Notes From The Other Side

It might not take an entire village to make America’s Premier Metal Fest the world-wide success that it is, but it does take the efforts of a team of hard-working, dedicated, and passionate backstage crew members.

I put six questions (via e-mail) to the behind-the-scenes people who make it all happen. What follows are the answers I received from one of those people.

Say hello to another of Glenn’s finest.

BM: What is your name?

WP: Wayne Petroskey

BM: Describe what it is you do at ProgPowerUSA.

WP: I’m the stage coordinator and guitar tech. As a crew, we all load in at the venue at around 9 a.m. the day of the show (drums were set up one night early last year). As the truck is unloaded, I try to call out where stuff will be staged, so that we are handling it the least amount of times, though everyone is pretty self sufficient and knowledgeable at what they are doing. We have a great bunch of guys on the crew, and have pulled a few MacGuyver tricks at times.

After the backline is set up and cases put away, we dial in some basic sounds on the amps, tune back-up guitars, while the rest of the crew does the basses, drums, keys, etc. We also tie in with the bands, make recommendations on amps based on sounds they want (since they are usually not playing through the same rigs they have at home). The bands do a line check. Then we make sure it is ready to go when the next band. Rinse and repeat x 10 ! .

That goes until 2 a.m. Saturday, then on Saturday we get back to the venue around 10 am, and go until 3 a.m. - 4 a.m. on Sunday.

BM: How many PPUSA festivals have you worked?

WP: All except the first one in Lansing, IL, though I attended it.

BM: How did you get the gig with PPUSA?

WP: I knew Glenn from Powermad and his online days as a DJ, and I saw a posting on (I think) the Perpetual Motion board that they were looking for techs. I had been playing guitar forever, and had teched for a few local bands when I was younger, before having my own band. So I emailed Chris Roy (Manager) with what I thought were my qualifications as the posting said to do. Figured it was a cool way to meet the bands at PP if nothing else…

BM: What is the funniest/strangest/best thing that ever happened to you while working at PPUSA?

WP: Funniest: Besides almost every line out of Chris Roy, Don Capps, or Glenn….? And many of the bands have had one-liners or behind the scenes stuff that are f***in’ hilarious.

But I’d have to say running into the tech from the DVD story (the guy who almost got electrocuted) last year and asking him about it. He was a real good sport about it and told me “The strangest thing happened. I remember they were doing a soundcheck on the drums – then I was above my body, and saw myself falling back from the amp, and I thought “NO DRUMS AT MY FUNERAL.”

And he was kind of laughing about it! How messed up is that!?!?

Strangest: Stepping off the riser at PP 2.0 before the first set (after line-check) and re-tearing ligaments in my ankle. I basically had to walk around on a broken ankle for two days, as I did not want to let Glenn and the rest of the crew down. Ankle brace, ice, elevation, and few beers took care of it.

Best: Besides seeing some amazing performances and meeting a ton of great people (bands AND fans), teching for these guys has gotten me additional jobs as a guitar tech. Involvement with PP has lead to jobs with Chris Caffery (Spring and Fall “2005 Faces US Tour”), Jon Oliva’s Pain (”The Pain of it All Tour Fall 2005″ US/Canada), Tim Ripper Owens Beyond Fear (US/Canada Fall 2005), Cindy Lauper’s Theresa Wilson Benefit, O2’L (Al Pitrelli, Jane Mangini, John O’Reilly), and Tad Morose (Scandinavian Tour 2006). I had also missed out on some potential additional tours due to scheduling conflicts – including an Evergrey US tour, George Lynch tour, and Kreator 2006. We’ll see what 2007 brings…

BM: Why is ProgPowerUSA such a success year after year?

WP: It’s a BIG mixture of things, starting with Glenn’s hard work and passion. That includes his ability to hunt down bands, find new bands, listen to fans, and be an honest promoter. Plus, he runs this the way it should be run. Everything from the venue (he does not skimp on the backline gear) is upfront with the bands and fans. It runs better than some other festivals I have played at, attended, or have teched at. And, of course, you have the rabid fans that come back year after year, and introduce new people to these genres of music — and keep the music alive!

Add to that a great venue, and Glenn’s ability to “run” a crew in the “off season” and you have a hit. Glenn, Chris Roy, and Joel do a TON of work getting stage plots, input lists, and all types of stuff together WELL before the fest is ready. Plus, having guys on the crew that are VERY passionate about music in general, as well as the success of the fest. It’s a lot of work, and you miss out on a lot of – from what I have heard – legendary parties. We are trying to improve every year, from gear selection, to layout, to set-up time, to auxiliary things that the bands might spring on us last second. We also have production books with stage plots and notes. This year we are working on a crew guidebook as well.

On top of all that you have Shane [Dubose]. The Pre-Party is no piece of cake. And then you have the non-music crew: Scott, Mike, and Sean that bust their butts running gear and bands back and forth from hotel, to venue, to CVS, music stores, etc.

Add all that together and…voila!

BM: Just one more example that there’s really nothing that “a few beers” can’t take care of, eh? Thanks for your answers…and for your expertise at PPUSA, Wayne. Keep up the great work!

It might not take an entire village to make America’s Premiere Metal Fest the world-wide success that it is, but it does take the efforts of a team of hard-working, dedicated, and passionate backstage crew members.

I put six questions (via e-mail) to the behind-the-scenes people who make it all happen. What follows are the answers I received from one of those people.

Say hello to one of Glenn’s finest.

BM: What is your name?

JD: Joel Decatur

BM: Describe what it is you do at ProgPowerUSA.

JD: We make sure the bands are able to do their jobs to the best of their ability, even if some of them whine like a seven year old girl while they do it. I do a little bit of everything from helping to organize band requests months before the event to setting up anything on the stage to giving pep talks in band members hotel rooms the night before, but mostly I drink and stink.

BM: How many PPUSA festivals have you worked?

JD: This year will be my 7th ProgPower. At the first one in Chicago I would say I was more of a “helper” rather than a crew member as I also performed. I also performed with my band Reading Zero at PPIII, while still crewing.

BM: How did you get the gig with PPUSA?

JD: Interesting question as I don’t quite remember exactly how it came to be. I have known Glenn since ‘98, first meeting in person at the Powermad festival in Baltimore, MD where RZ was booked to play. As cool as a show Powermad was, I think there was some organizational frustrations that drove many people to want to try their own fest. I remember sitting down with my singer and future PP stage manager, Chris Roy, and trying to work out the logistics of our own prog music fest. It never materialized most likely due to a lack of funds and motivation. But one guy had it all going on, Glenn. I remember going out to a dinner with about 15 others after Powermad 2000. Glenn had already booked RZ to play the first ProgPower but it was there that he announced his plans for the fest. I was willing to help out wherever I could that year, as were many others. Later that very same year, Glenn decided to step it up 10 notches and put his balls on the line with ProgPower II. He asked Chris and I to become full on members of the ProgPower USA organization as the smoke was clearing from PP1.

BM: What is the funniest/strangest/best thing that ever happened to you while working at PPUSA?

JD: Good lord, there are so many things I probably shouldn’t talk about. BUT:

Funniest: Some bands bring their own techs. One tech, in particular, (he has been there a couple times with different bands) was contemplating the complexities of European vs. US voltage and in the process gave himself, after repeat warning from PP crew and an electrician, a 220 volt shock that sent him 5 feet in the as he yelled, “SCHEISSEN!!!”. He promptly continued to set the band up, barely missing a beat, or a volt as it were. We can laugh about it now and do on a regular basis. Glenn even had shirts printed.

Best: Other than getting to meet and hang with some of my favorite musicians, it would have to be when Nightwish made a wish come true for a cancer-stricken fan. Glenn and Nightwish went out of their way to make Mark comfortable and Im not sure there was a dry eye among those who knew what was going on. It was just one of those moments you never forget.

BM: Why is ProgPowerUSA such a success year after year?

JD: I bet Glenn wishes he knew the answer to that each time he starts the ball rolling again. But seriously, Glenn has built an incredibly strong foundation with equally dedicated people. Its like a family that reunites for a long weekend once a year. A somewhat dysfunctional family, but family just the same.

It’s like this: Glenn puts a LOT of effort and thought into the booking, planning, organization, keeping the “family” happy, and walking that line that his balls are always resting on, careful not to step on or kick them (that doesn’t mean other people don’t). He then gets the amazing and loyal fans excited, not only by the bands he is able to kidnap, I mean book, (some willingly) but also the unique atmosphere he creates unlike any other festival in existence. The crew comes in and spends 20 hours a day on their feet lugging really heavy things like amps, speaker cabinets, egos, etc…while drinking about 30 or so cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon in just two short days. Somehow the show goes off fairly consistently and the fans are generally ecstatic. We all kiss and hug and go home waiting for the next chance to do it all over again.

I’m proud to be amongst these people called The Crew. They are all invaluable to the overall success of the actual show and really good people. How can you not like being around a bunch of smelly, crass, flatulent, hung-over, flabby, sexy beasts while talking about all things music? And those are just the drum techs!

Thanks Joel. We appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears you and the other members of the crew pour into ProgPower every year. Keep up the great work!

Is there something in the water in Italy?

Italy, roughly the size of Arizona, boasts an impressive list of metal, prog metal, and power metal bands that are known and loved worldwide. Consider Rhapsody, Thy Majestie, Labyrinth, DGM, Lacuna Coil, Secret Sphere, Skylark, and Vision Divine just to name a few.

Of those aforementioned bands, Olaf Thorsen is the guitarist and driving force behind not one but two of them: Labyrinth and Vision Divine.

Olaf made his mark with Labyrinth during the mid 1990s. alongside the amazing Italian singer Fabio Lione whose web site dubs him “The Voice of Italian Metal.” Since 1998, Olaf has made Vision Divine his home, first with Fabio on lead vocals for two albums [Vision Divine and Send Me an Angel] and then, following Fabio’s departure, with the extraoridinary Michele Luppi on vocals for the next two albums [Steam of Consciousness and The Perfect Machine].

I recently called Olaf at his home in Italy. Our conversation follows. NOTE: I could have “Americanized” Olaf’s syntax. But I left what he said virtually as he said it to prove that his English is vastly superior to my Italian.

OT: Hello?

BM: Is this Olaf?

OT: Hi. Bill?

BM: This is Bill Murphy calling from the states.

OT: Hi, nice to talk to you. How are you?

BM: Doing great. How are you doing?

OT: I’m fine, man. Here, it’s springtime. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Yeah, finally it is here too.

OT: Very sunny, very warm. Feeling good.

BM: What is the weather like there when it’s springtime? What’s the temperature?

OT: Well, you know you have different calculations, but Centigrade, now we are around 25.

BM: That’s not bad.

OT: 25, up to 30 maybe, so it’s very warm. You know, summertime, we reach 40. That’s very hot. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Do you really? That’s great. Well, I hope you have a few minutes to chat with me today, otherwise I could try back tomorrow.

OT: Sorry?

BM: Do you have time to talk with me today?

OT: You know what? The line is kind of distorted, I don’t hear very well. I mean, I cannot understand your words. Yeah, it’s a little bit distorted.

BM: Would you like me to call back, see if we can get a better connection?

OT: It’s fine, I mean, you know what, maybe it’s the telephone. It’s a Motorola, it’s not that cool. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

OT: It’s an American brand. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Do you want me to try your land line, the other number you gave me?

OT: No, no. It’s ok. If you could please, to try to speak maybe a little slower so I can hear out the words. You know, I’m not American. I speak very bad English, so.

BM: No, actually, it sounds pretty good to me.

OT: Serious? [laughs] If you can understand, that’s enough.

BM: Yeah. Hey, you know, I just read on your website that Andrea [Tower], your bass player recently left the band. Did that come as a surprise to you?

OT: Yeah, no! No, it’s not a surprise. Since he had his child, so it’s almost two years ago, we realized it was getting very difficult to him continuing to play with the band. So it was every tour, every show, it was more difficult. And every album I was writing was going to distance from his taste. He’s very not involved with progressive stuff. He likes to play a more straight kind of music. He likes the typical Italian power metal from the 90’s, you know? [laughs] Double bass, double kick, and he was not really involved in the songwriting anymore. Altogether was slowly, slowly bringing him away from the band. Now we are planning a South American tour, and this means to be away from home like one month, and well, we took seriously, we faced the problem finally and he couldn’t stand anymore the situation with his family. He had to make some choice, and he preferred to change a little bit his life. Well, no problem, I think all this things, it’s a good sign. It means things are gonna change for this band, things are getting more serious. So it is better to know now, so I can fix the line up once for all. And I don’t know if the news is already online, but we got Chris Breeze from Labyrinth, so I’ve been playing with him like for more than 12 years. So I know him very well, he’s very talented. His level of experience, he’s fine.

BM: Yeah. You’ve had some personnel changes in Vision Divine before.

OT: I do, I do. [laughs]

BM: One of the biggest ones to me was when Fabio left and Michele came in. Was that change difficult for you, or was it a smooth transition?

OT: No, you know what? I got the biggest compliment just a few days ago. I was talking with Metal Hammer, the biggest magazine we have here in Italy. And of course I was discussing about this. I did get anticipation because I know the director very well. And after all, you know what he said, he said, “After all, it’s not people cares that much because you are Vision Divine, and honestly, I don’t care if you change the drummer or not.” That is not really what I like to do, but I think more or less, that’s the way. There are some bands who have the luck to start and continue with the same line up. I think of Edguy, for example. And there are other bands, like me, and I think of Annihilator. [laughs] Who maybe change some of the members and after all, things hopefully don’t change that much. What I need, maybe the reason why it is changing is because of my approach with the band and the music. I need, and I pretend to adjust, 100% focused people. If someone is playing with my band, I want them to be focused on the band. If too many problems are coming up, it’s logical to think the band is gonna be stuck. So this is not good for a band like Vision Divine. We are not Metallica, that we can stand and wait. We have to rush. I prefer to change, of course, every time I change, hopefully, I think I always change with somebody better than the previous one, so the quality of the band is not compromised. And that’s enough to me. [laughs]

BM: Oh yeah. I agree. What it Michele’s biggest strength as a singer? What do you see as his biggest asset?

OT: How ‘bout the singers, you mean, the situation?

BM: His voice, his vocal abilities. What does he do best in your opinion, that if you’re correct, in that he’s a better replacement than Fabio, what makes Michele such a good singer? Why did you want him?

OT: Yeah. Well, the singer, it’s a little bit different. If I think it is even better to change the drummer if the previous one can’t assure 100% of involvement in the band. The singer is likely different. People like to identify with the singer. So it’s not I wanna change Michele. [laughs] With Fabio, things happened, because he signed a new deal with Joey DeMaio, and the new management. Magic Circle Music, I think is the name. I don’t even know. And well, things change a little bit. Things were getting difficult. I got this call from Joey DeMaio telling me that wouldn’t be that easy anymore, that before signing any future deal for Vision Divine I should have first talk with him, and blah blah blah. It felt a little like Vision Divine was not a free band anymore. So for the survival of this band, I thought and Fabio also thought the same, that best would have been to go and separate ways of each other. And that’s what happened. But then, I think I had luck, because Michele is a very talent, very gifted singer. And definitely, I think also that popularity of this band now is thanks to Michele’s voice. Which has nothing to do with Fabio. I don’t like to make, to compare the two singers, they’re too different and it’s too difficult to compare a very well-know singer as Fabio with almost unknown singer as Michele was when he joined the band. So I don’t know what to say. I don’t think one is better and the other is worse. I just think they are very different. I think for Vision Divine maybe Michele has been a big luck, because he was completely unknown, and people could figure out Michele’s voice with Vision Divine since the very first. Well, I think his voice fits perfectly with the direction we took from Stream of Consciousness and now with Perfect Machine and the future releases. So, I cannot be other but happy about what happened. I’m sorry, ‘cause I lost a friend, I lost in the band, one friend. But nothing change in private life, this is just music. I think we found a very good balance. Now Vision Divine are definitely a band with an identity. Rhapsody are another band, Fabio is a singer, I am guitar player from Vision Divine. That is part of the last changes Vision Divine had to do in order to make Vision Divine a real band. That’s what I think.

BM: I agree with you, and I think Michele has a great voice. He’s a really good singer.

OT: Yeah, yeah. I don’t know if you got the chance to watch Stage of Consciousness, the live DVD we release. You should get the chance, do that, because it’s amazing. You see the band exactly as we are on stage, I mean, it’s not a big budget DVD. So it’s kind of a bootleg. What you see and what you hear there is what the band is on stage. And that’s exactly how did we want to release the DVD. We didn’t want a big production. It would have been even ridiculous, you know, we’re not Iron Maiden, and so would have been stupid to take a shot back in Open Air, 40,000 people, that are there not for Vision Divine but waiting for Iron Maiden maybe, and present the band with a big production release. It would have been a fake. We just wanted to make a, it’s a kind of document we wanted to release just to show people from United States, you never saw the band, so you wanna check out, there’s a DVD, check out and see. I mean, that’s how Michele sings, that’s how we play, not fake. It’s the sound, everything. It’s a normal, live show. Everybody attended at least one show from the band, who’d confirm, that’s the band on stage.

BM: Yeah, I can’t wait to see that. I have it on order.

OT: Yeah, yeah. We are rehearsing very hard right now. [laughs]

BM: Do you guys, do you feel pressure as a European band, to sing and write songs in English so your music can be heard around the world? Like especially in America? Or do you ever perform songs in Italian, or is it always in English?

OT: Well, you know, honestly this is a question I already have been asked, but I don’t feel any kind of pressure. I don’t see music or playing as a competition, you know? There is nothing I have to show. [laughs] What to prove? I’m just enjoying my shows. I like to be on stage, I like to play music, and well, of course United States are, or I should say unfortunately they have been a very important country [laughs] about this kind of music. And I know all the people are very, they pay a lot of attention to the bands. I know the language can be a little problem, compared to other American bands, but what can I say. Michele is working very hard to make a better speech, album by album. He tries to manage the English on stage and in studio, trying to evolve, to grow up, album by album. Well, personally, I don’t think is gonna be a big problem. If it’s gonna be, what can I do? [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

OT: You cannot pretend in Italian to sing in a perfect American accent speech. That will be very difficult. It will sound unnatural, that’s what I think.

BM: No, I think he does a great job, and I think your English is very good as well.

OT: [laughs] Oh, thanks a lot. I don’t know. You know what the funny that I’m used to speak a lot of English, but most of the times I speak with German people or French people or Spanish people and their accent is not perfect. What can I say, it doesn’t really sound American, you know. [affects German’s English accent] It’s like German, when a German talk English, they speak like this. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

OT: But I think everybody has a different accent, of course. To an American guy, to an American listener, somebody will always sound stranger, I think. So the balance, the limit, is just to speak or pronounce English in a good way, so that you don’t sound ridiculous. That’s what at least I’m looking for when Michele records. And you know, we always laugh, because many times we find at the end, some strange pronunciations, like ancestors blood, that’s you know, I know it’s not ancestors’ blood, but when you’re recording an album, you have so many things to focus on that something is gonna miss, always. And when you realize it’s too late, [laughs], so it’s fine. At least, I don’t know this, you should say, but I hope that it doesn’t sound ridiculous. If it doesn’t sound ridiculous, that’s enough.

BM: No, it doesn’t. In fact, your latest CD, The Perfect Machine, is fantastic.

OT: Thanks a lot.

BM: Many critics have said it’s the perfect album. When you listen to it now, do you hear anything that you would have changed, or does it sound exactly the way you wanted it to in your head before you made it?

OT: Oh, this questions always opens to two ways you can answer. The typical one is, you can always do better. So, this way I could answer that you can always do something better. But honestly, about Perfect Machine, I think I can say it sounds exactly as I was figuring out before starting the recordings. That’s a perfect album to me, honestly. Something can always be done better, but I would save this for the next album, then. [laughs] What can I say? There’s a point when you have to say, “Ok, this sounds good to me. It’s enough for this time.” Or you will never stop recording or remaking something. That’s exactly the point I reached for The Perfect Machine. After spending so much time in the studio, mixing, first session, second session, change this, try to change this, version a, version b, and at the end say, “Ok, everything I chose, it’s ok.” I show, one man from the Italian label come to the studio, I show three versions of the same song, and then I realized, he didn’t know my mental trip. He say, “To me, A, B, or C, it’s the same.”

BM: [laughs]

OT: And then I realized I was just turning around the bush, you know? I just say, “Ok, it sounds good to me, it sounds good to other people, that’s enough.”

BM: [laughs] What are your favorite songs on Perfect Machine? Which do you like to listen to or play live the most?

OT: Well, we generally play live the whole album. We are used to playing everything live.

BM: Oh really?

OT: Yes, but our shows last around two hours, so we generally like to play for people the entire last album we released. I think it’s fair. People bought the album, so they deserve to see the whole album from on stage. Personally, if I have to chose between the last album’s songs, it’s kind of difficult because some of the songs are very different. [laughs] But I think “The Perfect Machine” is a very good song. It’s a very good opening song. It’s very good. We saw on stage, if we open the show with that song, people get really excited. Another very good songs I like, maybe the last one [”Now That You’ve Gone”] is a very good one. Very strange, very strange, I mean, we are coming from a path that’s made of a lot of speed songs, so when we play something a little slower, in the beat, people seems to appreciate that. I’m enjoying to play that. And, well, I don’t know why, because it’s not I don’t like, but I think I already recorded a lot of songs like this, but people always like, so “God is Dead” is the song that people show to appreciate a lot.

BM: Well, I like everything about the album. The guitar solo in “Land of Fear” is great, and I love the riff that you played in “Rising Sun.” There’s a lot of really cool sounds there.

OT: [laughs] Yeah, well thanks a lot. What can I say. It’s difficult for me to say, “Yes, this is good.” Of course to me, everything sounds good. If I left the songs in the album, that means I was satisfied with how they turned out.

BM: That makes sense, yeah. The Perfect Machine was produced by Timo from Stratovarius. How did you hook up with him? How did that relationship come about?

OT: Well, the fun is I was talking by phone with Timo yesterday night, also. So we are very good friends. We became very good friends with time. I got a chance in the past to meet him in the hotel or in the backstage during some festival, some show and when you’re in the hall waiting for the bus to bring you to the stage, you chat a little bit, you talk, you discuss about music, this things. And Timo, I think surprised from the first. Because, once he told me he was enjoying a lot my lyrics, because he thought they were very close to what he was writing with his band. That’s how we started talking with each other. But that’s it, we just started talking by email. And when I was thinking about the production for The Perfect Machine, I wanted this album to sound really cool. I wanted to improve. Stream of Consciousness had very good critics, but I knew the sound could have been better. So one of the things to improve was definitely the sound. That’s why I got in touch with Timo. I offered this, not I offered, I asked. And he was really enthusiastic to do that, since the very first email I wrote, he answered me back, consider himself involved with the project. And that’s it.

BM: Really?

OT: Yes. And yesterday we are already talking about the new album, the new production. I don’t know what the website already wrote, but I’m already writing down songs for the new one.

BM: Great.

OT: Yeah, and yesterday he was talking to me, going, “Ok, I’m gonna produce the new one also.” So the next one is gonna be with Timo again.

BM: That’s great. Tell me something about Italy that I find fascinating. There seems to be a lot of power metal bands there: Rhapsody, Vision Divine, Labyrinth, Thy Majestie. What is it about Italy specifically that seems to produce all these kinds of bands?

OT: Hmm. You know, I have no idea, exactly why so many Italian bands do this, but I think it’s the same story everywhere. I think of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, for example, in the 80’s. I think when one, two or three bands opens something important for a country, as it happened in Italy in the second half of the 90’s, you know, Labyrinth Return to the Night album, Rhapsody Legendary Tales, have been very important albums for Italian market. So I think it’s natural that the newcomer bands, when they start doing something after they got influenced by this albums. And even the labels from Italy, probably, when they saw this could have been a good business to them, then maybe they suggested to the new bands to do something to approach to this music. And I could give you the example of other very good bands that do a negative thing. Like, Athena, if you remember them, they were in the first two albums, they have been a very good progressive band, and I found them in the last release they did, trying to approach to the power metal style was definitely different. Very distant from what the band was supposed to be. So I think it is natural in every country. If United States, you have one or two bands having a boom in trash metal, I think in a few years you will find 20 bands playing trash metal.

BM: [laughs]

OT: That’s business. [laughs]

BM: Yeah, you’re actually right. That’s a very good answer. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but that’s probably the answer. I tend to think –

OT: And I tell you, the most interesting things that happened to me, it happened likely not that often, is when you have a young magazine writer who maybe listen to just the last two years of releases from Italy, and listen to The Perfect Machine, say something like, “Why you decided to copy bands like Secret Sphere?” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

OT: And you know, I am around music since ‘94, so that’s a difficult question to answer. [laughs] Or to explain.

BM: Well, you know what’s interesting, is when I read your bio on the website, it says you started playing guitar when you were about 20 years old?

OT: Nineteen, yes.

BM: That’s amazing, ‘cause you’re considered one of the best guitarists in the genre now.

OT: [laughs]

BM: That’s amazing to me that you started that late, and now here, look at, you just sound great.

OT: Yeah, but you know, there’s a little trick. There’s a little cheat beyond the story. It is true, I started playing electric guitar at that age, but I already knew music, so I was already playing classic guitar. I just had to focus on the instrument, you know? That’s a little different. I didn’t have to study the scales, the harmonies, the theory, specially. So I could spend every single hour playing hard on the instrument. That’s different.

BM: That’s true. Who are your personal guitar heroes? Who do you like to listen to and admire?

OT: Whoa! This is a check I do with every magazine writer, because I see if you know. My favorite guitar is Josh, from an American band, Toxic.

BM: Really?

OT: Do you know them?

BM: Yeah, yeah.

OT: He has been the most influencing guitar player. I listen to when I started really playing the guitar. And if you listen to my style, I think somehow, it’s not a copy, but somehow you can listen that some stuff, especially in the solo stuffs, comes from that guitar player who didn’t have much luck in his career. Then, personally talking I have been in, specially the first years, I have been influenced by a very aggressive kind of music. I was listening mainly to the Bay Area thrash metal. So I could tell you bands like Motorhead, Forbidden, all the kind of bands, Testament, whatever. I was heavily involved with that type of music. Then I got the luck to listen to a guitar player, maybe you hear of him, Yngwie Malmsteen. Well, then I understood there’s somebody who can play good guitar, but do something even melodic and that’s when I started together with Fates Warning, who’s still my main band, that yeah, I think Malmsteen and Fates Warning definitely changed my approach with music.

BM: That’s great. The origins, tell me something about the origins of Vision Divine. I know it started as a side project to Labyrinth, but what I don’t –

OT: Yeah, it’s not really as side project. Originally, the first album, Vision Divine, was supposed to be my solo album. Because Labyrinth Return to Night sold very good, Metal Blade was pushing the band very strong, and then I started receiving pressure to release a solo album. But honestly, I’m not the kind of guitar player who likes to be seen as a guitar hero. I don’t care about that. I like to be the guitar player of a band. So I slowly moved things so that could be a real band, not toss in album. And that’s how things happened. Simply, in the very first promo, I realized most of the songs were supposed to have a singer. And I am a very good friend with Fabio since the very start of the career, so I just offered Fabio to join back my band after Labyrinth, and he was very happy to do that. And with a very well known singer, as Fabio is, then it came natural to name the project as a band, and not as a solo album from the guitar player of Labyrinth. And that’s how things evolved. First two albums has been very difficult to me to make people understand it was not a project, it was a real band. But I think now it’s done.

BM: Yeah. [laughs] Speaking of your albums, Vision Divine has four albums out now. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of each one. Like, is there some anecdote, some story you have about how it came together? Or is there some word, like difficult or wonderful? What do you think of when you think of each one of your albums, individually?

OT: Well, it’s difficult to me sometimes to realize it’s already four albums.

BM: [laughs] Time flies.

OT: No, no, it’s not a matter of time. I know time runs, as I wrote in a song. But it’s not that it just, honestly, I see the band, like in two eras. The first two albums, to me look like a project band, even if it was not, because I was also involved with Labyrinth. And of course, when I was writing material for Vision Divine, I was also thinking about Labyrinth, so I was trying not to repeat the same cliché, I was trying to change something. I was keeping one song for Labyrinth another song for Vision Divine. It was not confusing, but I hope you know what I mean.

BM: Oh yeah, yeah.

OT: And the last two albums, of course, they are different. My mind is free now. Everything I write now, it’s completely 100% for Vision Divine. And new singer, new story. It’s like I feel the band is a band with two different eras. The first one ended with the second album. And the new one started with Stream of Consciousness, and still goes on. That’s how I feel. That’s how I perceive the band.

BM: Oh yeah. I can understand that. Tell me, when you create an album for Vision Divine, let’s say in Vision Divine Mark II, the second part of the –

OT: Yeah, let’s go like that, yeah. [laughs]

BM: How do you, do you start with a concept for the whole album, or do you start with individual songs, or even lyrics or riffs? How does a Vision Divine album come together?

OT: That’s again another part, related with Vision Divine Mark II. It is true that since the Stream of Consciousness release and on, I always think first of the concept. Then, depending on the concept, I start thinking about the music that will have to be the soundtrack for the story I’m gonna tell. So, it’s really a different kind of process I use to write down the album. So even in the new case, the new album I’m gonna write down, I already have a story written down, and now I’m writing down the soundtrack. It’s gonna be the music for the story I’m gonna tell.

BM: That’s a very interesting approach to that. You phrased it in a way I’ve never heard before.

OT: Yes. And after so many albums I did in my career, maybe the reason why now I’m doing this is because I find kind of a new way for me to approach with music and it’s a new way, totally new way. I enjoy really, to write down the story and then think about the music I’m gonna need for telling the story. It’s fun to me.

BM: How do you think that way? Do you read a lot of novels? Do you watch a lot of movies? How do you think that visually with your music? Where does that come from?

OT: Oh, many, many. I read a lot of books. I’m completely addicted with philosophy and history books. I like to read a lot of philosophy and history, so that’s the two main inspiration. Where I take the idea for a story is just, most of the albums I write down are consideration I do about life, about time , about religion, whatever. But they take inspiration from philosophy or history mainly. I don’t like movies. I’m not that much into new movies or cinema. I don’t watch that much TV.

BM: Oh really? What about The Da Vinci Code? Are you going to watch that movie when it comes out?

OT: I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t like it.

BM: [laughs] Did you read the book?

OT: No, I did not. ‘Cause I read the story, what it talks about, and the fact is, I already read some book, some real book, about what it is supposed to happen that way. And it’s different from what the movie or the book tells. So I’m not interested, because it’s fiction, it’s probably fiction and I don’t like fiction that much.

BM: [laughs] Yeah. You know, that surprises me, ‘cause the Vision Divine albums sound like little books. They sound like little movies with music to me. They have stories –

OT: Yeah, but they are not fiction, they are not fiction. I hope they look like really, how can I say in English, it’s like I’m telling a real story. It’s not a fiction. It’s not something totally invented. It’s a mental trip. They are connected with a different kind of story that’s not a movie.

BM: That reminds me of, I think it’s Thy Majestie has that album out about Hastings 1066 or something. It’s some –

OT: Yes, yes, medieval stuff.

BM: Yeah, that’s very historical. What can audiences expect — and I’ll let you get back to your life there, I don’t want to take up your whole day — but what can audiences expect from Vision Divine at ProgPower this year?

OT: Well, for sure, you can expect a band coming there, choosing what we think is gonna be the best show we can perform. So we have one hour there, I think. And in this one hour, we will chose from our albums all the songs we think are gonna be the best for your audience. So that’s the luck. When you have to play two hours, two hours and half, you have to play long. When you play one hour, the good is you can choose what you think is gonna be the best for the band to present yourself to people. So that’s what we’re gonna do over there. We’re coming, as I told you before, we are not coming to show people, we are not coming to make a challenge with anybody. We have nothing to show. We are around since many years, so we don’t have to prove anything anymore, I think. We are coming there just to present ourselves to people. We are coming there to show that there are good bands coming from metal even from Italy. [laughs]

BM: Well, I think people know that. They love the bands from Italy. So you’re ok with that.

OT: Well, I’ve been surprised since the release of the new ProgPower website, we are receiving a lot of emails from people from the United States, saying they cannot wait for us to play at ProgPower fest. So this is exciting to us. But we will really take it as our first chance to play the United States, so we’re gonna come there to represent Vision Divine the very best. That’s what we hope. That’s it.

BM: Oh by the way, one last thing. Are there any bands playing at ProgPower that you personally can’t wait to see?

OT: There are many bands that I am glad to see on stage. There are some bands that I don’t know that much, but I know how Glenn is used to work and to chose bands. I definitely believe all of them will be good bands on stage, so it will be very interesting to us to check the whole show, the whole event. It will be very interesting to see that.

BM: Oh, that’s great. Well, I appreciate your time today, Olaf. I love your music, you’re a great guitarist, and I’m looking forward to seeing you at ProgPower myself.

OT: Yeah, there will be some nice surprise. Here in Italy, in Europe, we of course have the chance to play more shows, so people are used now to see that. But for an example, before Michele was playing on stage, after the release of the first album, Stream of Consciousness, many people were thinking the things he did were thanks to computer technology, you know.

BM: Really?

OT: Yeah, you know, like the end of “La Vita Fugge” where he sings very high and keep the note for twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three seconds. Well, there you will see it’s not computer cheating, it’s real nature. He will do that of course. He will do that. We are used to do that, and we are used to joke about it. So that would be something nice, something funny I think for the people and they will appreciate. ‘Cause after all, heavy metal is done also all these kind of things, if it’s a good show. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Yeah. Well, thank you so much for your time today, Olaf. I appreciate it.

OT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it a lot, and see you then in Atlanta, Georgia. [laughs]

BM: Thank you. Take care. Have a good day. Bye bye.

OT: Ok, you too. Bye.

You can find Olaf’s CDs at www.LaserCD.com. Or Amazon. The official Vision Divine web site can be found at www.visiondivine.com. And if you really want to know what Michele Luppi is capable of, check out the last couple of minutes of “La Vita Fugge” on Stream of Consciousness. One word: Stunning.

Just so you know, whenever possible I ask the bands I interview to send me photos that have rarely been seen (or seen by no-one, anywhere) to post on the Notes web site. Visit the Photos section to see what’s been posted recently, including some from Wastefall, Circus Maximus and Shane Dubose’s bands.

Once I’m at ProgPowerUSA VII, I’ll be snapping photos like crazy of everything and everyone — on stage, back stage, in the audience…you name it. So, during PPUSA VII, if you have Internet access where you’re staying, visit the site often to see what I’m seeing. Or simply stop by once you get back home for a complete recap of the entire event (at least as much of it as I see through my camera lens).

Regarded as the cradle of Western civilization and being the birthplace of modern Democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic games, Western Literature, Political Science and drama, including both tragedy and comedy, Greece has a very long and remarkably rich history during which its culture has proven to be especially influential in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
– Wikipedia

Not bad, if somewhat intimidating to a chap in Michigan preparing an interview with a musician living in the “cradle of Western civilization.”

Despite its seeming all-encompassing definition, Wikipedia lacks a mention of the burgeoning, albeit still mostly underground, metal scene — one that only a couple of years ago produced the truly remarkable band Wastefall, which just released its third album, Self Exile.

This young quintet (Alex is just 23!) consists of Domenik Papaemmanouil, lead vocals, Alex Katsiyannis, guitar and vocals, Christos Kyrkilis, keyboards, Nick Valentzis, bass guitar. And Kostis Papaleksopoulos, drums.

I recently spoke with Alex about a wide range of topics, and ended the interview in what my wife Elisabeth described as an “Aww, I love ya, man” fashion. Hey, what does she know about male bonding?

Thanks, Alex, for your time during this very special conversation. And a big THANK YOU to Christos for sending me the 10 exclusive Wastefall photos now sleeping soundly in the Photo section of this web site.

Enjoy!

AK: Hello?

BM: Hi, is this Alex?

AK: Yes, hello, Bill.

BM: Hi, how you doin’?

AK: I’m fine, how are you?

BM: Doing well, doing well.

AK: Great. Just on time, huh?

BM: Yeah, well I like to be punctual, you know? [laughs]

AK: That’s great. That’s a good thing. [laughs]

BM: Well, how’s the weather over there right now?

AK: Excuse me, sorry?

BM: How’s the weather in Greece?

AK: It’s about 35 degrees. Really hot.

BM: Is it really?

AK: Yeah.

BM: That’s — I don’t know what it would be. The temperature here is only about 50 degrees, but that’s in Fahrenheit. I don’t know how to convert it to Centigrade off the top of my head.

AK: Yes, I don’t know either. [laughs] What’s 35 degrees here in Greece is really hot.

BM: Is it really?

AK: Yeah, it’s summer.

BM: I’ll have to look that up [on the Internet] and see what that is. In fact, I could probably do that right now. Anyway, I appreciate your time today, Alex. I enjoy –

AK: No, I thank you. What are you talking about?

BM: [laughs] You know what I’d like to do is start with the latest album, Self Exile. And by the way, let me look at this a second here. [Pauses to find a temperate converter online] Celsius, 35. Ooh, yeah, I can see why that would be hot. Thirty five Centigrade is 95 Fahrenheit for us.

AK: 95, oh!

BM: Anything in the 90s and you’re just sweating your ass off. So I can understand that. Ok, Self Exile, it’s due to be released this Tuesday, I think. Just a couple of days.

AK: Yes, about four more days.

BM: I’ve been listening to a promo of it for a while now. You know, it sounds richer and more diverse than anything you’ve done before.

AK: Yes, I totally agree on that.

BM: Production is really nice too. It’s very, very good. Very well produced.

AK: Yes, it’s Tommy Hansen, you know.

BM: [laughs]

AK: He knows what to do.

BM: Well, tell me about the origins of this album. In January of 2005, you posted a topic in your [band website] Forum, and you asked people for information about psychological disorders.

AK: Ah, yeah. Well that was an idea we had, just after we released Soulrain 21. We had kind of the idea to do something like a concept album concerning deranged personalities, schizophrenia, paranoia, and all that. But it didn’t work. We didn’t want, after all, to do a concept album, because we couldn’t proceed as well. But this information and this chat we had with the guys and some information we read about or heard about, we used in a couple of songs. For example, like “Willow Man.” Yeah, the first song is talking about a deranged personality. [laughs]

BM: Oh really. [laughs]

AK: Yeah. Which is actually a genuine disease of our age and era. It’s really easy to be deranged nowadays. [laughs]

BM: Yeah, definitely. So what’s another song that sort of was created because of the information you got?

AK: Yeah, the other song actually was “Strife for Definition.” But it doesn’t have to do so much with violence or not knowing what to do. It’s actually not knowing who you are, but it has some philosophical topics within it.

BM: I’m glad you mentioned the word philosophy, because I’ll be asking you about that later on, ’cause you sound like a very philosophical guy, at least that’s how you come across when you post on your Forum.

AK: [laughs]

BM: Tell me – as long as we’re talking about the tracks on the album – walk me through each one. Tell me what it’s about. You know, like start with “Intro.” Where did this song come from? How did it come about?

AK: Of course. Look, with “Intro,” we just — especially Dominik — had studied some Byzantine music, the early ages, which is like the origin of Greek music. Which has some Eastern elements, and has to do a lot with religion. This music was used in order to perform some rituals in the early Christian years in Greece. And it’s really interesting music, because it’s quite difficult. It has, I think, about three or four more notes in it.

BM: Oh really?

AK: Yeah, it’s really hard to do. But I think that we had it — how can I express that — we had it inside us, like in our veins running. And we did it, we tried first of all in the studio for fun, like, and we really enjoyed the mood and the atmosphere. And because of the closeness of the origin, where we come from, I think it was quite enlightening thing to do.

BM: Well, it does come across well. I’m listening to it right now while you’re talking, in fact, and it sets the tone for the rest of the album extremely well.

AK: Exactly.

BM: Sort of moody and mysterious.

AK: Uh-huh, yeah. To do like a self — how can I say that — to look into yourself. That this album is going to be a little bit deeper than the last one. It is you inside.

BM: And you mentioned “Willow Man.” Tell me a little more about that song. What prompted that?

AK: Yeah, “Willow Man,” there were first some lyrics. And because they were quite aggressive and you have this schizophrenic tone about it, the music that had to be written should have been like really intense and quite the classic, hard-core, heavy metal thing. And it has, the verses are really paranoid, every instrument plays something different in order to create this chaotic atmosphere. And it’s a song that when it was made, we thought that it would be perfect for an opening track, because it’s really, really intense and heavy.

BM: I agree with you there, it’s definitely that. [laughs]

AK: [laughs] Yeah.

BM: Tell me about “The Muzzle Affection.”

AK: Yes, “The Muzzle Affection” is probably the strangest song we’ve written so far. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yeah. Let’s talk to the lyrics. It starts, the lyrics, it’s talking about marriage. [laughs]

BM: Really. [laughs]

AK: Yeah, yeah. Because, you know nowadays it’s so difficult for-actually, we don’t see it so much from ourselves, because we are quite young about this stuff. But we take a look at our parents or our friends or some like that, and we see that marriage is quite, it’s a dysfunctional thing. [laughs] Yeah, it rarely works out. And it starts with marriage, but then it goes deeper into human relationships. And that’s why we placed the dialogue, a male and a female, in the chorus. And musically, it’s really diverse. We’ve got everything, from a really progressive intro, a disco chorus, it’s quite fun to play.

BM: Yeah, it sounds fun. Tell me about “Dance of Descent.”

AK: Yeah, well “Dance of Descent,” it’s an ethnic song that has like, let’s say two parts. It has the first part which is quite Greek. The melody, it goes to, I don’t know a composer, if you know him. He’s well-known in Greece. His name is Manos Hadjidakis.

BM: Mm-hmm.

AK: He’s a really famous composer. He has this lyrical and romantic way of composing music, and it’s like the first half of “Dance of Descent.” And we’ve got a Latin chorus, because it gives so much the groove we really enjoy. And now lyrically, it’s quite strange also. It’s talking about some ceremonies in ancient Greece which are called the Mysteries of Eleusis. Yeah, it’s actually like an initiation for the soul that descends to Hades and to the land of the dead, and it’s something like a self-realization. And then it ascends again in our world. Yeah, it’s an ancient ceremony that I’ve been reading about, and it felt quite good to write about it.

BM: How do you happen to come to read about an ancient ceremony? [laughs] Where do you find books like that?

AK: [laughs] Well, the thing is that I study at the University of Greece. I study about the history of theatre. And because I study a lot about ancient tragedy and ancient comedy and I have some books that talk about this ceremony, because the ancient theatre in Greece had to do with religion, 100%. So you can find it in the books like that. [laughs]

BM: Really. [laughs]

AK: Yes. It’s the philosophy of the ancient Greeks. It’s one of, a part, you know?

BM: I can tell, see, I was going to guess that you were probably in college, and probably studying things like this, because you write in a very philosophical way. I’ll mention later specifically what I’m talking about, but it’s great to know. Tell me about “Another Empty Haven.”

AK: “Another Empty Haven,” yeah. Well this theme is quite simple, because I think this was the first song we composed after Soulrain 21 And it was the only one that really sounded like a song from Soulrain 21, and the beginning it’s really identical to “Empty Haven,” so we thought, why not do “Another Empty Haven”?

BM: [laughs]

AK: [laughs] Yeah. Because it’s a story about, it’s a sad story about a confused guy. Trying to find out things about life in general. And because the songs have the same notes, it’s simply “Another Empty Haven.”

BM: [laughs]

AK: [laughs]

BM: That’s clever. Tell me about “Strife for Definition.”

AK: “Strife for Definition” was a song that when we heard it we were like, taken by surprise, because it’s really a different song. We’ve never written something like that. It’s really atmospheric and really moody. And when you hear it, you get these strange emotions, and so it gave me the space to write some really deep lyrics and talking about nowadays that’s where the biggest problem and the biggest strive and fight we have is to understand who we are and why we’re here. This simple question, the cliché questions, but said in a kind of original way.

BM: Did you come up with any answers to those questions?

AK: No, I think if I had an answer to that, I wouldn’t play music. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yes, I would be on an island, and drinking, and swimming. [laughs] Doing nothing.

BM: [laughs] Tell me about “Sleepwalk.”

AK: Well “Sleepwalk” is Dominik’s 100% personal song. It’s talking about a dream he had over a year ago. And that had to do with a girl, and it was a quite dark and depressing one, and he was in a strange mood. And combined with alcohol, “Sleepwalk” was born. [laughs] It’s just a really moody one, and dark one.

BM: [laughs] How ‘bout the one that seems to be an acronym, “E.Y.E.”?

AK: Yeah, it stands for “Eternal Yearning Entity,” and it’s talking about that we people are just in the whole procedure of living. Life is just an eternal strife for yearning, no, for knowledge, for lust, for who we are and everything. And it’s a straight song, with straight lyrics, I think.

BM: Gee, the themes so far here are kind of dark and moody and depressing. Are you guys — how are you normally when you’re not writing music? Are you, like, a happy guy?

AK: No, we’re really happy guys doing and saying stupid things. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: Nothing special, you know. But the thing is when we write music, we want to see who we really are. [laughs] And when people who know us hear our lyrics and hear our music, they’re kind of, “Why am I hanging out with you?” [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Tell me about “Utopia Fragmented.”

AK: “Utopia Fragmented,” yeah. Well the thing is about utopia is a term that was used from the Renaissance ’till now, about it’s another aspect of heaven. It’s the perfect space. America was once a utopia, if you know what I mean, the promised land. And this thing nowadays is somehow cracking, because you can see places and ideas that they all crack after the capital and money and values of like that just help you live in a material way. And this song is about that. It’s a utopia fragmented.

BM: Doesn’t the concept, though, of utopia go back farther than that to Plato? Didn’t he have –

AK: Mm-hmm, exactly, exactly. That’s very good. He had about, these, I don’t know how it’s called in English though, it’s politica, it’s a state, is the translation in English. That’s talking about the perfect place to be with the perfect laws and justice and it was a utopia. It was a thing that it’s nice today, but it cannot happen.

BM: Yeah, ’cause with Plato it was an ideal state that really couldn’t be reached.

AK: Exactly. It was above the material world. And what we saw here, it’s just a mirror of the true thing going on. But it’s something that cannot be real and you cannot live it.

BM: Wow. Tell me about “Minutes to Abandon.”

AK: “Minutes to Abandon”? Yeah, this is a love song. [laughs]

BM: Oh finally! Who gets killed in this one? [laughs]

AK: [laughs] Yeah, it’s actually a love and loss song. It’s about — because it’s about four minutes, it’s like the last four minutes when you see the person you love the most abandoning you.

BM: Oh man.

AK: Yeah, it’s this feeling, which is of course really happy, and not depressing at all. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] How about the last one, “Provoke the Devine”?

AK: “Provoke the Devine” is the answer. It’s God. Yes, it’s a conversation with God, and it’s probably the time you’re dying, this is why the last part of “Provoke the Devine” is really floating. You’ve got this idea and this feeling. It’s talking about a conversation with God.

BM: That’s actually my favorite track on the album, “Provoke the Devine,” I believe.

AK: That’s very cool.

BM: What is your favorite song on the album? Which one do you really, are you most proud of, let’s say?

AK: I don’t know, I enjoy every song. But I think my favorite would be “Utopia Fragmented.”

BM: Really? Why is that?

AK: I don’t know. It’s got everything. It’s really nice to play and perform it live. And it’s got really good feeling. It’s got everything. I probably, this is my favorite, yeah.

BM: Is that your favorite one to play live off of this album?

AK: Yes. It’s definitely the one, the perfect one to play live. It gives you space to do lots of things.

BM: [laughs] That’s cool. Tell me about the name of the band. Where did the name of the band come from?

AK: The name of the band came from, actually the first song out of the first album [Fallen Stars and Rising Scars], which is called, the song is called, I think, “Killing of Wolves.” And in the chorus it talks about “this wastefall is taking me down” and things like that. And actually, it’s a metaphor, of course, there’s no such word as wastefall.

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yeah. It’s talking about, like, what we do. We choose to play music, write lyrics and create this atmosphere and these images, that is helping us to get rid of all the negative things that are into us and all the questions and try to seek for the answers. The thing is like when we play music, we try to see it in a cathartic way for us. This is the thing.

BM: Is it working?

AK: So far, yes, it’s working, it’s working. Not 100% though. [laughs] But it’s working.

BM: [laughs] Well, one of the things I wanted to ask is, you seem to have a lot of turnover of musicians over the years. Some surprising, some maybe not so. What affect has that had on you as a band?

AK: That’s a really good question. In Greece here it is really hard to have a band that is trying to do, to play and perform in a professional way. Because the country is not helping at all. Yeah. There are lots of problems. And the thing is that the –

BM: Such as what, Alex?

AK: Ah, let me tell you, first of all there are no different studios or places to work to. Secondly, the music we hear here in Greece, it’s so stupid!

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yeah! It’s like a pop with folk and some rock. It’s everything. It’s a messed up thing that they’re trying to sell albums, nothing more. And you don’t have this kind of motivation to play hard rock music. And people do not appreciate it very much. But I think nowadays, it’s starting to change a little bit. Anyway, yes, the things we had some problems with the guys, and we told them, “This is our dream, this is what we want to do 100%, and you follow or not. You have to sacrifice lots of things, including money, including free time, including sometimes friends.” And some people, some guys, handled it, some guys did not. And this was the reason that people came and went away. And there were some musical differences at the time. That’s about the reason.

BM: [laughs] And the affect it’s had on you as a band?

AK: Yeah, well look, it’s sometimes hard to lose someone because we become friends and family. And we were really sad the first time, but we never thought of giving up, because the main core of the band is Dominik and I, and we have this thing 100%. And we say, no matter what happens, we will move on. It’s hard sometimes. It’s really hard. Before you go to sleep, you think, “Oh my god, what am I gonna do tomorrow?” Stuff like that. But we always, we have solutions right in front of us. We have an amount of luck.

BM: Oh, that’s great. The artwork for your albums. How involved are you in selecting it? That’s the first question. And the second is, is it intentionally, is it representative of the kind of music on the album? In other words, the album covers are always very diffuse and almost watercolorish. There’s nothing starkly clear about them. It’s like a blending of reality and fantasy. Tell me about the process of selecting art for your album.

AK: Yeah, well the thing is, in Soulrain 21 and Self Exile, we had the same guy doing the cover. We trust him 100%, and he really digs Wastefall, and he understands it. And he makes about 4-5 covers, and we choose the one we think that first of all, it fits the music and the lyrics, and secondly, it has something that will — how can I say that — will catch the eye. You know, the first thing, if you see it in a record store, you will say, “Ah, let’s see that, it looks interesting.” And we want to be, what you said about the fantasy and the imagination and all that of course. But I think because we are — and especially Soulrain 21 and Self Exile has a human being on the cover, we want to tell the people that yes, we are talking about humans, we are playing for humans. We are not talking about dragons or swords and all that. [laughs] We are talking about reality, through of course, our perception.

BM: Well, speaking of the dragons, do you ever listen to bands from Italy like Rhapsody or stuff like that?

AK: I listen to everything. Rhapsody are a really good band. One of my childhood loves was Blind Guardian.

BM: Oh yeah.

AK: Of course, I really dig those bands. They do perfectly. I think they truly believe it. And I listen to it, of course. Why not?

BM: You’ve got three albums out now. If I ask you about each one, what do you most remember about the album. Let’s say, start with your first one. What comes to mind when you think about the creation of that?

AK: The first album, the first thing that comes to mind is that, “Oh my God, we’re having a record.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yeah, we were like 19 years old and saying, “Oh my God, we will have a record out on the record tour.” And the whole procedure was, like, we are kind of lost, you know. We didn’t have 100% control of this. We were like, you know, kids playing around. And the thing that comes to mind is this — how can I say — no responsibilities, we don’t care too much about what will happen, if it will sell, and we were kind of lost. We were kids back then. [laughs] Yeah, Soulrain 21 that comes to mind, we had this idea about talking about this thing, and we were really enthusiastic about it, because I don’t know if you know it’s talking about the terrible accident that took place in Greece, and 21 souls were lost, about 15 years old. Little children. It was a really political album, that have to do with criticizing this fact that took place, this event. And we were, we felt really responsible for that, and we said, you know what, we are gonna work hard and give our 100%. And I remember the recordings in the middle of the summer, which was really bad. [laughs]

BM: Yeah. [laughs]

AK: We were sweating our asses off. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: We lost a lot of pounds. [laughs] Exactly, but it came out ok. And about the album, the deal with Intromental Management, and then the deal with Sensory Records, and the announcement of ProgPower, it was like, whoa. We have to look at what we have done so far and take it really seriously from now on.

BM: So what comes to mind when you think of Self Exile?

AK: It comes to mind a great deal of stress, great deal of stress for dealing with this things, and of course because Soulrain 21 was a good album, and the people really enjoyed it, and we wanted to create an album that was better for many.

BM: I was just going to ask you that, because a lot of the fans on your forum call Soulrain 21 a masterpiece. Did that put a lot of pressure on you?

AK: Yes, it does. Yes, it does, because we don’t want to let down the fans, but first of all we don’t want to let down ourselves. Because we really enjoyed Soulrain 21. And we wanted to create an album that we will enjoy even more. And it was — we didn’t press ourselves concerning composing the songs. We let our emotions flow, and we worked really free. But we work also most as a band. It was the first time that I felt that Dominik and I had a band. That could work together, everybody work together and put our souls in the band. And I think this lineup is the best lineup so far. It’s really great. And we felt really proud working as a band.

BM: So is this lineup going to stick together for a while?

AK: I think, yes. I think, yes.

BM: Good.

AK: There’s nothing that can tear us apart. You know, Kostis, the drummer is really talented, and Nick, the bass player, has his soul and heart in Wastefall. And the keyboard player, Christos, also. So we’re a band. At last we’re a band. We are five people, playing as one.

BM: Oh, that’s great. Tell me about the ProgPower call. How did you guys find out? Did Glenn Harveston just give you a call and say, “Hey, I want you”? Or how did that happen?

AK: No, actually, we were talking with Claus Jensen, the Managing Director, from Intromental, and he like, told us, “You know, Glenn Harveston wants you to play the ProgPower, because he really enjoys Soulrain 21 and he really enjoys Wastefall.” And we were like, “All right, stop fucking with us.” [laughs] But yeah, we got some emails and we made some phone calls, and the deal was closed. And we were like, seventh heaven.

BM: Wow.

AK: Yeah.

BM: Had you heard of ProgPower before that?

AK: Yes! Of course. We are all metal fans, so we really enjoy reading about festivals, and we buy new records all the time. We’re really into the metal thing. And of course, we knew it was- how can I say — an elite festival for elite bands. And we were really honored about it.

BM: Well, you probably should be, because Glenn really does pick the best of the best bands from around the world.

AK: Exactly. Exactly. I mean, Symphony X, Kamelot, Nightwish, they’ve all performed there, and they’re all, I don’t know, A-class bands. They are awesome. [laughs] Class A.

BM: [laughs] Well, how do you look at this concert then, at ProgPower. What does it mean to you guys, and what can fans expect from watching your show?

AK: Well, first of all, it’s a huge opportunity for us to play abroad. And just meet new people and have new fans. And we want to see how the audience in the states will react to our music. I’m really curious, and I feel we bear a great responsibility, a really great one. And what about the show? We’re going to give 1000% of our souls and ourselves. [laughs] I mean, we really enjoy playing live, we’re not from this progressive band where we sit and play our instruments so perfectly, and we want this to be a really, really strong experience for the audience. We, because it’s quite emotional, we really try hard to spread this emotion to the people down there. So we’re gonna have, I think, a really good and really strong show.

BM: That’s great.

AK: I can promise you that. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] How many other countries have you played in, besides Greece?

AK: Uh, none. [laughs]

BM: Really. So you’ve only played within your own country?

AK: Yes, yes. We’ve only played, because it’s really hard to get on tour, you know. And now, Self Exile is the only album that goes all around the world for people to hear. So it’s from now on, that we’re going to try and perform outside Greece. But we’ve got this experience — how can I say — with perform in some major gigs here in Greece, so we won’t have a problem. We’re open to taking propositions, and we’re really going after it.

BM: The question I was going to ask as a follow up to that, is What are audiences like in other countries? But I guess I’ll ask you about your own. How are you received in Greece when you play? What are audiences like for you?

AK: The problem with the Greek audience, is that it has a problem with Greek bands. I don’t know why. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yes, they are quite mean sometimes. But, now the audience really digs the Greek bands. And I think it’s because the Greek bands work really hard and in a professional way. And so far, all the gigs we’ve made, with Black Sabbath and Pain of Salvation, were so cool audience-wise. They really supported us 100%. And we thank them so much. It is really good for your own country to love you. It feels really good.

BM: Tell me about your country a second. First of all, everybody understands and knows that Greece is the birthplace of western civilization, you guys have some of the best art and architecture in the world there. What is it like for you to live there? Do you get bored looking at the Parthenon, or is it –

AK: No, no. I never get bored looking at that, because we have, we are talking about masterpieces, and they are ancient. I mean, how people worked back then, it’s fantastic, you know. But the bad thing is that the masterpieces are not appreciated and are not taken care of. The state is not working good on that, and we have some major problems. And this is really, really sad, because we’ve got so many monuments, so much history, and we don’t appreciate it. And this is really, really bad, because I believe that if you know history, if you know where you come from, if you know your origins, I think you can do your best in your life.

BM: Well, I was gonna say, Greek literature is still read. You still have Homer’s Odyssey, you still have the stories of the gods and goddesses. Does all this stuff that’s part of your culture become part of you, and is it expressed in your music in some way?

AK: Ah, I believe yes. I believe in a subconscious way, it does. Because if you see, if you read Homer or Plato sometimes, or if you read even all the tragedies, you see that there is this love for the — how can I put that — the higher. Exactly. And this thing I think, we try to do the same thing. And there are some great Greek writers and poets of course, not nowadays, but until 1970, there were. And they are trying to do. But nowadays, the Greek writers, they’re not so good. They don’t care about this thing so much. But we do. They’re very, very important in our culture. They knew better, if you have all these masterpieces and you have these guys, you better.

BM: [laughs] Well, in your music, it’s interesting that you mentioned the Greek writers, Plato especially, who used to write about higher level things. Things above. But when you describe your music, you talk about it in lower terms, like it’s always the depressing stuff or the negative things.

AK: No, no. The thing is about that, I totally understand your question. You see, let me do like an example. In ancient tragedy, if you read ancient tragedy, they are so depressing and there are so many bad things going on.

BM: Yeah.

AK: Yeah, but this thing is that through lifetime and through pain, comes catharsis, and so you are actually communicating with the higher. So from this feelings and this emotions of pain and torture and suffering really brings the bright side of life out. It’s a strange antithesis, but this is how it works. I believe this is how we see things, that through the negative things, and if you live them, you totally understand them, comes the bright side and you give birth to optimistic ideas.

BM: Here’s a philosophical question for you then. What if fans, in general, don’t get that? What if they just listen to your music and dwell on the negative and become negative people? Would that be a mistake on their part to think of your music that way?

AK: First of all, yes, it would be a mistake on their part. But it will have to do with us also. The mistake would be ours too. Because we don’t do something good. Because if they don’t understand us so much, I think we also have a problem of not telling the story well.

BM: Oh yeah. I think you’re telling the story very well. It’s superbly done music. But I was wondering as you were talking if it’s possible to get the wrong impression listening to it, rather than hearing a cathartic sort of experience, they’re hearing the experience they’re living in, and they stay there in it. They don’t rise above it or change.

AK: Well, look, this is the really tough question, because we’re talking about so many different human beings.

BM: Yes, yes.

AK: And if somebody’s thinking that way, and they can’t understand 100% our music, it will be a bad thing to happen. But, I think that if they listen to it really carefully, no matter what they think, no matter about their own theory, and their own perspective, I think that they will get not even, if not the whole idea, will get a glimpse of the idea. And then when they hear it again and again and again, and maybe some future work, they will eventually understand it. I don’t think that people are stupid or something like that. [laughs] I still hope on people. Because they can do magnificent things.

BM: I like that statement you just made. Tell me, when you said that you are personally affected by maybe how things are treated — the Parthenon, or the monuments — is that a generational thing? Are the people your age there, do they feel the same way, or are you just unique in the way you feel about wanting to preserve it?

AK: No, I think, because I talk with lots and lots of people about this things, I think that they get the point. They feel that way. The difficult thing to do, the step beyond, is to do something about it, and not just sit on your couch and watching the news, and say, “ah, this happened again. Alright, I’m gonna eat my steak now.”

BM: [laughs]

AK: Yes, you have to do something about it. I think that all people, they totally understand what’s happening, but they don’t do something about it because they got their families, they got their works going on, and they don’t have the time to do it. But it’s all about having the will, having this little spark, this ember inside you so you can be motivated and do something. I think that every person should find this, this spark. But they all understand that this is wrong.

BM: Hmm. That’s a great way to put it. Let me ask you about your forum on your website. One of your answers to a question talked about thesis, antithesis. Do you read a lot of philosophy? You seem, the way that was phrased sounded extremely intelligent. You sound like someone who thinks deeply and reads a lot. Does that describe you?

AK: Yes. The thing is that I really enjoy philosophy. And reading philosophy, it really helps you to understand a lot of things. But when you’re writing down something, it’s good to use the terms that are used by this magnificent people. In order to express it 100% correct. So it’s not, it doesn’t have to do with intelligence. Everybody can understand philosophy. The thing is that you have the time and appetite to do so. Philosophy is really not a thing for an elite or intelligent people and crap like that. It’s for all the people to understand that. And I think that if you read some things like Plato or Hegel, and Mirte, and Shopenhour, I think that it really helps you to understand the way that the people feel and see the world. And you can talk for hours, because if you don’t have a dialogue, and if you don’t talk with people and you just read it for yourself, it does no good. Because only through dialogue and exchanging of ideas, something may appear, something good, something positive. So philosophy’s for all the people, it’s not something that will have to do with intelligence.

BM: That’s great. Let me ask you this, this is a philosophical question, and it’s a political one. On your forum, there are certain topics on your forum that I haven’t seen yet on any other band forum anywhere. You have sort of this, it looks like a poem or something, about [Amerian President] George W. Bush.

AK: Yes.

BM: Let me ask you this — and this is a heart-to-heart philosophical question — but do you worry at all, putting that on there, that you’re going to alienate a lot of the fans, in America, perhaps who would buy your albums or want to come see you?

AK: Look, the thing is that Bush, in this poem, is like a symbol, it’s not Bush himself. You know what I’m talking about? There is this philosophy nowadays that money is above everything and this war’s going on. Everybody knows that it’s for making money and profit. So it’s I think everybody can understand it, that it’s not a personal attack to anybody. Not to America. Because I listen to American music. I dress with America clothes and I read American literature. It has to do with the general evil that exists in the world, and because I think that, I love earth, I love this world. And we’re just trying to do a better place, to make a better place of it. And I don’t think that people will be hostile against me or against Wastefall that we’re talking about this things. I think that it’s quite simple to understand that we’re not — how can I say that — communist or fanatical Christians or something like that. We don’t accept any dogma. We are talking about freedom and loving each other. It’s so simple.

BM: Yeah. Well, but that in itself is a dogma. Any philosophical viewpoint you can have can itself become or is a dogma in itself.

AK: Exactly, exactly. And we’re talking, I have talks with people that tell me I’m an Atheist, or I’m an Anarchist. It is a dogma. Believing in nothing, or I don’t care about anything, this is a dogma. And this is the tragic, if you read the forum, this is the tragical aspect that is born, that people tried to act in a greater cause, but then they just become pawns of their own dogma. And this is really bad. This is where you have to know where to draw the line.

BM: Well, is it possible, though, speaking strictly Platonically perhaps, but is it possible to ever achieve the kind of world that you’d like to have?

AK: I think, no. It’s not possible. Yes, I think it’s not possible to have this utopia, this perfect thing, in our world. But, our lives themselves, this is the cause of living, that we try to do so, and the whole thing is that when you die, you have these, you follow this road that you die in an easier way, that you can be less afraid of dying. And I think this is why everybody’s making art, making philosophy, reading philosophy, to die in an easier way, not being afraid so much.

BM: Wow. Do you always sort of have conversations like this? You sound like, I really would like to chat with you. Like, if I was hanging out in your country, having a few beers with you somewhere, these are the conversations I would like to have. [laughs]

AK: That’s great to hear. [laughs]

BM: ’cause that’s the kind of thing I enjoy taking about, philosophy and theory.

AK: That’s great, because I really enjoy talking about this things, when I have the chance. We can go to a metal bar and talk about this things. It’s kind of funny. It’s just really nice to do. And you know, this is like the best interview ever. [laughs]

BM: Really?

AK: Yeah, it’s really, really good dialogue, you know?

BM: Well I appreciate that. Thank you.

AK: Thank you so much. It’s a really great conversation. I forgot it was an interview. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

AK: That’s great.

BM: Yeah, I know. Well, I’ll be able to meet you when you come to ProgPower. I have an All Areas pass from Glenn, so I’ll be able to hang out.

AK: Awesome, that’s great.

BM: I’ll buy you a beer somewhere. We can chat.

AK: Great! I will buy you one.

BM: [laughs] Let me ask you one last question, then I’ll let you go for now. Your guitar playing — you’re considered a really good guitar player. But you’re only 23, right?

AK: Yeah, but I’m not a good guitar player. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] You’ve been playing guitar for how long, at least 10, 12 years or so, or longer?

AK: Yeah, well the thing is that I went to music school when I was six, and I was really disappointed with the whole thing, working here, and I left the school on my 10th, and then I just bought an electric guitar and spent hours and hours in my place and try to write songs. But please believe me, I am not a virtuoso, I am not a solo guitar player, you know what I’m talking about? But the thing is that I want to express my emotions through guitar, just that.

BM: Well it works, ’cause your albums are really well done. And actually, I hate to say this, but I’m actually looking forward to your next one, ’cause you get better every time. [laughs]

AK: That’s great to hear. You know, we got some new ideas going on.

BM: Do you really?

AK: Yes, yes. And I promise you, it will be a better one. [laughs]

BM: Wow! [laughs]

AK: It will be better.

BM: Well, keep in touch, would you please? If anything, any news that comes up during the summer or any photographs you may have, send them my way.

AK: Definitely.

BM: I’ll keep updating the website and letting your fans know what’s going on.

AK: That’s definitely good, and thank you very much. We’ll definitely keep in touch. I have your e-mail, and I’m gonna send you everything considering news, or maybe a question, a philosophical question, and we can chit-chat, you know? [laughs]

BM: That would be great! [laughs] Yeah, I’ll chit-chat any time with you, Alex.

AK: That’s great, man. Thank you so much.

BM: I appreciate it. Take care, have a great day.

AK: Thank you very much for your time.

BM: Bye-bye.

AK: Bye.

And there you have it, perhaps one of my most philosophical interviews ever. And one of my favorites.

Alex’s band Wastefall can be found on the web at www.wastefall.com. Only one (Self Exile) of their three CDs (Rising Stars and Falling Scars, Soulrain 21, and Self Exile) can be found on Amazon. But you can almost always find all of them at my favorite music resource, LaserCD.com. If you don’t yet have Self Exile, I strongly urge you to buy a copy. It’s complex, deep, captivating metal played with heart and mind firmly engaged.

Thanks again, Alex. Remember: the first beer is on me in Atlanta.

June is off to a roaring start. I have no less than four interviews scheduled within a week’s time with ProgPowerUSA performers, and another one to schedule for as soon as possible after that.

Evergrey: Wednesday, June 14 @ 1 p.m. my time.

Epica: Saturday, June 17 @ noon my time (tentative)

Circle II Circle: Sunday, June 18 @ 6 p.m. my time

Freak Kitchen: Wednesday, June 21 @ 7 a.m. my time

Plus…

I just got off the phone with Chris Caffrey, guitarist, songwriter, singer, all ’round talented guy for the mighty Savatage, TSO, and his own solo career — which, most recently, consists of the intense state-of-the-world album W.A.R.P.E.D. It was an eye-opening interview that lasted an hour. Thank you, Chris!

As always, my interviews will be posted with a minimum of B.S. from me. I’ll let these people talk as long as they want, about virtually anything they want, so that readers get a glimpse into their hearts and minds.

I had a lot of fun talking to Circus Maximus vocalist Michael Eriksen. He’s a delightful, fun guy. His laughter (which really does sound like “he-he-he” at times) is infectious. He’s passionate about life. And he’s a fantastic singer. In fact, the vocals on the five-member Norwegian band’s incredible debut album The 1st Chapter are among the best in power metal — which fit nicely with the musicianship, which is downright jaw-dropping.

I interviewed Michael the day after Circus Maximus warmed up for Jorn at a gig in Norway. We talked about everything from the stories behind each of the songs on The 1st Chapter to where Circus Maximus is in the creation of the follow up to their first album to what Michael does in his “spare” time to — and this was a huge surprise (not to mention an honor) — Michael’s song “Back to Atlanta” which he said he composed and recorded just two days before our interview. He wanted me to share the song with everyone. So I did. It’s at the bottom of this interview. Simply click on it and it’ll play from my NotesFromTheOtherSide.com page. Or you can right-click on it and download it to your computer to play in iTunes or Windows Media. Thank you for this great song, Michael!

ME: Right on time!

BM: [laughs] I try to be.

ME: [laughs] Hello, how are you?

BM: Good. How are you?

ME: I’m with some friends and we’re watching a movie, Saw Number One.

BM: Oh really?

ME: Yes, have you seen that one?

BM: No.

ME: Oh, it’s an American thriller.

BM: Is it good so far?

ME: Nah, it’s ok, but it’s actually a pretty good ending on it. It’s a strange ending. So it’s not like every other movie. So it’s pretty cool, yeah. So how’s the weather over there?

BM: It’s about — I don’t know what it is in Centigrade, but it’s about 80 degrees Fahrenheit here, and it’s overcast.

ME: Oh, that sounds good.

BM: Yeah, well it’s warm, that’s for sure. I understand you had a wild night last night?

ME: Yeah! Oh, I came home because I got a little stressed with a pile of delays and stuff. So I fucked it up big time I thought. So I came home (I was so drunk), and I sent a pile of e-mails right away. So I looked at sent e-mails, and [laughs] it was great spelling. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Yeah, I could tell you had fun. That’s great.

ME: Yeah? [laughs]

BM: So how was the gig with Jorn? Was it a pretty good time?

ME: Oh, yeah it was a great time. Our concert went really good, and after that we watched Jorn’s show, and of course, he’s the greatest singer, for me that is. He sings so great.

BM: Well, let me ask you that question. I was going to ask you this towards the end of our interview, but which band are you most looking forward to at ProgPower this year?

ME: Oh Jorn, of course, yeah.

BM: That’s what I thought you’d say. [laughs]

ME: Yeah, of course, I’ve been a Jorn fan for many years now, so I’m really looking forward to seeing his show. Of course, I hope for more — if they all play like they did last night, it was a great show and I like it, but I want to hear more from, all kinds of stuff from his career, you know?

BM: Oh yeah.

ME: Not just Jorn songs from the Jorn solo albums. I want to hear Masterplan and Ark. I would love to hear that because they didn’t play songs like that yesterday.

BM: Oh really? I thought they would have. How long was his set, though?

ME: They told us that it was one and a half hours, but it didn’t seem like more than one hour or something, I don’t know.

BM: Wow.

ME: But it was great.

BM: Well it’s good to talk to you today, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

ME: Yeah, thanks for doing this interview. I’ve been looking forward to this, so this is just great.

BM: Oh good, good. Well tell me — You know what, The 1st Chapter is a fantastic album. I mean, from the artwork right on.

ME: Thank you.

BM: Are you guys surprised by the worldwide popularity of it?

ME: Yeah, yeah, it took us by storm. We were hoping to make a good album that we could be–this is something we’re proud of doing and let’s see if people like it. So it’s so fun to see that, not only in our own — people like Symphony X, Dream Theatre — but people that also listen to AOR and melodic music, because that’s the main theme in our songwriting still — to get a good melody into it. Not just fast guitars and odd time signatures, drums and stuff like that.

BM: That’s what I like most about your album, I think, ‘cause there’s a lot of bands out there that have a lot of heavy guitars, but there’s no melody there, so there’s no hooks. I can’t hum along with it, you know?

ME: Yeah. I can’t tell you how many times – “Oh, check out this band.” “Ok, I will.” I went to this store and go, “Hey, I want to check out the new band. Let me hear it.” And I put it on, I put my headphones on, and it starts pretty cool with great riffs, “Yeah, it’s really cool.” And then the vocals start kicking in, and it just collapses because they haven’t worked on the melody lines, you know?

BM: [laughs] Yes. It’s true.

ME: Yeah, then it’s not worth buying, because for me then the vocal melodies are the most important thing you listen first.

BM: That’s what seems to be missing from a lot of bands these days, is they can’t sing as well as they used to. For some reason, my favorite bands are ones like Journey, you know, Steve Perry.

ME: Oh yeah!

BM: Those kind of vocals to me are the best there ever was. But you guys put a lot of time and work into your vocals, and I can hear that. You do a great job.

ME: Yeah, thanks. Have you got your Def Leppard/Journey ticket?

BM: Well, I wish I did. It sold out before I could get tickets. [laughs]

ME: No! It did?

BM: They sold out big time, real fast in the US.

ME: Oh! I hope they’ll come here.

BM: Yeah, I know.

ME: But we’ll see. [laughs]

BM: You know what, tell me about your next album, your website (http://www.circusmaximussite.com) says you’re hard at work at it, you’ll go into pre-production in a few weeks. For all the people out there, what does pre-production mean?

ME: Pre-production is instead of going straight into the studio and record the new album and do all work on it there, we make the songs ahead, and we record it — not as good as we will record it when we do the album, but pretty good stuff — and we listen to it, and go by the song and go, “Oh, maybe that’s not so cool. Ok we’ll change that for the recordings.” So we will see how the song will end up, because last time on The 1st Chapter, we did not use any pre-production. So we just went straight into the studio and started recording. And then suddenly time flies by you, and then next day you have to be in Denmark to mix the album. And you have two songs left to do vocals lines for and stuff. So the pre-production is just to be more prepared. So you don’t have to waste time and money on the recordings and be disappointed with the final product. Because you have a lot of time in front, the pre-production is good to do.

BM: That’s another thing I was going to ask you. Do you listen to The 1st Chapter now, yourself, and if you do, is there anything on it you’d change, or is it perfect the way it is.

ME: Oh, I haven’t listened to it in a while now, but of course, when it came out and we had the final product in our hand, I listened to it everyday. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: When it comes to — I hear small parts, you know, “I shouldn’t have done that there.” For instance, when we play the songs live, I change some of the melody lines. Just small, small minor stuff, you know? Just have some fun with the melody lines. And sometimes, “Hey, that’s pretty cool. I should have done that on the album.” But done is done, you know?

BM: That’s true. What’s an example of a song on that album that you wish you’d tweaked a little bit, maybe done a little differently?

ME: Well actually, one thing I’ve been doing now, is on the opening song, “Sin,” there’s just a minor thing, because I think the guys sing, “electrifying”, and I’ll sing, “it’s the end of your life. It was the night the stars would shine ‘cause I told you.” No, that’s not the part. I can’t think of the part I like now, but some parts, I take the voice a little higher or do some cool line switch on it. Yeah.

BM: Do you guys have a working title for your new album?

ME: No, but we have some now. No, actually no.

BM: [laughs]

ME: [laughs] We had some — me and Lasse were talking ‘cause we had this idea for a song. And I was writing some lyrics on it and it started revolving about mind games. You know mind games, the word mind game. And we started talking about the story about the song, and somehow it came to world domination. [laughs]

BM: Really, wow!

ME: That will be cool second album, world domination. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: But of course, with no necessary meaning to it, but world domination like a scary, dark chapter. Yeah. But no, we don’t have any title yet. Actually, no.

BM: Do you guys have a goal, sort of when you’d like to see it come out?

ME: Yeah, sure. We hope that it will be out this year. But on The 1st Chapter of course, we were finished recording and mixing, everything was finished in November 2004. And then you’ll think, “Oh, two months from now, probably the CD will be out.” But it takes time, so seven months later, then it’s out. So if we are finished recording the album, let’s say in October everything finished, maybe half a year later on, because contracts and stuff. But since most of those things are already taken care of, maybe just two months later it will be out, hopefully.

BM: That would be great. What’s been harder for you, recording your first album, or working on the next one?

ME: Well, we haven’t…of course we are making — I think probably it will be — I guess actually The 1st Chapter, we were six months in the studio, everyday, 24/7, especially me, Mats and the guys, because working melody lines and everyday changing stuff and singing. So that was pretty hard. We will not do it like that this time. We will take our time, don’t rush anything and get all stressed out and sick and stuff like that. [laughs]

BM: You guys have learned from the first one how to do it better for the second.

ME: Yeah. That’s exactly, because that’s why we wanna do this pre-production. We just record everything in our own studio, and listen to the song and see how it goes. “Yeah, we can record this, we like this.” Or, “Oh, that’s not a good song. It doesn’t do it for us.” Stuff like that.

BM: Was it a surprise to you when [keyboard player] Espen left the band, or had you guys seen that coming for a while?

ME: Oh no, it was not a surprise. That was something that was best for the band and best for him, so that’s for him to part ways with us, and that was the best thing to do.

BM: Yep, sometimes stuff like that happens.

ME: Yeah, that’s the way it is. But of course we have a new keyboard player now, Lasse. He’s just awesome, and a hell of a guy, and he fits perfectly with the band. It’s just a pleasure. We’re pretty happy, because when Espen left, we were like, that’s four or five months without a keyboard player. We were like, “Oh we have to make a new album. We have to get a new keyboard player.” All kinds of stuff. “We want to play concerts, we don’t have a keyboard player.” And that was pretty exhausting. So it’s good to have a new member.

BM: [laughs] Yeah. You know, the forum on your website, a lot of your fans just absolutely love The 1st Chapter. They say it’s a masterpiece, they love certain songs, and it really touched their lives.

ME: Yeah!

BM: Does that kind of put any pressure on you to create something equally cool for the second album? Or do you not even think about that?

ME: No, actually not. But it’s fun to see people that say a lot of things on websites and forums and web logs and stuff like that. And they should know that most musicians and band members have their computers as well. So we of course see what people write about the album and us. “Hey, you should check this out”, this guy says that and, “Ok, let’s check it out.” [laughs] People, “Hey, they’re not gonna — Circus Maximus will not make another good album because they can’t top The 1st Chapter.” [laughs]

BM: Yeah. Does that put pressure on you? Do you say, “Hey, we can top the first one, just watch.”

ME: Yeah. We know we will top the first one, because the first one, we rushed into things, and things were done pretty fast. But of course now we’re much more prepared on how we want things to be.

BM: But you know what, Mike? For an album that you say was “rushed through pretty fast,” it sounds a hell of a lot better than most albums I hear out there that have taken years to produce.

ME: [laughs] Well, we’re lucky I guess. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: Or just the ultimate team, the ultimate team. [laughs]

BM: That’s true. Speaking of the forum on your website, I noticed that you post things about every third day. That means you average about one post every third day. Do you like keeping in touch with your fans that way?

ME: Yeah! Oh yeah, sure, sure, of course. And it’s very important to keep your fans close. They take their time to attend the concerts, spreading the word about the band, because there’s so many band that I can visit a site with a band I like, and there’s nothing living on the web boards. So it’s like, I love people that take their time to do stuff like that, because it takes time of course. There’s a lot of things going on on the site, but if there’s a question or things, I don’t mind answering stuff like that, on our site of course.

BM: Well that’s great. Is that why you guys created the MySpace page, to keep in touch with your fans?

ME: No, that’s actually a good friend of ours. He asked us, “Hey, would you guys like me to