Category: INTERVIEWS
Hello again, Metal God…! :)
I arrived at my hotel fairly early. Luckily, those “nicer”, more expensive hotels are more likely to have a room available even if you show up early, so I kept my fingers crossed. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything, but we got all the paperwork done and they asked me to come back around noon. That was still 3 hours earlier than regular check-in time, so I call that flexibility and good service. :)
I went to the little cafe in the back behind the elevators, to grab a croissant and a cup of tea and thought I’d be able to hang online for a while – but since the room wasn’t ready, I wasn’t “officially” checked-in, which in turn meant that I had no room to charge it to. So, I went back to the reception. One of the girls took a quick look around and whispered: “If you don’t tell anyone, I’ll give you this for free“. It was a £10 worth Internet code for 24 hours. :)
I’m lucky on this tour with the free internet. It was the same in Hannover, the hotel charged 1 euro per hour and the older lady gave me a 1 hour code. That didn’t last long – so I went back to the front desk and this time there was a young girl there. I told her that 1 hour was nothing for me, I was online like…ALL the TIME. She smiled, looked around and said the same as this lady today: “Here. It’s a 48 hour code, for free. Shhh….“.
I must look like someone who REALLY needs it, haha! But I appreciate it so much. Those kind ladies deserve a hug and a medal! :D WiFi when you’re out travelling is a lifesaver in so many ways – as an information source and as a way of killing time and getting in touch with people. It SHOULD be for free for travellers…! Always!
Anyway, my room wasn’t ready at noon but the same girl who gave me the free internet code, helped me once again. “I have a different type of room available if you don’t mind being on the 4th floor instead of ground floor?” I took it.
I had very little time to throw more “representative” clothes on and run off to find Sony Music’s London office. It was right on Kensington, and quite an impressive office I must say.
The talks about the music industry walking on their knees financially wasn’t evident there at ALL. On the contrary. The ladies at the reception had me sign in and I got my visitor-ID. “Please sit down and someone will come for you”.
There were lots of screens up in the ceiling, showing music videos, it was VERY spacious, had modern, leather couches, red designer swivel armchairs and wooden floors.
I was given a guest WiFi code so I could kill some time. Nice touch. :)
Eventually, a young lady with an orange file that contained a bunch of papers showed up and asked the guys next to me if they were there for the Judas Priest album-listening. There were 7 of us, some guys from Finland, one from Metal Hammer Germany, a radio station from somewhere… I don’t remember now but I recognized all those names/publications.
“Follow me”, she said.
And like a line of ducks, we followed her through the Sony offices, like through a maze. She stopped a few times to make sure everybody was still following.
We eventually reached a room with a huge, sliding door that she slid open, and it looked pretty heavy.
I walked in, and it was a big room, very modern and very expensive looking. Three leather couches, placed like an “U” around the table, looked like brand new, a big beige thick rug and a low black sofa table.
On one wall, there was this huge flat-TV (a Sony, of course) and speakers. When she turned up the volume, those things almost blew my ears out…! Not that I complained…! :D
We all took our pens out to make notes when she turned the new Judas Priest album on and left the room. After a few minutes she came back with the track-listing, but the paper also said that we weren’t allowed to take it with us. I wonder what the point of that was, as the tracks have already been revealed on Blabbermouth??
It was just a weird thing to experience a brand new Priest-album in the company of strangers and like THAT. I’ve always made sure that my “first
time” hearing a Priest-album was in a relaxed environment (=my home or my car) but this was…different.
Some songs sounded like they were off Painkiller. Some were so-so and some were absolutely killer. My verdict, all in all, is that I will love this album.
I wasn’t a super fan of Angel of retribution and I definitely wasn’t a huge fan of Nostradamus either. But THIS I do like! Rob’s voice is still great and because he can’t sing those high pitch songs anymore, he’s found a different way to sing and THAT makes it new and interesting! He does some “clean” singing on one or two songs, and he’s got such a beautiful, soulful yet powerful voice on those. It was such a pleasure to hear that. I must have smiled there in my left corner of the couch.
I quickly got a favorite song, which I can’t WAIT to get so I can blast it on repeat: Secrets of the dead. LOVED it!!
A few seconds before the last song had finished playing, our hostess sneaked into the room again (if there’s one thing label people are good at – it’s keeping track of TIME…!) :D
Some had interviews scheduled for later, some didn’t. I think that out of the 7 of us that listened to the album, 4 had actual interviews. The guy from Metal Hammer had a chat with Rob, Ian and Richie at the same time (personally I prefer one person, eye-to-eye). Another one said he was talking to Ian and Richie. So I’m guessing I was the only one who “got” the Metal God himself- Rob Halford – only…..
After the listening-thing, I asked if there was somewhere I could work (wanted to polish my interview a little) and she took me through the whole office once again (I think I would need a compas to find my way around there…!) and to the lunch room.
And when I say “lunch room” I don’t mean a tiny room with five tables. It was HUGE! Like an art gallery/industrial building type of huge, very bright with a ceiling that I wasn’t sure if it was actual daylight or “fake” light, but it was bright… Video screens playing music videos everywhere – a big billboard Elvis-sign in one corner, a slate that people “doodled” on… People having meetings in glass offices when I looked up and around… A very dynamic and cool workplace, I would have loved to work in a place like that.
I finished writing down a few more questions, when I looked around the lunch room and saw some blonde, long-haired dude. I thought it was Richie but wasn’t sure. Then I saw Ian Hill, elegantly dressed, getting himself a Fanta.
And a few seconds later – there’s Rob Halford as well. You can’t miss him anywhere. :) A tattooed bald guy with tats on his head and arms, and sunglasses. It was the Metal God alright.
And there I was, trying to look casual and cool. Oh,I don’t care, it’s just some BAND…. Yeah, right…!
I honestly didn’t know where to look. My gosh.
When they finished their lunch, they left – and I sat there for another 2 hours before it was my turn. The Metal Hammer guy kept me company for a while, talked a bit about festivals and the Priest album and stuff. I told him I was also going to the Gus/Marty show and he said he had no idea they were playing. He also happens to be writing for a German guitar magazine. I told him to go check out the Symptom of the universe cover from Tampere that I had on Youtube, if he wanted to know how those two guys sounded together and he seemed like he actually really wanted to see and hear that so… I think that if he hadn’t had his ticket back paid already, he would have gone to the Guitar Universe thing as well.
And THEN……..the girl came to pick me up and “take me to a room”. She showed me to a tiny room that had a TV, DVD, a conference call phone, two leather couches but no windows. Then she left with the words: “I’ll go get Rob for you”. And there I was, alone. It’s like waiting for a doctor. You’re in there getting nervous as f**k…!
I couldn’t sit, I walked back and forth getting more and more jumpy, getting a stomach-ache and the whole deal. Why, I don’t know. I’ve met Rob so many times, I’m a jaded rock journalist (pah…! I SHOULD be by now!) yet I get this way every damn time when it comes to any Priest-member…! ESPECIALLY Rob! I guess it has to do with the huge impact they’ve had on my life. No other bands have that kind of importance.
The door opened and there he was! He entered the room with the words: “Hi, it’s nice to see you again!” And all the nervousness just went away. He has a very calming effect (believe it or not) because he’s just so easygoing, so easy to talk to, no rockstar bullshit at all, no “are you an idiot or what?”-vibes. You can ask him anything, so far I’ve never seen him as much as frown, and it’s been 25 years since the first time I met him for an interview.
He spotted a chair and said he prefers that, for his back. And we went straight to business as to not waste any time. The interview will be published eventually, so I’ll just skip what the conversation was about. But I will say, that this man really makes me happy in so many ways. With the music he has brought to my life since I was a teenager, with his voice, his performances and the inspiration that he is as a person. I so enjoy talking to him, and I would love to just be able to sit there for hours and just talk.
You just feel very relaxed and comfortable with the man, and he has an interesting way of looking at things. Sometimes he says things here and there that just makes me smile. I mean, his attitude to stardom, life and whatever, is inspiring and sometimes while he’s sitting there talking, he says something that just makes me want to hug him! :)
Needless to say, it felt like we only just BEGUN when a label-guy knocked at the door and said: “Last question!”. My first thought was: “What?? We only just got STARTED!”
Even Rob was slightly annoyed, rolled his eyes and sighed “oh my god, aaah – never mind, ask me another question…!” But at that point I just felt like I had a million things to ask and I was nowhere NEAR being finished, which meant that I had no idea which question was the most “important” one. I just took whatever was right under my nose, about one of the songs I had heard three hours before. Suddenly it wasn’t a relaxed conversation anymore, it was stresssssful.
But I guess, looking back – Rob deserves a break. He had been talking for a few hours himself so if he had to be stuck with enthusiasts like me all day long, he would never get a breather…! :)
We took a few photos with a CD that was released through Sweden Rock Magazine, that included an obscure, unreleased Priest-song. He was happy to pose and help getting the best picture. Once again, no sign of stress – everything cool, just take your time… Did I mention that I love the man?? :D
He asked where I was going next, I said I was going back to Sweden, but first I was going to see the Gus G/Marty Friedman gig here in London. “Gus G? Give him my love. I love his style!” Those were the last words he uttered before he left the room.
The label guy once again entered and asked me to wait outside so I could be escorted to through the building (thank god, I had no idea where I was).
It still annoys me a bit – it’s such a privilege to talk to Rob Halford. I think that even if I hadn’t been a fan (which is hard to even imagine) I would have loved the conversations with him. I was just so glad that I got a good interview – for as long as it lasted, that I went back to the hotel to relax – and smile. :)
Today, I’m switching hotels and looking forward to the last Gus/Marty show of this tour (well, they’re finishing tomorrow but I chose London as my final destination).
There will be more stories to tell. :)
He’s got the fire
Since the first time I saw this guy dazzle a crowd with his string-acrobatics at Madison Square Garden with Ozzy, it’s been an interesting ride to follow his whereabouts and his undying fire and passion.
There was the Ozzy thing. Then the Firewind thing with numerous lineup-changes. During the 3 years that I’ve travelled all over the globe to see Gus with Firewind, there have been at least 3 vocalist changes, a bassplayer- and a drummer change.
And every little detail reinvented the band. There was a different dynamic for each change that kept things fresh and interesting.
When Gus started having thoughts about trying his wings as a solo-artist, it sounded like the perfect timing. He’s pretty much always been a “solo artist” in one way or another, but now was the time to make the world discover what he can do.
He’s not just “Ozzy’s guitarist” or the leader of Firewind.
He’s Gus-fuckin’-G! :-)
I’m pretty sure that “I Am The Fire” with its melodic, heavy sound will find its way to an even broader audience than Firewind.
There will be plenty of reviews of this Gus solo-debut out there, so I’ll skip that for now. However, I was very curious to hear more about the journey that led to the “I Am The Fire”.
So here it is – straight from “the horse’s mouth”:
G: I’m flying to Sweden tomorrow to shoot another video with Patric and then I go on a European press tour in England, Germany and France. All the interviews are starting on Monday.
Are you getting bored yet, getting the same old questions…? :)
G: You know, no not really, cause this is different. It’s a new album, a new project – I can still take it, I can still answer shit another thousand times, haha!
When I talked with you at Sweden Rock a few years ago, when you were with Ozzy, the question about a solo album came up, and back then you seemed pretty reluctant to the idea of making a solo album. What happened along the way that made you reconsider?
G: A lot of people have been asking me about a solo album, and I’ve been thinking about it because my A&R at Century Media was on my ass about it for years. After the Ozzy-gig a lot of people around me wanted me to capitalize on that. You know… “You should do something with your name when you take a break from Ozzy”.
And I thought about all these things, but to be honest with you, it didn’t really hit me until I started writing songs with Mats after the Firewind-tour that we did with Mats back in 2011. Him and I go way back and we always talked about writing together. So when I started writing a few songs with him I thought…. “Hey…this could be a solo album…!”
I was just thinking that the songs you wrote with Mats, are the best ones on the album. You have a great chemistry and work well together. There’s something about those particular songs that sticks out.
G: Oh, I definitely agree! All the stuff that me and Mats did is really good material and and it’s surprising cause they came together really fast. I would send him stuff when I was on the road and he would send me back a melody or a chorus to my missing riff or whatever, and the song would be there. It was a really good chemistry from the start with him.
Obviously there’s a bunch of people on your album, and you can either do it the Yngwie way and write everything from beginning to end or you can actually collaborate…How did you do the rest of the album?
G: For me, the big question was…what do I want to play if I do a solo album? What’s the music going to be like? Cause it’s not going to be called Firewind. I realized from the start that I didn’t want to do an instrumental album. The way that I always wrote, even in Firewind, was that I always have the music, and then I gave it to the singer and they’d come back with the vocal line and the lyric, you know. That’s how it worked with Mats and Jeff Scott Soto for instance, on this album.
So you don’t usually write that yourself?
G: No I don’t. I mean, I have ideas and I will sing them the ideas, but a lot of times I just want them to surprise me. I like that. I guess that’s kind of my motivation. When I have a cool riff, I just want somebody to put something good over it and make it a great song. I guess that’s a very old-school way of writing.
When I listen to My Will Be Done, I’m thinking… you might as well have written the lyrics to that.
G: The thing is… I didn’t write a lot of the lyrics on the album but most of that stuff really is like statements of mine. I know it’s a bit silly but it’s statements of where I am today and stuff that I went through. I’m not sure if it’s all simple coincidence, but…
When I talk to the singers what I want to write, I will tell them that maybe the song should be a love song or it should be a breakup or this and that, and give them ideas. Sometimes even song titles. And they will write around that.
Actually, the song with Jeff Scott Soto, I had the music and the working title for my demo was Summer days and that’s because I wrote the song on the last day of summer, in 2012. I had moved into my new house and I remember I set up my studio that day and picked up the guitar – and wrote that on my 12-string guitar. We were gonna call that Summer Days. It was summer, you know, August 31st or something and then Jeff wrote the lyrics around that title. It’s like a nice summer anthem!
He’s a great singer- I love the mix of everything on the album!
G: Yeah, actually Jeff was the first guy on board and once I had that and the materian with Mats, it gave me the idea to do a slashed type of album with different people.
How did for instance Billy Sheehan end up playing on this album, and some of the other musicians?
G: A lot of the people, I actually didn’t know. They came either through the label or through Jay Ruston. I had Mats and Jeff, and obviously I knew Tom Englund from Evergrey, from the days I lived in Gothenburg and stuff, but I was missing a lot of musicians – bassplayers and drummers…
I first wanted to play bass on the whole record myself cause I love playing bass, but the next thing for me was “I need to find somebody to mix this album and talk to him about ideas”.
Cause it was hard for me to produce this record myself as I didn’t know what I was gonna do. It’s not like I was making another Firewind-record, I’m learning as I’m going along. It’s just myself now. I had no label, no bandmates, no nothing…
So when I met Jay, and he started asking me “do you have like a drummer and stuff…?” I was like “uh…no…”
So he suggested people like Jeff Friedl from Perfect Circle, and I met many of his friends, musicians: Jacob from Steven Adlers band, Marty O’Brien… And going back to your question about Billy Sheehan, he was another guy that he brought up. “What do you think about Billy?” And I was like “Fuck yeah!”. So he hit him up right away and Billy was like “Yeah, let’s do it!”.
There was a lot of stuff like that, a lot of stuff came through Jay. He’s kinda like an executive producer, I’d say.
You just brought up two things I was going to ask you about, one of them being the question about producers. What’s your take on producers in general? Cause you have a history of doing stuff yourself – is it a financial thing or you just don’t trust other people to interfere with your music?
G: It wasn’t a financial thing, especially not now. If I wanna do something, I just do it. But the thing is that I’m so used to doing my own records and I’ve worked with producers, so I know that sometimes… You know, when you give a job to a producer to produce your album, he will take initiative and do things that HE feels is “the right way” to go about. And… I’m not like that at all! Lol!
I mean, as you know, I’m the kind of guy who … Well, to put it this way, I know what I want and I know what I like or don’t like. So I knew from the beginning that I needed a guy to make a killer mix but not really tell me what he thinks of it.
The idea with that album was to be totally free of any sort of advisors... People that I have to please, people that think it’s their project… you know. That’s why I didn’t search for a label until later, cause I didn’t want any A&Rs or label bosses telling me what they think. It was just like… I’m gonna do this album – and whatever. If somebody wants to put it out, cool, I just didn’t give a fuck.
You never felt that a producer might bring out the best in you, stuff that you might not have thought of yourself, especially at this stage..?
G: As a producer myself, I know that selfproducing is obviously a hard thing, but this record was a bit easier in terms of the musical part because I pushed myself to write different things. I asked myself: “Should I have any heavy stuff on there, or maybe just a lot of acoustic stuff, or what if I do mellow stuff and see what comes out of that…Do I wanna do a groovy, mid tempo kind of song? Something a bit more “Zeppelin-ish”? I just wanted to do it like that. Stuff came out that I wouldn’t have put on a Firewind-record, necessarily. I guess… I’m not really a producer but I went along with it and produced myself that way.
OK, I understand. I figured maybe it was was another statement, that producers can’t keep up with you or bring something to the table that might be useful to you in this new situation.
G: Oh, no no! I mean, the only song where I used a producer, that we produced together and co-wrote, was Long way down, which I went to Vegas and did with Kevin Churko. But again, I didn’t go in there with a song. We just went in there and started from scratch. It was not an “all me” type of song, it was a combination of four writers. That’s cool too, I wanted that experience as well, going into a studio and writing a song in a day with two or three different writers you know…. Kind of like they do on pop records. It was an experience.
You and Dave Ellefson are playing on eachothers records. Did you do that in the same session…??
G: Actually, David was the last guy on board, cause I had already played bass on that track, but then one day I got a text from Jay during the mixes of my album, and he said “Do you wanna play a song on Bello’s and Ellefsons project?” and I was like “Fuck YES!” and he asks“What do you want for it?” I said: “Nothing – I want David to play on my album!”
So that’s how that happened.
We did another one of those things with Jeff Scott Soto, he co-wrote a song with me on my album and I gave him one of my songs, for HIS album.
Everybody wins – cool! :)
G: Yeah – it’s kinda like…the brotherhood of heavy metal.
Have you used real drummers on all songs?
G: It’s all drummers. It’s Jeff Friedl, playing on the whole record, Daniel Erlandsson of Arch Enemy is playing on the instrumentals and….actually, Long Way Down – that is a drum machine.
There’s a lot of programming nowadays…
G: Yeah, I think Kevin does a lot of stuff like that, programmes a lot, but the rest of the record is Jeff Friedl playing.
Obviously, every time an artist puts out a new record, people are gonna ask what’s your favorite song on it? But, maybe there’s a song or a few songs, that have been particularly fun and/or challenging to record. Is there anything on it that you thought “that one was really fun to do”?
G: It was just a fun record to do in general. For me, I wrote all my parts and composed 95 percent of the stuff when I was doing my demos. So basically what I did when I went into the studio is that I just replayed everything through a proper amp.
But if we’re talking about CHALLENGING, I think the instrumentals were very challenging for me. I kinda outdid myself this time. I pushed myself to play harder, more difficult stuff, I even had to practice all this stuff when I went into the studio to be able to play it.
And when I had to learn these songs NOW I was fuckin scared shitless! How the fuck am I gonna do this live?! And then I started practicing those songs just standing still. Cause it’s easy to play when you’re sitting down, but when I stood up and tried to play those songs, it sounded like a fuckin’ five-year old kid who had grabbed the guitar for the first time! Lol! Oh my god, I’m horrible! I ‘ve got to get it together!
Those are pretty technical, those two instrumentals, they have definitely pushed the boundries for me as a player. I mean, NOW I can play that stuff very easily, but that’s just because I practiced a lot. I liked that.
Are you gonna avoid playing those songs live?
G: Nooo! Hell no! We’re gonna be playing those! I look forward to playing it because now I can do it! Now I’m gonna start playing them even harder because now I’ve mastered them. I can take it to the next level now.
That’s funny, so many people probably think that Gus G can play anything easily – and you’re telling me that you were scared shitless playing your own songs. :)
G: Those instrumentals… I mean, you know how Firewind sounds, those two songs are probably closer to Firewind and what Firewind sounds like, and when I wrote those, I thought I was gonna save those for the band later on. But then in the end, I was like… What the fuck, it’s a solo album and I should be allowed to have whatever the hell I want on it. If I want a fucking country song on it, I should be able to!
Hahaha! I’m looking forward to that – that would be interesting!
G: Yeah – Greek country songs…!
Were there any artists that you asked to participate that for any reason couldn’t or wouldn’t do it?
G: The only guy that I was talking to, and he really wanted to do it, so we are saving this for later, cause we want to work together, is James LaBrie. I just caught him in a very bad time cause he was finishing up not one but TWO albums, at the same time. He was really up for it, but he had to finish his solo album and another one with Dream Theater, but we talked about doing something in the future together. You know… there will be another album.
That’s another thing that maybe Firewind fans are wondering – if this goes well, are yuou ditching Firewind?
G: No, the band is always there, I mean, that’s never gonna go away, as long as we wanna keep playing, keep doing this and we have a lot of love from fans around the world, I don’t think we’re gonna let that thing die, ever. It was just time… You know, after Apollo left the band we had all these contracts to go out on tour and stuff. We had to finish the tour and I don’t like to quit or cancel, so that’s how we got Kelly on board to help us with the tour. But now, after the tour ended it was time to take a break and think about the next step of the band. And that actually gave me a step to do this for real-the solo album.
So the guys are behind you, and cool with you doing this solo adventure…?
G: Well, I didn’t ask for permission haha!
Nah, but I guess you can tell sometimes by someone’s reaction.
G: Yeah! No they’re all cool with it and I think everybody was looking forward to this break. We’ve gone through a lot of singer changes, and all that stuff, and it’s been a lot of good things with that band but also a lot of …everything has been done the really HARD way. So I think everybody felt a bit more relaxed with the idea of taking it easy for a while. I mean, there was no rush for us to go back to the studio this time.
I’ve been wanting to ask you this a long time ago but I never got around to do it. The whole FIRE theme has been with you throughout your whole career….
G: Jesus Christ, yeah I know! And it’s not even done on purpose!
Really? It’s not?
G: No, it’s not! It’s like… Cheesus in my veins hahha! I realized that and thought fuck… I have a song called I am the anger and now the album is called I am the fire. Then I have a bunch of, I don’t know, maybe 15 songs that have the word “fire” in them..
Yeah! I thought that was the idea, or your concept!
G: Not really, no! I mean, obviously I like the whole symbol of fire and it being a powerful, badass thing and everything, but honestly, when I got the lyric from Devour The Day for that song in, I thought…
As usual I’m struggling with album titles, and I was looking for a title. When I saw that I thought “this is really cool” and it kinda connects the missing link for people who might not know that I play in Firewind. I thought… maybe this could be the album title.
I actually thought there was a significance or a symbolism behind the fire thing.
G: Well…obviously, I don’t know if I told you before but I got the name from Electric Sun, Uli Jon Roth’s second album after Scorpions. That second album was called Fire Wind and I love those albums. When I was a kid I thought Firewind would be a great band name and that’s why I named my band that. And of course, we’ve played around with that theme in Firewind for years but NOW this time… when the guy wrote the lyric I was like… I wonder if they KNOW about Firewind…? Or is it the flame tattoo that they saw and thought it would be cool? But I like the lyric and I thought if I’m gonna go out with a solo album – if people know Gus G but they don’t know Firewind, then you kinda have a little bit of a connection there.
It’s almost like an “accidental” marketing thing there, I guess you could say that.
So…now what’s happening? Another video?
G: I’ve actually shot 3 videos already, and we’re gonna be releasing them. The idea was, I didn’t want to stream songs just as audio. I figured, why don’t we just do videos instead? They’re good professional videos, which Patric always does. I thought it would be great to put a visual behind the music. And then we’re going out on tour in Europe – me and Marty Friedman…
Is it gonna be the same band at all the shows or are you bringing in guests?
G: No, actually what I’m doing is we’re gonna be using the same backup band for both of us. It’s kind of a situation for me where I like the freedom of not having a band. I like the idea of just jamming with people. And the songs are pretty easy and rockin’ to learn. I’m gonna do another tour and then have my own band and stuff but these are like co-headline dates so we’re sharing the same band.
I LOVE Marty…!
G: Me too. He’s got a new album out called Inferno how funny is that?! I am the fire – Inferno…?!
I’ve known Marty for ten years, I met him in Japan at one of my tours and he’s one of my heroes. Great guy.
…and here’s where the interview ends. The other things we talked about has since this conversation took place, already become “old news: The “new” I am the fire-video, the Uli Jon Roth/Jorn Lande-dates in Greece and other things that are already in the past.
With this guy, there’s always so much going on all the time, that it leaves your head spinning. Make sure you pick up a copy of I Am The Fire if you’re into cool guitars, hard rock with great sing-along choruses and a modern sound. You know it’s a good album when you can sing at least two or three songs after only hearing them once. :)
Personally, I’m eagerly looking forward to the Marty Friedman / Gus G co-headline tour. What a treat!
LITA FORD – The best things in life are worth waiting for
The year was 1983 and I was taking my first baby-steps in the new and exciting world of heavy metal.
Back in those days it was very much a man’s world (a lot more than it is today) and eventhough I worshipped Judas Priest (who got the ball rolling) and all those other classic bands, I didn’t have a female rolemodel.
So – I dressed like the guys. Denim and leather, 80’s style with patches, back patches, badges and all that stuff.
[Remember this? ;P]
One day I was flipping through Swedish music magazine OKEJ and saw photos of this “new” rock chick who just released her album “Out For Blood“. Lita Ford.
I thought Lita looked so cool. With that logic, I was also convinced that she SOUNDED good, so I went and bought the album. In two versions, as the cover had been censored in the UK for being “too vulgar”. THAT, of course, meant that I absolutely HAD to have it! :)
[This was the very first article I saw, that made me go buy Lita’s debut album. I’ve still got that scrapbook, these articles are in surprisingly good shape still, no soda-stains or anything :)]
Scrapbook 1983
The CENSORED version from 1983 – now signed!
Long story short – Lita has been the source of inspiration ever since. Besides Judas Priest, she’s the reason I’m still here, in this crazy rock’n’roll circus. She paved the way, showed that women could be a part of the business, and not just as groupies (you always get that shit anyway from ignorant people).
She was talented, beautiful, successful, determined and had tons of attitude.
It’s been 30 years since I first got “Out of Blood“. Always wanted to meet her but the opportunity was never given. She just didn’t tour over here much – and the one time she DID, with Bon Jovi in 1988, I had a gig with my own band (major clash!)
I ALMOST met her a few years ago though. At Sweden Rock, I was with Jon Oliva’s Pain who had the caravan next to Lita’s and I could see straight in. But she had what you might call a bad day. Could happen to anyone. I wasn’t going to push anything. The chance was right under my nose but I respected her privacy and chose not to bug her.
Sweden Rock Festival 2009 – Lita Ford’s dressing room.
My friend Kevin from Jon Oliva’s Pain brought me up on stage during LIta’s gig. Just shot this very short clip from that – we were drinking wine, watching Lita from up close, couldn’t be better. :)
And now, it’s 2013, 30 years later, the teenage girl that was me, who thought the badass chick with the bleeding guitar was the coolest thing ever – finally got to meet her idol face to face for a long and openhearted talk. :)
That’s every fan’s dream. It doesn’t even matter that I’ve been meeting “rock stars” on a regular basis since I was 18 and therefore “should” be jaded. When you get to meet someone who’s actually meant something in your life, you go back to being a nervous, stoked KID!
Lita was great, she is totally down to earth – has a unique quality that makes you feel like you’re long time friends. So, here’s what happened…
MALMO, SWEDEN – JULY 25, 2013….
I woke up at Hotel Palace in Gothenburg early in the morning. I had just been to see her show at Sticky Fingers the night before. Took the bus back to Malmo and slept all the way home while the rain was pattering against the window.
At this point, I didn’t even know if the interview was going to happen. It’s always like that. You get the details in the very last minute, it just goes with the territory…
Around 3 in the afternoon I finally got a text back from the label-guy who informed me that my interview was taking place at 5.30 at the venue. That was when I realized that this was actually happening, finally. When that sunk in, I started getting nervous. Man! Lita Ford has not only been a rolemodel since I was a kid, she’s also the last name on my list of people I want to meet before I die. The circle was about to be completed!
I grabbed my interview-bag and drove down to the venue, KB – my second home. I just wanted to find a good place to do the interview where there wouldn’t be sound check-noise or people running in and out. Johan, alias “Dr AOR” was outside and he was one of the DJ’s of the evening so he let me in.
Bengan, who’s been working at KB since forever, suggested the main dressing room, which also serves as a hospitality room. It was empty and it was perfect.
Lita’s tour manager introduced himself, a nice man, and I stayed watching the sound check preparations while waiting for Henrik “the camera man” to show up.
Then…. Lita arrived. Her comment just made me laugh, because I know exactly where she was coming from with that question: “Do I know you from before, or are you doing the interview?”
I’m exactly the same. I never freaking remember people, so as to avoid awkward situations, it’s better to ask first.
She came over a few times, asking me when and where we would do the interview, and when I mentioned that I was waiting for my camera-guy, she realized that it was going to be recorded, so she took her makeup bag and asked where the toilet was. :)
Henrik and Mari arrived just when the sound check was about to begin. I told the tour manager that they didn’t have to worry about us. KB is our second home, and we know our way around. We could handle the setup ourselves while Lita was sound checking (I stayed and watched one song before I went upstairs to prepare).
It was unbearably hot in the dressing room. No airconditioning or anything. When Lita walked in she felt it right away and just went “Oh my god! Isn’t there an airconditioner in here?” The idea of doing the interview dressed in her cool, black leather jacket was out of the question.
The KB guys brought 3 different fans, and a cooling-machine of some sort and plugged it in, so we could kind of survive….
She was chit-chatting while fixing her makeup. Again, she did what I always do – took the makeup bag and flipped it upside down so that everything in there just fell out on the table in one big pile of mixed random makeup-products.
“I bought all this new makeup, haven’t tried some of it yet so I don’t know what it does exactly”, she laughed and continued fixing her makeup over at the floor mirror. She was upset that one of her guitars had been smashed by United Airlines on her way over to Europe, and it was one of her favorite red guitars. The neck was broken, couldn’t be fixed.
Small little talk about coffee and staying awake when you need to (I gave her my energy-gums, the ones I use when I’m out on my own “tours” and she tried one right away. Then after a few seconds commented: “Wow! That is one serious gum!” It is – it’s strong and you feel it working right away. Don’t know what I’d do without those!
I was still a bit nervous, but Lita was just so easy to deal with that I felt like I was talking to someone I’d known for a long time. She just has this open attitude that makes people feel relaxed.
She noticed Henrik’s designer t-shirt, liked it and asked what designer it was.
The first few questions were just a bit of standard stuff, to get things going. And as some of this material was equested by another media, I won’t be able to publish any of that until it’s been used for what it’s intended to. But the second part of the interview will be up here soon, transcripted and edited within the next few weeks.
[A short random clip from the interview – we’re talking about tattoos here]
The thing is…. I’ve followed Lita since the early 80’s, and when you read so much about an artist and watch them on TV or Youtube or whatever, it feels like you already know them. I guess that’s why you like certain artists more than others – because there’s something about them that you can relate to and understand, and Lita has always been that person.
I smiled when she said that during the Runaways-days she wanted it to be dark in the studio where she recorded her vocals. She didn’t want people to look at her making her faces while she was singing.
I did the exact same thing – I turned out the lights in there and I’m sure the guys were thinking WTF, but it just made me relax. I didn’t know that Lita did the same. It’s just those small things…!
It got to a point where the conversation got pretty deep and I had to really use every bit of strength and concentration to stay professional in front of the cameras.
We were talking about death and she was telling me about her mother’s last three days in life. Lita never left her side. It was hard for her to talk about it. She also mentioned her father who had passed away a few years before her mom. Lita and her parents were very close, and the song “Lisa“, that she wrote for her mom, always made me cry. Still does.
It was difficult for her to talk about it still, eventhough it’s been 23 years since her mother passed away. I wanted to say something, just a short comment that I could relate because I just recently lost my father. But as I started the sentence I realized that I couldn’t continue – I just felt how hard it was to even go there. I couldn’t. This wasn’t about me anyway,
So I was holding back the tears – so was Lita. But you know… It helped me, as another piece in processing my own grief.
You never stop hurting and you never stop missing those you loved and lost, but you get on with your life, because you must. We had the same ideas about life after death, or “life on the other side”.
She wasn’t afraid to talk openly about pretty much everything and anything. In her opinion, there are 2 kinds of people in the world: Leaders and followers.
In order to change something, somebody had to be first and lead the way. She was okay with being one of those people.
“I’m not alone thinking or feeling the things I do. There are others out there who have similar experiences. But they are afraid to talk about it. When they see somebody else bring it up, they can say “that’s how I feel!”
So, basically, Lita said a lot of things that I can relate to 100% and I definitely respect and admire her even more after finally meeting her.
Another important aspect of the interview dealt with the family tragedy she’s going through. I will post that part of the interview soon, it’s very sad. It doesn’t matter which parent made the most mistakes in a marriage or what the reasons are that people get divorced. But when kids are being used as weapons in those battles, it sickens me.
Lita started this Facebook-page which deals with the subject – check it out:
Lita Ford’s Parental-Alienation Awareness
I could have stayed there talking with her for hours. She wasn’t looking at the clock or going “one last question, I gotta run” – which is almost standard. EIther the artist or some manager interrupts an interview by letting you know that you need to finish. Lita was totally cool, no stress.
We continued talking after the cameras were turned off, and I could not have asked for a better first meeting. I’m thankful it turned out that way. Cause when you’ve admired someone for so long, it would have been somewhat disappointing and almost devastating to find out that that person was a prick and that you wasted 30 years of your life following his/her career.
That didn’t happen with Lita. I can still relate to her, maybe even more now than before. Go check out the photos from the interview and the shows at www.facebook.com/intherearviewmirror
I thanked her for her time and instead of shaking hands, like I usually do, I instinctively gave her a hug. I never do that. It’s happened maybe once or twice before that I’ve hugged a “stranger”, and especially not in interview-situations.
And ten minutes later, when I was leaving the venue to go home and leave some of my stuff before going back to the show, she hugged me. So, I think it was a good chemistry and after 30 years it feels like the best things in life are worth waiting for!
Apollo Papathanasio – in his own words
Finally – time to go live with the Apollo-interview that I did recently.
Read about Apollo’s visit here:
http://lita77777.blog.com/2013/04/07/if-all-interviews-were-like-this/ = [and photos from the set at www.facebook.com/intherearviewmirror]
The “camera guy” Henrik has been working hard all week editing the video. He did a great job, thanks Henrik!
And a big thanks to Apollo for taking time off on a Saturday to drive down to Malmo for this interview eventhough he had to be at rehearsal with Spiritual Beggars the same day.
Below you will find the full transcript of the interview – including parts that had to be edited out of the actual video (cause it was too long).
I also made a list of topics discussed in the video to make it easier for the stressed, modern rocker to find exactly what he/she wants to hear more about – straight away. :)
So here it is – Apollo Papathanasio in his own words. Enjoy.
Leaving Firewind, what happened? 0,38
How did the band react? 2,06 Are you still friends? 4,13 The harsh reality of the music business 4,49 What's happening with Evil Masquerade? (and Spiritual Beggars) 5,25 Joining 3 different types of bands (Firewind, Evil Masquerade, Spiritual Beggars) How/why? 7,50 Feeling like a full member of the band, or a hired gun? 8,55 The new Spiritual Beggars video 10,42 The Spiritual Beggars tour 12,37 Loves the music teacher job/influencing kids 13,46 The plans for this year 16,35 Solo-project and collaboration with In Flames-Niclas 17,43 A message to the fans 19,00
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT – INCLUDING BITS THAT WERE EDITED OUT OF THE VIDEO-VERSION
Hello Apollo, welcome to Malmoe. You had a good drive down here? Nice weather and all? It’s a nice day today.
Very nice, we should be outside!
Maybe next time! :)
You’re known for fronting many bands, but maybe mostly for fronting Firewind. A few months ago you quit the band and fell off the map. Nobody really knows what happened. This is your chance to give your version of what happened?!
It’s a long story. I felt that many times I couldn’t give 100% of myself and I felt that… I don’t wanna be the guy who pulls the breaks all the time because I cant take this gig or do that tour.
So, I started thinking about it and we talked about it many times. And in the end I decided to step down and give my place to somebody else.
You’ve been with Firewind for 10 years, did you think about this for a very long time or was it a specific moment that made you decide and feel that “this is it“…?
Yeah I felt that sometimes you can’t combine different things. I wanna do a lot of things… I also have my family and you have to make it economically. It’s not easy to play in a rock band. There are some duties… You have to be available all the time. I felt that I wanted to be able to do something else.
How did the band react when you told them that you were out?
Actually, they felt it. It wasn’t anything new, it’s been a process for a long time. We talked about it and there was no arguing. It was my own decision. I wish we could had played more shows, played 300 days a year, so that you could have made a living of it. Instead of playing in different bands – just play in only one band.
Then it would have worked. But the way it is today, people have to play in different bands… it’s not easy to combine all that stuff.
And sometimes I felt that eventhough I was there, I had my mind somewhere else sometimes. It has to be 100 per cent. 110 per cent.
Did you know that you were going to quit the band when you did the anniversary shows in Greece back in December?
Well…yeahh… Like I said, it’s been a process for maybe one, two years. I almost decided that I was about to leave, so the guys knew. We didn’t always talk about it, but I think they felt it. They knew that something was gonna happen. They were not shocked or whatever.
You never really made a “last show” or a farewell gig, you just somehow went “underground” and disappeared…
No, I can’t say I disappeared because I’m still gonna be a huge fan of Firewind and if they ever need anything I’m there for them. We have always been like brothers. I’m happy to have given my part in such a great band like Firewind.
So you guys are of course still friends…?
Of course, yes, yes! We don’t talk so much right now but after a while I think we’re gonna talk more. I mean, they are busy, I’m busy…. There’s no time for chats right now.
Are you at a point in your life where you realize that it’s not just about becoming a rock star – you’re experiencing the harsh reality of the music business?
Yeah, it is a tough business. You can go for doing something 100% full time and live in a tent or whatever to make it – or, like in my case, just do several gigs and record records but not tour that much. And in my case, that’s what it is.
But you’re still in Evil Masquerade and Spiritual Beggars, if you had decided to quit those two bands and made more time for Firewind, would that have worked? Was that ever a solution?
No, actually it has nothing to do with that, it has to do with how to make a living. If there had been more time for one band, really a full-time job, of course it would have been Firewind.
So many people try to make it, I know many guys who are in seven, eight bands just to keep it up. But I don’t think it’s good to do that, because you put your energy in too many different things and sometimes you lose that energy because of it. It’s better to minimize and focus on less things. So, it was not about choosing, or whatever. It has to do with how big the job is.
But you are still in two bands. If we take Evil Masquerade to begin with. What’s happening with that right now?
Yeah, we recorded a great album, Pentagram, it’s fantastic. Kind of doom with Rainbow and Black Sabbath-elements. I really like Henrik [Flyman] because he’s very creative. He has new ideas, that nobody else dares to do. He doesn’t follow a manual. He does what he likes. And with Spiritual Beggars it’s more straight forward rock’n’roll, which I like. Everybody decides together if we’re gonna do a tour or do gigs, so it’s easy. It’s two different kinds of types of business or whatever you wanna call it.
With Evil Masquerade, Henrik wants to push the band forward and get out more, which is difficult. It’s a small band. ‘Beggars is more established – since ’92, and there are people who really love the band. So it’s easier to do some touring. It’s a struggle for Henrik, I try to help him as much as I can. He’s touring with the band Lacrimosa and he keeps busy, it helps him find new ways to push Evil Masquerade.
When I look at the musical styles of the 3 bands that we mentioned – Firewind, Evil Masquerade and Spiritual Beggars… those bands are all in totally different areas of the rock spectrum…
Yeah.
What makes you decide that “Yeah, I’m gonna join this seventies band and then I’m gonna join this heavy metal band”?
Firstly, it’s good to play in bands who have different directions. I don’t think it’s a good idea to play in Firewind and play in a similar band that plays the same… there’s no point. If you wanna play in different bands you have to develop yourself to play in different styles. So I think it makes sense. Cause I really love the seventies, I always liked ‘Beggars. Since ’92 I’ve always been listening to what they released. It was an honor to join the band in 2009, I think, when they asked me.
Since you are singing in different bands – is it difficult to feel that you are a full member of one of these bands…? Do you feel that you’re just stepping in like a hired gun? Or do you actually feel like a member?
Firewind was, I think, the only band that I felt I was a member of. Cause everybody would contribute to the band, sometimes the ideas were bad, but in many ways it was perfect.
Evil Masquerade is the same because we’ve already made three albums, They did two earlier, before I was in the band. After three albums you feel that you’re “in“… But I think, somehow, that it has to be a band that’s starting together. Putting a band together from the beginning. When you step into new bands and become the last guy in, it will always be that you’re not a hundred per cent a member of a band.
With Firewind it was like a restart somehow. We recorded the album together. We went to the studio together, did some songs, and that made me feel that it was truly my band.
[Firewind with Apollo]
Evil Masquerade made something called Let’s Unite in Rock. Can you tell me more about that?
It was a guy in Australia, I think, whose relative died of cancer and he wanted to do something. He got in touch with Henrik and Henrik made this song. The idea was to do like back in the eighties, you know “Stars“, with Dio and all those people…? The all star project? The idea was to do something like that because it’s very rare today. Nobody does that.
It was an eighties thing, everybody used to do that…
Yes. It has to be simple, it has to be great and in the vein of the eighties. So Henrik made that great song, I like it. He called some people and everybody wanted to contribute.
You also just released a video with Spiritual Beggars…
Mike [Michael Amott] likes seventies vintage style. He likes new stuff and old stuff, it’s good to have from different worlds, We just decided to make it as simple as possible, as much as we could. So we did the recordings in a rehearsal studio and some parts of the whole band outdoors, It was to show people that we ARE a band, and we’re gonna keep going. The idea was to just make it as simple as possible. It’s real, you don’t have to put any effects on it. We only used old effects, like in the seventies, with the colors and whatever… Very straight forward, yeah.
You’re going on tour next week…?
Yeah, it’s gonna be great! The tour is only two weeks, but I like that, because you can put your energy into those two weeks fully. I prefer when it’s only two weeks here and two weeks there. I don’t really like 7-week tours. It’s too much, because somehow a band loses their energy along the way. So I think that two or three weeks is good. You go home for a month and then you can go out again. It’s the best thing to do.
[Spiritual Beggars – on tour right now]
You’re also working as a music teacher. Does it give you some kind of satisfaction to give the legacy of music to very young children and inspire them?
Oooh, yeah, yeah! Of course. I love my job, very much. It would be very difficult for me to leave my job. It gives me a lot. And I’m happy to contribute to students with my experience and teach them how they can work with their music, teach them how to play.
What ages are the kids that you’re teaching?
They are from around ten to sixteen.
Do they know that you’re touring with bands and stuff?
Yeah…I try not to talk about it but you know…Kids always find out…!
So, no metalheads that think you’re the coolest teacher they ever had?
Naah, It’s cool with music, everybody loves music. In that sense you can say it’s cool… I try to teach them what reality is like, to do new recordings, to play in bands… I put them together in bands and sometimes it’s like in real life, some people can’t work together and you can see it pretty quickly.
Have you influenced any kids that might not have been interested in music before, to start listening to rock’n’roll?
Yeah, I think I’ve made many students interested. Sometimes after two months they tell me that they bought a guitar or they ask me “I wanna buy a Fender, how much should it cost?”. Sometimes even parents want to play in bands, haha…! It’s fantastic, music is fun, it’s business it’s everything. You make good contacts, meet great people…
So what are your plans for this year, as far as you know right now? It’s the Spiritual Beggars tour – what else is happening that you know of…?
I’m gonna work a bit with Evil Masquerade, and these are the 20th anniversary shows with Beggars, so that’s why we’re putting out a new record. We’re gonna do the tour and we’ll try to do some festivals, in France and whatever, I don’t remember. And then some more gigs later this year.
And then, when this year is over, I will try to work with my stuff, together with some other people.
Any plans of doing something solo?
Yeah, I don’t wanna call it “solo” but I wanna work with other people. It’s just music, doesn’t matter if it’s solo or something else. I wanna work with people who I appreciate.
I have done many songs with Niclas Engelin from In Flames. We have like fifty songs that we can start working with, if he has the time. We will see what happens after this year. When I’m free and don’t have so much to do.
[Niclas Engelin – In Flames]
It’s not gonna be so much for Spiritual Beggars cause Michael is with Arch Enemy. So I’m trying to keep it cool this year and then I’m gonna start preparing something [in 2014]…
[Michael Amott with Angela Gossow – Arch Enemy]
Seems like there’s gonna be a lot for you eventhough you left Firewind!
Yeah. It’s always like that.
Do you have any message you want to give to your fans?
Keep on listening to heavy metal, rock’n’roll, and thank you for supporting me. We’re gonna meet again, soon!
If all interviews were like this
Travelling all over the place to see bands, is not only about the travelling, the music or the adventure. There is yet another important aspect of it, and is something that I truly value. It’s getting to know people. Friendships, plan and simple.
It started in 1989 with Skid Row. That was the first band that I travelled around to see live everywhere. Up until a few years ago, it was the band that I had seen the most times, but that has been far surpassed by Firewind since then.
If I had only seen one of their shows, there obviously wouldn’t have been a platform for friendship. But, we were all young and it happened, and even after all this time, we’re still glad to see eachother – anytime, anywhere.
Scotti Hill walked out of a photo-session at Sweden Rock last time Skid Row played there a few years ago, cause he was so glad to see a familiar face that he just ran over to give me a hug.
Then I met Sebastian Bach at the Swedish Metal Convention two years ago. In this short video sequence he mentions that we’ve known eachother for 25 years. It’s a long time, but it doesn’t feel like it. :) I love those guys (regardless what they think of eachother) they will always be special to me.
Then there’s the “smaller” bands who went from “interview-objects” to friends who I love catching up with anywhere in the world. Jon Oliva’s Pain bassplayer Kevin for instance, really became a friend for life. And the girls and boys in the Oliva-crew, they rock. We’re all travelling people, so of course, we get to see eachother every now and then, still.
We’re all just people – some you just simply click with. Especially when we all share the love for music (which is a total dealbreaker for me) :-)
When I started travelling all over Europe (and a few states in the US…) to see Firewind, I eventually got to know those guys one by one as well. But for some reason I didn’t get to talk with Apollo the first two years. The first time I did was in Hamburg last year, and I noticed that we had a very similar taste in music. And as we’re also the same age and grew up in Sweden, it was just easy to find topics to discuss.
[Spooky looking but fantastic sounding Apollo with Evil Masquerade]
Before a gig in Kolding, Denmark, I showed him to the nearest 7Eleven that he was looking for, and then took a short stroll around the small town (not a soul outside that day for some reason, maybe it was a Sunday, I don’t remember).
That was definitely when I could establish that Apollo was a great dude. Very easygoing, down to earth, unpretentious.
So when it was announced that he had decided to leave Firewind, I thought it was a shame that I wouldn’t see him on tour anymore. But then it hit me, what the hell, he lives in Sweden, how hard could it be to get back in touch?!
I just dropped him a line.
And so after a few mails and phonecalls, he drove down here to Malmo yesterday afternoon. Did a video interview because I figured it would be good if he was given an opportunity to explain, in his own words, why he left Firewind – after being with the band for ten years.
Up until now the statements have been from the others in the band. Time to hear it straight from the “horse’s mouth”. I’m glad he took the time, I think it turned out really well – so stick around for that.
Had brunch before we got started, just chit-chatted about bands, tours, albums – all the stuff that I could spend hours talking about. :)
It would have been great if all interviews could be this relaxed. To be able to do an interview in a home-setting without the stress of soundchecks, gigs or other journalists stomping outside the door – is pure luxury.
“The camera guy” Henrik and Mari instantly liked Apollo as well, he’s simply a very likeable person. Well, all the Firewind-guys are, actually. :)
Apollo is still a busy guy these days. He had a rehearsal to get back to with Spiritual Beggars, as their tour is kicking off in Germany next week. I’m taking time off to catch the gig in Hamburg next Monday. Should be interesting. Not normally what I’d listen to, but curious to see Apollo in a different setting.
The video-interview will be uploaded soon of course, as soon as Henrik’s had a chance to make something really cool with it. :)
Like or follow my Facebook or Twitter and you’ll be the first to know! :)
www.facebook.com/intherearviewmirror
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 