Maverick is gifted hard rock band from the UK that is taking their first steps in the music industry. They have just released their second album and they are ready to go bigger… they do have the talent and the will to do so. Guitarist & songwriter Ryan Balfour talked to Grande Rock about the band’s first years, their new album, their expectations & music in general, among many other things… do check out this interview…
Hi Ryan and welcome to Grande Rock. Do give us a brief background of the band and also tell us how you came up with the name Maverick.
R: Thanks very much for having me Thanos! Well the band started off with Chris Van Engelen (our former guitarist), David Balfour (my brother, and singer of Maverick), and I just jamming a few covers in my parents’ house around 2012. It was nothing serious but after a short while we started writing a few riffs for a laugh, then songs, then we realized we had a set of songs we could play live. They weren’t that good and most of them never even made it to a studio, but sure everyone has to start somewhere! We were really stumped for a band name and at one point we were almost going to go ahead with the name “rhino” believe it or not. We can thank our lucky stars that didn’t happen. Then Mike just messaged our private Facebook band thread, where we discuss all things band related, and just plucked Maverick out of thin air.
After that we played some clubs, to let people know we existed, recorded the EP “Talk’s Cheap” and got signed to Massacre Records all within 2 years. We had a few members changed and so on, then of course we done our first album “Quid Pro Quo”. Then we played some shows with a few “heavy-hitter” bands like Y&T, Tigertailz, Faster Pussycat and so on. It was really fun times, but we needed to bring it to the next level. Then we got a mail from Seaside touring offering us a full European tour with The Poodles, we couldn’t believe our luck! That was an amazing experience for us, it was our first peek of what it’s like to be a professional band, and it was unbelievably good. We then started working with Eddy our manager and got signed to Metalapolis Records, parted ways with our guitarist Ric soon after, and recorded our new album “Big Rde”! Then recently, hired our new guitar maestro Terry McHugh, and here we are!
In almost 3 years, you’ve released an EP and two full-length albums. You’re a hard working band, no doubt about it. You did some touring as well. Hence, do you prefer being in the studio and touring? What is the first priority of the band?
R: Yeah we’ve been going full throttle at the whole thing, no doubt. Well I think both touring and studio work have equal priority. They can’t really be compared in that sense because records are what makes a band, but these days, doesn’t weird much money because of the internet, unless you’re a massively big band. Whereas touring is your bread and butter and massively helpful towards building up a fan base. So they go hand in hand really. It’s a really tough one though, I don’t know which I prefer. They have different qualities, touring is way more fun and interesting, you can wake up in a new country every morning with and incredible tour bus, play to new faces every night, meet new people, and get wasted with the other bands! Really is an experience money can’t buy. Recording an album is another really unique thing, many bands have different ways of approaching it but we like to lock the whole band in the studio and work on it until it’s finished. We have gone to “Manor Park Studio” in Ireland for both full records and it’s a great place to work. As he has the full studio in a house with a modern apartment underneath for bands to live while recording. It’s such a good set up. I think there’s nothing like recording an album from the ground up and seeing it shape into something completely new over the course of a few weeks, hearing each individual part come to life and become a part of this thing you’ve created. It really is something else. That said, if you asked me to pick studio or tour tomorrow the answer would always be tour, haha…
If I’m right, the second album, “Big Red”, was ready before signing to Metalapolis. Why did you leave Massacre in the first place and did you have in mind to release the new album independently if nothing good showed up?
R: Yeah you’re right; we had it written before the signing to Metalapolis Records. Though we were offered the deal on tour with The Poodles at the end of summer, and recording “Big Red” the January after. But no we were always going to use a record company, Massacre offered us 2 different deals for it but the terms and conditions just weren’t good enough so we went with Metalapolis instead. Much better deal and we had met and worked the top men of the company before, so we knew they were good guys.
When did the recordings take place and who produced, mixed and mastered the album? The production is great, in my opinion.
R: Thanks! I am extremely happy with how it sounds too. We recorded the album in January at Manor Park Studio, with Neal Calderwood. He’s a top guy and a real professional, he’s also picky as hell and won’t let any mistake slide, which I love about his work. He also mixed and mastered it, as we knew he would do a great job. He’s definitely our go to guy and I can see us staying there for the foreseeable future.
What does the album title “Big Red” declare?
R: Well, there’s always a lot of different opinions among the guys about it but it came from a few different things, one of which was I used to have this cool, hot rodded, Ferrari red, Charvel guitar that was just stunning looking, I nicknamed it big red; that was years before though, then another thing was we got a big red van for gigging purposes and it was also named big red, were just full of creativeness, recycling the same names you know? Haha. Then we were sitting in my house, completely wrecking our heads, trying to think of a record name and cover etc. Then I can’t recall exactly how it happened but I said something about having it a cool comic book, Frank Miller style look to the album, and because he uses black, white and red for the background, we eventually settled on everything that day, calling it “Big Red” and designing the album in one go.
Do give us a hint about each track…
R: In regards to what they’re about? Yeah I’ll try, but Dave writes the lyrics, so I may be slightly off haha…
“All For One”: Well, it’s pretty much a big F U to all the people, mostly from our home town who put us down and tried claiming they were a big part of getting us this far which is hilarious in itself.
“Free”: Pretty much addresses government oppression I gathered, again I’m kinda sketchy on these myself haha…
“The One”: Is pretty self-explanatory, guy and a girl run away together to escape a bad life.
“Mademoiselle”: Is about Rosario Dawson’s character, “Gail”, from Sin City.
“Forever”: Set from the perspective of Connor Macleod in the movie Highlander, in relation to his wife Heather.
“In The Night”: I think I heard Dave say it was about a vampiric woman before playing it live not long ago. I guess that makes sense. Haha…
“Whisky Lover”: A guy is a drunk, cheat who messes his family about and loses everything because of it.
“Renegade”: Is about a renegade outlaw in the Wild West.
“Beyond the Gates”: Based on the film, “Enemy at the Gates”, from Vassili Zaitsev’s perspective.
“Asylum”: A schizophrenic in an asylum, battling with his voices.
“Fly Away”: This one has a special meaning that’s close to Dave and I, a friend of ours, Micháel McGonagle, passed away in 2006 on my birthday, he was one of Dave’s best friends and I knew him through Dave. He was the first and only guitar teacher I ever had, and it was only for around 6 months. This year was his ten year anniversary of his passing, so we wrote this one for him.
You have released two videos so far, for “Asylum” and the latest one for “Whiskey Love”. Firstly, how did the guest appearances of Kane Roberts and Jacob Samuel come about on “Asylum” and secondly, do you have in mind to release any other concept or lyric video at some point?
R: Well, we firstly met Jacob on tour because we were supporting The Poodles. We became good friends with all the guys in the band and I stay in contact with all of them. We were thinking of getting a second voice for “Asylum” to represent the voice inside the head of the man whose perspective the song is written about, so we asked Jacob if he would guest on a song of ours, because he is such a fantastic singer and a cool guy, it really made sense. So he flew over and stayed with us a few days, we showed him around Belfast and knocked back some cold ones, then recorded it in about an hour or so. Richie, Mike and I did a lot of videoing that day, which was used in the music video. Kane on the other hand I have known for about 2 years now, we became acquainted online and really hit it off. I am a big fan of his solo work and his time with Alice Cooper, and he said he loved our stuff after I showed it to him, we stay in contact and I asked him to do a solo on the song, he accepted right away, and shot a clip of him playing it as well. I can’t say enough good things about Kane, he’s one of the nicest dudes I’ve ever met. We have a few more videos coming out but they’re still in the process of planning.
What are your touring plans so far? Any plans to play outside Ireland or the UK too?
R: Yes of course, were playing H.E.A.T festival in Germany in November and we have a few more festivals in talks. We have a short tour planned which is about to be announced in a few weeks, but we’re really psyched about it and cannot wait to announce it soon! Also another chance to jump on a luxury tour bus is just fine with us haha…
How would you describe your band’s music style to someone that has never heard of your before?
R: I dunno, it’s kinda hard rock with a healthy mix of Skid Row, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard I guess. It’s a hard one to place.
What are your expectations from “Big Red” and what do you wish to achieve with Maverick in the near future?
R: Expectation and reality are different things, because I love the record so much I think personally, if heard by the right people, the sky is the limit, but reality is it may get somewhat lost in the massive tsunami of old, new and unsigned bands releasing music 24/7 constantly. We want to bring Maverick to the top of the genre of course!
Time for our “weird questions”!!! If you found a genie in a bottle and you only had 3 wishes what would they be?
R: First one would have to be the ability to speak all languages fluently. That would be endlessly useful. Second would be eternal life for me and whoever I chose in the future, third would be to stay in good shape forever no matter what I eat and without ever having to go to the gym haha…
Best 3 hard rock albums of all time?
R: You’re killing me here, this is a tough one. I can maybe pick 3 but in no order. I’m gonna base these on consistency too, because you have to look at an album as a whole and not just it’s good parts. Take for instance Aerosmith, they have some of the best rock music ever made but they also have so much rub on every album that’s just unnecessary haha. Still one of my top 3 favourite bands though. Back to the best hard rock albums, I would have to say, in no order are: Def Leppard – “Hysteria” , Kane Roberts – “Saints and Sinners” & Skid Row – “Skid Row”. “Hysteria” because it’s just damn near perfect for what it is. Just a brilliant piece of work and I’ve taken so much influence from both it and “Pyromania”. I’m not just saying this because Kane is my buddy, I held this opinion before ever meeting him. “Saints and Sinners” is just pure hard rock glory from start to finish, such an amazing album; it was just brought out at the wrong time. “Skid Row” because it’s just everything hard rock is about and I think everything is damn near perfect on this, from the guitar style of Scotti and Dave, to the timbre of Sebastian Bach’s voice and vocal delivery. It’s just pure gold.
Which is the record you wish you had written and why?
R: Maybe “Skid Row”, it’s everything I love about rock and it’s just so good in every way that is really.
Is the “free downloading issue” & “the streaming” the main reasons why the music industry has taken the downhill or this is just the tip of the iceberg?
R: I think it’s a mixture of 2 things. 1 being the downloading issue, that’s 100% the cancer that’s rotting away the music industry from the core, and 2 being technology and the internet. I believe the internet is the main reason all music and art in general is being slaughtered. Let’s look at art for example, with the digital tools at everyone’s fingertips, anyone can digitally make art now without a drop of talent, it’s really blunted the whole thing down.
Photography. That's a big one. There is still a lot of talent out there and I know a few personally as well, who are fantastic, but any arm chair cretin with a smart phone can take a random picture, tweak it and filter it to hell with Apps and it will look pretty damn good. Completely drowning all the real talent who don’t need those gimmicks.
Then music. I can’t even begin to get started on this, but I’ll do a summary. Anyone with a computer and an illegal copy of Protools can make an album now, and in my opinion that’s not a good thing in any way. In the past you had to be good, you had to have ambition, talent, drive, and the ability to play an instrument well, that’s all gone now. You don’t even have to be a musician now. This means complete over saturation of the market making it impossible for record companies to find the real talented bands. Pretty much everyone I know has recorded music or “an album” but it’s mostly pure rub. And it’s stuff like that, that’s purely stifling to every good band trying to make a living.
We have actually brought Maverick up in a very old school kind of way, we practiced music for years, made sure not to strike until we had heard enough genres, bought enough records to weigh up the competition, and practiced our instruments enough to a level where we could compete. We then put on our own gigs, grinding it out in clubs, went to a small run down local studio to record our EP “Talk’s Cheap”, our guitarist’s girlfriend made the design of the box then we got a mate of ours to print the CDs. We grinder the clubs some more. Posted Massacre and about 30 other labels physical press packs with the EP in them. Got a letter back with an offer, got signed. See where I’m going with this? All done traditionally.
Heard about Manor Park Studio from a friend. Went there and paid for an album to be made, my girlfriend and I designed the box and booklet, a local artist done the cover, record company printed and released it, got tours and shows off the back of it, got another record deal in person while on tour. Then went to the same studio for “Big Red”, again my girlfriend and I designed the box and booklet, while my tattooist done the cover. None of this internet fuelled bullsh*t went on in the Maverick camp. The only thing we used it for was looking up a few addresses, which we could have got by other means if we really wanted to.
The illegal download thing of course is completely destroying bands and companies financially. We have put so much more money into this than we have got out of it because of this alone. It’s a cancer. No one else in a profession is asked to work for free; no one else has a back door where customers can easily shop lift their product without having to pay, why then is it OK to do this to musicians?
Music is probably the biggest thing in life, it’s on constantly wherever you go, it’s on throughout movies, TV, in your car, in your ear phones, and in your head. It’s such an important industry, yet everyone is completely hindering it because it’s somehow become alright to be a thief. It’s sickening.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
R: You’re right these questions are weird haha. That’s a hard one, maybe Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.
Top 3 Horror movies of all time?
R: I like horror but I’m not scared by it, apart from 2 movies which I think are 100% my number 1 and 2 horror movies, the 1982 version of, “The Thing” and “Alien” movie. Talk about a trip, those two movies are scary as hell, they’re so well done, I just love them. Apart from that I think pretty much all horror movies drop the ball at some point. There’s a lot of good ones that are gripping then just completely ruin it near the end. So here’s my top 3: “The Thing”, “Alien 1” & “The Blair Witch Project (original one)”.
Fill in the phrase… “Hard rock music wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
R: Guns ‘n Roses…
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
R: I don’t really use pick-up lines, since they are cheesy and never work haha…
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
R: What the hell was that supposed to be?!
You have the opportunity to have sex with a movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
R: Eva Green hands down. Because she’s a f@ckin goddess. I’d live in that 24/7 if I could.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
R: Greed…
Imagine that your girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react? J
R: Pretend I don’t know, subtly sell everything she holds valuable, and buy a bigger collection. (i.n.: That’s the spirit dude!)
Thx for talking to Grande Rock, Ryan. Wish you and your band the best for the future… Take care dude!
R: Thanks a lot Thanos! Cheers for having me, and hopefully we will cross paths again in the future!
R: Thanks very much for having me Thanos! Well the band started off with Chris Van Engelen (our former guitarist), David Balfour (my brother, and singer of Maverick), and I just jamming a few covers in my parents’ house around 2012. It was nothing serious but after a short while we started writing a few riffs for a laugh, then songs, then we realized we had a set of songs we could play live. They weren’t that good and most of them never even made it to a studio, but sure everyone has to start somewhere! We were really stumped for a band name and at one point we were almost going to go ahead with the name “rhino” believe it or not. We can thank our lucky stars that didn’t happen. Then Mike just messaged our private Facebook band thread, where we discuss all things band related, and just plucked Maverick out of thin air.
After that we played some clubs, to let people know we existed, recorded the EP “Talk’s Cheap” and got signed to Massacre Records all within 2 years. We had a few members changed and so on, then of course we done our first album “Quid Pro Quo”. Then we played some shows with a few “heavy-hitter” bands like Y&T, Tigertailz, Faster Pussycat and so on. It was really fun times, but we needed to bring it to the next level. Then we got a mail from Seaside touring offering us a full European tour with The Poodles, we couldn’t believe our luck! That was an amazing experience for us, it was our first peek of what it’s like to be a professional band, and it was unbelievably good. We then started working with Eddy our manager and got signed to Metalapolis Records, parted ways with our guitarist Ric soon after, and recorded our new album “Big Rde”! Then recently, hired our new guitar maestro Terry McHugh, and here we are!
In almost 3 years, you’ve released an EP and two full-length albums. You’re a hard working band, no doubt about it. You did some touring as well. Hence, do you prefer being in the studio and touring? What is the first priority of the band?
R: Yeah we’ve been going full throttle at the whole thing, no doubt. Well I think both touring and studio work have equal priority. They can’t really be compared in that sense because records are what makes a band, but these days, doesn’t weird much money because of the internet, unless you’re a massively big band. Whereas touring is your bread and butter and massively helpful towards building up a fan base. So they go hand in hand really. It’s a really tough one though, I don’t know which I prefer. They have different qualities, touring is way more fun and interesting, you can wake up in a new country every morning with and incredible tour bus, play to new faces every night, meet new people, and get wasted with the other bands! Really is an experience money can’t buy. Recording an album is another really unique thing, many bands have different ways of approaching it but we like to lock the whole band in the studio and work on it until it’s finished. We have gone to “Manor Park Studio” in Ireland for both full records and it’s a great place to work. As he has the full studio in a house with a modern apartment underneath for bands to live while recording. It’s such a good set up. I think there’s nothing like recording an album from the ground up and seeing it shape into something completely new over the course of a few weeks, hearing each individual part come to life and become a part of this thing you’ve created. It really is something else. That said, if you asked me to pick studio or tour tomorrow the answer would always be tour, haha…
If I’m right, the second album, “Big Red”, was ready before signing to Metalapolis. Why did you leave Massacre in the first place and did you have in mind to release the new album independently if nothing good showed up?
R: Yeah you’re right; we had it written before the signing to Metalapolis Records. Though we were offered the deal on tour with The Poodles at the end of summer, and recording “Big Red” the January after. But no we were always going to use a record company, Massacre offered us 2 different deals for it but the terms and conditions just weren’t good enough so we went with Metalapolis instead. Much better deal and we had met and worked the top men of the company before, so we knew they were good guys.
When did the recordings take place and who produced, mixed and mastered the album? The production is great, in my opinion.
R: Thanks! I am extremely happy with how it sounds too. We recorded the album in January at Manor Park Studio, with Neal Calderwood. He’s a top guy and a real professional, he’s also picky as hell and won’t let any mistake slide, which I love about his work. He also mixed and mastered it, as we knew he would do a great job. He’s definitely our go to guy and I can see us staying there for the foreseeable future.
What does the album title “Big Red” declare?
R: Well, there’s always a lot of different opinions among the guys about it but it came from a few different things, one of which was I used to have this cool, hot rodded, Ferrari red, Charvel guitar that was just stunning looking, I nicknamed it big red; that was years before though, then another thing was we got a big red van for gigging purposes and it was also named big red, were just full of creativeness, recycling the same names you know? Haha. Then we were sitting in my house, completely wrecking our heads, trying to think of a record name and cover etc. Then I can’t recall exactly how it happened but I said something about having it a cool comic book, Frank Miller style look to the album, and because he uses black, white and red for the background, we eventually settled on everything that day, calling it “Big Red” and designing the album in one go.
Do give us a hint about each track…
R: In regards to what they’re about? Yeah I’ll try, but Dave writes the lyrics, so I may be slightly off haha…
“All For One”: Well, it’s pretty much a big F U to all the people, mostly from our home town who put us down and tried claiming they were a big part of getting us this far which is hilarious in itself.
“Free”: Pretty much addresses government oppression I gathered, again I’m kinda sketchy on these myself haha…
“The One”: Is pretty self-explanatory, guy and a girl run away together to escape a bad life.
“Mademoiselle”: Is about Rosario Dawson’s character, “Gail”, from Sin City.
“Forever”: Set from the perspective of Connor Macleod in the movie Highlander, in relation to his wife Heather.
“In The Night”: I think I heard Dave say it was about a vampiric woman before playing it live not long ago. I guess that makes sense. Haha…
“Whisky Lover”: A guy is a drunk, cheat who messes his family about and loses everything because of it.
“Renegade”: Is about a renegade outlaw in the Wild West.
“Beyond the Gates”: Based on the film, “Enemy at the Gates”, from Vassili Zaitsev’s perspective.
“Asylum”: A schizophrenic in an asylum, battling with his voices.
“Fly Away”: This one has a special meaning that’s close to Dave and I, a friend of ours, Micháel McGonagle, passed away in 2006 on my birthday, he was one of Dave’s best friends and I knew him through Dave. He was the first and only guitar teacher I ever had, and it was only for around 6 months. This year was his ten year anniversary of his passing, so we wrote this one for him.
You have released two videos so far, for “Asylum” and the latest one for “Whiskey Love”. Firstly, how did the guest appearances of Kane Roberts and Jacob Samuel come about on “Asylum” and secondly, do you have in mind to release any other concept or lyric video at some point?
R: Well, we firstly met Jacob on tour because we were supporting The Poodles. We became good friends with all the guys in the band and I stay in contact with all of them. We were thinking of getting a second voice for “Asylum” to represent the voice inside the head of the man whose perspective the song is written about, so we asked Jacob if he would guest on a song of ours, because he is such a fantastic singer and a cool guy, it really made sense. So he flew over and stayed with us a few days, we showed him around Belfast and knocked back some cold ones, then recorded it in about an hour or so. Richie, Mike and I did a lot of videoing that day, which was used in the music video. Kane on the other hand I have known for about 2 years now, we became acquainted online and really hit it off. I am a big fan of his solo work and his time with Alice Cooper, and he said he loved our stuff after I showed it to him, we stay in contact and I asked him to do a solo on the song, he accepted right away, and shot a clip of him playing it as well. I can’t say enough good things about Kane, he’s one of the nicest dudes I’ve ever met. We have a few more videos coming out but they’re still in the process of planning.
What are your touring plans so far? Any plans to play outside Ireland or the UK too?
R: Yes of course, were playing H.E.A.T festival in Germany in November and we have a few more festivals in talks. We have a short tour planned which is about to be announced in a few weeks, but we’re really psyched about it and cannot wait to announce it soon! Also another chance to jump on a luxury tour bus is just fine with us haha…
How would you describe your band’s music style to someone that has never heard of your before?
R: I dunno, it’s kinda hard rock with a healthy mix of Skid Row, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard I guess. It’s a hard one to place.
What are your expectations from “Big Red” and what do you wish to achieve with Maverick in the near future?
R: Expectation and reality are different things, because I love the record so much I think personally, if heard by the right people, the sky is the limit, but reality is it may get somewhat lost in the massive tsunami of old, new and unsigned bands releasing music 24/7 constantly. We want to bring Maverick to the top of the genre of course!
Time for our “weird questions”!!! If you found a genie in a bottle and you only had 3 wishes what would they be?
R: First one would have to be the ability to speak all languages fluently. That would be endlessly useful. Second would be eternal life for me and whoever I chose in the future, third would be to stay in good shape forever no matter what I eat and without ever having to go to the gym haha…
Best 3 hard rock albums of all time?
R: You’re killing me here, this is a tough one. I can maybe pick 3 but in no order. I’m gonna base these on consistency too, because you have to look at an album as a whole and not just it’s good parts. Take for instance Aerosmith, they have some of the best rock music ever made but they also have so much rub on every album that’s just unnecessary haha. Still one of my top 3 favourite bands though. Back to the best hard rock albums, I would have to say, in no order are: Def Leppard – “Hysteria” , Kane Roberts – “Saints and Sinners” & Skid Row – “Skid Row”. “Hysteria” because it’s just damn near perfect for what it is. Just a brilliant piece of work and I’ve taken so much influence from both it and “Pyromania”. I’m not just saying this because Kane is my buddy, I held this opinion before ever meeting him. “Saints and Sinners” is just pure hard rock glory from start to finish, such an amazing album; it was just brought out at the wrong time. “Skid Row” because it’s just everything hard rock is about and I think everything is damn near perfect on this, from the guitar style of Scotti and Dave, to the timbre of Sebastian Bach’s voice and vocal delivery. It’s just pure gold.
Which is the record you wish you had written and why?
R: Maybe “Skid Row”, it’s everything I love about rock and it’s just so good in every way that is really.
Is the “free downloading issue” & “the streaming” the main reasons why the music industry has taken the downhill or this is just the tip of the iceberg?
R: I think it’s a mixture of 2 things. 1 being the downloading issue, that’s 100% the cancer that’s rotting away the music industry from the core, and 2 being technology and the internet. I believe the internet is the main reason all music and art in general is being slaughtered. Let’s look at art for example, with the digital tools at everyone’s fingertips, anyone can digitally make art now without a drop of talent, it’s really blunted the whole thing down.
Photography. That's a big one. There is still a lot of talent out there and I know a few personally as well, who are fantastic, but any arm chair cretin with a smart phone can take a random picture, tweak it and filter it to hell with Apps and it will look pretty damn good. Completely drowning all the real talent who don’t need those gimmicks.
Then music. I can’t even begin to get started on this, but I’ll do a summary. Anyone with a computer and an illegal copy of Protools can make an album now, and in my opinion that’s not a good thing in any way. In the past you had to be good, you had to have ambition, talent, drive, and the ability to play an instrument well, that’s all gone now. You don’t even have to be a musician now. This means complete over saturation of the market making it impossible for record companies to find the real talented bands. Pretty much everyone I know has recorded music or “an album” but it’s mostly pure rub. And it’s stuff like that, that’s purely stifling to every good band trying to make a living.
We have actually brought Maverick up in a very old school kind of way, we practiced music for years, made sure not to strike until we had heard enough genres, bought enough records to weigh up the competition, and practiced our instruments enough to a level where we could compete. We then put on our own gigs, grinding it out in clubs, went to a small run down local studio to record our EP “Talk’s Cheap”, our guitarist’s girlfriend made the design of the box then we got a mate of ours to print the CDs. We grinder the clubs some more. Posted Massacre and about 30 other labels physical press packs with the EP in them. Got a letter back with an offer, got signed. See where I’m going with this? All done traditionally.
Heard about Manor Park Studio from a friend. Went there and paid for an album to be made, my girlfriend and I designed the box and booklet, a local artist done the cover, record company printed and released it, got tours and shows off the back of it, got another record deal in person while on tour. Then went to the same studio for “Big Red”, again my girlfriend and I designed the box and booklet, while my tattooist done the cover. None of this internet fuelled bullsh*t went on in the Maverick camp. The only thing we used it for was looking up a few addresses, which we could have got by other means if we really wanted to.
The illegal download thing of course is completely destroying bands and companies financially. We have put so much more money into this than we have got out of it because of this alone. It’s a cancer. No one else in a profession is asked to work for free; no one else has a back door where customers can easily shop lift their product without having to pay, why then is it OK to do this to musicians?
Music is probably the biggest thing in life, it’s on constantly wherever you go, it’s on throughout movies, TV, in your car, in your ear phones, and in your head. It’s such an important industry, yet everyone is completely hindering it because it’s somehow become alright to be a thief. It’s sickening.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
R: You’re right these questions are weird haha. That’s a hard one, maybe Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.
Top 3 Horror movies of all time?
R: I like horror but I’m not scared by it, apart from 2 movies which I think are 100% my number 1 and 2 horror movies, the 1982 version of, “The Thing” and “Alien” movie. Talk about a trip, those two movies are scary as hell, they’re so well done, I just love them. Apart from that I think pretty much all horror movies drop the ball at some point. There’s a lot of good ones that are gripping then just completely ruin it near the end. So here’s my top 3: “The Thing”, “Alien 1” & “The Blair Witch Project (original one)”.
Fill in the phrase… “Hard rock music wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
R: Guns ‘n Roses…
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
R: I don’t really use pick-up lines, since they are cheesy and never work haha…
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
R: What the hell was that supposed to be?!
You have the opportunity to have sex with a movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
R: Eva Green hands down. Because she’s a f@ckin goddess. I’d live in that 24/7 if I could.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
R: Greed…
Imagine that your girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react? J
R: Pretend I don’t know, subtly sell everything she holds valuable, and buy a bigger collection. (i.n.: That’s the spirit dude!)
Thx for talking to Grande Rock, Ryan. Wish you and your band the best for the future… Take care dude!
R: Thanks a lot Thanos! Cheers for having me, and hopefully we will cross paths again in the future!