Page 3 - ISSUE 12

ROCKNATION ISSUE 12 PAGE 3
Interview with Snowy Shaw of paycheck. But then it just becomes Scarecrow for Mexico and South America and
a job and I’m no better than a whore so on.
and I’ve never been in it for the mon- Brian: You recently toured with Deathstars. Is
ey. So on the subject of a hired gun, there any disappointment that many European
that’s not the case at all. I’ve repeat- bands don't reach the shores of America when
edly turned down offers from high you have fans dying to see you?
profile bands just because I didn’t Snowy: Actually just a week or two prior I felt I
feel like it at that point or the timing had to pull out of that upcoming 2 month arena
wasn’t right and I was musically in support tour to Korn after having been tour-
another frame of mind at the time. ing worldwide for a whole year basically with
I’m usually the most dedicated so Therion. I had some personal business to attend
that the other members can’t keep to and my life was pretty messy at that point. In
up with me. And besides I never retrospect I’m glad I pulled out and took care of
really wanted to be in someone elses myself and my new house and all.
band and my biggest passion has al- Brian: Seems to me Sweden and the surround-
ways been to create and write music, ing areas are leading the revitalization of sleaze/
not to play drums. You usually get glam, why is that?
these offers based on what kind of Snowy: Yeah, you’re probably right about that,
music you’ve done before of course, but I don’t know why really. One can only specu- correspondense.
but that didn’t quite dawn on me in late of course, so your guess is as good as mine. Brian: Let's get to some of the CD. The opening
the past and I wondered what kind Personally, I think it’s really cool but it makes track “Hello” is such a great tune, brings me back
of weird f**king offers I was getting no sense really, since there are no real big act to the days of big hair and classic rock almost
after I had put Notre Dame to rest. whose success have inspired all the copycats. I in the essences of The Archie’s. You remember
And I quit Memento Mori after a few guess it’s a combination of a new young genera- them they did the song “Sugar Sugar.” Was it
years and I was pretty sick of that tion and Sweden being quite Americanized if you your intension to put fun back into the music?
kind of neoclassical pretentious di- compare it to France or Germany for example. Snowy: Ha ha ha! That’s some funny shit.
rection and wanted to do Illwill, which All the kids who love and embrace the whole Yeah, I remember hearing that song, not that I
had a total different direction that felt myth, notion and idea of Hollywood and would can see or hear that much resemblance to that
fresh and interesting and that I was die to walk the sunset strip with all the Mötley particular song though, but to a point you’re right
really excited about and had a million Crües and Guns N´Roses clones. I guess most and I agree, it’s a great catchy feelgood song,
great ideas for years before bands of them don’t realize that was 20 years ago and hardly designed to provoke suicidal tendencies
like Rammstein and Marilyn Manson is long gone. I was lucky enough to experience or any negativity at all really. Come to think of it,
realized practically the exact same all that at the very end and peak perhaps, when this might be the perfect cure in this depressing
ideas. Then all of a sudden I get an I joined King Diamond in Los Angeles 1989 as a day and age of economic disaster and shit. So
offer to join Yngwie Malmsteen which 20 year old. We all know by now that all trends forget your miserable lives for a minute and let’s
in my opinion falls under a pretty go in cycles and will eventually pop up some- boogie...ha ha ha! In general, the glam and glit-
By: Brian Rademacher so naturally I declined. A lot of musicians devide Mecka was LA while 10 years earlier it was in ter rock that I prefer is mainly based in the early
place else a decade later, last time the glam
similar catagory as Memento Mori,
Brian: Hey Snowy, welcome to Rocknation. their time between 2 or 3 bands these days, de- London. So it seems this time around it’s Swe- 70’s with Ziggy era, Bowie, Sweet, T-Rex, Suzi
Quatro, Gary Glitter and so on. The bands of this
Man you had a great career in music so far play- pending on how successful and much touring the den’s turn trying to recreate that scene. era are sometimes dubbed as bubblegum teeny-
ing with a lot of high profile bands, why would bands are doing, and it also depends if you’re Brian: Most of the bands you were in you also bop, and much of it was most likely just lifted off
you depart from some of these bands that are just used as a musician like a tool or if you’re had that Rockstar image on stage. During your or at least heavily inspired by that sweet naive
legendary like King Diamond, Dream Evil, and the creative motor and song writer. On that note youth did you experiment with your image, and and innocent American 50’s and 60’s music, but
Therion, or is it that you're just a hired gun? although it may not be the whole truth I also quit what kind of kid were you growing up? with a little twist.
Snowy: Hell no! First I must say that I still sing Mercyful Fate to focus on Illwill,.. a band that Snowy: Well, my life changed forever the day Brian: Loved the rendition of “I Want to You To
in Therion and intend to stay there as long I’m basically no one has heard of so you may call I discovered Kiss, Destroyer, as a 7 year old Want Me,” why did you decide to pick that song?
satisfied, and I have written some songs for the me stupid and a lot of things, but I’m certainly not fan of horror comics and superheroes. At first Snowy: Oh, thank you. I’m pleased with how it
new album that we plan to start recording as just another hired gun. I couldn’t grasp what the hell this was, these turned out too. How that came about is actually
soon as possible. And to answer your ques- Brian: Didn’t you just start Snowy Shaw Produc- incredibly looking scary looking superheroes a kind of funny story. When we sat down in the
tion on why I would depart from the bands I’ve tions, what's that all about? on a LP with very cool rock music with sound rehearsal studio to write songs for the album I
played with through the years, generally speak- Snowy: Yeah that’s right. XXX (pronounced effects which was almost like watching a movie. suggested we should also do a "guilty plea-
ing, if it doesn’t make me happy anymore being “Triple X”) is the first album on Snowy Shaw I listened to Sweet, Nazareth and Deep Purple sures" kind of cover tune, and first we went for
in one band or another, I don’t see any reason Productions and in this case I license to all the mostly before that, but
why I should stick around, except maybe for the territories -- Perris Records for North America, nothing really had that
much impact on me
til I discovered Kiss.
Anyway, from that mo-
ment on things were
never the same and I
guess this experience
shaped my perception
forever. Brian: You
recently formed XXX
with a friend of ours
Rob Nasty (Loud N'
Nasty). The new CD
was released on Perris
Records in America.
Listening to the CD
you guys have a sound
of T. Rex, Pretty Boy
Floyd, Guns N’ Roses
meets early era Bowie
and Slade and yet you
have a great super-
hero type image. A lot
of fans are looking for
the next band that has
huge stage presents ala Kiss, Alice Cooper. Was Rod Stewart’s “Do You Think I’m Sexy?” and it
that something you were looking for? sounded so and so, to be honest. For our origi-
Snowy: I’d lie if I’d say no. Of course it was/is. nal songs I wanted more uptempo songs and
Rob and I just can’t help ourselves but to think wrote some but I still wanted something catchy,
and make those kind of plans. Wouldn’t that be melodic and kind of bouncy, so in order to il-
just fantastic if XXX could deliver that kind of lustrate and show the guys what I was aiming for
big scale stageshows. But I’m seeing things a I started playing "I Want You To Want Me" on the
little more realistic these days, and I know now guitar, and then it just hit me…f**k! yeah! We
that takes a tremendous effort and many years should do that song! Ever since I first heard that
to realize, and since I can’t change people and song when I was about 11, I loved it so much
XXX can’t be entirely up to me. It’s supposed to that I later snuck in and stole the vinyl single at
be a band effort otherwise I might as well be a the youth center disco booth, I just had to have
solo artist. it. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had al-
Brian: With the new release Heaven, Hell or ways wanted to do that song one day in the right
Hollywood? you got Al Rio (Marvel Comics) to context with the right kind of band, it wouldn’t fit
do the cover, how was that arranged? in so well with Notre Dame for example, but it
Snowy: X and I were working hard in the studio was perfect for XXX.
and one day I came up with the whole idea and Brian: Listening to the CD I feel a vibe of Slade
concept of having us painted like 3 superheroes to your music. Some of the songs are a little
based on a song called “Heaven, Hell or Hol- heavier like “Tomboy,” but you have the energy
lywood?” So I asked Rob to track down one of of Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz.” What can fans ex-
the great artists to do it. It was crucial that we pect from a live XXX show?
had one of the great ones from Marvel, EC com- Snowy: Sweet are one of my biggest influences.
ics or something instead some halfass guy from I’ve got tons of great plans and ideas for the XXX
down the block. Rob is a great tattoo artist and liveshows, and I’ve prepared and manufactured
has a great eye for the visuals too so I knew I most of the stageprops etc. and we were just
could trust his judgement. He managed to get about to go into full production rehearsals when
hold of Al Rio who had previously done Batman, the Europe tour was cancelled and we put things
The Incredible Hulk, among others for Marvel on ice. I don’t wanna reveal too much of what
Comics, and this was really a childhood dream you can expect from a XXX liveshow and ruin
coming true. Then we selected some pics the surprise, you’ll see in time.
and I made some drawings of the 3 characters Fans who haven't had a taste of XXX yet, check
emphasizing the personalities Heaven, Hell and out the trailer for their new CD
Hollywood. We kept mail contact with Al Rio’s
English speaking manager who handled all the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHj3FPp1i5o