AOR Land is proud to present...


AGENT (Craig Zurba)



1) First of all, after 10 years without releasing any material, your first record came out on Escape. In fact, I thought the band was dead. How and why did you sign up after so long. I mean, who had the idea and how everything went with your coming back.
In North America, our style of melodic rock went out of style in the late 80's. Literally overnight, major #1 acts like Huey Lewis and the News couldn't get radio airplay.It was replaced with alternative rock, which is hardly alternative anymore since it's all we hear. However, in Europe, melodic rock has continued to thrive. We continued to write and record in our own studio and were going to sign with a German label but hesitated, which was good since the label folded. Some of our friends like Kenny Kaos were aquainted with Escape and recommended them highly. Escape was aware of our recording with Virgin and offered us a deal. That was in 1996 and we've worked together since then.


2) In fact, your release with Escape was re-recorded. Did you want to modernise a little bit your 80's sound.
No, in fact, we worked hard to re-create the sound on the original album. Mostly, we wanted to introduce our new singer, Troy Reid.

3) You took the decision of replacing Rick Livingstone for Troy Reid. Why did you take that step and which are the differences you find between Rick and Troy. Are you still in touch with Rick?
We didn't make the decision to replace Rick with Troy. Rick quit, along with guitarist Bob Smart and drummer Dave Alan. We looked for a new singer and Troy worked out perfectly. He is able to sound just like Rick, if he wants, or himself. On the re-record of the first album, we coaxed him to mimic Rick to some degree but on Evidence, we let him sing however he wanted. Rick's voice tended to be raspy, not unlike Bryan Adams or Rod Stewart. Troy can sing raspy or clean which is a nice option to have in the studio. Troy also has a higher range but I like both their voices. We are occasionally in touch with Rick who now lives in L.A.

4) Now that you have recorded Evidence, what can you tell us about this new album?
There have been a lot of rumours and false information concerning the evolution of Evidence. It's a little complicated but here's the information: The tracks were recorded starting in 1989 through to 1997. In fact, One World and She Wants Blood were recorded just before we delivered the album to Escape late in 1997. A couple of tracks like Just Say Tonight and Maybe It's Time were written with the old members just after our first album came out, but most were written in the 90's with the new guys. We have our own studio so we would record master quality demos. If we liked the song, we didn't have to re-record it. We were also able to capture spontaneous first take performances that way. we banked up quite a few tunes so when the Escape deal came along, we were ready with material.

5) In the new album we find a new member, Tom Lang. Can you tell us something about the new guy. How has he helped in the creative process of the album?
Tom was a great addition. We knew him from the Vancouver music scene. He had played with Austrailian acts Jimmy Barnes and The Divinyls. He is a great writer, April Wine recorded one of his songs. Like Troy, Andre and me, he sings, plays guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. That's why the CD doesn't list drummer, guitarist, etc. credits. We all take turns playing different parts. In fact, on Heart In My Hand, there are some complex electric guitar chords that Troy and I played at the same time on one guitar.

6) The sound of Evidence mixes the best from Canadian AOR plus some hints of the 80's classic pop rock of groups like Mr. Mister. Have you ever considered a change or an evolution from this sound or do you want to develop your own personal style without worrying about the present trends.
We just take things on a song-by-song basis. For instance, She Wants Blood is possibly too heavy for some AOR fans, however, we thought an AC/DC style delivery would best suit the emotion of the lyrics and melody. Never Forget has a synthesizer bass because we thought it worked best, not because we were following a style trend. I think Evidence has a wider range of styles than the first album but lots of my favourite albums are quite diverse.

7) Do you like any of the new bands that have appeared in the last few years in the AOR scene and in the music scene in general?
We like just about anything with a great melody. Sting and Peter Gabriel are old favourites. We listen to everything. I spend a lot of time producing albums for other acts so I have to be up on all styles. There are a few new melodic type acts out there like The Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket that we like. There are some great new country acts out there too. If you like AGENT, you would probably like Vince Gill or Sons Of The Desert. It seems that a lot of 80's style rock is now 90's style country rock.

8) It seems that you have established a strong relationship with Escape Music. do you expect to release more material through this label? Are you working on a new AGENT album?
Yes and yes.

9) Do you have any tour dates to promote Evidence?
We would love to tour Europe but haven't been approached by any promoters. ATTENTION PROMOTERS! Give us a call! Agent fans, call your local promoters and request AGENT live shows.

10) What does AGENT offer on stage?
A 90 minute spectacle of well-crafted, well-performed, pop-rock.

11) Do you usually work on other side projects outside AGENT?
I am usually in the studio 18 hours a day, six days a week, writing, playing, engineering and producing. Mostly other acts, but there is alway time for AGENT.

12) Finally, would you like to say something to the Agent fans?
Thanks for all and hope to see you soon. Bye



Back to Aorland main page.