Interview with Liar Thief Bandit (2017)

Swedish rockers Liar Thief Bandit are currently on the rampage touring through Europe. Today the german leg starts in Rostock. Further stations will see the band also perform in Lingen on 21.12.2017 at the Bul Bar & Lounge as part of the Lingen Volume concert series. Through the show announcement for Lingen I got to know about them.

My first introduction to their music was the official video for "Lease On Life" and that made me so curious that I asked for a interview to find out more about the band. We had the pleasure to speak with vocalist Mike Jacobson how the band started, how the outstanding vocals changed over time and which unexpected meetings you can have while being on the road...

A bandshot of Liar Thief Bandit, Photo Credit:
Dan Leo Lindeberg
https://photobydan.se

Heavy Metal Underdogs: Do you remember the first time the band did rehearse back in the day? What happened?

Mike Jacobson: I remember the first time we rehearsed. It was a little special because our drummer William and I had started to work on one of my earliest ideas for the song “Moving On” that ended up on our debut album later on. We had gotten to know each other through our former bass player since we both played in his solo project and when he later joined us for our second or third rehearsal the magic started happen and the band formed for real. Those first steps were very important and I am happy that we took them!

Are many of your songs inspired by your own real life experiences or what else inspires you to write songs?

I write all the lyrics and they are inspired by both my own experiences and my own thoughts about things happening in my surroundings but also in the world at large.

The songs doesn’t always represent me but they always represent something I can relate to and I think that is important!



Do you have any anecdote of strange things that happened recently playing a show or traveling around?

We got a last minute show on our first European tour in April this year. This was in Slavonice, Czech Republic on a Sunday and we didn’t expect much. The show was outside a small town on the countryside, the place was like a barn. The show was pretty early in the evening and it was packed with people! Very unexpected, especially when a guy who was introduced to us as "an old punk rocker” came there by horse from his home 20 km away - he smoked some pot and asked if I wanted to trade my Orange guitar amplifier for his horse. I did not, but I loved that we got to meet this unique human being!

The vocals stand out of the sound of Liar Thief Bandit. Do you think your voice evolved and changed over the years?

My vocals have definitely evolved since we started. I have gotten way better at singing and I think it’s mainly because we have played so many shows, it really helps you to find the core of the voice when it’s exposed to so many different situations.

Your website is great - fast and easy to navigate. Was it your intention to go a different way than the usual overloaded websites you can find nowadays?

Thank you! Yes, this was intentional. I think that today people don’t really visit websites as much as before but when they do, it’s important that they find what they are looking for as fast as possible. I think we got that one right.

Futher tourdates and information on Liar Thief Bandit can be found on the band's Facebook page as well as the mentioned homepage.

Interview with Alex Garoufalidis (Kings Call, Melodic Hard Rock 2017)

The band played a club show last month in my hometown in Lingen as part of the new concert series "Lingen Volume". They brought a big bag of straight going Hard Rock numbers and combined them with longer songs that gave room for experimental solo sections as well as lots of lessons on how to use those instruments properly.

The live line-up is build as a three-piece combo. It was founded by guitarist Alex Garoufalidis who also performed the vocal tracks on that night. We had the pleasure to speak with him about the life and work as a dedicated guitar player, his origins and inspirations for songs and lyrics at the beginning and also asked about a little insight into the upcoming new album "Showdown"...
 
Heavy Metal Underdogs: Having heard some songs live I was impressed by the mixture of classic Rock, Metal, partly blues elements and some guitar wizardry. How do you inspire yourselves for new songs?
Alex Garoufalidis: The inspiration for new songs…life itself.  I don’t want to limit my music to a certain genre… to a certain expectation…I’ve travelled all over the world…all them impressions are reflected in my music

King's Call live at Alter Schlachthof Lingen Germany, 19.8.2017

Can you remember you picked up a guitar the first time?
I remember picking up that guitar in my early teens and I said to myself – this is it, this is me! It opened up an entirely new world to me…no limits of expression…I would go so far to say that music is a ‘just’ a means…because it’s art. For all I know it could have been acting, writing etc anything.
Decades ago we did not have all the ‘modern’ means kids have nowadays. We played them guitars ‘till they fell apart…so did all the vinyl LPs…as we tried figuring out our fav songs. That guitar we had to earn…our parents did not have much money…No money for lessons therefore. I was just into music 24/7…playing, playing, playing.

Are the lyrics based upon your own life experiences?
The songs I write are all ‘true’ …my own experiences, opinions.

You've used just one guitar at the show in Lingen. You re-tuned it at some point. Do you only play this model (I think it was a Gibson SG) or are there other guitars you experiment with? Is it maybe the good handling that let's you prefer the SG?
That gig night in Lingen I only used my ’87 Les Paul Custom. I’ve tried ‘Cobalt’ strings for the first and I loved ‘em right from the get go. I only own a couple of guitars. That’s all I need. I am not a collector , I am a player ;-)

King's Call live at Alter Schlachthof Lingen Germany, 19.8.2017

How did you find the people that are currently in the band?
The guys in the band…well, Asec the drummer has been with me since day one of ‘’King’s Call’’…all others are helping out whenever they can.

How did it come to the collaboration with Chis Tsangarides? How did you know he's the right choice for producing the "Lion's Den" album as well as the coming output? 
Some of my all time favourite Bands have been produced by Chris Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy,UFO, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore, Judas Priest). It was a natural step to approach him to work with …and let me tell you, he’s one great guy. Superb work he does… and the stories from ‘back then’ he can tell are priceless.

King's Call live at Alter Schlachthof Lingen Germany, 19.8.2017

Could you please let us have a little preview on the coming album, what can the listener expect?
Recording a new album is always a moment in time, a mirror of oneself …as we progress in life…so, does the music. It should at least.

As for the songwriting for the new record: did the other band members also had some influence on the new music or do you prefer to compose on your own?
I write all songs and lyrics, yes.

King's Call will release a brand new album called "Showdown" on 25th November 2017 via Lions Pride Music. It's surely a exciting time so a look upon the band's homepage and Facebook page is highly recommended so you won't miss out on the upcoming album revelations.

The concert series "Lingen Volume" will continue it's way. As for September no show will take place. It's time for the annual city celebrations that already offer lot's of concerts all across the city as Open Air shows. Make sure to follow the further annoucements of the crew behind the concerts on Facebook.

A Place To Fall are looking for a rehearsal room

It's sad to see band's often have to suffer to find a place where they can create and rehearse their musical expressions. The same thing happend to the post Hardcore formation A Place To Fall.

They are currently looking for a new place to rent in the area of Lingen / Meppen (Lower Saxony) in Germany. If you have something to offer or know of somebody who has please don't hesitate to get in touch with the band on Facebook. Serious offers only please.

The band recorded one last video at their old rehearsal room. It's the album opener "Your Fall". Make sure to see the full video because the end has a nice making of and some funny scenes showing the moments when things didn't fit at every single note...

Live Review: Semperfield / Insanity Moments - Lingen 15.07.2017

What a fantastic night! It was a great pleasure to discover two fresh bands at this very summer evening. A little story about feeling like going back to the days of your first concert visits.

Having arrived early at the venue was a plus. I had the pleasure to talk to some people outside of the venue and could easily get into the mood for the evening. The venue this time was a youth center that was kind enough to give new bands a chance and host the event. Sure it's small in there but I love the way the few space is used. For instance there's a area where you can put up your jacket. The holders are mounted underneath a nice collection of vinyl that are drapped at the wall. It feels a bit like home.

Precisely at 20h Insanity Moments took to the stage to open up their set. The band seized their chance and gave the crowd a good insight into their unique sound offers. It's one of those young bands that are able to express the situation they are living in through their music. It felt like a wild mix of Rock, Metal and some easier Pop elements. It talked to me as if it's all about what the guys are going through these days - you can feel that there's the power and sometimes the frustration in that comes along in life. I think it's something that feels like pouring out your heart to someone because you can't hold all of this back.

Insanity Moments live at Kotten Lingen 15.07.2017

Vocalist Jan Blume stood out a bit with his fearless performance. For some reason the audience held a distance to the stage but he filled the gap with going straight into there and perform directly in front of those people. I think that surprised most people and added to the good songs of the band. Check out a live recording done at another venue that the band uploaded to YouTube.


Shortly afterwards Semperfield took over and they played their hearts out this evening. While mostly sticking to the Heavy Rock formula the band played a long and very extended set to the audience. This concert sometimes felt endless to me - and that's a good sign. I thought they would never end this set. Semperfield mostly brought their own original material with them which surely has been inspired by the Foo Fighters but was a great pleasure to the writer of these lines. They also played a cover tune every here and there. Nirvana's "Smells like teen spirit" was warmly welcomed by the crowd and the audience changed into a pit feeling like a mirror of the power that was circulating on stage.

Semperfield rocked the youth center Kotten at Lingen 15.07.2017

Here's the videoclip for the band's own song "Dusty Paradise" for you to check out.

Finally it should be mentioned that this was part 3 of a new concert series in Lingen, Germany. Part 4 is already coming up and will take place on August 19th 2017 at Alter Schlachthof in Lingen. Kings Call will be the headliner of that evening. Make sure to pick all the further information from the Facebook page for the concert series.

Live Review: Monster Truck / The Dirty Nil / Billy Talent Emslandarena Lingen 10.12.2016

What a night! Three bands that gave the fans of the sold out venue what they really wanted: Rock 'n' Roll at it's best. I think that's the best proof that the show was worth the money the people spent on it.

The Dirty Nil seem to have been added the last minute to the package. I was pretty surprised to see the band's banner on stage since I didn't hear before that a third band would rock out on that evening. They put out a typical modern punk rock format with their music and opened with a pounding fist of songs. The audience that was numerous up to that point already warmly welcomed their offer.

The Dirty Nil Live in Lingen 2016, (c) by Jan Starcke, used with kind permission

I think the people eagerly waiting for the Billy Talent show could somehow connect easily to the band's sound. The vocalist ripped up his voice roughly on most tracks so agression came out clearly while the drums layed down a pumping constanty to the sound and the guitars having razor sharp riffs with them. The band had a good mix of tracks but kept it fast for most of the time, something that was a good choice in my eyes. With a loud and rude opening and few but good lights on stage the evening was going to start out great.

Monster Truck were the best band of the night in my ears. They had in contrast to both of the other bands a different approach in any way. The most significant one was the sound. They decided to put the volume down, something that I love when it comes to live shows. That little bit of volume they cut was replaced with a beautifull sound spectrum. All instruments came through clear and direct and I think this sound was the
best I encountered in a long time.

Monster Truck put a highlight with their sound at the liveset in Lingen 2016, Photo (c) by Jan Starcke, used with kind permission

The soundstructure provides space for warmth, details in the performance and most of all it gave the possibility to enjoy each and every riff like having a good meal on which you spend a lot of time to taste every little nuance that is inside. The band opened up with a couple of faster tunes before they changed to a more slower and progressive format and also included a half-ballad in their set. This may have been too lengthy for some people especially when it came to the solo sections but the band once again changed the style and closed their set with rougher tracks that more people in the crowd enjoyed. After all I think the band was able to make some people open up their minds and discover their sounds.

Finally it was time for Billy Talent to rock the packed house. The first third came around filled with classic tracks while the new songs had to wait until they had their time. "Afraid of Heights" was my favorite they played on the show along with a clear statement on the meaning at the beginning. The show was wrapped in a nice stage setup that included a monsterous backdrop of the album artwork that was filled with lights and also had a second floor were the musicians placed themselves later in the set.

Billy Talent in his typical pose captured live in Lingen 2016, Photo (c) by Jan Starcke, used with kind permission

My personal favorite was "Ghost ship of cannibal rats" a razor sharp number with the typical punk attitude in it. As for me it's a highly symbolical way of saying how today's society looks like. The band showed some heart and decided to give one euro of each sold ticket on this event to a social organisation for people in need. It shows that the band has not forgotten where they are coming from. The audience was wild on the show and it's not often that you can spot moshpits and pogo in cities like Lingen. Billy Talent returned after the set for some additional tracks and left a happy crowd in the thought that this was the first real proper heavy music event to grace the Emslandarena in Lingen. Thanks for the great show and the fine memories to all the bands that played on this evening!

Live Review: Great Escapes - Rock am Pferdemarkt Lingen 16.09.2016

Having missed the band in January this year when they played at the Alternative Rotation at Alter Schlachthof, Lingen I was more than pleased to hear that they would appear at this years "Rock am Pferdemarkt" Open Air in Lingen.

Great Escapes just did what the people like most: performing straight forward punk rock without fiddeling too much around. The band had the task to kick off the festival at a early stage time of 19h in the early evening. Anyway that along with the given rather short stage time of 30 minutes the band made something special of the show.

Great Escapes Live At Pferdemarkt Lingen Open Air 16.09.2016, Picture taken by Joern

Instead of talking much they decided to play a good amount of songs of their first CD that is properly titled "To My Ruin I'll Go Gladly". I like this look at the world - it's a so typical punk attitude to point at problems with the finger of irony. But as I wrote the show was something more special as Great Escapes decided to live-premiere four new tracks that the band has been putting together since the album release. I was also surprised to hear that the band has songs with english but also tracks that have german lyrics with them. You don't hear this mixture often.

The special thing about this band is that they're around in this constellation since 2014 but have gone straight to the start with a first full length recording at the end of 2015. In addition to that they were able to play many shows already - it's amazing to see what bands are able to make with so few support.

Great Escapes Live At Pferdemarkt Lingen Open Air 16.09.2016, Picture taken by Joern

The trio is a good pick if you just want to have a good time and many people out there liked what they did. Many families showed up and it was cool to see they enjoyed it, too. Make sure to check out their Facebook page to keep track of what they do next. Here is a video clip of Great Escapes to give you the possibility to have a idea of how they go along with their classic punk music. If you would like to hear more click on to Spotify that's where you can listen to the full album.

CD Review: A Place To Fall - Lost Myself (2016)

What we have here is a bitter brutal post hardcore album that leaves no mercy as about it's message. This band screams out that they really want it all and they've put in so much energy that it will make your speakers blow. Find out how post hardcore should sound in 2016.

Introduction

The band came to my attention at a Open Air festival here in Lingen - the Rock am Dom. At that time the band was starting to form in line-up as well as soundwise but it was already clear that they would sound very promising. So I kept a eye on them and followed them further both on Facebook as well as live at the Rock am Pferdemarkt and a little later at the Abifestival contest. In the meantime the band wrote and recorded "Lost Myself" and over the gigs one could easily see and hear that the band has evolved quite a lot.

The cover of Lost Myself, (c) by A Place To Fall, used with kind permission

Summary / Album overview

The album has a lot of killer qualities. As I wrote above I was able to follow the development of the band but never expected such a result in the end. The record comes straight in with the intro for "The Rise", a dark haunting melody carving the way for what is about to come. The following "Your Fall" shows the heavyness the band combines along with great rhythm. The vocals come in quite harsh on this one but are always melodic and outworked with much passion.

The same goes for "All your lies". That song was already available as stream early at the band's Youtube channel but this version is quite different. The contrast of growls of guitarist Oliver and the clean parts of vocalist Sebastian gives this one a special kicking note. You'll remember this after listening. The tile track that follows shows a masterpiece in my eyes and a first high peak of the record. This one builds slowly crawling on the floor just to explode at the refrain directly into the listeners face. Don't miss out this one.

"New Hopes" goes a more straight way vocal-wise but I love the riffing and drumming on this one. It goes back and forth and shakes 'till the end. "We're Fading Away" has a anthemic refrain and is most melodic and straight forward of the album. The clear guitar parts have been my favorite from the first listen.

We continue on "Dream of Memories" that rips us up with a direct riff. Many vocal layers and variations on this one. Very heavy indeed. "Photographs" is next to go. It's a dark number which much heavy distorted guitar sounds and rhythm changes but a lot of brutal elements nevertheless. "Behind A False Light" closes the album in a straight forward way. The clean notes towards the end leave you with a redemption feeling.

Purchase-Link

The record is up on digital outlets such as Amazon, iTunes and Google Play for 8 Euro. The band also has physical copies on sale in a beautiful fold-out case for the same price. It is available through their webshop or you can message the band through Facebook if you don't have Paypal.

Player

The whole nine songs can be heard on Spotify or Deezer. I've also included the track "We're fading away" for all of you who don't have a acoount there or just want to quickly check out the bands sound.





Contact Data

The band has a cool Facebook page up and running and also offers a insight into the bands activities via Instagram. Also make sure to have a look on their homepage if you want to contact or book them.

Live-Review: A Place To Fall / FiftyFour Planets / Acoustic Steel - Lingen 19.9.2015

So this past weekend hopefully will stay some time in my mind. It was time for the local town party. The whole city of Lingen is changed into a big open air location at the end of each summer offering a wide variation of music to check out for free for everybody.

This big wheel gave the chance to take a impressive look from ca. 35 meters above over Lingen

As part of this event you can find one place that offers a special section that keeps it mostly a bit heavier for the younger people of the city. It's called "Rock am Pferdemarkt" and it had a good line-up this 2015 edition offering three of my favorite local bands on Saturday. A note: there were more bands playing but I will ignore those here since they don't fit to the musical style of my blog so I will stick to the heavy bands of the line-up

First out were "A Place To Fall" which offer a mixture of Hardcore / Heavy Metal along with a fine mixture of melodic riffs and melodies. I arrived early to the show so I was able to see the band doing the soundcheck. The band was going to lay it down heavy that was made for sure. They had brought along a good package of speakers so they were really playing loud. Plus they had prepared the stage with some whistle blowers which they used every here and there at the show. Finally the band took the stage and got into the set very well. Most of all vocalist Sebastian Molleker gave a good signature of his abilities. It payed off that he doesn't had to play the bass guitar anymore and could concentrate of the vocals. On one song he screamed the parts as if he was collecting them up from deep inside and was letting off some real pressure. That was towards the end of the set and I feel that he was getting better with every minute that allowed him to get out of himself a bit more.

Malte Hornung, the lead guitarist showed some cool riffs and it was a good mixture of heavyness with fine melodies put inside that made me curious on the upcoming release that the band is currently working on. Make sure to check out the track below so you won't miss out them. If the band had been given a stage time in the later evening time I'm sure the band would have had the chance to gather a lot of new fans. At this time it was too early for most of the people to show up. Keep in mind that the show already started at 18:50 h so I thing you can imagine it. I for one was very happy that I didn't missed them out. I would have really regret if I had chosen to stay at home.

   
Afterwards it was time for the change over which turned out pretty short. The crew and bands really kept things short and quick but nevertheless made sure the sound was kept in good quality. Next to go were "FiftyFour Planets". Having seen them twice before I was curious what the band was going to do with the big stage since they previous shows were at a small live club here in Lingen called "Alter Schlachthof". The band used the place really well, most of all the Synthesizer Christoph jusmped around a lot as he seems to enjoy a lot. :-) The band has a own idea of sound mixing up classic Punk Rock elements with Synthesizer sounds and a good potion of Hardcore heavy elements. So on some parts they really keep it straight forward to the direct classic punk attitude just to go over without further ado to the hardcore parts that make a pushing, raw sound while the synths give some fine melodies to your ears you won't forget so fast anymore.

It's these versatile mix of sounds that keeps in your ears and makes the music thrilling and you can never know what's comes next. The drum patterns are sometimes kept unusual giving it a even more own character. You should definitely check out their noise in the tube player below. The only thing I still cannot feel fine with is the reaction of the audience. Why not give some applause to the band, why not show some enthusiasm? The band really layed it down heavy so there was absolutely no reason to hang around calmly and not giving the slightest form of reward to the band. The vocalist was right as he counted the applauding people and pointed at them (I was one of them :-) and thanked them for their reaction.



Last to go on my list were "Acoustic Steel". As their name already let's you guess they are drawn towards the heavier side of music but in a acoustic form. That said you may expect the usual tracks to be heard, mostly slow stuff and ballads. Sure the band has them in their set but most of all they also pick up tracks from the really heavy depths of metal like Slayers all-time classic "Seasons in the abyss" that you wouldn't even think of to be remade in a acoustic version. But this band manages to do so in a serious way, so all of the typical elements of the original tracks are kept intact, it's just that they rework them to fit to their attempt to the music. It's even cooler that the drummer uses Cajons and percussion to play his parts and that fit's also to the picture. Their set was filled with a lot of classics amongst them some Iron Maiden numbers like "Run to the hills" and "Fear of the dark" but they also weren't afraid to pick up Body Counts "Copkiller" for a acoustic version. The audience reacted quite well and showed some cool sing-along with dancing and giving a lot of applause to the band which was well deserved.

The peak of the show in my ears was their cover of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" which I never had thought the people to go along so much on it. I guess the australian rocker may even have liked to see this performace for themselves. Anyway here I've got their current videoclip for you to check out. Besides going serious on the music the band also put's out some fun stuff making sure they never take things too serious so it's also good for having a smile on this very monday. The only thing I would wish for is the band to write own songs and play them. I love their covers but it would also be cool to see them performing their own numbers. But I've hope that this will happen since they aren't around for too long yet.


All in all it was a cool evening and I enjoyed every minute of it. Please keep the good work up all you people at the team of the "Rock am Pferdemarkt" as well as all of the bands showing up there. Hope to see you all around again!

Acoustic Steel releases video for their version of "The boys of summer"

Can you imagine yourselfs a band doing acoustic coverversions of Metal songs just like "Thunderstruck" (AC/DC) or even "Wasted Years" (Iron Maiden)? This band called "Acoustic Steel" has taken the mentioned songs and re-arranged them to fit with acoustic guitars and Cajons as drums. I've seen them several times live now and it has been some fantastic and impressive performances they provided towards the audience.

A while back the band released their very first EP on Rock Range Records. In the meantime the guys have filmed a first video for one of the songs from that EP called "The boys of summer". The original track was done by Don Henley and this is what Acoustic Steel made of that song:



Don't forget to check out the band's Facebook page and give them a like. If you want to order a copy of the first EP of the band, go to the webshop of Rock Range Records.
The next show the band is going to play will be tomorrow here at Meppen, Germany at the Jam Center  together with two other bands called Against Randy and Kleinstadt-Trio.

A Place to Fall upload new tune from the coming record

The second album from the german band "A Place to Fall" is taking shape step by step. The band has uploaded a new full track to Youtube which shows again a very versatile and technical but also raw and heavy approach to writing music in a modern way without forgetting traditional elements.

I like those little elements and variations the band put's inside - it gives them a different note to the obvious heavier elements and makes listen closely well worth it. Same goes for the vocals which vary from clear and pure to dark and screaming.

The full record will be entitled "Call to salvation" and is planned to be released in 2015. Until then check out "We're fading away". Make sure to keep track of the next band steps by following them on Facebook or visit their homepage. They are doing shows from time to time, mostly local gigs in Meppen but they are also confirmed to play in Hannover in December 2015. Just check the proper section on their website.

A Place To Fall stream first full song from upcoming EP

Support local bands! This band is from Meppen/Lingen (that's located in Lower Saxony, Germany) and they stream one full song from the upcoming EP. Check it out if you like bands in the style of Trivium.

They convinced me when they played at a small Open Air festival this year in Lingen called "Rock at the Church", a fine festival with no entrance fee nearby a church in the town of Lingen. They support the local band scene so it's well worth going there plus the atmosphere is nice.

The current line-up:

Vocals + Bass: Sebastian Molleker 
Lead Guitar : Malte Hornung Rhythm 
Guitar: Oliver Aepken 
Drums: Daniel Lübken

You can follow the further band activities by checking out their Facebook web presence.