A Rocknworld.com Special
by Keavin Wiggins
Rocknworld
Becomes NeuroticaWorld For July 2002!
Neurotica - One of the first bands to
ever be featured on Rocknworld has an explosive new album out, the first
major release from the WWE's SmackDown Records. Plus the band will be on
a rampage all summer long on the Ozzfest. To celebrate we are officially
changing the name of Rocknworld to NeuroticaWorld for the month of July
and running several special features on the band. Here is Rocknworld.com
Founder and Managing Editor Keavin Wiggins to tell you why.
If you’ve seen Almost Famous than you know
one of the biggest reasons someone gets into rock journalism is out of
love for the music. God knows it isn’t the money. Part of my reason for
getting into this crazy business was the fact that a lot of bands that
I loved weren’t getting any press. So from the very beginning Rocknworld
had a mission to cover great bands, whether they were superstars or the
dudes in a garage down the street.
Through this four-year odyssey there have
been a few times when I took a real personal interest in a band. I was
so excited about the music that I set out to do all I could to turn people
on to them. While we are still a small fish compared to the big corporate
players like Rolling Stone and MTV, we have over the years reached millions
of readers and among those thousands who have picked up a CD because they
heard about it from us. There is no greater joy than getting an email from
a fan, thanking you for turning them on to an underrated band. It makes
all the BS, long hours, and the virtually nonexistent paycheck worth it.
Rocknworld’s association with Neurotica
goes back to virtually the beginning. Back in April of 1998, literally
two weeks after we launched Rocknworld.com, Neurotica’s lead vocalist Kelly
Shaefer emailed me and asked if we’d be interested in reviewing his group’s
debut album, “Seed”, which was produced by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. I of
course, said “Hell Yes” and a week later I had the CD and was blown away
with the band’s powerful sound.
I don’t know how Kelly found us, we were
very new and only had a few thousand readers a day at that point but what’s
important is the fact that he did find us and Neurotica became one of the
first band’s to be featured and reviewed on Rocknworld. Since that time
a lot has changed for both Rocknworld and Neurotica. What started as a
small website to expose cool music to fans who cared enough to find us,
turned into an online destination for literally millions of rock fans and
Neurotica changed members, recorded and released a second album, toured
and landed a new record deal.
When Kelly emailed me about the band’s
second album “Living In Dog Years”, I was really excited, I couldn’t wait
to hear what they had come up with since “Seed” had been such a favorite.
We’ll, the CD went far beyond my expectations, the band had grown by leaps
and bounds musically and the CD was by far the musical highlight of 1999.
I wasn’t alone, some of our writers felt the same way and when it came
time to pick the Best Album of 1999, “Living In Dog Years” was the only
choice for us.
But having a killer album is only half
of the battle; you have to be able to get the music heard by the masses.
While, we helped turn some people on to the band, (I still get emails about
it to this day) the band’s label just didn’t have the money or resources
to reach a wide audience. So in 2000 Neurotica came out here to LA and
did a showcase for several labels at the Viper Room, this was the first
time I had ever meet the guys face to face and seen them perform live.
What can I say, that show is one of my fondest memories from this journey
with Rocknworld. The band blew the roof off of the Viper Room, it’s hard
to imagine them improving upon their studio sound, but live they take things
to a whole new level.
Usually bands have to do several of those
kinds of showcases before labels even begin to talk to them about a deal.
But out of that one-up performance in Hollywood, the seeds were sown for
Neurotica’s future (read more in the interview
portion of this special). In the end, Neurotica landed a deal with
an exciting new label that fully believes in them and their rockin potential.
When the WWF decided to start a record label, they wanted to do things
a little differently than the rest of the pack. In true WWF fashion they
sought out bands that would excite listeners and would shake things up
on the music scene, sure they could have played it safe and signed up a
bunch of band’s that rip off Creed (or Pearl Jam), Limp Bizkit and Korn
and had some success but they were looking for something new and they found
that with Neurotica.
So Neurotica took the first step in cementing
their place in rock history by being the first band signed to the WWF’s
(now WWE) record label, Smackdown Records. For their debut album with Smackdown,
they went to the well of new songs and took the best tracks from “Living
in Dog Years”, remixed them and the result is amazing. Now a potentially
mass audience will get to hear what turned me and so many of our readers
on with the group’s first two albums.
For those who are hearing about Neurotica
for the first time here, let me tell you, you are in for the “Ride of Your
Life”. They may not be the heaviest band on the scene but they are one
of the best. They know how to write and deliver powerful songs that are
timeless. This may be the beginning of Neurotica’s long climb to the top
of the rock world. I certainly hope so. Now with their self-titled debut
they ARE ready to take the world by the throat and this summer fans
across America will get their first taste of Neurotica live as they roar
across the country on the Ozzfest.
To celebrate the release of the new album
and Neurotica’s first full national tour, we had to do something special,
something we had never done before. So that is where this special feature
came from. I want to share my excitement about this band and album with
all of our readers, so I figured why not get people’s attention by renaming
Rocknworld to NeuroticaWorld for a month. It’s a natural idea, since Neurotica’s
history is so intertwined with our own. So we now have another date to
put down in the rocknworld history books, the day Rocknworld was taken
over by Neurotica for a month and the first day the world began to see
what we’ve been telling people for so many years, Neurotica Kicks ASS!
Neurotica World Special Features
This special is just the beginning. Check
out these other Neurotica Special Features!
An
exclusive Interview with Neurotica’s Kelly Shaefer.
Kelly gives us the inside story on the
band, the new album, working with AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, the WWF and what
to expect from their Ozzfest performances this summer!
Kelly’s
Top 5 Things Neurotica Must Have To Survive On Ozzfest 2002.
Kelly took over antiGUY’s Top 5 list this
month to let you know what the band is gonna need to make it through this
summer’s Ozzfest!
Ozzfest
Tour Diary -Diary of a Mad Band! - First Edition Posted
July 3rd
Kelly will be keeping us up to date on
what is happening on the Ozzfest. If you want to experience the tour vicariously
through someone who is actually on the tour, this is your chance. Kelly
will give us the inside story on what is happening on the tour both onstage
and behind the scenes This is gonna kick ass!
Neurotica Sounds
Wanna hear Neurotica? Then use these links!
Want More Neurotica?
Want more Neurotica? Then Check out these
links.
Even More!
Past Neurotica Coverage at iconoFAN!
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