Project Aegis - Angel In The Ashes

Project Aegis with Matt Smith (Theocracy), Rob Rock (Impellitteri), Daísa Munhoz (Vandroya, Soul Spell), Vasilis Georgiou (Sunburst, Black Fate) and Leah McHenry (LEAH) recently released the all-star charity song "Angel In The Ashes". The song that is released by Ulterium Records under the banner Project Aegis was composed by Matt Smith. All the money that is earned on the song will go to give support to poor, homeless and refugee families in Greece. The needs are big and the money that you provide will go to food and blankets.



Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3BLEFkQGpg&sns=fb

You can purchase "Angel In The Ashes" here:
Bandcamp: https://ulteriumrecords.bandcamp.com/...
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ang...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...







Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Don't forget the drummer

A drummer is a very important part of the rhythm machine behind a band, but onstage they often stand in the shadows behind the rest of the band. Most rock'n roll photographers forget to take pictures of the drummer. When I cover concerts I try to document the whole band and not only the charismatic guitarist or vocalist who stands in the spotlight. Next time you take photos at a concert try not to forget the drummer!

    

    

    

Text and photo: Mikael Good

Previously unpublished photos from Switchfoot's first concert

A couple of days ago I wrote an article about Switchfoots first concert in Sweden. When I did that I also found some previously unpublished photos from the concert that I want to share with you. You can find the pictures on my flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasid68/albums/72157637314479984 

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Get close to the stage

Music and photography have a very special relationship. The artist's vision and stage performance is reflected by the photographer presence and perception. It's important for me to be close to the stage when I shoot concerts in order to build that relationship and come home with the photos that describes the mood and special atmosphere at the concert. I took the photo at a concert with the Norwegian death metal band Extol a couple of years ago.

Text and photo: Mikael Good

Superman Is Dead - Outtrigger

I Melodifestivalen slog Outtrigger igenom med tvångströja och burar som förde tankarna till Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Med sin melodiska sång, growl, tunga riff, distade gitarrer och bra scenshow har de snabbt vuxit till att bli en publikfavorit på den svenska rockscenen.



Jag fotograferade bandet på Gullbrannafestivalen 2014. Outtrigger bildades i Helsingborg 2009 och består av Simon Peyron (sång), John Löfgren (trummor), Timmy Andersson (gitarr), Adam Axelsson (gitarr) och Joakim Agnemyr (bas). Det märks att bandet är vana att stå på scen och i från första till sista ackordet har de publiken i sitt grepp. De flesta av deras fans är unga men här och var ser man gamla rockrävar som står och diggar med.



Bandet bjöd på sig själva och gav järnet för publiken. Men det är först när de kör sin cover på Robin Stjernbergs "You" och sin Melodifestivallåt "Echo" som det verkligen lyfter. Outtrigger är dock mycket mer än de låtarna och de har fler starka låtar på sin reportoar som också röner stor uppmärksamhet men dock inte lika mycket som deras "schlagerlåtar".



Med debutskivan "The Last of Us" som kom i november har Outtrigger precis det låtmaterialet som kan ge dem ett lyft internationellt. Efter framgångarna med "You" och "Echo" skulle man kunna tro att bandet skulle välja att följa samma spår för att kunna kränga fler skivor. Istället har de valt att följa sitt hjärta och spela in den plattan som de själva ville göra. Skivan består inte av lättsmält schlagermetal för den breda publiken utan är en skiva för den kräsna metalkonnässören som vill ha mer substans än vad snärtiga tuggumi-refränger och publikfriande riff ger.



Från första låten "Superman Is Dead" till avslutande "The Last of Us" tar bandet med oss på en välspelad, välproducerad resa där sångaren Simon enkelt hoppar mellan olika sångstilar. Den enda låten som drar ned helhetsbetyget från en 4 till en stark 3:a är den akustiska verisonen av "Awaken Me" som mest känns som utfyllnad. De skulle ha lyssnat på Agnus Youngs råd. På frågan varför inte AC/DC gjort några ballader svarade Agnus att Led Zeppelin gjorde en bra ballad 1970 och att det räckte med det.

Om du inte kan se bildspelet på din mobil eller surfplatta kan du klicka på den följande länken så kommer du till bilderna: www.flickr.com/photos/chasid68/sets

Text och foto: Mikael Good

Newsboys brought the good news to Sweden

The news on the telly or in the newspaper is most often about violence, war and other miseries that make us viewers depressed and makes us lose hope about mankind. As a counterbalance to all this misery Newsboys tour around the world to spread the good news about Jesus Messias who came to our earth to offer us salvation from our sins by His death and resurrection.



Newsboys was founded in Queensland, Australia in 1985 and they has been a bringer of the good news to their audience since then. They has been one of the biggest Christian rock bands since the late 80s. They have numerous live shows and 16 studio albums in their trunk. Newsboys have had a huge impact on other Christian bands over the years. They play pop orientated rockmusic and their lyrics are based on the Rock of life - Jesus Messias. In 2009 the band's original lead singer Peter Furler decided to step back into a support role and to continue as the band's primary songwriter and producer. Peter was replaced by Michael Tait, formerly of DC Talk which is one of the most successfull Christian bands of all times. In the Tait era the band has been a little bit more comfortable in their own shoes and they are daring enough to stay interesting for their audience. As a result of that the band peaks the album list in the United States with their new album "Restart". Some 30 years after the start of the band they are the head line on many festivals in the states. The timing for their concert at Gullbrannafestivalen couldn't be better. 



Newsboys show in Skeppet at Gullbrannafestivalen was super-professional. Michael Tait are the perfect frontman for the band, his heart and soul are in the songs and he delivers them with lots of feeling, he seeks contact with the audience and involves them into the show, but he doesn't grab all the attention, the very energic drummer Duncan Phillips grab's a whole lot of attention thanks to his very expressful and powerful drumming. The guitarist Jody Davis and keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein are more laid back on the stage. It's obvious that the band has a great time and their perfomance really involves the audience in the show. Newsboys know how to deliver an awesome concert experience without compromise. The band is very open with their Christian faith and Michael Tait shared his faith with the big audience in both songs, words and expressions. After the show the band took time to thank the audience for coming and participating in the show. Newsboys have once again proved that they still are a force to be reckoned with!



Newsboys and Michael Tait has played for almost 30 years and one can imagine that their audience should mostly consist of men and women between 30 and 50 years. Therefore I was surprised that the big audience mostly consisted of younger men and women. I don't think that the band has lost it's older audience. I think that the main reason was that Brazil played against Costa Rica in the quarter final of the Fifa World Cup. Some of their older fans choosed to watch soccer on the telly instead of getting a great concert experience. But it's their loss! I know that everybody that saw the concert left Skeppet with big smiles on their faces after seeing a really good show knowing that the Newsboy are a exellent bringer of the good news about Jesus Messias!





Click the following link if you can't see the slideshow on your phone or on your tablet: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasid68/sets/72157645687933129/

Klicka på den följande länken om du vill läsa recensionen på svenska - Newsboys förde med sig goda nyheter till Sverige: http://www.fotosidan.se/blogs/chasid/newsboys-forde-med-sig-goda-nyheter.htm

Text and Photo: Mikael Good