State Champs at House Of Blues Cleveland 11/11/2022

Albany, NY – Celebrating what has so far been a monumental year, New York powerhouses State Champs will soon be embarking on the Kings Of The New Age Tour. Special guests Hunny and Between You & Me are joining the cross-country affair, with Young Culture (11/11 – 11/20), Games We Play (11/22 – 11/30), and Save Face (12/2 – 12/10) also joining for select dates. All tickets are on sale now here.
“I’m particularly excited for the KOTNA Tour because of how much we as a band are focusing on the aesthetic and flow of the show,” says vocalist Derek DiScanio. “This will be the first tour where it feels more like an experience rather than just a band on stage playing songs. The stage production is by far the most unique and badass it’s ever been, and you bet the mixture of songs in our catalog (new songs, old songs, and some surprises) will create a wild set list. Best night ever.”
Earlier this year, State Champs planted their flag firmly in pop-punk history with their 4th studio album, Kings Of The New Age, out now via Pure Noise Records.  The album includes hit singles “Eventually”, “Everybody But You” (ft. Ben Barlow), “Outta My Head”, and “Just Sound” alongside seven all new tracks featuring additional guest vocalists Chrissy Costanza, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Four Year Strong.
On the highly anticipated release, the band shares, “Kings of The New Age is our fourth album, the one that we spent the most time on, and the one that makes the biggest statement. After writing over 30 songs, we narrowed it down to 11 that best represent our mission as a band, and sonically, match the energy level we wanted to captivate heading into this new chapter.”
Kings Of The New Age is available to buy and stream now at https://lnk.to/StateChamps
Album four is often when a beloved rock band shifts gears, frustrating longtime fans, searching for a more “mature” sound. State Champs raise a joyous middle finger to that trope with Kings Of The New Age, an enthusiastic and confident reminder of what the Upstate New Yorkers do best. 
Younger than Gen X punk heroes like Billie Joe Armstrong and Mark Hoppus; older than Willow and Trippie Redd; the foursome balances energy and experience. As a new generation resurrects angsty unrest on TikTok and Machine Gun Kelly puts guitars back on the mainstream chart, State Champs double down on the vibrant pop-punk they’ve championed for a decade. They were several steps ahead of the seismic sonic shift. Kings Of The New Age will now claim the crown. 
Derek DiScanio, Tyler Szalkowski, Ryan Scott Graham, and Evan Ambrosio deliver a strong message. Produced by Drew Fulk (Lil Wayne, A Day To Remember, Ice Nine Kills) aka WZRD BLD, Kings Of The New Age is a big album, without sacrificing the heart cherished by a legion of fans.
Starting in bedrooms and basements in 2010, State Champs quickly ascended as leaders of a new scene owing as much to early Fall Out Boy and Green Day as latter-day Warped Tour bands. In 2022, Kerrang!declared them “one of the most authentic and well-respected bands in pop-punk.” Over the course of their career, State Champs delivered their music and heartfelt message on extensive tours with bands like Fall Out Boy, 5 Seconds Of Summer, A Day To Remember, and Simple Plan; three different Warped Tours; and a co-headliner with Neck Deep. 
Kerrang! gave the band’s first album, The Finer Things, a rare 5K review in 2013. Rock Sound and Alternative Press served up adoring cover stories. Around the World and Back entered the Billboard Current Rock Albums chart at No. 3 and made Rock Sound’s Top 10 Albums of 2015. Living Proof followed in 2018. Billboard called them “modern-day pop-punk torchbearers” the same year. They are an arena-ready rock band with the freedom of punk’s soul. 2022 belongs to State Champs. 
Welcome to The New Age.

Upcoming Tour Dates Oct 22 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Fest^ Oct 23 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Fest^ Oct 24 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s Oct 29 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Fest^ Nov 11 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues * Nov 12 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live * Nov 13 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel * Nov 15 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre * Nov 18 – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall * Nov 19 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag * Nov 20 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater * Nov 22 – Denver, CO – Gothic # Nov 23 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union # Nov 25 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues # Nov 26 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues # Nov 27 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren # Nov 29 – Austin, TX – Empire Garage # Nov 30 – Dallas, TX – South Side Music Hall # Dec 2 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live + Dec 3 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore + Dec 4 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl + Dec 6 – Richmond, VA – The National + Dec 7 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom + Dec 9 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner + Dec 10 – Albany, NY – Empire Live +
^ Festival Appearance * with Young Culture # with Games We Play + with Save Face

Live Review- Pop Evil Bring Music Over Words Tour to Cleveland’s House of Blues

The well deserved success of a hard working band comes to fruition !

Pop Evil on Stage
Pop Evil on Stage

Cleveland, Ohio – The mighty Michigan hard rock act known at Pop Evil descended upon Cleveland this last week to the delight of the Rock Capital .The continued climb up the charts over the years has cemented this band into the heart and minds of fans everywhere . I met fans from Pittsburgh,Columbus and Toledo. To say this band has a following is a grave understatement as the fans traveled from  far and wide and thru many age groups from teens to middle aged, there is something for everyone.   The band is in current support of their self titled effort  ” POP EVIL ” with the song ” Waking Lions ” reaching number #1 on rock radio.

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Pop Evil on Stage

The evenings set started off with high energy and the track ” Ways To Get High ” and didn’t let up for sixteen songs . Some of my favorites were ” Torn To Pieces ”  and ” Bosses Daughter “.  I really like the new song ” Waking Lions ” as in this time in history it  can be applied to many situations. The guitar work of Nick Fuelling leads along with the solid rhythm guitar  of  Dave Grahs  made this is sonic attack on the senses.

Pop Evil on Stage
Pop Evil on Stage

The bands put the fans in to forefront and really plays to them , the onstage energy of bassist Matt DiRito really kept the crowd electrified. The personal contact of vocalist Leigh Kakaty along with the rich melodies and soulful lyrics cannot be put into words , suffice to say awesome ! The newest member of the group and keeping the beat and proving that some of the best guys in a band can be a woman is Hayley Cramer, drummer extraordinaire.

Pop Evil on Stage
Pop Evil on Stage

To learn more about Pop Evil or to see them on the upcoming summer tour check out the official website at   http://www.popevil.com

Pop Evil on Stage
Pop Evil on Stage

John 5 Delights Cleveland’s Beachland Ballroom !

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John 5 on stage at the Beachland BallRoom in Cleveland Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio – The virtuoso guitarist simply known as John 5 played to a packed crowd at the Beachland Ballroom this weekend . John is considered to be rock royalty with the  pedigree  to match .Playing with artists such as Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and David Lee Roth and basically a who’s who of the music industry .

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John 5 and The Creatures is currently on tour in support of their latest release ” Its Alive ” which is available at most media outlets .

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I saw him play before with Rob Zombie but I was intrigued to see how he  would be  center stage and I can say this is three simple words . ” Does Not Disappoint ”  John and the  band  took the stage like a tornado mixing sound and fury with the delicate balance and melody and  virtuosity.The band played songs ranging from  industrial style metal ,   blue grass and rockabilly to  fresh  interpretations of  classic songs .The re-imaging of ” Enter Sandman ” was  inspiring and I enjoyed it more then the original . A lot of bands use stage sets and makeup up to cover lack of talent and originality however with John 5 he is the exact opposite .The man could walk on an empty stage, pick up a second hand guitar that is missing two strings and still make peoples jaws drop in amazement, he’s that good .

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To learn more about John 5 and all his work check out his official website at https://john-5.com/main/

 

Dee Snider Thrills Cleveland Crowd !

Reliving the best times of your life !

Dee Snider on stage
Dee Snider on stage

Northfield, Ohio – The man, the myth, the legend ? Damn right he is .I am talking about the legendary rocker who took on the US Congress and won.Dee Snider, the voice of Twisted Sister played the Hard Rock Rocksino last night with his solo band and rocked the house.

Dee Snider on stage
Dee Snider on stage

Dee is supporting his new release ” We Are The Ones ” and he is combining his classic hits along with his new material at his live shows. In addition, Dee performed covers of Nine Inch Nails ” Head Like A Hole ” , Sound Garden” Outshined “,AC/DC ” Highway To Hell ”

Dee Snider On Stage
Dee Snider On Stage

One of his new songs ” So What ” is dedicated to the folks at Standing Rock , Dee was never one to shy away from politics and current events hence the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame featured him on their ” Louder The Words ” cultural display.

Dee's band live on stage
Dee’s band live on stage

The classic tracks were performed and included ” Were Not Gonna Take It “, ” Burn In Hell ” and ” I Wanna Rock ” which had a standing ovation from the crowd .

Dee's bass player Tayna live on stage
Dee’s bass player Tanya live on stage

Dee’s band did a great job with some very skilled musicians including Tanya O Callaghan on bass, Robbie Angelucci on guitar and  Mike Dupke on drums .

Dee Snider live on stage
Dee Snider live on stage

If you go to see any 80’s rock icon in the coming year make sure you see Dee Snider , you will thank us.

The Pixies Ecstasize Cleveland Agora

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Legendary grunge and alt rock band, The Pixies, performed at the Cleveland Agora October 3rd for their North American Tour to promote their new album “Head Carrier”. They played to a near capacity crowd, with hundreds of fans dancing and screaming every word to their favorite songs, maybe even reliving the more carefree days of the 90’s grunge culture. Fans of all ages were there, from surrounding states even, to see them play their strange rock and roll.

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The Pixies set list spanned over two decades of their discography. They opened with “Waves of Mutilation“, a track off their 1989 album Doolittle, for which they also played the songs “Hey” and “Debaser”. Their lighting crew was impeccable, green lights for “Gouge Away” just like a show they played in 1990. Flooding violet lights for “Velouria”, which totally matched the mood. The Pixies obviously love their fans as they also played one of their most popular songs, “Where is my Mind”, which was also featured in the cult classic, “Fight Club”. As soon as they played that song, the crowd instantly electrified.

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Opening for The Pixies was the American rock band Sunflower Bean from Brooklyn NYC. They had a pretty great, weird punk rock sound to them. Like an indie futuristic Blondie.

Being the Pixies fan that I am, I can probably say this is one of the best concerts of any band I’ve ever seen. What a great experience it is to see the great, creative, and soulful minds behind the music you listen to everyday.

Chelsea Lovegood
Staff Writer

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80’s Icon Adam Ant Packs Cleveland’s House of Blues

 

Adam Ant
Adam Ant

Cleveland ,Ohio – The 1980’s were alive again this past Saturday when Adam Ant packed Cleveland’s House of Blues to a sold out audience.At one time Adam was the worlds most prolific rock star with an amazing number of hits in a very short time span .One of the best parts of his shows is that is is not a normal rock concert. It is a giant TARDIS time machine that transports us all back to 1981 again, free of the pains of aging, bills , reading glasses , children and problems. We are free to enjoy folly and dance and dress outrageous if we want. “Ridicule is nothing to be scared of ” to quote Adam’s song Prince Charming   which of course he played that night along with all of his ” Anthems ” hence the name of the tour of which I caught two nights of this time around. The band and Adam were on fire with a vim and vigor of performers 1/3 his age .Recovering from a tragedy this past January of Adam’s guitarist Tom Edwards passing suddenly the band did what true professionals would do . They played on in his memory and packed the house .I am a first generation fan having owned the original cassettes back as youngster, dressing dandy and extremely happy to be an 80’s child .

The show lasted approximately two hours with about 20 or more songs , but some of my favorites were Dog Eat Dog, Prince Charming ,Kings of The Wild Frontier, Christian Dior and Stand and Deliver . To be honest I love most of his songs , and he likes to mix up his sets so do not expect the same songs every time but if you only see one tour this season make sure it is this one .

Adam’s band is a tight knit unit and  one the best in music . The members are A P Leach -Guitars, Andy Woodard-Drums ,Joe Holweger– Bass Guitar , Jola-Drums and Will Crewdson on Guitars

To learn about all things Adam check out his official webpage at http://www.adam-ant.net

Glam Skanks
Glam Skanks

The opening support slot were the up and coming The Glam Skanks from Hollywood .They reminded me of the Runways mixed with Sweeny Todd add a heaping of confidence and Girl Power rolled into one.All young but skilled musicians in their own right I am curious to see how the band develops as song writers in the near future.But I really enjoyed the majority of their set . The band members are Ali Cat on vocals, Millie on Bass, V playing guitar, and  Cassandra Khalileh on drums. To learn all about The Glam Skanks check out https://www.glamskanks.com/

 

Soul Asylum Rock Mentor’s New Amphitheater

Mentor's New Amphitheater
Mentor’s New Amphitheater

Mentor , Ohio – The 90’s musical  powerhouse known at Soul Asylum did something spectacular this last week.They played close enough to my house I could actually hear sound check from my backyard.I will admit that was cool but being able to walk to a venue and not have to worry about traffic and parking was even cooler.

Soul Asylum on stage
Soul Asylum on stage

Mentor , Ohio the crown jewel of Lake County is changing and for the better. In the second year of it’s Mentor Rocks summer music program  they stepped up their game and brought in some original artists and none other then Soul Asylum  to boot . Imagine a Blossom Music Center with easy access parking ,food and beverage prices that were reasonable and free music for the whole family and that is what Mentor Rocks is all bout about.

Soul Asylum on stage
Soul Asylum on stage

The hits were played including my favorite ” Somebody To Shove ”   along with ” Black Gold ” and the mega hit ” Runaway Train ”

Soul Asylum on stage
Soul Asylum on stage with a fan recording it

I had the chance to see them a couple of year ago at the Hard Rock ( see archives at bottom of article )  and I have to be honest I really enjoyed both performances but I think this one edged them out just a little more.

The band current line up is

  • Dave Pirner – drums (1981–1983); lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1983–present)
  • Michael Bland – drums, backing vocals (2005–present)
  • Winston Roye – bass guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
  • Ryan Smith – lead guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)

To find out all things Soul Asylum check out http://www.soulasylum.com

 

 

soul asylum archive
soul asylum archive

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Saliva Prove They Still Have The Metal !

Saliva On stage
Saliva On stage

Cleveland, Ohio – The House of Blues played host to one of the best bands to come out of the 1990’s Memphis, Tennessee’s own Saliva rocked the house to the foundation earlier in the month.  The band has gone thru several line up changes in their career , however this current line up is strong, powerful , talented and ready to rock . The eleven song set included both classics and new material to the delight of the fans. Some of my favorites included ” Superstar ” and ” Click Click Boom” and ” Your Disease ”    The song ” Trust ” always meant something special to me as well . The other bands on the bill included Akron’s own Devil Strip and The Everyday Losers and both acts did a great job .

I am often asked what I think of replacement members in bands and here is my official statement on that . Name one company you know that has had the same personal for close to 20 years . A band is not just a brotherhood it is also a business and people change , move on and explore other venues so to them I say just enjoy the music.

The current line up is

To learn more about Saliva check out the official page at http://saliva.com/