Crobot
They taken care of theyselves!! This week's guests on Discover New Music are Chris & Brandon of Crobot. The band's fifth studio album "Obsidian" finds the band in their most confident space yet and is by far their heaviest work to date. Somehow they were able to make Crobot louder and crazier! Plus a quick round of Rapid Fire is played...don't forget that Bigfoot is all about perspective
In the shadowed valleys of Pennsylvania, where the relics of coal and the echo of a post-industrial America fuse, the band Crobot bursts forth—a sonic whirlwind born of rebellion and raw power. This band is not just a troop of musicians; they are a high-speed chase through the wastelands of rock 'n' roll, armed with a potent cocktail of adrenaline and sonic boom.
At the helm is Brandon Yeagley, the quintessential rock 'n' roll shaman, wielding his harmonica and microphone like twin totems of chaos and creation. His fervor borders on the religious, a revivalist bent on converting the masses with each electrifying note and primal scream. Chris Bishop, the guitar-slinging axeman, carves through the darkness with riffs sharp enough to slice through the thickest fog, forging a path with every frenetic strum.
Joining the fray, Pat Seals, the latest addition to the rhythm section, pounds the bass with a ferocity that commands the shadows, his vibrations weaving through the fabric of the night, speaking directly into the void. Alongside him, Dan Ryan on drums stokes the engine of this auditory beast, his beats a thunderous pulse that breathes life into their wild musical onslaught.
Their odyssey through the sonic wilderness kicked off with the electrifying debut of *Something Supernatural*, slicing through the static of the mainstream with a vibe that was both a nod to the past and a leap into the future. The journey took a gritty, neon-soaked turn with *Welcome to Fat City*, an album that injected a dose of urban decay and psychedelic funk into their sound, expanding their narrative into the darker corners of the city. By the time *Motherbrain* hit the streets, Crobot had established themselves as a beacon for the disenfranchised, their music a battle hymn for those society had cast aside, with "Low Life" rising as an anthem for the underground. The saga continued with *Feel This*, an explosive collection that captured the raw, live energy of the band, further solidifying their status as torchbearers of rock’s chaotic, rebellious spirit.
*Obsidian* marks Crobot's most introspective journey yet, as the album dives into the deep, murky waters of the human condition, threading ancient myths with personal demons across its tracks. Each song descends into the darker reaches of the psyche, set to the relentless rhythm of heavy, pulsing beats and gut-wrenching guitar solos, offering a stark reflection of internal struggles.
This intense exploration on the album sets the stage for the raw and unfiltered experience of Crobot’s live performances. Witnessing the band on stage is to grasp the full chaotic impact of their music. Transformed into something otherworldly, Crobot becomes a force of nature, tearing through venues like a tornado and leaving behind nothing but awe. Their live shows transcend typical concerts, evolving into seismic events where the rock and roll spirit vibrates through the air, shaking the very foundations of the musical landscape.
So, if you're ready for a ride that teeters on the brink of madness, strap in. This isn't just a band. This is Crobot—steering a ship through the storms of sound with the mad delight of a stunt driver at the wheel, screaming into the soul with the echo of rock gods past and the fierce hunger of those yet to come. Welcome to the spectacle, the chaos, the evolution. This is rock 'n' roll in its most primal form. Buckle up; it’s a wild ride.
Seether
Five gold and platinum albums and two dozen Billboard Rock Airplay Top 10 hits later, Seether is as vibrant and relevant as ever on their ninth studio record, The Surface Seems So Far. The band remains a mainstage staple at every major rock festival, with a touring history that includes treks with contemporaries like Breaking Benjamin, Avenged Sevenfold, Nickelback, Papa Roach, and more.
The follow-up to 2020’s Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (which produced three No. 1 songs) finds the Shaun Morgan-fronted rock quartet flexing the creative chops that have kept their Vicennial: 2 Decades of Seether collection on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart since it arrived in 2021.
Written in pieces over an 18–month period that also saw the birth of their frontman’s third child, The Surface Seems So Far is unapologetically aggressive, kicking off with the barn-burning “Judas Mind.”
“The album definitely leans heavier than some of the previous ones,” notes Morgan, who says he chose from roughly 21 songs with input from the rest of the band, which includes bassist Dale Stewart, drummer John Humphrey, and guitarist Corey Lowery. “I think this is the first album we’ve done that doesn’t have an acoustic song, which I didn’t realize until we’d finished. I was shocked.”
This isn’t to say the album doesn’t have moments of melancholy, like “Regret.” The record takes many twists and turns, emphasizing catchy hooks and driving bombast. Songs like the chunky but atmospheric “Illusion,” the pulsating “Lost All Control,” the dynamic neo-grunge of “Same Mistakes,” and the moving and immersive “Dead on the Vine” are massive additions to the Seether catalog. Morgan and Seether sound alternately confident and confessional, full of vitriol and vulnerability.
The singer/songwriter proudly draws from the hard rock and grunge that first inspired him as a teen in South Africa, with the unique sonic identity that propelled their gold-certified American debut.
Stewart joined the band’s earliest incarnation less than a year after Morgan put it together. The duo’s Johannesburg-based indie record (under a different name) caught the attention of a more prominent indie label, who helped relocate them to America and released Disclaimer (2002).
Humphrey came on board for the back-to-back platinum albums Disclaimer II (2004) and Karma and Effect (2005), as songs like the platinum “Broken” and gold “Remedy” earned accolades.
Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces (2007), another platinum smash, produced two No. 1 singles, as well as the platinum “Fake It” and their gold-certified cover of Wham!’s “Careless Whisper.”
Following a tour with Nickelback, the band recorded and released Holding onto Strings Better Left to Fray (2011), which they supported as a mainstage act on the Uproar tour with Avenged Sevenfold. The album bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, behind Adele, with 61,000 copies sold during its first week in the US, Seether’s biggest sales number since Karma and Effectdebuted at No. 8 with 82,000 copies. “Country Song” was the most-played Active Rock radio song in 2011, according to Mediabase.
In 2012, the band launched its annual Rise Above Fest, founded to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental illness. “I lost my brother in 2007 to suicide, and it never gets easier,” Morgan explained at the time. The festival came about as a tribute to Eugene Welgemoed and “anyone who has lost someone. If this festival does something to help one person reconsider the tragic choice of suicide, then it will be the greatest success of my career.” Rise Above partnered with SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) to make meaningful charitable contributions toward prevention.
Their first compilation album, Seether: 2002 – 2013, contained 29 tracks, including a cover of the Veruca Salt alt-rock classic “Seether,” which inspired the band’s moniker when they got to the USA.
The band supported their next full-length platter on tour with 3 Doors Down. Loudwire called the gold-certified isolate and medicate (2014) “one of their finest albums.” “Words As Weapons” became their next platinum single, followed by “Same Damn Life” and the gold “Nobody Praying for Me.”
After collaborations with A-list producers over the years like Brendan O’Brien (AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots) and Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Daughtry, Three Days Grace), Morgan took on the producing reins himself with Poison the Parish (2017). The incredibly well-received album began a working relationship with Matt Hyde (Deftones, Slayer, Monster Magnet), who engineered and mixed by Poison the Parish and its follow-up, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (2020).
The latter album introduced lead guitarist Lowery, who came on board with Seether in 2019. “Corey has also assisted engineering on some stuff, too. He’s got a vast knowledge,” Morgan explains.
“We worked with a lot of producers. Brendan was one of my favorites. He’s awesome, and I learned a lot from him,” he continued. “Working with him instilled more confidence in me as a songwriter. He worked fast, too. I took a lot of things I learned from him and applied them to these records.”
Thanks to “Dangerous” and “Bruised and Bloodied,” Morgan topped Billboard’s then-new Hard Rock Songwriters chart. He was only the second artist to do so (succeeding Godsmack’s Sully Erna). The Vicennial – 2 Decades of Seether collection began its lengthy run on the charts in 2021. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added the band to their “Right Here Right Now” exhibitthe same year.
Veteran producer Hyde’s involvement as engineer and mixer continued with The Surface Seems So Far, with Morgan growing even more comfortable sitting in the main chair in the producer role himself. “It’s been nice. I write the songs from scratch, so when it’s time to record, I’ve already gone through all the preproduction, the rewrites, and the melody variations. It’s very self-contained.”
Beyond the creative fulfillment of the recording sessions in Nashville, Tennessee, the most essential element of Seether remains the live performance. In an era filled with overt and covert fakery to reproduce the perfected sounds of albums, Seether takes pride in throwing down old-school.
“I have a lot of disdain for the bands that get up there and pretend. But there are more independent musicians writing their own music and playing it live,” Morgan observes optimistically.
Morgan’s outlook on live performance makes for a succinct summary of Seether’s ethos from the start, onstage and off: “If you’re not representing yourself authentically, I have no interest in it.”
The Funeral Portrait
This is the one that got everyone's attention! This week's guest on Discover New Music is Lee Jennings of The Funeral Portrait. A record that has been in the works since 2018, "Greetings From Suffocate City" is a culmination of a lot of hard work, emotion, and dedication from the band and as far as Lee is concerned everything before this doesn't matter. Lee talks rewrites, full-circle tour moments and getting to work with a guy he looks up to, Bert McCracken of The Used. As always, a round of Rapid Fire is played and maybe we'll hear a cover of Kung Fu Fighting!
The Funeral Portrait is an emotional rock outfit with a mix of theatrics & devotion to their passion for loud, uncompromising, anthemic music. Comprised of Lee Jennings (Vocals), Cody Weissinger (Guitar), Caleb Freihaut (Guitar/Auxiliary), Robert Weston (Bass), & Homer Umbanhower (Drums), the band is currently signed to Better Noise Music. Their first full length record is releasing in early 2023. This massive no-holds barred new record has production provided by both Johnny Andrews (Three Days Grace, Motionless In White, Halestorm) & Josh Landry aka Lø Spirit (Motionless In White). An incredible mix & mastering job was completed by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Arch Enemy).
The band has been touring relentlessly since their inception & has opened for acts such as Shinedown, Underoath, Skillet, From Ashes To New, Starset, Pvris, & more. TFP recently played the main stage at Inkcarceration Fest. Their most recent single Holy Water had consistent play at SiriusXM Octane upon its release. They have been featured in Alternative Press’s 100 Bands You Need To Know, Rocksound, & their song Holy Water was recently featured on multiple episodes of All Elite Wrestling.
The Funeral Portrait believes in the power of Devotion to their Music and to their unwavering fanbase, The Coffin Crew. The ritual is beginning, & they want everyone involved. No excuses for not attending will be allowed…
Flat Black
Let's get that lead singer some tattoos! This week's guest on Discover New Music is Jason Hook of Flat Black. After leaving FFDP in 2020, Hook set out on his own creative path and, after four years of hard work, is beyond relieved to finally have his band's debut album "Dark Side of the Brain" out into the world. And according to him it's "100% authentically" Jason Hook. Plus we play a round of Rapid Fire with, you guessed it, more Loch Ness/whale penis talk!
Guitarist Jason Hook is storming out of the gates with his new band FLAT BLACK .
The former Five Finger Death Punch guitarist has recruited a trio of young and talented turks and the band has signed with Fearless Records for its debut album, the details of which are TBA. The album, produced by Hook, was recorded at the Hideout Studios as well as his home studio, both in Las Vegas.
Despite having reached a commercial summit with his prior band, thanks to multiple platinum certifications, sold-out arena shows, and a string of No. 1 singles, Hook remains as hungry for musical blood and thunder as the day he first picked up a guitar at the age of 6. He is eager to not only replicate but to surpass his past successes with his new band.
Having left his prior band in February 2020, which was right before COVID-19 put the entire world on pause, Hook wanted to assume creative control and let his musical free spirit soar in a project that was truly his. He opted to gamble on himself. With great risk comes great reward and the decision to form FLAT BLACK clearly worked out in his favor.
“As a musician, I crave freedom and I wasn’t ready to stop creating,” Hook shares. “Life is short”, he continues, “we all want to feel satisfied and happy with what we are trying to accomplish in life.”
The pandemic shutdown allowed him the opportunity to assemble the right musicians and carefully craft their debut album. FLAT BLACK are armed with an arsenal of riffs that’ll rattle your teeth loose from your gums, stadium-sized hooks, arena-ready anthems, and choruses that are guaranteed to touch a nerve. All of those factors combined make FLAT BLACK poised for success.
The origin stories of the rest of the players are indicative of a lifelong love of music and plenty of road-worn experience. The desire to play courses through their veins and propels them forward, which is why they all meshed so well with Hook.
Singer Wes Horton was introduced to music at age 13, thanks to his sister and Guitar Hero. He honed his vocal chops by playing in local bands and making online videos. Various music industry friends and acquaintances would become the connective tissue between himself and Hook. Horton knew he wanted to be a frontman, and FLAT BLACK afforded him that opportunity. Wes loves the fact that his bandmates prioritize songcraft — and that allows him to be the singer he has always wanted to be.
Bassist Nick Diltz, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, is the son of a legendary rock music photographer who brought him to concerts during his formative years. He recalls being inspired by watching a VHS video of U2 performing at legendary venue Red Rocks. Seeing fans clamoring for a piece of Bono in the footage is a vision that never left his head. This first exposure to the power of a true rock icon solidified Nick’s destiny as a live performer.
Drummer Rob Pierce hails from Nashville, aka Music City. His dad was a race car driver and his grandfather was a pastor. He grew up racing go karts and at first, wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps until he joined the fourth grade band and was bitten by the music bug. He chose the snare drum over the saxophone and from that moment on, music was the only thing that mattered. Rob got his first drum kit at age 11, which he set up in his dad’s car shop. He learned to play his instrument next to 1,000 horsepower engines, which influences his highly energetic style to this day.
The chemistry between the players in FLAT BLACK is palpable. And while FLAT BLACK’s songs are built to take up real estate in the brains of fans for weeks at a time, the true nature of the band’s material is meant to be experienced live. FLAT BLACK are now ready to hit the road and bring these brutal bangers to the masses live and in the flesh.
“IT’S YOUR LACK OF RESPECT” is one of the first songs that Hook penned and it has a raging, gnarly fire in its belly. With its percussive thrust and shreddy guitars, the song will ignite mosh pits from the first note. Hook states, “The track is blatantly defiant, and includes a live ending, that was recorded live off the floor’ in the studio. As a lead off track, it makes a statement. The song is defiant, which is what rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be.” Hook adds,”it’s a ‘fuck you’ track with a big chorus.”
The track “JUSTICE” is another metallic anthem, with fast and furious riffs. “The lyric is directed toward anyone that has screwed you over. It’s a ripper that will be a blast to play live,” Hook enthuses.
Elsewhere, “A BIT OF LIGHTNING” was penned right after he parted ways with his previous band. The state of the world at the time, combined with making a major professional shift, took its toll. But it also birthed what could be one of the band’s signature songs. Hook admits, “I was feeling pretty low, and the pandemic wasn’t helping. The lyric is basically me asking for something to turn around sooner than later.”
And with that, FLAT BLACK have arrived and are ready to turn heads.
Hardy
Even with a new record there's still time to catch some fish! This week's guest on Discover New Music is Hardy. With his third album "Quit!!" Hardy was able to take heavier chances and dive head first into a true fully rock album. Plus we get Fred Durst, Chad Smith and a song that's very close to Hardy's heart. Plus a quick round of Rapid Fire is played with possibly hunting a swamp monster!
“Quit!! is out. Finally,” says HARDY. “Thank you to the person who left that negativity in the tip jar that night. This album wouldn’t exist without you. I hope everyone enjoys it.”
The new album, recorded with Big Loud’s own hitmaker Joey Moi (Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Nickelback), features singles “SIX FEET UNDER,” “ROCKSTAR” which is currently climbing at rock radio, “PSYCHO,” album title track “QUIT!! and “JIM BOB.” Quit!! is HARDY’s first full album embrace of his rock sound and follows last year’s much lauded, half rock LP, the mockingbird & THE CROW, which has spawned multiple #1 singles across genres.
HARDY is currently touring the U.S. on his headline Quit!! Tour and will livestream his show this Saturday, July 13 from Country Concert in Fort Loramie, OH exclusively via VEEPS; for more information visit veeps.com/hardy. HARDY’s extensive summer schedule sees him play headline dates and a slew of summer festival appearances, finishing with a return to his home state of Mississippi for his first ever stadium show and two back-to-back nights at Red Rocks this fall. Full routing is below.
In May, HARDY, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and Outlaw Light Beer took over Hollywood with a very special block party for 3,000 fans. HARDY joined the show to perform six songs live from their outdoor stage in a first since 2019. Watch HARDY perform “ROCKSTAR” on “Kimmel” here.
HARDY recently shared his version of the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre classic “Gin and Juice,” recorded at the personal request of the hip hop icons. Listen here and check out the short film featuring HARDY, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Nicola Peltz Beckham here.
Big Loud Records/Big Loud Rock heavy hitter HARDY—crowned “Nashville’s nü-metal king” by the Los Angeles Times—soared to new heights in 2023 with the release of his critically acclaimed half-country, half-rock sophomore album the mockingbird & THE CROW, adding to 4.6 billion career streams. The 17-track effort debuted top five all-genre on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and topped seven additional Billboard charts in its first week, including Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Album Sales.
The pride of Philadelphia, Mississippi has earned his reputation as “a promising purveyor of keeping the spirit of classic heavy Southern rock alive” (American Songwriter), “capable of writing the big hits for radio, obstinate enough to do something completely unexpected, and savvy enough to find the throughline for it all” (Rolling Stone). A five-time ACM award winner and two-time CMA award winner, HARDY has also won three CMA Triple Play awards, was named the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year and is a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. HARDY has written 15 #1 singles including his own two-times Platinum chart topper “ONE BEER” featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson, the platinum Dierks Bentley and BRELAND collaboration “Beers On Me,” game-changing two-times Platinum duet “wait in the truck” feat. Lainey Wilson and first-ever rock radio #1 “JACK.” He’s previously toured with Thomas Rhett, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Cole Swindell and more.
Highly Suspect
Like wearing a jetpack you didn't know you were wearing! This week's guest on Discover New Music is Ryan Meyer of Highly Suspect. More mature, back to their roots and a lot of fun...Ryan's excitement about the band's fifth album "As Above, So Below" is infectious! Breaking down tracks and where the band is now as a whole, Ryan hopes the fans enjoy this record as much as they enjoyed working on it. Plus, the guys go full circle with Muse and a quick round of Rapid Fire is played!
Highly Suspect’s Johnny Stevens was in a dark place. His relationship had crashed and burned and so had his dirt bike after an ill-fated desert ride. “I lived recklessly — and I didn’t really care if I survived,” he says. “There was no difference between being above the dirt or below it.” After that near-death experience, though, Stevens woke up.
The Earth, it turned out, needed Stevens topside, and new love was just around the corner. All those experiences, then, alchemized into the band’s fifth studio record, As Above, So Below, out July 19th on 300/Elektra. A saga of an album, As Above, So Below meshes Mad Max grit with indie-rock innovation to tell a tale as old as time that nevertheless seems brand-new: love lost and found again, a purpose renewed.
A Grammy-nominated five piece — Johnny Stevens [vocals, guitar], Ryan Meyer [drums, vocals], Rich Meyer [bass, vocals], Matt Kofos [guitar] and Mark Schwartz [synths] — Highly Suspect is nothing if not eclectic. Dabbling in hip-hip, electro-pop, and, of course, rock & roll, the band has spent the last 15 or so years melting faces and stealing hearts with their own brand of brutally honest swagger. With As Above, So Below, though, they’re firmly in their rock & roll pocket, though, cranking out grimy ragers and indie-rock opuses alike.
“I don't want to try to pretend to be something that I'm not,” Stevens says. “I am so tired of fucking fake bullshit. Drop the curtain, it's time to be real.” Here’s to staying on the right side of the dirt.
Shallow Side
Serendipity in up north Wisconsin! This week's guest on Discover New Music is Eric Boatright of Shallow Side. Hard work, loss, Spotted Cow, a lot of introspection and more went into the band's latest album "Reflections." Don't sleep on this band because Eric says Shallow Side are major rock contenders and this new album proves it! Plus, we play a quick round of Rapid Fire with...wet cheese???
Since coming into the rock scene in 2012, Shallow Side have released a little of everything - including several EPs, a full-length album, a compilation album plus a number of assorted cover songs and singles.
The band originated from the small town of Cullman, Alabama playing their special brand of rock n' roll.
Their 2017 EP, ONE spurred three radio singles: Rebel, Renegade (a powerful Styx cover) and Can You Hear Me that began to get them noticed and earned them the title of Loudwire's 'Best New Artist of the Year'.
In 2019, the band released their first full-length album SAINTS & SINNERS which contained their most streamed-song to date, Sound The Alarm. The album was produced by Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Mammoth WVH, Slash, Sevendush, Alter Bridge, Sebastian Bach). Like many bands, the Covid virus and shutdown halted much of the promotion and touring of the album.
2024 has brought the band's 2nd full lenght albumREFLECTIONS and include 11 bangers. The band used several producers including Kile Odell (Motionless in White, Cane Hill, Through Fire, Nita Strauss) and Chris Dawson/James Beattie (Any Given Sin, Saul, GEARS).
Their extensive music catalog has now surpassed more than 50 million streams globally, and their music videos have eclipsed 19.5 million views on their YouTube channel and another 25 million views created by users on YouTube.
All their music since 2006 has come out under Thermal Entertainment whom is also their management.
Facebook: @shallowsideband
Instagram: @shallowsideband
Twitter: @shallowsideband
YouTube: @shallowsideband
Official: https://shallowside.net/
Devour The Day
Successfully docking in 45 seconds! This week's guests on Discover New Music are the always funny and insanely talented Joey Walser & Blake Allison of Devour The Day. Everything in this interview is covered as the band breaks down their latest EP "Fragments Of Us" and how drive, failure & success, fans and much more have culminated in what they believe is the best work they've done. And, as expected, more off-the-rails fun is had in another round of Rapid Fire...including chafing.
Tim Montana
He's got practice fighting his mom's ponies! This week's guest on Discover New Music is Tim Montana. Validation and vindication is found in Tim's sixth album "Savage" which, according to him, is his best work yet lyrically. Plus, Tim gets into Letterman, ZZ Top, personal lyrics and more that have gotten him to the place he is now. As always a quick game of Rapid Fire is played...no bigfoot...but possibly...ALIENS!
Depending on what census you check, 44 residents call Wise River, Montana home. The town (if you could
call it that with a straight face) shares its name with the Wise River. The latter connects to the Big Hole
River, which once doubled as a boundary between various Native American tribes such as the Nez Percé,
Shoshone, Coast Salish, and Black Feet. “The Battle of Big Hole” went down on this land in 1877 between
the Nez Percé and the U.S. Army. Even with a “gnarly history,” a certain calm pervades the region these
days. Nestled under watch of mountains and sustained by the river, you could settle down here and be at
peace.
If you’re Tim Montana though, it’s the perfect place to run wild both literally and creatively…
Of course, the singer, guitarist, and entrepreneur grew up just 52 miles north and fell in love with Wise
River as a kid, but he officially settled there in 2023 after a long stint in Nashville (and even a spell in Los
Angeles prior). Coming back home inspired him to go even wilder on his 2024 full-length album, Savage.
The hooks hit harder, the distortion was cranked up louder, and the spirit became freer.
Ultimately, he alchemizes the energy around him in the form of eleven uncompromising and undeniable
anthems, forging a new frontier for hard rock in the process.
“I always thought Montana was really fucking metal,” he grins. “The state is a vibe, and I’m a vibe guy. If
you stick me in an office, I don’t vibe. There’s something about being where you’re from. Especially here,
there’s a weird, spiritual magic. There are things in the air that you can’t find other places. This musical
style was always in me though. I left it for so long, and I was in this Nashville space that I was burnt out
of. I got back here and wrote music that was true to my soul.”
Following a tumultuous and downright unbelievable childhood in a trailer off-the-grid, Tim left Montana
in the rearview at barely eighteen-years-old. Driven by a restless work ethic, he quietly carved out a niche
without comparison. Along the way, he performed on The Late Show with David Letterman at the behest
of the host (practically unheard of for a totally independent artist), collaborated with everyone from Billy
Gibbons to Kid Rock (cracking the charts for the first time), made a fan out of Charlie Sheen (who directed
the “Mostly Stoned” video), and even attracted his idol Dave Grohl to his corner. Forged by a long grind,
he fulfilled his destiny in 2023. Tim shook the rock world with “Devil You Know.” Christened “flawless”
and “One of the 30 Best Rock + Metal Songs of 2023” by LoudWire, the breakout single surged onto
Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay and Rock & Alternative Airplay charts. In its wake, iHeartRadio touted
him as an “On The Verge Artist.” Soon, he found himself booked for tours with Staind, Seether, Saint
Asonia, Bush, and Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains (another hero of Tim’s). Simultaneously, he and Gibbons
purchased historic bar and hotel Wise River Club in Wise River, MT.
Settled in Big Sky Country, he shocked Savage to life during sessions in an “1800s log cabin” on the Big
Hole River and at Wise River Club with producer Micah Wishire.
“Once I started writing this way, everything fell out,” he states. “I was like, ‘Let’s just be brutally honest’. I
recorded with people who I really trust in a place you’ve never heard of. To me, there’s nothing cooler
than that. Throughout the process, I’d fire up my Polaris off-road machine and we’d tear through the
backcountry. If I don’t nearly kill you three or four times, it isn’t a proper Tim Montana writing trip!”
Now, he heralds the album with the title track “Savage.” An ominous guitar melody glows like embers of
a Marlboro Red, and a tribal-style beat kicks in. Distortion ramps up on the chorus as Tim screams,
“Everything can go to hell. We can keep it for ourselves. Feeding the habit, watching the madness,
everything is SAVAGE!” On the bridge, strings dissolve into acoustic guitar, giving way to one last catharsis.
“Maybe I moved to Montana, because I think shit’s getting crazy in the rest of the world and I wanted a
fighting chance,” he laughs. “It’s not a political song though, but I’m looking at the world from a 30,000
foot view and telling a story of mankind’s greed, money, power, and wars. Overall, this expression is a
pretty savage version of me.”
On “Ashes,” the guitar wails, a groove twists and turns, and Tim assures, “Yeah, you’re my end of days.”
“I’m using these adjectives to describe a hot woman,” he grins. “The world’s ending, but you’ve got this
chick. If there aren’t some strippers dancing to ‘Ashes’, I’m going to be highly disappointed.”
He enlisted none other than Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett to lay down a wah-drenched lead on “Die
Today.” Tipping a hat to the “special operator community,” the chorus cuts deep, “Shadows can fill my
empty grave, ‘cause I forgot to die today.”
“It’s my favorite story,” he notes. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of special operators through the charity space.
The song is about the dudes who run into gunfire and lay down their lives for strangers. I equate it to my
version of Alice In Chains’ ‘Rooster’, so I told Chris to approach the solo like ‘Jerry Cantrell in 1992’. He
killed it!”
“Shut Me Out” projects one of Tim’s poignant and powerful choruses at full blast. He clenches back tears
as he sings, “Push me, pull me, use me, tear me down. It’s a little bit complicated out here alone sedated.”
“It’s about my childhood and not being wanted by the stepdad I had,” he sighs.
Clean guitar twists through a heart-thumping beat on “Right Again.” It builds towards a relatable and
chantable chorus, “Say you’re right again, no one ever wins.” He adds, “We wrote about this rough
relationship, and I hinted at some sobriety stuff in there.”
During “Lovely,” airy electronics dissolve into snaps and a skyscraping refrain, “Lovely, ain’t that lovely,”
topped off with a loose guitar lead for good measure.
He continues, “’Ain’t that lovely’ is a funny saying if shit goes south. I wanted to capture the smartass guy
I am with a little Nirvana-style guitar and lyrics about a nasty relationship.”
“Ain’t Comin’ Down” draws everyone into the embrace of Tim’s home state as he paints a vivid picture of
a cohort of local characters on “Just another Saturday DOWN IN Wise River.”
“Every name-drop is a local,” he affirms. “It was written about my first month back in Montana. They’re
the sweetest people, but they’re a little crazy.”
Then, there’s “Death Row.” Lit up by a fiery distorted boogie, it dissects “a toxic and nasty relationship.”
On “Get You Some,” he flaunts his braggadocious side over a stomping riff. Dedicated to “every lost kid in
every lost town,” he grins, “From a loser to a winner with my crooked middle finger now I’m four kids deep
buying five-star dinners.”
“My wife laughed and said, ‘Motherfucker, you don’t even buy me five-star dinners!’,” he laughs. “It’s
about starting at rock bottom and climbing your way up.”
Savage concludes with “Day By Day.” Once again, Tim shoots straight as he surveys his life, “I could be the
one I never had or wind up dead like my old man.” Alternating between strings and cataclysmic fuzz, it
explodes in one final burst of heavy emotion before subsiding on a clean outro.
“I wanted to tell this story,” he says. “Losing my dad to alcoholism was a big blow to me. I was almost
going down the same road, and I wanted to capture that. Some days, you wake up and it’s beautiful. Other
days, you’re struggling. It’s brutally honest, and it was a good way to end the record. Musically, it’s sweet,
then crazy and violent, and finally beautiful.”
Ultimately, Tim is telling a story that will resonate far beyond his home state.
“I feel like I’ve lived three lives in my 39 years,” he leaves off. “I’m still a wild man and a workaholic. I’m
going to keep telling my story. This is the most honest version of myself I’ve found, and I’m so glad rock
‘n’ roll embraced me. The chains are off, and I can sing about what I want to. Everything is savage.” – Rick
Florino, March 2024
The Warning
Apparently Rock Band is a great way to become a rockstar! This week's guests on Discover New Music is the The Villarreal sisters Daniela, Paulina and Alejandra of The Warning. These talented young ladies of the rock world felt a sense of maturity and ease in the making of their 4th studio album "Keep Me Fed." Plus, a triple round of Rapid Fire is played and the sisters have some different opinions on damp socks and horse-sized ducks!
The Warning infuse rock music with a much-needed shot of adrenaline. The Monterrey, Mexico
trio of sisters—Daniela “Dany” [guitar, lead vocals, piano], Paulina “Pau” [drums, vocals, piano],
and Alejandra “Ale” Villarreal [bass, piano, backing vocals]—charge forward with head-spinning
riffs, unpredictable rhythms, stadium-size beats, and skyscraping vocals. If anybody can usher
rock’s comeback along, it’s these three ladies. After exploding online with one viral moment
after another, The Warning parlayed this momentum into a series of independent releases,
including Escape the Mind EP 2015 , XXI Century Blood 2017, and Queen of the Murder Scene
2019 before releasing their latest album ERROR 2022 Lava/Republic) which amassed 110M
streams. The band continues their rock dominance with a growing social media following and
supporting legends like Muse, Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, The Killers, and Royal Blood.
Already in 2023, The Warning released their latest single “MORE” and are embarking on their
ERROR World Tour. The band concluded the US, UK, and EU legs that included headlines shows,
festivals and with dates supporting Muse and Royal Blood. Up next, the band will make a fall
headline runs in Mexico and LATAM.
The band is taking over MTV - they presented at the MTV MIAWS in Mexico and was an
Extended Play Stage Performer at the MTV VMAs.
The Warning has been chosen as the face of the Pepsi Black campaign, cementing their status
as one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in the music industry.