating a sacred space for transmutation with our brothers and sisters. Now more than ever, it feels like everything is trying to pull us apart and perpetuate the illusion that we are separate. That we are not ONE. It’s all bullshit. Give us your pandemics, your Pentagon UFO videos, and your barriers… It’s all fucking noise, but we’re louder and we will rise above it all.”

Direct support on the tour will be split between Rochester, New York’s Ovtlier, who will be on the first half of the tour (Oct. 28 – Nov. 13), and Sacramento, California’s Oh! The Horror, who will join the run for the second half of the dates (Nov. 14 – 27). Additional support comes from pop-punk rock powerhouse Pushing Veronica (https://linktr.ee/pushingveronica), and New Jersey hard rock wrecking machine Them Damn Kings (www.facebook.com/themdamnkings).
3^rd Degree – The Raising is the long awaited, mind bending final chapter of GEMINI SYNDROME’s debut trilogy of albums; the first being 2013’s Lux, and the second being 2016’s Memento Mori (which hit #1 on Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart and spawned five singles). But whereas those first two albums dealt with the painful struggles of life and death, 3rd Degree – The Raising celebrates the extreme rituals of rebirth. Produced by Matt Good (Asking Alexandria, Memphis May Fire, Hollywood Undead) this is undeniably the heaviest, and darkest album of the band’s career; featuring the singles “Die With Me,” “IDK,” “Abandoned,” “Broken Reflection” and “Reintegration.”
“The album is about death and rebirth. Finding your true self and fostering its growth so as to help build the world better than we inherited it,” says Nordstrom. “In the process of this record I made some major life choices. Mainly to stop killing myself slowly with alcohol. Two years without a drink, and a couple near death experiences later, I think I have ample experience to talk about a subject as elusive as death.” 
Drummer Brian Steele Medina adds, “The twist to the 3rd and ‘final’ degree, is that it’s not the end at all. Rather, it’s a rebirth contingent upon our growth and lessons learned from the suffering of our past mistakes. A spiritual growth that can only be attained through baptism by fire. A metaphorical, yet very real resurrection — THE RAISING.”
Nordstrom continues, “Our hope is that through sharing our experiences, lessons learned, and battles overcome, that we can help others to examine their own consciousness. Their role in the world in its almost infinite capacity, and to help remind each other that we are ALL in this together. We are a family, and when we are United in our commonality, we can achieve things worthy of the attention of the GODS. If you want to change the world, quietly go to work on yourself.”
GEMINI SYNDROME spent the better part of 2018-2019 writing 3^rd Degree – The Raising, the final installment of their long planned three album trilogy. They retreated to Brian Steele Medina’s Las Vegas home studio, where they meticulously crafted song after song, relentlessly reworking and rearranging the musical arrangements until they were fully satisfied. After an exhaustive writing process, GEMINI SYNDROME relocated to Good Sounds Studio in Tempe, AZ, where producer Matt Good would help realize the collection of songs. Medina recalls, “We absolutely loved working with Matt and he completely understood where we wanted to take this album creatively and what it was going to take to bring the third chapter of this trilogy to light. Our actual collective blood, sweat and tears went into its creation.”
“It was a long, treacherous road to get here,” continues Nordstrom. “First working out an insane amount of songs before arriving in Arizona to record with Matt Good, and then writing a slew more while in the actual recording process, we approached this album with high intentions to evolve musically and internally as people. But then, once we had finally finished everything, and were ready to start releasing new music… everything was put on hold due to the global pandemic.”
Medina adds, “These past few years have definitely been an exercise in patience and acceptance. We had everything mixed and mastered and ready to go in early 2020 before everything shut down. We’re just stoked to FINALLY put this album out and get this post plague show on the road.” 
3^rd Degree – The Raising is the first album to feature guitarist “Meegs” Rascón (formerly of Coal Chamber).
To date, five singles have been released from 3^rd Degree – The Raising: “Abandoned,” “Reintegration,” “IDK,” “Broken Reflection” and the currently Top 30 Active Rock Radio hit “Die With Me.” Currently four of the five singles feature visually stunning videos created by director Brian Cox (Bring Me The Horizon, The Struts, Starset). 
GEMINI SYNDROME is Aaron Nordstrom (vocals, keyboards), Brian Steele Medina (drums, programming), Alessandro “AP” Paveri (bass), Meegs Rascón (guitar) and Nicholas Paul Arnold (touring guitar).
3^rd Degree – The Raising will be available in CD, Limited Edition vinyl, and digital download formats.
3^rd Degree – The Raising track listing: Reintegration IDK Die With Me Baptized In Fire Children of the Sun Abandoned Broken Reflection Sum Quod Eris Best of Me Absolution Hold the Line Where We Started From Fiat Lux