GUS WARD Bass Guitar & VocalsSAM EDWARDS Drums & Sequences
MANAGEMENT: MITCHELL TRUEN
(M4 Music Management)
www.m4musicmanagement.com (mitch@m4musicmanagement.com) 631-921-9700PRESS CONTACT: Rhonda Brilliant/The Rainmaker Media Group
Rockergirl363@aol.com/617-445-4383
www.therainmakermediagroup.com
Three musicians haven’t sounded this powerful and mystifying since the early years of Rush
NY Cool Magazine
Throbbing hard rock and tortured, prodigiously heavy metal with fast and precise melodic runs
Guitar Nine Records
Josh Karickhoff....Wise and Talented beyond his years
What's Up Magazine
Displaying beyond-their-years chops on challenging material
GoErie.com
You guys SERIOUSLY KICK ASS. I'm definately a believer! Your cd's are great--but you are so much better live! Anyone stopping by to read this page---YOU GOTTA CATCH THIS BAND LIVE. YOU'LL LOVE IT.
Lorie "Sky" (Booking agent for RTD)
Committed to the craft of the axe is an understatement
Meadville Tribune
(They) blew away the audience....Keep an eye on these guys
LiveJournal
Absurdly young, but already going places
GoErie.com
Their sound is richly-detailed, fast, sharp and mean.
Meadville Tribune
"Josh is hardcore, y'all. He really throws down and impressed the heck out of the crowd and judges alike at this year's GUITAR HERO competition [a Guitar Player magazine event]. He didn't ASK me to post this, but it is a story that needed to be told: JOSH ROCKED IT! He was born ready!"
~JUDE GOLD~
One day they will play to sold-out stadiums...they were that good.
NY Cool Magazine
Josh K ... is indeed a shredder
Akron Beakon Journal
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The number 13 may be considered unlucky in our culture, which makes Sacred 13 the perfect moniker for the Erie Pennsylvania based hard rock band launched by frontman/guitarist Josh Karickhoff and bassist/vocalist Gus Ward - shortly after their original group Blue Fire faded off. Simply stated, the two don’t believe in luck, only the hard work that’s led them from the blues pop sound they forged as early teens to the more edgy and aggressive—but still highly melodic—vibe they have pursued over the course of three full length recordings as Sacred 13. Joined by drummer Sam Edwards, they follow Remanence (2008) and Tattered Memories (2009) with the 13-track Jagged Regrets, their most accomplished and fulfilling album to date.
With their ultimate goal to be this generation’s Metallica driving them, Sacred 13 plays its share of local cool Erie haunts like Sherlock’s, The Crooked I and Pepsi Amphitheatre, but the power trio has also toured from NYC to San Francisco and performed at festivals in Nashville, San Francisco, Cleveland, Columbus and Buffalo. After being discovered by JNP Concerts, they were given the opportunity to perform Erie’s legendary Warner Theatre with rock icon, Alice Cooper. This performance was shot live on DVD, which can be purchased at Sacred 13 shows or via their website (www.sacred13.com); the band opens again for Cooper July 13th 2010 at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville Indiana, and July 18th 2010 at the Fraze Pavilion in Dayton Ohio- with possible future dates pending. They have also performed with Bad Company, Bobaflex, Symphony X, Kings X, Local H, Steven Pearcy (of RATT), Ventana (feat. Stitch from MUSHROOMHEAD), The Godz, Britny Fox, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Stump, Rob Balducci, Psychostick, STEMM and many others as well.
As founding members of the band, Karickhoff and Ward have won numerous awards over the years, including Best Teen Band at the NY International Music Festival, Best New Video at the Great Lakes Film Festival and Best Live Performance by All Biz Entertainment. When the frontman was 15, he was a top ten finalist worldwide in Guitar Player Magazine's Guitar Hero competition judged by Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather, Richy Cotzen and Shredmistress Renada. Sacred 13’s music is currently being played on 88.9 WFSE on Monday and Wednesday nights from 9-10 and also on numerous online stations such as FatCat Radio, Livin Rocks Radio, Rocking Angels Metal Sanctuary, Local Licks Radio, Infernal Rock Radio, etc. In addition, the band has also appeared on a few TV shows as well, including CATV's City Music.
“When we further developed our sound and evolved into Sacred 13, fans of Blue Fire followed, but we also picked up many harder rock/metal fans along the way as well,” says Karickhoff. “Our album Remanence was a great way to open the door, and by the time we did the slightly darker Tattered Memories, we were combining strong hooks, our signature melodies and driving aggressive riffs to create a heavy but highly melodic sound. Our tracks are musician friendly but are also coupled with diverse contrasts. While that album helped us expand our regional fan-base, we’ve dug even deeper into our rich, emotional life experiences to write the songs on Jagged Regrets. Our sound has solidified, and we mean business with these hard hitting, very personal songs the whole way through. It marks a return to the dynamic and diverse roots we showcased on Remanance.”
While Jagged Regrets was not fashioned as an obvious concept project, each of its 13 songs reflects a different single ‘regret’; as a whole, the album combines every element of what Sacred 13 does: strong melodies combined with heavy, aggressive riffs, a powerful compositional sense and personal and meaningful lyrics. Several life-changing events, including the death of a former drummer, the death of a friend in a motorcycle accident and the house owned by Karickhoff and Ward’s grandparents (where they spent much of their childhood) burning down, inspired the deep reflections.
One of Sacred 13’s most popular songs thus far off the new record is “Out Of Time,” whose intense verses and catchy, melodic hooks back the band’s lyrics about the time we waste “busting our ass” in so many different directions, only to be led around back to square one. It’s a call to make decisions more carefully and analyze how better you might have spent that precious time. The singer calls the moody “Tomorrow” the band’s “solid rock” tune; it’s about the idea of tomorrow so quickly becoming today and ponders the concept of “borrowed time” while urging the listener to live in the here and now. The fast-paced and chaotic “Inferno” is directly about the tragedy of the grandparents’ home burning down, and accurately reflects in the music the “chaos” as Karickhoff describes the day to have been. The work “Don’t Be Afraid” closes the album with a progressive Dream Theater/Rush influenced epic journey that offers hope of living a happy life even if it seems one’s fate is almost pre-determined.
“Our favorite part of being musicians is the live performances,” says Karickhoff, “because at heart, we are also performers. We love to express ourselves to large audiences. It’s great writing and recording an album, and being able to pour your heart and soul into a piece of work, but ultimately we cannot physically see how people respond to us when they listen to a CD. At our shows however, we get the opportunity to feel their energy, and we put a lot of effort into our shows; including a unique visual component. People who see us live are left with the unmistakable impression that we are a live band. It’s exciting and addictive to be up there, playing our songs for people, and in the end I thoroughly believe it’s what keeps us going everyday…”
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I was at the concert with Alice Cooper That was a great concert with you guys. Yes I would go see you guys again. The 12yr was a great drummer . Keep on Rockin out.
You and your friends should check out this cool site, and receive a FREE CD just for signing up. No gimmicks - Just a great club to swap CD's with other members.
Alright, guys, seriously... "I Am the Walrus" just blew my fuckin' nuts off. I love the Beatles and that shit was just awesome. lol. If you ever play that at the Cove, I would feel priveleged to join ya' onstage like for the "waiting in an english garden" part. Hell yeah! I'll listen to the new track in a minute, but thank you. :) Cheers!
Christopher Lee at 87, demonstrates that metal has no age or boundaries. It's for everyone.
We do appreciate your support. If you haven't already done so, please check the samples we have uploaded for "Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross".
Rest assured that we will eventually get to check your profile in more detail.
Happy holidays and glad to see the band doing well! You guys rock and always have. Send me some mp3's and I will add them to our player to give you more exposure.
Hey Josh, Mark, & Gus. Its Jordan back here in West Virginia. Josh (Ur cousin Jordan Karickhoff) Uhm; just wanted to wish you guys a Early Merry Christmas & that i love you guys. Oh, and josh. Everyone misses you here at home. Be careful, and talk to you later (:
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