We recently caught up with George Clarke about why his blackgaze band wasn’t an obvious pick for the predominantly metal festival; the wild success of their recently released B-side, “Black Brick” — and his new hairstyle.
We talk with the beloved post-rock band’s founding guitarist/vocalist, Stuart Braithwaite revealed part of the reason why Mogwai went vegan and how he’d like their spectacle at the festival to measure up to a Britney Spears show.
“I take time between releases because that’s how long it takes me to write and record – about 3 or 4 months per song. Also, there is so much music out there, I don’t think we need a new release from me every year!” – Chris Cohen
The Satanic doo-wop duo from L.A. talk about what they have in store for their Sunday show at the festival and their “connection” to none other than Sammy Davis Jr.
The prog-metal quintet’s frontman spills about what made their first U.S. show “overwhelmingly good,” expanding from a quartet to a five-piece and which bands they’re stoked to see at the festival.
Bassist Aaron Rieseberg reveals what the celebrated doom trio will play at the festival — and that Yob’s next album could be its last.
The Jasmine Minks speak to Kevin Burke about their past, their present releases and the future of this highly influential outfit.
Singer/guitarist Jason Shi and drummer Scott Key spill about killing it at the blackjack table, remembering (and not remembering) Alice Cooper’s set from Psycho Las Vegas 2016, and transcending into psychotic states of mind.
Guitarist and founder Tony Campos shares a long list of bands he’s eager to see perform at Psycho, how he expects to lose his hearing there and his band’s plans to “burn the festival to the ground.”
Adam Gerard and Steve Stapleton of New York Band Earnhardt speak to Kevin Burke about their new album, their influences and all things Americana
Grails experimentalist and Om drummer Emil Amos says he prefers LSD over roulette — but is still making the trek to Vegas, since this year’s festival is looking so damn good.
“There have been several waves of people moving away to LA, etc. because they get evicted or simply can’t afford to stay anymore. We love San Francisco so much and even though it’s changing every year, we don’t want to give up on it as it still has a scene of very talented artists and musicians. We are just waiting for this bubble to burst, at least a little bit but, sadly this is happening everywhere right now in different ways, so all we can do is adapt and keep doing what we do.” – Galine Tumasyan
One of the most brutal acts on a festival lineup, the death-metal band’s guitarist chats about burning through wads of cash in Sin City, finding a random hype man for their gig and their drummer’s plans to try out his new stand-up material.
Nashville’s “cosmic riff” connoisseurs chat about going (for) broke in Las Vegas, floating in gin and tonics in the festival’s pool, and the “psych-punk rodeo” they have planned for this year’s installment.
Widely considered to be the most talented avant-guard musician in Chicago, Lamont gushed so hard over the festival that it made us reconsider whether we were the most amped heavy-music fans who will be attending.
Psychedelic-Folk troubadour Kim Thompsett speaks to Kevin Burke about her latest album, her sound and the influences
“Anybody that spends a few hours a day playing an instrument for a few years can shred, but to really convey emotion with a simple part that gets stuck in your head, that takes a great ear and instinct.” – Chris King
We spoke with vocalist Colin H. Van Eeckhout about his excitement to play alongside Yob, Mark Lanegan and Black Angels at this year’s edition of Psycho Las Vegas — the first to feature his long-running post-metal collective, Amenra.
Ralph Rolle the backbone of Chic speaks to Kevin Burke about his career, the people he’s worked with, and all things drums.
Guitarist Julien Chanut chats about the French sludge-doom band’s collective excitement to play the States for the first time, their recent collaboration with another Psycho participant — Perturbator — and whether or not they might debut a new tune.
We recently spoke with founding guitarist Dango about the fuzz-rock band’s history with Psycho, their expectations of playing in front of their biggest crowd ever in the U.S. — and why they’ve all but given up booze.
Kevin Burke spoke to Michael Ciravolo about his project Beauty In Chaos, the music, his influences and the star-studded upcoming release Beauty Re-Envisioned
We spoke with frontman Thomas Eriksen about how exciting it will be to play America for the first time, to see Megadeth perform and to deliver a “black mass” that will sate the ravenous appetites of devout fans.
“There’s sadness in everything but there is also hope everywhere you look. It’s similar to how we connect the dark aspects of life with the beauty of art and music. I’m not sure if you can even really have one without the other.” – Cole Browning
We speak with Tobias Grave, frontman of the self-described “sad rock” trio, about Psycho Las Vegas’ allure — and why he’s afraid to chill with fellow Psychos and tour mates Devil Master.
Goatwhore drummer Zack Simmons geeks out over the artists he’s most excited to see at Psycho Las Vegas, what his own band has in store — and what drew him to the festival as a fan two years ago.
The Get Up Kids are set to their release their sixth album, with a renewed confidence in their sound.
Scottish indie rock band Paws is back to reclaim their sound with epic songs and catchy hooks.
Paul Quattrone discusses his love for The Bomb Squad, how it feels to step out of the drum throne in his new project Warm Drag, and why dabbling in odd time signatures can very quickly ruin an artist’s ability to be taken seriously.
PUP is set to release their third album with their own record label, and they discuss the new album Morbid Stuff’s theme, dealing with life on the road and how they continue to grow as a band.
Julian Fader talks Ava Luna’s latest record, the near-discontinuation of their tenure prior to its release, and bandmates’ influences ranging from Enya to Cornelius.
Miki Berenyi (Lush), Moose (Moose), Mick Conroy (Modern English), and Justin Welch (Elastica) unite as stellar and relevant new indie rock/dream-pop band.
“My first true punk concert was the UK Subs who came to Lowestoft in 1980. Then I saw The Damned a bunch of times from 1980 to ’82. It was just a magical time and I am so glad I grew up when I did. I don’t think kids today get that feeling from music but I hope I’m wrong.” – Dave Hawes
“We definitely don’t see ourselves as a shoegaze or a grunge band, I find those tags to be fairly meaningless, especially as those specific genres were more scenes from a time and place rather than a sonically defined music style, but we understand why we can be labelled as that.” – David Noonan
“Whether or not my feelings or emotions are properly translated, I always hope we can evoke some sort of feeling or reaction from our listeners (even if it’s pure hatred).” – Bria Salmena
David J, solo artist and renowned co-founder of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, recounts his time in Bauhaus, his upcoming world tour with Peter Murphy, the re-release of his second solo album, and much more.
A conversation with frontman Nathan Willett on live shows, super fans, and a new generation of Cold War Kids.
A discussion with EDEN’s Jonathan Ng on touring, creating, and the ‘substance of music itself’.
“We like Spanish, we like that we can express ourselves in different ways and have a broad language to say it. Sometimes it bothers us that simply by singing in Spanish we reach this stereotype that we do not like; “Latin alternative music”. There is no such thing, it’s just music.” – Estrella Sanchez
Chad VanGaalen chats about his new record, balancing the roles of father and bandleader, future artistic aspirations, and why one should never Tarboz themselves.
Nottingham-based dream-rockers Amusement Parks on Fire have returned after an unexpected seven-year hiatus, and we were able to sit down with visionary Michael Feerick to tell us where he’s been, what happened, and what’s coming next for this great, underrated band.
“The biggest struggle for me still seems to be convincing the average sound engineer that we are a rock band, not a vocal ensemble.” – Courtney Gavin
“One thing I can’t stand is when people describe music made by women as a consequence of their presumably limited skill and not as the outcome of deliberate artistic choices.” – Sydney Koke
“For some reason it can’t be explained, how to write a melancholic song – but if you write one, there is always a certain beauty, a pureness in it and the listener knows and feels, there is something very true about it. Really, a beautiful song has to be melancholic in some way, like a beautiful story always feels nostalgic too, in some way.” – Markus Nikolaus
NYC-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Crozer took some time off between JAMC gigs to detail his active musical career.
“Many shoegaze blogs, magazines and radio stations started talking about us when our single. “Anyway” came out, and we have found out that the “shoegaze scene” is very like… brotherly, it’s like everybody knows everybody and supports everybody.”
Tim Kinsella talks about his writing process, the decisions that go into the latest iteration of Joan of Arc’s touring setlists, and how being in a band after 20 years is becoming increasingly more manageable.
