Interview с Royal Hunt : DARKSIDE.ru

The first question may seem a bit strange to you, but could you tell me how did it happen that you put Mike Terrana into buss drum? Why?

(everyone laughs) I think we gathered to do “Arttension” or even dub album live, I don’t remember, when we were in California. Mike, or Patrol, is a very funny guy, and you know he just wanted to wrestle me and said all that stuff, “Hey! A really big guy John West, but I want to take you down”. I told him, “Just leave me alone” you know, but he went on wrestling all that day long, and he just went on fed up with me and when he kicked me down at practice while wrestling. So I also wrestled with him and I got him twisted up into a ball and gave him a kind of pin down and made him tell me he is in love with me and that I am the greatest singer in the world. And he said, he just had to say otherwise I was going to break his arm or a head because I had it pressed in my arms and in this way he was my slave than I pushed him into the bass drum. The drum was opened and there was his head in it. So I pushed Mike into the drum. But he is bigger now, so maybe he will put me in a drum, but still I don’t know. Now he is a bodybuilder. Maybe that day he decided he is never going let a singer put him in a bass drum again. And then he decided to become a bodybuilder. Somehow if we meet again there will be my head in a drum!

Besides Andrew said, that you are an easy person to deal with, is it true?

I guess so, and I believe Andrew’s words.(laughs)

It is a well-know fact you have some Indian roots. When we asked Andrew what Indian family/race you belong to, he c

ouldn’t answer. So could you tell it to us?

To tell you more exactly, this race is called Mohawk, which is a pretty small nation from New York originally, up state New York. And I have the habit of walking silently. And you’re supposed to walk silently and softly with a big stick. You know I am a hunter.

This is the 4th Royal Hunt’s visit to Russia. Do Russian concerts differ somehow from concerts in other countries?

Well it’s still smoking in the concerts, I hate feel smoke when I am singing. This is actually in Denmark, very smoky. I don’t like it when you are on a stage and some of your fans smoke.

What about fans?

They are great! The fans here are really great and I love people here, but I just hate the cigarette’s smoke. There is nothing personal. I am against smoking and I feel pant when I am trying to sing and there is the blowing of smoke into my face. It doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s just difference in the culture. In Denmark they are also terrible smokers, and in Germany also. It’s catching up; But Denmark now has agnant smoking restaurants.

It is not a secret that voice is a very hurtable instrument. What do you do to keep it in a good condition? Do you have some secrets?

No I really don’t make any pretty things for that. I think shouldn’t worry so much and be a quiet one. And I don’t make any tricks or something. But sometimes I have a cough attack in my mouth when I’m in a month stage after the concerts, kind of hassle, a little bit. And you see, if you keep close in a month stage you’ll just suffer from cough after

the shows. And in this way I try to rest as much as I can, and don’t worry about it, and take it easier. And I talk softly, I think it’s just my way to save my voice from a month stage. And I play a lot, I play five or six gigs a week and that’s enough to keep your voice in shape. When I am in New York, at home I play a lot too and sing all the time in a studio, on a stage singing a song that’s a work out.

On your latest DVD there is a two hour-concert shot in St.-Petersburg. Why do you choose Russian Concert to shoot a video? Was it Andrew’s idea?

Oh, I think we have been shooting videos on different places. And I think that particular vinyl and northern filming company that was in St.-Petersburg that we got gathered, they had a quality, good cameras and everything was at top level. And that was just a good idea. So nice old theater. And I think that we are about time and we have a lot of fans all over the world and they can’t get to see this place. We went to Australia, we went to “Metalist”, and those people really want to see the concert and now they just have such an opportunity. And now they have this DVD and watch it. It’s a pretty good idea.

By the way we know that at first you wanted to shoot this video in Moscow, you had a concert scheduled for the 4th of November, 2005. But some time later it was cancelled. What had happened then? Why was the concert cancelled?

Well, I really don’t know. That’s news to my great surprise.

A bit about your own project. Your latest album “Long Time No Sing” was recorded together with Trans Siberian Orchestra. How did you come up with

such idea?

Oh no (laughs) it wasn’t so much. Two members were from there: guitar and drums. And those people are just my friends. And they are in Trans Siberian Orchestra, and also they manage to be my friends. They just happened to be in that band. You know when I make a solo I usually just play with my friends. And this even doesn’t sound like Trans Siberian Orchestra, and I can do nothing they just like to be in that band, and they’re my friends and that’s all. And when I have an idea that my friends play on my album and they can play that’s good.

Did they create something in your solo project?

Oh yes, they did. I recorded some songs with Chris, who is a guitar player. I think two or three songs we made together. And that is the thing we do on our solo albums. You can write songs yourself, you can write with other people, you can do whatever you like. When you are in a band like Royal Hunt you have some spare time. You know I don’t write music for Royal Hunt, so my song ideas are in my solo and I have to use them in some other ways. And I use them in my solo work.

How do you manage to combine the work in Royal Hunt and in your solo projects?

Yes, you are right. All the time I’m in a studio, on the concerts, have little time for my family. It’s a little bit crazy. But I don’t know even how I do it. And there is no secret -if you get up early and go to bed late, don’t sleep all your day long and try to make as much as you can, you get what you want. You know, I get up at seven o’clock in the morning; I take my daughter to the pre-school. I get her ready for school. I make breakfa

st for her, dress her, because she is only three years old. And only when I take her to school, I start working in a studio at around nine. And from nine till three I’m there, and then I pick up her at three and she is there in a studio with me until may be seven thirty and then I go to play. I leave her for playing my solo gig. And I’m in a studio around all my day. When I’m working at my project, as I am right now, I have to be there all day. And now I’m working at some stuff. I am playing more guitar and I play guitar in all my solo albums. But now I want to try some new things in my solo, that’s the point. Well, in all my solo projects I try to do some new stuff. When I make a solo, I use a lot of different styles of music and you don’t know what you’ll get through the album. And I think it’s great when you can do something new. You know, Royal Hunt is the great band. It has its own style and sound. And you can’t try all known styles with Royal Hunt because it’s a band. It wouldn’t work. And when I do a solo album and if I want to do it a little more bluesy or pop or heavy, I can do whatever I want. It’s my choice.

Could you tell us a bit about Johnny & Lonnie collaboration?

Johnny & Lonnie is me and my friend Lonnie Park. And we’ve worked for about many years together. We played together is some band when we were younger. And I think actually the first album he worked with me at was “Cozy Powell”. He played keyboards and I sang. Working with “Cozy Powell” together, we have basically worked on everything together. He has taken part in all my solo albums. He engineered the “Arttension” albums, sang backing vocals on “Arttension” albums. We have written

songs together. And when I moved back to New York, we became closer because we started working together, just doing and recording some music. And it’s just two of us playing for happy somewhere in a pub, two guys on the stage, playing music. And we are called Johnny & Lonnie. A stupid name a little bit (laughs). And we play not only for fun, we play for money all over New York, and we’re called “Johnny & Lonnie”. And we made a little CD, which contains songs from my history all over the years from all my albums from my solo stuff, Cozy’s stuff. And we have an album “Johnny & Lonnie”, and it’s great dismisses, because we don’t have heads. And it’s supposed to be funny. And we are like two heads of the same body. We do a lot together. He is in the studio in New York and does some engineering work; he is a song writer and a keyboard player. He is like my partner in music for years. And when we made a CD, it turned out a collection over the years of our collaboration. And that is what I do when I’m free from the work in Royal Hunt. And when I am busy with Royal Hunt, and I’m already with this band for 8 years, I think it’s cool. I think it’s great when you can say, “That’s my main thing”. And I like it; I hate some limits, like spend your time at home and work at some store or something. But I am doing music all the time and I enjoy it. Plus I can’t just sit around and I can do nothing with it. Like Friday night and I sit at home watching TV. No it’s me, I have to go out and make music. If there are fifteen thousand people or fifteen, I am going to play.

Do you plan to go on a tour with your solo project?

I would like, but when it’s another thing. I’ve

never actually taken initiative to put together the solo tour. I usually do my solo in between Royal Hunt. And I think it would be a decision to say “now this is my main focus. My solo projects have to be taken into focus”.
And actually the record label should give you tour support. And typically what I have over the years: record deal, distribution and no tour support. And till this point I have never had a company say, “Why don’t you want to play alive as John West”. Never… and I have four solo albums and in this way it’s bad, because I’ll have to invest my money if I want to go on tour.
But I play my solo every week in New York and a lot of songs from “Long Time No Sing”.
And it is not even appreciated by public; you know local “bla, bla” or “John West again, yes he is good” or whatever (laughs) and “Johnny & Lonnie” ah “ bla, bla” I tell you that people in New York are a little bit spoiled. So many things are shown to their faces, so many concerts, groups, so many opportunities to see what you want and at any time. And in this way they became spoiled.

All the time music is in your heart and mind… but do you listen to any other groups?

Well, it depends… Now I listen to all different stuff. I made a cruise ship and there were all new bands and there was the rock ball. You go on a cruise for four nights or something and all bands play, from one band after another on six stages in the open sea. I like it, you are on a ship and all that bands, and you are singing and listening to those new bands. And now I am listening to Dolly’s new stuff and I found Josh Kelly there. And I love his voice, this music. And lately I think he is going to be a big star. He is moving higher in American pop music. He writes some great songs, has a good voice. And before going on this cruise I even didn’t know who Josh Kelly was. Never heard about him, so now I’m opened to this. I also listen to some new stuff and underground. And I have to listen to that stuff, because I have a DJ service back on. And I have to stay upon all new music which comes out, singles and I should know every new style. And I listen to almost every music: hip hop, country, pop, dance, rock. I’ve got a great collection of music because I am in a DJ service. And some groups are good, some are scrap.

Interview by Viktoria "Ewigkeit" Bagautdinova
4 июн 2007 the End