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DAY SHEET BLOG — Category_Interviews

Dirtbag Endorsed Artists create their own whiskey

Dirtbag Endorsed Artists create their own whiskey

13 NAILS is the "prime time rock band extravaganza" of Fort Collins, Colorado, who sprinkle a b-movie vibe over their heavy metal, hardcore horror punk sound. Having headlined tours, and opened for worldwide acts like John 5 & The Creatures, Mushroomhead, Dope, THC, Pop Evil and many many others, the band brings a big show to every stage. 13 Nails recently partnered with a local Fort Collins distillery to create their own blend and brand of whiskey. 13 Nails' frontman Johnny Lambert gave us the low down: From the original idea to the final product, explain how your band created their own whiskey… At first it was just a T-shirt design we had that was selling really well, and then as we grew as a band, I started to email sponsors. I happened across Feisty Spirits as a local company, and we sat and discussed the idea of a Halloween/Fall flavor release. That was 3 years ago, and now here we are with it growing! Why whiskey, and not gin, rum, or beer? We are all fans of whiskey, lol. We would like to venture out some day with a line of spirits.... What band wouldn't? What is the significance behind the name, “Grave Digger”? Grave Digger came from one of the first songs we wrote as a band. We have also used it slightly for a bit of a mascot theme. Can you describe the flavor, and some of the ingredients? It has a standard whiskey base with spices added in, with fresh apples to create the flavor. How can we get our hands on a bottle? Right now, select Fort Collins and Loveland, CO stores carry it along with the distillery/tasting room itself. Feisty Spirits and 13 Nails would love to see it go national! With it being a local distillery, we are using a portion of each bottle to help fund the Easter Seals of Loveland, CO music department. It would be nice to one day have it grow to the point where we can help Easter Seals all over the country. If it goes well, do you foresee making other spirits in the future? If this one keeps going the way it does, it would be nice to have a full line of 13 Nails collab spirits. If you are in the Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado area this Halloween season- try to get your hands on this rare regional select spirit! Also, CLICK HERE to hear the music that inspired it! Check out 13 NAILS on the web Check out Feisty Spirits

SEE PHOTOS BELOW!

Liquid Conversations w/ Shawn Sixx and Glenn Hughes

Liquid Conversations w/ Shawn Sixx and Glenn Hughes

Shawn Sixx sits down with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath)

https://soundcloud.com/theliquidconversations/tlc-episode-20-glenn-hughes

Dirtbag Industry Spotlight: InTune Guitar Picks' Bert LeCato

Dirtbag Industry Spotlight: InTune Guitar Picks' Bert LeCato

Since the dawn of the new Millennium, an industry power-player has risen to rank. InTune Guitar Picks started from one guy in a garage, producing a few hundred picks per month, and slowly evolved to become one of the top pick producers in the game. Creating custom picks for an impressively extensive list of world-renowned artists, InTune now has a full staff, and a factory that produces tens of thousands of picks per day. InTune Guitar Picks and Dirtbag Clothing have recently teamed up to provide discounted picks to Dirtbag Endorsed Artists, so we had a chance to speak with Bert LeCato, Mr. InTune, himself: Tell us a little bit about your journey.. why did you originally start the brand? It actually happened because I had ordered custom picks for myself and they were terrible. I knew I could do a better job and decided to start my research. With a lot of days off from the Fire House, it didn't take long to create a quality process. What was the tipping point for the business? When did you know it was safe to quit your day job? About 2.5 years in, things started getting pretty crazy. Popular artists were reaching out, orders were consistently coming in and my full time job started interfering with the pick business. Since you started out, how much has your production process changed? The process hasn't really changed, it's just grown. We and our clients are happy with the product, so changes wouldn't likely be well received. The key was to keep up with demand, so we've added more equipment over the years. Your client portfolio is incredible- looking through it, it just goes on forever and ever. What have been some of your favorite custom pick designs to make? There are really too many to mention. The favorites are always the ones that show creativity. Some clients keep it simple and some go above and beyond. Some of the designs we see are just so creative and it's great seeing cool designs go from screen to pick. Are there any new innovations in the industry, or in guitar-playing that you think will affect the future of pick making? There are always new materials and playing techniques popping up. We tend to keep it simple and old school. Novelty picks come and go, but most artists tend to always go back to the basics. Technology has advanced quite a bit in printing over the years and we have benefited from some of it, but our most detailed and durable process is old school and still cannot be beat. The downside to the new technologies is that it makes it easier for people to get a piece of equipment, buy some pre-made picks and offer them to the public. What makes that bad is there is a lack of quality control. The company makes a quick buck and the consumer ends up with a low quality product. Your picks, and the ink printed on them are very durable. How do you do it? Well that is just a big secret! Just for fun, if you had to guess- what’s your total tally on guitar picks produced in the last 18 years? The quantity of picks we have printed over the years reaches well into 8 digits. We definitely can't complain about that. We have great appreciation for our large and small clients who have helped make this happen. The loyalty and support we have received from all of them over the years have definitely been a big part of making this happen. As well as a lot of hard work and a hard working staff here at InTuneGP. ---------------- And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. When your day job gets in the way of your passion, it's time to quit in true Dirtbag fashion. We are honored to be partnered with such an awesome company, and we look forward to seeing all the awesome pick designs created by our Dirtbag Endorsed Artists. If you are a Dirtbag Endorsed Artist, visit our new BACKSTAGE area to order your FULLY CUSTOMIZED InTune Guitar Picks at a special discount. If you are not a Dirtbag Endorsed Artist, check out InTune Guitar Picks' Website.

A FEW OF INTUNE GUITAR PICKS' CLIENTS:

John Moyer (DISTURBED)
Josh Rand (Stone Sour)
Johny Chow and Christian Martucci (Stone Sour)
Ian Grushka (New Found Glory)
Miranda Lambert
Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest)
Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)

Liquid Conversations w/ Shawn Sixx and Lizzy Borden

Liquid Conversations w/ Shawn Sixx and Lizzy Borden

https://soundcloud.com/theliquidconversations/tlc-episode-15-lizzy-borden?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=facebook

Shawn Sixx Sits down with LIZZY BORDEN.

kaPOW! Dirtbag Endorsed Artists Create a Comic Book

kaPOW! Dirtbag Endorsed Artists Create a Comic Book

We can all agree that 2017 is a strange time to be alive. A time wrought with scandal and tragedy on what seems to be a daily basis. While we all carry different perspectives and ideas about the past, present and future, Dirtbag Endorsed Artists, SUBURBAN VERMIN have given an artistic take on our modern day of weird. "TV HEAD NATION" is the name of their first ever comic book series, and it is being released alongside some new music from the band, as well as some other goodies and add-ins. I had a chat with the band about the series.

So, you’ve created your own comic book series, and that automatically makes you cooler than 80% of all bands. Well done! Was any one of you responsible for the idea to create a comic series, or was it a whole-band concept?
The basic concept stems from a poster we had commissioned from artist Nathan Blu a number of years ago with the band depicted as super heroes. For our last record 'Headless Over Heels', we did a horror anthology comic with different artists for each song. For 'TV Head Nation' we we wanted to serialize the comic story as well as the music to match how music is consumed currently. There have been many contributions to the basic concept by the entire band and management, but the concept and stories were conceived and written by bassist/vocalist Jason Vermin. There also was some additional writing by Dan Rafter who has worked on the Gearz series.
What is the series all about?
Before the election last year when we started planning the comic series, there was a lot of fear about what the world would look like if the unthinkable happened. 'TV Head Nation' in a lot of ways is a reflection of a worst case scenario. There are some parallels that can be drawn to current events, but through a science fiction filter.
The series itself follows our hero Ramona trying to find her wife who has been abducted by an alien warlord and his empire. There are the band characters who help her out, but for the most part, it's Ramona who is the driving force behind the comic. You get the sense the more you read how evil can spread and how that effects the different characters and the world they live in.
How many books will be in the series, and what does the release schedule look like?
There are technically three comics in this series, with Issue #1 being double length. The first half of issue one was initially released for free comic book day as Issue #0, but they ran out so quickly, we didn't want anyone to pick up Issue # 1 and not have the full story as well as miss out on the songs that were included with that release. Issue # 2 will be released October 20th 2017. Issue # 3, we're hoping December, but at the latest January.
In addition to “TV Head Nation,” we are releasing “Zombie Bloody Zombie,” a Suburban Vermin short story that takes place before the events of “TV Head Nation.” That'll be out October 28th 2017 for Halloween ComicFest.
Who is the mastermind behind these awesome illustrations?
The illustrations are by Amy Fay, an artist out of the UK. She's been amazing to work with and instrumental to the success that we've experienced with “TV Head Nation.” She will be working with us on the next set of comics.
Have you considered shopping it around, or maybe bringing it out to Comic-Con next year?
There are pros and cons to having an imprint or company try and help or take over the Suburban Vermin comics. It's a lot like trying to find a record deal. You want to maintain creative control and not to have art decided by committee. The comics already have been a big boost to the music and we've gotten such a warm reaction. We're still relatively inexperienced in the comic world, but already we're getting some modest success doing things unconventionally.
As for comic conventions, we actually are stating to get into that scene. We're making our con debut October 21-22nd at the Central City Comic Con in Yakima, WA. They already have some great guests and are really enthusiastic with working with us.
Next year, we're going to be doing more conventions and balancing that schedule with our regular show schedule and with releases that we're planning for potentially this time next year. We're actively planning to expand our comic universe so right now we feel that conventions will become a big pillar in how we do things as a band.
And where can we buy this thing?!
If you're in the Northwest you can buy the first issue from Comic Hut in Renton, WA. You can buy digital copies of the comics for your tablets along with mp3s from our website. We're trying to workout a web solution for selling the physical copies online, but due to the nature of the project, we'd like to ensure that they reach people in good condition which can drive up the price for shipping with comics.
Another thing that all you Dirtbags can do out there is let your local conventions know that you want us there. We're really keen on getting on the road, playing for all of you and getting you our comics as our comic universe expands. We're really into contributing to the comic/geek culture instead of just using the comics as a gimmick for promoting the music. We also have trading cards that contain music, paper craft figures, board games, etc.
We're all nerds, for me this is combining pretty much everything I'm nerdy for into the band. It's all different ways to compliment the music.
Thanks for all the support!!

Download/Buy the Comics Here!!!

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