Dark Scorpion Records

Lisieux I: Renaissance was released 6 years ago today!

YouTube: youtu.be/rg41ctPIivk?si… Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/6gIiLN1c… “I’ll Stick Around” You said you’d kill To hide the pain Most days you lie Just to feel something You’ve got no empathy I think you hate me But I’ll stick around anyway You called me a loser I took the bait Didn’t really mind I’m that lonely Remember the text you sent? Told me you wished that I was dead But I’ll stick around anyway If I run away You’ll come after me Say it’ll be different now This time I won’t beat you down After all this pain There’s no escape Said you’d better never tell Oh, this life will beat you down I know I should’ve done something But boys don’t cry It’s not the same I guess I should’ve screamed What the hell is wrong with me? But I’ll stick around anyway If I run away You’ll come after me Say it’ll be different now This time I won’t beat you down After all this pain There’s no escape Said you’d better never tell Oh, this life will beat you down But I’ll stick around anyway This life will beat you down But I’ll stick around anyway This life will beat you down But I’ll stick around anyway This life will beat you down But I’ll stick around anyway

“I’ll Stick Around” makes its radio debut tonight at 7 PM EST on @BlowUpRadio. Listen at blowupradio.com

Stream the new song “I’ll Stick Around” by @IllAdvised from his new album, Family Cruelty, out later this year. YouTube: youtu.be/rg41ctPIivk?si… Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/6gIiLN1c…

“I’ll Stick Around” from the album Family Cruelty, now streaming. Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/6gIiLN1c… YouTube: youtu.be/rg41ctPIivk?si…

“I’ll Stick Around” from the album Family Cruelty. illadvised.net

Check out the new tune from my good pal @IllAdvised give it a like and a follow! \m/ #NewMusic2026 #NewMusicFriday #NewMusic

Merch sample prints have started arriving! Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered so far! Added a few hats since some of you were asking. store.illadvised.net

To say I can’t believe I released my first album, Parkway Divides, ten years ago today would be a cliché understatement. They say you have your entire life to write your first record, and this album was the culmination of everything I had dreamt up since I was three years old and saw a photograph of the amazing Albuquerque musician Chris Dracup playing a turquoise guitar. Truth is, I think a lot of people were surprised I made one record, let alone eight! I wasn’t the best singer or guitar player out of the gate - drums were what came naturally and I was the drummer for many years. But I wanted to write songs and front a band, so I learned to sing. I was lucky to work with Jim Carson, vocal coach for the movie Across The Universe, for many years as a teenager. In the spring of 2015 I somehow convinced my honors college thesis advisor, Dr. Philip Cioffari, at William Paterson University to make an album as my thesis (and special thanks to Jan Pinkston for her support and encouragement)! Thus I set out to make Parkway Divides. My freshman year of college I interviewed the legendary mix engineer and producer, Michael James for a paper about the human element in music. We stayed in touch and over three years later, I reached out to MJ to see if he might mix a song. Most LA pros would’ve ignored some kid from Jersey - but Michael didn’t. He saw something in my demos and rough mixes that most people didn’t, and decided to work with me. What followed was the 21st century version of making a record, but for me at least, just as magical. Over the next several months MJ lent not only his mixing skills, but his expert ear, and helped guide me as I produced and recorded Parkway, and he mixed it remotely in California. I still remember listening to the final mix for “Summer Nights” in the car with my mom, practically in shock that this was actually real. Our air conditioning had gone out a few weeks earlier, which helped inspire the song. After I finished recording the first demo version, I got that feeling you sometimes get as a songwriter that you might be on to something. Luckily, Michael felt the same way. MJ didn’t dismiss me like a lot of people in my life had up to that point. My mom had been my only source of encouragement for years, so to get the validation that yeah, I wasn’t as delusional as some people thought (I think you have to be a *little* delusional to make an album!) set a fire in me that led to 16 hour days 7 days a week! Parkway Divides had evolved from college thesis to a full-blown concept record. Other industry pros could’ve easily questioned and interfered with my creative process - and justifiably so. After all, this was my first album and I was producing it, too! But MJ let me develop on my own, gently guiding me and enhancing what I created. He let me find my own voice, which is a rarity in the music industry, and for that, among many, many other things, I will be eternally grateful. This record would not be what it is, and I would not be the artist I am today, without you, Michael. From the bottom of my black little heart, thank you, my friend. I also want to thank another legend, David Donnelly, for mastering this album. It still sounds great a decade later. And a huge thank you to all of you who pre-ordered Parkway Divides on PledgeMusic all those years ago, fulfilling another childhood dream to make a physical CD! It was so fun looking through the liner notes recently to see all your names. Many of you have continued to pick up copies of my music all these years later, and it still blows me away and is incredibly humbling.

Happy 10th anniversary Parkway Divides!

It’s the last day of the countdown to the 10 year anniversary of Parkway Divides on November 20th! Today’s song is track #12, “The Last Goodbye,” which closes out the album. Listen: youtu.be/-cg14DN49nM?si…

As we near the end of the countdown to 10 years of Parkway Divides, today’s song is track #11, “Shame.” Listen: youtu.be/C14Ys0W0vV8?si…

Today’s song is track #10, “Cyanide Caress.” I was lucky enough to have my longtime friend and digital filmmaker, animator, and graphic artist, @kennyonset, create this animated music video. Watch it here: youtu.be/2fg_YZDvdmM?si…

Today’s song is track #9, “Ghosts Of My Memory.” It features a massive orchestral arrangement of strings, percussion, and woodwinds. Orchestral instrumentation continues to be a key element in the Ill-Advised sound 10 years later. Listen: youtu.be/ziui7TtZ3Tc?si…

Counting down to 10 years of Parkway Divides! Today’s song is track #8, “Poison/The Cure.” Listen here: youtu.be/qjzDCbKcrog?si…

Today’s song, “The Great Divide,” is track #7 on Parkway Divides and kicks off Side 2 of the record. Listen: youtu.be/Yj9kfuSxTJQ?si…

We’re halfway through the countdown to the 10 year anniversary of Parkway Divides! Today’s song is track #6, “Misery,” which closes out Side 1 of the album. Lyrically, it is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on the difficulties we face in life with the repeating line, “You know me, I’m misery!” I always like to write lyrics that can be interpreted in multiple ways. Fun fact: I got to play timpani on this song! Listen: youtu.be/Hp3rnRydE6Q?si…

Today’s track is “Summer Nights,” the song that started it all. Track #5 off Parkway Divides, the video was shot by my mom, Jane Metzler, on her iPhone during her lunch break. She says of making the video, “I just wanted everyone to see what you looked like and that you were playing all the instruments yourself!” Contrary to how one reviewer described it at the time, it is not a love song, but rather a deeply personal story about growing up without a father. Fun fact: “Summer Nights” was in rotation at the Satin Dolls strip club, made famous as the “Bada Bing” in The Sopranos! Watch the “Summer Nights” music video here: youtu.be/0jMrcJd9Yxc?si…

Today’s track is “Summer Nights,” the song that started it all. Track #5 off Parkway Divides, the video was shot by my mom, Jane Metzler, on her iPhone during her lunch break. She says of making the video, “I just wanted everyone to see what you looked like and that you were playing all the instruments yourself!” Contrary to how one reviewer described it at the time, it is not a love song, but rather a deeply personal story about growing up without a father. Fun fact: “Summer Nights” was in rotation at the Satin Dolls strip club, made famous as the “Bada Bing” in The Sopranos! Watch the “Summer Nights” music video here: youtu.be/0jMrcJd9Yxc?si…

Lisieux III: Revenir, the final installment of the Lisieux trilogy, turns 4 today! 🎂 Listen to the album here: ill-advised.lnk.to/LisieuxIII