Tag Archives: tortured music

Apr27

Author Sandy Lo Interviews 30 Seconds To Mars, Her Inspiration Behind Latest Book Dream Catchers!

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Author Sandy Lo Interviews 30 Seconds To Mars, Her Inspiration Behind Latest Book Dream Catchers!

April 27, 2010—New York, NY—Author and journalist SANDY LO had the opportunity to speak with the musical inspiration behind her latest novel, DREAM CATCHERS earlier this month. In an interview for StarShine Magazine, Lo spoke with Shannon Leto, founding member of the popular rock band, 30 SECONDS TO MARS. Upon discussing his latest tour, she was able to inform Leto of the impact his music has had on inspiring TORTURED, Lo’s band in the novel. Leto was grateful and thought it was “very cool”.

“I am so fortunate to be in the position I am in to speak with my musical muse for Dream Catchers”, explains Lo. “30 Seconds to Mars are really amazing.” Mars’ front man and actor, Jared Leto even inspired the main character, Jordan Walsh, a bit. “As a teenager, I was a fan of ‘My So-Called Life’ and fell in love with Jared’s character, Jordan Catalano, which is why I named my main character Jordan,” Lo shares.

Following her interview with Shannon Leto, Lo saw the band live for the first time on their “Into The Wild” tour to support their latest album This Is War. “I felt like my character, Haley, seeing Tortured perform for the first time,” she says with a smile. “30 Seconds to Mars really know how to put on a show.”

To read Sandy Lo’s interview with Shannon Leto and to see her review of the 30 Seconds to Mars show, go to: www.StarShineMag.com.

DREAM CATCHERS is available now through LuLu Press and is coming soon to other online retailers. Lo’s coming of age story of sheltered college student, Haley Foster, running off to New York City with the carefree musician, Jordan Walsh, has been receiving rave reviews from Amazon readers.

“I truly appreciate this realistic work of fiction that tells a personal story in an engaging way. Dream Catchers leaves you wanting more, well after you’ve read the last page!” gushes one reviewer.

Another reader commends SANDY LO on her characters: “Dream Catchers is told from the main character’s perspective, therefore allowing you to truly understand what she, Haley Foster, is thinking and feeling throughout the varied situations she is faced with. Many of the other characters are also fleshed out rather well, including Jordan Walsh, paragon of bad boy good looks and lead singer of the band Tortured. It appears that the author, Sandy Lo, wanted to tell a love story which was able to indulge the reader, while not coming across as overly predictable.”

To read an excerpt from DREAM CATCHERS and to order a copy, go to: www.sandy-lo.com or http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dream-catchers/6137629.

Also, “Haley’s Letter”, the song written by SANDY LO for DREAM CATCHERS is now available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/haleys-letter/id356084511! The song was also written, produced and performed by JAMES MANZELLO and co-produced by FRANS MERNICK.

For more on Sandy Lo: www.sandy-lo.com
Follow Sandy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorsandylo

Feb9

"Haley's Letter" Now On MySpace!

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"Haley's Letter" Now On MySpace!

Check out the official Tortured MySpace page: www.myspace.com/torturedmusic to hear the official MP3 of “Haley’s Letter”!  The song is performed by James Manzello and was written by him and Sandy Lo for “Dream Catchers”.  James also produced the track with Frans Mernick, who also served as the engineer.

Sandy would love to hear what you think of the song!  Please leave feedback!

Jan23

Tortured: Bio

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Tortured: Bio

Hailing from NYC, Tortured consists of edgy crooner Jordan Walsh (vocals/guitar), Danny D. (vocals/drums), Sebastian Lo (keys) and Darren Colville (bass).  With relatable angsty lyrics, intricate instrumentation, and a flawless live show, Tortured is set to be the next big thing in rock music!  Lead singer, Walsh is not only mesmerizing with his strong vocals, but he’s charismatic and knows how to control any stage.

The band was formed in 2006 by high school best friends Jordan and Danny D.  The two began writing songs and jamming together.  Danny brought Darren into the band after posting flyers around New York school bulletin boards looking for a bass player and drummer.  Sebastian was playing in another band, but left to pursue music more seriously with Tortured.

Since then, Tortured has performed all over New York City occasionally expanding upstate and in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Farmingdale.  More recently, Tortured won Smack Magazine’s Battle of the Bands competition which garnered them an opening spot for multi-platinum artist, Landry, whom Tortured lists as a musical influence.  Now with a devout, cult-like following, increasing  airplay on rock radio, the band was able to sign a deal with Struck Records.

When asked about the harsh sounding name of the band, Walsh says, “Every single person is a tortured soul.  Everyone goes through something they struggle with, that eats them up inside.  We wanted a name that everyone could relate to and draw emotion from.”  The band’s music also draws out raw emotion like their first single “Detonate”, a pure rock track fueled by anger and about being pushed to the limit.  Tracks like “Break The Mold” and the somewhat morbid “Unborn” follow suit.  However, taking a surprising turn with their sound is “Haley’s Letter”–an unexpected love song thrown in the mix, but keeps the alternative sound Tortured is creating for themselves.  In the same vain comes the title track, “Breaking The Moon” and “I’m OK”.

Tortured’s debut album, Breaking The Moon is currently being recorded and will hopefully be released in 2011.

Jan23

The Real Members of Tortured

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The Real Members of Tortured

“Aside from Jordan Walsh, I based the band members of Tortured on real people in my life.  Each of these guys has had an impact on my life in some way and I thought everyone should know who they are.” – Sandy Lo

Sebastian

In real life, Sebie is my one and only older brother.  Like his character, he is always teasing someone and is protective, especially of his baby sister.  My brother doesn’t really play the piano/keys too well, but he was in the U.S. Army’s marching band as a trumpet player.  Musically, my brother is more into R&B than rock, which is where his beat-boxing comes into play on occasion in “Dream Catchers”.

Danny D.

Danny DeQuatro is a good friend of mine that I met years ago while we both worked at Starbucks.  I would say out of everyone, Danny is most like his character, in the sense that he’s all heart when it comes down to it, even though he may come off like he’s a tough guy.  He’s an awesome friend.  As far as his real life musical talents, his secret talent is rapping!  That’s my Danizzle!

Darren Colville

Darren Colvil is another friend of mine from that same Starbucks on Richmond Avenue in Staten Island.  Though his character wears glasses, Darren had lasik eye surgery and no longer needs them.  Real life Darren is not as odd as the fictional version, thankfully.  Darren does make rapid eye movements on occasion like his character, but he’s full of sarcasm and wit.  Darren actually plays the guitar and not bass in a local band in Staten Island, NY.

Jan23

Tortured

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Tortured

Tortured is the fictional band from Sandy Lo’s novel “Dream Catchers”.  Always inspired by music, Sandy listened to alternative/rock while writing “Dream Catchers”, especially one of her favorite bands, 30 Seconds To Mars, who she cites as Tortured’s main influence.  “Haley’s Letter” is the song featured in “Dream Catchers” that was written by Sandy along with James Manzello, whom also co-produced the track with Frans Mernick as well as performs it under the Tortured band name.  A full-length album is in the works, hopefully to coincide with the release of Dream Catchers’ sequel, “Breaking The Moon”.  The album will also be of the same title.  Currently, “Haley’s Letter” is available to purchase on iTunes and other major online retailers. Sandy thought it would be fun to keep the characters alive by giving their music a real sound and allowing their personalities to come out on Tortured’s Twitter page.  Check out the rest of this section for more on Tortured like their bio, lyrics and related photos.