1. In 2022 I was persuaded by our bass player Todd to start a new band . After leaving Exciter in 2018 I was in no hurry to get back into the music business , basically because I needed a long break . Todd talked me into it , I agreed on one condition, that I call the shots on everything , he agreed along with the other band members . The plan was to write totally original sounding material without depending on my past accomplishments .
2. The album is called BEAST but there is no actual song on the album called BEAST. As far as lyrics , I wrote all the words and vocal melodies on every song throughout the record . Every song has a high octane vibe to it , it`s pure `power and rage` , lol !
3. POWERRAGE has a simple and powerful sound, full of speed riffing and doom type vocals and shrilling screams . POWERRAGE music will hook in the listener wanting more ….
4. This time my songwriting is thought out and calculated , less improvising like my previous band . The songs are written with the audience in mind . When I write songs I write them from the audience point of view , you have to please the audience with your music . In my opinion you can`t write music that is self-indulgent otherwise you will alienate the audience . So, when I wrote all 8 songs for the album I wrote 8 headbanging anthems which I`m sure will please the fans .
5. The whole record has the same message `good vs evil`. The songs talk about satan, beasts, evilness , death , hell etc .
6. The album cover originally was introduced to us by our drummer, Lucas , but our record company graphic artist Mario Lopez actually created the final product , so all the credit goes to Mario even though I gave him some guidelines of what I envisioned .
7. My energy translates better in a large venue . I guess a memorable moment during a live show would be in the 80`s with Exciter we played The Spectrum in Montreal , and during one of my stand alone guitar solos the fans started to tear down the metal barriers in front of the stage where security was in order to get closer to the stage , it was all very flattering ! lol !
8.Well, I`ve been playing guitar since the 1960`s , so all that music from that era was an inspiration for me to play guitar . During that time I listened to everything but when the late 60`s came about and I heard a distortion guitar tone that was it , I wanted to play heavy music , so bands like Sabbath, Cream, Led Zeppelin etc definitely influenced me.
9.I suppose if I was to collaborate with another artist it would have to be Tony Iommi , he is and always will be the `riff master` of all time .
10. Unfortunately Canada has never had a metal scene . In Canada it`s all about `pop` music and how many records you can sell .There is no dedication to the `art of metal music ` in this country . There are pockets of a metal scene in certain cities but that`s it . Metal music in Canada doesn`t get the attention it deserves . There are a lot of good bands here, but are largely ignored by the music industry because frankly the industry here does`nt understand how to market heavy metal music.
11. I don`t really believe in endorsements for myself , I`ve been playing my 1980 Washburn A-10 guitar for over 30 years and at one point I approached Washburn Guitars in Chicago and the PR guy gave me the brush-off, so that was it , never again.
12. At the moment there is only one show booked in Germany in 2027 even before the record is released but I`m sure more offers will come our way once everyone hears the new POWERAGE record . Most likely our tour schedule will be one-off shows only , it all depends how the album does interest-wise .
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