PUBLISHER Sean McCloskey [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR Todd McFliker [email protected] DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Melissa A. Smith [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Tom Craig Paul Evans Abel Folgar Claire Keyes Larry Marano Sean McCloskey Todd McFliker Andrew Richterkessing Jay Skolnick Melissa A. Smith Jason Valhuerdi Alanna Vilane Joseph Vilane www.SFLMusic.com twitter.com/SFLMusic facebook.com/SFLMusic ADVERTISING INFO [email protected] COVER PHOTO Sean McCloskey SFL Music Magazine is a community newspaper that is published monthly in Sunrise, Florida. All contents are copyright The Sweet Music Group, Inc. 2016 and may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.

Groove Thangs

C ONT E NT S May 2016 | Issue #47

Concert Listings - 06 Gin Blossoms - 08 Chic - 09 Duran Duran - 09 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Vol. 1 - 12 Get the Led Out - 14 Walter Trout - 14 Puddle of Mudd - 15 The Cult - 15 Groove Thangs - 15 Albert Castaglia - 16 Bush - 18 The Dose - 22 Pearl Jam - 24 SunFest 2016 - 26 Fort Rock - 30 The Nth Power - 34 Sounds Like Teen Spirit - 36 Zoso - 37 Kiss Alive - 37 Living Color - 37

GO SEE IT LIVE!

May 3 Cypress Hill – Revolution Live

May 17 The Struts – Culture Room

May 4 Mavis Staples & The Blind Boys of Alabama – Broward Center

May 18 STRFKR/ COM Truise – Culture Room

May 5 Shapes, Sandratz, McFisty & More - Churchills JP Soars – Trio Live

May 19 Screaming Females & Aye Nako – Churchhills Marlon Wayans – Fillmore Miami Beach Joey Gilmore Band – Trio Live!

May 6 Iron Reagan, Shroud Enter - Churchills Collie Buddz – J Street Block Party! – Propaganda Carlos Vives – American Airlines Arena Mayhem of Gouyad – Revolution Live Bunny Wailer – Culture Room The Flyers – Trio Live May 7 Zach Deputy – Culture Room Impractical Jokers – Broward Center Sada, Fun at Parties, Safehouse, Skoros – Propaganda The Groove – Trio Live May 8 J Boog – Culture Room The Austin Miller Band, Lone Wolf - Churchills May 10 The Front Bottoms – Revolution Live The Sword – Culture Room May 11 The 1975 – Bayfront Park Amphitheater Flatbush Zombies – Revolution Live May 12 Control: Joy Division Tribute - Churchills May 13 Deftones – Pompano Beach Amphitheater Propaganda Peep Show: Ultraviolence – Propaganda Florence and the Machine – American Airlines Arena Mushroohead & (HED) P.E. – Culture Room Bobby Nathan – Trio Live! May 14 Propaganda Peep Show Presents: Ultraviolence – Propaganda Young Musicians Unite – Fillmore Miami Beach SunGhosts, Kids, Denudes – Churchills Fonseca – The Fillmore Miami Beach Green Means GO – Trio Live May 15 Gin Blossoms – Pompano Beach Amphitheater Apocalyptica – Culture Room May 16 Born Of Osiris – Culture Room Miami Jazz Jam - Churchills 6 | www.SFLMusic.com

May 20 Legends Of The Old School w/ Bel Biv Devoe, Lisa Lisa, Tone Loc & More – Mizner Park Amphitheater Agnostic Front, Coldside, Rhythm of Fear – Churchhills Pink Talking Fish with The Heavy Pets – Revolution Live Guitar Legend Dick Dale – Culture Room Limerock – Trio Live! May 21 Angelcorpse, Hellwitch, Hibernus Mortis, Caveman Cult, Reapermanser – Churchhills Millencolin – Revolution Live Zhu – The Fillmore Miami Beach The Livesays – Trio Live May 25 Que Lastima with The Zoo Peculiar, and more – Propaganda Hate Eternal – Culture Room May 26 Magic Man & The Griswolds – Culture Room May 28 R. Kelly – American Airlines Arena Buckethead – Culture Room May 29 One Hell of a Night with Joe Walsh & Bad Company – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater Young The Giant – Revolution Live June 3 Ellie Goulding – American Airlines Arena HA*ASH – Fillmore Miami Beach June 4 Darius Rucker Good For A Good Time Tour – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater Emblem3 – Revolution Live June 6 Gigi D’Alessio – Fillmore Miami Beach June 8 Refused – Revolution Live June 9 X Ambassadors – Revolution Live

Want your event listed? [email protected] June 10 Gogol Bordello – Revolution Live June 11 Selena Gomez – American Airlines Arena Cyndi Lauper – Mizner Park Amphitheater Journey & The Doobie Brothers – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater Tommy James & The Shondells – Pompano Beach Amphitheater June 14 St. Lucia – Culture Room June 15 Lord Huron – Fillmore Miami Beach June 18 Vince Neil – Pompano Beach Amphitheater Keith Urban – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater The Grow Wild Tour – Culture Room June 22 Brit Floyd – Fillmore Miami Beach June 24 Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas – BB&T Center June 25 Old Habits, Brick by Brick, Sweet Nothings, Judge Holden and Cinderblock – Propaganda Buckcherry – Pompano Beach Amphitheater June 28 Jon Bellion – Culture Room June 29 Steely Dan & Steve Winwood – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater July 1 Slipknot – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater July 2 Twenty One Pilots – BB&T Center Justin Bieber – American Airlines Arena Modern Baseball – Revolution Live July 3 Justin Bieber – American Airlines Arena Vans Warped Tour Presented – Perfect Vodka Amphitheater July 6 Aesop Rock – Revolution Live July 9 Flag – Culture Room July 15 Shawn Mendes – Mizner Park Amphitheater July 17 Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Culture Room

Before returning to the studio in October with R.E.M. producer Don Dixon to finish up their sixth album, Gin Blossoms perform at Pompano Beach Amphitheatre on Sunday, May 15th with support from Tonic and Dishwalla. Since first getting together in Tempe, Arizona back in 1987, Gin Blossoms have made it to the top during the era of grunge. Gin Blossoms have sold millions of records and toured more than two dozen nations across the globe. They’ve performed all over television, from MTV and SNL to Letterman and the Grammy Awards. “We are the kind of band that likes to interact with the audience,” explained guitarist Scotty Johnson while working in Memphis. “Some guys end their songs and don’t say anything to the crowd. It’s just really quiet. That’s not our gig. Our singer (Robin Wilson) will pass a tambourine around because he wants people to participate in the show. We are an audience-friendly band.” Throughout the years, Gin Blossoms have offered listeners exquisite and melodic guitar work meshed with introspective lyrics. They have experienced ups and downs over the years. Gin Blossoms became big and famous with 1992’s breakout record New Miserable Experience. In fact, the debut release kept them on the charts for nearly 3 years and sold more than 4 million copies. There were more albums, as well as more hits. The original group broke up in 1997, but reunited in 2002. These days, the band is made up of original members, Wilson, guitarist Jesse Valenzuela and bass player Bill Leen, along with Johnson and drummer Scott Hessel. Their latest release is 2010’s No Chocolate Cake, featuring the chart topping single “Miss Disarray.” Gin Blossoms are now enjoying life on the road.

By Todd McFliker

With more than 100 shows scheduled this for this tour, Gin Blossoms play for nearly two hours onstage. Spectators often remain on their feet the entire time for familiar numbers as well as a few new gems. Wilson turns on fabulous charm as he interacts with his audience. More importantly, Gin Blossoms deliver a fulfilling mix of radio hits, along with new material and a few surprise covers here and there. Familiar selections include the jangling guitars of their best known singles, “Hey Jealousy,” “Allison Road,” “Until I Fall Away,” “Found Out About You” and an acoustic “As Long as It Matters.” Encores have been known to include the Johnny Cash delight, “Prison Blues.” Apparently, Gin Blossoms are getting better with age, and that’s a marvelous thing for Pompano Beach and South Florida concertgoers.

The Gin Blossons will be performing along with Tonic and Dishwalla at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on May 15th 8 | www.SFLMusic.com

Chic Bayfront Park Amphitheater Photo: Sean McCloskey

DuranDuran Bayfront Park Amphitheater Photo: Sean McCloskey

10 | www.SFLMusic.com

UPCOMING CONCERTS!

Charge By Phone: 800-745-3000. All dates, acts and ticket prices subject to change without notice. Ticket prices subject to applicable fees.

One of the best bits on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Volume is “The Train Kept A-Rollin’”. The 2009 performance includes former Yardbirds, the mighty Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Ron Wood, Joe Perry and Flea appear as well, along with Metallica. The distorted licks on Johnny Burnette’s 1956 classic is sensational, even if the voice of Metallica doesn’t match up with the classic blues. On the other hand, James Hetfield’s intense vocals fit perfectly on the next track, “Iron Man”, Metallica’s 2006’s energetic ode to Black Sabbath. James Taylor delivers a sleepy take of Joni Mitchell’s counterculture anthem “Woodstock” from 1997. Listeners are quickly woken up by Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker for Cream’s historic 1993 reunion and a charming live version of “Sunshine of Your Love”. Green Day pays tribute to the Ramones with a blistering “Blitzkrieg Bop” from 2002, a year after Joey Ramone passed away. Finally, Springsteen reappears with a wailing Mick Jagger and the Rock Hall Jam Band on 1988’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” before concluding the LP with the iconic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

2016 took the life of yet another rock and roll idol. This time it was Prince, one of the greatest guitarists, most innovative songwriters and legendary performers to ever walk the Earth. The 57-year-old legend was found dead on April 21 at his home in Minnesota. Before the Purple One’s unfortunate departure, he left behind a jaw-dropping guitar solo that can now be experienced on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Volume 1 vinyl release. Joining Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood and Dhani Harrison onstage for a tribute to George Harrison, Prince explodes with a phenomenal guitar solo halfway through “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Suddenly, the familiar and gloomy number becomes blistering with electricity, as Prince’s wild finger work resonates timelessly in the ears of Fab music lovers. While Prince’s spectacular performance cannot be topped, it is only one of the delightful gems to be found on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Volume 1. The record is a first of its kind, a collection of live induction ceremonies that have taken place over the last three decades, honoring the industry’s most influential figures with once-in-a-lifetime performances. The talent is remarkable and the unique set-list is wonderful. Volume 1 was released on April 29, the day before HBO’s aired the 2016 ceremony. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Volume 1 kicks off with 1999 inductee Bruce Springsteen joining Chuck Berry on a high-spirited “Johnny B. Goode” in 1995. Next, Springsteen is in sync with Steven Van Zandt, the late Clarence Clemons and the rest of the E Street Band on the 1999 recording of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”. Al Green’s voice is magnificent in his 1995 take on Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”. 12 | www.SFLMusic.com

Unfortunately, there are a few things missing on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Volume 1 record. For starters, there’s an absence of female voices. Buyers may also be disappointed with the lack of cover art and linear notes. Hopefully, that will not be the case on Volumes 2 and 3, due out later this year. Regardless, there is no better way to pay tribute to the late guitar virtuoso Prince than with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Volume 1 on vinyl. Available at www.BarnesandNoble.com - Todd McFliker

Get the Led Out Culture Room Photo: Todd McFliker

Walter Trout The Funky Biscuit Photo: Jay Skolnick 14| www.SFLMusic.com

Puddle of Mudd Vixens Photo: Sean McCloskey

The Cult The Fillmore Miami Beach Photo: Sean McCloskey

Groove Thangs Trio Live Photo: Tom Craig

Is it all original material? It’s mostly originals. We do a few obscure covers. I co-wrote a lot of the songs on the last record. Tell me all about the new album. It’s called Big Dog, out May 20. It was recorded in Louisiana. Producer Mike Zito worked on it. He’s also a great singer, songwriter and guitarist out of Houston, Texas. I recall you mentioning that when you introduced some material onstage. We will be having our CD release party at the Maxwell Room at the Downtowner Saloon in Fort Lauderdale on the day that it comes out, Friday, May 20.

By Todd McFliker Photos: Jay Skolnick

Albert Castiglia SFL Music: Albert, Thank you for speaking with SFL Music. Let’s start at the beginning. Did you start playing in New York before you moved down to Miami? Albert Castiglia: I was born in Long Island, but my career in music all started in Queens before Miami. I grew up in Coral Gables. I moved to Chicago to play with Junior Wells in 1997. How did that move to the Windy City change your career? Well, I never went back to working a straight job after that. I used to be a social worker for the State of Florida welfare office in the early Nineties. I was right out of college when I took that job. It lasted a little more than 4 years before Junior Wells picked me up and I moved to Chicago. How did you meet Junior Wells? I met Junior in Delray Beach at the Backroom (Blues Bar). We had a mutual friend and I jammed with him. A couple of months later, he hired me. The first time I played with him, I was 27-years-old. I was just filling in for somebody else, and I ended up replacing him fulltime. I got a call from Junior’s road manager asking me to be in Chicago in three days to tour with Junior. I said yes and dropped everything I had going on in Florida right then. I didn’t even know where I was going to live. I just got on a plane and did it. That was 19 years ago. How many CDs do you have out now? Six, soon to be seven solo records. 16 | www.SFLMusic.com

Albert, you’ve won a Blues Music Award for Song of the Year for “Bad Year Blues,” as well as being nominated for the Sean Costello Rising Star Award. What is the highlight of your impressive career? Getting the job with Junior Wells is my biggest accomplishment because I was just playing in bars when I met him. He opened up doors for me that changed my life. I never went back to working a straight job after I went on the road with him. So that has to be the one biggest highlight of my life. But there have been many highlights. I have been able to tour the world and see so many great things. If it were not for Junior Wells, my life would be very different today. Touring the world, what has been your favorite place to play? I love Belgium and Germany. The Netherlands too. Any reason why you picked those places? They are all really cool. I mean the people in Belgium are crazy. They always have a good time. German people are a little bit more reserved, but they listen to the music. They are very attentive and extremely knowledgeable about the music. The people in the Netherlands are very chill. It’s beautiful there too. Oh, and I love Vienna. What’s the biggest, baddest venue that you’ve got to play? I’ve never done a stadium show, but I have played blues festivals that are huge. I did an arena when I was playing as a sideman for (soul blues

singer) Sandra Hall. We did a 5,000 seat arena in Poland. Do you have any funny stories from the road that are worth sharing? The best ones I cannot share. SFL Music: Yes, because we are a family magazine. Then let’s move on. Do you change your set-list every night? Castiglia: It’s never the same. Maybe the first three or four songs we play are standard, but anything goes after that. We did a lot of requests tonight for other artists’ music. Speaking of, hats off to you for successfully covering Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile”. I know it’s not the easiest song to recreate. Oh, “Voodoo Chile” is fun to do. And obviously Stevie Ray. That was the first thing that I heard when you began playing. When I was 15, I went by myself to see Stevie Ray at the James L. Knight Center in Miami. Blues wasn’t really hip at the time in the Eighties. Everybody was into heavy metal. I couldn’t get anybody to go see Stevie Ray with me. The Fabulous Thunderbirds were the opening act.

release parties. I got off the stage and my wife told me he was shooting pool. He stopped [playing when I went on and listed to me for 90 minutes. But then somebody spotted him and started taking pictures, so he left. Tell me about working with Toby Walker. I loved working with Toby Walker on songs like “Sweet Southern Angel” and “Murderin’ Blues”. Toby is one of the finest acoustic players who I’ve ever met. Have you gotten to work with Toby again since? Unfortunately, no. He is tremendous. I heard that you are a dog lover, like me. Oh yeah. I have two boxers, Jack and Delilah. I don’t have kids, so the dogs fill a void for me. I just love them to death.

Did that concert change your life? The show definitely reinforced my love for the blues. Muddy Waters is the one who changed my life. I knew I wanted to be a blues musician when I heard my first Muddy Waters album.

I can personally relate. Tell me about John McEnroe. My friend (photographer) Jay Skolnick arranged for John McEnroe to come to one of my shows at the Funky Biscuit in Boca, and we asked him to sit in with us. That’s another highlight of my career. I was a big McEnroe fan when I was a kid. He made tennis exciting for me. He was playing a tournament in Delray Beach and he just showed up. We gave him a little shot of Moonshine and he ended up sitting in and playing rhythm guitar with us for about an hour and a half. I think he was playing a semi-final match the next day. I heard he won the next day. So I like to think that jamming with us contributed to his success on the court.

On vinyl? It was actually a cassette called “Hard Again”, produced by Johnny Winter. That changed everything for me. But the Stevie Ray concert is still one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. He was insane!

Tonight your performing at Blue Jean Blues, just off of A1A in Fort Lauderdale. Tell me about it. Blue Jean Blues is always a great place, from the crowd to their sound system and the bar. Their pizza is amazing and I enjoy the intimacy at Blue Jeans Blues.

Do you have a favorite song to play live, like “Pride and Joy”? When I started playing, it was one of my favorites. But the requests become redundant. I have played “Pride and Joy” so much over the years, it has grown old. These days, I love playing the stuff off of the new record. We are not playing it all yet. I don’t want to burn people out before they can even get their hands on the record.

Is there anything else you want to say to South Florida music fans? I love you South Florida. I will never leave you.

Now a personal question: Does your audience ever get to hear you play any Jimmy Page? No, we don’t really do Zeppelin. But I do love Zeppelin and I love Jimmy Page. Jimmy Page actually came to my CD release party 7 or 8 years ago. I never saw him. I was playing at Big Dawgs in Davie for another one of my CD

Bush

The Fillmore Miami Beach Bush absolutely rocked The Fillmore Miami Beach, Friday night, April 22nd. Opening with “Everything Zen,” they set the status of the night, and I assure you it was anything but “Zen.” Vocalist Gavin Rossdale came onstage in a black leather jacket that didn’t even make it through the second song. Lucky for us, when his jacket was off, his energy was out! From start to finish, Bush dispersed their energy into a blistering set, a mixture of a few tunes off of their latest album Man on the Run and many of the hits going all the way back to the mid-Nineties. Guitarist Chris Traynor hopped around, going back and forth with bassist Corey Britz, while drummer Robin Goodridge pounding every beat. Rossdale made it impossible to not receive his energy, covering every bit of the stage and even the crowd. That’s right! Listeners got a surprise during “Little Things.” Rossdale ran into the audience and made his way to the second floor, where he found himself on singing along on the edge of the balcony. Throughout the night, Bush kept the audience involved. Even when the band left the stage for Rossdale to perform “Glycerine” all by himself, folks were just as pumped as any other moment. In fact, every seat-holder sang along. At one point, the only sound in the theater was the crowd delivering his lyrics. Every second the people were engaged, leading up to the very end when they went out with a bang, performing “Comedown.” The South Florida show was a glimpse of what Bush’s tour is about: giving the fans everything they have onstage. - Andrew Richterkessing • Photos Sean McCloskey 18 | www.SFLMusic.com

20 | www.SFLMusic.com

later.’ We have a new song called “Escape,” where we had to do stops in it, and I can’t do them just yet. I have to figure out how to physically get the bass pedals to work with me on that, so we have to play it a different way until I get that figured out. It makes us better players in the end. SFL Music: The process itself could bring you to unexpected places. Stevie Ray Vaughn used to always say that he would write songs that he couldn’t quite play yet, and he would get better. By the time he would record them, he could play them and that’s what made him a better guitar player. SFL Music: Growing up what was that one song or one band that made you want to be a musician? When I first started listening to Nirvana and Led Zeppelin, I became such a fan that I wanted to be a guitarist. Led Zeppelin. I started playing drums when I was 13. I played for a month and I stopped, just like any kid that gets a new interment, they lose interest. Then I bought (Zeppelin’s) How the West Was Won, the live triple disk, listened to it and I loved it. That got me back on the kit. That was all I needed.

SFL Music had the pleasure to sit down with The Dose’s Indio Downey [vocals, guitar] and Ralph Alexander [Drums, Bass] the day before the kick off of their tour supporting Bush. During our hour long beachside chat at a gorgeous Miami Beach hotel, we got the details of their debut self-titled EP, as well as their band’s musical upbringing and what comes next. SFL Music: You guys are a duo. I saw on a press release that you were originally a trio. How did that move your music? Did that change the dynamic of what you guys were playing or your overall sound? Yes, because certain things we can’t pull off with just the two of us. Whenever we write, we can usually make it work. But there is that awareness of certain things that I physically can’t pull off, like bass and drums. I think we both had to try harder. SFL Music: When you play live, what are some of the things that bring the sound of the new record to life? You’ve got a lot of texture and a lot of sound on there, so I can imagine bringing that to a stage is not very easy. Our live shows have gone well so far. We’ve got good responses from crowds. But again we both have to try way harder to fill up a room, because it’s just the two of us. A lot of the gear that we use is, I don’t want to say state of the art, but we don’t use typical gear that bands use. The amp systems that we use are very different. We use these things called Kemper Amps, and they are like digital amps. So any sounds that you hear on the EP, we can digitally recreate them live, through him playing guitar and me playing bass. A lot of the sounds that you hear, whether it be from me hitting on a trigger pad to get the bell sound to the swells, can be recreated in some way or another. A good piece of advice that a friend gave us, ‘Record whatever you want to record. Write the song, then figure it out 22 | www.SFLMusic.com

SFL Music: I know you guys did some recording at Jack White’s Third Man Records. How that came about, and how was that experience? It was amazing. We only recorded one song there, “Truth Lies Inside.” I would say White Stripes is probably The Godfather band of two-piece rock bands. So to be there was incredible. And we got to use his amp on the song. We were only supposed to be there for one day, but the tape machine broke and we didn’t get to meet Jack at all. They said can we could come back the next day, because they had to fix the tape machine. We said ‘Of course.’ So we went back for day two and that was the day Jack walked in and we got to meet him. It was crazy. SFL Music: With that being the first song recorded, how did it affect the rest of the album at the other studio? It is how you originally planned or did that experience change the process? Yes, definitely. It was the first song we did. Jack experiments a lot. So on the rest of the EP, I feel like I experimented a lot more after recording there. SFL Music: Tell me more about the band’s history. How long have you guys played together? About a year as The Dose. But we’ve been playing together much longer. SFL Music: Is this your first tour together too? Yes. We were down here last year when we went out on the Kiss Kruise. It actually left from Miami. It was a lot of fun. It was wild. SFL Music: As a band, did you guys get to enjoy the music or is it all business when you are performing? I remember while we were on the cruise, I saw the (Kiss] set. I loved it. I thought they were great. We went to other shows too. We watched Steel Panther and we loved that. It was fun to watch professional bands who

have a stage show ironed out. SFL Music: What is it like to be going out on tour with Bush on your first tour? We have the same agent and she was able to hook it up. Based on these first set of dates, we will see how they go and maybe do more. SFL Music: Has there been any kind of collaboration yet? Did you get to see the guys in Bush or pick up any advice? He has met Gavin. I met him too. After it was confirmed that we were going to do this tour, I went and talked to him a little about the tour. But that’s it so far. SFL Music: The new release is an EP. Was that planned to get something out the quickly or do you have plans for a full blown album? We are in the middle of recording an album right now. We are a little under half way through. The drums are all done. There are some guitars, some vocals, and a little bit of bass. But we are coinciding the tour dates with recording. We are going to do these dates and go back to LA to do five days of tracking. Then we’ll go back out for two more days and come back to do tracking. So every day is full right now. SFL Music: Do you have any parting thoughts to give to SFL Music readers? What should they take away from your show? Rock and roll is still out there. It’s still alive and well. We are just two guys that like playing music. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. I think a lot of bands out there want to project this image that they are larger than life. But at the end of the day, we are just two guys that get along and make music that we like to play and we like to hear. We hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do.

Pearl Jam BB&T Center - 4/8/16 & American Airlines Arena - 4/9/16 Photo: Sean McCloskey 24 | www.SFLMusic.com

The end of April brought back Florida’s foremost music festival, SunFest. This year’s colossal celebration along the scenic West Palm Beach waterfront featured five fun filled day of music. fine arts & crafts, a kid’s zone, three floating bars and vivid fireworks. Regardless, thousands upon thousands of concertgoers ventured Downtown to experience SunFest 2016’s magnificent line-up of more than fifty acts. Spectacular headliners included Duran Duran, Meghan Trainor, Train, Death Cab for Cutie, Rick Springfield and the Roots, as well as O.A.R. and Alabama Shakes. SunFest 2016 opened its doors to music lovers on a Wednesday afternoon, just hours before the festivities’ highlight, Duran Duran. Attendees ranged in age from roughly 20 to 60 years old, and we all hollered for joy when the MTV heroes took their stage. The Brits strolled onto a stage of dancing lights and jumped into action with “Paper Gods,” a selection off of their most recent album, aptly named Paper Gods. Duran Duran’s frontman, Bon, Simon Le Bon led keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bass guitarist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor through modern classics from the Eighties, such as “Wild Boys,” “Hungry Like a Wolf” and 26 | www.SFLMusic.com

the surprising highlight of the set, “A View to a Kill.” A couple of female back-up singers stood under a giant monitor above the stage displaying art, ranging from natural beauties to song lyrics. Strobing lights shot across the stage in a rainbow of colors, dancing with neon lights and disco balls. Acting like an energetic rock star half his age, Le Bon wore a white jacket over a black t-shirt. Le Bon announced “We’re a band from England called Duran Duran, and we like the weather down here. Florida has been so good to us this last couple of weeks. It’s been fantastic.” The evening also included illustrious versions of “Notorious,” the Bowie tribute “Planet Earth/Space Oddity,” and the beloved “Ordinary World.” “With the live show, we always like to strike a balance between songs that everybody wants to hear, between new album material and some surprises.” Le Bon told SiriusXM listeners in April. “Yes, please. We’ll have some more,” Le Bon said as he returned to his stage after the encore. “We’re going to go purple for a little bit, in honor and memory of the great artist Prince. It is a terrible, terrible loss for music and the world.” South Floridians heard the Prince-inspired “I Don’t Want Your Love,” and Duran Duran delivered a heartfelt “Save a Prayer.” The number was concluded with the royal lyrics “This is what it sounds like, when the doves cry.” Following a grand “Rio,” the musicians made their way onto a catwalk to get upclose and personal with their enthusiastic fans. The 22-year-old Grammy winner, Meghan Trainor, took her stage in an outfit of electrifying glitter. “This is a big night for

me,” she announced and sang “All About That Bass.” She gave plenty of love to audience members and dedicated the new album, Thank You, to her faithful fans. On Thursday night, the seven-piece alternative ensemble

28 | www.SFLMusic.com

from Northern California known as Train threw respect to Prince, singing “Let’s Go Crazy” and “Purple Rain” in their encore. Singer Pat Monahan took selfies with fortunate spectators up front and tossed out t-shirts. Taking the stage on Friday, Death Cab for Cutie enticed the crowd with nothing more than laidback melodies, such as “Black Sun,” “The New Year” and “Crooked Teeth.” The Joy Formidable wrapped-up their set with an enormous jam session, and Bastille singer Dan Smith hopped around his stage during “Flaws,” along with a bunch of new material. At SunFest on Saturday, Rick Springfield satisfied concertgoers with both new cuts and cheesy covers of Katy Perry and Taylor Swift before singing the anticipated “Jessie’s Girl.” Salt N Pepa managed a dance contest in the crowd before closing with the familiar “Push It.” The Roots’ Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson and his brass instrument danced along the catwalk. Audience members threw decks of cards at O.A.R. for “Crazy Game of Poker.” 26-yearold rapper G Easy hopped around his stage, ironically performing the single “Calm Down,” while the soulful blues quartet Alabama Shakes concluded SunFest on Sunday with passion. To sum it up, SunFest 2016’s extraordinary

festivities were among “the best in the world,” as Simon Le Bon claimed onstage. - By Todd McFliker • Photos: Sean McCloskey & Tom Craig

Fort Rock Jet Blue Park, Fort Myers Photos: Sean McCloskey 30 | www.SFLMusic.com

BRING ME THE HORIZON

ANTHRAX

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

DISTURBED

GHOST PENNYWISE

A DAY TO REMEMBER 32 | www.SFLMusic.com

LAMB OF GOD

ROB ZOMBIE

SIXX AM

SEVENDUST

By Todd McFliker • Photos: Jay Skolnick SFL Music: Correct me if I am wrong, didn’t your New Orleans jazz rock band, the Nth Power, get its name because all of the original members have names that begin with N? Nikki Glaspie, drummer, singer and bandleader: Yes, that’s correct. There were originally four of us; Nicki, Nick (Cassarino, guitarist), Nate (Edgar, bass player) and Nigel (Hall, keyboard player). Now Nigel is off doing his own solo project. We actually added Weedie (Braimah) before Nigel left. And Weedie is the ‘w’ in Power. He is an amazing percussionist. When I first saw him, I was like ‘You need to come play with us.’ Later we added Courtney (Smith). He was a keyboard player in Weedie’s band in St. Louis. So it was a perfect fit. A lot of our music has gospel roots. Courtney grew up playing keys in church. He is also a music director, and he sings too. So Courtney was a great addition to the band. SFL Music: You guys first came together at New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2012. Is it another coincidence that’s where you met you’re your drummer Weedie, at 2013’s New Orleans Jazz Fest? Nikki: Yes. But I actually met Weedie at New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2012. He just wasn’t on the gig. About a year later, I just told Weedie that he needed to come jam with us. He was into it, so I invited him into the band. And the rest is history. SFL Music: Do you change your set-list every night? Nikki: Not really much, because our set-lists are so thought 34 | www.SFLMusic.com

out. Nick: Nikki brings a lot of the show-mentality to the band. I was the one who wanted to change it up every night and play every song organically. But then you cannot guarantee the songs will work out like you want them to. The audience may not be able to hear some of those notes. Things always come up. At the end of the day, we are trying to fine-tune a show, an experience, a journey that we are taking people on. Nikki: Some songs just don’t work after other ones. We have to find the right spots. Nick: There are nights that we change things here. We just read the crowd. SFL Music: Nick, you are from Vermont. So how did you end up in New Orleans? Nick: Well I lived in Vermont until I was 20-years-old. Then I moved to New York about 8 years ago. I ended up in New Orleans when a mutual friend, Jennifer, put together Nth Power’s first band. Both Nikki and I were playing in her band, but she put the rest of us together for our first gig. SFL Music: Cool. What can you tell me about Nth Power’s fall 2015 release, Abundance? Nikki: Abundance is our first full-length album. It took a while for everything to get completed, but that’s because we put so much into it. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears that went into that album. Nick: That’s for sure. Nikki: Our music is real life experiences. There was plenty

of stuff that went through individually that contributed to the group’s songwriting. SFL Music: Can you give me a specific example? Nikki: Well, Nigel had left the group while we were finishing the album. That really came as a surprise to us. We didn’t know what we were going to do. We had to work to find a new drummer. And it all happened six days before we went on tour. We were put into a rough spot. There was a lot of emotional distress. So we poured it into the music. SFL Music: And the end result? Nikki: The end result is Abundance. If anybody listens to it, they will hear exactly what it’s about; trial and tribulations, coming out on top and finding love within yourself. A lot of people look around to other people to find happiness, but you have to look within. You cannot depend on anyone else. Something else that Abundance is about is the questions that we all have. Why are we here? What are we here to accomplish? What is life? SFL Music: Nikki, tell me about performing for Obama at the White House. Nikki: I played at the State Dinner in 2010. It was incredible! First, I had to go through insane security, full cavity search and all. The Mexican President was there and a bunch of officials. It was kind of surreal being allowed to play in the White House. It was amazing. He is super nice. I got to shake his hand and take a picture. The Mexican President’s wife said that I was an incredible drummer. It was a great experience. I also got to play for Bill Clinton. SFL Music: Did Bill get up and jam with you? Nikki: No. I was playing with Chaka Khan for the Clinton Global Initiative. That was so awesome. He was side-stage dancing. He was just hanging out. Super cool, as you can imagine. There was also a time when we were in the studio, and Bill Summers (the New Orleans jazz percussionist who played with Herbie Hancock) sat in with us. We were very fortunate to have him in the studio. SFL Music: Who did you meet up with at Berkeley College of Music? Nikki: That would be Nate. He didn’t actually go to Berkley. We met when we were both playing at a club down the street from Berkley. It was funny because the bass player who I normally jammed with was saying we should play with Nate. But I was wondering how will it work with two bass players? We ended up starting a rock band called the Hybrasilliance. SFL Music: Tell me about “Right Now”. Nikki: “Right Now” is the single off of Abundance. And that’s exactly what the song is about, living in the now. And the power of now. Do not concentrate on the past because it’s already gone. Do not focus on the future because it hasn’t happened yet. You make your reality right now, today, us sitting here talking. This is real, not hypothetical. Nick wrote a lot on Abundance, our first full-length album from November of 2015. Basic Minimum Skills Test is the first EP that we put out in 2013.

SFL Music: What you guys know about Weedie descending from 111 generations of percussionists? Nick: Yup, it goes back to before Jesus was born. Nikki: It’s pretty nuts. It’s also prevalent in his playing. SFL Music: Does Weedie have any kids to pass it on? Nick: I don’t think it’s going to happen. Nikki: He doesn’t have any kids now. But Weedie has brothers and sisters who have kids that play drums. It’s what they do. Most of his family is still living in Ghana (Africa). SFL Music: Tell me about Sirius XM and VH1. Nick: We were just at Sirius in New York. That was awesome. Ari Fink, who works for Sirius, has been playing our live version of “Only Love” for a couple of years. We got to do an hour long set of a bunch of new material. It went really well. I’m just not sure when it is going to air. Ari’s going to let us know. SFL Music: What Channel? Nikki: Jam On, Sirius 29. Nick: Before that, my man Rob Lewis got us a gig at VH1. It was for the Morning Buzz show. It was very cool with windows overlooking Times Square. It wasn’t live, so we got to play a few times. They aired one of the full takes. I think we crushed it. Nikki: No Nick, you crushed it. SFL Music: Where is Nth Power going to be in one year? Nikki: Madison Square Garden. Nick: We would like to have a national appeal because we think what we have to say is important. It’s about love. It’s about healing. Nikki: We just want to spread the love as far and wide as it can go.

With multiple decades of rock and roll behind us, it is getting increasingly harder to create new sounds. Originality is dwindling by the day. As a direct result, recycling classic tunes is a multi-million dollar industry. Some tracks are blatantly ripped off, while others merely serve as unconscious influences. “It seems that writers and artists are getting increasingly bold in their willingness to purloin (steal) the melodies of earlier songs,” Tim English wrote in his introduction of his book Sounds Like Teen Spirit. The 2016 Edition Sounds Like Teen Spirit, the updated version of the 2007 book, is nothing short of fun, educating readers of stolen melodies riffs. As an award winning journalist, English is considered as an authority on musical plagiarism in popular music. Readers get to see an extensive list of familiar songs that sound a little too familiar, and discover the secret history of timeless material by Dylan, the Beatles and the mighty Led Zeppelin, among others.

Collins’ “Sussudio” is a minor variation of Prince’s “1999”, but was kept out of court because of one original piece of music added onto the cut. On the other hand, the Hollies brought charges against Radiohead for using the same melody line of “The Air that I Breathe” on “Creep”, and a settlement was reached for royalties. The interesting read also entails Marvin Gaye getting ripped off numerous times. Paul Simon stole some melodies, as did ZZ Top, R.E.M., Oasis and Green Day. The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, KISS, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay have been on both sides of the fence.

Other realizations are extremely enlightening. For instance, the resemblance between U2’s modernclassic “Beautiful Day” and A-ha’s “The Sun Always Shines on TV”. Similarly, a reader will no longer be able to hear the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” without hearing the influence of Glenn Miller With His Orchestra’s “In the Mood”. In fact, there is an entire section devoted to the Fab Four playing off of others’ ditties, as well as serving as inspirations for more recent numbers. “Come Together” cites Chuck Berry, while “I’ll Stop the World and Melt With You” by Modern English makes a direct reference to “Getting Better” and Radiohead’s “Karma Police” quotes “Sexy Sadie’s” diatribe against the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Plenty of information is offered on Zeppelin, although their borrowing and stealing has never been much of a secret. The acoustic arpeggio chord pastern on the most popular song in rock history, “Stairway to Heaven,” seems to be exactly the same as the chords on Spirit’s “Taurus”. At the same time, Eric Clapton’s guitar work in “Let It Grow” less blatantly recalls the familiar opening of “Stairway to Heaven”. Then there are references that I just don’t hear, like Zeppelin’s “Goin’ to California” in Pearl Jam’s “Given to Fly”. Nor do I hear any shocking similarities in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Boston’s “More Than a Feeling”. Boston’s Tom Scholz said “If that song does sound like ‘More Than a Feeling’, I take it as a major compliment, even if it was completely accidental.” English points out that different rhythm and guitar patterns can change a song’s overall sound, even when they are incredibly similar. For example, English reports that the Door’s #1 single “Hello, I Love You” is a slight rephrasing of the Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night”. Yet the Kinks felt it was too much trouble to battle Jim Morrison and his mates in court. The synthesizer riff that prevails throughout Phil 36 | www.SFLMusic.com

The writer does a wonderful job of offering quick facts to the reader without dragging the information on too long. He is short and to the point, often pointing out similarities is a mere paragraph or two. To sum it all up, Tim English’s Sounds Like Teen Spirit makes for an exciting read. Never again will readers hear some classic tunes on the radio, like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Beautiful Day”, and not think of their historical and often controversial lineages. - Todd McFliker

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