Alex Skolnick, the talented lead guitarist of thrash metal band Testament and jazz band The Alex Skolnick Trio recently wrote an autobiography Geek to Guitar Hero. He begins with his childhood where he talks about his challenging upbringing in an academic family, his rise to fame with Testament, and his independent journey towards becoming an… Continue reading Book Review: Alex Skolnick’s Geek to Guitar Hero
The Last Bat-Shaped Helicopter Out of Saigon: An Interview with Oderus Urungus of GWAR
Johnny Pluckman and Jesse Styles of Alternative Control, along with Alex Gilbert of New Noise Magazine, had a sit-down with “Dave Brockie” at Toad’s Place on 12/28/13 a few hours before he removed his human suit and transformed into Oderus Urungus. Here’s some of what the interstellar diplomat had to say about New Haven, music, the World Maggot, and the new GWAR album Battle Maximus.
Interview: Patrick Kindlon of Self Defense Family
Self Defense Family is the type of post-hardcore band that is constantly pushing boundaries, whether it be lyrically or through their music, which seems to change from release to release. They make you reconsider what constitutes punk rock or hardcore. In addition, they have a shifting line-up of musicians that can see the band swell… Continue reading Interview: Patrick Kindlon of Self Defense Family
Payday Downloads: Dream of Scipio, Barn Burner, and David Kaye
This is the first in a new bi-weekly series about music we’re finding on the web. Many of the reviews on Alternative Control are intended to be at least somewhat in-depth, but this is quite the opposite: download on Friday and post a short, conversational review by Sunday. It’s all about finding new music we… Continue reading Payday Downloads: Dream of Scipio, Barn Burner, and David Kaye
Carcass: The Play
An old house. A yard littered with dead VW campers. A shed. TESS walks up to the front door. She has a flyer. She knocks. A MAN answers. MAN What? TESS Hi, I’m, uh, I live over there. Like, right over there. My yard backs up to yours. Anyway I… Continue reading Carcass: The Play
2013: A Year in Review
This year has been full of action of Alternative Control. Here’s a rundown! Thanks to people like you, our readership continues to grow — 44,000 visits from almost 38,000 unique visitors! Although most of our content is about music, our most viewed article was about hair: “Tips and Tricks for Dyeing Your Hair Interesting… Continue reading 2013: A Year in Review
Bair Grills… 2013
There’s no doubt that some of my greater achievements and most dismal disappointments occurred during the last 365 days. One of my fondest moments in over a decade of performing took place at Cherry Street with Last In Line, paying tribute to Dio with some of my very best friends, and in the doing… Continue reading Bair Grills… 2013