BEST OF 2017

THE ‘BEST OF 2017’ ON THE ROCK SOLID PRESSURE SHOW

Hey Fiends..Here’s the national charting positions from our ‘Best Of’ special last night. Congratulations to all the bands that took honors this year. It was another amazing year for music. ALSO, if you missed the broadcast last night. You can listen to it at our site http://www.RockSolidPressure.com  It’s located right under our Slideshow on the Home Page

*ALBUM OF THE YEAR:  ADRENALINE MOB: We The People (Century Media)

*SONG OF THE YEAR:  GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS by Apocalypse Orchestra (Despotz Records)

*EP OF THE YEAR:  NINE MILE DRIVE

*THE TOP 15 ALBUMS OF 2017

1. ADRENALINE MOB: We The People (Century Media)
2. WEDNESDAY 13: Condolences (Nuclear Blast)
3. F.K.U. : 1981 (Despotz Records)
4. ARCH ENEMY: Will To Power (Century Media)
5. WITHOUT WAVES: Lunar (Prosthetic Records)
6. THE HAXANS: Party Monsters (Another Century Records)
7. ART OF ANARCHY: The Madness (Century Media)
8. GENUS ORDINIS DEI: Great Olden Dynasty (Eclipse Records)
9. LIV SIN: Follow Me (Despotz Records)
10. ICED EARTH: Incorruptible (Century Media)
11. QUADRUS: Entropia
12. JUNIUS: Eternal Rituals (Prosthetic Records)
13. AS PARADISE FALLS: Digital Ritual (Eclipse Records)
14. GRAVESHADOW: Nocturnal Resurrection
15. VAMPIRE: With Primeval Force (Century Media)

* THE TOP 20 TRACKS OF 2017

1. APOCALYPSE ORCHESTRA: Garden Of Earthly Delights (Despotz)
2. JORN: Blackbirds (Frontiers Records)
3. JOSH TODD & THE CONFLICT: Fucked Up (Century Media)
4. ILIUM: Tombsouls (Nightmare Records)
5. CORRODED: Fall Of A Nation (Despotz Records)
6. 3 KISSES: Kill Shock
7. MARTY FRIEDMAN: Something To Fight (Prosthetic Records)
8. DREAM EVIL: Six Hundred & 66 (Century Media)
9. TUBEFREEKS: Wicked Sky
10. REGIS LIMA w/ BRETT HESTLA: 2 Sides
11. MIND OF FURY: Ten Feet Under
12. MURDER THE CROW: In All Honesty
13. THE DOOD: Back In The Pile
14. THE SHAPE: The World Away (DME Records)
15. THE LIGHTBRINGER: Infinite Stars Of Creation
16. MEGA COLOSSUS: Sunsword
17. FRAGILE MORTALS: The End Is Near (Bumblefoot Music)
18. MODERN DAY OUTLAW: Head Wake
19. PULSE 8: The Calling
20. SHATTERED: Parasites Of The Earth)

*THE TOP 4 EP’s OF 2017

1. NINE MILE DRIVE (Self Titled)
2. CHLOVER: The Calavera EP
3. CRUEL CURSES: These Good Omens
4. FINAL CURSE: The Unbinding EP

 

*CONCERT OF THE YEAR 2017:  The Rock Solid Pressure Industry Showcase 2017 (15 Year Anniversary) at State Theatre

We always said we would never pick the Industry Showcase for ‘Concert Of The Year’. Mainly because we reserve this honor for a national show. But the Showcase was beyond amazing. An entire weekend to commemorate a 15 year landmark. How could we ‘not’ pick this as Concert Of The Year. So much happened for a lot of bands, and results are ‘still’ coming in. This was another extremely busy year in the field for us too. We also expanded our scene to other venues. And we’re still expanding. Wait till you see what we have planned for 2018. But we had a blast in 2017. So many great national concert events like WHITECHAPEL, NONPOINT / 10 YEARS, MUSHROOMHEAD, METAL ALLIANCE, JACKYL, WEDNESDAY 13, SUPEROINT / DEVIL DRIVER, ANVIL, and many many more. These are the shows we really had fun at. Although we had ‘tons’ of national concert events in 2017. Sometimes we don’t even like being there. Either the Tour Managers are dicks, or the band themselves rub us the wrong way. The national concerts listed above are events that remind us why we’re in this business in the first place. We had WAY too much fun at these events.. We do not pick ‘Concert Of The Year’ by attendance. We judge it by the overall enjoyment of the entire day and night. We would love to pick a local show as Concert Of The Year..because it always IS..EVERY YEAR (lol). That’s where all our hard work for the scene comes together. SO WE DID (lol) The Showcase is our legacy, and it was easily the best time we had at an event in 2017!! It was historic, and we’ll probably never see a Showcase like this again. An entire weekend of Showcase bliss. Friday was the ‘Alumni’ portion of the show and it was beyond incredible. We had PSYKOTRIBE, THE CUNNINGHAM WAKE, THE DOOD, SEVEN YEARS PAST, DARK SUMMER, POLAR SUMMER, COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT, MURDER THE CROW, SAHE, and AGEA. On Saturday we had DARK MATTER, TOGETHER IN EXILE, CHLOVER, ESCAPE, A DYING LIGHT, RE-BIRTH, FROM DARKNESS ARISE, OTHERWORLD, ALMONDY BROWN, ITZ LYRIKAL, NEVERTEL, OXMOORE, A BRILLIANT LIE, BAD BLOOD, CRUEL CURSES, MR. HANDSOME, NO POLITICS, HOSS, STRANGER THAN FICTION and THE ACTUAL SITUATION. This event was actual scheduled for September, but the Hurricane, which destroyed most of the State of Florida, hit us on the weekend of the Showcase and we had to postpone until December. Good thing we did, or we would ‘not’ have had that ‘Dream Panel’ of Industry Reps that we ended up with. Believe it or not, I’m still recovering from this LOL

*HORROR MOVIE OF THE YEAR:  Jigsaw

So, could 2017 be the end of all the Politically Correct tweenie PG-13 bullshit that passed itself off as ‘Horror’ throughout 2016?..Could be. JIGSAW and IT gave us back a thrilling experience at the theaters. But as always, the underground pumped out a LOT of great, nasty horror though. That is mainly where the REAL Horror fans go to get their fix these days. And it didn’t disappoint. We saw great releases like CULT OF CHUCKY, BETTER WATCH OUT, RAW, A DARK SONG, HOUSE ON WILLOW STREET, and lots more But it seems Horror is back at the theaters. Horns up!!

*Before we leave 2017 behind entirely, we’d like to raise a final toast to all the great musicians, friends, family and actors we lost in 2017…This was a sad year. It was filled with Death and Destruction. Our world has never seen a year like this before..We salute all our fallen brethren and will remember you forever..Save us a place at ‘Stage Left’ at that great gig in the sky..

J-Rock

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Best Of 2016

THE ‘BEST OF 2016’ ON THE ROCK SOLID PRESSURE SHOW

Hey Fiends..Here’s the charting positions from our ‘Best Of’ special last night. Congratulations to all the bands that took honors this year. It was another amazing year for music. ALSO, if you missed the broadcast last night. You can listen to it at our site http://www.RockSolidPressure.com  It’s located right under our Slideshow on the Home Page

*ALBUM OF THE YEAR:  MEGADETH: Dystopia (Tradecraft / Universal)

*SONG OF THE YEAR:  L.M.M. by NETHERLANDS (Prosthetic)

*EP OF THE YEAR:  VOIVOD: Post Society EP (Century Media)

*THE TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2016

1. MEGADETH: Dystopia (Tradecraft / Universal)
2. ROB ZOMBIE: Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Dispenser
3. OPETH: Sorceress (Nuclear Blast)
4. THE DEVILS MUSIC: The Devil’s Music (Coffee Jingle)
5. ABORTED: Retrogore (Century Media)
6. WITHERSCAPE: The Northern Sanctuary (Century Media)
7. SAINT DIABLO: Devil Horns And Halos (Eclipse)
8. LAST IN LINE: Heavy Crown (Frontiers)
9. JESUS CHRUSLER SUPERCAR: 35 Supersonic (SPV)
10. OPERATION MINDCRIME: Resurrection (Frontiers)
11. HAKEN: Affinity (Inside Out)
12. METALLICA: Hard Wired To Self Destruct (Blackened)
13. PRETTY MAIDS: Kingmaker (Frontiers)
14. HEAVEN SHALL BURN: Wanderer (Century Media)
15. STARKILL: Shadow Sleep (Prosthetic)
16. HELSTAR: Vampiro (EMP)
17. CASUALTIES OF COOL: Casualties Of Cool (Inside Out)
18. LORDI: Monstereophonic (AFM)
19. LACUNA COIL: Delirium (Century Media)
20. ASTEROID: Asteroid 3 (Fuzzorama)
21. CYPHER MACHINE: Cypher Machine
22. METAL CHURCH: XI (Rat Pak)
23. THE D.O.O.D.: Playtime In The Apocalypse
24. BORKNAGAR: Winter Thrice (Century Media)
25. DESPITE: Synergi (Eclipse)
26. THEM: Sweet Hollow (Empire)
27. BOMBUS: Repeat Until Death (Century Media)
28. FATES WARNING: Theories Of Flight (Inside Out)
29. NIGHTWISH: Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast)
30. ORACLE: Beyond Omiga

 

* THE TOP 25 TRACKS OF 2016

1. L.M.M. by NETHERLANDS (Prosthetic)
2. TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG by TREAT (Frontiers)
3. THE VENGEFUL ONE by DISTURBED (Reprise)
4. SEVENTH SEAL by FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (AFM)
5. OM GENERATOR by MOTOROWL (Century Media)
6. EVERYONE’S WATCHING by SUNSHINE & BULLETS (Melodic Revolution)
7. ANONYMOUS by GEMINI SYNDROME (Another Century)
8. ANDALE by COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT
9. A DIFFERENT WORLD by KORN (Roadrunner)
10. DOWN TO MARS by ENTOMBED A.D. (Century Media)
11. CONTRACT KILLER by FUNERAL FOR A CLOWN
12. PUT YOUR DEATH MASK ON by WEDNESDAY 13
13. SILENCE IS RAGE by DARK MATTER
14. NIGHT HIDES THE WORLD by SPELLCASTER (Prosthetic)
15. CRASH THE PARTY by 5 STAR HOOKER
16. MUD SANK THE CASKET by SCREAMING AT THE SILENCE
17. HAVOC by CIRCUS MAXIMUS (Frontiers)
18. NEW MACHINE by CODA CUTLASS
19. CRASH N BURN by BAD BLOOD
20. ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE by ANVIL (Steamhammer)
21. DEVILS PREACHER by BLASTED TO STATIC (Metalopolis)
22. FAREWELL TO THE FLESH by HOUR OF ANGUISH
23. REFUGE OF LIES by DEATH REQUISITE
24. HAIL THE KING by NEW CLUE
25. CEMETERY PROMISES by STUCK WITH GREEN

*THE TOP 5 EP’s OF 2016

1. VOIVOD: Post Society EP (Century Media)
2. SKELETONWITCH: The Apothic Gloom (Prosthetic)
3. PROGRESSIVE CHEMISTRY: Scars & Demons
4. SUMMONERS CIRCLE: Become None
5. MURDER THE CROW: Murder The Crow

 

*NATIONAL CONCERT OF THE YEAR 2016:  MARTY FRIEDMAN (State Theatre)

This was another extremely busy year in the field for us. So many great national concert events like CRADLE OF FILTH, SKINDRED, LITA FORD, OTEP-FEST, MAX & IGGOR CAVALERA, KINGS X, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, and many more. These are the shows we really had fun at. Although we had ‘tons’ of national concert events in 2016. Sometimes we don’t even like being there. Either the Tour Managers are dicks, or the band themselves rub us the wrong way. The national concerts listed above are events that remind us why we’re in this business in the first place. We had WAY too much fun at these events.. We do not pick ‘Concert Of The Year’ by attendance. We judge it by the overall enjoyment of the entire day and night. We would love to pick THE ROCK SOLID PRESSURE INDUSTRY SHOWCASE  as Concert Of The Year..because it always IS..EVERY YEAR (lol). That’s where all our hard work for the scene comes together.It’s our legacy, but we can’t name it Concert Of The Year, or we’d be doing that EVERY YEAR!! Same with the tons of local shows we’re involved with every week. We ALWAYS have fun at those events..well..mostly

We picked MARTY FRIEDMAN as Concert Of The Year because this event stands out as a magical night for us. The entire experience was fun. This was also a great send off for our friend KAI before he moved back to Japan. As most of you know ‘Marty Friedman’ lives in Japan as well. We were all invited on his tour bus. We even did an interview that was half in Japanese (Thank you KAI). That was a first for the Rock Solid Pressure Show.. Our friends in DRASTIC FALL and WAR OF THRONES were also on this show. So yeah, it was a huge party. And Marty’s band and crew treated us like Family. But the main thing was Marty’s performance. It was INCREDIBLE!! We’ve seen all the Guitar ‘hero’ shows, but this made our jaws drop from start to finish. A historic night at State Theatre

*HORROR MOVIE OF THE YEAR:  Rob Zombies ’31’

Ok, let it be said that 2016 was the WORST year for theatrically released Horror Films EVER!!. Yes, there were tons of ‘So Called’ Horror Films at the Movies but they ALL SUCKED!! It was all this Politically Correct tweenie PG-13 bullshit..One thing though, the underground pumped out a LOT of great, nasty Horror though. That is mainly where the REAL Horror fans go to get their fix these days. But thank you Rob Zombie for giving us an exhilarating experience at the Theater and ‘attempting’ to single handedly save the genre.

*Before we leave 2016 behind entirely, we’d like to raise a final toast to all the great musicians, friends, family and actors we lost in 2o16…This was a sad year. It was filled with Death. Our world has never seen a year like this before..We salute you all and will remember you forever..

*LIVE EVENTS THIS WEEK

Friday 1/6 (State Theatre) CRUSH TONE w/ SUNSHINE & BULLETS, BAD BLOOD, CRUEL CURSES, ESQUE. Doors 7pm

Saturday 1/7 (Local 662) POLAR SUMMER w/ A BRILLIANT LIE, NEVERTEL, DREAMHOUSE, SAHE..Doors 6pm

ALSO, since I’m only doing a blog every couple months now. Here are the tracks we spun in November and December that did not get listed in the blog

PLAYLIST FOR 11/7

1. TAKE OVER AND DESTROY: By Knife
2. DARK TRANQUILITY: Clearing Skies
3. ASTEROID: Them Calling
4. MEGADETH: Lying In State
5. OPETH: Strange Brew
6. OPERATION MINDCRIME: Which Side You’re On
7. FUNERAL FOR A CLOWN: Contract Killer
8. ORACLE: Aions Of Madness
9. VENGINCE: In Revenge We Trust

PLAYLIST FOR 11/14

1. THEM: Harrowing Path To Hollow
2. OPETH: Sorceress
3. FATES WARNING: S.O.S.
4. BAD BLOOD: Crash N Burn
5. GLENN HUGHES: Heavy
6. PHIL RUDD: 40 Days
7. NIGHTWISH: Alpenglow
8. SUNSHINE & BULLETS: Heads In The Sand
9. LACUNA COIL: Delirium
10. HYPER ZENITH: Spiritual Fight

PLAYLIST FOR 11/21

1. WITCHERY: Escape From Dunwich Valley
2. NABERUS: Unmasked
3. TRAP THEM: Twitching In The Auras
4. JESUS CHRUSLER SUPERCAR: Down Down Down
5. STARKILL: Ruin
6. DARK MATTER: Silence Is Rage
7. BANZAI: Animal Boy
8. MASCHINE: Megacyme
9. CYPHER MACHINE: Nine

PLAYLIST FOR 12/5

1. THEM: Blood From Blood
2. OPETH: Chrysalis
3. STARKILL: Shadow Sleep
4. LORDI: Break Of Dawn
5. SOULBURN: Withering Nights
6. DISTURBED: The Vengeful One
7. ENTOMBED A.D: Hubris Fall
8. PROGRESSIVE CHEMISTRY: Scars & Demons
9. MEN WITHOUT ARMIES: She Wears Plastic

PLAYLIST FOR 12/12

1. PRETTY MAIDS: When God Took A Day Off
2. LORDI: Heaven Sent Hell On Earth
3. WITHERSCAPE: Rapture Ballet
4. FLOTSAM AND JETSAM: Seventh Seal
5. Interview with Jason Bittner and Eric from FLOTSAM & JETSAM
6. METALLICA: Halo On Fire
7. ANVIL: Zombie Apocalypse

That’s it..We’ll cya in the field… J-Rock

http://www.RockSolidPressure.com

 

Mass Hauntings

Hey Fiends,

Hope you all had a frightfully festive ‘Shocktober’….It was certainly monstrous mayhem down here on the Tampa Bay Gulf..We have been so busy in the field with concert events. It’s been near impossible to get myself focused to do a blog. The days of the weekly, and bi-weekly blogs are over. If you like reading my rants about everything, and like to check out what we have been spinning on The Rock Solid Pressure Show..Then look forward to me spilling my guts and giving you a splattering of everything that’s been happening every two months…So let’s begin

My last blog was on Aug 23rd. Since then, so much has happened in our dark world. I’ll start with a rundown of concert events that rocked our scene to it’s foundations. On Sept 3rd, we were honored to be involved in the return of THE MOSH PIT OLYMPICS which destroyed THE LOCAL 662 in St. Pete and featured THE CUNNINGHAM WAKE, ESCAPE, SCREAMING AT TE SILENCE, (DE)ABSOLVE, DIVINE SCIENCE, and A DYING LIGHT..Then on Sept 11th, a special concert on a special day for America, we had AUDIOTOPSY at The State Theatre. This was a kickass show that also featured lot’s of our friends like CYPHER MACHINE, KADAVER DOLLS, MEATSPACE, FROM DARKNESS ARISE..Then on Sept 23rd and 24th, probably the MOST important event for our scene every year ‘THE ROCK SOLID PRESSURE INDUSTRY SHOWCASE WEEKEND’..And man, it really delivered this year. So many great things happened for quite a few bands. Record deals are in the works for a few bands. Tours are in the works. Big shows at massive concert events like ‘Rocklahoma’ were awarded, Free merch packages and studio time was awarded, and lot’s more. Believe me, the 14 Year Anniversary of the event was totally off the chains. It started on Friday the 23rd with the PRE-PARTY which was held at THE LOCAL 662. The place was packed as you can imagine. We had a stellar lineup of Showcase Alumni bands. Many have since been signed. We had PSYKOTRIBE, A LIGHT DIVIDED, DRASTIC FALL, THE DOOD, SAHE, CHRONOLOGIC..Then the next day, Sept 24th, The Showcase exploded in all it’s raging glory at The State Theatre. We damn near broke an attendance record this year. The place was packed as soon as we opened the doors at noon. The lineup was to DIE for as well. We had THE CRUZ BROTHERS, DEVIATE THE PLAN, SHOTGLASS SERENADE, ALMONDY BROWN, POLAR SUMMER, CODA CUTLASS, UNDERTONE, COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT, CRUSH TONE, WAR OF THRONES, AEGEA, MEATSPACE, CYPHER MACHINE, MURDER THE CROW, THE DEFIANT, FUNERAL FOR A CLOWN, KADAVER DOLLS, (DE)ABSOLVE, BLOOD BATH & BEYOND..Needless to say, every single band launched their name into the stratosphere at this year’s Showcase. So much stuff happened for bands, and it’s still happening..That was September..

Then we ushered in our ‘Shocktober Celebration’ and it was one of our busiest Halloween seasons on record..It kicked off on Oct 1st at The State Theatre with a HISTORIC show. Which will most likely make our ‘Concert Of The Year 2016’. We had MAX AND IGGOR CAVALERA performing the entire ROOTS album in it’s entirety. Along with some Sepultura classics at the end..And man, it was INSANE!! The lineup was also insane. We had COMBICHRIST, ALL HAIL THE YETI, ONI, PSYKOTRIBE, GRASPING AT THE SHADOW and THREE KNUCKLES DEEP..If you were not there, you missed another historic event at the Theatre..Then we geared up for a 4 day run of concert events..On Oct 13th we had WEDNESDAY 13 at The State Theatre, along with ONE EYED-DOLL, GABRIEL AND THE APOCALYPSE, THE CUNNINGHAM WAKE, THE DOOD, NO KOMPLY. This was an insane night that will also live in the memory banks. Wednesday 13 was so excited to hear that State Theatre was haunted..And yes, the place was built in the 20’s and everybody down here knows the place is haunted. I have had quite a few encounters with the spirit world over there..I’ve been working there for 9 years. Wednesday 13 even called out to the spirits from the stage. That was cool. Then the next night on Oct 14th, we had a HELLUVA local show called THE GREAT PUMPKIN JAM which featured ALL our friends like DEVIATE THE PLAN, POLAR SUMMER, SUNSHINE & BULLETS, AEGEA, FROM THIS FIRE, ESQUE. And if it couldn’t get more historic, we had an amazing moment at that show from SUNSHINE & BULLETS. I’ve been working with this band from day one. They are kinda like the kids I never had. Or the kids I don’t know about (LOL). Anyway, Rich, the Guitar Player / Vocalist proposed onstage to Amanda, the Bass Player / Vocalist..It was amazing to see this. It was also a huge crowd. I saw tears running down people’s eyes. Even our Music Administrator ‘Brandon’ was tearing up. can you say WOW MOMENT? And yes, their reception will be at State Theatre. Then we geared up for a 2 day run on Oct 15th and 16th for the TAMPA HEMP-FEST which was a giant Outdoor festival somewhere in Lutz. Thousands of people attended. Patty and myself were honored to be hosting this amazing show. I also put most of the bands on the bill that featured DRASTIC FALL, ALMONDY BROWN, TRIGGER CITY TRIO, BAD BLOOD, CRUEL CURSES, SHOTGLASS SERENADE, AZZITIZZ, G2P, and more. Big shout out to JEREMY & CANDY GOMEZ for putting together one of the coolest outdoor events we have ever had the pleasure to be involved with. The entire event was to raise awareness for all Floridians to Vote for Ammendment 2 which will legalize Medical Marijuana in our State. Hey, I know our candidates for President is a total joke this year, but if you vote for ANYTHING in Florida. Make sure you vote YES for Ammendment 2. We actually WON the vote 4 years ago, but it was squashed by a corrupt political system (Don’t get me started). This year, there will be NO WAY they will be able to pull any corrupt bullshit. We’ll easily get it this year. Either way, we are definitely looking forward to HEMP-FEST TWO!! And last but not least..We ended our Shocktober Season’ of amazing shows with an AMAZING Halloween Party at State Theatre on Oct 28th. We are actually ‘still’ recovering from this event which was called THE HALLOWEEN PSYKO-FEST and it featured PSYKOTRIBE, DIDGES CHRIST SUPERDRUM, COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT, SAHE, SINISTER CIRCLE..It was a Halloween Party that was for the history books. You can see all the amazing pics from all these events at our facebook pages..

AND HEY, during this time, I was voted the 2nd Runner Up for PROMOTER OF THE YEAR in Creative Loafing Magazine. 97X was the winner, but I beat out ‘Live Nation’ who came in below me. It’s funny because I’m NOT a Promoter (LOL). I’m part of the ‘In-House Booking’ at State Theatre. I WISH I made the money that Promoters make, but hey, It’s nice to FINALLY be recognized for all the hard work I’ve been doing on the scene for many many years. I have to thank ALL of you for voting. It melted my black heart indeed. Now let’s get to the playlists. Here’s what we have been spinning for the last couple months..

THE PLAYLISTS TO DIE FOR..

10/24/16

1. CRADLE OF FILTH: Vampyre At My Side
2. TYPE O NEGATIVE: Love You To Death
3. ROB ZOMBIE: In The Bone Pile
4. ALICE COOPER: The Awakening
5. CORNBUGS: Bone Saw
6. FIELDS OF THE NEPHILM: Preacher Man
7. KING DIAMOND: Is Anybody There (debut track)
8. BLACK SABBATH: Cornucopia
9. LORDI: The Unholy Gathering (debut track)
10. FROSTBITE: The Name Of Blasphemy
11. JOHN 5 : The Judas Cradle

10/17/16

1. SAVATAGE: The Dungeons Are Calling
2. VAMPIRE: Night Hunter
3. TEAM CYBERGEIST: Zombie
4. SLIPKNOT: Sarcastrophe (debut track)
5. GWAR: Torture (debut track)
6. MUSHROOMHEAD: Graveyard Du Jour (debut track)
7. ST. MADNESS: Carl The Clown
8. JOHNNY GRUESOME: Over The Hill
9. THE A-BORTZ: The Walking Dead
10. STUCK WITH GREEN: Cemetery Promises (debut track)
11. CAPT CLEGG: Transylvania Terror Train

10/10/16

1. OPETH: The Seventh Sojourn (debut track)
2. WEDNESDAY 13 : Put Your Death Mask On (debut track)
3. KORN: A Different World (debut track)
4. ABORTED: Forged For Decrepitude (debut track)
5. PSYKOTRIBE: Vengeance (also interview with Psykotribe & Oni)
6. SUMMONERS CIRCLE: Become None (debut track)
7. SKELETONWITCH: The Apothic Gloom (debut track)
8. HYDROVIBE: The Killer Inside

10/3/16

1. HEAVEN SHALL BURN: The Loss Of Fury (debut track)
2. THE DEVILS MUSIC: This Is The End (debut track)
3. DGM: Ghost Of Insanity (debut track)
4. ASTEROID: Silver & Gold (debut track)
5. OPERATION MINDCRIME: A Smear Campaign
6. OPERATION MINDCRIME: Left For Dead (also interview with Geoff Tate)
7. OUR LAST ENEMY: Pariah A.D. (debut track)
8. SPIDER MOUNTAIN: Stupid Life Of A Mom Eater

9/12/16

1. MEGADETH: Poisonous Shadows (debut track)
2. WAR OF THRONES: Creation
3. CODA CUTLASS: New Machine
4. HELSTAR: Awaken Untold Darkness (debut track)
5. UNDERTONE: Mannequins & Maniacs
6. BLOODBATH & BEYOND: Alcoholocaust (debut track)
7. BOMBUS: Shake Them (debut track)
8. THE DEFIANT: Hellride
9. PHIL RUDD: Head Job (debut track)
10. AEGEA: Hysteria

9/5/16

1. GEMINI SYNDROME: Annonymous (debut track)
2. COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT: Andale
3. MEATSPACE: 777
4. NETHERLANDS: L.M.M.
5. SKINDRED: Under Attack (debut track)
6. ALMONDY BROWN: It’s On You (debut track)
7. HAKEN: Lapse (debut track)
8. POLAR SUMMER: Tribe (debut track)
9. THE CRUZ BROTHERS: Yours (debut track)

8/29/16

1. HEAVEN SHALL BURN: Corium (debut track)
2. DESPITE: Give Me Life (debut track)
3. SKELETONWITCH: Black Water (debut track)
4. FUNERAL FOR A CLOWN: Here I Am
5. ABORTED: The Mephitic Conundrum (debut track)
6. MINDSHIFT: A Thousand Scars (debut track)
7. (DE)ABSOLVE: The Rot
8. HOUR OF ANGUISH: Farewell To The Flesh (debut track)

AND needless to say, many of these bands are up for ALBUM OF THE YEAR and SONG OF THE YEAR on The Rock Solid Pressure Show’s ‘BEST OF 2016’ broadcast which will air on Jan 2nd. BUT HEY..The biggest and strangest broadcast of them all happened last night on Halloween. We aired THE DANCE OF THE DEAD 2016. We have not exhumed this scare-fest in a few years, and I gotta say, it REALLY delivered the shivers this year. It was a paranormal event like no other. The spirits were extremely active this year. We’re hoping you took our advice and put your speakers in your window and blasted it while you were giving out candy. It seems a LOT of you did and we created a MASS HAUNTING throughout the Country..The kids either ran away in fear (LOL) or you became the ‘coolest house on the block’..The next time Halloween falls on a Monday night..We’ll scare the shit out of you again..And speaking of that.We saw Rob Zombie’s newest movie ’31’ when it came out. And MAN, Zombie really delivered once again. He totally buried all this Politically Correct’ bullshit that has been passing itself off as ‘Horror’ at the theaters these days. RIGHT NOW, I can honestly say this will be the BEST HORROR MOVIE OF THE YEAR in our ‘Best Of’ show in Jan..

Here’s a rundown of upcoming concerts that you CAN’T MISS if you’re in town..

Sat 11/12: State Theatre: KINGS X w/ Crush Tone, From This Fire, New Tattoo, Aegea

Fri 11/18: State Theatre: THE PLYMOUTH ROCKSHOW w/ Drastic Fall, Almondy Brown, Polar Summer, The Cruz Brothers, Nevertel, Hoss

Fri 11/25: State Theatre: FLOTSAM AND JETSAM w/ Helstar, Hatchet, The DooD, Arakara

Mon 11/28: State Theatre: EPICA w/ Fleshgod Apocalypse, Arkona, The Agonist, Death Requisite

Fri 12/9: State Theatre: DARK MATTER (CD Release) w/ War Of Thrones, Avenging Benji, Dolt, The DooD

Sat 12/10: The Local 662: THE HOLIDAY HAMMERING w/ The Cunningham Wake, Cypher Machine, Divine Science, Half Ton Hammer, Three Knuckles Deep

Fri 12/16: State Theatre: FLAW w/ Progressive Chemistry, Coldclock Knockout. Aegea, 3D Burn

Sat 12/17: State Theatre: KILLER CHRISTMAS 2016 w/ American Fix, Murder The Crow, Hyper Zenith, Sahe, From Darkness Arise, Vladimir Van Nilsson

Sun 12/18: State Theatre: SALIVA w/ 5 Star Hooker, Deviate The Plan, Otherworld, No Komply

That’s all I got fiends..I’ll be back blogging on Jan 3rd..Cya in the field

J-Rock

 

America?

Hey Fiends,

It’s been awhile since my last blog. June 7th to be exact. And in that short period of time our country has changed dramatically. America has descended into total madness and anarchy. I spoke out about it a few times on my facebook page, and I now feel the time is right to put my thoughts in the blog. Since the last blog we have seen the worst Terrorist attack on our shores since the Twin Towers were brought down. I didn’t live that far away from New York when that happened. I don’t live that far away from Orlando now, and when the massacre at Pulse Nightclub took place, I got that nervous feeling of Deja Vu. That seemed to open up the flood gates for the decline of the American way of life that I love so much. If you are a regular reader of my blog. Or if you listen to The Rock Solid Pressure Show. Then you know of my hatred for Politicians and our crooked Government. I’ve been this way since I was a Teenager. I come from a Military family, so I will always support our troops. I have always rallied for the American way of life. But when it comes to Government. Count me out. Right now we are seeing how crooked our corrupt Government is. They are not even trying to hide it. They will lie right to our faces and there’s not a damn thing anybody can do. C’mon, when the FBI and the Attorney General are pretty much involved in keeping the corruption alive. It seems like there is nothing anybody can do. At least years ago, our bad Government was exceptional at coverups. Guess there is no need for that anymore.

Since June 7th I have witnessed numerous Terrorist attacks on our shores. There was one last night in VA and our Government is feverishly trying to cover it up. This made me stop everything in my busy schedule to put my thoughts in the blog rather than facebook. It’s not just Terrorism. Since June 7th I have witnessed militant groups burning down, and looting portions of our biggest cities. I have witnessed these groups kill cops as well. I have also seen our Government ‘praise’ these groups. Even inviting them to the White House for steak dinners. Just a couple weeks ago, a DC cop was busted for being in league with an anti American Jihadist Muslim group. Yes, he was radicalized. That was swiftly swept under the rug. Obama has welcomed over 10.000 Refugee’s into our country. Many of these people are the same group that have been carrying out attacks all over the world. He also gave billions of dollars to Syria and Iran, which basically funded Isis. Is our Government in league with Terrorism? How far does this go? What do YOU think is going on? I would love to hear your thoughts..

My hatred for the Government started a long time ago. Yeah, I was a wild kid growing up in NJ. I came from a lower middle class family. We were poor but I had a great childhood in America, or what used to be America. As kids we would go out and have kid adventures and not worry about being abducted or any of that. I didn’t have a Father around, and my Mother was sick all the time, so I was basically raised by my Grandparents. They struggled in giving us a good life. I watched as the Government foreclosed on our house, and put our Grandparents through hell. Who worked their ass off by the way. This kinda made me a ‘bad’ kid. I was rebelling against everything. I ran with a bad crowd. I left High School in my Freshman year to go work in the factories to help my Grandparents out with bills. No matter how wild I was back in those days. I always tried to help my family. My small NJ town was full of corrupt, and highly racist cops. That was the norm back in the 70’s. These cops hated me and the gang I ran with. They couldn’t wait till I turned 18 to throw me in jail. Which they did on numerous occasions. One time they surrounded my Grandparents house, pulled me out, laid me in the driveway for all the Neighbors to see. Put shotguns to my head. This was all over a bag of weed. These cops also beat the crap out of me on numerous occasions. So, not only did I hate the Government, but yeah, I hated cops too. Cops are no longer like that. This type of law enforcement was wiped out in the late 80’s. But looking back, I learned not to fight the Cops. If you’re involved in crime of ‘any’ sort, even today, if you resist arrest, fight the cops, run from cops, have a weapon that you’re reaching for, then guess what? You have a great chance to be KILLED!!

In Obama’s America, the cops are portrayed as the bad guys. Our Government is even calling cops the bad guys. Where were you back in the old days when they WERE bad cops?Sure, there are still a few of these rouge cops that are still around. Basically in rural communities, but the majority of bad cops are gone. Look, I don’t have a racist bone in my body. I’m a musician that has toured for over 20 years. There is no color barrier with Musicians. We have a different code entirely, but I do NOT support this ‘Black Lives Matter’ militant group. Of course black lives matter, but if you’re involved in criminal activity, I don’t care what color you are, if you’re commiting a crime and get busted and you resist arrest, there’s a good chance you’re gonna get hurt or shot. It’s called ‘law enforcement’. I’m now seeing our Government fully support a plan to kill cops. They are even in league with Mayors, District Attorneys, and many more. Do any of you out there think this is madness?

I refused to vote for the longest time. Our Government never gave me or my family a break in life. My utter distaste for Politicians stands to this day. I was propelled to vote in the early 90’s when Ross Perot was running as an Independent Candidate. THAT was for me. Just about every Musician I knew was voting ‘Ross For Boss’. I even wore the shirt proudly at many of my gigs. And guess what? We ALMOST did it. In the upper right hand of ‘all’ my voter cards states ‘No Party Affiliation’..I am NOT behind the Democrats or the Republicans. Hilary Clinton sickens me. I can’t even look at that Lady. She represents everything I hate in Government. Why is this Lady not in jail? From Whitewater (and the many suspicious deaths that surrounded that scandal), to Libya, Benghazi, FBI, Loretta Lynch, Clinton Foundation, email scandal, and recently, a DNC staffer was found dead. This guy wrote a scandalous book on Hilary. They say it was suicide. Then what about that spy that was recently connected to Clinton who was killed overseas. This crap just goes on and on and on and on. THIS is who our next President will be? REALLY? She even bought off most of the news networks. She controls them. I know some of my friends are Hilary supporters, and I don’t want to offend you, but please remember, I don’t support our Government ok? Then we have Trump on the Republican side. Not scandal plagued, but he acts like a raving lunatic. Some of his views I agree with like keeping our guns, and fighting Terrorism, but he scares me too. Look, I actually met Trump in the 90’s. At that time I really liked the guy. My band was invited to play his ‘Beach Fest’ 2 years in a row. I got to play in front of 30.000 people on the beach. He was a really cool person,but what I’m seeing on TV is not the guy I met.

If this Presidential race is as confusing to you as it is for me. Then there are OTHER choices. I’m not big on the whole Socialism thing, but Bernie Sanders could have pulled this off if he was running as an Independent. The Democrats made a mockery of this guy and used him as a pawn in their corrupt system. I kinda feel sorry for him. BUT we have Gary Johnson from the Libertarian Party. The first thing on his agenda is to legalize weed in every state. Umm, guess who I’m voting for? Then we have Jill Stein from The Green Party. I know a lot of Bernie supporters are voting for her. 3rd Party Candidates need 15% of polling to join the upcoming debates. This could change EVERYTHING if America wakes up. But we won’t. We’ll keep buying into the rhetoric from the TV pundits. If we have an actual ‘America’ left in 4 years, and I’m not shackled in some kind of concentration camp, or DEAD, then yeah, I will seriously consider running for office. I’m the hardworking American that has had every shit job in existence.I’m the American that has struggled my entire life while Politicians forced bullshit rhetoric down my throat. I’m the REAL American that nobody talks about. If you want REAL change..Then ACT ON IT!! We don’t have to take this anymore..

Here’s a rundown of our playlists from the last 2 months

*8/22/16

1. CASUALTIES OF COOL: Broken
2. MOTOROWL: The Highest City (debut track)
3. TRUCKFIGHTERS: Fiend (debut)
4. MURDER THE CROW: People Of Planet Earth
5. OPERATION MINDCRIME: A Smear Campaign (debut)
6. SPELLCASTER: I Live Again
7. CRUSH TONE: Bitter Words
8. BAD BLOOD: Crash N Burn
9. INGLORIOUS: Breakaway
10. SPIRITUAL BEGGARS: Dark Light Child

*8/15/16

1. FAMILY: The Dark Inside (debut)
2. THE DEVILS MUSIC: Devoid Of Light (debut track)
3. ROB ZOMBIE: Teenage Rock God (debut track)
4. HELSTAR: Repent In Fire (debut)
5. THE DOOD: Infected By Faith (debut track)
6. GEMINI SYNDROME: Alive Inside (debut)
7. MOTOROWL: Om Generator (debut)

*8/1/16 (My Birthday Show)

1. ALICE COOPER: Black Juju
2. JETHRO TULL: My God
3. EMERSON LAKE & PALMER: Battlefield
4. ALAN PARSONS PROJECT: The Raven
5. BLACK SABBATH: Behind The Wall Of Sleep
6. MAHOGANY RUSH: Land Of 1000 Nights
7. LUCIFERS FRIEND: Lucifers Friend
8. DUST: Learning To Die
9. BLACK SABBATH: The Writ

*7/25/16

1. ENTOMBED A.D.: Down To Mars To Ride (debut track)
2. SUMMONERS CIRCLE: Further Into Dis (debut)
3. WAYFARER: Catcher (debut)
4. WITHERSCAPE: God Of Ruin (debut track)
5. ROB ZOMBIE: Dedicated Gore Whore (debut track)
6. DESPITE: Synergi (debut track)
7. NETHERLANDS: New Jocks (debut track)
8. NIGHTWISH: Life (debut track)
9. SUNSHINE & BULLETS: Everyone’s Watching (debut)
10. ARAKARA: Blood Harvest (debut)

*7/18/16

1. WITHERSCAPE: Wake Of Infinity (debut track)
2. DESPITE: Praedonum (debut)
3. ROB ZOMBIE: Get Your Boots On (debut track)
4. THE DEVILS MUSIC: The Strange And Dark (debut track)
5. SPIRITUAL BEGGARS: No Mans Land (debut track)
6. SPELLCASTER: Night Hides The World (debut)
7. TEER: Pride (debut)
8. HYPER ZENITH: The Lesson (debut track)
9. STEVE VAI & STU HAMM: Dyin Day (debut track)

*7/4/16 (Corrosion Of Covers 4th Of July Special)

1. BROKEN TEETH: Lightning Strikes (Aerosmith) debut
2. SOULIDIUM: Run Like Hell (Pink Floyd) debut
3. MEGADETH: Foreign Policy (Fear) debut
4. THE RODS: Ace Of Spades (Motorhead) debut
5. THE BLOODLINE: Save Me (Damageplan) debut
6. THE DOOD: Zombie (Cranberries) debut
7. RIC SAVAGE: Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf) debut
8. ANTHRAX: New Noise (Refused) debut
9. ADRENALINE MOB: Sabbath Medley (debut)
10. VINNIE VINCENT: Let Freedom Rock (debut)

*6/27/16

1. THE DEVILS MUSIC: From Beyond (debut)
2. LACUNA COIL: Ultima Ratio (debut track)
3. ROB ZOMBIE: Medication For The Melancholy (debut track)
4. WITHERSCAPE: Divinity (debut)
5. METAL CHURCH: Sky Falls In (debut track)
6. WITHEM: The Pain I Collected (debut)
7. FATES WARNING: Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen (debut track)
8. AMERICAN FIX: Electric Skies (debut)
9. SCATTERED HAMLET: Warning (debut)
10. NEW CLUE: Hail To The King (debut)

*6/13/16

1. ROB ZOMBIE: Wurdalak (debut track)
2. NIGHTWISH: Weak Fantasy (debut track)
3. MEGADETH: Post American World (debut track)
4. FOZZY: Scarecrow (debut track)
5. LORDS OF BLACK: Art Of Illusions Pt 3 (debut track)
6. BLASTED TO STATIC: Dance Devil Dance (debut)
7. GODSMACK: 1000 HP (debut track)
8. 5 STAR HOOKER: Crash The Party
9. CRUSH TONE: Bitter Words (debut)

You can hear a view of these shows (I think) on our player at http://www.RockSolidPressure.com Right now we are getting ready for THE INDUSTRY SHOWCASE WEEKEND which will be Sept 23rd and 24th. Every broadcast will be a special dedicated to this annual event. We’ll be spinning Showcase bands on every show. Along with national releases of course. Not sure when I’ll get angry enough to post the next blog (lol), but here’s a rundown of some upcoming events YOU CAN’T MISS!!

Sat Sept 3rd: The Local 662: THE MOSH PIT OLYMPICS w/ The Cunningham Wake, Escape, Screaming At The Silence, (De)Absolve, Divine Science, A Dying Light

Sun Sept 11th: State Theatre: AUDIOTOPSY w/ Cypher Machine, Kadaver Dolls, Meatspace, From Darkness Arise

Fri Sept 23rd: The Local 662:  RSP INDUSTRY SHOWCASE PRE-PARTY w/ Psykotribe, A Light Divided, Drastic Fall, The DooD, Sahe, Chronologic

Sat Sept 24th: State Theatre: THE ROCK SOLID PRESSURE INDUSTRY SHOWCASE 2016 (14 Year Anniversary) Doors at Noon

Sat Oct 1st: State Theatre: MAX & IGGOR CAVALERA w/ Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni, Psykotribe, Grasping At The Shadow, Three Knuckles Deep

Thu Oct 13th: State Theatre: WEDNESDAY 13 / ONE-EYED DOLL w/ The Cunningham Wake. The DooD, No Komply

Fri Oct 14th: State Theatre: THE GREAT PUMPKIN JAM w/ Deviate The Plan, Polar Summer, Sunshine & Bullets, Aegea, From This Fire, Esque

Fri Oct 28th: State Theatre: THE HALLOWEEN PSYKO-FEST w/ Psykotribe, Didges Christ Superdrum, Coldclock Knockout, Sahe, Sinister Circle, The Offering, Dethstar Thrive

That’s all I got..Cya next time

J-Rock

Future? What Future?

Hey Fiends,

So it seems the Sci-Fi movies of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were blueprints for the society we live in today. Technology is moving so fast, it poses the question ‘Will it eat itself?’.. Well for me, it already has. I just saw a show on TV on how Driver-less cars will be the norm in 5 years. We won’t be able to ‘own’ these cars. They will come pick us up and drop us off for everything we need to do. Yeah, like UBER without a driver. There will be ‘zero’ car accidents, but we would not be able to drive our own cars..WHAT? For those that know me, you already know my Techno-Phobe ideals. For those that don’t, I’ll put some things into perspective. I came of age in the 70’s. I was one of those ‘Stoner’ Teenagers in the Mid-70’s. No Computers, No Cell Phones, nothing! The world was a different place. Seeking knowledge was a quest of discovery. But you had to go ‘outside’ to participate in this quest. The things I wanted to learn was not on TV, or even in books. I was obsessed with ‘Black Sabbath’ and Horror Movies. I could learn a ton of knowledge about Horror Films in books and magazines (Thank you ‘Famous Monsters”)..But to learn about the Concert Industry, well ‘Hit Parader’ and ‘Creem’ didn’t do that much for me..When ‘Kerrang’ came out of the UK, that was like the saving grace magazine for the hard rockers like myself. But you really had to go to concerts for the full experience..And man, my experience back in those days was priceless..

At the time, our group of social misfits was unlike anything you can understand. We were a rowdy bunch that was thrown out of High School. We traded our books for Guitars and were on the path to Rock N Roll glory. We lived in a sheltered backwater town of NJ. Every weekend we would venture across the bridge into Philadelphia and see national concerts at ‘The Spectrum’..Every week!! We were obsessed!! We didn’t care who was playing. We needed our fix. Little did we know back then, that we were experiencing historic concert events. It was just the normal life of music crazed kids. I still reflect back on those years with amazement. I rarely get time to say this stuff on air, but I believe one day, when technology eats itself. we will return to those wondrous times. Seriously, I have seen the ‘original’ BLACK SABBATH 3 times in the 70’s. Along with MOTORHEAD, RUSH, PINK FLOYD, RAINBOW (with Ronnie) AC / DC (with Bon Scott), IRON MAIDEN (with Paul DiAnno), JUDAS PRIES, EMERSON LAKE & PALMER. I don’t want this rant to go on forever, so I’ll just say I have witnessed ‘every’ rock band live of the 70’s era. YES, every single one..and ‘multiple’ times at that..

This is what I decided to dedicate my life’s work to..The music industry. By 1980 I was playing the clubs with my own band. My weekends were ‘not’ spent at The Philadelphia Spectrum anymore (Well, unless Sabbath was playing lol). They were spent at clubs and festivals with my band. There were other bands in our circle that we constantly did shows with like CINDERELLA, BRITNEY FOX, OVERKILL, and lots more. They were our equals before they got signed to mega contracts. My band was nothing like any of those bands. We were extremely heavy and dark for those times (Sabbath influence remember). We didnt fluff our hair or wear mascara. We were the ‘Odd Man Out’ on the scene. But hey, the bikers loved us. We did conform to the 80’s standard and we wrapped ourselves in chains, spandex and dripping makeup (ala Alice Cooper) for about a year or so, but the denim n leather came back, and we trudged along, and made a historic name for ourselves on the Jersey Shore.. My touring career pretty much ended in 2002 when I started work for Sony Records, and ‘Rock Solid Pressure’ was born. I have 8 albums under my belt. Some signed, some not. It was a long road. In the 90’s I became a Journalist for a few high profile Metal magazines, which put me back in the venues I was playing, but I would also interview the national acts I was opening for. All of this was a quest for discovery in the REAL world. No technology, no Computers. The lesson of life I learned growing up could ‘never’ be learned on a Computer..

Don’t get me wrong. I have to use a Computer in this day and age like everybody else. I have to use the iphone, and yeah, I rolled with technology. But it’s not something I feel will give the kids of today a REAL learning experience in life. LIPS from ANVIL is a friend of mine. I like having long discussions with him every time the band plays State Theatre. He’s just like me..A great thinker (lol) He believes the Internet will fold one day. Shit, he believes ‘electricity’ will fold one day. Would you be ready for that? I would..In fact, most of the people in their 40’s and 50’s (and beyond) would probably welcome it..All this future technology leaves me with a sense of dread. Am I too old for a brave new world? I just feel there is an implosion coming..That’s all

Here’s a rundown of the Rock Solid Pressure playlist for the past few weeks..Hope you all have been tuning in..

*THE PLAYLIST TO DIE FOR  5/23/16

1. NIGHTWISH: Your’s Is An Empty Hope (Nuclear Blast) debut
2. ABORTED: Bit By Bit (Century Media) debut track
3. CALIBAN: Paralyzed (Century Media) debut track
4. MYRATH: Legacy (Nightmare) debut
5. THE DOOD: Jesus Bleeding (debut)
6. EVERYBODY PANIC: No One Get’s Out Alive (CavGold) debut
7. NETHERLANDS: L.M.M. (Prosthetic) debut
8. ROB ZOMBIE: Satanic Cyanide (debut track)
9. NONHUMAN ERA: The Destiny Machine (debut track)
10. RED TIDE RISING: New Breed (debut)
11. THE HELL: Brutopia (Prosthetic) debut track

*MEMORIAL DAY SPECIAL  5/30/16

1. ANTHRAX: Defend Avenge (Megaforce) debut
2. MEGADETH: The Threat Is Real (Tradecraft / Universal) debut track
3. TEMPEST RISING: War
4. RAMMING SPEED: Horns Of War (Prosthetic) debut track
5. REDNEK MESSIAH: Hunting Season (debut track)
6. DROWNING POOL: Soldiers (Eleven Seven) debut track
7. THE DEFIANT: Old 666
8. EXODUS: War Is My Shepherd (Nuclear Blast) debut track
9. MANOWAR: Call To Arms (Magic Circle) debut
10. INGLORIOUS: Inglorious (Frontiers) debut track
11. MEGADETH: Blood Of Heroes (Capitol) debut (RIP Nick Menza)

*THE PLAYLIST TO DIE FOR  6/6/16

1. POLAR: Tidal Waves And Hurricanes (Prosthetic) debut
2. DARK FUNERAL: Beast Above Men (Century Media) debut
3. MINDSHIFT: Absolution (Eclipse) debut track
4. ROB ZOMBIE: In The Bone Pile (debut track)
5. LACUNA COIL: The House Of Shame (Century Media) debut
6. CRIMSON SUN: Portrait Of A Ghost (Maple Metal) debut
7. RED TIDE RISING: Sound Of Voices Screaming (debut)
8. CODA CUTLASS: New Machine (debut)
9. SCREAMING AT THE SILENCE: Mud Sank The Casket (debut)
10. (DE)ABSOLVE: The Rot (debut)

*INDUSTRY SHOWCASE NEWS: Do you all have your ticket for the RSP Industry Showcase on Sept 24th? Most of you that attend religiously every year know how fast this event sells out. You can get an ‘Advance Price’ ticket from any one of the 20 bands that have been chosen to perform this year. The event page is now up on facebook. You can see the complete lineup and set times over there. Have you joined? If not..GET TO IT !!

*UPCOMING CONCERT EVENTS

Friday 6/10: The Local 662: CYPHER MACHINE, MEATSPACE, FUNERAL FOR A CLOWN, KRYSTAL FINGER, AUDITORY ARMORY

Saturday 6/11: The Local 662: BLITZ 2 featuring CODA CUTLASS, DRASTIC FALL, SAHE, DIDGES CHRIST SUPERDRUM, CHRONOLOGIC

Saturday 6/25: THE FALLING AXE FEST 5 featuring KADAVER DOLLS, UNBROKKEN, COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT, (DE)ABSOLVE, GRASPING AT THE SHADOW, KRYSTAL FINGER, OTHERWORLD

Friday 7/1 : State Theatre: STU HAMM with DRASTIC FALL, THE SKARZ, NEW TATTOO

Saturday 7/2 : OL GLORY RISING 3 featuring 5 STAR HOOKER, SAHE, SLINGSHOT ROBOT, POLAR SUMMER, DEVIATE THE PLAN

*To find the ‘official’ event pages for these events. Go to The State Theatre’s facebook page, and The Local 662’s facebook page

Make sure to tune in to THE ROCK SOLID PRESSURE SHOW every Monday night at 7:00pm EST USA..You’ll learn stuff..

That’s all I got..till next month..Cya in the field

J-Rock

14 Years of ‘Rock Solid Pressure’

Hey Fiends

It’s been over a month since my last blog, and of course I have a lot to say. Every year in May, we celebrate another year of the ‘Rock Solid Pressure’ broadcast. This year we are celebrating ’14 years on the air’.. Man, seems like only yesterday we started the show at Cameo Broadcasting in CT way back in 2002. We’ve come a long way and have conquered many things since our inception. When our show first started, Rock Solid Pressure was just an on-air gameshow for unsigned bands. The show was backed by Sony Records, where I worked at the time. The first couple years was ‘just’ competitions. It was nothing like what we have evolved into. When we moved the show to Florida in 2004 (and found our broadcast home in a haunted Dungeon), things changed drastically. Since we were in the Dungeon, it was only fitting to let our love for Horror movies, and darker edged music, come to the forefront. We still did the radio competitions, but we pushed that back to only a couple months out of the year. That dwindled down to only ‘one’ month per year. Then we decided to end those historic competitions in 2014.

The workload for the competitions became too much for our small ‘Skeleton’ crew to handle anymore. Our ‘regular’ broadcast of new music and superstar interviews really started to take priority in 2004. Yes, the competitions were extremely popular back in the day. It brought us to the forefront of the Hard Rock / Metal world, and we’ll never forget where we came from and ‘how’ the name ‘Rock Solid Pressure’ came to be. Our mission has ‘always’ been to support great unsigned bands and give them national exposure, and we ‘still’ do that today. In fact, it’s a much bigger forum for these bands now. As many of you know, I’m involved in booking huge national acts at The State Theatre in St. Pete Florida. I got into all of that when we moved to Florida in 2004. I didn’t start at State Theatre. I worked my way up the ladder in this business, but I have been at State Theatre since 2008.

Needless to say, we have made a ton of strong connections over the years. We work with many of the top Record Labels. And although we spin a ton of the newer national releases on the show. We still work in the ‘best’ unsigned bands from around the world. It’s been a long journey. We used to have ‘killer’ ratings for the show. There was a time when RSP was one of the ‘Top 10’ Metal broadcasts in the world. We were carried on lot’s of FM stations and a ‘ton’ on Internet stations. Man, I miss the Myspace years (lol). But we’re still here, and we’re still kickin’ ass! We’re not carried on as many stations as in years past, but we still get great ratings. And we’re ‘still’ known as the ‘go to’ show for discovering great new music.

One thing that has NOT changed since 2002 is the annual Industry Showcase. This will be our legacy if we ever go off the air. What we have done with the Showcase is beyond historic. We made this annual event one of the biggest, and most heralded, Showcases in North America. People come from near and far every year to attend this massive networking event. Even the ‘corporates’ down here have copied the event. Although we deal with corporate sponsors and labels for this show, it’s not about them. It’s about the BANDS! I constantly refuse corporate money. I have seen what that kind of thing does to a Showcase of this magnitude. I want to keep the integrity and personality of the event intact, and I feel I have done a great job over the years. In fact, we’re gearing up for the ’14 Year Anniversary’ of the event. The date has been announced for Sat Sept 24th. And of course, it will be at The State Theatre. The lineup has been officially announced in print on the Event Page on Facebook. If you have not joined, then DO IT NOW!! The 2016 Industry Panel and all the performing bands are listed on that Event Page as well..

Keep tuning in to Rock Solid Pressure every Monday night. We talk about the Showcase on just about every show. We are also celebrating our ass off during this ‘Anniversary’ month. I have more to say, but first, here’s a rundown of our Playlists for the past few weeks..

THE PLAYLIST TO DIE FOR (Epic April)  4/11/16

1. HAKEN: The Architect (Inside Out Music) debut track
2. BARREN EARTH: Set Alight (Century Media) debut track
3. METAL CHURCH: Soul Eating Machine (Rat Pak Records) debut
4. SKELETONWITCH: Well Of Despair (Prosthetic Records) debut
5. MINDSHIFT: My Revenge (Eclipse Records) debut
6. SEVENSINS: The Way I Am (debut)
7. BLACK SABBATH: Megalomania (Warner Bros)

THE PLAYLIST TO DIE FOR (Epic April)  4/25/16

1. EPICA: Sense Without Sanity (Nuclear Blast) debut
2. MASTODON: The Czar (Reprise) debut track
3. DEVILMENT: Mother Kali (Nuclear Blast) debut
4. ROB ZOMBIE: Get High (self released) debut track
5. MEGADETH: The Emperor (Tradecraft / Universal) debut
6. CIRCUS MAXIMUS: Havoc (Frontiers Records) debut
7. KING DIAMOND: Room 17 (Metal Blade) debut track

THE PLAYLIST TO DIE FOR  5/2/16

1. CALIBAN: The Oceans Heart (Century Media) debut track
2. SAINT DIABLO: Meet My Maker (Eclipse Records) debut track
3. MEGADETH: Look Who’s Talking (Tradecraft / Universal) debut track
4. BLASTED TO STATIC: Devil’s Preacher (Metalopolis Records) debut
5. SKINDRED: Volume (Napalm Records) debut
6. Interview with Benji from SKINDRED
7. PROGRESSIVE CHEMISTRY: Brutal Is My World (debut track)

THE PLAYLIST TO DIE FOR  5/9/16

1. FRANK ZAPPA: The Torture Never Stops (Warner Bros) debut
2. SUNFLOWER DEAD: It’s Time To Get Weird (Bloody Bat Records) debut
3. BOMBUS: Dead Weight (Century Media) debut track
4. METAL CHURCH: Blow Your Mind (Rat Pak Records) debut track
5. TREAT: Too Late To Die Young (Frontiers Records) debut
6. JESUS CHRUSLER SUPERCAR: Feed The Flies (SPV Records) debut track
7. COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT: Andale (debut)
8. FALSETA: Pedestrian Crossing (debut)
9. AUDITORY ARMORY: Phantom (debut)

THE SCENE: You always hear me rave about what a great, and massive scene we have down here in St. Pete. It’s unlike any scene I have encountered. I have lived in NJ, CA, CT. I have toured the Country on many occasions throughout my 20+ years on the road with my various bands, and I have NEVER encountered a more unified and supportive scene EVER. The bands all support one another at shows. No one LEAVES after their favorite band plays, and we are honored to play a big part in all of this unity. Sure, there are ‘fringe’ bands who will ‘never’ get it, and are outside the box on all of this. But the majority of support is amazing. Just about ALL of the events are packed. And I would advise a lot of the dying scenes around the Country to take a good look at how we do it down here. I always fought for band unity in the 80’s and 90’s, but it never worked. Down here, all my ambitions came to fruition in an overwhelming way. We are very proud, and honored to be in the BEST scene in the nation. Don’t take my word for it. Come and see it for yourself. Here’s a few upcoming concerts that you can’t miss

Thu 5/12: State Theatre: HED PE w/ The Defiant, Cypher Machine, Almondy Brown. Doors 7pm

Fri 5/13: The Local 662: 5 STAR HOOKER (CD Release) w/ Three Killer Buds, New Tattoo, Bad Blood, Murder The Crow..Doors 7pm

Sat 5/14: State Theatre: OTEP, September Mourning, Through Fire, Doll Skin, Psykotribe, The DooD, Divine Science, Red Calling, Unbrokken..Doors at 4pm

Fri 5/27: The Local 662: BLOOD BATH & BEYOND (CD Release) w/ Slingshot Robot, Almondy Brown, Red Calling, Sinister Circle..Doors 7pm

*HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: Well, we all know that the theatrically released Horror Movies have sucked for the past few years. It’s pretty much all this politically correct bullshit these days. The ‘Direct to DVD, or the Pay-Per-View market is going strong, but 90% of those movies BLOW!! Sure, you’ll find a gem in that big pile of shit here and there, but for us, it’s not worth the effort or the time to sift through all the garbage. I grew up loving the Horror flicks of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Yeah, when it was REAL horror! I still enjoy the whole ‘theater experience’ for these films too. That has pretty much vanished, but every now and then, a movie comes to town that instills our faith in the genre. The movie this month is ’10 CLOVER FIELD LANE’..We LOVED this movie, and if you’re a horror fan, you wll too. John Goodman always makes  the best Psycho’s. I love it when he has these extreme Psycho roles. This movie will keep you guessing right till the end. It begins with two people being held hostage in a bomb shelter by Psycho Goodman. We are led to believe that there is a nuclear attack (or alien attack) on the United States..or nothing at all (?). Goodman plays a murderous Child killer, and the movie is basically watching this couple trying to escape. The ending will totally blow your mind. Yes, its a Horror Movie, and you won’t want to turn away for a minute. This is the kind of film that you will think about for a long time. I could go on and on because it has so many twists and turns. But I will say that this is hands down one of Goodmans best Psycho roles EVER (Think Barton Fink..remember that?) We both highly recommend this movie to any disillusioned horror fan out there..So far, this is the BEST horror film of the year..Still waiting on Rob Zombie’s ’31’ though (lol)

That’s all I got for this month..Cya in the field

J-Rock

EPIC APRIL

Hey Fiends,

Hope you all had a chance to listen to The Rock Solid Pressure Show this past Monday night. It’s EPIC APRIL in the Dungeon. All month long we’ll be spinning new (or semi-new) ‘epic’ metal tracks. What do I consider an epic track? Well, anything over 10 minutes in length falls into that category. It also has to be a majestic masterwork of music. This is the only time of year that we spin multiple tracks of this nature. Sure, we throw in an epic here and there throughout the year, but in ‘Epic April’, it’s a celebration of these crafty bands who have the musicianship and insight to produce these types of songs. I’m an old guy (lol) who was weened on those classic epics of the 70’s. In my touring years throughout the 80’s and 90’s, I also included an ‘epic’ or two on all of my releases. So epics are in my blood (lol) Each week on the show, the first half will be two ‘new’ epics. The second half will be business as usual, and we’ll close out the show every week with a classic epic from the 70’s or 80’s. Tune in every week for a deadly dose of insane musicianship!!

NEW MUSIC: Since 2002, our broadcast has been known for turning on the masses to NEW music. Sure, we spin older stuff now and then, but our goal has always been to focus on new music. We deal with tons of record labels and we’re bombarded on a daily basis with new stuff. Some of it is crazy good, and some of it is..well..not so good (lol) But you’ll only hear the ‘good’ stuff on The Rock Solid Pressure Show. We are not one of those broadcasts that will spin everything we get. Our screening process is a bit strict. After all these years on air, our standards for submissions has to be extremely high. And to all the bands reading this, I urge you all to keep writing new music. Keep going, keep writing. If you’re a prominent band on your scene. You should be releasing new music every year, or every other year. I try to instill this initiative on the hundreds of local bands I work with down here in Florida. It’s best to be prolific writers if you want to get noticed. I worked for Sony Records A&R and a prerequisite for a contract is to be prolific writers. A label won’t invest the time if you cannot produce an album every year, or every two years. They will certainly look at your past history of releases before any consideration. Since the days of ‘Artist Development’ are pretty much over. It’s up to the bands to keep the momentum going. And that’s with NEW releases. So keep going! You’ll get there!!

INDUSTRY SHOWCASE NEWS: We’re hard at work on the 14th annual RSP Industry Showcase. The lineup of 20 bands is ‘almost’ complete. We’ve had so many ‘epic’ Showcases throughout the years. Our Industry Panel every year reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ in the Industry. So many GIANT names have sat in on the panel over the years, it even amazes US (lol). Every year we like to change up the panel and introduce new ‘blood’ to our annual extravaganza. This year will also be no exception. We already have reps from PROSTHETIC RECORDS, ECLIPSE RECORDS, SP UNLIMITED (Who works with TONS of labels) on board, and we’re not finished filling up the seats. The date has already been announced for Sept 24th. And of course it will be at the historic State Theatre in St. Petersburg Florida. Next month we will be revealing EVERYTHING! Full lineup of bands and Industry Panel. Stay posted!

*Here’s a rundown of our Playlists from the past month..

The Pressure Playlist for 3/14/16

1. ABORTED: In Avernus (Century Media) debut track
2. JUNGLE ROT: Paralyzed Prey (Victory Records) debut
3. CRADLE OF FILTH: Enshrined In Crematoria (Nuclear Blast) debut track
4. SISTER SIN: Desert Queen (Victory) debut
5. ANURYZM: 199x (Melodic Revolution Records) debut track
6. MARTY FRIEDMAN: Lycanthrope (Prosthetic Records)
7. MEATSPACE: Phony Halo (debut track)
8. REDNEK MESSIAH: Rednek Messiah (debut track)
9. SHOTGLASS SERENADE: Bitch (debut track)

The Pressure Playlist for 3/28/16

1. HAKEN: The Endless Knot (Inside Out Music) debut
2. LORDS OF BLACK: Everything You’re Not (Frontiers Records) debut
3. 3 KILLER BUDS: Crack’n (debut)
4. JESUS CHRUSLER SUPERCAR: Let It Roll (SPV) debut
5. THE TREATMENT: Let It Begin (Frontiers) debut
6. SPIRITUAL BEGGARS: What Doesn’t Kill You (Inside Out) debut track
7. 5 STAR HOOKER: Crash The Party (debut)
8. 5 STAR HOOKER: Drinkin’ My Blues Away (debut)
9. EMERSON LAKE & PALMER: Knife Edge (RIP Keith Emerson) Island Records

The Pressure Playlist for 4/4/16

1. EXXILES: Rise (Nightmare Records) debut track
2. SYMPHONY X: To Hell And Back (Nuclear Blast) debut
3. SAILING TO NOWHERE: Sailing To Nowhere (Bakerteam Records) debut
4. CROSSING RUBICON: Unhinged (Pavement Ent) debut
5. AEGEA: Hysteria (debut track)
6. EVERWAR: The Evil Inside (debut tack)
7. EMERSON LAKE & PALMER: Tarkus (RIP Keith Emerson) Island Records

*RIP KEITH EMERSON: As you noticed, for the past couple weeks we have been honoring the late great Keith Emerson who passed away a few weeks ago. Keith’s music was a huge influence on my life as a musician. Tony Iommi inspired me to become a Guitar player, and Keith Emerson inspired me to become a keyboard player. For ME, Sabbath and ELP were 2 of the darkest bands to come out of the 70’s. Sabbath was more Guitar driven of course, but with ELP, the focal point was Keith Emerson on the Keyboard. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing both of these bands multiple times in the 70’s (the joys of being an old guy lol). And I urge all of you to go hunt down video of ELP in the 70’s and 80’s. watching Keith Emerson on stage was like watching a Lion Tamer. He would fight with his keyboard. Go upside down with it. Stab it with daggers. It was an immense shock on my fragile eggshell mind, and just like Sabbath, I worshipped this band. In the early 90’s, I had a chance to share the stage with ELP (look for the pic on my facebook page). This was like meeting my all time hero’s and I got to hang out with them and let them know what an influence they have been on my music career. Even did an in depth interview with them. I was saddened beyond belief to hear of Keith’s passing. We all know that 2016 has taken some of our biggest heroes, but Keith’s death really crushed me. I wanted to do an ELP special on our show, but was afraid all our metal listeners couldn’t get their heads into it. ELP wasn’t metal. Yes, it was extremely dark..The LYRICS were certainly metal, but the music was more of a Prog-Rock kinda thing. For the ELP fans like me, we HAVE been ending the show every week with one of their legendary tracks. On Monday it was the 18 minute ‘epic’ TARKUS!! Please raise your glass for Keith! The one and only innovator of the rock keyboard! There will never be another!!

UPCOMING CONCERTS: Since I have decided to keep this blog on a monthly basis, here’s a huge rundown of our concert events that you can’t miss..

Saturday 4/9: The Local 662: SOULFOUND (Reunion), TRACE OF DAY (Reunion), VERTEBREAKER..Doors 7pm

Saturday 4/23: State Theatre: LITA FORD w/ 5 STAR HOOKER, CRUSH TONE. Doors 7pm

Sunday 4/24: State Theatre: SKINDRED / SOIL w/ THE DEFIANT, PROGRESSIVE CHEMISTRY, CYPHER MACHINE..Doors 7pm

Saturday 4/30: The Local 662: HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN featuring PSYKOTRIBE, THE CUNNINGHAM WAKE, SCREAMING AT THE SILENCE, DEABSOLVE, FUNERAL FOR A CLOWN and more!! Doors 6pm

Saturday 5/7: The Local 662: COLDCLOCK KNOCKOUT (CD Release), DRASTIC FALL, SCREAMING AT THE SILENCE, TOGETHER IN EXILE, FROM THIS FIRE, CODA CUTLASS. Doors 6pm

Get more info on these events at our site http://www.RockSolidPressure.com or go hunt down the Event Pages on Facebook

 

That’s all I got!! Cya in the field..

J-Rock