JR: I understand you have a new CD in the works. What can you tell me about
that
SW: Our label wanted us to record it in Runcorn (North West England) and we were like no way, we wanted to record it at Karl's studio again. We recorded both our demo and debut album with Karl at Thin Ice studio and we have found it do be a very productive place to work but also with a very relaxed atmosphere.
JR: So Karl produced the new CD as well?
SW: Yeah, we recorded it in his studio. He's such an amazing producer. He
pushes you, but not in a mean way and offers suggestions on how you can make
things sound better. He's really a big fan of this style of music so he offers some great insight. Karl is especially good with drums and guitars and there
can be the trickiest things to get right in the power metal arena. Karl came along
to see the first night of the recent tour and said we did a great job!
JR: When's the release date for the new disc.
SW: The CD is due to be released in November on Now and Then Records. There's
going to be two versions, The Japanese and European version. The Japanese
has 2 bonus tracks, one written by Alessio and Andrea, and the other is a different
version of the ballad "When I’m Gone". On the album proper Alessio takes the lead vocal but on the other version Sabine Edelsbacher from Edenbridge handles lead vocals. The European release will also feature a documentary filmed in the studio while we were Recording and includes interviews with the band.
JR: How did you meet with Sabine?
SW: We've actually become friends with her boyfriend who is the guitarist in
the band so when we were working on the new release we approached her through
him and she agreed to do it so they flew in and stayed with us. Not only did she deal With the bonus track, she also does backing vocals on the album version of "When I’m
Gone" and does a duet with Alessio during the song "Lost Without You".
JR: Did he play anything on the CD?
SW: No we toyed with the idea of him doing a solo but in the end it was just
her. We had 3 guests on the CD, Karl Groom plays the 3rd guitar solo on the track
"For Evermore" and cellist/flautist Julie Laughton plays on "Well of Souls" and
"When I’m Gone". You can really tell the difference between real instruments and synthesised sounds. Takes much longer though….haha!
JR: What did you find most interesting in working with other musicians?
SW: It’s cool to see what ideas different people come up with. Karl had total
freedom with his solo as we wanted something that fitted but had a slightly
different sound whereas with Julie we pretty much had the ideas worked out. Thanks also to Clive Nolan (Arena) for his help with backing vocal and choral arrangements
JR: You mentioned you signed with Now and Then Records. I thought you had a long term deal with Underground Symphony? How did you end up with Now and Then?
SW: We just signed a one album deal with Underground Symphony and we are very
appreciative of what they have done for us (Hi Maurizio) but we felt we needed to get much more promotion for the next album as a lot of the advertising for the debut album was financed by the band ie magazine adverts etc, Now and Then got in touch with us after hearing "Wings of Forever" and were keen for us to sign a multialbum, worldwide deal with them. I was very impressed with what they said they could do for Power Quest and so far everything has been great. The label really enjoyed the performance at the Bloodstock festival last week and are also really into the new album as well.
JR: Now and Then is more know for Melodic Metal than Power metal. Do you worry
that the band may get overlooked or not get the attention of some of the other bands?
SW: Not at all John. I think Mark and the Now and Then guys are keen to get into the melodic power metal side of the scene and we are proud to be the first band of this style that they have signed. It’s really helped having a label based in the UK as it makes talking about the business side of things a whole lot easier.
JR: How has the band grow after recording the first release and what can the
fans expect to hear on the new release. (As far a will it be more diverse,
a little symphonic elements, any power ballads etc)
SW: As you know, we previewed 2 songs from the new album on our recent UK tour and I think there is certainly more diversity on the new album. There are fast power metal tunes, mid paced rockers, a ballad, an epic 11 minute track and the improvement in performance is amazing from all the guys.
JR: The artwork for the first release was cool. What's the new cover going
to be like?
SW: The new cover absolutely rules John! I can’t wait for everyone to see it. Hopefully we will be able to get a preview up on the website soon. Quite different to the first cover that’s for sure!
JR:People think of Power Quest being a UK Power metal band but really you've
got two italian's in the band. How did you end up with them?
SW: We’ve got Alessio in the band because we couldn’t find anyone suitable in the UK and he came recommended by Maurizio at Underground Symphony. His performance on the album and at the recent shows is unbelievable. Without a doubt the best singer/frontman I have ever worked with. Andrea came over with Alessio when we recorded "Wings of Forever" and played a guest solo. I was so blown away I ended up getting him to do 4 solos on the album and about a week later asked him to join the band. He was really into the idea and here we are about 12 months later!
JR: When we first talked Thursday you had a bit of a rough week with the
Guitar player quiting and merchandise getting stolen. Did you get any leads
the merchandise.
SW: the whole robbery was captured on CCTV at the hotel. I doubt whether we will get any of the shirts back but morons who do this kind of thing really annoy me. What are they going to do with the shirts? They will probably end up in the bin or something similar. It’s a lesson learnt for us though…..don’t leave anything unattended in a car even for 2 minutes.
As for the guitarist…..well I was angry at the time but now I tend to think that it is his loss not ours.
JR: You sounded like the band was comtemplating moving foward with just one
guitarist. Any more talk on that. Why not replace him?
SW: Nothing decided officially on this one John. I think we have a good balance in the band now and I’m almost reluctant to introduce another unknown quantity into the line up. We’ll be talking about this over the next few weeks and should come to a decision soon I think.
JR: Gavin, the drummer, was only with the band for less than a month wasn't
he? He did an amazing job both shows I saw. Has there been talk of adding
him or looking elsewhere for another drummer? (we kind of talked about this
saturday on how he's done a great job and he seems to be a good fit
professionally and personally)
SW: Absolutely! Gavin blew me away on Friday night at Bloodstock! He just got better and better as the week went on and he’s also the funniest guy I have met for years! Again we are just finishing the discussions on this issue so expect an announcement very soon on this particular subject.
JR: Shayne and Nadia and Simon have done a great
job in helping with the band, not only at Bloodstock but I hear in the time
leading up to the festival. Sounds like they wore many hats from being
chauffer, makeup artist, putting up the italians while they were here (ha
ha).
SW: It’s easy to forget sometimes that there are people behind the scenes making everything else run smoothly. Simon, Shayne and Nadia have been with us the whole week, from rehearsals to Bloodstock. Not only helping out with all the above listed things but also in keeping morale up when we had stuff stolen etc. All three were an integral part of the PQ setup over the week. Thanks guys!
JR: SO what was your personal impression of the reception you got at
Bloodstock?
SW: Amazed, staggered, blown away! In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have expected a band to go down so well in front of a big crowd after only 4 previous shows and 6 hours rehearsal! The fans were unbelievable and gave us a marvellous reception. It was so cool to see that many people smiling, singing the songs, punching the air and chanting the band name when we finished. Absolutely unforgettable! I still haven’t come down from that particular high.
JR: Did you find it a bit overwhelming to have fans stopping by, asking for
autographs or just stopping to say hi?
SW: It was a bit strange to start with and I certainly didn’t expect as much interest as we got! But it was really great to chat to everyone who came by to chat or to get stuff signed. That is as much a part of the whole thing as actually playing the music. It’s so important to look after the people who have paid hard earned cash to see you play and have taken the time to come and find us. Hopefully we will see some familiar faces on the next tour!
JR: I'm sure a festival like this really gets the thoughts of playing more
shows running through your mind. Have you talked formally or informally
about getting out and touring to support the new record or hooking up with
some festivals next spring and summer?
SW: We have been talking informally about some more live shows for next year. I’d love to do another UK trek next year and hopefully get over to Europe and play some shows and perhaps some of the Summer festivals that they have over there. To be honest we would have loved to carry on for another week after Bloodstock but I think finishing at Bloodstock made the whole thing so much more memorable.
JR: I was very impressed with Bloodstock and especially your performance. I
thought the music sounded great and Alessio's voice sounded really good.
>From what I've read about this show it could really boost the bands momentum
and popularity. I really hope it does, I couldn't think of a bunch of guys
more deserving. I really had an awesome time and really enjoyed meeting the
band. It's refreshing to know that not every one has that "Rock Star
Attitude" and is willing to socialize with it's fans. Good luck.
Thanks John both for the interview and coming all the way from the USA for Bloodstock. It was cool to meet you at our warm up show too. By the way, since I’ve been doing this interview with you, I can now confirm that Gav Ward is the new PQ drummer! Take care my friend and see you soon hopefully.