Introducing NOBRO your new favourite Canadian band.
A few weeks ago Rich Jones Guitarist with Michael Monroe posted a video on Ginger Wildhearts Twitter feed. A video for a song by a band called NOBRO.
I think it’s fair to say that is you are reading this you also to love to discover new music. Once in while you find something truly great, something that blows away the cobwebs of the status quo.
The song in question was Don’t die and I would describe it as a forever song, it got added to my Spotify Ultimate Rock playlist and it will be there forever.
Honestly I have had this song on repeat and devouring the limited output from this band for the last couple of weeks. Watching them on YouTube you know this is going to be one hell of a live experience when they finally get to go back on the road.
We needed to find out more about this band so we asked them for an interview. Enjoy the following then go check out NOBRO.
How did you come up with your band name? When starting the band I was looking for a lead female guitar player, which at the time proved to be difficult, and a few dudes gladly wanted to volunteer for the position but I kept saying “uh no bro”.
What’s the story behind behind how you ended up forming the band?There’s been a carousel of different players in the band. But this most recent formation is the one that stuck. We mostly met each other through mutual friends and loose social connections..lucky we found each other 🙂
What’s the story behind Don’t Die & what inspired the creative concept for the music video? Don’t Die, well, haha is tattooed on my wrist first of all. I’ve always needed to have sage life advice near by. Secondly, the song was inspired from a previous relationship that became dangerous at points. I can’t take any credit for the video that was all Greg DOBLE! We just let him roll in that direction and we are so glad for it!
Any plans for an upcoming album release? Yes! We just recorded our second EP! It’s sick
Can you tell us about your funniest or most interesting giging experience? The funniest gigs in my opinion are the ones where you think to yourself “what the fuck am I doing? Why didn’t I just listen to my mom? Oh god, I’ve made a huge mistake”. There are have been some incredible moments sharing big stages with your some of our idols but the for me the ones when I look back that put a smile on my face are definitely the shows that we were probably the only ones having fun
What would your dream tour look like? At this point, any show would be a dream
Who has inspired you musically the most so far? There are too many people to list
What’s your ultimate goal as far as Nobro is concerned? Keeping shredding until we are 80
We always love to end interviews on a fun and off the cuff note, so if you could eat any food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? I mean I already eat oatmeal everyday so I would say that? Its just my jam
Hello all! Roctavia here and I’m back again with some more wonderful Rock ‘N’ Roll for you my Lovelies. Today I had the privilege of snagging an interview with a band whose music is making some strong vibrations in the UK Rock scene. In this write-up I get to bring you along with me as I was allowed access to take a peek into the world of The Dust Coda.
Per the band’s main page, The Dust Coda was founded in the melodic prowess of Adam Mackie (lead guitar) and John Drake (vocals, rhythm guitar) and completed by the richly rugged groove of Scott Miller (drums) and Tony Ho (bass guitar). These London rockers have thundered into the New era of the Classic Rock style scene with enticingly unforgettable riffs, gravel-soaked vocal soul and sheer swagger.
Once you’ve given The Dust Coda a listen, you’ll be able to pick out the deep & buttery bluesy elements of Led Zeppelin, to the nasty muscle of Guns N’ Roses. This is most definitely the recipe that has brought them kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
I myself was very impressed upon doing my listening research on the band prior to preparing my write-up questions. This band has dealt a respectful nod with a taste of classic rock, but they bring something new & special to the table that I just can’t quite put my finger on. So naturally, being my usual rock-mindedly inquisitive self, I just had to find out a bit more about the band. In this interview we were able to chat with guitarist Adam Mackie.
Roctavia: Hi Adam! Thank you for taking the time to interview with me today! Let’s get right to it shall we?
Roctavia: Your band name, The Dust Coda seems pretty unique. So I gotta know, what’s the story behind it?
Adam: So …..
The Dust part represents ‘biker dust’ so it resonates with the imagery of route 66, freedom, bikers, the open road and rock n roll.
Coda is the name of the symbol at the end of a repeat passage in musical transcript. Translated it means ‘completion’.
So for us The Dust Coda is just helping repeat all the great parts of rock n roll and keeping it alive and kicking in modern times.
Roctavia: That’s a pretty inspiring answer! It really fits in with all the Rock ‘N’ Roll power that you guys are bringing to the table!
Roctavia: How did your band end up forming?
Adam: Myself and John met many years ago in another project. I then wanted to start a rock band and asked John to write some songs with me. The early signs were promising and they both liked what they were coming up with. After months and months in my room in Brixton fuelled by copious amounts of Red Stripe, they made garageband demo’s to start attracting a rhythm section to complete the band and form The Dust Coda. A few years later they were well rehearsed, gigging, and self funded the production of their debut album in 2016, which was released in 2017. Things have been getting louder ever since ….
Roctavia: Musically, what was it like growing up for you?
Adam: For me I was lucky to grow up around good music with my parents having good taste, there was always the latest album playing on cassette in the car. Back in the 80’s this would include OMD, Tears For Fears, Simply Red, The Stranglers, Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton. That’s how I fell in love with the guitar. I then discovered Guns N Roses and my world changed!
Roctavia: Yes! GNR! I can relate haha!
Roctavia: What’s the story behind getting the first instrument that you were really proud of?
Adam: It wasn’t the instrument, but ….
When I was 13 I got my first electric guitar – a stunning black Epiphone Les Paul. The deal was, if my Dad buys the guitar I had to buy the amp. My only income was from a weekly paper round at the time. I saved up for months and was able to buy the amp. I still own both now and love them!
Roctavia: That’s awesome. I always love hearing stories about how fellow musicians came across their first vessels of musicality. Whatever they may be.
Roctavia: So who are your greatest musical influences? Which of them do you feel shines through most as inspiration for your music?
Adam: As a band we all share the same love for the rock n roll greats – Led Zep, Guns N Roses, Rolling Stones, and AC/DC. These guys are all a string part of our sound.
Myself and John write the songs and we definitely draw upon wider influences between them that come out in The Dust Coda albums. These include (to name a few!) Sound Garden, Bruce Springteen, Ryan Adams, Free, Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine.
Roctavia: Haha, I just have to say I’m very impressed with the taste in music here.
Roctavia: If you could map a dream tour, what would it look like?
Adam: At the moment – anywhere!!!
Roctavia: Yeah…I completely understand what you mean. I’d give anything just to be a girl at a rock show again.
We can’t wait to get out and see our UK fans again once Covid eases down, after that we want to get out as many places as possible – nowhere is off limits!
Roctavia: What’s the story behind your most favorite gig experience?
Adam: We played Brewdog’s annual general meeting a few years ago at Aberdeen Arena. It was a 10,000 string indoor crowd which was amazing, but without doubt what made it special was a whole day with free beer 🙂
Roctavia: Haha! A full day of free beer? That does sound like a pretty great day!
Roctavia: When the world opens back up, what’s next for The Dust Coda?
Adam: Like all bands we can’t wait to get back out there playing live again. Our new album Mojo Skyline comes out on 26th March, so we can’t wait to start playing a load of songs that fans have never heard before live
Roctavia: Thank you again for taking the time out to interview with me today. I really appreciate it. So I love to do this thing where I end interviews on a fun and off-the-cuff note so if you could meet with anyone in history, who would it be & why?
Adam: Oooooo – I think I’d go with George Martin. Just to hear his view on what it was like to work with The Beatles in that period of history which changed music forever, through his eyes.
For more on The Dust Coda & to keep up with their soon to be released album Mojo Skyline, you can check them out below.
Terrorvison Tony - An interview with a legendary from man.
We like to shake things up over here at Rock News, normal is boring. So for this one I thought I would tell you my Terrorvion journey first.
During my now many years on this planet I have been to hundreds of gigs and seen bands that are now classed as legendary.
There comes a time in most people’s life when kids come along and you find yourself with no time and money for gigs. During this time a band came along that had hit after hit in the charts, not just the Rock charts but the regular charts. Terrorvison was a Rock Band that appeared on the TV and not just Top of the Pops.
Fast forward to 2012 and my gig going days are back. It’s Friday it’s Download, it’s cold it’s wet and I finally get to see Terrorvison, the first band on the Zippo stage.
Out comes Tony, barefoot jumping around like a teenager, to say they smashed it would be an understatement.
Since that day I have seen them many times and to this day they are the only band I have ever seen that have made the Nottingham Rock City floor bow and flex as the crowd jumped around.
If you ever get the chance to see Terrorvison or Tony’s solo gigs don’t miss it.
So when we started this blog Tony was top of our bucket list for people to interview. Thankfully Tony is a down to earth and nice guy and accepted our request for an interview.
This is where we hand over to the one and only ace interviewer Roctavia.
Thank you for taking the time out to answer a couple questions with us today! We’ve been really looking forward to interviewing you Tony. My name is Roctavia and I’m from the United Stated so these are questions from an American’s perspective. Honestly, an American that very much so loves British rock bands.
So let’s jump right in, from what I’ve noticed so far in getting to know more about the band & your music is that you seem like a really hard working band. There doesn’t seem to be any big egos at all either. What do you think makes you all mesh & get along so well?
We’re all from Bradford and the surrounding areas. It’s quite a unique place where if you have an ego there’s plenty of folk to shoot you down so people meet the friends they make usually at the bars that play the music they are into. We don’t always get along of course but the end result is one we are all happy with and happy to go out and play as many places as we can. Music was a great escape for us.
How did Terrorvision end up forming?
I met Mark and asked when the band were playing again. (They had a different singer) he said they were left looking for a singer. I said I’d do it, he’s said probably not. They couldn’t find anyone else and so had no choice 😂🤣
What is the driving force behind your creativity?
The ambition to be creative and leave a legacy and not just work to produce litter for the bins. Sometimes that is great sometimes it’s hard but it’s something to set and a goal and try to stick to
Can you tell us about your most favorite song that you’ve written & what the creative process behind writing it was like from start to finish?
For me I always feel like I hear the song and just catch it. It might be an overheard conversation snippet or an emotion that is stirred by the news but I don’t have a favourite as my ambition is to keep writing till I hit a pinnacle I can’t get any higher than. Therefore the best is yet to come…. I hope
Terrorvision is majorly well known in the UK for our US readers that are not really aware. Can you tell us what you feel the magic equation was that garnered you such a huge television & radio presence?
When we started most rock bands where we lived had really strong American accents as British media doesn’t support rock music like the States do so most stuff we heard was from the States. You have mainstream media over there that rocks and we have a few safe rock bands that the radio over here will play. They say nothing, challenge less and are safe as safe can be. But Terrorvision had some fans in the TV world and gave us a platform to be seen. Radio never liked us.
Tell us a bit about your favorite gig & why you enjoyed it so much.
I love all gigs. It doesn’t matter where, how big or small. It’s just an absolute pleasure to be in a room with like-minded folk after growing up feeling like you just don’t fit in. Doesn’t matter if that is Reading festival, Download or top deck of a bus… It’s special.
Have you put any thoughts into doing a tour in The States? What would your dream US tour look like?
A dream your would just be an opportunity to tour. We nearly got there but we liked to party quite hard and it just never happened.
What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you on tour?
Can’t tell you. Haha! Fair enough.
What do you feel is in the future for Terrorvision after pandemic restrictions are lifted?
Maybe another album. More tours and festivals. Putting out our own solo and other band stuff….
Again, thank you so very much for taking the time to chat with us Tony. So I always love to go out of an interview on a fun & off-the-cuff note so who’s your favourite Disney princess & why?
Shera. He man’s girlfriend . Don’t know if she was a princess but she was well fit.
It’s that time of year again when Inked Magazine run their competition to find the Inked cover girl of the year. This year you can vote for our very own Octavia Principe.
We asked Octavia.
What was your first tattoo?
Two Peacemakers (6-shooter pistols) on the back of my neck. My tattoo artist was leery about placement as it was my first tattoo. He was also pretty amazed at the fact that I sat like a stone for it. I’ve always been one for the Wild West lol.
What are your tattoos and what do they mean to you?
I personally love being able to wear art around throughout my journey in life. This way I get to keep my most meaningful pieces nearest to my heart instead of being restricted to solely visiting pieces in a museum for example.
Well, let’s see lol! I have quite a few so I hope that you’re ready for storytime haha.
My Peacemakers
These two six shooters are a nod to quite a few things. My ability to graduate from college on my own (guns blazing) after not having my immediate/closest familial support in my life, a nod to a long-time significant other at the time for their support, and a representation for my love & desire for the Wild West.
My Roses & Butterflies
These tattoos are for my mom…even though she was completely against me getting them lol. I let her know that the rose on my shoulder was the closest that any tat would get to my heart…& that it was for her. She softened up on them after that. We would plant roses along the side of my house growing up and Monarch butterflies would always come fly around me & land on me after they would emerge from my neighbor’s milkweed tree.
My Anatomical Skull with Vertebrae
It’s a reference to death, but not in a negative or scary way. There is still beauty in the imperfections that come with life & death. It also kind of ties in to the Monarch butterflies as well. I watched my neighbor torch their milkweed tree one spring when it was still full of cocoons. An image that kinda sticks with you as a little girl. Instead of taking the situation literally with actual flames, I proposed this interpretation to my artist & he rolled with it. That’s why if you’ve ever seen it up close, you’ll see whisps of smoke in the butterfly swarm in greywash. Kinda heavy I know, but it was a beautiful way to document the trials & tribulations of my life. The fact that I’ve been through so much but I still see so much beauty in coming up through the ashes.
My Frankenstein’s Monster
I love reading & this guy from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein really stood out to me in my literature courses. He was sorely misunderstood. All he ever really truly wanted was love. Relatable lol.
Where The Wild Things Are
This one is a scene of the wild rumpus from one of my favorite books as a kid. I really struggled with learning to read at first as a little girl, but once I did I consumed books like pieces of cereal! I am an only child so I’d escape to so many various wonderlands, galaxies, & places where dinosaurs tromped with ease instead of being on my own when friends couldn’t play or when my parents were busy.
My Realistic Timber Wolf & Wolf Totem
The wolf is my spirit animal. I know that sounds cliché, but a jet black timber wolf with ice blue eyes came to me in my dreams over a consistent period of time during a really rough patch in my life. It came with the message to believe, to not give up & not to stand still. To keep believing & move forward towards better days that were on the horizon.
My Luke Spiller Tattoo
You know after I came out of that rough patch that I was talking about when I mentioned my wolf tattoos to being in a good place, but still a bit shaken by what I’d been through; I remember hearing Could Have Been Me by The Struts as the first song to come through the speakers of the very first car that I purchased on my own. Luke’s voice & that song spoke to me on a soul level. It was a really happy time in my life, soundtracked by such a truly amazing song. Their music has always been there for me, no matter what. It’s gotten me through a lot and it continues to do so to this day. I couldn’t be more grateful so I couldn’t think of a better way to document how much all of it truly means to me.
What will your next one be?
Finishing my sleeve with lace cuff accents and then a butterfly silhouette burst transition from a lace pattern on my shoulder. The next complete one will be creeping rose vine & lace down my left side that ends in a Scorpio on a bed of roses on my glute/upper thigh. It’s going to be pretty painful with the rib cage and all & fairly expensive so it’s why I’ve been holding off lol.
What will you do if you win the competition?
Pay off some of my pandemic struggles. Donate to NIVA & CIVL. Create/produce a song of my own to reignite the fire for my career in music. GET MORE TATTOOS lol! Finally get my Harley-Davidson Softail. …And do some much desired traveling. I’d love to see the northern lights in Iceland & I’ve never been to Disney World believe it or not (I’m a major Disney movie girl). I’d love to visit a few places in the Pacific Islands, Northern Africa & Ireland as well. I’ve made it a point recently to visit places that are parts of my heritage. I finally got to see Italy last year & it was truly a blessing. Thank you so much for taking the time out to interview me on my Inked Magazine Covergirl Competition experience Andrew! You really got me to spill the beans haha! Hope I didn’t talk your ear off too badly lol.
Some things just do not seem fair. The one big thing I have never understood is the random nature of bands / artists actually becoming a success. Radio play and media acceptance is a total lottery.
I can say for sure that it is not just based on talent and enthusiasm. I am not saying that all successful bands are undeserving- I tend to look at it from the opposite viewpoint, that many very talented musicians are in danger of slipping through the net.
I really hope that this does not happen with Matt Peach. I believe his latest album, Epiphany, may well go a long way to making sure that it will not.
I must, once again, declare an interest here. Matt is not a new artist to me. I have been listening to him and watching him play live for some years. This, however, does not colour my opinion of this new offering.
Listening to Epiphany is a really happy experience. There are some songs on here that will be familiar from live shows, such as Cut Our Teeth (the new single) and One Night in Paris. Even if they are not already known to new listeners, there are accessible and well written.
The whole album is a collection of great pop/rock songs that deserve a much wider audience.
One of my highlights is Guy Bueno- a great story about Matt himself being rescued from a drunken, quite scary situation by a total stranger.
Listen to this album. It will make you smile. The songs are great, and the playing / musicianship is fantastic. It is also worth checking out Blue Skies – a previous album- and his Christmas song – Rock and Roll Christmas. The latter is great fun that should be on everyone’s yuletide playlist.
Go and buy Epiphany and check out Matt live as soon as COVID allows it. Maybe we can all do something small in the name of enabling talent to rise to its deserved level. I really hope that this happens with Matt.
REWS is the fierce, high energy, alternative pop / rock band lead by Northern Irish songwriter Shauna Tohill.
Following the release of 4 hot singles including ’Birdsong’, ‘Monsters’, ‘Heart Is On Fire’ & ‘Today We’re Warriors’, REWS have released highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Warriors’. The album is REWS’ call to arms to unite, stand up, be strong and take life’s challenges head on using music as our binding force… it is a perfect sentiment in this time and the singles highlight what this new album is all about!*
I recently received the honor of being granted a one on one interview with REWS lead singer Shauna Tohill. Aside from being extremely down to earth, she was an absolute champion at navigating every single one of my interview questions to a “T.” She is multi-instrumental and I personally found her to be a blanket of positivity and inspiration, not only in these trying times, but for aspiring musicians inclusively as a whole. You can check out exactly what I mean in our interview below!
Roctavia: What gave you the inspiration for your band’s name & what does it mean?
Shauna Tohill: It was inspired by a surname ‘Reus’ which means the giant people. It was fitting as a wise man once told me a band becomes their name… and I wanted to create music that people might be inspired by and look up to.
Roctavia: How did REWS end up forming?
Shauna Tohill: It all began in an artist residency in Cirencester. I spent 4 months there writing new material for a rock project and Rews was born!
Roctavia: How many instruments do you play in total, and what gave you the desire to take on learning multiple instruments?
Shauna Tohill:Haha! I come from a musical family & being Irish, music is in the blood. I dabble with the drums and play mainly guitar, bass and piano. Would love to play cello one day.
Roctavia: Have you ever encountered any flack for being a “female musician” & do you have any reservations about that title if any?
Shauna Tohill: A little but it says more about the people who attack you than about the person they’re attacking. I am proud to be a woman – the issue arrives when people treat you differently for being a women and assume you’re not as capable as another human being purely because of your genitalia. I’d rather be called a musician, but I don’t mind celebrating and boasting about the fact that women rock too!
Roctavia: What message(s) would you like to relay to all the little girls out there who aspire to be a musician like you?
Shauna Tohill: To all little girls (and boys or non-binary people) out there, I urge you to follow your dreams, be true to yourself, work hard but take time to recoup and invest in good relationships in your life. Life is no bed of roses and the music industry in particular is a tough place to be but if you stay firm on who you are and keep grounded, you will find joy in all you do and strive for.
Roctavia: What inspires you most during your creative process?
Shauna Tohill:Mainly stories that people tell me, experiences that I’m going through and fun chord sequences! 🙂
Roctavia: What was the biggest drive behind your sophomore album? What message are you wanting it to get across most?
Shauna Tohill:The biggest drive was to help people feel part of a community & know that they’re not alone in this world! Music is a healer for the soul & my inspiration was to write honest songs about different troubles that we all go through and show people they can pull through anything that life throws at us whether its relationships, careers, studies, family & pandemics!
Roctavia: I hear that you’ve been majorly active with your online presence during the pandemic, what gave you the desire to maintain such a strong social media foothold?
Shauna Tohill:It’s been such a tough time for everyone and I felt that people needed a space to escape from reality for a while & inject a bit of positivity in such a dark time. So I did loads!! And it was amazing to connect with people in that way!
Roctavia: What has been your most memorable experience about being out on tour?
Shauna Tohill:Good question! Lots of memories! But probably the last tour with The Darkness – on our first night on the tour bus, we slept in and ended up on a journey to Birmingham as the bus needed to be fixed but we were due to play Nottingham… very stressful but we did manage to get back in time before soundcheck! We just needed to entertain ourselves in an industrial estate for the day! 🤣
Roctavia: Speaking of touring, if you could tour the US, what would your ideal first tour look like? Shauna Tohill:I’d love to tour with another artist across the US – ideally it would be with Foo Fighters! 🙂
Roctavia: I always love to end interviews by going out on a kind of fun & off the cuff note so if you could have any super power in the world, what would you choose & why?
Shauna Tohill:Haha! Love this! Probably would be to be able to communicate with all animals and life forms! Then you might know how they are experiencing life. I think it would really open up our minds to how we treat the earth.
