Rachel Bolan: From Skid Row to Garden State

Posted on by joshwurz

Four fantastic decades into laying down the low end for Skid Row, hard rock legend Rachel Bolan decided it was time to make a record that only had his name on it. Gargoyle of the Garden State, out June 12th, isn’t a pivot away from his day job; rather, it’s a raw, punchy punk dispatch from a longtime New Jerseian coming home after years away, compelled to tell his stories about his life, his way. Cut mainly with Bolan playing the majority of the instruments, alongside longtime friend and producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones, Rush), the debut solo record draws on all things in Bolan’s life: punk, hard rock, and years of hard-won experience. With three singles out, and more tracks to come, Gargoyle of the Garden State is the farthest thing from a side solo project, and more like a part of Bolan’s songwriting and creative brain that is only now seeing the light of day after 40 years. Rachel sat down with Hit Parader to discuss more. 

Hit Parader: Just to start off, congrats on your debut solo record Gargoyle of the Garden State coming out on June 12th, that’s super exciting.

Rachel Bolan: Thanks!

HP: And this is your first solo record after decades with Skid Row. What do you think made now feel like the time to step out and release something under your own name?

RB: Man, I really don’t know. The time kind of found me. I had some songs written that I knew just weren’t right for Skid Row. And I was talking to my friend Nick [Raskulinecz], who produced the record, and he’s like, you should do a solo record. Let’s do it here. And I was like, that’d be great, but let me see if the label’s even interested. So they were, and then it all just kind of snowballed from there. I started writing more and more and more, and I’d send them to Nick. What do you think of this? What do you think of that? And then here we are now with the album coming out on June 12, and it was a really, really fun process. But why I waited 40 years, probably because of my day job with Skid Row [laughs]. It takes up a lot of my time. Skid Row is my life.

HP: That’s completely fair, and with it being produced with Nick [Raskulinecz], who’s worked on a crazy laundry list of records with Foo Fighters, Stone Sour, Deftones, but also worked on the latest Skid Row record as well. How did that existing relationship kind of approach the way you approached the record, and how was it different than The Gang’s All Here?

RB: Well, Nick is one of my closest friends, so working together was so fun. And it was really easy. And the second part of your question, the big difference was the decisions were made really instantly. It was just because most of the time, after the drums were done, after Rob [Affuso] finished drums, I just started playing all the guitars and the bass, and I just sat there across from Nick most of the time. It was just the two of us, unless one of my friends came in to do a solo or a vocal line or something. But when I do stuff with Skid Row, it was really odd at first, because I’d play something and I didn’t have my dudes to say, what do you think of that? I had to make the decision with Nick, or Nick is just like, just leave it as is. It’s you. So that was the biggest change for me, not having all my bros around to help make decisions with each other, whether it’s a drum line or a guitar part or bass part or vocal part. So just doing everything on my own. It came together really, really quickly.

HP: It made the entire project completely you, rather than having someone in the band to bounce ideas off of, so to speak.

RB: Correct. Yeah, yeah. Nick was the only guy I bounced ideas off of, and I trusted his opinion fully.

HP: That is super cool. And you said that you played a lot of the instruments yourself. What was your favorite and least favorite part of that whole process, and how did playing most of the instruments kind of shape the writing and recording process?

RB: I did it because it was raw. I would say a fairly good bass player. So that part wasn’t an issue. It was playing guitar. And I say issue, that’s probably the wrong term. But I can play guitar. Did I hit every note in all the bar chords? Probably not, but it’s my style. So the whole process was kind of my favorite part, not to cop out on an answer. And then once everything started coming together, there’s a song called “Bridges,” and I played sitar on it, a picking part. I played some acoustic on it. I played electric guitar and bass. And when we started putting the layers on, I was like, wow, this is pretty cool. And then I heard Nick on the phone. He’s like, yeah, Rachel’s over here killing it on guitar. And I was like, am I? That’s cool that my friend says that, and the producer that I really respect says that. So it was all kind of my favorite part, just building the songs from the ground up. And with it being my vision and my vision only, I was really on top of it to make sure that it all sounded the way I hear in my head.

HP: And then with that rawness that you talked about, you could definitely argue that a form of rawness is kind of quintessential to punk music as a whole. And if you want more polished, more quantized sort of stuff, punk isn’t really the realm to find that. And that’s really cool.

RB: I would agree with that 100%. I grew up listening to punk, and the reckless abandon of punk is what drew me to it, the energy, the angst, the honesty, and the subject matter. And a lot of punk songs, some is political. Some is just views of how they feel. And it wasn’t catering to anyone. It was just, this is what I’m saying, and this is what I want to say. And so I think that’s what drew me to punk rock, because they weren’t trying to write songs that would be on the radio by any means. At least that’s what I think. So yeah, and I drew on lots of my influences, punk and new wave and the whole Brit pop era and KISS and stuff. So everything kind of shows up in little bits, all my influences.

HP: That’s fair. And then it might be a bit redundant, and I apologize, but I’d love to just know a little bit more about the title of the record and what it means to you and how you kind of came to it initially.

RB: Well, I recently moved back to New Jersey, which is known as the Garden State, and I had been gone for almost 25 years. So to come back after that long and just feel at home again. But I wasn’t expecting to feel at home. I was expecting, well, I don’t know really what I was expecting. I knew the food was going to be really good, and I’d reconnect with some of my other friends. But it’s kind of a two-parter, because I wanted to call the album “Gargoyle” because, to me, gargoyles, I love gargoyles and the aesthetics of them, but a lot of people don’t know that each gargoyle has a different meaning and a different purpose for people that believe in mythical things. And so I always thought that was really cool. But they’re basically just there. To most people, it’s like they don’t really serve a purpose until they serve a purpose. So that’s how I kind of felt. And I wanted to call the album “Gargoyle,” and then move back here, and I was like, no, I’m back in the Garden State. Let’s call it “Gargoyle of the Garden State.” And it just sounded cool to me, and it made a lot of sense to me.

HP: And there’s a lot of fantastic features on the record. How did those partnerships kind of come to shape, and did you write any of the songs originally with collaboration in mind?

RB: No, I didn’t write anything with anyone in mind. It’s after I had demoed it and we got to the point of going in the studio and recording these songs. And I was like, man, who would sound really cool on this song? And these are all friends of mine. So I called Corey [Taylor], and I was like, hey, you want to sing this song? Think Sham 69. Just do it with some angst and stuff. So I sent him the song, and he’s like, let’s do it. And he flew out to Vegas. We recorded his vocals, and he’s so good in the studio. And same with Steve Conte, and same with everyone that’s on the record. I sent them the song or asked them if they wanted to be part of it, and they said yes. And I was lucky enough for everyone to say yes. And then I either did them in person, like Damon Johnson, for instance. He played five solos on the record. He came to the studio because he lives outside of Nashville, and that’s where we recorded. And he just sat there on a couch and played the most amazing pieces of music I’ve ever heard. And Scotty and Snake played on a song. They each played on a song, and they recorded remotely and then sent it. We dropped it in. And Steve Conte, the same thing, and Nuno Bettencourt, same thing. But I didn’t write songs around them. Once we got to the recording, I was like, who would sound really cool on this? And that’s how we did it. 

HP: It must be a really cool feeling for you to write a song, have it fully demoed out, and then you hear someone else on the song, and then they agree with that thought that you had, where they also hear themselves and think it would be a good addition to the record. 

RB: It was a great feeling. It’s a monumental moment in my career for me, because I’ve been doing this a long time, and to do my first solo this deep into my career is monumental. And to have friends along with me to do it, I can’t even describe the way it makes me feel from a friendship standpoint alone. It’s like, this is why I’m friends with these guys. They have my back, and they want to be involved, and they understand how important it is to me. So that’s one aspect. And then the fact that they’re also damn talented to be a part of it and make the songs better, it’s just an incredible feeling.

HP: And Scotty, Snake, and Rob also worked on parts of the record as well. I’m curious, you mentioned, were all of them remote recording as well?

RB: No, Rob played drums on the whole record. He drove to Nashville, and he crushed it. He did 11 songs in like two and a half days. It’s a lot. And I knew he would, but he had them all. I sent them to him. And I know Rob and his work ethic, and he doesn’t want anything sounding less than 100%. And he’s such a great drummer. And he came in and just crushed it. And then Scotty is out in LA, so he did it remotely. And Snake is out in New York, on Long Island, so he did it remotely, just because it’s a lot easier than flying down for a couple hours.

HP: That’s fair. I’m kind of curious, how did working with Rob on your own material versus Skid Row project kind of change the workflow or studio dynamic, if in any way?

RB: It was the same, because we play together all the time. We know each other’s next moves, and it just wasn’t really any different. And the fact that he and I have similar tastes in music, we grew up listening to the same kind of stuff, a lot of the punk stuff and a lot of pop stuff. And so it was just really natural, and we play together so much. He’s been in Skid Row for 15 years, I believe. So we are so locked in like a rhythm section that he was my only choice to play drums. If he hadn’t played it, I’d have been like, oh man. Because we just understand each other really well. We know each other’s next move. So it was pretty incredible watching him. 

HP: That’s so awesome! You said in a previous interview that “this isn’t a project, it’s a part of your soul”. I’m kind of curious, in your opinion, what parts of your life and/or soul show up most clearly on this record?

RB: Man, from teenage years right till now. There’s stuff. It might not be a whole song about it. It could just be a line. That’s the way I write, though. I write lyrics and then try to make sense of them after they’re all together. But I’m thinking of times just hanging out as a stupid teenager somewhere and getting into trouble or whatever. And that was a long time ago, but I think all facets of my life are somewhere on this record.

HP: That’s fair. And then, just to wrap up for the last question, as you get ready to drop Gargoyle of the Garden State, what do you think you’re most excited for people to hear or experience about the record or anything forthcoming?

RB: Well, when it comes out, I’ve been seeing a lot of comments just from the first single, and it makes me feel really good, because people say I can’t wait to hear the whole album. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what they think, see if it lives up to their expectations, which I hope it does. I put everything into this record, lots of time and lots of energy, and that’s how I do things. So I’m really hoping that it resonates with people.

Gargoyle of the Garden State by BOLAN is out on June 12th via earMUSIC

Read the article in print in Issue 5 of Hit Parader Magazine.

Hit Parader #5: Sleep Token

Hit Parader #5: Sleep Token

May 2026 — $12.99

The cover story of Hit Parader Issue #5 enters the temple of Sleep Token at the exact moment their mystery has become too massive to hide. One year after Even In Arcadia turned the masked British phenomenon into a global rock event, the album’s instrumental edition strips away Vessel’s voice and invites fans to hear the cathedral underneath —…

Sweet Pill: From Philly Basements to Union Transfer

Posted on by joshwurz

Sweet Pill is one of those bands whose songs and shows still carry the intensity and passion of the basement shows they came up in, even as their world, fanbase, and venues grow larger. Formed in Philadelphia’s strong DIY orbit, the emo/math-rock five-piece built their careers the traditional way: cutting their teeth in smaller rooms, relying on word of mouth, and crafting songs and messages that carry weight and travel much farther than the spaces where they were written and played. On their sophomore LP, Still There’s A Glow, band members Zayna Youssef (vocals), Jayce Williams (guitar), Sean McCall (guitar/vocals), Ryan Cullen (bass/vocals), and Chris Kearney (drums/vocals) channeled that raw collaborative energy into a bigger frame while keeping the scene in which they grew up in sight. Hit Parader sat down with all five band members to talk about the tour, the new record, and how, despite life’s struggles, there’s still a glow. 

Hit Parader: With [Sweet Pill] being such a huge part of the Philly/Rowan DIY scene for so long, you’ve played some pretty quintessential rooms to the scene like Ukie Club, Underground Arts, and The [First Unitarian] Church. I’d love for you to tell me a little bit more about your first headline set at Union Transfer and what that meant to you guys personally after coming through the scene.

Ryan Cullen: For Union Transfer, for me, it was such a special experience. That was the first venue where I was going to real shows and seeing bands play. I think the first band that I actually saw at Union Transfer was La Dispute, actually, and then they were the first big band to take us out on tour. So that was a really cool full-circle moment, to be able to go and play in the room where I had seen La Dispute play, and then also having the experience of touring with them was incredibly special. That was really cool, to be able to be on stage. That’s one of my favorite venues to see a band, and it’s now one of my favorite venues to play.

Cred. Mitchell Wojcik

HP: And then with 4333 [Collective] being such a big aspect of the scene in Philly, how important has it been for the band to stay connected with that grassroots aspect of the community? What would one thing be that you would want to preserve from the scene in Sweet Pill as y’all continue to grow?

Jayce Williams: I think that we come from the world of DIY, and we’re still in it in our own ways. I book shows with 4333, and we all have other different tie-ins. We play in other bands. We’re involved in other parts of the scene. I think that because we have the perspective of being a world-touring band now, and we play all these rooms like Union Transfer, and we’re at the next level above DIY, it’s really important to not forget where you come from in that sense.

We don’t take this shit for granted. There are a million bands trying to do the same thing, and we’re so grateful that we even have the opportunity to take that next step. This is our passion, and we actually get to do it. It’s become our job. Sometimes it feels like a job, but most of the time I’m holding onto that feeling from the DIY world. I want to tie it into Zayna’s message about the last song on the record – how you’re letting go of your childhood – but this is something that I don’t want to let go of. This is what got me here, just setting up a show in a basement. That’s literally how we started. 

HP: On another note, your sophomore record, Still There’s A Glow, came out on March 13th! One thing I really love about the record is the emotional honesty and transparency while also tackling difficult themes. When writing these songs, how did you approach the heavier emotions in a way that was still healthy toward yourself?

Zayna Youssef: I think, at least for me, a lot of emo music is self-deprecating [laughs]. That’s an outlet for sure, a way to get those words out of you. But for me, a lot of my favorite music always has hopefulness to it. I think that’s something I’d rather promote, I think we all would rather promote. There are a lot of people who look up to Sweet Pill, and specifically, a lot of people who look up to me, just being a woman, or being an Arab woman, and being in emo. I think having hopefulness is important to keep the flame going.

It’s ironic, I say that because many of the album’s themes center around fire and burning, flames, smoke, extinguishing things like that ‘Still, there’s a glow’, there’s a notion that no matter how heavy it is, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I think, in general, it’s hard for me not to be honest when I write. Some people can write differently; for me, this outlet is the most honest I can be.

Cred. Mitchell Wojcik

HP: With the theming of fire being pretty cohesive throughout the record, was that something that was initially planned when you wrote the first half of the record, or did it find its way in as you kept writing more of [the record]?

ZY: From my perspective, the way that I think Sweet Pill successfully writes music is that we start with the music first. We hear what we’re working with, and I can hear the emotion through the sounds that the guys are playing. Personally, I have been starting an angry journey, discovering this emotion of anger in its full force. I wrote somewhere in my notes app, “Next album is gonna have themes of fire, anger.” It’s deep in my notes app, but I did write that down.

And then we started writing, and “No Control” was the first song written, and it didn’t really have anything to do with fire [laughs], but musically it has this drive, this burn to it, and that’s kind of where it kicked off. It was a little premeditated, but also, I thought, “Am I putting myself in a box? I need to think outside of it a bit.”

JW: I have one thing to add to that. In our writing process for this record, we took a trip up to the Poconos to rent a cabin to write some music, and we wrote this song that’s actually going to be the third single coming out, called “Slow Burn.” It’s way different than our other two singles. It’s pretty fast-paced, and I remember when we were writing it, we called it a ripper. Then someone said, “A burner.”

ZY: ‘Slow Burn’ was the first word I wrote in that song. 

JW: You probably said that immediately, yeah. 

ZY: When we were demoing it, I heard the “I’m in a slow burn,” that’s the first part I wrote, and then the rest of the song followed. That’s also the third song we had written for the album. It went in sequential order: “No Control,” “Glow,” “Slow Burn.” That one, that was the first word. So it was very early on where this fire theme was developing, and then the rest of the song and album, I tried to fill in the gaps. 

HP: And then, this was also the first release that was written fully by the band at the same time. How did that writing process affect the end outcome compared to Where the Heart Is or the Starchild EP?

Cred. Mitchell Wojcik

JW: We wrote Starchild as a group, but that’s not a full record, so we don’t really count it. Where the Heart Is, some of the songs were written [individually], but they all came together as a group. But Still There’s a Glow is from the start, all of us wearing our chef hats, and we all put in input.

ZY: Starchild was an EP, and we kind of had Starchild written, and then the rest was, “Oh, we, what do we do with it? Is that a single?” So we pieced it together that way. Still There’s a Glow was, we’re looking at a blank page, and we’re like, “Okay, we need to create an album.” And that was the first time we ever did that, because Where the Heart Is was just jams that we had had under our belts, and introducing it to each member. Members had switched and changed until we finally established Sweet Pill, then we made Where the Heart Is. And so this is very different, and I think that it puts a lot of pressure on us. 

Chris Kearney: Yeah, we actually had a lot of music written, and really wanted to narrow it down and fine-tune it to be the 13 songs. We probably had close to 30-ish ideas, and we just really wanted to come together and trim the fat and just make it as good as it could possibly be.

Sean McCall: As for our process for that, though, we went up and rented a cabin to come up with ideas from scratch two different times. And the rest of it is, it’s generally all five of us in a room with our instruments, waiting until somebody hears something that someone else is doing and being, “Oh, that’s really cool. Let’s build on that.” And then Zayna, your writing for the lyrics is a different process than that. But as far as for the music, it’s all five of us trying to structure it, and then Zayna thinking, “Oh, if I was going to write over this, we should cut this part in half. We should change this part to be twice as long.” Or, you know, Zayna has got all kinds of cool musical input on the actual structure of the song that way, too, which is super helpful for us.

JW: The way I describe it is, you know, when a painter paints a painting, it’s one person on one canvas, but writing a song collaboratively, the way we do, is five people painting on one canvas, and so you bump elbows, you have your own agenda, and you have your own style. And I think we work really well under that kind of pressure. And we do bump elbows, and we can argue the hell out of a part that we want to keep. But I think, from the beginning of this interview, we mentioned how Ryan mentioned how, you know, we are an emo band, but we all have these different influences, and we really sit outside of that box, too, and that’s really prevalent, because we all have input in the songwriting. Zayna doesn’t play an actual instrument. Her voice is an instrument, but she is just as involved in the songwriting as anyone else. And you know, it used to be just guitar boys, Sean and I would come up with an idea, and then we’d present it, and it would just be one riff, and then our song would come around it. But Ryan, one of our favorite songs on the album, the last song, “Letting Go,” started because Ryan plays something on the bass, and Chris has just as much input on melody, even though he’s playing an instrument that is not melodic, but he plays it melodically. I don’t know how to describe it. 

Cred. Mitchell Wojcik

SM: I like what you’re saying, Jace. Before I was even in Sweet Pill, watching all of these individuals, Ryan, Zayna, Chris, Jayce, separately or together, do their own things. They are all capable of doing something else completely, and doing awesome at it, but Sweet Pill works because there’s five of us who are kind of able to do that and, like you’re saying, Jayce, usually when you have that with other bands, I’ve seen it or heard it as, this part of the record sounds different because that person wrote this, and then another person wrote this half of the record, and it sounds like two different things. And I think we accomplish not doing that together, because it’s so collaborative, it doesn’t feel like two different records, but it definitely feels like you’re pulling a lot of influences into one place and kind of getting Sweet Pill, you know.

JW: I mean, and there’s no shade on this, but look at Modern Baseball. You have Jake songs, and you have Bren songs, right? 

SM: And that works for them.

JW: Absolutely. They’re both, you know, great in their own ways. We just have Sweet Pill songs.

SM: Yeah, it’s a little different.

HP: That’s awesome. And Zayna, you were quoted as saying that ‘the process of the record came from a lot of trial and error, until the album shaped itself’. What aspect, song, lyric, anything of the album, are you most proud of that spawned from that specific cycle of trial and error that otherwise would not have been in the record?

ZY: Well, I will say the first time we went to the Poconos, we birthed “No Control” and “Slow Burn.” And then the second time we birthed “Glow.” And then we kind of birthed the rest of it in our practice space, and I birthed my end of it in the studio.

SM: I was just gonna say “Smoke Screen” was one that we forget about, that was kind of going in between yes and no. It almost didn’t even make the record. And now here we are.

Cred. Mitchell Wojcik

ZY: Yeah, that’s a good example. That’s gonna be our fourth single, and that’s, the song is called “Smoke Screen.” And basically, the guys had one of the jams, and I was trying to write to it, and I was having a really, I was very blocked, writer’s block, whatever. I couldn’t figure out what to say. And, I mean, I knew what to say, but I didn’t know the best way to say it. But it kind of sat dormant for a while, and then, months later, in the studio, I just tried again after writing different songs, and it helped me figure out how to write this one that was sitting for a while. But yeah, there’s a lot of lyrics. A lot of lyrics came last minute, and a lot of lyrics came in the moment. A lot of lyrics were thought out for months.

JW: I want to just add to that a little bit, too, like what Chris said earlier, we had 30 songs written, and what I was mentioning before, how when we’re writing together with that metaphor, we do bump elbows. And I think it took Zayna saying to us, “Hey, I have this writer’s block on this stuff we’re working on,” which I think some of us were kind of, “What? This stuff rocks.” And then I’m so happy she said that, because then we wrote 12 more songs, which almost all of them made it on the record. And I think without that emphasis to kind of start from scratch again, we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now.

HP: With you guys scrapping almost an entire record, how did that feel in the moment, starting from scratch and just backburner a lot of material?

ZY: I think everybody has a different answer for that, because I felt good, but I think it was probably a little defeating for everyone. I mean, even after we restarted, I had to restart a million times myself, just lyrically. 

RC: I’ll say that it was really hard to move past some of the songs that we were working on, I thought that they were really cool. But the way that Sweet Pill writes music is, we will take a part of a song, and then we’ll get to the end of that part, and we’re like, “Okay, so what should come next?” And we start pulling from our catalog of different riffs and jams that we’ve made. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there are aspects of those songs that we scrapped that will make their way to new Sweet Pill songs in the future, after they maybe find a better home. So it’s still material that we have to play with. It’s good to have in our pocket for now.

JW: Yeah, going off of that, it is, in the moment, it was hard to start from scratch, but now in hindsight, I’m really grateful for it, because we do have that arsenal of stuff to pull from when we want to write again. And we had practice yesterday, and we have four ideas that we’re jamming on. [While] we’re rolling out our second album, we’re already working on the next thing, and there’s no stress involved. It’s just fun, and that’s how it should be. Writing this record was stressful for all of us individually, but we pushed it out, and I’m really proud of it.

Cred. Mitchell Wojcik

HP: Just to start to wrap up, this might be a little cliché, but if the audience could have one takeaway or central message after listening to the new record, what would you most want it to be?

CK: That shit rocks [laughs]. Sorry, you can give a real answer.

ZY: That’s a real answer [laughs]. I was gonna say, ‘still, there’s a glow’ [laughs]. I guess, if you want a real answer after that is that life keeps going, and you have a choice more than you think you do.

HP: And then just a fun one to wrap up. What are you most looking forward to in 2026 from all y’all?

ZY: I’m excited to tour. We did a lot of touring, obviously, these last few years, but this last year, we were doing a lot of outside of America, which was awesome, but I’m very excited to play Sweet Pill shows to our home turf, just to feel that familiarity again. So I think that’s what I’m excited for.

RC: I’m excited to play rock music with my friends around the world.

SM: I’m excited for this damn record to come out [laughs].

JW: GTA 6, fingers crossed.

CK: I’m excited to exist with my friends and play some cool shows and have a good time. 

ZY: I’m also excited to see some change happen, hopefully in this bleak, dark world.

SM: Fingers crossed. 

ZY: Still, there’s a glow, baby.

Buy tickets to Sweet Pill’s upcoming tour here.

Catch a 4333 Collective show here.

Read the article in print in Issue 4 of Hit Parader Magazine.

Hit Parader #4: Brent Faiyaz

Hit Parader #4: Brent Faiyaz

March 2026 — $12.99

In this issue of Hit Parader, Brent Faiyaz steps into the cover spotlight for a rare, unfiltered conversation about artistry, independence, and the cost of doing things your own way. At a time when most artists race against algorithms and deadlines, Brent moves on instinct —scrapping albums, disappearing to finish ideas on his own terms,…

Sons Of The East: From Stage to Studio

Posted on by joshwurz

Fresh off the touring cycle that saw the Australian indie-folk trio Sons Of The East play over 100 shows around the world, they found themselves writing more and more music on the road: between shows, behind the stage curtains, and mainly away from home, a fact that shows through clearly on their fantastic independently released album SONS. Even as they build on their folk roots with their newest full-length release, the group of Jack Rollins (Vocals, guitar), Nic Johnston (Vocals, keys), and Dan Wallage (Guitar, banjo) explore new sounds and styles they haven’t before on SONS, widening their sonic palette without losing what makes their sound theirs. Hit Parader sat down with Rollins to discuss more: how relentless touring, ever-changing influences, and independent autonomy shaped SONS, and how, at the end of the day, it will always come down to playing music they love with their friends for as many people as they can reach. 

Hit Parader: So, just with the new record and the making of SONS, much of the songwriting happened while touring. How did being constantly on the move shape the emotional tone of the music?

Jack Rollins: Good question. I guess I don’t know, it does get a little lonely on tour, if I can be completely transparent. So I guess there is a bit of yearning and longing in some of the themes in the music, but also I think we just kind of felt crazy pressure, knowing that we did 110 shows last year, and then as each show came to a finish, we were like, “Fuck, we’re getting closer to coming home and then having to finish this album.” We already had a few songs ready, but basically, we had to come home and literally only had like two or three months to finish the album. We were kind of just, like, anything that was coming up we were putting down, and we’re happy with anything, or whatever, really. But yeah, there is a sense, you can kind of sense this travel, definitely some kind of yearning and longing for connection in a lot of the songs.

Cred. Pat O’Hara

HP: And then what are a couple of places that you or others drew inspiration from that your fans wouldn’t expect? Maybe a book, a non-folk artist, or a movie, or something?

JR: Good question! Yeah, I don’t know, we get it everywhere. I don’t really listen to folk music. A lot of us don’t really listen to folk music. I listen to a lot of really crazy, different stuff compared to folk. I listen to a lot of hip hop and Afro beats, stuff that’s so far removed from folk music. I still love folk music, but a lot of times, if I’m driving in the car, I wouldn’t put that on, unless it’s a nice sunset drive or something like that. We listen to a lot of War on Drugs, J.J. Cale; you can definitely hear little bits of that seeping into the new record. We’re just trying to make the pool of inspiration a bit bigger and wider in terms of its range, so it keeps things interesting for us.

HP: I love that. My personal favorite off the new record is “10 Days,” which is a really pretty ballad/ interlude. Tell me a little bit about the imagery and the storyline behind the lyrics, and the lyric in specific, “They say bad luck comes in threes”.

JR: Nick had probably a 95 percent hand in writing that song. Speaking of longing, that one came whilst we were on the road last year. He’s got a partner that he’s been with for a long time, and she’s wonderful. I think in those lyrics, you can hear Nick really kind of almost calling out to her as we’re on the road, and you know, it’s right there in the title, “10 Days.” It’s all about him coming home soon and how that’s going to feel, because it is always a bit awkward coming home to your loved ones, because you haven’t seen them for, we’d been four months last year. So yeah, coming home is kind of a weird thing, you’re like, “Is it the same? Is it going to be different?” So yeah, I agree, it’s a beautiful song that Nick championed there.

HP: What song off the record took the longest to finish, and what song seemed to flow out the fastest?

JR: The song took the longest… There are a couple that took us a while. I’m trying to think. “It’s Alright” took a while; we mucked around with that for months. But then, on the opposite end, “Sweet Thing” and “Time Will Tell” were done in a day each, which is really cool. “Pour the Wine” took like a few weeks. I’m trying to think. I can’t really remember now, I think we kind of repressed it because it was so fucking stressful.

HP: I understand. Sometimes I’ve noticed an interesting thing between some people I’ve talked to. If they work on a song for months on end, it always ends up being like, “Hey, I just like the original song,” and you kind of revert back to the first demo.

JR: Yeah, definitely. There’s this guy, an Australian comedian who’s also a musician, Tim Minchin, who talks about how it’s like a painting. You never really know; you’ve got to know when to stop adding paint to the art because you can overcook it. Sometimes it’s just like, when do you get to the point where it’s done? Having deadlines is always good because you can just go, “Alright, it’s time to stop, because we need to deliver this thing.”

Cred. Pat O’Hara

HP: If a fan only had the ability to check out one song off the record, what would you show them? What’s the “opus” in your opinion?

JR: Oh…

HP: I know that’s like a favorite child situation, but, 

JR: Yeah, a little bit. I don’t know. I think because the record has heaps of different genres on it, it’s hard to pick. Can do a top three? 

HP: Please!

JR: My favorite three are probably “Recognize,” “It’s Alright,” and “Sweet Thing.” When we were going through the album, those are the three that I’d listen to the most when we’d just finished with them, and be like, “Hey, this is cool,” you know what I mean? So I think probably those three, for me, I would pass on to a fan. But as I said, those three,  “Recognize” is like a War on Drugs-type thing, “It’s Alright” is like JJ Cale, and then “Sweet Thing” is like a full ’50s, ’60s-type beat.

HP: I was reading online earlier today, someone on the War on Drugs Reddit page said, “’ Recognize’ reminds me of [The] War on Drugs and this song rips.”

JR: That’s sick. 

HP: “Now I’m checking out these guys as well.”

JR: Fuck yeah, that’s great.

HP: So, just with this record, it adds to a long tradition of self-releasing records, accomplished entirely without major label backing. What has been the most meaningful reward and unexpected challenge of steering your music independently, and in what ways has the autonomy shaped your vision?

JR: Man, you ask great questions. Well, I think because we’ve always been independent, we’ve always had to learn on the go. We’ve been our own marketing team, our own publicity, our own design studio; we literally do everything ourselves. Especially Dan and Nick, those guys are so hands-on. Dan does so much with social media, designing merch, and making marketing schedules. We’ve really had to knuckle down and learn. We started this thing just to be musicians and not have real jobs, but now the admin’s crazy. We’re literally running a business and having to learn all that has been really important and amazing as well.

I think being independent for us is all about control and owning our own stuff. Our manager always said to us from the start, “Just own the product,” and we’ve enjoyed being able to do that. Sometimes it’s taken us a long time to release stuff, so not having overlords breathing down our necks has been nice for us to do things at our own speed. It took us ten years to release our first album, so maybe it took too long, but we’re happy where we are, enjoying playing and writing music, so life’s good.

Cred. Glynn Parkinson

HP: And you could argue it’s a lot more authentic without as many hands in the pot, so to speak.

JR: Exactly, exactly. You don’t want to have too many cooks in the kitchen.

HP: Just tell me a little bit more about the rest of the year and anything else you want to add for the fans.

JR: Yeah, so we just did an Aussie tour. I just did a month in Europe, and we’re halfway through a month here in North America. Then we’ll probably come home and chill out for a bit, just do some surfing and get some sun in, it’s an Aussie summer when we get back. Then we got Christmas and stuff. Then we’re just going to do some writing and hang out, and we’ve got a few things back over in the States in May, and a few gigs around Australia early next year. Working towards that and just getting to some new music, I think. Now, not having any crazy deadlines will be nice to get in the studio with no pressure and see what we can cook up. We’re having fun touring and looking forward to getting back in the studio and having fun making music again.

HP: And that’s what it’s all about.

JR: Exactly.

Listen to SONS by Sons Of The East wherever you stream your music.

Read the article in print in Issue 4 of Hit Parader Magazine.

Hit Parader #4: Brent Faiyaz

Hit Parader #4: Brent Faiyaz

March 2026 — $12.99

In this issue of Hit Parader, Brent Faiyaz steps into the cover spotlight for a rare, unfiltered conversation about artistry, independence, and the cost of doing things your own way. At a time when most artists race against algorithms and deadlines, Brent moves on instinct —scrapping albums, disappearing to finish ideas on his own terms,…

RAYE Radiates Reassurance with “This Tour May Contain New Music”

Posted on by joshwurz

RAYE is the exact voice you’d want to represent single women. She’s lived through it all before: sleepless nights, painful yearning, years spent getting over an ex, who could be reduced to a few body parts: just skin and bones and two eyes and no brain. But the South Londoner Rachel Keen, a.k.a RAYE, isn’t writing off dating despite the ailments of the single scene; she’s turning it into a grand, dramatic, symphonic narrative — packaged grandiosely in her sophomore album, This Music May Contain Hope. 

Cred. Ariel Goldberg

Closing out her tour of the same name, RAYE radiated at Los Angeles’ The Greek Theatre in an unsurprisingly sold-out first-night appearance. Preceded by opening acts from her sisters, Amma and Absolutely, the family affair was a lively lesson in 21st-century womanhood. No holds barred, the haute hitmaker waltzed onto the stage in a long trench coat and an umbrella — standing under a cardboard rain cloud — establishing the scene around the album’s opener, “Intro: Girl Under the Grey Cloud,” as a dreary London day, but only briefly. 

We’re then transported back to a 60s-style soundstage, RAYE’s pin-up style on pointe, where the soulful singer stood before us in a red satin dress and signature bob, sided by two back-up singers in the same garb. The drum sequence welcomed in the next song, her hit single, “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND,” the ol’ razzle-dazzle to match. No one could stay seated—especially when the old Hollywood-style background lit up with bold lettering, reading “Beware…The South London Lover Boy.” 

“Girls, stay safe out there/ Best you stay prepared/He’s a South London lover boy,” she forewarns — backed by the energy of the big band. Silencing the crowd was her prolonged, quizzical stare over the lyrics, “He’s not looking for a heart, just your pillow to rest his head.” Perhaps we all stood in solidarity, having found ourselves in similar situations far more times than we care to admit. 

From the start, RAYE set the record straight that she does not recommend reading reviews online — vocalizing that she talks too much during her shows. She was right. After hearing her third or fourth fourth-wall-breaking narratives that carried the show forward in story format, one could argue she didn’t talk quite enough. 

Cred. Ariel Goldberg

That said, the performance was laid out in three parts, beginning with Raye’s Jazz Cabaret. “Cue the door!” she hollers to the stagehands. We are then entered as an audience into an intimate England club, where RAYE brings the story to life. “She goes to the band and asks if she can sing a song,” she cues in third person. “I’m going to describe her love life in a few brief words: dried up rivers,” a laugh rippled through the theater. The band picks up the pace as she takes a seat, breaking into song with the smooth, jazzy neo-soul single “Worth It,” brass, percussion, keys, and strings swaying alongside her. 

If there’s one thing about RAYE, she’ll keep spirits high with zany asides and theatrical expressions, but she isn’t without her serious moments. In the next section, she gently wound down the audience — even dismissing weary souls to the bar for a drink—while she took a seat at the piano for “Ice Cream Man.” An incredibly raw, years-long look into the inconceivable grief caused by sexual assault and harassment, all sat in silence as the song brought her to tears. 

The production was an act that came in many waves, and this part was prolonged in the heavier topics of the album, including heartbreak. RAYE stood solely as she belted the lyrics to “Nightingale Lane,” an ode to her past lover, where she reminisces on kissing beer-stained lips in South London and reflects on the pub, where it all started — and ended. “A bit unoriginal, don’t you think?” she scoffs. 

As a prelude to the melodramatic number, she first stepped onto her soapbox: “I’m going to say maybe 25 percent of us are not looking for love — do you think that’s a fair estimate?” she asked. “So, for the 40 percent of us really excited for someone to walk into our lives and choose us, the lyrics of this song are ‘somebody loved me once, and some day someone will love me again,’” reframing the song as less of a lament and more of a reminder that love isn’t lost. “I’m going to tell that to someone who needs to hear it,” she emphasized. Most of us stayed seated as we came to our own realizations that maybe she was talking to us. 

Cred. Ariel Goldberg

But the vivacious vocalist didn’t leave us in our feels for long. It was only a matter of an outfit change that crescendoed the set into the orchestral section, beginning with the high-streaming “Click Clack Symphony.” While the song features Hans Zimmer, RAYE shook her head, signaling he would not be making an appearance, and he really didn’t need to. Her lyrical stamina and impressive range could carry the entire five-minute ballad, instruments not necessary—but certainly not forgotten. In fact, after each song, Keen made sure to list the names of each musician, never missing an opportunity to praise the people who really do make the art a reality. 

The night, like a movie, continued its ascent, ushering us into the final section: the nightclub. The set shifted into shades of neon, laser lights setting the scene, almost as if we were joining RAYE on one of her iconic nights out in South London. Harking back to the hits that skyrocketed her initially, she spent just mere moments singing breathy lyrics of “Prada” and “Escapism,” with the crowd echoing back, “Just a heartbroken bitch, high heels, six inch/In the back of the nightclub, sippin’ Champagne.” 

The night built to an epic climax. “I’m not a very good liar, so I’m telling you there will be an encore,” she said, lingering in anticipation for the curtains to close. And guess what? There was an encore — a very fitting one at that, with “Joy,” a dance-y, gospel-inspired number, which both of her sisters joined her on stage for. Tying the album’s themes of hope, relentless reassurance, and finding love with a bow, the trifecta sang for everyone in the audience: the 40-percenters in search of the perfect person, those happily partnered up, and even the people who find content in solitude — yes, you, the lucky 25%. 

On that note, we’re not good liars either, so you can trust us when we say RAYE is a radiant force to be reckoned with. This Album May Contain Hope is not only a dazzling record from start to finish, but also translates excellently into an on-stage production with all the bells and whistles—big band, bouncy curls, bare souls, and a bit of joy we could all use against our woes, because according to RAYE, there will, in fact, be happier times ahead.

Bailey Spinn Casts a Darker Spell With New Single “voodoo”

Posted on by nyocum

Bailey Spinn has released her new single “voodoo,” the latest step in the pop-rock artist’s increasingly darker, heavier era. The track is out today, Friday, May 15, following a string of recent singles including “critical,” “homicide,” and “fear of going out.”

We’ve covered Spinn before, notably with track one from her yet to be announced next project, the aforementioned “homicide.” A blistering track produced by Erik Ron (Black Veil Brides, Motionless In White, Godsmack). This one taps Jon Lundin (vocalist and songwriter behind Point North) on production. The chorus is massive, the breakdown in the bridge is killer, and lyrics have us humming it on repeat.

Spinn first broke through as a creator before pivoting into music, building a massive online audience and turning that direct fan relationship into the engine of her career. She mentioned in our interview that her influences included early-2000s female-led rock touchstones like Evanescence, Paramore, and Avril Lavigne as part of her musical DNA, while her 2025 debut album Loser pushed her further into a more mature, emotionally charged sound.

“‘voodoo’ is a hard rock single about ex friends or partners keeping a close eye on you online, and mimicking your style. This song draws inspiration from artists like Paramore, Flyleaf, and Poppy with an eerie feeling. ‘voodoo’ fights back against people who think they have a hold over you.”

— Bailey Spinn

But the rollout “voodoo” also underlines something that streaming numbers alone can’t capture: Spinn knows how to make fans feel like they are part of the world she is building. A few weeks before the single’s release, she sent hand-drawn burned CDs to select outlets and fans — including us at Hit Parader — with the track inside. Ours arrived signed, covered in little doodles, and accompanied by a note. In an era where most music promotion arrives as a link in an inbox, the gesture felt personal, more like a message from an artist to her community than a campaign asset.

That kind of connection has become part of Spinn’s appeal. Her songs lean into heightened feelings like heartbreak, anxiety, obsession, self-protection, but her relationship with fans has always been grounded in access and sincerity. “voodoo” plays into the spooky-romantic side of her aesthetic, but the handmade CDs may say just as much about where she is headed: bigger, darker, and still determined to keep the people who got her here close. And we’re so here for it. Check out the new single below:

New Constellations: Never Too Late To Believe Again

Posted on by joshwurz

It turned out to be the right time for Harlee Case and Josh Smith of New Constellations to believe again, a mindset that has pushed the Portland-based synthwave duo further than they once thought possible. Their debut full-length project, It Comes In Waves, which releases May 15th via Nettwerk Music Group, represents the culmination of years and years of experimentation and, in turn, evolution of Smith’s production combined with Case’s deeply personal yet cathartic lyricism. This moment can’t be overstated in their already successful careers: It Comes In Waves feels like the opening paragraph of a novel you already know you’ll love, a fitting comparison for a band that, while on their debut full-length release, is just getting started, and they aren’t anywhere close to slowing down.

Throughout the conversation with Case and Smith, themes of creative freedom and lyrical expression emerge as essential to the making of this record, but none shine brighter than the theme that it’s never too late to do what you love and that hope is always around the corner, waiting for you to believe again. New Constellations is the definition of that, this interview shows it, and shows that New Constellations believes in you, too. 

Hit Parader: Just to jump in, your debut record It Comes In Waves comes out May 15th. That’s super exciting, congrats!

Both: Thank you!

HP: With this project being your first full-length release, what creative choices were you able to explore more in depth compared to the singles and other releases in the past?

Josh Smith: Yeah, I think for me, what was big was, I produced all of our music, and for this album we worked in a studio with a close friend of ours. His name was Cam Spies, and it gave me an opportunity to be just a musician in the studio and not running the session necessarily. So I think we got to explore some more musical ideas, just in terms of having someone there to help facilitate some of the ideas. So for me, I’d be like, “Oh, I’m hearing this keyboard part.” But if it was just me and Harlee in our studio, like we normally do, I’d be like, “Ah, it’s so much work to get the keyboard out, plug it in,” that I’d be like, “I’m not even going to bother.” So this was really neat to just be like, “Oh, I’m hearing this keyboard part,” and then by the time I’m finished with that sentence, the keyboard was already plugged in and set up. And he’s like, “All right, go for it.” So I feel like we got to, I personally got to explore some cool musical ideas that were just a lot easier to explore because we had a third person there facilitating a lot of the sessions.

HP: There’s less of a barrier to entry, in a sense.

JS: Yeah. When you’re the one plugging in the cord and pressing play and pressing record and then playing it, it takes a lot out of you. So it was really cool to be able to just be like, “Yeah, let’s do that.” And the same thing with Harlee and I working together too is that he got to do that for both of us. And so we got to toss ideas off of each other and enter a flow state without having to worry about the more technical aspect of the session, and we got to just focus on being creative.

Harlee Case: I feel like because this collection of songs is written over five years, we’ve written hundreds and hundreds of songs and explored so many different genres and ways that we were feeling with no “this is going to be on an album” at all. So when it came down to actually making the album, we had so much to choose from and maybe chose stuff that we wouldn’t have written if we were sitting down and writing an album right now. So I think the time that we had to explore a lot of different genres was really helpful as well.

JS: Absolutely. 

HP: That’s awesome. And with bringing producers like Cameron [Spies], Tyler [Blake] and and Mighty Mike to, in your words, “sprinkle some sugar on the record,” were there any specific moments or songs where they added something to the track that you didn’t imagine previously, but now can’t really envision the song without after?

HC: I bet you we have the same answer, Josh.

JS: I mean, I know one of mine personally is the song “Believe Again” that Tyler worked on. He added these drums. And the first time we heard it, I remember the moment we listened to it for the first time, we were both like, “Whoa.” I wasn’t even sure if I liked it at first. But now every time I listen to it or replay it live, I do the little drum fill he did [air drums], and I can’t imagine that song without it. And I listen to the old demo now and was like, “What was I thinking?” Obviously, those drums he put in, they’re so good, but it’s not something I would have necessarily gone with. What’s cool about that is it unlocks that in our brains now. And so now it’s like, “Oh, I wouldn’t have chosen drums like that, but now that I see someone put those drums on our songs, I’m like, ‘Oh, now I get to do that now.’” Now I know how and where, so it sort of unlocks that opportunity for me too.

HC: And then Mike on “I Disappear” just took out sections so it just has these moments of silence that are so sick. When we’re playing it live, it’s a big theatrical moment now of these pauses, and I just love that part.

JS: It’s like we have that chopped up “wake up,” and so there are parts after the chorus where everything drops out and she’s like, “Wake up.” And it’s just cool that we’re like, “Dang, that two seconds of silence makes the whole song.” And it adds – it’s so weird that a moment of silence can add so much energy live too, but that’s become one of our favorite songs to play live because we can pause and really rock it for a second.

HC: Yeah, it was just wild. I never thought about it like that, that it’s this absence of energy that brings so much energy to the live set, which is so weird.

HP: Super cool. And you mentioned “Believe Again,” and it’s such a wonderful track, and the lyrical content is so pertinent, not just to musicians but a lot of creatives in today’s ecosystem. I’d love to know how your relationship with the song shifted as your life changed since first writing it, and how you want the message to be perceived by people going through some of the same things you were.

HC: That’s actually one of the last songs that were written on the album, and that song was specifically me writing it to myself about 10 years ago, having the bravery to try again. And I think that every time I personally listen to it, I get so much energy to keep trying again and to reinvent myself in new ways and to believe in myself more and just continuously want to push the message to people that you can take breaks. You can completely put down your craft if it’s not the right time for you, but it’s also completely okay to pick up and try again and that it’s never too late. That quote, “never too late to be what you could have been,” I love that so much. And Josh and I put out our first singles of our entire career, our whole lives, at 30 and 33 years old. There would have been a point in time where I thought I was too old to make it as a musician anymore because I should have been something by a younger age or whatever. And I love to get to be an example of that, that it’s not true at all. It’s all up to us when we want to do things, and it’s just never too late.

JS: I think a song like “Believe Again,” what’s cool too about growth and evolution is that it’s never done. So this song is talking about a growth and an achievement that has happened, but that doesn’t mean that we’re done growing and achieving too. So I think a song like “Believe Again” can speak to the ongoing driving and achieving and changing and growing, and not just, “Oh, I got there and I’m done.” It’s like, “Oh, I got there, and that proved to me how much further I’m capable of going.”

HP: Love that. And you also mentioned some of your first singles, and “Hot Blooded” is actually on the track list for the record. When you think of the track today, what parts of its personality or lyricism still resonate with who New Constellations is today after five years of dropping music?

HC: I have a pretty bad habit of nearly all of my songs, all of my things that I write, coming from this hopeful, yearning space. And I recently found footage of me when I was five years old, and I was writing songs like that. So I think that there’s something embedded in me deeply that will always have this desire and push and pull that’s within me. And so I don’t think this song will ever go out of style with just the way that I naturally feel about life. 

HP: And with the topics discussed on “Dandelion” and “I Disappear,” how do you approach vulnerability in lyricism in a way that’s healthy to you and cathartic?

HC: Yeah, I tend to freestyle, and I think that that in itself is a type of therapy because I am allowing everything to come forward. And sometimes there’s stuff in there that I don’t feel should be out in the world or that I want to be repeated a bunch of times, but the majority of the time I feel like it does. I feel like just being really honest with myself about how I’m feeling and allowing myself to just put it all out there is really healthy. And I think too that I really try to reflect on every song, that I’m like, “Am I putting too much blame in someone else’s court?” Because I always like to bring it back to, “I have a part in this. I have a part in the relationships that I’m in.” And so a lot of the editing process for me a lot of times will be, “How can I own my part of whatever I’m saying if it’s including someone else?”

JS: I think what’s great about a lot of this stuff is as personal as it can be, there’s a lot of it that’s universal too. And what we’ve discussed in the past is Harlee writes these super personal songs about super personal moments in her life, and then sometimes those moments pass and you’re like, “Well, I’m not going through that anymore. I’m not that person anymore.” But what is cool about it is that somebody is going through that at all times. And so when you write a song about a situation, even if that’s not a situation you’re struggling with anymore, you having written that song – or her having written that song – helped her process and go through that time. And now people can hear that song, and it can help them process that and go through that time as well. So I think we’re able to continue to sing these emotional, specific songs even once we’re past those moments because we know that it’s helping someone else, potentially, that is going through that at the time.

HP: Music is always a very personal medium of art, and it can always be interpreted in different ways;  I love that viewpoint on it. So just to wrap up, if after listening to the new record the listener had to come away with one takeaway or feeling from either the lyrics or the musicianship, what would you most hope that to be?

JS: Harlee and I talk about wanting to inspire people and inspire hope a lot, but we don’t necessarily want to tell people where to spend that hope. So my hope for our record would be that if someone listened to it, they would feel an inspiration or hope to then get to use however they feel like they need to use it in those moments. But I would just want someone to feel better or something afterwards, energized in some way. But I don’t want to tell them how they should be feeling. I just want them to be feeling something.

HC: Yeah. And I mean, being an artist is so special because I get to feel so understood in writing these songs and then get to hear how people felt understood. And so I hope that the lyrics and the music can help them to understand themselves more and be like, “Oh my gosh, that is straight out of my own brain. I couldn’t put the words to it, and that’s exactly how I feel.” And sometimes music has helped me so much in those ways to even move through challenging feelings. Sometimes putting a name to it is the first thing to being able to release it. And so yeah, I hope that people can understand themselves more and relate to themselves and us more and have faith for the future and hope for the future for themselves. The last song we wrote on the album, “Edge of the World”; I really hope that a lot of people really love that song because I feel like there’s something really powerful about seeing the world as your playground and being able to receive the goodness of: we’re having a really hard time, but there’s also a lot of beautiful things to come.

New Constellations’ debut album It Comes In Waves is out now.

You Will Fall in Love With Isabel Van Gelder

Posted on by joshwurz

Mark my words, Dutch singer/songwriter Isabel Van Gelder will be on the cover of Hit Parader within the next two years. True, I am the editor, and the insanely likable Van Gelder has become a friend through our frequent interviews, so I might seem biased. But when you have two different major industry figures/label presidents tell you how badly they wanted to sign her after she joins the storied history of Columbia Records alongside Rosalia, Harry Styles, and more, you know the hype is legitimate. 

Van Gelder, who is already a fast-rising star in her home country and throughout Europe with a run of sold-out shows over the last six months or so, began her rise to the top of the U.S. music scene last week with her debut Columbia single, “I Don’t Want To Fall in Love Again.” It is, oddly, yet another song of heartbreak for Van Gelder, whose quick ascension on social media began with the achingly gorgeous song, “Die For You.” I say oddly because when you talk to Van Gelder, she is constantly laughing, smiling, jovial, and in great spirits.

“I don’t know why that is. I have some slightly happier songs coming,” she says. “Well, not really, actually. If I think about it, maybe the music feels happier, but the lyrics are still pretty sad.”

Cred. Sony Music

While she is normally very carefree and happy writing these sad songs, this one did come out of the struggle of trying to balance a relationship and a burgeoning music career. As she explains the origins of the single, like so many great songs, from “Sweet Caroline” to “The Harder They Come,” this one came out of the ether, the universe, wherever songs come from. 

“Usually when I write a song, I already have a concept in mind, or I’ve kind of thought about it for a little while. But in this case, I was in the studio. I wrote it with Jake Gosling, and we were in the studio together. The session wasn’t necessarily going super smoothly from my end as well. I didn’t really feel inspired, and I was having a hard time coming up with something to write about,” she says. “We had a great day. He’s lovely and amazing and very talented. But we were just hanging out and talking, and I was beating myself up about the fact that I wasn’t feeling very inspired. There was a lot happening, but it wasn’t great for my relationship, being gone all the time. So, I was struggling with that already, and then at some point I just said, ‘Hey, maybe I should stand behind the mic and just come up with something, just do something, if it’s bad, it doesn’t matter. But let’s freestyle a little bit, so I did.’ I think that was probably the last hour and a half of the session, and we didn’t really have a melody or a concept. And I stood behind the mic, and I just freestyled and talked gibberish and came up with some melodies. Those were immediately the melodies of the song, of the verse, and the chorus. They just fell out. And I didn’t know if they were any good, but Jake was like, ‘No, this is good.’ Then, in like 10 or 15 minutes, I wrote all the lyrics, and the song was there. Actually, when I made it in the studio with him, I thought, ‘I’m not sure if it’s any good and I’ll probably have to go back to it and change some things.’ But I never ended up changing anything; that’s pretty much what the song is. I don’t know where it came from. It just happened.”

Like almost every artist, Van Gelder says songs coming to her like a thunderbolt is all too familiar to her. “In my experience personally, I do feel like the songs that I think are my best songs happen very quickly. And I think when you’re truly inspired, or you’re in this kind of flow state, sometimes you don’t really even know what’s happening, and it just happens. This song was definitely one of those moments,” she says. “I walked out of the studio, and I wasn’t even sure. I had to listen back to what we actually just made? And then I was like, ‘Hey, this is actually good.’”

For Van Gelder, signing with Columbia, which has also been home to legends such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand, Miles Davis, and more, is the beginning of a new chapter she can’t wait to experience.

Cred. Sony Music

“It’s really exciting. All of this happening is obviously a dream come true. And if you had told me a year ago, I would not have ever thought that I’d be where I am right now, even though it’s still the start of everything. I’m very excited, and at the same time, I’m very eager, and I feel even more driven to work 10 times as hard, because I feel like having a deal right now only creates more opportunity in a way,” she says. “I just want to work as hard as I can and do everything I can to make this happen, of course. And I want to be back in the States as soon as I can.”

That will hopefully come for her before the end of this year. And while she is waiting to get back here, there is a lot of new music on the way, as well as visuals for audiences to get to know her better.

“I can’t say yet if it’s going to be either an EP or an album. But there’s definitely going to be some more heartbreaking lyrics on there. A big part of it is done already. We also have some more upbeat music coming. And it’s going to be a little bit more conceptual, I think visually, than the things I’ve done so far because I’m very excited to have this create this cohesive body of work that really has a concept, and then visually, I want it to be recognizable,” she says. “Those are all things that I’m working on; I’m making many mood boards for right now, and a music video, hopefully, if everything works out. But definitely, I have to say there’s going to be a lot more heartbreak on there.”

While Van Gelder might be setting up for a future run at the title “queen of heartbreak” musically, she is, again, far from that in her everyday life, as she proves with her tastes like YUNGBLUD and Bo Burnham.  “I feel like somebody that I’ve been following for a long time, and I think he does the sickest shows, is Yungblud. I’d love to see and crowd surf to one of his shows. I feel like it’s crazy and so much energy and just would be really fun,” she says. “I love Bo Burnham. I just think he’s so smart. Also, I just think he’s really funny. And then he’s a fantastic singer, like a musician really. And I loved his special that he made during COVID with all the songs. I just thought it was genius. Like the music is genius. I love him. And I think it’s really funny. He’s just my type of guy.”

You likely will not see crowd surfing at one of her shows, but between the tears, the songs might induce her to promise a lot of fun. “We’re definitely playing some upbeat songs, and I talk a lot. I tell a lot of stories. It feels pretty spontaneous. I think you really do get a feeling of who I am as a person. And I think that’s what I really want people to take away from coming to shows that they feel like they know me a little bit better,” she says.

At only 23, despite what her song suggests, Van Gelder is also far too optimistic to give up on love. “Knowing myself, I fall in love so fast, and I love love. So, I’m sure I’ll fall in love again,” she says laughing. 

My Chemical Romance Rev Up the Killjoys Again With Danger Days Deluxe Reissue

Posted on by nyocum

My Chemical Romance are heading back into the desert.

The band has announced Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Deluxe Edition), an expanded reissue of their neon-blasted 2010 fourth album, due July 10, 2026 via Reprise Records. The new edition will feature remastered versions of the original album’s 12 tracks, newly reimagined artwork, and nine bonus cuts — many of which are arriving on vinyl and most streaming services for the first time.

To kick off the rollout, MCR have released “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) (Recorded For BBC Radio 1),” a 2010 live version of the album’s gasoline-slick lead single. It joins a bonus-track lineup that includes “Zero Percent,” “We Don’t Need Another Song About California,” “F.T.W.W.W,” “Mastaa of Ravenkroft,” “Black Dragon Fighting Society,” a BBC Radio 1 version of Pulp’s “Common People,” and live iTunes Festival 2011 takes of “SING” and “The Kids From Yesterday.”

Originally released on November 22, 2010, Danger Days marked one of the boldest left turns in My Chemical Romance’s catalog: a high-concept, post-apocalyptic California rock opera that swapped some of The Black Parade’s funeral-march grandeur for laser guns, outlaw mythology, glam-punk color, and a radio transmission from the end of the world. Produced by the band with Rob Cavallo, the album debuted in the Top 10 in the U.S. and topped Billboard’s Rock and Alternative Albums charts, according to the band’s announcement.

The reissue also arrives with a fresh victory lap: Danger Days, “SING,” and “Na Na Na” have all now been certified Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA, giving the band’s most polarizing major-era album a belated commercial coronation.

The deluxe package will be released digitally and physically in several formats, including multiple 2LP configurations — picture disc, zoetrope, and color vinyl variants — along with 2CD and cassette editions. My Chemical Romance’s official store is already listing several deluxe formats, including exclusive zoetrope vinyl, picture disc vinyl, pink starburst vinyl, and an alternate-cover 2CD edition. Those editions can be found here.

The timing is hardly accidental. Next month, MCR launch the UK and European leg of The Black Parade 2026 tour, including three nights at Wembley Stadium, before bringing the run to North America in August. The U.S. dates include a stop at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on August 13 and a massive Los Angeles finale at the Hollywood Bowl, where the venue currently lists five MCR shows between October 21 and October 31. Tickets and dates can be found here.

For a band that has spent the past several years turning its own mythology into stadium-scale ritual, Danger Days suddenly looks less like the strange outlier and more like the blueprint: loud colors, doomed heroes, comic-book stakes, and a world burning beautifully in the background.

oskar med k’s Meteoric Rise: and Why He’s Not Slowing Down

Posted on by joshwurz

The Norwegian chill house phenom oskar med k has had what could only be described as a meteoric 2025, and there isn’t a single sign that he’s slowing down. Cementing his place in electronic music’s most promising new voices, oskar’s debut full length project feel captures the emotion of his rise, the creative momentum that drives it, and a clear vision of the music he’s most passionate about making. Across our discussion, it is clearly apparent that he isn’t chasing trends or momentum: he’s continuing to build an artistic identity meant to last that’s grounded in fantastic music and pure authenticity.

Hit Parader: To start, you’ve had a heck of a 2025, where you went from 40 thousand to 11 million monthly listeners in less than a year from ‘Make Me Feel”. What was the biggest thing you learned about yourself as an artist that you didn’t really see before that rise?

oskar med k: That’s a great question. I haven’t really thought about it too much. I think I just managed to shape my sound a bit more and care less about what others think. I was very concerned about that in the beginning;  how will other people react to this, and this? I don’t really care about that anymore.

HP: That’s awesome. While you were grinding out all the music for ten years producing, what do you think is one value or aspect of your career from your earlier years that you want to hold on to as you keep growing?

omk: I think just having fun with it, to be honest, that’s the most important thing.

HP: Out of curiosity, when did the tracks really come to life for you; both in where you made them or just the headspace you were in when you were creating?

Credit: Nicole Palmlund

omk: Kind of all depends on the song. It just kind of happened on the way. I’ve been working on that for a long time. 

HP: You said in a previous interview that you ‘lived with [the songs] for a while’. What do you think is one track off the record that’s changed meaning for you personally after revisiting it, after having it in the bank for a while?

omk: Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen anything in a different light. More like I’ve made a song and I get stuck on it or tired of it. Then when I revisit it, I work some more on it, and it changes in some ways. 

HP: Sometimes the best thing to do to fall in love with a track again is just not listen to it for a while. 

omk: Agreed. You’ll find it again.

HP: How long do you think you were making individual tracks before you realized that you were putting together a group of works instead of singles?

omk: For a long time. I don’t think we started thinking about doing an album until sometime this fall. I think then I had lots of songs ready already.

HP: If someone could only listen to one track off the new record to get a real feel for who you are as a producer today, what do you think you’d pitch them?

omk: Probably ‘Make Me Feel’, but I would tell them to check out every song [laughs].

HP: That’s a fair answer [laughs]. Just to wrap up, what are you most excited for the rest of this year?

omk: Just travel, be on tour, and to release more music.

oskar med k’s album feel is out now via 7cult.

Diary Of An Almost Popstar: What I Learned From The Grammy Hall of Fame Gala

Posted on by joshwurz

To celebrate LEGACY is a breath of fresh air in the current state of the music industry. With changing algorithms, sporadic moments of 15 minutes of fame, a continuous scroll of “pops new it girl,” it’s great to be reminded that art and what an artist has to say truly does craft an undeniable cultural impact. 

The Grammy Museum and Recording Academy threw the third Annual Grammy Hall of Fame Gala to remind us all of timeless recordings on May 8, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton. 

The Grammys is music’s biggest night, but the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala highlights award-winning artists and sounds that have stood the test of time. 

I walked into the marble halls of The Beverly Hilton like a romcom heroine after the makeover scene. The Devil may wear Prada, but a rising popstar is renting blossom yellow Ronny Kobo, Oscar de la Renta gold dangle earrings, and other blinged bobbles. Anything to help promote the newest single. 

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MAY 08: Heather LaRose attends the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala 2026 at The Beverly Hilton on May 08, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

While I was in my little loaner Lexus, I got the final master for “How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days.” I was blasting it through the speakers on the drive from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills. It’s a song I wrote inspired by my chaotic romantic experiences and my refusal to shrink myself down for a man, because if he’s not the one, you can lose a guy in 10 days. How I styled my red-carpet look was to pay homage to Kate Hudson’s famous yellow dress. 

As an upcoming pop artist and songwriter, the landscape right now is changing at a velocity that we haven’t seen before. With a lot of the industry focused on social media, I, along with other artists at my level, am constantly getting fed what trends to tap into, what sounds to emulate, and what aesthetic to utilize. The whiplash a girl can get from the suspected next big thing! 

When everyone is fighting for a spot to be relevant, it reminds me that I want to be timeless. And that’s what the records getting honored tonight are: TIMELESS. 

As a returning attendee, I ran into some familiar faces, Linda Duncombe (On the board of The Grammy Museum, SAG AFTRA), Joshua Curtis Friedman (writer/director), along with Elijah Grae (producer/guitarist) and Sali Krazy (manager).  After taking a few turns on the red carpet, I ran into the stunning Isabel Marie, who would later be performing her rendition of “No Me Queda Mas” from Selena’s Amor Prohibido. She and I both popped over to The Lounge Booth after the carpet. 

Once I wrapped the photos and press room, it was over to hobnobbing during the cocktail hour. This year, it was in a lush outdoor garden setting. 

After connecting with some of the academy members and meeting friends of friends, we were guided through a series of chimes to the main ballroom. Sparkling lights in every direction draw a spotlight to the grand honor of the evening. 

As I was getting settled, The Soul Stirrers opened the night with a performance of “Jesus Gave Me Water,” inviting the audience to clap along with the harmonizing male vocalists. My table, along with the room, erupted into song. Proving in practice the ageless melody and how gospel music is meant to be sung with a choir. With the entire ballroom being industry folk, you couldn’t ask for better voices or a more on-time clap. 

The list of the 2026 inductees was as eclectic as the group of people I was with at Table 37. A manager of a performing vocalist, Forbes journalist, blockchain entertainment investor, and iHeart Radio reporter. Like a singles table at a wedding, we went around introducing ourselves and giving each other little vignettes of our lives. 

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MAY 08: <> onstage during the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala 2026 at The Beverly Hilton on May 08, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

In my life, I’ve had a multitude of influences, but one of the performances reframed the way that I perform. The music school I attended in high school is owned by Charlie Lagond, one of the saxophonists of George Clinton and heavily involved in the Funkadelic Family. During my most formative years of performance, I’ve watched playback of Funkadelic, Erykah Badu, Bootsy Collins, and Michael “Clip” Payne. I had to take notes on stage presence, audience connection, and costume choices. It was such a full circle moment to see George Clinton and Erykah Badu joined onstage by Blackbyrd McKnight to perform “Maggot Brain/Can You Get To That,” in celebration of the album Maggot Brain.

One of the first albums I ever received was a gift from my mom after Norah Jones won Best New Artist at the Grammys. Seeing her honored with the Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award was another full-circle moment. Come Away with Me is a celebratory album in my parents’ house. She brought her emotionally raw phrasing, like what I’ve always heard on “Come Away With Me,” to Ray’s “Seven Spanish Angels,” which Charles originally performed with Willie Nelson, and “Hallelujah, I Love You So.” The performance was timeless and intimate in a way that only Norah Jones can. 

Great music doesn’t just capture an emotion; it encapsulates the human life experience. It becomes the sentiment of the times. From across the decades, and one song, “Trouble in Mind” by Bertha “Chippie” Hill is exactly a century old. As someone who is woven together by pop music, I love celebrating songs that are the bedrock of pop. A blues song being added to the Hall of Fame 100 years after its release is such an important addition. 

As a lifelong fan of Heart, I saw them live for the first time with my parents at the Jones Beach Theater in 2019, and the vocal power of Ann Wilson is a sound and sight to behold. That vocal performance, along with the high kick, cements that female rock stars are ageless. The entire room was on the edge of their seats for the trilogy performance of “Magic Man,” “Dreamboat Annie,” and “Crazy On You.” 

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MAY 08: Janet Jackson accepts an award onstage during the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala 2026 at The Beverly Hilton on May 08, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A very rare appearance by Janet Jackson was made celebrating her highly influential, groundbreaking 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, “still resonates on a deep and profound level,” Jackson said, “It’s an ongoing force that fights bigotry and promotes understanding. It cannot be stopped. It’s simply too strong and too positive. Rhythm Nation is a movement of people of all reaches and backgrounds seeking to give and receive love free of judgment. As we celebrate tonight, let’s remember that it transcends all borders, nationalities, and faiths.”

One of my favorite quotes was from Lucinda Williams, whose inducted record Car Wheels On A Gravel Road paved the way for the genre we now know as Americana, “my music fell in the cracks between country and rock… which later became known as Americana. Don’t worry if your music falls into the cracks, that’s where it’s supposed to be.”

A recurring theme I was taking away from watching the performances of the night was the honesty in the records. Each artist was so steadfast in their truth. Truth paves the way for legacy. I want to be an artist who is so committed to learning who she is and examining myself with unhindered vulnerability. Sometimes, being an artist on the rise, you’re so in the trenches you can’t see the end of the road. Living in LA when you’re renting a house, renting a car, damn, I even rented my dress. The idea of object permanence seems like something so intangible. And sure, there’s no guarantee that your music is going to get the prestige of The Grammy Hall of Fame, but I fully believe there’s so much you can learn from the greats on becoming an unmovable force within the music industry. 

Complete list of 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Inducted Recordings

All Eyez On Me, 2Pac

Amor Prohibido, Selena

Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams

Dreamboat Annie, Heart

“Jesus Gave Me Water,” The Soul Stirrers

Journey In Satchidananda, Alice Coltrane

Maggot Brain, Funkadelic

OK Computer –Radiohead

“Orange Blossom Special,” The Rouse Brothers

Paid In Full, Eric B. & Rakim

Pink Moon, Nick Drake

Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson

“Trouble In Mind,” Bertha “Chippie” Hill

You’ll Sing A Song and I’ll Sing A Song, Ella Jenkins