After a decade or so, My Soliloquy managed to release their debut album, offering us some pure melodic prog metal music. The mastermind/multi-instrumentalist of the band, Pete Morten spoke to Grande Rock thoroughly and frankly about everything from the first days of the band till the release of the debut. Do read this very intriguing interview below…
Hi Pete… I’m glad we’re given the chance to talk about your very own band. It seems that a circle that opened in 2002 has closed now with the release of “The Interpreter”… isn’t it so?
P: In one respect, yes I agree, I am able to feel a vindication for all my belief and hard work over the years. In another sense the circle is anything but closed, as I see this first album as my first step on the ladder of my musical career. I’m already writing for album number two, and have approx 8 songs in various stages of development.
Hence, why did it take you almost ten years to get this album out? I know that you’ve been quite busy with other projects/bands but wasn’t there an inner necessity to do things for your own band or there wasn’t a rush in the end?
P: I absolutely felt a dire need to get this album done, but shortly after releasing my last independent release “Esoterica” in 2007, my personal life fell apart quite dramatically, and it took me a long time to kinda recover from that.
Also, you must take into consideration that I/the band were very much old school in our thinking. We thought... let’s just record demos and shop them out to labels A&R dept, and then if we get picked up by a label we can pay for the album with an advance from the record company. We considered this prudent, as making albums is expensive, certainly if you want to do it properly.
With each promo CD we put out, we’d get interest, and even though no deal was signed, it spurred us and ultimately me on to record bigger and better promos.
The closest we ever got, before “Esoterica” finally got me the interest from Sensory (who have released the album) was with a Japanese label, who really liked the “Lateral Thinking” demo, and we even got to talking about money but I think we wanted too much to record an album, and so the label said sorry, but we don’t have the budget.
“The Interpreter” actually only took me about 3 years to make, a year to write the new material, and rework the three older tracks that appear on it, and then approx 2 years to record it.
It took so long as I was pretty much a one man band, Damon took care of the drums, but I was doing everything else, including the artwork.
As previously stated, albums are expensive to make, and as I had no label backing I had to finance it myself, and being self-employed with no regular income, just made the process even slower. My dear Grandma lent me the last injection of cash so I could finish it, which I'll always be eternally grateful for.
I'm just glad I finally crossed the finishing line ha ha, because for a moment there, I thought I never would. (i.n.: All these are very informative indeed…)
Are the songs included in the album all new compositions or there are “old ones” that you re-recorded or even changed slightly for this release?
P: No not quite, there are three older tracks on the album, one taken from each of the three Promo CDs I put out in 2002, 2005, 2007 respectively. There are also five new recordings.
You see, I wanted to the give the older material a total overhaul and reworking as I always believed in the strength of that material but sadly it never got the audience I believed it deserved. I was constantly turned down by labels, the comment being that they thought my material was too eclectic ha ha.
So after all that, when Ken at Sensory finally picked up on what I was doing I thought finally, now I can release those older songs as well as the new ones properly.
Although the album is not retro at all, it did have an 80s feeling, probably due to your vocals which brought John Arch on my mind. Don’t you agree?
P: OK, well that is not how I view the record at all. Sure some of my older musical influences, which include albums released in the 80s/90s, may be coming out in the music, but as far as I’m concerned, the album is well and truly of our times now. I am definitely not trying to pay homage to times gone by.
Some may not be used to this kind of vocals, but mostly the fans from prog metal bands like Fates Warning, will truly dig it eventually. What did you have in mind to achieve with this album? You did decide to go a different way than Threshold and that was the best thing to do, in my opinion.
P: My one and only focus for this album was to put out my best work to date, that represents my unique way of song writing, and I have done that. I believe I have put my best foot forward.
Working also with Threshold hasn’t influenced my actual song writing, in terms of guitar riffs/vocal lines etc., because I definitely have my own sound and voice as a song writer. So in that respect, it’s a very different animal to the Threshold sound and way of doing things. Having said that though, I’ve definitely been inspired by Karl and Rich’s writing of vocal harmonies. Thus, on the album, I really went all out in the vocal harmony sections. Some of those songs have 40 plus tracks of vocals on them. I love all that stuff.
It took me fairly a few spins to get into the album. That’s kinda of a double edge sword in our time. People do not give the appropriate dedication and time to albums nowadays…. They’re mostly into fast-food, fast-listening… fast everything. Are you afraid that it might not get what it deserves in the end?
P: Yes, of course I am concerned about people not giving my work the due care and attention it deserves. But I am not about to pander to the masses by writing meaningless drivel, just so I can be on mainstream radio.
I have integrity, both artistically and privately speaking, so I’m certainly not about to dilute what I’m doing just to make it more palatable for the lowest common denominator. I also think that I give true music/prog fans a bit more credit. I think they are actually more willing to take the time to understand what it is they are listening too. It’s not music for the dance floor. (i.n.: Of course it isn’t! I agree with your point of view…)
Thus, tell us what does “The Interpreter” proclaim?
P: I consider this record to be very much an album in the truest meaning of the word “album”. Like a photo album is a collection of memories, and so “The Interpreter” assumes a literal meaning. Every song is a memory of an event in my life since I started this band 10 years ago, thus I have become “The Interpreter” of those events for the listener.
Even when I was doing the artwork, I wanted to reinforce that concept, to create this fictional future where everyone can repeatedly revisit past events in their lives by hooking up to their very own user registered Interpretation Interface, which is what the machine is. It affords the user to watch their memories like movies.
Regarding actual songs, I cover spirituality, reincarnation, love, both in an obvious sense and in a universal sense, loss, insecurity, and the human condition and war.
Please take us on a song by song countdown…
P: “Ascension Pending”: This song discusses love both in a personal and universal sense. Many eastern religions talk of a universal love, and that our sole objective in life is to get back to that love.
Like magnets, our spiritual selves are forever drawn to that one love, although we may not even realize it. Thus, our souls are always wanting to ascend to a greater understanding of that, so that we might practice it, practice “universal love”, and in return break the cycle of birth and death.
But as we walk this earth, we are trapped in flesh and bone, and it is hard to acquire that state of mind and being. The title is really quite obvious if you think about it. Our ASCENSION to that state of being is and will always be PENDING, until we learn to not just love our nearest and dearest, but to love ALL people as our brothers and sisters.
“Flash Point”: Conversely, “Flashpoint” is the opposite to the “Ascension Pending”. It discusses our more basic proclivities. Hence the “The pull of this earth” lyric is basically saying, as we are animals, we behave like them.
We feel the same “pull”, the same instincts as animals. But I guess as a species we have a hard time reconciling that, because we feel we consider ourselves above the other animals that walk this earth.
“Corrosive De-Emphasis”: This song is primarily about humans instinctive nature to be pack animals. More pertinently, it is largely about being victimized, persecuted and singled out by weak minded and insecure people.
“Fractured”: “Fractured” discusses what it is to be just another cog in the machine, a statistic, only there to make others rich and powerful. More positively though, it’s saying: live for yourself, not for others. If you have a dream to do something bigger than the conventional with your life, then go do it!
“Six Seconds Grace”: I wanted to convey the ultimate futility of overt vanity in this song. I basically take a fictional character and place her under all this self-imposed stress. The demands she places on herself to be this beautiful, physically perfect woman as she is growing up is actually doing nothing but damaging her ego and self-confidence. While trying to be like the women she sees in the media, she is missing the point that she is perfect, just the way she is. It gets to the point that she doesn’t even recognize her own reflection anymore.
“Dream in Extremis”: Around 2007, I had a very powerful dream once that my spirit was breaking free from my body, but not in a pleasant way. Light shafts were literally tearing at my skin, in an attempt to liberate my soul. As the pain of that peaked, I took the biggest breath, like I’d been underwater too long, and craved oxygen for my very survival. My God it was so vivid and visceral that as I took that breath, I woke instantly, eyes wide open. I recall just lying there in a state of shock. I’ve certainly had some very potently spiritual dreams, but that was like no other.
“Inner Circles”: I discuss Karma in this song, and the ramifications of that, assuming that such a mechanism is indeed active in all our lives. It’s strange but in most people’s lives, things are cyclic. It’s like, if we keep encountering the same problems and situations in life time and again, it’s because we haven’t truly learnt from a past mistake. So it is, that everything we do hasrepercussions, even the good stuff. It’s why, I believe, that it’s so important to “live rightly”.
“Star”: Well as I'm sure you can probably tell, “Star” is a love song, pure and simple.
Did you record all the instruments as well as the vocals for this album by yourself? You probably wanted to have the absolute control of your work. How did the cooperation with Rob Aubrey (Marillion, Threshold, Jadis, John Wetton, Martin Orford etc.) occur?
P: Yes, I was a one man band, Damon took care of the drums, but I did everything else, including all the artwork.
I knew I wanted a great producer on board, who not only had a great work ethic and attention to detail but who also understood the genre. So I approached Karl Groom again (who’d previously produced two of the three promos), but sadly he was booked up with Dragon Force I think, but he turned me on to Rob Aubrey. And the rest is history, I saved up close to £5000.00 and went to stay at Aubitt Studios for 3.5 weeks to produce and mix the record.
Crucially I’d meticulously recorded all the parts in Protools on my computer beforehand , making some mix decisions before I even got to Robs. So once I got there, it was just a case of adding that professional sheen. Rob did a great job.
P: In one respect, yes I agree, I am able to feel a vindication for all my belief and hard work over the years. In another sense the circle is anything but closed, as I see this first album as my first step on the ladder of my musical career. I’m already writing for album number two, and have approx 8 songs in various stages of development.
Hence, why did it take you almost ten years to get this album out? I know that you’ve been quite busy with other projects/bands but wasn’t there an inner necessity to do things for your own band or there wasn’t a rush in the end?
P: I absolutely felt a dire need to get this album done, but shortly after releasing my last independent release “Esoterica” in 2007, my personal life fell apart quite dramatically, and it took me a long time to kinda recover from that.
Also, you must take into consideration that I/the band were very much old school in our thinking. We thought... let’s just record demos and shop them out to labels A&R dept, and then if we get picked up by a label we can pay for the album with an advance from the record company. We considered this prudent, as making albums is expensive, certainly if you want to do it properly.
With each promo CD we put out, we’d get interest, and even though no deal was signed, it spurred us and ultimately me on to record bigger and better promos.
The closest we ever got, before “Esoterica” finally got me the interest from Sensory (who have released the album) was with a Japanese label, who really liked the “Lateral Thinking” demo, and we even got to talking about money but I think we wanted too much to record an album, and so the label said sorry, but we don’t have the budget.
“The Interpreter” actually only took me about 3 years to make, a year to write the new material, and rework the three older tracks that appear on it, and then approx 2 years to record it.
It took so long as I was pretty much a one man band, Damon took care of the drums, but I was doing everything else, including the artwork.
As previously stated, albums are expensive to make, and as I had no label backing I had to finance it myself, and being self-employed with no regular income, just made the process even slower. My dear Grandma lent me the last injection of cash so I could finish it, which I'll always be eternally grateful for.
I'm just glad I finally crossed the finishing line ha ha, because for a moment there, I thought I never would. (i.n.: All these are very informative indeed…)
Are the songs included in the album all new compositions or there are “old ones” that you re-recorded or even changed slightly for this release?
P: No not quite, there are three older tracks on the album, one taken from each of the three Promo CDs I put out in 2002, 2005, 2007 respectively. There are also five new recordings.
You see, I wanted to the give the older material a total overhaul and reworking as I always believed in the strength of that material but sadly it never got the audience I believed it deserved. I was constantly turned down by labels, the comment being that they thought my material was too eclectic ha ha.
So after all that, when Ken at Sensory finally picked up on what I was doing I thought finally, now I can release those older songs as well as the new ones properly.
Although the album is not retro at all, it did have an 80s feeling, probably due to your vocals which brought John Arch on my mind. Don’t you agree?
P: OK, well that is not how I view the record at all. Sure some of my older musical influences, which include albums released in the 80s/90s, may be coming out in the music, but as far as I’m concerned, the album is well and truly of our times now. I am definitely not trying to pay homage to times gone by.
Some may not be used to this kind of vocals, but mostly the fans from prog metal bands like Fates Warning, will truly dig it eventually. What did you have in mind to achieve with this album? You did decide to go a different way than Threshold and that was the best thing to do, in my opinion.
P: My one and only focus for this album was to put out my best work to date, that represents my unique way of song writing, and I have done that. I believe I have put my best foot forward.
Working also with Threshold hasn’t influenced my actual song writing, in terms of guitar riffs/vocal lines etc., because I definitely have my own sound and voice as a song writer. So in that respect, it’s a very different animal to the Threshold sound and way of doing things. Having said that though, I’ve definitely been inspired by Karl and Rich’s writing of vocal harmonies. Thus, on the album, I really went all out in the vocal harmony sections. Some of those songs have 40 plus tracks of vocals on them. I love all that stuff.
It took me fairly a few spins to get into the album. That’s kinda of a double edge sword in our time. People do not give the appropriate dedication and time to albums nowadays…. They’re mostly into fast-food, fast-listening… fast everything. Are you afraid that it might not get what it deserves in the end?
P: Yes, of course I am concerned about people not giving my work the due care and attention it deserves. But I am not about to pander to the masses by writing meaningless drivel, just so I can be on mainstream radio.
I have integrity, both artistically and privately speaking, so I’m certainly not about to dilute what I’m doing just to make it more palatable for the lowest common denominator. I also think that I give true music/prog fans a bit more credit. I think they are actually more willing to take the time to understand what it is they are listening too. It’s not music for the dance floor. (i.n.: Of course it isn’t! I agree with your point of view…)
Thus, tell us what does “The Interpreter” proclaim?
P: I consider this record to be very much an album in the truest meaning of the word “album”. Like a photo album is a collection of memories, and so “The Interpreter” assumes a literal meaning. Every song is a memory of an event in my life since I started this band 10 years ago, thus I have become “The Interpreter” of those events for the listener.
Even when I was doing the artwork, I wanted to reinforce that concept, to create this fictional future where everyone can repeatedly revisit past events in their lives by hooking up to their very own user registered Interpretation Interface, which is what the machine is. It affords the user to watch their memories like movies.
Regarding actual songs, I cover spirituality, reincarnation, love, both in an obvious sense and in a universal sense, loss, insecurity, and the human condition and war.
Please take us on a song by song countdown…
P: “Ascension Pending”: This song discusses love both in a personal and universal sense. Many eastern religions talk of a universal love, and that our sole objective in life is to get back to that love.
Like magnets, our spiritual selves are forever drawn to that one love, although we may not even realize it. Thus, our souls are always wanting to ascend to a greater understanding of that, so that we might practice it, practice “universal love”, and in return break the cycle of birth and death.
But as we walk this earth, we are trapped in flesh and bone, and it is hard to acquire that state of mind and being. The title is really quite obvious if you think about it. Our ASCENSION to that state of being is and will always be PENDING, until we learn to not just love our nearest and dearest, but to love ALL people as our brothers and sisters.
“Flash Point”: Conversely, “Flashpoint” is the opposite to the “Ascension Pending”. It discusses our more basic proclivities. Hence the “The pull of this earth” lyric is basically saying, as we are animals, we behave like them.
We feel the same “pull”, the same instincts as animals. But I guess as a species we have a hard time reconciling that, because we feel we consider ourselves above the other animals that walk this earth.
“Corrosive De-Emphasis”: This song is primarily about humans instinctive nature to be pack animals. More pertinently, it is largely about being victimized, persecuted and singled out by weak minded and insecure people.
“Fractured”: “Fractured” discusses what it is to be just another cog in the machine, a statistic, only there to make others rich and powerful. More positively though, it’s saying: live for yourself, not for others. If you have a dream to do something bigger than the conventional with your life, then go do it!
“Six Seconds Grace”: I wanted to convey the ultimate futility of overt vanity in this song. I basically take a fictional character and place her under all this self-imposed stress. The demands she places on herself to be this beautiful, physically perfect woman as she is growing up is actually doing nothing but damaging her ego and self-confidence. While trying to be like the women she sees in the media, she is missing the point that she is perfect, just the way she is. It gets to the point that she doesn’t even recognize her own reflection anymore.
“Dream in Extremis”: Around 2007, I had a very powerful dream once that my spirit was breaking free from my body, but not in a pleasant way. Light shafts were literally tearing at my skin, in an attempt to liberate my soul. As the pain of that peaked, I took the biggest breath, like I’d been underwater too long, and craved oxygen for my very survival. My God it was so vivid and visceral that as I took that breath, I woke instantly, eyes wide open. I recall just lying there in a state of shock. I’ve certainly had some very potently spiritual dreams, but that was like no other.
“Inner Circles”: I discuss Karma in this song, and the ramifications of that, assuming that such a mechanism is indeed active in all our lives. It’s strange but in most people’s lives, things are cyclic. It’s like, if we keep encountering the same problems and situations in life time and again, it’s because we haven’t truly learnt from a past mistake. So it is, that everything we do hasrepercussions, even the good stuff. It’s why, I believe, that it’s so important to “live rightly”.
“Star”: Well as I'm sure you can probably tell, “Star” is a love song, pure and simple.
Did you record all the instruments as well as the vocals for this album by yourself? You probably wanted to have the absolute control of your work. How did the cooperation with Rob Aubrey (Marillion, Threshold, Jadis, John Wetton, Martin Orford etc.) occur?
P: Yes, I was a one man band, Damon took care of the drums, but I did everything else, including all the artwork.
I knew I wanted a great producer on board, who not only had a great work ethic and attention to detail but who also understood the genre. So I approached Karl Groom again (who’d previously produced two of the three promos), but sadly he was booked up with Dragon Force I think, but he turned me on to Rob Aubrey. And the rest is history, I saved up close to £5000.00 and went to stay at Aubitt Studios for 3.5 weeks to produce and mix the record.
Crucially I’d meticulously recorded all the parts in Protools on my computer beforehand , making some mix decisions before I even got to Robs. So once I got there, it was just a case of adding that professional sheen. Rob did a great job.
You do have a full line-up and I can assume that you’re getting ready to hit the road as well, right?
P: Yes, there are definite plans to do so, and in point of fact, rehearsals start in April. Damon Roots will be on drums, both Mike Gilpin and Andy Berry return to the band (guitars and keyboards respectively) and Chris Sharp on bass, while being the “newest'” member, I have played some shows with him in another band in 2009.
Will there be any video for any song of the album? I would like to see a video for “Star”!
P: I would certainly like to make a promo video, but sadly we have no label support for that kind of thing. So, if we were to make one, it would only ever be on a shoe string budget.
Regarding choice of song. “Star” would be lovely to do, but I don't think it would be the best one to do. Actually “Fractured” was streamed as “the first single” so perhaps I will look to making one for that. Time will tell. (i.n.: Anyhow, hope to make one in the end…)
How hard is it to be with Threshold and take care of your own band at the same time?
P: It isn’t hard at all. Whenever I’m with any of the three bands I work with, I am with them 100%, I don’t do half measures. I just have to make sure I am focused, prepared, and professional.
Do you believe that participating in Threshold will give you an extra push to the prog metal audience? You can even “steal” many Thresh-followers… like me for instance…
P: Of course, there is always going to be cross overs of audiences with any given band. I’d be very happy if some of Threshold audience loved what I was doing as well. I guess only time will tell.
Have you ever thought that you may have the dilemma of leaving Threshold or putting your band aside due to lots of obligations in some time? What would you choose, hypothetically speaking?
P: Hmmm tricky question indeed ha ha. Well hypothetically speaking, I would have it written into my contract that no matter what happens I will also be a member of Threshold J
Remember I’m not playing with the Threshold guys just to further my own ambitions, I genuinely care about the guys and the band, and am genuinely a fan of their music. So, it’s really just a privilege to share a stage and write music with those guys. (i.n.: OK, I think that’s very clear & comprehensible…)
What’s gonna be the future of music when the new generation are so used to itunes, Spotify, etc.? It takes so much time and money to make a song and then you see all these young guys listening to it through their ipods and with the crappy headphones! Some even think that Mp3s have a good sound quality! What can be done so to change this sad situation?
P: Indeed, well this is the problem that the music industry is faced with is it not. I honestly don’t know what the answer is. I just have to trust that the general prog-going public still value great sounding recordings.
Also, my opinion on the whole web generation thing, is that the digital domain, will never be able to cater for the collector in people. So, what I do is make sure that any packaging and design I do for the band is really high quality stuff, and collectable. For instance the special edition of “The Interpreter” comes in a Ltd edition acetate slipcase which also comes with a bonus CD including multimedia content.
It’s time for our weird questions!!! Why did you name the band My Soliloquy from Soliloquy back then?
P: Well you see, in the 10 years I have been working on this band, other bands have chosen to call themselves “Soliloquy”. When I started the band, we were the only one with that name, but over time, people have thought it is a cool name I guess. So anyway, once I knew that I had a label that wanted to release my first album, I decided there and then that the name had to be modified somehow, so as to prevent confusion and mix ups with other bands by the same name.
How would you describe the band’s music style to someone that has never heard of you?
P: I would simply say that we are prog with an original twist.
Name 3 top prog rock/metal releases that influenced the whole genre…
P: “2112” by Rush. “Images and Words” by Dream Theater, and probably a Yes record, but I can’t quite think of one right at this moment ha ha…
What are those 3 songs that anyone who hates metal music could hear on the radio and won’t even bother to re-tune?
P: God knows, I’d guess anything by Machine Head (although I love ‘em) and maybe “Painkiller” by Judas Priest, awesome song, and it's the ultimate metal track.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music evolution, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
P: I simply can’t answer this ha ha, It’s an impossible question. Too many genres, too many differing styles. Rather, I’d probably make one massive compilation mix CD of every one outstanding song from each and every genre. That way the alien could get a good idea of what the human race is capable of, musically speaking.
Long hair or baldness and why?
P: Some people don’t get a choice do they? Whatever you feel most comfortable with as an individual should be the one and only consideration. The musical output should always come first, not what you look like. I’d rather be the world’s ugliest person (whatever that is) and put out great sounding albums, than look beautifully amazing and put out shit records. (i.n.: I think we should “eliminate” all those gorgeous & voiceless model-singers then hehe… No, baldness is not always a choice!)
Which is the best music genre in the whole world and why?
P: I’m obviously going to sound biased, but I genuinely think good rock music, i.e., proper singing, and skillful playing. Because a lot of bands cover so many dynamics in their music, that almost every emotion is covered. Thus making it a more complete experience. It isn’t all just shouting and angst, like so many ignorant people think it is.
Why is heavy metal music better than sex… if it is…
P: Nothing compares to making love to a beautiful girl. But by the same token, nothing compares to the joy of writing music and recording it, and feeling the reward that it gives you. The two really aren’t comparable are they? ha ha… (i.n.: Hmm only when it comes to joy haha…)
You have the opportunity to have sex with the porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
P: Ha ha ha ha, I don’t know any porn star names I’m afraid ha ha. Plus I don’t think my girlfriend would be very happy with that ha ha. If I was single though, then she’d have to be a very sexy porn star, but not an air head, or bimbo, someone who was cool and down to earth ya know ha ha… (i.n.: Well let me think of one then…
)
Imagine that your girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
P: She’d be single very quickly ha ha, although in truth, I’d be more upset if she sold my Transformers collection ha ha… (i.n.: I didn’t see that coming hehe…)
That’s it for now Pete. Thx very much for taking the time to answer to my questions… Please say anything you’d like for the end… Take care dude!
P: Thank you for being interested enough in what I’m doing to want to interview me. Means a lot to me. Many thanks. Peace...
P: Yes, there are definite plans to do so, and in point of fact, rehearsals start in April. Damon Roots will be on drums, both Mike Gilpin and Andy Berry return to the band (guitars and keyboards respectively) and Chris Sharp on bass, while being the “newest'” member, I have played some shows with him in another band in 2009.
Will there be any video for any song of the album? I would like to see a video for “Star”!
P: I would certainly like to make a promo video, but sadly we have no label support for that kind of thing. So, if we were to make one, it would only ever be on a shoe string budget.
Regarding choice of song. “Star” would be lovely to do, but I don't think it would be the best one to do. Actually “Fractured” was streamed as “the first single” so perhaps I will look to making one for that. Time will tell. (i.n.: Anyhow, hope to make one in the end…)
How hard is it to be with Threshold and take care of your own band at the same time?
P: It isn’t hard at all. Whenever I’m with any of the three bands I work with, I am with them 100%, I don’t do half measures. I just have to make sure I am focused, prepared, and professional.
Do you believe that participating in Threshold will give you an extra push to the prog metal audience? You can even “steal” many Thresh-followers… like me for instance…
P: Of course, there is always going to be cross overs of audiences with any given band. I’d be very happy if some of Threshold audience loved what I was doing as well. I guess only time will tell.
Have you ever thought that you may have the dilemma of leaving Threshold or putting your band aside due to lots of obligations in some time? What would you choose, hypothetically speaking?
P: Hmmm tricky question indeed ha ha. Well hypothetically speaking, I would have it written into my contract that no matter what happens I will also be a member of Threshold J
Remember I’m not playing with the Threshold guys just to further my own ambitions, I genuinely care about the guys and the band, and am genuinely a fan of their music. So, it’s really just a privilege to share a stage and write music with those guys. (i.n.: OK, I think that’s very clear & comprehensible…)
What’s gonna be the future of music when the new generation are so used to itunes, Spotify, etc.? It takes so much time and money to make a song and then you see all these young guys listening to it through their ipods and with the crappy headphones! Some even think that Mp3s have a good sound quality! What can be done so to change this sad situation?
P: Indeed, well this is the problem that the music industry is faced with is it not. I honestly don’t know what the answer is. I just have to trust that the general prog-going public still value great sounding recordings.
Also, my opinion on the whole web generation thing, is that the digital domain, will never be able to cater for the collector in people. So, what I do is make sure that any packaging and design I do for the band is really high quality stuff, and collectable. For instance the special edition of “The Interpreter” comes in a Ltd edition acetate slipcase which also comes with a bonus CD including multimedia content.
It’s time for our weird questions!!! Why did you name the band My Soliloquy from Soliloquy back then?
P: Well you see, in the 10 years I have been working on this band, other bands have chosen to call themselves “Soliloquy”. When I started the band, we were the only one with that name, but over time, people have thought it is a cool name I guess. So anyway, once I knew that I had a label that wanted to release my first album, I decided there and then that the name had to be modified somehow, so as to prevent confusion and mix ups with other bands by the same name.
How would you describe the band’s music style to someone that has never heard of you?
P: I would simply say that we are prog with an original twist.
Name 3 top prog rock/metal releases that influenced the whole genre…
P: “2112” by Rush. “Images and Words” by Dream Theater, and probably a Yes record, but I can’t quite think of one right at this moment ha ha…
What are those 3 songs that anyone who hates metal music could hear on the radio and won’t even bother to re-tune?
P: God knows, I’d guess anything by Machine Head (although I love ‘em) and maybe “Painkiller” by Judas Priest, awesome song, and it's the ultimate metal track.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music evolution, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
P: I simply can’t answer this ha ha, It’s an impossible question. Too many genres, too many differing styles. Rather, I’d probably make one massive compilation mix CD of every one outstanding song from each and every genre. That way the alien could get a good idea of what the human race is capable of, musically speaking.
Long hair or baldness and why?
P: Some people don’t get a choice do they? Whatever you feel most comfortable with as an individual should be the one and only consideration. The musical output should always come first, not what you look like. I’d rather be the world’s ugliest person (whatever that is) and put out great sounding albums, than look beautifully amazing and put out shit records. (i.n.: I think we should “eliminate” all those gorgeous & voiceless model-singers then hehe… No, baldness is not always a choice!)
Which is the best music genre in the whole world and why?
P: I’m obviously going to sound biased, but I genuinely think good rock music, i.e., proper singing, and skillful playing. Because a lot of bands cover so many dynamics in their music, that almost every emotion is covered. Thus making it a more complete experience. It isn’t all just shouting and angst, like so many ignorant people think it is.
Why is heavy metal music better than sex… if it is…
P: Nothing compares to making love to a beautiful girl. But by the same token, nothing compares to the joy of writing music and recording it, and feeling the reward that it gives you. The two really aren’t comparable are they? ha ha… (i.n.: Hmm only when it comes to joy haha…)
You have the opportunity to have sex with the porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
P: Ha ha ha ha, I don’t know any porn star names I’m afraid ha ha. Plus I don’t think my girlfriend would be very happy with that ha ha. If I was single though, then she’d have to be a very sexy porn star, but not an air head, or bimbo, someone who was cool and down to earth ya know ha ha… (i.n.: Well let me think of one then…
)Imagine that your girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
P: She’d be single very quickly ha ha, although in truth, I’d be more upset if she sold my Transformers collection ha ha… (i.n.: I didn’t see that coming hehe…)
That’s it for now Pete. Thx very much for taking the time to answer to my questions… Please say anything you’d like for the end… Take care dude!
P: Thank you for being interested enough in what I’m doing to want to interview me. Means a lot to me. Many thanks. Peace...