Glad
to hear the news THUNDER RIDER is still alive and lead singer/guitar player John
Blackwing let me know that their second album called Tales Of Darkness And Light
Chapter II will see the light of day very soon. Until than, we have a few words
with John. This is some kind of a preview interview awaiting the new album. A
second part of the interview will follow along with the release of their new
album.
Well hi John, for all those not so familiar with THUNDER RIDER, tell me who you are and where you come from please.
Thunder Rider is band that is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Do you guys all live there, born and raised?
Yes, we are all true Canadians through and through.
What
exactly is your deal in the band and what about the rest of the group?
On this latest recording project, Thunder Rider is comprised of myself as lead singer, guitarist and songwriter. Bruce Corian is the lead guitarist and songwriter. Pat Hammer is the drummer; Roberto Deus is on keyboards, Luc Dufresne, is on keyboards and bass, Bryan Clarke, is on bass and last but not least, our backup singers are Nathalie Dauphin and Nathalie Lacourse.
What
is the origin of a band name like THUNDER RIDER?
Thunder Rider was originally a song title of mine.
How
long has the band been together, line up changes notwithstanding?
Thunder Rider has been together for about twenty years.
Tell
me about your biggest Metal influences please.
My
first exposure to metal was Black Sabbath, so their influence has stuck with me
all these years, and although not everybody considers Pink Floyd to be metal,
they have made quite an impression on me.
At
what point in your young life did you begin playing the way you do now?
I
started to play guitar in my early teens. I
had to write a lot of songs and play a lot of hours to get to the point I am now
and I still feel I have a lot to learn and a great deal of experimentation and
exploration left to do.
Who
inspired you to pick up a lead guitar in combination to take part behind the
microphone?
I
don’t think anyone inspired me in particular.
I think it was just a natural progression because I was always more into
writing my own tunes than playing other people’s music.
The
combination of an axe with a microphone, how difficult for you to do that?
It’s
not difficult at all; in fact, I don’t always play guitar on stage but I most
definitely feel more comfortable with a guitar in my hands.
What
are you doing for living besides playing in a Metal band?
Well
I guess you can say I’m a real Metal Maniac because for many years, I worked
as a welder-fitter and for the past few years I’ve been into precious metal,
financing the Thunder Rider project as a jeweller / goldsmith / model maker.
Not
so many bands choose to play in the direction Thunder Rider do. Well, I like it
anyway and dare to compare you guys with bands as Manilla Road, Trouble,
Witchfinder General, and Seasons Of The Wolf.
Are you agree comparing with these mentioned bands or not?
I’m
truly sorry to say that I have heard of these bands through comparisons in
previous interviews. I have yet to
hear any of their music.
What
about the song writing stuff? Do all members of the band share in the song
writing?
Bruce
Corian and myself usually take care of writing the music and Mike Headstone,
Mark Wildword and myself write the lyrics. Then, the whole band takes part in
the arrangement process.
Talking
about live performances now. Imagine, you’ve got the possibilities to organize
a Metal fest somewhere around the word. Which bands would features on the bill
and why especially these bands.
I’m
very much from the old school of music, so the list would probably go something
like this; Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest
and Led Zeppelin.
How’s
Thunder Rider on stage and how often do you go on tour to play some live gigs?
We
used to have quite an elaborate stage set-up including costumes, actors, props
and wild lighting. People loved it;
they used to say they didn’t know what to watch because there was so much
going on. In more recent years, we
have considerably toned things down, which is not to say we wouldn’t consider
doing the big show again, but the circumstances would have to be just right.
The past four or five years have been dedicated to completing our latest
recording project, so live gigs have been put on hold, but if LP and CD sales go
well, we would be more than happy to take things on the road again.
You told
me; a new THUNDER RIDER album is planned to release in fall this year. In a
second part, later on, we definitely do a detailed talk about that new killer
one plus all the other releases so far, OK. Awaiting that day, take your chance
to speak a temporary last word to our readers.
Thunder
Rider is forever grateful to all our fans, so we would like to extend genuine,
heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us through the years. We hope to
continue to provide our fans with true Thunder Rider for years to come and we
look forward to playing live for you in the near future. Please spread the word about our new LP and CD so that we may
persist along our path.