The Rockstar Reviewer (Rambling Man's Reviews)

  Interview conducted by Anselm Anderson The Rambling Man seized the opportunity to speak with OOB Records and Friendly Folk Records founder Kathy Keller about her tenth anniversary, marking the creation of the ventures, which celebrate the best in folk and prog music from unsigned bands. I talked to her about the companies, their impacts, how she got started, and what it's like to spend ten years doing what she loves. Congratulations on your tenth anniversary with OOB Records and Friendly Folk Records. What are your thoughts on achieving this milestone at this stage in your journey?    Well, hitting the 10-year mark has been surprisingly emotional, filled with nostalgia and “what if” moments. I began with a passion for music as a journalist and by running My Music Matters Management and booking company, along with hosting Prog Core Radio shows. The pivotal moment came in 2017 when I was getting a bit too busy and had to choose between Prog and Folk while balancing a ...

Photo Credit: Chris Griffiths of Riff Photos Interview conducted by Anselm Anderson Good evening, Ross. Congratulations on your latest release, The Blood and the Blues. How has the reception been so far? Ross – Thank you kindly. It’s been good so far. I feel like my music is slow-burning. It may take time to resonate with the right audiences, but when it does, it’s potent. It sits in an in-between place between Blues audiences and fans of darker types of music. The lyrical content can be heavy, uncomfortable at times. It’s art. This makes it slightly niche, I guess. It’s not for everyone, and I am at peace with that. People have come back to my shows, bought the album, and I’m seeing audiences build up all over the UK, so clearly something is working. The album was released in November, providing listeners with a few months to engage with it. Could you elaborate on how the album will connect with your forthcoming UK tour? Ross – The overarching motif of my whole creative process at ...

Photo courtesy of Memphia Music Management Interview conducted by Anselm Anderson Hello, how are you? Spin Class released their second EP, titled ‘Dinner at Derek’s,’ on July 18th. Could you tell us more about this release? This EP is a new era of Spin Class. We’ve spent a year crafting our tone, writing together in the same city and playing live. Dinner at Derek’s promises a menu of short, yet full tunes, chock-full of chops and changes, riffs to make your belly rumble, and melodies you’ll find yourself singing to yourself, even when you don’t want to. How would you compare this album to your first EP, 'Wednesday'? We’ve approached this batch of tunes with feeling rather than thinking, which we feel comes across, especially in the performance, compared to ‘Wednesday’. We recorded the whole EP live! It was a joyous event for us, but one we loved and will likely make our process moving forward. ‘Wednesday’ was us finding our feet as a band, ‘Dinner at Derek’s’ is us letting yo...

Photo Credit: BJF PR Media Interview by Anselm Anderson The Rambling Man always ventures to promote new bands, as a means to educate the readers. Today, I grabbed an opportunity to speak with the lead vocalist of the newly formed Sirensong, who recently released their latest single "March Into The Sun". Please scroll down to read the full transcript with Alice Freya, in which she discussed the inception of the band, their new single, and their upcoming album. Hello, how are you? Could you introduce yourself to the readers? We are SIRENSONG, a five-piece hard rock/ metal band from South Wales. Alice Freya - Vocals Jon Evans & Ryan Barnard - Guitars Billy George - Bass Daz Joseph - Drums Sirensong are a relatively new band. Could you explain how the band got together? Most of us have been in bands together before, with four of us previously playing in a prog band called Last Flight To Pluto). We were feeling an urge to concentrate on a different sound and direction, which w...

  Interview conducted by Anselm Anderson Rambling Man's Reviews recently caught up with blues guitarist Ross Harding to discuss his latest single, "A Thousand Snakes" (Deluxe Edition), his upcoming UK tour, and the reasons behind his relocation from South Africa to the UK. Scroll down to read the full interview. Hello, Ross. Congratulations on your latest single “A Thousand Snakes”.What is the decision to re-release it as a deluxe edition? Thank you very much for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts with your readers! The edition to release  'A Thousand Snakes Deluxe Version' is stylized and presented musically in the way I initially intended the song to sound and feel. Drastic changes were happening in my life, which directly influenced the recording process and release schedule of this body of songs (which all belong to an upcoming compilation/album called The Blood & The Blues). With this rendition, I really wanted to get into my more direct blues i...

 Interview by Anselm Anderson The Rambling Man grabbed an opportunity to speak with veteran metal vocalist John Bush, best known for his stint with Anthrax and Armored Saint, who discusses his new band Category 7 , and their upcoming debut album, due out on July 26th via Metal Blade Records. Category 7   is a supergroup, which features ex-members of Machine Head , Adrenaline Mob and Anthrax. Click below to read the full article. Congratulations on your upcoming self-titled debut album, due on July 26th.  How are preparations going for the release?  Great! Doing interviews. two videos were released. Good buzz out there. Category 7 is a relatively new band featuring ex-members of Anthrax, Machine Head, Adrenaline Mob and Overkill. That is an impressive C.V. for a new band. What can you tell me about how you formed?  Phil contacted me about this project he was working on. He asked if I would be interested in working on it, so I said send some stuff to me....

  The Rambling Man caught up with blues guitarist Darnell Cole to discuss his upcoming "Life on The Run" UK tour this June, which will include several local venues and festivals. I also grabbed an opportunity to discuss his band The Vibe, The differences between American and British audiences, and what instruments Cole will be using on the tour. Scroll down to read the full interview. Hello Darnell, Could you tell me a bit about yourself and your band, The Vibe? Haha, I don't know if anything about us can be summed up into little bits. I started this current journey after the end of Porcelain Hill and have metamorphosized into something much more impactful, I truly feel it is my goal to bring the world together with this music, music that transcends politics, genre, age, and music you experience. To do that I need musicians who are on the same wavelength, that deep meaningful frequency because the audience can tell, and this current Lineup of the Vibe is RESONANT!  Congra...

Interview by Anselm Anderson Alt Rock quartet Paraline recently released their debut EP 'Sound Weapon' last month via Eclipse Records. Two brothers formed the band to discover themselves, as they fought issues with the Pandemic and war in Ukraine to produce 'Sound Weapon'. I caught up with lead vocalist Leo Andersen (No relation!😃) to discuss the new album, the unusual recording practices, and adversity in the face of a conflict. Please scroll down to read the full interview. Please introduce yourself to the readers? My name is Leo “Light” Andersen, and I am the band's leader.  Congratulations on the release of Sound Weapon , what has the response to the EP been like? Thank you, and we haven't had a chance to fully gauge the response yet. We've been too busy with producing a new music video to evaluate the results. But our manager says the support from the audience has been overwhelming and that's all I need to know right now. The album is quite varie...

South African Blues guitarist Dan Patlansky is set for a busy 2024. His new album “Movin’ On” is set for release on March 1st via Virgin Media Group , which was preceded by a single “Who I Am”. He has also announced an eight-date tour of England with some new venues added to the bill. The Rockstar Reviewer grabbed an opportunity to speak with Blues guitarist Dan Patlansky about his latest single “Who I Am”, his upcoming release “Movin’On” and his UK tour in April. Dan provides more information about the tour and the new release. He also reveals the gear used to record the album, as well as his writing process. Please read below for the full interview. Hello Dan, How are you? Dan: I am doing great thanks for asking Congratulations on your new Tour and Album. First, I would like to begin by asking about your tour. You have announced an eight-date tour of the UK, next April. What can you tell me about those dates ? Dan: Yes, I picked some of my favourite venues, cities, and towns to ...

Interview by Anselm Anderson Rambling Man's Reviews returns with the first of many interviews by speaking with Chigger A.K.A Tim Louie,  the Rahway bassist . The band have recently released 'Rocketship', the latest of several singles from the band. I grabbed an opportunity to speak with the bassist about the new single, their upcoming EP, and which famous rock star came up with the band name. Please scroll down to read the full interview. Interview with Anselm from Rambling Man. Good morning, could you introduce yourself to the readers? Good morning! My name is Chigger a.k.a. Tim Louie and I’m the bass player for the band Rahway. Could you tell me about Rahway and how they came to be? Rahway was started by the brothers, David (guitars) and Steve (drummer) Cardenas. They used to be called Sun until producer Jack Douglas, who was also producing Aerosmith at the time, let Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler listen to a few tracks. Steven Tyler dug the songs and asked the band’s n...