Category: Features

  • interview by Michael McCarthy I’ve known David S. Marfield for nearly my whole life.  Back in 1995, I was publishing a hair metal zine called ANT, The Only Cool Magazine that bites.  One of the interviews I did was with Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider.  Rather than talk about music the whole time, I discussed…

    Read more

  • by Michael McCarthy On June 9th at the Wolf Den in Mohegan Sun in Connecticut I was finally able to catch hair metal/classic rock legends Mr. Big live after wanting to see them in concert for roughly 25 years.  Needless to say, I had high hopes.  If they were great, I probably would’ve been slightly…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy Today we have an interview with a brilliant lyricist and a true rock star, Edward Rogers, originally from Birmingham, UK, but who immigrated to the United States when he was 12. If you’ve never heard of him, that’s all the more reason to read this interview and get to know him.…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy If you haven’t heard of rising disco pop starlet Lily McQueen yet, you should watch the video for her glittery pop nugget “Chasing Your Love” below. It’s one of the most infectious songs I’ve heard in weeks. Her whole album, which comes out on June 30th via Concierge Records, is an…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy It’s no secret that Warrant are one of my favorite heavy metal bands. They’ve been one ever since I saw the video for their first single, “Down Boys,” on MTV back in the later part of the ’80’s. Their blend of melodic vocals and sonorous music has always impressed me. And,…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy When Sam Levin’s album Frame of Mind was sent to me by his publicist it was recommended if you like The Head and the Heart, Kings of Leon, The Lumineers, Imagine Dragons, Bon Iver, Bahamas and Jose Gonzales. Naturally, with an impressive list like that, I had to give it a…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy There are three songs I’ve been listening to on a loop lately. “Chasing the Dragon,” “King of the Ring,” and “Lords of Thunder.” These are the songs the press was allowed to hear prior to interviewing members of the band Adrenaline Mob about their forthcoming new album We the People, which…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy My introduction to Maximo Park was an unusual one. I was – and am – a big Natalie Imbruglia fan and there was an mp3 of this new band called Maximo Park covering her song “Shiver” on one of the fan sites. I almost didn’t download it because I knew it…

    Read more

  • by Michael McCarthy I recently came across the music of Gumshen when their publicist E-mailed me a link to their most recent album, 2015’s DigiBites. It proved to be one of those albums that I fell in love with from the first time I listened to it. From ultra-catchy songs like “A Scene Like That”…

    Read more

  • The following is a guest editorial by former music critic and current owner of Vinyl Destination record store, Dave Perry.  It was originally posted on Facebook on 3/19/17. The new point of sale at Vinyl Destination – or POS as those of us in the business world like to call it – lends us a…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy all photos by David Butler II I could sit here and tell you that I’ve been a fan of House of Lords from the beginning, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. While I did see some of their early videos on Headbanger’s Ball – Saturday nights at midnight on MTV –…

    Read more

  • Interview by Michael McCarthy I do so many interviews that I sometimes forget who I’ve interviewed already. This has a lot to do with my memory problem, but the fact that I’ve interviewed at least 100 people in my life doesn’t help me keep things straight. Likewise, most of the people I interview do so…

    Read more

  • Late last week I self-published my debut novel, Reckoning Daze, under my pen name Michael Beaulieu.  It’s only available as an e-book right now, but I hope to make it available as a lovely paperback soon.  In the meantime, you can grab the e-book for free from several different sources.  The easiest thing to do…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy Last week I brought you part one of my interview with Chris McLelland of the popular post-hardcore/pop punk outfit Nominee, which focused on something we have in common: bipolar disorder.  Today we have part two, which focuses on the band’s music, tour plans and a few of our famous random questions.…

    Read more

  • interview by Michael McCarthy I was recently introduced to the powerful music Nominee, who are either a punk or post hardcore band, depending on who you ask. To my ears, there’s even an air of pop punk about their songs, which are as catchy as they are heavy. Aside from the music kicking ass, the…

    Read more