Interview with Jonny Hetherington of Art of Dying

What would it be like for your band to open for Guns n’ Roses as well as some of today’s top rock bands within literally 3 or 4 years of being a signed band? Impossible right? Wrong! Art of Dying has quickly become one of the hottest rock bands on the scene today and they’ve done it all with simple blood, sweat, tears and kick ass rock n’ roll. Being on the road basically nonstop for almost 3 years isn’t something most bands would ever want, but Art of Dying has thrived while touring the world. Their music can’t be compared to pretty much anyone out there today because they’ve always done things their way, and clearly they have the formula figured out. Hard Rock Review's Aaron Manogue talked with their lead vocalist Jonny Hetherington about their success and their upcoming show on July 6^th at Summerfest!

Aaron Manogue: It seems like you guys have been on the road forever. What’s it been like being away from home and on the road for so long?
Jonny Hetherington: It’s great man! Some of the bands we’ve come across love the road and some of them look at it as work and can’t wait to get home. We’re the opposite of that. We love being on the road and hanging out together and playing shows every night.

AM: You guys seem to be on such a hot streak because it’s like everything you guys put out catches fire. What has the ride of the past two or three years been like?
JH: It’s crazy man. I’ve been literally pinching myself on a daily basis. A lot of the stuff we’re doing we dreamt of doing as a little kid. It’s definitely been a “pinch yourself” experience. Whether it’s watching your song rise on the charts or finding out you’re opening for Guns n’ Roses! We’re literally in shock half the time.

AM: What was it like opening for GNR?
JH: You know what? We try and learn a lot from other bands on tour so it’s constantly like school. We watch the other bands and you pick up the good things and if there are any pitfalls you can kind of see those things coming and try to avoid them. It’s always a great learning experience to be an opening band because you get to learn from some of the veterans.

AM: What’s been your favorite point of being out on the road for so long?
JH: Wow man. So many of the shows have just been the highest point you could imagine. It’s weird because we look back and watch some of our shows from a year or two ago and like a football team we look at it like a game tape and make sure we’re always improving. Some of the shows we’ve done in the past week or so, it’s like we’re in the zone which I think only touring for this long can get you into. It’s like walking on air sometimes when you’re playing. You can just close your eyes and you’re so in the moment and you kind of just lost yourself. I hope it’s something we can do forever and I hope our fans and the people that support us start to lose themselves in the music at our shows because that’s the magic.

AM: Speaking of killer shows, on July 6^th you guys will be playing at Summerfest, the World’s Largest Music Festival. How pumped are you guys for that show?
JH: I can’t even put it into words, man! I’ve heard of Summerfest but I’ve never been. When we found out we were playing it we were just high fiving each other because we were just so excited. What’s better than a summer festival of rock music? Nothing! I think we’re playing pretty much when the sun starts to set so it’s definitely going to be one of those legendary shows. I can see it already! We’re definitely going to lose ourselves on July 6^th. 

Interview with drummer Glenn Mungo of Lansdowne

Every once in a while you are wowed. You go to a show expecting to watch other, more established bands and enjoy their usual debauchery when one of the opening, unknown acts steals the show. This is exactly what happened last summer at 94.1 WJJO’s Band Camp. Annually one of the best outdoor festivals in the Midwest featuring some of the biggest acts in the business including Five Finger Death Punch, Stone Sour, Mudvayne, Clutch, All That Remains and many more.

A band out of Boston named Lansdowne took stage to kick off last year’s band camp and to be honest, I wasn’t ready for what I heard. Usually opening acts for Band Camp are definitely quality bands, but Lansdowne blew me away. Their music was addictive and their stage presence was immaculate and from that day I knew I had to learn more about those guys. So here we are 6 months after I first saw them play and finally I got the chance to talk with their drummer Glenn Mungo to talk about their album Blue Collar Revolver, his most memorable moment of 2011, and what their plans are for 2012.

Aaron Manogue: Who would you say are some of your influences are? Are these influences evident in any of your albums/songs?
Glenn Mungo: I've had Art oF Dying "Vices and Virtues" and Five Finger Death Punch's "War Is the Answer" on repeat for a while, and the band is generally listening to Sirius Octane when we're in the van. We all listen to a lot of the bands we tend to play with as well like Sevendust, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Adelitas Way, Pop Evil , Staind, 10 Years, and, believe it or not, we tend to rock out to some country every now and again.

Divyded Proves They Belong with the Best

Kittie, Nonpoint, Art of Dying, Taste of Madison, and Band Camp. Most bands play for years just dreaming of scoring gigs like these, yet there’s one band who have managed to scale the ranks and land those shows in just a matter of months. The immensely talented metal band Divyded has managed to make a name for themselves by doing what so many other bands fail to do these days; stay true to themselves. They ignore fads, trends and cookie cutter band clichés and write music that is who they are. Just one listen to any of their songs and you realize why this band has caught the attention of thousands of hard rock and metal fans. Hard Rock Review's Aaron Manogue spoke with the boys in Divyded; Jason Radosevich, Drums; Chuck Wepfer, lead guitar and vocals;   Ryan Trainor, bass; and Jason Hagberg, guitar.

Aaron Manogue: Talk to me about where Divyded got started.
Divyded: Divyded actually got started right in the middle of another project that we were already collaborating on with some other people. When we had realized that that particular project wasn’t 100% what we were really shooting for, we stepped outside of the box and started brainstorming a bit and Divyded thus ensued shortly after. It has been nonstop work from there on out.

Manogue: How long have each of you been playing your instruments?
Divyded: We have all had our instruments for quite a number of years. Chuck, Jason Hagberg and Ryan have been playing guitar and bass for the last 12, 17, and 12 years (respectively), and Jason Radosevich has been on and off the drums for the last 5 years hitting it more intensely over the last year and a half.

Manogue: Where did the name come from?
Divyded: Well the name came after a lot of thought. We wanted to have something that was different and had a great sound to it all the while trying to convey who we are and what we are. We knew that we needed to be different, develop something that was unique to this ever changing industry that we are breaking into. So essentially we started thinking about who we are. One thought process took us to the next and the next, until we finally just realized that we are essentially "dividing" ourselves from the rest of what seems to be happening at our stage. The light bulb went on immediately after we were thinking of "dividing" ourselves from everyone else and that eventually formed into "Divyded," as we felt that that expressed what we were accomplishing; "dividing" ourselves from the rest.

Manogue: You guys have really been gaining some notoriety lately playing the Band Camp preshow, Taste of Madison, opening for Kittie, Art of Dying and Nonpoint. What's it been like to already be gaining ground with national acts?
Divyded: One word can describe it man, fun! We have a great time at every show we play and it has all been really awesome and we are thankful for the opportunities that we have been given along the way from people like Randy Hawke and Ski over at 94.1 WJJO and Justin Moralez at The Rave in Milwaukee.

Manogue: How have you guys managed to make a name for yourself so quickly in an industry that most people say is down?
Divyded: We work really hard at what we do and try to deliver as much as possible. We stay who we are and don’t follow trends.

Manogue: You guys write and record your own stuff. What do you think the advantage of having that much control over your stuff is?
Divyded: One of the biggest things is that we don’t have any limitations at all. With that freedom we feel like we can write some creative work.

Manogue: You guys really have a unique and noticeable sound, yet you still have that necessary hook. How do you guys approach the writing process when writing music?
Divyded: There really isn’t too much of a method to the madness. We usually start out with a riff on the guitar, or a beat on the drums and try and one up one another with an idea. Someone will play something and someone will be like "Hey wait, play that again." Then we kind of just build up off of what someone is playing and then once we have a concept for a song we start thinking to ourselves, "Ok. That part sounds good, that part needs some tweaking, kick that part out, let's put a stronger part in there," etc. We try to think of everything from a listener’s perspective and while doing that we ask ourselves "Would we buy that?" If the answer is yes, we progress further into the song adding more elements to it, making it larger and better sounding with each step.

Manogue: Your self-titled EP really did a lot for you guys in getting your name out there. Is there any new music on the way or maybe a full length album?
Divyded: We will be continuing to release singles for now. Things may change in the future and we might do a full length down the line but we are just sticking to singles for the time being.

Manogue: If you could only play one more show for the rest of your lives, but you get to chose who you play with, who would it be and why?
Divyded: We would amass a huge show! It would have to be a multi-day event that would include artists like, Rob Zombie, Ozzy, AC/DC, Zakk Wylde, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Godsmack, and Ted Nugent. Reason being is that all of these guys are talented musicians who are masters at what they do and they kick fucking ass!

Manogue: What's the first thing you'd do if you found out we were in the midst of a zombie apocolypse?
Divyded: Step 1: Gather as many Zombie Ass Kicking Weapons as we can find. Step 2: Get all Non-Zombie personnel that we can find. Step 3: Go from city to city kicking Zombie Ass!

You can buy Divyded’s singles here or check them out at www.Divyded.com.

Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Tour 2011 Dates Announced

The initial tour dates have been announced for the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival featuring headliners Avenged Sevenfold, also featuring main stage artists Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine and Escape The Fate. On the Best Buy Music Gear Stage we'll have headliners Sevendust, as well as Black Tide, Art Of Dying and The Black Cloud Collective.

This year's festival will run from August 26-October 15 and the first batch of dates have been announced below as well as when they'll be on sale!

Look for more cities and venues to be announced June 29!

Rockstar Energy Drink announces UPROAR TOUR 2011 Lineup

In case you haven't heard the BIG news yet, the lineup for the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival has been announced!

Rockstar Energy Main Stage:

AVENGED SEVENFOLD

Three Days Grace
Seether

Bullet For My Valentine

Escape The Fate

Best Buy Music Gear Stage:

SEVENDUST

Black Tide

Art of Dying

Black Cloud Collective

The Uproar Tour for 2011 is going to begin AUGUST 26 and run thru OCTOBER 15.
Dates, Cities, venues and ticket information will be announced soon!