Mick Birchall Reviews

Another year and another,  Hard Rock Hell  festival has come and gone. This year, their southern rock showcase C.R.O.W.S., had a superb line-up. I remember seeing the announcement last year and immediately wanting tickets. Not only were a few of my favourite bands playing but also it was an opportunity to see quite a few bands that I have never had the chance to watch live. This year was headed up by three massive acts, the Tasmanian guitar devil Rob Tognoni , country-rock icons Jason and the Scorchers and southern-rock legends The Kentucky Headhunters . That alone would be worth the price of admission but HRH didn't just leave it there, they stocked this weekend up with some of the finest in the outlaw and southern rock genre.  Now, because this weekend was so chalked up with excellent music, it was nearly impossible to watch every band and give them the proper time. So, this account will be everything that I saw over the weekend and I will try to give every ac...

Where do you think your passion for music came from? For me it all started in my childhood, I come from a music family, my father has always played music and still does, and I grew up with Amps and speakers/guitars/drums and Hammond organs all over the house, so for me music is part of my life ever since I can remember. So it’s kinda natural for me to play music. Who are your biggest influences? We have a lot of influences, going back to the 60/70’s, that said we have a certain love for the energy that came out in the 90s with bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, but we also listen to fuzzier and Stoner vibe bands like Fu Manchu, Clutch and Tool, and going for a more desert vibe kinda bands like Queens of the stone age. To you, what is the most important thing about playing live? The connection between the audience and the band, when it all comes together and things go to a higher level, that's really what it’s all about… take something with you hom...

Where do you think your passion for music came from? My passion really came from my dad and how much he just listened to music all the time. No one in my family was really musical but from an early age, I was just always running around singing along to whatever my dad was listening to, being a lot of Tool, Van Halen, and Pearl Jam ha. As I grew older, I just always wanted to be in a band and create art. Who are your biggest influences? My biggest influence is hands down Spencer Chamberlin of Underoath. Never really being formally trained I mimicked Underoath screaming and singing along to their albums.  To you, what is the most important thing about playing live? I think just the energy that comes with it. You’re up there performing your art and especially with us we just have so much energy. That vibe is just there, and you feel free, it’s that feeling we chase and settle for being a broke band dude for it. What is the one song you had wished you had writte...

Where do you think your passion for music came from? Well, since I was a child, my mother always encouraged me to listen to music in general. In our house there were a lot of rock band albums like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and others ... so I believe this has greatly influenced my desire to become a professional musician. Who are your biggest influences? Some of my main influences are classical bands like Dio, Rainbow, Sabbath, Priest. But in addition, I also often listen to a lot of oriental and classical music. To you, what is the most important thing about playing live? The feeling of being able to play live is something that can not be compared to anything. The energy emanating from people during some performance compensates for all the effort that was made during the recording of the studio album. What is the one song you had wished you had written? I love everything I wrote and recorded with my band so much, so I am not thinking much about other compositions that are already ...