FLYING THE FLAG FOR WELSH MELODIC ROCK AND AOR
FLYING
THE FLAG FOR WELSH MELODIC ROCK AND AOR
By Nicky Baldrian
Back in the
eighties in the small mining village of Merthr Tydfil in South
Wales, a twelve year old Paul Harris began experimenting with
music "Luckily in Merthyr back in the early 80's, everyone
was into music in a big way. I started off playing drums I had a
Premier Kit and played in a few bands around the youth clubs
etc" explains multi- instrumentalist Paul Harris.
Eventually out of boredom Paul switched banging skins to guitar
"I swapped my kit for a Hohner Strat copy and used my
fathers amp for power." adds Paul. He then went on to learn
material by Praying Mantis, Iron Maiden, Gary Moore and early Bon
Jovi, but Paul's major influence at the time was Judas Priest
"It doesn't show in my playing I think." says Paul.
Then he discovered Stryper "I got into Stryper, a Christian
Rock band from California who had a mojor impact on my playing. I
still listen to them a lot - Michael Sweet is great allround.
Plus I was listening to Malmsteen and Vinnie Moore etc at the
time."
Then the mid-late eighties boom happened "Along came a host
of crap from LA like Poison and LA guns and stuff like that which
I did learn as I was playing in a band called Freak Show at the
time. We played places like the Market Tavern in Ebbw Vale, which
was Flamingoes at the time (I was 18)."
After this period Paul had his gear stolen "Along with my
car. So I went for about a year, not playing. When I eventually
got myself some new gear, I was approached by a local band called
Alpha State. They needed a competent guitarist to learn a few
songs for a radio gig. I had 2 weeks to learn 5 numbers for the
Mal Pope (a major Welsh talk/music TV programme) show which
wasn't bad, I still have the recording somewhere.) he says
proudly.
The band then did some outdoor summer shows "I think it was
either 94 or 95 I cant remember (must be all the drugs!)" he
laughs, "Anyway drummer problems led to the band splitting
up."
Whilst keeping his chops by constantly practacing in his bedroom
Paul posted an Ad in the Freeads newspaper "For my
services." he explains, "That's where I had a call from
my current keyboardist Marco James. I had an audition in the
Music Box in Cardiff for a band called Candyman (I didn't exactly
like the name but hey who am I?) and they agreed I fitted the
bill exactly. The music was a bit like Cry of Love and Richie
Kotzen with some soul and Blues mixed in. The problem with that
band was that the lead singer was a control freak and everything
was done to his standards. We were over rehearsed and under
gigged so after a handful of gigs in mid Wales, we split."
he says with dismay.
Paul and Marco James continued collaborating together "I
realised the importance of keyboards in a band (as far as my
music is concerned). So we did a video on the Electric Chair in
Nov 1996 for the song Devil in You (which I detest). This led to
the recording of a further demo, on which I made my writing and
singing debut (Thinking of You). I still have the original four
track version of that one, I didn't even have a Mic so I sung
through my headphones!
Anyway, after wasting a fair bit of money sending tapes to record
companies, here I am trying to make a small name for myself by
exploiting the internet. I personally think it's great for
unsigned bands to get their music heard. I use a terratec sound
card along with cubase with a evolution midi trigger. My guitars
are ibanez and fender and I use a Boss GT5 effects box along with
some reverb by alesis and a drum machine by boss also.
I do my writing in the bedroom which is limiting sometimes (I
wrote the song "Maybe" in the car on the way to my
Fiances house and had to turn back before I forgot it!) because
it's a bit limited for resonance a shit like that.
Anyway here I am, a struggling musician in every sense, looking
for the break that everyone looks for. I'm sure that no. 1 single
is just around the corner......." laughs Paul.
Besides his solo career, Paul busies himself with his band
project called "Otherworld." The band has gone through
a lot of changes recently." explains Paul, "Now I
decided not to sing with the band, the line up has changed again.
Terry Bennet - Lead Vocals
Paul Harris - Guitar, vocals
Marco James - Keyboards
Ray Jones - Bass, vocals
Steve Williams - Drums
I will still be singing one or two songs because I have a much
greater range than Terry, but he is a master with the crowds and
every one in the band can gain something from him.
Terry and Steve were famous in the seventies. Terry in Sassafrass
and Steve in Budgie" (check out Metallicas cover version of
Breadfan). "This gives us an edge when it comes to gigging.
We have only just started to practice and so far we have done a
few covers in our own way... Look out for Day Tripper, and
Kashmir they are killers.
Back to our music, it's simply going to be a mixture of the CD's
but with slightly different vocals - terry singing. We are going
to be working on some heavier up tempo stuff after I've finished
my exams (I'm supposed to be revising now for my CIPS
qualification). we realise the importance of snappy catchy
numbers, and I think there will be a few in the pipeline soon.
You'll be one of the first to know"
Music actually stumbled upon Paul "I started as a solo
artist, because I was accidentally writing songs. I seem to have
a complex about them not being very good, so I keep them under my
hat for a while. But the stuff I do, isn't stuff I would want to
do with the band, One problem I have is that Marco thinks he has
to write all the songs, problem is he hasn't written anything for
nearly 2 years." laughs Paul, "So my personal stuff is
still personal to me, but I think now is the right time for
other's to hear what I have done. There is about another 10 songs
backed up ready to record. But time is a problem. I am the
youngest in the band which is a problem, but they all depend on
me to keep things together ha, ha."
"We should be ready to start giging by July. We are all
Professional in our attitudes and there are no egos in the band.
We arrange to have so many songs done by a certain practice then
rehearse them until they are tight and then move on.So watch this
space - I'll let you know when and where the first gig is."
can't wait mate!!
"When
I make my cd's it is quite simple. I Create the song on cubase,
mix it down to a WAV file. then burn them onto a CDR. Just like
what you have there.Usually I'll have a riff or a melody in my
head, then I'll try to play it. It always sounds different when
it's played. Usually words fit themselves in to the song
somewhere and there it is - a working song. I don't have any
formulas or anything I just write what comes out. If it's OK then
I keep it, If it's shite then I still keep it" he laughs
again.
"As for influences nowadays I'm not really sure who
influences my music. I mean I dont have anyone in mind when I
write. I dont really want to sound like anyone except me. But I
do listen to a lot of Richard Marx, Bon Jovi and Thunder these
days. I also seem to be going back to my roots, I've been getting
hold of old Scorpions stuff and early Priest things like that,
mainly because that's where - for me it all started, and all that
stuff is still great. So influences, Richard Marx because he is a
varied writer and can appeal to many types of music lovers."
"I must say to any young aspiring musicians dont do what I
did and become a bedroom player for too long. Try not to
influence yourself on people that will not help you (liam
Gallagher comes to mind). Learn to play (this usually helps).
Keep smiling and when things blow up - play on the fans will love
you for it!!!!"
Fot the foreseeable future Paul plans alot of shows "It will
be gigs gigs gigs. Over the summer I will be writing more songs
to send to mp3.com. If there's enough interest, then I might
think about going it alone - I already know of some musicians
that I could Draft in. The only problem with that is, this type
of music isn't that popular over here - I blame dance music for
that. So I wouldn't mind doing some work abroad, maybe Germany or
somewhere like that." amen to that, Paul has just recently
issued his excellent solo album "Dream Collection" and
the equally brilliant Otherworld album "From The Past And
The Present To The Future", for additional info contact Paul
and/or Otherworld at: http://www.mp3.com http://www.besonic.com/otherworld http://www.peoplesound.com/artists/otherworld or email Paul at: phd_axe1@hotmail.com