The Edge of Forever proudly announces our forthcoming interview with Zero Hour...

[Michael TEOF]

Can I get a hellz yeah?

The Edge of Forever is proud to announce a forthcoming interview with Zero Hour. The interview will be conducted live on the air for the entire world to hear, as in you will hear Jasun and Troy Tipton’s actual voices blaring from your computer speakers! The chat room will be set up for all to join; feel free to ask questions on it during the interview. Make sure to mark your calendars, as I’m sure Jasun and Troy will have plenty to say regarding future plans and their show at Prog Power 3.0. I’d like to personally thank Zero Hour for offering their time! If you have any questions you’d like me to ask Zero Hour (or any of the scheduled bands), please e-mail them to me. In the mean time, please check out Zero Hour’s website for more information! They are a fantastic technical progressive metal band worthy of your attention!

Date: Saturday April 6th,
Time: 6:00 pm cst/7:00 pm est
Live on the air interview with Chris Matyus, Keith Zeigler, and Jamie Still of Archetype.
Archetype website: http://archetype1.com

Date: Saturday April 13th,
Time: TBA
Live on the air interview with Jasun and Troy Tipton of Zero Hour
Zero Hour website: http://www.zerohourweb.com

Date: Saturday April 20th
Time: TBA
Live on the air interview with Dave Gallegos and other hopefully more members of Power of Omens
Power of Omens website: http://www.powerofomens.com

Time: Saturday 4-8 pm and Sunday 3-5pm Central Standard Time
Request and Discussion Line: (309) 677-3456
E-mail Your Requests: edgeofforeverradio@hotmail.com
Live Chatroom: http://www.buedge.com/listen2/chat/chat.html
TEOF Website: http://mikemeyer.crosswinds.net/teof.html
Station Website: http://www.buedge.com/
AIM: siberiankh

Zero Hour bio:
In 1993, almost everyone thought that metal was history. Guitarist Jasun Tipton and bassist Troy Tipton, twin brothers from the San Francisco Bay Area, did not succumb to these prevailing doubts. They believed that even through the darkest hour, metal would live on, and they set about forming a band that would not only keep progressive metal in a place of honor, but would shatter the mold in the process. And so in creating Zero Hour, the brothers envisioned a dark, heavy, emotional vibe, expressed through intricate arrangements, forceful vocals, and meaningful lyrics. Seven years of trials and triumphs later, Zero Hour is realizing the full extent of its potential through The Towers of Avarice, an ambitious concept work released through the well-respected Laser's Edge/Sensory label. The six-part epic, which combines the atmospheric drama of Fates Warning, the theatrical excitement of Queensryche, the challenging intricacies of Sprial Architect and Meshuggah, and fantasy prose that would make Dream Theater proud, is based upon the tale of a tower that in its insatiable appetite for energy sucks the very life out of humanity. A self-proclaimed savior arises, but can he save the world? The absorbing story is told start to finish, through "The Towers of Avarice," "The Subterranean," "Strategem," "Reflections," "Demise & Vestige," and "The Ghosts of Dawn." Produced by Dino Alden (Marty Friedman, Mordred, Imagika), the album has already drawn accolades from several major magazines in Europe and the United States. The Towers of Avarice is Zero Hour's label debut, but it is the band's second full-length studio release. The self-financed Zero Hour CD established the group as a prog metal tour de force upon its issuance in 1998; an initial pressing of 2,000 units sold out quickly, leaving fans worldwide anxiously awaiting more Zero Hour material. The praises of the press flowed from around the globe, and the self-titled debut garnered raves from Flash (Italy), Snake Pit (Germany), Hard Roxx (UK), and many more. Michael Rensen of the premier German magazine Rock Hard proclaimed, "Zero Hour is one of the five Best Progressive Newcomers in the late '90s!" Now poised to rocket to the top of the prog metal heap, Zero Hour may appear to be an overnight sensation, but in fact it has taken years of hard work, struggle, and sticking it out through tough times to get to this point. Even the very first task of assembling a lineup that not only would have the technical ability to carry out Troy and Jasun's musical vision, but would also embrace the band's unique philosophy and ideals, was not an easy one. While bringing drummer Mike Guy into the fold right in the beginning was a no-brainer since he was already close with the twin brothers, finding the right keyboard player and vocalist to complete the circle proved challenging. Vocalist Frank Mendez joined Zero Hour in 1995. He had already made a name for himself as the frontman of Rogue's Gallery, but saw the ZH opportunity as a chance to grow creatively.

Keyboard player Mike Conner (ex-Prodigy) also came on board, and together this solid lineup recorded the Discovery demo. Response to the five-song tape was overwhelming, and the band's following in the local club circuit was growing fast. But amid all this momentum, Zero Hour hit its first obstacle later that year. Mendez was feeling pressured by the band's demanding schedule and decided to leave. The remaining members knew they had to forge on and immediately began auditioning for a new vocalist. After trying out many singers and coming up dry, Mike Conner gave a tape to the vocalist of his own former band, Prodigy. The singer's name was Erik Rosvold. Upon hearing what Zero Hour was doing, Erik knew he had to be a part of it -- and when the band heard a tape of what Erik could do, the feeling was definitely mutual. And so by early 1996, the lineup was again complete and Zero Hour began to play shows and write new material. Crafting eight new songs and polishing them to be studio-ready, Zero Hour prepared to record in 1997. But again, bad luck came their way. Because of the physical demands of playing progressive music, Mike Conner developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. The keyboardist had no choice but to leave the group. Still, the recording was not long delayed, as Zero Hour hired two accomplished players to record the keyboard tracks, namely Matt Guillony (Rush tribute, Dali's Dilemma) and Phillip Bennett (Starship, Enchant). Nothing would stand in the way of Zero Hour again. At Alden's Gate studio with engineer Dino Alden, the brilliant Zero Hour CD was recorded, and the band was on its way. The lineup has remained intact and stronger than ever before, as the band looks forward to supporting The Towers of Avarice throughout 2001

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Cool! Those guys seem like great guys!

I LOVE ZERO HOUR!

Been listening to "Towers" A LOT lately!

 

[Michael TEOF]

Zero Hour most certainly rocks! I hope you guys tune in to it Please spread the word to your friends about the interview!

I interviewed Archetype live on the air tonight. This is a partial transcription of the interview. I'll post a complete transcription and a link to download the interview from as soon as I get the file ripped to mp3, put up to download, and properly transcribed!

thanks!
Michael


---------------------------------
transcription by Mark Billie (AIM- deliriumgates)
(introduction stuff by Michael… he talks to fast to copy it down)

1.) First of all, give us a little background information on Archetype. How did it form and what are you guys about- musically and lyrically?

Well ah, we formed officially in 1997, as Keith puts the phone down so I can blabber (laughter) yeah we kinda just got together it was ah.. we had a singer and a second guitarist originally but they both quit and it was myself keith and Jaime and we were instrumental for a while, we decided to do a demo cd and we got a singer after that and in a nutshell that’s kind of it.

2.) How are things going with Intromental? Are they planning on officially releasing Dawning and future Archetype releases?

Ah yeah we actually just resigned with them we were w/them for about a year no we were w/ them for 2 years then all of 2001 we weren’t signed with them cos we were busy with the cd so yeah things are good we got a lot of offers on the cd ………..
……we probably wont be releasing it through intromental theyre gonna be our management this time

3.) Chris, you're the core songwriter and lyricist for the band. But how do Jamie and Keith feel their contribution shapes Archetype. Will Jamie, Greg or Keith write any songs on future albums?

Hahaha, ah… never! No (laughter). This is keith the drummer I tried writing lyrics once and I came to Jaime once and I said man look at this I got a half of page of lyrics, this is easy man! And chris read them and pretty much set fire to them. I’d say basically yeah I can see other people contributing in the future b/c there will come a time, you know, when I’ll be slightly burned out from doing it all, but for now I just write the music and the lyrics and these guys write their parts and it coems out sounding pretty nice. Plus I think all of us agree that most bands have too many guys writing their songs and the styles sort of clash so we don’t really have any egos and no one has any problems with the fact that chris is the writer and lyricist. But if we ever get stuck or lost, me and Jaime help him out a bit (yeah – we buy him drinks! –jaime).

4.) I understand Archetype is looking for a second guitarist. What are you looking for in a guitarist? How's the search coming? If per chance any of our listeners are interested in filling the slot, how might they contact you?

Ah yeah we’ve been looking for a guitar play for what now, 2 years? Probably. We’re looking for someone… they have to have knowledge of music theory, multiple styles as far as finger style, experience, soloing… they’ve gotta be able to play a lot of hard stuff, odd meter, etc, and they cannot have an attitude. My biggest fear is showing the new guy the parts and having them try to change them or rewrite them or something and that guy would be out the door. Email from website www.archetype1.com email is archetype@archetype1.com

5.) Many technically proficient guitarists have suffered muscle or nerve ailments in the hand and wrist from excessive stressful playing. Dave Mustain of Megadeth comes to mind. I understand Chris has struggled with tendonitis. How did you recover from your ailment and what suggestions do you have for other obsessed guitarists out there on how to avoid it?

Don’t play the classical guitar… I got tendonitis when I was in college playing a lot of classical and I was playing 4 hours a day at least and I was doing weightlifting, the combination was just too much. Every night I was exercising it, I’d lift small weights for like 15 minutes and then I’d have to ice it down and I’d use muscle rubs and after oh heck a month or two of that it started to go away. I play a lot less classical guitar now so it isn’t that big a deal.

6.) I understand you guys are into playing your music at shows as opposed to playing pop rock flavor of the day covers that get the ladies dancing. What songs do you play at an Archetype show? What separates the Archetype live experience from listening to it on album?

I think it’s just a lot more raw, really. And right now with the one guitar it sounds a little more stripped down which is pretty good in a way too so we get to hear it in a different light, but it makes chris look a little harder. It’s entertaining, you get to see chris play, everyone has his own skill (and you can watch keith set up his six thousand piece drum set).
--favorite live song?
Hmm good question. I like premonitions off the record, playing that life. I like playing something-something cos it’s easier… my personal favorite is Dawning.

7.) Since you're all studly rock stars, are you getting a lot of hot groupies stalking you? And are you tapin' any of that?

(laughter) … I’m still waiting for one. Ah, no we’ve been kinda laying low as far as gigs recently but no like ah, I think DT said it before, it’s about 95% guys at their shows so there’s not much in the line of groupies. I’m sure keith would hope otherwise but oh well. You can always hope.

8.) Have you begun writing songs for a second album? Have you considered adding any other instruments like keys or strings or perhaps grim vocals on future albums?

Ah, no you won’t ever hear us do death or black metal. I listen to a lot of different styles than what I write, I think it keeps my mind fresh for the things that I create. All the music for the next album is done. Right now I’m working on lyrics. Basically it’s gonna be really really really awesome. It’s gonna be heavier, way heavier. As far as keyboards goes, I don’t think a keyboardist would fit this music until maybe on the 4th or 5th album when chris does get a little tired but I don’t see a keyboardist being part of the group, it would make us too run of the mill.
I started writing on a seven string, and since we tuned down a little bit, the songs are gonna be really heavy and progressive, but I don’t think they’re gonna be exactly in the same vein as Dawning. There’s still clean parts and still classical influences and I think a lot more people are gonna like the next album. We hope to start recording within say 6 months, roughly.

9.) Archetype's sound is certainly difficult to label. I always fall back on "avant-garde" metal, what label Archetype most comfortable with? No band I know is comfortable with any specific label, but reviewers, interviewers, and radio personalities have to categorize you some how!

Mm hmm… ah… well… I think we’re truly a progressive metal band, because we are progressive and we do play metal and we mix in a lot of diverse influence as opposed to other bands who may play an odd meter here and there and they’re labeled progressive when they’re really power metal. You can call it classical progressive metal, I don’t know (laughs).

10.) Where can our listeners find more information on your band and order Dawning, as its certainly an album worthy of their collections!

All the information’s on the website (www.archetype1.com) and you can buy it directly from us right now but I think once we sign a licensing deal it’ll be available in retail stores. If I walk into a Best Buy and see our cd there, I’m taking the divider that has our name on it. There’s some really really good musicianship on this album. (to get the cheapest--) two big toes dot com… you can download our cd and download the artwork and print it out but if you want the real package cheapest, oh heck, I don’t know, maybe cdbaby.com. they can check all the links on the site, they’re within a buck I’d say.

11.) Is downloading the future of music…?

Yeah, I think eventually you’ll be able to push a few buttons and out pops a CD. As far as Napster goes, I’m iffy about it but, at this stage, the more people that can hear us the better.
--future shows?—
um, no. the original music scene isn’t that great here in Cleveland right now. If you haven’t played in a local bar or tavern, it’s kinda hard to squeeze your way in on the list among the bands who’ve been there for years.

12.) Thanks for talking with us! Are there any final comments or announcements you'd like to add?