WHITFIELD CRANE INTERVIEW AND LIVE PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJALA Ugly Kid Joe is a hard rock band from California, fronted by vocalist Whitfield Crane. The group was initially formed in 1987, and to date, they have released four full-length albums, two compilation albums, and two EPs. Ugly Kid Joe’s best-selling…
JOEL HOEKSTRA – discusses Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Cher, solo career, and more
JOEL HOESKTRA Chicago-born, but now New York City-based, Joel Hoekstra is a prolific and genre-defying guitarist, who’s currently a member of the had rock legends Whitesnake. He’s also a touring member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and sometimes he does shows with Cher, the iconic pop queen. Before joining Whitesnake fulltime, Hoekstra was…
BLUE COUPE – Albert Bouchard, Joe Bourchard, and Dennis Dunaway
BLUE COUPE INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ LIVE PHOTOS BY MIKA PENTTINEN. PROMO PHOTO BY WWW.BLUECOUPEBAND.COM Blue Coupe is a classic rock band featuring original Alice Cooper Group bassist Dennis Dunaway, and brothers Joe and Albert Bouchard, both ex-Blue Öyster Cult. The band was formed in 2008 and have released two…
Krokus vocalist Marc Storace discuss the band’s retirement, the past and the future
MARC STORACE INTERVIEW AND LIVE PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJALA Krokus is Switzerland’s most successful hard rock band to date. The group enjoyed international popularity in the 1980’s and onwards. To date, they have sold millions of albums worldwide. Hailing from the Swiss city of Solothurn, Krokus was initially formed in…
Mercyful Fate returns in 2020
NEVER BREAK THE OATH MERCYFUL FATE will be playing an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, including COPENHELL. It will be the “9” lineup, featuring: Hank Shermann – Guitar King Diamond – Vocals Bjarne T Holm – Drums Mike Wead – Guitar with Joey Vera on the…
Tuska Festival 2019 – Suvilahti, Finland
TUSKA 2019 HELSINKI, FINLAND The annual and traditional Finnish metal festival Tuska Open Air is here again. In all, 43 000 people visited the Tuska festival for three days. That was an amazing attendance record in the long history of the Tuska Festival. One of the reasons for that…
PETE WAY discusses his return, and the lost years
PETE WAY INTERVIEW AND LIVE PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJALA Pete Way is known as one of the original bad boys of rock ‘n roll, but he’s also a highly respected musician and songwriter. Way is best known as the founding member and bass player of the British hard rock legends…
FM- vocalist Steve Overland, and keyboardist Jem Davis
Steve Overland and Jem Davis INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ FM is British melodic rock band, formed in 1984. The group has released eleven studio albums to date, including ATOMIC GENERATION (2018), and their best-selling album TOUGH IT OUT (1989). In the ’90s the band had many problems, both internal and…
RICKY PHILLIPS discusses working with Montrose, Coverdale/Page, Elements of Friction and Styx
RICKY PHILLIPS Ricky Phillips is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003. He’s been a member of The Babys and Bad English, and his session/live work credits include such names as Coverdale/Page, Roger Daltrey, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, and Ted Nugent. In…
Guitarist Vivian Campbell discusses working with Def Leppard, Last in Line, Dio and more
VIVIAN CAMPBELL INTERVIEW AND LIVE PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJALA Vivian Campbell is a Northern Irish guitarist, who came to rock prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, with whom he recorded the classic albums, HOLY DIVER, THE LAST IN LINE, and SACRED HEART. After leaving the band…
SYMPHONY X – Live at the Circus, Helsinki
SYMPHONY X REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJALA US progressive metal giant Symphony X has finally returned on stages after a three-year hiatus. It seems that a little break has made only good for the band since Symphony X sold now over 1500 tickets for the Circus in advance. The…
JENNIFER BATTEN – guitarist extraordinaire, solo artist, ex-Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck and more.
JENNIFER BATTEN INTERVIEW AND LIVE PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJALA Jennifer Batten is an American guitarist who has worked as a session/tour musician and a solo artist. From 1987 to 1997, she played in Michael Jackson’s touring band, and between 1999 and 2001, she traveled and recorded with Jeff Beck. Batten…
RUSS BALLARD – Legendary musician and songwriter discusses his career, the past, present, and future
RUSS BALLARD Russ Ballard is an awarded-winning English musician, songwriter, and producer, best known from his compositions “New York Groove”, “Since You Been Gone”, “Winning”, “I Surrender”, “I Know There’s Something Going On”, “Liar”, “So You Win Again”, “You Can Do Magic”, and “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”,…
Jean Beauvoir discusses recent collaboration with the Finnish monster band Lordi, the state of solo career, Crown of Thorns, Voodoo X, and how it was to work with KISS in the 80’s.
JEAN BEAUVOIR INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJALA LIVE AND OFFSTAGE PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJALA AND TARU SAARINEN Originally from the legendary punk band the Plasmatics, Jean Beauvoir is nowadays a multi-platinum solo artist who wrote and performed the hit song “Feel the Heat”, lead song for Sylvester Stallone’s highly successful “Cobra”…
Vocalist David Reece discusses his time with Accept, Bonfire, Bangalore Choir and more.
DAVID REECE David Reece is an American vocalist, best known for his time with the band Accept, appearing on their album “Eat the Heat” (1989). Reece has been active in music scene professionally since the late 1980s, and he has recorded and performed with several bands including Bangalore Choir, Bonfire,…