Fofi Roussos Interview
I Review Rock caught up with Fofi from 4Bitten, to talk about true artists, the not so difficult 2nd album Delirium, and all things 4Bitten.
IRR: Hi Fofi. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Firstly, congratulations on the new album Delirium, it’s an absolute belter and will be up there in our top 10 2012 albums. You must be very pleased with it and the way it’s been received?
Fofi: Thanks! Yes I'm really happy with the reviews we're getting... from fans and from the press.
You recorded your debut album No More Sins at the Soundflakes Studio in Athens. Where was Delirium recorded?
Delirium was also recorded at Soundflakes.... if it's not broke... don't fix it....
You started recording it in January 2011, how come you made us all wait over a year to hear it? It wasn’t the ‘difficult 2ndalbum syndrome was it?
It wasn't intentianal for it to take that long and it wasn't a difficult album to make.... we just wanted to take our time and get it right.... we all had a really good idea about how we wanted this album to sound and we weren't going to settle for anything less.
Over the last couple of years you’ve supported some big names: Dan Reed, The Tygers of Pan Tang, Blaze Bayley, Michael Schenker and Uriah Heep. How is it touring with such well known, established acts? Have you managed to pick up any tips for longevity in the business?
We have been EXTREMELY lucky to be able to share stages with such amazing names..... it's exciting.. for me even a bit intimidating... but a real adreneline rush. ALL of these names have two things in common.... they're true... no mask on stage... and when they're performing they have an amazing connection with the crowd.
You are one of the bands playing Mylos Open Air with Firewind in Thessalonki on July 18th and you are playing Wizz Fest in March next year, you must be looking forward to both of these? How do festivals compare to the more intimate gigs?
We are sooo excited about both of these festivals... it's going to be great playing in Thessaloniki with Firewind... we have a great respect for them and the fact that they're one of the bands that really opened the door for other Greek bands to take a step outside of Greece... Wizz Fest is going to be a blast and it will be our first time in Belgium, so we're really looking forward to it. Festivals are great because you get to meet and share the stage with great bands and the crowds are sooo rocking and so open to hearing new bands and new music. But, I must say I really enjoy the more intimate gigs because I thrive on that connection with the crowd.
Please tell me there plans to do your own headline tour promoting the new album? Will we get to see you in the UK soon?
There are various scenarios that we are discussing but nothing has yet been confirmed........ the only thing that is for sure is that we will tour as much as we possibly can to promote 'Delirium'. We feel that it deserves it but we also LOVE being on stage..... we've said it many times in the past... we are a live band.... it's what we live for...... We will definitely be making it to the UK but I can't tell you exactly when... so everyone needs to keep checking out our site...www.4Bitten.com, facebook, myspace, and twitter, to found out what we're up to.
What’s the Rock music scene like in Athens, and Greece overall? Any bands you think we should check out?
The rock scene in Greece is quite active, despite the economic situation in the country right now. There are LOTS of very talented musicians..... I can't really think of just one right now..... it would be a shame for me to leave a band out who might be really good simply because it's not coming to mind at the moment.
Why did 4Bitten, an Athens based band, choose a UK label (Rocksector Records)?
The UK is very open to different styles of music and we have always felt that when a band has a foundation in the UK it's much easier to approach Europe as a whole.... and because Rocksector Records believes in us and shares our vision of 4Bitten making a strong impact on the rock scene.
So what does the future hold for 4Bitten?
We will keep rocking.... touring as much as possible... we're discussing an AMAZING tour for late fall/ early winter 2012 (keep checking out our site for an announcement)... and we've already begun ideas for new material.... so I guess you could say that the best is yet to come.
Finally, where did the band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
It's been almost ten years... I can't believe it... so I don't even REMEMBER what names we rejected... 4Bitten was a name that George came up with after a long night of too many beers... we liked it... it stuck.
Many thanks Fofi for taking time out to answer these questions. Hope you enjoy our Band of the Month feature on 4Bitten and best of luck with Delirium and hopefully we’ll see you soon on the road.
Thank you very much for having us Band of the Month.... Delirium is an album that we are very proud of and I believe that whoever goes out and buys it will definitely enjoy it! See you all on the road..... and always keep it real!
Interview by: Andy
IRR: Hi Fofi. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Firstly, congratulations on the new album Delirium, it’s an absolute belter and will be up there in our top 10 2012 albums. You must be very pleased with it and the way it’s been received?
Fofi: Thanks! Yes I'm really happy with the reviews we're getting... from fans and from the press.
You recorded your debut album No More Sins at the Soundflakes Studio in Athens. Where was Delirium recorded?
Delirium was also recorded at Soundflakes.... if it's not broke... don't fix it....
You started recording it in January 2011, how come you made us all wait over a year to hear it? It wasn’t the ‘difficult 2ndalbum syndrome was it?
It wasn't intentianal for it to take that long and it wasn't a difficult album to make.... we just wanted to take our time and get it right.... we all had a really good idea about how we wanted this album to sound and we weren't going to settle for anything less.
Over the last couple of years you’ve supported some big names: Dan Reed, The Tygers of Pan Tang, Blaze Bayley, Michael Schenker and Uriah Heep. How is it touring with such well known, established acts? Have you managed to pick up any tips for longevity in the business?
We have been EXTREMELY lucky to be able to share stages with such amazing names..... it's exciting.. for me even a bit intimidating... but a real adreneline rush. ALL of these names have two things in common.... they're true... no mask on stage... and when they're performing they have an amazing connection with the crowd.
You are one of the bands playing Mylos Open Air with Firewind in Thessalonki on July 18th and you are playing Wizz Fest in March next year, you must be looking forward to both of these? How do festivals compare to the more intimate gigs?
We are sooo excited about both of these festivals... it's going to be great playing in Thessaloniki with Firewind... we have a great respect for them and the fact that they're one of the bands that really opened the door for other Greek bands to take a step outside of Greece... Wizz Fest is going to be a blast and it will be our first time in Belgium, so we're really looking forward to it. Festivals are great because you get to meet and share the stage with great bands and the crowds are sooo rocking and so open to hearing new bands and new music. But, I must say I really enjoy the more intimate gigs because I thrive on that connection with the crowd.
Please tell me there plans to do your own headline tour promoting the new album? Will we get to see you in the UK soon?
There are various scenarios that we are discussing but nothing has yet been confirmed........ the only thing that is for sure is that we will tour as much as we possibly can to promote 'Delirium'. We feel that it deserves it but we also LOVE being on stage..... we've said it many times in the past... we are a live band.... it's what we live for...... We will definitely be making it to the UK but I can't tell you exactly when... so everyone needs to keep checking out our site...www.4Bitten.com, facebook, myspace, and twitter, to found out what we're up to.
What’s the Rock music scene like in Athens, and Greece overall? Any bands you think we should check out?
The rock scene in Greece is quite active, despite the economic situation in the country right now. There are LOTS of very talented musicians..... I can't really think of just one right now..... it would be a shame for me to leave a band out who might be really good simply because it's not coming to mind at the moment.
Why did 4Bitten, an Athens based band, choose a UK label (Rocksector Records)?
The UK is very open to different styles of music and we have always felt that when a band has a foundation in the UK it's much easier to approach Europe as a whole.... and because Rocksector Records believes in us and shares our vision of 4Bitten making a strong impact on the rock scene.
So what does the future hold for 4Bitten?
We will keep rocking.... touring as much as possible... we're discussing an AMAZING tour for late fall/ early winter 2012 (keep checking out our site for an announcement)... and we've already begun ideas for new material.... so I guess you could say that the best is yet to come.
Finally, where did the band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
It's been almost ten years... I can't believe it... so I don't even REMEMBER what names we rejected... 4Bitten was a name that George came up with after a long night of too many beers... we liked it... it stuck.
Many thanks Fofi for taking time out to answer these questions. Hope you enjoy our Band of the Month feature on 4Bitten and best of luck with Delirium and hopefully we’ll see you soon on the road.
Thank you very much for having us Band of the Month.... Delirium is an album that we are very proud of and I believe that whoever goes out and buys it will definitely enjoy it! See you all on the road..... and always keep it real!
Interview by: Andy
Danny Vaughn Interview
I Review Rock recently caught up with Danny (aka Captain America) Vaughn from Tyketto. Not only was he a perfect Gent, he was happy to answer a few questions.
IRR: Hi Danny. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Firstly, congratulations on the new album Dig In Deep, it’s an absolute belter. You must be very pleased with it and the way it’s been received?
DV: Thanks Andy. I must admit it''s been a very pleasant surprise. I knew that there would be some anticipation from Tyketto fans over a new album from us after all these years but I was also concerned that anticipation could have led to disappointment as each person had in their own minds what we would sound like after all of this time. I'm happy to say that reactions have been overwhelmingly in favour.
At the moment it’s number 11 in the UK’s Radio 1 Rock chart, some achievement for a band that has effectively been out of the limelight for 17 years. That’s obviously some fan base you’ve managed to retain. Did that chart placing surprise you?
Completely surprised all of us. On top of that, we were listed as #2 in the HMV metal sales chart last week above amazing bands like Iron Maiden. How we got into the metal charts I don't know, but I'm not complaining.
How easily did the recording of Dig In Deep go, because you are all fairly spread out over the globe aren’t you?
It was the most stressful and difficult album I've ever had to make. Luckily, none of that shows in the music. But we were hit with a series of set backs, both personal and professional, that made it feel, at times, like the world was against us. Over all, we've been working on this for 2 years and things were bound to happen, from freak snow storms to major surgeries, we've done it all!
Going back to the start, can you give us a little potted history of Tyketto?
Michael and I started the band up in 1989 and we were signed to a well known management company by 1990. With them on our team we were able to do some very important shows in the NYC area, showcasing for all the major record labels. Geffen made the best offer and we went with them. Album 1, “Don't Come Easy” was released in 1991 and we toured for much of that year and some of the next both as a headliner and opening up for bands like Blue Oyster Cult, Nelson, White Lion and Yngwie Malmsteen. We recorded our next album, “Strength In Numbers” in 1992 but were dropped from Geffen when it was completed so we had to wait until 1994 to get it released in the UK on Music For Nations Records. We toured pretty hard from 1991 to 1995, which was when I left the band. They got Steve Augeri to come in and do the album “Shine” in 1996 and he toured with them as well. After that the band went quiet until 2004 when we first reunited to play some live shows. We've been doing small tours here and there ever since and finally decided we needed an album of brand new songs. So: here comes “Dig In Deep”.
Were the live reunions the catalyst for the new album? Did you all suddenly realise what you’d been missing and what great chemistry you still had?
We felt that we had played enough on our old albums. If we kept on going with nothing new to add we would feel like a nostalgia act so we wanted to spice it up with a new album.
You’ll obviously be touring this album, what countries will you be taking in and how well has the album been received globally?
It's still early to say on both counts. At our level touring is very expensive and doesn't always work out so we're waiting to see if a European tour is possible. The only gig we have on the books right now is to play the first night of Firefest in the UK on October 19th and that is sold out!
You have long standing connections with the Firefest festival and apologies if you’ve been asked this many times, but is there likely to be a Tyketto Firefest live album at all?
Not that I can see. We always talk about the possibility of doing a live DVD but we don't want to do it from that venue. The crowd is awesome, of course, but the DVDs made from there don't look particularly good.
The lyrics of ‘Here’s hoping it hurts’ seem to be about not being able to forgive and forget. Anyone in particular in mind when you wrote them?
Ha! There are probably 4 or 5 people in my past that think that song is about them. But really, it's about all of them. It's about how we are supposed to forgive the people that screw us and I found myself asking “why”? I don't want to forgive them for what they did to me. I hope they are miserable. Not very politically correct, I know, but very human.
So what does the future hold for Tyketto? We are not going to have to wait another 17 years for the next album are we?
Let's hope it won't be that long! Right now I want to see where this album will take us. There is a lot of buzz about it and anything could happen. But we have talked about making another one in the future if this one went well. No promises, but very possible.
With your seemingly constant gigging in various guises, what do you do to relax and get away from the music side of things?
These days I live a happy life. I love my home, I love my marriage. I have an amazing wife who has helped me to enjoy every day of being alive. And that's a big deal for me, because that wasn't always the case. I don't have many other interests. I want to become a better guitar player and I want to be involved in as many varied musical projects as I can, so I'm open to all sorts of offers!
Finally, I’ve heard that you are a bit of a Superhero fan. Who’s your favourite Superhero and which one can you most relate to? Also, have you seen The Avengers movie yet as it looks like it will be pretty awesome.
It is one of the best movies ever! Superheroes or not! It's a wonderful film . Growing up, my hero was always Captain America. That's who I wanted to be when I was a kid and I still have all of my Cap comics ranging from number 100 through number 400. I think I always loved Cap because he was indomitable. Nothing could stop him, nothing could shake his faith in doing what was right. He was a great leader. Those qualities were all things that I wished for myself.
Many thanks Danny for taking time out to answer these questions. Hope you enjoy our Band of the Month feature on Tyketto and best of luck with Dig In Deep and hopefully I’ll see you soon on the road.
Thanks very much!
Interview by: Andy
Many Thanks to Martin for setting this up.
IRR: Hi Danny. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Firstly, congratulations on the new album Dig In Deep, it’s an absolute belter. You must be very pleased with it and the way it’s been received?
DV: Thanks Andy. I must admit it''s been a very pleasant surprise. I knew that there would be some anticipation from Tyketto fans over a new album from us after all these years but I was also concerned that anticipation could have led to disappointment as each person had in their own minds what we would sound like after all of this time. I'm happy to say that reactions have been overwhelmingly in favour.
At the moment it’s number 11 in the UK’s Radio 1 Rock chart, some achievement for a band that has effectively been out of the limelight for 17 years. That’s obviously some fan base you’ve managed to retain. Did that chart placing surprise you?
Completely surprised all of us. On top of that, we were listed as #2 in the HMV metal sales chart last week above amazing bands like Iron Maiden. How we got into the metal charts I don't know, but I'm not complaining.
How easily did the recording of Dig In Deep go, because you are all fairly spread out over the globe aren’t you?
It was the most stressful and difficult album I've ever had to make. Luckily, none of that shows in the music. But we were hit with a series of set backs, both personal and professional, that made it feel, at times, like the world was against us. Over all, we've been working on this for 2 years and things were bound to happen, from freak snow storms to major surgeries, we've done it all!
Going back to the start, can you give us a little potted history of Tyketto?
Michael and I started the band up in 1989 and we were signed to a well known management company by 1990. With them on our team we were able to do some very important shows in the NYC area, showcasing for all the major record labels. Geffen made the best offer and we went with them. Album 1, “Don't Come Easy” was released in 1991 and we toured for much of that year and some of the next both as a headliner and opening up for bands like Blue Oyster Cult, Nelson, White Lion and Yngwie Malmsteen. We recorded our next album, “Strength In Numbers” in 1992 but were dropped from Geffen when it was completed so we had to wait until 1994 to get it released in the UK on Music For Nations Records. We toured pretty hard from 1991 to 1995, which was when I left the band. They got Steve Augeri to come in and do the album “Shine” in 1996 and he toured with them as well. After that the band went quiet until 2004 when we first reunited to play some live shows. We've been doing small tours here and there ever since and finally decided we needed an album of brand new songs. So: here comes “Dig In Deep”.
Were the live reunions the catalyst for the new album? Did you all suddenly realise what you’d been missing and what great chemistry you still had?
We felt that we had played enough on our old albums. If we kept on going with nothing new to add we would feel like a nostalgia act so we wanted to spice it up with a new album.
You’ll obviously be touring this album, what countries will you be taking in and how well has the album been received globally?
It's still early to say on both counts. At our level touring is very expensive and doesn't always work out so we're waiting to see if a European tour is possible. The only gig we have on the books right now is to play the first night of Firefest in the UK on October 19th and that is sold out!
You have long standing connections with the Firefest festival and apologies if you’ve been asked this many times, but is there likely to be a Tyketto Firefest live album at all?
Not that I can see. We always talk about the possibility of doing a live DVD but we don't want to do it from that venue. The crowd is awesome, of course, but the DVDs made from there don't look particularly good.
The lyrics of ‘Here’s hoping it hurts’ seem to be about not being able to forgive and forget. Anyone in particular in mind when you wrote them?
Ha! There are probably 4 or 5 people in my past that think that song is about them. But really, it's about all of them. It's about how we are supposed to forgive the people that screw us and I found myself asking “why”? I don't want to forgive them for what they did to me. I hope they are miserable. Not very politically correct, I know, but very human.
So what does the future hold for Tyketto? We are not going to have to wait another 17 years for the next album are we?
Let's hope it won't be that long! Right now I want to see where this album will take us. There is a lot of buzz about it and anything could happen. But we have talked about making another one in the future if this one went well. No promises, but very possible.
With your seemingly constant gigging in various guises, what do you do to relax and get away from the music side of things?
These days I live a happy life. I love my home, I love my marriage. I have an amazing wife who has helped me to enjoy every day of being alive. And that's a big deal for me, because that wasn't always the case. I don't have many other interests. I want to become a better guitar player and I want to be involved in as many varied musical projects as I can, so I'm open to all sorts of offers!
Finally, I’ve heard that you are a bit of a Superhero fan. Who’s your favourite Superhero and which one can you most relate to? Also, have you seen The Avengers movie yet as it looks like it will be pretty awesome.
It is one of the best movies ever! Superheroes or not! It's a wonderful film . Growing up, my hero was always Captain America. That's who I wanted to be when I was a kid and I still have all of my Cap comics ranging from number 100 through number 400. I think I always loved Cap because he was indomitable. Nothing could stop him, nothing could shake his faith in doing what was right. He was a great leader. Those qualities were all things that I wished for myself.
Many thanks Danny for taking time out to answer these questions. Hope you enjoy our Band of the Month feature on Tyketto and best of luck with Dig In Deep and hopefully I’ll see you soon on the road.
Thanks very much!
Interview by: Andy
Many Thanks to Martin for setting this up.
Joey Tempest Interview
I Review Rock recently caught up with the main man himself, Joey Tempest. Here's what he had to say.
Hi Joey. Many thanks for taking the time to answer a few of our questions. Firstly, I must just say, congratulations on the new single ‘Not Supposed to Sing the Blues’. It’s a cracking precursor for the album. Can we expect more of the same Solid Classic Rock from the upcoming Bag of Bones album?
JT: Thanks! Although NOT SUPPOSED is one of my favorite songs on BAG OF BONES it only scratches the surface of this record. It's the album we always wanted to make, in my opinion its got more great songs than LAST LOOK AT EDEN and I never thought I'd say that.
Having only heard the single so far, (which should mean I’ve no right to make assumptions... But...) some of the track titles seem a bit, how can I put it....Depressing? Riches To Rags, Bag Of Bones, Requiem, Doghouse, Mercy You Mercy Me. Are we in for an album full of melancholic lyrics?
JT: Its started from a darker place, thats actually a good thing. You don't want it too bright and cheery. Thats not life I'm afraid! It just came out this way though. Its a special record. It's very honest.
After the success of ‘Last Look At Eden’, did the band find it difficult to come up with ideas for the next album? Even though it’s your 9th studio album, was there almost a ‘difficult 2nd album’ mentality?
JT: We just went on a new journey with this one. I don't know where it came from but we have finally done a decent rock record! Bag Of Bones is the 4th album since we started up again. Its been a slow build and some hard work getting some new success!.....Everyone in the band contributed to the writing of BOB. With 5 guys still passionate about their craft things usually turn out pretty good.....
You used legendary producer Kevin Shirley on Bag of Bones. What did he bring to the ‘Europe’ table?
JT: A warm 70 s classic rock sound! he pushed us and our songs to the limit. It was a great partnership!
Joe Bonamassa plays on the title track of the new album. He always comes across as a very down-to-Earth guy, but with an incredible talent, how was it working with him and who approached who?
JT: Joe guest appeared with us on stage in Stockholm summer 2011. We got along great. When we were in the studio we asked Kevin to check with Joe if he would be interested in playing on our record. He was delighted and did it separately in a studio in New York. We loved the result!
Out of the 11 tracks on Bag of Bones, which do you think is the one that’s going to stick in people’s heads? And also, which song are you most proud of on the album?
JT: Right now I really like the first 3 songs on the album. But it changes all the time Demon Head is also cool, Drink And A Smile as well.....
With all the experience you’ve gained over the years, do you ever wish you could go back in time and change the mix or production on any of your early albums? Or re-write any lyrics (Didn’t you change a line or two of ‘Open your Heart’ on the ‘Out of This World’ version?) or even leave out or replace tracks? (My personal thought is that this shouldn’t be done, because a back catalogue shows an artist’s growth over the years....But what do I know?)
JT: No regrets really, best to just move on in life and in work. You do the best you can in every situation........
Download has quite a line-up this year, Europe included. Are you looking forward to playing it and hanging with some of the other bands? Any other festivals planned for this year?
JT: Really looking forward to playing Donington (Download). We have seen bands play there but never been on stage.
European festivals this summer and the main Bag Of Bones Tour this autumn.
You are back touring in the UK in November (I have my Manchester tickets and will see you there). How have the UK crowds taken to the development of the harder, more mature, Europe sound?
JT: Yes UK is one of the countries that has embraced our new records. This means a lot to us since we grew up listening to british bands.
What are your thoughts on the Rock bands of today? Any you think we should check out?
JT: I think its great with a new generation of bands carrying the torch of classic rock and blues. Bands like Rival Sons and a Graveyard (a Gothenburg band)
How do you think Europe would cope if you were starting out as a new band today?
JT: We pretty much started out as a new band in 2004. We're building things up slowly and it seem to be working.
I know that social media plays a huge part in new bands getting their music heard in this day and age, but that’s no replacement for cold hard gigging week in week out, is it?
JT: Touring is important. It makes it real! and yes, if you are good its the best advertisement for a band.
Many thanks again Joey for taking the time to answer these questions, before I go I must just say that I’ve been a fan of Europe since the ‘Wings of Tomorrow’ album, but admit that ‘Last Look At Eden’ really got me back into you and looking out for your tours and new album. I’m thoroughly looking forward to hearing ‘Bag of Bones’, both on CD and live, but would love to know what the plans are for the future of Europe. After you finish touring this album, can we expect another one in a couple of years?
JT: Thanks for supporting us and for following us on our journey. We're doing festivals around Europe in the summer. Extensive tour of UK, Scandinavia and Europe this autumn. Continued touring including other territories in 2013. Our 10th album is planned for 2014.
Hi Joey. Many thanks for taking the time to answer a few of our questions. Firstly, I must just say, congratulations on the new single ‘Not Supposed to Sing the Blues’. It’s a cracking precursor for the album. Can we expect more of the same Solid Classic Rock from the upcoming Bag of Bones album?
JT: Thanks! Although NOT SUPPOSED is one of my favorite songs on BAG OF BONES it only scratches the surface of this record. It's the album we always wanted to make, in my opinion its got more great songs than LAST LOOK AT EDEN and I never thought I'd say that.
Having only heard the single so far, (which should mean I’ve no right to make assumptions... But...) some of the track titles seem a bit, how can I put it....Depressing? Riches To Rags, Bag Of Bones, Requiem, Doghouse, Mercy You Mercy Me. Are we in for an album full of melancholic lyrics?
JT: Its started from a darker place, thats actually a good thing. You don't want it too bright and cheery. Thats not life I'm afraid! It just came out this way though. Its a special record. It's very honest.
After the success of ‘Last Look At Eden’, did the band find it difficult to come up with ideas for the next album? Even though it’s your 9th studio album, was there almost a ‘difficult 2nd album’ mentality?
JT: We just went on a new journey with this one. I don't know where it came from but we have finally done a decent rock record! Bag Of Bones is the 4th album since we started up again. Its been a slow build and some hard work getting some new success!.....Everyone in the band contributed to the writing of BOB. With 5 guys still passionate about their craft things usually turn out pretty good.....
You used legendary producer Kevin Shirley on Bag of Bones. What did he bring to the ‘Europe’ table?
JT: A warm 70 s classic rock sound! he pushed us and our songs to the limit. It was a great partnership!
Joe Bonamassa plays on the title track of the new album. He always comes across as a very down-to-Earth guy, but with an incredible talent, how was it working with him and who approached who?
JT: Joe guest appeared with us on stage in Stockholm summer 2011. We got along great. When we were in the studio we asked Kevin to check with Joe if he would be interested in playing on our record. He was delighted and did it separately in a studio in New York. We loved the result!
Out of the 11 tracks on Bag of Bones, which do you think is the one that’s going to stick in people’s heads? And also, which song are you most proud of on the album?
JT: Right now I really like the first 3 songs on the album. But it changes all the time Demon Head is also cool, Drink And A Smile as well.....
With all the experience you’ve gained over the years, do you ever wish you could go back in time and change the mix or production on any of your early albums? Or re-write any lyrics (Didn’t you change a line or two of ‘Open your Heart’ on the ‘Out of This World’ version?) or even leave out or replace tracks? (My personal thought is that this shouldn’t be done, because a back catalogue shows an artist’s growth over the years....But what do I know?)
JT: No regrets really, best to just move on in life and in work. You do the best you can in every situation........
Download has quite a line-up this year, Europe included. Are you looking forward to playing it and hanging with some of the other bands? Any other festivals planned for this year?
JT: Really looking forward to playing Donington (Download). We have seen bands play there but never been on stage.
European festivals this summer and the main Bag Of Bones Tour this autumn.
You are back touring in the UK in November (I have my Manchester tickets and will see you there). How have the UK crowds taken to the development of the harder, more mature, Europe sound?
JT: Yes UK is one of the countries that has embraced our new records. This means a lot to us since we grew up listening to british bands.
What are your thoughts on the Rock bands of today? Any you think we should check out?
JT: I think its great with a new generation of bands carrying the torch of classic rock and blues. Bands like Rival Sons and a Graveyard (a Gothenburg band)
How do you think Europe would cope if you were starting out as a new band today?
JT: We pretty much started out as a new band in 2004. We're building things up slowly and it seem to be working.
I know that social media plays a huge part in new bands getting their music heard in this day and age, but that’s no replacement for cold hard gigging week in week out, is it?
JT: Touring is important. It makes it real! and yes, if you are good its the best advertisement for a band.
Many thanks again Joey for taking the time to answer these questions, before I go I must just say that I’ve been a fan of Europe since the ‘Wings of Tomorrow’ album, but admit that ‘Last Look At Eden’ really got me back into you and looking out for your tours and new album. I’m thoroughly looking forward to hearing ‘Bag of Bones’, both on CD and live, but would love to know what the plans are for the future of Europe. After you finish touring this album, can we expect another one in a couple of years?
JT: Thanks for supporting us and for following us on our journey. We're doing festivals around Europe in the summer. Extensive tour of UK, Scandinavia and Europe this autumn. Continued touring including other territories in 2013. Our 10th album is planned for 2014.
Photographer Martin Porter Interview
Hi Martin. Many thanks for doing this interview. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be a gig-photographer?
Hi. I'm 40 years old & have loved music & nature since I can remember. I have always been quite an adept artist and got involved in my first love of nature by taking wildlife & nature shots with a camera my partner Ruth brought me, as she saw I had a talent. I have been an avid rock fan for years & have tried many times to be a part of the music scene. First by being a musician playing bass. I was awful! Then by drawing freehand cartoons. I tried for about a year to get to photograph my first band. It took a lot of nagging & finally GUN let me photograph them back in 2009. I really got a taste and it took me another year until The Union allowed me to shoot them in 2010. I was asked by a PR guy to photograph Big Country in early 2011 and then the gig photography went mad.
'A Year In Rock'. What's that all about then?
As it says ‘A Year In Rock’, which it is apart from the first two gigs! I have only been a gig photographer for one year! I have come a long way in that small time and feel pretty proud of what I have achieved .The exhibition has been a long time coming, but I was always going to do one in one shape or another. My Grandfather and my Mother had both had exhibitions there in the past, making me the third generation artist to do so. I had my heart set on it, so when the photography started to take off it was like a huge snowball.
Was the exhibition fairly straight forward to set up or is there a lot of paperwork and red tape involved?
There were only eleven slots and nearly thirty artist after them, so I had to pass a selection committee. One thing though, I originally wanted to exhibit both the nature and the music side of my work, but the panel was so impressed with the music side they asked me to exhibit just the music photos, as they felt that they were exciting and different from anything else offered.
You must've taken hundreds of photos over the year, how did you narrow it down to just 27?
A combination of gut feeling, what I thought told a story, or was exciting. Nice comments from fellow rock fans really helped as well.
Finally, is being a gig-photographer as glamorous as we think it is? Are you mega rich now?
Err NO!.(laughs) in fact my Mrs will tell you it costs me a lot of money on travel & hotels! As for glamorous, there are times that it’s cool to hang out with rock stars. Chatting to Ronnie Wood was awesome (bit of name dropping there-lol!) but to be honest theres a lot of waiting & hanging around, but when it’s time to go to work there is nothing more exciting!
Hi. I'm 40 years old & have loved music & nature since I can remember. I have always been quite an adept artist and got involved in my first love of nature by taking wildlife & nature shots with a camera my partner Ruth brought me, as she saw I had a talent. I have been an avid rock fan for years & have tried many times to be a part of the music scene. First by being a musician playing bass. I was awful! Then by drawing freehand cartoons. I tried for about a year to get to photograph my first band. It took a lot of nagging & finally GUN let me photograph them back in 2009. I really got a taste and it took me another year until The Union allowed me to shoot them in 2010. I was asked by a PR guy to photograph Big Country in early 2011 and then the gig photography went mad.
'A Year In Rock'. What's that all about then?
As it says ‘A Year In Rock’, which it is apart from the first two gigs! I have only been a gig photographer for one year! I have come a long way in that small time and feel pretty proud of what I have achieved .The exhibition has been a long time coming, but I was always going to do one in one shape or another. My Grandfather and my Mother had both had exhibitions there in the past, making me the third generation artist to do so. I had my heart set on it, so when the photography started to take off it was like a huge snowball.
Was the exhibition fairly straight forward to set up or is there a lot of paperwork and red tape involved?
There were only eleven slots and nearly thirty artist after them, so I had to pass a selection committee. One thing though, I originally wanted to exhibit both the nature and the music side of my work, but the panel was so impressed with the music side they asked me to exhibit just the music photos, as they felt that they were exciting and different from anything else offered.
You must've taken hundreds of photos over the year, how did you narrow it down to just 27?
A combination of gut feeling, what I thought told a story, or was exciting. Nice comments from fellow rock fans really helped as well.
Finally, is being a gig-photographer as glamorous as we think it is? Are you mega rich now?
Err NO!.(laughs) in fact my Mrs will tell you it costs me a lot of money on travel & hotels! As for glamorous, there are times that it’s cool to hang out with rock stars. Chatting to Ronnie Wood was awesome (bit of name dropping there-lol!) but to be honest theres a lot of waiting & hanging around, but when it’s time to go to work there is nothing more exciting!
Tony Nicholl Interview (1st January 2012)
Happy New Year Tony and many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Firstly, can you give us a brief history of the band? How did you all meet? How did the band form?
Hi Andy ! no problem thanks for asking me.
Ok well Daylight Robbery was originally formed in the late 80s by myself and some friends i used to know on the rock club scene. We did very well and got to play with some decent touring bands and had lot of fun as well. I think Mark Carleton joined the band 12 months or so down the line and we have been friends ever since. Mark joining back then added a new sound to the band, as i was used to playing with guys who were into the sleeze rock scene and Mark brought a much needed polish to the band, but also a new direction as we started to write in a more heavy melodic rock vibe which i loved and we just hit it off as a song writting partnership, but by about 1991/92 we had made some changes to the line up and it stopped working for me as a band and i decided i wanted to leave, which i did, but stayed in touch with Mark and always said that DAYLIGHT ROBBERY was unfinished business and one day we will get the band back together. Well 12 months ago Mark came over to my home and we talked about a new band but again we were both busy with different musical projects at the time but Mark left me with some new song ideas in demo form which i loaded up in my studio and started working melodies and lyrics for and with a few play backs we knew we had to get a band together and really we had the obvious guys ready to go... Murdoch (bass) has worked with Mark for many years on different projects and we had met on several ocassions and got on really well and Ben Dixon (drums), who has played with some great bands from the 80s /90s rock scene in Birmingham through to signed Indie rock bands in London, was good friends with Murdoch and Mark was an obvious choice. Finally Duncan Cook (keys) joined us who we heard had a great reputation playing with several Birmingham bands and a popular Whitesnake tribute.
So you originally formed in the Eighties? Is ‘Cross your Heart..’ a fond look back to those wonderful hair metal AOR days?
Yes i guess it is.. when Mark came to me with the music idea i liked it straight away and had the melody already in my head it reminds me of a heavy rock Bond movie theme i love it!!
You financed and produced the album yourselves. Did not being able to solely concentrate on just making music, pose any problems?
Absolutely. I think all the guys would agree it was a tough 12 months. From the very beginning we came across one hurdle after the next, from financial to contracts with distribution, to finding the right man to mix after all the hard work Jimmy Howell and ourselves had done recording and producing the album, but it is amazing how these things come together in the end like syncronicity really ...The brilliant Andy Brooke agreed to mix the album down in London, which had its own problems seeing we are based in the Midlands, but we overcame them and he did a sterling job. Then we had the mastering bridge to cross but for us if he was available, Jon Dewsbury was our 1st choice and by luck again he was and again was brilliant so a BIG thanks to Jon.
We would loved to have had a label behind us but we weren't willing to wait around and find one at that stage. We just wanted to put our album down and i think we are all agreed that we are glad we just did it. No regrets...but definately a label would be nice for the next album absolutely.
You recently supported Uriah Heep. How was that?
Fantastic just brilliant ! we had the best time ever with Mick & Bernie and all the guys. They were really supportive and complimentary of what we are doing and we would love to play with them again in the future. Mick Box never stops smiling and laffing, the guy has a great vibe.
The Audiences really liked us as well. Awesome feedback and talking to people who were buying the CD after the show we made some new friends and it really makes it all worth while when someone buys your work to go and play at home or in their car. So yes we had a great time.
So what does 2012 hold for DaylightRobbery?
Well i think we will be promoting the album through the beginning of 2012 and trying to sort out a promotional or management company or a label to help us. We have a few shows lined up but live work is what we will be looking for ...We are approaching some of the big festivals and we will have to see how that pans out. I think a single might be likely later this year. We have a song we wrote while mastering the album which i dont think we will be able to keep under wraps as we really like it a lot, but obviously couldnt get it on 'Cross Your Heart', so a single might be good. I'll keep you informed Andy.
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
Well it was as hard as it always is to come up with a name that we all agreed on so it tended to be thrown around when we were all out at a club having a drink as band names can get a bit heated to say the least ... I think originally it was a few miss spelt girls names or some twist on something to do with drugs lol.!!.. You know how it goes, but myself and the original singer Kev (I played rythm guitar for the first 12 months or so before i took the singer position..) really wanted something in the vain of the Guns n Roses and Gypsy type vibe, so we thought of somehing to do with Bandits or highway bank robbers etc.. and laffed about the use of the term DAYLIGHT ROBBERY like something stolen right under you nose, right in front of your face, so we moved on to more and more ideas but DAYLIGHT ROBBERY kept coming back into conversation so it just stuck and that was that. So when we decided to put a band together this time around we decided to keep the name as a salute to all the guys we knew before basically... and we think its a cool name for a band. Nuff said..lol!..
Finally, you’re also in the band Rock$tar. Are they just a tribute act, or are there any plans to take them to the next level? (No disrespect meant by the ‘Just a tribute act ’comment by the way!)
Did you just say Tribute!!! lol!! yes well sort of a tribute... ROCK$TAR is four great friends and me who get together to play all the great hair rock songs from the 80s & early 90s on the Rock Club scene.
More of a salute than tribute as we dont do all the dressing up nonsense.. we call it ' The Ultimate 80's Rock Experience' as where else can you go to hear songs from Tyketto Queensryche Ratt Bonfire Scorpions Motley Crue Hardline Cinderella these days? lol!
We did put an originals EP together a few years ago under 'Promised Land', there is a video or 2 on you tube i think but we decided we were all to busy to record an album great fun though!
DAYLIGHT ROBBERY is my full time project now but i still get together with the ROCK$TAR guys to play the old school songs some times great fun!!
Can I just say... DAYLIGHT ROBBERY - CROSS YOUR HEART - IS AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD DOWNLOAD SITE - ITUNES, NAPSTER, SPOTTIFY ETC.
THE CD WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE 16TH OF JANUARY FROM AMAZON HMV ARGOS ONLINE STORES ETC..
Firstly, can you give us a brief history of the band? How did you all meet? How did the band form?
Hi Andy ! no problem thanks for asking me.
Ok well Daylight Robbery was originally formed in the late 80s by myself and some friends i used to know on the rock club scene. We did very well and got to play with some decent touring bands and had lot of fun as well. I think Mark Carleton joined the band 12 months or so down the line and we have been friends ever since. Mark joining back then added a new sound to the band, as i was used to playing with guys who were into the sleeze rock scene and Mark brought a much needed polish to the band, but also a new direction as we started to write in a more heavy melodic rock vibe which i loved and we just hit it off as a song writting partnership, but by about 1991/92 we had made some changes to the line up and it stopped working for me as a band and i decided i wanted to leave, which i did, but stayed in touch with Mark and always said that DAYLIGHT ROBBERY was unfinished business and one day we will get the band back together. Well 12 months ago Mark came over to my home and we talked about a new band but again we were both busy with different musical projects at the time but Mark left me with some new song ideas in demo form which i loaded up in my studio and started working melodies and lyrics for and with a few play backs we knew we had to get a band together and really we had the obvious guys ready to go... Murdoch (bass) has worked with Mark for many years on different projects and we had met on several ocassions and got on really well and Ben Dixon (drums), who has played with some great bands from the 80s /90s rock scene in Birmingham through to signed Indie rock bands in London, was good friends with Murdoch and Mark was an obvious choice. Finally Duncan Cook (keys) joined us who we heard had a great reputation playing with several Birmingham bands and a popular Whitesnake tribute.
So you originally formed in the Eighties? Is ‘Cross your Heart..’ a fond look back to those wonderful hair metal AOR days?
Yes i guess it is.. when Mark came to me with the music idea i liked it straight away and had the melody already in my head it reminds me of a heavy rock Bond movie theme i love it!!
You financed and produced the album yourselves. Did not being able to solely concentrate on just making music, pose any problems?
Absolutely. I think all the guys would agree it was a tough 12 months. From the very beginning we came across one hurdle after the next, from financial to contracts with distribution, to finding the right man to mix after all the hard work Jimmy Howell and ourselves had done recording and producing the album, but it is amazing how these things come together in the end like syncronicity really ...The brilliant Andy Brooke agreed to mix the album down in London, which had its own problems seeing we are based in the Midlands, but we overcame them and he did a sterling job. Then we had the mastering bridge to cross but for us if he was available, Jon Dewsbury was our 1st choice and by luck again he was and again was brilliant so a BIG thanks to Jon.
We would loved to have had a label behind us but we weren't willing to wait around and find one at that stage. We just wanted to put our album down and i think we are all agreed that we are glad we just did it. No regrets...but definately a label would be nice for the next album absolutely.
You recently supported Uriah Heep. How was that?
Fantastic just brilliant ! we had the best time ever with Mick & Bernie and all the guys. They were really supportive and complimentary of what we are doing and we would love to play with them again in the future. Mick Box never stops smiling and laffing, the guy has a great vibe.
The Audiences really liked us as well. Awesome feedback and talking to people who were buying the CD after the show we made some new friends and it really makes it all worth while when someone buys your work to go and play at home or in their car. So yes we had a great time.
So what does 2012 hold for DaylightRobbery?
Well i think we will be promoting the album through the beginning of 2012 and trying to sort out a promotional or management company or a label to help us. We have a few shows lined up but live work is what we will be looking for ...We are approaching some of the big festivals and we will have to see how that pans out. I think a single might be likely later this year. We have a song we wrote while mastering the album which i dont think we will be able to keep under wraps as we really like it a lot, but obviously couldnt get it on 'Cross Your Heart', so a single might be good. I'll keep you informed Andy.
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
Well it was as hard as it always is to come up with a name that we all agreed on so it tended to be thrown around when we were all out at a club having a drink as band names can get a bit heated to say the least ... I think originally it was a few miss spelt girls names or some twist on something to do with drugs lol.!!.. You know how it goes, but myself and the original singer Kev (I played rythm guitar for the first 12 months or so before i took the singer position..) really wanted something in the vain of the Guns n Roses and Gypsy type vibe, so we thought of somehing to do with Bandits or highway bank robbers etc.. and laffed about the use of the term DAYLIGHT ROBBERY like something stolen right under you nose, right in front of your face, so we moved on to more and more ideas but DAYLIGHT ROBBERY kept coming back into conversation so it just stuck and that was that. So when we decided to put a band together this time around we decided to keep the name as a salute to all the guys we knew before basically... and we think its a cool name for a band. Nuff said..lol!..
Finally, you’re also in the band Rock$tar. Are they just a tribute act, or are there any plans to take them to the next level? (No disrespect meant by the ‘Just a tribute act ’comment by the way!)
Did you just say Tribute!!! lol!! yes well sort of a tribute... ROCK$TAR is four great friends and me who get together to play all the great hair rock songs from the 80s & early 90s on the Rock Club scene.
More of a salute than tribute as we dont do all the dressing up nonsense.. we call it ' The Ultimate 80's Rock Experience' as where else can you go to hear songs from Tyketto Queensryche Ratt Bonfire Scorpions Motley Crue Hardline Cinderella these days? lol!
We did put an originals EP together a few years ago under 'Promised Land', there is a video or 2 on you tube i think but we decided we were all to busy to record an album great fun though!
DAYLIGHT ROBBERY is my full time project now but i still get together with the ROCK$TAR guys to play the old school songs some times great fun!!
Can I just say... DAYLIGHT ROBBERY - CROSS YOUR HEART - IS AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD DOWNLOAD SITE - ITUNES, NAPSTER, SPOTTIFY ETC.
THE CD WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE 16TH OF JANUARY FROM AMAZON HMV ARGOS ONLINE STORES ETC..
Tom Carr Interview (1st Dec 2011)
Hi Tom. Many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Firstly, for those that are not familiar with MFRU, can you give us a brief history of the band? How you all started and how you got together.
No problem. Well me and Chris (vocal/guitar) have been in bands together for nearly ten years now. We started in school and just stuck at it. After we finished school Chris moved to Aberystwyth and we didn’t want to stop doing the band so I would travel down on the bus on the weekend to jam! Then in college Chris met Lee (bass) auditioning for his jazz band or whatever and stole him! We started playing local shows for a couple of years, but our guitar player just wasn’t committed enough, so we kicked him out and stole Andy (guitar) from another local band that Lee actually used to play in!
I read in your Bio, that you had some problems when you tried to record your first cd? What happened?
We did! Basically we went in blind and booked the first studio we could find and didn’t do any research on the place. It was a big mistake because the whole thing was a disaster. The producer basically didn’t have a clue and we wasted six months of our time and about a thousand pounds on something we didn’t want to put our names too. After that we were so determined to do better, we invested in our own recording equipment and Chris recorded us in his barn! The results were so much better we even released that cd and it actually opened up quite a few important doors for us!
You unfortunately learnt the hard way, so do you have any advice for new bands who are thinking about recording their first cd?
I would tell new bands to do their homework on a studio before rushing in to record their first cd. There will always be someone telling you that they will do you a really good deal and that The Who’s bass players new band recorded there or something. Before you rush in look up who’s recorded there for real and listen to their demos to see if it’s the right sound you are looking for.
Your last EP ‘Here’s To You’ was produced by Romesh Dodangoda, who has worked with the likes of Motorhead, Funeral For a Friend and Bullet For My Valentine. How was it working with him and what did he bring to MFRU?
Oh man...He is awesome! He just has the ear. I will be doing a drum take and play a fill going into a chorus and he will just stop me and tell me to do something else, making the sound with his mouth, that is actually a lot simpler but works so much better for the song. I’m just thinking like 'why the hell didn’t I think of that?' We just finished recording with him for the second time and he actually plays keyboards at the end of one of our songs which is pretty cool.
You seem to be getting quite a bit of airplay on the likes of Radio 1 and Kerrang radio, are things finally taking off ‘big time’ for the band?
I don’t know? I hope so! A lot of cool things have started happening for us but were not letting any of it go to our heads. At the end of the day we have a lot of hard work to do to get anywhere close to where we would like to be. However it's really cool to hear yourself on radio 1!
So what does 2012 hold for My Favourite Runner Up (and your fans)?
Well we're in the middle of booking a tour in February with a band called ‘Under The Influence’ and we are releasing our second EP 'Thoughts, Feelings, Actions' in March. After that I just want to tour relentlessly, meeting as many new fans and friends as possible. I would also love to find an independent label that gets what we're all about and can help us progress to the next level.
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
We had some horrible names when we were in school and starting out. We were called The Flock, Caution, Student Tragedy, Heroes For All, that one actually stuck for a while! My Favourite Runner Up was actually my idea. I was listening to a Warped Tour compilation and there were two tracks called MY FAVOURITE Accident by Motion City Soundtrack and Disregard the RUNNER UP by a band called Kicked In The Head. I just merged the two together because I thought they sounded really pop punk and cool.... the name just stuck!
Firstly, for those that are not familiar with MFRU, can you give us a brief history of the band? How you all started and how you got together.
No problem. Well me and Chris (vocal/guitar) have been in bands together for nearly ten years now. We started in school and just stuck at it. After we finished school Chris moved to Aberystwyth and we didn’t want to stop doing the band so I would travel down on the bus on the weekend to jam! Then in college Chris met Lee (bass) auditioning for his jazz band or whatever and stole him! We started playing local shows for a couple of years, but our guitar player just wasn’t committed enough, so we kicked him out and stole Andy (guitar) from another local band that Lee actually used to play in!
I read in your Bio, that you had some problems when you tried to record your first cd? What happened?
We did! Basically we went in blind and booked the first studio we could find and didn’t do any research on the place. It was a big mistake because the whole thing was a disaster. The producer basically didn’t have a clue and we wasted six months of our time and about a thousand pounds on something we didn’t want to put our names too. After that we were so determined to do better, we invested in our own recording equipment and Chris recorded us in his barn! The results were so much better we even released that cd and it actually opened up quite a few important doors for us!
You unfortunately learnt the hard way, so do you have any advice for new bands who are thinking about recording their first cd?
I would tell new bands to do their homework on a studio before rushing in to record their first cd. There will always be someone telling you that they will do you a really good deal and that The Who’s bass players new band recorded there or something. Before you rush in look up who’s recorded there for real and listen to their demos to see if it’s the right sound you are looking for.
Your last EP ‘Here’s To You’ was produced by Romesh Dodangoda, who has worked with the likes of Motorhead, Funeral For a Friend and Bullet For My Valentine. How was it working with him and what did he bring to MFRU?
Oh man...He is awesome! He just has the ear. I will be doing a drum take and play a fill going into a chorus and he will just stop me and tell me to do something else, making the sound with his mouth, that is actually a lot simpler but works so much better for the song. I’m just thinking like 'why the hell didn’t I think of that?' We just finished recording with him for the second time and he actually plays keyboards at the end of one of our songs which is pretty cool.
You seem to be getting quite a bit of airplay on the likes of Radio 1 and Kerrang radio, are things finally taking off ‘big time’ for the band?
I don’t know? I hope so! A lot of cool things have started happening for us but were not letting any of it go to our heads. At the end of the day we have a lot of hard work to do to get anywhere close to where we would like to be. However it's really cool to hear yourself on radio 1!
So what does 2012 hold for My Favourite Runner Up (and your fans)?
Well we're in the middle of booking a tour in February with a band called ‘Under The Influence’ and we are releasing our second EP 'Thoughts, Feelings, Actions' in March. After that I just want to tour relentlessly, meeting as many new fans and friends as possible. I would also love to find an independent label that gets what we're all about and can help us progress to the next level.
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
We had some horrible names when we were in school and starting out. We were called The Flock, Caution, Student Tragedy, Heroes For All, that one actually stuck for a while! My Favourite Runner Up was actually my idea. I was listening to a Warped Tour compilation and there were two tracks called MY FAVOURITE Accident by Motion City Soundtrack and Disregard the RUNNER UP by a band called Kicked In The Head. I just merged the two together because I thought they sounded really pop punk and cool.... the name just stuck!
Kev Bayliss Interview (31st Oct 2011)
Welcome Kev and many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Congratulations on your debut solo album. Stupid question to start with, but I presume you are pleased with it?
Hi Andy, yep – pleased with it indeed! – It’s a bit of a mixture of Rock and Pop, with a few soft acoustic numbers in there. All the songs I think are pretty strong and I hope a lot of people (or at least some people!) will enjoy listening to them!
So how was it recording as a solo artist for the first time?
As a solo artist, it felt kind of strange, although I wasn’t recording ‘alone’ so it was pretty much the same as recording with a band. I’ve made good pals with the other musicians on the Project and some of them I’d met a while back, so it was nice to be working with them again. It was a bit of a ‘spur of the moment’ idea to record an album, as I wanted to have something out this year. I’d become so used to recording and writing over the last few years, that I think I would have felt a bit lost if I hadn’t continued to do so. It’s been keeping me busy, that’s for sure!
You assembled quite a talented bunch to play on this album. Can you tell us a little more about them?
Well, firstly there’s a guy called Nick Daniel. I met him a while back, and began working on an online project with him in the hope of putting a band together to play the songs we’d written together. But we are quite far apart, and getting others to join in and be part of a band wasn’t easy. Mainly down to the logistics of rehearsing etc. So we kind of put that on hold and now some of the songs we wrote, were ‘reworked’ a little and added to the album.
Kev Bartlett, I was pals with him in 06 when I had been auditioned for his progressive metal band. He’s an awesome drummer and a ‘thoroughly nice bloke’ too. He introduced me to Lucky Singh, who is a phenomenal guitarist influenced by Joe Satriani. His song writing is very good and he had heard some my previous music. He and Kev are both pals and so we all ended up together on the Project.
Finally, but certainly not least – Kev Drake, I accidentally came across him while browsing and sending friend requests through MySpace. He is an awesome guitarist and writer who used to play in some larger bands in the states such as 30 Seconds to Mars and BlackCast. He had a set of acoustic tracks he wanted vocals sorting for, and so I gave them a try. We both liked what we ended up with and so decided to put some of those on the album too. He’s been great to work with. They all have!
Any plans to tour the album? If so, will the ‘all-stars’ that played on it be coming on tour?
Maybe. We’ve done one ‘Proper’ gig in the whole year, Ha! But I guess this year wasn’t really about gigging, it was more about writing. I mean, we had to have something to ‘gig’ at the end of the day right? So we played a couple of small gigs to get used to playing on stage together, some acoustic stuff, and then one ‘proper gig’ for Emma Scott in August which I guess we really did for fun, and to just get ‘out there’ with some songs. We had a great time, and made a little bit of money, which we gave to Charity. Cos we’re such nice blokes!
The title ‘The Project’ lends itself very nicely to follow up albums. Any thoughts on that yet?
I will definitely be doing more. But at the moment I’m also working with others, and so have a few other things on the go. Some of which is about as far away from ‘Rock’ and the stuff on the album as you could possibly get. I may do a few ‘Project-s’ with each of the guys, and then have about 5 albums out in the space of two years…That’d be cool!!
Will fans of your previous work with Voodoo Johnson be pleasantly surprised with this album?
I have absolutely no idea. The music is really pretty different and I guess I’m aiming it at a different audience. It’s not heavy Rock by any means, and although it’s mainly guitar driven, I guess it’s more Pop / Rock than anything. I’ve had plenty of pre-orders from VJ fans though, so I’m hoping they will like what they hear. They’ll just have to expect it to be different I guess, as I’m not in VJ anymore, so it’s not going to sound like them. I do hope they aren’t disappointed. There’s some ‘Loud stuff’ and some ‘Quieter stuff’, but I think that it’s all ‘Good Stuff’.
It’s almost a year to the day that you left Voodoo Johnson...Can you tell us why you left, just as the band seemed to be getting the recognition you all deserved?
I just wasn’t happy. For me the music became darker and heavier each time I received a new tune to write lyrics and vocal melodies for. I think Carl is a great writer and has great tunes in his head, no doubt about it. But at the end of the day, the music wasn’t really working for me anymore. I was more into the likes of MUSE, 30 Seconds to Mars, or older bands like Garbage and Radiohead. I did LOVE my Classic Rock at one time, but I just wanted something more modern sounding that was perhaps going to appeal to a wider audience. I wanted to inject a bit of the sound I’d been influenced by over the years into what I was doing, and unfortunately that wasn’t going to happen with the band. Which is fair enough, because the band was set up a few years before I joined and so I guess Carl already had his mind set on what he wanted.
After writing the lyrics and performing the vocals on 3 releases, I thought it was time for a change. I didn’t want to become involved any further, and as the Europe tour was coming up I thought it’d be a good time to call it a day in 2010 and let them find a new Frontman. Had I stayed for the Europe tour, it would have perhaps been harder to leave, and I’d have been staying for the wrong reasons. There had been 2 singers in the band before me, and I think I’d been in the band for 3 years, the sound of the band has changed a lot over time, but I think they may have finally found the right guy for them now.
Have you heard their new EP? What do you think? ;-)
Well, I had a listen to the new single they released at the beginning of the year, as obviously I was curious as to how they were going to sound. I have to say I think they’ve found ‘the right voice’ now for their music. Nick has a cool voice, which suits the music well. It is completely different to mine from what I’ve heard, but I think he’s definitely more suited to the band, image-wise and vocally. I’m sure he’s more into the sound that they are into too, which means it all should work. I hope it does and wish him the best of luck with them!
You used to be a designer for video games. What exactly did that involve and did you design anything that we would’ve heard of?
Yes, I started straight out of school as a graphic designer. I was very lucky as I joined one of the companies that I had been in awe of as a kid. They were very famous for some of their games on the ZX Spectrum. However the company grew huge and we worked extremely hard. Eventually I was working on some amazing games and even got to re-design the ‘Donkey Kong’ character that we see on TV today. I loved it, every minute of it. I worked on a ton of games and it was all very good to me. Perfect Dark Zero, Goldeneye 007, Killer Instinct, Diddy Kong Racing and loads more, I worked on them all. I even met some cool musicians there who had toured with the likes of Bon Jovi, and been in some BIG bands. You’d be surprised who works writing computer game music nowadays after having their shot in the spotlight beforehand!
However, I’d always wanted to do music, and remember spending my first pay on Music equipment. But there was never the time to do that, and make video games. At some point I started singing in some cover bands and just loved doing the ‘thing on stage’ So I decided I had to have a go at it before I became too old. Eventually I finished at Rare in 05, shortly after the company got bought by a rather large company called Microsoft. I was there at a bit of a ‘Golden Age’ and have a lot of fond memories. I’m lucky though because now I get to do the music I always wanted to do, AND still create graphics, logos, artwork and website stuff all day long. And I believe in it all 100% - so I don’t get bored of it!!
So what does the future hold for Kev Bayliss the singer?
I’m not sure. I guess it all depends on how long I enjoy writing and singing for – which could be a looong time! But there are so many people I’m working with, producing so many different kinds of music that even I have no idea where I’m going to end up. I’m just enjoying doing what I love the most. Whether it’s Rock, Dance, Acoustic, Punk, Metal or some kind of experimental Chill-out music, as long as I’m writing and singing I’m happy. I am sure some people will love what I do, and some will hate it. Of course, I kind of hope it doesn’t sound terrible to ‘anyone’, but I’m going to be me and produce the music that I believe in. That’s all that matters I guess. The day I am not enjoying it, I’ll stop. Maybe I’ll produce, maybe I’ll end up doing session work for a TV Jingle, or maybe I’ll have a multi platinum selling album. I have absolutely no idea Andy! – Cheers!!
Congratulations on your debut solo album. Stupid question to start with, but I presume you are pleased with it?
Hi Andy, yep – pleased with it indeed! – It’s a bit of a mixture of Rock and Pop, with a few soft acoustic numbers in there. All the songs I think are pretty strong and I hope a lot of people (or at least some people!) will enjoy listening to them!
So how was it recording as a solo artist for the first time?
As a solo artist, it felt kind of strange, although I wasn’t recording ‘alone’ so it was pretty much the same as recording with a band. I’ve made good pals with the other musicians on the Project and some of them I’d met a while back, so it was nice to be working with them again. It was a bit of a ‘spur of the moment’ idea to record an album, as I wanted to have something out this year. I’d become so used to recording and writing over the last few years, that I think I would have felt a bit lost if I hadn’t continued to do so. It’s been keeping me busy, that’s for sure!
You assembled quite a talented bunch to play on this album. Can you tell us a little more about them?
Well, firstly there’s a guy called Nick Daniel. I met him a while back, and began working on an online project with him in the hope of putting a band together to play the songs we’d written together. But we are quite far apart, and getting others to join in and be part of a band wasn’t easy. Mainly down to the logistics of rehearsing etc. So we kind of put that on hold and now some of the songs we wrote, were ‘reworked’ a little and added to the album.
Kev Bartlett, I was pals with him in 06 when I had been auditioned for his progressive metal band. He’s an awesome drummer and a ‘thoroughly nice bloke’ too. He introduced me to Lucky Singh, who is a phenomenal guitarist influenced by Joe Satriani. His song writing is very good and he had heard some my previous music. He and Kev are both pals and so we all ended up together on the Project.
Finally, but certainly not least – Kev Drake, I accidentally came across him while browsing and sending friend requests through MySpace. He is an awesome guitarist and writer who used to play in some larger bands in the states such as 30 Seconds to Mars and BlackCast. He had a set of acoustic tracks he wanted vocals sorting for, and so I gave them a try. We both liked what we ended up with and so decided to put some of those on the album too. He’s been great to work with. They all have!
Any plans to tour the album? If so, will the ‘all-stars’ that played on it be coming on tour?
Maybe. We’ve done one ‘Proper’ gig in the whole year, Ha! But I guess this year wasn’t really about gigging, it was more about writing. I mean, we had to have something to ‘gig’ at the end of the day right? So we played a couple of small gigs to get used to playing on stage together, some acoustic stuff, and then one ‘proper gig’ for Emma Scott in August which I guess we really did for fun, and to just get ‘out there’ with some songs. We had a great time, and made a little bit of money, which we gave to Charity. Cos we’re such nice blokes!
The title ‘The Project’ lends itself very nicely to follow up albums. Any thoughts on that yet?
I will definitely be doing more. But at the moment I’m also working with others, and so have a few other things on the go. Some of which is about as far away from ‘Rock’ and the stuff on the album as you could possibly get. I may do a few ‘Project-s’ with each of the guys, and then have about 5 albums out in the space of two years…That’d be cool!!
Will fans of your previous work with Voodoo Johnson be pleasantly surprised with this album?
I have absolutely no idea. The music is really pretty different and I guess I’m aiming it at a different audience. It’s not heavy Rock by any means, and although it’s mainly guitar driven, I guess it’s more Pop / Rock than anything. I’ve had plenty of pre-orders from VJ fans though, so I’m hoping they will like what they hear. They’ll just have to expect it to be different I guess, as I’m not in VJ anymore, so it’s not going to sound like them. I do hope they aren’t disappointed. There’s some ‘Loud stuff’ and some ‘Quieter stuff’, but I think that it’s all ‘Good Stuff’.
It’s almost a year to the day that you left Voodoo Johnson...Can you tell us why you left, just as the band seemed to be getting the recognition you all deserved?
I just wasn’t happy. For me the music became darker and heavier each time I received a new tune to write lyrics and vocal melodies for. I think Carl is a great writer and has great tunes in his head, no doubt about it. But at the end of the day, the music wasn’t really working for me anymore. I was more into the likes of MUSE, 30 Seconds to Mars, or older bands like Garbage and Radiohead. I did LOVE my Classic Rock at one time, but I just wanted something more modern sounding that was perhaps going to appeal to a wider audience. I wanted to inject a bit of the sound I’d been influenced by over the years into what I was doing, and unfortunately that wasn’t going to happen with the band. Which is fair enough, because the band was set up a few years before I joined and so I guess Carl already had his mind set on what he wanted.
After writing the lyrics and performing the vocals on 3 releases, I thought it was time for a change. I didn’t want to become involved any further, and as the Europe tour was coming up I thought it’d be a good time to call it a day in 2010 and let them find a new Frontman. Had I stayed for the Europe tour, it would have perhaps been harder to leave, and I’d have been staying for the wrong reasons. There had been 2 singers in the band before me, and I think I’d been in the band for 3 years, the sound of the band has changed a lot over time, but I think they may have finally found the right guy for them now.
Have you heard their new EP? What do you think? ;-)
Well, I had a listen to the new single they released at the beginning of the year, as obviously I was curious as to how they were going to sound. I have to say I think they’ve found ‘the right voice’ now for their music. Nick has a cool voice, which suits the music well. It is completely different to mine from what I’ve heard, but I think he’s definitely more suited to the band, image-wise and vocally. I’m sure he’s more into the sound that they are into too, which means it all should work. I hope it does and wish him the best of luck with them!
You used to be a designer for video games. What exactly did that involve and did you design anything that we would’ve heard of?
Yes, I started straight out of school as a graphic designer. I was very lucky as I joined one of the companies that I had been in awe of as a kid. They were very famous for some of their games on the ZX Spectrum. However the company grew huge and we worked extremely hard. Eventually I was working on some amazing games and even got to re-design the ‘Donkey Kong’ character that we see on TV today. I loved it, every minute of it. I worked on a ton of games and it was all very good to me. Perfect Dark Zero, Goldeneye 007, Killer Instinct, Diddy Kong Racing and loads more, I worked on them all. I even met some cool musicians there who had toured with the likes of Bon Jovi, and been in some BIG bands. You’d be surprised who works writing computer game music nowadays after having their shot in the spotlight beforehand!
However, I’d always wanted to do music, and remember spending my first pay on Music equipment. But there was never the time to do that, and make video games. At some point I started singing in some cover bands and just loved doing the ‘thing on stage’ So I decided I had to have a go at it before I became too old. Eventually I finished at Rare in 05, shortly after the company got bought by a rather large company called Microsoft. I was there at a bit of a ‘Golden Age’ and have a lot of fond memories. I’m lucky though because now I get to do the music I always wanted to do, AND still create graphics, logos, artwork and website stuff all day long. And I believe in it all 100% - so I don’t get bored of it!!
So what does the future hold for Kev Bayliss the singer?
I’m not sure. I guess it all depends on how long I enjoy writing and singing for – which could be a looong time! But there are so many people I’m working with, producing so many different kinds of music that even I have no idea where I’m going to end up. I’m just enjoying doing what I love the most. Whether it’s Rock, Dance, Acoustic, Punk, Metal or some kind of experimental Chill-out music, as long as I’m writing and singing I’m happy. I am sure some people will love what I do, and some will hate it. Of course, I kind of hope it doesn’t sound terrible to ‘anyone’, but I’m going to be me and produce the music that I believe in. That’s all that matters I guess. The day I am not enjoying it, I’ll stop. Maybe I’ll produce, maybe I’ll end up doing session work for a TV Jingle, or maybe I’ll have a multi platinum selling album. I have absolutely no idea Andy! – Cheers!!
Patte Interview (Oct 1st 2011)
Hi Patte.Many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Firstly, can you give us a brief history of the band? How did you all meet? How did the band form?
It all started as a solo project by me. I wrote and recorded some of the songs which finally ended up on our album Local Heroes. I sent the demos to different labels and one in
Sweden did find this very interesting and was willing to sign me for a record deal. They demanded me to start up a 'real' band so I called two of my friends and Fretless was born.
All this happend in 2009. We did not continue with the Swedish label because it did not feel right.
What is the Rock scene like in Gothenburg?
It is pretty easy to find gigs in Gothenburg because there are many great rock clubs. It is a little sad that the bands don´t earn any money playing, but this is not a problem just for Gothenburg, it seems to be this way everywhere.
Gothenburg to Birmingham! Why did you decide to sign for a British label?
We talk to many labels in Sweden, Germany, UK and US. But we really liked our contact with Simon on E.L.T Records in Birmingham. So it was not a hard desicion really :)
How easy or difficult was your album ‘Local Heroes’ to make, and why that title?
The whole progress with songwriting and recording went very well. I wrote all the songs and recorded them in my own studio and sent the other guys, Dennis and Birger, some working copys. Dennis recorded the bass in his own studio and when we were satisfied with the result we went to the real studio and recorded the album.
The title Local Heroes was decided upon when we were talking ideas with the artist Dimitar Nikolov from Bulgaria, who did the artwork for the album.
Why did Birgir leave the band?
This was a desicion we made together and we are still good friends. We had different ideas about the Fretless project so this was a good solution for every one.
So what are Fretless’ plans for 2012?
We will release a new album. The work has already started and new songs are written and some in-progress. We are really looking forward to this release. Our first album Local Heroes has been played around the globe on radiostations and people seem to like what we are doing. So this will be exiting for sure :)
We are talking right now with a booking company in US about a tour on the west coast. We will think about this a little more before we decide what to do. A tour in the UK would be great and we will look into if this is possible.
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
This is very hard to explain in English ;) I moved to Gothenburg about 6 years ago. I played in different bands when I came, but I did not find any band I really liked. Then I started my solo project 'Mr Fretless'. The meaning of this in Swedish is "The man with out a band". The name was a joke really. But when the other two joined the band, we liked the name Fretless. And here we are :)
Jonny Parr Interview (Sept 13th 2011)
You've just finished the tour (many thanks for finding the time to answer these questions) How was it?
The tour was amazing and it was so good to get out on the road and visit a lot of new places this time. Manchester, London, Glasgow and Ballymena were definitely highlights in terms of turnout and audience reception but each gig had something special about it – especially meeting up with friends and fans, old and new, many who travelled a fair distance themselves to each of the gigs. Seeing a lot of great new bands was cool too. One of the benefits of touring, aside from the gigs themselves and the social part of it, from a musician point of view, is that you can feel the band playing stronger and getting tighter as a unit every night. It’s kind of hard to describe but no amount of studio rehearsals can really get a band’s performance as tight as you do when you’re touring. We were on top form by the time our big Glasgow show came around.
At that ‘homecoming’ gig in Glasgow you played the new album ‘Road Dog’ in its entirety. This differs from the normal set you played on this tour. What’s that all about then?
We wanted to do something special for our home-town show. When we launched our last album, Ruin Nation, back in 2008 we played the full album as a one-off at the Glasgow date too so we thought it would be good to do this for Road Dog but make it an even bigger event by inviting the guest musicians from the album to join us on-stage and reprise their recorded parts live – so we had alt.blues artist Dave Arcari get up and rip out his slide guitar on ‘Road Dog Forever’, singer/songwriter Christie Connor-Vernal playing cello with me on the acoustic guitar for ‘Altea’ and to replicate all the piano, organ & strings parts from the album, we brought in keyboardist Steve Lightbody, who did an amazing job. It all sounded amazing and was great fun to do. On top of that, we brought in the album’s producer RoddyMacAudio to do the live sound engineering and include all the samples & extra bits from the album. We were filming a promo video for a new single from the album with Colin Wood Media so we ended up deciding to film the whole live show too and see what comes of it….a live DVD perhaps. The idea of performing the Road Dog album in full was that it would be a unique, one-off event – most of our tour gigs and festival sets include songs from the last album plus Road Dog and hopefully, now that we’ve started writing again, we’ll be slipping in some brand new songs into the live sets soon. So, like Ruin Nation, we’re unlikely to ever do one full set of just the Road Dog album. Mind you, we never say never…. For the Glasgow show, again, to make it just that extra bit special, we invited Praying Mantis along as very special guests.
Praying Mantis? They should’ve been bigger in the 80’s shouldn’t they? How did you manage to get them to support you?
Praying Mantis are one of those bands that are linked in with the early NWOBHM movement but, unlike a lot of the other bands from that time who also didn’t reach the heights Maiden & Saxon went on to, their new material is actually bloody great! They don’t sound dated like a lot of the others and I think they’re still totally relevant and yeah, probably should be a lot bigger. But then that’s more of a sign of the fickle UK rock scene than it is them, as they’re still pretty big outside the UK. We got to know them out in Ibiza this summer at the HRH Road Trip fest and they are really decent guys, proper gents and a great laugh. Richie ended up jamming some covers with them on the last night so when we were thinking about plans for the Glasgow show, we just asked them if they’d be up for coming up and playing a set as special guests and they agreed! It was their first Scottish show since playing the Glasgow Apollo in 1982 so it was about time they came back and we’re proud to have been the ones to bring them back. They played an excellent set - total professionals, they pull off some awesome guitar solos and vocal harmonies and if you like solid, hard melodic rock, you should definitely check them out!
The new album ‘Road Dog’ is your second release. Was it ‘the difficult’ follow up album to make?
It wasn’t difficult to make in that sense but a lot of time, hard work and effort went into it, along with deliberate conscious decisions about every aspect of the album. From the outset, we knew we had to come up with the goods and that we had push the bar higher than we had done before. It started at the songwriting stage – we opened ourselves up and purposefully didn’t limit ourselves on styles or sounds. Each band member got involved more too and collectively, we contributed between 20-30 songs and selected the top 18 which we then narrowed down to the 14 that appear on the album. One of the most frustrating things about being in a rock band is being limited or pigeonholed by fans & critics with regards the music you create – we all love so many different types of music that we didn’t want to just limit ourselves to one sound and we certainly weren’t going to start pigeonholing ourselves. We deliberately allowed ourselves to go as heavy or as light as we liked and just concentrated on writing good songs- whether it was a heavy rocker, a ballad, an instrumental, a thrashier heavier riff….everything was considered and worked on to some degree. We spent a lot of time re-writing and editing the songs before we went into the studio. On the production side, we felt we needed to hire in a producer for the first time – not just for their technical skills in the studio but also as a 5th band member to add creative input and an external opinion. RoddyMacaudio’s motto is ‘attention to detail’ and that’s exactly what we got when we started working with him. Every single sound, every performance, every take and re-take was worked on to perfection and he really put a lot of effort into the whole production. We pushed our own boundaries when it came to performance and also bringing in other instruments, adding harmonies, extra layers…whatever was best for the song. Because of all this extra attention to detail and striving for perfection, the overall recording process took way longer than we initially planned but it paid off in the end and we are very proud of the Road Dog album. All the reviews have been positive and the fan reactions have been amazing so the question is now, will the 3rd album be “the difficult” follow-up album to make?! We’ll let you know in a year or so ;)
Now the tour is over, what are Attica’s plans?
Well, we’ve just been confirmed as special guests on the Die So Fluid UK tour dates in November and we’ve got a few extras in December to be announced shortly so we’ll not be off the road for too long. The main plan for 2012 is simply to tour as much as possible – more UK dates and also Europe as well. There are a few cool things being planned behind the scenes I believe. More info on that when we know ourselves! We have started writing riffs and new song ideas so we’ll be working on new material over the next few months whenever we’re not on the road and the plan is to hopefully record the next album some point in the new year. But the main priority for the next 12 months or longer is tour our asses off and get spreading the Rage far and wide!
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
The name Attica Rage refers to the notorious prison riots of 1971 in the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, one of the big, maximum security prisons. Over 1000 prisoners rebelled, took over the prison and held the guards hostage. They were demanding better living conditions as well as educational and rehabilitation opportunities – which were woefully low or non-existant in cases - and they entered into negotiations with state officials. The negotiations failed and state police troops seized the prison but it ended in the bloodiest prison confrontation in American history. In the course of taking it over the state troops killed forty-three people, including ten of their own hostages. It was tragic and actually become a turning point as to how prisons are now run in theUS. Google search ‘attica prison riots’ and you’ll get the full story – it makes horrific reading and there’s some harrowing film footage too. Attica Rage was the name of a band that Richie had been a founding member of about 10 years before and I had joined towards the end. When me, Richie & Big C got together in 2003 and were trying to come up with a band name, we kept going back to this one so we opted to re-use it for the new band and carry it forward. Plus we liked Richie’s original logo design and have continued to develop it over the last few years, including getting Joe Petagno to tart it up a few years ago.
The tour was amazing and it was so good to get out on the road and visit a lot of new places this time. Manchester, London, Glasgow and Ballymena were definitely highlights in terms of turnout and audience reception but each gig had something special about it – especially meeting up with friends and fans, old and new, many who travelled a fair distance themselves to each of the gigs. Seeing a lot of great new bands was cool too. One of the benefits of touring, aside from the gigs themselves and the social part of it, from a musician point of view, is that you can feel the band playing stronger and getting tighter as a unit every night. It’s kind of hard to describe but no amount of studio rehearsals can really get a band’s performance as tight as you do when you’re touring. We were on top form by the time our big Glasgow show came around.
At that ‘homecoming’ gig in Glasgow you played the new album ‘Road Dog’ in its entirety. This differs from the normal set you played on this tour. What’s that all about then?
We wanted to do something special for our home-town show. When we launched our last album, Ruin Nation, back in 2008 we played the full album as a one-off at the Glasgow date too so we thought it would be good to do this for Road Dog but make it an even bigger event by inviting the guest musicians from the album to join us on-stage and reprise their recorded parts live – so we had alt.blues artist Dave Arcari get up and rip out his slide guitar on ‘Road Dog Forever’, singer/songwriter Christie Connor-Vernal playing cello with me on the acoustic guitar for ‘Altea’ and to replicate all the piano, organ & strings parts from the album, we brought in keyboardist Steve Lightbody, who did an amazing job. It all sounded amazing and was great fun to do. On top of that, we brought in the album’s producer RoddyMacAudio to do the live sound engineering and include all the samples & extra bits from the album. We were filming a promo video for a new single from the album with Colin Wood Media so we ended up deciding to film the whole live show too and see what comes of it….a live DVD perhaps. The idea of performing the Road Dog album in full was that it would be a unique, one-off event – most of our tour gigs and festival sets include songs from the last album plus Road Dog and hopefully, now that we’ve started writing again, we’ll be slipping in some brand new songs into the live sets soon. So, like Ruin Nation, we’re unlikely to ever do one full set of just the Road Dog album. Mind you, we never say never…. For the Glasgow show, again, to make it just that extra bit special, we invited Praying Mantis along as very special guests.
Praying Mantis? They should’ve been bigger in the 80’s shouldn’t they? How did you manage to get them to support you?
Praying Mantis are one of those bands that are linked in with the early NWOBHM movement but, unlike a lot of the other bands from that time who also didn’t reach the heights Maiden & Saxon went on to, their new material is actually bloody great! They don’t sound dated like a lot of the others and I think they’re still totally relevant and yeah, probably should be a lot bigger. But then that’s more of a sign of the fickle UK rock scene than it is them, as they’re still pretty big outside the UK. We got to know them out in Ibiza this summer at the HRH Road Trip fest and they are really decent guys, proper gents and a great laugh. Richie ended up jamming some covers with them on the last night so when we were thinking about plans for the Glasgow show, we just asked them if they’d be up for coming up and playing a set as special guests and they agreed! It was their first Scottish show since playing the Glasgow Apollo in 1982 so it was about time they came back and we’re proud to have been the ones to bring them back. They played an excellent set - total professionals, they pull off some awesome guitar solos and vocal harmonies and if you like solid, hard melodic rock, you should definitely check them out!
The new album ‘Road Dog’ is your second release. Was it ‘the difficult’ follow up album to make?
It wasn’t difficult to make in that sense but a lot of time, hard work and effort went into it, along with deliberate conscious decisions about every aspect of the album. From the outset, we knew we had to come up with the goods and that we had push the bar higher than we had done before. It started at the songwriting stage – we opened ourselves up and purposefully didn’t limit ourselves on styles or sounds. Each band member got involved more too and collectively, we contributed between 20-30 songs and selected the top 18 which we then narrowed down to the 14 that appear on the album. One of the most frustrating things about being in a rock band is being limited or pigeonholed by fans & critics with regards the music you create – we all love so many different types of music that we didn’t want to just limit ourselves to one sound and we certainly weren’t going to start pigeonholing ourselves. We deliberately allowed ourselves to go as heavy or as light as we liked and just concentrated on writing good songs- whether it was a heavy rocker, a ballad, an instrumental, a thrashier heavier riff….everything was considered and worked on to some degree. We spent a lot of time re-writing and editing the songs before we went into the studio. On the production side, we felt we needed to hire in a producer for the first time – not just for their technical skills in the studio but also as a 5th band member to add creative input and an external opinion. RoddyMacaudio’s motto is ‘attention to detail’ and that’s exactly what we got when we started working with him. Every single sound, every performance, every take and re-take was worked on to perfection and he really put a lot of effort into the whole production. We pushed our own boundaries when it came to performance and also bringing in other instruments, adding harmonies, extra layers…whatever was best for the song. Because of all this extra attention to detail and striving for perfection, the overall recording process took way longer than we initially planned but it paid off in the end and we are very proud of the Road Dog album. All the reviews have been positive and the fan reactions have been amazing so the question is now, will the 3rd album be “the difficult” follow-up album to make?! We’ll let you know in a year or so ;)
Now the tour is over, what are Attica’s plans?
Well, we’ve just been confirmed as special guests on the Die So Fluid UK tour dates in November and we’ve got a few extras in December to be announced shortly so we’ll not be off the road for too long. The main plan for 2012 is simply to tour as much as possible – more UK dates and also Europe as well. There are a few cool things being planned behind the scenes I believe. More info on that when we know ourselves! We have started writing riffs and new song ideas so we’ll be working on new material over the next few months whenever we’re not on the road and the plan is to hopefully record the next album some point in the new year. But the main priority for the next 12 months or longer is tour our asses off and get spreading the Rage far and wide!
Where did your band name come from (there's always a story there!) and what names did you reject?
The name Attica Rage refers to the notorious prison riots of 1971 in the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, one of the big, maximum security prisons. Over 1000 prisoners rebelled, took over the prison and held the guards hostage. They were demanding better living conditions as well as educational and rehabilitation opportunities – which were woefully low or non-existant in cases - and they entered into negotiations with state officials. The negotiations failed and state police troops seized the prison but it ended in the bloodiest prison confrontation in American history. In the course of taking it over the state troops killed forty-three people, including ten of their own hostages. It was tragic and actually become a turning point as to how prisons are now run in theUS. Google search ‘attica prison riots’ and you’ll get the full story – it makes horrific reading and there’s some harrowing film footage too. Attica Rage was the name of a band that Richie had been a founding member of about 10 years before and I had joined towards the end. When me, Richie & Big C got together in 2003 and were trying to come up with a band name, we kept going back to this one so we opted to re-use it for the new band and carry it forward. Plus we liked Richie’s original logo design and have continued to develop it over the last few years, including getting Joe Petagno to tart it up a few years ago.
