Page 7 - ISSUE 19
P. 7
ROCKNATION ISSUE 19 PAGE 7
ROCKNATION: This is your music because we keep evolv-
second album featuring a new ing and changing and there’s
vocalist M.T., how did he add to still plenty to come. We can
the bands sound and image? certainly say that we’re not a
ETHAN: M.T. is so much differ- true AOR or melodic band really,
ent to Jimmy in so many ways. we just like to keep the melodies
Firstly he is not a high tenor like there because we love them and
Jimmy was. His vocal range is we’re not a metal band in the
totally different and more purest form of the genre but we
“manly” if you prefer, rougher also keep some elements there
and more harsh and abrasive. because we like them. We have
When we auditioned, having definitely adopted a lot of con-
the new sound in mind, he was temporary sounds, we love the
the perfect fit. Exactly what we Foo Fighters and Nickelback or
hoped for. And he was no rookie the 3 Doors Down and Hinder
either. He was a seasoned and stuff like that, even bands
vocalist even if he is the young- like Muse and you can hear
est member in the band.He looks that in the new album. However
very different too and the fun we all have a soft spot for the
part was that he got through all American 80s and the European
that image changing process, 90s when it comes to hard rock.
actually if you come to think Jeff described us as a millenium
about it, most of the new sound and the new image of the band rock band, whatever that might
was built around him and the whole band changed around him. be, but we loved it and we want
I can tell you, we surely like the way we sound and look right now! to be that if we could ever define a new sound of our own, but
ROCKNATION: You live in Athens, Greece. What is the music that’s as distant as the moon. We’d sure like to try though.
scene like there? ROCKNATION: Please name some bands you have appeared
ETHAN: It’s a funny thing. Nobody really knows what’s going on with in Europe.
in Athens and Greece in general, musically speaking. Everybody’s ETHAN: We’ve played with Jeff Scott Soto, obviously, and we’re
talking about the financial situation, the debt and the austerity going to play a lot together this Spring and we’ve actually played
measures but nobody really looks what’s going on at a cultural a gig with him as his JSS band in 2010. We’ve also toured briefly
level. I can tell you right now that all this situation has ignited a with Winger around Greece right when the first album was about
cultural wave and rock music in particular fits right in the equa- to get out. We’ve also played with Kayser and Dust ‘n Bones
tion. There are so many great bands coming out of Greece these and with some great local heroes like Outloud and Spitfire and
days. all through the rock and metal spectrum, from pop rock soft Wild Machine. We always like to play with our very good friend
things to extreme metal. There are several Greek bans touring George Gakis.
around Europe or all over the world. This is not something new, ROCKNATION: What is some of the music you listen to now?
it’s been growing for at least a decade now and now the circum- ETHAN: So many things... We’re finally at that point after the
stances help a lot. You can surely remember the Stones singing release that we don’t have to listen to our own stuff that much.
“what can a poor boy do except to sing for a rock’nroll band...”, And we’re trying to listen to things out of our comfort zone. For
well it’s happening right here, right now and people should have example Tony listens to a lot of swing like the Big Bad Voodoo
a good look into what Greece has to offer to rock music fans. It’s Daddy or the Squirrel Nut Zippers one day and Hard Core Su-
Gus G and Firewind, it’s Rotting Christ and the Suicidal Angels, perstar the next, Ahas listens to a lot of soul and funk while M.T.
Innerwish, it’s 4bitten, it’s Danger Angel and so many other bands goes for European hard rock these days. Rudy is a huge fan of
that are either already there or coming out strong. Too many the Spanish metal scene, things like Mago De Oz. I’m between
bands to mention here, wouldn’t know where to stop. You’d be SIXX A.M. or the Foo Fighters these days and I’ll always catch up
amazed! We expect many many good things to come out there and with the latest Euro hard rock.
amaze you all! You can say that, in context, it’s somehow what the ROCKNATION: Any funny stories or encounters you had from
UK scene was during the very early sixties or late fifties or fans at shows you can tell us about?
something like the hundreds of poor Detroit rock bands that made ETHAN: Well we had our moments, like that time when we were
a world impact. leaving for a gig and had to take the train and we ended up split
ROCKNATION: Your band with be touring with your producer Jeff between two trains going the opposite direction and only half the
Scott Soto throughout Europe, what are some of the things you band made it to the gig ending up to play an acoustic set instead
are looking forward to? of a normal one. There was that
ETHAN: First of all we’re look- other incident when we played
ing forward to the experience an open gig and the fog was so
and to working with Jeff again. thick that we had to play in front
Then there’s this new audi- of the monitors for the people to
ence that we’re so eager to be able to see us. And we had
play for, also the travels and that crazy fan back in the very
the night-liner and the life on early days, he was a guy that
the road in a Kerouac sort of loved our music so badly that he
way, you know. And we want had to dance like crazy through-
to do it again very soon and, out the set. So crazy that all the
why not, in the States too if other people around him had to
they ‘d want us! make room which extended so
ROCKNATION: Your band has much that we ended playing with
been described as hard rock. just that one guy dancing at the
Please name bands or artist front and all the others 20 feet
that influenced you. away. We haven’t seen him for
ETHAN: We have been years now and we miss him a bit.
described as many things Of course, all the others have
and we could be all of them returned under the stage and
and we’d be happy to oblige. we’re very happy about it.
But we don’t want to label our (cont. on page 8)
