The Road to Rock Podcast

This week's guest on The Road To Rock Podcast hails from Wales in the UK and is the drummer for Straight Lines and Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dane Campbell.

Dane is the son of Motörhead guitarist, Phil Campbell.
After the death of Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister in 2015, Dane and his two brothers, Todd and Tyla, joined their father to form Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons in 2016.

Currently the band have released two albums and an EP and have toured the world as support for Guns N Roses, Saxon and Airborne.

Dane also hosts his own podcast, Drum For The Song, which see's him interview some of the greatest drummers on the planet.
Guests have included Charlie Benante from Anthrax, Ex Guns N Roses drummer Matt Sorum and Mikkey Dee from The Scorpions, Motörhead and King Diamond.

Back in June I spoke to Dane about what it was like growing up around rock music and Motörhead.
We spoke about how he started  playing music with his dad and brothers and how things had progressed from forming Phil Campbell's All Starr Band to Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons.

At the time of this interview the singer of Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, Neil Starr, had parted ways with the band.
They had begun holding auditions to find a new singer but with appearances at Steelhouse Festival and Bloodstock looming, time was running out.
Dane talks about what they're looking for in their new frontman and why singing like Lemmy won't get you the job!

https://www.philcampbell.net/
https://www.drumforthesong.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYC9-5tKYIdBSTB0mwVeseg

Are you ready to take a walk down Penny Lane and flashback to Yesterday? Come Together and join The Magical Mystery Tour as Beatles Mania takes over The Road To Rock this week!

May Pang is an American artist and former music executive from New York who worked for John Lennon from The Beatles and Yoko Ono as their personal assistant.
When John and Yoko separated in 1973, May and John began a relationship that lasted more than 18 months.
John later referred to their time together as his "Lost Weekend".

In 1975 John and Yoko Ono rekindled their relationship and remained together till John's death in 1980.

Recently May has hit the news as she and Paul McCartney's sister, Ruth McCartney, are bringing to life and immersive NFT experience of 15 unseen photographs that May took of John on the rooftop of Record Plant Studios in New York.
These photographs were meant to be the original artwork for his iconic Walls and Bridges album and have never before been shared with the public until now!

This has been made possible with Oasis Digital Studios and a preview of the collection is available now at www.oasis digital studios.com/nft-marketplace.

For those wondering what NFT's are, they’re non fungible tokens bought and sold online... A digital asset that represents a real world object.
They allow the buyer to own the original object and they contain built in authentication which serves as proof of ownership.
NFT’s are becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork with £123 million being spent on NFT’s since November of 2017.

Last week I sat down with May to find out why it’s time to release these unseen photos of John and why in the format of NFT’s.
She talks about how she and John first meet, their creative relationship together, and she reveals who was actually her favourite Beatle!

To see mays photography and artwork visit her website http:/maypang.com 

Warning: This episode contains content about substance misuse some listeners may find triggering.

Josh Todd Is the front man and lead singer of American rock band buckcherry.

The band formed back in the nineties when Josh and former band member Keith Nelson were introduced through a mutual tattoo artist.
They recruited more members and began performing around the Hollywood club scene under the name Sparrow.
Despite a legal battle which ment they had to change their name to Buckcherry, over the next few years they enjoyed great success.
Their self titled album was certified gold and they toured non stop, opening up for the likes of Lenny Kravitz and AC/DC.

Over the years Buckcherry have had lineup changes, been put on hiatus and reformed, and band members have collaborated on outside projects with other artists. Through it all josh has remained the frontman and leading member of the band.

Fast forward to 2021 and Buckcherry are about to release their 9th studio album, Hellbound, out on June 25th.
Their first single form the album, So Hott, dropped a few weeks ago, with second single, Hellbound coming out a matter of days ago.

Last week I caught up with Josh as he prepared to go out on tour across America and Canada.
We chatted about how he first got into music and singing and what he does to keep his voice in top condition.
He explains the recording process behind the album Hellbound, which was produced by Marti Frederiksen, who has worked with the likes of Def Leppard, Aerosmith and Sheryl Crow, and he tells us why even after 21 years, Buckcherry are here to stay.

https://buckcherry.com/

Bernie Marsden is one of the UK's finest rock and blues guitarists of all time. His career started in 1972 in Buckingham, England. 

Bernie's work includes time spent as a session musician and in bands such as UFO, Wild Turkey, Paice Ashton Lord and Whitesnake.

Over the decades Bernie has played alongside some of the greatest rock and roll musicians of all time, including Robert Plant, Paul Weller, being part of the Ringo Starr Band, Cozy Powell and Joe Bonamassa. 

He has toured the world and is one half of the writing duo responsible for the monster hit ‘Here I go again’... The other half being David Coverdale from Whitesnake.

As Bernie celebrates the paperback release of his book ‘Where’s My Guitar- An Inside Story Of British Rock And Roll’...  and gears up for getting back out on the road playing shows this summer.... I caught up with him to talk about the ups and downs of his incredible career.

He explains the history behind his legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar, AKA The Beast, and reveals the first song he learnt how to play, which millions of us hear on U.K. TV most weeknights!

https://berniemarsden.com/

This weeks episode was recorded back in March when Elysa chatted with with Adam Parsons from Siren Artist Management.

Adam and his team are responsible for some of the biggest heritage acts in rock music today, with heavy hitters Saxon, Thin Lizzy, Europe, Diamond Head and Uriah Heep on their roster.

He's the man that buys tickets to his own artists shows and even has a pair of wellies waiting for him in the UK for when he watches his acts headline festivals through the ever changing British summer weather.

Adam talks about how he ended up drumming on Ricky Warwicks new album When Life Was Hard And Fast and how he went after Thin Lizzy and got the gig as their manager.
He talks about the birth of Black Star Riders and firing drummer Tommy Aldridge from Thin Lizzy and remembers the last time he spoke with Motorhead's Lemmy before he passed away.

https://www.sirenmanagement.com/

From headlining global sold out shows to stepping out of the limelight for 11 years and coming back stronger than ever... This weeks guest on The Road To Rock Podcast is singer, songwriter and FM frontman Steve Overland.

Steve's journey in rock started in 1980 when he and his brother Chris formed the band Wildlife. They were quickly scouted and signed to Chrysalis Records to release their debut album, Burning.
In 1983 they were signed to Led Zeppelin owned Swan Song Records where they released their follow up self titled album.
Soon after, Swan Song Records folded and Wildlife split up.

In the Summer of 1984 Steve, his brother Chris and former Wildlife member Pete Jupp joined forces with ex Diamondhead bassist Merv Goldsworthy to form FM.
Joined by the keyboard talents of Didge Digital, they secured a recording contract by December of that year and they headed off to Germany for a run of tour dates with Meatloaf.

FM's success went from supporting artists such as Bon Jovi, Tina Turner and Status Quo to selling out their own headline shows around the world. 

In 1996 the FM members amicably agreed to take a break from touring and recording as grunge was starting to take over the rock music scene and they felt they'd reached their peak.
It was a break that lasted 11 years.
 
In 2007 FM were persuaded to reform for a one off gig, headlining Firefest at Nottingham's Rock City.
That gig was that catalyst that led to FM reforming with a new lineup, getting back in the recording studio and heading out on the road for a second wave of FM fever that is still taking the world by storm today.

A few weeks ago I caught up with Steve to hear his story about life in FM.
He talks about the new artists he's been writing music with during the pandemic and he straightens out the facts in the controversy surrounding the song 'Shot In The Dark' ... Recorded and performed by Ozzy Osborne but originally written and performed by Steve in his Wildlife days ...
 
http://www.steveoverland.com/
http://www.fmofficial.com/

Today, on the 30th of April, we should be pitching our tents and getting ready to spend the weekend rocking out in a field to the likes of Skindred, The Fratellis and Terrorvision at Teddy Rocks Festival.
But thanks to the pandemic Teddy Rocks has been rolled over for the second year running, to 2022.

Teddy Rocks is a UK charity festival held at Charrisworth Farm in Blandford, Dorset.
It's one of the first music festivals of the year and it raises money for Teddy20 -  A charity set up to help children and young people flighting cancer.

The charity was set up by the Newton family in memory of their son Ted after he passed away at just 10 years old from a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma.
Tom Newton, Ted's older brother, is the man responsible for starting Teddy Rocks Festival, which started out as a small gig amongst friends and family in a pub in 2011, raising £400 for their charity.

Over the years it has grown into a 3 day event which has seen The Darkness, Feeder, Ash, The Hoosiers, Twin Atlantic and The Zutons take to the stage.
I caught up with Tom a few weeks ago to chat about how things are looking for Teddy Rocks 2022 and hear the amazing story of how Teddy Rocks has grown into one of the hottest festivals on the  UK music scene.

https://teddyrocks.co.uk/

This weeks guest on the road to rock podcast is British vocalist and song writer Robert Hart.

Roberts career has seen him grace stages and recording studios as part of The Distance, Bad Company and the jones Gang, and for the past 10 years robert has been the lead singer of manfred Mann’s earth band.

Robert has worked on various group and solo projects over the years which has led him to collaborate with the likes of Rolling Stones Ronnie wood, Andy Taylor form Duran Duran, Company of snakes with Bernie marsden and FM’s Steve overland and Jim Kirkpatrick.

His songwriting career took him to the USA where he was the first English writer to be signed to Disney owned Hollywood records. 
Robert worked on soundtracks for movies and even stepped in for the odd cameo role.

Aside from spending the past decade touring the world with Manfred Mann, Robert worked on his own solo albums, releasing his most recent one, Pure, last year.
He called on his rock buddies Steve overland and Hollywood Vampires Tommy Denander to help record and produce the album which has resulted in 12 tracks of unique pop rock.

Robert was on the rock meets classic tour in Europe with Alice Cooper and thunder when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing the remaining tour dates to be abandoned

This week I caught up with Robert to discuss the highs and lows of his multi decade career and hear how he came to be the front man of bands he admired growing up.

Roberts fishbowl roulette episode is at the end of his interview...

Warning - This episode contains substance abuse content some listeners may find triggering.

Nathan James, in his own words... The frontman of British hard rock band Inglorious and the man who seems to be Marmite in the rock music world is this week's guest on The Road To Rock... People either love him or hate him.

Nathan made a name for himself when he appeared on reality TV show's The Voice and Superstar, which was Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's search for someone to play Jesus in the UK arena Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.

This led to Nathan touring the USA with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, performing in The War Of The Worlds stage show and the formation of Inglorious in 2014.

Over the years Inglorious have worked hard to make their mark in the rock music world, touring with bands such as The Dead Daisies and Steel Panther and playing the UK's biggest rock festivals, but it's been a rocky road that has come with it's share of drama and scandal.

In October 2018, after recording their third album, Ride To Nowhere, both Inglorious guitarists and the bass player all quit the band on the same day.
At the time Nathan was touring with Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds and was due to go out on tour with Inglorious not long after.

An interview was given to Sleaze Roxx criticising Nathan, Inglorious and dismissing the band as 'Nathan's project.'
A short time later a youtube video emerged of Nathan lashing out at his former bandmates, which had been leaked from an online chat by one of his colleagues.

Nathan later apologised for his comments but the damage was done and his reputation in the music world was in tatters.
An onslaught of online hate and abuse ensued which escalated to Nathan receiving death threats.

This February Inglorious released their fourth album, We Will Ride, which went to number 1 in the Amazon Hard Rock Chart.
I caught up with Nathan for a brutally honest chat about everything that went on with his former bandmates and the reaction he received from fans and the media after it all happened.
 
We discussed how recording this new album socially distanced and with his new line up went and chatted about the pressures he felt performing live on reality TV in Superstar... and what happened after he got kicked off the show!
 
http://inglorious.com/

Hello Los Angeles... This is London calling! Being signed by Michael Jackson's cousin and Beyonce's dad... Band members having seizures and falling off stage... playing YouTube pranks on cops and appearing on reality TV... This week's episode of the Road To Rock Podcast is with Dylan Leonte and Kazuki Tokaji from LA based band Dylan 'N' Alice.

Elysa caught up with the boys a few weeks ago to chat about what life is like for bands trying to get signed in LA, how the pandemic has affected the LA music scene how they're using social media and reality TV to get their music heard.

Warning! This episode contains sensitive content about drug use some listeners may find upsetting.

If you've been affected by any of the subjects featured in this episode of The Road To Rock, help and support is available.
Free and confidential advice is available 24 hours a day from The Samaritans.
Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org/

https://www.dylannalice.com/

Dhani and Tao from The Treatment join Elysa to talk about line up changes in the band over the years, what it's like supporting Steel Panther, Alice Cooper, Motley Crue and Kiss, their experiences of touring America, Japan and Europe and why their new album, 'Waiting For Good Luck' is their strongest album yet.
 
 http://thetreatmentofficial

Elysa talks to Ricky Warwick about his friendship with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, what happened when he got the call to join Thin Lizzy and his three favourite songs on his new album ‘When Life Was Hard And Fast’.

https://www.rickywarwick.com

Recorded before Christmas when Matt Pearce was in town to do a socially distanced acoustic gig at Madding Crowd in Bournemouth.

Elysa caught up with Matt to chat about recording albums on a boat... The Boat that rocked! Tales from touring with Iron Maiden, Steve Vai's Chilli collection and fake lockdown videos.

Songs used in this episode are 'Worried', 'Set Me Free' and Dig Deeper by Matt Pearce and The Mutiny, from the album Gotta Get Home.

https://mattpearceandthemutiny.com/

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!
May 2021 see the return of music festivals, rock concerts and global tours!
As most of the UK is spending New Year in Tier 4 lockdowns, I have no idea how this will happen but as Limp Bizkit and some bloke called George once said... We gotta have faith!

This weeks episode of The Road To Rock is with a man who has toured the world and played more concerts and festivals than Steven Tyler can shake his microphone stand at.
Jim Kirkpatrick is the lead guitarist with British melodic rock band FM and has been part of the band since 2008.

FM was born in the summer of 1984 when Steve Overland and his brother Chris formed the band.  Over the years they toured with the likes of Foreigner, Saxon, Thin Lizzy and Bon Jovi, have headlined their own tours in the UK and globally and in May of 2020, released their 12th studio album called Synchronised.

Aside from playing in FM, Jim performs with former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden and also tours with Rhino's Revenge, a band fronted by Status Quo bass player John 'Rhino' Edwards.
Somehow in the midst of this manic work schedule, Jim found the time to release his own solo album, Ballad Of A Prodigal Son, back in September.

I caught up with Jim a few weeks ago to chat about how the release went, how he joined FM, how they almost got stuck in Australia for the pandemic and what happened when he played the main stage of Download Festival for the first time....

https://www.jimkirkpatrick.com/

The world of music and show business is one with many ups and downs.
One minute you're in demand with no end of work and opportunities, the next the diary is empty and work is hard to come by.
It's happened to some of the greatest musicians in the world and it's also happened to this week's guest on The Road To Rock Podcast.

Matt Stocks has been working in the music industry for over a decade. 
He's been a radio presenter, TV presenter, journalist, podcaster, DJ and more recently, an author.
He's worked for some of the biggest brands in rock such as Kerrang!, Team Rock and Metal Hammer and he's interviewed some of the biggest names in rock royalty.

His podcast, Life In The Stocks, has seen him chat with the likes of Gene Simmons, Tommy Lee, Rob Halford, Glenn Hughes and Joe Elliott.
His laid back interview style digs into the mindsets of his guests and unlocks the door to an outpouring of tales and experiences which has resulted in a strong listener following and 5 star reviews.

During lockdown Matt set to work writing his first book. 
Using transcripts from his podcast interviews and taking subjects such as Adolescence, Success, Punk Rock and Life and Death, he produced a solid offering that every rock n' roll fan should read.

I caught up with Matt a few weeks ago as he was planning his release strategy for Life In The Stocks the book (which launches today) and as he geared up towards episode 200 of his podcast.

The Episode where everybody pee'd....

A few weeks ago Gin Annie graced the shores of England's south coast to play their first socially distanced gig at Madding Crowd in Bournemouth.

Hailing from Wolverhampton in the Midlands, the heavy rockers have been making waves with their late 80's Sunset Strip sound which has seen them support the likes of Deadline Ritual, Last In Line and Ugly Kid Joe.
 They're also familiar faces on the Uk festival circuit with Hard Rock Hell, Winters End and Ramblin' Man Fair slots firmly under their belts.

After the boys had finished sound checking for their show, I stole them away for a chat about how 2020 was set to be their biggest year yet, who they're named after, how they feel about the lack of support for the music industry and also to try and get some dirt on album number two, which is currently in the making.

As we were setting up to interview the band we were all aware the British government were preparing to announce that England would be going back into it's second national lockdown in an attempt to control Covid-19 cases across the country.

As we finished the interview the news broke that lockdown 2.0 would start in a matter of days.
Despite everyone's best efforts life would be back on hold temporarily and live music events at a standstill once again.

That night Gin Annie put on a fantastic show and we rocked out as hard as you possibly can at a socially distanced gig!

https://ginannie.com/

This week on The Road To Rock Podcast I'm joined by Wayward Sons front man, Toby Jepson.

With a career in music spanning 35 years, Toby has experienced both the highs and lows of the music industry.
He found fame as the front man/singer and songwriter of Little Angels who achieved significant success between 1989 and 1995.
They had 10 UK top 40 hits and a number 1 album with 'Jam' in 1993, then played their farewell show at The Royal Albert Hall in 1994.

From there Toby went on to have a solo career as well as fronting Eddie Clark's Fastway, Dio's Disciples and Gun.
He turned his hand to music production, broadcasting, collaborated in his song writing with James Toseland, Hugh Cornwell and Velvet Revolver, and even went into the world of film and TV.

In this interview toby speaks openly about his time with Little Angels, his regrets and thoughts on why they split up and what the future could hold for them.
He shares his experiences of working on movies such as Gladiator and the Band Of Brothers Tv series and explains what happened when he met Steven Spielberg.

He talks about the point he was ready to quit the music industry for good, the people that helped him along the way and how he went on to form Wayward Sons.


In Toby's episode of Fishbowl Roulette he pays tribute to Eddie Van Halen and talks about the time they spent touring together. He also fills us in on where he got his rock music education from.
Listen now at www.theroadtorock.com

https://tobyjepsonofficial.com/

If you've ever thought about becoming a music producer or wondered what goes on behind the scenes in a recording studio, this episode of The Road To Rock reveals all.

Meet Harrison Perks - producer, musician, composer and owner of HP Music, a recording studio based in Dorset.
He's worked with the likes of Voodoo Vegas, The Answer, Saints Of Sin and the late, great Pete Way of UFO and Waysted.

In this episode Harrison talks about how he became a music producer and went on to branch out into artist development and band management.
He explains the work that goes into recording and producing a track and talks about the projects he was working on when lockdown kicked in.

As a composer of music for computer games, TV and film, Harrison talks about how to get your work noticed and gives advice for anyone wanting to go into music production.

He explains how he's been actively trying to help music venues survive the pandemic and shares his thoughts on how we can all help get the music industry back on its feet.

https://www.hp-music.co.uk/
https://www.harrisonperksmusic.co.uk/

We've heard how well known bands and artists have been affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic, but how have things been for local bands that rely on playing gigs at pubs, bars and smaller music venues?

Neil Law is the lead vocalist of Poole Vigilantes, or PV for short.
PV are well known on the south coast music scene for their no frills, dirty, heavy rock shows and can often be found shaking the foundations of pubs, bars and biker rallies.

With a background in music management studies and having been close to being signed to record labels numerous times, Neil has seen both good and bad sides of the music industry over the years, but the Covid-19 pandemic has been a whole different ball game the band have had to contend with.

From his time working at Cashmere Nightclub in London, an underground music venue that saw original members of Fleetwood Mac and Iron Maiden take to the stage, to the transition from hair metal to grunge, Neil talks about his experiences in the rock music world and how he came to form PV.

He gives an update on the plans the band have made for next year and reveals which 70's British heavy rockers they'll be supporting, which is a huge tick on Neil's bucket list.

Calling all fans of Reef, Skindred, Andy Taylor (formally of Duran Duran) and Michael Munroe (formally of Hanoi Rocks)... This week's guest on The Road to Rock is Seven Webster, the man who manages those artists and more.

Seven is the manager and owner of 7PM Management, a company which has launched the careers of many musicians through a whole host of music genres.
From world renowned dance music DJ's Carl Cox and Sasha to the likes of Dido and hit producers Stonebridge... Seven has worked with an impressive range of artists and now boasts a healthy roster of rock music clients.

He's worked in a variety of areas in the music industry including publishing, sales, event management and also as a musician himself.
He's the man behind the Global Rock Summit Music Expo in LA and was responsible for booking bands for the early Hard Rock Hell festivals.
Remember the time Twisted Sister played at Butlins? That was thanks to Seven!

I caught up with Seven a few weeks ago when he was working from home.
He told me how he's seen a different side of Covid-19 and lockdown as his partner Katy is on the front line for the NHS in London, and has been working grueling shifts all through the pandemic.

We chatted about how two of his artists, Reef and Andy Taylor, have worked together during the lockdown and what happened when Skindred and Reef had to cancel their Drive in Concerts back in August this year.

https://7pmmanagement.com/