By Tine Roycroft

Julius Jones

Singer/songwriter Julius Jones lives in Worcester, works in Worcester, and loves it.  At 31, his dream is to someday make it big on the music scene and to return to his roots as a local hero.  But beyond his smooth vocals and thoughtful song arrangement, there’s a true artist who bases his days on creation and humility.

Jones has been singing since he was 8 in various performance groups.  He can handle the guitar, the bass, and drums ~ and he even takes a stab at the keys.

“Self taught,” Jones says.  “But I play upside down.  I play a righty guitar, lefty.”

And when he is composing, Jones’ talent shines especially bright.

“I’m a very playful person when it comes to words,” Jones reveals.  “Sometimes you stumble upon a phrase and the gravity of the phrase hits you.  It becomes this explosion.  You can see where it could fit in a paragraph.  Or you see where it could fit in a verse.  Then you work in both directions until you get to the point where that phrase makes the most sense.  You just have to provide the context sometimes to make the idea come alive.”

Despite his skills, Jones has dealt with his fair share of obstacles.  Throughout his life, he’s struggled with periodontal disease.  In the near future, the musician will undergo surgery to have all of his teeth removed and replaced.  Yet, he focuses on the positive.

“My appearance was always the thing that I thought would stop me from moving forward,” Jones admits. “So now that I’m taking care of that, I want to form a band or do a singer/songwriter solo act.”

When he’s not working on his own music, Jones spends his time helping other musical artists at his production studio, Junk Studio, and encouraging others to follow their dreams.

“A lot of people don’t fully embrace the idea of being an artist,” Jones says.  “They think of it as a hobby, but they don’t think of themselves as an artist.  When you’re an artist, you should just completely give yourself over to the process of making art.  However you do it, wherever you find it, you should just cave into it with no hesitation.”

Mass Octane

By Bruce Sullivan

“Give me fuel, Give me fire, Give me that which I desire, Ooh!” Mass Octane, Central MA’s most potent hard-rock / metal cover band, understands these lyrics, and delivers exactly what you desire. That is… if you still have a pulse, and enjoy rocking out to the greatest hard rock and metal songs of all time. Mass Octane is a V-8 American muscle car ready to go 0 to 60 at a club near you. Ohh, Yeeahh!

Mass Octane has become the premiere hard-rock / metal cover band, because they know what their fans want. We “…play the music you love… 80s and 90s hard rock and metal with a little grunge thrown in for good measure.” This includes the best from Metallica, Alice in Chains, Guns N’ Roses, and Stone Temple Pilots, along with classics from AC/DC, Billy Idol, Priest, Zeppelin, RATT, The Scorpions, and their most requested song, “Crazy Bitch” by Buckcherry. Their shows feature more testosterone than a “no rules” M.M.A. fight. But they still attract their share of female rockers, and were recently nominated for the band with the “Best Groupies” in the 2011 Worcester Music Awards.

Mass Octane prides themselves on their musicianship. Dynamic lead vocalist Kevin Dagle has the range and versatility to steer this roadster through even the toughest corners. The rhythm section of bassist Pete Johnson and drummer Kirk Nowlan delivers the thunderous torque to get this vehicle off of the starting line. Lead guitarists Joel Charity and Kevin Moen supply the high octane excitement needed to leave the competition in the dust.

If you simply can’t drive 55, then dig out those ripped jeans, add a little mousse to that hair, and buckle up for an adrenaline fueled rock show by Mass Octane. Check out www.massoctane.com, find them on FB, or @ www.reverbnation.com .

Naegleria

By Tine Roycroft

Naegleria, a fresh-off-the-vine death metal band that gigs in the Worcester and Boston area, takes metal intensity to a different level.  Their energy is high, their songs are tight and their drive is wild.  But guitarist Rayne Purcell slipped up during a Pulse interview and revealed one hell of a dirty secret:  Naegleria sounds scary, but they’re all guys you totally want to take home to meet mom.

The group is made up of metal lovers Purcell, Matt Clark, Joel Krantz, Jake Ryan, and Tom Caron.  Purcell and Clark met in high school and actually played together in a three piece set.  When their guitarist left, Purcell took up the instrument and started writing songs.

“There’s a couple of things going on when I write,” Purcell says.  “There’s the composition part when I’m sitting alone in my room, just fidgeting for ideas.  Then I go to the jam room.  I say, ‘I’ve got these riffs,’ and before I know it, everyone has five ideas for each one of mine.  And it’s very organic.  Things evolve.”

The group has been actively playing out for about 8 months, according to Purcell, and loving it.  The fans are incredible and the bands that Naegleria plays with have all been great.

“We’ve got a tight-knit community in the Boston/Worcester area.  Metal bands and metal fans!” Purcell exclaims with a laugh.  “There’s one band we play with, for example, that has this girl who goes out into the crowd with all of these baked treats and it’s real cute.  We have a lot of fun.”

At this time, the band is putting some finishing touches on their first CD, Some Kind of Brain Eating Amoeba.

“We’ve got 8 songs, I’d call them death metal.  The death metal movement is pretty eclectic,” Purcell says.  “We’ve never tried to write anything to sound a certain way.  But this CD will be real heavy.  People’s heads are going to explode.  But that’s fine.  We’re all here to have a good time.”

Check out Naegleria at thelifeofametalhead.blogspot.com.

Thurkill’s Vision

By Jennifer Russo

Don’t you just love it when you’re walking your routine path with earphones in and a tree root comes out of nowhere, trips you, and sends you sprawling? I do. It’s the best thing that could happen to anyone who listens to a certain kind of music on repeat.

Thurkill’s Vision have that little…something…that grabs you and forces you to pay attention to what’s around you.

The members couldn’t be more different from one another: Yamil’s (lead vocals) the intellectual, Dave’s (drums) the typical goofball, Eric’s (guitar) mysterious/impish, Bobcat’s (guitar) the observer and Matt’s (bass) the artistic perfectionist.

“We contrast in a way where we never really butt heads with each other.  We won’t see eye to eye on everything, but we always make it work and we all share that one dream of playing music for a living. The fact we are so different keeps everything balanced.”

Like their namesake Thurkill, a fictional character who had a vision of what he needed to do in life to find success, the band had a vision of combining different styles to create a signature sound that clobbers you with a mean punch right to your eardrums. It makes you simultaneously want to bang your head to escape from the daily blah while honing in on their masterful lyrics.

“We’re melodic, and as all of us are music fans who don’t necessarily live in a world dominated by metal, we draw influence from different genres.  We blend melody and heaviness and push the envelope a little further.  Our music is interpretable and to be taken however the listener wants.”
Their newly released EP, For the Sleeping, features five tracks that are certain to get you into the zone. They also recently won a gold record at the RJL Battle of the Bands, were nominated for a Worcester Music Award, and are competing for a spot on the VANS Warped Tour this summer.

To find out more about Thurkill’s Vision as they make their way to musical fame, check them out at one of their many upcoming shows or at:

www.facebook.com/thurkillsvisionmusic
www.negb1.com/profile/ThurkillsVision
www.reverbnation.com/thurkillsvision