Notes From The Other Side

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.

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.

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 do that?” I think he also made Jorn’s MySpace also. He’s great with computers.

BM: Oh good.

ME: So it’s good to have a friend like that.

BM: [laughs] Definitely.

ME: I don’t know jack shit about MySpace. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: “No matter. Ok, make it.” I ask him, “What is MySpace, actually? What can we do there?” “Oh, you know, link to every other people, it’s a good commercial and stuff.” So I haven’t gotten into that too much. Do you know anything about MySpace?

BM: Well, yeah.

ME: Do you use it?

BM: I’ve got a little page on there myself, but I keep in touch with all the bands like yours, all the bands that are at ProgPower. I’ve added them as friends. It’s just kind of a neat way to keep in touch. There’s really nothing like that out there that’s that immediate and close to the fans.

ME: But can it talk to each other through the MySpace?

BM: Not one on one, but they post comments, they can reply. It’s like your forum on your website, essentially. But it’s seen by an awful lot more people that might not see your Circus Maximus site.

ME: Yeah, yeah, that’s true.

BM: Tell me about the album cover artwork for your first album. How involved were you guys in choosing what that cover picture looks like?

ME: Well, we had something, because, Mattias Noren who does the artwork, he sent us some ideas of an album artwork. And we’re like, “Oh, no, we don’t like that one. Another one.” And he sent us this unicycle guy on the sand, and we liked that. And there was some other things on it also that we took away, I think it was some castle or something. I don’t remember. [laughs] But it’s funny to see, because there’s a Norwegian band with Intromental, too, and they also have Mattias as their artwork designer. The one artwork that we turned down, they used for their CD cover. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: So, I remember that one. It’s like, “Oh, that was supposed to be for our band.” It was fun to see.

BM: When you guys were looking at the artwork for the album, do you see the artwork as just being a nice piece of art that stands on it’s own, or do you pick art that sort of represents what the music is about?

ME: Yeah, represents the music.

BM: Ok.

ME: Yeah, because for instance, we got all hyped about the artwork when we saw it. “Oh cool!” And we saw that little book, you know, in the sand there? There’s a little book in the sand, yeah. And of course then we started writing lyrics about that book and how it got there in the first spot. And we changed the story thousands of times, thousands of times. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: Yeah, the story started off by being, the book was the secret to life. And it was created by the gods, or some kind of god, something far, far away on the other side of the universe. And it had been developed for millions of years. And suddenly it appeared on this earth and that unicycle man finds the book, and a lot of stuff happens. [laughs] But we had to take that story down because it went too crazy. [laughs] Spaceships and aliens and stuff like that.

BM: [laughs] So the artwork actually inspired you to create a different kind of songs for your album?

ME: Yeah. Like for instance, on the song “The Prophecy.” [sings a few notes] I have to remember. [sings again] I don’t remember correct now, but I sing something like with “in the sand.”

BM: Yep. The lyrics say, “When there’s no love nor hate in the world, when we reach out our hand to someone, the world ain’t no longer hello, can anyone hear me.”

ME: Yeah. I think on the second verse, I think it goes something with sand.

BM: Yep.

ME: Yeah, and “it’s written in the sand” or something, I can’t remember right now, in front of me, but that’s something we can have connection with the songs. Because “The 1st Chapter” song, that of course is about the artwork.

BM: Well, let me ask you that, then. This is a great — I’m glad your answers are dovetailing with the questions I want to ask. Let me ask you about each track on the album for a minute. Tell me about “Sin.” What is that about? Where did that idea come from?

ME: Lyrically, I remember sitting at home and singing — I always have my computer on — and if the guys kind of have a riff or song idea or something, I sit here with a microphone and sing and stuff. And I just blabber about singing and stuff. And I said something when I was jamming that was pretty cool, and I started writing a story about that. And the story about the song is…actually that’s pretty cool. Because the first words of the song? That is the story of a guy who’s evil. “All my life, I’ve been a drifter, going down the paths that had no ending, with Satan on my shoulder.” That’s the lyrics there. The pre-chorus, the first pre-chorus there, that’s an angel. [sings] Well, I have the CD book, it’s right here. I had to get it out, because…[laughs]…I get confused. I have it here now. “You’re losing all, losing all control, in the end you will fall.” That’s an angel. And then you have the second verse, “What you have taken away from me.” That is actually a father, who is singing out to that guy, ‘cause that guy has killed his daughter. And then you have the second pre-chorus, “Listen son, I’m the one, can’t you see.” That is God, who’s saying, “Why did you go and do the wrong stuff? I was there all along to protect you and guide you, but you didn’t listen to me. So now the price you will pay, and that is going to hell.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: So in the last pre-chorus, that’s the devil singing. “You’re in my world now, your soul to keep, eternity is a long way to go.” That is the devil. But we are not a Christian band, that is for sure.

BM: I was gonna say, that’s another answer that you made on the forum, people asked that and you said no. You just happened to write about good versus evil.

ME: Yeah, that’s true. Good versus evil, stuff like that. That’s the right thing to say.

BM: What about the song “Alive”? Where did that come from, in your mind?

ME: Oh that’s a typically love song. If you have problems in your relationship and you don’t know what to do, but you love your girl, stuff like that. And you want to pull through, and you want this to keep on going. So that’s actually a love song. Yeah.

BM: How about “Glory of the Empire”?

ME: Well, that song is — actually I was, as I mentioned, we were six months sitting there and writing lyrics and singing and just blasting our heads off, if you know what I mean. So I got tired out of trying to make lyrics and stuff. So, “What the hell are we gonna write about?” “Well, I have an idea. I love this movie.” So I put on Gladiator, the movie, yeah? I put it on, DVD, play, and I sat down with my pillow and blanket and a cup of tea and my sheets, and I just wrote anything that came to mind. So that’s actually the movie Gladiator.

BM: Oh, that’s cool. Very cool.

ME: Yeah, so that’s pretty fun.

BM: How about — obviously “Biosfear” is instrumental.

ME: And that’s actually, “Biosfear.” Do you know what that means?

BM: I’m thinking it has something to do with being afraid of — no you tell me, because I’m probably…

ME: No, you were actually –

BM: Computers?

ME: The computer.

BM: Yeah.

ME: Yeah, in the bios, in the computer. Because Mats, he is a computer geek, genius, gets a kick out of it. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: And the song is very odd time signatures. It’s an instrumental song, where the guys have some fun and go crazy. So the song and the name is “Biosfear”, and don’t go into the bios if you don’t know what you’re doing. Something like that. Because then music like “Biosfear” comes popping out.

BM: That’s cool. How about “Silence From the Angels Above”?

ME: Yeah, that also is evil, it’s a guy who is in asylum. That is Mats who wrote that lyric. It’s a guy who knows he’s going to die, but he has all sorts of thoughts in him mind as he’s sitting in this little room, looking out the window.

BM: [laughs] The song, “Why am I Here.” The three of you guys wrote the lyric to that one. How was that collaborating? What’s that song about?

ME: Well, actually, the chorus, [sings] “Why am I here?” You know that part? Is something of, when me and Mats the guitar player and Truls the drummer were playing as a trio before we got the bass player or keyboard player, we were jamming along in the rehearsal room like six or seven years ago and I always back then recorded stuff when we were jamming. And that chorus is something I just jammed out, and the guitar is also, it just popped out there. So we kept that “Why Am I Here” melody line and evolved the lyrics around that. And Truls, the drummer, he had an idea, and Mats and Truls and myself just sat down and wrote that together actually.

BM: Cool. Tell me about “The Prophesy.”

ME: Well that’s more like, it’s the end of the world, and there’s like one guy left. Yeah.

BM: [laughs] Yeah.

ME: And he has the key. [laughs] He has, I don’t remember, I think there was a strange story about that, but it’s this guy who did not die because he had some kind of — he is the key. We actually very fond of keys. [laughs]

BM: Yeah, I noticed. [laughs]

ME: And mysteries of books and stuff. [laughs]

BM: Where do these ideas come from? Before I ask you about the last two songs, where do these ideas come from? Do you read a lot of Science Fiction or Fantasy, or watch a lot of movies? How do you get these stories?

ME: I love Science Fiction. That’s my favorite category movies. And the guys and myself we like to play video games and stuff like that, so you get all kinds of strange stories in video games, that’s for sure. [laughs] So we just, you know, whatever comes to mind we just starts writing and see how it goes. And sometimes, for my sake, when it comes lyrically, I sit here with my guitar and I jam along and I sing something. I don’t know what I’m saying, I’m just saying something. And when I listen to it later on, I then hear that lyric, and “what am I saying there? Wow, that was a cool lyric and cool line actually.” And I build the lyrics around that little line. So it’s a strange way to do things, but that’s the way I do it.

BM: [laughs]

ME: Actually, I have to show you this right away, ‘cause then you’ll know what I mean. I mentioned [in an e-mail a day before] that I have a treat for you. [laughs] On Friday, I guess, I have my guitar like this — wait, I show you here. I had my guitar, and I just [strums guitar] I don’t know if you can hear it playing? And I recorded something, and I thought — because last year, on the ProgPower festival last year, I did an interview, and I made a song for the interview.

BM: Really? [laughs]

ME: Yeah, like a half an hour before the interview, “Oh, I just want to make something fun.” So I made a song to Atlanta, just some stupid, fun stuff, you know? And so I made this song Friday, and the lyrics, it’s so stupid. It’s just fun, but it’s a great melody, I like it. I’m singing of Atlanta, stuff like that. Can you hear this, “testing, testing”, can you hear this?

BM: Yes.

ME: Let’s see. [plays intro to song] Did you hear that?

BM: Yes, definitely.

ME: Ok, then I’ll take it again, just listen to this. [plays rest of song] Well, you get the story. [laughs]

BM: Wow, that’s fantastic!

ME: [laughs]

BM: Wow! So you wrote that song Friday just to surprise me in the interview?

ME: Yes, because I have this little, you know the melody [sings] and hey, I can just write some Atlanta tribute stuff for it and show it to Bill Sunday.

BM: That’s fantastic. Man, you have a great voice!

ME: Well, thank you. So I actually called it “Back to Atlanta,” and I will send it to you so you can use it for the interview and people can listen to it if they like. [laughs]

BM: You can send e-mail me the mp3?

ME: Yeah.

BM: Oh please do. That would be great.

ME: Yeah. But remember to the people that listen to it, this is something Michael just did for fun of it, this is not something serious and the sound of course is the best it can be at that moment. I had a friend of mine coming by yesterday who just did something to the sound to make it sound a little better.

BM: Wow. Yeah, please do send it, they’d like to hear it all.

ME: Yeah, cool.

BM: Gosh, that’s amazing. Dude, hey –

ME: Yeah?

BM: You know what? When I said that your first album sounds better rushed, as you say, than most albums do that take years, and you said it was that you got lucky…that’s baloney. It’s not luck. You guys are just damn talented.

ME: [laughs] Well thank you. Let’s see, I have it here, ok. This is actually a year ago, then. This is something I made in 20 minutes before the interview. So here you have the Atlanta song for 2005. [laughs] Listen to this. [plays song] [laughs]

BM: Wow.

ME: So you see, that was the old version of Atlanta tribute. [laughs]

BM: Wow. That’s amazing.

ME: That’s how I am. But thank you. I’m that fun guy, like I’m fun and I do fun things. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Wow. Thank you. I can’t wait to hear that.

ME: Yeah, I’ll send you that mp3 of the Atlanta song and I have two pictures for you if you like.

BM: Yeah, please do. Send everything you can. I’ll post it on the Notes From the Other Side website, along with your interview.

ME: Yeah, cool.

BM: Tell me about the last couple songs on your album for a minute. “The 1st Chapter,” which a lot of people say is their favorite track. How did that come about?

ME: I remember it was hell. It was a living hell.

BM: Really?

ME: Because, yeah. We had a schedule of mixing the album at Tommy Hansen’s place in Denmark, and we live in Norway, so we have to book tickets for the boat and stuff like that. So we had to go when the boat left. We had two weeks before we went to Denmark. Then we started making the lyrics and the melody lines for “The 1st Chapter” song.

BM: Wow, two weeks?

ME: Yeah, so everything you hear on “The 1st Chapter” song, we made in two weeks and recorded in two weeks. And we just sit there and made up this crazy story, and all the melody stuff, and changed stuff and deleted stuff and added stuff, and all that. One hour before the boat left, we were finished. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: Yeah, I’m working here in Norway at the health club, so I was working from 6:30 in the morning till 2:15, then straight down to the studio and work there to 10:00 in the evening. And back home, and same the day after, same thing all over again. Every day in two weeks it was that way.

BM: Wow, that is a tough schedule.

ME: Yeah. So we really want to do pre-production so we know what to do when we go to record it.

BM: Did you say you work in a health club? Is that your day job?

ME: Yeah, that’s my day job, yes.

BM: How long have you been there?

ME: Nine years, actually.

BM: Wow, that’s a great day job!

ME: Because it’s close by to me and I like to exercise and always been doing that, so it’s a hobby. And of course, I can work at the daytime, early in the morning, so I have the rest of the day to make music and stuff like that.

BM: Wow.

ME: Yeah.

BM: Tell me about the last track, “Imperial Destruction.” What prompted that song?

ME: That is the song that – “Glory of the Empire” and “Imperial Destruction” — those two songs are the songs we sent out to get the record deal that we got. So we re-recorded “Imperial Destruction” for this album, and the one you have is the new version of “Imperial Destruction.” The song is just an empire, the song is about more kind of futuristic empire, like sci-fi, action. Science fiction, imperial — almost Star Wars feeling really. So this is a story about that, when the empire strikes down, it’s over. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Do you have a favorite track off The 1st Chapter? Favorite one to listen to or favorite one to play live? Are they different?

ME: Yeah. When it comes to great, best song on the album I like personally, I like the opening song, “Sin,” because that represents us, Circus Maximus, the way we want to sound. Should be hard, with seven string guitars, and also have that great melody and same time have the progressive feel to it, with cool guitar licks and stuff. So that is my favorite song on the album. Live, | actually like them all, but lately “Why Am I Here,” actually. That one is pretty cool to sing.

BM: Really?

ME: Yeah. I like to sing it. That’s pretty cool. And then the song “Silence From Angels Above,” that song, we have a cool way to do that one live. We start off with a cool intro, and then Mats, and Lasse the keyboard player plays some beautiful chords on the keyboard, while Mats just improvises a beautiful solo. And then it goes down to the singing and the piano part. And then, on the second verse of that song live, we speed it up a little bit and get a grove on it. Like, [sings], and still have that same melody line. And on the end of the song, it gets pretty hard, actually, pretty heavy.

BM: Oh yeah.

ME: And it takes off, and I improvise, and do some cool melody lines and sing my ass off. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: That’s actually, hopefully, maybe, I don’t know how the set will be for this year’s ProgPower pre-party, but maybe that song will be played live. We never know, but yeah, because it’s a very nice song.

BM: I was gonna ask you, what can audiences expect from you guys this year at ProgPower?

ME: Well, they can expect, I don’t know how many songs, but hopefully we’ll play at least three new songs for the audience. We have one new song already we have been playing. We played it yesterday also. It’s pretty cool. We’re pretty happy with it, but we have to go into pre-production of it, and see how it will develop during recordings. I think we are 98% finished of that song. I’m not totally complete happy with the chorus yet, but it is pretty cool, yeah. So for the show at pre-party this year, we’re gonna kick some ass, and just bring up the guns and play some hard, heavy shit.

BM: [laughs]

ME: Yeah. [laughs]

BM: What is it like for you guys to play ProgPower? Is it a lot of fun, a lot of work?

ME: Oh! It’s a lot of fun, but of course it’s a lot of fun. It’s the best experience we have had as a band, being over there in the United States and meeting the American metal crowd. They’re awesome, and the feedback over there, people are so down to earth. And they are happy people, and the ProgPower festival and the guys who work there and everything, it’s so great to be there.

BM: They love music. Shane loves music, Glenn loves music.

ME: Oh, he’s the man, yeah. But the worst part, if you can say that, is the flight.

BM: Oh, I can imagine. How many hours does it take?

ME: Oh, well it’s ok, it takes like eight hours or something. But to get into United States, you know the Customs? Oh my god!

BM: [laughs]

ME: Oh! You have to stand in the line like several thousand people around there, and you have to go up the line, and then next that scary looking policeman is going, “What are you doing here? Who are you going to visit? How long? Have you some papers with you, son?” [laughs] And so that was an experience.

BM: Wow.

ME: In Norway, you can just go off the plane and go straight into Norway and do whatever you want. [laughs]

BM: See, I was gonna ask you something about that. What is the difference between fans in Norway and fans in the US? Are they the same, or are there differences?

ME: I think they’re pretty different, yes.

BM: Really? In what way?

ME: The American crowd is much more, I guess I could say crazy, really getting into the music and they show the band that they are out there for you. I have this thing, oh, it’s so cool. When we went to the ProgPower last year, I had my video camera on stage, just one second. I just went out, actually for the song “Imperial Destruction,” I went out on stage, and I just took and video recorded out front with the audience. And they saw that I had my camera, and they went nuts. You know, [screams]. And I get goose bumps every time I see that clip. They go crazy, it’s so damn cool to see. If I had done this in Norway, I will film them, and they will give you a peace sign or maybe one or two people, “hey” instead of several hundred people. [laughs]

BM: Why is that, though? Are Norwegians just more laid back, or what causes that difference?

ME: I don’t know actually. But some concerts, people are crazy also. But we went to Sweden and had a concert with Kamelot in February. And we recorded that on our video recorders. And people there got crazy. Yeah, they were crazy, so that was cool to play there. We have a video clip of people, crazy all the time through the entire song. And that’s so cool to see, that’s cool. [laughs]

BM: Well, do you guys — Lance King, you know Lance, right? From Pyramaze?

ME: Yeah, I just read on your site. He’s a chess master.

BM: [laughs] Yeah, he is actually.

ME: You know, because I think Pyramaze is on Intromental, are they?

BM: Yeah, they are.

ME: I think there is some connection there, I don’t remember. I remember I checked out the site and Lance. He’s just like me! [laughs] He’s a martial arts guy and so am I. He’s into Muay Tai kickboxing and so am I. It’s just like reading about me. And he plays chess, and so do I. [laughs]

BM: The reason I mentioned Lance is because he told me that when they play in their cover band, sometimes they play songs that really get the audience going crazy, like something from Rage Against the Machine. And he said sometimes they worry about that because the audience gets so worked up they’re almost afraid of them. Do you guys feel that same way sometimes? Do you see the audience going a little overboard?

ME: No. Never had that. But hopefully someday! [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: That would be cool. But we actually started to play a cover song now, just to get some new songs for the audience, because its fun for them to see some new songs.

BM: What do you play?

ME: Queensryche.

BM: Oh really?

ME: Yeah, “Screaming in Digital.” That song is pretty cool to play live for us. And we do the backing vocals and everything, so it’s a pretty cool song to play live. Although not many people have heard of it before. But they start kicking in when they hear it.

BM: I’ll ask you two more questions and then I’ll let you go. I know you’re a busy guy and it’s nighttime.

ME: No, no, just ask. Keep it going. No, no, don’t think about that.

BM: Tell me: Do you have a favorite road story? When you’re on tour, out somewhere, do you have a favorite story that comes to mind?

ME: Well I think I have some. Oh, I remember. This was in the autumn last year. We were booked for a concert on the west coast of Norway. And it takes like six hours or something to drive there. And stupid us, we called some kind of road company or something and asked for some tips of where to drive, just in case. And the lady on that telephone, she said that, “Oh, you guys should not drive that road because it has been raining, and it could be very slippery up there. So we suggest you go drive thorough the coast.” And that instead of going for six hours straight through Norway, we have to go all around. And we drive for 11 hours.

BM: Oh man.

ME: Yes. So that was no fun. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: But I guess that’s not actually a fun story, but I can’t — well, I remember once, the guitar player, we went for a gig in Denmark and there’s a bridge over from Sweden to Denmark. A long, long bridge. And of course, he had to pee. And you can’t stop on that bridge.

BM: [laughs]

ME: So he had to pee in a bottle, yes, while we’re driving. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Wow. You’re in another band, called Carnivora, right?

ME: Well, I was, yeah. I was. Not anymore, because I have — when you have too much things to do, you know, you can’t, you drain yourself out.

BM: Yeah, it’s kind of like the phrase “too much on your plate.” There’s too much going on. Yeah.

ME: Too much going on, and stuff like that, it drains you out. So I get e-mails every week from different bands and projects and everything, people that ask me to participate on their album and stuff. And I’m like, “Thanks for asking, but I only have time for Circus Maximus, because that’s the main source.” But of course, me and Bjorn Jansson have been singing on the new Beyond Twilight album. And on the next album. And those things like that we can be a part of because then you don’t have to be a part of a band, like go and exercise and tour and stuff like that, because that’s what takes the time off. But I’m actually singing one song on the new Carnivora album.

BM: Ok.

ME: Just because the guitar player, Tore, is a friend of mine, and he asked, and of course, it’s fun to be part of.

BM: What do you like to do…you sound like a very busy guy. What do you do in your spare time? What’s your favorite thing to do to relax?

ME: I like to exercise, I like to play soccer with my friends, and I like to play tennis with my friends, and stuff like that. But something that actually takes most of my time, which shouldn’t [laughs] is the darn computer. Playing games on the computer. I don’t know, do you play games?

BM: No. I really don’t have time, actually.

ME: Well, I don’t have time either. It’s good for me to not think of music all the time, that kind of stuff can’t be good for anybody.

BM: Yeah.

ME: Just to think about music all the time. So I play a game that’s called Battlefield II. Where me and actually the band members, we join together and blow up some tanks and drive around the place. [laughs] So that’s what I do in my spare time. And of course, I sit here and make music and have fun.

BM: Cool. I’ll ask you one last thing here. Who are your favorite vocalists? I know Jorn is one of them, but of all time, who are your favorite vocalists, and if you had to pick like five of your favorite albums from any bands, from any era, what would those five albums be?

ME: Well, Jorn, of course. He’s great, one of the best there is right now, I think. And of course, Russell Allen. He’s just amazing. And I like Khan from Kamelot, I like his voice. Yeah, of course Geoff Tate from Queensryche.

BM: Oh yeah.

ME: Actually, there’s two more great, great singers, and that’s Keith Wier and Richard Marx.

BM: Richard Marx, really?

ME: Yes!

BM: The pop singer.

ME: Yeah, but he has this rock touch to his voice, and he has great pitch, and he writes great songs.

BM: Oh yeah.

ME: So those vocalists are great. All of those vocalists have that raspy voice. I have that clean, I can’t get that, so maybe that’s why I like them.

BM: Well you know what else they have though, most of those guys have, especially Geoff Tate used to have, is incredible range. Those notes he could hit were amazing.

ME: Oh yeah. They actually will be playing a concert here in two weeks from now.

BM: Are you going to go see them?

ME: Oh yeah. But you know what? We tried to get some kind of deal that we could play with them, on their concert, and we got a go from the place that they were gonna play, but since we had a concert yesterday with Jorn, they didn’t think it would be necessary for us to play in the two weeks again. So damn, it would be cool to play with Queensryche, that would be a dream. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

ME: But of course I will be going there to see the guys.

BM: They’re playing here in the states, but unfortunately they’re playing the same week as ProgPower. They’ll be in Michigan the Sunday ProgPower ends, so we’ll have to fly back and travel to Detroit to see them, and I think we’re going to be wiped out from ProgPower. I don’t know if we’ll make it to their concert. Bad timing.

ME: Well there’s always a Queensryche concert, but there’s a year between ProgPower concerts.

BM: We decided to devote our time to ProgPower. I’ll be able to meet you down there too.

ME: I’m looking forward to that, it will be great.

BM: I’ve got an all areas pass from Glenn, and Shane hooked me up so I’ll be able to chat with you guys. It will be fun to meet you.

ME: Yeah, it will be fun. Looking forward to that.

BM: Michael, I appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for hooking up with me.

ME: Yeah, sure Bill, it’s been a pleasure.

BM: Thank you so much, Michael. Have a great evening.

ME: That you, Bill. Bye bye.

The 1st Chapter is available from Amazon, or from Ken Golden at LaserCD.com. If you haven’t heard it yet, you need to. It’s an astounding accomplishment. I absolutely love the first Circus Maximus album!

Okay. Now it’s time for the world premiere of Michael’s song “Back to Atlanta” that he wrote for our interview and in honor of Circus Maximus’ return trip to ProgPower this fall. Click on the link below or right-click on it and download it to your computer. Enjoy!

Here’s Michael’s song:  Back to Atlanta

It would take a brave soul indeed to disagree that Minneapolis resident Lance King is legendary and could probably retire now with his place in music history secure.

Possessing one of the best voices in all of metal, Lance made his mark with the formidable band Balance of Power (is there anyone who doesn’t think Perfect Balance is, well, a perfect album?), and after recording three sublime albums with BOP from the late 1990s through 2001, left to strike out on his own.

Today, he appears in no less than three bands – Avian (From the Depths of Time, 2005), Shining Star (Enter Eternity, 2005), and Pyramaze (Melancholy Beast, 2004, and Legend of the Bone Carver, 2006) – and even has his own record label (Nightmare-Records).

Lance is preparing Pyramaze to blow the roof off ProgPowerUSA this fall.

Busy guy? You bet. Yet, he recently made time to spend about 90 minutes with ProgPowerUSA chronicler Bill Murphy. Prior to the interview, as Lance and Bill worked out the details, one of Lance’s e-mails revealed that he’s into chess and even coaches his son’s chess team – a fact that struck Bill’s funny bone. A leather-clad, longhaired metal god sitting down to a game of chess? Or doing the Dad thing coaching his son’s chess team? Yup. But those aren’t all the surprises Lance reveals in this interview. Read on.

BM: Hi, this is Bill Murphy.

LK: How you doing, Bill?

BM: Good. How are you doing?

LK: Good. I just got back from baseball practice with my kid. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: I’m coaching that too.

BM: [laughs] Well, see, that I can picture. It’s the chess thing that throws me.

LK: [laughs] I always liked chess as a kid, and my son was a natural. He liked it. I started playing with him when he was, I think, in kindergarten, first grade.

BM: Really?

LK: He took fourth in district this year, and second in district last year. He’s a good chess player.

BM: Wow, that is good.

LK: Yeah, he beats me routinely.

BM: [laughs] Does he really?

LK: Yeah.

BM: Well, what kind of weekend was this? Was this your weekend to hang out with the family and do fun sports things?

LK: Yeah, yeah. Just chillin’. I haven’t done any work this weekend.

BM: Oh that’s good. I bet your family appreciates that.

LK: Yeah. Gotta do that occasionally or there’s fallout if you don’t. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Well, you know what I’m up to here, right? I’m putting together a behind-the-scenes ProgPowerUSA report to give fans a chance to get to know the musicians behind the music. Glenn gave me his blessing to do that – and in fact, he said I’m the first guy ever that he’s tapped outside of the organization to do this sort of behind-the-scenes thing.

LK: Cool.

BM: So I’m kind of excited about it, and I’ve got interviews lined up for all the band members of people who are playing. But I’d like to chat with you a bit this evening about all the things you’re involved with.

LK: [laughs]

BM: You are one busy guy.

LK: Yeah, yeah. Just call me hyperactive, I guess. Or a workaholic, maybe? I like to be busy.

BM: Well you’ve got at least three bands that I can see, right now at the moment.

LK: Plus a local cover band that I play in. I played last night, actually.

BM: Did you really?

LK: Yeah.

BM: Why are you in a cover band with all of things you have going on?

LK: I do it for a couple reasons. One, I like to play a lot. I really enjoy playing. And the other is it helps me keep my chops up, so when the original projects do have shows, I don’t go out there and suck.

BM: [laughs] What kind of covers do you play?

LK: Everything from Whitesnake to Zombie. We’re doing everything from ’80s melodic metal to more current, kind of 93X stuff. So, some new metal, Godsmack kind of stuff, some Nickelback.

BM: With a voice like yours, I would think you’d want to delve into the Steve Perry, Journey-type thing.

LK: Well, there’s not a big market for that. But we do Queensryche, and some Ozzy and Whitesnake, and some cool stuff from the ’80s.

BM: Cool.

LK: Yeah.

BM: Well, tell me about Avian, Pyramaze and Shining Star. In your mind, does each of those bands have differentiating points? They sound similar in some ways, just because you’re singing, but musically different in other ways. How do you keep them separate in your mind when you think about each one?

LK: Geography. Geography and demographics. Stylistically, I think they’re all quite different. But you know, the…I listen to a lot, and I’ve always been a fan of most music, so it really doesn’t matter to me. As long as it’s heavy and it’s melodic, it doesn’t matter, stylistically what’s going on. And as long as I like the song, you know what I mean? So, I like working with different sounding bands, because it allows me to grow as a musician, it allows me to learn and try new things. It’s really fun when you’re recording with a band that sounds different than the next time you’re recording, because you get to experiment and try new things. And Avian, there were some things that Yan [Leviathan, guitarist] wanted me to try that I never would have done with harmony. All of the harmonies on there I did. So, I mean, when you hear Viking kind of voices going on, it’s me doing them. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: It was kind of fun, you know, doing all these really strange sounds. And different voices for the Shining Star, but that there sounds much more like what I’ve done in the past, than say, what I did on the Avian. There’s a lot more experimentation with Avian, tonally.

BM: Which one of these bands do you find most challenging to you as a musician?

LK: Pyramaze.

BM: Do you really? Why is that?

LK: I wouldn’t say it’s challenging to me as a musician, I’d say it’s the most enjoyable to me.

BM: Really?

LK: Yeah. I like the music. I like the band. I like the players. Mostly, I like the ability of the players. Everybody in the band is phenomenal. And so, when you’re playing with them, it’s awesome. It’s fun. Morten [Sorensen] is such a bad-ass drummer, and the guitar players, everybody’s so damn good. After somebody gets done doing something, you’re like, “Yeah! That was killer, Dude!” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: Joe [Jonah Weingarten, keyboards] just rips a solo, you’re like, “Yeah, that was awesome!” It’s fun, you know?

BM: Yeah. Let’s talk about Pyramaze. Both Pyramaze albums start out with a spoken intro. Was that a conscious decision on your part to do that, or did it just happen?

LK: Michael [Kammeyer, guitarist] wrote the albums. So you’ll have to ask Michael on that. I’m sure it was. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Cool. Legend of the Bone Carver. That’s a phenomenal album. How is it selling, do you know what the sales figures are for it?

LK: Worldwide, I have no idea. All I know is what I sold at Nightmare, and it’s doing better than anything that’s released in quite some time, so I’m really happy with it. It’s doing very well. We sold out of the first pressing before its release date, even. And I had to reorder and actually was unable to ship many orders for about another week after its release date. Because we were just sold out.

BM: That’s great.

LK: Actually, I’ve re-pressed it, I’m on the third pressing already.

BM: Congratulations, that’s great.

LK: I’m really happy with that. Yeah, that’s great news. And to have that happen in the first two months of a record is – I’m overjoyed. The majority of stuff, I’ll re-press maybe after six months, and some of it I never re-press. So, you never know.

BM: How about the artwork for these albums. How involved are you, with the three groups you’re in, how involved were you with choosing what the artwork looks like?

LK: Well, with the Shining Star album, I actually commissioned an artist to do the artwork. So I chose the images used and the layout, and what they would be. So I was very involved in that. For the Avian album, Yan hired Mattias Noren, but he had also come up with a concept for the cover of the Avian album long beforehand, and had an artist help him with it. It was cool, it just looked synthetically computer-generated, to me. And I’m like, “Dude, this is a neat concept, but it doesn’t look neat.” So he had Mattias dial it in and make it look real. I was like, “Now this looks cool.”

BM: It does, yeah.

LK: It was like, “This looks really cool, now.” And with Bone Carver, Michael had worked with Mattias as well, had him dial it in from his conceptual idea of what we wanted, and the story. And he just revealed it to us one day, and said, “Hey, check this out. What do you think?” And I was like, “It’s cool. I like it.”

BM: It is. Yeah.

LK: It’s very cool.

BM: How important is artwork to CDs these days? Do you see it as being an integral part? or an aside?

LK: Well, for the kind of music that we do, it’s a given. I mean, what we’re doing I figure is a little more artistic than what a lot of music out there is.

BM: I agree.

LK: And consequently, I think it’s also one of the reasons why the fans of the genre buy CD’s instead of download them.

BM: Oh, I agree with that too.

LK: Yeah. So I think the artwork is very important, and so is every part of the package; the content of which you’ve got the lyrics, which I think are important because they reveal a lot about the artist, and they reveal a lot about the intellectual perspectives of the artist. And artistically, the graphics are important because they bring all that to life, and help create more of a visual aspect of the music for the listener. It’s just fun looking at liner notes if there’s cool images in it.

BM: Oh yeah. That’s one of the things I missed when albums became CDs, the artwork tended to diminish a lot. I remember a lot of the ’70s albums, my god, they were big multi-fold out packages, posters, stickers, I mean, it was great.

LK: Yes, yes!

BM: But CDs came along, and album artwork took a back seat.

LK: Yes, and for a long time it did. With Nightmare, routinely we’re doing 16 page, full-color booklets. And that’s a lot of art. That’s a printing expense, so I’m hoping that people are planning to see these rather than downloading them, because we put out a premium package.

BM: Well yeah, I definitely – downloading to me is convenient, but I like touching things. I like the tactile feeling. I like to hold a booklet in my hand and look at it and refer to it often.

LK: Yeah, you have some sense of ownership then. You possess the music in that form, I think. It’s just kind of cooler as a collector, that kind of stuff.

BM: Let me ask you about Nightmare Records, since we’re touching on the subject here. What prompted you to start that label, and has it been as much work as you thought it would be, or less work, or about the same as? Describe what it’s been like.

LK: It’s been a lot more work than I thought it would be. But it’s work that I willingly do because I enjoy the work. It started because I’m a musician and I want to get my music out there, and I wasn’t gonna wait around for some suit to come and pick it up, you know? And you know, I also (as a musician), heard so many horror stories about the major record companies out there and musicians getting the shaft. And I started analyzing what it was that I was hearing, half of it being that musicians were just so excited to get the deal, that they would sign anything, you know what I mean? And then, they’d whine about it later. Because they got what they wanted, but they realized later that what they wanted wasn’t really what they wanted, you know? [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Yeah.

LK: So I really figured that the longer I looked at and heard about that, I thought, “You know, I’m just gonna create a demand by selling my stuff, and then if something comes along, we’ll look at those kinds of deals. I’m not actively going to seek them out at this moment, but I’m going to do what I need to do to get my product out there.” So it started as a venue to get my music out. And it started out simple enough, off the stage. And Jim and I, when we were playing around the midwest, basically we created a fictitious label, Nightmare Records, and put it on our CDs and tapes, at that time, and were selling stuff off the stage – not really off the stage, we got a merch person – but essentially out of our trunk. So yeah, it was doing really well. We moved like many thousand CDs off the stage, with releases in a couple years. So, that was really good.

BM: Yeah, that’s very good.

LK: [laughs] I was really happy with it.

BM: How does your vantage point of being a musician yourself help when bands approach you to sign to Nightmare Records? How does that help the deal, the process, when bands come to you to sign up? Can you put yourself in their shoes? Do they know what it’s like because they know you are where they are? How does that whole process work?

LK: I imagine it’s a positive thing, from their perspective, because I do walk in their shoes, in that type of situation. So…my wife is making faces at me. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: [Talking to his wife] Just get outta here. [laughs] Time out for a minute, I’m being pounded on. She’s torturing me.

BM: Oh no. [laughs]

LK: Ok, leave me alone, woman! [laughs, then turns back to the interview] Ok, I’m back on track here, if she’ll leave me alone. From my perspective, I think it’s good just because I can identify with them, you know, what the positives and negatives are in most situations. I can be totally honest with them and say, “Hey, this is what’s probably going to happen. But there’s always the possibility that this is gonna happen, and this is why we’re doing it this way, and if you wanna be in on that, let’s do it. If you don’t, that’s fine too, and I wish you the best of luck.” So I give them the option. It’s definitely up to the artist to decide if the deal that I offer is the right deal for them. But Nightmare is seemingly…it’s hard for me to know how big Nightmare is out there in the world, because it’s always at the same level to me. From my perspective, I’m always just working to make it bigger and more well known. But I really have no idea how well known it is out there. But it apparently is getting more well known, because I keep getting a lot better bands asking me to be on it. [laughs] And I’ve had some really good bands lately, so I think it must be getting, the word’s getting out there.

BM: Yeah. You’ve got what, 41 records on your label now?

LK: Yeah, I think actually, now it’ll be like 44, 45.

BM: Wow. And you get a lot of demos, people contacting you wanting to be on your label?

LK: All the time. In fact, I’ve got literally a couple of boxes of demos that I have not been able to listen to in the last couple months. [laughs] Yeah.

BM: Well, let’s talk about this kind of music in general. What is it about this genre that really flips all your switches? What do you like about it most?

LK: You know, I dunno. I’ve always liked proggy stuff. My favorite music has always been progressive music. I think it started out when my…well, I’d have to endure my dad’s Pink Floyd moments all the time. It wasn’t tough to endure, you know what I mean, I loved Pink Floyd, and he’d play Yes and he’d play…hmm, brain fart…

BM: There’s a lot of them from that era. Are you thinking Rush, Kansas, ELP?

LK: Well yeah, those were more my era. He wasn’t that young.

BM: [laughs]

LK: [laughs] So I was listening to Rush and Styx and Journey and Kansas and Boston, but they were not progressive. So I was really into the melodic thing and the prog thing. And Foreigner was one of my favorite bands, just because they were all great songs.

BM: Yeah. I’m fairly good friends with Ian McDonald. You know, he used to be in Foreigner and King Crimson. And he used to tell me stories about – it’s almost like what they say about making laws and sausages: you don’t want to know too much about how it’s made. You don’t want to know about the behind the scenes of a band, because it taints your whole view of things.

LK: Yeah, yes. No question.

BM: [laughs] But I agree.

LK: Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

BM: Yeah, definitely.

LK: [laughs] The great and powerful Oz. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] How old are you, Lance?

LK: How old? Here’s what you write. You write, “29, again.”

BM: “29 again.” [laughs] Okay.

LK: [laughs] I’m 29 again. And I’ve been 29 for quite some time.

BM: Well, that’s a good age.

LK: [laughs]

BM: What does it take…let’s say you get a new album, whatever kind it is, from whatever group, even one you’ve listened to a long time. What is it about that album that will blow you away? If it’s an album that you think is great, what is it you’re hearing for the first time that really appeals to you? Is it the vocals, is it the guitar, is it the production? What has to grab you for you to call it a great album?

LK: It’s all gotta be there. I’m anal and I’m picky. I think that the songs have to set in the first listen. Although, I don’t always do that. There might be some that grab me when I’ve listened to it about three or four times, I’m like, “Wow, this is –” But even if that is the case the first time through, they have to be good. They have to give me something the first time through. And by give me something, I mean I wanna hear a good singer, I wanna hear a good riff, good guitar tone, good production, good mix. I don’t wanna have to go, “This needs work. This is not done yet. This needs to be taken back to the studio and produced properly.” Or, “This guy’s guitar tone is terrible” or, “That drummer’s got a bad meter,” you know? It’s all gotta be there. Everybody in the band’s gotta be doing their part and the songs have to be accessible, but yet I like musicians that know how to play really, really well, put in some tasty stuff that will make you go wow, and yet not lose sight of that there are non-musicians listening to this stuff, you know?

BM: [laughs] So you’re somebody should tell Dream Theater, “Hey, you know, maybe you took it too far.” [laughs]

LK: You know, I love Dream Theater. They opened up — the first time I heard them, I remember my band Gemini Nights was playing down in Chicago, and we were on our way back, and I ran into somebody that knew who I was, and I’m not quite sure who he was, but he wanted to play me some Dream Theater. We had just stopped at some Quickie Mart coming back to Minneapolis from Chicago, and this guy goes, “Hey, you gotta check this out” from his car, and he plays me this Dream Theater. I’m like, “WOW.” and he played When Dream and Day Unite, and I’m like, “WOW, I like that!” So that’s my little Dream Theater story. Obviously, at that point when they came out, nobody else was really doing that and hadn’t been for a while, you know?

BM: That’s true.

LK: And they’d taken the Kansas type of vibe and they put balls to it. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: Metalli-Kansas, or something. [laughs] You know, “Yeah, I like this!” It’s just like, “Yeah, ok. I wanna do that.” But I’d been listening to a lot of ’Ryche before that. They were just a simplified version of [Dream Theater], kind of a similar vibe, rock that was tasty and in the pocket, not the technician that Portnoy is, but still, I love that band too.

BM: Oh yeah. I liked them up until about Promised Land. Their latest one [Mindcrime II] I think is pretty good, really.

LK: Yeah, it is. It is. And I had to actually, I stopped listening to them after Empire, intentionally, because I thought that my style was being influenced a little too much by Geoff Tate. So I needed to get away from that.

BM: [laughs] Well you do have some of those soaring vocals on some of these, what is it, “Sleepy Hollow” from Melancholy Beast? You hit those stratospheric notes and I’m thinking, “Gee, that sounds like Geoff Tate.”

LK: Yeah.

BM: That’s great.

LK: Yep, well, you know. Every band I’ve ever been in has always wanted me to get those out, because I think that most bands haven’t – well, a lot of them don’t have a singer that can hit those notes, and they’re like, “Do it all the time. Do it all the time.” [laughs] And it’s like, “Dude, it’s really annoying all the time.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: You gotta give them a little of that, a little of this, and save that. You can’t do that all the time, or it’s annoying. It annoys me to do that all the time.

BM: Yeah, the beginning of Melancholy Beast has that. It reminds me of like, “Queen of the Ryche.” That’s a killer song! I love the Melancholy Beast album.

LK: Yep, that one, that wasn’t actually my idea for that note. That was Michael. He goes, “Dude you gotta really wail right here.” [laughs] Again, the guitar player with the new toy, you know? “Do it right here!”

BM: [laughs] Earlier you had mentioned the suits, or the music industry. If that’s one thing I’ve heard from…I’ve talked to a lot of these people, in fact a lot of the ones you mentioned – the guys in Yes, ELP, King Crimson – and they all said the same thing to me. They all said, in about ’79, the suits moved in and the music industry’s gone downhill since.

LK: Well, you know what it became, it became a business of numbers instead of music.

BM: Oh yeah.

LK: And it is a business. So it’s understandable it could go that route. But I think that the earlier execs were truly music fans and when you’ve got people like Adrian Belew saying it, you know he’s on the…what’s the term I want to use – the scrim, for lack of a better one. He’s on the outs of accessibility. So they’re going to be going, “This guy’s a little far out. Why don’t we go with something that’s going to make us a little more money?” [laughs] You know? Instead of going, “What is just really cool and unique?” I don’t always have the luxury of going, “What is really cool and unique?” I usually just go, “What do I really like?” when it comes in.

BM: So in terms of your Nightmare Records position? You look at what you like, rather than –

LK: What I like. And I figure, if I like it, other people will. And that’s really all I can do, is go from there. I could second-guess it, and go, “Well, it’s played well, and everything’s there.” I think what is happening far to often in the main, larger company is that they’re formulating a sound, or they found a new band that has done really well, and they’re going, “Ok, we’ve got to cookie-cutter a few more that sound just like that, and put them out there.” You know what I mean?

BM: Yeah. You know John Wetton, the musician? He was in Asia and King Crimson?

LK: Uh-huh. Yeah.

BM: He told me once that what record labels are looking for these days is the musical equivalent of Lethal Weapon 4.

LK: Yeah! [laughs]

BM: They just want the thing that sounds like what they did before. [laughs]

LK: [laughs] That’s classic, that’s classic! That’s perfect! [laughs]

BM: But you know what, if it wasn’t for the record companies, the industry being the way it is today, do you think Nightmare Records would exist?

LK: Probably not. Well, it may, it may not have been so successful, because I’m filling a void, I’m filling a niche. What I consider the majors have just left untapped, just walked away from it. And what I consider, from my time, where I come from, the ’80s are gone. What that music has turned into now in the new millennia, where the new musicians in metal lie. When you’re listing to current radio, I’ll give credit where credit is due. There are some bands, some newer bands, that do have talent, are able to play. And are getting more prolific. I mean, some of the newer bands like Hoobastank. Terrible name. But I like the band. And they write good songs, they’ve got a good singer.

BM: You know what’s going on out there as well, is you’ve got the record labels complaining that the internet is ruining sales, either downloads or iTunes –

LK: Oh boy!

BM: — But you’ve got other labels, other bands or labels such as yours that seem to thrive on the internet. What is the difference in perspective, here? Why do you use it to your advantage?

LK: It’s numbers. It’s simply numbers. They’re complaining and their complaints are probably justified for what they have set up – their sales chain, if you will, their model, their business model, how they had it set up – this put a huge damper on it. The Internet came along, people get on, they can rip a CD and upload it and people can download it. And boy, they didn’t have control over that early on. They had no idea how to control that, and nobody really did, and it just changed the face of music again. It’s constantly morphing. And then, you get the fact that people digitally copy the CD at home, and take it back if they want, you can burn the CD and take it back, you know, “It has scratches in it.” And there are a lot of stores that have changed their business thing on that. But originally, you were able to do that if there was a problem. A lot of stores won’t take back CDs if they’re opened now. But anyway, I think that those kinds of things have changed the scene quite a bit and now you look at overall sales figures for major labels to where they used to be millions. Look at Michael Jackson.

BM: [laughs] I’d rather not.

LK: Good example, right? It was 1986 or ’85 or whatever it was. Anyway, he sold millions and millions and millions of CDs, right? Like 20 million copies or something of that album. Well, ok, you take an artist now, like a well-known artist like Mariah Carey. She comes out with a brand-new CD, and she’s been out of the picture for three or four years. You know it’s gonna be big, right? Big now is 350,000 copies, or 400,000 copies. That’s the difference it’s made in their sales, their bottom line. It’s huge, Dude!

BM: [laughs]

LK: Huge! Because as soon as that CD comes out, it’s all over the Internet. It’s all over all kinds of talent sites. If somebody uploads it now – every day, there are more web sites popping up in Russia, or you know, offering your downloads for 30 cents instead of a dollar or five cents instead of a dollar, whatever. They’re everywhere. So every day, it’s changing. You don’t know. You just do the best you can.

BM: I know. You’ve mentioned that you’re in front of the computer a lot. You’re on the internet a lot. You’re on MySpace at least three times that I can see, with your own thing, and Pyramaze, and Nightmare. You post to the ProgPower forum. How do you manage to stay in shape while sitting in front of that damn computer all the time? What do you do?

LK: I, well, I do a couple of days of Muay Thai boxing.

BM: Oh really?

LK: Yeah, I take my son, and we started – well, before he was born, I had started a little. I think I was only going for about six months or so, then he came along and life changed dramatically. I had to find my balance. But by the time he was just before his fifth birthday, I think we started about two months before that, we started going in. And so we were doing that two or three times a week, and I would go sometimes, more, earlier on. Right now I’m just too busy, I can only make it in two times a week. But that’s how I maintain, anyway. I’m not getting all ripped up. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: But I’m able to maintain, anyway. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a wicked lot of fun, I love it. I love kickboxing.

BM: Well how important is the Internet to the things you’re doing, like your MySpace connections, your ProgPower posting?

LK: Well, these days, you know, I don’t know.

BM: Are you doing it for fun, or is it more of a business decision, or what is that?

LK: What’s that?

BM: Just being all over, like MySpace, posting a lot.

LK: It’s definitely business. I mean, the web presence thing is huge. I could be spending all my time on e-mail and my AOL box, if I wanted to. Because the more messages you respond to, the more you get. It is a vicious cycle. So I’ve had to kind of balance it out and I tend to spend a little too much time online, I think. “No, I’m doing an interview. It’s not working, honey.” [laughs] “I’m really not working.”

BM: No, this is the fun part of life. [laughs]

LK: Yeah.

BM: Is your son sort of following in your footsteps, the way you were following in your dad’s footsteps regarding music? Or does he like the stuff you make, or does he have his own sort of taste?

LK: You know, I could let him tell ya.

BM: Oh really.

LK: He’s right here. [laughs, then speaks to his son] You wanna talk to this guy?

BM: Sure! That’d be great.

LK: [Talking to son] It’s just a simple question about your music taste, Tommy. You can just answer me. He wants to know if you like the kind of music I like, or do you have your own musical tastes. [pause] Yeah, do you like the kind of music that I make and the kind of music I listen to? or would you rather listen to the radio stuff? [pause] Oh, ok. Is there any other kind of music you like? [pause]

BM: What did he say?

LK: He started playing classical violin.

BM: Oh really?

LK: Just last year. And so he kind of likes classical violin as well, but he likes the prog metal stuff. And he also – we got him a PlayStation game, Guitar Hero. That is just wicked fun! It is so cool to play. I love playing it myself. Anyway, he just got totally addicted to it, and he was playing along, so he says he likes that kind of music too. And there’s a lot of more current and classic stuff on there. I mean, there’s Iron Man to – [speaks to son again] What’s one of the newer bands on there, Tommy? Zombie and – and what’s one of the newer bands on there? Oh, Queens of the Stone Age kind of stuff. Actually, they’re kind of a cool band. Pink Floyd meets new metal.

BM: [laughs] But at least it’s not to the point where you start taking abbot Pyramaze and he’s like, “Oh Dad, cut it out with that stuff.”

LK: No, no, he loves it. He loves it. He was a huge Balance of Power fan. He really likes that stuff, which is nice for me. You don’t really have a choice in this house, though. You have to hear it. [laughs] Mary says, “The recording is painful.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: “You have to hear him sing the same line too many times sometimes!” [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Let me ask you about ProgPower itself, the festival. What does it mean for Pyramaze to play at ProgPower? Is this a big deal for you guys, or is this just another gig?

LK: Well, we haven’t had enough to have it not be a big deal for us. Pyramaze hasn’t played that many times to where it’s just another gig, so ProgPower is gonna be a big deal for us.

BM: What do you think audiences can expect from Pyramaze?

LK: What is it that they can expect from us?

BM: Yeah. What are audiences gonna expect from Pyramaze at ProgPower?

LK: Fast, ferocious metal played with intensity and emotion.

BM: [laughs] Really!

LK: Well, yeah, I mean that’s what we are. That’s what we do. That’s the kind of music we are. What I really like about this band when we play live is that there’s – that energy is a lot of fun. ’cause we have a lot faster songs than any band I’ve ever played in before, and that translates really cool live, ’cause it creates this neat energy in the crowd, where they’re really pumped up. I remember doing the Balance of Power music that was fun to listen to. But it’s kind of introspective and you’re kinda grooving and you’re laid back, kinda being mellow, and consequently, the band was kinda like, “Are they getting it?” There isn’t that huge energy. You know what I mean? You’re not like, “Oh YEAH!” With Pyramaze, you’re like, “YEAH!” [laughs] So that’s more fun to play to, I tell ya.

BM: Is it gonna be a strictly Pyramaze set, or are you going to have any surprises of songs from somewhere else.

LK: We only have about 40 minutes, 45 minutes, maybe. So it’s all gonna be Pyramaze, Baby!

BM: [laughs]

LK: No filler! [laughs]

BM: No filler. [laughs] What band besides your own are you looking forward to seeing and hearing at ProgPower?

LK: I like Jorn a lot. I’ve been a huge Jorn Lande fan for a long time. I love his voice. There are quite a few bands that I have actually never heard before, believe it or not. Thunderstone, and a few other ones. Seems like a lot of people are interested in Mercenary, so I’m gonna check them out too, because it seems a lot of people are digging on that. And then Evergrey, I’ve played with before, so I know what they’re about. And they’re a good band too. Who am I really – I’m curious about Savage Circus, ’cause a lot of people have been talking about them.

BM: Do you like Blind Guardian?

LK: I haven’t heard them, so I’m gonna have to find out what they’re about. But I’ll be checking them out. Am I a Blind Guardian fan, is that what you said?

BM: Yeah. That’s what they sound like.

LK: Is that what they sound like? Ok, well yeah, Blind Guardian’s good. I mean, that’s a pretty straightforward Power Metal thing though, isn’t it?

BM: Yeah. What is it you like most about playing live?

LK: Well, it’s just the exchange of energy with the crowd. Bottom line, it’s all about the energy. All about the live, loud volume, immersing yourself in that music and focusing it out like a magician would, just blast the audience with it, and then having them send you back a lot of this, “WUAAAAAAH!” you know?

BM: You like that, really?

LK: The band picks up on that, and then we send it back to them, and they send it back, and it’s just this big reciprocal kind of thing, that’s really cool.

BM: Well, have you ever been in a situation then, where the crowd was too exuberant, too wild? Did you ever worry about a situation, or was it always pretty –

LK: Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah.

BM: Well, see what you do? [laughs]

LK: It comes down to the song so much, and how much the band is enjoying what they’re doing with it. But yeah, I remember, there are certain songs. I haven’t had that, really in an original band, I haven’t written songs that have gotten people so out of control, but in the cover band, there were a few bands that we would play, like Rage Against the Machine. And you’d play like, I don’t know what the name of the song was, but there was a Rage Against the Machine tune that would inevitably always end in a fight. Both getting kicked out of the bar by the bouncers. Every time we did it. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] So did you just do it to watch that happen? Or did you hope for a different outcome?

LK: No, no. They actually stopped letting us play it.

BM: Oh really.

LK: Yeah. They actually said, “You know what, you can’t play that song because it creates too many problems.” But it was always fun to watch the audience just go nuts. [laughs]

BM: I’d like to see you guys over here. Do you ever jump the pond and come over to Michigan?

LK: Yeah, well you know, we’ve been talking about doing that. We’ll see. There seems to be a lot of people interested in helping us right now, which is nice. The buzz is out there, and there’s an excitement about the band that’s really gratifying. People are starting to get onto it, and wanna spread the word. So it’s very possible, that we’ll be able to do that soon.

BM: Good.

LK: ’Cause you know, it’s supply and demand. If there is the demand, then you really expect to go out and supply it and be able to not starve.

BM: Well, you ought to be able to hit Detroit for sure. But Grand Rapids is a pretty major metal town, as Tammy Z has probably told you. Evergrey’s going to be here, so you could probably bring your band over pretty easily.

LK: It would be nice, like Evergrey hooked up with Iced Earth and did that tour, and that helped them a lot. We need to hook up on a tour like that.

BM: Are you looking to be a supporting band, then, to a larger one?

LK: I think it would be the best to do that, in my perspective. Because you get in front of a lot of people that way. You need to, we’re in a building stage, and you can’t really expect a band that’s as young as us to go out and — at least I don’t expect it, and I don’t think we’re quite there yet, to where we could go out and be a headliner and do really well. But, things change quick, so who knows? It might be that way soon.

BM: Let’s talk about Pyramaze for a while. Where did that name come from? And am I pronouncing it right – PEER-a maze? Did Michael bring that name to you, or did you guys come up with it together?

LK: Yeah, it’s PEER-amaze. Michael came up with that himself, and it’s just a combination of words, you know. It’s something that nobody else is using. He combined pyramid and maze. And wanted to come up with something that was different than anybody else had.

BM: Well that’s always the best way to pick, like, business names too. Just put strange words together. That’s cool.

LK: Yep, so that’s what he did. And I like it. A lot of people, because of the first album – the first album had the flaming guy on it…so the natural association is –

BM: Something to do with fire.

LK: – pyromaniac. Yeah. PIE-ramaze. But that’s a natural association, and I’m pretty used to it. It’s normal.

BM: [laughs] Well, your band’s web site bio page just simply says, “Lance was approached with the material and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze.”

LK: Uh-huh. Is that all it says?

BM: That’s all it says. I wanna ask ya, what was it about that material that made you say Yes?

LK: Well, that’s not completely accurate. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Well good, give me an explanation here.

LK: I was approached with the material and I said yes I would sing on the album. I didn’t say I’d become part of the band, as far as that goes. They gave me an offer to sing on the album, which was very attractive, and I liked the material, and I just basically said that I would sing on it. And by the time I finished with it, there was such a – I mean, I knew I liked the material to begin with, but I didn’t realize what it was gonna become, how good it was really gonna gel. And by the end of it, I was really impressed. I was like, “Wow, I like this. I could do this.” And they were equally in the same mode, and they offered me a – they wanted me to become the full-time vocalist for the band. And I said, “Well, you know, I think I can do that. I like this stuff.” [laughs] But there was quite a lapse of time in between there.

BM: Well, the web site made it sound like it was instantaneous. It’s like, “Oh, I like this. Count me in.”

LK: Which web site is that on?

BM: It’s the Pyramaze site.

LK: Yeah, they must have changed that bio around quite a bit, because that’s not the way it used to read. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Well, it’s down in a section called “the Debut Album”. So, I don’t know. I printed it out. I was like, “Wow, that was fast. He must have really liked it.”

LK: Yeah, you should check – there’s a bio on me on the instrumental site too. And then I actually have a bio here that I redid, I could e-mail to you.

BM: Oh, that would be great.

LK: Let me just see here, where that is. Hold on a second. I’m going to bring that up, and put down the cell phone for a second.

BM: Sure.

[pause]

LK: Photos, lots of photos. Flyers, one-sheets, which has an edited version of the bio in there probably too. Why don’t I just send you the one-sheet really quick.

BM: Yeah. Thanks. Well, what do you remember most about the recording of Melancholy Beast? What’s your most vivid memory of that time?

LK: Now we’re talking two years ago, now. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: Longer, actually. It’s like two and a half years, three years ago now, almost, I would have started recording that. You know, what I remember most about it is a lot of technical problems with my new rig. I had gotten a really light version of ProTools. And the computer that I was working on was not really set up for it. It wasn’t even a light version of ProTools, I think it was the free version that they have, downloadable, on their web site. So I only had, I think, eight tracks that I could record with. And so, what we did, is have them do some rough mixes, just stereo mixes that I flowed into ProTools, and then I had like six tracks that I can record on. And what I’d do is, after each song was completed, I’d have to kind of start all over again with everything, with a new session, because, for some reason the computer was giving me grief. It just was not set up properly for it, mainly because I think I had so many programs on it, and there was so much in its system, that it just wasn’t digging what I was trying to do with it. It was having a hard time mixing eight tracks.

BM: Just kind of memory overload?

LK: Yeah. It just wasn’t handling it. It was an iMac with like, a 300 MB processor in it, you know. And it just wasn’t really the right machine for that. But it did end up doing what I needed it to do in the long run, it just took a hell of a long time to do it. And I was on a learning curve with ProTools, because I had never used it before.

BM: Oh man, that’s doubly bad!

LK: Yeah, so it was one of those things, to where, “AAAUGH!” And Jacob, the producer, was giving me all these technical things that he wanted me to do, which actually were not that difficult to do in the long run, and helpful, because it allowed me to give him what he needed, so it would take him less time on his end of it. But you know, it took me a long time to figure out a lot of it. So, when I finally got a real computer for ProTools, and I got a real version of ProTools, with really great plug-ins, it was SO nice! [laughs] So nice! So working on the new Pyramaze was just a dream in comparison.

BM: Well, looking back on the whole thing now, do you think fondly of Melancholy Beast, or did it seem like a pain in the ass to you?

LK: Oh no, I still think fondly on it. And my wife thinks it was a pain in the ass. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: I was away a lot longer than she would have liked, working on it all the time. And it was at a bad time, too, actually with just family stuff. My father-in-law was in the hospital and ended up passing away during that time that I was working on it. So that was really not a good thing.

BM: I’m sorry to hear that.

LK: That made it slightly a negative in that aspect, but you don’t remember that until somebody asks you about it. Then you go, “Oh yeah, I guess there were some tough times in there.”

BM: Oh great, I’m dredging up some bad memories for ya, aren’t I?

LK: [laughs] All in all, when it was completed, I was really happy with the work.

BM: What’s your favorite track off the album? The one you really just enjoy playing?

LK: Melancholy Beast? It depends on if you’re talking about listening – you know, there’s a couple that I really, really like. I like “Mighty Abyss.” I like “The Journey.” “The Journey” is a lot of fun to play live. And you know, I like the whole album, but those two were ones that stuck out to me, for whatever reason now and again. And “Power of Imagination” also. I really like that track. Yeah.

BM: Tell me – let’s do this exercise with Legend of the Bone Carver. What do you remember most about recording that? What’s your most vivid memory of it?

LK: Well, it was a lot easier. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: [laughs] I had had a lot of practice with ProTools by that time, doing the Avian album. Recording and mixing, so I’d gotten really pretty good at ProTools by that time. So yeah, it was easy breezy in comparison and I flew through it, really, in less than half the time. I guess with Bone Carver, it wasn’t all that different than most of the albums I’ve done. You start with something, and you start recording your ideas, and you go through the album. By the end of the album, you kind of get a vibe, a groove going, so you go back to the beginning of the album, and you kind of start again and kind of go through everything, make sure it’s up to snuff with what you’re finishing with at the end, so the album doesn’t progressively always get better. [laughs] Starts out weak, gets stronger all the way through. No, no, that’s not a good way to write an album. You want the album to hit you in the face right away, and be really strong at first. Even if you have a few weak songs, it’s better to put them at the end of the album, not in front.

BM: [laughs]

LK: In regards to anything really that stood out, I’d have to look at the album cover and see if anything sticks out. Or the song list, see if something sticks out at me here.

BM: Great songs. It’s a great cover and great songs.

LK: Yeah. I’m really happy with it. What I liked about it is it’s the first concept album that I’ve ever worked on, that I consider to be a concept album. Jan loosely called the Avian album a concept album, and I guess I just didn’t. There are some tie-ins there, but it was more of a loose association, whereas this is really, really tied together. So I consider this one my first concept album.

BM: What’s your favorite track to listen to, and what’s your favorite track to play live?

LK: I haven’t played any of them live yet.

BM: Really? Ooh.

LK: Right. So we’ve got shows coming up, actually next month in Denmark. We’ve got three shows in Denmark in June, and then we’re playing a couple of clubs and a festival in Denmark. And then in July, we’re doing the Headbangers open air in Germany, and also the – ok, I’m getting a mind fart here – the big open air in the UK, and then also doing ProgPower this year in Atlanta. You know, we were looking at doing a US tour and kind of after ProgPower, trying to put something together, but the guys had gone and bought all their tickets already. I’m just like, “What? What are you doing?” [laughs] “Oh, it was a really good deal.” “Well, yeah, I’m sure it was. But guess what…” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: So, I don’t know. We were looking at that, and that can still happen. It’s going to cost us more to do it, but not any more than it would have cost to book the tickets later on. So they just didn’t get the great deal that they thought they were going to get. [laughs] We knew that. And we do have some other club show offers after ProgPower, so we’re thinking about that. We’re trying to round something up in New York. I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not. We would have loved to work with Epica and Kamelot, and get on that and tour around.

BM: Oh, that would be great. I hope you do, because they’re going to be in Detroit. We’ll be there.

LK: You know, it’s probably not gonna happen. We could have gotten on it, but it would have cost us a lot of money. There just wasn’t any money on the tour left in the budget, between the bands and what their expenses were and what they were getting on the clubs at the shows. We talked to the actual guy that books the shows. Fortunately, I’ve got a friend in town that’s a promoter, that actually hired that tour to come through. So they’re coming to Minneapolis, too. So he was talking to them about getting Pyramaze on there, and he said, “Yeah, you could do it, if you’ve got deep pockets.” [laughs] “If the guys can afford to stay over here and pay their own way around the countryside, then we’re all good.”

BM: Gee. Well, how does it –

LK: In the right situation, maybe that would make sense. I don’t think that was quite the right situation.

BM: Well, how do bands do it then? How would it be practical for you to do a tour? What would have to happen?

LK: Really, it comes down to supply and demand. I think there is a lot of demand for the band now, and that we wouldn’t necessarily go with that grouping of bands, because they’re going to be drawing a lot of the same people that we would be drawing anyway. It would be better for us to market ourselves with another type of metal band that would bring in a little different crowd so that it would bolster the show and support each other that way. I’m not sure that we really need to do a tour like that, unless it would be with Dream Theater or Queensryche or Megadeth or a band of that caliber, then it would make a lot of sense. With these guys, we could go out and we could do just as well on our own, I think, and pay a lot more bills. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

LK: I can’t say we’d do just as well as those two bands together drawing on our own, but I know if we get it right and we did the right marketing and we had another good band with us that would also assist the draw, we could do pretty well.

BM: Well, let me ask you something about your singing a second. Are there any songs on either of these Pyramaze albums that really challenge you as a vocalist? Or are they all just sort of a cake walk for you because you’re so good at it?

LK: I think everything I sing is a challenge for me. I do it that way kind of intentionally. I like to create stuff that isn’t boring and isn’t easy and isn’t something that just anybody could sing. So yeah, they’re all challenging in their own way. They’re all challenging and fortunately, I can reproduce them live. [laughs] They stretch my range entirely and there’s a lot of dynamics in them. I’m going from pretty low notes to pretty high notes frequently, and it’s a lot of fun.

BM: [laughs] If there’s any similarity between Pyramaze and your other bands, it’s that they’re all very energetic and upbeat. You know, they’re powerful, but not bone crushing. Is that by intention? Is this your personality, the upbeat, energetic sort of thing? ’Cause that’s the common theme I hear in all the bands that you’re in, is that they’re energetic and upbeat without being overly heavy or oppressive.

LK: Absolutely. I’m not into the bone-crunching dirge crap, that’s just depressing to listen to. I like stuff that makes me feel the power of the music, but yet is laced with lots of melodies that you feel like singing along, and I don’t know, doing a work out too if you want. [laughs] Something you can get out there and get behind on stage, have a good time. I like the Pyramaze ’cause it’s faster than most of the stuff I’ve done in the past, and that’s a lot of fun when you’re doing it live. Balance of Power, for instance. I use that a lot as an example of the differences between the two bands, because there are similarities in some ways. But Pyramaze is faster and heavier, and when you play that live, it really translates to a different energy. It’s kind of the difference if you were going to see Maiden vs. Queensryche, you know? Queensryche is going to be more you kick back in your seat and you’re gonna listen to it, and enjoy it. You know what I mean?

BM: Oh yeah, sure. I’ve seen both bands. Yeah.

LK: And Maiden, you’re gonna be up there, and your hand’s gonna be in the air and your head’s gonna be banging.

BM: Yeah.

LK: It’s totally, totally different energy, though both bands are awesome. That’s a much better example than I’ve used in the past.

BM: [laughs] Let me ask you about ProgPower. What is it that makes ProgPower so popular and successful? What is Glenn putting together that everyone seems to really love?

LK: There’s a lot of different aspects to what Glenn does that works. I haven’t analyzed it entirely, so I couldn’t tell you what all of them are. But in essence, it’s kind of a coming together of a lot of like-minded individuals, in a nice environment, in a safe, friendly kind of vibe, where it’s not too many people there, and most of the people are all kind of – well, because they’re all kind of kindred spirits, I think it’s like a big family. And everybody’s really cool to each other, and they’re all really excited to be there and meet the bands, and because all the bands do interact with people on different levels and are just wandering around a lot of the time watching other bands, because it’s kind of a mutual admiration society.

BM: [laughs]

LK: It is, you know! It’s like this cool, cool vibe. It’s not just a concert, it’s an event.

BM: Can you describe the typical Pyramaze fan?

LK: Our fans, I’ve been finding, are changing a lot. They’re a lot of teenage boys, and even some teenage girls that are really starting to dig it on the MySpace thing. But typically the nice thing is that it’s bordering quite a span. We have a lot of old lady fans, people that are in their mid forties and late thirties and twenties. I’ve got a guy on the street team that’s a huge Pyramaze fan, and he’s 54 years old. So I’m talking probably 15-50 is a pretty big demographic. I was kind of surprised, because that’s a new spread, really, for me. In the past it hasn’t nearly been that big. So music lovers, people are getting bored with what they’re getting spoon-fed by the major labels right now on the heavy end of the spectrum. There isn’t any melody left anymore. Other than the stuff that’ – I mean there’s really brutal stuff, and then there’s Nickelback and Godsmack and Disturbed and a lot of these other bands, and some of them are very good, but not very many of them are very original anymore, because everybody sounds the same. You’ve got Disturbed, you’ve got Korn. Those two bands stand out as being original. But there’s a slew of Nickelback-sounding bands out there.

BM: Well, I appreciate your time, Lance. I’ve kept you on the phone long enough. Take care. Have a great evening.

LK: You too, bye.

Lance King can be found all over the web, but most notably by visiting these sites:

www.pyramaze.com

www.nightmare-records.com

www.myspace.com/pyramaze

www.myspace.com/nightmarerecords1

www.myspace.com/avaianband

www.avaianband.com

www.myspace.com/shiningstar7

To order Lance King CDs, visit Nightmare-Records or my favorite online indulgence, www.lasercd.com. Tell Ken Golden Bill Murphy sent you.

It’s an honor to know Shane Dubose. Not only is he a nice guy, but he’a also a consummate musician — as anyone who’s seen him in one of his many bands over the years will attest.

But that’s not all. Shane is also the head honcho for ProgPowerUSA’s much-talked about and highly anticipated Pre-Party shows. This year, for ProgPower USA VII (September 14th, 2006) at The Vinyl Club (Inside Earthlink Live - upstairs), Shane has put together an event that showcases four exceptional bands: Leatherwolf, Circle II Circle, Theocracy, and Circus Maximus.

I recently spoke to Shane about his bands, his love of music, and the blood, sweat and tears that goes into making the Pre-Party concerts the unabashed successes that they are.

Without further ado, I present for your consideration Shane Dubose…

BM: Hi, this is Bill.

SD: Hi, this is Shane. How you doin’, buddy?

BM: Great! You know what? I haven’t seen you since ProgPower III.

SD: Yeah, it’s been a while. It’s been a while.

BM: What happened to your hair?

SD: Oh, it’s gone, man!

BM: Yeah, I’ve seen pictures of you on MySpace, and I thought, “Man, this isn’t the Shane I remember.” You had hair down to the middle of your back, didn’t you?

SD: I know. I sure did. I cut it off. I wanna say it was later that year.

BM: Really?

SD: I’m pretty sure it was later that year. Yeah. I just got sick of it, you know? And I had it for so many years, and heck, decided to change it out. I’m thinking about growing it back, it’s still a little short, but I just can’t get past that ugly phase you go through, you know what I mean?

BM: Yeah. [laughs]

SD: So I just keep shaving it all off. [laughs]

BM: Well, there are a whole lot of things to ask you about. Let me start with the question that comes to mind when I look at MySpace is this: you’re in Krucible, you’ve got the Mindcrime thing going…so where do you find the time to put together a pre-show party for ProgPower?

SD: It’s crazy. I’ll tell ya, this year will be the first year that I’ve gone back in with this project, gone into ProgPower. Before, I guess to give you kind of a full history, this will be the fifth year that I’ve done the Pre-Party. And the very first one that we did, I originally thought of the idea for doing this for the band I was in at the time, which was Z-Lot-Z. Now, this band I’m in now is sort of a reformation of that band. But that band, I left the band before ProgPower that year, so we didn’t get to play. I played with another band, as a matter of fact, at that time, but I ended up going through some different things. I played in Outworld for a while, I played in Stride for a while, and everything kind of came back full circle this year and I got back involved with this. It’s a lot. You know, things seem to be going pretty smoothly so far. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

SD: Yeah, last year was a little crazy ’cause the wife was pregnant and the baby was born right before ProgPower, so that was crazy. But this year seems to be going pretty smooth.

BM: Wow. What does it take to do what you do? For all the people who just kind of show up at ProgPower and dig the music and all that, what’s going on behind the scenes? How do you put a Pre-Party show together?

SD: Well, I tell you what, man. The whole thing really was…it’s a win-win, you know? When I first started the thing, I approached Glenn about it, ’cause he had a Pre-Party, but they just had local bands playing, and the bands were not even in the genre that we are there for. They were just kind of the new metal stuff and I thought it was just kind of ho-hum at the party and stuff. So I approached him about it, and he said, “Well, if you want to do it, take it and run.” So I did, and I started it off to where it was gonna be more of a chance for bands that are kind of on the cusp to play for people who can possibly make a difference, you know? That being said, it’s kind of grown a little bit out of that now, into something a lot bigger. It’s kind of taken on a life of it’s own. And it’s really kind of done it all by itself. [laughs] You know, we really haven’t done anything other than provide the bands, you know, and make it happen, and the logistics at the show.

BM: Oh yeah.

SD: You know, it’s just kind of taken on a life of it’s own. The main thing I want to do is make sure that I do keep one band every year, at least, that is unsigned, and at least is still playing the show. This year, we got three signed acts, and then we have Theocracy playing first. So I just want to make sure that we have that one band in the fold. It actually worked. My whole grand scheme actually worked for Stride two years ago. They played the Pre-Party, then they got signed, and the next year they played on the main stage.

BM: Which band is that?

SD: Stride.

BM: Oh yeah, great band!

SD: So it worked for them. You know, I was in the band for a while, and helped them out with a lot of things, and then kind of just went in different directions musically, I think more than anything else. But still continued to help them along the process, and they got on the main stage, played last year, and got a deal with Ken Golden and Sensory. Things worked out great for those guys, and I’m hoping to make that happen more. So, you know.

BM: Well, what physically…how do you — let me ask you about the bands. There are four really good bands you’ve got set up.

SD: Right.

BM: How did you pick them? What were your criteria?

SD: Well, kinda hard to say. There are a lot of choices. First of all, I have to like the band, number one. Secondly, a lot of its logistics, because I just can’t afford to have a bunch of international bands like Glenn. It’s not to that stage yet. Just last year was the first year I got an international band. We got Dreamscape back over. And it seemed to really work well last year, bringing a band that played the main stage last year to come back and play the Pre-Party in a bigger, larger capacity, as far as a longer set, and that type of thing. And they loved it. Dreamscape loved it so much, well heck, let’s try it again this year. Circus Maximus was all for it, and I love that band. I mean their new album, The 1st Chapter, what a great album that is.

BM: Yeah, I agree with ya.

SD: And my guitar player is also in Leatherwolf, so that worked out perfect.

BM: Really?

SD: Yeah. Eric Halpern. He also played in Destiny’s End and Helstar. So he’s been around a bit, and so that worked out great for Leatherwolf. And Circus Maximus, I mean Circle II Circle — we’ve got two Circus and Circle bands, and I kind of confuse them. But anyway, that worked out through Glenn, because, I don’t know how in detail I should get, let’s just say thanks to Glenn for the assist on that one. You know? He kind of helped me out with that one, which is great. They kind of, they’ve been one to get back. He’s been wanting them back and it just didn’t quite work out just yet, and this thing came open, and I said well man, I have headlining band material, but if they want in, they want to headline this show, bring ’em on. So we worked it out, you know?

BM: That’s great. When you approach bands for this, are they like, oh yeah, ProgPower, sign me up? Or do you have to convince them at all?

SD: No, there’s no convincing. I had a band turn me down this year, and that was the first time that’s happened, but I think I kind of reached a little on it, you know what I mean? But most of the time –

BM: What band is that?

SD: They played ProgPower before.

BM: Really?

SD: Yeah, yeah. I really wanted to get them. See, logistically it would have worked, ’cause they’re in the states. So I really wanted to get them. I just don’t think the time was right for them, they were going through a bass player change, and just settling in with their singer and that type of thing. They also just turned down the metal fest in Chicago, I believe, if I’m not mistaken. But I think that next year that might be a better possibility. It’s hard to say. But for the most part, Bill, the bands approach me.

BM: Really? That’s a good position to be in.

SD: For the most part. I mean, I have, dude, you wouldn’t believe the amount of CDs and you know, I just get them all the time. And mostly from bands that are on the cusp, so to speak, wanting to play the show. And like I said, it’s kind of grown out. I can kind of pick and choose at this point, you know, who I want. I have a list. It’s sorta like the way Glenn does it, but not exactly. I’ll have a list of, and I have to keep it kind of scaled down because of finances, but I have a list of, you know, my first list and my second list. And then my first list, my alternate list, and then I have my unsigned list. That’s kinda what it turned into. You know, I go for the first first, and the alternate after that, and this year, it was out of like 5 or 6 different bands and this was the way it turned out.

BM: How does it work? Does Glenn like, give you a budget, and say, “Here’s ten grand, Shane”?

SD: No, no, it’s completely self-financed through the show.

BM: Is it really?

SD: This show stands on it’s own from ProgPower. There’s no financial support from Glenn.

BM: Wow, that’s awesome.

SD: Yeah, it’s really worked out great. Like I said, it’s a win-win. Everybody’s already there, you know what I mean? They’re already coming in for the big show. So it’s just a why not? I told him when I started this thing, I was like, man, what an opportunity this is for other bands. And see, we didn’t start off in, you were at the third one, we were at the Riviera that year –

BM: Yep, I remember that.

SD: — And I loved that club, and that was a great place. And that was really even more, I guess, detached from the main show, because it was held at a different location. Now it’s closer to the main show, it’s in the same building. It’s upstairs from the main venue. So this will be our third different venue, actually last year was the first year in the loft, but it works out great. We do kind of share some of the back line with Glenn if needed. I’ll just rent or whatever a day early. For the most part, we have one band on the show that provides the back line for all the other bands. And we do it like that. And so it’s worked out great so far. Last year we did the acoustic set with DC Cooper and with Orphaned Land, and that was just fantastic. The biggest problem with that was logistics in the sound department. It was kind of difficult because DC played third, Orphanland played second, so we went from Outworld playing first a full-on power set, then two acoustic sets, then Dreamscape last with the full-on power set. So the switch over was a little bit different. And kinda challenging. And I had some kind of oddball instruments that we rented, and so that was cool.

BM: Well I gotta tell you, the Pre-Party is just as much of a great gig as the main show itself. I mean, to me, I look forward to these bands just as much as any I’ll see the next day.

SD: I really appreciate that, man, I tell ya. For me, it’s really become a blessing. It’s just I got lucky. I’ll be honest with you, man, I just got lucky.

BM: [laughs]

SD: And I don’t take any credit for this, I’m just the beneficiary of this, really. This is all Glenn. This is Glenn’s baby. Even the whole Pre-Party. I mean, it was my idea, but you know, Glenn allows this to happen. We would not have the chance to do this for any other bands at all if it wasn’t for his cooperation with it, you know? And the club, too, for that matter. The Earthlink, they’ve been great.

BM: It’s a good venue. It’s a nice size.

SD: Oh certainly, certainly. And even the loft, you know, it’s not nearly as big as of course the main venue, but it’s still plenty big for what we want to do. It’ll hold about 1000 people, you know, the stage isn’t as big, but heck, I mean we don’t need that. It would be great to have that big stage, but in no way would I push for that, and I don’t want that. I’d rather keep it in a smaller, more up close, up front, personal type thing. I think that’s kind of part of the appeal of it too.

BM: Well yeah. It’s a little more intimate. I can see that.

SD: Yeah, I like that intimacy. I think it works well. I think the bands like it too. Everybody has just been really happy so far. This year I’m hoping everything stays the same. You know, and I’m tellin’ ya, the European bands have just been so gracious, man. Orphanland and Dreamscape was just so awesome last year, and the Circus Maximus guys are just fantastic guys. I mean, just to come over here again, just shows you how much fun they had last year, know what I mean? Because they’re not making a whole bunch of money. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

SD: We just don’t have that kind of finances to pay these guys a bunch of money. I mean, we’ll cover their expenses and give them a little bit more, as much as we can. And it’s just great that they’re able to come back over here and are so happy about it. Hang on one second, man, my dog’s trying to get to another dog…[sound of barking] Hey, get over here! Get out, go! Come on, go! [Shane returns to phone] Don’t ever buy a bulldog, man.

BM: [laughs] No, I’m a cat person, actually.

SD: Buddy, we are too. We have three cats and this bulldog, and good lord! He’s a mess!

BM: [laughs] This is your fifth year doing this. Has it been five consecutive?

SD: Yes.

BM: Ok, since, wow, since the second one or third one, right?

SD: Um, since the third one, yeah. The third one was the first year.

BM: Oh really.

SD: Yeah, so you were at the first year. I played that one.

BM: Yeah, I remember.

SD: With Halcyon’s Way, so yeah, that was the first year. And gosh, I… You know we had that year was Cea Serin and Magistral and Persephone’s Dream. The second year was Stride and Primary and Category Five. Then the third year we had to go into the downstairs from the venue ’cause the loft wasn’t ready yet. We were gonna do it in the loft, but we did it in the vinyl club the third year, and that was Enertia, Prototype, Magistral once again, and who was the fourth band? Now I’m losing my mind. These guys are gonna kill me. I can’t remember the fourth band. [laughs]

BM: We’ll fill in the blanks later.

SD: Yeah. Yeah, we’ll fill it in. Then last year was when it really got a lot bigger. Prototype was really the first bigger band I guess that I billed. And then from that it just got, you know, the next year, man, it blew up.

BM: How did this guy from Texas hook up with Glenn from Atlanta anyway? How did you connect with him?

SD: The first year, at ProgPower Atlanta, I mean in Chicago, my guitar player played in Destiny’s End, like I was telling you before, and he got us into the show. Working with Destiny’s End. And my band (Z-Lot-Z) was also working with Molten Metal at the time and Molten Metal was a vendor. So we got in through Molten Metal and Eric with Destiny’s End, and we helped work with Molten Metal and the vendor booth and we just got to hanging out and meeting Glenn and that type of thing. And the next year was the first year in Atlanta. The show was of course at the Earthlink, but the Pre-Party was at the Cotton Club, and the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was upstairs, the Cotton Club was downstairs. And the Tabernacle actually the same night, System of a Down was playing.

BM: Oh really.

SD: And we were all downstairs, and the ceiling was bowing, the people were jumping up and down, it was crazy. But that was the night I said hey, we gotta do something here. Let’s do something. And it just worked out like that, you know?

BM: That’s great.

SD: Just being a fan of the music, you know? We were all just fans and that’s how it all just came about. Glenn gets all the props, man. He’s just done a great job with this.

BM: Oh yeah. What is it you like about…well, let me ask you first about the bands. You mentioned a couple of the bands were really great guys. Circus Maximus you said was a great group of guys. Are you surprised at all that a lot of these bands have really cool guys in them, or is that par for the course for these types of bands?

SD: From what I’ve seen so far, it’s par for the course. And now, understand the bands I’ve dealt with on — I mean, I’ve worked the main show too, so I see all sides of a lot it too– but just my personal dealings with the Pre-Party, the bands that come are all very, very gracious. And they’re not the biggest bands, they’re not Stratovarius or Helloween or Angra, you know what I mean? Not saying anything bad about those guys, ’cause I’ve struck up just an incredible friendship and relationship with Felipe from Angra, so you know, you have it everywhere. But every band I’ve dealt with at the Pre-Party has just been incredibly gracious. And it seems that it’s more so from the European bands, ’cause they’re coming so far. So they got to really want to do this show. Financially, it’s not benefiting them. they’re coming to do the show. They’re making fans, of course, and they’re playing for the people. They just want to play. They love the fans, they love the music, and they just wanna play in the states. And this is really, those bands that have one or two albums out, that aren’t the biggest bands, can come over here and play this and not go in the hole, and play for their fans, and have a great weekend with everybody. It’s been great.

BM: What can the fans expect from the pre show this year?

SD: Ooh. [laughs] That’s funny, man, because I go into it so damn stressed out, hoping everything doesn’t fall apart, you know? [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

SD: Last year, we were so worried, because it’s kind of a funny story, the DC Cooper thing really just came together in about a month’s time. They weren’t booked. Avian was booked, and Avian had to pull out of the show last year, so the DC Cooper thing was a must. And they threw that together with people from all over the states, and did the acoustic stuff, and that was great. So it’s very stressful. It’s going to be a fantastic show though. I mean, we’re going to do everything–I learned my lesson from last year. I spread myself personally too thin last year. You know, I was trying to do everything, and I had a crew, but I don’t think everybody was as prepared as we really needed to be for the size the show had become. And I know what it takes ’cause I worked the main stage crew. I know what it takes. This year is going to be different. We’re going to prepare this year. And nothing went wrong, but I think I spread myself personally too thin. So this year that’s going to change. It’s going to be a great show. All the bands are psyched. I’ve talked to all the bands, everybody’s ready to fly with it, all the bands are working really hard, you know, getting ready for it, and hey man, it’s gonna be killer.

BM: Speaking of which, is there somebody from each of these bands you think I ought to talk to that would best represent them?

SD: Let me get back to you on the Circle II Circle one, because I’ve been dealing mostly with their management more than anything. I’ll get back to you.

BM: Ok, shoot me an e-mail or something in the next few weeks if you can. Give me who you think I should talk to and contact info if you can swing that.

SD: Sure, absolutely. Dean would be the one in Leatherwolf. I’ll get his name from Eric. I’ve been dealing with Eric on the Leatherwolf thing. He’s been kind of playing in-between. Mike would be the guy from Circus Maximus, singer. and Matt from Theocracy. I’ll get you all that contact information, certainly.

BM: Great.

SD: I’m kinda walking a fine line, Bill, between the management and the band and the promoter. you know, it’s a fine line, I’m doing the best I can. It’s difficult to explain. I could put my band on that bill anytime I want, you know what I mean? But how would that look, you know what I’m saying?

BM: Well, a little self-promotion’s not too bad.

SD: It’s not, but I don’t want to, that’s a difficult thing. It’s a political thing. And I don’t wanna blow, you know, another band’s chances that’s been trying to get in and is deserving of getting in, just to put my band on the show. Now I can do that, and I ‘d like to do that. I think next year, my band will be ready. We’re going to open for Wasp and Lizzie Borden next month. That will be our first show back doing the original thing. Only three or four of the band members do both the Queensryche and the original band. So we have two members that are different. Actually, the singer and the drummer are different. The drummer actually — a little bit of background info — the drummer for the Queensryche tribute just wrote and published the Queensryche drum book for Scott Rockenfield.

BM: Oh really?

SD: Yeah, he wrote all the sheet music for every Queensryche song in the catalog in that book.

BM: Holy cow.

SD: Yeah, it’s pretty crazy, man. So Queensryche’s coming here in September, Rock will hook us all up with passes and tickets. Scott Rockenfield is just a great guy, man. So that’s pretty cool. Craig just got hooked up with that thing. He’s a great drummer, man, I’ll tell you. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

SD: I’ve never seen a drummer that could play through the set reading all the sheet music. It’s pretty cool.

BM: Well Queensryche is actually going to be in Michigan, the timing is poor for this, ’cause they’re going to be here in Michigan the day I return from ProgPower.

SD: They’re going to be here the 26th, so we got lucky by a week, you know?

BM: Oh man. If I fly out of Detroit I may be able to do it, or if I fly back into Grand Rapids and drive to Detroit.

SD: There you go. Have you heard the new album?

BM: Oh yeah. You know I actually like it. It seems to be stronger than anything they’ve done in ten years.

SD: It’s the strongest thing since Promised Land.

BM: Oh yeah, I agree with that.

SD: But did Da Vinci ever recreate the Mona Lisa, you know what I mean?

BM: [laughs] No. I think they took a huge risk even calling it Mindcrime II.

SD: BIG risk. Big risk. And they’re going to get a lot of criticism. But you know, I enjoy the album. I don’t dislike it by any means. You just, man, you have to really, really outdo yourself if you’re gonna come close on a follow-up to Mindcrime, man.

BM: That’s actually one of my favorite albums of all time. I’ve never heard an album that completely blew me away from the first track or two.

SD: Oh, it’s simply, throughout all the years playing and listening and all this stuff, I was doing the Queensryche tribute before I left Z-Lot-Z, so I’ve been doing it for four or five years, back before ProgPower three, and prior to that. So we did it and then I just got back in right after ProgPower again, and all the albums that you listen to, all the Sabbath albums with Dio, the Dream Theater, all that stuff — there’s still one album you go back to and that’s Operation Mindcrime, you know?

BM: Yeah. I do.

SD: That’s THE album. It’s just like the album that set the standard, you know? There were some before that, but then nothing came close.

BM: No. And I was waiting with baited breath, as soon as they released all the remastered CDs, I was there, man. I just loaded up.

SD: Oh absolutely. Glenn and I talked about bringing Mindcrime to ProgPower, to the Pre-Party. And we thought about doing it this year or last year, but I don’t know how that would have come off. I know they do that in Europe, they bring a tribute band for the Pre-Party. So it may work out, actually, really well, but I don’t know. I’m a little bit hesitant to do that. [laughs] You know, we’ve got a good lineup though. Chris Salinas formerly of Power Romans, now with Zero Hour is singing. He was actually in the original band, too. When he got the Zero Hour gig, he had to leave, and everything took him there.

BM: I was going to ask you about…I’ll jump right into talking about your bands now because you brought it up. I was going to anyway. Let me talk about the Mindcrime thing for a minute. How close — I haven’t’ heard your tribute band — but how can you match Geoff Tate? How does this guy even get close to that?

SD: Man, have you ever heard Chris Salinas sing?

BM: No, I haven’t actually.

SD: Ok, you’d have to hear him sing. He’s Geoff Tate.

BM: How Geoff Tate used to be, perhaps?

SD: Yeah. Absolutely. Hang on…Ok, sorry. I’m talking too loud, I’m going to wake the baby up. Yeah, he’s just, we do everything from the EP up to Promised Land. But he’s just perfect. He’s perfect. Everything from the tone to the high notes to the low notes. Everything. He’s just ideal. And previously we had a different singer, which was the singer from? at the time, and he sounded more like a totally more modern Tate. But he sang the old Tate great, but Chris is just a dead ringer, man. Dead ringer.

BM: Well that’s great, because I miss those high notes. I miss “Queen of the Ryche” or “Take Hold of the Flame.” I miss that stratospheric sort of –

SD: Yeah, those are the two standards of our set. [laughs]

BM: Oh man.

SD: Two songs, and then we, I can run a song list. We do mainly Empire, and off Empire, “Best I Can” and “Jet City Woman” off Empire. We pretty much know all the songs on Mindcrime, but we don’t always play them all, it depends on how long the set is. We plan on doing, before too long, a full-on Mindcrime show.

BM: That would be great!

SD: You know, front to back type thing like they did on the last tour.

BM: I actually saw them back in the day, like 1989, ’90, do that entire thing.

SD: Me too, me too. Was Suicidal Tendencies opening?

BM: No, actually. I don’t remember who was. I know it was a headline show, but I don’t remember who was opening.

SD: Well you know, I wanna say that the video for Operation Livecrime was recorded in Michigan.

BM: It was, no, actually Wisconsin. I think it was Madison.

SD: Ah, that’s right. But that tour, that was the Empire tour. But they did all of Operation Mindcrime front to back. And that was the second time I saw them. I saw them actually open for Dokken back on Rage for Order. But that tour, talk about opening my eyes. I was living in Louisiana at the time, I grew up there. And I was in New Orleans, at Lakefront Arena, and it was just amazing. But Chris is a dead ringer. And we really take pride in the musicianship too. We pretty much hit the nail on the head on every song. It’s pretty much as close as you’ll get. We’ve had people tell us it’s better than Queensryche now.

BM: Yeah. I don’t doubt that. So you can pull off the Eddie Jackson stuff without a hitch?

SD: Oh, no! Eddie’s a great bass player, it’s really no problem playing his stuff, and I really enjoy it. And we really take pride a lot in our vocal harmonies, too. Myself and the keyboard player both sing all the backups. And it’s as close as it’s gonna get. [laughs] We have a keyboard player that was in the original band, so he was an actual member of Mindcrime too. So it’s not like the typical aspect of a tribute band, like if you see a KISS tribute band? You know? Because we have a keyboard player that’s on stage. So we’re a six piece. But we need that for samples and all the different keyboard parts, you know, the “Silent Lucidity” and “Someone Else” with the piano pieces and all that type stuff. We need those keys, it’s very important. So he’s a full-fledged member of the band and I need him, because he sings really well. So we pull off those harmonies pretty well, I think. But we should be, you know, we’ve been doing a lot more shows lately, man. Things are seeming to pick up. We’ve caught some eyes over on the West Coast too. We’re working on some shows in Vegas and LA before too long.

BM: How about Michigan, dude?

SD: I’d love to, man. Set something up, we’ll do it!

BM: Well, I know Tammy Z. from Rock the Madhouse, Michigan.

SD: Yeah, I know Tammy too. I didn’t realize she was up there.

BM: Oh yeah. She and I have been talking lately about sort of combining forces and working to promote bands in the area.

SD: Let us know. We’d be totally down for it, man.

BM: Cool

SD: We’d love to do something like that, you know? And I can get you some bands from down here, I mean, both Stride and Outworld are down here in Houston. I can work on getting you some stuff like that if you guys are interested.

BM: I’ll keep that in mind, next time I talk with her, actually. Her hitch is, as Rock the Madhouse Michigan, she’s supposed to be promoting Michigan bands. Which is why I’ve been talking with her about going beyond that and bringing in some outside Michigan bands.

SD: Yeah, I’m sure it would be tough. I mean, you’ve got a lot of great bands in Chicago and that’s not too far.

BM: Oh yeah, yeah.

SD: A lot of great bands over there, man.

BM: What is it about Queensryche, before I ask you about Krucible, what is it about Queensryche that you wanted to have a tribute band?

SD: It was actually, we had always covered Queensryche songs. I moved to Houston in 93, and joined Z-Lot-Z and we’d always covered “Eyes of a Stranger,” and we did a couple Maidens, but “Eyes of a Stranger” always stuck, you know what I mean? And one of our booking agents down in Louisiana said, man, you guys need to try this. Do a Queensryche tribute, you could make good money. You know, you’d pack the places out. So we tried it, and you know what, he was right, man. We did, and we played, we were all over Louisiana, all over Texas, you know, did a bunch of shows, and it stuck. It stayed, you know. And we continued to do it. After I left the band, they continued to do it with another bass player. Then that whole thing kind of fell apart, and then I came back into the fold along with a different guitar player and a different drummer and put it back together. And it really hasn’t missed a beat, man. It’s going great. It really wasn’t our choice, really. He said, man you gotta try this, and we did, and it worked, you know? [laughs]

BM: That’s great.

SD: We have a blast doing it.

BM: Tell me about Krucible. How did that come about? What kind of music is that? It’s an originals band, right?

SD: Yep. Oh absolutely. Z-Lot-Z was the band prior to this and some of the material from Z-Lot-Z we’ve kept, and we’ve kind of reincarnated it a little bit. A lot of the songs we’re doing right now are songs that I had a real big part in writing, if not written all of them, back before I left the band. So Eric thought, when the thing kind of fell apart, he’s like, look man, these are your songs. It wouldn’t be right to ask anybody else, why don’t you come back. And I thought about it and I said yeah sure, why not, I’m not doing anything. So I came back in and got back together with Eric. We had some lineup issues at first, ’cause Chris, like I said, was our vocalist and it’s logistically difficult because he’s in San Antonio and we’re in Houston, so it was hard to write. And then he got the Zero Hour gig, and said he just wouldn’t have any time for it. So we got a local singer, whose name is Josh Killian. He’s working out great so far. But he’s an up and comer, this kid, man. I’ll tell ya, he’s working out great so far, and I think vocally, the band’s style has kind of changed, ’cause he’s more attuned to the Halford side of metal, I think.

BM: Really?

SD: Yeah. But –

BM: There’s nothing wrong with that.

SD: No, but there’s nothing, absolutely not. But we wanted to make sure that he can broaden that, you know? Because we didn’t want to be stereotyped or anything. He’s got the Halford scream down just perfect. I mean, just PERFECT. I mean, it’s just pristine, you know?

BM: Can he do “The Green Manalishi” gig?

SD: Oh, he can do everything. As a matter of fact, we’re trying to throw a quick cover together for the show, and we’re trying to go through — ’cause I don’t want to just do any cover, me, personally. You know, I don’t wanna just go out and play a Maiden or a Priest or whatever just for the sake of throwing one together to play it. I wanna do the right cover, you know what I mean?

BM: Sure.

SD: I personally wanna do Painkiller, but there are no keyboards in it, you know? So we have to find something with keyboards. I want to do an Everygrey or a Symphony X, but we don’t have time to put that together. Because some of the other guys in the band are still learning some of the songs, to get really tight. The drummer and the singer, and there’s some stuff yet to be written. So everybody else is ready, we’re just kind of tightening the screws right now for the show.

BM: [laughs]

SD: The show is — It was tough for us. They asked us if Mindcrime wanted to do it. And we really didn’t want to go in and do the tribute opening, playing a 30-minute set for Wasp and Lizzie Borden in our hometown. So we asked, we’re like, well look, let’s just do our first original show doing that, you know, back in the fold. So the guy was like, great. We’re great friends with the club and the agent. So he said, yeah, let’s do it. We’re just trying to throw everything together. We’ve been rehearsing a couple, three nights every week for about two months straight. So we’re getting there. But musically, you know, like I said, the songs that are right now, that we have? We have a lot more songs that are almost ready, but not quite. The newer direction we’re going is more Evergreyish, darker, heavier, some tuned down stuff. With the vocals like a mixture between Russell Allen and Halford. You know, that’s kinda what we’re wanting. We’re trying to broaden Josh’s vocal horizons a little bit. We don’t want to take the energy and the uniqueness out of him, but we don’t wanna, like I said, be pigeonholed into the Halford thing. But he’s very open, he’s very versatile, and he’s working very hard. We had some of them, like three or four of the songs, the vocals were already written for and the melodies were too, by Chris Salinas. So we asked Chris if he wouldn’t mind if we still use them, and he said, sure, no problem. So Josh is coming in and he’s singing those songs, and also like four more that we’ve written and that he’s come in. We’ve rehashed some old stuff, we’ve got two brand new ones, so it’s working out. I want to be able to get it to the point, now that we have all the members in, now we can start working. And then this show popped up, so we gotta get ready for the show. So I’m kinda bummed about that, but it’s still a good opportunity.

BM: Oh yeah. I know you’ve gotta go, let me ask you one more thing. What is it about this music that appeals to you anyway? You know, Prog Metal, Prog Power, Prog Rock, whatever you wanna call it. What is it that just flips your switch about this kind of music?

SD: Well, it’s the energy, number one, and the technicality and musicianship. To quote my good buddy Lucho from Magistral, “Anybody can run around the track, but not everybody can be an athlete,” you know what I mean?

BM: Uh huh.

SD: That’s probably the best analogy I can put it at. You know, I look at–there’s a lot of musicians here in Houston that are just masters of their trade. And I’ve seen these guys, I’ve played with these guys, and they’ve driven me. You know, I wasn’t always like that. Music — I’ve always loved Queensryche and we’ve always played live and Maiden and that type of thing. When Prog started coming in was when I really started getting heavy into that genre, that vein, I really liked the stuff that’s a little bit more modern. I love the Evergrey sound. It’s something about that mixes the Prog Metal, the Power Metal and the modern sound all into one, into this big, juicy, fat production, and it’s just great. And the keyboards add so much to it. That’s something that I think is coming back. And we have always had keyboards, always. We never went without keyboards. And what adds such a good mood to a lot of this stuff in my opinion, is piano, and atmospheric keys. And a lot of bands, a lot of people lose sight of that, and that adds a whole other dimension to it.

BM: Well, you know what it is. I think it’s the juxtaposition. It’s like King Crimson and the violin, you know?

SD: Exactly.

BM: It’s the quiet and the loud, the heavy and the light, you know?

SD: Absolutely. Beauty and the beast. You know, it’s the whole — you’re absolutely right, hit the nail on the head, man. And I mean, it adds such a different element to the music, and it makes it enjoyable for a lot more different people. You know, then you have your die-hards who can come in and listen to the shred section that’s in 6/8, and just be blown away, and then you can go right to a piano piece with a beautiful vocal melody over it. You know, it’s just there’s things you can do with this style of music you can’t really get away with anywhere else.

BM: Yep.

SD: You know what I mean?

BM: Oh yeah.

SD: So that’s what’s so appealing about it, I guess. The energy level is just through the roof and the passion that all the bands and the musicians have for the music, it’s just, that’s where it is. It’s definitely a part of my life.

BM: What do you think of the latest Evergrey album?

SD: My opinion, I like it a lot, but the production’s not nearly as good as I was hoping. I think what they did, matter of fact I’m pretty sure this is what they did, I’m 99.9% sure, they just got to a point to where they didn’t need to be a part of producing their own albums anymore. They could hire another producer to come in. And they did that, and I think it hurt them a little bit. Because I think them being involved in the production of their album, they knew exactly the way the wanted it to sound. And I think they lost a little bit of that with the new album. But it’s still good, I love the music. I think a lot of people are hammering it, but I don’t agree with that. I think this band has to evolve, man. It’s not like they’re selling out. They’re not pulling a Metallica, they’re not pulling a Queensryche, you know?

BM: It’s not like you want to hear an Evergrey tribute band out of them, you want them to move forward a little bit.

SD: Exactly, they have to. What else are they gonna do? They still keep their unique sound there. They’re not losing any of that. But there’s just certain things that are gonna change. It’s just progression, man. I mean, that’s what Progressive music IS.

BM: [laughs]

SD: You know, people are so just –[sighs]

BM: Well that’s — when I used to talk to Robert Fripp about King Crimson stuff, he would tell me, progressive rock actually died in 1973, and everything since then has been not progressive at all. It’s just sort of a neo-prog thing.

SD: It is. It’s versions of Prog.

BM: Yeah, it really is.

SD: Prog, Power, or Metal, or whatever you want to call it, are classical, Prog, or whatever. It’s difficult. You can play a band into the Prog element, and there’s a fine line. Everygrey crosses those genres I think.

BM: I agree. I guess this question goes without asking, really, but are you looking forward to seeing them at ProgPower this year?

SD: I’m stoked! I am so excited! They’re my favorite band right now. And they have been probably since ProgPower I. And I think it goes beyond just — they’re just all great guys. We’ve become good friends. Matter of fact, I was thinking about when things kind of settle into place a little bit, for the Pre-Party, I was going to approach Glenn and see if he wouldn’t mind if I talked to the Evergrey guys and their management about coming to Houston and doing some shows around here, around ProgPower. But I want to give Glenn that heads up first. If he’s against it, I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to take away from the show, you know? But I have the means to do it while they’re here, might as well. If they want to do some more shows, look, let’s do some shows. We can go up to Dallas and go to San Antonio, we can go to Corpus, we can play here, we can do a show in Louisiana, we could do five, six dates and book it with them and Outworld and us and Krucible, and have great shows.

BM: You live in Houston, is it?

SD: Yeah, uh huh.

BM: Are you familiar with a band called Legs Diamond?

SD: I do remember them, yes.

BM: They were one of my favorite bands, and they’re actually still around. I think they used to play your area quite a bit.

SD: I think, when Legs Diamond was bigger, it was before my time in Houston. I moved to Houston in ’93 from Louisiana.

BM: They were kind of –

SD: Late ’80s?

BM: Yeah, I saw them in ’77 warming up for Rush.

SD: Oh wow!

BM: In fact, at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo.

SD: Wow, that’s great.

BM: Well Shane, I’ll let you go, I know you’re a busy man. I do appreciate your time. It’s a great to talk to you.

SD: My pleasure, anything I can do, man. Let’s keep in touch. Anything you need, we’ll make it happen for the show. Whatever you need.

BM: Do you have a photograph of yourself, a jpeg you could email to me?

SD: Sure. I sure can, absolutely. I’ll get that over to you, along with the contact information.

BM: Cool. Have a good evening, Shane. It’s good to talk to you. See you this fall.

SD: You too, Bill. Best to your family, man.

BM: Ok, same to you! Bye.

SD: Bye bye.

Want to know more about Shane Dubose and his current bands? Want to see him play, perhaps even in your town? It may be possible. Just let your fingers do the walking to these sites:

http://www.myspace.com/qrtribute

http://www.krucibleband.com/

http://www.myspace.com/krucible