catalyst-sd-rock-metal-pres-blog - Tumblr blog

catalyst-sd-rock-metal-pres-blog · 10 years

Text

Hails and Horns with Theosis!

Welcome to the unique realm of San Diego's own local metal gods - Theosis. On a journey to revamp the traditional norms of metal, Theosis commands their audience with a malicious mixture of speed and death metal peppered with jazz and classical influences. Theosis is much more than a well rehearsed tight metal outfit, they are a definite "must see" live performance! Ripper guitarist Dana Roselli drills and sweep arpeggiates his way fervently throughout each track, whilst vocal shredder Chris Olson screeches and barks headbangers into a mosh frenzy. Drummer Omar Gutierrez smiles a lot, thrashes, and furiously pounds out the percussion as Shane Sarpy growls out menacing basslines to accent the low end pocket.

In its inception, Dana and Chris were in a previous band together and needed a bassist and drummer to round out the band that would become Theosis. With the assistance of Craig's List the bass and drum positions were filled respectively and most willingly by Shane and Omar. If you haven't heard of this band or haven't seen Theosis live please stop reading and go to ReverbNation or YouTube immediately for your baptism by fire! For those already initiated, a Theosis show begins with a slow rolling fog enveloping the band as they ramp up for the sonic onslaught. The instant this band kicks in the audience involuntarily initiates maneuvers to thrash, mosh, and bang heads with friends and perfect smiling strangers. Any metalhead worth his or her own salt can tell if a band is well rehearsed and is going for the big kill…This band has been pushing the envelope of traditional metal since they entered the scene of San Diego in 2012. On this day we are indeed blessed by all the gods that Theosis may share insight into their latest conquerings and conquests.

(Image Courtesy of Theosis)

Theosis is:

Dana Roselli - Guitars Chris Olson - Vocals Shane Sarpy - Bass Omar Gutierrez - Drums

JL - Theosis has recently returned from their tour in support of their summer release of a four track self-titled EP. Where were some of the best performances on the road and what were some highlights during the Theosis tour? THEOSIS - We really liked New Mexico. The fans out there were very supportive of all the bands we played with. The highlight was probably just getting through our first tour with nothing horrible happening, such as a vehicle breaking down and such.

JL - The four track self-titled EP includes the songs "Despise Your Obsession", "Bury Your Dead", "Cerebral Eclipse", and "Black Mass". Where was this EP recorded, mixed, and mastered? How involved are you in the recording process? THEOSIS - This EP was mostly recorded at our old guitarist's house. Scott Bixby did the mixing and Mickey Dixon did the mastering. Dana was involved in recording all the guitar tracks. Omar, Shane, and Chris did all their parts the same way, but vocals were done at Scott's. JL - Tell us about the tracks you recorded, give us some background on the song musically... THEOSIS - Musically, there are combinations of different styles. When Dana went to SDSU he studied Jazz and Classical, but our true love is metal. (Dana) wanted to incorporate things he learned in these genres and apply them to metal, which is what we did.

JL - Who did you use for your EP's cd replication and would you use them again? THEOSIS - Nationwide Disc, and yes we would use them again.

JL - Dana, what tunings do you gravitate towards for your songwriting? Dana - Drop C.

JL - What instrumentation and equipment comprises the Theosis tone? What piece of gear would you like to seek and endorsement deal with? THEOSIS - Dana uses ESP guitars with a Marshall 205 JVH. Shane uses LTD basses and Acoustic. Omar plays on a Mapex Voyager. We would all like to be endorsed by any company willing but obviously we would prefer an endorsement deal with the equipment we play on.

JL - Theosis is literally defined as a unity or union with man and a god or man becoming like a god. Who came up with the band name and what meaning does it have for you? THEOSIS - We kind of just all agreed on that name when it was thrown out there. We argued about a band name for quite some time, and Theosis just seemed to fit.

JL - The EP's artwork depicts a throned and resting warrior overlooking the spoils of the land he has laid waste to and conquered. How did you come to choose Eko Pratama for the EP's cover art and what was the idea conveyed to him to illustrate to your audience? THEOSIS - We contacted Eko after learning about him from our friends in Empyrean Throne. We basically just collaborated ideas until we came to an actual agreement of what we wanted depicted. JL - "Bury Your Dead" is a fan favorite with a live performance at the Til-Two Club in San Diego available for viewing on ReverbNation. What was the inspiration for this particular track musically? THEOSIS - Dana was listening to a lot of Sylosis at the time, and he was studying Josh Middleton's 16th note sweep arpeggio techniques. Basically, he just used a simple classical progression with a jazz substitution technique to build the start of the song. The rest of the tune was a collaboration of riffs that take the song through some different melodic ideas.

JL - Before the EP, before the tour, Theosis has steadfastly been street promoting, gigging, and attending local shows in support of the local metal scene throughout San Diego. How does a local performance with your peers compare to opening for national acts such as Metal Church at Ramona Main Stage? THEOSIS - It is always great to play with the local bands. There is much more of a connection when playing with our metal brethren. Playing with national acts is also great. It's a great way to get noticed by people who have never heard you, and wouldn't if you did not play those kinds of shows. They both have pros and cons, but they are both fun to play!

JL - Name some preshow rituals you've developed as a band or personally to ramp up to perform for your audience? THEOSIS - Ummmm, usually illegal things, haha.

JL - Omar, what drummers do you like to listen to, watch, or are inspired by? How often do you have to replace hardware and cymbals after your kit takes a beating? Omar - I'm inspired by many kinds of drummers actually. I listen to drummers from gospel bands, metal bands, rock bands, if I can name some of my favorite drummers: Dave Lombardo, Aaron Spears, Tony Royster Jr., just to name a few. The cymbals I use are pretty durable actually so luckily I haven't had to replace too much of my equipment yet, especially since the kit itself is still pretty new.

JL - Where does Theosis rehearse and what is your practice regimen like to keep the screws tightened? THEOSIS - We are fortunate enough to have our own studio and practice weekly. Most of the band work is left to individual effort.

JL - Name some of your favorite bands that you've shared the stage with as Theosis? What bands would you like to perform with but haven't had the opportunity yet at any level? Is the main goal for this band to stay local for fun or to strive for the festivals and arenas with the pros? THEOSIS - To be honest we have had a blast sharing the stage with a lot of bands and enjoyed playing with every one of them. Of course we would love to keep playing with all of the friends we've made and on a professional level maybe Testament, Slayer, the obvious metal head response, haha. Essentially, we don't have any specific goal with any band rather just to take Theosis as far as it can be taken. We are definitely a serious band, and all we can do is just keep moving forward the best we can, and see where the future takes us.

JL - Dana, when did you start making music as a band and how did you meet up with each other to begin creating the Theosis style of metal? Dana - Well, I had a few songs already written and I started working with our last guitarist and Chris. After awhile, we met Shane via craigslist and Omar about 6 months later. By the time we met Omar, we had the songs for the EP done. We got Omar up to speed quite quickly due to his talent, and have been writing new songs since.

JL - Theosis takes care to set the stage for the live performance. Cue the fog machine with metal maniacs thrashing out on self-made risers with THEOSIS tombstones illuminating the backline stage left and right. An extremely supportive friend of the band, Steve Witzel, fabricates these stage props to enhance the show and photographs the band as well. Where did you meet Steve and how did he become part of the Theosis live performance? THEOSIS - Steve is Dana's neighbor. We practice in (Dana's) garage, next to Steve. He became a fan, and the dude is a MacGuyver. He just started making us these coffins and we just went with it. He's pretty much the 6th (5th for now) member of Theosis.

JL - How long have you been playing your instruments? Are you self-taught or have any formal musical training? Shane - I have played a multitude of instruments over the years with the inclusion of some formal training, but the majority of my learning is self-taught. Omar - I have been drumming for about 5-6 years, I did teach myself to play and have gotten better over the years due to watching all these drummers do amazing things on their instrument and my personal goal is to be up to par with some of the greats. Chris - I am self taught, and learned how to scream when I was about 12 and have been in and out of bands since I was 14. Dana - I started playing when I was 14. I am self-taught technically, but I studied at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo and at SDSU.

JL - Shane, what branch of military did you serve in? Did you have any metalhead buddies to crank tunes with while serving? Do you still feel a similar camaraderie of brotherhood with your metal brothers and sisters as you found in the military? Shane - I was a Marine for 8 years, but unfortunately did not connect with any metalheads until the last year of my service. In regards to the question of the metal brothers and sisters I now have, I absolutely feel a connection. A connection that is very similar to that which I felt while in my military service.

JL - Chris, what do you do to keep your voice show ready? What other vocalists inspire you as a frontman? Chris - I usually drink a glass of tea or have some honey during the day and listen to some metal throughout the day. After a nice stretch I am ready to play some metal. Some frontman musicians that inspire me would be, Lamb Of God, Pantera, Devil Driver, Winds Of Plague, and Despised Icon. JL - Theosis has been exploding with new fans online and continues to draw in more fans and friends with each passing live performance. Which are your favorite San Diego stages to play and what makes those venues unique? What local sound guys have made your shows better? Dana - We really love playing everywhere we can. We haven't played a certain venue enough to say we like that venue better than another. We are using Collin Adler for our show with Midas Touch, Exmortus, Allegaeon, and Arsis. He's done sound for us before, and he knows what's up.

JL - What musical styles of metal or other genres influence the music and the musicians of Theosis? THEOSIS - Definitely melodic and thrash metal. Other styles of music encompass what Dana studied at SDSU which is classical and jazz. We all love speed metal and put a lot of harmonies with melodic content into the band, which is basically the best way to "classify" the Theosis style of music. JL - Where can fans of Theosis buy your band merchandise and EP online? When is your next performance? THEOSIS - Probably just contacting us on Facebook for the moment. Our next performance is with Midas Touch, Exmortus, Allegaeon, and Arsis on September 21st at Porters Pub in La Jolla. After that we are focusing on writing and getting our new guitarist up to speed. JL - Any last thoughts or comments to speak on that we haven't addressed? THEOSIS - Nope. I think you covered everything Jason. Thank you very much!

The San Diego metal scene is extremely important to Theosis. The musicians of Theosis are constantly supporting other local bands and attending the shows, screaming with beers held high, and slamming in the pit! Theosis constantly engages their audience with avid self-promotions with show flyers and business cards at the ready, maintaining a strong street and online presence. Theosis is a serious metal outfit that commands the stage - delivering the goods to any headbanger in need of that desired dose of metal.

Unpretentious, talented, and creative artists, Theosis succeeds in capturing the attention of their audiences with their live stage performances on a regular gigging basis. Theosis onstage brings the business to any venue's stage they touch. Offstage they're uniquely awesome, down to earth people, ready to share a beer and hang out with their fans and friends. All hail Theosis!

-"Hails and Horns" with Jason Lenhard (Metal-Writer, The Catalyst - San Diego’s Rock and Metal Press, and Vocalist/Bassist of the band - Dark Measure) All photos by Scott Clift.

#thecatalystsd #hails and horns #theosis #san diego music #catalystpressSD #metal music #articles #jason lenhard

0 notes

catalyst-sd-rock-metal-pres-blog · 10 years

Text

QUOR - LET'S RISE!

Unique is the only word that comes to mind when discussing San Diego’s own QUOR. An ambitious blend of groove metal, country, indie, and classic rock, QUOR has played around the San Diego circuit and beyond with their experimental hurricane which leaves listeners bewildered yet intrigued. I was able to sit down with Brian Corn (singer/ guitarist), Doug Smith (bassist), and John Cordes (drums), before they started tracking songs for their upcoming EP at Signature Sound. Here is the conversation that followed upon my arrival at the studio.

HM - Can each of you tell me your music history, band history, and how each band and taste of music has influenced your contributions to QUOR?

Doug - My parents listened to country music, so I grew up in Ohio to that until about my early teens. I was fifteen around the time I got into rock music and that was when I got a guitar. My brother started playing bass, so that was what sparked my interest as well as it being a bigger instrument with less strings to deal with.

HM - What bands have you been in?

Doug - Ugh... I was in a high school band where I actually sang...

Brian - Is there a video of that?

Doug - None of which you will ever know (laughs). Once I joined the Navy, I came out to San Diego and was lucky enough to find Brian on Craigslist. He started coming over to my house to work on stuff and that was when we spawned our band Silverside.

John - I grew up in a rock n’ roll household. My parents grew up in the 60s and 70s and they were big Beatles fans so that was my first band. Not until I was eleven however, did I really get into music. The album that got me there was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and from then on I was obsessed with music. I got into Metallica my freshmen year of high school and that motivated me to drum more often, because the double bass technique sounded like so much fun to play. Once I had the double bass technique down, I was hungry for something more intricate and that’s when I discovered progressive music - specifically Dream Theater, Rush, and Tool. Listening to Mike Portnoy, Neil Peart, and Danny Carey experiment with unconventional drumbeats and time signatures really inspired me to look at drumming not as a hobby but as a career.

Photo by Jason Bang

HM - What bands have you been in?

John - First band I was in was called Cloud of Fear which was a shitty Killswitch Engage ripoff. Second band was a more progressive metal band called Blind Aspect, and that was about the time I started playing my first shows. In my senior year of high school and freshmen year of college I was in a black metal band called Vicious Winter. From there I dropped out of college and moved to San Diego to pursue a music career and found the metal band Fates Demise. Unfortunately, that band had a very specific vision of what they were so I couldn’t get a lot of my creative juices flowing. Once that band broke up I found these fellas and have been making music with them ever since. This project has allowed me to do whatever I want musically and I’m lucky enough to utilize every aspect of my drumming style be it rock, progressive, or metal.

Brian - With my past bands I used to not care about my tone or anything, I just wanted to play. Now with QUOR, I’m far more invested in the sound and delivery.

HM - What are your favorite bands?

Brian - Pantera, Slayer, Bob Marley, and Willie Nelson. I enjoy music that attempts to be different which I believe is where my love of progressive music comes from. Bands like Tool and Dream Theater bring something new to their genre and at the same time they are creative enough to journey outside of that restrictive spectrum of “rock or “metal”. In a genre that is increasingly less musical, these bands keep me listening.

HM - It seems that the consistent genre between the three of you is progressive music.

Brian - I don’t think there’s such thing as progressive country (laughs).

HM - Hey not with that attitude!

Brian - (laughs) For me I try to incorporate all of these styles in our music so there is always something new. If you look at a big band piece or a classical piece it’s a single theme that’s repeated over and over again but with a new twist to it each time it’s repeated. That’s how I like to compose. We’ll have a central melody or chord progression in a song that is varied each time we play it.

HM - What was QUOR’s original sound? how has it progressed? Where do you want to take it now that you’ve released We Are Going To Be Awesome?

Brian - Our song “Watching You” is representative of our original sound. There’s chord strumming, punk elements, and even thrash. The new EP is definitely going to be heavier with more time signature changes. For example what we’ve been doing a lot of is playing a 3⁄4 time over a 4/4 beat.

John - I don’t think there’s really a blanket statement for what our sound is. We kind of go wherever we want it to go in that moment we’re creating. We don’t necessarily have a plan or theme when we go into writing a song. When we’re jamming we don’t communicate verbally. We just do what we think is appropriate in that moment with what has manifested. Naturally and instinctively it comes together. This last EP was heavier than the old material and this next EP seems to be even heavier. At the same time, these last songs we are working on can go into an entirely new direction and that’s what I love about this band.

HM - What’s the songwriting process like?

Brian - It mostly takes place in my bedroom. I’ll have an idea, send it to John, and from there he will write drum parts over it.

John - Whenever I’m writing drum parts my main focus is to avoid generic drumbeats, I find that a lot of players out there have technique but not creativity when they approach their kit. Sometimes Brian or Doug will email me riffs or I’ll write a drum beat and that’ll spark ideas for them.

HM - Who writes lyrics in QUOR?

Brian - Me.

Photo by Jason Bang HM - How do you start writing lyrics? Where did you start from and how has your writing progressed into what you write now?

Brian - It changes from life experience. I’m a guy that doesn’t put the pen to paper unless I’m inspired. I could be driving down the street and see a gas station sign and something will pop into my head that will later becomes a lyric. Or when I’m writing my novel I’ll get an idea for a song from a character or plot twist.

HM - What’s this novel about?

Brian - It’s a science fiction love story. It’s about these beings that live on a planet that’s similar to earth millions of years ago. Their sun explodes so the population split up into small bands of people. My novel is focused on a specific band of survivors who believe that they are destined to evolve to the next level of consciousness. At a certain point they become the immortal beings they spoke of. From there they discover earth and they realize that it is developing exactly as their old planet did. Once they established themselves on Earth, the main character meets a human that he falls in love with because she possesses an old spirit similar to his own. The main character then has to figure out how he can continue to be with her because he is immortal and she isn’t.

HM - So it sounds like your style has developed more into narratives. Are you going to implement this into your new EP?

Brian - This record is focusing on some of that. Like the first song we’re tracking tonight is called "The Reverent” and the inspiration for that song came from my novel. At the same time, you can only write so many times (about) the same theme. If we want to write about unicorns mating with dragons we’re going to do it!

Photo by Jason Bang

HM - What is the message that you want to communicate to the listener?

Brian - It’s all interpretation. What I think it means doesn’t matter because it’s all up to the listener. What I write can have a completely different interpretation of what it is than what I originally had in mind.

HM - Have you ever had a fan come up to you and say “this is what this song means to me”, and it’ll be completely different from what you envisioned?

Brian - It’s always a treat. The beauty of art is that someone can take what you create and make it their own. It’s all creation built upon creation.

John - There was this one guy I met, that said he bought our record after seeing us at the Jumping Turtle and he said that watching us play was a great catharsis to moving on from this bad break-up he experienced. It’s always nice to hear that your music has helped someone.

HM - Are there any perquisites to your songs?

Doug - Fuck your prerequisites Hugh! (laughs) We don’t want to put any limits on what our ideas can become so we always go with what feels right in that present moment.

Brian - Agreed. Although for me whenever I’m writing a song I like to make it challenging for us to play.

Doug - Simple but accessible. Keep it simple stupid. Has to be challenging enough for us to play it but accessible enough for people to listen to it. A lot of the time bands forget that their audience isn’t familiar with music theory so they make the mistake of making inaccessible music.

Brian - I really like music that can build into chaos and then drop into a groove. Bands like Dream Theater and Rush are really good at that.

John - I like to think that we have a systematic organization to our songs but we try not to fall into the trap of standard song structures like verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, end. People that we’ve talked to say that our arrangements are unorthodox but we always pull back into a groove when the chaos reaches a crescendo. In regards to how we arrange our songs we like to surprise.

HM - How did you guys come up with the band name QUOR?

Brian - I was driving back from a comedy show in Carlsbad and there was this liquor store that I saw. The “L” and the “I” were knocked out and what was left was “QUOR”. It looked awesome just there by itself so I took a picture of it and sent it to Doug. The reason we picked this is because it’s kind of ambiguous so it gives us the artist freedom to do whatever we want with this project.

John - It’s kind of a joke because there’s all these different sub-genres with the term “core” at the end like mathcore, deathcore, hardcore, nintendocore. Mainly our message with the name is the ambiguity that Brian touched on. There’s so many cookie-cuter metal bands in the industry now where you have this super brutal name, with a super brutal logo and we’re just kind of over all of that superficial crap.

HM - How did you guys film your music video “Let’s Rise”?

Brian - I’ve been wanting to mix the arts of film and music for awhile. We didn’t do it out of necessity for a music video, we mostly wanted to try a different form of expression. We were hanging out and thought up the plot of the video. We’d be playing a show but there wouldn’t be anyone there so then we’d dig up an audience from a graveyard, bring them back to the club, and then they would be resurrected by our music to rage. The most difficult part of the production proved to be finding the graveyard. I went through every possible location we could find before I came across Pioneer Memorial park. It used to be a cemetery until it was disenfranchised and the neighbors complained about it so the city came in and dug up all the graves and threw them into the ravine.

HM - Yea that doesn’t sound safe... (laughs)

Brian - (laughs) Right? So then the people told the city they didn’t want that so than the city exhumed the rest of the remains and put all the remaining headstones in the back of the park. After all of these renovations the cemetery became a public park. Lucky for us since it was no longer a graveyard we could then bring in all of our lights for the shoot and make an awesome music video.

HM - I love how you guys are able to look outside of the box to make things happen. Especially for a “local” band like yourselves, that music video is very high quality in comparison to your average band. How were you able to fit in all of those wires in the Shakedown?

John - Brian actually built this PVC contraption that was kind of like a checkerboard. We spray painted it black, threw 350 feet of rope over the piping, and then had people tie the rope over their wrists.

HM - How were you able to keep the PVC piping suspended?

Brian - We drilled holes in the wall. We have a good relationship with the management at the Shakedown so they were nice enough to allow us to do it.

HM - Why did you choose “Let’s Rise” for your music video?

Brian - Eh, people were rising from the dead so it seemed to work (laughs).

Photo by Jason Bang

HM - You guys have been killing it when it comes to playing outside of your city, do have any advice for bands that are trying to do the same?

John - Budget. Budget every single day. If you’re going to be playing outside of your city to people who have never heard of you, go out and market to these people. Any band can hop in a van and go play a bunch of shows, if you want to make it to the next level, find out what people listen to in the places you go. Many times bands hire a booking agent that books them in cities that doesn’t even like their genre. Figure out what kind of shows go through that town, the radio stations your target audience listens to, and what bands you should play shows with. At the end of the day, you want to play to a good crowd that will buy your merch and want to see you again. You can’t make that happen unless you put time into researching your route.

Brian - Any five guys can get into a van and play a show in the town closest to them. There’s a big difference between that weekend show in L.A. and driving thousands of miles around the country with just those four guys with you. Everyone has to make the conscious effort that each individual in that van is comfortable. When you’re driving between eight hours in between gigs you learn real quick if that band is for you or not.

HM - What has your diet been like on tour?

Brian - Pack an ice chest.

John - Eating clean, for me, is crucial to putting on a good show. We as musicians often forget how physical our craft really is. I view myself as an athlete.

Brian - Metal machiiiiine!! (Sabaton styled scream)

John - You are what you eat. If you’re eating a ton of McDonald's and feel like you’re going to pass out on stage it’s because you’re feeding your body crap.

Brian - John packs delightful unicorn sandwiches for us so we’re set when it comes to food.

John - It just comes down to knowing your body. If it’s eleven at night and you’re going to bed in a couple of hours you should probably not jam that Big Mac down your throat, you must always be wary of what you put into your system.

HM - A lot of bands reach a plateau once they’ve released a recording, printed a couple of shirt designs, and have played a few shows. How have you guys prevented this stagnation and how do you continue to progress?

Brian - You always push yourself. Every step you take you need to look three steps ahead. Knowing your limits is just as crucial, a lot of local band’s I’ve seen that stagnate bite off more than they can chew. They’ll want to record ten or twelve tracks and than realize they’ve spread themselves too thin.

HM - So would you say that recording an EP as opposed to a full length album is a smarter investment?

John - Absolutely.

Brian - With an EP you can have three to six songs but there is that much more attention brought onto those tracks because they’re the only ones on the record! When a band is starting out and the first recording they cut is a full length album, no one is going to listen to all of those songs. With an EP it is easier for the fans to get hooked onto small amounts of music at a time. You don’t want to flood the market.

HM - Why did you get involved with Dirtbag Music Records? How has the company affected your progress?

John - Doug has actually been working for Dirtbag Clothing for awhile before we considered the union. We’ve known the owner, Dirtbag John, for a very long time and it was initially him approaching us and wanting to help out. For me that was special because it doesn’t seem like many record labels actually want to do that anymore. It was much easier to foster our relationship with Dirtbag Music Records because we were friends first.

HM - So you guys started as friends and it just so happened that Dirtbag John also dug your music and wanted QUOR on his label?

John - Precisely. I could always feel that John was coming from the heart. One of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.

Brian - Dirtbag John!

HM - Lastly what’s your favorite venue?

John - I’d have to say the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. When we did that thing for Netflix that one time that was pretty cool. The sound, the stage, the people, it was an all around great package! Check out QUOR at their Facebook and Official Site for upcoming tour dates! - Hugh Marshall (Metal-Writer, The Catalyst - San Diego’s Rock and Metal Press, and Session-Guitarist)

#catalystpressSD #articles #san diego music #metal music #Rock Music #quor

0 notes

catalyst-sd-rock-metal-pres-blog · 10 years

Photo

Logo by Anthony M. Graphics!

#catalystpressSD #san diego music #metal music #Rock Music

0 notes

catalyst-sd-rock-metal-pres-blog · 10 years

Text

Old Man Wizard - Get Out And Tour

Today I met up with Francis Charles Roberts, singer and guitarist of the San Diego Heavy Rock group, Old Man Wizard. He was going to a local donut shop in Grantville called "Donut Panic" to hang out, play some chess, and talk about the upcoming Old Man Wizard tour. They kick off on July 18th in San Diego, and wrap up their trip on August 2nd with a show in Los Angeles. As I walked in, I see Francis and Nick Montemarano (Forkroot) intensely staring at the chess board they are sitting at. Waging war. While finger drumming on the table, no words are being exchanged. Intensity! Finally, I sat down and broke their concentration...

Old Man Wizard is: (l-r) Francis Charles Roberts, Kris Calabio and Andre Beller (Photo courtesy of www.oldmanwizard.com) I began talking to Francis about how they began the task of putting the tour together... The planning started around six months ago, and was kept pretty low-key until everything was more or less solidified... A good decision since their original tour kick-off show was curtailed by the recent UC San Diego administrative staff's decision to close the Che Cafe (which has recently been granted yet another stay of execution). The guys in Old Man Wizard take their knowledge and use it to make smart decisions while on the road. Talking to Francis, you can clearly see that he has a vision about how the tour shall be. Regardless of the pitfalls, he has a calm and collected demeanor about what the band will be earning along their journey, with merchandise sales and show earnings. The road is a long one, all things considered. BUT - They are hitting good cities. All are expected to have great show attendance, as the bands Old Man Wizard will be sharing the stage with are familiar with them; they have likely played in San Diego thanks to Francis' efforts with support of touring acts. "I am excited about Seattle, 'cause I'm from there, and I've never played there with this band... so I've got a LOT of friends and family there that are coming out - they don't know what to expect. They've seen me with my other band up there (The Dread Crew Of Oddwood)... it (Old Man Wizard) is totally left field from that." he says.

(Photo courtesy of www.oldmanwizard.com) And what a journey it is! Take a look at their tour schedule:

(Photo courtesy of www.oldmanwizard.com)

Early show at The Tower Bar!!! - Old Man Wizard opted to take the show to the Tower Bar for their tour kick-off, and it will be an early one... 6:30pm is the start, and the show will be finished by 9:30pm! The show at The Tower Bar is special - Not only is it Old Man Wizard's tour kick-off show, they are supported by two touring acts from Denver, Colorado that Francis swears by; Dreadnought and Wayfarer. Fellow San Diego act Man vs. Man will also be on the bill to get the first show of the tour on its feet. It is definitely a line-up of bands that fit well together. Remember, bands that tour on a self funded basis are of the dedicated class of musicians... go check out Old Man Wizard. They are definitely one of my personal favorites. Also check out their Official Website at www.oldmanwizard.com, where you can find all of their music, and other awesome merchandise! -Clay Hackett (Editor, The Catalyst - San Diego’s Rock and Metal Press, and Drummer of the band - MURSIC)

#old man wizard #catalystpressSD #san diego music #tower bar #articles

4 notes · View notes