Chris Garrel (Dreamcatcher)

Dreamcatcher were formed in 2001, in Paris, France. They recorded two albums so far, "Emerging from the Shadows" in 2012 and "Blood on the Snow" in 2017. We had a chat with lead singer Chris Garrel about this underrated band and more!

Q. - Hello Chris, so what can you tell us about your musical beginnings in Heavy Metal particularly? Who were your principal influences and what lead you to be a singer?

Chris - Olá Paulo! Tudo bom? Muito obrigado por esta entrevista.

I started to listen to what was called Hard Rock, at that time, in 1979 with French band Trust’s first album and AC/DC’s “Highway To Hell”. When I was a teenager this new kind of music was really popular in France. Then in 1980, I started my love affair with Iron Maiden when their first album was released. I bought my first electric guitar and started to play in local bands in 1981. People like Bruce Dickinson, Dee Snider or, later on Axel Rose, where the ones who made me wanting to become a singer and a frontman. I first started to sing in a band in 1988, simply because we needed a singer and none of us could do the job; Classic story :) I was still singing and playing guitar on stage, then. Finally in the early 90’s I focalized exclusively on vocals. 

Q. - Tell us a bit about Dreamcatcher, how did the idea to form the band came up?

Chris - I’ve played in bands for the best part of my adult live, but it’s only in 2001 that I felt it was the right time to draw on past experience and to create Dreamcatcher, a band that really suits my taste in music. From the start my ambition was to create a music which would be a mix between Heavy and Thrash Metal. The name Dreamcatcher was inspired by my interest in Native American Indian culture. 

Q. - Dreamcatcher recorded the first demo tape in 2006, but only release the first album, "Emerging from the Shadows", in 2012, was it hard to find a label?

Chris - The problem was not only to find a label to release this album, but to find the right people to be part of the band and record it. I needed people that I could trust and who shares with me the same vision. I know that you have a great knowledge of the musical scene, so, as you know, it’s the same old story. Musicians come and go in bands. People tastes and mind changes as time passes by. That’s life. It’s sometimes hard to built and keep a stable line up. That’s the main reason why it took so much time between these two releases.

Q. – It’s been a while since the edition of Blood on the Snow, are you happy with what you achieved so far with this record?

Chris - Yes, absolutely. We got some great reviews from the media and the fans love it. I’m so proud of what we have done with this album which is more mature in term of global concept, lyrical and musical content and sound production than the first one.

Q. - What about shows? Did you tour supporting Blood on the Snow?

Chris - Yes, we toured in France as headliners, played in festivals and also supported some great bands from UK: Death Valley Knights, Seven Sisters or Toledo Steel.

Q. - Do you have any favourite Dreamcatcher song to play live?

Chris - The song “Dreamcatcher” is an obvious choice, but I also really enjoy the progressive vibrations of “People Of Darkness” or “The Werewolf”.

Pure Heavy Metal songs like “Fly Away” and “TRUSTN01” are great fun to sing and play live and, of course, the thrashy one “I Will Spit On Your Grave” is one of my favourite.

Q. - What expectations do you have for the future of Dreamcatcher? Are you working on a new album?

Chris - We’re about to re-release “Blood On The Snow” on vinyl, this time,  in the forthcoming months. Meanwhile, we’re working on a new album to be released next year, in 2021, for Dreamcatcher’s twentieth anniversary

Q. - In your opinion, were the 90's hard times for heavy metal bands?

Chris - Each decade brings new bands and new trends, at that time grunge and neo metal were the new sensation. Old bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon or Black Sabbath were struggling to survive to the situation, but in the other hand some great bands like Angra, HammerFall or Iced Earth were born in the 90’s. So, it wasn’t all bad, finally. :-)

Q. - Hard n’ Heavy music does not pay bills to many people, is It difficult to make this kind of music now-a-days?

Chris - You have to believe in yourself and in your music and hold on to your dreams. If you do it with passion, you will always get some kind of reward in return. To be realistic, most of musicians from the underground scene have daytime job. We are all more concerned about not losing money than earning money from music. :)

Q. - Is Iron Maiden a musical passion to you? How did it start? Do you usually follow them on tour?

Chris - As I told you, my passion for Iron Maiden started in 1980. As many diehard fans, I collect as many of their records as I can, I got Eddie’s tattoos on my shouders, I even sang in the “Heaven Can Wait” choir on stage with them. The full monty! I don’t really follow them on tour, but I went to more than 60 shows on through the years since 1982 in France, Europe and United Kingdom. I had the chance to meet present and past members several times. Dreamcatcher also did gigs with Paul Di’anno and Blaze Bayley. Steve Harris is even the lucky owner of “Emerging From The Shadows” and “Blood On The Snow” albums. Through Dreamcatcher’s career we performed several live covers versions of Iron Maiden's songs: such as “Running Free”, “The Number Of The Beast”, “Powerslave” or “Children Of The Damned”.

Q. - You were the webmaster for the Eddie's Bar web page, how did that happen?

Chris - I used to go on holiday in Algarve every year from 1998 to 2008 because of Eddie’s Bar. I just fell in love with the place really and it soon became a second home for me.  At that time, there were no Eddie's Bar web page so I decided to create one.           

Q. - Did you first meet Manu da Silva in France? Or was it at Eddie's Bar? How did you become friends with him?

Chris - I first met Manu at the bar. I was one of the bar regular and we started to chat in French together. Manu was feeling nostalgic about the time he was living in France, and he liked to tell me stories about that period, that’s how we became friends. We found out by chatting that we went to the same football game that Iron Maiden played in 1984, in Paris, against a team made up of members of French metal bands.

Q. - Can we say that Manu was the "life" of the bar? Was it hard to keep the bar open after his passing?

Chris - Manu was the soul of Eddie’s Bar. After his passing a new team of Englishmen, old friends of Steve Harris (First Iron Maiden’s roadie Jeff Daniels and two first Iron Maiden guitarists  Terry Rance & Dave Sullivan),  tried hard to reopen it, but it was no longer the same and unfortunately it didn’t last long.

Q. - On your visits to Eddie's Bar did you have the opportunity to meet personally members or former members of Iron Maiden? Or even from other bands?

Chris - Yes, I met Jeff, Terry and Dave, and also Steve Harris a couple of times at the bar, between 2006 and 2008. On August 26th 2006, Steve Harris, who was on holiday in Portugal with his family, made an amazing present to the fistful of Iron Maiden’s fans who were at the bar by taking off his short pocket the brand new album “A Matter Of Life And Death” for a unexpected private pre-listening party on the bar sound system speakers, a few days before the official release. I was part of the lucky ones who went at the bar on this summer night.

Q. - Do you know the reasons why Eddie's Bar had to close the doors?

Chris - It was not a profitable business and when the Englishmen tried to take over from Manu, they had trouble with the neighbourhood and Portuguese administration. Steve Harris was spending lesser and lesser time in the villa he own in Santa Bárbara de Nexe, as he was already living in Bahamas. In fact, I think that he just lost interest in Eddie’s Bar.

Q. - Eddie's Bar brings good memories to you? Is there any funny moment that you can share with us?

Chris - One particular night, in 1999, I was with some friends of mine at the bar, dressed in a white away French national team shirt. We had already drank a lot of strong alcoholic beverages when Manu said he had enough for the night and decided to close the bar and get rid of all the other customers. He said he wanted to go to a bar in Faro to have fun.

So Manu jumped on his motorcycle with broken rear lights, wearing no helmet and we followed him in the dark of the night on our rented car. Bear in mind that we were not in our normal state. Then he stopped in front of a live music bar. When we entered the bar full of Portuguese people, a live band was playing an Alanis Morissette’s song cover and as soon as they saw Manu they started to play an AC/DC’s song cover. We quickly understood that, for these guys, he seemed to be like the leader of the local mafia.  Manu knew I was a singer and ask me to go on stage with the band to sing with them a Metallica’s song. Here I was, totally drunk dressed in a French national team shirt, trying to do my best to stand up and sing “Enter Sandman” in front of bemused Portuguese audience.  :D

Q. - Do you know why the Iron Maiden convention in Faro only was organized one time?

Chris - I think, just because Iron Maiden were back to fame and they didn’t need and/or couldn’t organize this kind of event again, but I know Steve Harris played with British Lion for the guys of Motoclube de Faro a few years ago which was a great gesture and tribute to Manu’s memory.

Q. - Do you keep an eye to hard rock and heavy metal music nowadays? Are there some bands that got your attention?

Chris - Yes, there’s still so many amazing bands around recording great albums! I advise you to listen to “Ermite” the last album from French band, Irminsul, which is really good. Two others great albums from the French metal scene are “Sinister Force” from Thrashback and Hürlement’s “La Mort Sera Belle”. Apart from that, I really enjoyed last British Lion’s album “The Burning”, Tygers Of Pan Tang’s “Ritual” and Angel Witch’s “Angel Of Light”.  

Q. - How do you want to end up this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Chris - A big thank you and congratulations for the great job you do with your blog "Phantom Lord", Paulo.

Hopefully your readers will be interested in listen to Dreamcatcher, and will buy our albums and other stuff to support us. Take care. Stay Metal! Up the Irons! 

https://www.facebook.com/Dreamcatcherfrance

https://dreamcatcherfrance.com/

https://dreamcatcherfrance.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisDreamcatcher

Photos © Chloé Bazaud


Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Austin M. Carrino (Lust)

LUST was a late 70's Californian Melodic Metal Band, from The Hollywood Music Scene, That recently released their compilation Hollywood Roxx 1976-80. We had a chat with main man Austin M. Carrino, to know more about this underrated band.

Q. - Hello Austin, tell us a bit about the origins of Lust, how and when did it all start? How did you get in touch with the other members?

Austin - We started LUST in junior high school with my life long-time friend... Curtis W. Stewart, bassist. We went through different personal through the years. I was introduced to Liam Jason by Vernon Poole from high school... we jammed... I invited Curtis to play bass... Liam brought in Keith Deen (Greene). After a few years... Curtis got married and moved away. I found Richard Sanchez, the bass player in a newspaper ad... we jammed... I brought Liam and Keith back into LUST... This version was together about 5 years.

Q. - Do you remember how the name Lust came up?

Austin - 1973-74, During a break from rehearsing one day, we were all throwing out there possible band names... It was 100% Curtis W. Stewart's name idea from that point on.. When Curtis left the band, he gave it to me. I then registered the band name around 1976-77.

Q. - Who were your major influences at that time?

Austin - Keith Deen's all-time favourite band was The Who, as in Roger Daltrey... He also liked Robert Plant, Ian Gillan, Freddie Mercury and I'm sure others.

Liam Jason was into Queen, Grand Funk Railroad's drummer, Don Brewer and Deep Purple's drummer Ian Paice. And of course, the mighty John Bonham.

Richard Sanchez's influences were Deep Purple, Alice Cooper (and bassist Dennis Dunaway), Ten Years After (and bassist Leo Lyons) and of course, The Beatles.

For myself, I was a total Zeppelin, Jimmy Page fan. But many players influenced me.. Mark Farner, John Fogerty, Ritchie Blackmore, Ted Nugent, Ace Frehley to name a few.

Q. - In the early days, did you start writing your own songs or were you most concentrated on covers?

Austin - I started writing my own original music in junior high school. My 1st Copyright registered in 1974. But we mainly played covers until Keith and I started bringing in originals around 1976.

Q. - Do you have any special memories from the shows you played back then? Is there any funny moment that you can share with us?

Austin - The 1st biggie was playing at Buddy Ebsen's house for his daughter. There was over 1000 people there in and on the outside of their fenced in pool yard… it was like a giant Green House.. We played for 3 to 4 hours with helicopters flying over us. Finished our time, tore down and trucks loaded by time the police showed up... "Where's The Band".

2ndly… Being the headlining band at a outdoor concert in Simi Valley, California with several other bands.. Thus, the CD cover picture and 1 or 2 booklet pictures.

3rdly... Playing the same clubs and circuits with many of the bigger LA bands of the time... Van Halen, Wolfgang, Riot, etc.! On the same stages has some of our influences, like the Doors, Lee Michaels, Quiet Riot, early Motley Crue, etc!

Q. - Did you try to approach a label, to record an LP with Lust at that time?

Austin - This is a very touchy question that I legally can't say much about...

Yes! I was the one doing all the leg work contacting several labels. Atlantic, Capitol, Casablanca, CBS, Columbia, Fantasy and Warner Brothers, to name a few... I was either setting up face to face meetings with their reps or the old fashioned Snail Mailing many out of state labels, like their New York headquarters. I still have many typed return letters from the out of towners in my photo albums... I MUST stop there.

Q. - What do you think that went wrong at that time, so that Lust did not have continuity? What happened that lead to the break?

Austin - They kicked me out of my own band... or should I say Liam kicked me out because he wanted to run the band his way... so I left peacefully and Danny was brought in... They played a few gigs and then broke up due to Danny's drug problem. so I heard. It Failed...! I was asked to come back in and we played several gigs. Then Liam quit the band.

Keith, Richard and I found a new drummer (Craig) and played for like 6 months, recording 3 songs (Tracks 1, 2 & 3) and split up... the chemistry just didn't work....

We asked Liam to re-record 2 of the 3 drum tracks. 1 and 3 on the CD. He did it very well I might add. Great Drummer!

Our last show was at the Bla Bla Cafe on Ventura Blvd with Liam, late 1980.

Q. - Were you happy with the edition of "Hollywood Roxx 1976-80: Studio Sessions" by Dyamond Roxx in 2019? Was it like a dream come true?

Austin - Stoked... 99% Thrilled with the artwork, with the exception of 2 typo's on the actual CD print. Neither Francisco nor I caught it until after the fact. And there was a few other promo pictures I would have chosen for the artwork. Otherwise, I was Vibrating with excitement.

My only wish is that I could have remastered all the tracks from the original reel to reel tapes myself. Instead of using the mp3 files. No reflection or negativity towards Francisco himself whatsoever.. In the remastering process, the high end is nearly completely gone around 15 or 16k and up. And the bottom end was boosted too high in my opinion... So when I play the disc in my vehicle or home stereo, I have to boost the treble all the way up and drop the bass to zero or less than zero… with the loudness Off to get closer to the original recordings... So the high end of the cymbals and high end of Keith's voice and my 2 or 3 guitar parts are nearly non-existent. Janne's ear is different than mine… again, no hard feelings or resentments to anyone.

I am so vibrating with excitement to finally get the attention and CD release long-time coming… I wish Keith was here to see and hear the results of OUR years of hard work and creativity. We all miss our brother in arms.

Q. - Some years after the split Keith Deen joined Holy Terror, were you surprised by this new direction Keith was looking for?

Austin - Keith told me... he wasn't looking for it... It found him... but Yes and yet… No!

Q. - Did you follow his career in Holy Terror? What did you think of this band?

Austin - Yes... I have a few of their CD's. His bandmates and I are all friends on facebook and talk at least once a year.

Q. - Keith Deen left us in 2012, what's your thoughts about his passing?

Austin - In the last months, weeks and days we talked often on the phone... We were planning on writing new tunes, recording And doing a LUST reunion... If not do a small tour... We had already exchanged tape recordings of some new song ideas... Reunion was tentatively set for September 2012 in LA.

WE believed in each other...

I miss the man and real friend...

Q. - Did you stay in touch with the other former members all over the years?

Austin - Yes. We talk frequently. Phone, text, email, online. We are fans of each other.

Q. - Tell us a bit about your solo project Awesome Austin, did you try to release a solo album?

Austin - Yes... Track 8 on the CD was the start of this adventure.. I was playing solo shows at the Radison hotel lounge and Holiday Inn lounge in Downtown Hollywood when I was asked to record in a recording studio in Santa Monica, California. While mixing down one track I was approached by the producer to record several single 45's for a major label. Again.... I MUST stop here.

Q. - How do you see the hard rock and heavy metal scenes nowadays? Do you keep an eye on what's going on?

Austin - To me, it all sounds the same... Every band seems to use the same song writing formula.

Yes, I keep one eye open and at least one ear to the radio and or TV. There are a few bands or songs I really, really like, but I'm not naming names here.

Q. - So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any band? Tell us a bit about it.

Austin - I'm retired... but YES! I still play in a band. It's more for fun then anything else. Lol... The Big Bucks... lol

I'm playing in a local band called "The Tony Faith Band". Covers and some original Rock. We are on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc.!

Q. - How do you want to end up this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Austin - Hollywood Roxx 1976-1980; Studio Sessions (Remastered) (Import)

by LUST,

Keith Deen (Vocalist) (Holy Terror)

Austin M. Carrino (Guitarist) (True Form, Network, Detroit Miss, Rukkus, Man's Ruin)

Liam Jason (Drummer) (Warrior, Rhino Bucket)

Rich Sanchez (Bassist) (Julie Hawkins Band, Run Bambe Run, Northstar)

The band with Liam, Keith, Richard and I worked... The chemistry was right on.. except Liam wanted everything his way and I wasn't having it... it was my band, I wrote all the music and Keith wrote all the lyrics.... Liam should have been democratic or silent. Again it was really Keith and I. I have to admit... Liam is/was the best drummer I ever played with and I did respect most of his input and ideas... but it was Liam that destroyed the band... LUST.... not Keith, not Richard..... not me..., it was Liam... and he knows it too....

Keith & I still worked together for a while... and then we got too busy with life and lost touch... me, my wife, and kids.. I had to earn money now to help pay for those nearest me.... I believe LUST could have been the next BIG band, if WE didn't all FUCK it up.... I miss that part of my own life these days.... It is one of my fondest memories....

RIP Keith

Austin M. Carrino &

Richard Sanchez

2020

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

Rosanna's Raiders – Before & After The Fire 1985-2019 (We Are Raiders 35th Anniversary)

Rosanna's Raiders – Before & After The Fire 1985-2019 (We Are Raiders 35th Anniversary)

Rosanna's Raiders is a female fronted power trio from Australia, and Rosanna Palmer (lead vocalist, guitarist and composer) is the driving force behind the band.

David Palmer is the bass player (and Rosanna's husband) and the drummer is Johno Zaffarese.

Rosanna's Raiders – Before & After The Fire 1985-2019 (We Are Raiders 35th Anniversary) is a compilation CD.

The first CD compiles their best tracks recorded between 1996 and 2019. CD2 includes the 1985 debut cassette album "We Are Raiders", and the bonus track "One Man".

Being this year the 35th Anniversary of the album We Are Raiders.

Apart of being an excellent singer with high range, and great melodic lines, Rosanna proves to have great abilities as guitar player, as you can hear on both cds.

The band's sound can be described as Christian Melodic Heavy Metal, with Hard Rock touches.

It’s available at:  https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/1088671620

Tony Miles (Gibraltar)

Gibraltar was formed in early 1979 by drummer Jim Lassen and guitarist Tony Miles, and recorded a 3 song demo tape in 1980, these songs are featured in the V1/Gibraltar compilation "The Spaceward Super Sessions". We had a chat with Tony Miles, about his days in Gibraltar.

Q. - Hello Tony, so what can you tell us about your musical beginnings in Hard Rock particularly? Who were your principal influences and what bands did you play before Gibraltar?

Tony - Like mosy of my age I was brought up with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Cream, Hendrix, etc  but soon after discovered Humble Pie, Rory Gallagher, Alex Harvey, Boston, ZZ Top and so on and so on. Basically, I had a classic rock education. Prior to Gibraltar my first ‘real band’ was TUSH, an East London-based band that played a mixture of originals and covers. One of our members at the time was Phil Collen who now plays with Def Leppard of course. I still see Phil from time to time.

Q. - Tell us a bit about the origins of Gibraltar, how and when did it all start? How did you get in touch with the other members?

Tony - After TUSH split, Gibraltar was a project started around 1978 by myself and an old drummer friend, Jim Lassen. We both loved hard rock and decided to form a new band together. We placed adverts in the music press to find other musicians. We eventually found a bass player Steve Parsons (brother of ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Tony Parsons) and a singer, one Dennis Willcock. Steve didn’t last long with us so I recruited my old bass player from TUSH, Mickey Tickton. So the finished line-up was myself, Jim, Dennis and Mickey. During the time we were auditioning and rehearsing we had Steve Parsons, Tony Parsons, Bob Sawyer, Ron Matthews (for a couple of gigs) all play with us for a time.

Q. - Do you remember who came up with the band's name, and why did you choose Gibraltar?

Tony - No is the quickest answer. I really don’t remember if it was Dennis or me. But the idea for the name came from the Rock of Gibraltar. We were a rock band so being called Gibraltar fitted well.

Q. - A 3 song demo tape were recorded in 1980. Was it your first experience in studio? What do you recall from these recording season?

Tony -Jim, Mickey and I all had previous experience in recording. Dennis also had recorded demos with his previous band V1 of course. The demo recording took place over 2 days in Spaceward Studios, Cambridge. It all went reasonably well, with no problems during recording. We were quite happy with the results at the time.

Q. - Did you sell this demo at shows, send it to fanzines? What feedback did you receive from this demo?

Tony - We used the demo to get gigs, such as the Ruskin Arms, etc. We did send the tape to a few music magazines but there was no real substantial feedback we could use. I think we weren’t ‘metal’ enough at the time. There was some interest from Derek Lawrence, a producer who had previously produced Deep Purple and others, but it never progressed from there. I think we were still in the process of working out what the band was supposed to be about, we weren’t ready for the next stage.

Q. - Did the demo tape have airplay on Neal Kay's Bandwagon? Or did you play there too?

Tony - The short answer is no. We never played there but the tape might have been played for all I know.

Q. - Do you remember the set list that you use to play with Gibraltar at that time? Did you play some covers too?

Tony - We played all original songs, obviously the songs on the demo and some other songs I’d either previously played in TUSH or Jim and I had written together. We did play the songs Tush and Hey Joe at a couple of gigs when Ron Matthews played with us though.

Q. - Did you try to find a record deal to release an Lp at that time?

Tony - We did send the demos out here and there and invited various music biz people to come to our shows but it never turned into anything positive enough. I also think the record companies had enough NWOBHM bands on their books at the time.

Q. - After a break, Gibraltar came back in 1984, what was the bands line up at that time?

Tony - We did a few gigs with myself, Dennis, Mickey and a drummer named Dave Manning. I still have a video of one of those gigs and a cassette tape too!

Q. - Did you stay in touch with Gibraltar former members over the years?

Tony - Yes, off and on. Mickey and I formed a band briefly in the late ‘80s. Jim, who is still an old friend, I speak to every week. I lost contact with Dennis in ’84 until he reappeared in 2014.

Q. - Were you happy with the edition of "The Spaceward Super Sessions" by HR Records in 2015? Was it like a dream come true?

Tony - I was pleased to have some recognition for what we did back in the day, it was completely unexpected. Obviously now I wish we had recorded more of our songs for release but I’m not complaining. It’s a matter of official record now so that’s good enough for me.

Q. - After a long hiatus Gibraltar reunited around 2015, did you guys feel some kind of unfinished business?

Tony - Yes, that would be a good way of putting it, unfinished business. It was the initial approach from HR Records that gave us the idea of putting something back together. But due to personal circumstances it was really only possible for Dennis and I to be involved with anything new, all the others were unable to contribute unfortunately.

Q. - But this new version of Gibraltar was short lived, what happened that lead to the break?

Tony - Another good question. From the start I think Dennis’s expectations and my expectations were very different. His involvement and enthusiasm with the reformed V1 were way much more than I’d been prepared for so it felt like Gibraltar was of less importance to him. The communication between us got worse over time and it was inevitable that it would fall apart. It’s a real shame because I strongly felt there was potential there for us to be doing something very different to what we’d done in Gibraltar, before. I also think Dennis’s desire to chase after Iron Maiden for money he felt they still owed him became a massive distraction for all of us. As you may know, that is still the subject of ongoing legal proceedings so I’m unable to say more about it at the moment.

Q. - How do you see the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal scenes nowadays? Do you keep an eye on what's going on?

Tony - Good question. The scene to me seems fairly saturated by sound-alike and look-alike bands and not much originality around these days. Having said that, there are still some very good bands around, like Alter Bridge for example. I also became a fan of Seattle grunge so like listening to Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, etc. I also listen to a lot of stuff that’s not necessarily hard or heavy rock. For now, it’s only the mega bands like Iron Maiden that stick out as being exceptional and really continue to draw the big crowds. Their consistency and longevity has to be admired though. What happens next in rock music is anyone’s guess.

Q. - So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any band? Tell us a bit about it.

Tony - These days I’m playing with a small local blues band in Cambridgeshire called the Blackjack Blues Band. We play lot of blues songs that were originally performed by Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Robert Johnson, Freddie King, and so on. It’s fun and keeps me playing!

Q. - How do you want to end up this interview? Anything more you want to say?

Tony - Covered most of it, I think. It’s cool that people like yourself still take an interest in the histories of bands from back in the day. When I saw Iron Maiden for the first time, they were just a pub rock band, not much different to my old band TUSH in many ways. But it’s an odd combination of talent, luck, timing and sheer determination that makes the difference between make or break. It’s the same for everyone.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!

You’re welcome and wish you well also! J

Chris Vye (Prowler)

Chris Vye was the lead guitarist from Prowler (Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) in the early and mid-80's, having recorded two singles (Forgotten Angels in 1983, and Alcatraz in 1985) and two demo tapes (84 and 87). Later joined hard rock bands Bad Reputation and Passion xx. We has a chat with Chris about these matters and future plans.

Q. - Hello Chris! Tell us a bit about your background in heavy metal, what bands did you have before Prowler, and what your main influences?

Chris - Before Prowler I was in a band called Last Resort and we were actually semi New Wave at the time.

I was into a bands like Dr. Feelgood, Pink Floyd, definitely Pink Floyd were one of my first influences, and bands like AC/DC, UFO, Van Halen, and Thin Lizzy were obviously, a big influence on me.

Q. - When did you join Prowler? Were you a founding member? Tell us a bit about the beginning of the band.

Chris - I really can't remember the year, I wasn't a founding member, when the band was in its infancy, Steve Whetton was the other guitar player in the band at that time, he was a very good friend of mine and he ended up being the lighting guy, it just happen that way at that time, nothing was recorded with him or any live gigs, he was in the band only in the very early days. Obviously I enjoyed being the guitar player and I had known Steve Philpotts since school.

Q. - How did the band name came up?

Chris - When I joined they already had the name. The name came from the very first Iron Maiden album, one of the tracks on that album was called Prowler, the opening track, and so that's where the name came from.

Q. - Did you start writing your own songs since the beginning or were you most concentrated on covers?

Chris - Right from the beginning we wanted to write our own stuff, it was really important, you know, in the style of the NWOBHM and we wanted to do our own thing and tried to come up with our own sound. We did do one or two covers at the start but we replace them as we wrote more stuff.

Q. - How did the idea of record the single "Forgotten Angels" came up?

Chris - Forgotten Angels is a song that was written by Rob Philpotts, obviously we can rewrite our own parts to it, including solos and stuff, Rob wrote the song and it's one of the first things that we have got properly recorded.

It sounds a bit basic nowadays compared to what is possible now because the technology was just completely steam train back in those days. We just couldn't get the sounds the people can get now. We did our best and we did it honestly. Technology and gear is incredible now... we would have loved to have it back then!

Q. - Did you get support in the media back then? Radio, magazines, fanzines?

Chris - To be honest we had a few things in the media more gig listings, we weren't a leading band, we were very much in the lower ranks so pretty much unless you were quite big, the media tend to ignore you a bit, so we didn't get a lot of assistance from the media to be honest.

Q. - At a certain point Prowler toured with Bernie Marsden as an opening act, how did that happen?

Chris - As to Bernie Marsden, I'm not sure how we came about. We did a gig, I think we were asked to do a gig, at the Trent Polytechnic, in Nottingham, with Bernie Marsden and we supported him there. Bernie liked us so much that they took us along and we went to the Marquee in London, which was a great experience, you know, the great and the good were there, Micky Moody, John Sykes, and all those kind of people it was an amazing experience and we really enjoyed to gig there at the old Marquee. Micky was a lovely guy and sent us some beer off his rider which was so nice of him... fantastic guy and player.

Q. - Why did Prowler split up in 1990? What happened that lead to the break?

Chris - We had been playing together quite a lot and the brothers start to not get along musically as well as they used to do, they got different ideas on things and I think just generally the atmosphere in the band was just gone a little bit. It's just one of those things, it just slowly died and that was it.

Q. - Did you keep in touch with the other former members all over the years?

Chris - Yes, I know them all pretty much, they were all fairly close, I actually played in a band with the lead singer from Prowler, Ian Morrison, for a while, we didn't do much, we did just a couple of gigs and I went to join Bad Reputation and later Passion xx with whom I recorded another single.

Q. - When did you record your solo demo tape "Wild One"? Were you already in Prowler, or was prior to that? What reactions did you get from these recordings? Did you try to find a record deal to release it?

Chris - "Wild One" was actually recorded quite a long while after Prowler, and also after Bad Reputation, I would say it was probably about 1989/90, something like that.

Recording gear become a lot easier than it was in the old days, back then it was ridiculous expensive and I got an 8 track cassette recorder and it allowed me to record at home, "Wild One" was actually sessions I did on my own flat, the drum machine, some keyboards and just play my own stuff and it really started from there. I sold the tapes locally. I was quite happy about that, and that was a long time ago. They have ended up all over the world which completely amazed me!

Q. - After you leave Prowler you joined the hard rock band "Bad Reputation", how did that happen?

Chris - I knew the guys from Bad Reputation anyway cause we'd done gigs with them before, when I was in Prowler, so I knew them quite well, and had gone fantastically, Pete Brown was the bass player of Bad Reputation and he asked me to join, and it was great fun, we did a quite few gigs mostly in the Midlands area. It really went pretty well and I really enjoyed to be there, it was a fun time.

Q. - Did you record any songs with them?

Chris - We did do a recording but to be honest I don't have a copy of it, I’m sure someone might have it somewhere.

Q. - For how long were "Bad Reputation" active?

Chris - I think Bad Reputation ware active a couple of years, I would say. After that I ended up doing some stuff with bass player and lead singer from Prowler, like I said and then I go on to record my own songs so that started really about 10/15 years ago when I started really writing my own stuff which is mostly "Steve Vai'sh" solo instrumental music

Q. - Have you ever thought about doing a compilation on cd with the singles and demos recorded by Prowler in the 80's?

Chris - The answer to that is yes, why not? I'd love to, some of the tapes aren't in the best of conditions, and in fact all the songs were written by the Philpotts brothers they're not feeling like releasing the material. I've tried to persuade them to do it but you know they don't seem particularly keen on the idea at the moment, so didn't go any further than that. It is looking like some of the tracks may be re-recorded this year... not 100% yet but could happen!

Q. - What do you think of this recent revival of the N.W.O.B.H.M., and all these bands reforming?

Chris - You know what? It was a fantastic time back in the 80's, everyone was enjoying that kind of music, we live free back then, so it's really nice to see it back, it's good time music, people had a lot of fun and I think it's great that these bands are coming back.

Q. - So what are you doing these days? Do you still play in any band?

Chris - Right now I’m still writing and playing my own music, and to be honest I'd really like to form a new band on this area, Midlands, (and hopefully this virus that we are standing is soon over) to play some of my own stuff, maybe some covers, maybe even some Prowler stuff, but, you never know.

Q. - Are you still a heavy metal fan these days?

Chris - Absolutely! You can't beat this stuff from back on those days, I hate to sound old fashioned but I just think in a lot ways, it was just better than some other stuff now, some stuff now, it's a little bit too clinical and plus the fact I’m not keen on mega mega heavy music.

Q. - Anything more you want to say, to end up this interview?

Chris - I Think that's it, hopefully this is enough and that will be everything you need to know, thanks!

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!