_{“City of Sin” is the second album from Danish band Grumpynators and it was released via Mighty Music on 24th March. This time the band have worked with Jacob Hansen for production and mixing and the result is an album with 12 hard-hitting rock tracks that are instantly etched on the brain! If you like your rock tracks to be fast and heavy with lyrics and singing rather than screaming, you’ll probably want to check this out. If you like your rock bands to feature the double bass, you’ll definitely what to check this out!! I played the opening track “Tears of Whiskey” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 17th March.}

_{The excellent album “Fight and Flight” was released by Australian band Tequila Mockingbyrd in their home country last year. It got its official UK release on 24th March via Off Yer Rocka Recordings. The three girls have now moved to the UK and have been really busy gigging over the past months, recently finishing off a tour with Bonafide. I played the track “I Smell Rock n Roll” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 17th March and “Half of the Man” on the Show on 31st March.}

_{One of the first albums I ever bought would have been “Hit and Run” by Girlschool back in 1981 – around the same time that I bought the “St Valentines Day Massacre” EP featuring Girlschool and Motörhead. In the twinkle of an eye 35 years have passed and Dissonance Records have just re-released the first three Girlschool albums – “Demolition”, “Hit and Run” and “Screaming Blue Murder”. All three were available from 17th March and to mark the event, I included “Following The Crowd” from “Hit and Run” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on the same date.}

_{Letters From The Fire formed in the San Francisco area in 2012, although the band traces its roots back to 2007 when it was founded under the name of Park Lane. Initially, Letters From The Fire had a male vocalist, but in 2015 Alexa Kabazie joined the band and work commenced on the debut album “Worth The Pain”. This was released in the USA through Sand Hill Records in September 2016 and then in Europe on 17th March 2017. I played the track “Perfect Life” on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 7th March and again on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 17th March.}

_{We were recently sent the new EP from a band called Maps to the Hollywood Scars that featured guitarist Alex Grossi from Quiet Riot and vocalist James Durbin who had sprung to fame in American Idol in 2011, finishing fourth. In the short time between receiving the EP called “Volume One” and arranging an interview with James it was revealed that he would be the new lead singer for Quiet Riot.}

_{So when I spoke to James in California via Skype on 22nd March we had quite a bit to chat about. You can hear what he had to say about Quiet Riot, Maps to the Hollywood Scars, American Idol and more on the Friday NI Rocks Show that was broadcast on 24th March. That Show is available now via the On Demand Player or as a podcast on iTunes - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html (the show uploaded on 22nd March).}

_{It can also be found on our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interviews-with-jeff-hoad-and-james-durbin-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-on-24th-march/}

_{The interview has been transcribed and can be read below.}

_{My other guest on the Show is Jeff Hoad, lead singer and guitarist with The Rich and Famous and previously front-man of Kings of the Sun.}

_{I’ve been a big fan of American rock band Hydrogyn for many years and was curious to see what path they’d take with their latest album “Redemption” which was released via HighVol Music on 10th March. The husband and wife team of Jeff and Julie Westlake have parted ways and Julie has been replaced on vocals by Erica Parrott. There is undoubtedly a change to the Hydrogyn sound, with Erica bringing a heavier edge to things and the band raising the volume a few clicks! They can still do the slower tunes too though, as evidenced by the track “Jenny”.  It’s a different Hydrogyn, but definitely worth checking out!  I played the track “My Redemption” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 10th February.}

_{“Endure and Survive” is the latest album from Blaze Bayley and it is the second part of a sci-fi trilogy that commenced with “Infinite Entanglement” in 2016. The new album was released on 3rd March via Blaze Bayley Recording. I recorded a 40 minute interview with the former Iron Maiden singer in February and we chatted in depth about the new album and much more. This interview can be heard on the Friday NI Rocks Show dated 3rd March along with 3 tracks from the new album.  The Show is available via the On Demand Player or can be read online - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3074-ni-rocks-interview-with-blaze-bayley.html.}

_{Maps to the Hollywood Scars is a project that features former American Idol contestant James Durbin and Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi. They released an EP simply entitled “Volume One” on 17th February, just a matter of weeks before it was revealed that Durbin would be taking over the lead vocalist position in Quiet Riot. I played the track “Till Death” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 24th February.}

_{Early on the morning of St Patrick’s Day, I found myself on Skype talking to someone in Australia who I’d previously only ever seen on a stage in Belfast over 28 years ago; when his band were supporting Kiss. Jeff Hoad, the former front-man of Kings of the Sun has returned with new music from The Rich and Famous – the band he and his brother Clifford had originally formed after the demise of the Kings of the Sun.}

_{The interview with Jeff was originally broadcast on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 24th March and that Show can now be heard on our MixCloud site - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interviews-with-jeff-hoad-and-james-durbin-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-on-24th-march/}

_{The interview has been transcribed and posted below.}

_{Our second guest on the Show is former American Idol contestant James Durbin who was recently revealed as the new Quiet Riot vocalist.}

_{Tokyo Motor Fist brings together Ted Poley from Danger Danger and Steve Brown of Trixter. Frontiers Records are the undisputed masters of making such collaborations happen and not surprisingly, they are behind this one too. The self-titled debut album was released on 24th February. The track “Pickin Up The Pieces” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 3rd March.}