How would you describe what you are about and what you are trying to accomplish with your music?
Lafa Taylor: I am about life experience… the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly.. and about communicating that through usually danceable music..
I usually focus on the beautiful and sometimes comical but its all there…
music unites.. music saves.. music educates, music excites

Lafa has evolved into many projects, which ones are you focusing the bulk of your current energies in?
LT: Right now I am in full focus on the return of Lafa Taylor.. the singer the emcee, the producer

As a young hip-hop head in Eugene, how/when did you go from spectator to creator?
LT: I played my first real show towards the end of my high school years… First show was as “DNLT” with my homie Dan Millar.

How has moving to California expanded and/or changed your approach to music?
LT: Well, the bass music scene in the bay area has definitely influenced my music, as well as the sunshine, and active artist community in the bay.. and beyond..

Mixed Emotions is the latest EP, available for FREE download, is quite a bit more low key than previous Lafa offerings, what is the essence of this album?
LT: I wanted to explore some new sides of my musical self as well as some new sounds.. I wanted to experiment w more bass music as well as some more minimal rnb style production.. the content is about life and love..

We are excited to see you back in Eugene at the WOW Hall on 4/28/11, what else is on the agenda for Lafa in 2012?
LT: Excited to be playing lots of festivals this summer (10 or so).. and continue to release more new music…!! I will be releasing my summer schedule in a few days in my Facebook music page Here: http://www.facebook.com/LafaTaylorMusic
also I will be releasing a new original song when I reach 2,222 likes, to like if you like!

Lafa Taylor is a solo experimental hip-hop artist based out of Eugene, OR and now working out of San Bruno, CA. Keep up to date with via the Lafa Website or the Lafa FB.

Who/how did Defender come about?
Travis Lambert (Vocals): In talking with our management we decided it would be for the best to re-brand and start fresh with a new style we all loved.

Is this a side project?
TL: No sir/mam, this is the beginning of something different for WBA! [When Bears Attack] After the 27th of April WBA will be no more!

Was there a separation/split from When Bears Attack?
TL: After some thought we figured it best for our sample/synth player Aaron to step away from the band musically and just be our best bud all the time. Which was a great thing for him but it created a lot of downtime for us and as well we had time to think it over and go with what we feel is in the best interest of the band.

What is the vision for this evolution of the band?
TL: The vision is to spread more than anything positivity through our songs and through talking to people because in the current state of the genre hate is a widespread disease and love needs to find a way back in it.

How about the name, what is the story behind the selection of Defender?
TL: The name was chosen after we had about 3 including that one to choose from. It sounded the coolest!

What are some of the biggest lessons you have learned this far into your music career and how do you plan to apply those to Defender?
TL: Never stop! Continuously book, play, promote, interact at all times! That’s what we’re going to put in to practice this time around. And it doesn’t hurt to have an awesome label backing you like We Are Triumphant! Check out the Defender page Facebook.com/dfndrofficial and get a free download of our new song “Hypocrite”!

Defender (Hardcore / Illinois) is: Travis Lambert – Vocals; Luke Johnson – Guitar/Vocals; Tyler Lambert – Drums. Part of the We Are Triumphant family, keep up to date at the Defender FB.

Demon Hunter‘s 6th full length album True Defiance is out now via Solidstate Records. Rawk some local with this Seattle, WA based metal band, get more at demonhunter.net. Noted as Demon Hunter’s most aggressive album to date, the band shows no signs of letting their foot off the throat of the metal community, challenging all to check their convictions as well as create rather than copy.

Refresh on the previous hurdcore.com interview with co-founder and vocalist Ryan Clark.

(Saint Louis, Missouri)– Christian Hip Hop Artist SCOODA releases a free CD to the public. This CD is to just simply encourage people in the hard times that we all go through in life. Situations such as, losing a loved one, bills being through the roof, no car, gas prices high, no money for food, etc. SCOODA shares his feelings on how we go through rough times to make us stronger in life. There are a lot of times when we feel we need to throw in the towel but SCOODA reminds us to not give up.

In the song ‘Definition Of Understand’ (with vocals by his wife Nisie & fellow Christian Hip Hop Artist ‘MilleyBoy’) SCOODA lets us know that no matter what situations we go through, we must keep our heads up and know that there is someone who understands all that we go through and is willing to help us get through the rough times in our lives. Another uplifting song ‘Fortunate’ SCOODA shines light on how we may get picked on, talked about, and how we may even feel like we are not worth anything, but we are still ‘Fortunate’. We may not have all the things that we want, but we have what we need.

With other upbeat tracks such as the popular catchy songs ‘Soap Bars’ (featuring Robby Jerome & STLien), ‘Check Me Out’ & ‘New New’ SCOODA surely gives you something to smile and be proud about in your life! This free CD can be downloaded by going to his website of: www.iamscooda.com Feel free to share this project & if you would like to bring SCOODA to your city, event, etc. please email: bookscooda@live.com

SCOODA is (Hip Hop, St Louis) SCOODA on web, @officialscooda and FB.

“Hip Hop Push Ups is a free to anyone EP, and always will be! We challenged Web The Free Range Human to a musical duel. The idea was, Web takes relatively known songs from the 80′s and constructs them into a new instrumental, then we throw down lyrics and put it out as a freebie.” – The Dave Dwellers

Credits
Released 02 April 2012
All beats produced by Web The Free Range Human
All lyrics written by The Cave Dwellers
Album mixed by J Philly for Phil-Da-Beast Records
Album mastered by Balou The Sasquatch for Barnery

The Cave Dwellers are: J Philly and Balou The Sasquatch, Hip-Hop (Eugene, OR). Keep up to date at Cave Dweller FB

For Rhett this is the second incarnation of this concept, what were the biggest lessons you learned from Heavy Metal Chef?
Rhett Davison (Founder): Clarity and production are essential when it comes to doing something innovative in the music scene today. I was doing a lot of drugs and basically burned out. The HMC was all about sex, drugs and rockn’ roll, not about being healthy, organized and monogamous. If there was a lesson to take from the HMC, it would be to work with new bands on the rise and not on the fall. People want to hear something that is fresh and crazy, kinda like, and excuse me Jack Black while I steal a line from The P.O.D., “Electric Dynamite!”

How did the two of you meet?
RD: I am assuming you are talking about Chef Jonathan Keith, whom I met whilst slaving away at Bon Apetit’ at the Amazon campus in Seattle. If you’ve ever met Chef Jonathan, you would first notice his monolithic size – as he wears a size 16 shoe, tips the scales around 350, and stands a mere 6’4″. I will reference a Bible story once…I’m David and he is Goliath.

When/how did it become clear to the both of you that this was something you wanted to take a run at?
RD: Coming from California, I got used to nice weather. That being said, I was going crazy just working everyday and sitting on the couch watching my life pass me by. I had noticed Jonathan’s outgoing personality with patrons at work and that he had just graduated from Cordon Bleu’s Culinary Academy and the light just went off to try the idea one more time with a cleaner head and approached him with the idea.

For those that haven’t seen your work yet, what is the concept?
RD: Let me say it in a poetic way – bands are like freshly baked Focacia, we are here to butter them up and serve whilst they are still warm.

Where can fans see both your finished work and find out how to catch you live?
RD: Rock The Dish is on YouTube right now and fine tuning our edits, but if you go to YouTube and type in “Rock The Dish” you’ll find some episodes there. We will be filming LIVE Super Geek League April 20th at the Showbox in Seattle and working with the guys from BIGTOP and MACE to do some fire blowing HOW TO episodes which will be all shot outside (obviously) at the KANE FESTIVAL.

Who have you worked with so far?
RD: Big Eyes, SmokeJumper, Prophets of Addiction, Jeffertitti’s Nile, Piston Ready, KoozBane, Chadwick Stokes and the Pintos, Shoot the Hostage, Me Talk Pretty, Witchburn, The Hoot Hoots, Fox and the Law.

What have been some of the highlights for you so far?
RD: It would have to be the interview we did with the two guys from Jefferetitti’s Nile, Jeff Ramuno and Ignacio Gonzalez, with Lisa Dank in the back of their tour Van. Oh and I took Koozbane crabbing off the pier in Edmonds. We caught two HUGE sunfish (No we didn’t eat them).

You recently worked out a deal with a beverage company, how did this come about?
RD: I was thirsty. Um, Patrick with Cooper and Sons was flirting with my girlfriend and gave her his card at Trader Joes and she gave me his card so I called him. Chef Jonathan and I met him at Uptown Espresso. The rest is history. Goto our Youtube and checkout the Absynthe Commercial we did, super nifty.

What are the next steps for the Rock The Dish crew?
RD: Chef Jonathan Keith is growing his fro out to become the Bob Ross of cooking. We are always looking for the next big “THANG” so if you are in a band and you think you got what it takes, we want to cook with you.

Rock The Dish is Rhett Davison (Founder/Production) and Chef Jonathan Keith. Catching them cooking and jamming with local bands in throughout the Seattle area, as well as at the RTD Website, RTD Facebook and RTD YouTube.

Just in case it doesn’t roll off = “Dude You Are Great.” 

When we heard that Savage Fest was returning, we knew it was time to catch up with local artist and producer Riley Rose to get the skinny on what fans of heavy music can expect from the re-emergence of this spectra of local talent. With a wealth of experience attacking the music scene from several vantage points, our thanks to Riley for taking the time to share once again with hurdcore.com on the eave of Savage Fest 2.

Who have you been working with in producing and recording at Siren Studios?
Riley Rose: As of right now, I am working on a 5 song EP for a band called Show Your Strength out of Camas, WA. They are a kind of metal/hardcore crossbreed band and their music is fun to work on because it’s not my typical genre. I am also working on recording a full length for my band …And The Sirens Sang which has a metalcore feel to the music but is very driven by symphonic elements such as orchestra and piano parts.

You have worked in recording as a musician and as a producer, what have you learned as some of the keys to capturing passion in a recording?
RR: Well to be honest, basically every project that I record nowadays doesn’t really call for passion or different feels instrumentally speaking. 99% of the music is just like metalcore or hardcore and bands want everything to sound perfectly tight and choppy, so there really isn’t much room to work with specific feels or moods. Vocals though are a different story. I like screaming to sound big and passionate and so that sometimes takes vocalists a little while to really tap into the emotional aspect to bring that out. I try to push them to really feel what they are screaming and not just kind of blandly record the vocals. Singing is the same story. I just try to make everyone lay everything out on the line and not hold back at all. At the end of the day, it makes for much more powerful sounding songs.

For bands looking to record, what will you get when you work with Siren Studios?
RR: At Siren Studios, you will get the best recordings that I can possibly give you at a cost lower than 99% of local studios, as well as an audio engineer who puts in easily twice the amount of work than most to ensure that you leave satisfied. You’ll get someone who isn’t going to work any less hard than they would work on their own music. I can name several audio engineers around this area who won’t try as hard for bands that they don’t like or whatever and that’s not my thing. I want every band that comes in to record with me to leave happy and I can’t achieve that by bullsh–ting my way through a project. I ensure that the proper amount of time is taken in every stage of the project. Pre-production, where we sit down and write out the songs and make sure that all of the transitions work well together is the most critical in my opinion, and most people who you record with don’t want to take the time to do it, but I make sure it happens. This way, at the end of the project you don’t hear something and wish you would have transitioned it better or dropped tempo on it or whatever and end up not completely satisfied.

So, you are bringing Savage Fest back after a hiatus last year. For those who missed this conglomeration of local heavy music artists, what can you tell us about this years line up?
RR: I definitely am! I had a ton of fun with it two years ago, and after seeing nothing but lame local shows (minus a few exceptions obviously), I decided that it was time to bring something like this back – a showcase of some of the best that this area can offer in the metal/hardcore genre. This year’s lineup features one of the very best metalcore bands in the area, “We Rise The Tides” as headliners. Beside them will be my band “Asleep At Last”, as well as 11 other amazing bands from the area. The bill includes metalcore bands, hardcore bands, pop punk bands, old school metal bands, and death metal bands so the lineup is much more diverse. I also wanted this year’s Savage Fest to give the bands an opportunity to determine their own time slots, so I gave each band tickets and the lineup will be determined by who sells the most tickets. It is also at a much bigger venue, so I believe that this show will be better in every aspect than the previous Savage Fest 2010. Oh, and of course, this show is all about the Macho Man Randy Savage being the best wrestler ever!

When is Savage Fest II – where and how do people get tickets?
RR: Savage Fest II is on March 31, 2012 in Camas, WA at the Fern Prairie Grange. Tickets can be purchased from any band that is playing the show for $8, and you can get a full list of the lineup on Savage Fest II Facebook by searching the event. Tickets will also be available at the door for $10.

What is the status of And The Sirens Sang?
RR: Currently, …And The Sirens Sang is just my solo project instead of a full live band. I am just working on recording my first full length “II: In Death And Dreams” and I have begun writing an EP titled “I: Amore”, a second full length titled “III: Of Sin And Salvation”, a second EP, and a third full length (to be released in that order with “II: In Death And Dreams” being the first release). Every album will have a different sound than the last, and I am really excited about how everything is coming together!

There are so many bands that get through EP and even cutting their first LP, do some touring and then seem to fade away or break up, what have you learned in the last few years about the keys to staying power as a band?
RR: Well, it depends on how you’re going about the band. If you just want to play the music that you love without caring about following popular trends or anything to get big (as I feel with …And The Sirens Sang), then that part of it doesn’t really matter. If you are looking to be the next big band on Rise Records for a week, then go buy five releases from their label that are getting a lot of plays currently, spend two weeks writing a full length that rips off all of those bands’ music, autotune the s–t out of your vocals, and then make a t-shirt that says f–k on it and you should get there in no time. I think that the most important part though in creating a band that will last is doing something that isn’t the same as everything else in the genre and something with heart. You also have to build a band that is strong both as musicians, as well as individuals. You have to be able to be on the road with the people in your band without b–ching constantly or fighting every day. If that’s going on, you won’t make it because you won’t be able to play music together after a short time. You also need to have something visually appealing for an audience as far as your performance goes so that they remember you. Lastly, it is extremely important in my opinion to continually change up your sound and look. That’s how you stay big I think; by reinventing yourselves as artists.

2011 had its share of personal and professional challenges for you, what were some of the biggest lessons in life and/or music?
RR: I learned that I have to do what’s good for me. I have tried a lot to appease other people at the cost of my own feelings or whatever, and by the end of last year I just decided to not do that anymore. I’ve changed a lot in the past couple of years, and I’ve learned to just be happy with myself. I am also more determined than ever to get where I want to be in life as a musician, and I just decided that this was go time and I am going to go full speed ahead and run over anything that gets in my way. Also, I learned not to expect things of people. After doing a certain band a huge favor by filling in for them on an almost full United States tour and getting treated like s–t by them after killing myself every night and spending a lot of money out of pocket on food and s–t (which I was told I wouldn’t have to), I just said f–k that.

Top 5 songs in your personal iPod right now?
RR: AFI – “Synesthesia”, Anorexia Nervosa – “Sister September”, Mayday Parade – “Stay”, Pierce The Veil – “Besitos”, Those Who Lie Beneath – “Antichrist”, We Rise The Tides – “Rests At Sea”

Riley Rose is the owner and operator of Siren Studios and the creator of Savage Fest, currently working with several bands including his solo project …And The Sirens Sang.

Similar to sports, music requires a complete team to get your product to gain and build upon momentum. AAP Booking & Management has been fighting in the trenches with local bands for years and is on the cusp of pushing into additional layers within the national scene through aggressive grassroots efforts mixed with the kind business acumen that comes only through experience. Prepare to see their ads in respected zines such as AP as the AAP team and their cadre of talent continue to tear down the boundaries of what it means to be a local enterprise. Thanks to CEO and AAP mastermind, William Quintana, for taking the time to share with hurdcore.com

There are some new faces on the AAP Management Team since we last talked, how did this current group come together?
William Quintana (CEO): Just through time in the business. I’ve known Johnny for a few years and he’s currently booking his own band on our roster. Same thing with Matt, he’s booking for his band Nothing Til Blood. Brandon is our main designer at this point and he’s doing an incredible job! I met him through a band I’ve worked with in the past and he’s been one of the best things AAP has had happen to us.

Tell us a little about your current roster of bands.
WQ: Our current roster of bands is amazing. We have a great amount of diversity and won’t focus on just one genre/scale of music. We have signed and unsigned artist, full time/part time touring artists and everything in between. Some bands that you should DEFINITELY watch out for in 2012 are Havenside, Altars, Projections and Capture The Flag. Although, our whole roster is incredible.

As you have contiuned to grow with the business of managing artists, what have you established as some of the key things you look for when interviewing a prospective band?
WQ: The first thing I look at is a solid sound. I want good recordings and well written songs. From there I like to talk to the band and feel them out. See what they’re going to bring to our roster and vice versa. We offer a ton of different ideas and programs to our bands and I try to tailor a game plan for each band specifically.

Now that you have several years of shows and tours under your belt, what do you look for in creating a successful event?
WQ: Good bands. hahaha. That’s ultimately the core of everything we do!

They say in business that when you start out you are grasping for any sort of revenue/traction, but as you build momentum you start to develop a stronger base of quality relationships. What have been the biggest hurdles and lessons that have come out of 2011?
WQ: Expect the unexpected and learn to keep your cool. People sometimes aren’t on the same page as you and you need to do everything you can to stay calm and get your point across in the best manner possible.

What are the tactical plans for AAP growth in 2012?
WQ: More tours and more advertising. We’re purchasing advertising in issues of Alternative Press Magazine every month as of late and plan on doing so for a while.

For music fans that may be cruising iTunes for jams, what are some of the tops songs from your artists that you would recommend they take a look at?
WQ: I’d definitely recommend checking out Havenside’s new record (coming out April 3rd)! Just check out all of our bands on Facebook and keep up with what they’re doing. All of our bands are releasing new music regularly!

Best advice you can give to bands that have put the time in on the “garage sessions” and are ready to start doing work?
WQ: Be prepared to lose a lot of money, make a lot of new friends and experience a ton of stress/hardships. Everyone isn’t made for touring. If you are, you’ll know after your first few tours. If it doesn’t feel right, get out before you’re too deep.

What do you see as the most significant change(s) in music since you started AAP in 2008?
WQ: The lack of brotherhood in a lot of scenes and venues are closing down more and more regularly. We need to stick together and make sure that this community is around 20 years from now and even further.

AAP (Artist Agency & Promotions) is a full service artist development company with services ranging from booking to artist management to graphic design and much, much more. Check out AAP Web or AAP FB.

Powered by Tolli Sour Brite Crawlers and a passion to create music that challenges the ears as well as the soul, When Bears Attack continues to carve their niche in the Midwest heavy music scene. Hot off the release of their first full length album, Elisha, and their new partnership with We Are Triumphant, WBA is prepared to continue their marathon run into 2012 and beyond. Our thanks to vocalist Travis Lambert for taking the time to share in this interview with hurdcore.com

Elisha has finally been birthed and released into the world, with the long labor period that went into writing, demolishing and reworking this album what do you see as the key lesson that you learned from the process?
Travis Lambert (Vocals): A huge lesson is to never wait for anyone, get it done the way you know best and put it out! When it comes to albums you should never take a chance, especially when your release date was already planned.

The WBA sound is ever evolving, do you have an set process for how you hammer out a song or does each song take on a personality of its own?
TL: Usually includes Luke and Myself (Travis) hammering out the song with just guitar and lyrics, then we have a full band practice and start meshing everyone’s ideas together and start forming the song to our liking.

Are you conscious of pressures on your efforts to be a certain something – whether from OG fans who want you to be what WBA was, from the industry to fit into this-or-that style or even from yourselves to reach a certain sound that you are after?
TL: We are very conscious of those pressures, but not to the point that it effects our writing or our views of what we want to sound like as a band.

For 2012, who is WBA working with and what events do you plan to attack?
TL: In early 2011 we teamed up with management/label We Are Triumphant. They have been really great in pushing us forward and keeping us from staying idle for too long! We plan on doing 2 or 3 tours this summer and plan on playing Ichthus and Cornerstone festival this summer.

Now that you have been at WBA several years, what have you learned about the business side to music that are keys to “success”?
TL: Staying active, getting involved with the few great people that are in this so called “industry” and getting your name out by any means possible!

When Bears Attack! is: Aaron Nosbisch (Synth/Keys); Lucas Johnson (Lead Guitar); Tyler Lambert (Drums); Travis Lambert (Lead Vocals); Dylan Stanek (Bass/Vocals). Melodic hardcore from Collinsville, IL. Connect – WBA FB or @WhenBearsAttack. Check out their latest EP Elisha