The Best of 2004 - Rock Vox Interviews

Written by tinfoil on Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:02

Not to be left out, we here at tinfoil.music have decided to finally put together some 2004 highlights. Tom aka tom777 has sat down and put together the best bits of his series of Rock Vox interviews.

Tinfoil Music has 3 original interview series: Rock Vox, Guitar Gods, and now Garage Vox. All three are designed to give you, the reader/listener/musician something you might use.

Here are some quips and quotes from 2004:

BLAZE BAYLEY ON MUSICAL CAREERS: If you want a career as a rock musician then practice, write and play. Play what you write live, oh, and get a trade that has nothing to do with music to fall back on if it doesn't work out at any time.

Success in the music business is a mixture of blind luck, hard work, talent, stupidity and stubborness! You have to recognise a 'lucky co-incidence' and you have to work hard developing the talent you have. The less talent you have, the harder you have to work. You have to be stubborn and stick to your beliefs, and try to avoid things that compromise your music and identity. Most importanly though is that you have to realise that the music business is not fair. Most people don't get what they deserve, they just get what they get. What matters is what you do with what you get.

PAUL DIANNO ON FAME: I didn't handle fame well in the early years, and in fact didn't handle anything well in those days, but now it's just another part of the job.

DEE SNIDER, ON TWISTED SISTER: Underated. The masses don't know how long the band was together (ten years), how hard we struggled (8 years until the band broke), how much we played (over 2,000 live shows before we were signed) and how influencial we were. We were such a staple in the Tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) club scene that Anthrax, Poison, Bon Jovi, Overkill, Public Enemy, Cinderella and so many more, cut their teeth watching TS kick ass in the bars. Hell--one of Metallica's first shows was opening for Twisted in front of a couple of thousand of our fans in New Jersey!

TOM: Any tips for aspiring musicians/songwriters?

DAN BAIRD: Nope. Or just the usual - you're more likely to fail than succeed in this biz, so take your shot at it, not what you think will make it. That crap never works, and if it does you're gonna hate it and yourself later. Simple is always better. It will be interesting if you have emotion behind it. Do not try to make (a) cover of modern guitarist, drummer, bassist, keyboardist, or any of that crap. Stop it right now, stop!! Think about what you listen to when you are riding around listening to the radio, and you hear a song for the first time. Groove, singer, song. Then you hear the other stuff. Quit worrying about the other stuff. Groove, singing, song. That's what we hear. Clever wears thin quickly in songwriting. Honesty doesn't. That's about it....

TOM: what advice do you have for aspiring and/or frustrated songwriters?

ERIC AMBEL: Ricky Nelson was right when he said "you gotta please yourself". If you want a job, get one. Music should be a fuckload more important than any job you ever had in your whole life. Make sure you are having a good time. Its important!

TOM: What is a good song?

TERRY ANDERSON: A good song is one that sticks to your ribs like peanut butter. You just can't shake it. It has a great melody and lyrics that have a special meaning to you without embarrassing you.

TOM: advice for wanna-be rockers and songwriters?

JASON RINGENBERG: Get rolling luggage.

TOM: Any advice for hack interviewers (cough-cough)?

METAL TIM (BWBK): ALWAYS be well-researched, keep it professional and speak to people in casual conversation. They may have written Reign In Blood, Highway To Hell, Sons Of Northern Darkness or When The Drapery Falls, but they are still real people. The FIRST question is the most important .... the rest should just flow after that. Beware and be prepared for low-paying, slavery-like hours, in an industry that you must watch your back in at all times.

Tinfoil: Your opinion on the music industry today. Is the internet killing it or making it stronger?

GRIZ: As far as the music industry today I feel it sucks. I feel that its to much about business and not enough about the artist and the music!!!!!!!! As far as the internet I feel that it has helped the music industry tremendously. It is one of the greatest marketing tools we have. It allows our fans to sit in the comfort of their own home and learn about the artist, talk to the artist, and listen to the music. It allows us, the artist, to become more personal with our fans and gives us the opportunity to listen to them so we know what they want. The internet gives our fans a voice that we can hear. On the other hand I do not believe in downloading albums because it hurts the artist not only financially but it doesnt give us the opportunity to continue to put out our music because if the label doesnt make enough money on the artist than the artist will be dropped. If you love our music and respect our art than go buy the album and support us.

The first Optional Cheesy Bonus Question, asked of John Bush- Anthrax:

Tom: If Scott Ian was a tree, what kinda tree would he be?

John Bush: A HUGE REDWOOD.

Note to self: no more tree-oriented questions.

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