Audacy hosts Myki Angeline and Dallas were in Sacramento at Aftershock 2023 this weekend, on the grounds, in the crowd, and talking backstage with some of the festival's best and brightest.
Hear this year's performers and more on Aftershock Radio via the free Audacy app
Listen below for conversations with Avenged Sevenfold, AFI, Incubus, Ian Astbury of The Cult, Ayron Jones, Godsmack, 311, Daughtry, and more from backstage at the 2023 Aftershock Festival -- October 5 through October 8 at Sacramento, CA's Discovery Park -- -- and be sure to check out to this year's artists and more on Audacy's Aftershock Radio.
LISTEN NOW: Ayron Jones at Aftershock Music Festival
"Blood in the Water" singer Ayron Jones joined Myki following his Aftershock set, describing how festivals have always been an exciting experience for him, especially when peeking out to see his crowds getting ever bigger and more supportive. Speaking about the impact his latest single has had, Ayron says he never expected listeners to gravitate to the song the way they have, but "knew that the story had to be told. My parents never got to see me become anything," he explains. "They would die before anything happened in my life that was of value when it came to music. The dichotomy in that is that I am the physical manifestation of their beauty, and I get to be that for other people."
LISTEN NOW: Sueco at Aftershock Music Festival
Sueco joined Dallas backstage at Aftershock dressed in chainmail in the California heat and ready to do battle on the final stop on his No Consequences tour before heading back out with Oliver Tree in Australia. Known for his sabotage of Sueco's set when he pulled the plug on his sound system, Sueco says he's planning to prank Oliver this time around by "releasing wild kangaroos on the stage and equipping them with boxing gloves... Good luck taking them out!"
LISTEN NOW: Badflower at Aftershock Music Festival
Badflower dropped by to talk with Myki before their Aftershock performance still unsure of what the setlist would be for the night. Currently working on new music, their first since 2021, the band joked that they would be calling it quits following Aftershock and final show this year in Las Vegas... "Everybody's angry with us because it's taken too long to put out music... We just decided to give up... Infinite hiatus. Not even, we quit!"
LISTEN NOW: Godsmack at Aftershock Music Festival
The legend himself, Sully Erna of Godsmack sat down with Myki to discuss the band's set before taking the stage with a shortened (70 minutes) festival setlist chock full of familiar favorites and new tracks from the band's final album, Lighting Up the Sky. "We'll try to get a good balance," Sully says. "So far people have really accepted it," he adds of the band's newest tracks intermixed live with their three-decade catalog. "They seem to be really enjoying it and we're having fun playing it because it's the kind of music we wanted to write, where we feel we are in our lives and our career now. We're certainly seeing an uptick in the attendances, but more importantly, we're seeing a whole new, younger generation come in... It's really nice to see them come all shapes and sizes and ages. We're seeing a lot of very young ones out there... I bring 'em up on stage!"
LISTEN NOW: 311 at Aftershock Music Festival
Guitarist Tim Mahoney of 311 joined Dallas first discussing Dallas' family connection to the band and then veering into some sports talk, including frontman Nick Hexum's recent involvement in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska's pro soccer team, Union Omaha. Tim then gave some sparse details surrounding 311 Day 2024. The band will be staying on land this time around, foregoing their cruise and bringing the event to Las Vegas. Aside from being super easy for fans to travel to and find lodging, Tim says the room at the MGM Park is a perfect spot as it provides "over the top video production." With that in mind, Tim says the band could be looking into taking 311 Day to the Sphere at some point in the future as well. "It looks like probably a lot of prep work to get up on that screen, but yeah, it looks amazing," he adds. Fans will also be happy to hear that 311 has been working on a new release, with all of the music recorded and just some vocals and mixing left to take place. "We're hoping at least the single will be out at the beginning of the year," he revealed.
LISTEN NOW: Daughtry at Aftershock Music Festival
After going the independent route, Chris Daughtry tells Myki he's thrilled with his new home at Big Machine Records, realizing after some time "just how much a label does," for the artists under their wing. "For me it was very important that I kept that creative freedom that I worked so hard for on our independent release," he says. "They were all about what I was wanting to accomplish and where we were headed, so it just felt like a no-brainer." Daughtry's latest single, "Artificial," an AI-inspired track that brought about thoughts of the Terminator for Chris -- "Man creates machine, machine destroys man, and the rest is history -- we wanted paint a picture of worst-case-scenario," he explains, "and I think this is the first song we've ever done that has zero hope whatsoever. It hits hard... and I wanted to do something jarring even with the video. Something that didn't feel safe, something that felt provocative, and I'm really proud of it."
LISTEN NOW: Bad Omens at Aftershock Music Festival
Guitarist Joakim "Jolly" Karlsson of Bad Omens joined Myki at Aftershock, possibly his first time at the festival, possibly not as he says he says he "might have without realizing it." Sure to play tracks from the band's latest release, 2022's The Death of Peace of Mind, Jolly laughs saying he hopes the fans will love "all of them... I hope they'll respect our decisions even if we don't play their favorite songs. Although, he knows "Just Pretend," is a highlight that attendees will be begging for, "and it's fun to play it... probably that one." Jolly also says there are currently plans in motion for a deluxe version of their 2022 release, with reimagined tracks and collaborations "with cool people."
LISTEN NOW: Avenged Sevenfold's Johnny Christ at Aftershock 2023
A7X bassist Johnny Christ tells Myki he's thrilled to be back on stage in front of fans with new music from their new album, Life Is But a Dream... after being away from the road since 2018. "We kind of took it as a silver lining," he admits. "We had young children at the time... my son's out here today, he's six and a half now. After being home for five/six years.. my son pretty much looks at me as a stay-at-home dad at that point. Having him come out and see me do a big festival like this in front of people and show him... I'm proud of him, and I want him to be proud of me too -- and see where all this comes from."
LISTEN NOW: Connor Mason of Nothing But Thieves at Aftershock 2023
After recently reaching the age of 30, Nothing But Thieves frontman Connor Mason tells Dallas if he were able to look back and give his younger self any advice, it would be to not take anything too seriously, "and remember that no one is special. That is the best advice someone ever told me, and it has made me relax. It makes me enjoy myself... I struggle massively with mental health and I have done since we started touring. I put too much pressure on myself to be healthy and all this stuff for touring... So, what I would say to myself back then is like, 'Just enjoy it, don;t overthink it, and remember that no one is special.' Because I now relax, and I live everyday presently, and I have a good time."
LISTEN NOW: Hunter Burgan from AFI at Aftershock 2023
AFI's Hunter Burgan, when he's not performing with the band, is known also for illustrating and writing for the comic series Cat With Matches. A weekly passion project for the past eight years, Hunter tells Dallas "Rabies Dog" has successfully maintained the state of having rabies the entire time, without dying -- although he recently moved, but that may only truly affect Billy Ocean. You'll have to visit Catwithmatches.com to dive in further.
LISTEN NOW: White Reaper at Aftershock 2023
The White Reaper guys had quite a story to tell Dallas about getting "fleeced outside a Chic Fil-A" when they were in town opening for Weezer. "We got our pockets ran -- we got hit -- they had a gun in our faces...." While some of it was caught on camera, the band decided not to pursue their lost gear. "We all walked away unharmed, you can replace stuff."
LISTEN NOW: Chris Kilmore of Incubus at Aftershock 2023
Incubus turntablist and keyboardist Chris Kilmore discussed with Dallas the band's upcoming Morning View concert at the Hollywood Bowl and the band's plans to re-record the 2001 album. One version Chris is excited to hear finished is the track "Are You In," which the band breaks into The Doors' "Riders On The Storm" when the perform it live. "I don't know if that'll make the re-record," he says, "but that's the way we recorded it, it just depends if we're allowed to do that or not and put that out. We'll figure all that out later."
LISTEN NOW: Ian Astbury of The Cult at Aftershock 2023
Getting right into the brand new, 11th album from The Cult that arrived last year, Under The Midnight Sun, singer Ian Astbury tells Myki the fans have responded very positively, although the record is "a bit of a slow burn." He sees the group's last three albums as more of a mature version of the group that, as he says, was essentially a Punk band out of the gate. "So, songwriting... it was like, 'We have to write songs as well? And they've gotta be good.' You learn that craft over a while, and 'Under The Midnight Sun' is the most recent incarnation. A multiplex of influences, themes, observations..."
Stick around for more conversations from this year's Aftershock festival performers, and stay tuned for more conversations with your favorite artists right here on Audacy.