My name’s James Hunnicutt & I’m a singer/songwriter/musician/producer who lives in Washington State, USA. I primarily perform as a solo artist these days though I’ve been known to sit in with quite a few bands over the years. I’ve been a member of over 30 different bands since starting my 1st back in 1987 & this list includes- James Hunnicutt and The Revolvers, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, The Swinos, Misery Seed, The Hatchet Wounds, Neutralboy, Woodrot, The David Koresh Choir, The Gulags, Maximum Asshole (Artimus Maximus), Devilock, Gonowheres, The Whorables & many more.
A founding member of The .357 String Band and current member of the Goddamn Gallows, Jayke Orvis is ahead of his time even though he plays timeless music. The songs on his solo effort “It’s All Been Said” are articles of the heart, exposing Orvis as a fragile, troubled soul. His depictions of love are raw and blue, the pages of his life littered throughout this album.
Canadian Death Metal legends Kataklysm officially formed in the fall of 1991, they released a now classic demo called Death Gate Cycle Of Reincarnation in 1992 that got world attention and a record deal with Germany’s Nuclear Blast records, the band signed in 1993 and immediately released the demo on CD format and added the bonus track The Orb Of Uncreation which resulted in the creation of the critically acclaimed MCD The Mystical Gate Of Reincarnation. Kataklysm gained world praise and recognition. A new style of influence was born : the Northern Hyperblast. Kataklysm are back to prove that aging brings experience that make great leaders, Kataklysm are at the top of they’re form and have evolved into a powerhouse that will crush all and leave nothing but Shadows & Dust for the mortals to beg!
L.A. Guns broke onto the scene in 1987 with their debut album “L.A. Guns” under Polygram Records. With their talented ensemble (including Traci Guns, Phil Lewis from Girl, and Steve Riley from W.A.S.P.), L.A. Guns quickly rose up the ranks among Sunset Strip’s elite. Their debut album has gone on to sell over 1,000,000 records worldwide.
For over 25 years of the Ho Ho Hoey Rockin’ Holiday Tour, this must see show has become a tradition with radio stations and families coast-to-coast for adults and kids alike. Hoey has been a driving force behind instrumental rock Christmas music since 1995 after his version of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” hit the airwaves with its crunchy guitars and metal flavor. After more than two decades of touring it’s also made him fortunate enough to give back in the process, helping the Veterans with clothing drives, Toys for Tots and food drives. Hoeys music is featured in Hallmark greeting cards and the Christmas movie, Deck The Halls staring Danny Devito. Hoey’s rockin holiday show is a family friendly all ages event. Get together and celebrate this holiday season as only Hoey can. Don’t miss this exciting show.
Renowned for their status as agents provocateur of the underground hard rock and industrial metal scenes, the latex defining and pop-culture defying Genitorturers return.
The outfit’s fifth studio release, Blackheart Revolution is a mesmerizing blend of infectious riffs and riotous overtures that lay the sexually-charged foundation for frontwoman Gen, the master of turbo-charged ceremonies and erotic rituals.
“We wanted to make a big rock record that translates the sameexcitement I felt when I heard AC/DC’s Highway to Hell for the first time, combined with the dark intrigue of Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare,” says Gen of the new release. “We wanted something that shakes the walls, grabs you by the balls, and scares you a bit in the process!”
Mission accomplished, as Blackheart Revolution combines the band’s signature, genre-bending style of aggressive rock, seductive metal and underground electric pop. Co-Produced by David “Evil D” Vincent [Morbid Angel] and Scott Humphrey [Motley Crue, Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne], the album is a roller coaster ride of musical twists, sonic turns and reckless abandon.
A product of Orlando, Florida’s musical underbelly, what Genitorturers lack in wholesome family fun, they make up for in their celebration of the unspeakable, embracing and exploring our conservative culture’s taboos. They caught the ear (and eye) of legendary music industry magnate Miles Copeland, who signed the band to their first deal on his I.R.S. label, where they joined the ranks of fellow Copeland signings Gary Numan, The Go-Gos and R.E.M.
Recording Lineup:
Louis B. Falgoust II: Vocals
Sammy Duet: Guitars, Vocals
Zack Simmons: Drums
James Harvey: Bass
Touring Lineup:
Louis B. Falgoust II: Vocals
Sammy Duet: Guitars, Vocals
Zack Simmons: Drums
Robert “TA” Coleman: Bass
“We wanted it raw. We wanted it organic. We wanted it to sound the way we do in the live setting,” relays Goatwhore frontman Ben Falgoust of the band’s latest output, Vengeful Ascension. Their seventh full-length and second recorded reel-to-reel, Vengeful Ascensionwas captured at Earth Analog in Tolono, Illinois (near Champaign, Illinois) with longtime soundman and comrade Jarrett Pritchard (1349, Gruesome), breaking a four-album tradition of working with Erik Rutan.
“Working with Rutan was awesome. We did some great records with him,” Falgoust is quick to point out. “But you come to a point where you’re like, ‘All right. Let’s try something new.’ It was part of trying to remove ourselves from a comfort zone and a risk thing we needed to take. Plus, we really wanted to hit the essence of where we are live and what better way to harness that than by having our live sound guy involved. Jarrett is knowledgeable with the studio stuff. He also knows how we sound coming out of a PA and we really wanted to get closer to that. Pritchard really focused on that live aspect from every members’ perspective and I think he pushed us out of our personal comfort zones. He really understands our vision.“
The resulting ten-track, forty-one-minute production – mixed by Chris Common (Tribulation, Pelican) and mastered by Maor Applebaum (Faith No More, Halford, Today Is The Day) – marches in, clutches its listeners by the throat and refuses to loosen its grip until the abrupt conclusion of “Those Who Denied God’s Will.” A sonic manifestation of war, chaos, desolation, and emotional conflict, seamlessly bridging twenty years of the band’s signature brand of audio venom, it’s a record that finds its members at their most accomplished both individually and as a cohesive unit. Guitarist Sammy Duet’s dense, sub nuclear riff work and possessed solo blitzes are at their most devastating spiraling flawlessly and instinctually around drummer Zack Simmons’ and bassist James Harvey’s hammering rhythms while Falgoust’s distinctly commanding roar, his acidic prose more enunciated than ever before, complimenting the apocalyptic proceedings.
“I think every song on this record is pretty fucking strong,” the frontman reflects. “Each song is a representation of Goatwhore. from day one until now. It really shows our evolution as a band. I don’t think that this band has reached its peak yet. I mean, I think we’re closer now than ever but we’re still growing; we’re still evolving.“
While hardly a concept record in the traditional sense, Vengeful Ascension loosely revolves itself around Luciferian notions in title and spirit where the symbol of Lucifer serves not as a fiendish, all-destroying demon but rather an emancipator or guiding light. It’s a theme of struggle and transcendence derived from John Milton’s Paradise Lost epic and one that has appeared, whether directly or indirectly, within Goatwhore works of the past.
“There’s that whole idea of Lucifer being the anti-hero,” elaborates Falgoust. “He’s cast out from this place in Heaven to the depths of nothing. He keeps trying to ascend to the top again but no matter what, there’s always this significant force trying to destroy him at any point and banish him back to Hell. If you look at it from an everyday aspect in life, it’s the idea of people, hitting the bottom of the barrel or you know, things just aren’t going right in life… emotion plays a huge part in how people react. Whether it’s based on love or hatred or sadness or whatever, there’s always an aspect of emotion that drives people to an extent. So the whole idea of a ‘Vengeful Ascension’ is built on being at the bottom, working your way to the top, and realizing along the way that there’s other facets to the journey aside from just pure retribution. Within negativity there can exist a positive angle as well.“
Vengeful Ascension serves as the soundtrack to that luciferious rise straight off with the combative, ritualistic drum onslaught of opening hymn, “Forsaken.” Wholly immersive, each track is alarmingly palpable in subject and corresponding execution. The tense, clandestine battery of “Chaos Arcane,” based on HP Lovecraft’s book Nyarlathotep, a story which attempts to recount the inexplicable sense of fear in expectancy of an unknown evil, conveys that sensation of impending doom through sound in a way only Goatwhore can. “Mankind Will Have No Mercy,” a pseudo tribute to Bolt Thrower, seethes under the weight of its own wartime sentiment, while the rapid-fire, punkish urgency of “Under The Flesh, Into The Soul,” a first person account of irrepressible resentment, sounds utterly enraged. “If resentment could speak, that’s it right there,” says Falgoust. “It’s the idea of resentment getting into an individual and just consuming you.” And with an average runtime of just four minutes, no one song ever overstays its welcome.
Forged by former Acid Bath/Crowbar guitarist Sammy Duet in 1997, it’s been two decades since Goatwhore reared its menacing head from the swamplands of New Orleans, Louisiana. The band’s winding history a dramatic, at times traumatic, sequence of personnel changes, fatal injuries, paranormal activity, natural disasters, and an assortment of other misadventures large and small, their tale begins with the primitive rumblings of the Serenades To The Tides Of Blood demo and subsequent Eclipse Of Ages Into Black debut released in 1998 and 2000 respectively. Then a five-piece comprised of Duet, Soilent Greenvocalist Ben Falgoust, guitarist Ben Stout, bassist Patrick Bruders and drummer Zak Nolan, Goatwhore‘s DIY work ethic, persistent tour schedule and warring, fuck-all approach of songs like “Invert The Virgin” and “Desolate Path To Apocalyptic Ruin” helped spawn a loyal following compelled by the band’s unrepentant Celtic Frostian rhythms and corrosive black death bayou swagger.
A slower, more introverted affair, Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun followed in 2003. The record trailed a near-fatal van crash that left Falgoust temporarily paralyzed and the future of the band uncertain. Against medical odds, Falgoust regained use of his legs and the band, now a four-piece with Duet taking on full guitar duties, quickly returned to the road. Seemingly plagued by bouts of disaster, 2005 found the band fleeing the desolating flood waters of Hurricane Katrina. Delayed but undeterred, Goatwhore‘s first Metal Blade Records release — 2006′s A Haunting Curse, which featured the revised lineup of Duet, Falgoust, drummer Zack Simmons (ex-Nachtmystium) and bassist Nathan Bergeron — proved their most vicious manifestation yet. The record was captured at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida with Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal), who would go on to record the band’s next three studio offerings. Wholly embracing their long-avowed Hellhammer and Venom devoutness without pirating it, A Haunting Curse is relentless in speed, precision and brazen hostility and six years later, “Diabolical Submergence Of Rebirth,” would make its way to HBO award-winning drama series, Treme.
By 2009, Goatwhore unleashed the nefarious craftings of Carving Out The Eyes Of God. A behemoth recording in sound, mind and spirit, the record ranked among the year’s most worthy metal albums by fans and critics globally, debuting on the Billboard Hard Music chart at #33, the Billboard Top New Artist (Heatseekers) chart at #16, and the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart at #34. No small feat for a blatantly non-mainstream band. Decibel Magazine hailed the band’s, “rigid tempo shifts, gargantuan hooks, blasting black mass anthems, and Falgoust’s soot and venom snarl,” while Outburn likened it to, “a modern day, ‘roid-injected sword fight between Celtic Frost and Venom.“
For the next two years, Goatwhore maintained an unyielding tour schedule, reducing cities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia to rubble with their notoriously crushing, live performance. Further educating the potentially unversed, unofficial Goat’ anthem, “Apocalyptic Havoc,” appeared on the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 game soundtracks for Splatterhouse and Saints Row 3, while the video for the song was featured in an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. 2011 closed with a win of Best Hard Rock/Metal Artist at the annual Big Easy Awards, which pays tribute and honor to the city’s performing talent.
Resting only long enough to conjure more audio pandemonium, Goatwhore undraped the chart-topping, critically-lauded Blood For The Master full-length in 2012. Now featuring Duet, Falgoust, Simmons and bassist James Harvey, who joined the cloven-hoofed ranks in 2009 following the exit of Nathan Bergeron, the record found Louisiana’s notorious metal horde at their most unified. Delivering a ruthless onslaught of fist-pumping, heathen anthems, and rhythmic obliteration bedecked in the enticingly unhallowed prose of Falgoust who succinctly dubbed the record, “evil rock ‘n’ roll.”
The maniacal hymns of Constricting Rage Of The Merciless arrived in 2014 and marked the band’s first studio effort to be tracked to two-inch tape, a more challenging approach that demands performance over pro-tooled perfection and leaving little room for error. Boasting a more urgent, ominous and blatantly reckless demeanor than its predecessors, the record again surpassed previous efforts in composition and execution consequently debuting at #81 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, topping their last entry position of #171 with Blood For The Master. Elsewhere, Constricting Rage Of The Merciless ranked in at #21 on Billboard’s Rock chart, #7 on the Hard Rock chart, and #13 on the Independent chart while third album single, “Baring Teeth For Revolt,” made its audio debut in CBS crime drama series Elementary. Welcoming live bassist Robert “TA” Coleman (Warmaster, Hod), a tireless tour calendar, including shows with Samhain as well as well as a converted performance at Ozzfest-meets-Knotfest opening Black Sabbath‘s final West Coast show, followed. And now, the time for Vengeful Ascension has come.
GURG is a group of three musicians from the South Side of Chicago, IL that create an atmospheric fusion of funk, jam, reggae, rock, jazz, dub, and electronica, weaving together dual keyboard/synth-bass work, powerful, complex, and driving beats, and a range of organic and effect-saturated guitar sounds.
“Bryan Doherty bends the bass into something rarely heard, but entirely worth the price of admission.” So says All Music Guide, and they’re right: Much like Doherty’s brilliant bass playing, his band Hood Smoke blends soul and pop a la Rufus, David Byrne and The Band. Hood Smoke’s line-up reads like a “who’s who” of Chicago music masters, all of whom have played with everyone from Quincy Jones to Koko Taylor to Steve Coleman and Howard Levy. Rising star Sarah Marie Young’s voice will no doubt turn heads with its uncanny combination of grit and precision. Her voice and her bandmates’ undeniable chops make Hood Smoke’s album, Laid Up In Ordinary, a must-hear release of 2013.
The words “I Decline” represent a middle finger to the mediocrity in the world of modern hard rock and metal music. Fusing this creed with the attitude of Punk, riff-laden hooks of Classic and Stoner Rock, and the fury of Heavy Metal, I Decline crafts its own hybrid of hard-edged music that they define as the “New Wave of American Punk Metal” (NWOAPM). In 2010, I Decline released their 3rd full-length album Time To Shine, a bombastic onslaught of fist in the air anthems for a blue-collar society that touches upon mortality, desolation, and broken relationships. Time To Shine is a metaphor to the aftermath of 9/11 and the personal struggles we face as humans in this chaotic world, while searching for new hope. During their fourteen-year history in the Chicago music scene, I Decline has provided support alongside Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Mondo Generator), Joe Preston’s “Thrones” (Melvins, High On Fire, Sunn O))), Earth), Toxic Holocaust (Relapse), Holy Grail (Prosthetic), and Krum Bums (Century Media).
Philly based jazz/funk guitarist Dirk Quinn has been spending the past decade performing and developing his own unique style of music. Having just released his sophomore album, “QuinnTet,” Quinn’s musical prowess appears as prominent as ever. Drawing inspiration from music of all types, his solo acoustic sound has been compared to the guitar “pyrotechnics” of Keller Williams and Michael Hedges, while his full band compositions bear resemblances that range from the honest, urban funk of Soulive to the brave experimentation of Medeski, Martin and Wood. Since the inception of the Dirk Quinn Band at the beginning of 2007, the QuinnTet has landed some prestigious bookings around the region, all the while gaining a strong fanbase with its’ high energy live performances.
District 97 is undoubtedly the most musically adventurous rock band in the world to feature an American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist. Formed in the Fall of 2006 by drummer/primary composer Jonathan Schang, keyboardist Rob Clearfield, bassist Patrick Mulcahy and guitarist Sam Krahn, the band drew upon influences from heavy metal to avant-garde jazz. The foursome from Chicago honed a no-holds barred style of eclectic and intricate Instrumental Rock before deciding the right vocalist was needed to complement their sound: enter 2007 American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist, Leslie Hunt. With a look, sound, and stage presence comparable to a young Ann Wilson from Heart, Leslie’s dynamic performances pushed the band into a new direction that forged a unique marriage between accessible, catchy vocal melodies and an adventurous instrumental prowess. She was followed shortly thereafter by one of Chicago’s finest guitarists, Jim Tashjian. With this new blend of charisma and stellar musicianship in place, their live shows over the past several years at festivals such as RoSfest, Prog Dreams II and V, and numerous appearances across the USA, UK and Europe cemented the band as a force to be reckoned with onstage as well as in the recording studio.
Hybrid Child, the band’s 2010 debut on record label Laser’s Edge, immediately made a big impression worldwide. The album garnered praise such as “District 97 is a wildly ambitious progressive-rock group whose youth belies its accomplishments onstage and on its new Hybrid Child CD” (Jim Derogatis of NPR’s “Sound Opinions” and Rolling Stone Magazine). The release of 2012’s critically-acclaimed followup Trouble With Machines proved the band was the real deal. They had attracted the attention of legendary bassist and vocalist John Wetton (King Crimson/UK/Asia), who sang the role of Chicago serial killer H.H. Holmes on Schang’s “The Perfect Young Man.” With the collaboration heralded as a “tour de force” (dprp.net), the band and Wetton joined forces in 2013 for tours of both Europe and the US, later documented on 2014’s live release, One More Red Night: Live in Chicago. 2013 also saw the band nominated for a Breakthrough Artist Award by Prog Magazine. Rather than rest on their laurels, District 97 took to the studio in 2014 to record the new material they’d been honing at home and on the road. The resulting album, In Vaults (released June 2015), continued and accelerated the upward trajectory of great songwriting and incredible musicianship that had become their hallmark.
In August 2015, Rob Clearfield and Patrick Mulcahy left the group and were succeeded by Andrew Lawrence and TIm Seisser, respectively. The new lineup debuted in highly successful tours across Europe and North America in 2016 and 2017, with highlights including joining the trailblazing prog rock band Yes on their Cruise To The Edge and supporting Pain of Salvation on the In The Passing Light Of Day North American tour. In 2016. District 97 launched the Inside The Vault Club via their website, a monthly subscription series featuring exclusive audio and video downloads, as well as physical releases, the first of which being their stunning Live At De Boerderij DVD. They joined the Dave Kerzner Band for the joint STATIC VAULTS US tour in Fall 2017, and ended the year with a pair of shows with the NYC-based Consider The Source.
2018 saw the band complete a much-lauded North American 10th Anniversary Tour, as well as completing tracking for Screens, their highly-anticipated fourth studio album, and first with the new lineup. Released October 2019 through the UK’s venerable record label Cherry Red, the band featured music from it to great acclaim on Cruise To The Edge, as well as Marillion Montreal Weekend, Seaprog, Summer’s End, and other dates throughout North America, UK, and Europe. One listen perfectly illustrates why iconic drummer Bill Bruford (Yes/King Crimson/Genesis) told Rolling Stone Magazine (10/29/19), “There’s a great band out of Chicago called District 97, who are very good, and they’re here in the U.K. right now. And you know, it’s the next generation of so-called progressive guys who played much better than we ever played.” Mike Portnoy (drummer extraordinaire of Dream Theater/Transatlantic/Liquid Tension Experiment) adds “District 97 continue to prove to be one of the most unique bands in modern Prog!”
The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop the band from innovating. Their Virtual Screening Tour and stunning Ghost Girl animated short film kept them at the top of the prog rock heap. The sprawling double-disc live album Screenplay (2021) delighted music fans worldwide and served as a preface to live dates in the latter half of 2021 and 2022. With new music having gestated during and following the pandemic, their fifth studio album Stay for the Ending (released October 2023 via Spirit of Unicorn Music) has been widely acclaimed as their greatest work to date.
