Here is just the last few sections as a sample:
http://www.rockmymonkey.com/interviews/08/01/Halford.php for the entire interview.
Rock My Monkey: Do you have any thoughts concerning how Tim Owens got dismissed by Iced Earth to bring back the original vocalist in essentially the same way that Judas Priest let Tim go to allow you to return?
Rob Halford: Well, Tim first and foremost was and still is a huge Priest fan. And hes a fantastic guy. He was as excited as the millions of Priest fans were around the world when the rumblings of a reunion were taking place, and he was the first to say Rob needs to come back, Robs the singer for Priest. Ive had a wonderful time living my dream with Priest after coming from a Priest tribute band to actually be in that band and front that band on a couple of records and world tours. Hes a very cool guy, very humble guy. He welcomed that moment to become real. Yeah, I mean, it is unfortunate that hes just gone into the same cycle again. I think hes resilient enough and realistic enough and determined enough not to let this interfere with his great career. Hes got his band Beyond Fear, and there you go, you know. I think when the opportunity came for him to do what he did for Iced Earth, he just ran to it because, again, hes attached to that band and that style of music and performance. Hes a wonderful singer. I wish him all the best for the metal future.
Rock My Monkey: Personally as a fan I actually hope, prefer and hope that he focuses more on Beyond Fear now, because I think his material is stronger when hes not trying to fill somebody elses shoes, I think.
Rob Halford: Yeah. Maybe this might be the case now. But of course, weve all got opinions. I think just on the personal level, on the friendship level, I would hope that Tim has the opportunity to do that work, to stay with Beyond Fear, and to watch that band grow and develop.
Rock My Monkey: I got two more questions left. Chainsaw Max from French industrial band Dahlia Indaco asks what you think about Queens Of The Stone Age and how the collaboration on the Rated R album came to life.
Rob Halford: Just a really inventive, original band. I mean, theyve been going through changes in recent times as well, havent they? But the opportunity for me to sing with them came out of me being in the same studio as they were working in, in Hollywood. I was working on the Halford record and they were next door. We just bumped into each other in the area where we just eat and drink and so forth. I found out that the guys are big fans of what Ive done as a metal singer. And they had this song, and would I check it out, and any chance of me contributing? And when I heard it, I thought Oh, this is just so cool I dont want to miss out on it. So I stepped in and did the vocal work on that song. So yeah, theyre a really good band, and again theyre just unusual. They have a sound and style thats really recognizable. Again, that reinforces another belief that Ive had forever, which is that no matter what band youre in, its really important to try to see what you can do and be in the music world as original and as unique as you can best make it. And thats becoming increasingly difficult now because theres such a vast wealth of talent in all forms of metal and rock. But youve really got to push yourself and try and get that sound, that particular definition that even though someone else might be doing it, youre doing it in a way that pushes you ahead and gets you more recognized. And thats easier said than done. You know, me waffling on about it there on the phone as I am today, but I think its an important ethic that you have to consider and think about.
Rock My Monkey: I do have one final question. Every year we do choose one final question that we ask every single artist that we talk to, from classic rock legends to the most extreme death metal bands. This year Im asking people to tell me what they would do to save this music industry before it circles the drain for the last time. What would you change about how the music industry is done to save it from being the next horse and buggy?
Rob Halford: Well, I dont see disaster looming on the horizon. I think that with the invention of the internet, which has been just as revolutionary as the invention of the telephone and television and all the other great things, things have to kind of get settled. You have to make sense of how you can utilize all of these great things that come along. Were still in that phase. Slowly but surely well make sense of it all. Thatll be the case. You know, 20/20 looking back, shouldve, couldve, wouldve. Ive never really felt that thats important or relevant. I think that looking back has some good in it, in that if things didnt quite go the way that you as a musician wanted it to because of mistakes that you made, or because of mistakes and difficulties that came about through the people that you work with, its just a case of well, you live and learn. But I dont think theres anything I really would want to change. Ive been pretty open-minded to everything thats come my way as a metal singer. And sure you get frustrated. When you want to kick down doors and stuff, and thats a natural reaction to frustration, especially when youre trying to progress as a musician. But you have to overcome that. You have to find a way of getting to the place that you want to get to, and that takes, that does take determination and discussion, and sometimes compromise. As long as you get to where you want to go to, thats all that matters. So Im pretty cool with everything. Im not really that upset about things that have happened in the music industry. I mean, one of the things in the top of my list would have been illegal downloading, but that was just an actual side issue of what would happen. Its when record players were made, dual cassette players were made. You could put a cassette in and make a copy for your friends and so on and so forth. Its just a larger, amplified situation than what that was. And at the end of the day I think that true fans want to support their band and they want to be involved. The way you do that is looking after your band and getting official releases and official merchandise, whatever it might be. That would be on the top of my list in terms of recent difficulties, but overall Ive been pretty happy with everything.
Rock My Monkey: In closing this interview anybody thats listening to the audio version can go to RockMyMonkey.com for the full featured version with clickable links, readable text, and many more wonderful features. Im asking people to click on the album cover above and below this interview to purchase K5: The War Of Words Demo from Rob Halford. I do hope to see you on tour in the Northwest sometime soon. Thank you very much for your time.
Rob Halford: Thank you, Mark. Its been a pleasure. And thank you everybody out there thats been listening. Keep the metal alive, and well see you on the road sometime this year.
For the full interview go to http://www.rockmymonkey.com/interviews/08/01/Halford.php
http://www.rockmymonkey.com/interviews/08/01/Halford.php for the entire interview.
Rock My Monkey: Do you have any thoughts concerning how Tim Owens got dismissed by Iced Earth to bring back the original vocalist in essentially the same way that Judas Priest let Tim go to allow you to return?
Rob Halford: Well, Tim first and foremost was and still is a huge Priest fan. And hes a fantastic guy. He was as excited as the millions of Priest fans were around the world when the rumblings of a reunion were taking place, and he was the first to say Rob needs to come back, Robs the singer for Priest. Ive had a wonderful time living my dream with Priest after coming from a Priest tribute band to actually be in that band and front that band on a couple of records and world tours. Hes a very cool guy, very humble guy. He welcomed that moment to become real. Yeah, I mean, it is unfortunate that hes just gone into the same cycle again. I think hes resilient enough and realistic enough and determined enough not to let this interfere with his great career. Hes got his band Beyond Fear, and there you go, you know. I think when the opportunity came for him to do what he did for Iced Earth, he just ran to it because, again, hes attached to that band and that style of music and performance. Hes a wonderful singer. I wish him all the best for the metal future.
Rock My Monkey: Personally as a fan I actually hope, prefer and hope that he focuses more on Beyond Fear now, because I think his material is stronger when hes not trying to fill somebody elses shoes, I think.
Rob Halford: Yeah. Maybe this might be the case now. But of course, weve all got opinions. I think just on the personal level, on the friendship level, I would hope that Tim has the opportunity to do that work, to stay with Beyond Fear, and to watch that band grow and develop.
Rock My Monkey: I got two more questions left. Chainsaw Max from French industrial band Dahlia Indaco asks what you think about Queens Of The Stone Age and how the collaboration on the Rated R album came to life.
Rob Halford: Just a really inventive, original band. I mean, theyve been going through changes in recent times as well, havent they? But the opportunity for me to sing with them came out of me being in the same studio as they were working in, in Hollywood. I was working on the Halford record and they were next door. We just bumped into each other in the area where we just eat and drink and so forth. I found out that the guys are big fans of what Ive done as a metal singer. And they had this song, and would I check it out, and any chance of me contributing? And when I heard it, I thought Oh, this is just so cool I dont want to miss out on it. So I stepped in and did the vocal work on that song. So yeah, theyre a really good band, and again theyre just unusual. They have a sound and style thats really recognizable. Again, that reinforces another belief that Ive had forever, which is that no matter what band youre in, its really important to try to see what you can do and be in the music world as original and as unique as you can best make it. And thats becoming increasingly difficult now because theres such a vast wealth of talent in all forms of metal and rock. But youve really got to push yourself and try and get that sound, that particular definition that even though someone else might be doing it, youre doing it in a way that pushes you ahead and gets you more recognized. And thats easier said than done. You know, me waffling on about it there on the phone as I am today, but I think its an important ethic that you have to consider and think about.
Rock My Monkey: I do have one final question. Every year we do choose one final question that we ask every single artist that we talk to, from classic rock legends to the most extreme death metal bands. This year Im asking people to tell me what they would do to save this music industry before it circles the drain for the last time. What would you change about how the music industry is done to save it from being the next horse and buggy?
Rob Halford: Well, I dont see disaster looming on the horizon. I think that with the invention of the internet, which has been just as revolutionary as the invention of the telephone and television and all the other great things, things have to kind of get settled. You have to make sense of how you can utilize all of these great things that come along. Were still in that phase. Slowly but surely well make sense of it all. Thatll be the case. You know, 20/20 looking back, shouldve, couldve, wouldve. Ive never really felt that thats important or relevant. I think that looking back has some good in it, in that if things didnt quite go the way that you as a musician wanted it to because of mistakes that you made, or because of mistakes and difficulties that came about through the people that you work with, its just a case of well, you live and learn. But I dont think theres anything I really would want to change. Ive been pretty open-minded to everything thats come my way as a metal singer. And sure you get frustrated. When you want to kick down doors and stuff, and thats a natural reaction to frustration, especially when youre trying to progress as a musician. But you have to overcome that. You have to find a way of getting to the place that you want to get to, and that takes, that does take determination and discussion, and sometimes compromise. As long as you get to where you want to go to, thats all that matters. So Im pretty cool with everything. Im not really that upset about things that have happened in the music industry. I mean, one of the things in the top of my list would have been illegal downloading, but that was just an actual side issue of what would happen. Its when record players were made, dual cassette players were made. You could put a cassette in and make a copy for your friends and so on and so forth. Its just a larger, amplified situation than what that was. And at the end of the day I think that true fans want to support their band and they want to be involved. The way you do that is looking after your band and getting official releases and official merchandise, whatever it might be. That would be on the top of my list in terms of recent difficulties, but overall Ive been pretty happy with everything.
Rock My Monkey: In closing this interview anybody thats listening to the audio version can go to RockMyMonkey.com for the full featured version with clickable links, readable text, and many more wonderful features. Im asking people to click on the album cover above and below this interview to purchase K5: The War Of Words Demo from Rob Halford. I do hope to see you on tour in the Northwest sometime soon. Thank you very much for your time.
Rob Halford: Thank you, Mark. Its been a pleasure. And thank you everybody out there thats been listening. Keep the metal alive, and well see you on the road sometime this year.
For the full interview go to http://www.rockmymonkey.com/interviews/08/01/Halford.php
