On Wednesday January 22nd, Sleeping With Sirens and their highly anticipated The Medicine Tour graced the House of Blues in Dallas with its presence and some heavy jams. It was definitely a show I had circled on my calendar for quite some time. Accompanying them were a host of high-octane bands including Set It Off, Belmont, and Point North. The anticipation was high for this show as this was the first America tour since the release of their latest album, How It Feels To Be Lost, and one I wouldn't soon forget.
First to hit the stage were Los Angeles natives, Point North. Hitting the scene in 2016, Point North has really made some waves in the music scene. With over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the potential they seem to have is huge and they came out swinging with their latest, “Never Coming Home”. From that point forward it was off to the races. Point North had a great energy on stage and kept the crowd engaged throughout their incredibly energetic set. Before playing their final song, they surprised everyone with a cover of “Hammer” by nothing,nowhere. Everyone (and I mean everyone) really seemed to really vibe to it. Point North ended their set with 2019 hit, “Gasoline”, and absolutely crushed it. These guys are bad-ass!
Next up we had Belmont. Without skipping a beat, the pop punk group took the stage and started playing crowd favorite, “By My Side”. The lead singer, Taz has a great way of using his voice to get that real punk vocal sound and it showed. The Chicago based band gave us a seven-song set that was phenomenal and ultimately delivered on all levels. Following in the footsteps of bands like The Story So Far, Tiny Moving Parts, and even Knuckle Puck, Belmont has made a dent in the industry and look like they're here to stay. To close out their set, Belmont delivered their final but most anticipated song of the evening, “Overstepping”. The crowd was over the top about it and was a great ending to their kick-ass performance.
Following Belmont, we had the good fortune of jamming with the dynamic trio known as Set It Off. Led by lead vocalist Cody Carson, Set It Off delivered a really fun set and had the crowd engaged throughout their performance. There wasn’t a second that Cody didn’t stop moving and jumping all over stage. These guys have been doing it since 2008 and continue to slay every time I see them. Set It Off started with “Lonely Dance” and so many voices were singing the words right along side the band. Song after song, the energy stayed consistent. Belmont played more hits like “Killer in the Mirror” and then closed with one of my favs, “Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”. A long way from their hometown of Tampa, Dallas was off the floor for them and definitely did not disappoint.
And last but certainly not least, the lights go out and Sleeping With Sirens runs out and kicks the show into hyper-drive. Stoked was an understatement for how I felt as we were jumping right into what would surely be an amazing set. They started off nice and heavy with “Leave It All Behind” and got the crowd off their feet in seconds. Kellin Quinn has always been someone I’ve enjoyed and so to see them so much more matured in their sound was super exciting. Sleeping With Sirens played some bangers off the new album but also left room for the classics. The moment “If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn” started playing, the House of Blues went ballistic. This with Sleeping With Sirens at their finest!
Kellin and their guitarist Nick Martin then decided to slow it down a bit in the middle of the set to play a fan favorite, “Iris” by none other than the Goo Goo Dolls. All I can say is WOW! They then then launched into “With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear” and I was literally blown away. There wasn’t a moment during those songs that everyone wasn’t singing. The rest of the band came back on stage and then encored with “Kick Me”. And just when you thought it couldn’t get better, Sleeping With Sirens closed out the set with 2011 classic, “If You Can’t Hang”. Just incredible.
Overall, Sleeping With Sirens put on one hell of a performance and was the show to be in Dallas that evening. If you get the chance to catch them on The Medicine Tour this year, you'll be in for one heck of a ride. These guys were spot on from their sets opener to the final encore and seem to be getting better with age. I would highly recommend this show!
This Glaslow and London Trio has been creating post-punk tunes since 2012 and have gained following after their debut single “In Other Words”. With over 500K streams on Spotify, this band is not only talented but also witty and fashionable! If you don’t believe me check them out for yourself!
Shopping's most recent single, “Initiative” which was released on December of 2019, has gained traction and the music video might be one of the reasons. The opening of the video feels almost like a sitcom, especially during the first 20 seconds of the video. At the start of the video you are introduced to the 3 main characters and as this work day goes you slowly noticing the feeling of complacency at the workplace. These people don’t enjoy their office jobs and you can clearly see they are miserable. Just as the video progresses you are already hooked on the catchy beat and slowly are hypnotized by the echoey “Ahhhh”’s in the background. And as a listener you don’t notice the chaos that is happening in the background, papers are being ripped, things are being broken and it’s amazing! As the video progresses you notice the 3 characters slowly creating havoc at the office waiting for the time to clock out. If that doesn’t sound all too familiar, you’re one of the lucky ones! Initiative is a catchy and relatable tune to remind you to “take some Initiative!”
Written by Elsie Hernandez
Hunnypot demands witnesses and documentation of our events. Here's some photos of people seen last night. Hot Tub Johnnie kicked off the session with a unanimously approved party music set. Jen Schwartz got in to the tub for the first time to talk about her music supervisor journey, drop a playlist of 1/3 of her day and laugh at a lot of our jokes. Mess Of Wires ripped guitar rock riffs. Michael K. delivered that sweet ethereal song slayer singing. Nevi Brandan was R&B belief. The Ferocious Few were given their twang rock duo and Hot Tub closed the night with more party music. Streamed and Master by Ryan Taalbi (Media Liberated), Photos: J. Gray / R. Taalbi / K. Norris
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Jen Schwartz has worked in the industry for over 16 years and is currently the Director, Creative Music + Licensing Strategy for MTV, VH1 and CMT. Her career started at MTV as a Music Supervisor for shows such as Made, My Super Sweet 16, Teen Cribs, Uncommon Sense and Kingin’ With Tyga. In her current role she oversees music placements in all MTV , VH1 and CMT shows. This includes shows such as TRL, Floribama, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Black Ink Crew, Love and Hip Hop and Siesta Key, and The Hills New Beginning to name a few.
Mess of Wires – formerly known as “Detoure” – is a Southern California rock band, founded in 2014 by childhood friends Sam Edelman (16, drums) Niko Nicholas (16, vocals, lead guitar), and Jersey Sullivan (15, bass). Channeling their classic rock, 90's grunge, and garage influences, these guys have killed it live since they were 10 years old, playing in some of the most iconic clubs on both coasts, including The Whisky A-Go-Go, The Viper Room, The Troubadour, and The Mint in Los Angeles, as well as The Iridium and The Bitter End in New York City. With their hard-hitting grit and heavy sound, they have opened for such legends as Missing Persons, The Alarm, and Steven Adler from Guns N’ Roses. “No Control” is their first 5-song EP release for CD, download, vinyl and major streaming sites, produced by Brent Woods at Steakhouse Studio in North Hollywood, CA.
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Francisco Fernandez's blues singed rock n’ roll band The Ferocious Few has commanded attention everywhere they play, charging upwards from the streets of San Francisco to headlining SF's The Great American Music Hall, Coachella and Burning Man. After releasing 3 albums and a handful of EPs, The Ferocious Few is now making a new record in Berlin. Francisco Fernandez and The Ferocious Few are currently touring the US and Europe.
Australian Producer, DJ and Radio Show Host Wongo, has made a name for himself, especially with his latest single “I’m the DJ” featuring Nacho Pop.
I’m the DJ music video opens up with Dr. Fresh waking up from what seems to be a hard night of partying only to wake up to continue partying some more. Talk about being a party animal?! Throughout the video you can see a bit of tongue-in-cheek and how it plays on the idea of how the DJ stereotype is. During some of the scenes, you can see Dr. Fresh showing off his pimped out USB stick, vaping and living it up. The video is hilarious and entertaining.
Wongo’s release of this single is probably the best way to have ended the 2019 era, and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in 2020!
Written by Elsie Hernandez
Hayley Mary just released a new video for the single "Like a Woman Should". Hayley Mary is the lead singer of the Australian "intensindie" outfit, The Jezabels. "Like a Woman Should" is the second single from her upcoming solo album The Piss, The Perfume (coming January 17th). Hayley is described on her website as: "a wee pocket rocket with the voice of a giant angel. A bona fide persona with no shortage of past achievements, but they are not why we are here. Superstars live in the future.".
"Like a Woman Should" is a think piece with a dance-able rock beat, sweet guitars and a great hook. Hayley Mary looks to the future, eschewing past accolades and enjoys the contrast of light and dark intertwined. All of this within this single and in her brand.
-J Gray
We're only a few awards seasons away from a Flat Earth believer refusing a Golden Globe award. That has nothing to do with the first Hunnypot Live of 2020. We dropped a doozy. Hot Tub kicked off the show with a booty shaking party set. Donna De Lory hit the jacuzzi jets to talk about her career and life highlights. La Machine De Rêve' featured Donna on vocals and a rich musical cast (including Bronson Wisconsin, Greg Ansin and Anthony Resta) to convey spiritual pop. Zeus Rebel Waters raged with positivty and pop hooks. h2the returned with eclectic electro organo rock, Sun In China blew the doors off with high power hard rock. Mike Millie & (DJ) Veggie Tron brought the hook laden rap and Hot Tub Johnnie finished the night with a world famous dance party set.
01/06/2020
Donna De Lory (singer, dancer, songwriter and producer). She grew up part of a musical family, Donna's father played piano, electronic organ, and harpsichord on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album. He was a producer at Capitol Records and was responsible, among other things, for producing Glen Campbell's '"golden era". In addition, he co-wrote the 1960 Billboard Hot 100 #1 novelty hit for Larry Verne, "Mr. Custer". Her grandfather played upright bass and cello for the Warner Bros. Studios Orchestra, recording the scores of classic movies such as Casablanca and Gone with the Wind. Her mother was a singer and dancer. Donna's older brother Alan, known as A.D. DeLory, is also a singer and songwriter. De Lory's sister Jolene sang background vocals on the 1973 Carpenters single "Sing".
De Lory has been performing since a young age. Her voice can be heard on albums by Carly Simon, Ray Parker Jr., Kim Carnes, Santana, Martika, Laura Branigan, Belinda Carlisle, Selena, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Mylène Farmer, Alisha and Madonna.
De Lory accompanied Madonna as backing vocalist and dancer on every concert from the Who's That Girl Tour in 1987, up to the Confessions Tour in 2006. Her performance with Madonna at the Live Earth 2007 concert in London was their final professional collaboration to date.
Her self-titled debut album was released on MCA Records in late 1992, since then she's released 10 albums. Her newest project is La Machine De Rêve.
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La Machine De Rêve's mission is to make music that uplifts the mind, body and soul by using the best of the past, present and future.
Singer Donna De Lory brings her years of musical experience and her amazing voice to the group. Multi-talented Anthony J. Resta (Ajax) adds his sonic alchemy. While the mellow guitar of Greg Ansin creates a solid bond. Welcome to the Dream Machine.
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Zeus is an American Hip hop artist/songwriter with a distinct sound. Building his supporters which he calls “The Rebels” 1 fan at a time. Zeus starting off doing music in the 5th grade with his best friend and cousin, singing and dancing in talent shows. By the time Zeus got to middle school he formed his rap group P.O.G (Pimped Out Gangsters). The group had good success in the area winning talent shows , throwing their own concerts/parties and even doing shows out of state with their single “Wobble”. Eventually the group split apart and Zeus decided to go solo. At the time Zeus went by “Rukapuff”, once he dropped his first solo single “Angry” the street went crazy!! Angry immediately went in full rotation on Q 95.5(Radio one) in St Louis. Heavy club play all over, different stations started to pick up the song also and to add had and still has one of the best live shows ever seen!
Zeus ended up meeting legendary west coast rapper Mack 10 thru a business partner, Mack loved Zeus music , energy and stage presents and signed him to “Hoo Bangin Records”. Mack 10 ended up picking a record to use off of Zeus (then Rukapuff) 1st album Escaped Off the Chains”, a song titled “Like this” featuring Nate Dogg. The song was used in tv commercials, NFL football games movies like “Waist deep”, tv shows like “Sopranos” and more. Zeus continued to tour after the Hoo bangin contract and kept building his fan base. Zeus felt like being in the music business and seeing where things were in the world he wanted to elevate his sound and style, from that the alter ego was created Zeus Rebel Waters Zeus considers his style “Gumbo” which is a mixture of all genere’s. Having a musical style like Gumbo Zeus plans to be the 1st hip-hop artist to have a #1 song on multiple different format charts.
Zeus has over 10 projects out to date, “Da new lou mixtape 1-3”, “Escaped off the chains”, Gunz and Rosesz”, “End of Dayz” , “Im a Starr”, “Personality Crisis”, “F##k the Internet” “Grind Or Die the movie” “Meet the Rebels” and many more collaborative mixtapes. Zeus understands the importance of branding starting his own indie label Born Ready Records, and also has a clothing line called the Rebel Waters Collection, a film company called Trinity Films, and helps run a non for profit organization for young inner city youth called Rock the Community.
Artist, single father of 4 daughters, Philanthropist, visionary, song writer, film writer, over 140 shows/tours per year basically just a dope a** dude. Zeus Rebel Waters is her.
“We are the Rebels are you a Rebel” –Zeus Rebel Waters
h2the is an LA based producer and artist who merges 80s synths and layered beats, brought to life through dynamic visuals and sound. The h2the live band brings the songs to life with some of h2the’s favorite musicians, including Buwi (bass), Kamran Mcadam (guitar), R E L (vox), and Natan Winkler (op1 & vox).
“Brilliantly blending 80’s synths with an new cutting edge sampling style, rising hip hop/experimental producer h2the released his debut single titled “Taste Of The“, a teaser/cut-up off his new beat tape exclusively available on cassette!” – UGHH URB Magazine wrote that “[h2the] is something else…in a profound kind of way,” calling his sound titillating and “juicy for the ears,” while The Village Voice described his productions as “adventurous and banging.”
2DOPEBOYZ and Vibe Magazine’s allhiphop.com have also noted h2the’s rap flips of 80?s inspired sonics. It’s the producer as auteur as every track takes you through the emotional space of the artist, like Kanye or Godard.
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SUN IN CHINA is the new musical brainchild of award winning sound designer, mixer and singer Dror Mohar. With film credits such as Quentin Tarantion’s Django, Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Revenant, Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor and James Mangold’s Greatest Showman and musical acts like Patti Smith, Bjork, John Legend and Ryan Adams ; Dror started work with producer Sylvia Massy on music for SUN IN CHINA in 2019. Pulling from the sound design worlds and joined by collaborators Joseph E Shine, Dan Haggis (The Wombats), Raz Olsher (Bassically U.K) and composer Yariv Vaknin - SUN IN CHINA is set to release its E.P ‘2020’ in …
Mike Millie da Don is a recording artist out of Makin, GA who has adapted a sound that has an energetic vibe with a mixture of trap and r&b. He has opened up for artists such as Future and Lil Durk and will be touring East and West Coast early next year.
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For over two decades, the controversial and strongly opinionated, Extreme Metal act from San Diego, California, Cattle Decapitation, have been pummeling their way through cities throughout North America in promotion of their latest effort, Death Atlas. They brought their Geocidal Tendencies Tour to the city of Portland's illustrious Bossanova Ballroom.
Opening the night, local favorites Vitriol stormed the venue with their dual vocalist attack, setting the night ablaze with relentless, machine-gun, blastbeats and unrivaled aggression in promotion of their latest album, To Bathe From The Throat of Cowardice. This set was incredible and demonstrated to all in attendance Portland's dominance in the Extreme Metal scene.
The final merge of man and machine was upon us as Tristan Shone, the mechanical genius behind Author & Punisher, became one with his devastating inventions. These “drone machines” were self-fabricated and designed with the sole purpose of systematically pummeling his audience to complete obliteration. Like a technological demigod speaking in a lost tongue, Shone was promoting his latest offering, Beastland, his eighth studio album, as shades of violet and blue pulsated violently to down-tempo beats controlled by the tech-god himself.
Like a chainsaw to the brain, Primitive Man, the sludge-infused, Doom Metal three-piece from Denver, Colorado, provided enough brain-rattling volume that the entire front row took a calculated step back before their limbs spastically lost all control. They unleashed their primal attack while promoting their latest album, Caustic, only stopping their auditory assault when pure auditory annihilation was complete. Unbelievable.
As the godfathers of technical Death Metal, Atheist, began sound checking on stage, their manic vocalist and sole-remaining original member, Kelly Shaffer, announced it has been 30 years since they stepped on a stage in Portland. And addressing the elephant in the room, looked at his band members in disbelief stating these guys probably weren’t born yet. Surrounded himself with new blood, Schaffer’s latest incarnation of the band played with as much technical ferocity as their predecessors. They revisited such iconic classics as “Unquestionable Presence,” and “Second to Sun” as well as tracks off their debut album, Piece of Time, even pausing to dedicate “I Deny” to the late Chuck Schuldiner of Death. They played with a renewed energy baptizing a new generation of fans from the local Extreme Metal scene with every dizzying array of unmatched complexity.
With nine studio albums to their credit, Extreme Metal pioneers, Cattle Decapitation, played a monumental set, unleashing a barrage of pummeling blastbeats while shoving unmatched technicality to the forefront. The forward-thinking, metal ensemble has never been one to shy away from addressing global issues in their music. Guitarist, Josh Elmore, bassist, Olivier Pinard and drummer, David McCraw, opened with the ferocious first track off their latest album, The Geocide, and ventured into such morbidly-titled, fan-favorites, the vicious “A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat,” “Bring Back the Plague” and “Manufactured Extinct”. The band was swallowed in the darkness of the stage for the entire set with only blinding rays of light furiously illuminating the audience as the venue floor became a destructive, swirling mass of bodies with vocalist, Travis Ryan, towered authoritatively above them.
Cattle Decapitation’s Geocidal Tendencies tour is not for the faint of heart or the close-minded. Take a bite of your veggie burger and arm yourself with the knowledge that you’ll not just be leaving bruised and half-deaf, but also awakened to a whole new way of looking at the world through the eyes of one of the greatest Extreme Metal bands of this decade.
You’ve probably heard this song all over TikTok and if not, you’ve probably seen the memes! This song was originally posted on the internet in July 2019 by Jedwill and then the Peter Kuli remix was posted on Soundcloud in October of 2019. Since then the official music video has reached over 340K views and has even sparked controversy that NBC News and The New York Times wrote an article on it.
Although many take the term “OK Boomer” as a joke, many other people have considered it to be slander towards the Boomer generation. The Music video opens up with short clips of the “Boomer” Generation such as Seniors walking down the street to vintage footage of the Boomer generation when they were younger. The way the video is set up it almost seems to be a response to what Boomers have been saying about the Millennials and Gen Z, while also giving a bit of an inside look at what that Boomer generation achieved and created. One of the clips touches the subject of consumerism and war. This isn’t your typical music video and although some say its satirical, it may also just be hitting the nail on the head with everything that is going on today.
Written by Elsie Hernandez
Born in Los Angeles, California, the Industrial Metal project, Static-X, led by the incomparable, Wayne Static, became the forefront of the Nu-Metal boom during the late 90’s. Due to the mainstream success of their debut album, Wisconsin Death Trip, the band quickly emerged as a bridge for other crossover metal acts to follow. With six studio albums to their credit, Wayne Static eventually became the one consistent driving force for the band. In 2014, his life was tragically cut short, causing a wave of sympathy throughout the Metalsphere. With the aim of celebrating the legacy of their friend on the 20 year anniversary of the band’s debut, Static-X’s original line-up reunited. Armed with a new vocalist/guitarist, known only as Xer0, who donned the appearance of the late singer, they performed a series of anniversary shows across North America with Horror-inspired theatrical rock act, Wednesday 13, Portland’s own, Davey Suicide, and Society 1 in support.
Unfortunately, Society 1, the industrial metal act out of Los Angeles, who were first to start the night, began their set at the same time the doors were due to open, confusing not only the audience but the venue staff as well. They sounded great, but I never got a chance to really dig into their set or capture photos under the circumstances presented. In contrast, Davey Suicide, the eccentric Metal ensemble out of Portland, had quite a show of support from the local scene, while creating an eccentric stage show with musical chops to match.
Wednesday 13 was like a schizophrenic soundtrack to a carnival gone terribly wrong. The band’s mastermind, of the same name, morphed into a physical manifestation of psychosis; knife-wielding and devilish, his eyes staring through the small holes through a mask that could have been created in a madman’s house of horrors. They churned out monstrous and savage songs from their latest album, Necrophaze and a few others from their history.
There was no escaping the media controversy surrounding the reformation of Static-X and the identity of their new mask-wearing, guitarist/vocalist, Xer0. As a loyal fan of the original line-up, I was also torn, having experienced the phenomenon of Static-X in the past and even shaking Wayne Static’s hand in Hawaii over two decades ago. As the dissonant atmosphere of “December” began to emanate throughout the venue and images of Wayne’s face glowed from massive screens above the band, it was clear that this was a celebration of Wayne Static’s louder-than-life personality and the legacy he left behind.
Bassist, Tony Campos, guitarist, Koichi Fukuda and drummer, Ken Jay, played their acclaimed album, Wisconsin Death Trip in its entirety while sprinkling in their most industrious fan-favorites from Machine, “Get to the Gone,” “Black and White” and “This is Not.” Before introducing their next song, Xer0 explained how grateful he was to be onstage paying tribute to his friend and asked the audience to raise their arms in the air during their heartfelt performance of “Cold” for the late Wayne Static. They ended the night with the two tracks that started it all for them, the floor-bouncing, “I’m With Stupid” and their most-applauded crowd favorite, “Push It.”
Remember that music has the ability to transform lives, not only for those who create it but those touched by it as well. Static-X is not just a legacy act trying to relive their glory days, they’re forging a future by celebrating the path they’ve walked. So, forget the naysayers and live life how Wayne Static intended: by keeping disco evil and partying like it’s 1999 all over again.