Page 18 - ROCKNATION ISSUE 25

PAGE 18 ROCKNATION ISSUE 25

Interview with Paul Lidel

Hello Paul Lidel of the band 99 CRIMES and welcome
to Rocknation. You are known worldwide for playing
in DIRTY LOOKS and also DANGEROUS TOYS. Please
tell us how this new band came together and who is in
the band.
Our drummer Chris Jordan and I had played
together in a band in the past, so when I decided to
put together a new band I knew exactly who I wanted
on drums. Chris is a combination of several of my
favorite drummers like John Bonham of Zeppelin,
Joey Kramer of Aerosmith, and Tommy Lee of Motley
Crue. He’s a hard hitter and the first time I played with
him I knew we were on the same page musically. I
first met Jeff Lynn, our bass player, when he sat in at
gig I was playing. I was impressed with not only his
skills on bass, but his vocals as well. When we all got
together for the first time in August of 2016, I could tell
right away that it was going to be something special.
Our band has a unique chemistry because Jeff’s
background is primarily prog rock, Chris leans toward the straight ahead rock, and I appreciate both styles. When we write it turns into an
blend of styles that ends up sounding to me like my old record collection!

Please name some tracks and what they are about.
The first track on our EP “Coming Down Like Rain” is about a guy who killed a man that was sleeping with his wife, and is now on death row
for the crime. Track two, “Do It Over” asks the question “would you throw a pretty penny for a wish to wash the hand of fate” meaning is there
any thing in life that you wish you could change if you had the chance. Track three is entitled “The Avenue”. This one is Jeff’s account of
experiences he had and the people that he met walking down the Avenue. Track four is “Nine Pound Hammer” It’s about women who don’t
realize their own beauty. They don’t see themselves as others do. Track five is “Never Say Forever”. This is one of my personal favorites in
that it’s straight ahead rock, but it’s also strange and unusual. We often close with this one in our live show.

What studio did you record these tracks at and did you use a producer?
We recorded at 512 studios in Austin. Our producer Omar Vallejo seemed to know exactly what we were going for. He’s a talented producer,
and also a blast to work with.

The band just released a killer new video for the track “Coming Down Like Rain”. The video was shot in a jail which had a great vibe,
who produced this video?
Shooting this video was an extremely memorable moment in my life. We shot it in an old jail, which is supposedly haunted. The jail was active
from the late 1800’s up until 1975, and had hundreds of names scratched into the walls. You could just feel the misery in this place! The
producer Steve Miller of AustinVideoSpecialists.com did an amazing job of taking what I saw in my head for the video and making it a reality.
He really captured the vibe of the song. It’s one of the best videos that I’ve been in, including the ridiculously high budget ones I was in, back
in the day.

How did you pick your band name?
We wanted a name that was easy to remember, and I’ve always thought that 99 was a memorable number.
The name 99 Crimes sounded intriguing to us and also easy to remember.

If you had to tell someone what your 99 CRIMES music sounded like, what bands
would you mention?
Everyone says that our music sounds like music from the late 70’s. They mention
Rainbow, Deep Purple, early Aerosmith, early Van Halen. We didn’t set out to have
any kind of “sound”, it just evolved from the combination of our influences.

What plans do you have for 2018-19?
Now that the video is out, we are gearing up to go back in the studio. We have lots
of great material to choose from, picking the next songs to record will be difficult.
We intend to expand our touring radius, and have our sights set on playing over
seas.
Thank you for taking time for this interview. Any last words to the 99 CRIMES
fans worldwide?
We really appreciate all support we’ve gotten so far. We want to say thanks to
everyone who has come to our shows, or supported the band by helping to spread
the word on social media.

CD NOW AVAILABLE AT
https://www.facebook.com/99crimes WWW.PERRISRECORDS.COM