In preparation for their 2009 ProgPower appearance, I did an interview with Steve Williams. Because that performance was canceled, the interview never saw a light of day. I recently got an e-mail from someone, asking if I could share it with them. So I asked Glenn if it was OK if I posted it here, and he gave me the green light. So here is the unedited transcript of that interview.
As a side note, I thought Steve was one of the coolest musicians I've had the pleasure of chatting with. He comes across as completely genuine and has a wonderful sense of humor.
Greg: So first off, its a pleasure to speak with you, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to do this interview.
Steve: Oh, no problem at all.
Greg: Although I would suspect most people who will be reading the program will be familiar with POWERQUEST
Steve: Well I guess its a simple mixture in some ways of a kind of European Power Metal, with a splash of 80s Hard Rock and the odd patch of Progressive Rock here and there.
Greg: And how would say thats different from how you guys started?
Steve: I think theres no doubt that when we started out we were straight ahead Power Metal, no frills, just what you see is what you get. As its gone on, different influences have come in. I think from my side, probably being a little bit older than most of the guys in the band, is where the 80s thing comes from. And certainly Ive always been a big fan of bands like YES and MARILLION and stuff like that as well. So that explains some of the longer tracks.
(mutual laughter)
Greg: Its interesting when you talk about influences you tend to think about the artists who influenced you during the formative years. However, as a professional musician, do you find yourself continuing to be influenced, even by more modern artists?
Steve: I think so. There's no doubt it's a more prominent thing when you're younger. There's no getting away from it. You grow, you listen to your favorite bands, whoever they might be, and that's what kind of gets you to want to start a band in the first place. It's the same the world over, isn't really? But I think as time goes on, you get a lot older in life and a bit more experienced, you pull in influences that aren't just musical as well. I've certainly noticed that I spend an awful lot of time these days paying attention to what's actually going on in the world. Way more so than I did 10 or 15 years ago. And I think those kind of things have an impact as well. And you know, I think we all try and keep up with what's going on, new developments in the music scene, be it Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Melodic Metal, whatever you want to call it. And I think sometimes, it's more of a subconscious influence, from the newer stuff. You don't listen to these bands thinking, Wow... I want to be them." That's what you did 20 odd years ago. (mutual laughter).
But these things can seep in as you say. Even kind of curious stuff, like SOILWORK and LINKIN PARK, and things like that. You know, I would never religiously by albums by... but every so often I'll hear one song and I'll think, "Oh that's a kind of cool way of doing this, that or the other", you know? And you kind of store it away.
Greg: Interesting. So you started playing piano at the age of seven. At what age do things evolve from, Mom and Dad are forcing me to do this, to I think I'd like to make a career of music?
Steve: Well... I don't know. I think for probably four or five years after starting piano lessons before I got an inkling of an idea, to be honest with you. Growing up, I was a big sports fan as well. And I played a lot of sports. You know, I figured I had a reasonable crack at making a career in that.
Greg: In soccer? Or football rather?
Steve: No. Some of it is not really a big thing at all in the states, a game we got over here called cricket.
Greg: That's funny. Actually, I live in a neighborhood where we got a ton of little kids playing cricket.
Steve: Oh really?
Greg: Yeah, it's gaining in popularity over here. Well, maybe not so commercially. But a lot of people from India have brought the game over with them.
Steve: That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, you know, I was hell bent on being a star in that field, well for a number of years, until I had an unfortunate injury, back injury that put the kybosh on that, if you like. By this point, I had done all my grade exams in piano theory, that kind of stuff. I had also done violin lessons for six years as well, as a little sideline. But I think it wasn't until I moved away from... you always want to get a band going on. But I had never really thought about it from a serious point of view until I moved away, went to university and was thinking about what to do after that. And I spent a good portion of the 1990s trying to put a band together on the south coast of England. And it just wasn't happening, you know, for one reason or another. You'd think you found people, and then people couldnt do it, couldn't be bothered, didn't have the dedication or whatever it might be. And this went on, and on, and on. Until, it was probably 1998, 1999, when I kind of came across the DRAGONFORCE guys, or they found me, if you like.
Greg: So then, let me now ask the obligatory DRAGONFORCE question. Which I have to imagine your sick of, because I read a bunch of interviews you've given in preparation for this, and it's the same question over and over again, so I'm not going to ask that one. (mutual laughter)
Steve: It never goes away, that one.
Greg: Yeah... and that's actually my question. Is it getting at all frustrating at this point? You guys have gone in two separate directions, it was nine years ago, the bands don't really sound much alike at this point, are you kind of sick of that question yet?
Steve: I wouldn't say I'm sick of it. I think we can say, surely Ive answered it already. But having said that, youre always getting opportunities from different people in interviews and I always take the approach that if somebody wants to talk to you, the least you can do is actually be polite and if the topics are on, offer. Certainly not got to, Oh Christ, not that again attitude. (mutual laughter)
Greg: But certainly youve got to have that thought in the back of your mind, like, Come on, mate, Ive been asked this question 200 times. (mutual laughter)
Steve: I just look at it really, from the point of view that I can just roll out the answers. (mutual laughter)
Greg: So you mentioned youre from the South of England. Is there much of a Metal scene there?
Steve: Id say the broader question probably is there much of a Metal scene in the U.K. generally. The U.K. is really too small in terms of space to look at different scenes now. Maybe in the 70s and the 80s, it was more fractured if you like. But now bands, right from their inception are more prepared to get outside their local area. They always want to get to play London, they always want to play further afield. Theres more of a scene spirit about it these days. We, with POWER QUEST certainly try to encourage younger bands, who are maybe only 17 or 18 years of age. So when we go out, in England and Scotland, we always get some of these bands to play with us, you know. Rather than get someone who might be on the same level as we are or whatever. But its always good to give opportunities to people when it comes to supports slots and all that kind of business.
Greg: Thats great.
Steve: Theres plenty of bands out there. You have to dig a little bit a lot of the time, theyre certainly not on the tip of the tongue of most Metal fans. But having said that, it depends on what your particular Metal bag is. If youre into more extreme stuff, theres a lot of decent up and coming Death Metal bands kicking around in the U.K. at the minute. Theres also a lot of the older style, you know the 80s type bands, like in the states are making a reappearance after a number of years. So the scene is there, if you want to call it a scene. The biggest problem I can see is that, as a musician and as someone who goes to gigs often as I can, is that people dont actually seem to want to go to shows these days, which is a bit of a shame really.
Greg: And do you think that says more about the state of the economy or does it say more about the state of music?
Steve: Im not sure. I dont really think its a financial thing or a credit crunch thing, or whatever you want to call it. What I know is, the older fans still come out. It seems that a lot of the younger fans dont see the need to go to the live show. Theyd rather watch someone on YouTube or something like that. Which I think as all tied with the whole issue of downloading and stuff like that. It all comes as a bit of package as far as I can see. The whole idea of going to a show or even waiting for an album to come out, like we use to do in the 80s., when you were almost counting down the days. Nowadays you know its out there before its even released, so that kind of excitement is gone. And I think when you were waiting for an album to come out you didnt know, and then you heard, Oh, theres going to be a tour and then it was like double excitement. And that whole thing seems to have been lost a little bit. I think its all part and parcel of the same issue.
Greg: Thats interesting as well. Obviously the scene is not prominently featured on radio or MTV any longer. Given that, do you feel MP3s have helped your band more than theyve hurt it or hurt it more than theyve helped it?
Steve: Yeah its a good question. I think you can take to polar opposite sides as well. I think certainly, when we started out in 2001, without the internet it would have been pretty impossible for us to get off square one, if you like. I think it was a definite boon and a boost. For example, had the band started in 1991, I doubt wed still be playing, ten years later. The flipside of the whole internet thing is, it has on your financial situation if you like. You know, we dont sell tons of albums, as you can imagine. Its a frustrating thing when you think, hold on a minute, theres all these people who have heard the album, in chat rooms, I know you havent bought it. And how do you think youre actually supporting the band? Now the worst thing for me is, people who will buy the album and then upload it for everybody else. I dont understand that at all. I cant get my head around that. Why would you want to do that? But I think also, theres an education thing or issue if you like. I think kids. a lot of the time younger kids, have no concept of how much it costs to make a record. They also have no concept of how much contribution there is from record companies. Its certainly not like the old days. Youre not going to get a six figure or even a five figure advance a lot of the time to do a record. Still, the thought we always have is, ok we understand current situation regarding the industry. For example, if we got 8,000 pounds to do a record, but its not enough, we want to make a 12,000 pound, 16,000 pound record, than well bump up the difference ourselves. But then the problem is, youre not stealing from the record company, youre actually stealing from us. That frustrates the hell out of me, when you work nine to five, Monday through Friday to finance the end product and people are taking it for nothing. I know its the nature of the beast now and were certainly not the only people who feel the same way, but I dont what the answer is to be honest.
Greg: I dont either. And it definitely seems to be a generational thing and its likely only going to get worse.
Steve: Oh, I have no doubt. I think the concept of physical product when it comes to music is probably something thats gone out of fashion, very, very quickly.
Greg: It certainly does seem that way. So lets change direction a bit. I noticed that while youre from England, most of your band is from Italy. So, how do you feel that impacts you? How does that change the dynamic, than if they were all in the U.K.?
Steve: Well, I suppose its something thats become normal, if you like, for us. Certainly with Alessio (Garavello) and Andrea (Martongelli) who have been in the band since 2002, so thats pretty much the entire existence of the band anyway. Francesco (Tresca) came a long in 2005, so hes been with us nearly four years as well. Yeah, Im the only person actually in the U.K. Our bass player, Steve Scott, moved back to New Zealand now. He was previously based in London, that was just a short bit away from me. But now weve got Oliver Holzwarth playing bass for us, of course hes based in Germany. So yeah, four guys in Europe and me. (mutual laughter)
Greg: Does that make it difficult to get sharp prior to a tour?
Steve: It doesnt seem to. I think the key to that is that whenever a show, festival or tour comes in or even when were doing an album everybody seems to be so fired up without me actually needing to fire them up, that it all comes together quite nicely. We do some ridiculous thing sometimes. The tour we did with ANGRA a couple of years ago, three weeks around Europe, we didnt actually have any rehearsals.
Greg: Really?
Steve: No. Nothing. Not a half hour session. We didnt even head for the tour, we all arrived from different places, set up and played. Everybody was saying to us after, Great show, how much rehearsal did you do? Im like, Well none. (mutual laughter)
Greg: Thats amazing. So how do you all practice? Are you playing to a metronome? Are you playing to a CD that had your part removed?
Steve: We do a combination of those things really. We have CDs tracks, with parts missing that we substitute ourselves on when were practicing. And because everyones been playing these songs for a while, apart from the new ones, playing the older songs for a long time, theyre kind of engrained in everyone I think. You can turn up at rehearsal having changed a 10 or 12 song set list. Well go through the songs and you think, OK, that ones not quite working. So well say, Right. What else you know? OK, well try X. That sounds better, well do that instead. Its quite fluid process if you like.
Greg: Youre obviously a studied musician, are the other guys as well? Or are they more the type ho picked up a guitar and learned by ear?
Steve: No. I think Andrea, the guitar player, hes been music, music, music all the way, you know. And even now, hes got the best job title in the world for his day job, hes Director of Metal.
Greg: Director of Metal?
Steve: Hes head of this guitar section, of the guitar school in Italy. And thats the job title that comes with it. (mutual laughter)
Greg: Director of Metal. Thats awesome.
Steve: Alessio as well, hes teaching singing, as well as performing. Both those guys play in a couple of other bands out in Italy as well. Francesco is not so much a formally trained musician, but hes a (inaudible) student if you like. Hes a big fan of bands like RUSH and DEATH and bands like that, bands with very technical drumming. And hes kind of worshipping at those altars, you know. Learning everything he can from those kind of guys. Hes got a slightly different approach. And of course Olivers been a pro for twenty odd years. So hes as comfortable playing Peter Gabriel as he is playing Power Metal, which is fantastic.
Greg: So thats the current line up. And you guys have had five members who have passed through
Steve: Oddly enough we were talking about that the last time we were all together, a few weeks ago and I think we came up with seven.
Greg: Seven. Is that a factor of this not being a scene you can make a lot of money in? Is it a personality thing? Creative differences? All of the above?
Steve: I think its a mixture of all the things really. Weve had the guitarists whose been in the band right at the start, he played on the first album, hes now a qualified doctor. So hes maybe gone his own way. One of our former drummers, Andre Bargmann, hes a drum tech, whose teching with bands like HEAVEN & HELL, DIO and people like that. Of course we had Steve, who emigrated back to New Zealand, change of life, got fed up with life in the big city. So yeah, a myriad of different reasons for people heading off and doing their own thing. Thats the beauty of it. I think nobody whose left has left under a cloud. Everybody is still, if you bump into them from time to time, its all just like it was yesterday when left off.
Greg: So you guys are playing ProgPower in September, its your first U.S. performance, what are your expectations for the show?
Steve: Well, its the first trip stateside, so its a pretty big deal in and of itself. To be able to come and play at an event like ProgPower is also a big deal, because Ive followed the event from a distance, pretty much since it started. And friends of mine, bands like THRESHOLD and PAGANS MIND have been over there and told me, what a great experience it is, not just from the performing side of things but from the actual social side of things as well. Getting to actually hang out with people you may have communicated through e-mail or MSN for a number of years, actually getting to meet in the flesh as you were. So Im looking forward to that, almost as much as Im looking to playing.
Greg: Well, I can tell you this. When they ran the video, at the conclusion of last years festival, announcing this years line up, there was a very boisterous cheer that went up when they announced POWER QUEST.
Steve: Oh cool.
Greg: So I think you guys will be playing to a very receptive audience.
Steve: You know what as well, I suppose that people dont say thing very often, the fact that were going to be the first band, is actually a good thing from our point of view. Were looking forward to sort of launching the weekend with a furious boot up its ass to be honest. (mutual laughter)
Greg: So, when you play a festival like ProgPower, theres obviously a lot of top tier musicians. Is that something youre even aware of? Do you think, there are some guys here with some serious chops, I have to really bring it? Or are you pretty much oblivious to that?
Steve: For me, and I dont know if its an age thing or whatever, I dont tend to get too caught up in the competitiveness between bands and musicians. Its more the case, as we always say, whether youre playing a festival to a thousand people or youre playing a small show to 50 people, it doesnt make any difference in terms of how much effort were going to put in and how much were going to enjoy it.
Greg: I read that you were hoping to do some U.S. dates either before or after ProgPower, and I guess that didnt work out. Can you talk at all about what sort of happened there?
Steve: Its very simple really. Its all down to money Im afraid. We just didnt have the where with all to fund it ourselves and we didnt have people prepared to put their money in the pocket and back it for a few shows. I think primarily, thats due to the fact that our last album came out last year. Had it only been out for a month before ProgPower for example, probably would have been a different situation.
Greg: So that brings me to another question I have. I believe you guys have had four labels?
Steve: Yeah.
Greg: So youre now on Napalm Records, which did your first U.S. release, Master of Illusion. So are you happy with the level of support youre receiving from Napalm Records?
Steve: The first thing I have to say is the leap in professionalism when signing with Napalm was fairly large, in terms of how the business machine operates. I went from doing 20 or 30 interviews for an album to doing a hundred interviews. That was the first thing I noticed well this is pretty good. And yeah, just getting the name out there, getting the adverts in magazines, not relying on the internet, has been a big bonus. In the past, weve had relations where, foe the Magic Never Dies album, there was hardly any promotion at all. What there was, was word of mouth than anything else. Yeah Napalm has done a great job really, particularly when you consider they havent got too many other bands like us on the roster.
Greg: So you mentioned the press, and talking about the presses coverage of Master of Illusion, it seems its been overwhelmingly positive. And it seems that many see it as something of a shift in direction for POWER QUEST. How do you view Master of Illusion?
Steve: Id actually say, to my ears anyway, Master of Illusion is probably our heaviest album to date. Without a shadow of doubt, in the sense that its the first album weve ever tuned down for, for starters. There was conscious effort with that record to make it more guitar-oriented. I think both Neverworld and the Magic Never Dies were both very keyboardy records, which of course is my fault entirely. (mutual laughter) Where as Wings of Forever was quite guitar-oriented album as well. So we wanted to get back to basics a little with the guitars, Make sure theres more riffs in there, more crunchy riffs, but still leaving the melodic as well. Try to meld the two different styles as well, if you like, to try and take us on a slightly different path.
Greg: And the title track to Master of Illusion is about out former President. Im guessing youre not a fan?
Steve: Not exactly. (mutual laughter) Its difficult when you talk about specific people. But the way, Mr. Bush has kind of portrayed himself, has been one the most comedic things Ive seen for a long time.
Greg: (laughter) For the record, I couldnt agree more.
Steve: I just quite couldnt get my head around how someone like that could be elected in the first place. That was my thing. Im sure hes a perfectly pleasant bloke, but he just comes across as a little bit dumb. Not aware of his surroundings half the time, not aware of the impact of what hes actually saying. But you know, I cant exactly sing the praises of our guys over here either.
Greg: So I understand, you guys are working on a new CD.
Steve: Yeah. Its pretty much written to be honest. I went out to Italy in February (2009), spent a long weekend out there with the boys. Took some ideas I had and some completed songs and all that kind of stuff, took seven or eight songs out with me. And normally what happens is Ill take that number of songs and the guys will go, Yep. Yep. No. Yep. And so on and so forth. And this time it was yep, yep, yep all the way through. And I was saying, You like everything I got plenty of these? And theyre like, No. No. Can you write a couple more, than well have an album. So we hammered out several while we were out there for four days. Had a curious bout of writers block for a couple of weeks. Than another piece came along shortly after that. So yeah, the material is all ready to go. We were, actually going to start recording it, this week? I think it was today actually. But we took a long hard look at the situation to be honest, and it comes back to the current financial situation and all that kind of thing. We have an album out 12 months ago. People havent got a lot of money in their pockets. Do we really want to be in a situation where we put out a record and its just going to get downloaded for nothing again and get lost in the noise again. OK. Weve got the album written. Lets sit on it. Lets come back to it in a couple of months. Lets listen to the songs we worked on. Lets see if were still happy with what we were happy with and then well pick it up from there. So were probably looking now at maybe September. We should have set the date by them, as to when well start recording the next one.
Greg: With the songs you have written, how would you say they compare to your previous works?
Steve: Id say its almost like the same difference between Magic Never Dies and Master of Illusion. The same difference again for the next record. Again, quite guitar-oriented, short songs as well. I think thats another thing with Master of Illusion, the length of the songs started coming down from the sort of seven or eight minutes to sort of four, five, six, we even had one that was under four minutes I think, which was a first. I think theres a conscious thought process now to weed out unnecessary, lengthy solo sections that dont do anything other than show off, you know. I love guitar solos and keyboard solos as much as the next person, but if they dont actually hold some sort of purpose in the song or are critical to the actual structure of it, they why do it? Thats the kind of philosophy weve been looking at recently
As a side note, I thought Steve was one of the coolest musicians I've had the pleasure of chatting with. He comes across as completely genuine and has a wonderful sense of humor.
Greg: So first off, its a pleasure to speak with you, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to do this interview.
Steve: Oh, no problem at all.
Greg: Although I would suspect most people who will be reading the program will be familiar with POWERQUEST
Steve: Well I guess its a simple mixture in some ways of a kind of European Power Metal, with a splash of 80s Hard Rock and the odd patch of Progressive Rock here and there.
Greg: And how would say thats different from how you guys started?
Steve: I think theres no doubt that when we started out we were straight ahead Power Metal, no frills, just what you see is what you get. As its gone on, different influences have come in. I think from my side, probably being a little bit older than most of the guys in the band, is where the 80s thing comes from. And certainly Ive always been a big fan of bands like YES and MARILLION and stuff like that as well. So that explains some of the longer tracks.
(mutual laughter)
Greg: Its interesting when you talk about influences you tend to think about the artists who influenced you during the formative years. However, as a professional musician, do you find yourself continuing to be influenced, even by more modern artists?
Steve: I think so. There's no doubt it's a more prominent thing when you're younger. There's no getting away from it. You grow, you listen to your favorite bands, whoever they might be, and that's what kind of gets you to want to start a band in the first place. It's the same the world over, isn't really? But I think as time goes on, you get a lot older in life and a bit more experienced, you pull in influences that aren't just musical as well. I've certainly noticed that I spend an awful lot of time these days paying attention to what's actually going on in the world. Way more so than I did 10 or 15 years ago. And I think those kind of things have an impact as well. And you know, I think we all try and keep up with what's going on, new developments in the music scene, be it Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Melodic Metal, whatever you want to call it. And I think sometimes, it's more of a subconscious influence, from the newer stuff. You don't listen to these bands thinking, Wow... I want to be them." That's what you did 20 odd years ago. (mutual laughter).
But these things can seep in as you say. Even kind of curious stuff, like SOILWORK and LINKIN PARK, and things like that. You know, I would never religiously by albums by... but every so often I'll hear one song and I'll think, "Oh that's a kind of cool way of doing this, that or the other", you know? And you kind of store it away.
Greg: Interesting. So you started playing piano at the age of seven. At what age do things evolve from, Mom and Dad are forcing me to do this, to I think I'd like to make a career of music?
Steve: Well... I don't know. I think for probably four or five years after starting piano lessons before I got an inkling of an idea, to be honest with you. Growing up, I was a big sports fan as well. And I played a lot of sports. You know, I figured I had a reasonable crack at making a career in that.
Greg: In soccer? Or football rather?
Steve: No. Some of it is not really a big thing at all in the states, a game we got over here called cricket.
Greg: That's funny. Actually, I live in a neighborhood where we got a ton of little kids playing cricket.
Steve: Oh really?
Greg: Yeah, it's gaining in popularity over here. Well, maybe not so commercially. But a lot of people from India have brought the game over with them.
Steve: That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, you know, I was hell bent on being a star in that field, well for a number of years, until I had an unfortunate injury, back injury that put the kybosh on that, if you like. By this point, I had done all my grade exams in piano theory, that kind of stuff. I had also done violin lessons for six years as well, as a little sideline. But I think it wasn't until I moved away from... you always want to get a band going on. But I had never really thought about it from a serious point of view until I moved away, went to university and was thinking about what to do after that. And I spent a good portion of the 1990s trying to put a band together on the south coast of England. And it just wasn't happening, you know, for one reason or another. You'd think you found people, and then people couldnt do it, couldn't be bothered, didn't have the dedication or whatever it might be. And this went on, and on, and on. Until, it was probably 1998, 1999, when I kind of came across the DRAGONFORCE guys, or they found me, if you like.
Greg: So then, let me now ask the obligatory DRAGONFORCE question. Which I have to imagine your sick of, because I read a bunch of interviews you've given in preparation for this, and it's the same question over and over again, so I'm not going to ask that one. (mutual laughter)
Steve: It never goes away, that one.
Greg: Yeah... and that's actually my question. Is it getting at all frustrating at this point? You guys have gone in two separate directions, it was nine years ago, the bands don't really sound much alike at this point, are you kind of sick of that question yet?
Steve: I wouldn't say I'm sick of it. I think we can say, surely Ive answered it already. But having said that, youre always getting opportunities from different people in interviews and I always take the approach that if somebody wants to talk to you, the least you can do is actually be polite and if the topics are on, offer. Certainly not got to, Oh Christ, not that again attitude. (mutual laughter)
Greg: But certainly youve got to have that thought in the back of your mind, like, Come on, mate, Ive been asked this question 200 times. (mutual laughter)
Steve: I just look at it really, from the point of view that I can just roll out the answers. (mutual laughter)
Greg: So you mentioned youre from the South of England. Is there much of a Metal scene there?
Steve: Id say the broader question probably is there much of a Metal scene in the U.K. generally. The U.K. is really too small in terms of space to look at different scenes now. Maybe in the 70s and the 80s, it was more fractured if you like. But now bands, right from their inception are more prepared to get outside their local area. They always want to get to play London, they always want to play further afield. Theres more of a scene spirit about it these days. We, with POWER QUEST certainly try to encourage younger bands, who are maybe only 17 or 18 years of age. So when we go out, in England and Scotland, we always get some of these bands to play with us, you know. Rather than get someone who might be on the same level as we are or whatever. But its always good to give opportunities to people when it comes to supports slots and all that kind of business.
Greg: Thats great.
Steve: Theres plenty of bands out there. You have to dig a little bit a lot of the time, theyre certainly not on the tip of the tongue of most Metal fans. But having said that, it depends on what your particular Metal bag is. If youre into more extreme stuff, theres a lot of decent up and coming Death Metal bands kicking around in the U.K. at the minute. Theres also a lot of the older style, you know the 80s type bands, like in the states are making a reappearance after a number of years. So the scene is there, if you want to call it a scene. The biggest problem I can see is that, as a musician and as someone who goes to gigs often as I can, is that people dont actually seem to want to go to shows these days, which is a bit of a shame really.
Greg: And do you think that says more about the state of the economy or does it say more about the state of music?
Steve: Im not sure. I dont really think its a financial thing or a credit crunch thing, or whatever you want to call it. What I know is, the older fans still come out. It seems that a lot of the younger fans dont see the need to go to the live show. Theyd rather watch someone on YouTube or something like that. Which I think as all tied with the whole issue of downloading and stuff like that. It all comes as a bit of package as far as I can see. The whole idea of going to a show or even waiting for an album to come out, like we use to do in the 80s., when you were almost counting down the days. Nowadays you know its out there before its even released, so that kind of excitement is gone. And I think when you were waiting for an album to come out you didnt know, and then you heard, Oh, theres going to be a tour and then it was like double excitement. And that whole thing seems to have been lost a little bit. I think its all part and parcel of the same issue.
Greg: Thats interesting as well. Obviously the scene is not prominently featured on radio or MTV any longer. Given that, do you feel MP3s have helped your band more than theyve hurt it or hurt it more than theyve helped it?
Steve: Yeah its a good question. I think you can take to polar opposite sides as well. I think certainly, when we started out in 2001, without the internet it would have been pretty impossible for us to get off square one, if you like. I think it was a definite boon and a boost. For example, had the band started in 1991, I doubt wed still be playing, ten years later. The flipside of the whole internet thing is, it has on your financial situation if you like. You know, we dont sell tons of albums, as you can imagine. Its a frustrating thing when you think, hold on a minute, theres all these people who have heard the album, in chat rooms, I know you havent bought it. And how do you think youre actually supporting the band? Now the worst thing for me is, people who will buy the album and then upload it for everybody else. I dont understand that at all. I cant get my head around that. Why would you want to do that? But I think also, theres an education thing or issue if you like. I think kids. a lot of the time younger kids, have no concept of how much it costs to make a record. They also have no concept of how much contribution there is from record companies. Its certainly not like the old days. Youre not going to get a six figure or even a five figure advance a lot of the time to do a record. Still, the thought we always have is, ok we understand current situation regarding the industry. For example, if we got 8,000 pounds to do a record, but its not enough, we want to make a 12,000 pound, 16,000 pound record, than well bump up the difference ourselves. But then the problem is, youre not stealing from the record company, youre actually stealing from us. That frustrates the hell out of me, when you work nine to five, Monday through Friday to finance the end product and people are taking it for nothing. I know its the nature of the beast now and were certainly not the only people who feel the same way, but I dont what the answer is to be honest.
Greg: I dont either. And it definitely seems to be a generational thing and its likely only going to get worse.
Steve: Oh, I have no doubt. I think the concept of physical product when it comes to music is probably something thats gone out of fashion, very, very quickly.
Greg: It certainly does seem that way. So lets change direction a bit. I noticed that while youre from England, most of your band is from Italy. So, how do you feel that impacts you? How does that change the dynamic, than if they were all in the U.K.?
Steve: Well, I suppose its something thats become normal, if you like, for us. Certainly with Alessio (Garavello) and Andrea (Martongelli) who have been in the band since 2002, so thats pretty much the entire existence of the band anyway. Francesco (Tresca) came a long in 2005, so hes been with us nearly four years as well. Yeah, Im the only person actually in the U.K. Our bass player, Steve Scott, moved back to New Zealand now. He was previously based in London, that was just a short bit away from me. But now weve got Oliver Holzwarth playing bass for us, of course hes based in Germany. So yeah, four guys in Europe and me. (mutual laughter)
Greg: Does that make it difficult to get sharp prior to a tour?
Steve: It doesnt seem to. I think the key to that is that whenever a show, festival or tour comes in or even when were doing an album everybody seems to be so fired up without me actually needing to fire them up, that it all comes together quite nicely. We do some ridiculous thing sometimes. The tour we did with ANGRA a couple of years ago, three weeks around Europe, we didnt actually have any rehearsals.
Greg: Really?
Steve: No. Nothing. Not a half hour session. We didnt even head for the tour, we all arrived from different places, set up and played. Everybody was saying to us after, Great show, how much rehearsal did you do? Im like, Well none. (mutual laughter)
Greg: Thats amazing. So how do you all practice? Are you playing to a metronome? Are you playing to a CD that had your part removed?
Steve: We do a combination of those things really. We have CDs tracks, with parts missing that we substitute ourselves on when were practicing. And because everyones been playing these songs for a while, apart from the new ones, playing the older songs for a long time, theyre kind of engrained in everyone I think. You can turn up at rehearsal having changed a 10 or 12 song set list. Well go through the songs and you think, OK, that ones not quite working. So well say, Right. What else you know? OK, well try X. That sounds better, well do that instead. Its quite fluid process if you like.
Greg: Youre obviously a studied musician, are the other guys as well? Or are they more the type ho picked up a guitar and learned by ear?
Steve: No. I think Andrea, the guitar player, hes been music, music, music all the way, you know. And even now, hes got the best job title in the world for his day job, hes Director of Metal.
Greg: Director of Metal?
Steve: Hes head of this guitar section, of the guitar school in Italy. And thats the job title that comes with it. (mutual laughter)
Greg: Director of Metal. Thats awesome.
Steve: Alessio as well, hes teaching singing, as well as performing. Both those guys play in a couple of other bands out in Italy as well. Francesco is not so much a formally trained musician, but hes a (inaudible) student if you like. Hes a big fan of bands like RUSH and DEATH and bands like that, bands with very technical drumming. And hes kind of worshipping at those altars, you know. Learning everything he can from those kind of guys. Hes got a slightly different approach. And of course Olivers been a pro for twenty odd years. So hes as comfortable playing Peter Gabriel as he is playing Power Metal, which is fantastic.
Greg: So thats the current line up. And you guys have had five members who have passed through
Steve: Oddly enough we were talking about that the last time we were all together, a few weeks ago and I think we came up with seven.
Greg: Seven. Is that a factor of this not being a scene you can make a lot of money in? Is it a personality thing? Creative differences? All of the above?
Steve: I think its a mixture of all the things really. Weve had the guitarists whose been in the band right at the start, he played on the first album, hes now a qualified doctor. So hes maybe gone his own way. One of our former drummers, Andre Bargmann, hes a drum tech, whose teching with bands like HEAVEN & HELL, DIO and people like that. Of course we had Steve, who emigrated back to New Zealand, change of life, got fed up with life in the big city. So yeah, a myriad of different reasons for people heading off and doing their own thing. Thats the beauty of it. I think nobody whose left has left under a cloud. Everybody is still, if you bump into them from time to time, its all just like it was yesterday when left off.
Greg: So you guys are playing ProgPower in September, its your first U.S. performance, what are your expectations for the show?
Steve: Well, its the first trip stateside, so its a pretty big deal in and of itself. To be able to come and play at an event like ProgPower is also a big deal, because Ive followed the event from a distance, pretty much since it started. And friends of mine, bands like THRESHOLD and PAGANS MIND have been over there and told me, what a great experience it is, not just from the performing side of things but from the actual social side of things as well. Getting to actually hang out with people you may have communicated through e-mail or MSN for a number of years, actually getting to meet in the flesh as you were. So Im looking forward to that, almost as much as Im looking to playing.
Greg: Well, I can tell you this. When they ran the video, at the conclusion of last years festival, announcing this years line up, there was a very boisterous cheer that went up when they announced POWER QUEST.
Steve: Oh cool.
Greg: So I think you guys will be playing to a very receptive audience.
Steve: You know what as well, I suppose that people dont say thing very often, the fact that were going to be the first band, is actually a good thing from our point of view. Were looking forward to sort of launching the weekend with a furious boot up its ass to be honest. (mutual laughter)
Greg: So, when you play a festival like ProgPower, theres obviously a lot of top tier musicians. Is that something youre even aware of? Do you think, there are some guys here with some serious chops, I have to really bring it? Or are you pretty much oblivious to that?
Steve: For me, and I dont know if its an age thing or whatever, I dont tend to get too caught up in the competitiveness between bands and musicians. Its more the case, as we always say, whether youre playing a festival to a thousand people or youre playing a small show to 50 people, it doesnt make any difference in terms of how much effort were going to put in and how much were going to enjoy it.
Greg: I read that you were hoping to do some U.S. dates either before or after ProgPower, and I guess that didnt work out. Can you talk at all about what sort of happened there?
Steve: Its very simple really. Its all down to money Im afraid. We just didnt have the where with all to fund it ourselves and we didnt have people prepared to put their money in the pocket and back it for a few shows. I think primarily, thats due to the fact that our last album came out last year. Had it only been out for a month before ProgPower for example, probably would have been a different situation.
Greg: So that brings me to another question I have. I believe you guys have had four labels?
Steve: Yeah.
Greg: So youre now on Napalm Records, which did your first U.S. release, Master of Illusion. So are you happy with the level of support youre receiving from Napalm Records?
Steve: The first thing I have to say is the leap in professionalism when signing with Napalm was fairly large, in terms of how the business machine operates. I went from doing 20 or 30 interviews for an album to doing a hundred interviews. That was the first thing I noticed well this is pretty good. And yeah, just getting the name out there, getting the adverts in magazines, not relying on the internet, has been a big bonus. In the past, weve had relations where, foe the Magic Never Dies album, there was hardly any promotion at all. What there was, was word of mouth than anything else. Yeah Napalm has done a great job really, particularly when you consider they havent got too many other bands like us on the roster.
Greg: So you mentioned the press, and talking about the presses coverage of Master of Illusion, it seems its been overwhelmingly positive. And it seems that many see it as something of a shift in direction for POWER QUEST. How do you view Master of Illusion?
Steve: Id actually say, to my ears anyway, Master of Illusion is probably our heaviest album to date. Without a shadow of doubt, in the sense that its the first album weve ever tuned down for, for starters. There was conscious effort with that record to make it more guitar-oriented. I think both Neverworld and the Magic Never Dies were both very keyboardy records, which of course is my fault entirely. (mutual laughter) Where as Wings of Forever was quite guitar-oriented album as well. So we wanted to get back to basics a little with the guitars, Make sure theres more riffs in there, more crunchy riffs, but still leaving the melodic as well. Try to meld the two different styles as well, if you like, to try and take us on a slightly different path.
Greg: And the title track to Master of Illusion is about out former President. Im guessing youre not a fan?
Steve: Not exactly. (mutual laughter) Its difficult when you talk about specific people. But the way, Mr. Bush has kind of portrayed himself, has been one the most comedic things Ive seen for a long time.
Greg: (laughter) For the record, I couldnt agree more.
Steve: I just quite couldnt get my head around how someone like that could be elected in the first place. That was my thing. Im sure hes a perfectly pleasant bloke, but he just comes across as a little bit dumb. Not aware of his surroundings half the time, not aware of the impact of what hes actually saying. But you know, I cant exactly sing the praises of our guys over here either.
Greg: So I understand, you guys are working on a new CD.
Steve: Yeah. Its pretty much written to be honest. I went out to Italy in February (2009), spent a long weekend out there with the boys. Took some ideas I had and some completed songs and all that kind of stuff, took seven or eight songs out with me. And normally what happens is Ill take that number of songs and the guys will go, Yep. Yep. No. Yep. And so on and so forth. And this time it was yep, yep, yep all the way through. And I was saying, You like everything I got plenty of these? And theyre like, No. No. Can you write a couple more, than well have an album. So we hammered out several while we were out there for four days. Had a curious bout of writers block for a couple of weeks. Than another piece came along shortly after that. So yeah, the material is all ready to go. We were, actually going to start recording it, this week? I think it was today actually. But we took a long hard look at the situation to be honest, and it comes back to the current financial situation and all that kind of thing. We have an album out 12 months ago. People havent got a lot of money in their pockets. Do we really want to be in a situation where we put out a record and its just going to get downloaded for nothing again and get lost in the noise again. OK. Weve got the album written. Lets sit on it. Lets come back to it in a couple of months. Lets listen to the songs we worked on. Lets see if were still happy with what we were happy with and then well pick it up from there. So were probably looking now at maybe September. We should have set the date by them, as to when well start recording the next one.
Greg: With the songs you have written, how would you say they compare to your previous works?
Steve: Id say its almost like the same difference between Magic Never Dies and Master of Illusion. The same difference again for the next record. Again, quite guitar-oriented, short songs as well. I think thats another thing with Master of Illusion, the length of the songs started coming down from the sort of seven or eight minutes to sort of four, five, six, we even had one that was under four minutes I think, which was a first. I think theres a conscious thought process now to weed out unnecessary, lengthy solo sections that dont do anything other than show off, you know. I love guitar solos and keyboard solos as much as the next person, but if they dont actually hold some sort of purpose in the song or are critical to the actual structure of it, they why do it? Thats the kind of philosophy weve been looking at recently
