Rockstar Taste Of Chaos is tearing around Oz, giving punters a hearty gulp of hardcore and punk rockin' mayhem. Want to know more about the bands on the bill? Read on for juicy road stories, outrageous claims and find out just where the bands stand on 21st century punk and the contentious issue of emo!



[V] Interview: Rise Against

"The injustices are creating an angry generation of disenfranchised youth looking for answers, and theyíre finding bands like us."



[V] Interview: Aiden

"If bands donít have emotion in their music, what kind of a band are they? Slayer has emotion in their music, is anyone going to start calling Slayer an emo band?"



[V] Interview: The Bled

ìFrankie [MCR] has an affinity for big black dildos, and I have that same passion for them so we bond over that.î



[V] Interview: Gallows

ìÖthey set up about a million guitar stacks and banged out something and broke the world record. Weíre now louder than Manowar.î



Taste Of Chaos 2006 Photo Flashback

Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Parkway Drive, Thursday, Senses Fail, Saosin and Anti-Flag



Taste Of Chaos 2005 Photo Flashback

The Used, Killswitch Engage, Funeral For A Friend, Rise Against and Story of the Year

ROCK ON!

Cheers
Weblady xx

We've posted a stack of photos from Perth's Rockstar Taste of Chaos show in our photo section... There's a taste of them below, but just CLICK HERE to check them all out. Don't forget to tell us what you think!!

We spoke to Tim McIlrath just before Rise Against headed Down Under to help kick off Rockstar Taste of Chaos in Australia. Check it out below!

It's rare that you find a band who will thank music for giving them more than a record deal and some magazine covers, but Rise Against's Tim McIlrath is an exception to the norm. Passionate about today's political climate and animal rights in particular, McIlrath actively encourages his fans to seek out information and to be educated – something music brought him as a teenager.

"Even before the band was around, I wanted to get the message out there. I grew up going to shows in Chicago and the Chicago hardcore scene was really great at incorporating more than your average elements into show. It wasn't pay $5 and see a show, be entertained, buy a t-shirt and walk out. There was always something more going on.

"If you went back to the table to buy a CD or t-shirt, you wouldn't just find a CD or t-shirt, but you'd find literature on all kinds of different thing. Most of it was simply information that wasn't being reperesented in mainstream media."

The effect this influence had on McIlrath is undeniable. "I'm vegetarian simply because someone in a band decided to bring PETA along to a show or PETA decided to come to a show and that's how I got that information. I didn't get it from school. I didn't get it from television. I got it from shows.

"Now I'm in a position to disseminate that information and am in a band that has the power to bring people on tour with us, and set up a table and pass out information and have an audience of 1000 people each night. It's a really unique opportunity that I'm happy to be a part of and get people thinking."

Rise Against further try to educate with their video clip for single 'Ready To Fall'. A graphic expose of the animal cruelty and environmental destruction prevalent in the world today, the clip was uncomfortable, confronting and thought provoking. Not something you'd expect a homogenised MTV to play. "But the played it a lot!" McIlrath points out. "When you make a video, someone is basically saying: 'You've got three minutes to say anything you want, you can do anything you want and it will be seen by a lot of people.'

"What goes on in the animal industry is graphic, it is extreme, it's gross, it's offensive, you know what I mean? We're not going to airbrush this and tell you that the meat you eat comes from somewhere beautiful and that the animals are happy to die for it. We wanted to present it as it is: it's a disgusting and controversial industry."

"We didn't get a lot of negative feedback about the video. People would scoff at it and go on with their lives, but for the most part there was a lot of support. It was met with much greater approval than I thought which was really encouraging."

It's a message Rise Against will deliver to their fans this October as take up a headlining spot on Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos – their second stint on the tour Down Under. "We had so much fun on that tour," McIlrath enthuses. "We were happy to get this invitation, and to not only get it, but to go back down there and get bumped up a notch on the slot. I think we played first or second last time.

"It's such a great way to tour. Every morning you woke up and met in the lobby, you'd get into a shuttle bus and it was full of 30-50 people who were all on the same tour with you. It's like a tour group of misfits."

Last in Australia in December for a string of headlining shows, it's no secret which type of touring McIlrath prefers. "Touring international you don't get to travel with that big a group, so a lot of the time it can be a very lonely tour as you're the only American and you're constantly going to restaurants and getting screwed because of your accent and whatever else happens when you're an American travelling overseas."

The inaugural tour saw industry legend and tour creator Kevin Lyman set the experience as he came along for the ride. "Kevin made sure we had fun together," McIlrath agrees. "He made it more than just show, sleep, wake up, travel, show, sleep, wake up, travel. We got to do a whole bunch of cool stuff and see a bit of the country."

While it may have been a ball the first time around, this year's event promises to exceed expectations. Rise Against's return Down Under will kind of be like a family reunion. "WiL from Aiden is a good friend of mine, so I look forward to hanging out with him. The Bled are a really good, heavy band and The Used are a great band. I'm looking forward to getting back there.

"I've heard a lot about Gallows. I keep hearing that they're a The Bronx meets Against! Me type of thing. I look forward to seeing if they live up to the hype."

When I speak with McIlrath Rise Against have just wound up a tour with The Bronx - leaders in live music today. Rise Against fans should be thankful, however, as the tour helped Rise Against lift their game, as McIlrath promises they'll return to Australia better than ever this October.

"It was hard to match The Bronx on stage – that's why I looked forward to that tour so much! When I grew up skateboarding, if you skated with somebody who was just as good as you, you just stayed the same. But if you went skating with someone that was better than you, you got better."

And did they come out better? "I think we came out better. They raised the bar as far as live performances go, and I knew we had to go out there and we couldn't just phone it in. We had no choice but to go out there and deliver every single night."

Drop Dead, Gorgeous may have been a little late in coming to the Rockstar Taste of Chaos party in 2007 - but it didn't stop their fans from turning out in force. Touring on the back of the slightly disturbing, yet completely compelling, Worse Than A Fairytale Drop Dead, Gorgeous dominated the stage, helping send waves of crowd surfers over the barrier.

'It's Pretty Hard To Beat The King' - jazz interludes and all - was a crowd favourite, hand in hand with 'Drawing the Devil' leaving the crowd exactly as all bands should - screaming for more.

Aiden - on their second ever trip Down Under - seem to have multiplied their fans by...well...quite a lot, really. The release of their latest album Conviction - which saw the band make a complete 180 with their music - has resonated with all across the music world. 'She Will Love You' took a harder edge in the live arena, throwing a wall of sound at the crowd, with 'One Love' receiving the same treatment, sitting firmly in the rock family instead of pop.

Favourite moment of the night so far? wiL having every audience member hold their phone in the air...just before he jumped into the crowd to close out the set.

We hear wiL Francis will be joining The Used on stage at some point tonight...a meeting of two of the greatest punk bands in the world today? It's possible. Exxxtremely possible. Will it happen? We'll wait 'til the Perth kids get home to let us know...

If Rockstar Taste of Chaos was ever in danger of calming down over the years, Gallows absolutely, completely and without a doubt obliterated any doubts. Hey kids? Say hello to the greatest band in the world...that we've seen so far tonight. It only took Frank Carter (that's their singer for the uninitiated) around 214 seconds before he'd introduced himself to the crowd....by splitting them down the middle and jumping in with them before bursting into 'Kill The Rhythm'.

For a band surrounded in hype, they sure know how to outperform it. If there's one band you need to see this year, it's Gallows. Who else will give you a three song circle pit with their singer???

Let's not forget The Bled, though. They came here last year and blew us all away, and now they've returned with a new album (Silent Treatment - Bert McCracken thinks y'all should buy it) and an even more explosive live show. It's a hard task, opening the very first Australian Rockstar Taste of Chaos show, but The Bled were brutal as they took the crowd from docile to almost combusting in a matter of seconds.


While we head off to check out our favourite Colorado hardcore heroes Drop Dead, Gorgeous, we leave you with a sneak peek of what we can expect when Jepha takes us all on a backstage tour...

The Used backstage at RTOC in Perth!

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Jepha from The Used just took us on an excellent backstage tour. Paris Hilton, George Bush and Bert McCracken...everyone's at Rockstar Taste of Chaos in 2007. Stay tuned for the video, but for now a few sneek peaks at what you can expect from the video...

...it starts tonight, y'all...we hope you're ready. The Bled are sound checking right now, and we're getting ready to kick off in about an hour and a half.

Until tonight, I'd never heard a crowd erupt at an opening note. And until tonight, I'd never seen a crowd EXPLODE when a band walked on stage. Rise Against? I hope you're happy here, kids. I'm not sure you're going to be able to leave... During a time when we need positive role models more than ever before, Rise Against stand tall in their beliefs and influence all of those before them. They don't tell you WHAT to think, however. It's more that you SHOULD think. The politically charged 'Ready To Fall' has every single audience member moving, standing united. But it's 'Prayer of the Refuge' that really sends the crowd riotous: arms fly, legs fly, water flies and bodies fly as one fact stands out amongst the rest: we're all in this together.

ROCKSTAR TASTE OF CHAOS
TAKES OVER AUSTRALIA



After five long months of waiting, punk rock's finest are just days away from descending on Australia. The Used, Rise Against, Aiden, Gallows, The Bled and Drop Dead, Gorgeous are all on their way Down Under, set to join Australia's own Carpathian, as they bring complete and utter Chaos to their fans.

Adding further fuel to the Chaos fire, is a massive promotion set up by naming rights sponsor Rockstar-- Energy Drink; who are thrilled to announce the opportunity for fans to 'Party like a Rockstar' at this year's event. To celebrate the arrival of Rockstar-- Energy Drink to Australian shores later this year, fans are being offered an exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets at Rockstar subsidized price. If you haven't secured your ticket to see some of rock's finest this October yet, this is your chance!

SYDNEY FANS – just head to www.ticketmaster.com.au and use the code word 'Rockstar' – while tickets last!

MELBOURNE, ADELAIDE & PERTH FANS – just head to www.ticketek.com.au/rockstar - while tickets last!

Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos kicks off in Perth on October 19 for its third successive year. In an Australian first, RTOC will be taking over MySpace for what promises to be the most spectacular Reign of Chaos to date! The mutiny begins October 19 – day one of the tour – kicking off with a live blog from Perth's Burswood Dome as we bring you all the action as it happens, as well as a sneak peek of how things roll backstage at Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos. The fun doesn't stop there, however, as we celebrate Chaos for an entire week with MySpace.

"The Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos tour is not only showcasing some of the best alternative and punk bands in the world right now, they're also part of a select group of artists who are the most eagerly followed by MySpace users. It's a fantastic tour to be involved with both for the bands on the bill and their fans. With that in mind this is the first time in Australia we've allowed a festival to take over the MySpace Music page for an entire week, a page which receives over 11 million impressions in 7 days. There's going to be exclusive content, interviews, competitions and more, all direct from the bands to the fans themselves – so we're really excited to be able to bring those two worlds together here on MySpace.com." – Alex Wain, MySpace.com

Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action this October – add Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos on MySpace now! myspace.com/tasteofchaosdownunder

ROCKSTAR-- TASTE OF CHAOS AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Friday October 19 Burswood Dome, Perth
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Sunday October 21 Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Tuesday October 23 Vodafone Arena, Melbourne
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Thursday October 25 Sydney Entertainment Centre
Ticketmaster 1300 883 622 or www.ticketmaster.com.au

Friday October 26 Brisbane Entertainment Centre (Sports Centre)
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS
ADDED TO AUSTRALIAN LINE UP

The Frontier Touring Company is thrilled to announce the addition of Colorado hardcore heroes Drop Dead, Gorgeous to the Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos line up in 2007. Drop Dead, Gorgeous will take their earth shattering rock show to stages in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this October.

Fresh from the Vans Warped Tour in the United States, Drop Dead, Gorgeous are no strangers to playing alongside music's finest. This year's tour saw them share the stage with Circa Survive, Paramore and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus to name a few. The Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos tour will be no exception, as the band take over arenas across the country alongside The Used, Rise Against, Aiden, The Bled, Gallows and Australia's own Carpathian.

Drop Dead, Gorgeous have quickly sent shockwaves through the music world following the release of their sophomore album Worse Than a Fairytale. Telling the story of a spree of killings which took place in Saylor Lake, Colorado during the '70s, Worse Than a Fairytale is a concept album of the most convincing manner.

Produced by the legendary Ross Robinson (Deftones, Korn, At The Drive-In) Worse Than a Fairytale has catapulted Drop Dead, Gorgeous to international stardom which will see them tour Australia for the first time ever.

And as a warning to fans, the bands appearing on the Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos will NOT be performing any shows outside of the official tour dates. Your only chance to experience these bands live Down Under will be on the Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos tour. Do not miss your opportunity to see some of music's most exhilarating bands live this October.

Tickets are available to the Rockstar-- Taste of Chaos tour now.


Friday October 19 Burswood Dome, Perth
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Sunday October 21 Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Tuesday October 23 Vodafone Arena, Melbourne
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Thursday October 25 Sydney Entertainment Centre
Ticketmaster 1300 883 622 or www.ticketmaster.com.au

Friday October 26 Brisbane Entertainment Centre (Sports Centre)
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au