Ashley Bean Band – Interview with Ashley Bean and ‘What You Deserve’ Album Review

Ashley Bean Band is a Rock band from Illinois, USA. The band’s sound has the glitter of 80’s Rock with an underground mood, all manufactured in the Ashley Bean music factory.

Ashley Bean Band released an album in 2019 entitled ‘What You Deserve’. We had the pleasure of listening to the album and writing a review on it. We also had the chance of chatting with Ashley Bean about her music and other things.

Click here to skip the interview and jump right into the interview.

Review

‘What You Deserve’ is a 9-track album extending over 28 minutes. The unique style and the hard work placed into it are clearly audible in the album. Here are three things we loved about ‘What You Deserve’.

The Guitars

As the guitars are the pulse of Rock, the quality of the album can be seen through the quality of the riffs and solos on it. That was the case in ‘What You Deserve’, as magnificent riffs and breathtaking solos kept coming track after track. The guitar sounds that impressed us most were the intro and first riff of Circle in my Mind, the solo on My Kind of Ride, and the riffs on Don’t Go Away and Where Has It Gone To.

The Classic Hard Rock Taste

The album has a strong connection to classic Hard Rock, featuring a handful of elements from that golden era. The structure of some songs, the solos and vocals as well as the general mood all have the taste of classic Rock melted into a modern mixture with modern Rock elements, and presented brilliantly in a homogeneous sound that Ashley Bean can identify with.

‘Where Has It Gone To’

This is our absolute favourite song on ‘What You Deserve’. The intro riff, the guitar solo, drums, instrumental part around the second minute, and the varying speed through the course of the song and the way it speeds up at the chorus is all brilliantly made. This is one of those songs you get the urge to listen to.

After listing the things we loved about ‘What You Deserve’, here are few things we would have loved to hear. The vocals are brilliant but some more variations in the style and tone would have made the album more rich on that level. More songs like Where Has It Gone To, displaying not only a change in speed bit also the hardness of singing would have made this album better. Songs like Halloween and Left stand out in the album because of certain elements in their intro that tied them to their concept, however few other songs missed this aspect, making it hard for them to stand out and be remembered.

In general, Ashley Bean has built a foundation for a great sound. This album can be the first of many great releases that have an odor from the past but a vector pointing at the future. We recommend ‘What You Deserve’ to all fans of Hard Rock and classic Rock.

Ratings

Here are the average of the ratings that were placed by the FemMetal Team.

Interview

Mirk: Hello Ashley. It’s a pleasure to chat with you. How are you doing?

Ashley: I’m doing great.

Mirk: You’re a young Rock artist and last year you released your debut album ‘What You Deserve’. How are you feeling about the reception this album received?

Ashley: I think it’s doing very well, a few of my songs from the album are being played on FM radio and I’m proud of that.

Mirk: What songs on ‘What You Deserve’ were the fan favourites?

Ashley: The top songs that everyone seems to enjoy are What You Deserve, Don’t Go Away, and Halloween.

Mirk: There’s a variety of music that we can hear through your album. There are songs with a classic Rock feel and others that are faster and heavier. What is your favourite thing about each of these two styles and which one do you enjoy performing more?

Ashley: I love to get variety that II give with each song, I like for each song to have its own uniqueness, for each one to stand out on its own. And I love performing each one of my songs.

Mirk: You are a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Who are the artists you used to listen to that influenced you into becoming an artist and music maker yourself?

Ashley: Definitely Joan Jett, she is someone that I look up to not just in music but her as a person.

Mirk: Do you remember the first time you performed live on stage? How many people were there and what are your favourite memories about it?

Ashley: Yes I remember my first show, the place was packed from wall to wall, and I just absolutely enjoyed every minute of it.

Mirk: Aside from the music itself, what do you think is the most important thing for a musician to succeed in today’s music market?

Ashley: To have fun with it. Make it your own.

Mirk: Have you ever been treated with sexism? How would you react to someone who would undermine you or treat you discrimination based on your gender?

Ashley: I have come across this in my career just simply because I was a woman. I kept my head up and I fought on.

Mirk: Being a musician sure takes a whole lot of your time. But do you still have time for other activities like hobbies or literature that you enjoy doing away from music?

Ashley: Yes I do, when you want to do something you make time for it.

Mirk: Finally, what are Ashley Bean Band’s plans for 2020?

Ashley: Well I am in the process of writing new music and it’s coming along great. I also have
a lot going on as an A&R Rep as well, but I love it all.

Mirk: Thank you Ashley for the interview. It’s an honor to talk with a talented young star such as yourself.

Ashley: Thank you so much for the opportunity.

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