Rock Thiz Magazine Issue 6

2 | Rock Thiz Magazine | Issue 1

Rock Thiz MagazineLisa Snyder CEO & FOundEr

Donald Snyder CO-OwnEr

Danielle AdamsSEniOr EditOr/JOurnaliSt

Marc DavisonEditing/layOut

Heather MurphyMarkEting

Contributing WritersShEri CunninghaM, yvOnnE laughlin, JaMES lOwE, tina hall Jax MandrakE, JanEl BriSCOE, Jiggy Jag

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Features

Back From Ashes 12

Steve Vai 15

Virginia Humann 9

3Issue 1 | Rock Thiz Magazine |

Benefiting The Never Give Up Foundation(April 29th, 2011, Los

Angeles, CA) - It will be a night of fusion from some of Hollywood’s leading industry execs to make a difference and building alliances for the greater good. EZ Access pres-ents “Mixin With The Media Mixer” Red Carpet Char-ity Gala at The Varsity Sports Bar & Lounge located at 6311 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 8:30PM. Partial proceeds will benefit The Never Give Up Foundation (NGU) with their outreach and awareness for children with rare diseas-es and their families. NGU’s efforts include preventative health awareness, emotional support, and making sure the

children and families see all of the options life has to offer.

This unique affair is a part of a monthly series of brilliant entertainment mas-terminds convening to open their hearts and minds to support unparallelled causes while creating a meaningful unit of like-minded individu-als. It is a movement to show that Hollywood does care and feels the impact of trag-edies of this world including the devastating Japan Earth-quakes and Tsunami as well countless numbers of deaths due to incurable diseases. In addition, Hollywood is most definitely affected by this struggling economy. It was inevitable for CEO, Eric Zuley of the EZ Access to orchestrate

such a profound sequence of charity mixers. Last month, EZ Access held an exceptional charity showcase and fashion show at The Highlands in Hol-lywood, CA for the benefit of The Los Angeles Red Cross for their efforts in assisting for the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami victims.

An exceptional night like this could not be absolute without some of outstanding entertainment. This night will be comprised of music and comedy with a performance by VH1 Reality Star Kevin (Bonez) John (“I Love New York”). Hosted by loveable wingman, Johnny V(“Scott Baio: 45 & Single”, “Binge”). Award Winning Commercial Star and Host, Eric Zuley,

Industry executives, Massive Media and surprise celebrity guests will be in attendance to mix and mingle the night away.

About Never Give Up Foundat ion (NGU ) : T he Never Give Up Foundation was founded by the father of Christopher Paul Jones, Jr. (CJ) in June 2009. CJ was diag-nosed with a brain tumor on June 23, 2008 at 5 years old and was only given 5 years to live. CJ lost his battle on May 31, 2009. NGU’s mission is to assist children and their fam-ilies with the fight against critical illnesses. NGU creates avenues for families to give their children the best chance of a happy life.

From the Editor’s DeskDear Readers,This has been such a wild

ride so far and we have you to thank for that. You make us who we are; you push us to strive for better content. You give us drive to keep going. Sometimes mistakes are made. I would like to apologize for a couple such in last issue. In the article for Jessica Rose’s birthday there was a couple. In one instance I called the venue “Libby’s Groove”, and for some reason I kept thinking the name was “Lindy’s Groove”. The name of the venue was, in fact, Lindy Groove and their website is www.lindygroove.com. My deepest apologies also go to Aimee Boschet of Aimee Bos-chet photography. I neglected to mention in the issue that the front cover image was shot by her. Look her up on Facebook to see more amaz-ing pictures. Just to cover my bases, I want to make sure

you all know that the back cover was shot by Jessica Rose.

Onward we march. We have some great things in this issue as we strive to grow as a magazine and a family. Back From Ashes grace our cover this month, centerfold Vir-gnia Humann, Frank Cotolo and more hilarity than should be allowed from Jax fill the pages this month.

I thought I would recap some highlights that have happened over t he la s t month. In March we lost many great people so I’d like to take this moment to bid goodbye to: Jim Seymour, 64, Ameri-can football player (Chicago Bears); H. R. F. Keating, 84, British crime fiction writer; DJ Megat ron, 32, A meri-can disc jockey, shot; Diana Wynne Jones, 76, British fan-tasy author (Howl's Moving Castle), lung cancer; Almena Lomax, 95, American journal-ist and civil rights activist,

founder of the Los Angeles Tribune, after short illness; Dame Elizabeth Taylor, 79, Brit ish-American actress (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cleopatra, Butterfield 8), heart failure; Drew Hill, 54, American football player (Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers), stroke; Nate Dogg, 41, American musician, heart failure. Though their song has ended their melody goes on in our hearts.

I’d also like to congratu-late a few birthdays in march: Justin Bieber, 17, musician; Ke$ha Sebert, 24, musician; Jon Bon Jovi, 49, musician; Freddie Prinze, Jr., 35, actor; Prince Edward, 47, Earl of Wessex; Chuck Norris, 71, actor; Will.i.am, 36, musician (Black Eyed Peas); Stacy “Fer-gie” Ferguson, 36, musician (Black Eyed Peas); Fabio, 50, writer/actor/model/musi-cian; Dane Cook, 39, come-dian/actor; Bruce Willis, 56, actor/producer/musician;

Reese Wit her spoon, 35, ac tor/producer; Wi l l iam Shatner, 80, actor/record-ing artist/author; Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway, 49, professional wrestler; Sarah Jessica Parker, 46, actor/producer; Sir Elton John, 64, singer-songwriter; Steven Tyler, 63, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist (Aero-smith); Leonard Nimoy, 80, actor/director/poet/musi-c i a n/phot og r apher (t he original Star Trek); Mariah Cary, 41, singer/songwriter/producer/actor; Lady Gaga, 25, singer/songwriter; Eric Zuley, 29, actor/producer/Entrepreneur

Which brings this letter to a close.

Keep on reading and keep on rocking.

Yours eternally,Danielle AdamsSenior Editor



STEVE VAI Tina Hall

Guitarist Steve Vai’s career began in 1974 when he first

took lessons from Joe Satri-ani. Since then, he has worked hard to become one of the greats in the guitar world. He has worked with artists like Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake. He is also well known as a solo artist. His work has appeared not only on film, but also video games.

RTM: When did you first know you wanted to be a guitarist?

STEVE: When I was in 2nd grade there was this kid that came to school with an electric guitar. He was in 3rd grade, but he could actually strum some chords. I was ab-solutely amazed. I thought it was the coolest, most incred-ible thing I ever saw. He was a God to me. That’s when the fantasy began. I never de-cided to become a musician. If there was a time where I made a choice that would have meant there was an op-tion and there was never an option. I knew that I was a musician for as long as I can remember.

Do you feel privileged to have had the chance t o l e a r n f r o m J o e Satriani?

Yes, I have the “Vai-advan-tage.” Joe was always musi-cal. Everything that he played always sounded great. That had a big impression on me when I was 13 years old.

What other guitarists have influenced your style? And of all the greats who would you say is your favorite?

I was a teenager in the

70’s, so players like Page, Bri-an May, Beck, Hendrix, Black-more, Al Di Meola, Carlos, etc.

Is there any particular band or art ists you enjoyed working with most?

Yes, my last band, The String Theory Band, with the 2 violins.

What advice do you have for future guitar players everywhere?

Discover what it is about the guitar that you like the most, the style, sound, the way you would like to play, and create a mental picture of it. Visualize a goal, break it down into little steps and complete one step at a time. There is no way you won’t get there. Be practical though.

How does working in film and video games d i f f e r f r o m w h a t you normally do? Of working in film, video g a m es , s t u d io a n d being on the road , wh ich to you most prefer?

I mostly prefer sitting in my studio, writing and re-cording the music that I hear in my inner ear. All the other stuff, film composing, games, etc. have limitations.

What was it l ike to play the demonically inspired Jack Butler on Crossroads? Are you a major Robert Johnson fan? Do you believe it possible to sell ones soul (Had to ask)?

I enjoyed the whole Cross-roads experience. I never intended to be an actor. The director asked me multiple times to try the part out and in the end it seemed to work.

Back then it was easy to look evil. I can’t do that anymore. I enjoy listening to Robert Johnson. That stuff has seri-ous juju!”

Regarding selling our soul to the devil... Every time we have to make a decision on something we are confront-ing our intentions. Some-times we are not even aware of what our true intentions are. Most decisions can be broken down to choosing between selfishness or not. Whenever we make a self-ish choice we are “selling our soul to the devil,” so to speak. How many times a day do we do this? You had to ask, I had to say.

Are you still an official supporter of Little Kids Rock? Can you tell our readers more about what they do and how they can get involved?

Check it out at littlekid-srock.org

Can you tell us more abou t t he Favored Nations company? It seems to have a lot of great artists signed on?

The kinds of artists we look for are independent, bril-liant and focused profession-als that are creating inspired musician oriented music for an audience of people who find this kind of music vital.

What can Steve Vai fans look forward to in the future? Where can they go for the latest information?

Vai.com is a good place. I’ve also been tweeting lately. I plan to continue to challenge myself to produce a body of work that is highly musical, accessible, uplifting and en-tertaining for those who are looking for this kind of thing.

That would be my musical goal.


A Fashion Statement: The Invention of ClothingJax Mandrake

In the beginning, Man was naked, because he had just evolved

from apes and apes don’t care about clothing. This was all right for a little while, be-fore Man realized there were some problems with walking around naked all the time. Thankfully, because Man is a clever animal, he realized there were problems and, ap-plying the intelligence that evolved within him, solved the problems in the order he encountered them.

Problem the f irst : the ground was not always com-

fortable. There were sharp rocks and sand and it got hot and wet and times, and all this variety played havoc with Man’s feet. For a time he just dealt with it while his feet got callused and thick, but one day he was walking around picking berries and nuts and having himself a good snack when he noticed a broken tree. He took a close look at some of the pieces of wood that had fallen from the tree, and he noticed that it wasn’t all splintery and harsh. He decided that he could take some of this wood and smooth it out a bit, and if he put this wood on his feet, it would allow him to comfort-ably walk on rough ground and hot places. Another prob-lem immediately developed: he’d have to grip the wood with his toes all the time to keep it on his feet, and that would cause severe cramping.

So he found a small length of vine and used it to tie the wood to the sole of his foot, thus inventing the sandal.

Wearing his sandals, Man was about to walk around more comfortably for a while. Now as I have already said, Man is a clever animal, which is why we’re not still walking around on wood slabs tied to our feet with vines. No, you have to be clever to survive, especially in the time of early Man. Remember, he hadn’t yet invented the fast food joint, and he wasn’t going to survive on nuts and berries all the time. That gets bor-ing. One of the reasons Man thought up tools in the first place was to make it easier to

hunt the animals he wanted to eat. This led to problem the second: as he hunted ani-mals and filled his belly, Man noticed that when it got dark, it also tended to get a bit cold-er than it was when the big ball of fire was high in the sky. He quickly discovered two facts that did not seem to fit together at first: he didn’t like being cold, and he couldn’t eat every part of the animals he killed. After some intense thought - actually, he prob-ably improvised - he draped the hide of the animal over himself and found it to be rather comfortable to sleep under. But he didn’t want to just leave it behind when the big ball of fire rose the next day, because he couldn’t be sure he’d bag another animal that day. So Man figured out a way to wrap the hide around himself, and he was pleased w it h his ow n ingenuit y,

especially when he walked around a bit more and found a few places where it could get really cold.

Man made that hide into pants f irst . Surprisingly, this was for a practical rea-son instead of mere modesty. Even though he was walking around on his wooden san-dals, his legs were the parts of his body that grew cold-est first. Sure his heart was pumping blood all through him, but it’s right in the mid-dle of his chest, so he was nice and warm in that area (even if he didn’t understand why). He solved that problem by wrapping the hide around his legs, and suddenly his legs were staying warm for a good

long while. However, another problem developed: his pants started falling down, and he couldn’t always hold them up while he’s toting a big long stick trying to spear his next meal. That would be embar-rassing, especially if other people or animals starting laughing. He had to do some-thing to keep his leggings up, so being the clever animal he is, Man invented a way of doing it. He cut a long strap of hide from another animal he ate most of, and thought to himself, “Here’s something that should do the trick.” Proud of himself, he took this strap of hide and wrapped it around his torso from his shoulder to his crotch. True, it isn’t the most comfort-able invention he’s dreamed up, but it serves its purpose until he thinks up belts and suspenders.

As Man moved into other

places where it got much cold-er for longer periods, he real-ized that no matter how much blood is rushing around his chest or how much hair he’s grown, he’s got to have some-thing else to keep his chest warm. Once again, being the clever animal, he tore off part of the hide of another ani-mal he has killed and eaten, draped it over his upper body, and perhaps unintentionally come up with an entire outfit: shirt, pants, belt, and sandals. As far as how Man came up with the hat, I have no idea. I think that was an accident. A dead rodent must have fallen on his head at just the right angle or something.

A lot of us take clothing

for granted these days, and in some cases we do some stupid things with them that really make me question whether or not we really have evolved. I get confused, for instance, any time I see somebody, in the middle of winter, wear-ing a heavy parka jacket, a woolen cap, earmuffs, a scarf, thick gloves, snow boots, and ... shorts. In fact, I am bewil-dered enough by anybody at any time of year who wears a long-sleeved shirt with shorts and f lip-f lops. Do these people have no temper-ature nerves between their hips and ankles? I just want to walk up to these creatures and say, “Make up your mind. Are you going to be hot or cold today?”

And please do not get me started on tattoos and body jewelry. A few facts: One, it is unnatural to invite pain,

Continued on page

I just want to walk up to these creatures and say, “Make up your mind. Are you going to be hot or cold today?”


LedaswanLedaswan was described

as “…eerily similar to Fleet-wood Mac on Quaaludes” by the San Antonio Cur-rent. This f ive piece band from Southwest Texas tends to not always fit in its own scene. Each member brings a unique style and influence to the table. So when you take a listen, this quote makes com-plete sense.

If you were to pick a point where Ledaswan’s origins began, it’s the night Erica shy-ly handed Jaime her demo at a San Antonio venue. He was blown away by her ethereal voice and instantly fell in love with the four songs on that CD.

Fast-forward three years later, their paths were to cross again. Erica is still writ-ing her own style of dark folk music and Jaime is playing in a popular harder edged band along with David (future member of Ledaswan).

The first song they col-laborated on became “Over Again”. Erica showed Jaime her 4-track and he decided he would try to impress her by writing and recording a whole song in the time she took to get ready. Days later, Erica brought over the song with all the vocals arranged. It was called “Over Again.” The first collaboration sound-ed very different from their individual songwriting. This is where it all started.

Three years later Ledas-wan released their CD Verse of Truth Trash and Beauty. Their self-engineered and

self-produced album won them several awards includ-ing Best Singer/Songwriter and Best New Album. The band toured regionally and increased their visibility by doing a two week West Coast stint along with friends Girl in a Coma and Miss Derringer.

Their follow up album took them in a whole differ-

ent direction. What they pre-dicted would be recorded in 6 months became a two year journey. NUM83R5 show-cases a whole new Ledas-wan. The songs have taken on a wall of sound texture

and the vocals come across stronger and more honest. Erica’s melodies keep you humming along and give you that “I can’t get this song out of my head” feeling. This isn’t just any catchy hook though. Every lyric in each song is well thought out and actually means something. The lyrics

are both playful and deep at the same time and give you the sense that there’s some-thing much more than the lit-eral. David’s frenzied melod-ic guitar lines paint different pictures around the vocals. New addition to the band

Lalo Rodriguez was the last piece of the puzzle needed to bring these songs to life, and live is the anchor point of the band. This give the three gui-tar attack of Erica, Jaime and David room to color in the corners where the there’s just no words for the feeling that’s they’re making you feel.

This is a band to look out for. NUM83R5 Part 2 is due later this year.

ledaswan.netfacebook.com/ledaswan.

net

Frank Cotolo: From Wolfman Jack to the InternetJames Lowe

The man known as Cotolo has been around for a num-ber of years, doing internet radio. In the interest of full disclosure, I have known per-sonally Frank since 2001 and we have worked on the front lines of internet broadcasting

for many a year. Frank was a legend before he came to in-ternet radio or as he calls it “alternative media”, Frank was writer for Wolfman Jack back in the day. Frank is now the one who gets the stars, he is not your typical inter-net host, the guy has Oscar

winners, Medical profession-als of all shapes and stripes on as guests. I am proud to intro-duce the Rock Thiz Magazine readership to the “3rd man”, Mr. Frank Cotolo. I recently sat down at his broadcast-ing studio in a remote area of Pennsylvania and he brought

us his story, as he sees it.

Name and on-air times?

Cotolo Chronicles, Thurs-days, live, 9 p.m.-11 p.m. EST

Continued on page 17


April Centerfold: Virginia humannI started modeling January

of this year when I finished my back piece, which is a mer-maid that covers my entire back & wraps around my left rib cage with her tail rest-ing an inch from my pierced naval; everyone wanted to see it, but it was hard to show the mermaid in its entirety without completely disrob-ing from the hips up. My

friend, who shoots as a hobby (Scott Farmer Photography), offered to snap a few pictures to show my friends & to post on Facebook; everything blew up from there. I won the Jager For Life Sweepstakes, then a caught a feature in Rebel Ink and Skin Deep. My ink will be gracing the pages of Tattoo Dynamite, Texas Tattoo mag-azine and So Tattooed soon.

It ’s just in me; it ’s dif-ferent and free, just full of self-expression and bold art. Originality holds high marks in my book.

Height: 5’10” bare foot; with heels, I’m a bit over 6’Eye color: BlueArea you work in: North Dallas, TXOnline portfolio link:I have a model Mayhem acct

and a TWOM platinum Flag-ship, but most of my collec-tion of photography can be found on my Facebook page, I’m a FB Junkie: facebook.com/badassary

Photos courtesy of:Scott Farmer Photography


10| Rock Thiz Magazine | Issue 1



Back From AshesSheri Cunningham

Janel BriscoeAs the Miser y is

Broken and the phoe-nix rises Back From Ashes, the voice of the extremes touch ears as earth and the clouds of heaven collide. Back From Ashes continues to spread their wings in flight, flying far ahead while obser ving its surroundings and col-lecting information for knowledge in future adventures; soaring to unlimited possibilities as they continue their rise from the depths; reaching for the stars of an unknown realm of musical wonder.

Back From Ashes, commonly refer red to as B.F.A., is a band lo c a t e d u nder t he r e l e n t l e s s g o l d e n sphere in the sizzling heat waves of the city of the sun, Phoenix, Arizona. As the dust of the desert takes form of an entity in 2005, the conception of Back F r om A she s t a k e s place and journey for immortality begins. In 2005, Jason Hobel and Mikey Butikofer joined forces and began play-ing music together; during this union, a h a r mon iou s c hor d

arose between the ele-ments and the conclu-sion was risen; “We brought out the best in each other’s music.” as Jason recalls. It was at this point that these two musicians wave lengths connected and the search to find oth-ers who shared their faint chord of music that connected these i n d i v i d u a l s s o u l s began. As with music itself, one understands the drive, emotion and passion that affects each individual in their own reality; as with a musician, one under-stands the search for those who share the d r e a m, desi r e a nd drive that unites indi-viduals into an entity of one; seeking the death of the past and the rebirth of a new sun shining light upon new paths to be trav-eled by the unknown. Eventually the union of Jason Hobel, vocals; Mikey Butikofer, gui-tar; Anthony DeJesus, guitar; David DiGilio, bass; and Pete Hawley, drums formed Back From Ashes in 2009. As with the mythology of the phoenix, the sym-bol of Back From Ash-es, the young phoenix

gathers the ashes of its predecessor into an egg of myrrh and takes it to Heliopolis, the city of the sun, to begin its rebirth.

Back From A sh-es quickly gathered their scattered ashes and took flight to the stars. In f ive years Back From Ashes has r e le a s e d mu s ic t o please, inspire, and describe the raw emo-t ions and struggles of life; with Jason’s vocals harmonizing with the angels of the heavens to the deep soul searching, angry growls pulled from the depths where ash-es lie, there is no one genre to explain the unlimited ex tremes of this band. In 2007, “Broken” was released with their first single ‘Father Fiction’, a song that touches on a real-ity spoken of by few. W it h i n t wo ye a r s , in 2009, “Back From Ashes” was released encompassing songs of great emotion for the members of Back From Ashes. The song, ‘Suffering Within’ was explained, “It started with a few chords that Mikey had played and I liked the sound. It’s got this mellow, yet heavy vibe. This song is an expression of what we were person-ally going through at the t ime, it ref lects our emotions. All of the songs on “Back From Ashes” is music that describes things in our lives that have emotionally grabbed

us and we went with it. We feel that, music is of the emotions and of life, weather it is beau-tiful or ugly”, stated Jason. In 2010 with the release of “2 6 1“, Back From Ashes stabs the inner soul, taking one into the abysmal of the darker side with ‘Mis-ery’, a pure, intense me t a l a nd rhy t h m whirlwind of the ashes that have gathered. Wit h ‘20 20 Bl ind’ describe by Jason, “The story behind this song is: you are arguing with someone and they don’t see where you are coming from, they are arguing back with you and you don’t see where they are coming from, so you are both blind to each other, you are both 20 20 blind. It’s all about feelings of frustration and hope-lessness; they just don’t get what you are trying to say or accomplish but at the same time, neither do you.” As with the musical notes a nd ex t reme voc a l

variances, the titles of this bands albums and songs also carry differ-ent meanings for those who take the time to wonder why. “2 6 1” is simply a code standing for B.F.A.; simple once explained, but a puzzle to those who dare not to ponder the numeri-cal title; again express-ing the multiplicity of these amazing artists.

The driving force of the five men of Back From Ashes has not only produced three albums with the grasp of the deepest entities of one’s mind or the enlightment of higher powers of one’s beliefs, they have blended such talent to be recognized by the masses. In 2010, Back From Ashes was nominated in the fol-lowing Grammy Bal-lad Award Categories: Record of the Year; A lbum of the Year; Song of the Year; Best New Artist; Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; Best New Artist; Best


Hard Rock Performance; Best Rock Song; Best Rock Album and Best Short Form Music Video. In 2009, Back From Ashes was nominated for the Los Ange-les/Phoenix Music Awards and also the only nominees to receive two separate awards, The Producer’s Choice Modern Rock Band of the Year and Music Video of the Year awards for their song Suffer-ing Within’ of their album “Back From Ashes”. In 2008 the band landed a Star Music Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Band. So holds true the ideology of the phoenix that arises from the ashes of the earth to its rebirth, Back From Ashes is soaring with musical beauty, creating an intense excitement and deathless inspi-ration shared by critics and fans alike.

Among the many accomplishments of Back From Ashes, fans are of the highest priority for Jason, Mikey, Anthony, David and Pete. These five men treat their fans with the greatest respect. With over 16 social networking and profile sites, Back From Ashes spends an average of five hours per each band member a week answering fan mail, e-mails, face-book and myspace requests totaling over twenty-five hours a week working specifically with their fans. Continu-ing to relate the symbol of Back From Ashes, the phoenix, again holds true the mythology that the phoenix design is to be only worn by persons with high moral values and of great importance which becomes an icon related to the respect that Back From Ashes and their fans share for each other. From the ash-es, street teams all over the world have risen with the force and intensity that the phoenix resembles and the band members demonstrate. Back From Ash-es street teams operate with guidance from the band’s publicist, Yvonne Laugh-lin, each member of the street team com-pletes an interview and operates in a professional manner untouched by any other bands street team; as one begins

to grasp the relationship between this band and their fans, one begins to under-stand exactly how high the moral values are of both the band and of their fans. “This all started because the band felt that without their fans they are truly nothing, and it takes everyone behind us to make us successful and our fans are the most important!“ states Jason. As the street teams spread the ashes of their labor of love, not only do these fans hang posters and hand our fliers, these members maintain face book pages with up-to-date and accurate information on the band and also find new Back From Ashes fans. For some fans of other bands, this may seem to be above and beyond the call of duty, but for these street team members and these band members, their

honor and respect for each other is a two-way street; street team members are rewarded for their hard work and dedi-cation with free personalized merchan-dise and tickets to shows; truly demon-strating the ties that bond and create an unstoppable and undeniable force in the music industry. With the combination of hard work and dedication, this band with the assistance of their street team and fans has a combined to reach over 135,000 fans in less than a year.

Not only are the members of Back From Ashes and their fans impressive, this band continues on with an elite group of individuals assisting in their blazing journey toward eternal life in the musical industry. Los Angeles Pro-ducer, Ryan Greene, who was picked as ‘Producer of the Year’ in 2010 by the L.A. Music Awards, is producer and manager of Back From Ashes. Ryan has worked with about every major and Indie label including: Atlantic Records, MCA Records, Capital Records, Warner Brother Records and Epic Records just

to name a few. Over the years Ryan has worked with artists and bands such as Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Glades Knight and Lita Ford to touch vaguely on the endless list. Ryan has also engineered and mixed songs for the video game “Guitar Hero 3”, a song for “Rock Revolution” and produced, engi-neered and mixed for the video game “Rock Band”. Next on this elite entou-rage is Yvonne Laughlin, publicist for Back From Ashes. Yvonne’s journey in the musical industry began in 2004 as ‘Yvonne’s World’, a website developed for the purpose of assisting unsigned artists. Since this time ‘Yvonne’s World’ is regularly published in the MUEN mag-azine and Rock Thiz Magazine. Yvonne is also the founder and company director for Metal Music Promotions and assists closely with Back From Ashes street teams. Back From Ashes Radio Promo-tions Director and owner of Skateboard Marketing is Munsey Ricci. Munsey has worked with artists such as Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Marilyn Manson to name a few. Munsey sets the radio industry on fire with his knowl-edge and 17 years of experience. As Back From Ashes continue to spread the wings of their phoenix, this house and it’s rep-resentatives symbolize the loyalty and honesty represented by this symbol.

Survival and strength should be not-ed when Back From Ashes commands the stage. Opening for several national

acts over the past years continues to fuel their fires proving they are no ordinary garage band.

Continued on page 18


John “JD” DeServioFrom Black Label Soci-ety to Cycle of PainTina Hall

Jersey native John “JD” DeServio first became inter-ested in rock via KISS as a child. He gained the atten-tion of the music world when he was featured in Guitar Player magazine in 1989 as an up-and-coming bass play-er. Thanks to the help of then friend Zakk Wylde, he got an audition with legendary met-al songstress Lita Ford and found himself opening for Motley Crue on the “Dr. Feel-good” tour.

He was later asked by Wylde to join him in the band Pride & Glory in 1994 as a re-placement for James LoMen-zo. After a brief stint tour-ing with the band Drill and opening for acts like Stabbing Westward and Marilyn Man-son, DeServio joined Black Label Society. John also re-cently released the self-titled debut album of his band Cycle of Pain on Reform Records. He, Joe Taylor, and Gregg Lo-cascio have been playing in various bands together since the age of 15. The single “Do My Work High” won the 2010 Doobie Award from High Times magazine for “Best Pot Song of the Year”. It featured the work of Zakk Wylde and Sen Dog of Cypress Hill. JD co-produced the latest Black Label Society album, Order of the Black. John DeServio currently endorses Schecter basses and GHS strings.

RTM: At what age did you get your first guitar and what was that like? What kind was it?

JD: At age 10 I got an acoustic guitar from K-Mart, I think. A piece of shit that I lat-er smashed in my bedroom! I

got my first bass at age 11, a Danelectro that looked just like Jimmy Page’s brown one.

What was it like to be asked to work with Zakk Wylde in Pride & Glory?

That’s a long story. It was cool; we had been friends for years at this point.

What has it been like to work with Zakk Wylde over the years? What is the most important thing you have learned? How has working with him influenced your playing style?

The thing I take from Zakk is a non-stop work ethic, and to bring my game every time I play my instrument. He’s in-fluenced my vibrato through the years!

What was it l ike to produce the new Black Label Society album? How does it differ from past albums?

It was an amazing experi-ence. Me and Zakk produced it so it was total freedom. I brought some different drum sounds and another set of ears to the record for sure! We recorded this all at Zakk’s studio in Cali. We also mixed it there, so that’s a huge dif-ference right there.

How does performing with your band Cycle of Pain d i f fer f rom working with B lack Label Society?

I’m the captain of the CoP ship; I gotta worry about ev-erything! In BLS, I only have to concentrate on getting a good buzz on and playin’ a great show!

For those not familiar

with Cycle of Pain can you tell us a little about how it was formed?

We grew up together, my singer Gregg Locascio and my guitar player Joe Taylor. We were in a band when we were 15 years old! I got a record deal and put the band back together again!

Are there any plans for a follow-up to the CoP debut album, anytime soon?

Yeah hopefully 2011.

Do you still endorse G H S S t r i n g s a n d Schecter basses? Why do you prefer to use those? What other gear are you currently using?

I love them both, period! I also use Hartke, Zoom, Emg, Samson wireless, Dunlop ac-cesories, Red Monkey straps.

Do you have any plans to develop your own line of equipment?

Yeah, my signature bass is out right now!

Can you tell us a little about the rig and other gear you use whi le touring?

I use Samson power amps, Hartke lh1000 heads, a Zoom B9 and Hartke Hydrive speakers, and a Samson wire-less, along with my Schecter basses.

How do you prefer to warm up for a show?

Three Captain Mor-gan and Cokes, and some Skunkalicious!

What model of guitar is your absolute favorite and why?

My signature Schecter! Cause it’s mine! <laughs>

W h a t d o y o u recommend to fellow guitarists that want to develop that BLS sound?

Keep practicing’ son! We haven’t stopped yet!

Do you still participate in guitar clinics? Is teaching still one of your passions? What does it feel like to give another person the gift of knowing how to play?

Yes. I love teaching. It’s amazing to give somebody something they’ll hopefully remember for the rest of their lives!

Have you ever had a ny g u i t a r l es so n s yourself?

Totally. I went to Berklee College of Music, so there you go!

What advice would y o u g i v e a s p i r i n g guitarists?

Listen to as much mu-sic as possible. Jam with as many people as possible. And practice to a metronome or a drum machine.

Who do you consider to be the best guitarists past and present?

JD: Anybody who inspired me; Randy, Eddie, Page, Iom-mi, Yngwie, Dimeola, etc.

What can fans of both Cycle of Pain and Black Label Society look forward to next?

More unadulterated as-sault of rock and roll! We love you! Peace!


Get Fisted by Perpetual FistSheri Cunningham

Perpetual Fist, two words not com-monly associated

with each other. As you drive down the street and see an arm fly out the window with a hand balled into a fist with only the movement of the wrist rocking back and forth, you know you’ve been fisted by one of the members of this young, energetic band or by one of their fans. Perpetual Fist, whether receiving or giving, “Is an ass kickin’ that just won’t quit!” as quoted by Sugar-Free.

This group of five young men began as two fingers, having only enough fingers to create the iconic rock-n-roll hand gesture so often seen today, lacking the final three to make a fist. From Hutchin-son, Kansas to the small town of Nickerson, Kansas, this hand of two f ingers were raised with music in their blood. Bassist, Sugar Free, and his brother, Baby Bib, percussion, began their child-hood advent ures play ing the ‘Rock Band’ game. With parents who have also been involved in the musical world, and growing up listening to country music with great appreciation for performers such as Chris LeDoux, play-ing a game didn’t appear to be what life would hold for these energetic young men and the search for the comple-tion of this hand began. With friends and family members already in bands and per-forming concerts, Sugar Free and Baby Bib set out to unite a band of their own. In 2009 as Panda Jam, guitarist; Inferior Brand, guitarist and Bedtime Stories, vocals were added to this band, these five young men formed the fingers of t he hand now k now n as

Perpetual Fist, as tight as one can make a fist is the bond between these young men.

With the youngest of this band being 16, the difficulty in finding a venue and sched-uling performances with two of the members still in high school and the others with jobs, creates continued challenges. Perpetual Fist has opened many opportuni-ties for themselves by hard work, dedication and knock-ing down these barriers to perform in several venues in Hutchinson, Salina; the Wake, The Dead Festival in Hutchin-son and performing yearly at the hometown festival in Nickerson. Opening for bands such as Beneath The Burning Sun, Vintage Burning, Bled Bone Dry, and Seasons After; Perpetual Fist is letting their f ingers do the walking as they overcome the challenges by creating opportunities for themselves.

Putting pen to paper, Bed-time Stories, Sugar Free and Baby Bib write the lyrics to their music while involving all of the members input. Sugar Free states, “One of us brings an idea to the table then we all try to help out. One of our favorite songs we have writ-ten is, ‘Another One Lost’, it’s about going through relation-ship problems, specifically one of us. When the lyrics hit you, you just start writing,

all of our lyrics are from something in our lives that have affected us, our family or friends, either directly or indirectly, it’s something we feel. We don’t have any CD’s yet, but we are in the process of recording and we are look-ing forward to that, but we do have a demo on MySpace. It is a slow process, but I believe we are making the right deci-sions and we’re in no hurry, as long as we are playing, that’s what matters. Our music gets us through the day!”

Speaking with the mem-bers of this band, one can feel the love of music these men have, not only for themselves, but for other bands in the Kansas area. With the grow-ing support of local artists and entertainers in Hutchin-son, Perpetual Fist supports all of them stating, “We may not like what type of music another band plays, but we all support each other and try to help each other get to where they want to go, so when it’s possible, we go to as many other bands shows as we can. We would like to see more attention brought to Hutchin-son and it would be great if one band from here would get a label. There is a lot of tal-ent here and it will be great when it gets recognized! In the next five years I hope that we (Perpetual Fist) can say we played a good show

and that the right person saw us and that we are out tour-ing past Kansas and that we have gotten our name out there. I know that isn’t a real-ity for everyone, but it would be great to get to that point. One of our biggest influences is Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, coming from a small town, living in a small shack with nothing more than the band they managed to hit it big. I believe we can do it, but as long as we are playing, it’s all rock-n-roll!”

A genre of hard rock with some metal at times, Perpet-ual Fist brings to mind the sound of Breaking Benjamin. When you attend a concert and witness Perpetual Fist performing, ‘Bad Girlfriend’ by Theory of a Deadman, you realize how tight the bond of this group is. Bringing the audience to their feet, sing-ing along with performers of some who have years before graduating high school, it is an amazing accomplishment by these young men. True to themselves and those around them, with notable passion of their music and a love for their fans seen in their eyes, these five fingers tightly squeezing themselves into an unbreak-able fist will undoubtedly endure the roads to their suc-cess without intermission.

Ty ler ‘ B e dt i me -St or ie s ’ Crank ~ Vocals/GuitarRyan ‘Panda-Jam’ Withrow ~ Guitar/VocalsTom ‘Inferior-Brand’ Nichol-son ~ Guitar/Air Guitar?Erik ‘Sugar-Free’ Lutz ~ Bass/ScreamsA lex ‘Baby Bib’ Lut z ~ Drums/Dreamsfacebook.com/perpetualfistmyspace.com/perpetualfist

With files from Kelly Karber


Hop On In To Two Frogs GrillSheri Cunningham

Live music, parties, quiet evenings or an afternoon bite to eat, Two Frogs Grill is an electrified experience to be had by all ages. Located just south of the Arbuckle Moun-tains in Southern Oklahoma along I-35, you can’t help but notice two frogs loom-ing above the highway as you enter Ardmore, Oklahoma. As froggy as it may sound, these two frogs are inviting all who pass by to hop off the inter-state for a sit down at one of the greatest dining establish-ments of our time.

As one enters the doors of Two Frogs Grill, you undeni-ably must note the smiles of the patrons and staff alike. In an atmosphere of music, the walls to this fine estab-lishment are neatly covered with pictures of musicians and guitars personally auto-graphed and given to the owners of Two Frogs Grill, Aubry and Angeila Harris, by some of the top musicians in the music industry. The envi-ronment is inviting and inter-esting with an uncanny elec-tric atmosphere that leaves one wanting to return time and time again.

Two Frogs Grill serves a variety of items ranging from pastas, ribs, seafood, sal-ads, sandwiches and steaks

tender enough to cut with your fork and always served to taste. And to moisten ones palette, a variety of non-alco-holic and alcoholic beverages are served. The highest qual-ity of service awaits those who enter, with the gracious-ness and friendliness of the staff, Two Frogs Grill rates top awards for the services they provide.

Topping of f the atmo-sphere, services and dining experience; Two Frogs Grill is the hot spot for live enter-tainment. With performanc-es by Shooter Jennings, Wes Hayden, ARANDA, and Ted Nugent, only to name a few, The Harris’ provide world class entertainment for their clients as well. And you would think this would be enough for Two Frogs Grill, but yet they take one hop further to please and astonish their cli-entele. Working with Heri-tage Hall in Ardmore, a venue for large concerts, The Har-ris’ bring top performers in for private meet and greets while providing a perfor-mance by an opening artist. In 2010 such meet and greets were provided with such art-ists as Saving Abel with art-ists such as Porter House and ARANDA taking the stage during the meet and greets.

Two Fr og s Gr i l l a l so

participates in many activi-ties and concerts for non-profit events. Assisting with raising monies for charities and individuals in need keeps the Harris’ and the staf f at Two Frogs Grill hoping throughout the year.

W het her creat ing t he opportunity for fans to meet the artists of their dreams, building f r iendships and memories that will last a life-time, providing above excel-lent service and dining, and assisting with those in need; Aubry, Angeila and the staff of Two Frogs Grill provide a dedication to others that is above gold standards and should be recognized by all!

So hop on into Two Frogs Grill for a shockin’ rockin’ good time!

Exit 31A, Off I-35 2646 West Broadway StreetArdmore, Oklahoma 73401 (580) 226-3764twofrogsgrill.comf a c e b o o k . c o m / p a g e s /TWO-FROGS-GRILLmyspace.com/twofrogsgril


Sex Drugs and Rock N Roll, Not For This BandDavid Kay

It was more like, great music, clean living and spirituality combined together and we are talking about Stryper.

Cleveland OH 3/29/11 Walking into the venue with mixed reaction as I have never been here before and I have also never been to a Stryper show I was not sure what to expect. It was a night of surprises for me. The venue was very clean including the restrooms which even had restroom attendants.

The House of Blues was filled that night with approximately 600 in attendance. Local Cleveland act, Shok Paris, opened up the night with a strong set that kept the crowd on its feet and ready for the headliners. With only a 15 minute or so break the stage was changed and readied for Stryper. This was going to be a unique experience as this tour is in support of their new-est release a collection of 12 covers appropriately titled “The Coverings”.

Opening the show with several of their classic songs includ-ing: Sing Along Song, Loving You and Calling on You; as well as the covers: Over the Mountain and Shout it out Loud. Stryper also included two breaks in their set, one for a group prayer to pray for the all fans, families and for all those overseas as well and then later in the set to pass out Bibles to the crowd so that the message could be continued. Stryper then went back to playing to an electrified crowd and played hits such as Sur-render and The Way, and did encores included To Hell with the Devil and Soldiers Under Command. All in all the venue and the band impressed me with their clean living and the quality of their music.

CotoloContinued from page 7

How did your career as a DJ begin?

I worked at radio stations until I met Wolfman Jack and began working as a writer for his programs.

What i s your leas t favorite aspect of the radio?

Talk radio with an agenda.

How was it writing with a legendary figure like The Wolfman?

Fecundating. I learned more about my own voice as a writer while writing through his voice as a character than I ever could have by just writ-ing for or about myself.

You have interviewed

m a n y b a n d s a n d celebri t ies . Who is your favorite interview and why?

Aside from the ones I did not like, that I will not men-tion, all the others were

wonderful. I like inter-views best when I learn something about the guest.

Is radio a scandalous business like everyone thinks, is it really a dog-eat-dog world?

Any business relies on suc-cess based on popularity and income, making any business scandalous.

So, what advice would you g ive a co l lege s t u d e n t r e a d y t o graduate perusing a career in media?

Pursue it.

What is the craziest t h i n g t h a t h a s happened to you while being live on-air?

Definitions of ‘crazy’ vary but being a phone screener for a popular talk show ex-posed me to some people at least as insane as me.

If we were to look at the music you have on your IPod, what would we find?

I do not have an iPod.

What was the best concert you have been to?

Antonio Carlos Jobim at the Greek Theater.

Looking back over your career thus far, what

has been the most memorable experience for you?

I have had so many great experiences that every day another one becomes my favorite.

How can we find out more about you and Cotolo Chronicles?

Email me with questions.

Any final thoughts or last comments?

Find your own voice and even if you are, at first, not happy with that voice, keep it, develop it. Most of all, use it and never take advantage of the fact that anyone listens to it. One ear is worth a thou-sand years of searching for an audience.


Back From AshesContinued from page 13

Heating the stages for national acts will continue in 2011 when Back From Ashes shares the stage with Rev Theory, Saliva and Taproot just to mention a few.

C opiou sl y e x pr e s s i n g t hem selves t hroug h t he words of their lyrics; Jason, Mikey, Anthony, David and Pete reach into pain, anger, pleasure and love holding no guarded institution untouch-able. As these five men have become the phoenix that represents them, they come forth through the ashes a new bird shedding the old self which no longer is need-ful; embracing new strengths and flying to the heights of the sky with an unlimited ceiling of an unknown realm to conquer during their jour-ney to immortality and will live eternal through birth, death and renewal with a spirit that never dies. “The ability to blend the style is a product of each member of the band.“ Due to the very diverse backgrounds of each member and their influences; each member spawning from a different time to create a melting pot of ideas, lyrics, vocals and music, Back From Ashes pulls from all genres of music without limits creating a mystical musical sound for all to listen and enjoy. As with the mythology of the phoenix, one can understand why Back From Ashes are legends in the making.

For further information on Back From Ashes, please visit:

backfromashes.comw w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /backfromashesbandw w w . m y s p a c e . c o m /backfromashesmusic

The Breakpoint MethodJiggy Jag

To start the night out, Blunt Force Trauma took the stage. It has been a while since I have seen them play so naturally I was excited. I have to say that this was probably one of the best times I’ve seen them play. Great presence on stage. The music was good, and the crowd interaction was great. I can’t wait to see them on stage once again doing what they do best.

Next up was Assembly Line Gods from St. Louis, MI. I’ve just got to say, WOW! I have not heard of these guys before this show and I tell you, I am glad they were there! The guys in the band are all awesome down to earth dudes and cool to talk to. Their music was amaz-ing and their stage presence was just brilliant. The guitar player, E.B. Cox and their bass player Josh Kroeger were all over the stage and interact-ing with each other and the vocalist, David Samples. I will definitely go back to watch them play when they come

through Kansas again.Now the moment everyone

was waiting for: The Break-point Method. The crowd gathered and soon, it was a sea of people on the floor in front of the stage, all cheer-ing for the boys in The Break-point Method. First I have to say, I have been friends with these guys since they start-ed the band and I knew they would go somewhere. This show was all for them, and I could not be more proud of them then at that moment when I saw the crowd. Drum-mer Shawn Hay took stage followed by bass player Eric Reid. Up next on lead vocals/guitar was Barret Jones and last was lead guitar Jimmy Lands.

The moment they took stage, they had it. The show was off and they were rocking out with their cover of Zom-bie. Awesome cover, every-one in the crowd was there singing along with them. Their st age performance was amazing; the best I’ve seen from them live. Crowd interaction was amazing ,

chanting and cheering, mosh pits, jumping, everything you want to see a crowd doing while playing. You can tell that these guys have a lot of fun up there rocking out, and the crowd was having fun rocking out with the band. Everything was on key and on time, flawless. I want to wish them good luck in their future with their recent CD release, Empty Promises.

Next up on the stage, Hem-lock. What is there to say about these guys? Every time they hit Salina, KS they rock. Their stage presence, their music, their crowd reactions, everything about Hemlock is awesome. Hemlock played a great set, bass player and lead vocals Chad Smith had the crowd going and interest-ed the whole time they were on stage. Hemlock always has a great time when they come through and so does the crowd. I know that I, for one, cannot wait until they make their way back here to rock out with us again.

FashionContinued from page 5

Two, neither of these activities is at all original, and Three, contrary to your belief, it is not attractive. Particu-larly difficult for me to view are these emo nuts who not only have their ears pierced but then place spacers in the holes to expand them. I saw one with holes in his earlobes big enough to hold pocket change - and I know they were that size because he actually had a quarter on each side. Aside from my opinion that these are the ugliest things I’ve yet seen in a long line of questionable fashion choices, I find myself pondering the

practical reasons for putting great big holes in your ear-lobes. Are you going to tow a boat with your head like a cross between Samson and Jack LaLanne? Or do you eventually intend to double-dutch jump rope with your own flesh?

I also don’t understand the trend of young men wearing their pants low enough that their back pockets dangle between their knees and feet. Putting your underwear on display apparently passes for rebellious activity among the stupid youth of our country. If this is the case, I would like to offer a suggestion for these people, and that is to wear pants that have no seat at all. I know that you’re trying to

make a fashion statement, so let me tell you what this one means: you’re an ***hole.

I don’t keep up with mod-ern fashion all the time. I said to myself, some time ago, “Self, you are going to wear things that hide the parts of you that aren’t attractive.” When I realized that accord-ing to that logic, I would be spending the rest of my life in a space suit, I reconsidered the decision. Since then, I have chosen to just wear stuff that I found practical and comfortable, and if you can’t look at my clothes and keep your lunch down, that’s your problem.

As a matter of good taste, photog raphs w il l not be provided.


20| Rock Thiz Magazine | Issue 1Rockin’ Queen

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Entertainment & Humor

Rock Thiz Magazine Issue 6