29/07/2006

Samir: how are you doing?



I am still sitting up and taking nourishment!

Samir: Hallows Eve, one of my favourite bands from the eighties, could we start with a small band presentation ?



I was born in the dim and distant past, wherien there were no computers, cell phones, nor metal bands. So when we started the band in 1983, we had few role models and we just wrote what came out. I think the bands that started back then were a little unique by virtue of having no rules such as exist in the virtual city of Metaldonia today. I am told, on occassion, something to the effect that I'm not doing it right! I'm astounded because I come from the inventing season with the other elders of metal and apparently I haven't gotten my copy of the rule book from Metal Town. I shall not apologize for not following orders! It's my band and I'll express me the way that I feel. No offense, but the band wasn't founded on following trends, but on absolutely not following anything! A philosophy of independence! That was the way of all the early metal bands. I kow it seems I got away from the question so to clarify answer your question, the band started by not following expectations and that is how to keep it true. That is what metal is about.

Samir: What's the meaning of your band's name?

In the USA, a meaning of All Hallows Eve is that it is an evening for the misfits of the world. That is us. Secondly, it was the 1983 night that I took Stacy Anderson aside and we decided to get signed for the making of our first album. We gave ourselves a one year dead-line or call off the project. We were signed October 29th, 1984.

Samir: What actually happened after the release of "History of Terror"?



Well, I'm not sure where to go with that, but History was just released in Europe in March and the USA in May so it's relatively new! Right new the official fifth studio album line-up is in rehearsal developing new material. That is Dane Jensen on drums, of course; the incomparable Brandon Ottinger on guitar; and the 'new guy', Jon Kilgore on guitar, a name you will want to follow in the future as I see a big career for this guy. This line-up reminds me more of an athletic team or perhaps specifically gathered soldiers who are preparing for battle.

Samir: What did your first album give you as a musician and as a person?

When I was seven years old, my mother took me to see the new Beatles movie, "Help!". As we were leaving the movie, she asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. Refering to the movie I said, "That looked like a good job"! That's what Tales of Terror was for me, the realization of a little boy. Hey, I did it!

Samir: Why didn't you add the second guitarist after Steve did quit the band in 1985?

Steve, or Skully, quit just as we went on tour after Tales was released. This became fashionable in Hallows Eve, our vast member history is available at hallowseve.org. Anyroad, we tried to add a guitarist for the entire next three years. The problem was David (Stuart) said no to everyone. He may have been right, but this hobby of saying no all the time is part of the reason we are no longer playing together. He did the same thing with vocalists in '89 so I had to move along. By the way, David was a talented and often ignored guitarist, plus general nice guy and smart, too. Yes, we are still in touch and friends.

Samir: What's the difference between the current incarnation of HALLOWS EVE and LESTREGUS NOSFERATUS ?

Ah, the question here is what is the difference between Hallows Eve and black metal! Let me teach you, my sons. It is given that both bands are horror metal. For definition purposes let us say that in prose, poetry, music, or art of any kind horror can be divided in two catagories. There is the horror based on the supernatural and secular horror. Supernatural horror relies upon legends, religious systems, mythological gods and creatures. For instance, most popular in this form is Satan, an invention of the Hebrew system in order to explain adversay to one god, therefore, one must believe in god to believe in Satan. That is an example of supernatural horror. Hallows Eve is based on secular horror in that the horror I write about is real and more a horror of the mind. My songs are based on real stories of my life, things that really happened to me. I never could bring myself to write about elves, satans, leprecauns, and centaurs. Personally, I'm not afraid of it, it just seems silly. I'm real.

Samir: Can you tell me more about "Monument"?

I can tell you some fun facts! That was our most expensive album to make. The cover of Monument features a girl who at the time was the bass player from Fates Warning's girlfriend. The album art was done by Ionnas, then an assistant of Derek Riggs known for Iron Maiden covers. During that tour, in '88, our drummer was Tom Knight, who then went on to drum for TLC, one of the biggest acts in the world, not metal, but definitely Atlanta, our hometown. We still end all of today's shows with Speedfreak. Just some loose trivia.The last track, which was not credited with a title, was us goofing around in the studio and the song is actually Tear It Down by The Cramps.

Samir: What can you tell us about the lyrics?

I can tell you that Speedfreak was written by Stacy Anderson about my driving on road trip!. I particularly liked No Sanctuary as a song of brotherly advice. The Mighty Decibel was a rather simple ditty about being loud. We were opening for Motorhead when I stood in the audience and got the idea to write an ode, if you will, to volume itself. I wrote Rot Gut in 1975 about, well... Monument, the title track,was about the music industry.

Samir : What are your musical influences ?

I was originally in a punk band in the seventies so it is natural that I would have been into Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Ramones. I ended up in a metal band by default, replaced myself as lead vocalist with Stacy Anderson. We were in a band known for Iron Maiden covers so that came into Hallows Eve. We were influenced by Slayer, no doubt.

Samir: What do you see in the future for the band?

Do you think you will just keep improving as a band? As we speak, the band is rehearsing and writing a fifth Hallows Eve album! Our goal is to release it in 2007. I see no reason to stop. Health providing, I will do this until I am very, very old.


Samir: Dane Jensen is back as the drummer, why was he absent?

He was in jail for a few months so we had to temporarily replace him with a former drummer, Mike Anderson, to do shows. He is our longest running drummer, having been with the band for about two and a half years.

Samir: I know you've worked with James Murphy for a while. Can you tell us something about that?

I never really considered him to have been in the band. He neither recorded nor performed live. He simply rehearsed with us after Stacy quit then Chuck (Schuldiner) called from Death and offered for him to come play. Since we had no vocalist at the moment, he took the offer. I don't blame him.

Samir: What kind of festivals have you played ?

The biggest one we played lately was Keep It True in Germany.

Samir :What do you see as the big difference between "Evil Never Dies" and "Tales of Terror"?

Our original plan by the original group was to write thematic albums with songs that told stories or were at least snapshots of moments that suggested a story based on our real life experiences. There is no difference between the two albums in that aspect, I stuck to the bands formula in that way. We also planned to have a diversity about Hallows Eve that other bands didn't have, in other words switch sounds, styles, etc, for each album in accordance to what the album was about. I did that. The most obvious difference on Evil Never Dies is the vocal change I think, but let me tell you this. Tales of Terror was about Tales of Terror and sounds like that. Death and Insanity was about different aspects of death, not terror tales. It sounds like that. The next album, Monument, never mentioned death. Each album had a different line-up by the way, two different drummer on the first one. Evil Never Dies is about aspects of evil and, you guessed it, the next album will be a different line-up and won't mention a word about the subject of evil! Diversitivity.

Samir :When you're not playing or writing music, what is it that you like to do?

I'm pretty boring I suppose. I cook for fun, piddle in the garden, watch a lot of movies. I'm quiet and reclusive.

Samir: Do the members of the band play in other projects?

Jon Kilgore has another band and you can probably talk to him about it if you go to myspace.com/hallowsevemusic and check out "papa justify" in our friends list. That is him. Brandon has another band, but I don't know much about them. I would like to have another band, but it seems Hallows Eve occupies me completely. I can't get away from it. If I start a side project and it's metal, it would just sound like Hallows Eve. If I stopped having HE and started another metal band, same thing. If I did a side thing, it would probably be a hard rock, retro punk type band with a lot of three chord, short songs.

Samir: Do you have anything you would like to say to the readers of Zero-Tolerance webzine ?

Thanks for supporting metal! I realize that when you go to shows, spend money on cd's, get t-shirts, you guys are spending hard earned money, probably from your job, to do that! That is what gives your bands the ability to exist. Most of them really don't make any money, they just want to make music. Your involvement is what makes it work. I appreciate that and sincerely thank you.

Samir : What have been some of your best memories with the band?

Things that I can't tell about in public forever! Everything you ever heard about bands, every urban legend, every exaggeration, every scene in a rock movie, well, it wasn't fiction for us, buddy, we did it all!

Samir : If you 'll be invited to playing here in morocco, do you accepte about this invitation?

I would love to play in Morocco! That only requires a serious inquiry and we will come.

Samir: Famous last words?

I never know what to say when asked this! I suppose it's just polite of the interviewer to ask the question. Perhaps something profound? At any rate, I want people to know that Hallows Eve will continue and you can find us at www.hallowseve.org. Thanks for the interview, my friend.

Samir:: Thank you very much for precious time,see you soon.

No, thank you!

Members :

Tommy Stewart - Vocals
Steve "Skullator" Shoemaker - Vocals Guitars
Dane Jensen - Drums
Sean Vinson - Guitar

Albums :


Tales of Terror Demo, 1984
Tales of Terror 1985
Death & Insanity 1986
Monument 1988
Evil Offerings 2004
Evil Never Dies 2005
History of Terror Best of/Compilation, 2006

Links :

http://www.hallowseve.org/

Genre :

Thrash metal old school