Mark Diggins, Author at The Rockpit

INTERVIEW: HELL IN THE CLUB – Andy

8 April 2022 Mark Diggins

If you thought the Hard Rock revival was all about Scandinavia then think again. Further south in Italy Hell in The Club have been producing great music for just over a decade and latest […]

INTERVIEW: CRASHDIET – Martin Sweet and Peter London

6 April 2022 Mark Diggins

Crashdïet is back with their 6th album, Automaton and it’s a monster! Just like a gigantic robotic machine with pre-determined instructions, failure was never an option… No matter what obstacles may have come their way […]

INTERVIEW: Robin McAuley – Black Swan, MSG and Solo Artist

2 April 2022 Mark Diggins

It’s always great to catch up with Robin McAuley who surely must be one of the nicest guys in the business, but that warm demeanour hides a secret… I mean with a voice like that […]

INTERVIEW: Roy Cathey – The Fifth (Ex- Cold Sweat)

31 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Many years ago there was a band signed to MCA Records called Cold Sweat. In 1990 they released their only album ‘Break Out’ and like a lot of bands signed to that label, like Giuffria, […]

Janis Madison – ‘Where Do You Want To Spend Your Next Holidays?’ – Album Review

26 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Hailing from Rennes, France power trio ‘Janis Madison’ has spent the pandemic keeping themselves busy. With a 100% D.I.Y. attitude they crowdfunded an 8 track EP (two of the tracks War and ‘Rape’ are […]

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram – ‘662’ Album Review

25 March 2022 Mark Diggins

The combination of Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram and producer Tom Hambridge worked wonderfully well last time around on the debut so why change want ain’t broke? They team up again on ‘662’ and whilst there’s […]

INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE: Jo Almeida and Paul Black from – Jo Dog & Paul Black’s Sonic Boom

25 March 2022 Mark Diggins

As soon as I heard Jo and Paul’s latest album ‘Everybody Rains on My Parade’ I knew I had to talk to them, but after publishing the first review of the record they beat […]

Shemekia Copeland – ‘Uncivil War’ Album Review

23 March 2022 Mark Diggins

With the majority of compositions here written by the team of drummer John Hahn and guitarist/producer Will Kimbrough who supply 7 of the twelve tracks there’s a lovely thread of storytelling running through this record […]

CHRIS CAIN – ‘RAISIN’ CAIN’ Album Review

22 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Joe Bonamassa called Chris Cain his favourite Blues player on the scene today “with the voice of B.B. King and the chops of Albert King” – it’s a huge statement but one that has you […]

ALLIGATOR RECORDS – ’50 YEARS OF GENUINE HOUSEROCKIN’ MUSIC – Album Review

21 March 2022 Mark Diggins

A large part of what got me reacquainted with the Blues when this website began wasn’t the old timers out there still going strong or the young guns blazing away, it was these guys […]

INTERVIEW: Jizzy Pearl – Love/Hate, Quiet Riot and Solo Artist (ex-Ratt)

20 March 2022 Mark Diggins

As someone who thought that Love/Hate’s 1990 debut ‘Blackout in the Red Room’ was one of the best and most intriguing releases to come out of L.A. in the late eighties/early nineties and had a […]

JESTER’S TEARS – ‘PERCEPTION’ Album Review

19 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Twenty years after their last release ‘Illusion’ a new record from Germany’s Jester’s Tears lands at Rockpit HQ a year and a half after its release and with an apology from Australia Post that […]

INTERVIEW: Paul James Berry – Solo Artist and Rose of Avalanche Guitarist

18 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Back in the eighties the good people of the printed press got excited by a new band from Leeds named Rose of Avalanche “More conceptually magnificent than the Ramones, more noisily beauteous than an hour […]

ELECTRIC STATE – ‘GREEN MACHINE’ Album Review

17 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Perth’s Electric State have been playing live shows over the past few years to great responses, appearing in the wonderfully pre-pandemic days of 2019 before we all found out a lot about what is […]

GONE SAVAGE – ‘PAST LIFE’ – Album Review

17 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Gone Savage are an original UK rock band formed from former members of Sweet Sin, Sam Thunder and Dare. Now you may well have heard of Dare and even Sweet Sin but I only […]

INTERVIEW: Chip Z’Nuff (Enuff Z’Nuff) – The ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ Interview 2022

15 March 2022 Mark Diggins

It seems like only a couple of days ago that we last caught up with Chip to Talk about Enuff Z’Nuff’s tribute to The Beatles – ‘Hard Rock Nite’ and now he’s back with a […]

SIXX A.M. – “HITS” Album Review

14 March 2022 Mark Diggins

Most people of course will know Sixx AM as the bassist out of Motley Crue’s ‘other band’, and so the the release of an album entitled ‘Hits’ might be a little confusing – we’re […]

HOUSTON – “IV” Album Review

13 March 2022 Mark Diggins

There’s an assuredness about the perfect AOR of opener ‘She is the Night’ that makes you realise how good these guys are at pulling off the sweet soft sounds of the early 80’s. Sadly […]

ERIC GALES – “CROWN” Album Review

12 March 2022 Mark Diggins

If you haven’t yet heard the name Eric Gales yet shame on you, and if you haven’t checked out his music then you don’t know what you’re missing. Eric’s brand-new album ‘Crown’ was released […]

ALBUM REVIEW: Jo Dog and Paul Black’s Sonic Boom – Everybody Rains on My Parade

10 March 2022 Mark Diggins

What do you get when you put together the original guitarist of The Dog’s D’Amour and the original vocalist of L.A. Guns? Magic… You get magic. The swelling Hammond and catchy refrain of ‘Tree For […]

INTERVIEW: HARDCORE SUPERSTAR – ‘JOCKE’ BERG

10 March 2022 Mark Diggins

There’s not many bands out there that you can genuinely say that 12 albums in they are making the music of their lives but following up the wonderful 2018 release ‘You Can’t Kill My […]

ALBUM REVIEW: Chip Z’Nuff – Perfectly Imperfect

5 March 2022 Mark Diggins

It’s been a few years now since Chip took over vocal duties with Enuff Z’Nuff and as part of the latest three album deal with Frontiers comes the second release – a solo album […]

THE BACKSTABBERS – ‘FOR ALL THE BASTARDS’ ALBUM REVIEW

3 March 2022 Mark Diggins

I’ve had a soft spot from Finnish music ever since I was a very young teen and discovered the legendary Hanoi Rocks. For a country with a population of less than 6 million they […]

INTERVIEW: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS – JEFF GUTT

2 March 2022 Mark Diggins

‘Under the Southern Stars’ next month sees International Acts back and touring Australia after a gap of two years, and if you wanted to bring music back with a bang then the line-up ticks […]

ALBUM REVIEW: Scorpions – Rock Believer

1 March 2022 Mark Diggins

About a dozen years ago I travelled to the US to see Scorpions final tour catching them at the Rock In America Festival in Oklahoma where we got to chat back stage (and interestingly […]