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Inteviews :
Band :
Nevermore
Interviewed :Steve
Smyth
Interviewer :
Alorchi Samir
Date:
20/12/2006
Website:
http://www.stevesmyth.com
Samir : Hi Steve
, how are you doing?
Hey Samir! I'm doing all right, all things considered. I'm in kidney failure, on
dialysis 3 days a week, 3 hours at a time, and that sucks. But we have some good
news coming soon in regards to a donor, and pending transplant surgery! Things
are finally looking up
through this nightmare! Stay tuned at:
www.stevesmyth.com
www.myspace.com/stevesmyth for an update in regards to this!
samir : can you give me a small history of your Discography ?
Vicious Rumors: Something Burning,1996 Cyberchrist,1998 Dragonlord:
Rapture,2001 Black Wings of Destiny,2005 Nevermore:This Godless Endeavor,2005
Guest spots on several albums over the years: Hatesphere: Marked by Darkness,
of The Sickness Within,2005 Victor Smolski: Suite One,Menuet J.S. Bach, off
Majesty and Passion,2004 Down Factor: Blinded,off Murder the World,2005; In
Vein, Judicial Hunt, and Broken Shell, off Pure,2001 Skitzo:Did that Hurt, off
Hellavator Musick,2002; Gates of Hell,POA,Prom Night, Richard Killed
Polly,Sylvania,and Cannibal Girl Island, off Got Sick?,2000
samir : How much
does Nevermore mean to you?
Well, it has been a dream come true to have been with these guys so far! It's a
band I was a fan of for quite a while, and things came together for me to be
asked to become a permanent member of the band in 2004, in addition to doing
all of the Enemies of Reality Tour 2003-2004, make an album I'm very proud to
have been a part of and contributed to, This Godless Endeavor, and some killer
touring that followed in 2005-2006, up until I found out about my failing
kidney condition. I guess you could say this band means a lot to me, and I look
forward to the future, and what we can do together!
samir : What guitars do you own ? and What
are your dream guitars?
Oh man, too many to mention! I am endorsed by BC Rich guitars, and proudly use
those everywhere and anywhere I can! Main ones right now are: my White Warlock 7
string, Ignitor 7 string, an Eagle acoustic, and my "old" standbys, my Red Bich
6 string, and my Blue Ignitor 6 string. All of these guitars have seen recent
action with Nevermore, Dragonlord, and my upcoming instrumental album,The
EssenEss Project.
samir : How much
do you feel you have accomplished with your life and with Nevermore?
Well, in my musical life so far, I feel I've covered a lot of ground, lived a
lot of the dreams I had since I was younger; touring, making records with
awesome musicians, making a lot of great friends out in the industry, and
learning a lot from everyone I know. There's still a lot more to go; I'm
finishing work on an instrumental debut album, called The EssenEss Project,
with an old friend/bandmate Steve Hoffman co-writing and playing bass, and
special guest drummer, Atma Anur, shred drummer extraordinarre! To see this
through will be awesome! I can't wait to get it out there and heard, and get
reaction from people! With Nevermore, I think the surface has only barely been
scratched; I fell sick this year, was not able to finish the tour behind This
Godless Endeavor,not able to be a direct part of the DVD we've been making the
last 1 1/2 years, although there will be 4 songs from Metal Mania Poland 2006, a
concert we did earlier this year, and some random bits. I believe we can, and
will hopefully, at some point after I am given a "clean bill of health", so to
speak, get together and write another gret album together; the potential was
seen on This Godless Endeavor, but it's through writing another record together,
I think we'll be able to take what we started a lot further. A lot changed in
the band over the last 2 years: a few of us had health situations, life changes,
and a lot of cool experiences between
all of us together. I think that could positively affect another record
together, when the time comes for that.
samir : Of all
the places that you've played with Nevermore, which is the one that you've
enjoyed the most? Which is the one country that's really embraced Nevermore
more that any other place in the world?
Oh man, too many to mention! Every place I have played has had a memory I keep
with me, and can still relfect on! I would say a tour like no other was
Gigantour! That was an awesome experience, one I have with me for life! So
many awesome people on that tour, between bands, crew, and fans! As for a
country, I really have to hand it to Greece. In my experience, Nevermore really
was received well from day one there, and the dedication of an extreme level
continues there today! I can't tell you how many e-mails,etc. I get a week,
from Greek fans wanting Nevermore to play there again!
samir : Your opinion about "The Godless Endeavor"?
I'm very proud of this album! It also is the one the fans have received the best
as well, from what I have seen and been told, so I'm proud to have been a part
of it!
samir : What is your favourite track on the last album ?
Every last one of them! ha ha I'm really proud of what Jeff did in writing Born;
great song, lots of hooks, and it's heavy as hell!
samir : What are
your main influences And your favourite e metal CDs until now?
Main
inlfiuences, in a nutshell: Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen, Akira Takasaki,Paul
Gilbert, Neal Schon. Yes, you're reading the last one right! That's to name a
few guitarists that really got me growing up. There's a lot of influences across
the board in a lot of different styles, too many to mention here...
samir : Do you
think you can influence some people or anything else with your music?
Oh man, I don't know! I get a lot of fan e-mail from people saying I've
influenced their guitar playing, their songwriting, that kind of thing.That's
the most flattering and humbling thing can think of! I have taught guitar and
music for many years now, and have been told I have helped a lot of people, and
that makes me happy, knowing I've been able to help a person get in the
direction their muse is calling them in.
samir : What was
the first album you ever bought?
AC/DC Back in Black! Angus and Malcolm man! That's the old school shit right
there! ha ha!
samir : Could you tell me some things about
the new video, "Final Product"?
Well, we
shot it in June 2005 in Glendale Ca. The guy that played the old man was awesome
in that! That was a fun video to do. I hope it was received well!
samir : How have
you progressed as a guitar player ?
I've been playing for 26 years now, and in that time, I took lessons for the
first 5 1/2 years, before that learned to play the Back in Black album by ear,
and some Aerosmith songs as well. In between the lessons, I studied theory in
high school, did vocal choir stuff as well, did 2 years of college, got an AA
degree in music, and have been teaching for the last 20 years. I always try to
grow in areas I strive for. I have tried to learn something about every style of
music I like, and even find things to learn in music I don't really care for
as much. there's something to learn in everything we hear, and I always try to
keep my mind learning by remembering this; it's something Jimi Hendrix said
years ago in an interview. I read it, and it stuck. To really answer your
question, I hope I've shown growth over the years! ha ha! A lot of things about
my playing are noticably different, album to album, year to year, and I can
only hope it relfects positively to
others as well.
samir : Which shows have marked your mind
the most?
Man, too
many to mention again!
A few: .The first show of Vicious Rumors tour 1996, opening for Accept! It was
hell, but we got it done! Playing Japan with Testament in 1999, that was
awesome! One of the shows was turned into a bootleg, and it's available for sale
through the Testament site.
Playing Dynamo 2000 with Testament: my first real big festival date with them,
and man was it awesome! I saw there's footage of it on You Tube. Every show
I've done with Nevermore since 2002! They were all fun!
The first Dragonlord show in San Francisco. We had no intention of making this a
live band; it was supposed to be a album project only, initially. That was a
fun
show. It turned out to be Steve DiGiorgio's last,
though. Bummer.
Samir : What can we expect from "Nevermore"
camp in the near and distant future?
Well, I can tell you right now, everyone has a solo album they're working on.
Warrel has his, with Peter Wichers, Jeff is working on a shred album, Van has
Pure Sweet Hell's 3rd album he's working on, and I am working on The EssenEss
Project debut. For some rough mix samples, please go here:
www.theessenessproject.com
</redirect0/http://www.theessenessproject.com>
After all that I don't know. I've got my health to attend
to right now, and that's priority to me right now. I do have about 8 songs in
various stages for another album though, so we'll see what happens.
Samir: What’s
the difference with playing live with Testament and playing live with Nevermore
?
That's a hard one to answer. Testament had so many line-up changes, and still
does from what it sounds like. That made it cool, to jam with so many
different, and awesome players, and also tough, because you really need time to
gel with another player, and a lot of times, that wasn't able to happen. With
Nevermore, came consistency! That was one of the best things I have enjoyed
about this band; the fact that the core of the band has played together for
years, made it easier to read them, learn their nuances,and to get in there and
jam the fuck out to some killer tunes!
Samir : What other bands have you been in ?
Well, my
first real band was called Ariah, a 5 piece progressive melodic metal band with
a femal vocalist. We had that from 1988-1992. From there, I started The
EssenEss Project, an all instrumental album project, with the bass player from
Ariah, Steve Hoffman, and we had a few drummers, including Atma Anur, who has
made a return for the album. In 1995, I joined Vicious Rumors, and spent
nealry 5 years with the band, from 95-99 I joined Testament for the next
nearly 5 years, through all the touring, the good times, and the tough times
with Chuck's cancer battle, and the bootleg DVD's out there! ha ha That was
1999-2004 From it's inception in 1999, I hooked up with Eric to start
Dragonlord, until last year's album, Black Wings of Destiny, in 2005. From
2002-2004, I toured with Nevermore, when my schedule permitted, and then joined
them when asked, as a permanent member, in 2004 through today. I also had a
Black Sabbath/Ozzy tribute I was a part of, Sweetleaf, from 1994-2005, and we
have tried to get in at least one gig a year, when all of us could, schedules
permitting. Not gonna happen this year, due to my illness, but it almost did!
Samir : What is your favorite guitar
technique, and what guitar technique do you feel you need the most work on?
I don't
know if I have a favorite guitar technique; I have learned a lot over the years
of various ones I heard, and wanted to use in my music. I don't learn them for
the sake of showing off or anything like that. I do know I use a lot of legato
phrases, alternate picking, sweep/economy picking, arpeggios,hybrid
picking,fingerstyle playing techniques. Those I use frequently; I really don't
know which ones need the most work. Probably the ones I don't know! lol
Samir : What Was your feeling in Testament by playing with such members like Steve DiGiorgio , Chuck billy..?
Awesome
people, great musicians. I learned a lot from them, and from Eric as well! As
well as every single drummer that was in there when I was: Steve
Jacobs(Forbidden),Jon Allen(Sadus,Dragonlord) John Tempesta(White Zombie,Rob
Zombie,Exodus), Asgeir Michelson(Borknagar,Spiral Architect), and the mighty
Paul Bostaph(Forbidden,Slayer, Exodus)! All awesome players, and great people!
Samir : best
thing that happened to you during a live show?
I just get a great positive rush anytime I play a live show! It's the best
feeling in the world, playing, and getting a reaction, whatever that may be,
from the
people!
Samir : Tell us
about your experience with Dragonlord .any news about them ?
Well, Eric started this back in 1999, and I hooked up with him on it. The intention of the band was an album project only, no live shows. That later changed, and I actually decided I enjoyed the live aspect of it. I could not commit to touring behind the Black Wings of Destiny album, due to my comittments with Nevermore, so I told Eric he should get someone to tour in my place, until I was able.
Samir : What are
your main plans ? Are there any Projects in the near future?
We're
currently wrapping up tracking for The EssenEss Project debut album! This is off
the path of metal for me, as this is more of a progressive rock, almost
fusiony type of album, but in a good way! It's about the songs; we're not
trying to just shred heads off with this, but rather get a song in your head,
and hopefully make you feel different moods and emotions, with what we've
written. To me, the traditional "shred" album doesn't hold any weight.There's
not enough of a song there. Sure, it's got cool licks of the day, stun shred
from all the players, and all that, but to me, what drives any music is song_,
and that's what Steve and I set out with Atma to accomplish! Along with this,
we're taking forays into a few different styles, stuff people would not expect
from me, given what they've heard from me before. It's a gamble, but I stand
behind this album 200%, and am very proud of it, as I have an am with
everything I've done with my career!We're close to mixing this, in the next
few weeks or so here, and then it's on to
mastering. Please go to:
www.theessenessproject.com </redirect0/http://www.theessenessproject.com>
for some rough mix album samples, and updates on what's
happening! Leave us some comments about the songs!
We're looking at a few different labels for release, and should have some news
by early next year in regards to this. Right now, for me, my health, again, is
priority, and getting that cleared up first is foremost on my mind.
samir : Would
you like to say anything in conclusion to our interview?
I just want to say to any and all fans of mine, I'm still here, still alive, and
getting ready for the new year, and what lies ahead! Stay tuned on my website,
www.stevesmyth.com and
myspace.com/stevesmyth for updates on my health, and
www.theessenessproject.com, for updates on
this album project! It will be ready for release early 2007, so check it out!
Most of all, thank you all for your support through this tough time, and your
support of all I have done so far, and your continued support in the future for
what lies ahead!
samir : Steve
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview.
Links :
http://www.stevesmyth.com
http://www.nevermore.tv
http://www.myspace.com/stevesmyth
