_{Jeff Pilson is one of the most accomplished bass players in the rock scene, having played in bands such as Dokken and Dio and for the last fifteen years being a member of Foreigner. He is also a hugely respected producer. The latest project that he has been involved in is the band Black Swan; alongside Robin McAuley, Reb Beach and Matt Starr. I was fortunate to be able to talk with Jeff to chat about Black Swan and his other work via Skype on 30th January. The interview was recorded during Foreigner’s residency at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.}

_{The first part of the interview focuses on Black Swan, the second part on Foreigner and in the final part we chat about The End Machine, Dokken, Steven Adler and more. The Black Swan album “Shake The World” is released by Frontiers Music on 14th February.}

_{The interview is included on the Friday NI Rock Show on 14th February and this is available via the On Demand Player - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html (the Show uploaded on 13th Feb)}

_{“Dirty Shirley” is the excellent, self-titled, debut album from a band that features guitar legend George Lynch and rising vocal sensation Dino Jelusic; both of whom are no stranger to the NI Rocks playlists on Rock Radio NI. The album was released via Frontiers Music on 24th January. Dirty Shirley is another shining example of how good that label can be at creating new projects that feature some of the top artists in the rock music scene. The tracks “Here Comes The King” and “Dirty Blues” were included on the Friday NI Rocks Show during November, followed by “I Believe” on 10th January.}

_{DECARLO released their debut album “Lightning Strikes Twice” through Frontiers Music on 24th January. The album is great example of how melodic rock should be done – but then singer Tommy DeCarlo has been fronting rock legends Boston since 2007. I’ve often said that I’m not a huge fan of anything too AOR or overly melodic and that there needs to be sufficient ‘rock’ to merit the label! DECARLO certainly delivers on that. The title track “Lightning Strikes Twice” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 13th December and there will be a track on the NI Rocks A-Z Show this month.}

_{There are two NI Rocks Shows uploaded each week on Rock Radio NI. These are the playlists for those shows for the month of January – all of which are still available from the On Demand Player. There are tracks by over 150 different artists on the Shows this month. Playlists for December were published previously and these Shows are also available via the On Demand Player – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/news/rrni-updates/3713-ni-rocks-recap-on-2019-and-playlists-for-december.html}

_{I’ve been fortunate enough to have chatted with guitarist Doug Aldrich a few times over the past number of years. The first interview was recorded when he was in Belfast with Whitesnake in 2013 and the second was recorded in 2018 just before The Dead Daisies tour brought them to Belfast. I was pleased to get the opportunity to speak to Doug again via Skype on 31st January. This time the focus was on the recent release of the third album from Revolution Saints; the band that he is in alongside Deen Castronovo and Jack Blades. However, we also chat about The Dead Daisies, Burning Rain, Dio, The Planet Rock Allstars and more.}

_{You can hear that interview along with eight tracks featuring Doug on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 7th February. This is available from the On Demand Player - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html}

_{“Rise” is the third album from Revolution Saints and it was released on 24th January by Frontiers Music. The phrase ‘super-group’ is undoubtedly much over-used and I’m not sure who or what defines what a ‘super-group’ looks like. Whatever way you want to look at it though, Revolution Saints features three top-class musicians with years of experience performing in some of the biggest name bands in rock – Deen Castronovo, Doug Aldrich and Jack Blades. The track “When The Heartache Has Gone” was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 8th November, followed by “Closer” on 17th January. I’ve recorded an interview with Doug that will feature on the Show on 7th February along with three tracks from the album.}

_{“Rock n Roll Heroes” is the latest album from German band Mallet and it was released on 17th January via Baze Records. The band formed back in 1979 and this is their eight studio album. They initially started as a five-piece but since 1994 the line-up has stabilised as a three piece with just one of the original members remaining. The track “Rock n Roll Hero” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 17th January.}

_{Former Heavy Pettin drummer Gary Moat has fronted the band Burnt Out Wreck since 2016. The band released their second album “This Is Hell” in October 2019. Recently his music label Burntout Wreckords also re-released the three Heavy Pettin albums “Lettin Loose”, “Rock Ain’t Dead” and “Big Bang”. I was always a huge Heavy Pettin fan and have really enjoyed the Burnt Out Wreck albums so when the opportunity arose to record an interview with Gary I jumped at it. We spoke via Skype on 27th January and you can hear that interview on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 31st January - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html - and on our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-gary-moat-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-on-31st-jan-2020/}

The interview has been transcribed and posted below.

_{Swedish band Brothers of Metal released their second album “Emblas Saga” on 10th January through AFM Records. The eight piece Viking-metal band features three lead singers and three guitarists. Brothers of Metal was formed in 2012, but has had a surge in popularity since the release of their debut album in 2017. Two tracks from the latest album have been featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show so far – “One” on 13th December and “Njord” on 10th January. The former was also included on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 17th December.}

_{“Outbreak” is the third album from American band Vandallus and it was released on 12th December by Mercinary Records. The band formed in Cleveland in 2015 and the focus has been on re-creating the rock / metal vibe from the late 70’s and early 80’s. The track “Barricade” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 20th December.}