Rock Voltage, a modern rock and roll magazine profiling local artists and venues in the mid-atlantic region andbeyond, has now launched its second magazine. We cover the lifestyles of local, regional and national rock stars,plus emerging artists, and offer insider tips on recording and breaking out in the music industry. Readers will alsofind music, concert and album reviews from our experts at Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews, local journalists and industry professionals. We will feature exclusive band interviews, contests, reader polls and creative ways tointeract with local artists. Rock Voltage was founded on the premise of educating and stimulating the local publicabout the musical talent that exists in the region. We bring you the very best of a modern mixed-media experience:a familiar magazine reading format, available on your computer, laptop, tablet or mobile device anytime, and thatinstantly connects to music, videos and your favorite advertisers with a single click.

Groundwire Records and Groundwire Entertainmentare the publishing arm of Rock Voltage magazine,providing quality services to artists, consumers and

the entertainment industry. Groundwire Records andGroundwire Entertainment are both committed tofairness in business practices and support protection of

intellectual properties of the artist. A division ofMilestone Media Group, which publishes consumermagazines and expos, Groundwire Records is an independent record label and music marketing company that was created to discover, develop,produce, and publish uniquely gifted local artists andbands. Groundwire Records can be your company thattakes care of your music business, allowing artists toconcentrate on their creative aspirations and goals.Groundwire Entertainment is acompanion company toGroundwire Records specializing in concertpromotions, bookings and artistmanagement services. Theyalso produce a wide variety ofmarketing and image-buildingproducts designed to marketand promote bands.

Mid-AtlanticRock Reviewsmission is to promote a positive image ofrock and roll andto work tirelesslyto live up to theirmotto “Changingthe Worldthrough Rockand Roll”. MARR works with multiple charities andorganizations to promote a positive image of rock androll and to support their fellow man. Some of theseefforts include selling MARR bracelets to benefit theMake-A-Wish Foundation, sponsoring a MARR Rocksfor MDA Benefit concert, working with Voice ofWarriors and Fallen Blue and supporting multiple othercharitable projects. As Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviewsenters its third year, the founding couple has expandedcoverage far beyond the Mid-Atlantic Region to covermusic all over the United States and beyond. MARRhas added multiple contributors in the form of photographers and writers who have helped expandtheir coverage of rock and roll. They have a presence at

live rock and roll shows and major festivals and rockcruises all over the United States. You will always findK-rock and Ms. MARR with the crowd at shows wherethey meet and greet their readers, followers and MARRRock Army members. Their unique way of coveringmusic from a fans perspective surrounded by their followers and friends has legitimized their coverage byfans, bands promoters and record labels alike.

More information can be found on their Facebookpage, Twitter and on their website at

www.midatlanticrockreviews.com

Publisher’s Statement:

Rock Voltage Magazine,Volume 1, Edition 2 (c) 2013Milestone Media Group, all rights reserved. No part ofthis publication, including images, may be reproduced,streamed, replicated, or downloaded for commercialuse or re-publication of any kind without the writtenpermission of the publisher. Single downloads for personal enjoyment are permitted, as well asquotations, references, downloads and other reproductions for purposes of reviews or for promoting Rock Voltage or its partners, featuredartists, contributors or advertisers.

All images and written material are used by permissionof the authors or owners, except as indicated, whoretain all rights. All linked web sites, videos and musicand other files are the property of the owners and weprovide links for informational and convenience usesonly. No warranty in offered or implied. Plus, we don’teven know if those links will work tomorrow. Letus know if you find dead links, we’ll be glad tocorrect them.

All reviews, interviews and editorials are offered foreducation, entertainment and discussion purposes only.Views held in those articles are solely the opinions ofthe authors or interviewees, and not necessarily thoseof Milestone Media Group.

CREDITS

Publisher: Mona Freedman

Editor: Jay Freedman

Casi Horstman–Lead DesignerBrandyn Allman–Graphic DesignerMatt Satterfield–Graphic DesignerJesse Kinn–Graphic Designer

Art Direction: Jay Freedman

Contributing Writers:K-RockMs. MARRLynn CooperBrian HardaswickCris MaloneDavid SchroederLinda Cain

Contributing Photographers:Christine Metzgar PhotographyRedhead LIVE! PhotographyMid-Atlantic Rock Reviews Lynn CooperAndrea Johnson

If you are reading Rock Voltageonline then so are thousands ofyour customers, fans and musiclovers. CLICK HERE todownload a media kit or contactmona@groundwirerecords.comor 410.549.5490

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NUCLEAR BLAST NEWS . . . . . . .4 Nuclear Blast gives us the scoop about 5 upand coming bands including Black StarRiders, Hypocrisy, Dark Sermon, Kadavarand Battle Beast.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT . . . . . . . . . .16A look at the American hard rock band fromSouthern California, Trailerpark Rockstar.

MS. ROCK VOLTAGE 2013 . . . . .17Ms. Rock Voltage is going unplugged forSpring/Summer 2013.

LIFE ON THE ROAD WITH BRIANHARDASWICK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22We check in with the drum tech from Pop Evilto get a glimpse of what life is like travelingwith a rock and roll band.

ON THE COVER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6We had the chance to catch up with two ofthe brothers from Like a Storm, Chris andMatt, while in the midst of their headliningtour to learn a bit more about them andtheir new album.

MODERN SUPERSTAR . . . . . . . .15An interview with the band about their upcoming album and new release “Dirty Girl.”

MACHINE ELVES . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Machine Elves is carving out a niche as a freshsounding, hard rocking band that is hard tolabel into any particular sub-genre.

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CHAMELEON CLUB REVIEW . . .28Performances from bands including Stars andStereo, Flyleaf, Observe the 93rd andDrowning Pool are reviewed.

MONSTERS OF ROCKCRUISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Top 10 moments on the Monsters of RockCruise on March 16-20, 2013 aboard the MSCPoesia with thousands of other 80’s rock androll die hards.

SOMETIMES IT IS GOODTO UNPLUG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Acoustic performances are becoming moreand more popular with not only bands, butfans as well.

BREAKING UP IS HARDON YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Sometimes bands break up and that's it, butsometimes bands re-align and magic happens.

BLACK STAR RIDERS, the new band featuring THINLIZZY members Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson,Scott Gorham and Marco Mendoza together withdrummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Alice Cooper, Megadeth),have announced All Hell Breaks Loose released May28th About the origin of the album title, BLACKSTAR RIDERS frontman Ricky Warwick states:

“I was watching a documentary about World War IIbombers and saw the name painted on the side of oneof the aircraft. The name just resonated with me and itseem to encapsulate the turmoil that we, as a society,are currently experiencing. The past few years havebeen such a wild ride and now with the release of thealbum, it sounded like a bad-ass album title thatsummed up what BLACK STAR RIDERS is allabout.”

Swedish death metal legends HYPOCRISY have justuploaded the first album trailer of their upcomingmasterpiece “End Of Disclosure”.

It doesn’t take more than the first seconds of the openerand title track `End Of Disclosure´ to locate the newrecord’s position in HYPOCRISY’s multifaceteddiscography. Being on a par with 1990’s brute yetmultifarious masterpieces, “End Of Disclosure“ –produced by mastermind Peter Tägtgren in his AbyssStudio, Sweden – leaves no space for breathers. Lethalpunches are hailing down on your eardrums from thefirst riff to the final cymbal clash, which are beingintensified in their vast vigorous effect by melodies ofpure majesty.

BLACK STAR RIDERS

HYPOCRISY

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Tampa metallers DARK SERMON have droppedtheir first single called "Imperfect Contrition." Thesingle is the first off their all new LP, "In Tongues,"(out: April 12).

The fast, riff-oriented track will instantly causespontaneous headbanging in metalheads around theglobe, particularly with its hooky breakdown.

“The lyrics tell the story of a man who can nolonger live with himself,”explains front man JohnnyCrowder. “A man whose future has been shroudedby his sinful past. All he can do is beg forforgiveness from God, who has witnessed everywrong move he has made.”

Berlin-based classic/psychedelic hard rock trioKADAVAR proudly present the first single of theupcoming second studio album “Abra Kadavar”, to bereleased via Nuclear Blast on April 12!

Regarding the song, the band explains: “It’s both thesecond track on the album and the second song thatwas written for it, probably showcasing our trademarksound best. Between changes in tempo, single noteriffs and guitar solos, the lyrical concept deals withdestruction – inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s movie`Dr. Strangelove´.”

The beasts are back! After last year’s release of theirbrilliant debut record “Steel” and highly celebratedEuropean tours together with NIGHTWISH andSONATA ARCTICA, BATTLE BEAST – Finland’sfinest heavy metallers – return with new astonishinglead vocalist Noora Louhimo and their secondfull-length album. Produced, mixed and mastered bythe band in JKB Studios Helsinki, the new record willsimply be entitled “Battle Beast” and is set for arelease via Nuclear Blast on May 17, 2013.

DARK SERMON

KADAVAR

BATTLE BEAST

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When you look at the band Like a Storm thereare so many interesting things about thisband that it is hard to decide which thing to

focus on. Is it the distance they’ve traveled from theirnative New Zealand to create a home away from homeon tour here in the U.S.? Could it be that 3 of thefour band members are brothers? Or perhaps themost unique thing about them which is thepatented didgeridoo solo’s that take place duringevery live show?

In the end, while all of these things are a part of whatmakes Like A Storm a band with a huge almost cult-like following with some of the most loyal fansyou’ll find anywhere, what really makes them anamazing band is the music. Like A Storm is currentlytouring in support of their sophomore release ChaosTheory Part 1, which has elevated the band from therole of an “opening act” to the point where theyheadlined their last 15 shows of the year, two of whichsold out. As was noted in the review of the album byMid-Atlantic Rock Reviews “Simply put, there is not aweak song on this record. The brothers from NewZealand have truly hit a home run with ChaosTheory Part I”.

Despite a year that saw the band tour aggressively,logging more that 200,000 miles and 200 shows, theband still found time to release their sophomore albumChaos Theory Part I, a music video for the song“Never Surrender”, and a DVD of unplugged tunescalled “Southern Skies”. In addition to all of this hardwork, the band was busy recording what will become

Chaos Theory Part II at the same time. We had thechance to catch up with two of the brothers, Chris andMatt, while in the midst of their headlining tour tolearn a bit more about them.

K-rock:Tell me about “Gangster’s Paradise”, is that the remakeof what I think it is?

Chris:We heard that song somewhere and we hadn’t heard itin a really long time...we were like, man that would bean awesome cover for a rock band to do. We wenthome and we were writing a lot of Chaos Theory Part1...(Matt takes over)

Matt:We took a break and we went to the movies...and thatsong was in the movie. Afterwards we were standing inthe car park talking about how that song is soawesome...imagine if there was a band that did ahard rock version of it, and they we thought, wait aminute...we ARE a band.

Chris:The thing is, lyrics are so important to us in all of ourof music and we really spend a lot of time making sureof them... they mean so much to us. So it was fun totake on a song that is as far away from the rock androll lifestyle as you can get.

K-rock:Tell me about the video for “Never Surrender” fromChaos Theory Part I. Was one of you riding themotorcycle in that video?

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Chris:No, but there are so many awesome shots in that. We

had these really talented motorbike riders and when wewere doing that shot of me playing in the front of themotorcycles, we were getting ready to do that one andthe producer of the video was telling me “ok, now inthis shot there is going to be a bike just zooming pasthere, and you know nothing should go wrong and if thebike sometimes goes out of the way, were going tojump in and push you out of the way”...I was thinkingwhat did I get myself into?

K-rock:How do you guys figure out which one of you is goingto sing lead vocals?

Matt:Well, you’ve seen mixed martial arts right ? (laughs)It’s funny, all three of us came from different bands.Chris and I both sang lead in our bands. So when wejoined together and started paying together, we hadslightly different sounding voices. It’s almost in a lot of

ways like we don’t even have to talk about it.Sometimes I’ll write a song and I’ll end up singing it,but a lot of times I’ll write a song and it’s like ok, thiswould sound awesome if Chris sang it.

Chris:It’s funny...People don’t always like the sound of theirown voice in a way so basically every song we ever do,I think Matt should sing it and whatever he writes hethinks I should sing it. It’s kind of the opposite of whatpeople might think.

K-rock:Are your voices close enough that if one of you wassick, the other could sing in their place?

(continued on next page)

Interview by: K-Rock

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MMaatttt:: Yeah, they actually did on that first Creed tour, in 2009which was this huge tour. I got sick on the third showin, and the problem with being a singer is that whenyou get sick, the first thing to go is your voice. So itwas the very start of a tour and my voice was gone, Imean completely gone. I don’t think I’ve ever lost myvoice like that where I couldn’t even talk. So Kent andChris sang all my parts.(Laughing) A lot of peoplecame up to me afterwardsand said “dude thatsounded amazing”.

CChhrriiss::Even on the record, a lot

of songs I sing, Matt andKent will sing backingvocals as well so we alwayswant to get that blend of allthree voices.

K-rock:Do you guys ever play inNew Zealand these days?

CChhrriiss:: No except for the acoustic DVD really. You know NewZealand is such an insanely long way away and wereally don’t get to go back there very often. About 5years ago we went back there and did a show and youknow, they’re on totally different power, so none ofyour gear works. Then you go back and spend a weekrehearsing for a show and then afterwards you’re like, Iwould really rather hang out with my family andfriends and have a holiday.

MMaatttt:: I think the ultimate dream is that you can tour here in

the summer and still tour there in the summer. Butright now as Chris said, we tour 11 months out of theyear, so that one month that you do have off, it’s kindof nice not to be touring.

K-rock:Is there going to be a Chaos Theory part II?

CChhrriiss::Yes there will be. Basically, we’ve written so muchmusic and we’ve really loved touring this year. Ourgoal for the year was just to spend the whole year onthe road and you know we’re out on tour on the roadand the fans keep asking us “when are we going tohave some more recordings from you guys?” And wedidn’t want to take six months off or a year off and

disappear into the studio to make a record. So wefigured if we kind of split the record down the middle,we could do half of it now and we could keeptouring and finish it in hotel rooms at night and thatsort of thing.

MMaatttt:: You know if you want to tour as much as you can, thelast thing you want to do is go off the road for six

months and disappear. Inour mind it is like twohalves of the same album.

Like A Storm seems to besuch an appropriate namefor this band, as this is themeans by which they haveblasted on to the U.S. rockand roll scene. Having onlyreleased their first album in2009, the band has alreadyplayed at mega-festivalssuch as Rock on the Range,Rocklahoma andSummerfest, just to name a

few. In addition to the big festivals, Like A Storm hasbeen touring with some pretty big names as well,sharing the stage with the likes of Creed, AlterBridge, Shinedown and many other giant rock androll acts.

Like A Stormhas built awell deservedreputation asbeing one ofthe most fan-friendlybands youwill findanywhere. We havewitnessed thisfirst hand,and had thechance tointeract withtheir fans inseveral cities whoconsistentlyrefer to thebrothers assome of the

“The thing is lyrics are soimportant to us in all ofour music and we really

spend a lot of timemaking sure of them...

they mean so much to us”

nicest rockers you’ll meet anywhere. In fact the bandwas voted #1 Most Fan Friendly Band on Tunelab forthe past two years in a row.

The band has some pretty fan-friendly marketing ideasas well. The band actually makes themselves availablefor private bookings in the homes of fans on a limitedbasis. We have spoken to a few of these fans who havebecome a sort of fraternity, booking the band as agroup more than once to share in the experience of alifetime having the band play for them privately.

The band’s most recent promotional opportunity wasdesigned to celebrate winning the Mid-Atlantic RockReviews “Golden Horns Award” for Song of the Yearwith “Never Surrender” in the Mid-Atlantic RockReviews annual readers poll. The band offered five“Golden Tickets” which were randomly hidden incopies of “Chaos Theory Part I” CD's as lucky tickets.The winners lucky enough to find these covetedtickets won a customized Like A Storm ChaosTheory didgeridoo.

The band has big plans for the remainder of 2013including some summer festival appearances, therelease of their third record, Chaos Theory Part II, therelease of The Butterfly Effect unplugged EP, and of

course, massive amounts of touring dates including aheadliner tour. It looks like 2013 will see the brothersfrom New Zealand keeping the storm brewing. You canfollow the band’s tour dates and everything about themon their website at www.likeastorm.com

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Sometimes unplugging is a good thing.

I have always been a fan of acoustic music, but inrecent years have become an even bigger fan ofseeing a rock and roll band unplug and give theirfans a taste of their music in a different format.While the initial reaction from some may be that theartists are not working as hard or doing as muchmusically during an acoustic set, I’d offer that theopposite is true.

A good acoustic set challenges the artists to give usthe song itself with nothing to hide any imperfectionsin the way of loudness or flashy stage effects. In factthe quality of the vocalist is truly put to the testwhen a band unplugs and bares their musical soulsto their fans.

Occasionally a band is forced by fate or circumstanceto unplug and the results can sometimes beimpressive. This was no more true than in May of2011 when I was covering a show by Crossfade inLancaster, PA. The band’s bus broke down and ratherthan cancel the show, they took a risk and showed upto perform an unplanned acoustic show. The musicaltreat that was offered to fans is still one of the morememorable concerts for me in the past few years.The talent behind the song writing of the band camethrough in a way that is hard to describe. Here is alink to a video from Crossfade’s song “Cold” fromthat very performance:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_vxp4sSHA

Not all bands are forced into performing acoustic setsand in fact there are some really great acts out theretouring acoustically by choice. The current tour fromRuss Dwarf of Killer Dwarfs, the recent acousticefforts by Aaron Lewis of Staind and the occasionalacoustic performances from Corey Taylor, are a fewplanned acoustic shows that are some of the finestacoustic tours in recent memory.

On the Monsters of Rock Cruise in March 2013, I

frequently had the chance to choose between threestages and on more than one occasion I chose in favorof the acoustic stage. I had the pleasure of seeingamazing sets from Great White, Nelson, Russ Dwarf,XYZ and several other great artists. Hearing theseclassic 80’s metal tunes done acoustically was anincredible musical experience.

You sometimes have to look a little harder foropportunities to see great acoustic music, as the venuestend to be smaller and in many cases the shows aren’tadvertised as well as the big arena shows. However, Ihave discovered that one of the best outlets to hear

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great acoustic rock music can be found on theYoutube Channel of Wisconsin radio station95 WIIL Rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO_hgTk4aC8&list=PL4348CE6041DFB102

This station has an archive of in-studioacoustic performances from almost any bandyou can think of. I had the chance to visit thestudio last Summer to see live sets fromCharm City Devils and Otherwise and wouldencourage readers to contact the station if youplan to be in the area to see if you can gettickets to see a live in-studio performancethere. They are free and are very limited, butcan be had if you apply yourself.

While I’ll continue to keep rocking hard to asmuch live rock music as I can possibly digest,I will still continue to take the occasionalacoustic break. I encourage those of you whohave never given one a shot to check out anacoustic rock show. You might find things insongs you have never heard before andbecome addicted to hearing that style of musicfrom time to time as I have.

“A good acoustic setchallenges the artiststo give us the song byitself with nothing tohide...”

Written by: K-Rock

http://groundwirerecords.com

http://www.MDParty.com

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Interview By K-Rock

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In 2010, former Bulletboys drummer Ryche Greenformed a band that seemed to be on a mission tokeep the genre of 80’s style metal/glam/hard rock

alive, while at the same time adding a modern flavor totheir sound. What could be a better name for a bandlike this than Modern Superstar. Since the release oftheir debut album “Under My Skin”, the band fromCape Coral, Florida has managed to chalk up somepretty impressive accomplishments to add to theirresume including a slot at the 2011 M3 Festival, andhaving their song “Devil’s Playground” selected as thetheme music for the reality series “Under My Skin”.

The band’s first release was an interesting albumwhich saw the aforementioned heavier tune “Devil’sPlayground” joined by the more mainstream sounding“Love/Hate,” which managed to find its way on tosome country stations. Make no mistake though, thisis no country band. Modern Superstar is a heavysounding rock band with a powerful and energetic liveact that is definitely suited for rock venues. Theband’s diversity seems to be the result of a decisionnot to try to be any one genre, but just to write whatwas in their hearts.

Despite the modern twists, the band really seems tostill have their roots grounded in some heavy, goodold down and dirty rock and roll. They just releasedthe first single “Dirty Girl” from their upcoming albumrelease due out any time now. We had the chance to sitdown and talk with the band, who has a slightly re-tooled lineup since the first album. They nowfeature Tommy Milan on vocals and Mike Hatfield onguitar along with veteran members Ryche Green ondrums, Lorenzo DelVeccio on guitar and Mike Mackeyon bass.

We asked lead singer Tommy Milan and drummerRyche Green to comment on the new ModernSuperstar music.

K-rock:So what’s in the works writing-wise for the new album?

TToommmmyy:: Writing-wise we want to take it a little bit more of amodern direction. With the talent that’s here, the songwriting is a little bit different, a little more modern, alittle more powerful. I mean Ryche pretty much wrotethat first album and then formed the band. Writingwise we want to come up with some new things, keepit melodic, hard and rock and rollin’.

RRyycchhee:: The thing is about Under My Skin...I love it, I standbehind it, it’s a part of our history, but that wholerecord for the most part never really came out as Iperceived it. But then, there’s five guys in the band.When you write that stuff and its your baby... youperceive it in one way and you want to raise it, andthen you form a band and yet those songs are writtenwithout a lot of those guys. So when you put a band

together and perform them, there’s a fine line betweentelling them you cant do this or that.

In listening to Ryche and the rest of the band talk aboutthe new music, there seems to be a great deal of prideand enthusiasm towards the current lineup and thepossibilities of what may come from their new tunes.This is exciting and even though we were big fans ofthe first record, we are still eagerly awaiting the newmusic. Modern Superstar is touring aggressively and onthe day we caught up with them had covered over 2000miles in 6 days. The day after our chat, the band wasoff to shoot the video for the new single “Dirty Girl”which we look forward to seeing in the near future.The band will be at Skull Fest in October, which is ahuge who’s who of some classic 80’s bands with thelikes of L.A. Guns, Kip Winger, Ron Keel, Leatherwolfand many others. This is of course just one of manygreat opportunities to catch Modern Superstar live. Welook forward to the release of new music from ModernSuperstar and definitely look forward to catching theirlive act as often as possible. You can keep up with allof Modern Superstar’s tour dates, news and more atwww.officialmodernsuperstar.com.

Trailerpark Rockstar is an American hard rockband from Southern California. Formed in 2011,the band is comprised of founder, lead guitarist

and chief songwriter Eric Zane Idol, vocalist/lyricistCory Mitchell, bassist Rich Varville, and drummerJames Raub.

Recently, Trailerpark Rockstar has released the firstvideo off their self titled debut record for the song"Long Time Coming" garnering rave reviews! The firstsingle has been getting air play in San Diego, LosAngeles, Las Vegas among many online radio stations.The band has served as opening act for Kill Devil Hill,Lynch Mob, Adema, HURT, among others; headlinedSan Diego BayFair, San Diego’s largest civic event; andmany local events including joint efforts with Toys forTots and San Diego Food Bank charities.

The band's primary influences include Lynyrd Skynyrd,Ozzy, Pantera, AC/DC, Allman Brothers Band, DavidAlan Coe, Johnny Cash, Motley Crue, and Nickelbackaccording to Idol and Varville. Mitchell has cited the

poetic stylings of Jim Morrison as his primaryinfluence while crafting his own distinctive lyrics.Although, his powerful vocal delivery has beenmore associated with the likes of Rob Zombie andCorey Taylor.

Fans of Trailerpark Rockstar often compare the band toTexas rock legends Pantera. Not as much for the soundof the band but the undeniable personal connection theband has with their fans.

Check them out online athttp://www.reverbnation.com/rpk/trailerparkrockstar#!/rpk/bio/637731

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All rock and roll fans have been there at one timeor another. You happily look for the latest newsfrom your favorite band only to be shocked to

find out that the lineup has changed. You find yourselfpanicked. Is this the end of the band? What will themembers who left do now? Will I still be able to seethem play live? The re-alignment of a band can createcontroversy as well. The controversy sometimesprompts spirited debates and even ill will betweenfans, band members and amongst fans. Nowhere hasthis been more evident than in the recent dramaresulting from the unpleasant split of rock legendsQueensryche. Two versions of the band resulted, onewith new singer Todd LaTorre and the rest of the bandand the other with original singer Geoff Tate and hisnewly formed band.

For those distraught by the realignment of Queensrycheor any other band, we offer this consolation. Try tolook on the bright side of “what may be” and that thesilver lining to the split of your favorite band couldresult in something better than you had ever imagined.Consider a few famous band realignments which haveresulted in some awesome things happening in theworld of rock and roll.

Imagine a world in which Ozzy Osbourne never leftBlack Sabbath. Would the career of Ronnie James Diohave been catapulted in the way it was with hismembership in Black Sabbath? In fact the genealogyof the bands Rainbow, Deep Purple and Black Sabbathresemble a “family forest” more than they do a familytree with the numbers of lineup changes with commonband members these bands endured.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of what can occurwhen bands take a break from one another is in thelegendary band, The Eagles. The band’s break from1980-1994 led to the creation of some incrediblemusic, especially from Joe Walsh and Don Henley, butalso from other members as well. Despite the amazingcareers of the musicians as solo acts, Eagles fans wouldsee the band reunite and once again sell out arenas allover the U.S. more than 30 years after the originalbreak up.They were now armed with both the classictunes of the band, as well as the most popular solotunes they created while apart.

Then there are those artists who decide to work on sideprojects and in some cases join an additional band.None more famous comes to mind than Corey Taylor’spresence in both Slipknot and Stone Sour. Anothergreat recent example is the new venture from DavidDraiman (frontman of the hard rock group Disturbed,currently on hiatus) called Device. Draiman teamed upwith Geno Lenardo, former guitarist of Filter, to formthis incredible new project.

The list could go on forever, and if you live in anymajor city, you’ll likely find that the same phenomenonis true for your local bands. So what is a rock fan todo? Do as REO Speedwagon (who by the way has had22 different band members over the years) suggests intheir famous song and “Roll With The Changes”. Don’tstop loving the band that once was, keep on followingthe individual artists and look for the possibilities ofwhat might be in the future. You may just find one ofthose cases where the stars align, literally, to createsomething more special than you ever thought possible.

Article by K-Rock

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Hi, my name is Linda Cain. First and foremost, I am the mother of two beautifulchildren. My daughter is 16 and my sweet Jacobis 15. Jacob has autism; he is a boy of very fewwords. I am a single mom struggling through,and one day Jacob and I were on the bus on ourway to Kennedy Kreiger in Baltimore,Maryland. At the end of the ride, Jacob got outhis note pad and wrote me a note. It said,“Momma, is Jacob invisible?” At that moment, Irealized that people did not know how to react toJacob’s behavior. I wanted to find a way to reachas many people as possible about the awarenessof autism. Ifyou know thesigns, youwill realizethis personhas autismand you willnot lookaway butinstaed lookto them withcompassion.

I am thefounder ofMusic RocksAutism, andthis is wherewonderfulmusicians come together and give their time and talentto spread autism awareness through music. Music islike a healing power for autism. My hope is that nochild of autism will ever feel invisible.

I NEED YOU to become aware, tobecome a member of the MusicRocks Autism family. Together wecan enlighten those who do notrealize that every child with autismhas a special power,namely thatthey are not jaded, they are honestand simply want love, like all of usdo.

Check out our web site:http://music-rocks-autism.weebly.com/

and our Facebook page:http://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Music-rocks-autism/460437317322370

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Brian Hardaswick is the drum tech for Pop Eviland travels the world with the band.

As we drive through the night, I see a lot of dark,empty highways outlined with black city skylines inthe background. It brings to mind the movieZombieland. Not specifically the zombie part, but theoverall movie. You are traveling with your best friendsand your only goal is to survive (make it to anamusement park) or in our case, the next venue/nextcity. I have not yetexperienced azombie, but someof the people wecross paths at somelate night truckstops sure seemto have thecharacteristics of azombie don't they?

Their vocabulary isrepetitive and thelook of exhaustion,similar to the lookdeath, can beenseen in everyone'seyes. Countlesstime is spentwandering thesame aisles overand over with ablank stare tryingto find that perfecttaste. Everyone hasthe same initialtask: to disappearinto the night on along stretch of highway until the next feeding station isneeded or craved. The goal is to defeat and survivezombies.

Our zombie is exhaustion, but when we kill that firstzombie (aka, we nail a show) we discover each other’sstrength's and weaknesses through victory. Together wecelebrate and prepare for the next attack (the nextshow, the next interview). As we drive through the

night on empty highways, through desolate cities andcross paths with America’s late crawlers or "vampires"if you will, I realize we are a team that will not bedefeated.

The show will continue to travel city to city gainingrecognition, respect and most importantly we willwelcome new friends to the family of tour hawks.There will be arguments, blood, sweat and tears, butwith honesty, respect and communication there will besuccess. This team will never grow old, nor die. We

will be a familyuntil the end oftime, and when ourtime has come wewill be a legacy.

This is a salute tothose that live thestories of the road.Those that havedetermination andachievementpumping throughtheir veins andthose that haverock and roll deepin their souls.Here's to you andhere’s to me, here’sto the family of theroad. Last but notleast, here's tohaving the grandopportunity to bepart of such anincredible journeywith such anincredible group ofpeople.

Our zombie isexhaustion, but when

we kill that first zombie(aka, we nail a show)

we discover eachother’s strength's andweaknesses through

victory.”

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Written by: Brian Hardaswick

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Last issue we gave you an overview of some ofthe great rock and roll cruise experiences that areout there. We like to put our money where our

opinions are, so of course we were obliged to set sailon the second Monsters of Rock Cruise on March 16-20, 2013 aboard the MSC Poesia with thousands ofother 80s rock and roll die hards.

With a lineup that featured close to 30 bands, we madethe decision not to try to do a review of every band onboard the ship and with a cruise like this, a largenumber of live acts going on all the time, there wasno way to cover every set from every band. We hadto figure out the best way to try to share theexperiences in a reasonable concise way with our

Rock Voltage readers.

So what we decided to do was to have K-rock simplyshare his top ten favorite moments from the cruise.There were tons to choose from and this was not aneasy task for a reporter who loves 80‘s hair-metal rockand roll who was literally surrounded by legends in thisgenre for days.

K-rock’s Top 10 moments from the Monster’s ofRock Cruise:

Before I begin to make my list, I want to attempt tododge the tons of arrows that I am sure will be fired inmy direction claiming that I missed someone’s favoriteband, experience or that I ignored something theyfound special. The true beauty of these cruises is thatthey are such an amazing adventure, that each of uswill take away memories that will last our lifetime.There was so much to experience on the ship that Iprobably missed a lot of great memories that othersexperienced. Each of us experienced it differently, so ifI didn’t list your favorite band, understand that this wastough to do and limit it to ten. I didn’t consider events I

“heard about”, only those I actually experienced. Herethey are: K-rock’s Top Ten Memories of the Monstersof Rock Cruise.

#10 I ran into John Corabi on the pool deck andthe guy was nice enough to shoot a short

promo for our website with me. I must have screwedup the promo three or four times. John was an amazingsport about it and patiently waited for me to get my acttogether to do what should have taken ten seconds, buttook a lot longer. John is a super friendly guy and wasamong the absolutely most accessible rockers on thecruise to fans.

#9 We had a blast at Coco Cay and had a greatgroup of some of our most loyal followers

hanging out on the beach. What could be better than aday at the beach on a private island with some greatfans and bands and a live acoustic set from GreatWhite. We decided to take a group photo and happenedto grab Terry Ilous from XYZ and Great White to joinus in our group photo. Terry is one friendly guy andjust seemed to be having a blast on the cruise. "Whatwe did not know at the time was that this scene wouldbe featured in the new Great White music video"Shotgun Willies"

#8 After all of these years I finally had the chanceto see Saxon Live. The band was incredible

and I hope that I will see more of them live. I actuallygot to see them twice on the ship!

#7 The crowd on this cruise was amazing. Forthose wondering about what people are like on

these cruises, the crowd was incredible. I dare say thatthe cruisers on this ship are more polite and take careof each other better than any big event you’ll find anywhere with “ordinary people”. I love how we allbreak every stereotype often held by those that don’t

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understand the tattooed, multi colored hair, chainwearing bunch of MOR cruisers. I never saw a fight,never saw rudeness...just rockers having a big party.

#6 Having the chance to see the newQueensryche with Todd LaTorre was a great

experience. Seeing the band do a set featuring tunesfrom the first EP, and The Warning was like an amazing trip back in a time machine. I love all era’s ofQueensryche, but have rarely had the chance to seeany of the oldest material performed live. What a treat.

#5 Friends, friends and more friends. There isnothing better about these cruises than

traveling with a group, meeting up and reuniting withold friends on the ship while making tons of new ones.The number of people we know and are friends withby the end of the cruise is astonishing and that is whatmakes it the most fun vacation ever.

#4 We had just met Russ Dwarf the week beforethe cruise for the very first time and stumbled

across Russ chilling out on the deck. What a pleasureit was to sit for a while and have a drink with Russ andenjoy his awesome sense of humor and stories from atruly legendary rocker.

#3 Ron Keel is another artist we don’t havethe opportunity to see play live that often,

even though we love seeing him live. I hope Ron,Marc Ferrari and crew would take this as acompliment when I say they are actually better now

than “back in the day” and their new music is the bestthey’ve ever written. We had the chance to see Rontwice from the front row, including the finalconcert set on the ship at 2:00 a.m the night wereturned to port.

#2 I have been a fan of Black N Blue since therelease of their very first album. The band

really does not play live often at all and you literallyonly have the chance to catch them live a few times ayear. Seeing Black N Blue on the pool deck from thefront row was an incredible experience for me.These guys absolutely still ROCK. I’ll see themevery chance I get.

#1 Without a doubt, my favorite moment had tobe the group Karaoke sing along we did at

Crazy Johnny’s All Rock Bar in Nassau. We (Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews) hosted rock and roll Karaokeparty at Crazy Johnny’s and had an absolute blastspending time doing what we love best, hanging outwith the fans of Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews andRock Voltage Magazine listening to rock and roll.

The friends you make on these cruises are friends youwill have for a lifetime and the chance to get togetheris worth the trip all by itself.

So there you have it, the perspective of a fan on hissecond Monsters of Rock Cruise. There were so manygreat bands not even mentioned here that we simplyloved. If this little snapshot of some of the fun isn’tenough to get you on board one of these cruises, I amnot sure what will. I know we’ll be sailing again nextyear and hope to be able to bring you a new list fromthe adventures of Monsters of Rock 2014.

Writtenby K-Rock

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Rock Voltage is always out there pounding thestreets looking for new bands to share with ourreaders. This issue our search led us to the Big

Apple where the five piece band Machine Elves iscarving out a niche as a fresh sounding, hard rockingband that is hard to label into any particular sub-genre.Imagine combining a group of veteran musicians fromBrooklyn and a singer from the Broadway musicalworld, and this is what you get in Machine Elves.

Everything about their 2012 album Fancy Suits andCigarettes has something original to love about it.The whole album has a certain versatility to it thatwavers between classic 70’s rock, to modernprogressive rock and then through all sorts ofother genres with smatterings of grunge, 80’smetal...where do we end? This is not to paint thepicture that their debut album is it in any way disjointed. In fact, it is is this variety that makesthis album so much fun to listen to.

At the center of what makes this an amazingalbum is the triple threat combination of somefantastic musical elements. First is the very versatile vocal work of singer Joey Calveri who oftentimes reminds the listener of the amazing MylesKennedy of Alter Bridge. The second big element isthe sort of unusual way in which the lead guitar isever present throughout the songs and never reallydisappears into the background. It’s almost like theband doesn’t want to give you a chance to rest sothey just keep it right there plugging away at you, but itworks very well. Last but not least are the lyricsthat are original, fun to listen to, and great for thosewho don’t just want to hear rock and roll cliche’s intheir music.

We had a chance to check in with drummer TommyMitchell and singer Joey Calvari and ask them to elaborate on some of the unique features of this bandfrom New York.

K-rock:You guys have a VERY unique sound. That is what Ilove about your music. Is there one genre that hasinfluenced you all the most?

TToommmmyy:: To be honest the five of us have such different musical

influences and that’s what I feel makes us not

sound like anyone.We range from 80's rock to 90's grunge to heavier rockto some 70's rock and punk as well.

K-rock:To Joey Calveri (vocals): I noticed you have a prettyinteresting resume and are in some other projectspeople may have heard of?

JJooeeyy CCaallvveerrii:: My career is in Broadway musical theatre, mainlyworking in the pop or rock shows of broadway. I’vedone shows like "We Will Rock You" in Las Vegas andnow I am performing on Broadway as Stacee Jaxx in"Rock of Ages".

K-rock:I'd love to be a fly on the wall during the writing

“Machine Elves is carving out a niche as a fresh sounding, hardrocking band that is hard to label into any particular sub-genre.”

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process for you guys. The music has so many twistsand turns. Can you tell me what that process is likefor you all?

TToommmmyy:: We are all very eclectic in our own taste of music andstyle. One guy comes up with an idea and the other

four guys add their own uniqueness to it, alwaysstriving to have all our songs have their own feeland energy.

K-rock:With the craziness (I mean that in a very good way!) ofyour tunes and your singer's background I imagine alive show is pretty wild?

TToommmmyy:: We put a lot of energy into our live performances andwe like our audiences to feel like they are seeing a"show" instead of just a band playing a gig. We aim tohave our audience be a part of our show.

K-rock:What does Machine Elves have in store for us in 2013?

TToommmmyy:: Our main focus in 2013 is to continue playing biggershows and increasing our fan base as well as promotingour album as much as we can. we hope to startshooting our video in a few weeks and also this yearbegin to record our second album.

You can learn more about the band and keep up

with their touring schedule on their Facebook page

at www.facebook.com/MachineElvesMusic. Their

album Fancy Suits and Cigarettes is available

on iTunes and several songs are available as

downloads on their Facebook page. Keep your eye

out for Machine Elves as you plan your live music

schedule. We look for big things from this band in

the second half of 2013.

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Drowning Pool brought some male fiercenesswith them to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Thecrowd’s energy pulsed with anticipation as

Jason Moreno (lead vocalist) took the stage and brokeinto “Step Up.” The dynamic on stage was raw andunparalleled. To say that they were crowd pleasingwould be an insult. As they finished up 37 Stitches andtheir new hit single, “One Finger and a Fist,” off theirsoon to be released album, “Resilience,” the fistpumping became the fury that fueled the ChameleonClub. Watching CJ Pierce on stage was like watchinga raging tornado, while Mike Luce killed it on drumsand bassist Stevie Benton was not to be ignored withhis tantric movements.

They ended the night with, the song that brought themto America’s attention in 2001, “Bodies.” This song isthe epitome of the perfect mosh anthem. The fans werescreaming along, crowd surfing and yes, a body or twomay have hit the floor. To top all of that off, theadrenaline in the room was amplified by noneother than front man, Moreno, coming down off stageto get in the faces of the dedicated fans creating anuproar as they finished out their set, “Let the Bodies Hitthe Floor.”

From leading with “Red Sam” to closing with oneof their hit singles “I’m So Sick,” Flyleaf nailedit. This alternative Christian rock band has a new

leading lady, Kristen May. She enchanted the crowdwith her mesmerizing vocal abilities. While some fansmay argue she is no Lacey Sturm, they would be right,she isn’t. She is Kristen May, and she is part of thewhole that makes Flyleaf. Fans showed their supportfor the band and their newly released album,“Horizons,” by singing along with every word to everysong. From the second they came out on stage withtheir high -voltage presence they commanded thereaction that they received. They played to thedemand of the crowd jumping, dancing and justtearing the walls down with their endless riffs of music.

Observe the 93rd’scover of“Gangster’s

Paradise” was fun andlight-hearted. Elliott2T’s Hertzler wasimmersed in hiskeyboard. Derek Henrysang his heart out andbassist Tyler Davisrocked out sittingon a folded-upbroken stool.Lastly, Dylan Zepp,the drummer, waslost in the momentpounding away in atie-dye 1 piecejumpsuit. Theoriginality ofthese guys wasgenuinelyrefreshing.

A Review of a Recent Concert at the Chameleon Club

The following is a review of 4 bands who played at the

Chameleon Club Lancaster PA 3/4/13

By: Lynn Cooper

The second act of the night was the L.A. basedband, Stars In Stereo. The captivating BecHollcraft, lead vocalist, is a

spitfire. She was on stage in heroh-so-cute “rock star”apparel and then she letloose rockinghard with hersilver metallic guitar. The

cuteness is still there but on a wholenew level of sexy sultriness. Stay tuned for their

self-titled album to be released later this year. Thisdefinitely is a band you’ll want to keep your eyes andears open for.

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They are probably best known for the fact thatJason Newsted was their bassist and main songwriter on their 1986 debut album "Doomsday

For The Deceiver" before finding worldwidemega-stardom in that band named Metallica, after CliffBurton left this world. Maybe you've heard of them?Flotsam ventured on without Newsted and made aniche for themselves on the thrash scenes releasing

some killer music in the late 80's and early 90's andeven though they continue to sporadically releasealbums over the years, they seemed to have fallen offthe radar for many listeners. "Ugly Noise" is actuallytheir 11th studio album, so if you've lost track, or arenew to Flotsam & Jetsam you might want to retracetheir history and see what you've missed out on. "UglyNoise" picks up where their 2010 album "The Cold"left off, and F&J feel like a long lost friend comingback to find you and thrash you senseless... in a goodway! "The Cold" was an awesome return their roots,while adding the maturity of a well seasoned band,and "Ugly Noise" continues in this spirit with evenmore power and mind numbing songs.

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Over the years Flotsam have had a revolving door ofmembers with only guitarist Edward Carlson andvocalist Eric A.K. being present on every release in theband's catalog. Eric did take a brief hiatus for a fewyears and was temporarily replaced with James Riverafor touring. The lineup for the new album finds theband returning the same line up that they had in 1992when they released their 4th album "Cuatro". JoiningEric and Ed once more are original founding drummerKelly Smith, guitarist Michael Gilbert (who was inthe band prior to their debut recording), and bassistJason Ward.

The album starts off with the title track and from thereyou are hooked, sucked in, and ready for the ride ofyour life. This is classic heavy riffing, hook ladenFlotsam & Jetsam at it's very finest.

Eric A.K. has always had a very unique vocal style andhe just shines on this album from beginning to end.

This guy can sing his ass off and has lost nothing overthe years but gained more power and sophistication inhis delivery. "Giddy Up" delivers more of the samewith a catchy groove and the entire band just swings.

This album is chock full of great heavy songs, yet theyall differ from each other and give the album a lot ofdiversity. The song "Rage" is a stand out for its interesting 'metal choir from hell' chanting of thechorus and a bit experimental (as Flotsam has donemany times over the years) but incredibly catchy andvery cool."Cross the Sky" begins with just Eric’svocals to get your attention and BAM! The tune blastsin like a nuclear bomb.

There's a very industrial metal sound and vibe going onall through the track titled "Mother*ckery" and it'sanother stand out tune on the album because of howdifferent it is from what you were expecting.

The album ends with "Machine Gun" and when it'sover you've been pummeled for 47 minutes and you'llbe dying for another round. This album is veryaddictive and you'll find yourself playing it over andover again.

http://groundwirerecords.com