I had a great honor to get STeve Smyth interviewed
I hope you guys find that as intereSTing on.
Enjoy!
1. How and when did you get into metal music?
I got into metal around the age of 10, when a friend of mine who was playing guitar played AC/DC's Back in Black album and Aerosmith Rocks for me, and I was floored! I was sold from there!
2. Why did you pick up guitar?
I picked up the guitar at the age of 10, the very day after I heard those records! I was so blown away by the sound of what I heard, and I found an electric in a closet at home, turned out to be my mother's! A 1957 DanElectro Les Paul Copy, and a '57 pre CBS Fender Champ amp, and I got started from there!
3. Your very first band was...?
My very first band was a band I formed in junior highg school called Metallic Rage, with my friends! We formed to become a big band, and the first ( and only) gig, was at the talent show towards the end of the year. We got 2nd place, beat out the jazz snobs in their band! Funny shit! Somebody has it on video tape, but not one of us can find this guy anymore.
4. How and when did you join Vicious Rumors?
I joined VR back in 1995, towards the end of that year. Basically, a mutual frined of Goeff Thrope's and myself called me 24 hours after Mark McGee left the band, told me baout this, told me Geoff really wanetd me to come down there and jam, so I called him, and I went down the next week and jammed. I had 20 songs down, bweing that I was always a fna of the band, and my old band Ariah always opened for them in our hometown, I knew a lot of the songs. As they put it" You know songs we don't even remember how to play anymore!"
5. VR with you gained more innovative and powerful sound and the best example was post-thrash record Cyberchrist. Was your impact on that album and sound strong?
I basically got my chance to "step up", so to speak, and contributed at least half of the songs on the album, and received co-writing credit for the other half of the album.I would like to say it was my heavy influence on there, although some people might argue that. But look at the song credits?
6. What was you participation in creating Something Burning and Cyberchrist LPs?
Something Burning I wrote the last song musically 90%, and Geoff wrote the lyrics and threw in a riff some where in there as well. CyberChrist I think was at least half myself, and half everyone else. That album still was and is to me a group effort, that's what made it sound the way it does.
7. All those marvelous lead parts on Cyberchrist were played by you?
Thanks for the compliment! Track by track, CyberChrist was all me, the 2nd half of Buried Alive, the first half of Kill the Day, all of No Apologies, the first half of Gig's Eviction, all of Barcelona, the 2nd half of DownPour, half the haormony of Candles Burn, the first half of Fiend and Faith, and the harmony stuff on the end of that.
8. Which one of those LPs mentioned above do you find as more mature and why?
I believe CyberChrist was the more mature record out of the two, as Something Burning was written with Carl Albert still alive, he got in his car wreck, and passed away, and Geof took over on voacals for that album. He wasn't trained, he did his best but.....
9. What do you think about the vocals on both aboved LPs?
I think the effort was there on Goeff's part, althoguh I would have preferred hearing Brian O'Connor sing on most if not all of the album.
10. Your fav songs from those LPs are...?
My favorites from Something Burning would have to be Out of My Misery, written by Tommy Sisco, Something Burning( the solo section), Concentration( great riff, had a lot of fun with that solo) Strip Search ( fun instrumental), Make it Real, and Free to Go.
Cyber Christ, I loved the whole record as a whole, just thought some tihngs could have come out better in productiojn, and some different choices could have been made about the vocals, that's why I always told people before I was 75% happy with that album. It's the other 25% that could have been changed to make it even more enjoyable, in my opinion.
11. How was your co-operation with Geoff Thorpe doing?
I think for the time, it was a great thing musically. Geoff has an ear for things like that, and I alkways had a respect for that.
12. Are you still in contact with VR musicians?
I see people occasionally around, but it's rare. Not really so much anymore. I know that the band is still going, Tommy Sisco has his own record company now ( Relentless Records), and I know Larry Howe and Dave Starr are both playing with Chastain ( David Chastain's band),a nd just put out an album a few months ago.
13. Gig of VR you`ll never forget is...?
Probably a few of them. One being my first "official" gig, in my hometown, and the birthplacce of the band as well, and I did double duty; my Black Sabbath/Ozzy tribute band SweeetLeaf closed the show, and I ended up playing for about 3 1/2 hours that night, all said and done. I was exhausted after that!
14. Why did you leave VR? Did you have to sacrifice VR for joining Testament? Was there no possibility to play with both or maybe you didn`t want to?
I left the band for a few reasons, some of them business, and personal.
Suffice it to say, everyone else in the band_ left the band before I did, and I happened to get the Testament gig offer while all this was going down. Brian O'Connor left, then Larry Howe, then Tommy Sisco, lastly, myself.
It wasn't really a sacrifice, but rather a blessing I suppose, the way that the Testament gig came about, and I have always been/will always be grateful, and count myself lucky for the opportunities I've been given.
16. Back in 1999 you toured with Testament for the first time, and that tour began in Poland. Any good memories about the country of your mother? How was the crowd?
YES! Poland! This is the country of my mother,and I loved being there on the first leg of that tour! The crowds were fucking unbelievable! We played Katowice, Warsaw,a dn I thought we played another city as well. I had a lot of Vodka, so I can't remember! It was great though, just checking out the sites, and seeing Poland for the first time! Awesome!
17. You played in Thrash Of The Titans back in 2001. What are your memories from that special gig?
Well, I felt very to have the opportunity to play with one of my favorite bands from the early days....Forbidden Evil! This was awesome! Basiclaly in the end, we ended up having Paul Bostaph and Jeremy Colson( Steve Vai's current drummer) split the set drum-wise, and Tim Calvert and I split the set amongst ourselves as well! And Glenn Alvalias played rhythm/lead, Matt Camacho played, and Russ Anderson was singing! That was a great time!
18. If you don`t mind I`d like to ask you about Testament`s psychical shape during Chuck`s fight for his life. What did you guys have to go through? Did this Chuck illness have any influence on the whole Bay Area scene and it`s renewal?
Well, it was not an easy time for anyone. We didn't know exactly how bad this was gong to be. It was devastating to hear. But we all pulled together; Eric and I kept on writing for the new, album, so Chuck would have stuff to hear when he got better. We always knew he was gonna pull through. You can't take the big guy down that easily!
I would say the "influence" that Chuck's illness had on the scene, would be the Thrash of the Titans benefit, which was to help pay medical expenses for Chuck and Chuck Schuldiner as well.
If you look at it, it did cause the reunion of Exodus,and Death Angel,and Violence, all who directly site that festival as the beginning of their reunions! That was a great thing for the Bay Area scene!
19. Back in 2003 you have played with Testament in Poland just one gig. How do you remember that gig at Proxima? Did you enjoy playing for Polish maniacs?
The thing I remember about the gig was the loyalty of the fans! They were awesome! We got there a full 2-3 hours late, as our bus routing was very weird for that tour.
When we finally got on the stage, the reaction was nothing short of KILLER! The crowd was awesome. I was only sorry we didn't play a longer set that night. ANd meeting with the fnas after the show was great too! Everyone was an extremely dedicated metal head,and that was an awesome thing to see!
20. It`s been 5 years since last Testament`s LP The Gathering. Why do we have to wait so long for the new album?
I don't have any comment on that. I am quite sure that Chuck and Eric will get that record out next year.
21. You have played with Nevermore on tour back in 2002. Did they offer you joining in or they were told by somebody that you would be perfect guy for them?
I was always in contact with Jeff Loomis, off and on, throughout the years, and in 2001 we talked about having me do some gigs with them that they had coming up in '02, as they had just parted ways with Curran Murphy (Annihilator).we did the gigs, and had a great time hanging with each jamming, joking around. In 2003, we did the tour for EOR with them, and then they made me an offer I couldn't refuse so I had to take it! This is the band I rfeally think I should have been with my entire career! The chemistry bewtween everyone in the band is something I really haven't felt with any other band ever. It's an amazing thing! We've been writing the new album, and it's coming along just fucking awesome!!!
22. What are your memories about Rapture session? What is the new DragonLord material like? When is it gonna be out?
Hmmm..... I have rgeat memeories of the enrtire thing! We neevr intended this to be anyting other than a one off studio situation. But now it's become something more. Really, that album was written over 2 years that I can recall. Eric was showing me sections of riffs he had ( that would later become Rapture,and Tradition and Fire) back in '99, when I first hooked up with him. The recording went relatively quick. I recorded all of my parts in 4 days.
We're writing the new album right now. It's coming along pretty great! Everyone has a direct say in the writing/arranging process at this point, which makes it not necessarily easier, but it is making it better in the long run for the songs.
We have signed a new deal with Escapee Entertainment( Sweden),and plan to have the album recorded in Winter 2005, and released by Spring 2005.
23. Did Nevermore fight strongly for you to join them for good back last spring? Despite leaving Testament you are still in good relations with the guys? I guess that upcoming DL album is the best answer...
Let's suffice it to say YES! And I couldn't say no! Basically we just fit together,and I couldn't be happier about it! I will always be grateful to Chuck and Eric for all the great years of touring and opportunity with Testament that came as being a part of that band. But it was time for me to move on.
We all still definitely get along! I filled in for Eric when he broke his leg recently in the middle of the '04 Testament European tour,and got to say a proper goodbye to the fans as well in the process. I still see Eric all the time, as we have Dragonnlrod together! So, I would say, yes, all of us get along well enough, we just don't see each other a whole lot though!
24. Nevermore is working on a new material. Did the guys let you compose a lot? Can you share with us a bit details about the new album?
I would say this album has been an album of opportunity for me, as the guys have encouraged me to write half the album. Jeff has been extremely supportive of this, as has Warrel, Jim, and Van as well. This feels so good! My writing style I feel has always paralleled Nevermore's in some way, the progressive ideas, the shred factor! So it fits like a glove! I am so fukcing excited about this record! I cannot wait for the fans to hear it, and I hope we gain some new ones in the process!!! It's fucking METAL!!!
25. Do you play many Jeff`s solos live? Your fav Nevermore songs to play live are...?
Actually, on tour with the band, I kept things kind of simple, and hung back, to adjust more to the feel of the band, although Jeff had encouraged me to do a few more solos as well. So I took on a few, and mainly handled rhythm on the tour, whihc was just fine! I mean, come on, Loomis is playing? I think the solos are in good shape! We had a great time in Athens, where we pulled out unaccompanied solos, a kind of "duel", back and forth, for about 5 minutes. The crowd went fucking nuts on that!
26. I guess that not everybody know that you`ve been playing in Black Sabbath cover band. Since when you`ve been playing, who`s in this band besides you and do you guys play regurally or just for a special occasions?
Well, the band is called Sweet Leaf, and we've been together since 1994, although Lance O (singer:OZZY) has had this going on since 1991,I think.The meenbers in the band currently, are Lance Ozanix, from a band here called Skitzo. He's also known as a "refluxophile", capable of vomiting on command, a feat that got him on Jerry Springer a few times.
We also have on bass, Steve Hoffman, who is the second Ess, of The EssenEss Project, which is our instrumental project.
Rounding out on drums is an old band mate of Stvee's and mine, Chris Newman, who played in mine and Steve's old band Ariah, as well as other Bay Area bands.
We get together whenever we can, and play about 10-15 gigs a year if possible. This is our 10th year, and we've only been able to pull out 3 so far, so I guess we're lagging! ha ha ha
27. Now let`s talk about your new-born child, The EssEness Project. Who`s idea was it, who plays with you, what`s the music sounds like and when will we have opportunity to listen to the whole album and see you guys live?
This was something that Steve Hoffman and I put together years ago, back in the mid 90's to satiafy this need to get out some cool,progressive,moody, and shredding instrumental type of stuff.
Since 2001, when I talked to Steve about the possibility of doing this again, we have demoed old and new material, and put together a 12 song album, thatwe have been recording whenever schedules don't conflict.
We got Atma Anur( Shrapnel Records)to guest drum on our album, as he did our original demo stuff back in the mid 90's,and I have to say he did a kick ass job! I can't wait for people to hear this album! It will be an independent release to start, sold on our website www.theessenessproject.com . So keep an ear out fotr it! You can hear some soundbites on my online forum, at www.stevesmyth.com, under official forum. It's in the section entitled The EssenEss Project!
28. When will Nevermore play in Poland? What can we expect from you guys?
You can expect nothing less than a KICK ASS FUCKING METAL SHOW,my brother!!! We will hopefully be doing a headlining tour,as we did this last year in Europe, and had great sucess with it. Which means we would playbat least 1 1/2 hours to 2 huors, and means that we'll cover all of the band's history as well, giving a full and diverse set! And undoubtedly a lot of new material as well!!!
29. The final words for Polish fans?
KEEP IT FUCKING HEAVY!!! I Love Poland! And I can't wait to come back and fucking thrash with you all yet again!
by: T/N & xSUIxTOMMYx
