Atreyu plays the Chain Reaction Sept. 11

Orange County metal band, Atreyu, recently announced their return from hiatus after 3 years off of touring and recording. Now the band has revealed that their first returning show will take place at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA on Sept. 11.

The reunited lineup, featuring vocalist Alex Varkatzas, drummer Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel and bassist Marc Mcknight, is ready to get back out on the road. On July 1, 2014, the band officially announced that they’re back writing new music and plans to play live, starting with a headlining show at Chain Reaction, a venue they have not played in over a decade.

The band also recently released a new song on their Youtube channel titled “So Others May Live” that is also available for free download off their official website, http://atreyuofficial.com. Guitarist Jacobs took the time to speak with the OC Concert Guide about getting back to playing live and heading back into the studio to record album number six.

OCCG: How do you feel being from Orange County has shaped your sound through the years?
DJ: There were a lot of great bands coming up in Orange County at the time we first formed in 1999. Bands like Adamatium, Throwdown, 18 Vision, Death by Stereo were dominating the scene and definitely influenced us to go down a much heavier road then we were currently on. We started as a three-piece punk band called Retribution in 1996 and naturally changed our sound and name because of how influenced we were by Heavy music and the OC scene.

OCCG: Why did the group decide to take a break from recording and touring?
DJ: We we’re all just burnt out to be honest. We had been living in Never Never Land since we were in our late teens just touring the world and playing music for a living. I think we all needed to take a step back for a bit so that we could focus on our lives outside of the band and find ourselves as individuals. The break was very refreshing and the best thing that could of happened to us. We’re now all excited again for the first time in years and are ready to continue rocking this planet.

OCCG: Does the band members’ other musical projects tend to take time away from Atreyu?
DJ: For everyone in our band, Atreyu is the main priority. Brandon has the most active band outside of Atreyu called Hell or High Water (they’re amazing you should check them out) but they work their schedule around Atreyu’s Schedule, which works out great for both bands.

OCCG: Some musicians feel side projects takes away from an original band while others feel it helps musicians grow in their own music, which has been the case with Atreyu and why?
DJ: With anything you do in life, the more you do it, in one way or another, you will get better at it. I feel it’s very important to listen to, as well as write, all types of music so that you can broaden your musical vocabulary. The more you know, the more interesting your writing will become.

OCCG: The last few albums have been noted for having a more harder and darker sound, has the band always been going in that direction or did it just evolve through the recording process?
DJ: We have always had a dark, heavy vibe to most of our music so it’s something that we have naturally evolved into. Creates an awesome vibe both live and in recordings.

OCCG: Who has been the band’s favorite producer to work with? Which producer would you still like to record with?
DJ: I wouldn’t say we have a favorite just because we work better when we produce our own music and just work with a great engineer to record it. Our sound is strongly a combination of writing collaboration within the band so producers, as amazing as they can be at what they do, can unintentionally change our “recipe” and send our sound into an uncomfortable direction. As far as talent, inspiration, and the knowledge or producing we gained from working with them, John Feldman is hands down our favorite.

OCCG: What is the band’s favorite song to play live? Is there a song or songs you prefer not to play or rarely play and why?
DJ: We love playing songs that people can sing along and mosh too. That energy is what attracted us to this style of music so we want to give that back in our music. If I had to pick 3 favorite songs to play live I would say – My Fork in the Road, Right Side of the Bed, and Blow.

OCCG: How are the new recordings going? What can fans expect that is different from your past albums?
DJ: We have been working on some new material so that when it comes time to make a record we are ready to go. So far, everything is more like our records The Curse on Steroids. For fans of old Atreyu, it’s time to mosh.

OCCG: What is the band most looking forward at the Chain Reaction show?
DJ: Getting to be back on stage again with our brothers. We love playing music more than anything in the world, especially with the five of us, so we can’t wait to get back on stage and tear that mother down.

Nili Brosh plays with the Tony MacAlpine Band at Saint Rocke Aug. 13

Israeli-born now LA-based guitarist, Nili Brosh has created quite a stir among metal and fusions fans. For a 26-year-old young woman, her fast licks and ease through cord transitions has the leading players of these genre seeking her out to play along side them. Her blazing skills can be seen with the Tony MacAlpine Band that also includes Aquiles Priester on drums and Bjorn Englen on bass at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach on Wed, Aug. 13 and Ramona Mainstage on Fri, Aug 15.

“I always loved music and grew up listening to this style of music,” said Brosh. “Tony (MacAlpine) was a big inspirations of mine growing up and now I get to play his music along with him.”

Brosh was influenced by her older brother, Ethan’s love of the electric guitar as well as his love of 80s rock and fusion bands, of which MacAlpine’s albums were a big part of. In time, Brosh had developed her own appreciation and style for the electric guitar, and became an avid fan of heavy guitar driven music.

“All I wanted to do when I got my first electric guitar at age 12 was sit with my ear to the speaker and try to make out every note,” Brosh says. “I was still a part of a generation that did not have YouTube to mimic the way the musician is using their fingering when they play, so even if my interpretation of the notes was right I might have been wrong on the fingering positions, which might make a song harder to play.”

When Brosh was 12 years old, her brother got accepted to the famed Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass so her parents uprooted the entire family and moved to Boston so her brother could attend the school. By then, she knew she would soon follow him and began preparing herself to audition taking guitar lessons from teachers who also taught at the school.

Brosh graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee in 2009 with a B.M in Professional Music. She also became one of the youngest faculty members in the Berklee summer guitar programs, where she has been teaching since age 19.

“I went to a high school that had students either going to Harvard or being seen as doing nothing with their lives so not many people understood why I was working towards going to Berklee,” explains Brosh. “Luckily, my brother had already been through the process so I just had to stay focused and I got accepted too.”

In 2010, Nili self-released her debut instrumental album, Through The Looking Glass, which features guitar legend Andy Timmons as a guest soloist, and the rhythm section of her own Nili Brosh Band. Brosh’s second album, “A Matter of Perception” is set for release on Sept 11, 2014 and features a variety of great players.

“I grew up listening to a lot of different styles of much, not just guitar driven bands and fusion,” Brosh says. “I like muli-tonal music like in Turkish or Middle Eastern music and 90s boy bands like Backstreet Boys. Max Martin’s arrangements are still great to listen to and when you can still hear something new in a pop song no matter how much you listen to it, you know it is good music.”

In January 2011, Brosh joined the progressive metal band “Seven The Hardway,” which featured guitar virtuoso MacAlpine (Steve Vai, Planet X, CAB), legendary drummer Virgil Donati (Planet X, CAB), and renowned vocalist Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth). About a month later she was also asked to join MacAlpine’s touring solo band along with bassist Bjorn Englen (Yngwie Malmsteen), and famed drummer Marco Minnemann (Paul Gilbert, The Aristocrats).

“I get asked in a lot of interviews what it is like to be just now touring with Tony, but I have actually been playing with him since 2011,” said Brosh. “For me it feels like we have been playing together for a while now.”

Since graduating from Berklee, Brosh has performed with Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson), Guthrie Govan (Asia), Andy Timmons (Danger Danger, Olivia Newton-John), The Iron Maidens (world’s only all-female tribute to Iron Maiden), The Aristocrats, and has opened for artists such as Terry Ilous (XYZ), Joey Molland (Badfinger), and Pat Travers. She also tours in her brother’s band, The Ethan Brosh Band, and they were the opener for Yngwie Malmsteen on his 2013 U.S. tour.

Angela Brown and Kevin Deas bring George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess to life at Verizon Amphitheater July 20

Pacific Symphony will take on some of George Gershwin’s classic jazz hits this summer during the Mercedes-Benz presented Summer Festival 2014 with “Gershwin’s Greats.” Enjoy a night under the stars with timeless jazz pieces performed by the Pacific Symphony and incredible special guests on July 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine.

“Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess can be a more vocally challenging theatrical concert to sing than most Operas,” explains Internationally acclaimed American lead bass-baritones singer Kevin Deas. “Most of the concert the vocalist must perform Porgy’s part on their knees, which makes it more demanding on the performer.”

Gershwin was a composer who took Broadway by storm with his work defining the Americana Era by selling out opera houses and concert halls. The concert is spotlighting his strive for always challenging himself by creating outstanding pieces ranging from different styles.

The classic Americana program which is led by Music Director Carl St.Clair will perform some of Gershwin’s greatest pieces such as “Rhapsody In Blue,” “An American In Paris,” “Porgy and Bess,” and “Strike Up The Band.”

“St.Clair really knows his American composers and their compositions,” said Deas. “I have performed the part of Porgy with many symphonies around the world and no conductor is more connected with Americana music.”

This night will also feature special guests to perform with the Pacific Symphony such as Jeffrey Biegel who is considered to be one of the greatest pianists of our time. He has received critical acclaim and praise all over the world for his amazing technique.

Singer Angela Brown who has sheer vocal power and is the ideal Americano dramatic soprano for the part will perform the soprano voice of Bess.

“I am so excited to be sharing the stage again with Angela in the part of Bess,” exclaimed Deas. “What an amazing force of singing. She is a real treasure in this performance!”

Yngwie Malmsteen headlines Guitar Gods Tour at the Observatory July 2

The king of neo-classical shred guitar, legendary guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, will return to stages across North America this summer for the first “Guitar Gods” festival tour. Bringing together such accomplished axemen as Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions, Electric Sun), Gary Hoey (“Hocus Pocus”) and Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Malmsteen will headline an epic celebration, six hours of the instrument for a full evening of guitar pyrotechnics.

The “Guitar Gods” tour is created and produced by April Malmsteen, Yngwie’s wife and manager, and is presented in proud partnership with Guitar Center. “Guitar Gods” tour’s first show is at The Observatory in Santa Ana on Wed, July 2.

This is no surprise that Malmsteen is headlining this tour as the founder of neo-classical rock shows off his lightening fast licks playing songs off his new album “Spellbound.”

“This is the first time I played every instrument myself,” proclaimed Malmsteen referring to the songs off his latest release. “Even the keyboard parts were done by me in my home studio.”

Malmsteen has a full, professional, state-of-the-art recording studio in his home and he does not want anyone to confuse that with just a tiny, small-scale recording room. He has always played the bass along with the guitar parts on all of his albums, but on this one he is the drummer, keyboardist and singer as well.

“I approach my music as a symphony with all of the performers having their parts and only one place for a soloist,” he explains. “Stylistically, I script everything and look for well-trained musicians that play what they are told to play and do their part.”

Malmsteen starting learning music theory by the time he learned to speak his native language of Swedish. He grew up in Stockholm, Sweden to a very musical family. He recalls jamming with his brother and grandfather, who were both drummers.

“I learned Classical music first being raised in a family of opera singers and loved Baroque and Romantic composers,” says Malmsteen. “I really enjoyed playing blues on the guitar, but five cords were just not enough for me so I started to transcribe classical on the instrument.”

In regards to his indented fret board, Malmsteen created this style of guitar while working as an apprentice in a guitar shop and found the fret board helped his control over speed and pitch while he played.

When asked if he has perfect pitch, Malmsteen exclaimed, “Of course I have perfect pitch! It’s a blessing and a curse. Music can’t just be a background noise to me.”

Check out his latest recording, “Spellbound,” which is now available only as a digital download on iTunes.

Ces Cru with special guest Info Gates play LVCS June 21, Los Globos June 22 and Vibe Bar June 23

Kansas City (KC) duo Ces Cru’s debut full-length album on Strange Records “Constant Energy Struggles” is out and the duo is taking their music on the road playing in Las Vegas at LVCS June 21, in LA at Los Globos June 22 and at Vibe Bar in Riverside on June 23. This is Ces Cru’s first headlining tour since signing to Strange Records and joining them on the road is special guest KC rapper Info Gates.

Ces Cru is comprised of rappers Godemis and Ubiquitous who for the past dozen years have operated mostly as a duo, which is all that remained of a much larger Ces Cru, which at one time include six full-time rappers. Godemis was impressed by Ubi’s skills during a recording session and invited him to join the group. As time went on, members moved, moved on, went to jail – leaving just Godemis and Ubiquitous.

“Ces Cru was a collective of like-minded individuals,” says Godemis, a founding member of the group since high school. When he first began rhyming, he was simply doing cover versions of albums like Mac Mall’s Illegal Business?”

Ubiquitous, a Colorado native who grew up on acts like Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J and the Fat Boys as well as metal, punk rock, ska and electronica, moved to Kansas City in 2000 and had already been polishing his rap skills over jungle beats.

Together, the duo independently released 2004’s “Capture Enemy Soldiers” (featuring appearances from former member Sorceress) and “The Playground” in 2009 before signing with Strange Music at the end of 2011. Ces Cru has released a pair of solo mixtapes as well, Godemis’ The Deevil and Ubiquitous’ Matter Don’t Money and the EP, “13.”

Info Gates is a producer, songwriter and emcee from Kansas City and the first artist to win both the Scion Sudden-Death Emcee Battle and ButtonPush Production Battles (2006-08). Gates has produced a vast amount of material for a broad array of artists including an appearance on Tech N9NE’s highly successful “Something Else” LP, on the song “Colorado,” along with the Strange Music roster and Grammy-Winner B.O.B.

Info Gates’ unique Drum-frenzy style of production, as well as witty, comical lyrics rarely cease to shine on record. OC Concert Guide was able to capture a conversation with Godemis and Info Gates about making music and life on the road.

Info Gate: So how does it feel to headline your first national tour and how has the tour been so far?
Godemis: It feels amazing. Its been a long time coming but it feels really good. Weve got so much love so far. We toured the south and the east coast already and it was all just amazing. We sold out our first show in boston last week and that was really surreal. They were rapping along with us like crazy it felt really good to see.

Info Gate: Explain the name of the tour?
Godemis: It’s the Constant Energy Struggles tour. That’s the name of our last album. But were also out promoting codename ego stripper, the new one, which drops in August.

Info Gate: How do you feel about the new album?
Godemis: Man I think it’s the best album we’ve made. I really do. We broke thru a little bit on the Strange roster with the last one, but man, this one felt really good. Different. But still noticably Ces Cru style at the same time. Ubi is really rappin hard on there. The beats are ill too. Se7en did the majority, with help from Leonard Destroy and obviously info gates, but the album couldn’t have come out better. Can’t wait to give it to the fans.

Info Gate: What’s your favorite track?
Godemis: Haha that’s like really impossible to say. This joint sound bite, that one goes real tough. We got some great features too. Man, I dunno I love it all haha

Info Gate: Sounds dope. I mean I’ve heard it and I’ll agree too. The whole record really does go. I like sound bite alot too. So what would you tell fans who are about to see you and info gates on the west coast to expect?
Godemis: Strange hop. Sheer fuckery. Haha. I mean we all go hard and were all cut from the same cloth. Info gets it wet, you know what I mean? He has some stuff a lot of our fans will know and some they won’t. But you’ll see undeniable hip-hop talent from him. Me and Ubi, I mean, if u don’t already know I feel bad for you. Haha. We just do what we do. Get wavy and rap real hard. It’s a guaranteed good time, especially for fans of good hip hop.

Godemis: Haha okay. So, what’s been the best memory so far on the road?
Info Gate: Man, I dunno. Been movin so fast so far. I guess maybe the bum in Houston.

Godemis: Haha right?
Info Gate: Ya that was funny. Obviously we know it, but yeah we were pulling the van out of a slim alley and a drunk dude who seemed to be homeless, runs up screamin “Cut it! Cut it! You got it!” which we totally didn’t haha. So ya he was just totally hurting more than he was helping. And he was super duper loud. After we got out he asked us for a tip too haha. That was funny. That and man sellin out Boston. Boston was so turnt up and a real nice surprise.

Godemis: Hell yeah… So the new album, “Make things do stuff.” Shit goes. Speak on it.
Info Gate: Haha. Uh yeah it goes man. I’m real happy with it. It’s really a lot of me. My last one had a ton of features. Not this one. Only 2, you obviously, and Bre the first lady, an amazing singer from KC. Was glad to finally work with her man. But yeah it’s 15 tracks. It’s selling really well so far. Goin up you could say.

Godemis: Right. Well what do u look forward to or see in the future?
Info Gate: hopefully just more of this. More love. More music. Im always looking ahead and this tour is really giving me hope for both Ces and myself. They really recognize our craft out here. It’s such a good feeling. I just wanna keep making organic music and spreading in as far as it’ll go. That’s what im put on this earth to do. I really believe that.

Godemis: Word up brother. Well yo. We got a fuckin show to do here in toledo right? so with that said, come see Info Gates and Ces Cru in a city near you, know what I mean? Jason Deevil aka Jason Hasslehoff if you nasty, signing out. Ya’ll know what it is. And oh, go cop that deevil 6.0 like yesterday! Bddddat!
Info Gate: Yeah what he said. Come see us. And swoop that deevil 6.0, the remixed interpretation of Godemis’ “The Deevil” mixtape. Just dropped on iTunes June 1. Shit goes. We out chea. KCMO hip hop worldwide baby.