Report: Finding the right tools for better health (Melbourne City News)

Tom Valcanis

11 November 2011

In Australia, one in six men will suffer from depression at some point throughout their lifetime. For every one woman that takes her own life, four men do. When it comes to mental health for men, the statistics are worrisome yet crucial to understanding the inner life of men which are blighted by a raft of largely unknown “mental hazards.” It’s not uncommon to hear of men avoiding to see a doctor until it’s almost too late; the same phenomenon unfortunately occurs the realm of mental wellbeing. The Western definition of masculinity emphasizes strength and silence; which means not opening up and discussing problems to find solutions. Often times, depression leads to self-destructive behaviors such as alcohol or substance abuse.

Read the rest in the November 10 edition of the Melbourne City News.

Tom Valcanis

27 October 2011

Interview: Fair to Midland’s Cliff Campbell (The Void)

Tom Valcanis

27 October 2011

Ripples of interest in alt-metal combo Fair to Midland have turned to crashing waves that have reached from shore to shore in recent times – and it isn’t hard to figure out why.

Armed with hulking riffs as well as playful whistles and soulful banjos, they charm indie kids as well as their transgressive metal brethren with an energetic mix of southern twang and hard driving rock. However, it hasn’t been a smooth ride toward peer acclaim. Though picked up by System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian’s vanity label Serjical Strike in the dawn of the new century they parted ways in 2009. After much searching, they finally put ink to paper at E1 Music under their burgeoning metal sub-label.

Article: Heavy Metal para siempre - Latin American metal and Las Marimbas del Infierno (Metal as Fuck)

Tom Valcanis

26 October 2011

A special feature taking a look at Latin American heavy metal in a new film which spins a tale of extortion, survival and the unlikely blending of traditional marimbas and death metal.

On the front of Don Alfredo Tunche’s intricately carved marimbas, careworn and chipped away by countless hours of practice and performance are the words “Siempre Juntos.” In his native Guatemala, this means “always together.” For Tunche, a deliveryman broken down by extortionists who have him on the run, forcing him to keep his family far away in hiding, his cumbersomely large yet prized marimbas are his only companion. He wheels them around with great difficulty everywhere he goes, lest damaged by scorned ex-band mates or worse yet; it’s stolen for some quick cash.