In many ways hip hop has become a caricature of itself, where so many rappers are playing and singing hard but living soft. Not to say that the “hard life” is a desirable style, but it is inspiring to meet someone who has walked the dark roads, found the light and works through music and motorcycles to help others to change course. Whether its hitting the road with the Gorilla Gospel MC, writing rhymes cast in real life for Gorilla Gospel Records, or speaking in venues from prisons to schools with Gorilla Gospel Ministries, Todd G is putting his life story and talents to work to bring good news where it can change lives. Todd G’s latest album, The Light, is available now stacked with 11 tracks of the signature method and message of Gorilla Gospel Records featuring artists such as JB The Don (A.K.A. Preacher J), KB The New, Cool Nutz, Arjay, J-Philly, Michael Kay, Hi-Q and more.

People often hear Christian rapper and are quick to dismiss it as second class to “real rap”, how do you maintain the essence of hip-hop and share a positive message?
Todd G: I have always just rapped about my life and what I am going through. I did that as a secular rapper, and I now do that with the music I make as well. I just put the truth as I know it above everything else and record. Like Cool Nutz once told me, “There is no recipe for being real, you just are or your not.” That’s what’s up.

You are proud and ready to share your life story with others, what did it look like in your life when you first felt God moving in your life?
TG: When God first began to move in my life I didn’t want to move with Him. I had been in a groove of negativity and crime for so long that I was more comfortable there. But, God is bigger than that and had other plans for me. All the credit goes to Him because I pretty much didn’t do anything but obstruct His plans.

How do you keep fresh in your pursuit of Christ and the purpose you believe He has designed you for?
TG: I follow what we call the three legged stool. Three things: Prayer, Reading His Word, and fellowshipping with other believers. I feel like you gotta practice all three with consistency in your life to maintain balance – like a three legged stool. If things start going haywire, I can usually pin point it back to one of those areas lacking in my life. Me, personally, I gotta read my Bible everyday. Even if it’s only for a few minutes. It’s necessary, for me….and as far as His (God’s) purpose, I find that you gotta slow it down pretty often, get away, get in the quiet away from all the noise of the world that keeps us distracted. God will speak to you, it’s our job to get to where we can hear Him…Word?

Where do you draw inspiration from and who keeps you accountable to your purpose?
TG: I have a Men’s Group Bible study that meets each Tuesday. It’s basically an accountability group. I also lift weights with a guy that helps me be accountable in the gym and in life…I get inspiration from Church, The Bible, other believers, and sometimes from music. I just listened to a Lecrae album the other day and it was major as far as getting spiritually “fed”.

Gorilla Gospel is one aspect of what you do, for those who are unfamiliar with these efforts – what is Gorilla Gospel and what are you and your team doing through this medium?
TG: Gorilla Gospel is our ministry, record label and MC (Motorcycle Club). We put out records and the club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity where we ride hard and help our brothers get assimilated back into healthy lives after prison, crime, drama, whatever. It’s a brotherhood for guys like us who are headed towards the right direction and want to make our lives and the world better. Give, rather than take. My Gorillas have done a lot of taking. Now we give back. I still travel and do speaking engagements as well.

You’ve been involved with Northwest hip-hop since 1989, what have been some of the most significant changes you have seen in the scene?
TG: Shoot, the Northwest has went from a few rappers to a few rappers on every street. That’s cool. Although it does tend to get a bit over saturated and at times the over all quality of the music suffers. Home studios were the best and worst invention ever for Hip Hop. But I will say that I love the Northwest and I represent that culture and vibe world wide, literally.

You have performed locally, nationally and internationally, what are some of the fondest memories from touring outside of your base here in Oregon?
TG: My fondest memories of touring are the first time I performed over seas in a huge venue. The crowd couldn’t even speak much English but thousands of kids were chanting my name, thanks to the Norwegian host leading them, and I stood back stage holding my cordless and tried not to cry for real. I was overwhelmed with where God had taken me to share what He has done in my life and I knew in my core I really didn’t deserve it. A second chance, a second life. It was crazy. Then I went out and chopped it up! It was good. My second tour over seas “Gangsta Boogie” with Cool Nutz was amazing. We had so much fun every day and Soren, who was the chief editor of Source Magazine came with us to cover the tour for the magazine…let’s just say before we even touched down on foreign soil, the flight attendants had asked us more than once to quiet down. We argued about who the greatest rappers ever were almost the entire flight! All in good fun though. *Next time you interview Nutz, ask him about turbulence above Greenland. Now THAT’S a story.

To Die For Records is your own label, when did you start TDFD and who do you work with to produce music?
TG: To Die 4 Records was started by me, Balou The Sasquatch and Tone Only back in 1999 to release Lisa Towner’s self titled debut CD. After that, Tone went to prison for murder and we moved out of the R&B game and got back into rap. We knew that market better and we had tried to market a pop/r&b project through hip hop channels and avenues and it quite honestly didn’t work. It was fun though. Then we put out Northwest Game the Compiliation – back when independent records actually sold with very little promotion. The rest is history.

The Light is your latest release dropping in 2011, will this be classic Todd G or do you have some new elements to unleash with this album?
TG: The Light is out now. And it is an album I am very happy with. It is a bit more aggressive in parts, but again, it is very true to where I am at right now. All my records really document the time and season of life I am in. Chopper Music is Gorilla Gospel album #7 and it’s crazy! It’s like hardcore west coast rap for new school bikers mixed with my testimony and our club biz. It’s cool. At least I think so. lol.

What else is in the mix for Todd G in 2011?
TG: This year we are going hard with the motorcycle club. We just got back from the Laughlin River Run in Nevada and we are on a roll. We got a lot of runs and events coming up soon. Check out www.gorillagospel.com for the updates.

Todd G (Hip Hop – Porltand, OR) latest album The Light (Gorilla Gospel Records) is available now at CD Baby, keep up to date at www.toddgministries.com

Hurdcore.com is local music, local art and local entertainment. Local music reviews, interviews, event promotion, art and entertainment collaboration. Whether hardcore, punk, indie or rap. Check in throughout the week, friend us on myspace and join us facebook.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Portland, Oregon based Fallstar takes a unique approach to the heavy music genre, delivering ambient infused hardcore on the very non-traditional label Come and Live Records. Teaming with the likes vision fueled standouts such as C&L and Veil Arms Clothing, the members of Fallstar are giving their music away while still cutting albums, hitting the road and growing a devoted fan base in the heavy music scene. As crazy as it sounds, many bands, fans and businesses want to be a part of something bigger than money alone and in doing so find a way to survive with their art and mission intact. Special thanks to Jameson Ketchum of Cadence PR for setting up this hurdcore.com interview with Fallstar bassist Bryan Ratzlaff as the band releases their debut album Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter. on Come and Live Records.

So every band looks forward to being signed by a label. At any point were you guys thinking, “Yes! We’ve finally been signed by a label – wait, they want us to do WHAT?!”
Bryan Ratzlaff – Bass: Ha Ha. Yes, there was definitely a point where that was going through our minds. But honestly we never worried much about the concept of giving out music away for free. Of course there was the question of, “How are we going to make any money and live on the road if we give our music away as a gift?” In the end we all agreed to go where God wants us, and every one of us felt a heavy push in the direction of Come&Live! If God asks us to go into an organization that asks that we give our music for free then he will make a way for us to support ourselves financially.

What about C&L made this the right fit for you?
BR: The biggest difference in C&L! is that it really isn’t a traditional record label. We learned quite a bit about the music industry and how labels work through shopping out R.R.I. And we found that most times those labels are nothing that we want to be a part of. We as individuals and as a band don’t care about making excessive amounts of money, and for the most part every label we talked to cared a whole lot. Not that wanting to make money is a bad thing, we just believe that the vision of C&L! is much more in tune to the Fallstar’s vision. We want to spread the message of Jesus, and we want to do that by playing music, from the beginning C&L has always wanted to support us in doing just that.

How do you approach the aspect of your lives where you would like to be living off of the music?
BR: I personally am just taking that step by step. I think it would be unwise to count on making enough money to live comfortably just by playing music, but I don’t believe it to be impossible. For now everything that the band makes just goes back into the band, weather it be to pay for new merch, and recording, or paying back band members, nobody is pocketing anything yet. All the guys have some alternate way of making money weather it be a regular job, or selling their blood plasma. Maybe some day Fallstar will be able to pay all of our bills but for now we are all just excited to be able to travel and play the music that we love.

Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter. are all adjectives in reference to Christ, what about these particular attributes stand out to you?
BR: These three words are really the process in which we have seen Jesus come to the aid of people who want his help. First he welcomes us back to himself with open arms, erasing all the bad things we have done and makes us clean. This part is pretty rad, there is actually a physical relief when we come back to God, like you just dropped a set of weights you didn’t know you were carrying. Then we are refined by God, as soon as we come back he starts working on us, straightening out all of the kinks and dents we have accumulated over the years. And finally “Igniter” is describing the way God’s spirit in us reacts with our souls. It is very close to the way a fire consumes a pile of wood, but instead of using us up and turning us to nothing, when God ignites souls we see men and women become something that never would have surfaced without God.

Are you Christians who make music that happens to also be Christian in tone or do you purpose to use your music as an expression of your faith?
BR: We write as an expression of our faith. People usually write about what impacts them the most, many times that will be girls, romantic relationships, politics etc. But what we have seen in Jesus blows all of those things out of the water. We have all seen how knowing God heals hurting lives and fixes broken families and we can’t help but write about that. We would be doing ourselves and everybody a disservice if we were to write about anything less.

How has music been a vehicle for growing in your personal faith?
BR: For me being in Fallstar and playing shows has been my church. The experiences that we have had with other people, and being on the road are what have grown me the most. I worry about very few things these days. I’m not scared about how I am going to make money in the future. I’m not phased when a wheel breaks off of our bus the day before we go on tour. We have had more crappy things happen to us than I can count, but God always brings us out of us in better shape than we were in before. It has been proven to us that we are taken care of.

Did you grow up in church? How/when did Christ become something personal for you?
BR: I grew up going to church. Every single Sunday for 19 years I would go, but my faith only became really my own a few years ago. I wanted to see God for myself, I had heard all about him in church and from my family, but I never really saw or felt anything that I could say was definitely God. So a while ago I decided that I needed to see him for myself. Chris speaks a lot about how each of us in the band had to find God on our own, what I did was go into my closet with all the lights off and started praying, asking God to show up. I resolved that I wasn’t going to leave that closet until I got an answer, and I got one. That is when Jesus became real for me.

Do you remember the first album/song that sucked you into the influence of heavy music?
BR: The Agony Scene – We Bury Our Dead at Dawn. When I was 13 I got a Solid State records sampler when I bought a shirt of some Tooth & Nail band that I really liked. I put the CD in and was blown away. I had never heard anything that moved me the way heavy music does. The level of energy and passion inside of heavy music got me instantly hooked.

What were the events and circumstances that lead to the formation of Fallstar?
BR: Fallstar has a crazy story. There have been more members in the band than I can count on two hands, and looking back, the chances of the current lineup being in same band together are really very low. I didn’t even play an instrument until I joined Fallstar. Jason lived in a tiny town called Monmouth 70 miles away and was told by a mutual friend to try out. Cody met a friend of ours through Craigslist and was in 2 different bands when we met him. Somehow everything worked out to where we can all play music together.

Is there any significance behind the name Fallstar?
BR: The name Fallstar comes from a story about Chris’ and my dad. A few years back he learned some pretty horrible things about his past and his family and really wanted a fresh start. So he decided that he would change his last name to disassociate himself from those things. Our last name is Ratzlaff, which if spelled backwards is essentially Fallstar, which he now goes by. We saw that as a beautiful illustration of how Jesus takes us and changes us and gives us a clean slate to start over.

Fallstar (Hardcore/Ambient – Portland, OR) is: Chris Ratzlaff – Vocals; Jason Brown – Guitar; Justin Hagg – Guitar; Cody Carrier – Drums; Bryan Ratzlaff – Bass. Their debut full length album, Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter. is available now on Come & Live Records. Keep up to date with the band via their facebook and download their album for FREE at comeandlive.com.

Applying the hurdcore.com spin to album reviews, band bios and artist interviews. Covering local metal, hip-hop and indie artists and events from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Illinois and far beyond. Interviews with local bands posted every Sunday, friend us on myspace and join us facebook.

What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? - Jesus

Fallstar’s Debut Full Length Record Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter. (Come & Live Records) Out now and available for free download at C&L! Website

(from Cadence PR – March 29, 2011) Visit www.comeandlive.com right now to download the album that’s been garnering rave reviews from all over the globe. Emerging from Portland, Oregon, Fallstar’s Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter. has been called raw, progressive and one of the best releases of 2011 so far. The band has opted to give away the album as a free gift through Come and Live! so enjoy this gift and if you feel so inclined, donate a buck or two! It’s your choice!

“A dynamic and eclectic album, Fallstar is doing something we rarely see these days in this genre; employing originality! The record easily shifts between crushing breakdowns and melodic bliss while still maintaining a consistent feel and message throughout.” –AMP Magazine

The record itself is one of the best of 2011, combining beautifully soaring vocals with breakdowns that pride themselves on precision. –Substream Music Press

“This album has earned itself a spot on the regular rotation around here. I, myself have probably listened to it 6 or 8 times this week alone, beating out releases from several major label national bands.” -Kingdomextrememag.com

“This record will surely stand out among the never ending wave of emerging artists in this genre and will once again prove that there is originality out there. Don’t expect Fallstar to be flying under the radar for much longer.” –Hopecore.com Magazine

Fallstar (Hardcore – Portland, OR) is: Chris Ratzlaff/Vocals; Justin Haag/Guitar; Bryan Ratzlaff/Bass; Jason Brown/Guitar; Cody Carrier/Drums. Fallstar’s debut full length album Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter (Come & Live Records) is available now at comeandlive.com (free download). Keep up to date with Fallstar via Facebook (www.facebook.com/fallstar777) and Twitter @fallstar777.

Hurdcore.com is open to new partnerships to promote local music. Contact us to discuss opportunities for album reviews, event promotion or content management – hurdcore@gmail.com (be specific in subject line). Keep rocking local, friend us on myspace and join us facebook.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – Jesus

As a follow up to our full interview with Portland progressive hardcore band Bring Me Solace, we offer this encore blitz with vocalist Josh. Read the full hurdcore.com interview with Josh and Garret of Bring Me Solace from earlier this year HERE.

One of our songs that personally means a lot to me… Of Solitude because I wrote it after going through a stint of depression. To me its a song of healing. If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment I would purchase for the band is… Keyboard or synth! …maybe even a key-tar. One unforgettable experience as a performer that taught me volumes about music… Seeing how intense the pit was and the extremely positive reaction we got at the It Prevails show we played this past June. It was pretty incredible. For me music is… an extension of myself. Current trend in music/scene that bugs me… Pretty much trends in general bug me, it keeps true creativity suppressed. People should just listen to the music based on their personal music tastes. Don’t be afraid to be different.

Currently reading Anger: Wisdom for cooling the flames by Thich Nhat Hanh. Currently watching The Office season DVD’s. Favorite movie Step Brothers. Top 5 songs in my personal ipod right now… “Chrono” The Ghost Inside, “Whether to cry or Destroy” Shai Hulud, “Fever Dreams” Circa Survive, “The Walk” Periphery, and pretty much any song off of the album Diamond Eyes by Deftones. Any crazy pre-performance rituals? Blueberry Green tea and honey. everything the body needs. What are the weapons of choice for your band? A sack of oranges.

Bring Me Solace is a 5 piece Progressive Metal band from Portland, Oregon whose current roster includes: Garret/Drums, Cory/Guitar, Josh/Vocals, Brandon/Bass and Adam/Guitar. Listen to the music, keep up to date via the BMS Myspace and keep an eye out for their debut EP “Nomadic Refuge” to release soon.

Applying the hurdcore.com spin to album reviews, band bios and artist interviews. Covering local metal, hip-hop and indie artists and events from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Illinois and far beyond. Interviews with local bands posted every Sunday, friend us on myspace and join us facebook.

What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? - Jesus

Video for City of God (Hardcore – Portland, Oregon) – “Song I”. This is City Of God’s debut music video from their EP. This song will be featured on there upcoming LP.

City Of God – “Song I” music video from Shawn Shannon on Vimeo.

City of God is a five piece collaboration of aspiring musicians rising from within the local Portland, Oregon music scene to pursue their dreams of global hardcore dominance. Read our full interview with City of God bass/vocalist Josh from earlier this year HERE. COG (Hardcore/Christian – Gresham, OR) is: James – Vocals; Steve – Guitar/Vocals; Zackk – Guitar/Vocals; Josh – Bass/Vocals; Mike – Drums.

This video was directed By Shawn Shannon, Filmed on location in Portland – More about COG (myspace.com/cityofgod503) more about All Made Up Films (myspace.com/allmadeupfilms)

Music news, reviews and interviews posted weekly at hurdcore.com. Partnering with artists, fans and venues to fan the flames of local ambition. Hurdcore supports local rock, pop, hip-hop and metal from Northwest to the Midwest. Keep reppin’ local, friend us on myspace and join us facebook.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 14:12

Our introduction to Bring Me Solace came as part of the showcase of local talent at Savage Fest earlier this year. While Bring Me Solace is fairly new to launch upon the Portland area melodic/progressive metal scene, it doesn’t take long for fans to recognize the degree to which these gentlemen are dedicated to developing their sound. Blending technical savvy with dynamic metal and lyrics pregnant with philosophical pursuits, these Portland based musicians are preparing to release their debut EP “Nomadic Refuge.” Bring Me Solace provides tunes for fans who enjoy hardcore that utilizes the mids, as opposed to dwelling solely in the lowest regions of tone, a baseline that walks further in a single set than you probably did for the entire year, pace setting double bass and thought provoking lyrics.

The Bring Me Solace approach to music and lyrics comes across as very thoughtful and precise, what does the typical writing process look like for you dudes?
Josh (Vocals) & Garrett (Drums) As far as the music writing process, we write our songs starting with Cory, Brandon and Adam, combining riffs and bass lines, but always using a drum machine and laying down a foundation of how we think the drums may sound while we write. Everything comes together almost simultaneously, and Brandon and Cory have a HUGE part in the drum writing process. Garret looks over the drums, learns parts, and changes things that he may want to do differently, though usually we have a pretty good idea how they will be while we write guitars and bass. When it comes to vocals Josh and Brandon generally are the ones who write the lyrics. Some songs we literally write to the song and others we may use pre-existing lyrics and fit them to a song, fully finished or not. After lyrics have been written and we feel that they flow with the song we will revise them together and change certain vocal patterns, if needed. The writing process for us is very much “democratic” in the sense that we all have our say and encourage each other to come forth any creative ideas or concerns.

What is in a label? You are listed as progressive hardcore, how much emphasis do you place on that designation and what does it mean for your sound?
J&G Ya know, we chose those because out of the options given, they seem to fit us best. We are definitely metal, we are definitely progressive, and we always try to make things melodic and dynamic. We can get a bit technical at times, but we try not to overdo it. We don’t really care how people classify us really, we compose music we solely enjoy and hope that others will be able to feel it and enjoy it as much as we do. We don’t follow necessarily what the trend may be at the time or judge our direction or what we should do according to what is going on out there. Though, we would never want to continue writing music that may get old, or become unpopular, we feel our music is fairly well-rounded and diverse enough to hopefully be able to just be heard and appreciated no matter what direction the metal/hardcore scene takes.

A band that skates together stays together, right?! How has your friendship developed and been tested as you embark upon this journey as a band?
J&G Man, I sure would think, but I guess that’s not always the case. Four of us come from heavy skating backgrounds, and two of us love to ride motocross, so it all works out well. We are fortunate to be grouped together because we get along so incredibly well. We have all grown to be straight up best friends and basically brothers, and as hard as it can be with bands, we are pretty confident disagreement or conflict won’t be a factor if/when this group disbands. So far we haven’t done much touring at all, so I guess we could say the real fun, or testing hasn’t even taken place yet, but just from all our personalities and how well we get along in general, we don’t expect too many rough roads when it comes to that, but then again we understand being a band can be rough at times and that we are nothing close to immune those situations.

You are hard are work recording your debut EP, how is this going and who are you working with?
J&G We are in the process of writing and recording our first official release. This release is going to be a six-song EP titled “Nomadic Refuge” and if things go smoothly we plan to have this released by late October. We are self-recording this EP with our guitarist Cory Smith. All of our recordings have been self-recorded by Cory.

Your song “Of Solitude” seems to touch on Pantheistic-esque perspectives, do you identify with a specific belief in this regard?
J&G I’m really glad you caught that underlining theme within the lyrics. The song is basically realizing that nothing is external to you and finding peace in that concept. I cant speak for the rest of the guys but as far believing in a higher power, the pantheistic view of God makes more sense to me, personally, than the Judeo-christian or any other incarnation.

Christian bands often have the battle whether they are a Christian band or Christian in a band – are you a Buddhist band? Are you reppin’ Buddha-core?
J&G Haha, great question. Were definitely not a “Buddhist band”, nor are we a “Christian band” or anything of that sort. A few of us are quite interested and practice Buddhism, and a couple of us are technically not engaged in any religion whatsoever, though we all are very much interested in religion and science, and all that good stuff. Many of us read about that kind of stuff, and really just like to think of the “wonders” of the world, culture, and all the crazy mysteries and whatnot that lie “out there”. …And on that note, we tend to end up discussing those topics quite frequently amongst ourselves, and quite often ha ha. …I wouldn’t say were reppin’ Buddha-core, but dang if you know anyone that is, hook us up with a show with them!

The chorus for Nomadic Refuge declares, “Our salvation is in the bare essentials. They can’t hold me down. I won’t ever submit. I will always prevail.” Salvation has become a broad term, for the purposes of this song what do you mean by “salvation” (from what)?
J&G Basically Nomadic Refuge is about the purest form of freedom which is without government and authority. Living outside of the lines of society and the cookie-cutter way of life. In the song, salvation means to live as a nomad, which means to migrate from place to place and live off the land. In this way we could create an equilibrium for all living beings which in turn leads to our ultimate salvation of peace amongst this universe. Of course I use the term nomadic as an artistic term rather than literal. Its basically a metaphor for living life the way life was meant to be lived, in harmony.

Bring Me Solace is a 5 piece Progressive Metal band from Portland, Oregon whose current roster includes: Garret/Drums, Cory/Guitar, Josh/Vocals, Brandon/Bass and Adam/Guitar. Listen to the music and keep up to date via the BMS Myspace. See them live at The Satyricon 10/8/10 w/ Across The Sun, Regiment 26 and Chin Up Rocky and keep an eye out for their debut EP “Nomadic Refuge” to release soon. Read our review of the BMS performance @ Savage Fest from earlier in 2010.

Hurdcore.com is open to new partnerships to promote local music. Contact us to discuss opportunities for album reviews, event promotion or content management – hurdcore@gmail.com (be specific in subject line). Keep rocking local, friend us on myspace and join us facebook.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – Jesus

As a follow up to our full length interview with Josh of City of God, we offer this encore which continues to peel back the layers of this Portland based hardcore band. To read our hurdcore.com exclusive interview with bass and vocalist Josh link HERE. City Of God is carving their musical message upon the concrete canvases and scene savvy fans of their local scene. In their own words, “We look to the coming of the city of God as a day in which the old pains and the old struggles will melt away. We are ordinary men who love Jesus, and we all have stories to tell about His goodness.”

Song that personally means a lot to me… Can’t be tamed (Miley Cyrus). If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment I would purchase for the band is… a cat or two. Current trend in music/scene that bugs me… closed minds. Current trend in music/scene that is positive… hardcore will never die! Currently reading… your [hurdcore.com] questions. Currently watching… The Hills (Team Spencer). Top 5 songs in my personal iPod right now… Serpant Servant by Impending Doom (Micheal); Song for the broken by Close Your Eyes (Zack); Casey Jones by Grateful Dead (Josh); A Manditory Sacrifice by Oceano (James); Bruticus by Shockwave (Andrew). Any crazy pre-performance rituals? We sacrifice a goat and pour the blood on our instruments. It’s called prayer. Best memory that comes to mind from a show/tour… There was a Christmas show with Fallstar at Noisebox. There was an awesome turnout and James was praying in the back room way before we got on to do our set. Once we rang out for the first song the entire room went nuts, we don’t recall anyone sitting still. It was so rad to worship with all those kids. Worst memory that comes to mind from a show/tour… There was one show where everyone stood in a circle like 30 feet away from us, nobody moved and it was awkward. They were probably uncomfortable with all the cameras filming us for a documentary.

City of God > Hardcore/Christian > Gresham, Oregon is:
James – Vocals; Steve – Guitar/Vocals; Zackk – Guitar/Vocals; Josh – Bass/Vocals; Mike – Drums. Check out their music and tours on the COG Myspace.

Local and national band interviews and reviews provided weekly, typically fresh interview posted every Sunday with additional content posted throughout the week fresh from hurdcore.com and our friends. From Seattle to Portland, Spokane to Eugene and Davenport through Chicago, we are expanding local outposts to cover local hardcore, metal and hip-hop bands from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa and beyond. Stay tuned to hurdcore.com, friend us on myspace and join us facebook. Hurdcore is open to partnerships to promote local arts, music and entertainment as well as advertising opportunities – hurdcore@gmail.com – be specific in “subject” line.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

Earlier in May hurdcore.com introduced readers to Portland, Oregon hardcore/screamo band …And The Sirens Sang (ATSS Interview), as they prepare for their West Coast Get Downz Tour to kick off June 19th in Camas, Washington we wanted to to reset your appetite for local rock.

Is there a song that gives you the most trouble live?
Will Breitner (Guitar/Vocals) Definitely “Life Through The Eyes Of A Drowning Man” because it is the most technical.
Will Terada (Guitar/Vocals) I’m gonna have to go with Will B on this one. “Life Through The Eyes Of A Drowning Man” is by far our most technical song, but it’s also one of the most fun to play, for me personally.
Patrick Shannon (Vocals) “Au revoir, My Love” for me because, it has a large variety of vocal ranges, and is a pretty decent length song.
Brady Johns (Keys) All of them because I still don’t know all of the songs, Its all improv for the most part for me. I know chunks of songs but not all of it.

If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment that I would purchase for the band is…?
WB Recording of a new demo with Neil Engle (we’re doing this in September) and then either more merch or the big light boxes we’re gonna make for the stage!
WT Well if he’s got the merch, I’d say a new P.A. system of our own.
PS Being a vocalist, I would say get everyone Shure Beta 58′s and pay the audio technician at Hawthorne to work magic on them for better sound.

Trend that you have noticed that you will never join?
WB Crunk-core. Nuff said.
WT Anything that sounds like 3OH!3, or Kesha…
PS Well the Wills pretty much stole the words from my mouth
BJ Emocore.

Currently reading ____, listening to ____ and/or watching ____?
WB Reading – The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown), Listening to – Dimmu Borgir’s “The Sacreligious Scorn”, Watching – Eastbound And Down.
WT Reading – Harry Potter (all of them, over and over again.); Listening to – As I Lay Dying’s new cd “The Powerless Rise”; Watching – The Office: Season 5.
PS Reading – World of Warcraft: Rise of the Lich King, Listening to – City and Colour’s “Sometimes”, Watching – The Office (ALL SEASONS.)

Best book you’ve ever read, why?
WT In my opinion, the Harry Potter series. It has an amazing story line that was able to be built upon for 7 books, it has amazing character development where you can actually watch them mature as you read through the series in everything they do, it has action, drama, suspense, comedy, love stories, etc. I think it’s just a very well rounded series in all aspects. And it’s good for people of all ages.
WB I think Will T said it perfectly. I’m either gonna go with the Harry Potter series or the Angels & Demons, The DaVinci Code and The Lost Symbol series by Dan Brown which is simply phenomenal.
PS I’m not a big reader. Two books i have greatly enjoyed are, The Outsiders By SE Hinton, and Marilyn Mansons autobiography, “The Long Hard Road out of Hell”
BJ The Bible because it’s all real.

Any crazy pre-performance rituals?
WB Changing my clothes ten times hahaha
WT Smoke lots of cigarettes. For some reason, I always get compliments that my voice sounds great after a set when I smoke about 3 cigs right before we go on. haha I don’t quite get it.
PS I jump around, try and exercise to relieve stress.

When you are a diva/rockstar the three things that you will demand be in your dressing room are?
WB Jagermeister & Guiness, steak & baked potatoes for after the show and a lady hahaha
WT A 16 oz, medium-rare steak for after we play, 2 six packs of Dead Guy Ale, and an xbox 360 set up with Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
PS Vast amount of Laffy Taffy, Dead Guy Ale or Rockstar Energy Drink, and The Office on TV.
BJ A warm silk robe, dimmed lighting, and Usher blaring so loud that it vibrates the walls.

Band you have shared the stage with that blew you away?
WB For me I would have to say either Whitechapel, Through The Eyes Of The Dead or Rose Funeral.
WT I would have to say Abigail Williams. Being able to play with them was a huge honor as a fan, and it was awesome to play my set, and then get off stage and be blasted with such a sonic, American Black Metal assault as theirs. hah
PS So far, Keeping Secrets for sure. Love those guys!
BJ Jack Devore.

Top 5 songs in your personal ipod right now?
WB AFI- “Synesthesia”, The Black Dahlia Murder- “A Vulgar Picture”, Emarosa- “Head Or Tails, Real Or Not?”, Matt Kennon- “The Call” and Rose Funeral- “Left To Rot”.
WT The Black Dahlia Murder- “Climactic Degredation”, As I Lay Dying- “Parallels”, Travie McCoy- “Billionaire”, Veil Of Maya- “Unbreakable” and The Devil Wears Prada- “Louder Than Thunder”.
PS Our Last Night- “ELEPHANTS”, Alexisonfire- “To a Friend”, City and Colour- “Casey’s Song”, Dance Gavin Dance- “Open Your Eyes and Look North” and Whitechapel- “Possession”.
BJ Justin Bieber- “One Less Lonely Girl”, Usher- “Moving Mountains”, Matisyahu- “King Without a Crown”, A Tale Through Audio- “The Touch” and Job For A Cowboy- “Entombment of a Machine”.

Best and worst experience at a show?
WB My best experience was seeing AFI and being right in front of my idol, guitarist Jade Puget. It was the most amazing thing to see the band that made me want to play music live. I’m not really sure what my worst experience was at a show. Probably something to do with a dumb kid starting some bullshit over something dumb.
WT My best was defintitely being able to meet Trevor Strnad (vocalist) and Brian Eschbach (rhythm guitarist) of The Black Dahlia Murder before seeing them at the Hawthorne Theater, and then screaming every word along with Trevor, Brian, and Bart Williams (bassist). I was as giddy as a 12 year old girl when they told me after the show that they appreciated seeing me scream every word, and they loved hangin out with me after the show. As one of my absolute favorite bands, they’ve changed my life and my views on music. For the worst, I’d have to say it was in Redding, CA when I was on tour with my last band, Bedlam Massacre. It was the last show of tour with PDX Hardcore band “Proven,” and we just wanted to get home. The venue didn’t book a P.A. system and told us we had to get our own; the locals tried to make us, the touring bands, open the show; the locals decided to get a P.A. from their friends, who brought it an hour late (which turned into us being an hour late, somehow), and on top of all that, we’re all a bunch of very tired, worn out metalheads, who really didn’t want to deal with any more crap on the road aftet dealing with multiple breakdowns, and money issues. Long story short, what should’ve been a decent last show almost turned into a giant street fight. It was terrible.
PS Best for me was standing right in front of Dallas Green as he performed in Alexisonfire at the Roseland. He is one of my favorite musicians and a big insipiration, and seeing him live was very big for me. Worst expirience thus far is, playing a show at Pop Culture recently with a cold. My voice was pretty bad from the cold to start and the PA had so much running through i couldn’t be heard. I screamed my lungs out and messed up my throat for about three days.

Read the full Interview w/ …And The Sirens Sang from May 2010 HERE

…And The Sirens Sang > Hardcore/Screamo > Portland, Oregon > is Will Breitner (Guitar/Vocals); Will Terada (Guitar/Vocals); Patrick Shannon (Vocals); Brady Johns (Keyboards); Sam Okutsu (Bass) and Joey Luna (Drums). Keep an eye out for their Sirens EP and full length to be releasing SOON – catch them on the West Coast GET DOWNZ TOUR kicking off June 19, 2010 at The Revolution Room in Camas, Washington. Updates and info at ATSS Myspace.

For more information on local music, band interviews, concert updates and promotional content. Local bands, artists, concerts, venues, tours and events from rock, hip-hop, metal, pop, punk, hardcore, acoustic, indie, organic, progressive, funk, rap and more. Stay tuned to hurdcore.com, friend us on myspace and join us facebook Hurdcore is open to partnerships to promote local arts, music and entertainment as well as advertising opportunities – hurdcore@gmail.com – be specific in “subject” line.

Red and blue flashing lights often cause as stimulating an effect as the eardrum shattering screams that interrupt the regular murmur of everyday life. While the sensory alarm often drives us to quickly attempt to identify where the blitz is coming from as well as where it is going, the sight and sound of sirens clearly communicate that something is going on. Music can similarly serve as a beckoning to recognize and engage the opportunities within our lives. If we fail to participate music can become absorbed into the backdrop of life rather than ringing out as a soundtrack to accent our lives. Music is not life but it sure helps to make life more interesting and in special cases can even inspire. If you identify with pain and have a consuming drive for an expanding depth in sound then you may have no closer musical avatar than Portland, Oregon based melodic hardcore band …And The Sirens Sang. Combining screaming vocal harmonies, breakdowns from dueling guitars, layers of emotive keys and an ingenuity that filters through every aspect of their collective expression through music …And The Sirens Sang is hard at work in the studio and on a stage near you.

You mention in your bio, “We’ve gone through some member changes, genre changes, and we’ve gone through more hardships than any band should and more than most bands have.” Would you care to elaborate on what you’ve gone through as a band and where you are at now?
Will Breitner (Guitar/Vocals) Well, we’ve gone through a total of about 15 members to finally find the right lineup which we currently have. A lot of bands have the luxury of only having to change 1 or 2 members, but we have had two different full lineups so it is very difficult in that sense. Also, we went down to California to play a single show last December because we were told that a Record Label A&R was going to be there to check out our music and hopefully work with us. Unfortunately, this was a lie and he really just wanted to steal all of our equipment, clothes, laptops, etc. after our van exploded and left us stranded in Southern Oregon with no money or transportation. After that happened, we had to buy all new equipment, a new van, and a new trailer so that set us back incredibly far.

What is the significance behind the name …And The Sirens Sang?
WB I came up with the name to tie into the first full length album where a girl dies. The name refers to ambulance sirens on this first full length. Possibly after our second full length (which will be a continuation and conclusion of the concept on the first full length), we are thinking about having it refer to the ancient sirens that lure sailors with their beautiful voices and features. That way, our name will have more than just one meaning.

Is there something other than the common drive to create music that musically and lyrically wrestles beneath the surface of And The Sirens Sang?
WB Our music deals deeply with heartbreak, both lyrically and musically. Our music is very melodic and we have a lot of really big parts that are meant to be very heart-felt. We write about sorrow and the music is very emotionally driven.

We’ve seen, or more aptly, heard the use and misuse of keys within the hardcore genre where there are bands who accent their sound with synth, And The Sirens Sang has really brought out and made keys a consistent layer within your sound. Did you purposely set out to push the limits of key-core or how did your sound in that sense evolve?
WB Well when I started the project, I wanted to make it very big and dense sounding and I wanted it to be as melodic as homanly possible. I love it when bands have parts with strings and piano under the other parts in the song, those are always my favorite parts! That said, I wanted to be in a band that had that kind of sound the whole way through the album. Our keyboardist Brady is a phenominal pianist and has a great mind for writing keyboard parts into metal music, and because of that, we definitely do try to make the keys a main focus in the music.
Patrick Shannon (Vocals) I actually remember Will saying how he at one point wanted an orchestra in the band. Kind like an Apocalyptica sound.
Brady Johns (Keys) I would love to have at least a string quartet involved in our music along with my piano parts. It would be epic!

With as much work as you all do within And The Sirens Sang and your projects outside of the band (IE Siren Studios and King Arthur Booking), what seems to be the key to getting local fans engaged in the music?
WB Constant promotion and playing shows as much as humanly possible! We’re really working hard on building up a local fanbase, but honestly it’s difficult to get kids around here interested in anything that isn’t deathcore or hardcore. Kids around here just don’t show up and represent for melodic music with heart in it like they used to, so it’s really difficult right now.
Will Terada (Guitar/Vocals) Also, being in multiple bands/projects is a great way to get your other musical ventures heard. So if people go to the ATSS myspace, they will see our other projects on our top friends, and hopefully want to check those out as well.

Do you ever take it personally when a crowd is slow to interact?
WB Not at all. Like I said above, I don’t see a huge appreciation anymore around here for melodic music so when kids aren’t throwing down to us I’m not really worried about it. We just try to mix it up and throw breakdowns and two steps in here and there to get the kids pumped up.
WT I sometimes get a little bummed, but I realize that not everyone is going to like our music. We have a lot of pretty parts in our music, and not all the people in the crowd are going to want to hear it. However, I think we do have a well rounded set since we do have the pretty, melodic parts but we also incorporate breakdowns, some metalcore riffage, and even a few slight elements of thrash.
PS Not at all. As the vocalist, I try and be as active as possible to bring energy to the crowd, as does the rest of the band. I’ll tell people to move around and actually have some fun! When we do have kids moving it definitely gets us all pumped!
BJ I could really care less how the crowd reacts. I personally prefer it more if the audiance just watches, but if they throw down thats cool too.

In assessing the scene, do you think that hardcore has become too cool for its own good?
WT Yes and no. Because on one hand it is music. And while I believe that all music should be respected whether I personally like it or not, it can get overplayed to the point of it losing it’s flavor. I am a fan of the hardcore scene. I wouldn’t consider myself to be one of the “Hardcore Kids,” but I do like the music. I just think that it’s at the point where it’s cool to be in a hardcore band, and most just do the same thing over and over again.
PS Yes I believe so. The only thing that grinds my gears about this, is at Will T said, ‘It’s at the point where it’s cool to be in a hardcore band…’ therefore there are too many bands out there with the same sound! No originality or talent.

As fans of music, as people and performers, how do you combat the pressure to be a certain something for the purpose of attaining success as opposed to doing what comes naturally or creating what you truly want to express?
WT Well as fans of music, we listen to what has already been done to attain success and feed off of it, instead of just copying every other band out there. For example, some of our main influences are As I lay Dying (AILD HC:Interview), The Devil Wears Prada, and Emarosa. We try to take influence from all those bands and throw it in a blender to create our own style and sound. That way it truly does come out as how we want to express it lyrically and instrumentally.

You’ve recorded an EP and are currently working on a full length album. How soon do you expect to have this work released upon the nation?
WB Well we are working as hard as possible to get it released extremely soon! It all boils down to money really. We’re poor and we’re doing our best to get our EP printed, but I don’t think it’s going to happen until July or so. As for the full length, as soon as we get the EP in print we will be saving up to record our full length at Interlace Audio (Emarosa, Dance Gavin Dance) in Portland, OR with engineer Neil Engle. It is going to cost us over $4,000 to record the album, so realistically we are aiming to do it around February of 2011. We will be setting up benefit shows after we get home from our summer tours to save up for the recording of the album and we would really appreciate it if everyone would come out and show us some support so we can get this thing out as soon as possible! We also have shirts and demos in stock at all times, so PLEASE pick one up so we can order our EPs, new merch and begin saving!

You’ve mentioned that this album is almost a split of reworking several previous songs as well as adding new ones, what are the sound dynamics and lyrical themes of this album?
WB Well it is basically the first EP and 6 new songs. We are re-working all of the songs on the EP to make them more mature sounding and the full band will be working on re-writing bass and piano parts as well as some of the lead guitar parts and vocals so it will be much more full sounding. There will also be a TON of vocal harmonies on it, which I am very excited about. As far as the new stuff goes, it is faster, more technical and the breakdowns are a lot heavier. Lyrically, it is a continuation of the “Sirens” EP and it completes the first half of the concept that we have written out. I don’t want to give away the concept, but we will be posting a full story that spans this part of the concept when the album is released!

With so many members and musical influences, what does the typical writing process for And The Sirens Sang look like?
WB Well for the whole first EP, I wrote and recorded everything (minus screams) so it was just me sitting down and writing music. It has since changed since it has turned from a solo project to a full band. Now, I will sit down and write basically a skeleton for a song and then our other guitarist Will Terada will come in and change guitar parts here and there where he has a better idea. After the guitar parts are re-worked and we are both satisfied enough to show the songs to the band, we will sit down and learn the songs with our bassist Sam Okutsu so we can all start jamming it out at practice and our drummer Joey Luna can get a feel for it. Then, me and our keyboardist Brady Johns will sit down and jam on the stuff just the two of us so he can write out keyboard parts to the songs and not have a million things going on while he’s trying different parts. That’s basically how our music is written now.
WT And while all of that is going on, our vocalist Patrick Shannon listens and gets ideas down for all of his vocal patterns and lyrics.
PS Haha yeah, I pretty much just spit out nonsense in different vocal patterns until I build a good sounding structure.

How do you work the play between the guitars and divide the vocal responsibilities?
WB Well me and Will T switch off on the leads in certain parts so that there is a pretty equal balance. I play a little bit more of the lead parts, but we like it to be balanced so at live shows it’s not just one dude in the spotlight. As far as vocals go, I do the lead singing for the most part but Will T and Sam sing backup harmonies and in certain spots the leads also.
WT It’s really easy for Will B and myself to switch off on leads and rhythms because there are parts where I want to play the leads and parts where I want to play the rhythms and it’s the same for Will B. I can remember numerous times where we’ve fought over who gets to play the rhythm parts instead of the leads. haha

You are preparing to do some touring this summer, is this your first tour of this magnitude?
WB Yeah, and we couldn’t be more excited! Well.. Unless it was longer :] haha
WT Not for me. I toured once before this last summer with my old death/thrash/black metal band Bedlam Massacre. We went out for the same period of time, and the route this time is gonna be exactly the same actually, except in reverse order.

How did you get hooked up with the bands on this tour?
WB We are really good friends with Upon Departure (UD HC:Interview) and we all love the dudes in that band so it was an obvious choice to take them out with us. Brady knew We Move Mountains (WMM HC:Interview) and we all listened to them and really dug their music so we decided to ask them to tag along too! They are both really professional bands and just fun dudes to
hang out with and we wanted to get the best lineup possible but also have a ton of fun on the road so it worked out perfectly!

Who else are you looking forward to playing with in 2010?
WB Well we just played a show with We Came As Romans, From First To Last and Asking Alexandria and I think I speak for everyone in saying that these are bands that we look up to and in the case of FFTL, have grown up with musically. It’s a great honor personally to have shared the stage with FFTL, because I remember being 16 and seeing them live and dreaming about playing on the same stage as them so I’m incredibly stoked that I was actually able to do that! I also love playing with the dudes in Upon Departure, Aleen, We Move Mountains, Mourning For Memories and other great bands from around here.

Who have been some of the biggest assistants to your development as musicians and as a band?
WB Definitely my mom. Me and Will T live with her full time and then the rest of the band ends up staying over and practicing around 5 nights per week. She lets us practice whenever we want to and she also lets me run a studio out of her house so that we can make some money to help fund the band. We definitely wouldn’t be a band without her :] Other than that, Dylan Ireland who runs our lights & merch, Greg Northcutt who comes to a bunch of shows and helps with merch and tech work, and Brittini Christian who helps with merch are all HUGE parts of the band. Kendall Johns has helped us on numerous occasions with lights and getting us on sweet shows. The guys at The Standing Ovation in Longview are AMAZING- without them we definitely wouldn’t be where we are at because they are such awesome people to work with and the Standing Ovation shows are the best!!! And just anyone who listens to our music. We love the people who come out to our shows seriously more than anything and we don’t have a huge fanbase or anything, but we are more appreciative than we can ever begin to tell you for the people who listen to our music and come to our shows.
WT Yeah, definitely Mama Breitner for constantly putting up with at least 7 guys in her house at all times, my girlfriend Brittini Christian for always being willing to take pictures, sell merch, and promote us at her school, Dylan Ireland for being a great friend and lights/merch guy, and Greg Northcutt who always is out in the crowd getting them stoked on us. And everyone at The Standing Ovation for putting us on great shows and just being great people for the scene in general.
PS: Will’s mom is one of the greatest supporters I have ever seen. She acts like a mom to everyone in the band and trys to help us as much as possible seeing that this is our job, and passion and we all really appreciate that.

…And The Sirens Sang > Hardcore/Screamo > Portland, Oregon > is Will Breitner (Guitar/Vocals); Will Terada (Guitar/Vocals); Patrick Shannon (Vocals); Brady Johns (Keyboards); Sam Okutsu (Bass) and Joey Luna (Drums). Keep an eye out for their Sirens EP and full length to be releasing SOON – catch them on the West Coast GET DOWNZ TOUR summer 2010. Updates and info at ATSS Myspace.

For more information on local music, band interviews, concert updates and promotional content. Local bands, artists, concerts, venues, tours and events from rock, hip-hop, metal, pop, punk, hardcore, acoustic, indie, organic, progressive, funk, rap and more. Stay tuned to hurdcore.com, friend us on myspace and join us facebook Hurdcore is open to partnerships to promote local arts, music and entertainment as well as advertising opportunities – hurdcore@gmail.com – be specific in “subject” line.

To be honest, we were a little shocked when we received a response from Ivan de Prume as this is by far the most decorated rock artist we have interviewed to date. In reverse chronological order, Ivan’s accomplishments include: radio host for Metalopolis on Rock 101.1FM KUFO (Portland, OR), currently playing with metal bands Healer and Kreep and, oh yeah, former drummer of White Zombie. This is a man who has taken a seat at the top tiers of the metal world, headlining with his band mates and rubbing shoulders with mega stars the ilk of Pantera, Slayer, Danzing…and on. Ivan hasn’t just dreamed, he’s taken his dreams by the throat and conquered them, continues to dream and even takes time to share his dreams with those still gaining traction in theirs. I am blown away by the passion, humility and depth of content that Mr. de Prume has shared with hurdcore fans, get ready for a roller coaster ride through the bowels of metal…

You used to drum for White Zombie, how long were you with the band and what was that experience like?
IDP The experience was incredible… full of challenges and rewards, twists and turns… I was only seventeen when I joined the band back in 1985 and quit in 1992. I put everything I had into the band and took it all the way to the top! It was one of the greatest achievements I have been a part of. I am very proud of the work I did with them.

What were some of the highlights for you personally during your time with Zombie?
IDP The greatest moment in the band for me was finally getting Rob Zombie to appreciate heavy metal music! It was always a struggle for me because he would make fun of bands I appreciated and loved such as Metallica and Slayer. But then one day on tour he was driving and suddenly asked for my Metallica “Ride The lightning” cassette tape. He played it all the way through and from then on he instantly changed. He played it over and over again! I was so floored. We quickly began writing songs with a fatter guitar sound and the band took a quick turn away from being a noise metal band and began shaping its Metal flavor that quickly brought the attention of the metal scenes wherever we went. I was so happy to see my metalhead friends rocking out to us instead of the old Lower East Side art scene which really wasn’t me! Chris Williamson from Rock Hotel Promotions placed us to open for Danzig and from there we opened for Slayer and their fans ate us up! What more can I ask for… We toured with many kick ass bands I loved to listen to such as Testament and Pantera. And I must say my greatest memory was playing those shows with Pantera and hanging out back stage with Dimebag Darell.

What I loved about the band was all of our dedication to our common goal. That led to the creation of the album that hit the band big-time, Le Sexorcisto Devil Music Vol. 1

Any plans for a White Zombie reunion tour that you are aware of or any discussions about de Prume being the victim of some gruesome death in one of Rob’s upcoming films?
IDP hahaha… No plans right now…

Are you still actively drumming, if so what are some of the other acts that you have worked with?
IDP I had many project that came and went since White Zombie. The two bands that are still at the forefront are Healer and Kreep. After leaving White Zombie, I began envisioning a new sound, musically, for many years but it wasn’t easy to create until I took it upon myself to form the band Healer. I wanted to bridge some musical elements from different corners of the globe… This sound came into fruition with the album “Awakening” that I co-wrote, played drums/percussion, engineered, produced, mixed and financed in my own home recording studio and it was a fantastic experience. I also play with Kreep and we just released an album last year called “Lead Us Not”.

Is Metalopolis your baby? How did you get involved with the show?
IDP My wife Stephanie was making calls to radio stations to get my band Healer played and she landed on Chris Patyk, former Operations Manager at KUFO, who asked if I have ever been on the radio. She was confused and said, he is always on the radio with his band White Zombie. He answered, no what I meant was, has he ever hosted a show, do you think he would be into doing a metal show? and she answered, he would be great at that! So, we set a start date for March 7, 2009 and its been awesome ever since.

Metalopolis is aired locally in Oregon on Rock 101.1 FM KUFO, does your show have syndication outside of Oregon?
IDP We are working on that as we speak!

For those who may not have heard your show what is Metalopolis?
IDP “METALOPOLIS” is a weekly radio show hosted by myself burning up the airwaves in Portland, Oregon on Rock 101.1 FM KUFO and you can catch the party streaming around the world online at kufo.com every Saturday night from 10PM – Midnight Pacific Standard Time! You can hear exclusive interviews with the legends of metal such as Rob Halford from Judas Priest, Jason Newsted x-Metallica, Max Cavalera from Soulfly and many more… Although the show plays a lot of metal on the harder side, we do play all styles of metal as long as its good music. We play bands that are on top of the world to the bands that are unsigned and starting out with a kick ass demo. We cover metal beginning from the late ’60s to fresh new releases… As long as it falls in the metal genre and its just good music, I will play it….

What are some of the best and worst changes that you have observed as part of the the metal scene over the last three decades?
IDP Its changing all the time… I feel we are about to hit a new level in music…. I think it has changed for the better as far as technique goes but not as far as creativity. I have have never seen drummers playing so fast with these blast beats and double bass while staying in time and all. With technology bands over the past twenty years have the ability to sound perfect live and in the studio using click tracks and pitch correction but the song writing has suffered for most I have seen. I think this will change because nothing stays the same and aren’t we dying for something new and fresh! We all know it and I think this band will come and will steel us all away… possibly take us to that far away planet!

The topic of defining what is “metal” can be a heated subject for many. For you, who have been some of the quintesential metal bands?
IDP Wow, that’s a good one… Every band that you hear on Metalopolis! hahaha…These are the four songs I picked that shaped me as a metal head from a Metalopolis theme show we did a couple weeks ago…
(1) Iron Man Black Sabbath Black Box: The Complete Original 1970-1978 [CD 2] – Paranoid 5:59 2004; (2) Where Eagles Dare Iron Maiden Piece Of Mind 6:13 1983; (3) For Whom the Bell Tolls Metallica Ride the Lightning 5:10 1984; (4) Raining Blood Slayer Reign in Blood 4:58 1986

Who of the newer acts spike your attention and seem to embody a healthy evolution within metal?
IDP Amon Amarth, Soulfly, Lamb Of God.

Are you an Oregon native? If not, what brought you to Portland?
IDP No! I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Then moved to Los Angeles for fifteen years. I moved here because it kicks ass out here… the bottom line is that I find it fulfilling to all my needs and desires to stay alive and be happy. The most basic is cleaner water and cleaner air and after 15 years of being deprived of that in Los Angeles… I am in heaven in this juicy land of life. I find an undercurrent of an incredible scene here, great talent and the level of creative, weird, wild and different energy is very much needed when you are an artist in a community. New York and Los Angeles has had that spark in the past but I just didn’t see it anymore. I travel all over all the time for projects and I enjoy heading back to Los Angeles and New York and they are still great cities in my eyes.

How metal friendly is Portland and How does it rate against other cities for metal-mania?
IDP I must say it has one of the best metal scenes in the country… Especially now that we have Metalopolis!

We often hear tidbits in the news of actors and sports stars
residing in Oregon, who are some of the music figureheads that you are aware of who call Oregon home?
IDP I found a few in Portland… Art Alexakis, member of Everclear, Black Francis, musician, and founder of the Pixies, Brad Wilk, Portland-born drummer of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave… check out this site [for more]

Aside from Metalopolis, what else are you currently involved in?
IDP I have an awesome wife and three kids. I am owner of Burningsound Studios where I produce and engineer bands. I just remixed a KMFDM song Never Say Never off their latest release Blitz. It has just been released on their new album called Krieg and the song has been titled Never Say Never (Naughty Habit Mix by Ivan de Prume). Healer and Kreep are in the writing stages at this time for future releases.

How did you get into drumming? Do you remember the first song that you ever learned on the sticks?
IDP I just always loved them! There was this hippie dude that lived in my house when I was like 12 years old! He helped me pick out my first drumset and taught me a couple of beats! Other than playing along with songs on the radio, I think the first song I learned with a band was my Junior High School Band class performance with a song called “Blue Rock”

What were some of the key lessons and/or techniques that helped you as a beginning drummer? What are some tricks that you utilize now to keep your skills sharp?
IDP Counting, and starting very slow so your coordination can develop! Now what I like doing to help me stay in shape is simply playing along to different tracks and playing left handed. Also applying accents you hear in songs to different limbs and drums, such as playing a part in a song only on one drum while keeping the pulse with the high hat or kick drum… or playing accents with the kick drum and high hat while keeping a solid rhythm on the toms or ride!

Best and worst experiences performing a live show?
IDP Best show… wow so many great ones… recently it was on our last Kreep at a benefit show called Blakefest in Idaho to raise funds to take a young girl who was dying of cancer to Disney Land before she went cause that was her last wish… This girl who was sick was doing cartwheels on stage and became the bands number one fan! Our guitar player gave her his guitar! Worst show… ahhh lets not go there… I think it was a White Zombie show when we thought we were going to be killed by Skinheads in Chicago

(Question CYCLONE) Any song that gives you the most trouble live? With practice and preparation I found nothing is a challenge live! If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment that I would purchase for the band is? New crash cymbals. Trend that you have noticed that you will never join? Dora back packs. Currently reading interview questions, listening to the kids fighting in the other room! and watching myself turn into my dad. Any crazy pre-performance rituals? I like to be alone stretching, and getting myself in a space visualizing and playing the entire show from beginning to end! When you are a diva/rockstar the three things that you will demand be in your dressing room are? A personal assistant, who can hopefully do everything from laundry to chiropractic techniques, my wife and kids but in a separate suite so I can focus, and healthy fresh meals and drinks for after the show! Band you have shared the stage with that blew you away? Pantera and Slayer. Top 5 songs in your personal ipod right now? Amon Amarth Twilight_Of_The_Thunder_God, One Soulfly, Preacher’s Daughter 3 Inches Of Blood, I Wizard Smoke… they change every day!

HUGE Thanks to Ivan de Prume of METALOPOLIS, listen in every Saturday at 10PM-12AM PST on 101.1FM KUFO (Portland, OR) or online at kufo.com. See website for instructions on how to get your band airtime on Metalopolis! Listen or see Ivan play live with bands Kreep and Healer.

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