Thunderous riffs charged with the raw energy of purely aggressive and uncompromised hard rock and catchy melodic hooks comprise the foundation of Chicago rock masters The Outfit's new studio album, "Go." The album was released via Pavement Entertainment, marking their third release, following 2020's "Viking."

"Go" was expertly engineered by Chicago music stalwart Matt Mercado at Sonic Palace Studios in Oak Park, Illinois. It was mixed in Los Angeles by Grammy-nominated, multi-Platinum producer Ulrich Wild, known for his work with Pantera, Static-X, White Zombie, Deftones, and Breaking Benjamin, who produced densely tight, yet well balanced high-quality sound.

The year 2023 can indeed be named a year of Generative Artificial Intelligence, which took the world by storm with the explosion of ChatGPT and then took the race in the image creation by Imagen, MidJourney, FireFly, and others.  

This is when an Israeli luthier Omer Deutsch got an idea about exploring the use of AI as a design tool for his hand-crafted guitar brand OD Guitars, which emerged from the heart of Israel and goes beyond the realms of conventional guitar manufacturing, delivering an unparalleled synthesis of craftsmanship, sexy design, and sonic artistry. Omer calls this project based on MidJourney AI - /imagine: prompt.

For decades, US and British artists dominated the rock scene with just a few exceptions, until  globalization, the internet, and social media overturned the entire music industry on the brink of the millennia. 

For heavy music styles in particular, the artists’ origin is no longer a factor for popularity and acceptance in the United States. It opened an incredible opportunity for Oceans on Orion, a modern metal powerhouse from the vibrant cultural landscape of Israel that has already made its mark on the rock scene in the UK and Israel since 2019, and they are regulars at Israel’s major metal show PsychoWard Fest. 

Boisterously enthusiastic self-starter Scarlet Parke released her self-produced single and music video “369” delivering smooth jazzy vocals, hypnotic beats fused with mesmerizing melodies, and inspiring message through direct, uplifting lyrics.

Talented songwriter Scarlet composed a music piece, which emits a synergy of pop, soul, and jazz within easily recognized soundscape. For years Parke has been determined to produce her own music and this release became her signature achievement of her long-time goal as a music and video producer.

Seattle nineties grunge and metal scene is not complete without multi-platinum rock power house Candlebox that marks the 30th Anniversary of their self-titled debut album with a release of a new, live, acoustic album, entitled Live at the Neptune on June 23 via Pavement Entertainment, and a “The Long Goodbye Tour 2023”, which kicks off June 10^th thru September 23 to celebrate band’s three decade career, eight studio and three live album discography, and extensive live performing and touring. 

Interview by Gene Aaron. Taken on May 10, 2022. Seattle, WA – Riga, Latvia.

JSA Europe / Stage Company specializes in stage setup and construction for live events and managing the production of live music concerts and festivals. It has been well known in Eastern Europe since its foundation in 1996 in Moscow, Russia. In 2014 JSA closed its Russian operation for political reasons and moved its headquarters to Riga, Latvia and since then focused on Baltic States and Ukrainian markets.

In its 25 plus years of history, JSA worked with the world-renowned artists, such as Michael Jackson, Jean Michel Jarre, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, KISS, Korn, Madonna, Roger Waters, Joe Cocker, Ozzy Osbourne, Rammstein, George Michael, Julio Iglesias, Metallica, Montserrat Caballe, Muse, Liza Minnelli, Whitesnake, and many others. 

The Tacoma Guitar & Drum Festival at the Tacoma Dome is the biggest guitar event and the largest gathering of the musician community in the Pacific Northwest. We met there with a special guest Paul Reed Smith – a founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a modern guitar legend.

Modern because PRS Guitars is a newer name compared to other sharks of the guitar world, like Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker, and others. We talked about music industry, guitar making, and branding because PRS has become a big worldwide brand in the last few decades.