Friday, November 2, 2018

ALBORN: Q & A with Alex Raser (by Crystal Blue)


     Prophetstown's own local boys Alborn (formerly Alborn Theory) are making quite the impact in rock music not just locally but all over the radio and available to stream on Spotify and download from iTunes. They have been recording for the last year and a half at The Attic Recording Studios (in Geneseo, IL) as well as released the single "Full Circle" accompanied with a music video and have recently launched their own online store where you can purchase merchandise including their new T-shirt, drum heads, guitar picks, koozies and more.
These young musicians have been making a dent in the music scene and JMR had our NEW team member CRYSTAL BLUE have a Q & A with them after she checked out their Halloween show on Oct. 27. Check out this Q & A with Crystal Blue and Alborn Drummer, Alex Raser.
(by-DanismDEATH)





Crystal Blue: Let's start in the obvious place, the beginning.  Let's lay the ground work so our readers will know where and how it all began...
First of all, whose idea was this?  Who is responsible for getting Alborn together? 

Alex Raser: Thanks for showing interest in us! Alborn Theory started as a solo project by Justin [Taylor] (lead guitar/vocals) during high school writing originals as a hobby. Once it was discovered that some/all of the material had the potential to be played out, but would pose difficulty without a full band, he sought out the drummer [Raser], and a couple other buddies that he had musical history with.

CB: How long have you been playing music; individually, and collectively?

AR: The band has since gone thru a couple lineup changes, landing on the current lineup we have now and have had for over 2 years, with Justin at guitar & vocals, Zame [Lewis] at bass, Tyler [Mendenhall] (Meaty) on guitar, and Raser on drums & unclean vocals.

CB: And what a lineup it is!  Are all of you from the same hometown? Did you guys all know each other from school, or did someone point you in the right direction when you were in the process of switching out band members?

AR: Justin, Tyler, and myself are all from Prophetstown and knew each other beforehand, yes. Justin and I’s dads played music together for many years when we were younger, so you could say that was one of the main aspects that brought Justin and I together at a young age. Meaty was a family friend of sorts that hung out and ran around with us when we were just getting started, and stepped up to the plate when we were in need of a filler guitarist for a gig way back when, which made it easy for us to bring him on to the permanent roster when we separated from our former guitarist. Zame is from Sterling, and with many family members having a history in music, we caught wind of him brought him in for an audition, and it didn’t take us long to decide he was just what we needed.

CB: Agreed, he definitely does keep that low end locked in tight!  My nose was getting tickled Saturday night with all that boom! 
Tell me about the writing process a little bit, Raser. Do you each get to write your own parts with some guidance with what Justin brings to the table? 

AR: For us, building a song typically begins with a single guitar riff. Justin will present it to the rest of us and we will give our opinions, offer changes, or whatever we feel on it, and it just kind of goes on from there. We’ll continue to build around that riff with everything complementing each other. Justin will often times assist everyone in the building of their parts, but there is definitely always room for everyone to put their own spin on it.

CB: Do you guys use practice time to write collectively? Is the writing process a constant thing, or is there time for that set aside from dialing in current originals?

AR: As far as balancing rehearsal with writing time, it really depends on the tasks on hand and what’s coming in the near future, so we sort of have to play it by ear. Especially with how much we’ve been recording, we’ve had to bust buns to get all the new tunes down to a T to be able to perform them live.

CB: All the hard work definitely shows at your live performances, and nothing makes a band tighter than jamming nonstop.  It's a rare thing when a group of young talented musicians can keep all their heads pointed in the same direction. So, kudos to you guys for that. 
As of right now, what is the status of Alborn's musical catalog?

AR: Well, as you might know, we’ve spent the last year and a half at the Attic recording studios, recording material co-produced by Jose Urquiza of 3 Years Hollow and co-owner of the Attic, and Morgan Rose of Sevendust. So far, we have recorded 10 songs. What we intend to do with them as far as how we release them is still in the works honestly, some have names, some just placeholders or "codenames." As of now, we’re working on promoting our new single and music video “Full Circle” that was released Oct. 23rd. Depending on where that takes us could affect the standpoint of future releases.

CB: Let's talk about this new single.  "Full Circle" has a much heavier sound than your first single "Settling In." Would you guys still consider yourselves Hard Rock or would you say your sound has evolved into Metal, or both?

AR: I would most definitely classify it as metal, or we like to use the term alternative metal, hard shit with a lot of depth if you will, ha-ha. But yes we have definitely evolved and sought out new direction in the best of ways, we believe. But that’s what it’s all about, new discoveries and endeavors. Where would the fun be just re-writing in the same format and style throughout one’s career?!

CB: That is definitely true.  There is a definite change in heaviness and the sound is more complex. How long did the new single take to get thru the writing process, from riff to finished recording? 

AR: When we brought the riff ideas into the studio, we were suuuper stumped at just above ground zero at first. It went through the ringer big time. But eventually after about 2 days of running in place, we had a breakthrough that set the pace and it was smooth sailing from there. Took us about a day to get the rest of the song mapped out and recorded for the most part.

CB: I suppose it's time to ask the most obvious question; what is "Full Circle" about?

AR: "Full circle" is about the process of getting stuck into a monotonous cycle, you could relate this to life in general or a specific situation. As well as the thoughts that come with, the fear of trying to step out and going down the wrong path, and so forth.

CB: What made you guys decide that this was the song that should become your newest single?

AR: We just felt like that was then one that was the best vein for demonstrating our improved sound. It incorporates all the elements, some stronger than others, but it’s very well rounded as far as all of the new factors go.

CB: I really liked the effect of using vertical lighting in the video. Who shot the video for you and how long was the process?  Did you guys give a lot of direction or did you give the videographer full creative control?

AR: It was shot by Freddy D’Angelo of FDS Studios, based out of St. Louis, and also edited and produced by himself and his partner Jordan Hageman. And I would say it was a collaboration of ideas for putting it all together. We had some broad ideas that we wanted and Freddy helped us narrow down the logistics of it all. It was recorded at a place called Utopia Studios, in St. Louis. We drove down Saturday afternoon, recorded alllllll day Sunday, and drove back Sunday night. Honestly Freddy made it very smooth and as painless as possible, he does great work and knows what he’s doing for sure.

CB: What's on the horizon for Alborn?  Are you guys going to keep bringing new material into The Attic to record? 

AR: At the moment we’re just working on pushing our new single as much as we can and getting our name to the right people. Eventually we’d love to get some more material laid down, but many things are still up in the air so we’re not sure when that time will come.

CB:  Any tour plans in the works or major plans/events up your sleeve you'd like to hint around at for your fans?

AR: We definitely wanna go out on the road, hopefully sometime mid-next year once we’ve established rock solid support in the local area to help propel us into other regions. We have Jose on our side along with tons of business contacts so playing our cards right could result in great things happening.

CB: We have a pretty good community of musicians in our area doing a variety of different things.  It's always good to see two or more bands on the same bill, I think it helps draw them out. You guys play in a much broader area than some, in Kewanee and the QCA and such.  Is there any advice you guys can give other aspiring musicians who want to take their sound to the next level as well?

AR: Outsourcing to new places, meeting new faces, and playing to new ears is very important. Many times, especially with local bands that may not have a lot of material that people can listen to, people will form their impression based off of your live show. Get your live show tight as can be and showcase it in as many different venues and events as possible! Music is a product and one must be convinced it’s a great product!

CB: Alright, one more question. Collectively, who are your top five musical influences, band or musician?

AR: Deftones, Mudvayne, Tool, Korn, Alice in Chains. There can be many more but it starts with those bands and branches out from there basically ha-ha.

CB: Thanks so much guys! 
(by Crystal Blue / edited by-DanismDEATH)



Check out Alborn on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/albornofficial

You can check out Alborns merch store: https://squareup.com/store/alborn/

Check out The Attic Recording Studios: https://www.facebook.com/theatticrecordingstudios/

**Check out the Jon McClause reporting Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jonmcclausereporting/


Saturday, August 25, 2018

JMR want ad! (Needed, selling, buying, trading.)

Sell, Buy, Trade, find a band mate, etc! 


This is just the 1st edition of this but we have some people looking for something and lets see if we can try to help out! 


Looking for:

Vocalist looking for guitarist! 
Crystal Collinson (vocalist): 
Looking for a female lead guitar player to join an all girl indie/alt rock band! Please send a message to Crystal at https://www.facebook.com/crystalsbluecrystal

Looking for a female singer!! 
Josh Hollister(Guitarist): 
Female lead singer wanted to front rock band with possibly a splash of country rock on the side.


Selling:


Selling a Marshall 4X12 1960AV Vintage Speaker Cab!
Never played out. Used in home. 
Gator flight case in perfect condition.

*The Marshall 1960V Vintage Speaker Cabinet puts out beautiful tone at any volume. The addition of an impedance (4 or 16 ohm) mono/stereo switching mechanism has transformed the "industry standard" 1960 into the ultimate speaker cab. This 280W Marshall cab is loaded with Celestion G12 Vintage speakers. 









Contact Josh at 😁

Check out: BLACK SHEEP SHIRT SHOP!



BLACK SHEEP SHIRT SHOP! 
Got a band logo or need some help putting something together? Check them out!


Owner, Matt Jagitsch is just starting up this business aside from his other businesses, Jagitsch Painting Inc & Black Sheep Surf Shop. Currently, this is a silk screen company specializing in T-shirts, sweatshirts and can koozies. He also helps create logos and bring your ideas to life and straight to a T-shirt! Great service, great work, great product and great prices! Get ahold of Black Sheep Shirt Shop and start creating! Check out some of the Tees BSSS has made below (including creating the logos.)

Image may contain: one or more people and text
Image may contain: people sitting

Image may contain: one or more people
Image may contain: one or more people
Image may contain: one or more people and people standing






Wednesday, August 15, 2018

A Day For Rick & Angie @ Triple P's!

Fundraiser to help Arnie's Happy Spot.
Sunday, Aug. 19th

No automatic alt text available.





     For those of you who do not know yet, Arnie's Happy Spot in Deer Grove was a staple of the community for over 81 years! Recently, Arnie's burned down. Many people in the community are pulling together to do whatever they can to help out the owners, Rick and Angie Lance after this devastating loss. On August 19th there will be a fundraiser to help raise funds for them and so many people are coming together to make this happen! So get out to Triple P's in Rock Falls, IL on August 19th to check out multiple local bands, food, face painting for the kids and so much more. The party begins at noon and it looks to be one hell of a party for one hell of a GREAT cause! 



Band Lineup & Times: 


2-3: Lovecraft
3-4: Nova
4-5: Wicked Earl
5-6: Trippin Molly
6-7: RadioSilence
7-8: Sugarghost
8-9: Social Lies


Looks like a great show of local acts for a great cause!


All they ask is for you to leave a donation at the door to help these AMAZING people out who suffered a huge loss. Lets help them get Arnie's back. 

-Support YOUR community. 
-Support live music.
-Support YOUR local scene.


https://www.facebook.com/Triple-P-BBQ-174851459570466/
https://www.facebook.com/jonmcclausereporting/

Gardenstock Art & Music Festival Saturday 8/18/18

The 10th annual Gardenstock Art & Musical Festival this Saturday August 18th @ Distinctive Gardens 



     Gardenstock benefits the Sinnissippi Center’s Youth Gardening program. 
Music runs from 11am to 11 pm. There will be art out at 10am and showing until 6pm.  
The program lets kids learn to grow, care for and harvest what they planted. 
What they harvest gets donated to the Dixon Community Food Pantry.


There will be so much to do! Great live bands, art, craft work, food, drinks, contest and 50/50 raffles will be going on all day. 

*Admission is $13 at the gate (for adults 13 and older) and $1 for children 12 and under.

You are allowed to bring your own blanket, chairs and coolers! 


Band lineup & times:

11am-12pm: Justin Hey
12:15-1:15pm: NOVA
1:30-2:30pm: Acoustic Circus
2:45-3:45pm: Flying Fish
4-5pm: Shaky Alibi
5:15-6:15pm: Monarch
6:30-7:45pm: The 78s
8-9:30pm: Melanie
9:45-11pm: Acoustic Knuckle Ride

**There is no parking on site. There will be a shuttle service running from 10 a.m. to midnight.


Thursday, August 9, 2018

Q & A with Raven Valdivia of Lovecraft





Lovecraft is a 3-piece Alt/Indie Rock band formed in August, 2017 based out of Rock Falls, IL. In their live setlist they cover song by bands from Smashing Pumpkins to Foo Fighters as well as play original music. Recently, Lovecraft released their first single titled, “Just Dumb Luck” which is available on all major music streaming sites. The band plans to release their first EP by December, 2018 with the title “Welcome to Disappointment."
I had the opportunity to do a Q & A with Vocalist/bassist of the band, Raven Valdivia. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JMR: How did you get into music growing up? Did you have parents influence you at all or did you discover music on your own?

RV: Growing up music was always around, my parents didn’t play any instruments they just loved listening to music. Constantly, the house was never quiet. I did grow up watching a few of my older cousins play in [the band] Kizmaz and other bands so I guess it was a little bit of “self-discovery” mixed with being constantly surrounded with music!

JMR: Ok, so you really did get to make your own path with your music. So, who has been musical influences in your life as far as other singers, bands or albums in your “self-discovery?”

RV: Joan Jett rocks my freakin socks off and is probably the reason why I started playing music in the first place. So, I would say her for sure but for me as an artist my biggest influences are Violent Femmes, Bob Dylan, The Pixies, Fleetwood Mac, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, all for one reason or another whether it be their songwriting or just the overall passion put into their projects they all are my dudes

JMR: Wow, that’s a great list of influences! How did you discover those artist? You’re like an old soul!

RV: The first CD I ever bought was a Bob Dylan Greatest Hits! Again, a bit of it definitely came from my parents music taste, but for the most part that’s what spoke to me most over anything else, ya know? They are all such phenomenal artists/storytellers with so much soul that’s what really gets me!

JMR: Absolutely! You can tell a story with your lyrics or your instruments when you write like them. Great artists.

RV: Forsure!

JMR: That was the first cd you bought but then how long have you been playing bass and singing?

RV: I started playing guitar when I was 8, I had a cool Walmart soccer ball guitar and it was tight! I got some “lessons” from a few family member who were decent and could help me along. So I had been playing out singing/acoustically from then till about 2016 then when we started Lovecraft I was originally a guitar player but switched to bass when we needed a bass player. It’s cool though cause I dig it a lot it’s a nice change up from what I was used too!

JMR: You can’t go wrong with a soccer guitar from Walmart! 

RV: Still my prized possession. 

 JMR: Holy shit, that’s awesome!

RV: Bass is a new adventure for me though which is always nice!

JMR: What kind of bass do you play and what kind of amp?

RV: Currently I play a Peavy Millennium and use a Fender Rumble 350 with a Peavy Headliner 410 cab.

JMR: Any effects or straight bass plugged in to the amp, no bullshit?

RV: All bass, no bologna. I do use my presets a little bit but mostly it’s a raw sound, I would like to dive into that world a little bit if not for anything but to goof around with it but I’m just not sure I would use it all too much in a serious setting.

JMR: That makes sense. Don’t need a use for it then why have it? I get that. Speaking of your sound you play with, let’s talk your band, "Lovecraft."
When you started this band it was originally called “The guilty party.” Why the name change?

RV: The Guilty Party was just too long😅 Also we had a fourth member at that time which things didn’t work out with so when we turned into a 3 piece it didn’t feel like the Guilty party anymore so we renamed ourselves Lovecraft

JMR: Ahh, ok. I’ve been there. 😂
So, why “Lovecraft?”

RV: We actually took the name from the author H.P Lovecraft, he was a horror fiction writer in the 1920s who died penniless and a nobody, it was only after he died that people were crazy about his work and now he’s like one of the most influential authors of the 20th century and I think that’s kind of hilarious because like ain’t that some shit man 😅

JMR: Are you kidding me? I love H.P. Lovecraft. “The Call of Cthulhu” is one of my most favorite things ever written.

RV: Oh shit right on!! Yeah we found some of his stories on reddit and just got super into him, we all really like the creepy pasta stories and he was like the OG so we decided to pay a little tribute 😊

JMR: He was for sure one of the OG’s! Very cool. You mentioned previously as TGP you had a 4th member. I might be wrong, but were you guys as Lovecraft recently looking for a 4th member? I think it was for a rhythm guitarist, right? Is that something you’re still considering?

RV: Yeah we were looking a little bit ago! We enjoy being a 3 piece but sometimes it seems like there are more possibilities for Tyler (Lovecraft guitarist) to really “shine” in a sense if we were to still have that rhythm guitar in the background, we are writing new music that’s kinda in a different genre; I’m not sure what we are truthfully, but we want a lot of melodic riffs played on top of the rhythm and it’s hard to do that with the 3 of us and not feel like we’ve lost something along the way, so we’re very much still open to bringing in a another person but it would definitely have to be the right person so we’re not in a huge hurry but if it happens, it happens!

JMR: That’s what’s makes the magic in a band happen...having the right combo of people in it to make it just right. Ya gotta have that. As far as writing melodically goes that’s one of the things I love in music...love a tune with a great melody to it.


RV: Forsure! And we’ve only been together for a year now and I’m really happy with the growth we’ve had so far so who knows what next year can bring!

JMR: Speaking of writing music, you have some original songs that you wrote and recorded already. You recorded them with students over at the Whiteside Area Career Center by the Sterling High School, right? How was that experience and was there a reason behind recording there rather than another recording studio?

RV: Well we kinda sorta did! We went to WACC to record because it was our first song and we just kinda wanted to have a demo. We weren’t really happy with the results though. It was really frustrating and time consuming. We’ve got mad props for people who know what they’re doing! We did get a finished product, however it was a song written when we were “The Guilty Party” and it wasn’t great so we didn’t want that to be the first thing we released. So, then we went to Sound in Silence Productions in Princeton and it made the whole process so much more enjoyable! Our boi Aaron Isaacson is phenomenal at what he does! He’s the one who recorded/produced our single “Just Dumb Luck” and we plan on continuing using him in the future!

JMR: You just brought up your song, “Just dumb luck.” This is out on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and people can check it out on your Facebook page. I gotta be honest...I love this tune! It reminds me of a sort of a SoCal punk tune mixed with some “Pretty Reckless” and some old school grunge! I don’t know how to explain it but it hooked me right from the start.

RV: Right on man! We’re glad you liked it! You can get our song on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon! But if you’re anything like us and you don’t use any of those things you can download a free copy of the song off of our Bandcamp page!

JMR: No way. That’s a song I’ll pay for. I’m really into it. The sweet break down in the middle of the tune was like, “yes!!!” Perfect.

RV: Yeessss! That was all Tyler’s thing he’s been pushing those breakdowns from day one!

JMR: That’s great writing. That goes back to what I said earlier about how you can tell a story with not just the lyrics but with actual music. Who writes the lyrics? You or all together?

RV: Some songs I’ll write the lyrics, other songs Tyler will. He and I switch off. If he wrote the lyrics, he’s the one who will sing the song and the same goes for me! For the majority of the time it’s me singing, but on our new EP Tyler will have a few more songs on there!

JMR: Nice! Very cool. That’s coming out in December?

RV: We are hoping! But that means you can probably expect it out early 2019 😎

JMR: I’ll be waiting for it. Back on July 3rd you got to hear your song on the radio...what was running through your mind hearing it on the radio?

RV: Truthfully I was at work. None of us knew that it was gonna be played! We were told that it would maybe run later that week but I guess that morning they decided to play it first thing😅 the station still plays the song but we never know when it will be played so we've never heard it but I’m sure it sounded cool 😅

JMR: That’s still pretty badass to have your music on the radio. Huge accomplishment.

RV: Yeah it’s still kinda surreal!

JMR: And you’re what, 20 years old?

RV: Yup I’m the youngest, both the boys are 21!

JMR: That’s amazing. Congrats to you on that. Hopefully more to come from you over the radio airwaves.

RV: Thank you! We can only hope!

JMR: How has your parents been with all of this? Playing out, making music, the whole thing?

RV: They have always been super supportive of my music and of whatever I do in general, truly great people! 10 out of 10 would recommend my parents ❤️

JMR: Great support system. Way to go mom & dad! 🙂
Well, before we wrap this up I have 5 quick “rapid fire questions! Ready?

RV: Let’s get it!

JMR: Embarrassing band/singer you love...

RV: Naked brothers band

JMR: Oh shit! You already threw me off my game with that one! 😂

RV: They were/still are my jam 🤘🏼

JMR: Guilty pleasure (nonmusical)...

RV: Eating way more cheese then a normal human should ever consume

JMR: Favorite movie...

RV: The big Lebowski

JMR: Digital, cd, cassette or vinyl...

RV: VINYL ALL THE WAYYYYY

JMR: YESSS!
Last one...Blink 182 without Tom Delonge...

RV: Not my favorite, but the man’s gonna find some aliens so I can’t be too mad 👽

JMR: Agreed! Haha.
Thanks for doing this with me! I’m really excited to see what’s next for you and Lovecraft.
Lovecraft is playing a show on August 19th for a fundraiser for the owners of Arnie’s Happy Spot that sadly burned down recently. My band RadioSilence is playing for it as well, so we’ll get to cross paths with each other! That will be fun. We’re super happy to be able to help out and raise some money for it and I’m excited to see the great lineup of bands that day coming together for a good cause.

RV: That’ll be pretty cool! We are super glad to be able to help in any way possible! It’s going to be a really great event that just shows the strong sense of community in our area forreal!

JMR: Exactly! BUT!!!! I have one request of Lovecraft...

RV: And that is?

JMR: Ya gotta play your cover of “All my life” by Foo Fighters. I love it! Deal?

RV: You got it🤘🏼

JMR: And I better see that soccer ball guitar!

RV: We can set it on fire, make it a true rock and roll event :) 

JMR: Haha! Now that’s metal!!! Thanks, Raven!

RV: No problem! Thanks for doing such a rad thing for the music community! Glad to be a part of it!


*Check out Lovecraft band on Facebook:
Lovecraft's single "Just dumb luck" available now on Apple Music, Spotify & Amazon
Image may contain: outdoor and water 
**Check out the Jon McClause reporting Facebook page at

*Q & A was by Dan "DANismDEATH" Ramirez 8/9/18