After the band had done tours with Drowning Pool and Wayne Static, you would think the guys in the California based band Kyng would be taking a short break to start the new year. Guess [...]]]>

Kyng brings their style of heavy to Royal Oak this Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Guerrero)

After the band had done tours with Drowning Pool and Wayne Static, you would think the guys in the California based band Kyng would be taking a short break to start the new year. Guess again. After releasing their debut “Trampled Sun” back in late September and wrapped up their 2011 touring, the band quickly made plans as they will be opening for In Flames during a winter tour about to get underway.

Founded when former members of the band Ankla, Tony Castaneda and Pepe Clarke Magana left to strike out of their own, Kyng moved away from the full on metal of that band for a wide ranging old school sounding hard rock record. Whether it’s the groove of tracks like “Pushing & Pulling” or the Alice in Chains-esque “Takes It’s Toll”, Kyng makes a play for big rock radio with the songs on “Trampled Sun”. Perhaps the best show of the wide ranging sound is the nine minute, two part track “Beauty at the End/ Shorelines Pt. 1 & 2”, where the band starts the song with a serene acoustic number, before moving into a hard charging hard rock cut. When I spoke with Castaneda over the summer, he described the band’s sound and influences as “California Heavy”- which is a blend of classic and modern rock, latin music, hip-hop which gives the band their diverse sound.

With the new year started and the band back on the road, their first tour of 2012 will be with Swedish melodic death metal patriarchs In Flames. Along with a huge lineup including Trivium and Veil of Maya, Kyng will be on the road starting January 13^th through February 21^st. But the tour makes an early stop in the Detroit area as the bands take over what is sure to be a loud and heavy night in a cold town as Kyng starts things off with that “California Heavy” sound.

Kyng open up for In Flames at the Royal Oak Theater on Friday, January 13^th. Tickets are $20 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.kyngband.com.

The guys in the U.K. based electro-metalcore outfit Enter Shikari may have not released an album since 2009’s “Common Dreads”, but that doesn’t meant that they haven’t been busy touring. After doing some major stadium-size shows with The Prodigy over in the U.K., the [...]]]>

Enter Shikari hits Royal Oak tomorrow night.

The guys in the U.K. based electro-metalcore outfit Enter Shikari may have not released an album since 2009’s “Common Dreads”, but that doesn’t meant that they haven’t been busy touring. After doing some major stadium-size shows with The Prodigy over in the U.K., the band made their return to the States by opening up for A Day To Remember in 2010, before joining up with the Warped Tour this past summer.

But with “Common Dreads” now fully seared into fans’ heads, they are getting ancy for fresh material from the band. So, the band went into a Bangkok studio this past May to start the recording of their third album, “A Flash Flood of Colour”. Due out January 10^th, the album may or may not harken the hijinks of a “Hangover 2”-esque recording session, but will feature the band’s signature sound of electronic metalcore that is easily shown on the first single “Sssankepit”. But if fans cannot wait for the new album, you can always pick up the band’s live CD/DVD set “Live from Planet Earth”, which came out this past summer.

But think of that as a present for whatever December holiday you celebrate- however, if you are in the Detroit area, you can check out the band tomorrow night (December 17^th) when they open up for the Devil Wears Prada at the Royal Oak Theater. Along with Whitechapel and For Today, Enter Shikari helps round out a pretty formidable group of openers with their frentic sounds. So, if you get a chance tomorrow night and feel like skipping some holiday parties, make sure to check out Enter Shikari’s bouncing off the walls ways and get jacked.

Enter Shikari opens for the Devil Wears Prada at the Royal Oak Theater tomorrow (December 17^th). Tickets are $20 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.entershikari.com.

The Devil Wears Prada were one of those bands that early on in their career, they were on every metal tour you could think of. The Dayton, Ohio band spent more time on the road each year than [...]]]>

The Devil Wears Prada are sure to pack the Royal Oak Theater this Saturday night.

The Devil Wears Prada were one of those bands that early on in their career, they were on every metal tour you could think of. The Dayton, Ohio band spent more time on the road each year than they were probably home, just trying to get the word out on the band. After a few years of touring, the band were shocked to see their 2009 album “With Roots Above and Branches Below” narrowly missing the Top 10 of the Billboard Album Charts. But the band knew their heaviest effort was still yet to come and with the recently released “Dead Throne”, the band finally cracked the Top 10, selling 35,000 copies during it’s opening week.

Fans and critics alike are heralding the album as the band’s heaviest to date and tackles false idols as it’s main lyrical focus. To help give the album it’s stepped up heaviness, the band listed Killswitch Engage wildman Adam Dutkewicz to produce the album and has become another sign the band is far from done.

The band is currently out on the road right before Christmas with Enter Shikari and Whitechapel for a scorching night of new school metal. But before a show in Maryland, the band had a little bit of down time when I had a chance to chat with guitarist Jeremy DePoyster. Jeremy and I discussed Dutkewicz’s production techniques and the things he misses about the band’s early days on touring.
Here’s my interview with Jeremy:

AM: When seeing “Dead Throne” debut at #10 on the album charts, what was your reaction?
JD: It was an awesome feeling. With our last album, we came real close and debuted at #11, I think. It was close, but I’m not reading our plaques right now, so I’m not sure (laughs). But it’s good to see what we do every day is paying off. It’s good for a non-radio friendly band with massive amounts of promotion doing this. It’s vindicating because we’ve done things the we we’ve wanted to do it.

AM: What was the band’s mood going into the recording of the album?
JD: I think the mood varied greatly. We rehearsed the songs in Chicago, where I live now. It was work all day, every day for several days in a row getting the vocals right, the music right and so on. We had only been home a couple of days from a long tour before we went right back in to work on recording. We had all these demos all set and we thought they were so good, thinking we were prepared. Then when we started working with Adam, he chopped things up and changed things drastically.

AM: How was working with Adam D on this album?
JD: Adam was awesome. This was the first time we didn’t work with our friend Joey Sturgis and he always did a great job. But I think Adam was more of a producer and intensely worked on the songs. He helped us crank out performances we didn’t even know we had in us and pushed us to make the best album we’ve ever done.

AM: For the “Zombie” EP, what areas of pop culture did you pull from for inspiration?
JD: Our original inspiration for it was when we were on tour in Europe. We were in some very weird countries with no internet and everybody was getting a little stir crazy. I think that started it and when we saw that “Zombieland” movie, we thought “oh yeah, we gotta do a concept like that!”. But we felt we didn’t want to make an entire concept record, so we did this.

AM: Is there any discussion of expanding on the idea of that EP at some point?
JD: I think we’ll go back and do a concept record somewhere in the future, but it won’t be about zombies or anything.

AM: What do you miss about the early days of the band’s touring?
JD: Some of the intimacy that you had about being an unknown band is gone. We were just learning when we first started touring back when we where 17 or 18. We were in a van in those days and you learned to run the crew and operation and learned more things in those days. You’re in a bubble more when you reach a level like we have.

AM: What has been the weirdest thing about the band’s success?
JD: It’s all been kinda surreal and you get all wrapped up in things while on tour. But we have a bunch of dudes in the crew that are easy to talk to and bring you down to earth. When you go home after the tour, things remain pretty down to earth and we don’t get too wrapped up in our own success.

The Devil Wears Prada plays at the Royal Oak Theater on Saturday, December 17^th. Tickets are $20 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.tdwpband.com.

In an era full of so many different subgenres getting a lot of hype, one of the many offshoots of electronica seems to be one of the few genres to actually be more than hype. Dubstep seems [...]]]>

The forefather of dubstep, Benga, leads the Global Dub Festival in Royal Oak on Friday.

In an era full of so many different subgenres getting a lot of hype, one of the many offshoots of electronica seems to be one of the few genres to actually be more than hype. Dubstep seems to be the movement within electronica and in popular music that is gaining a lot of traction and was on prominent display a lot this year- ranging from the Identity Festival that toured the States this past summer to the cover story in Spin Magazine with Skrillex- dubstep is hot at the moment.

But one of the originators of the movement is the English producer Benga, who’s been at this since 2002. Born Abegbenga Adejumo in South London, Benga’s style was seen as groundbreaking at the inception of dubstep early in the 2000’s and has been blazing the trail in dubstep, releasing tracks left and right. His latest is “Smack Your B— Up”, released earlier this year out on Apple Records. Benga’s 2008 album “Diary of an Afro Warrior” was seen as the real breaking point of the genre and set a trail that Skrillex and others can only copy as dubstep matures and grows.

Benga and others, including Zed’s Dead and others, are a part of the Global Dub Festival when they hit Royal Oak this Friday, November 4^th. The Detroit show is only one of four U.S. shows for Benga on the books between now and the end of the year, so if you wanna see Patient Zero for the dubstep movement, get to Royal Oak and see Benga.

Benga headlines the Global Dub Festival at the Royal Oak Theater on Friday, November 4^th. Tickets are $30 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional info on Benga and tour dates can be found at www.benga.co.uk.

Since the current incarnation of the Orange County based band The Dirty Heads formed in 2003, the band had toiled around the west coast for several years, but what a difference one hit song and a growing fan base can do for [...]]]>

Dustin and the Dirty Heads hit Royal Oak this Sunday.

Since the current incarnation of the Orange County based band The Dirty Heads formed in 2003, the band had toiled around the west coast for several years, but what a difference one hit song and a growing fan base can do for you. In late 2009/early 2010, the Huntington Beach, California quintet scored a massive rock radio hit with their laid back, beach vibe smash “Lay Me Down”, with Rome Ramirez (better known as the new lead singer of Sublime). Since the song hit big, the band has toured relentlessly through the past year, playing with the reformed Sublime and headlined their own club tour earlier this year.

With their refreshing blend of hip-hop, reggae and rock, the Dirty Heads are making waves and developing a fiercely do-it-yourself attitude; something that is essential in the turbulent music industry these days. The band has been working on new material for their next album (due out early in 2012), but the band is hitting up one last tour before the next album is out as they hit the road with the Gym Class Heroes.

Before that tour started, I had a chance to talk with co-lead singer/guitarist Dustin Bushnell about the whirlwind of the last almost two years and what fans can look forward to with the next album.
Here’s my interview with Dustin:

AM: How do you feel the band’s first headlining tour went over with fans?
DB: It was an awesome tour for us. We’ve been touring for six or seven years with bigger bands and always opening for them, so it was good for our fans to see us. We’re trying to build a fan base and with those shows, it wasn’t always the easiest to figure out who our fans were. But with the headlining tour, most shows were sold out and it was great.

AM: How do you see the next album varying from “Any Port in A Storm”?
DB: We just got back from Masonic Sound (in California) with Mario Caldato (Beastie Boys producer) and we’re mixing the album at this point. But as the album is coming along, I feel we’re growing as musicians through all the live shows that we did. The first record was great, but this was our first time in a major studio and I finally feel like we’re figuring out who we are as a band. The live shows are a huge inspiration for us and I feel like these songs play better with a live audience.

AM: Do you feel that there will be any tracks that may surprise fans?
DB: I feel like with what we’ve done in the past, we could put out anything and it wouldn’t surprise the fans (laughs). But I think with the new songs that fans will love it.

AM: How did the band end up meeting Rome Ramirez to help out with “Lay Me Down”?
DB: We’ve known him a long time, way before he was even considered for the Sublime job. We began hanging out with him and knew the guy was super talented. One day, we were all barbecuing and busted out the acoustic guitars and started to jam on the song. We went in and recorded the song the next day and once radio got hold it, things went crazy.

AM: Does it feel like the band is spearheading a resurgence in your style of music?
DB: I don’t feel like we’re heading up something new- I think music like this goes in waves, where sometimes, it will be popular than in other times. We used to think that music like ours was strictly a coastal thing, but we’re playing more and more shows in the Midwest and feel like the rest of the country is getting into the music as well now.

AM: After being in a band for the better part of 15 years, what are some of the wildest things about the industry that you’ve had to deal with?
DB: Just the industry itself (laughs). It’s kinda a horrible place to be and to be honest, probably 99 percent of the people that I’ve met are people I wouldn’t want to want to see. But I think if you aren’t lazy about things and do most things yourself as a band, I think there are ways to make things successful and make it better.

The Dirty Heads play at the Royal Oak Theater on Sunday, October 30^th. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.dirtyheads.com.

Kicking some ass and taking some more names years after their 2005 breakthrough, “Ascendancy”, the Orlando based band Trivium continues to deliver some of the most melodic modern metal around. With Trivium, usually no one album [...]]]>

Trivium brings the thrash fury to Royal Oak tomorrow night as they open for Dream Theater.

Kicking some ass and taking some more names years after their 2005 breakthrough, “Ascendancy”, the Orlando based band Trivium continues to deliver some of the most melodic modern metal around. With Trivium, usually no one album is the same: 2006’s “The Crusade” leaned heavily on classic thrash metal, while 2008’s “Shogun” was a blend of the early metalcore and thrash metal that has given the band their name.

With their albums continuing to do well with metal fans, the band has recently released their fifth album “In Waves”, which features ragers like “Dusk Dismantled” and “Black”. While most bands that came out around the same time are starting to fade or their acts have grown stale, Trivium is still finding ways to keep their sound entertaining.

With the album now out, the band is on the road opening for prog-rock titans Dream Theater. The pairing might seem like an odd fight for first, but as Dream Theater’s sound has become slightly heavier as of recent, the band have found a suitable opening act for their tour. According to guitarist Corey Beaulieu, the fans have been receptive to the sound and plan a mix of the old and new material when they come through your town.

As the tour rolled through Salt Lake City, I had a chance to talk with Beaulieu about the toughest moments of the new album, as well as how new drummer Matt Augusto came into the fold.
Here’s my interview with Corey:

AM: What was the band’s mood into the recording of “In Waves”?
CB: It was really good actually. With us bringing in a new member, it helped take away any issues that might have been there last time around. The chemistry was really good and the vibe was laid back. When we got into the studio and started jamming, it was a lot of fun and it was a good atmosphere to be around. We had a lot of time to take our time and just sit down and write, so it was a fun process overall.

AM: Was there any particular sound of lyrics that you wanted to stray away from with this album?
CB: Not really, with the vibe being the way it was- we thought we could do a lot with this album. We wanted to define our sound and make a full on Trivium album. We wanted more songs to be straight to the point this time with a lot of energy. Each part had to have it’s own imprint on the album.

AM: What do you feel were the easiest and most difficult songs to put together?
CB: The metal songs were probably the easiest, like “In Waves” and “Inception At the End” that came together with us jamming and Matt putting lyrics together pretty quickly. Some of the hardest songs were like “All of These Yesterdays”, which was unlike anything we ever had done before and we had a long time trying to work out the bridge section of “Caustic Are The Tides That Bind” that look way longer than we expected.

AM: As the band progresses, how do you see yourself improving as a musician?
CB: I think being on tour and playing live helps a lot. All of us practice a lot individually when we’re not in the studio or on tour, so we all get our own chops going too. I think over time that I’ve become better at writing solos and making the melodies a lot stronger than before. The notes we’ve been hitting have improved and my style has improved through continued play.

AM: How did the band find the new drummer, Matt Augusto?
CB: Paolo (Gregoletto- bassist) and Matt knew each other growing up and played in a few bands together. When the drummer spot opened up, Matt became our drum tech in 2009. We got along with him great and asked him to learn a bunch of songs quickly- which he did. His skills are great and he’s a good fit for us. He brings a whole new dimension to the band’s sound.

AM: Where do you see the metal world going- or at least where you hope to see it go?
CB: I think metal goes in trends and varieties. There are so many little subgenres of metal that it’s hard to pinpoint one particular sound that is going to shape metal down the road. I just wish more bands would focus on writing good songs with some melody in them, and not worry about the technical aspect of it so much. You can still be technical and put together songs that people are gonna remember years from now.

Trivium open for Dream Theater at the Royal Oak Theater on Monday, October 3^rd. Tickets are $39.50 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.trivium.org.

One of the far more dependable hard rock bands today is the Kentucky based band Black Stone Cherry. Founded in 2001, the band didn’t released their self-titled debut until 2006 and two singles, “Lonely Train” and “Rain Wizard” shot up the [...]]]>

The guys from Kentucky head north to Royal Oak next Tuesday.

One of the far more dependable hard rock bands today is the Kentucky based band Black Stone Cherry. Founded in 2001, the band didn’t released their self-titled debut until 2006 and two singles, “Lonely Train” and “Rain Wizard” shot up the rock radio charts. With the band’s second album in 2008 doing even better, the band is now back with their third album, “Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea”. Released in May, the album is lead by the huge rock hit “White Trash Millionaire” and watched as the album debuted inside the Top 30 of the Billboard Album Charts.

”Devil” may not be a departure in the band’s overall sonic landscape, but this album does mark the first time that the band employed co-writers for the songs. The results are tried and true Black Stone Cherry.

With the band seemingly almost always on tour, the band was in Knoxville, Tennessee when I caught up with drummer Jon Fred Young. The son of former Kentucky Headhunters guitarist Richard Young, Jon Fred has been one of the driving forces behind the band. During our conversation about the show in Knoxville, we talked about the band’s initial reaction to using co-writers and the inspiration behind the hit “White Trash Millionaire”.
Here’s my interview with Jon Fred:

AM: How have you felt the new album has done doing so far?
JFY: Really good so far. There’s been lots of airplay for “White Trash Millionaire”. It has paid off for us, especially with the album taking a better part of a year to complete. We started in January 2010 and didn’t finish until almost November that year. Of course, there was some touring, like we’re doing now. But with all of this going on, we’re just taking it one step at a time.

AM: What was the main focus and goals of this album?
JFY: We wanted to make the heaviest record that we could make and to have a really big sound to the album. Of course, you have to have a couple ballads on there- but overall, it’s pretty heavy. We’re pretty proud of this album and the creation of the album has been a journey. We worked with Howard Benson, and got to experience the LA culture a bit- which for guys from Kentucky is always an interesting experience. At first, we were dead set against anybody co-writing with us, but in the end, Howard convinced us to bring in a couple of writers on a few of the tracks and it seemed to work out well.

AM: Where did the band pull inspiration from for the “White Trash Millionaire” single?
JFY: Chris (Robertson- lead singer) has had this 1981 Trans Am forever until recently and is straight up as country as you can be. I’ve known the guy since kindergarten and he’s one of my best friends. We were talking about how country we were and laughed about it and started throwing ideas about titles out there. “White Trash Millionaire” came out right off the bat, and it kinda explained some of the stuff we’ve been around over the years (laughs).

AM: With all the touring, how does the band cope with being away from home for long periods of time?
JFY: Well, right now- it’s not bad. We were home almost all of last year, and only did a few small tours. One was with Hinder and the other was with Alter Bridge. Except for that, we had almost a year off from the road and we almost got too comfortable at home. But when you do get back in the road, it’s kinda bittersweet because you’re gonna miss your family, your girlfriend and everything else. But by now, the touring is in my blood and I love it.

AM: You’re on tour with Theory of A Deadman once again- getting tired of touring with those guys yet?
JFY: Yeah man, I hate those guys! (laughs, sarcastically of course). We’re great friends with those guys and it always seems like we’re on tour with them or Alter Bridge. But these tours have been getting bigger and when we did a tour in Europe with them, the venues we played were about the same size as we play here in the States. Who knows, perhaps one day- we’re all in arenas together! (laughs) Or at least what’s what we hope.

Black Stone Cherry are part of the “Carnival of Madness 2011” tour, hitting the Royal Oak Music Theater on Tuesday, August 16^th. Tickets are $32 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.blackstonecherry.com.

Last year’s “Carnival Of Madness” was a chance to witness the ascension of Shinedown to arena size levels, as that band toured one last time before going back into the studio to record their next album. Not afraid to let [...]]]>

Will Madness descend on Royal Oak next Tuesday? You never know...

Last year’s “Carnival Of Madness” was a chance to witness the ascension of Shinedown to arena size levels, as that band toured one last time before going back into the studio to record their next album. Not afraid to let the namesake tour of the band’s last album go on without them, the guys in Shinedown decided to let the name “Carnival Of Madness” carry on with other acts.

The second annual “Carnival of Madness” tour is a little bit of a smaller affair this year, with clubs and theaters being used as the primary venues for this go-round. The tour is headlined by Canadian hard rock hitmakers Theory of a Deadman, who’s latest album “The Truth Is…” became the band’s highest charting album ever. Debuting at #8, upon it’s release in January and lead by the single “Lowlife”, Theory of a Deadman continues their streak of big time rock radio hits that they’ve been doing for nearly the past decade.

Also on the bill is Alter Bridge, which has kept the non-Scott Stapp members of Creed busy for a while now. Along with releasing their “AB III” album last year, lead singer Myles Kennedy has been real busy touring as the singer of Slash’s solo band and may be one of the busiest guys in rock music right now. Black Stone Cherry brings their southern-fried rock to the tour as well, as the band is out promoting their new album, “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”, which gives the band their heaviest effort to date, according to drummer Jon Fred Young (check out the interview coming soon.

Adelita’s Way and Empathic round out this year’s tour, which starts on August 13^th and goes into mid-September. An early date for this year’s tour hits the Detroit area as the “Carnival Of Madness” tour hits the Royal Oak Theater on Tuesday, August 16^th.

Be sure to check out some of the biggest names in hard rock as the “Carnival” hits Royal Oak and hopefully makes the uppity types that litter the streets of Royal Oak take notice and keep it loud inside the theater.

The “Carnival Of Madness” Tour hits the Royal Oak Theater on Tuesday, August 16^th. Tickets are $32 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional tour dates and tour info can be found at www.carnivalofmadness.com.

It’s always interesting to see what sort of new label a band can be tagged with, and to be honest, they’re just getting weirder and weirder with each passing year. When I hear [...]]]>

Born Of Osiris should be one of the hits of the All Stars Tour in Royal Oak this Friday.

It’s always interesting to see what sort of new label a band can be tagged with, and to be honest, they’re just getting weirder and weirder with each passing year. When I hear the term “Prog-deathcore” used for the Illinois band Born Of Osiris, it made me snicker a little. Labels are confining enough to begin with, but it’s just easier to say that the band is a blend of progressive metal that is always wanting to challenge the listener in many different genres of music, instead of barreling through one straight and droll path.

Born Of Osiris gained a lot of attention with their 2007 EP “The New Reign”, and the 2009 expanded full length “A Higher Place”, which featured some of the songs from the EP. It was enough attention to get the band on the Summer Slaughter Tour and others that lead the band to tour throughout much of 2009 and 2010.

The band did get back into the studio last fall to work on their sophomore full length, “The Discovery”, which was released in March. With the album debuting inside of the Billboard Top 100 albums, “The Discovery” is a far more focused and superiorly produced effort than it’s predecessor. With tracks like “Follow The Signs” and “Ascension”, Born Of Osiris’ guitar and drum work create a fuller sound and sets itself apart from the sea of bands that fall into this sub-genre.

Now with the album out and the summer heat ablaze, Born Of Osiris has hopped on the “All Stars Tour”, featuring Emmure, In This Moment and I Wrestled a Bear Once. The tour recently got started and will run through the end of August, with Born Of Osiris on all dates. For Detroit fans, make sure to check out the date coming through this area this Friday (July 29^th) at the Royal Oak Theater. It’s gonna be a chance to see the guys from Illinois shine through and perhaps steal the show from some of the other bigger names on the bill.

Born Of Osiris is part of the “All Stars Tour”, coming to the Royal Oak Theater on Friday, July 29^th. Tickets are $25 and are available at tickets.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.myspace.com/bornofosiris.

As many bands from the 90’s have come and gone, or that have stuck around only to play the state fair circuit. Even back when the band had their first hit, “The Distance”, in 1996, Cake was one of [...]]]>

Cake brings their "Compassion" to a sold out Royal Oak Theater next Wednesday.

As many bands from the 90’s have come and gone, or that have stuck around only to play the state fair circuit. Even back when the band had their first hit, “The Distance”, in 1996, Cake was one of those bands that couldn’t be lumped into any category in the days of the height of alternative nation. It was that sort of hard to categorize tag that helped Cake succeed during the years when most of the other bands of that era broke up or faded away.

Cake has spent the past decade sporadically putting out albums, but continuing to tour and over the years, the band’s cult following has grown stronger. After some wrangling with their former label (Columbia Records), Cake went the indie route to release their first studio album in six years, “Showroom of Compassion” back in January. The results were stunning for the band, as the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts.

The band was gearing up for their tour when I had a chance to chat with longtime Cake guitarist Xan McCurdy. Xan and I discussed the circumstances behind their #1 debut earlier this year, and how the band opted to create an all-solar powered recording studio to record this new album.
Here’s my interview with Xan:

AM: How surprising for the band was it to see “Showroom of Compassion” debut at #1 earlier this year?
XM: It was very surprising to us. We felt that things like this doesn’t happen to a band like Cake. It was great, but it ended up becoming the lowest selling #1 in Soundscan history (until the week after, when another album debuted at #1 lower than Cake’s number), but we knew that might be a possibility coming in. My mom was really happy to see it go #1, and sometimes, it’s more important to make your moms happy than yourself (laughs).

AM: “Compassion” was six years after the release of the last album- what was the decision behind the long gap between albums?
XM: A lot of that time between albums was spent dealing with parting ways with Columbia Records. We had to take some legal maneuvers, which took a while to part in an amicable way and be on good terms moving forward. It’s kinda hard to be inspired knowing that you’re in a limbo position, as far as a label is concerned. Even though we had the issue with the label, we still toured a lot. Once we get onto the studio, we wanted to work on my engineering and production skills, since this was the first time we produced an album completely by ourselves, and didn’t have at least one person besides us turning the knobs and such. I think the recording process this time was very democratic and everyone’s voice got to be heard. There was more wrangling about song arrangements and we spent weeks tinkering on different sounds. It was a beautiful process, but it was very slow. We’ll probably do things a little differently when going in to do the next album.

AM: The band built a completely solar powered studio- was that process pretty easy or fairly difficult?
XM: We did some research on solar power and asked a lot of people we knew to help build it. It wasn’t a huge deal, and even though it’s expensive in the short fun, in the long run- it will pay for itself. As a band that tours a lot, we’re awful polluters- this spewing machine at all times. It’s tragically wasteful, but you have to tour, but try and make up for it at home. We had these silly ideas like “what if it rains?” and things like that. But we read that the country that uses the most solar power is Germany- not exactly a sunny place. So, we figured that if they can do it in Germany, then it shouldn’t be a problem in California to do this.

AM: Over the years, how has the band dealt with the major amount of touring that you do?
XM: It’s more difficult with the economy and the one thing that has gotten better over the past 15 years and even more so in the past 5 years is all of the food options have gotten a lot better. You can go to a place like Madison, Wisconsin and get really healthy options that are pretty nutritious and fresh fruit in local stores. It sounds weird, but it does help on the road. What makes things difficult is some of the guys in the band now being married and having kids and being away from them makes it more of a pain in the ass for those guys.

AM: Now that the band is back on an indie label, how much freedom do you feel?
XM: It feels much better. Our time at Columbia was exciting but bizarre at the same time. For us, it never felt like we were supposed to be there. I think a label like that is geared more at celebrity artists with perfume lines. For a smaller band like us, it’s not something we’re interested in. We respected the fact that the label wanted to give it a shot, but it just didn’t work out. But as many bands have found out, you can get music through the wonders of the internet and you really don’t need these companies like you used to.

Cake play at the Royal Oak Theater on Wednesday, May 18^th. Tickets are Sold Out, but if tickets do become available, check out www.tickets.com for those tickets. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.cakemusic.com.