Jake Sharp

When Five Horse Johnson formed back in 1995, referring to themselves as a “blues band,” a few brows might well have been furrowed. But this is a band that has always understood that the blues isn’t a formula – it’s a way of looking at the world. Their take on the blooze is as a dirty, sensual thing, enhanced with a healthy dose of humor. Now some two decades and seven albums into their career – with eighth Jake Leg Boogie, set to drop in Summer 2017 on Small Stone – Five Horse Johnson have dug out a niche of their own, a genuine love and respect for traditional blues and classic rock leading them to likewise become one of the most loved and respected bands in the heavy rock underground. Always a freight train live, they’ve toured the US (with Clutch and Halfway to Gone) and Europe extensively (including the festival circuit), gathering fans, friends, and drinking partners all over the Western World.

Grant (Ralph Bellamy) is a wealthy rancher who hires four mercenaries to retrieve his wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale), from the clutches of the desperado Raza (Jack Palance) in this Western adventure set in 1917. Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is a munitions expert who joins gunslinger Fardan (Lee Marvin), horse trainer Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan), and longbow master Jake (Woody Strode) when the men are offered 10,000 dollars apiece for the safe return of Grant's kidnapped wife. The cadre travels 100 miles into Mexico to retrieve the woman, whom they later discover wants to remain with Raza, but they decide to nab Maria anyway to make good on the money. Soon Fardan, Hans, and Jake are chased across the border by the enraged Raza and his equally deadly female accomplice Chiquita (Marie Gomez), while Dolworth stays behind to fight off Raza's Mexican banditos. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Direction (Richard Brooks), Best Screenplay (Brooks again), and Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall).

Sweden's Amaranthe is a metalcore band known for its mix of melodic pop and death metal. Formed in 2008, Amaranthe features several vocalists, with Eliza Reed and Jake E handling most of the soaring, clean vocals and Andreas Solveström taking care of the harsher, throatier vocal parts…