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Originally Posted by Tom B
is there any way we (non-spanish speaking people) could read the interview in english ?
thx
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Si amigo
1. Tell us about your development as a musician
-> Well, I started playin guitar properly at about age 15, but before that I had always wanted to play, from about the age of 3, but something such as not being taught how to play the guitar i had when i was little, and a whole other catalogue of muck ups meant that I didn't rediscover my will to try untill later, and after a few failed attempts at teaching myself, i finally picked up the old acoustic with intent and started to teach myself how to play. As soon as I started getting better, and gradually stopped sounding like a tortured cat, I got a few lessons just to iron things out and after that went on my merry way by playing along and over records ranging from iron maiden to metallica to paradise lost and everything else, just improvising along, which is something I still do on a daily basis, as it's just fun to jam along with perfectly good music and then butcher it... So basically my whole way of playing has just developed through improvising over everything and anything, always by ear and also by figuring out how to play songs and learning riffs i really like the sound of, or just writing my own riffs like them, and writing stuff i can't play and then learning to!
2. At what point in your career as a musician did you join Cradle Of Filth?
Well, to be honest, untill I got the chance to audition music was just a hobby, something that I did to relax and to soak up my time, as an _expression. Then when I suddenly found myself in a position where I had actually been asked to tour with them it was kind of a bit of a shock as I'd never ever expected that I'd be able to live out a lifelong dream. So in fact, the point in my career that I came into contact with Cradle is the start of it.
3. You’ve been with COF since 2002. How did your relationship with them evolve? I understand you entered as a touring musician, and then you became a full member?
Well, technically I haver only really been with CoF since Feb/March 2003, first as a touring guitarist. What initially happened was that I was asked if I wanted to audition by Adrian, who I'd known for a while. To be honest I kind of laughed it off as something that would never happened, but decided to see how far i could get and how well i could do so I played Adrian a demo of my stuff, he then played it to the others and I got asked to come to an audition and got given a list of songs to figure out and learn. I never expected to get asked back after each time I went, but it kept happening, i kept learning more of their setlist and eventually they asked me if I wanted to do the ill-fated december 2002 shows in the UK. When those fell through, again, I was the last to expect I'd get asked to do the full european tour. Once I did get asked to do it, I quit my job not knowing wehter I'd be asked to do any more tours. Luckily for me I got kept on and after the Ozzfest I was given the opportunity to show them wether I could write, which then led to me being invited into the fold as it were.
4. What did you think of COF before joining them?
->I'd always been a bit of a fan, and I'd seen them live for pretty much every release from Dusk and Her Embrace onwards, as I loved the live shows. They've always been very visual and entertaining band. In my book if you go to see a band live you want something more than just the music , it's entertainment and I find it such a shame that so few bands seem to put on the huge stage productions that I grew up salivating over (like maiden on the powerslave tour).Of course it isn't always possible to bring massive stage productions with you, but even then it is a responsibility as a live performer to try run around and inject enthusiasm and energy into the live performance, which they've always done. Apart from that I had always been into the "Dusk and her Embrace", "Vempire" and "Cruelty and the Beast" releases mainly. So yeah, I liked both the music and the visual side of the band, I think they're one of the rare specimens of bands that invoke strong reactions in people as to like and dislike which is brilliant, rather that than a band that everyone kind of likes, but has no real emotion over.
5. I know you listen to a variety of styles. How does that reflect on your playing with COF?
->Well, I still listen to a lot, there is only one real criteria and that is whether I like it or not, and as such I listen to a large variety of bands within metal, and also like the odd soundtrack, blues and pretty much anything that sounds good to my ear. The only pet hates I have are crap repetetive glossed over commercial pop music, and any R&B and Country in general. As far as how that reflects on my playing, well, I do try and just play to be honest. Whatever comes out comes out, the way I play reflects what I've listened to over the years rather than what i think is the flavour of the month. Listening to a large variey of styles does, I find, help when coming up with ideas, as there are so many inspirational places to draw them from.
6. What can you tell us about “Damnation And A Day”? did you get to play on that album?
_>My auditions for CoF where after they had completed work on Damnation and a Day, so I didn't play on the album or write any of it, as far as the album goes however, it's a concept album about the lucifer and his fall from heaven, going on to his dealings with the earth and to the finale where he brings about the end of days. Lyrically the album has a thread story, which is split into 4 parts each with their own theme, basically a concept album. It's a very clever lyrically. The other distinguishing feature is that it features an entire orchestra and choir which really do add to the music instead of just supporting it, you could say it is an intergral part of all the compositions. In some ways people have related it to metallica's S&M album, except that the difference is that in the case of Damnation the music was written with the intention of an orchestra, instead of being added as an afterthough as with Metallica's S&M album.
7. How was the Ozzfest experience?
The Ozzfest was the longest tour any of us had ever done it being 10 weeks in length and also my first time in the staes, so for me it was an experience I'll never forget, some of it good, some of it bad, but overall a fantastic summer, and pretty much a trial by fire being thrown in at the deep end. As with all touring we met a load bands that we are still in contact with today, except due to the scale of the ozzfest a greater number. In fact, last night we went to visit Killswitch Engage, Chimaira and Shadows Fall (all bands that were with us on the ozzfest) and had an absolute blast hanging out, although as a result I am not exactly coherent today! It also gave us a lot of experience as a band about playing festivals in daylight (hardly ideal conditions for us) and in immense heat in some places, wearing full leather costumes while still putting all our energy into the live performance and tightened us up as a band. Throughout the whole Ozzfest we were also playing our own headlining shows in between as well, so we were kept busy but that didn't stop us from indulging in all kinds of mischief and pranks. It was a good tour, and a good experience looking back on it, really, a once in a lifetime trek as one big dysfunctional family of bands, entertainers and store keepers across the states.
8. What are the plans with COF?
Well, we have just finished laying down all the tracks, done the mixing and mastering for the new record which is titled Nymphetamine, currently due to be released in late September this year on our new label, Roadrunner. We'll be shooting a video over summer, and then we'll be heading over to South America to play some dates, including Chile!
9. What are your personal plans? Do you plan to stay with COF, release solo material, etc?
I am happy playing with CoF, definately, so there are no plans to leave at all! Apart from that, although i have no concrete plans for any solo stuff I do want to ressurect the project I had with a few friends that got put on ice while I've been off touring with CoF. Mainly more for fun than anything serious. Incidentally this is the music which the rough demo of got me the audition, and I'd like to get it functioning as a proper band and write for it and see where it goes, and flesh out and rework the songs that are already there, like a side project if you will that caters to my like of all things 7stringed. The kind of style is a mix of everything really, a bit of black, bit of death, thrash and whatever metal all thrown in, anything goes, but I'll have to see what happens with that so there are no promises it will see the light of day, even though I'd quite like it to! Still, at the moment and for the forseeable future all my plans lie with CoF, so anything else will have to wait untill there are breaks in our hectic schedule!
10. I understand there’s a South American tour coming up…do you have any references about the southamerican audiences? What do you expect from it?
Well, it looks almost 100% certain that come the end of september, beginning of october we'll be heading over for the South American tour that we have planned, including tentative dates in Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile! We've all heard a lot of great and insane things about South American audiences in general, so we are looking forward to seeing massive hordes of kids go absolutely mental in praise of all things metal! I am really looking forward to it, and I can't wait to get over, and get on the plane knowing it's all finalised and happening, I love playing shows as it is, but I just have this feeling that these will be insane, memorable and very very very METAL!
11. You’ve recently become an Ibanez endorser, and I know you have been using them for years. What can you comment on that?
Yeah! I know! Absolutely brilliant! I've played Ibanez for most of my time as a guitarist and really do love them. I tried jacksons, bcriches, prs, gibsons, but always keep coming back to the ibanezes. It's the whole feel of the neck and the stability of their trems, as well as them being great sounding instruments. When the chance came to talk to them on ozzfest last year I just grabbed it, and it's developed from there and I finally signed the deal with them a few months ago while we were in the studio. I'd been playing PRS' on tour, and they just weren't working out for me in terms of playability and sound, don't get me wrong, they are great guitars, but I don't like the sound of them for metal, and besides, I am not really old enough to play one, I don't even own a pair of slippers yet! To be honest, going with ibanez was the only way, as I didn't really want to play anything else, and it is a dream come true!
12. What is your setup these days? Comments on gear are more than welcome
Guitar wise I just love the feel of RG's, so all my touring guitars are RG based, with edge trems all floating, all equipped with Dimarzios, mostly Tone Zone/Air Norton combinations. One of them I've just put an X2N in, just to make it sound nastier and for more overall cut. Then I'll run the signal through a wireless so I can move about without tripping everyone (and mainly myself) up!
My amp setup varies really, for the US tour and festivals I've simply been using a
Dual Rectifier through mesa 4x12's with maybe only a Boss
chorus pedal as an effect for clean sounds, and that only for one song in the set. As it's a really simple sturdy setup, this is also what i tend to use for festivals where you just don't have the time or luxury of your own shows if something goes wrong. better to have a plug and play rig to eliminate as many potential gremlins as possible. For the European tour, however, I used, and should be using my rack setup which is a Mesa Traixis that runs through some noise gates (Boss or the old Rocktron stuff) into the power stage of a Rivera TBR-1 amp, this then either into 2 marshall 4x12's or mesa's depending. Tour wise the mesa's, rehearsal/studio wise it's the marshalls. I have this really old marshall cab with greenbacks (all original) in it, which I'll run with a more modern marshall cab, and the blend between the two is fantastic, a really full sound. I dunno why, but for some reason I really like the sound of mesas running through marshall-esque old british style power stages and cabs, kind of takes the clinicism out of them I think... Other than that as you can see the setup always comes down to guitar, amp, cabs with precious little or no effects, save a Boss or Rocktron noise gate here and there to keep things quiet.
