Interviews |
| RevelationZ Website Interview Band name: The Oliver Wakeman Band What is your name and your current position in the band? Writer, Piano & Keyboard Player Tell us about the history of the band. More specifically, when was the band formed, how did you meet, and have there been any particular highlights or low points in your career, any crucial events that have taken you where you are today? I have now released 9 albums and decided that for the release of my latest album, “Mother’s Ruin” I would put a band together to support the album and to work on future ones. Only two of the original members of the studio album were available for the live work (David Mark Pearce Guitars + Dave Wagstaffe Drums) and the other two were replaced by Paul Manzi Vocals + Paul Brown Bass, Both have fitted in superbly and are ideal for the music I write. We started rehearsing as a band in late 2004 and have plans for shows throughout the coming year. The highest points so far for the band must be either the launch concert for the album or the support slot for Arjen Lucassen’s Stream of Passion show which was great fun! Was there ever a time when you wondered if your band would remain just a local outfit and never make it in the industry? I have always had the drive to do more than just play locally and the band now plays all across the UK with ventures into Europe planned for later in the year if all goes to plan! What is your latest album and why should people buy it? Mother’s Ruin is a collection of hard rock, keyboard & guitar driven music with a strong emphasis on melody, something I always strive for in anything I write. I have written a lot of music throughout my career and this is a further development, one of which I am very proud, and Mother’s Ruin has to be the favourite album I’ve written so far! If well written music with great musicians is your thing then give it a go! How would you categorize the style of the band? And did you ever consider or try playing other styles of music than the one(s) you are playing now? A difficult one to answer really as I’ve always written in lots of different styles, rock, progressive, ballads, blues, classical, piano music etc but this band is primarily rock. Although I’m sure as I start writing for the band again it will develop. That’s what’s fun about working with a great bunch of musicians it gives you the freedom to try new things. Can you share with us one or two of your favourite moments with the band? They are all a really nice bunch of guys who I’m proud to call my friends as well as musicians I work with and so generally whenever we get together it’s good fun. Possible the first time we all met and played through a few tracks together was particularly exciting as I could hear just how good this band was going to be! How is the writing process in the band? I write all the music for the band. It’s something I have always done and something I really enjoy. What brought you on the path to becoming a musician? Did you ever consider or take any other paths through life besides music? My father is a musician and so it was in my blood from a very early age. I currently work in IT as a day job to support my wife and son of whom I’m very proud but I’d love to be in a position to do music as a full time career. Do you have any idols? If yes, who? I don’t really have idols as such as I’ve worked with some great people who have become friends. I do however have immense respect for people such as Steve Howe who has been a great friend and musician to work with (he appeared on my 3 Ages of Magick album). Do you have any regrets looking back at your career? For example any songs or even full albums that you regret recording? If so, what made you regret it? I have always been very proud of every album I’ve released and often when I’ve been commissioned to write music I’ve always been very aware that I wanted to make sure the music stood up to my other work. Are there particular songs in your catalogue that the fans love but you're not particular fond of yourself? Not really, there are a few songs that I’ve played so many times that I’d quite happily drop from the set but they have to stay for the time being as people always ask for them. As to what they are I’m not telling! How important do you rate the lyrical side of your albums? Very important, I write all the lyrics and always spend a long time making sure they say what I want them to say. I like telling short stories in my songs and hope that people enjoy the words as much as the music. What do you think about the state of the music industry today? It’s a shame that the industry seems to be so media focussed. It’s very difficult for musicians who do something slightly different to get a look in on the mainstream media channels. It makes it hard for the musicians and a shame for the public as I’m pretty sure there are lots of people who would enjoy the music I have to offer if they just got the chance to hear it. However, we’ll keep going and play to as many people are prepared to come to the shows. What do you think is the best way to fight music piracy? I’m not really sure, it’s a shame that lots of people nowadays don’t see a CD as a nice object/package to own. I always loved looking through album/CD sleeves and seeing who was on this album and which studios were used etc but unfortunately that aspect of music buying seems to have become lost which is a bit of a shame. I try to make my albums visually appealing with nice covers and artwork to try and encourage people to buy the CD and have something they’re pleased to own. To some people though it’s just disposable….. Do you have a life philosophy? If yes, what is it? To leave meaningful work behind after I’m gone. It’s lovely to think that my music can be entertaining someone hundreds of miles away and I’m no-where near. Can you describe a typical day in your life? Get up and go to the day job. Come home, spend some time with my family and then work in my studio until I get tired and have to go to bed! What do you like to spend your time with besides music? My wife and son. We don’t get as much time together as I’d like so the time we spend together as a family is very important to me. What's the craziest thing that has ever happened on a tour? I remember years ago when I was at school. I joined a band that gigged heavily. I’d finish school jump in the van and play in all sorts of strange places. One time we ended up in a big pub overlooking the sea. In this pub the ceilings were very high and the lights were very ornate and hung down a fair distance. The guitarist had a habit during the last number of jumping on tables and playing a solo. Unfortunately he wasn’t the tallest guy in the world and mid solo decided to throw the guitar upright into a ‘rock’ pose. The guitar neck got caught in the light and he hung on as he fell off the table still soloing to his credit swinging from the light whilst knocking tables and drinks over…..We were never asked back strangely enough……. You're heading off to live on a deserted island for a couple of years with your portable entertainment system... Which albums, movies or books would you bring? (Max. 3 of each) That’s a really tough one and would probably change by tomorrow but here and now I’d say…. Books Dark Rivers of the Heart Dean Koontz Magician Raymond Feist The Collective Short Stories of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I have read this book so many times that it’s falling apart!) Movies Spinal Tap, Star Wars Best in Show (Spinal tap guys doing a dog show) CD’s Who Do You Think You Are Deep Purple Images & Words Dream Theatre Eat Me in St Louis It Bites What is your favourite joke? Too many to think of, but I am quite fond of the line I heard the other day which was “Everyone in this room is so self centred Am I the only one thinking about me?”. Can you tell us about any future plans for you and your band? To keep playing live and to work on the new album for a release next year if possible. Thanks for answering these questions. Now you are free to write a few lines to our readers. Thanks for listening to the music we musicians write, if it wasn’t for people like you who listen to music away from the mainstream I’m pretty sure the majority of us musicians would go crazy! |
Sea of Tranquility Website Interview To see the original click here. You've put together a hot new band and a heavier sound for "Mother's Ruin"-can you talk a little bit about the musicians that you are playing with now and how you came to collaborate with them? The band that I put together for the album consisted of Moon Kinnaird vox, David Mark Pearce Guitars, Tim Buchanan bass and Dave Wagstaffe Drums with myself covering Piano & Keyboards. Moon had sung the concept albums I wrote with Clive Nolan, firstly in the choir on Jabberwocky and as the character Seldon on The Hound of the Baskervilles. He also sang with Landmarq many years ago and was well known by Dave Wagstaffe who also plays drums for them. Dave Pearce and I met through a mutual friend. I was talking to him about needing a guitarist and he knew of Dave and so we met up and got on really well. He was the guitarist on the View from Here single which was released in 2002 and has also mixed my Purification by Sound and Enlightenment and Inspiration new age albums. Tim Buchanan and I go back a long way. We both used to jam together at a blues club in North Devon (where I used to live) and he joined the blues band I played in (Smokestack) for a good couple of years. Tim first recorded for me on the 3 Ages of Magick album (which I recorded with Steve Howe in 2000 and released in 2001). He also performed on the View from Here and the latest album. Dave Wagstaffe and I have known each other for a long time, I first met him during the Jabberwocky sessions and he also joined me on the 3 Ages of Magick album. For various reasons it was decided that Moon wouldn’t be involved in the live band and shortly afterwards Tim also left the band because of a variety of reasons. But it all worked out very well as they have been replaced by Paul Manzi on Vocals and Paul Brown (Janison Edge) on bass guitar and both have fitted into the band superbly and have actually been performing live with me for the last year and a half. Serious prog rock fans are saying very positive things about the new album and its abundance of more aggressive guitar sounds and bombastic keyboards. Did you intentionally try to "up the ante" as far as the heavier approach on some of the songs, while still keeping the symphonic nature that is the essence of your style? It’s great that people are enjoying the album. I deliberately wanted to do something different. I had recorded the 3 Ages album which was very instrumental and had a variety of different styles on it and I’d recorded the 2 rock opera’s with Clive. I’d also written the Celtic single and then a couple of New age albums and I felt it was time to show that I could also write strong rock tracks with a band focus. Obviously the keyboards are going to be to the forefront of the music but I love great guitar and bass and drums and so made sure that the album wasn’t a keyboard album backed by other instruments but and album where all the instruments worked together as a band. Although "Mother's Ruin" is filled with plenty of instrumental fireworks, what really strikes me is the use of catchy hooks and melodies in each song, wonderfully performed by the musicians as well as singer Moon Kinnaird. How hard is it to write a catchy song yet still retain enough complexity and use of chops to keep the prog crowd happy? I’ve always been a great believer in melody and hooks and I deliberately try to not over use a hook to make people want to listen to songs again and again. I think that music is becoming a harder and harder industry and so you have to work really hard at writing. I don’t like writing ‘filler’ tracks, I try to make each piece really work and spend a great deal of time on arrangements and producing the song to give it it’s best shot and appealing to as many people as possible. Have you given any thought or been asked to take this line-up on the road for a tour or to play any festivals? The live band has been performing for the last couple of years at various venues across the UK. We supported Arjen Lucassen earlier this year which was great fun and we’ve got 3 shows lined up for later this year in the UK, Sheffield, Cardiff and London. Hopefully we’ll get a few more booked in before the end of the year if people are interested they can check the website www.oliverwakeman.co.uk for more details. I am also going on tour with Bob Catley next week which should be a good laugh as Bob and I have been good friends for years. You can hear some possible influences of bands like Arena, Uriah Heep, Pendragon, and Saga, besides the obvious Yes connection. What bands did you grow up listening to, and what current music do you enjoy? I grew up with the obvious stuff like Yes but I was a big fan of Deep Purple, Rush and my big love was for Styx as I thought they married the great songwriting with great musicianship. More recently things like It Bites and Dan Reed Network although I don’t really listen to a great deal of more modern stuff I never seem to find the time! What type of keyboard arsenal do you use these days? For the live show it’s based around my Yamaha electric Piano, a Korg Triton, Roland XP-30 and Korg O1/W. In the studio I use all the above as well as a D50, Yamaha V50, and whatever else I can find to use in the studio! You have done various different projects over the years with many different musicians-do you plan on moving forward and continuing on with this band format, and do you have other projects and perhaps solo instrumental ideas in the works? I have the follow up to Mother’s Ruin almost written and I want to start recording towards the end of the year I also have plans for a piano album which is partly finished and a concept album of sorts. Clive and I keep threatening to write the third collaboration as well so maybe that’ll happen in the near future. But a band follow up would probably be the next one. How is your father Rick doing these days, and what is he involved with? Any plans to do something with him in the future? Dad and I (along with my brother Adam sister Jemma) did a couple of theatre shows towards the end of last year which were really good fun and Dad joined me on stage for the launch concert of Mother’s Ruin but there are no plans to do anything else at the moment but we’ll have to wait and see! Thanks Oliver! My pleasure, Cheers. Oliver |