Ces gars là sont passionnés et assez passionnants ! J'ai eu la chance de papoter 2 secondes avec David cet été. Ce type est magnétique.
27 Septemer 2011
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with David and Edward
(as discussed with longtime VS photographer and industry insider) Gail Flug:
What’s new in the Land Of Steele, guys?
David’s Answer: Well we are currently completing the bonus tracks and re-mastering for the “AGE OF CONSENT” re-issue, which is due out on November 28th. It will have 7 more bonus tracks in addition to the 12 original tracks and 4 bonus tracks that we released when it was first re-issued. And just like the re-issue we just did for “NOBLE SAVAGE”, it will also be released in a vinyl Lp version.
What sort of things can we expect from those tracks?
David’s Answer: Well…some tracks are covers that I have re-arranged and added additional new material to, (such as the quite Epic…Breach Of Lease”), and some tracks are brand new songs, and there is also a very different version of the song “Noble Savage” included on there. This version is mainly piano and vocal and features quite a different take on the song. Those who have heard it found it to be very moving.
Edward’s Answer: Yes that one is really amazing! Dave has managed to present the song in a new light. I find it to be very new, yet just as epic as the original, and very heroic. There is also a new song that David wrote called, “Under The Graveyard Moon”, that I really like. I swear it is a hit, and the guitar solo on it is highly emotional….
David’s Answer: Indeed! There are a several really strong over the top guitar solos that Edward did on these tracks that I think are absolutely incredible!
What about live activity?
David’s Answer: We are heading over to Spain in October for shows in Barcelona, Bilboa, and Madrid, and we will also be going to Bologna, Italy and Athens, Greece in November. We are all really looking forward to these dates.
Edward, you weren’t with the band onstage at the last shows in South America and Europe. Why?
Edward’s Answer: I couldn’t be there due to personal issues here in the USA that I needed to take care of. I am happy that the guys carried on anyway, and I am really happy to have solved my personal issues, and am now once again able to take part in the living, breathing madness & live onstage activities of VIRGIN STEELE. This is something that I love to do, and I missed not being there. See you all onstage next month and November!
David’s Answer: Indeed…everyone in the Group is happy to have Edward onstage with us again…. Probably none happier than me, as we have been performing together since we were small children…
After the “AGE OF CONSENT” re-issue and the next live dates, what can we expect from the VS Camp next?
David’s Answer: More live dates, and the next re-issues which I believe will be “THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL” albums and the “LIFE AMONG THE RUINS” album, all with additional bonus tracks, and new additions to the packaging, and probably once again in vinyl format, as well as CD. In addition, we will also be working on what will be our next full-length new album. And we hope to be celebrating our “Anniversary” in a special way.
Edward’s Answer: We are also starting to do some videos for the new re-issue and we hope to be able to re-visit the catalogue and present some type of video from some of the other releases as well. We have begun shooting video for the song “Perfect Mansions”. We want this video to be as over the top and emotionally charged as the song is. And as Dave said, we have some ideas about our upcoming “Anniversary” that we will reveal later in the weeks ahead. We hope to explore some possibilities that will enable us to be in even closer contact with our audience, and also present the songs in a new and different light.
David, Virgin Steele toured South America for the first time this year; what was the experience like? And what were the audiences like?
David’s Answer: Actually we performed there for the first time last year. This year marked our second visit to South America. The experiences were quite extraordinary. We found out that we have many friends there who are very into what we are doing. The audiences we encountered were all absolutely great! They were incredibly enthusiastic, and extremely passionate. Many Fans traveled large distances and many hours to attend the concerts. We were really amazed by the entire experience. Everything was great, from the organization of the dates, to the crowds, to the travel…the food…everything…
It was also the first time you played with an on-stage keyboard player – was it a different experience having to just be responsible for singing?
David’s Answer: This year was the first time we ever did something like that. For years many people said…”we don’t want you hidden behind the keyboard, we want you out front relating directly to us”…so we tried it. Now some say…”we miss you on the keyboards”….Well…I miss playing them as well, so I will be doing both duties once again. But we will also augment the line up from time to time, with our good friend Lynn Terramoto on keys, because…then we can actually pull off even more of the various orchestral parts from the albums, if we both play…when needed. And it can free me up now and again to spend a bit more time with the audience directly…It was a nice experience having Lynn onstage with us. I enjoy working with her. I actually have done a couple of gigs with just her on keys and me singing…We did rare covers, and strange Bluesy numbers…Lynn was in my side project, CARNIVAL OF SOULS, (along with Edward, Josh and Mark Edwards who is otherwise known as Geoff Fontaine…from the EXORCIST), and we have been working together on and off since about 2002. But anyway, for these forthcoming dates it will just be the usual 4 guys, me, Edward, Frank & Josh.
As someone who grew up listening to vinyl albums, you are aware that records and CDs have a different tone. When you do the re-masters, do you allow compensation (if that is the right word) being it will be released in that format?
David’s Answer: Nice question! There are actually differences in the results, and the vinyl should be treated differently as the medium reacts differently. When we do make the masters for the vinyl as opposed to the CD versions, there are some things that are handled a bit differently such as overall compression on the master for example.
Many of your most recent albums have been concept albums based on history and biblical accounts. What efforts do you do as far as research? Do you come up with the idea and then do the research, or has the concept already evolved before you write the songs?
David’s Answer: I am always coming at the writing from different angles. Sometimes I write lyrics first, or have a title and a general idea of what I want to express…other times…it is music first and sometimes both music & lyrics arrive together in my mind…so it is always changing. But as regards conceptual albums like THE HOUSE OF ATREUS, I started out with the basic idea that I wanted to explore that tale, and I actually began writing straight away as I was pretty intimate with the story…I think the first piece I wrote was KINGDOM OF THE FEARLESS…however, I did go back later on and further research the story again so I had more detail in mind to draw from at all times. There are a lot of historical or mythological references in my songs, but I am not necessarily giving a history lesson…I use those bits metaphorically…I am more often actually discussing life today and real life current experiences. But as regards…research, I am always diving into the world of myth, history, or whatever, always exploring and trying to learn about various subjects. You might say that I am on a constant quest for knowledge.
What new music have you been listening to? Has anything inspired you lately?
David’s Answer: Lately I have been hearing mostly the tracks that we are working on…when not hearing that stuff, I have been listening to some soundtracks like the Last Of The Mohicans…or classical things…Grieg, Brahms, some Vivaldi or Rossini…etc…or bands like The Cult, Type O Negative…some Cradle Of Filth…also early Queen lately and some Page & Plant stuff…it varies.
Edward’s Answer: The new Whitesnake is very strong…and I love the early Blue Murder stuff. I started listening to some of that again this week. Dave and I just watched Queen live at Hammersmith a few nights ago…that was incredible. What an amazing band they were…
What is going on with the long-overdue covers album you have been talking about for years?
David’s Answer: We have actually done several covers recently that will be issued inside this AGE OF CONSENT re-issue…For example we did a very strange version of Neil Young’s Down By The River. It is very different than his version. Ours is very trippy, but the guitars and bass are very down and dirty and it has a weird Bluesy yet somewhat Gothic, with a hint of Zeppelin three feel…I could tell you more…but I prefer to make you wait! There are more that we have done or have started doing and some of those might be released along with some of the next re-issues…or perhaps at some point a full on cover album…It all depends on where they might fit…if anywhere…
Edward’s Answer: We started out years ago in both Dave’s basement and my basement playing covers that we loved by Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, etc., and we still like to go back now and then and have a go at some of the songs we used to do. There probably will be more covers released that we have been exploring in the months ahead.
Virgin Steele has been around for close to 30 years… what is the secret to your longevity? And what kind of advice would you offer younger bands, musically, spiritually and professionally?
David’s Answer: If there is any secret…I would guess it would be that we are still very passionate about what we do, still very driven, and still knocked out by music and all the possibilities that exist within the musical sphere. We still like to push ourselves and we still want to make that ultimate album…Advice? If I was asked by any musicians…musically I would say…learn all there is…and understand that there is always more to learn…the quest for knowledge is endless and the more you learn, & the more you experience…the more you can put into the music, the art…and life. Spiritually…I would say…be open to those ethereal elements and embrace them when they come and try your best to express them in sound and word. Professionally…I would say…do it for the pure love of it…never do it for financial gain or the pat on the back…Do it from the heart for the magick that exists within the art-form…We never set out to do this as a business…it is just our particular way of seeing the world…We wanted to create a world within a world…a way of life, that would be worthwhile, sustaining and fulfilling.
Edward’s Answer: It is what we were born to do. Dave and I have been working together forever. It is our way of life. I’ll never stop playing. I love the guitar. Even if a day comes when we don’t release anything anymore, I’ll still play and I’m sure we will still work together.
And finally, what are you doing to commemorate Marc Bolan’s birthday on Friday?
Edward’s Answer: I will light a candle and bang a gong….
David’s Answer: Well Gail…I will put on my top hat, shout out…”I ain’t no square with my corkscrew hair”, crank up some of his albums, & maybe watch “Born To Boogie”…We’ve actually done several T.Rex covers which I hope to issue somewhere, somehow, someday…and on one of them…I swear Bolan stepped in and made his mark. There is a weird guitar feedback that just appeared on one the songs we did that I truly do not remember experiencing as we were recording the guitars. I am pretty sure it did not come from us…I think he made that sound happen! Bolan and T.Rex rule!
CARNIVAL OF SOULS le side project de DeFeis ça vous parle ? Je n'étais pas au courant.
