Interview With Queen Cobra

So here we are back again for another Inside The Scene interview. hope everybody had a great weekend and Valentine's Day whether you spent it with loved ones, or by yourself surrounding yourself with great music. So this week I am joined by '80's rock inspired band from Vancouver that goes by the name Queen Cobra. Queen Cobra has a similar sound and style to Vancouver based Heart. QC consists currently of 4 members, Brianne Atkinson (Vocals), Brandon Taylor Gordon (Lead Guitar), Colin Budgell (Rhythm Guitar), Drew Carnegie (Bass Guitar). The band is currently in between drummers. so here we go lets get to the interview.


ITS - So Brianne how did Queen Cobra form together and where did the name come from?

Brianne: "I used to run a few open mic nights in Vancouver watching for new talent and supporting the arts. I remember there were these two crazy long haired guys that came in and asked me to sing paradise city acoustically with them! I thought they were nuts to do that song acoustically but then I was like, what the hell! We rocked out to some old school g'n'r and that's when I decided I found the lead guitar player for my next band! Brandon and I began writing some tunes and found Colin (rhythm guitar) off craigslist. I moved to kelowna for a few months and we were still writing over the internet. Brandon and Colin would send me a riff, I'd write lyrics and work out the vocal melody and BOOM! Some of our crowd favourites were born such as "heartsick hobo" and "gamblin' man".

I had the name "Queen Cobra" before I had the band! I don't have a great story for the name but after meeting the guys from steel panther and hanging out backstage with them, I realized that half of their awesomeness was in their name "Steel Panther" (don't get me wrong, they are awesome guys just to hang out with but man what a great 80's metal name) I started thinking that I need some sort of creature to be in the name of my next band, what kills? Of course! the longest venomous snake eating snake in the world... The "king cobra".  Since I'm a chick, I decided Queen Cobra would be more appropriate for a female fronted hard rock n roll band."

ITS - So who inspires you as individuals and as a band?

Band: "We each have our own unique influences. Brianne is a huge fan of Aerosmith and the vocal stylings of Steven Tyler. Brandon is highly influenced by Guns N Roses especially by Slash and his guitar solos. Drew looks up to John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and it really shows in his bass playing. Colin likes Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Our writing style is influenced by all of those bands mentioned above but also including The Rolling Stones, Queen and AC/DC."

ITS - So playing 80's style hard rock, do you think there is a big following nowadays for that style of music?

Brandon: "I think the demand for this kind of music is growing again. We see some awesome bands in Vancouver already into it. We've played shows with Aviator Shades and Dead City Scandal, who are all great guys and great musicians. We're also co-headlining with Mary's Gunns at Joe's Apartment on the 22nd, where we're releasing our EP. They're also a pretty big presence in Vancouver right now so it'll be a good show. We're all just taking our own unique spin on rock and roll."

ITS - What were some of your accomplishments in 2013?

Brianne: "-We placed 3rd in Ceilis battle of the bands in August
              -Mini okanagan tour in September
              -We made it into Vancouver's top 25 bands, put on by rednyne productions in
              November
              -We recorded our brand new EP at greenhouse studios in November"

ITS - What can the fans expect from you for the rest of 2014.

Drew: "We're going to be spending a lot of time pushing our new EP and promoting the band in general. We're hoping that with a solid image, a new website, and some weekend tours we can really expose everyone to some solid, kick-ass, home grown rock! We're going to be writing a lot too, so our shows will always bring something fresh to our fans. By the end of the year, or early 2015, we hope to have a really strong single that our fans can request on the radio to alleviate some of the stress that comes with being a commuter in Vancouver."

ITS - So a little fun question I like to throw in, what are some favorite foods that you guys like to enjoy before a show?

Band: "Well we normally play the usual spots on Granville street so you'll probably catch us at a pub eating burgers and drinking beer. Before show time we like to do a shot of Sailor Jerry's. Brandon doesn't drink much so he'll ask for "spicy rum". We normally don't let him order..."

ITS - And finally... If you got to set your own lineup for a show who would you have?

Band: "Celine Dion and Jewel! Nah I'm just kidding... We'd love to play with Aerosmith, Foo Fighters and any band that Jack White is in!"


If you want to follow Queen Cobra you can the following ways.


www.youtube.com/queencobravan
facebook.com/queencobraband
queencobraband@gmail.com
twitter.com/queencobraband


Also February 22 if you find yourself with some spare time head down to Joe's Apartment for Queen Cobra's EP release "Dirty On The Floor" and here is a little Exclusive sneak peak that you will get here first, called "Heartsick Hobo" listen to it here soundcloud.com/queen-cobra-vancouver

Interview With Within Rust

Why hello again music lovers hope you all had a great weekend. So Friday if you were out in Delta and caught the Fighting For Ithaca show, you may be familiar with who ive got lined up this week. This week I have a band who formed March 1st 2012 and in less than 2 years have made quite a name for themselves on the local scene. April 21st 2013 saw the release of their EP "Born". Within Rust consists of Nolen Scott (Vocals), Matt Gage (Guitar), Lewis Scott (Drums), John Waldock(Bass). So lets get to this weeks interview

ITS - So how did you guys form as a band, and how did you come up with the name of the band?

Nolen - "We formed as a result of Matt (guitar) and I meeting a long time ago at R & R Music’s annual rock school numero uno. Or was it the second one? I don’t know but it was a long time ago and we’ve been in ‘bands’ for a really long time, playing all sorts of instruments. We started the earliest incarnation of Within Rust in late 2011, and that’s when Lewis joined the crew. John was imported from Cloverdale this last August. The origin story for the name is really boring so I’ll just say what the name means to me. It’s the sensation of being a part of something that is deteriorating, something that is dying or maybe sterile. It just makes sense because a lot of our music is a reaction against everything going on around us."

ITS - What were some of your highlights from 2013?

Nolen - "Definitely releasing “Born”, finding John, and the couple times we went out to Port Alberni. We also played a rad show with Sharks! On Fire! in November and now that they’ve announced they’re coming to an end I really feel honored that we got to be a small part of that. They’ve been around since forever and its sad to see them go."

ITS - If you weren't playing music, what would your dream jobs be?

Nolen - "Well we all currently have terrible day jobs, but if Within Rust wasn’t our dream job then...

Myself: Fighter Pilot, or something in Intel. Defense is exciting to me, if I can’t do music.  If I can do music? Lyricist/Co-writer for other people.

Matt: The owner of an amplifier company, that also does pedals and electronics and everything.

Lewis: If I wasn't a musician, I'd probably be a singer. POW. rekt. Shots fired... But no for real, Computer Programing/ Game Design.

John: GM of a Hockey team."

ITS - So it's been a couple years since you released an ep, is there possibly one in the works for 2014? 

Nolen - "It’s actually barely been one year since we released “Born” last April. Watch Me was released as an advance single in late 2012. There’s actually no plans for an EP but there are singles in the works with a final goal of maybe an album at the end of the year. We want to focus on touring as well if we can do so without ending up on the streets."

ITS - So being the "veterans" on the Vancouver all ages scene, how do you describe the music scene in Vancouver right now?

Nolen - "We are by no means ‘veterans’ but we’ve been around long enough to feel like we understand that mindset, and in the short time we’ve been here we’ve covered a lot of ground. I feel like the Vancouver music scene is at a turning point. A lot of bands are kinda hanging up the towel for better or for worse and a lot of new bands are getting more ambitious and aren’t holding back. A lot of the young bands that were making noise in the past couple years are becoming adults right now as well (ourselves included), and the ‘potential bubble’ is about to burst into something real. That said a lot of the older bands are getting to the point where there could be a major spotlight on them in the next year or two and that alone would seriously change the scene in this city. From what I’ve seen there’s no shortage of AWESOME bands in this city and it breaks my heart to see a lot of awesome bands get little to no ‘mainstream’ exposure, but I think that’s going to change this year as bands from the different scenes put aside their differences and become a force to be reckoned with. A lot of great releases are slated for 2014 and I’m excited."

ITS - So before you guys play a gig, do you have any rituals that get you pumped for your show?

Nolen - "Dooooooooughnuts! Oh and a good ol’ fashion circle jerk."

ITS - Final question. What other plans are in the works for WR for 2014

Nolen - "As I mentioned before, touring and out of town gigs is a big one. We’ve got a music video in the works for our upcoming single. As far as touring goes it’ll be early summer and it looks like we’ll get as far east as Saskatchewan. We wanted to get out to Ontario and Montreal but we’re rookies as far as touring goes and we simply don’t have the funds especially with the amount of recording we have planned. Perhaps we can revisit that in the near future. We’re also going to take a proper run at radio play and learn the in and outs to make that happen."


Thanks again Nolen for taking the time and doing this. I'm sure the fans are excited with what's to come from Within Rust. if you guys want to follow Within Rust on Social Media here you go.


https://www.facebook.com/officialwithinrust

https://twitter.com/WithinRust

@WithinRust
@NolenScott -Nolen
@TheShoeGaze -Matt
@John_Bones -John
@Static_Frost -Lewis
http://withinrust.tumblr.com


if you want to hear what Within Rust is all about check out their song "Watch Me" here


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymzxEov0DJM


and if you like what you hear you can get their EP here


http://withinrust.bandcamp.com







 

Interview with Kieran Mercer

Hey guys hope you all had a great weekend. so this week I got the chance to catch up with 604 Records recording artist Kieran Mercer. For those of you who don't know who Kieran Mercer is, he is from White Rock BC, who has unique vocals and is very talented. I recently only discovered who he was when he opened up for Fighting For Ithaca at Tom Lee Music Hall, and I fell in love with his vocals right away. This young talent is sure to be going places in his young career. Alright so lets get to it.




ITS - Who has been your biggest influence in your life?




Kieran - " I would say at least for music it would be Michael Jackson. The amount of ground breaking things he did with his music will be remembered forever and I find that extremely influential on what artists can do with their craft."

ITS - What motivated you to pursue a career in music?

Kieran -"Probably listening to records with my family when I was a kid... I acknowledged that everyone would instantly become happy and dance when they heard a song they like and I thought... that seems like a good job."

ITS - What were some of your accomplishments in 2013?

Kieran - "2013 seems like it was a transition year for me... I was trying different things with my music and feeling out what sound connects with people and what I really want to go for. I was really proud of my release "Give it to me" and they great response it had on youtube and digital radio."

ITS - How would you describe the music scene in Vancouver right now?

Kieran - "It's hard to describe the Vancouver music scene because its always changing... I find it a really hard one to mix in with. There is lots of indie rock bands... hard rock... folk... but not a lot of pop artists. There is some really great up and coming bands from Vancouver like Dear Rouge... I really enjoy them." 

ITS - What are in the plans for 2014?

Kieran - "2014 should be an interesting one for me and hopefully a big step in the right direction... I recently finished writing and recording some songs in Hollywood with producer Jon levine who just recently did the new Serena Ryder album. I'm really excited to release the new music and get out on the road to tour in early spring."

Thank you so much Kieran for taking the time and doing this. If you want to know what going on in the musical life of Kieran Mercer, hit him up on social media.

Facebook - Kieran Mercer

Twitter - @kieranmercer

Youtube - Kieran Mercer


If you want to hear what Kieran has to offer check out his song Give It To Me here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuiIT0MTieQ.