Interviews

Joel Hoekstra is a founding member of the supergroup, ICONIC, along with Michael Sweet, Nathan James, Tommy Aldridge, and Marco Mendoza. Together the group has over 100 years of rock’n’roll experience. ICONIC released its debut album, Second Skin, on June 17.

Standing at 6’3” tall, Joel Hoekstra looks like the epitome of the rock guitar god. With curly locks of blonde hair blazing down his back, Joel is known for having the best hair in hard rock. But ICONIC is a lot more than a hair metal band.

Gone Gone Beyond hosts curated listening parties. There are no words, it’s simply dropping into this moment, synching the breath, releasing any tension, and arriving together full of gratitude and filled with music! Gone Gone Beyond will be kicking off the vanguard Sacred Rose Festival’s inaugural year and that sounds like freedom found within harmony!

From humble beginnings growing up in Washington, D.C. to touring the world and spreading her inspirational message through her introspective Lyrics, Assata Perkins has built her career by looking deep into herself and turning her own vulnerability into art as Sa-Roc. Her recent album, The Sharecropper's Daughter, was no exception as it took listeners on a journey of the past influencing the present while reflecting her life experiences authentically and without obscuring her own truth.

There are so few bands in the reggae scene that are not only so well known, but universally beloved than the Kona Town heroes themselves, Pepper. Wherever the guys go, they are the most popular people in the room, and for good reason. Their charisma is inarguable and palpable, and their larger-than-life personalities live up to their fans’ hopes who might have only seen them from the stage.

When one first hears Zero, whether it was back in the 80’s or last fall, the immediate thought is, “How have I never heard about these guys?” And then considering the next thing you’ll want to do is share it with a friend, you’ll once again wonder, “How have I never heard about these guys?” Regardless of whether you haven’t heard of them, or haven’t spread their music to your friends enough, with the release of Naught Again, there is no better time than now to dive into the ocean of phenomenal music that is Zero.

Hopping into a tenured band as the newest member can be an intimidating task in any capacity, much less the frontman, but for Jamaica's Hector Roots Lewis, stepping up and filling in as lead vocals for Southern California reggae veterans Tribal Seeds came instinctually.

Jerry’s kids are all outstanding players, Steve Kimock, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, the list goes on. Only one truly has that Garcia way about him, John Kadlecik. John K came about improvisational music much like his traveling life, making do with the best around. His job is to shed light but not to master. Signing on with Melvin Seals & JGB in 2019, they are just now really running full steam.

Frontman of the Midwest hip hop group Atmosphere, Sean Daley, or "Slug" as he goes by on stage, is a rare breed in the sense that seems to wear his heart on his sleeve and has the perspective to allow himself to be his own person rather than a manufactured image of an onstage persona. Sean carries himself with a sobering energy that reflects his sincerity in how he sees the world and communicates with a level of genuineness and empathy that is refreshing to see in an artist of his tenure.

Rock guitarist extraordinaire Mike Keneally passed his “audition” with Frank Zappa almost 35 years ago, when he was only 25 years old. Impressing the always-exacting composer, guitarist and performance artist wasn’t easy. But with his keen technical ability and singular, almost-photographic-memory recall of even Zappa’s most labyrinthine compositions, the then-young FZ devotee earned his “hall pass” to the inner realms of the band leader’s legendary 1988 tour band.

Reggae has always been known as the genre of “one love” but from the earliest days of his Hawaiian origin, Mike Love has taken this to a new level. He wears many hats as a musician, a spiritual shaman, and even an ordained minister, but few who meet him could help but call him a friend as his welcoming and affectionate aura touches shines so brightly.

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