September 2014 | Music Junkie Press

Michael Lee Firkins announces new tour dates

September 23, 2014

One of our highlights from the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3 was the great performance by Michael Lee Firkins. It was amazing as always to watch and Michael is captivating on guitar. He brought the perfect fusion of blues and rock to life at the venue and everyone was enjoying it. Michael has announced a string of tour dates for October and November. Check out the dates below and see if he will be coming to a venue near you: To get you ready, check out the photos by our Rockin Ryan of Michael’s performance at the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3. When Michael plays, you are drawn to him as he stuns the crowd with his slide playing, singing and fueling the crowd with funky rockin blues. The notes and tones he brings out truly highlight the extreme talent as a guitar player. I would highly recommend you picking up his latest album, Yep which was released last October. You can pick it up on iTunes here. Make sure to visit his social [Read More]

The Funeral Portrait new EP tops my list for Best EPs of 2014

September 23, 2014

Today The Funeral Portrait have released their EP For The Dearly Departed through Revival Records and it is quite a a musical gem. It has a very fresh new sound that blends elements of metal, rock and roll, power pop, and theatrical rock. It makes me think of what Queen would be like if they were a band debuting in today’s blended genre music scene. The intensity of each song captures such emotion and then takes you an melodic theatrical ride amid fierce guitars, powerful vocals, striking drums, dramatic synth and so much more. The band describes the EP as, “For the Dearly Departed is a short concept album revolving around a single character who endures the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance, The first song is the event that triggers the process, and the following songs represent each of the five stages. I’m not going to tell anyone how to listen to our music, but it helps to keep this concept in mind to understand the product as a whole. [Read More]

Ray Goren displays such a maturity with his spectacular songwriting on his new EP Save My Soul

September 23, 2014

Ray Goren may be only 14 but you would have never guessed with the talent and maturity that he displays in his new EP, Save My Soul. This is one talented young man who has everyone taking notice. His new EP which features 5 emotionally driven songs that will take you on a musical journey of loss, love, hope and so much more. His ability to create a connection with the listener through his songs at such a young age, has me excited for what the future holds for him. The EP was produced by Justin Glasco and John Sosin and shows the maturity and songwriting of a master craftsman. Like his previous EP “LA Sessions” (produced by Eddie Kramer), Goren played guitar parts and other instruments while his producers added additional instrumentation and Chaun Horton added drums. One of my favorite tracks is the inspirational and moving song, Rise Together. It will grab your attention and awaken your senses. The bluesy title track of Save My Soul has such a smooth groove to it [Read More]

Pick up the new album, Dearly Departed by The Family Ruin and don’t miss them on tour!

September 23, 2014

The time has arrived! The UK bad ass band, The Family Ruin have released their album, Dearly Departed on KBB Records. In honor of the release, we are pleased to repost our review of this must have album! This is one album that we have been so excited for you to all hear. It is definitely one killer album filled with high energy tracks and a great display of musicianship by these five guys. Drummer Dom White had this to say of the release,“We’re so excited to finally unleash Dearly Departed to the world! This album is all about living life on the edge, picking yourself up no matter how many times you get knocked down and partying like there’s not a care in the world. We hope you all love it as much as we do – we can’t wait to bring it to the stage later this year! Welcome to the family!” * * ALBUM REVIEW * * The Family Ruin have really been garnering a lot of well deserved attention since singing with [Read More]

Sick of It All announce tour dates and premiere new song, Get Bronx

September 23, 2014

Sick of It All have announce US tour dates for their upcoming tour in support of their soon to be released album, Last Act of Defiance. The album is set for a September 30th. Sick of It All have just premiered their new song, Get Bronx which is off the forthcoming album. “GET BRONX is a term we came up with and use amongst a group of our friends in the NYHC scene. It is used to describe the point that is passed push coming to shove, when you go all out. Musically the song is a hybrid throwback fusing some early punk type chord changes with a late 80’s NYHC style groove. The ending clearly Black Sabbath influenced and well… Geezer rules!” Check out the song here: You can pick up the new album next Tuesday or get some Sick Of It All merch bundles with a pre-order here: http://www.cmdistro.com/Search/last_act_of_defiance. Check the tour dates below and see if they will be coming to a venue near you: 9/27/2014 Reverb/ Tsunami Fest Reading PA 10/4/2014 Irving [Read More]

Ashestoangels release two new music videos from upcoming album Horror Cult

September 23, 2014

The first time I heard about the Gothic Punk Rock band Ashestoangels from the UK was during my interview with William Control earlier this year. He was telling us about how he had been working with Ashestoangels producing their upcoming album, Horror Cult. I have been excited for it’s release and am pleased to announce that they have released two new music videos for songs from their upcoming album. The first is Six Six Six and Crilly explains, “It’s been a while since we’ve released anything new so we knew we had to deliver something intense. The song is like a prelude to the whole album, it’s frantic and energetic and the video is a visual representation of that. We didn’t want to distract with a storyline, just the four of us in a room letting the world know we are back and ready to take this thing to the next level.” Check out the video here: The next video is for Still Dead and Crilly had this to say about it, “A big part [Read More]

Get to know more about Taylor and the Wild Now

September 23, 2014

The soulful rock band from Austin, Texas; Taylor & The Wild Now have recently released their debut EP last month. The band was formed by Taylor Baker (guitar, vocals, banjo) and includes Drew Walker (guitar, trumpet). The Austin area greeted the release with praise and excitement, Taylor explains, “We are so incredibly proud of this EP; it encompasses such a beautiful collaboration of sound, ideas, and styles. We put our all into it and we can’t wait to share it with the world!” Check out our Q & A with Taylor here: * * * * * * Music Junkie Press: Thank you very much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press! Tell us about how you two came together and created Taylor & The Wild Now? Taylor: Hi! We met through mutual friends during SXSW at a Local Natives concert. Drew would sit in with my band at the time and play trumpet, and it eventually turned into us creating our own project. Music Junkie Press: We love Wanderlust [Read More]