INTERVIEWS
Travis Barker on Having His Own Label and Covering Nirvana With Post Malone
Almost everyone saw (or at least heard about) the livestream where Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker teamed up with Post Malone to pay homage to Nirvana in a rousing 75-minute set that, by some estimates, raised nearly $3 million for coronavirus related charities. Barker has, in his own words, been thriving during quarantine. “As far as quarantine I can just focus and create. I’ve been very productive and just been on one,” he told SPIN last week when we spoke to him by phone as he traveled from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City on his bus for a week-long songwriting session with Malone The drummer has new Blink-182 music coming in the next two weeks; he has been busy at work producing the new Machine Gun Kelly album, Tickets To My Downfall; he signed jxdn, the first artist to his new DTA imprin...
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Whethan On New Album: “It’s Getting In a Spaceship and Leaving Earth Off This Electronic Rainbow” [Interview]
Today’s wave of young musicians is arguably more creative and incisive than ever. EDM has seen a long string of prodigal, pioneering producers, which includes the 24-year-old Martin Garrix and the duo Louis The Child, among many others. The latest in this cohort’s legacy is Ethan Snoreck, a Chicago suburb-born artist who produces under the moniker Whethan. Since cannonballing into the scene with 2016’s “Savage” featuring Flux Pavilion and MAX—which still stands as his most played song on Spotify—Snoreck has exploded in popularity, dominating listeners in and around his age group with infectiously happy, future bass-inspired originals. Standouts include “Every Step That I Take” with Portugal. The Man and “High” with Dua Lipa, which was featured on the soundtrack for cult film Fifty Sha...
Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino on Recording the Scoob! Theme: ‘It Was Really Surreal’
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, movie theaters have taken a huge but obvious hit. People can’t go to theaters (for now) and thus, have resorted to watching old movies…at least in most cases. On May 15, Scoob!, the latest live-action adaptation of the Scooby-Doo franchise landed on streamers and VOD (video-on-demand) services. The soundtrack is full of surprises as well, with contributions from country star Thomas Rhett and in-demand mixtape annihilator Rico Nasty. And one of the more fun aspects of a fun movie is that Best Coast performed a new version of the cartoon’s iconic theme song. But considering their retro-pop bona fides, it actually makes a lot of sense. We caught up with Best Coast singer-songwriter Bethany Cosentino, who explained how it all came togethe...
Rob Brydon on The Trip’s Final Odyssey to Greece: “I Love Making a Well-Timed Exit”
“I certainly think that comedy at the moment is highly valued,” says comedian Rob Brydon. “I think people just want to escape from this reality and laugh.” With The Trip to Greece, the latest and final entry in director Michael Winterbottom’s Trip series, Brydon and co-star Steve Coogan (who happens to be a seven-time BAFTA award winner) travel to new destinations to give audiences the opportunity to do just that, one celebrity impression at a time. The endless number of gorgeous Grecian locations the comedians travel through and to, alongside meals that cause us to salivate and emit envy in equal measure, offer a strange, but welcomed sense of escapism in these “Stay-At-Home” times. However, it is the seemingly effortless comedic chemistry between Brydon and Coogan that make the Trip film...
Pearl Jam Producer Josh Evans on the Making of Gigaton
For Josh Evans, producing Pearl Jam’s Gigaton was the culmination of a long run with the band. Starting out as a studio assistant fetching coffee in 2004, Evans has been with Pearl Jam for more than half of their career. Thus, as his position grew within the band ranks, they entrusted him to oversee the building a custom studio in their Seattle headquarters that was operational at the beginning of 2017. Though Pearl Jam had been working on new material since the release of Lightning Bolt in 2013 (on which Evans was a guitar tech) and around subsequent tours in between, the timing for the opening of their studio lined up for when Pearl Jam was ready to record. Not, though, until the studio space was ready. Evans was busy wiring and finishing up ensuring that the studio w...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Maria Brink of In This Moment
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. This month’s piece features an interview with Maria Brink of In This Moment. In This Moment reinvent themselves from album to album, so it’s no surprise that the band’s latest record, Mother, has a fresh style and feel. Their previous LP, 2017’s Ritual, was a concept album of sorts, centering around the Salem Witch Trials. Mother is a deeply personal and serious album lyrically, with solid rock riffing, experimental electronics, and singer Maria Brink’s soulful vocals. Mother was released in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the band choosing not to postpone ...
Cherie Currie on Blvds of Splendor, Working with Billy Corgan, and the Elusive Runaways Reunion
Cherie Currie is a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, having fronted the groundbreaking band The Runaways in the ’70s. Over the past 40-plus years, she has had a fascinating career that has run the gamut from musician to actor to author to professional chainsaw-carving sculptor. In April, Currie released her latest solo album, Blvds of Splendor, for the first time digitally, following a limited vinyl run last year. The album, which in large part is a collaboration with former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, features guest appearances by such rock luminaries as Slash, Duff McKagan, and Billy Corgan. The expanded digital LP also sees Currie offering a new take on The Runaways’ “Queens of Noise” with The Distillers’ Brody Dalle, Juliette Lewis, and The Veronicas. We recently caught up with Cherie by ph...
SVDDEN DEATH Spills On His Infernal Alter Ego and First-Ever VOYD Music Video [INTERVIEW]
After his mind-blowing and malevolent VOYD-branded performance at the EDC Las Vegas Virtual Rave-A-Thon last night, SVDDEN DEATH has officially released the fan-favorite ID “Confusion Spell” along with an accompanying music video. The twisted horror flick marks the first-ever music video dedicated to his VOYD alias. Prior to his latest release, we were fortunate enough to speak with the man behind the mask, and learn more about the new video and what’s next from his soul-weaving alter ego. The tale of unholy corruption was filmed in the woods near Seattle, Washington by filmmakers Schaffer Brady and Holly Singh (aka Zeuzse). With the title “Confusion Spell” alongside footage of witchcraft and sword fighting, his emphasis on fantasy elements in b...
Remembering Ronnie James Dio 10 Years After His Passing: Interview with Wendy Dio
It’s been 10 years since the world lost one of the greatest voices of heavy metal and hard rock, the iconic Ronnie James Dio. The singer had a legendary career, ranging from doo-wop bands in the late ’50s to a reunion with his onetime Black Sabbath bandmates as Heaven & Hell in the 21st century. Born Ronald James Padavona on July 10, 1942 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Dio was raised in Cortland, New York, and became a trumpet player at an early age. Eventually, his vocal talents led him to singing in a variety of doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll bands (including Ronnie Dio and the Redcaps). By the time he became the singer in Elf (earlier going by the name the Electric Elves), he began to find the style of music that best suited his voice – hard rock, and later, heavy metal. Elf opened shows ...
Q&A: Randy Blythe on Lamb of God’s New LP, Punk, Politics and CBGB’s Legendary ‘Throne’
Like a lot of Americans, Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe is none too impressed with the job our Twitterer-in-Chief’s been doing. Unfortunately, as a prominent musician who actually expresses that discontent, both through his lyricism and in interviews, he’s largely in the minority, begging the question: Why aren’t more rockers critical of the political machine? “Because they’re fucking pussies,” Blythe blithely told SPIN during a pre-lockdown visit to New York City in late February. “I think it’s almost like we’re at this critical mass of fucked-up-ness, and everything is just going to go to complete shit.” Of course, Blythe isn’t all doom and gloom on Lamb of God’s forthcoming self-titled 10th LP. He said to SPIN he is hopeful things can change — a sentiment he expresses on Lamb o...
Chris Jericho Forms ’80s KISS Cover Band Kuarantine
Chris Jericho was sitting at home in quarantine on April 11th like everyone else. He couldn’t wrestle (he’s one of AEW’s biggest attractions), and his band Fozzy wasn’t touring either. Then his pal Kent Slucher — Luke Bryan’s drummer — sent him a text with a drum part, and from there, things came together really quickly. “I said it sounds like KISS’ ‘No No No,’” Jericho told SPIN over the phone. “I asked him what he was doing and he said, ‘I’m just laying down some fun tracks with a friend of mine and we’re going to do a cover of the song.’ I asked him if they needed a singer and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ And that’s how it started. Calling themselves Kuarantine (get it?), Jericho and Slucher enlisted guitarist Joe McGinness and PJ Farley from hard rock band Trixter to fill out...
Q&A: Serj Tankian Talks His New Electronic Project and How ‘Normal’ Is ‘Extinction’
Serj Tankian, 52, is across the world during the pandemic, currently residing in New Zealand. But he is very conscious of all going on in the States, having lost an 86-year-old uncle in New York to COVID-19 and having his parents grounded in the States still while he is so far away. The multi-hyphenate singer/composer/painter/activist has a lot to say about the U.S. pandemic response, as well as his always-prolific artistic output, including a new collaboration, Fuktronic, with his friend, Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence. A significant departure for both frontmen, the collection melds electronic beats with dialogue “from a made-up British gangster film.” SPIN jumped on a phone call with Tankian to discuss his forthcoming rock EP and the state of the world in quarantine. Why do you ...
