Author Archives: xstaticradio

New Q&A with Derek Jordan

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Derek Jordan

Musician Derek Jordan has kept a close relationship with X-Static Radio with several years and has had multiple interviews with us.

He recently quit music for several months until he gained drive and passion for music once again. Here’s an all new Q&A about the former decoded frontman.

Q: First of all, I know you’ve taken some time off from music for a while, what has been the reason for that?

Derek Jordan: Yes, I took a period of about eight months off from music.  I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever get back to it.  It was something that I always loved so much and all of sudden I started to push it away.  

I went through some personal things that left me feeling depressed and music just started making me even more sad.  I started to resent music and felt like I had missed out on things in life because I spent so much of it on music.  I really had to strip everything away and rebuild myself all over again.  

Q: Did you work on any other kinds of projects on that time off?

DJ: Well I started working out a lot.  I did the Insanity and Body Beast programs and got in the best shape of my life.  

It inspired me to start sharing fitness tips with fellow musicians.

Q: Did you have a set time for when you wanted to come back to music or did you just let the drive for it come to you?

DJ: I thought I was done for sure because the spark was completely gone.  It was like it just switched off.  But then I started watching old videos of decoded and found myself talking about who and what I use to be like in terms of my perseverance and work ethic when it came to music.  

I didn’t like talking about what I use to be like as if I’d become a shade of what I once was.  The most important factor was that I had just started my relationship with my girlfriend and she encouraged me to start playing guitar again.  Once I started logging in the hours playing around, I started writing again and then I started getting excited again.

Q: As you reflected on your time creating and playing music before your hiatus, which were your favorite moments of that time? Mine was actually being able to  premier one of your songs worldwide Did that help drive you back into the music?

DJ: I think my favorite moments were some of our last Viper Room shows when we were really packing the place.  Ever since I moved out to Los Angeles in 2007, I had busted my ass trying to get people to shows.  I was never nervous about playing but I was always nervous about the turnouts.  

Finally, all that hard work was starting to pay off as we were building a solid following. Seeing so many familiar faces singing and moving to my songs were my favorite moments.

 

decoded playing at The Viper Room

Q: You shared a new song with me called “This Will Be My Year,” and I love the song and can’t wait to play it on our statin X-Static Radio. Can you talk more about it and the positive message it brings?

DJ: Thanks!  I original wrote the foundation of the song in 2014 and had planned to record and release it in 2015 but that ended up not being my year as I left music.  I really thought 2015 was going to be a big year for decoded and that was the inspiration behind the song.  

As I started playing again, I started going through previously unfinished works.  “This Will Be My Year” was a song I definitely wanted to finish.  I love its positive and motivational message.  The premise behind it is that you start every year with practically the same resolutions or goals, only to find yourself slip behind and having to restart and make those same goals year after year.  However, this year you swear its going to be different.  “This Will Be My Year” will be released on June 28.

Q: Do you have anymore details on upcoming projects? Maybe a record, more music, a new tour?

DJ: Right now I’m focusing on releasing a new single every month through Patreon.  My page url there is patreon.com/derekjordan.  I’ve been recording all of my releases on my own.  Even the song artwork I’m doing on my own now!  I have some goals listed on that site that show if I reach a certain amount per month then I will tour.  

Q: Thanks once again for the taking the time of best of luck. Any further comments?

DJ: Yes.  X-Static Radio had been playing decoded’s music since I started the group.  Once you leave music, its really hard to get back in the game.  Re-establishing momentum and picking back up with relationships that I disappeared from are daunting challenges.  Having said that, I’m just really grateful to still be connected with X-Static Radio and for you to hang in there for me.

 

 

Wonder Woman, The Mummy, Transformers, Tupac and Captain Underpants (June 2017 Film Releases)

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May you move over? Nothing but super-heroes, a legendary monster and a brilliant rapper will take over June.

June. 2

Two boys with a great imagination create a super-hero not even Stan Lee can create. David Soren adapts the hit children’s novel Captain Underpants. The film star the voices of Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Jordan Peele and more.

Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman, princess of the Amazons.

June. 9

The Mummy has come back alive in this remake of the Universal 2000s hit. Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe co-star as they battle an ancient princess of terror.

June. 16

Tupac Shakur was a prolific actor, poet and rapper. All Eyez On Me tells the truth and untold story about him.

In Cars 3 Lightning McQueen tries to prove to new fans that he’s still the best race car. Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Cristela Alonzo, and Chris Cooper star in the third installment of the Pixar hit.

Scarlett Johansson, Zoe  Kravitz, Kate McKinnon and Demi Moore star in Rough Night. A group of girlfriends are set for a bachelorette party until they horrified when the male stripper they hired winds up dead.

June. 21

Without Optimus Prime, war between humans and machines seem to be ending. Transformers: The Last Knight will set up the search for the key of saving the future by visiting the history of the Transformers on Earth.

June. 28

Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm star in Baby Driver. A young getaway driver is in trouble after working for a crime boss in doomed heist.

June. 30

Gru finds out he has a twin brother and decided to meet him in Despicable Me 3.

The House stars Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler.

 

 

Pirates, Guardians, Aliens and Baywatch (May 2017 Movie Releases)

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Cinco de Mayo is upon us, summer is upon us and now it’s becoming the best time of the year for movie blockbusters. Here’s what is coming up this month.

May. 5

James Gunn is back with part two the galaxy warriors. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will focus of the crews adventure again. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper return for this blockbuster.

May. 12

In King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Arthur has to go through to his legacy as a warrior. Son of Anarch’s Charlie Hunnam stars as Arthur.

Lowriders stars Eva Longoria among others. Here’s the trailer:

Amy Schumer teams up with legendary actress Goldie Hawn for Snatched. A young lady is dumped by her boyfriend before a huge vacation so the young lady decides to take her mother.

May. 19

Alien: Covenant is the second installment to the prequel series of the Alien franchise. It’s second to 2012’s Prometheus. Ridley Scott returns to the franchise with Michael Fassbender and Danny McBride.

The Heffley family decide to go on a road trip to grandma’s house but everything goes crazy when Gregg brings up a scheme to go to a video game convention.

Stella Meghie directs Everything, Everything.

May. 25

This year is the year of the tv-to-film remake as The Rock and Zac Efron star in the 90’s hit film Baywatch.

May. 26

The pirates are back finally as Captain Jack Sparrow searches for the trident of Poseidon. Academy Award winner Javier Bardem joins the cast this time.

 

 

 

Exclusive Q&A with Australian rock band Kobrakai

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Kobrakai

It was in March of 2013 were we talk to an an Australian hard band Maiden Tonne. They talked about their grungy influences. Four years later the band is now called Kobrakai, and here is a better update on the band with an all new Q&A as answered by guitarist Neil and the rest of the band. You can also listen to the album here as you’re reading.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1737219357/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/

Q: Last time we spoke, you guys worked on band named Maiden Tonne…how did it all turn into Kobrakai?

A: Maiden Tonne had essentially become a covers band with a couple of original tunes. Our singer (Matty) had an ongoing dislike for drummers, and during this period we had actually recorded a few demos for new songs with an old school friend of Cloudy’s called Smokes….these demo’s would later feature on our first Kobrakai album titled ‘Snuffbox’. Cloudy still jams with Matty from time to time (as Maiden Tonne) and he may make a cameo in a future Kobrakai recording.

Q: Is Kobrakai’s music still influenced by 90’s grunge? What other type of music is it influenced by?

A: Definitely man. I think we are melting pot of grunge, desert rock (Kyuss, QOTSA, Brant Bjork, Fu Manchu etc….), and 70’s riff driven madness such as Led Zep, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Kobra Fuzz (bassist) has some eclectic musical tastes and is right at home strumming along to the Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Doors and then some Blind Melon. Gonzo (drummer) is a surprise packet. He too loves his grunge and desert/stoner rock, but is equally at home listening to some of the heaviest metal out there. In recent times he has also formed a metal trio made up of old school mates from the 90’s called the Blood of the Lannisters. He is primary composer and also offers up lead vocals as well as his drumming duties in this outfit. As a result, his presence in Kobrakai is a heavy one.

Q: What’s new in the recording of your music?

A: We are actually in the process of swapping riffs and song ideas for our next album. Rehearsals and the fleshing out of ideas will start later this week. Gonzo will be on ‘new dad’ duty in August and September of this year, so we hope to have the majority of this album in the bag before then. We are also looking at making another video for a song called ‘Alver’ which we released on our second album (Zodiac) last year. If you haven’t already, check out the video that we made for our song ‘Spaceage’ in February of this year. You can find it on youtube and Vimeo.

Q: What has been the best part about performing your songs live in recent shows?

A: It is always good to get some comments after your show from people who genuinely enjoyed your music. Seeing a few people singing along to the words of yours songs is also pretty awesome…..I can only imagine what it must feel like to have a whole venue screaming along with you. Personally, I love the tightness of our sounds when we all lock in. That is the essence of all that we do.

Q: What inspires your guys to go out there and do what you guys do?

A: Some of our songs have an openly political slant (Merdeka and Spaceage for instance). Basically, we like to go out there and have fun, and play our grooves to the best of our abilities. If people like what they see and hear, then that is a mad bonus as well.

Q: Do you guys plan on playing in other countries?

A: Man, we would love to if the opportunity was there. It is a definite possibility at some point.

Q: Tell us about your upcoming shows and why rock n roll fans should be there.

A: Our next show is supporting our good friends from the Byron Shire who are called Fly Agaric. Do yourself a favour and give them a listen. They have their debut album coming out in mid May. There are some teasers on their facebook and reverbnation pages. This gig also takes place in a town called Lismore which recently copped a hell of a lot of water from tropical cyclone Debbie 2-3 weeks ago. The venue was damaged, but gigs will still go on. Incidently, we will also be playing a benefit gig at this venue in early June to raise funds for the repair and ongoing maintenance of the venue.

Q: Any further comments?

A: Not much man, apart from please give our Spaceage single and video a look and listen.

Thanks for your time!

Kobrakai: Thanks again for the opportunity man. Cheers.