(More than) 10 Questions with...John and Dave of Shadow Circus

I’m not sure how to introduce this interview.

And for me, that’s saying something.  Because I am rarely at a loss for words.

Shadow Circus is a band out of NJ.  I got their self-released debut album Welcome to the Freakshow a few years back, and thought it enjoyable, but it kinda fell out of my rotation not long after picking it up.  There was promise there, but…it didn’t seem quite all gelled for me.

How times have changed. 

Whispers and Screams, the band’s second album, blows that debut out of the water so much that not even dental records will help identify it.  From the 30-plus minute ‘Project Blue’ suite, based off Stephen King’s mammoth novel The Stand, through individual tracks like ‘Willoughby’ or ‘…Then in July, the Thunder Came,’ the new Shadow Circus release was proof positive that this was a band that had grown a massive amount in an incredibly short period of time.  Hell, even I was blown away by how far the band had grown from their first release…it was like listening to two different bands entirely.

John Fontana and David Bobick were amazingly kind enough to answer a few questions for me (and by proxy, you).  Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please turn your attention to the centre ring…Dave Bobick and John Fontana!



1 When did you first discover an interest in/a love of music?

Dave Bobick: Well, my Mom says that I used to be able to just walk up to a piano and just start plucking out melodies to songs and that was when I was 5 years old or so but to be honest, what really fueled it was simply one date and one record…1977: KISS: Alive II. That was pretty much it for me. That band and that album has influenced pretty much every facet of my life. To playing guitar. To singing and even eventually Musical theater. What a major deal that was for a 12 year old kid.

John Fontana: I think that I started taking music seriously when I was about 10 years old, and decided that my favorite album was The Steve Miller Band's Book of Dreams. Which, come to think of it, had many of the elements that drew me to prog - the harmony vocals, Moogs and Hammonds - I guess those were the first sounds that really grabbed me. I remember that Led Zeppelin's "The Rain Song" sounded very profound to me at an early age. I was listening to classical for my studies in school, so I was quick to pick up on classical influences in rock. And it must have been Heart's "Magic Man" where I first had my face melted by that incredible Moog solo, so that was an important moment.


2 What bands or artists were your biggest early influences?

John: Early on it was Zeppelin, Yes, ELP, Rush, Pink Floyd.

Dave: KISS…hands down. To this very day.


3 How did Shadow Circus come together?

John: After I had taken a hiatus from music for a few years, I got back into it, and I really wanted to play prog. So, I created some demos of songs to use on the audition circuit. When I played the songs for Dave and our original drummer, Corey, they expressed an interest in recording the material as a band. So, instead of auditioning, I finished writing the first album's worth of music, and Shadow Circus was formed.

Dave: With blood, sweat and many, many, MANY tears!!! LOL…LOL…Ok, kidding aside…for me it was one thing…”Find Your Way.” To use a quote from the great Dennis DeYoung of Styx…”This was the song that got this whole train a rollin’.” I heard John play the main theme from Find Your Way and I was just absolutely blown away. First by the fact that I couldn’t get over that he actually had this in him, second by just how haunting and beautiful the theme was. I couldn’t let that get away or into the hands of another band.


4 What is the Shadow Circus creative process like?
John: I usually start by taking some time to revisit the piano and guitar on somewhat of an academic level, sitting down to learn pieces of music, exercises, and listen to different genres to challenge myself. As I wrote this last album I listened to a lot of Celtic music, and let that influence shine through on things like Horsemen Ride, and more subliminally in other places. I'll improvise until I find some melodies and changes that interest me, and keep going until I feel like the components of a bigger piece are in place. Then I'll demo a whole song, usually fairly complete, and Dave comes in to get vocal ideas, and it takes further shape with the band at that point in the studio. From the first album to the second, it became a much more collaborative process, where many things changed dramatically as the whole band had input, and I think it will keep going in that direction.


5 Your first album, Welcome to the Freak Room, featured tracks influenced by Ray Bradbury and Stephen King.  How did you decide to use their works as the basis for songs?

John: The Ray Bradbury reference comes from Something Wicked This Way Comes, of which Dave and I are both big fans. The carnival that comes to a small midwestern town to wreak havoc seemed like such a cool kind of identity for the band, so that inspired our name, and consequently the song "Shadow Circus" itself. Then, for "Journey of Everyman", Dave was able to connect the musical peaks and valleys of what I had already written to the storyline of The Talisman, and so that inspired the lyrics.

Dave: Well, I am a huge Stephen King fan. John is a huge Ray Bradbury fan and it just seems to be that everything they write is perfect fodder for lyrics for a band like ours. I always love the dark and macabre. Again…huge KISS fan…Huge Alice Cooper fan.  It’s Shadow Circus. On our newest CD, Whispers and Screams, an entire “side” of the album is dedicated to Stephen King’s The Stand. Referring to the Epic "Project Blue". We also draw inspiration from The Twilight Zone on the song "Willoughby". And we have some other interesting literary references planned for the future!


6 Whispers and Screams is the band's second album, and it had a pretty long gestation.  How would you say it differs from your first release?

Dave: I would say this one is a bit more diverse. Eclectic if you will. It also leans towards being a bit heavier as well which I happen to like. The heavier aspects of the music is something I would like to see more of on the next CD…while still keeping the melodic side of things in the forefront.

John: Welcome to the Freakroom was written very much before the entire band was in place, so the band formed around the music that was already there. A lot of what you hear on that album are actual tracks from the demos. It was recorded relatively quickly. Whispers and Screams was produced over a challenging time in our lives. Dave was going through his kidney transplant - which was wonderfully successful, by the way - but I think that scenario gave us a sense of importance to making the effort worthwhile. It was much more collaborative, and everyone involved really challenged themselves creatively, technically, and emotionally. We allowed more time for the production to take shape, which let us absorb the effects of repeated listens. This led to some of the most important developments, as it can take a while to disassociate yourself from something you created enough to hear it objectively.

The question as to whether what we were doing would be accepted by a prog audience was raised many times - we took some risks by bringing in elements of blues and gospel. We knew that not everyone would embrace it as readily as they might otherwise, but we connected with the music on such an emotional level that we ultimately decided it was more important to make an honest album that reflected us, rather than attempt to guess what people would like. And now we're very happy we did that, as the response to it has been very positive.


7 How hard was it to 'adapt' Stephen King's novel The Stand for the epic 'Project Blue'?

John: Well, it started with some musical themes that I had been developing for some time. When Dave heard the melodies that are now in "The Big Fire", he said, "Oh! That's a song for Trashcan Man!". I told him that the melody was part of a much longer piece, and together we listened to it and connected the various moods with the characters and events of the story. It probably took almost a year to get everything in "Project Blue" to its final state.

Dave: To be honest, it was a very weird time for me. I was gearing up for a major Kidney transplant the week after Labor Day 2008. September 11th 2008 to be exact and we had wanted to finish vocals before the surgery because it might have had to be months before I could use stomach muscles to sing again. BUT…that did not work out for various reasons. So we didn’t even have lyrics to any of Project Blue at the time of my surgery. So like a week and a half into my recovery, I started writing down ideas which grew into Captain Trips. I had Deep Purple running through my head and all of a sudden, 10 minutes later I was at John’s office with the lyrics and melody pretty much done for Captain Trips. I then…veeeeery gently mind you….sang him the idea and he flipped!! After that, everything just flowed like water and it was all but done. I knew the story so well, that putting all the pieces in the correct order was easy. Deciding which songs would go with which lyrics was a bit tough but John adapted pretty quickly and within a couple of days the whole thing was done.


8 What is it about King's fiction that you find such a fruitful field to harvest for inspiration?

John: We have these elements in our music, such as the dark, atmospheric things, then there are the heavier parts and a certain whimsical ingredient that is a fun part of Shadow Circus. And Stephen King seems to work with a similar array of moods. There's also that certain "funny but dark" vibe that connects so well with our sound. Also note that the two pieces we have been inspired by - namely The Talisman and The Stand, are more like fantasy epics for King compared to his other works, so I think those particular pieces work well for an American Prog band, as with those stories, he was approaching it like an American version of Tolkien. Symphonic prog has so many parallels to fantasy fiction.

Dave: Well, like I said before, his stories are such fantastic fodder for lyrics for a band like ours. His stories are so descriptive and colorful with such great characters.


9 How would you say the band has changed or evolved since forming?

John: It started as just a studio project. We never imagined it would ever be music that would be performed on stage. We always had the desire to grow into a live band, but not the means. That quickly changed in recent months, with the band becoming very active. I think the natural evolution now will be to have the advantage of playing songs live before recording, which, I think, will help tremendously.

Dave: I’d have to say it’s evolved in many ways. It’s certainly evolved personnel-wise. After 4 years of running with this, we have finally hit upon the magic combination with Gino, Felipe and Andy. It’s also evolved musically too. I’d say John has explored and gone down many new roads musically…more melodic roads…heavier roads…with so many unexplored roads ahead. I’d say it’s very exciting!!!


10 How much opportunity does Shadow Circus have to perform in concert? (NB: this interview was done prior to their tour in October 2010...sadly, real life issues kept me from posting it in a timely manner...forgive, forgive...)

Dave: LOL…LOL…if you would have asked me that a year ago, I’d have said none. Today with this band and this CD, the opportunities are endless in my opinion. We’ve already done one festival and we have our own show we are doing at The Triad Theater in NYC on October 16th. Then after that we have 3 shows lined up opening for The Watch in Philly, Boston and Baltimore followed by some very exciting possibilities for the Winter and early spring which I won’t go into detail with until they are finalized. But again, I’d say the possibilities are now endless!!!

John: As of recently, quite a lot! It was really a matter of getting the right lineup that could be available to play live, and now that we have that, the biggest challenge is finding ways to travel to everywhere we want to play.


11 Do you find your material easy to translate to stage, or are there challenges?

John: I am very guilty of using a lot of overdubs on the albums, so of course you have to pick and choose what layers to cut and what to keep. For the most part, I think very little is missed in the translation - especially thanks to our keyboard player, Felipe, who has a laptop rig that can handle almost anything. And whatever might be missing from the layers of overdubs is made up for by the intensity of the performance. It's also a big plus that both Felipe, and our drummer, Gino, are great singers, and can handle the background vocals, which were all done by Dave on the recordings.

Dave: Vocally, it’s not hard to translate into a live atmosphere. They are very colorful and emotional lyrics and I can express those colors and emotions very well on stage. Musically, I’d say it’s very challenging which is why it took us a while to be able to play out. You need the right caliber of musician to be able to pull this stuff off live and I really think we may have found it in Felipe, Gino and Andy. Felipe especially. He has the arduous task of recreating the myriad of keyboard parts and sound live. Hence the reason he is the right dude for the job. We dig Felipe a lot!!! He’s extremely talented and he rocks!!!


12 What was it like for you to play Progday, the longest running US progressive music festival?

Dave: Well I tell ya. We did a dress rehearsal the Wednesday before and I was a bit nervous but once we got up on stage in NC, It was a piece of cake. Loved every minute of it. I think we pulled it off with flying colors. That was THEE first gig this band has played!!!

John: It was fantastic! It was our first live experience with this lineup, so I was a bit nervous, but we really couldn't have expected it to have turned out better than it did. What a great crowd, we felt such a warm welcome. I think now we may be spoiled, and will probably now wish that every gig we play would be like Progday.


13 Would you say that performance was a high point for the band?  Are there any other moments that stand out for you?

Dave: I would definitely say that ProgDay was a highlight for me. It was a good show. In terms of other quality, stand out moments in Shadow Circus history, I would say when we went into the studio to record the Bass and Drums for Whispers & Screams. I love the studio environment. It’s just a LOT of fun. That really stands out for me.

John: It certainly is a high-point. The first high-point had to be when Dave reacted to hearing the music I was writing for the first time - he is a sharp critic of music - and his positive response erased any doubt I might have had about pursuing this. As a band that is only beginning to surface in the live scene, our other high points are low-key compared to Progday - creating each album was certainly a wonderful experience. But the biggest moments for me are always when our music has a positive effect - whether on a crowd or an individual - the feeling I get when someone gets really excited by the music is priceless.


14 What's next for the band?  Shows, new album, et cetera?

Dave: Well, again, we have some shows coming up in October. One at The Triad in NYC and then we are opening for a band called The Watch out of Italy. We are playing 3 dates with them and needless to say, we are very excited about that. Those are in Baltimore, Philly and Boston ON Halloween. I think that show will be the stand out for us. Beyond that, we are starting to gear up for the next Shadow Circus CD and some possible shows in the winter that are not yet finalized.


15 How has the shift to a more connected, digital world changed how you look at the art of creating an album?

John: I think that I will always want to create an album as I would have in the absence of the internet, but the real difference is in the marketing and distribution. The most important thing now that any artist can do is have a one-on-one relationship with their audience. We have an extremely active Facebook group, which is a blast! Our fans there rock, it's become a really cool community!


16 How much as downloading impacted the band, either positively or negatively?

John: The internet giveth, and the internet taketh away! Without it, there's no way a band like us would ever stand a chance with major labels being the gatekeepers of what people will listen to. It's only because of the internet that a genre like prog can find a community. The challenge is, of course, how to monetize what we do, and the only way to do that is to keep doing more, and work hard at doing it even better. If it's good enough, people will pick up on it and spread the word. The mistake that most bands make now is, they think that because they publish an album, people should just buy it. But anyone can put out an album today and have worldwide distribution in a few mouse clicks. The trick isn't making a CD, it's getting noticed. You have to look at putting out an album now the way you looked at a first gig twenty years ago. You didn't expect any pay, you struggled to get noticed, because there were a thousand other people doing the same thing. So, it's easier to get out there, harder to get noticed, but at least everyone has a fair chance. But, you have to look at a CD more like a promo item than your main source of income.

Dave: Aaaaah, well…for a band like us at the stage that we are at, getting the music into the hands of the fans is the most important thing. If no one knows about you, you will never be able to sell CD’s or play out live. SO…for Shadow Circus, if 5000 people download our CD for free, then that means that 5000 people know we exist. I think people make too much over downloading. People are going to do it. You cannot stop it anymore so if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. You have to find a way to use downloading as a friend not as a foe. A publicity tool if you will. I want to sell CD’s but I really, really want people to know we exist. You can’t have one without the other. Try to find a way to use it to your advantage.


17 Are there any bands you listen to today that excite you the same way the music you grew up with did?

John: Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, and surprisingly enough, Green Day. Those guys make me feel like I'm experiencing The Who for the first time!

Dave: GREEN DAY!!!! Green Day just rules. They are a band for the people. They are audience interactive. They put on a phenomenal show and bring the house down every time they play. There are some other solid bands out there like Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold…they have great stage presence and there music is good but nothing like that of Queen, Kiss, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Styx, etc…


18 As we wrap things up, are there any final words you'd like to share with our readers today?

Dave: Yeah, keep an eye out for Shadow Circus…we will be on your radar soon!!!!

John:  With so much music out there coming from so many artists, it seems many people breeze through listening to a hundred CDs every year. The abundance of music may be cheapening the experience a bit. Try to take the time to listen to music, spend some time with it, savor it, let it become a part of your routine for a little while. Especially with a genre like prog, there's a lot of great stuff out there, but if you overdose on too many things, you never get to enjoy the finer points of any of them. And for the artists, especially in regards to the resentment towards downloading - you have to accept it and move on. Creating music and making a living on it is no harder than it ever was. It still means you have to bust your ass, be dedicated, and do more than simply publish music. There are a thousand new ways of interacting with your fans. Be imaginative, there is more at a musician's disposal now to become known than there ever has been.

Find out more at:

http://www.shadowcircusmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Shadow-Circus/6591882939

(More than) 10 Questions with...Effloresce

I sometimes find musicians and bands in the weirdest ways.

Much like my finding Relocator via the Mike Portnoy forum, Effloresce came to my attention via band member Dave Mola’s user pic on that forum.  I recognised it as an album cover, thought it looked pretty cool, and filed the info away for future searching.  When I found out he was in the band, well…you could have knocked me over with a feather.

Dave quickly made sure to set me up with a copy of the band’s debut EP, which I reviewed here quite some time ago.  We also agreed that an interview with the band would be a very cool thing.  Unfortunately, some personal issues have delayed me in getting this interview up.  No longer, I say!  The band’s voices must be heard, and heard they shall be!

Curious what an audience thinks of a female vocalist who does extreme metal vocals?  Intrigued by a band that writes some serious and heavy progressive metal but whose members are the furthest thing from stodgy and stuck in the mud?  Well then, you came to the right place!  Sit down, read on, and pop in the EP that I just KNOW you bought right after reading my review…right?


1. Starting things off...when did you first discover how much music meant to you?

Tim: I think making music is something that can set you apart from the rest of your age group when you’re a young person. So the first reason to pick up a guitar and play was to do something different, starting from there, the main goal was to set oneself apart from the rest of the other young people my age who had also started to discover that music made them more interesting by trying to play better than the rest – and that without taking lessons, for my parents didn’t want to pay for yet another expensive hobby. From there, I realized that music was not just something for me to identify with but I started writing my own stuff, which opened up the dimension of musical self-expression for me. Still, there’s so much to discover and I think the point when I found out that MAKING music means anything to me has been only recently when I looked back on my ‘career’ and found that I could have quit, having made so many disappointing and disillusioning experiences in various bands but still kept going and finally, I’ve found a bunch of people who really seem to have the same musical and personal attitude.

Nicki: I was about seven or eight years old when my dad and I watched MTV every Saturday and I saw this guy with his funny moustache.  It was Freddie Mercury from Queen of course and I loved his voice right away. The music was cool also and I especially liked the video clip to "I Want to Break Free". That‘s why I started to sing with a hairbrush in my hand in front of a mirror and never wanted to do anything else henceforth.

Dave: Hmmm, I remember lying on my bed and listening to Hendrix for hours and hours as a teenager. I think that was the time when I realized that music is able to carry you through "difficult" times and to make you feel in certain ways. I think that opened my eyes, ears and heart.

Rene: When I was 6 years old I visited a music school, in which we could play around with every instrument and also played theatre. Since then music was always around in my life. But it wasn’t until 2002 when I found dedication and discipline for learning bass, chords, music theory and all that stuff.  I would say that was the start of a life long journey of a lot of self-teaching, drinking beer, discovering friendship and living  rock 'n' roll and thus creating something special out of it.


2. Who were your first influences as a musician?

Tobi: Probably my two drum teachers. I had jazz guy teaching me, who looked like Gavin Harrison and showed me a lot of Steve Gadd stuff. After two years I got a long haired rock 'n roll dude as a teacher, who introduced me to Dream Theater and Portnoy. That's when the whole progressive thing started for me. That mixture of that jazz influence and prog drumming was always very interesting for me, although I don't listen to any jazz stuff at home.

Nicki: As mentioned Queen and especially Freddie Mercury were the very first influences I remember.

Dave: My dad got me into a lot of great music quite early. I remember listening to Pink Floyd, Queen, Dire Straits and Eric Clapton at the age of maybe six or seven. When I was ten, Metallica’s Black Album was released, which introduced me to the world of metal. Henceforward I wanted to learn to play guitar.

Tim: I would have to say John Petrucci is a major influence. His sound, his technique and his versatility are amazing. Plus, I think he’s probably a nice guy. Still, there are so many good musicians in all styles out there that it’s hard to name any. I admire blues musicians like Clapton or Jeff Healey, I admire classic rock guys like Rhoads and Van Halen, I dig guys like Loomis, Chris Broderick or Michael Romeo who have a more classical or neo-classical edge to them…I admire anyone who has the ability to sound unique and the versatility to adapt to different styles.


3. How did Effloresce first come together?

Dave: In late 2005 I joined a band called Falling Nature, in which Tobi was already playing drums for a while. After some shows in 2006 Falling Nature fell apart, but both of us wanted to continue making music together - that was the moment Effloresce actually was born. We started jammin’ with different people and writing some fragments that later even have been recorded for a (not so serious) all instrumental Online-Demo called "Chinese Demo: crazy!". This is how everything started. However, we really became a band when Nicki joined us in March 2008. We used, improved and messed around with some ideas that have already been floating around for a while, and started adding vocals to what slowly became “songs”. Still looking for musicians we kept on writing material throughout 2008 and the first months of 2009 before we finally met René and Tim, who joined us in summer/fall of 2009. By that time the EP was already recorded and eventually released on December 18th. That was a quick tour through Effloresce-History.

Tobi: Some guy from the States apparently got wind of that demo title and named an album after it, only that it’s written a bit differently. He didn’t buy our EP though.


4. Effloresce has been around for a very short time, yet has already released a 30-minute EP. How easy was it to come up with the songs you chose for the release?

Tobi: The songs on the EP had already existed for a while; we just didn't have a proper opportunity to record them until we hit the studio in August 2009.  So, while the current line-up is not very old, the ideas for these songs date back to when the idea of Effloresce was born in late 2006. In fact, "Sear" is the first song we ever wrote when we started, which also was recorded for this instrumental demo Dave was talking about in the previous question.

And coming up with these songs wasn't easy for us at all, since none of us had ever actually written a song. It was a long process bringing these songs to life with trial & error being two perpetual band members. We're actually still in the learning process.


5. What is the band's creative process like?

Dave: That‘s not easy to answer, honestly. I think we‘re still searching for that "magic formula". Until now we start with a small idea like a riff or a chord progression and connect it with other small ideas that already float around or just cross our minds. And it builds from there and gets bigger and bigger until we‘re happy with it. A lot of trial and error and quite time-consuming, but it works.

Nicki: Once the basic structure of a song is somewhat fixed I start working on vocal melodies, growl-spots and finally the lyrics.


6. Are there any tracks on the release that you'd say were more difficult to bring to fruition than others?

Tobi: Definitely "Birds of Prey". It consists of parts we wrote in the beginning of the band’s history; and it was dismantled, rearranged and puzzled back together so often that we lost count at some point. "Sear" was only challenging because it was our first song ever, while "Sunset..." went pretty smooth. But Birds was really like giving birth to an elephant.

Dave: Yeah, that was really a tough one. I remember that we dumped half finished versions of the song several times and started over again, but finally we're very very happy with the outcome and it was worth the trouble after all.


7. How would you say the general reaction to your debut EP has been?

Nicki: There have been various reactions so far. The majority of reviewers are respectful, take their time and get a picture of what we sound like, what we are like. This usually results in positive reviews fortunately.  However, there have been strange reviews from people who apparently didn‘t even read our band info before writing confusing stuff about constantly repeating choruses, guys growling and stuff like that. Ridiculous sometimes... but the vast majority is very positive so far and motivates us to keep on walking the path that we‘re on already.


8. What would you say you bring to the band that differs from your band mates?

Tim: I’m the least skilled, so there you go.

Additionally, René and I are the only ones with short hair.

Dave: I probably can handle more vodka than my band mates, but we have to work that out once. Just to be sure.

Nicki: Most of the time I’m the one wearing the dresses.  And boobs.

Tobi: I’m the only one who plays drums in the band.

René: While learning an instrument you listen to many different styles and genres. You'll develop your own style and sound. Starting off as a metal fan I found my love for rock n roll in my first cover band, and I always try to look for new influences.  But in the end I would say I'm more the sub-bass pulse and try to give the guys the groove they can rely on. Some things just don’t necessarily stand out from the songs, but once you take it away the songs aren’t the same. Like the bass.


9. How do people react the first time Nicki unleashes her growl?

Nicki: Haha, funny question. Yeah, those reactions are quite similar every time. Most people in the audience look around searching for the "cookie monster". As soon as they realize that it‘s me growling jaws hit the ground and eyes pop out here and there. Quite funny to watch, really.


10. If you had the opportunity to cover any song in the band, either for a release or in concert, what would you want to cover and why?

Tobi: At our very first concert we actually did a live cover version of Porcupine Tree's "Blackest Eyes". The simple reason was that we only had four complete songs, which we thought might be not enough (although we almost filled three-quarters of an hour with that). We chose that song simply because it's a classic, it's fun to play and we all love Porcupine Tree. So I guess it was our tribute to them. But I doubt we will ever record a cover, it was just a less-than-ideal solution.

Dave: We also played Opeth’s “Windowpane” just for fun some time ago. That was basically our tune to check out potential co-musicians. Just to have something to play together, you know? Personally I’d love to do a Metal-version of some Camel songs once in the future. But dunno if that will ever happen. And I’d never say never concerning recording cover tunes, but our focus clearly lies on writing and recording our own material, that’s the priority.


11. How much opportunity does the band have to play out live?

Nicki: Well, with the kind of music we make it‘s really difficult getting live-shows. Long complex songs with female vocals are too exotic and unpopular around here. But we already played some shows, and most of the people enjoyed our performance. So, we‘re optimistic for the future.

Dave: Yeah, plus: The Prog-scene here in Germany is really small. The local clubs book kiddie-punk-bands instead and don‘t really care for musicality. If you try to arrange a (prog-)concert yourself you have to deal with chaotic and counterproductive club-owners, small crowds, bands from afar (who at least want to be reimbursed for gas) and so on. Not easy...


12. How much would you say downloading has affected the band's sales?

Dave: I’m not into that torrent-stuff and downloading at all, but I’ve looked for some illegal Effloresce-Files and came up with nothing actually. So I think downloading isn’t much of a problem for us now. That may change of course when more people get into our music and realize how cool we are.


13. What's next for Effloresce?

Tim: Effloresce is currently writing stuff to gather enough material for a full-length album. We have already completed writing three more songs other than the ones on the SoF-EP and a fourth one is in the making. We don’t know when we’ll have the opportunity to enter a studio to record our complete material, but we’ll see. So if anyone knows a studio, contact us! :-)

14. Will there continue to be flute and mellotron on your future releases?

Nicki:  Definitely, yeah. There will be mellow parts with flute in some of our new songs, too. Actually I‘m writing melodies for one at the moment.

Dave: As for the mellotrons (and organs): We‘ll also keep those in our sound mixture, because I think they can really spice up some parts and add beautiful layers and atmosphere when used properly.


15. Reading the band's website, it seems humour is an important aspect of what the band is. Having said that, do you think the vuvuzela has any place in melodic death metal?

Tobi: Definitely. After the World Cup this year we all know that this instrument is one of the most favoured around, and we hope that more bands will incorporate it into their sound. Especially Death- and Black Metal bands. We are actually thinking of releasing a special edition of the Shades of Fate EP, with a Vuvuzela drowning out all the other instruments for the entire 30 minutes. That would be quite an improvement to our current sound.


16. Are there any bands or performers you are currently enjoying listening to when you're relaxing?

Nicki: Tarja Turunen‘s new album is my favorite at the moment. Both Blackfield records are classics of relaxing music as well.

Dave: I’ve been listening to Tommy Emmanuel and piano works by Frederic Chopin lately. Very nice music to chill to.

Rene: At the moment that's defenitively Alter Bridge, Slash, Grand Funk
Railroad, Tower of Power, a lot of John Mayer and everything that goes straight into your ear.

Tobi: I’m a huge Anathema fan. Additionally, stuff like Blackfield, Loreena McKennit or Karl Sanders’ solo project.

Tim: I personally prefer the Damnation record by Opeth or very old Pink Floyd (the Meddle album). Or an Australian band called Vanishing Point, because they have a very pleasing sound. Antimatter is another band that would probably rather get me depressed than relaxed, but whatever….


17. As we wrap things up, are there any final thoughts you'd like to share with our readers?

Effloresce: Yes. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t play with scissors. Don’t try this at home.

Keep on supporting Bill and his Prog BLOG, people! And don't forget to buy our CD! Thanks a lot for the interesting questions!

Find Out More at:

http://www.myspace.com/effloresceonline

http://effloresceonline.com/

More than 10 Questions with...James Byron Schoen of Edensong

People who have read my review of Edensong’s Echoes of Edensong know full well how much this band’s music has touched me.  Sitting down with founder member James Byron Schoen was something I felt I needed to do on a number of levels; the combination of striking visuals, packaging, and intense lyrical themes left me wanting to understand more.

James had been very busy with preparations for a small series of shows, as well as filming and production of the band’s concept video for the song ‘Beneath the Tide,’ but found the time somehow to answer (expansively, I might add!) my questions.

I want to thank him for his time and his patience…and if you get a chance, go see the band live!  I’ve got some info coming in a bit about some upcoming shows, including one tonight (it’s not too late for tickets!)



1 To start things off, when did you first discover a love of music?

JBS: This is going pretty far back.  I've been writing and recording music as far back as I can remember (probably since I was about 4 or so).  I remember being initially inspired by a PBS TV show called "The Letter People," where each character (Mrs. A, Mr. B and so on) had his/her own song.  Being the clever little boy I was, I created the number people songs!  The really early stuff was almost entirely improvisational (and terrible, of course).  I recently discovered some really old cassettes in the attic that documented my music making through the years, from early childhood on through early demos with my high school band Echoes of Eden.  I started more thoughtfully composing my music around age 7 or 8 during a period of obsession with Michael Jackson (purely platonic, I assure you).  Around this time, I "released" my first full solo album "Desert Storm" and sold four copies in my fourth grade class.  So yeah, music has always been a major driving force in my life.


2 As you started finding your own voice musically, what bands or artists were influential for you?

JBS: I'd have to say I began to develop a more sensible and sophisticated taste in music around 6th grade (though, I'll defend my childhood love of Billy Joel, The Beatles, and even Michael Jackson), when I started getting into the Alternative Rock of the day (the early 90s grunge bands plus Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Greenday, Nine Inch Nails etc.).  The next year, I started digging through my dad's old record collection and became a student of classic rock and prog (I suppose it took me a while to define this term, but I guess a lot of of us are still struggling with it).  I found Jethro Tull, Yes, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix etc.  The former three plus the Metallica, Rush, and Dream Theater that my friend Tony (drummer of Edensong) introduced me to around the same time are probably most responsible for influencing the music that I went on to make. 


3 How did Edensong first come together?

JBS: Once upon a time there was a band of high school kids called Echoes of Eden.  We played our own blend of progressive metal, influenced heavily by the Metallica, Rush, and Dream Theater we were listening to at the time.  We released an album called "Beneath the Tide" in 2000, started writing and recording demos for some follow up material (really cool stuff, actually) and then disbanded as we all headed off to different colleges.  After playing some more acoustically oriented solo material for a while freshman year, I made my first post-high school attempts at putting a band together.  The origin story is actually on our website and various other websites, but I'll give a short recap here.  A friend of mine suggested mounting a full on multimedia rock opera with funding from the school's student theater organization, so I formed a house band to play a bunch of my songs, both from Echoes of Edensong and electrified versions of the accostic stuff I'd been writing more recently (a lot of this stuff went on to make up "The Fruit Fallen").  At first, I continued to call the band Echoes of Eden but eventually settled upon Edensong before graduating.  The lineup shifted a lot in those days, and it actually wasn't until after "The Fruit Fallen" was released that I really found the right group of musicians for the band and this music.


4 How difficult was it pulling together the material for The Fruit Fallen, Edensong's first album?

JBS: Pulling the material together really wasn't too difficult at all.  Ever since the original Echoes of Eden broke up in 2001, I had been writing material on my own.  As you can imagine, I had accumulated a lot of music.  It wasn't until the summer of 2004 that I had really made up my mind to make another album.  I knew I wouldn't have the budget to work in a "real" studio, nor did I want to entrust the outcome of the album to a producer or engineer who had little creative investment in the project (I knew this would be an album heavy in studio hours, fine-tuning the arrangements, adding layers, working on sonic details etc.), so I bought some recording equipment and brushed up on my recording skills so I could record the album myself.  It turned out to be a good choice, as the trials and errors of "The Fruit Fallen" led to my developing some engineering chops and launching my own recording business, which has thus far sustained me financially and allowed me to continue on my path with Edensong.


5 Listening to the album, there seems to be a strong theme running through the material.  Is there any insight you can provide there?

JBS: Lyrical theme?  There are probably a few that you're picking up on.  Overall, it's a pretty dark album.  There are quite a few tracks that deal pretty heavily with illness and death.  You might also be picking up on some religious themes in the lyrics, and especially the song titles ("The Prayer," "The Sixth Day," "The Baptism" etc.).  At the time, writing music was catharsis for me.  I tended to write about the problems that I saw in the world and those affecting the people around me.  It actually makes an interesting juxtaposition with the album Beneath the Tide I wrote with Echoes of Eden back in high school.  Beneath the Tide dealt largely with themes of innocence, youth and redemption, whereas the Fruit Fallen is often about the uglier and darker side of life.  This shift was pretty reflective of what was going on in my own life at the time, dealing with failed relationships, family illness, the death of childhood friends etc.  I suppose the Fruit Fallen was a bit of a coming of age CD for me.


6 Have you or the band caught any negative response over some of the lyrical content (songs like 'The Sixth Day,' for example)? 

JBS: Not too much.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who aren't too thrilled with the lyrics from that song, but I tend to only hear from the people who really like them.  I've been told by quite a few people that "The Sixth Day" is their favorite song on "The Fruit Fallen."  It's one of mine as well, and I think it's a song that really shines on the stage rather than in the studio version.  I did however stumble upon some review on progarchives of an album  by Neal Morse (an artist I really admire), comparing his tasteful treatment of religious themes in his music to Edensong's opposite blunt and hackneyed treatment in this song, so we're certainly not making everyone happy (I was pretty psyched, however, to see a mention of Edensong in the review!).  At the time I wrote this, I was examining the role of organized religion in our everyday lives, the reasons people turn to God, and the unfortunate divisiveness and intolerance that religion can breed.  I'm generally pretty reserved and not somebody who feels a need to be provocative, shocking, or divisive, but it's a topic I'm pretty passionate about.  I'm not sure if I would write the same song today, but I'm certainly glad I did at the time.


7 How easy or hard has it been to translate the fairly layered compositions to the stage?

JBS: There are definitely certain challenges to bringing this music to the stage, both technical and musical.  Even with six band members on stage, it's impossible for us to perform all the layers from the album.  While we tend to stay pretty faithful to the arrangements from the CDs, we will sometimes need to eliminate certain background layers, or move them from the guitar to another instrument (Stefan, our keyboardist, often has to cover all the keyboard parts plus pick up any of the important guitar parts from the recording that I'm unable to play at any given time).  The constant shift between acoustic and electric guitar also posed a bit of a challenge at first, but has been made wonderfully easy since I started using my Godin xtSA guitar with simultaneous electric and acoustic (piezo) outputs (In the old days I had to keep my acoustic guitars on player stands and wear my electric guitar.  I was always bashing them up or knocking them over and it was terrible for my playing technique.  This way I can play acoustic, electric, or any blend thereof and adjust this on the fly by stepping on a volume pedal).  Musically, I'd say the most challenging aspect of the live show is the often abrupt transitions in our music.  We'll need to shift tempos and/or textures immediately, and the two are often completely unrelated.  We also try to focus a good deal on the dynamics of our live show, so all of these important nuances require a lot of rehearsal.


8 Has there been a moment that stands out as a particular highlight for you with the band, live or what have you?

JBS: Thus far, I'd have to say the biggest point of arrival in our career would have to be our performance at Three Rivers Progressive Rock Festival in August 2009.  There were other moments that felt like personal accomplishments, such as the release of the Fruit Fallen after many years of hard work, but playing at 3RP was the moment where I felt I was no longer creating music in a vacuum and got an opportunity to share this stuff with the world, and people actually seemed to care!  It was our first real show, especially with the post-Fruit Fallen lineup, and it was our first time playing with bands we'd actually heard of!  We've gone on to have quite a few other truly memorable live experiences, but there's always something special about the first.  I'm hoping we get the opportunity to collect many many more of these career highlights!


9 Edensong just released Echoes of Edensong, a half live, half studio album.  How did this particular project come about? 

JBS: For years, I and my former bandmates from Echoes of Eden had discussed the prospect of re-recording and rereleasing some choice songs from our debut album Beneath the Tide.  We always felt strongly about the material but never felt it was captured on CD quite the way we envisioned it.  After our reunion onstage at 3RP and Tony's subsequent joining the band as our drummer, we thought the time was right to revisit some of this material.  We decided to focus our energy on the song Beneath the Tide (which we had already been playing with this lineup of Edensong), and not worry about the other few songs, which the rest of the band members weren't too crazy about in the first place.  While we were in the process of recording Beneath the Tide, I received an e-mail from Brian Cobb asking us to contribute a track for the Haiti Projekt.  I really wanted to offer something unreleased and unique to the collection and decided on "Lorelai," a song I had written many years ago for a potential concept album, but had never recorded or released.  I always liked this song a lot and it seemed thematically appropriate.  As I knew a full Edensong album of all new studio material was quite a few years off, I wanted to release something of substance for our fans (now that we actually had them!), so we decided to pair "Beneath the Tide" with "Lorelai" and include some live and unreleased tracks to round out the collection.  This CD really offers a glimpse into a band coming together, both through our live festival performances of 2009/10, but also in the studio tracks, as this was our first time working together in this creative context.  I really think that the experience of making this CD will end up making our future album stronger and more cohesive.  I've been really pleased with the response this CD has gotten thus far, both from fans and reviewers.


10 How did the two new tracks ('Beneath the Tide' and 'Lorelai') come about? 

JBS: Oh Whoops, I guess I just answered that in the last question!


11 Do you feel there are any thematic ties that connect 'Beneath the Tide' to the other songs on The Fruit Fallen? 

JBS: Not intentionally.  Since I've been writing music, I seem to have certain motifs I gravitate toward instinctively.  One such recurrent lyrical theme is water - it obviously factors heavily in "Beneath the Tide" but also makes a strong appearance on The Fruit Fallen in songs like "Water Run", "The Baptism," and "Reflection."  Additionally, I tend to have a certain way I approach song writing, specifically lyrics.  My lyrics will often follow a story;  I tend to develop a coherent narrative for the song in my mind and then begin to abstract the concepts into more "poetic" language.  This helps me to keep my lyrics focused.  It always helps for me to know what I'm talking about, even if the words disguise it a bit.


12 Both Edensong releases have distinctive packages.  How important is that to you in presenting the music? 

JBS: Visuals are very powerful for me.  I feel that our album covers are often the first thing people see when they hear about Edensong.  They may know the artwork before they even know the music.  With the "Fruit Fallen," I wanted to create the sense of an old fantasy book.  A few years ago, I bought a first edition of Alice in Wonderland and was completely captivated by the look and feel, both in the aged cover leather, yellowed pages, and musty smell, and by the illustrations and layout.  So with "The Fruit Fallen," aside from designing the cover to look like a book, I wanted to echo this literary theme in the packaging itself.  The album package is a digi-pack (instead of the standard jewel case), so it could be opened like a book.  The leather cover look continues to the inside of the case where there is a full 12 page lyrics booklet.  The inner booklet is tied together by the darkly whimsical pen illustrations drawn by my good friend Alex Muller.  I had originally wanted to sew in the booklet  so that the case would be an actual book, but this proved a bit too costly to justify.  Since "Echoes of Edensong" is more of an interim release, we couldn't put the same resources toward packaging.  We wanted something simple but powerful and knew we would need to rely mainly upon the artwork to do this.  A friend of mine showed me Alison Silva's artwork and I immediately knew it would be the perfect look for the release.  Luckily, Alison seemed very excited about the project as well and she designed two beautifully powerful paintings for the front and back panels.  We wanted to continue the book motif from the "Fruit Fallen," given that the two releases are very related, so we borrowed the same book texture and changed the color.


13 What does the band have planned next? 

JBS: We have a lot of stuff in the works right now.  Despite having no big festival gigs looming on the horizon, this is by far the busiest the band has ever been.  We're now deep into the writing process for our next full length album: something of a concept album, but I shouldn't say more than that.  I'm hoping we can begin recording by year's end.  We also just completed our first music video for the song "Beneath the Tide," which was made possible by some generous donations by our friends and fans via Kickstarter.  We have a premier screening planned for December 9th in NY.  We plan to make this video available on youtube with some live videos of our various festival performances.  This is also the first time that the band has been gigging and traveling regularly.  We're heading down to Baltimore in a few weeks for a show at the iconic Orion Studios, so we're pretty psyched for that.  Beyond that, we're hard at work with some of the less glamorous aspects of being a rock band - promotion, etc.  Despite how much time I spend doing band related activities, it always seems like there's a ton more to do.  At least things are moving forward!


14 How has the world's move to digital mediums changed how you look at the process of making an album? 

JBS: I honestly don't think it has thus far.  Our next project is very much rooted in the age of the album.  We have a few cuts that could be singles, but our approach is certainly on the work as a whole.  One of the major casualties of the digital age is the importance of the album.  In this regard, it's like we've all set the clock back to the early 1960s.  Edensong does it's best to resist this trend and given our direction, I imagine we'll always been an album band.  But then again, who knows what the future holds?


15 How has downloading impacted the band, either negatively or positively? 

JBS: I think it's a bit of both.  I have to figure that the internet has been mainly a boon for Edensong and the tons of independent non-mainstream bands.  I'm sure we've lost our fair share of CD sales to illegal downloading, but I also highly doubt that we'd be anywhere right now if it weren't for the internet.


16 Are there any newer bands you look to today for inspiration? 

JBS: Say what you will about modern music, I really believe we are living in a creative golden age.  Sure, as a culture, we may be being force fed terrible and/or formulaic crap, but if you take an active approach to your listening (as many music enthusiasts do these days), you can find amazingly innovative and eclectic work out there.  Nothing is really off limits and musicians are mixing genres all the time.  There are no rules and no gatekeepers, and thanks to modern technology, anything you can dream up compositionally is within reach.  Some of my favorite modern bands draw upon elements from early 70s progressive rock (some more than others), but wouldn't necessarily be labelled as such:  Coheed and Cambria, The Mars Volta, Three, Dredg, The Dear Hunter etc.  Of course, I also love a bunch of bands who run in the same progressive rock circles as we do: Discipline, Phideaux, IZZ, Magenta etc.


17 When you're not writing or performing, are there any bands or musicians you're finding particularly enjoyable these days? 

JBS: I guess I'm pretty longwinded because I think I answered this one in the previous question as well.  This week, I've been on a Symphony X kick.  I got into these guys when I was in early high school and it's been a few years since I've revisited their work.  I really can't imagine anyone doing a better job within this style.  It's usually metal that's the most immediately rewarding for me to listen to these days…Dream Theater, Coheed, Vanden Plas etc.  It's definitely a comfort because I know these albums so well but it also has the whole adrenaline thing, and since I do most of my casual listening in the car, it does a good job of keeping me awake as well!


18 As we wrap things up, do you have any parting words for our readers? 

JBS: Thanks so much for taking the time to read what I have to say and learning a bit about Edensong.  I hope I didn't go on too long!  If you like us in real life, come find us and "like" us on facebook too!  This is definitely the best site for up to date information.  And thanks to you, Bill, for putting together such thoughtful questions and being so supportive of our band.  You have a great site here!



Find out more:
http://www.edensongtheband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/edensong

(More than) 10 questions with...Pinnacle (part the second)

I’ve known the guys in Pinnacle for a while…differing amounts for most of them but still, we go a ways back.  If you’ve been lucky enough to spend time at NEARfest or the NJ Proghouse shows, you know them too, even if you’ve not spoken with them personally.  Drummer Greg Jones is the master of coffee (a beverage that sadly I have to refrain from these days…damn you, heart!), a wonderfully warm and funny guy, and a fantastic timekeeper to boot.  Karl Eisenhart is always quick with a quip, but has always found time to discuss some minutiae with me whenever necessary.  And bassist/keyboardist Bill Fox, DJ for several Lehigh Valley radio programs, has always struck me as the normal one of the bunch.

Apparently I was wrong.

But more about that soon.

Greg was kind and generous enough several years back to front me a copy of the band’s debut release, A Man’s Reach.  I enjoyed it…limited in a lot of ways, but there was a spark there that I knew could be nurtured into something more impressive given time.  Their sophomore album, Meld, saw that spark turn into a steady flame.  With much improved production values and an amazing cover, it showed me a band growing by leaps and bounds faster than I even imagined.  And with the news that they added a fourth member in keyboardist/vocalist Matt Francisco, the thought that these two albums are just the beginning of something even greater still brings a smile to my face.

Yes, these guys are friends (well, 3 of them are…I’ve not met Matt yet), but I also happen to think that they are fine musicians working very hard at crafting some interesting and very enjoyable melodic progressive rock.  It’s a pleasure for me to return the favour they’d granted me in sharing their music with me by spending the next two days (cos this is a hella long interview!) offering you some insight into the workings of a band that more of you should be checking out!

I usually spend this final paragraph thanking the band for their time, and it goes doubly…or trebly here.  Not only have all of the band members taken time out of their busy lives to answer these questions, but they’ve shared their music with me long before this blog/site was a gleam in my eye.  I hope this comes across in the questions and answers that follow.  So, major thanks and bouquets of Martian Fireflowers to the members of Pinnacle!

And…we’re off!



10. What would you say has been Pinnacle’s, well…pinnacle moment so far?

BF: There have been a few so it's hard to pick just one.  Supporting Nick D'Virgilio on three songs in concert was probably the first highlight, chronologically.  Opening for Spock's Beard was definitely a blast and an honor.  Playing at ProgDay and contributing tracks to Tuonen Tytar II and The Haiti Project are definitely up there.  Opening for Riverside was amazing.

GJ: Bill listed most of the big ones - so I'll add meeting famed prog producer Jeff Glixman, sitting in his studio while he listened to our music and made suggestions and seeing him really digging it.

KE: I was thinking about this, and there have been a few great ones. One that really sticks with me was a show we played at a little, awful place called Brenda and Jerry’s a few years ago. The gig had EVERYTHING working against it. It had all the potential to be one of the biggest nightmares of my musical career, and in some ways it was…you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. BUT, when it came time to play, I looked out and a relatively large number of people had driven a fair distance just to hear us. Some I knew, some I didn’t. I was blown away. It was my first real proof that anyone gave a rat’s butt about what we were doing. I’m pretty sure we played every song we knew and at least one we kind of didn’t know in an effort to make sure everyone left happy.

MF: I can’t speak for all. Speaking for me, our appearance at Dave Phillips back in November. Playing with the band in front of a wonderfully appreciative audience for the first time, and then meeting long time friends and fans of the band afterward. Very rewarding and encouraging.


11. Sort of countering that…have you had any moments where all you could do is laugh at how difficult things were, because the only other option was to pack it all in?  Sort of a Spinal Tap-type moment?

BF: We played a local venue called Brenda and Jerry's which is basically a little music school.  During our break, Brenda and Jerry hopped up on stage to regale our prog audience with schmaltzy show tunes.  I have no problem with show tunes, having played in a number of pit orchestras.  But Brenda and Jerry chose the wrong crowd to inflict their music and all we could do was grit our teeth and cut short our break.

GJ: Well there was this Earth Day benefit we got asked to play, and my bandmates got me to promise I'd behave myself and not poke too much fun at the more extreme "earth biscuits" in the room. Well we walked in the door and there was a woman my age wearing a diaper, made up as one of those new squiggly light bulbs, with duct tape around her butt to be the threads. I turned to look at Karl and Bill and said "Forget it - all bets are off!" It was my extreme pleasure that day to be able to tell the audience from the stage that "my two band mates really care about the earth; I, however, am just pretending to care about earth - to make Saturn jealous."

KE: Again…there have been SO many. Probably the big standout would be the little festival we played in upstate NY. The guy who organized ProgOctoberfest had obviously worked his ass off in so many ways. Promotion was EVERYWHERE: radio, newspapers, magazines, posters…there might have even been a billboard. I sincerely believe he went way above and beyond the call of duty. Sadly it was all for naught. After driving four hours to get up there, we set up and played first. I believe we had the biggest audience of any of the bands because my uncle and a couple of his friends came, and all of the other bands had more members than we did. That was it. That was the audience: My uncle, his friends, and the members of the other bands. The other bands were awesome, but I don’t think there was a single other paid admission. The club was HUGE, which made the emptiness that much worse. The whole thing was a benefit for school music programs, too. Very sad indeed.

MF: None that I’ve experienced yet. I’m sure there will be moments, but the group always seems to be able to back off when necessary, talk openly, then have a laugh. That’s really the best way to keep a relationship of any sort going.


12. When you’re not playing or rehearsing, what do you do to relax?

BF: I go on an annual hiking vacation and try to get some local hikes in as time permits.  I host three shows on FM stations that stream on-line so listening to music isn't always the relaxing past time it used to be.  But it's certainly not a stress except when previewing submissions that are not appropriate genre-wise or are of, shall I say, lesser quality.  I've started cooking a little more than I used to which is kind of relaxing in a way.  I'm addicted to TV, which is probably the most relaxing thing I do since my participation level doesn't need to be very high.

GJ: Laugh. (wait...is this interview going to run in Alaska? I don't want to give Eskimo women the wrong idea...) (Editors Note: Yes Greg.  Yes it is.) I love to laugh at comedies, both stupid ones and dark ones. The Best of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog is a favorite DVD of mine. And there's always drinking coffee.

KE: Relax? What’s that? I have another band—an acoustic adventure called RED—which plays out quite a bit and is working on its first album. We’re hoping to have that done in the next couple weeks. It looks like Brett Kull from Echolyn is going to mix and master it for us. Other than that, I like to do juvenile and dangerous things on bicycles. I’m also currently finishing my Elementary Teaching Certification, so hopefully I’ll have a “real” job at some point in the not-too-distant future. When the need arises, I do guitar repairs and some small recording projects.

MF: Time spent with my wife and my kids is the best relaxation therapy EVER. A highball glass full of Gentleman Jack is a close second.


13. I’ve got a couple (potentially irreverent) questions now that are just for one of you (Matt got his earlier).  Greg…what’s the secret to a perfect cup of coffee?

GJ: To quote Sean Connery from his Oscar winning role in The Untouchables, "What are you prepared to do?" It takes total commitment to do everything that you learn will make it better. I'll give you an example. Everyone who's reading this, what's the best cup of coffee you've ever had? Do you go to that place every morning? No? Why not? The answers to these questions will show you why the world remains doomed to serve bad coffee and why you're all accessories to the crime. If you're going somewhere because it's convenient rather than go support the place you had amazing coffee, shame on you.

BF: My secret is to have Greg brew it!  He brings an airpot of amazing coffee to every rehearsal.  Pinnacle is the most caffeinated band on the planet!


14. Karl…do you (or did you) ever get sick of people mangling the intro to Stairway to Heaven, or flubbing the Smoke on the Water riff?

KE: You know what? I worked at two different music stores for a total of 8 years. I’m not sure I EVER heard anyone play Stairway or Smoke on the Water. Compared to what they were playing, that would have been a nice break. Now people can’t play Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” and that God awful Blink 182 song…”This is growing up?” Maybe? I don’t know what the hell it’s called. I heard those songs absolutely brutalized over and over again. And “Crazy Train.” Ozzy would throw up his bat.

However, I have to mention that I did notice a swing in the last few years. All of a sudden there were kids who could play…like REALLY play. It’s starting to become less of a liability to be a good musician. Obviously, it was fun in the early 2000’s when people thought I was the guitar god of the music store because I never bought into the whole grunge/punk ethic and could still play guitar solos, but I’m gleefully happy that “real” playing is starting to make a comeback. I can’t believe I have to thank that stupid Jack Black movie and a video game for it, but, hey, whatever works.


15. Bill…do you ever look at your band mates and thank whomever that you’re the sane one?

BF: You obviously don't know me very well!  ;-)  I'm the most insane one of the group!  I retired at 46 to take a midlife crisis break from the rat race.  Unfortunately, I have to rejoin it soon.  But I knew that this day would come.  I just couldn't predict that the economy and job market would be in the toilet.

GJ: Bill? He's the craziEST one. He's our endless enigma, if you will...and a great friend.

KE: Bill is not the sane one. He’s the least-obviously crazy. Ironically, I’d have to say that the lead singer/keyboard player guy is the sane one. Weird.


16. Interests change over a lifetime.  Are there any newer bands or artists you find inspiring or enjoyable today?

BF: I am, have been, and always shall be a Beatles fanatic.  Klaatu was my discovery of the '70s.  Toy Matinee was my discovery in 1990 and Spock's Beard in 1999.  In the '00s, it was the Vinyl Kings.  This excludes my interest in electronic music where I must cite Robert Rich, Ian Boddy, RMI, Red Shift.  I'd better stop there or I could go on for too long.

GJ: Besides my favorites Spock's Beard and The Dixie Dregs, I am inspired by and/or in awe of IZZ, 3RDegree, Echolyn, Those Men, Mars Hollow, District 97, It Bites, Singularity, Advent, etc. I love Mike Visaggio of Kinetic Element's organ work and the incredible drummer John Camaratta who just joined Healing Agony. There's so many great bands now, a veritable embarrassment of riches if you will. For me, what sets all of those artists apart is the quality of the songwriting.

KE: I wish I had more time to check more of them out. As far as Prog goes, I’ve really been liking Frost*, Mars Hollow, IZZ and Magic Pie. Outside of the Prog realm, I have been digging Jack’s Mannequin and, while they’re not a “new” band, the newest It Bites album, The Tall Ships, is one of the best things I’ve heard in eons.

MF: Yes, but way too many to mention, and my taste in music is all OVER the map. I will mention that I’ve really gotten into Shadow Gallery. They’ve got tunes out there I wish I had written.


17. Taking the new album out of the equation…what’s next for Pinnacle?

BF: We would like to play at festivals and will be sending out the new CD to try and make that happen.  There certainly isn't a local prog scene for us to play in the Lehigh Valley.  The only prog event here is NEARfest and that comes only once per year.  The rest of the time, the Valley is a musical wasteland... unless you think that three chord Blues in 4/4 time is the pinnacle of musical achievement.

GJ: Hard to see beyond the excitement of new material but I hope we get some more gigs. We always love playing for Jim Robinson and the New Jersey Proghouse series, and we'd love to bring Matt's great voice to a stage anywhere we can.

KE: Money, women…You know….the usual.

I’d like to play more, certainly, but we have to find the “right” opportunities. There’s nothing worse than playing music you’ve slaved over and poured your heart into for an audience that really wants you to play the same songs they heard on the radio on the way to the club. I’d like to get into some of the festivals. We played ProgDay a couple years ago, which was a complete riot, but it didn’t turn out to be the starting point we were hoping it would be.

MF: Isn’t the new album enough for now?? Actually, I don’t think you can take the new album out of the equation, it’s going to be an unveiling of the “new” Pinnacle. And I think that we should start concentrating on the ‘new, new’ album right after that. (No doubt Karl just read this and smacked himself on the head). We have enough material for it already (well, I do, but I haven’t shown any of it to the boyz yet.)


18. In closing, do any of you have any final words to share with our readers?

BF: SQUIRREL!

GJ: Just a huge thank you to everyone who bought a CD, came to a show or read this interview. And thank you, Bill, for your interest.

KE: If you liked everything we’ve ever done before, the next album will be exactly the same, but WAY better. If you hated everything we’ve done up to this point, the next album will be TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND WONDERFUL!

MF: Hope to meet all of you soon!


Find out more:
http://pinnacleband.com/
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pinnacleband?ref=ts
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=55330772996&ref=ts
http://www.myspace.com/pinnaclegroup

(More than) 10 questions with...Pinnacle (part the first)

I’ve known the guys in Pinnacle for a while…differing amounts for most of them but still, we go a ways back.  If you’ve been lucky enough to spend time at NEARfest or the NJ Proghouse shows, you know them too, even if you’ve not spoken with them personally.  Drummer Greg Jones is the master of coffee (a beverage that sadly I have to refrain from these days…damn you, heart!), a wonderfully warm and funny guy, and a fantastic timekeeper to boot.  Karl Eisenhart is always quick with a quip, but has always found time to discuss some minutiae with me whenever necessary.  And bassist/keyboardist Bill Fox, DJ for several Lehigh Valley radio programs, has always struck me as the normal one of the bunch.

Apparently I was wrong.

But more about that soon.

Greg was kind and generous enough several years back to front me a copy of the band’s debut release, A Man’s Reach.  I enjoyed it…it was limited in a lot of ways, but there was a spark there that I knew could be nurtured into something more impressive given time.  Their sophomore album, Meld, saw that spark turn into a steady flame.  With much improved production values and an amazing cover, it showed me a band growing by leaps and bounds faster than I even imagined.  And with the news that they added a fourth member in keyboardist/vocalist Matt Francisco, the thought that these two albums are just the beginning of something even greater still brings a smile to my face.

Yes, these guys are friends (well, 3 of them are…I’ve not met Matt yet), but I also happen to think that they are fine musicians working very hard at crafting some interesting and very enjoyable melodic progressive rock.  It’s a pleasure for me to return the favour they’d granted me in sharing their music with me by spending the next two days (cos this is a hella long interview!) offering you some insight into the workings of a band that more of you should be checking out!

I usually spend this final paragraph thanking the band for their time, and it goes doubly…or trebly here.  Not only have all of the band members taken time out of their busy lives to answer these questions, but they’ve shared their music with me long before this blog/site was a gleam in my eye.  I hope this comes across in the questions and answers that follow.  So, major thanks and bouquets of Martian Fireflowers to the members of Pinnacle!

And…we’re off!



1. Let’s start at the very beginning…how did you first discover a love of music?

Bill Fox: As a preschooler, my mother would play records over the intercom system we had in the house.  I would hum along.  One of my mother's favorite Bill stories to tell was that, not only would I hum the melodies, but the harmonies and counterpoints, too.  My love of music was innate and always there, as far as I can tell.  By the first grade, I was asking for a piano.  Sadly, that wish was never fulfilled.  It wasn't until the fourth grade (I was nine years old) that my father bought a guitar.  I started teaching myself from his books and with his help.  The following summer, I took ten private lessons in folk guitar.  The fourth grade was also when I was old enough to be in choirs in school and at temple.  So I joined.  I started saxophone in the sixth grade.

Greg Jones: At a very young age it just had a tremendous emotional and physical effect on me. I read Steve Hackett describing being so overwhelmed emotionally that he felt naked and didn't want people to see his face when he was hearing something that powerful and I thought "I know what he means".

Karl Eisenhart: I come from a very musical family. My mom is an amazing flute player. My uncle has been a full time musician as long as I can remember. My Grandmother was a MONSTER pianist, who used to play background music in movie theaters during silent films.

Matt Francisco: I wish I had an interesting answer for that question, I can only say music has always been part of my life.


2. What were your earliest influences?

BF: My earliest influences were the records my parents owned; Roger Williams, Alan Sherman, Gershwin, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and some classical music.  Radio and TV of the late '50s and early '60s also had an impact.  Then the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show.

GJ: Let me just say that everything changed with the arrival of The Beatles. And as rock turned more and more experimental and less formulaic and simplistic, I was along for the ride with Hendrix, Cream, The Jeff Beck Group, The Who, Mott The Hoople, Free, Mountain, The James Gang, Deep Purple, ELP, Jethro Tull, Yes, Joni Mitchell, CSN & Y, PFM and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Then I heard the Starless And Bible Black album by King Crimson and my head exploded.

KE: Well, certainly my uncle, John Eisenhart. He got me started down the dark path of guitardom when I was really young. He also got me started on the dark path of progdom by making me listen to YesSongs. Soon after came Styx, Rush and Steve Morse in very rapid succession.

MF: Elton John-I just always liked his songs, and because of their fairly predictable chord progressions, they were easy to pick out on piano. The Who-there was a time when I could sing every lyric to every movement from “Tommy”. Peter Gabriel-for sheer determination. He doesn’t have the best voice ever but he owns every note he can hit. “Moribund the Bergermeister” remains one of my all-time favorite tunes just because I find the melody so interesting. Emerson Lake and Palmer-I love the incorporation of the orchestral sound. Alan Parsons-for the same reason as ELP. Also on my “List of Influences” for various reasons...Meatloaf, Yes, Freddie Mercury and Jim Steinman. My list is much longer but I’d feel the need to explain each one and no one has time for that.


3. How did Pinnacle first come together?

BF: I was contacted by Greg and Karl because they were looking for a bass player.  They knew that I was into Classic Rock having some decidedly progressive tendencies, having seen me in my old cover band, ShadowPlay at Musikfest.  We played Tull, Yes, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Renaissance, ELP, and other, less progressive songs.  (See http://soundscapes.us/ShadowPlay for archive information.)  Greg came over to my house and we had a nice, long conversation.  Since I had plenty of time on my hands and the project sounded like it would appeal to my musical interests, I decided to give it a go.  This was about the same time that I started hosting two radio shows where I play prog.

GJ: Met Karl at a coffee shop he was playing at with his duo, loved their selection of material - deep album cuts - and guitar synth, violin, mandolin, etc. (Red was electric then) - and he saw my Steve Morse shirt so we talked after the show for a long time and decided to get together and play. After working with a few different bassists, we thought of Bill and the three of us clicked at the first rehearsal.

KE: Greg and I had been playing together for a bit, but hadn’t found a bass player with the same enthusiasm for what we wanted to do. I knew Bill as a customer at the music store I was working at back then. We got together with the idea of being a sort of prog-leaning classic rock cover band, but soon shifted into doing originals. There is a Sonar file somewhere of what was to be our demo: “The Grand Illusion,” “Teacher,” “You Can’t Get What You Want,” (Joe Jackson) and…something else. That might be an interesting thing to release someday…or not.


4. How does the band go about writing their music?

BF: Many songs are "complete" before being shared with the band.  Other bits are snippets looking for a home.  All of these are fodder for Pinnacle songs.  Everything then gets "Pinnacle-ized" which may include additional composing as well as the expected arranging and orchestration.  There is a lot of give and take and songs often change over time.  An advantage of not working to a record label's release schedule is that songs have the opportunity to be analyzed for how well they fit our concept of good song writing.  We have time to kick the tires on our home stereos, in the car, and even in concert.

GJ: How does the band go about writing their music?  We make mistakes and always have a recorder running. Nah, most of the songs come from Karl and he lets Bill and I tear them apart and reassemble them without mercy. Occasionally one of mine makes it in, or one of Bill's. Plus, now we have Matt writing. Thankfully everyone's really good about letting their "babies" be vivisected in the interest of stronger writing.

KE: SLOWLY. One of us…most often me, I guess…comes to rehearsal with the outline of a song. We then tear it apart as a band and start adding and subtracting ideas. Our influences are widely varied, so we all have different ideas for where things should go.

MF: I’m just getting my first taste of the song writing process with the rest of the band. I can’t say there’s a set formula that we use to create a new piece, each one kind of comes into the world in it’s own way. It’s an ongoing process, meaning the songs that appear on albums aren’t ‘done’. They’re never ‘done’, and never will be. What you hear on the album is just a snapshot of how it sounded at the time of production. They will continue to grow and change as the band continues to play them.


5. Pinnacle recently added a fourth musician…Matt Francisco.  How did you hook up with the band?

MF: Through Karl. Karl and I went to school together in New York State, both ended up living in Pennsylvania for different reasons. We were in a band 15 (15?? Really??) years ago or so, a mostly cover band called Twist of Fate. Since then, Karl has asked me to join him in different musical endeavors but it was only this time around that my personal life allowed me to get into something this involved.

I’m glad to be a part of Pinnacle and I hope I can keep up.

BF: Matt and Karl grew up together in upstate New York and have played in bands together before Pinnacle.  Greg, Karl, and I often discussed what Pinnacle should be and what directions to take.  We have good communication habits.  Often, the desire for additional singers and players would pop up.  We took the power trio about as far as we could by using synthesizers and pedals.  Karl would play synths from his guitar and with pedals.  I would play synth by hand and with pedals.  Not being a big Rush fan like Karl, I had no idea that I was following in the footsteps of Geddy Lee.  His shoes are far too big for the likes of me to fill anyway.  I even brought in pads for Greg to trigger samples on the laptop.  So we took the trio thing about as far as we could.  We still wanted additional vocals most of all and perhaps a real keyboard player.  Matt fills the bill by being a fantastic singer and piano player.  His transition into a synth player has been amazing.  As it turns out, he writes music like a demon, too!  What an unexpected plus.

KE: Matt is one of my oldest friends (meaning that I’ve known him for a long time. Not meaning that he’s old.) We grew up and both moved far away from home. By sheer coincidence, we only live a couple miles father apart now than we did when we were kids. From the beginning of this band, I always thought he’d be the perfect fourth member, but his plate was always way too full. When we first approached him about joining, all we were hoping was that he would sing on the recordings and live gigs. I didn’t anticipate that he’d have time or desire for more of a commitment than that, but it just naturally evolved into having him play keys on the new stuff, then playing keys on the old stuff, then writing great song after great song. Now he’s learning guitar. Plus, as Greg would say, he’s the good-looking one…not that we’ve set the bar too high. Pretty soon it’s going to be HIS band.


6. Also for Matt…can you tell us what it’s like being the new guy?

MF: Not really, because I didn’t feel like the new guy for long. I think Greg and Bill gave me a shot mainly because Karl said I could do it. That was the first rehearsal. Second rehearsal, I was getting positive feedback and helpful suggestions and constructive criticism and it felt like everyone was comfortable with the change.


7. This one is for each of you.  What do you think you bring to the table for Pinnacle that differs from what the others contribute?

BF: While I tend not to write complete songs, I do have a compositional style that is different from the others.  When I bring something in that makes Greg and Karl look at each other and smile like fools, I know that I've triggered their "we don't write like that" button.  They like it when a piece of music surprises them, as opposed to being predictable.  Something good that is different from what they would write floats their boat.  I wasn't happy with the keyboard sounds we had in our live show.  As a result, I brought in my laptop with a load of software synthesizers.  Even with the addition of Matt, it's still the only source of keyboard sounds in Pinnacle's live show,.  My experience with saxophone and Classical music is unique in the band.  It doesn't usually resonate with the other band members but that doesn't matter since it always spurs discussion and stimulates the creative process.  While Karl is the virtuoso guitarist, I started my instrumental life as a guitarist.  Having my own set of influences, my style of playing is quite different from Karl's which gives Pinnacle a little more depth than if we only had one guitarist.  Now Matt is teaching himself how to play guitar and we're all having wicked thoughts on how to capitalize on having three guitars playing at once.  Although we let Karl do the heavy lifting in the recording department, that's partially due to the fact that we're in his basement using his studio.  I've recorded albums in my own studio so I could just as well "push the red button."  Instead, I add in ideas and direction when I feel the need.  Having more than one technical person makes for a stronger, deeper final result.

GJ: I think I'm the one who believes that the bass and drums should not always phrase together. I want to hear 3 and 4 instruments playing 3 and 4 different parts independent of each other and then, when they DO come together, it will be more powerful. I also seem to be the one pushing for the combination of themes, i.e., strong intro lick played again later against chorus chords, vocal melody restated in bassline, etc. Doesn't always work but when it does....  Lastly, more so than Karl and Bill (don't know how Matt feels about this yet), I feel obligated, driven and compelled to play something, either in my own part or as a band, that I haven't heard before. Not easy to do. And I may be kidding myself - but if I can hear on a recording of ours some half-minute or less of music that I CAN'T find anything like anywhere else in my collection, I feel a tremendous pleasure and sense of satisfaction from that. "Love In Our Hands" from MELD has one short section like that and its my favorite moment on the whole record.

KE: Ruthless promptness and boundless bitterness. I know it drives Greg and Bill crazy, but they’re tolerant of it. Matt has been dealing with it forever, so I doubt he even notices anymore. Actually, he was in a cover band with me at the dawn of my bitterness, so he probably understands my negativity toward the music industry as well as anyone.

MF: Vocals and keys. I think I have a style that adds a dimension to the overall sound of the band.


8. How is work proceeding on the new album?

BF: Slowly.  We only get the opportunity to get together about once per week.  All too often, progress made in one session needs to be rehashed in succeeding sessions in order to make things stick.  But we record at least a little of most sessions, which helps.  We're finally about to press the record button for real.  Most of the writing is done.  We even have more material than we need which is a nice place to be.

GJ: We were, for all intensive purposes, done writing and arranging - and then we got Matt. Thank God we hadn't made this record yet! Now, between working on a few new songs that came from him and rearranging things to include him in the existing material, we plan to finally hit the record button early this fall.

KE: It’s going really well right now. We were originally planning to do a slightly shorter album this time, but then Matt came along and started sending us song after song. We’ve got a little arranging to do on one of his, then I think we’re going to actually start recording. Does that give us a timeline? Not hardly. I think the recording process will go much faster than it did with MELD because we’ve learned a lot about how to do it, but we’re also going into the process expecting to have to backtrack here and there if new ideas arise.

MF: I think we’re just about ready to hit the record button for real. We’ve certainly got enough material, in fact too much, but that’s good news for the next, next album.


9. How does the new music you are working on differ from the material on Meld or A Man’s Reach…?

BF: I think that with Matt's material and my additions to "The Epic," you'll hear a greater variety but still in the same Pinnacle mold.  We try to concentrate on writing songs that happen to be progressive.  The implementation must serve the song rather than being progressive just for the sake of being progressive.  As a result, you'll still hear time changes and instrumental flights of fancy just as we've always done.  But they support the basic, underlying songs.  We love hooks unapologetically.

GJ: Some of it sounds like the natural progression from that and I'm happy to say that some of it sounds nothing like that. There's a huge epic that began with this great piece Bill wrote that sounds nothing like us and got welded into something Karl wrote with me playing the most screwed up version of 4/4 I've ever come up with. And this one song of Matt's we're doing called "Music Man' gives me chills. Since MELD I've taken a bunch of drum lessons, Karl's learned a few new tricks about note choices, Bill's stretching himself in a zillion directions and Matt's pulling new stuff out of all of us.

KE: The new stuff is more “keyboard-laden” for sure. It forces me to re-examine how I approach the guitar parts because I no longer have to take up such a huge chunk of sonic space. Also, because of the amount of time we’ve taken, many of the new songs have been played live a few times already. It gives us an opportunity to see what’s working and what’s not and also to let the various parts evolve a little more naturally.

MF: Let me say that the guys had a terrific quiver full of new tunes all ready to go before I started hanging around. The new album will be different for two obvious reasons, my vocals and more keyboard influence. Overall I believe the group has grown musically and you’re going to hear a more mature, refined sound, both in technique and production.

Join us on Friday as we continue/complete this epic interview!