Sunday, March 24, 2013
SEEKER OF THE
WINTERHEART TALKS TO TOD MILLER OF ANARIA
Always looking for
fresh new bands, I recently discovered a band from the USA
SOTW: Thank you Tod
for being here with me on Seeker of the Winteheart. Please introduce your self
and give us a bio about your band
TOD:
I'm Tod, one of the Guitarists in Anaria. I do a portion of the writing, along
with the rest of the guys/gal.
Anaria
is a Modern Symphonic metal band hailing from Pelham , NH
SOTW:
How did you all meet each other and what
other bands have you been in?
TOD:
Well, about half of us (notably Mercy, Kevin, and myself) have been in previous
bands together. Mercy has had numerous other projects in different genres,
where I have a traditional Power Metal side project. Stephen is an accomplished
sing-writer too!
We
have many excellent writers to draw from, it's wonderful.
SOTW:
How long have you been playing music?
TOD:
I've personally been playing since around age six. In first grade, all the kids
in the class started playing in the school band. I began on French Horn then
added additional brass instruments along the way as the band's needs evolved.
Guitar
came in around age eleven or twelve.
SOTW:
What bands inspired you to play music?
TOD: The bands that personally helped shape my development were Kamelot, Labyrinth, Lost Horizon, After Forever, Therion, and Nightwish.
Kamelot
was most definitely the primary influence (especially The Fourth Legacy, and
Karma), with Nightwish's "Wishmaster" album in close second.
SOTW:
What can we expect from the debut album?
TOD:
Our debut album has quite a few diverse elements; put together in a mature way.
Typically
in a band's development, the first album shows potential, then the consecutive
albums show a honing of songwriting ability.
We
want to start off mature, and then continue to improve.
Expect
songs mixed with power and beauty, of delicate vocal melodies mixed with a
stoic female voice.
Expect
heavy Symphonic elements, and nimble guitar work ... all while having melodies
that stick with you after the song's ended.
Regarding
the album, we've been incredibly fortunate in our crowd-sourcing project. Fans
and listeners have helped us raise over $1300 in less than two weeks, in a
year-long campaign.
It's
simply incredible. Our supporters never cease to amaze us.
SOTW:
What is your approach to writing songs?
TOD:
Well, it depends on the song.
Typically
we start off with a member having a frame of a song outlined. Then, we all
contribute, edit, re-arrange, and new melodies and refine the song until it's
perfect.
In
this regard every member of Anaria is a capable and talented writer, even our
drummer Bobby has gone to college for Music Composition.
SOTW:
What do you hope your music contributes
to the world?
TOD:
Well, I believe personally that everyone has the power to create beauty
somehow, beauty in a larger sense.
I'm
a fierce optimist, and that positive nature is something I'd like to make
contagious. The world has enough cynics, and sometimes the hardest thing we can
do is to not give in to that jaded bitterness. Someday, I'd like to meet
someone who's seen their life from a different perspective by listening to our
music.
That's
just my hope though, I'm sure the guys have their own personal thoughts.
SOTW:
What other things do you like besides music?
TOD:
Well, Mercy, Stephen, Kevin, Bobby and I are all pretty huge nerds.
I'm
a huge PC Gamer, Kevin and I play Warhammer 40k, Stephen is huge into Comics,
Bobby is a huge Call of Duty and Black OPs player, and Mercy is a steampunk
queen.
Literally
a queen. I'm not even kidding on that one.
SOTW:
What is the band's atmosphere like?
TOD:
We're all just a bunch of like-minded people. We're friends. We get along
really well, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Half of us have worked
together for years, and the new guys feel like we've known them for years. It's
great!
SOTW:
How many shows have you played and have
you toured yet?
TOD:
We have our debut show on the 21st of this month. Very exciting.
We
have not toured any great distance yet, we have plans for a small tour this
summer however.
SOTW:
Think of all of your favorite bands and
name one of your most favorite shows that you have been to.
TOD:
Personally, it would be a Kamelot/Edguy show in Boston
Dream
come true for a Kamfan like myself
SOTW: Will you guys
tour for the new album?
TOD:
After the album is done, absolutely. In all likelihood it would begin solely in
the U.S. , after that,
perhaps Canada
SOTW: Where is one place that you would like to play at that you have always wanted to play at?
TOD:
Wacken, the open air festival, or ProgPower!
SOTW: Do you have a closing statement?
TOD:
First, we'd like to thank you for taking the time to check us out, and get to
know us.
I'd
personally like to take a moment and thank all of our friends, fans, and
listeners for supporting independent bands and musicians. It's a hard road to
take, but it gets easier knowing we have folks like you guys behind us. Thanks!
Thank you Tod for
being here with me on Seeker of the Winterheart. I really enjoy the music you
guys are making and I hope to see you out there on the road somewhere very
soon.
If you would like to
help contribute to the making of the debut album from Anaria, please follow the
following link. It will be money well invested. https://www.facebook.com/events/438496859565155/
Thank you all for your
continued support of this blog and most of thank you for believing in the music
and believing in dreams coming true. For Seeker of the Winterheart, this is
Scott wishing you much peace and love. I'll see you on the road!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
SEEKER OF THE WINTERHEART TALKS TO Morten Loewe OF AMARANTHE.
SOTW: First off, I want to say thank you for taking
the time from your busy schedule to answer these questions and welcome to
Seeker of the Winterheart. My first question for you is if someone went to
one of your shows for the first time and met you after the show and asked you
to describe your band and your music, what would you tell them? How would
you describe Amaranthe?
Morten: Well, what stands out the most at first
is probably the fact that we have three lead singers instead of just one or
two. We always do our best to do an extraordinary live show that catches the
attention for both eyes and ears! Our music is fast paced with very catchy
choruses, intricate rhythms here and there and just very energetic
overall.
SOTW: Would you please introduce yourself
and tell us what instrument you play and how long you have been playing it and
what other bands have you been in prior to being in Amaranthe?
Morten: My name is Morten Loewe, I'm the one an
only drummer in the band (yes, we don't have 3 drummers!) I have been playing
the drums as far back as I remember, got my first kit at 10-11 years old. I have been playing in a LOT of bands before
AMARANTHE. To name a few: THE ARCANE ORDER, MERCENARY, SUBMISSION,
HATESPHERE(session), ICON IN ME, THE CLEANSING, DRAGONLAND, NIGHTRAGE, TRIPHON,
SOILWORK (session) SCARVE(session) and I could go on... but nowadays I'm focusing solely on AMARANTHE, although I still have THE ARCANE ORDER as a
2nd band whenever time allows.
SOTW: How did all of you meet each other?
Morten: Well, it all started with a collaboration
between Olof Morck and Jake E. And my story is that I met Olof in 2007, when
we were both in Nightrage. We started talking about doing "something"
together on that tour. I remember he told me that he had this other guy (Jake E.) he was working with, it sounded very interesting. A few months after that
tour, Olof send me the first basic "Amaranthe" track. That was even
before Elise and Andy joined. Olof and Jake both knew Andy and Elise from way
back and asked them to do vocals on their demos. We could all sense that we had
something going with that recipe. Soon after that there was a band!
SOTW: What is it like being in a band like
Amaranthe? Do you all have a good working relationship with one
another?
Morten: It has been really good! We all share
the same goals within music although we are very different personality wise, which is a very positive thing in this case. We all come from different backgrounds more or less and we all add something different to the table. Some of us have more responsibly in certain areas than others, but that all comes very
natural I think. Personally, I like the way we work. We don't spend three days a
week in the rehearsal room, since we live so far apart. I'm living in Denmark and they live in Sweden
SOTW: Since the release of your first studio album,
Amaranthe, the band has seen a good amount of success and has toured the world.
What are some of your best memories from that album and the tour for it?
Morten: Yes it has been absolutely amazing so
far! There has been so many highlights, but if I really have to pick a few, definitely Japan! We played there twice in 2011. First show was a headliner. It sold out in 10 minutes, ridiculous! Second time was at the amazing Loud Park, amazing place to play. The craziest audience in the world too! Also Wacken was a highlight. We really didn't know what to expect, but it turned out
really good! We played in the tent which holds the capacity of 12.000 and it
was full of happy people from all around the world. We finished off the year by
playing our biggest headlining show in Liseberg, in Gothenburg, for around 10.000 Swedes, in the band's (well most of the bands) hometown. Of course, PROGPOWER USA in Atlanta
SOTW: I had the pleasure of seeing the band at
ProgPower USA last September
in Atlanta
Morten: Yes, we where really screwed! Our backtracks didn't arrive from Germany, and if you know our music, you know that the keys are an integral part of our songs, so it would really not have been the best
possible debut in the U.S. without that! But we fixed it somehow, and I got some
basic backing tracks on my phone! It was definitely a stressful gig for me,
since I'm the one controlling the backing tracks, and my phone did funny things
during the show too, but somehow we got through it! But we definitely panicking until the very last moment before the gig, cause we had no clue how it was
gonna turn out, since we didn't have a sound check and not really a line check either. But thanks to the crowd, it turned out to be an awesome show!
SOTW: So let's talk about what you guys are
doing now, you just finished up your new album and have released the first
video for it. What can we expect from the new album? Is it a concept album?
Morten: Well, there's not any major changes or
anything like that, but there is definitely some new elements throughout the album. Also we have learned from our experience with the first album, what
works well live and what doesn't . But basically, we wanted to step up everything
a notch. So a little bit more of everything actually! More catchy, more
technical, more simple, and even more disco hahaha!! And as a drummer, I had a
little bit of a different approach this time. Still playing a lot of stuff all
the time, cause the music calls for that, but I also tried to make the drums
catchy (yes, you can do catchy drum fills!) But overall i think the music has
matured a little, but in a good way! But I guess you will have to listen to the
album to make your own opinion. Lyrical wise, there is a concept. It's a
"futuristic" concept. That does not explain much, so I guess you will
have to buy the physical album and read the lyrics!
SOTW: When will the new album be released and have
there been any tour dates scheduled for the new album?
Morten: The release dates are official now. If I remember correctly, it's coming out in the US
SOTW: Are you planning on coming back to the USA
Morten: Like I said we will have a few
surprises... so that means YES!
SOTW: OK, here is where I ask a fun question. If
Amaranthe were a movie, what kind of movie would it be?
Morten: I can't pick just one movie,
since our music is combined of so many elements... but what about the Bourne
movies combined with Jurassic park and grease?!!! hahaha!
SOTW: Speaking of movies, your videos have that
movie feel to them. Have you ever considered making a
full length movie featuring the band? You guys are great actors by
the way.
Morten: Thanks! That would be awesome! Maybe when we
have released our 10th album and wants to try something different! It could become
a pretty exciting movie if we combined the movies I previously
mentioned...!!
SOTW: Thank you so much for being here with me on
Seeker of the Winterheart. I had fun chatting with you. Before we end, do
you have anything you would like to add?
Morten: Thanks for the interview, we appreciate folks like you promoting the band by doing interviews like this! I guess it's just all the usual stuff, buy our album, go to our shows, you won't get disappointed. We will tour our asses off this time around, so you will definitely get a chance to catch our show in 2013, so see you out there!
SOTW: Once again, thank you so much to Amaranthe for
being here and I hope you will get yourself a copy of the new album and go to
see Amaranthe live in your town.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
SEEKER OF THE WINTERHEART TALKS TO KAROLINA PACAN OF SKEPTICAL MINDS
Hello and welcome once again to Seeker of the Winterheart. Today I would like to share with you my latest conversation with a most extraordinary lady. When I first discovered her band, I was blown away by her energy on stage and it is unmatched. One cannot help but smile while you are in the presents of such a wonderful lady. I speak of the one and only Karolina Pacan of Skeptical Minds. I love this woman to pieces I tell you, and I was so happy to have her over once again to sit down and talk to her about all of the great things happening in her life and with her band. So now I share with you my chat with the lovely Karolina Pacan.
SOTW: Hello there Karolina, so good to have you here at Seeker of the Winterheart once again. I always enjoy having you here and chatting about the things going on in your life. So what have you been up to since the last time we spoke?
KAROLINA: Hey Scott! Good to talk with you again! Oh many things have happened since last time but well, we are working with Skeptical Minds on a new album and it’s the main news and activity for me for the moment. It’s pretty advanced now but I think it will be done around the end of summer. I can’t wait to hear the final result !!!
SOTW: That is so wonderful to hear. What are the future plans of Skeptical Minds these days? What can we expect from the band musically? Maybe new music and a tour in the works?
KAROLINA: Yes indeed, the future is: New album + comic (it will be a pack and concept object), new dates and touring in Europe in the fall. We also will work to be able to tour outside Europe. It’s difficult, but we hope something can happen in 2014 !
SOTW: Since I have known you, you have always seemed to be so strong and brave and always positive. Where do you get this great attitude from?
KAROLINA: Thank you for the compliment :) My optimism comes from the inside. Life also learned me that positivism is the key to success and in the dark times that we have now, there is nothing more valuable but a rainbow on the sky, you get my point ?
Being positive can change things from your inner self to things that are around you : )
SOTW: What is your motivation?
KAROLINA: Faith in living beings. I believe that humans are able to live in synergy with nature again and I will do my best to promote this.
If I can convince even 1 person, to go back to the roots and to realize that we are one, then I will be very happy ;)
SOTW: I don't want to get too personal, but what have been some of the hardest things for you to live through and how did you find the strength to overcoming these things going on in your life?
KAROLINA: Hardest was to leave my family, my country, my friends, my pets. How did I found the strength ?
I knew what I wanted to do in my life and my passion for music is my fuel. That passion is so strong that no fear can stop me even if they appear sometimes.
Beside I have received lots of support from my family and of course from the guys of my band.
When you have support from people who believe in you, then be sure that you can cross the oceans
SOTW: What are your dreams and goals that you hope to achieve in your life that you have not already see happen?
KAROLINA: Few things but most important for me now is to see people united again, peace on earth, nature rebuilt.
Personal and musical achievement comes after because I already have reached the few goals I had when I left Poland . Each time you make a step, you think about the next one and I have other ones in my head. It’s like a bonus now. I already feel very happy of the chance I had to do what I did until now.
Now, I take things like they come, I start new projects and I’ll push those things as far as I can . New projects are not only musical ones… stay tuned, you’ll have news very soon
SOTW: What is the key to true happiness?
KAROLINA: Never look back, keep on improving yourself, work on the talents you have , be simple , appreciate what you already have and don’t be jealous of what you don’t have or what others have.I know that there are a lot of people out there that may read this who are going though a lot of hard times. Maybe they feel unloved or rejected or whatever it is.
SOTW: What would you say to these people to help encourage them to never give up?
KAROLINA: My dear friends and Spartan Warriors, please keep the faith ! You are wonderful and I am sure you have many good energies in you.
Stand in front of the mirror and say good things about yourself.
Don’t feel ashamed ! Be creative, strong, keep your head up and I am sure that you can change this world to a better place. Share love and compassion and bright days will shine upon you very soon
SOTW: What kind of impact do you want your music to have on the world?
KAROLINA: I would like that people see that they are not alone with their problems. Many people live the same shit.
As often, we think that sad things happen only to us but this is not true.
We all have bad days…but the most important is not to close yourself but go and get help from a friend or other trusted person. You are never alone except if you wanna be alone or stay alone !
If you wanna change that, you can… so, you have a choice… complain or act… with acts, things always change.
SOTW: What do you want your legacy to be?
KAROLINA: I truly hope that people will fight to save nature and that they will share love instead of hate :)
SOTW: Well Karolina, that is all of the questions I have. Do you want to add or say anything before we end?
KAROLINA: Thank you very much for your kindness and constant support.
I am sending to you and all the wonderful readers much love and positive energy. Stay strong, and never give up !
SOTW: Thank you so much for being here with me today. You are a truly amazing person.
KAROLINA: Big thanks goes to you too blessings !
www.skepticalminds.com
Saturday, February 23, 2013
SEEKER OF THE WINTERHEART TALKS TO GLITTERMORTIS
Two of my favorite women in the world stopped by Seeker of the Winterheart to chat about all the good stuff going on for them. I speak of the wonderfully awesome VK Lynne and Mary Zimmer. This perky twosome make up a wonderful thing called Glittermortis. What is Glittermortis you say? Well that's what I wanted to know too and it's why I invited this lovely pair over for a chat. So enough small talk, let's get down to the good stuff.
Hello VK and Mary. So nice to have you back here VK and a great honor to finally have Mary here. I love me some Metal Mary and of course VK too, the Pink Warrior. You guys have teamed up to form this wonderful new partnership deemed Glittermortis and I would like to know all about it. How did both of you first meet each other?
MZ: Well, we met as very
early members of Eve's Apple. I was checking out music for the girls I
didn't know well and I found VK's to be so different and refreshing! Of course
I love her voice type and style (I'm a bit biased because we're somewhat similar
vocally) and it was her song "Dust Between the Dirt" that really blew
me away. I checked out her entire catalog and ended up becoming a fast
fan.
VK: The Orchard strikes again!!! I liked Mary instantly; she
brought a unique strength to Eve's Apple, and she was a fellow alto, so I was
sold!
That's amazing and I love that song too, Mary. Now that you mention it, you guys do have a lot of vocal similarities. I never really thought about it but I am glad you mentioned it. So I gotta ask you where did the name Glittermortis come from?
MZ: VK suggested it to me when we were
exchanging ideas. I immediately kind of made a face at it but that is exactly
why I picked it. My mind went back to something my friend Monte Conner
(former Roadrunner A&R) said to me - "Extremes Always Sell".
Meaning, if it's weird or different or ridiculous people will check it
out just on the merits of going "What the hell IS this?" I
figured it would get people's attention and curiosity going. Plus
"glitter" is so contrary to metal and the metal genre I have been
living in musically for years and I thought that would get people's attention
for sure. Furthermore, for search engine optimization it's a great business
decision. No one has ever been called that and it is easy to find us.
VK: It's no secret that I'm the My Little Metal Pony of the
Rhinestone Apocalypse. I think the dark sparkles can be just as hardcore as any
leather buckle. So when I thought about a hybrid of myself and Mary, I thought
Glittermortis was very representational of our pairing...and it's an evocative
word- for better or worse!
It was the perfect name to sum up both of you. I really like it. So could you please explain the mission of
Glittermortis?
MZ: The mission is
basically to get us two crazy busy women from different lives, different
states, different musical backgrounds etc to come together and create a
great song. We are also trying to use our web series "Tracking the
Trade" to explain how we do that and what some of the business aspects are
of putting out an indie release in today's totally new music business climate.
VK: I think Glittermortis is another concrete manifestation of
the mission of Eve's Apple. Women working together, not against each other. In
conjunction, not competition. It's a concept I tried to champion with Vita Nova
(which I swear will see daylight this year!), and that I believe in with all my
heart. Regardless of region or genre, we can collaborate to make truly
creative, interesting music.
I think it's great to see people working together from different backgrounds in all musical aspects like you guys are doing. Who knows, it may be the soil and seed for the next style of music to grow from. Have you had many people asking for advise?
MZ: Yeah in private, a lot
of musicians are having a difficult time either adjusting to or learning about
the new internet-based music industry. One thing our web series does is
give them some information by watching what it is we are doing.
VK: Absolutely- On my end, especially regarding
social media. When my last CD came out, I had spent every dime on production
and so there was literally nothing left for promotion. So I had to use what was
available to me, and that was social networking. I've become pretty adept with
it...I'm a Twitter fiend!
You know, it is amazing how much power the internet can give to the individual artist nowadays. And it's changing every day with new outlets all the time. It truly gives more control to the artist to share their talents. For many new artists who are just starting out and maybe to some who have been around awhile but don't know, what would you say are some of the biggest illusions of
the music business?
MZ: The biggest, most
incredibly huge illusion that is present right NOW in the "music
business" is the dream of the 80s and 90s. To coin a phrase from
"Portlandia" - The "dream of the 90s" is dead and gone in
this industry and there are an incredible amount of people still clinging to
it, despite the rapid rise of independent artists and corresponding failure of
record labels.
If you are living in the past because you've
been a musician since the 80s it's time to let go and learn the new model
because the old one will only bring you failure in this new climate -
unfortunately for you, your "experience" is becoming somewhat
irrelevant.
If you're a new musician who watched the movie
"Rock Star" or any 80s or 90s movies about being a
"big-time" musician you will also revert to the old model and fail.
The old model was based on the fact that
people were exposed to music through exclusive, limited channels like radio and
MTV. This meant a record label could sign you, function as a
"bank", giving you up front budgets to record, make videos, tour etc,
then recoup from HUGE album sales and still make a profit for you as and an
artist and themselves as a label. This was the model from the 1950s until
the early 2000s. Now, people have other varied ways to get music and
physical album sales are virtually non-existent. A musician absolutely
DOES NOT need a record label, manager, or even a publicist to make it big any
longer.
We have a prime example with the rap artist
"Macklemore" who's song Thrift Shop is Platinum. Macklemore is
unsigned and owns all the rights to his music and therefore profits entirely
from his digital-only sales and distribution. This is something that
theoretically any artist can accomplish in today's climate. If you are
dreaming of getting "signed", you need to slap yourself upside the
head and wake up. Nowadays there is absolutely nothing a label can do for
you that you cannot do yourself. In the past, musicians did need them to
get airplay, tours and physical distribution. This is no longer the case
as musicians have access to ALL of these things online through a variety of
services.
If you think that a label has money to give
you that you don't already have, you are also living in a dream world.
Record labels haven't been profiting for many years now and there are
even previously successful labels asking artists to now do
"kickstarter" fundraising campaigns for their albums. If the
label needs you to raise funds for them then their previous function as a bank
is completely irrelevant. The coffin has been shut on them and if you
want to be successful as a musician nowadays completely forget about being
"signed" and research the modern ways to make an online presence,
distribute your music digitally.
Creating your own media and going this route
is also very cost effective, and those "kickstarter" campaigns exist
to help fund independent artists. If you're worried about
"connections" and think that getting signed will get you some
"connections" that is also a lie. A record label will rarely
lift a finger to help you as a breakout artist and if you work your way up in
any scene you will make those connections anyhow. Bottom line - wake up
to the new ways there's plenty of online resources to help you and hopefully
our web series "Tracking the Trade" will have some great tips for
you. Glittermortis will release our track entirely independently with no
budget to speak of.
VK: Agree with Mary all the way- the future belongs to
creative thinkers and those who are willing to risk failure, embarrassment and
time investment to forge new paths and take new ground. I can say I've
experienced all three. :P
That is some great insight Mary and this new trend in the music business is one of the reasons why I started Seeker of the Winterheart. As you said, most record labels don't even promote the bands they sign so I saw a need in that area to give the artist somewhere to get promotion for free so they could invest their very hard to come by funds in other areas. There are truly many options out there for the bands and artists to do most of the work and reap the most income from their hard work. I wanted to know what do you personally use for
inspiration to keep pursuing your dreams in the music business?
MZ: As I mention above, the
artists who are going 100% indie and making a success of it are very inspiring.
This is happening more and more every day. Expect the term
"record label" to disappear completely in the next 10 years.
VK: The fact that there are no rules anymore. Even if I do
something ass-backwards to the rest of the world, in this current environment,
it may be exactly what's called for in the situation. I will keep singing
and writing because it's out of my hands...I can't stop, any more than I could
stop digesting. It's one of my bodily functions.
So let's talk about what's coming from you guys in the future. Will there be an album from Glittermortis?
MZ: At this time we aren't
planning on it, but we aren't throwing the idea out either. The fan
response to Glittermortis and the web series has been huge without our first
song even being completed. This is an amazing surprise and if either of
us have time between our multiple bands we might just do that someday.
VK: I lack the capacity to say 'no' to anything creative, and,
especially in this case, I'd love to if we can swing it. We ARE both crazy
busy, but Mary is badass, a true sister in music, and I love this broad to
death. Even if it took us a year, I'd enjoy every minute of making a full
record with her!
Make it happen! Make it happen!!!!! HAHAHA ! Here is a question that I have been "dying" to ask you both. What must I do to get Mary to dye her hair
pink?
MZ: I use pink hairspray
sometimes but VK's got that OWNED :) I have had my hair just about every
color of the rainbow and now I am back to my 100% natural blonde. I am
having a lot of fun with colored human hair extensions. Dying my hair permanently
just got to be too much of a pain in my butt after making it pitch black for so
many years :)
VK: HA! Mary is stunning just the way she is!
HAHAHA! I agree VK! Both of you are hotties but I digress. Maybe I will try that pink out someday myself. So on a serious note, what is the over-all goals you want
Glittermortis to achieve?
MZ: The overall goals we
want to achieve are: a kick ass song written by VK, produced by me - and a nice
web series that brings the business to the front of the minds of our audience.
So far it is working very well and our audience is really, really enjoying
what we have brought to them.
VK: Create an amazeballs song for the awesome
folks who've been supporting us. Produce a web series that is entertaining and
educational. And my own little secret wish? Perform the song live for all of
you someday!
Please tell us what we can expect next from Glittermortis and also from your other projects.
MZ: Next you can expect Episode 3 which I
naively planned for January but NAMM was at the very end of January and putting
out footage together has taken until February. Episode 3 explores our
adventures together at NAMM and various business ideas and things that we have
to offer with that in mind, a sneak peek at vocal tracking for our new song is
also featured in Episode 3. We will also have a fourth Episode which will
cover more studio time, we'll introduce the drummer and bassist for the song
and explore our completed song and the business aspects of releasing music for
sale digitally and how to do that exactly.
VK: New episodes, evolving plans for more music and
possible performances. Our individual projects are about to move to the
forefront, and we'll keep you updated on their progress!
Is there a VK Lynne / Luna Mortis
tour in the future?
MZ: I would totally love
that. Now that Luna Mortis has announced the reunion perhaps we'll be
lucky enough to share the stage with VK in one of her many projects, such as
the Spider Accomplice or Vita Nova. That would be an honor.
VK: AHHH!!! That would be killer. We could get into a lot of
trouble on the road together!;) Nothing is impossible...stay tuned!
OMG! That would so totally RAWK!!!!!! Well, I have had a great time talking to you both and I love you dearly. Thanks for stopping by Seeker of the Winterheart to chat with me about the great things you have been doing. I am really looking forward to some great things coming from you both. Good stuff guys! Good stuff! So before we close today, do you have anything you would like to tell all the wonderful readers out there?
MZ: HUGE thanks to
Scott and the SOTW team for the tremendous support of this project and to all
of the fans and audience as well. This project is really to bring
information to YOU and we are so glad you are all enjoying it and getting some
new information out of it! Big hugs to everyone and I can't wait to show
you Episode 3 of "Tracking the Trade".
VK: Scott, you are always so supportive; we love you! We are very
excited to bring the community something special and unique and we can't thank
everyone enough for all their love and encouragement!!! \m/
Thank you both once again for being here and please come back anytime you want. I hope you all have enjoyed this wonderful conversation with the lovely and talented Glittermortis and I hope that you would support them and help get the word out about them. I think what they are doing should be a role model for how the music business should be. By all of us working together and helping each other. For Seeker of the Winterheart, this is Scott saying thank you so much for your continued support and remember to help promote the bands and the music you love. See you all next time.
Here is the 3rd episode of "Tracking the Trade"
https://www.facebook.com/GlittermortisMusic
Thank you both once again for being here and please come back anytime you want. I hope you all have enjoyed this wonderful conversation with the lovely and talented Glittermortis and I hope that you would support them and help get the word out about them. I think what they are doing should be a role model for how the music business should be. By all of us working together and helping each other. For Seeker of the Winterheart, this is Scott saying thank you so much for your continued support and remember to help promote the bands and the music you love. See you all next time.
Here is the 3rd episode of "Tracking the Trade"
https://www.facebook.com/GlittermortisMusic
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
SEEKER OF THE WINTERHEART TALKS TO SERENITY
Hey guys nice to
have you back here on Seeker of the Winterheart. The last time we talked, Fabio
had just joined the band and you were getting ready to come to America and play at ProgPower USA America
(Clémentine): I was so impatient and excited to come back to the
I just want to take a moment to say publicly that I enjoyed getting to spend time with all of you at ProgPower
(Georg): Well, I think it’s no longer something impossible for a band like
SERENITY but it depends on a lot of factors, starting with what band to tour
with. SERENITY could not come over for a US
So I hear you have a new member to introduce us too. Could you introduce us to the new member of the band?
(Georg):
Well, you should already know her! ;-) Her name is Clementine, she’s
French and she’s responsible for the chicken-factor within the band, ha ha! She
was the front lady in a French band called Whyzdom and now she just joined the
band as a permanent member.
Welcome aboard Clementine. :) What made all of you decide that adding a female vocal in the over all sound of Serenity was the direction you wanted to take the band?
(Georg) We had female guests on our records since “Fallen Sanctuary”, our
second album. On “Death & Legacy” we had 3 different singers so we had to
have a live guest singer to perform the songs with us. Though we still wanted
to add female vocals we didn't think about having a permanent female singer
before meeting Clementine. Going on tour together, making tests in studio we
realized that both her voice and personality did totally fit the band and that
we should add her to our ranks! For sure Serenity’s music had to leave more
room to a feminine voice but it only made sense with the one of Clementine!
(Tom) Clementine’s appearance on War Of Ages is just the beginning. It was
quite difficult to integrate her into our songs as the music was created here
in Austria and Clementine
lives in Lyon in France
How do you plan to utilize having 2 singers in the future? Will every song be a duet or will there be only some songs with both singers? Will there be any songs that only Clemi sings by herself?
(Tom) We’ll use all the possibilities that having several voices can offer. There will be duets, songs where one voice is primary used as backing, some where it’s used to add a special layer or special part to certain songs, Georg will still sing songs by himself and Clemi will do the same in the future indeed. We’ll definitely try to avoid that all the songs are structured identically, having the same voices being used the same way every time. And we have other great singers within the band such as Fabio and Andy and we would like to explore all this vocal richness!
Let's talk about
the recent announcement of the new album. What is the title of it and the
concept behind it? Is it a continuation of your last album like a part 2 of a
great movie?
(Georg) Our new record is called “War Of Ages” because unlike for Death&Legacy we chose periods in time and characters of darkest eras. We still wanted to explore History so it somehow continues the journey we started with our previous record but our choices were made in a different way. All characters share a dark or sad aspect of their life, other songs directly deal with wars or battles; this is the dark side of History, when it’s made of war, death, illness, madness, violence…
Please tell us about that beautiful album artwork and the meaning behind it. What does it represent to each of you individually? Does it have a personal meaning for you?
(Tom) When
we started work with Seth Siro Anton for this release we thought about a whole
range of possibilities. As the name was not fixed at that time we first had to
find an album title. The first ideas changed in combination with the visual
concept and the idea definitely was to have a beautiful woman symbolizing the
progress of time, aging of humans, wars of time, etc. So in general we gave
Seth quite some freedom as I know that most artists work the best if you let
them create their own vision. And it never worked out that great as this time.
The artwork is perfect, stunning, visually strong and symbolizes the title “War
Of Ages” just perfect with the blood drop running out of the girl’s mouth. All
the detail in her mask is my favorite part which resembles history in a modern
way.
And when is the release date for War of Ages?
(Clementine) “War Of Ages” will be released on the 22nd of March
for Germany , Austria and Switzerland ,
25th for the rest of Europe and in April for USA and Asia .
What does the rest of 2013 and early 2014 look like for you?
(Georg) Following the release of the record we hit the road for the first full tour as headliners in Europe, playing
OK, here is a question that I would like each of you to answer. What does being in Serenity mean to you?
(Clémentine): Serenity is the center of my
life, the reason behind each decision I take. I cannot imagine my life without!
(Tom): Serenity is something really
special for me as it’s my musical center for about 10 years now. Everything
improved over time and my skills, our songwriting, my life,… wouldn't be the
same without this band.
(Andy): I was a founding member of
SERENITY and so this band plays a huge part in my life. Especially touring is a
whole lot of fun for me. I love hanging out with people and the other guys –
and girls of course…
(Fabio): When I joined SERENITY it was
like a dream came true as I always wanted to tour more and I always wanted to
work with other ambitious musicians. For me it’s also an opportunity to get
into contact with other musicians, technicians,… and in a best case scenario
even get some jobs for my studio in Italy
What is it like for all of you while you are on tour and does it make things different now that you have a beautiful lady on the bus? And for Clemi, do you ever get tired of the stinky socks smell? :) Tour life is hard.
(Clémentine): Well, to be honest I always
went along way better with guys than with girls so being surrounded by men is
not a problem for me and so far there always have been another girl at least
around when I could get tired of anything man-related! The Serenity guys are
cool, it all goes smoothly ;) We’re all pretty easy-going and clean!!
(Tom): Being on tour can be like
holidays but on other days can be really really hard. This always depends on a
lot of different factors. Who are you touring with, is there a tour manager do
you stay in a night liner or do you have to tour in a mobile home all on your
own. There’s a huge difference in those factors… Clemi loves the way we behave
on tour ;-) I think we are all quite easy to handle, but we just behave like
there wasn't a woman nearby. So you can see Clemi shaking her head quite often…
(Georg): I love entering the stage and
get back all those reactions from the crowd. Luckily those are 99% positive ;-)
(Fabio): Music is my life and touring
is one of those aspects that belong to being a musician. Luckily SERENITY has a
lot of fun all the time and so touring is quite easy for us.
Well guys that is all of the questions I have for you. Do any of you have anything you would like to say before we close?
(Clémentine): I would like to thank you so
much for the support you brought to the band since some time now, this is
really heart-warming. I would like to thank all our US
(Tom): Thanks to all of you – and check out www.serenity-band.com and our Facebook channel especially as there are more updates on Facebook nowadays…
Thanks for your time and for being here with me on Seeker of the Winterheart. You are always welcome back here any time you wish. Love you guys very much.
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