You have a classic metal voice. Who are some of your influences?

 

I was a big Beatle's fan in my younger days and wanted to sing and play guitar like John Lennon so, that was my first influence musically. Later I got into bands like Styx, Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, Boston, you know, classic rock bands. But I really started finding my voice with my introduction to Styx.  I loved Dennis De Young's voice and began trying to immolate it.  He actually had a voice suited for metal.  That's where I learned to put vibrato or tremolo in my voice which would later serve me well with metal. The first time I heard Judas Priest and Iron Maiden that was it. I became a total metal head.  So, of course, I started trying to sing more like Halford and Dickenson.  But, the real change came when I first heard Queensryche's four song EP way back.  When I heard Geoff Tate's voice I flipped out.  That was it, that was what I wanted to do. I had found my voice.  I sang along with all the early Ryche albums like The Warning, Rage For Order and then Operation Mindcrime and actually could hit most of the notes.  My voice got better and better during that period of time and I ended up with a 4 and 1/2 octave range. Now, of course I can't hit those same super high notes like I could in the good old days but, I think I still manage to do ok.

 

Have you had any vocal training?

 

Well, I did take about two years of vocal classes in the mid 80's. My coach was a great guy, classically trained with a really good voice.  After about the second year of it, I got tired of doing scales and stuff like that so, I quit.  I wanted to sing metal, ya know?  He was kind of turning me into an opera/pop singer. But, looking back, I guess that wasn't a bad thing since my style of metal voice is somewhat operatic.

 

Do you do any vocal warm ups before a show?

 

Hummmm...not really.  I know a lot of singers that will go thru scales or scream or whatever before a show.  I did try it for a while in the early years but, now the most I do is maybe sing along with the cd enroute to a show but, no formal warm ups for this guy.

 

What bands have you played in?

 

Wow, I played in umpteen thousand garage bands in the early years. They were mostly pretty bad but, I consider it like being in high school learning.  My first real professional band was called Vital Signs. Great band with really good musicians, especially the guitarist Michael Key.  We sounded a lot like Journey in style.  After that band broke up, I did a lot and I mean a lot of auditions and finally got into my first real metal band called Malachia.  It was actually a Christain metal band.  I think they call it white metal now.  Anyway, that band did really well in the early to mid 80's, played a lot of big shows and sold a lot of albums. But, then grunge came along and that was the end of the metal scene at the moment. I put some blame for metals demise then on what they called hair bands. It's was to over saturated with them. I moved to Florida in 95 and got into a blues cover band which I ended up hating.  Did that for over a year then put together The Turnpike Band.  It was more an alternative rock/pop band.  That band did really well over the six years it was together.  We put out two popular cd's, played House of Blues and Hard Rock and received a lot of radio play.  Eventually that broke up and I just put music away for about two years or so and took a break from music altogether.  Then came Absolon.

 

Speaking about Absolon, how did that come about?

 

Lets see, long story short . . . One night for some reason I decided to throw on my guitar and put on the distortion and crank it up.  It felt so good and I wrote Darkness Rising that same night.  I was back to my first love, metal.

 

Tell us about your debut cd, Darkenss Rising:The Tale of Derek Blackheart.

 

It was originally just going to be a four song ep, just something to put out there and see if anyone would like it or not.  As I began writing, I noticed that the songs had a theme running thru them. So, I decided to just go for it and do a full on album.  The lyrics of the first few songs reminded me of the epic story of Dorian Grey, the guy who sold his soul to stay young while his painting grew old.  That's the direction I took the cd.  I wanted to make my own version of Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime so,  I turned it into a concept cd with a story line.  And there you have it, Derek Blackheart was born.

 

What about the band.  It looks like you've been thru a few different player.

 

Yeah, I've been thru a few for sure.  Everything has changed since I moved to Illinois with my wife. As far as this version of Absolon, Ed had been with me from the beginning.  When I decided I wanted to do a full album I contacted him and asked if he'd be interested in being part of it. I had played with Ed in Turnpike so, I knew there was no one else I wanted in on this but him.  He jumped in and became my partner on the project.  You could say that Absolon was really me and Ed in the beginning.  Tyler came along right after we were done with the cd and had been with us ever since.  We had been thru a few drummers and bass players though.  Sometimes I felt like we were Spinal Tap or something!  

 

The cd is somewhat reminisent of Operation Mindcrime.  Why did you decide on doing it that way?

 

Well, Operation Mindcrime is my favorite Ryche album.  I loved the idea of a story in song, almost a stage play.  But, it was metal and it was dark.  You don't hear many bands doing concept cd's anymore so, I thought it'd be cool to try my hand at it.  Looking back now I must have been nuts taking on such a big project for a debut cd.  I didn't want to totally replicate Operation Mindcrime, just the feeling of it. I remember the feeling I got the very first time I put on headphones and listened to it.  It really evoked emotions.  That's what I was looking for more than anything.  I think I captured that feeling in a way.

 

Are there plans for a follow up cd?

 

Yes there is.  In fact, I'm working on it now.  It's been a long while since the release of the debut cd and I know it's time to get something new out there. 

 

Can you tell us a little about it?

 

It's going to be another concept cd but, not quite as involved as the first one which took almost a year to complete.  It will have a story line revolving around a character named Randolph Bathery.  It's 1920 and he's a mental patient at the Lancaster Mental Asylum in London but, he's more than just insane which the doctors and staff will eventually discover.  Like the debut cd, it has a dark ending. It won't be a long as the debut cd but, will have sound effects, interludes and, I think, all around better songs. Since I moved from Florida to Illinois, I'm bringing in a whole new crew to record my vision. I'm working with my wife, who is a well known Japanese composer. She's adding all the orchestration and sound effects. Also this time around, I'm working with a guitarist in Germany named Marc Vanderberg who is incredible. Marc is actually wearing a few hats as he's also laying down bass and drums. Another good friend of mine also in Germany named Thorsten Eligehausen, will be adding musically and doing the mix/mastering. I've worked with Marc and Thorsten for quite a long time on a project called Eli Van Pike. Some really good stuff there.

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Last question.  What do you hope the future brings for Absolon?

 

Well, like any artist, I would like to see it become successful, continue to put out cd's, maybe put another full band together and play live again.  I'd love to get a chance to open for some big name acts . . . like Queensryche!