DBA are back with their sophomore release “Suburban Ghosts”. DBA is a musical collaboration between the renowned keyboardist/songwriter Geoff Downes and the famous vocalist, producer, songwriter Chris Braide. This is the second time we contact Chris to talk about a music project of his. The first time was about This Oceanic Feeling. Read below what Chris told us about “Suburban Ghosts” among other things…
Hi Chris… it’s nice to talk with you again. We talked a few months ago about your new project This Oceanic Feeling and now it’s time for you to tell us a few things about DBA too.
C: Hi there, nice to speak with you again.
First of all, how do you manage to make, write, record & produce music nonstop? I bet you wish that a day had more than 24 hours, right?
C: I just love what I do and have always been obsessed with music. I will never lose my passion for it and only wish I could do more. I want to make as much music as I can while I’m here on the planet.
Why did it take you three years to come up with “Suburban Ghosts”? Did you have in mind to do another album or not?
C: We always wanted to make another album but it was a case of pinning each other down and making it happen. Also, perhaps leaving it that long gave us a fresh approach.
And how did the songwriting procedure take place in DBA?
C: On the first album we sat in a room together and jammed ideas together but with this album Geoff sent me audio and midi files and I fleshed them out and wrote words remotely.
How easy or not is to work with such a renowned musicians like Geoff Downes?
C: It’s very easy to work with Geoff because he’s become a good friend of mine. I feel like I’ve known him a lot longer than I have. We like very similar music and have very similar way of playing piano. I’m a pianist too so our musical partnership is quite unique in that way.
What does the “Suburban Ghosts” declare and what’s the concept behind the album?
C: The concept is about leaving a place and returning many years later to find you that are now a stranger in a strange place and life has moved on without you. You can never go back, only forwards in life.
Please give us a hint about each track…
C: “Machinery of Fate”: Mortality, we will all leave this mortal coil and there’s not a thing you can do about it. Wishing you could have changed the course of events in someone’s life.
“Suburban Ghosts - Parts 1 and 2”: Returning to the place where you grew up and not belonging. Only ghosts remain, nothing else.
“Suburban Ghosts - Parts 3”: I imagine a lonely midnight walk along the River Mersey, alone. Lost.
“Vanity”: A rather cynical view of modern life and the breakdown of society. Needing to escape the endless negativity that we are bombarded with every minute of every day on TV and in newspapers.
“Number One”: Escape small town mentality before you end up trapped and embittered with chains around your feet. I left as soon as I could pay for a train ticket. Goodbye!
“Interlude”: Doesn’t matter who you are, we’re all vulnerable under these stars.
“North Sea”: Another desolate walk along a place like Blackpool promenade seeing the ghost of someone you loved dearly who has long since flown away.
“One of the Few”: Various ghosts of people you knew who lost their way in life.
“Time Goes Fast”: Needing to escape small town northern England, needing to then escape London, running away. Always running away. But you can’t run away because you always catch up with yourself.
“Live Twice”: The idea that one day you wake up and the life you have been living was not a dummy run but your actual life. If only you could start again with the knowledge and wisdom you now have. Escaping again.
“Dreaming of England”: Rather self-explanatory this one I think! I miss England but I don’t belong to any place. I’m a rolling stone and I gather no moss. I still get misty eyed for certain English things, like a walk along the Thames on a frosty morning.
“Finale”: It just sounded grand and epic and was a great end to the album I thought.
Where did the recordings take place? Did you mix, produce and master the album?
C: It all took place at my own studio in Los Angeles. Yes, I mixed and produced it but the mastering was by a great New Yorker guy called Mike Pietrini.
Are you planning to release a concept video in the near future and if yes, for which one of the tracks?
C: Just released a video for “Vanity”.
Shall we wait to DBA part 3 in the future? Have you talked with Geoff about it?
C: Yes, we have talked about it and I’m pretty sure it will happen. At some point in the future.
Since you’re a successful songwriter & producer, do tell us which is the music style that you prefer the most and which kind of songs do you like to write?
C: I like epic pop music. I try to add a bit of that grandiose, theatrical feel to everything I do. I like emotional pop music. Kate Bush, yes, that kind of stuff.
Time for our “weird questions”!!! What do you think of the “free downloading & the free streaming issue” of our time? Will that help music generally or not?
C: Streaming is better than stealing. The horse has bolted so we must all get on with it and stop whining that it’s not like it was in 1990. I’m still making a living out of music and I think it’s fab to have all that music at your fingertips. I love the accessibility of it. I also still buy it all on vinyl too.
Which is your biggest unfulfilled dream?
C: I don’t really have any, I make music every day, my wife’s my best friend and my kids are fab. I don’t like regrets. It’s maudlin.
Top 3 horror movies of any era?
C: Alien, The Thing, Hell Raiser…
Which do you consider to be the best vocalist in music history?
C: Impossible. We are all just human. I don’t worship any human being that much. I personally love Jon Anderson’s voice. It just works for me.
If you could be any historical person, which one would you be and why?
C: Buddha. Because I think the Buddhist philosophy is wonderful.
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
C: Neither. I’m happy in the very moment I’m in right now. There is no past and there is no future. Only the moment.
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of our time and why?
C: Kate Bush circa, 1980. Great hair, very very feminine and just a lovely smile.
If you could “erase” one thing from modern music, what would it be?
C: Boy bands.
Which is that band that you’d like to be part of (any time & era)?
C: Yes, 90125 era looked like fun.
That’s all for now Chris! I wanna thank you for talking to Grande Rock again. Any last words? Take care dude!
C: Last words – be kind to people. Never project your hurt onto others. Thanks very much!
C: Hi there, nice to speak with you again.
First of all, how do you manage to make, write, record & produce music nonstop? I bet you wish that a day had more than 24 hours, right?
C: I just love what I do and have always been obsessed with music. I will never lose my passion for it and only wish I could do more. I want to make as much music as I can while I’m here on the planet.
Why did it take you three years to come up with “Suburban Ghosts”? Did you have in mind to do another album or not?
C: We always wanted to make another album but it was a case of pinning each other down and making it happen. Also, perhaps leaving it that long gave us a fresh approach.
And how did the songwriting procedure take place in DBA?
C: On the first album we sat in a room together and jammed ideas together but with this album Geoff sent me audio and midi files and I fleshed them out and wrote words remotely.
How easy or not is to work with such a renowned musicians like Geoff Downes?
C: It’s very easy to work with Geoff because he’s become a good friend of mine. I feel like I’ve known him a lot longer than I have. We like very similar music and have very similar way of playing piano. I’m a pianist too so our musical partnership is quite unique in that way.
What does the “Suburban Ghosts” declare and what’s the concept behind the album?
C: The concept is about leaving a place and returning many years later to find you that are now a stranger in a strange place and life has moved on without you. You can never go back, only forwards in life.
Please give us a hint about each track…
C: “Machinery of Fate”: Mortality, we will all leave this mortal coil and there’s not a thing you can do about it. Wishing you could have changed the course of events in someone’s life.
“Suburban Ghosts - Parts 1 and 2”: Returning to the place where you grew up and not belonging. Only ghosts remain, nothing else.
“Suburban Ghosts - Parts 3”: I imagine a lonely midnight walk along the River Mersey, alone. Lost.
“Vanity”: A rather cynical view of modern life and the breakdown of society. Needing to escape the endless negativity that we are bombarded with every minute of every day on TV and in newspapers.
“Number One”: Escape small town mentality before you end up trapped and embittered with chains around your feet. I left as soon as I could pay for a train ticket. Goodbye!
“Interlude”: Doesn’t matter who you are, we’re all vulnerable under these stars.
“North Sea”: Another desolate walk along a place like Blackpool promenade seeing the ghost of someone you loved dearly who has long since flown away.
“One of the Few”: Various ghosts of people you knew who lost their way in life.
“Time Goes Fast”: Needing to escape small town northern England, needing to then escape London, running away. Always running away. But you can’t run away because you always catch up with yourself.
“Live Twice”: The idea that one day you wake up and the life you have been living was not a dummy run but your actual life. If only you could start again with the knowledge and wisdom you now have. Escaping again.
“Dreaming of England”: Rather self-explanatory this one I think! I miss England but I don’t belong to any place. I’m a rolling stone and I gather no moss. I still get misty eyed for certain English things, like a walk along the Thames on a frosty morning.
“Finale”: It just sounded grand and epic and was a great end to the album I thought.
Where did the recordings take place? Did you mix, produce and master the album?
C: It all took place at my own studio in Los Angeles. Yes, I mixed and produced it but the mastering was by a great New Yorker guy called Mike Pietrini.
Are you planning to release a concept video in the near future and if yes, for which one of the tracks?
C: Just released a video for “Vanity”.
Shall we wait to DBA part 3 in the future? Have you talked with Geoff about it?
C: Yes, we have talked about it and I’m pretty sure it will happen. At some point in the future.
Since you’re a successful songwriter & producer, do tell us which is the music style that you prefer the most and which kind of songs do you like to write?
C: I like epic pop music. I try to add a bit of that grandiose, theatrical feel to everything I do. I like emotional pop music. Kate Bush, yes, that kind of stuff.
Time for our “weird questions”!!! What do you think of the “free downloading & the free streaming issue” of our time? Will that help music generally or not?
C: Streaming is better than stealing. The horse has bolted so we must all get on with it and stop whining that it’s not like it was in 1990. I’m still making a living out of music and I think it’s fab to have all that music at your fingertips. I love the accessibility of it. I also still buy it all on vinyl too.
Which is your biggest unfulfilled dream?
C: I don’t really have any, I make music every day, my wife’s my best friend and my kids are fab. I don’t like regrets. It’s maudlin.
Top 3 horror movies of any era?
C: Alien, The Thing, Hell Raiser…
Which do you consider to be the best vocalist in music history?
C: Impossible. We are all just human. I don’t worship any human being that much. I personally love Jon Anderson’s voice. It just works for me.
If you could be any historical person, which one would you be and why?
C: Buddha. Because I think the Buddhist philosophy is wonderful.
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
C: Neither. I’m happy in the very moment I’m in right now. There is no past and there is no future. Only the moment.
Who is the sexiest female Rock Star of our time and why?
C: Kate Bush circa, 1980. Great hair, very very feminine and just a lovely smile.
If you could “erase” one thing from modern music, what would it be?
C: Boy bands.
Which is that band that you’d like to be part of (any time & era)?
C: Yes, 90125 era looked like fun.
That’s all for now Chris! I wanna thank you for talking to Grande Rock again. Any last words? Take care dude!
C: Last words – be kind to people. Never project your hurt onto others. Thanks very much!