Listening to Immortal, the new album from the Michael Schenker Group, there is one thing that I have read quite recently that I simply cannot get out of my head.
Apparently the guy has NOT yet been inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame- I find this incredible! Surely this cannot be true?!
He is, in my opinion, one of the top three guitar players I have ever heard.
I find myself listening for all the guitar work above everything else( it has always been the way when I listen to anything written by or played on by Schenker).
That is not to say that the album is bad at all. I like it. There are some really great songs on it . My own favourites include Don’t Die On Me Now , Devil’s Daughter and Sail The Darkness. Overall it is a really nice collection of good rock songs with a couple of slower ballads thrown in as well.
In Search Of The Peace Of Mind is a lovely little hat tip to the 70s Scorpions days.
It may sound as though I am being a bit dismissive of the actual songs and I do not mean to be at all. I believe Immortal is as good as some of Schenker’s earlier work and would deserve about a 7 out of ten.
The thing that probably pushes it up to an eight or nine is the guitar playing. It is unmistakeable melodic and lyrical. Schenker seems to avoid the over technical barrage of notes that some strive for. He sound totally effortless and the work fits with the songs beautifully.
Some of the picking in the slower After The Rain is stunning and takes me back to High Flyer from the album Force It and maybe also Love To Love from the slightly later Lights Out .
Lockdown cannot end quickly enough for a lot of far more important reasons than live music, but seeing another live performance from this man will be very near the top of my To Do list.
The songs on Immortal will fit in well with any other that are included in a live set.
Michael Schenker is alive and well and still shredding like the guitar hero that he always has been.
Go and buy this and just listen to a guy who is a master of his craft, doing what he does best. It will make you realise that form is temporary but class is permanent- and Michael Schenker is pure class.
Get ready for the Rat Race - An Interview with Tag Grey of The Treatment 2
If you know me well, you know that there’s nothing that I love more than discovering up & coming bands that not too many people would stumble across in an everyday setting. I mean, after all…that’s why we’re here right? Well a little birdie told me to check out The Treatment for a prospective interview possibility and I instantly liked the vibe of what I saw.
The first video that I came across, “Hang Them High,” had a rag-tag, motley crew of long haired Rock ‘N’ Rollers, making good noise, surrounded by a swarm of close-knit fans. If that doesn’t make you want to jump into the screen after almost a year without live shows…you just might want to check your pulse. British rockers, The Treatment liken themselves to a band of pirates & are, “flying the flag for British Rock ‘N’ Roll”, so yeah, I’m already all in. Anyway, after checking in with their ever so wonderful management team, we were given the go-ahead to pick the brains of The Treatment guitarist, Tag Grey.
Roctavia: Hi! My name is Roctavia & I’m a US Correspondent with Rock News UK. Thank you for taking the time out to interview with me today.
Let’s get right down to it then shall we?
Tag Grey: Absolutely!
Roctavia: First & foremost, if you could introduce your band to the US or any other country as a whole, what would you say is the overall band essence you’d want those new potential fans to absorb? Who is The Treatment & what are you all about?
Tag Grey: We are a high octane rock’n’roll band straight out of Cambridge UK. We are about loud guitars, high energy, good times and bringing the fun back into rock music. We are Dhani Mansworth (on drums), myself Tag Grey (on guitar), Tao Grey (on the other guitar) Tom Rampton (on vocals) and Andy Milburn (on bass).
Roctavia: What made you all want to become musicians?
Tag Grey: We all got here in a similar way, but I know for a few of us was first seeing AC/DC, mainly Angus Young. That band changed my life, a huge part of playing in a band is just having the chance to change peoples lives, to travel the world and not have to work a 9 till 5.
Roctavia: Angus! Yes! Haha looks like we’re on a great path already.
Roctavia: Well what a perfect segue into my next question actually haha. Who or what bands have most greatly influenced The Treatment?
Tag Grey: AC/DC is pretty high on the list, The Cult, Sex Pistols, Kiss, Motley Crue. But our personal influences are all quite different. I’m a huge fan of John Squire from The Stone Roses and Seahorses.
Roctavia: No wonder why I was diggin’ everything during my research lol. Excellent catalogue!
Roctavia: So you have a new album called Waiting For Good Luck coming out this February, can you tell us what the writing process was like?
Tag Grey: I think this year has been pretty tough for all, so “Waiting For Good Luck” seemed like a rather relevant title, however we actually had some luck on our side. When lockdown first hit all we could do was play! There was nothing else we could do but write. We had a four month pre- production and Laurie Mansworth (Dhani’s dad) producing and co-writing with us! When it came to the recording, we settled on Rockfield Studios which has had some legendary names go through it! That’s where the magic on this record came from!
Roctavia: What sound experience can your audience expect from your new album?
Tag Grey: There’s no fancy words for good time rock’n’roll, so if you’re looking for doom and gloom don’t listen to us! That’s all I’m going to say.
Roctavia: Nice!
Roctavia: What are you looking forward to most once gigs are able to start back up again?
Tag Grey: Just getting into a bus and traveling around with the gang. It’s all too polite and peaceful being stuck at home right now. I will never complain about loading the gear or having to drive 30 hours for one gig! Just bring it all back asap please!
Roctavia: Ugg. I hear that. Polite-*scoffs* haha!
Roctavia: So what’s the thing that you miss most about gigging?
Tag Grey: That feeling you get when the band is just rocking, everything is just in the right place and we are all in the groove. There’s no better moment.
Roctavia: On that note…what do you miss the least?
Tag Grey: The ferry ride from Dover (UK) to Calais (France), I think I’ve spent a good few years of my life waiting for ferries every time we’re off to tour in Europe!
Roctavia: Haha I can relate with the occasions that I’ve driven to see my favorite bands in Canada & had to ferry over. Don’t envy you there haha!
Roctavia: What was your most memorable tour experience?
Tag Grey: Japan. The whole experience was amazing. We played Ozzfest and had a 5 day stay in Tokyo. To me, it was just a moment I could never have imagined as a kid. Walking out to an arena full of fans screaming Treatment lyrics back to us was just the best. Oh, and the crazy things you can find in vending machines out there is pretty mad!
Roctavia: Haha! So I hear!
Roctavia: If you could pick any venue to play in in the world, where would you play?
Tag Grey: Wembley Stadium, we played the arena a few years ago opening up for Status Quo, but the dream is to play the stadium!
Roctavia: when all is said & done…what is the one thing that you want most for the future of The Treatment?
Tag Grey: Right now, I think I speak for us all, but just to get out of lockdown and to play a gig is more than enough! We’re not a band that want for much. Just to stay on the road, roaming around like pirates and making a huge amount of noise wherever we go!
Roctavia: *Nods in agreement. Throws horns.
Roctavia: Well our time just flew by! Speaking of, thank you so much for taking the time out to interview with me today Tag. So I always love to end an interview on a fun and off-the-cuff note so what’s your biggest food pet peeve? Is there anything that grosses you out?
Tag Grey: Nothing really grosses me out, but I have a severe hatred for kidney beans, chickpeas (but not hummus) and boiled carrot! Anything else… serve it up!
For more on The Treatment & to check out their new single “Rat Race” & album “Waiting For Good Luck” click the link 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.
