Shadow Gallery Interview!!!

GW: Brian simply was at the right place and time for us, and for him I suppose. We knew of him and searched high and low all around the country for him, only to find he already was working at the same company as Carl [Cadden-James]. At some point you have to think, OK, fate has led us here, let’s not turn our backs on the irony, and so we moved on it quickly.

I just love Room V album, and making a comparison to that CD I have suggested that Digital Ghosts might be one needed step backwards in order to make several forwards. Do you guys think that may be a valid point of view? If so, where do you think is possible to make an ulterior improvement for the next album?

GW: I do not think it is a step backwards. “Room V” was a very different record than “Digital Ghosts”. An album is a time stamp of where we all are and it relates to the things in our lives that are shaping our decisions. I have no regrets about what I have written or recorded musically, but will quickly point out that it is a perpetual chasing of an improved collection of musical moments that keeps us striving to achieve something more. The last album is one of my favorites and I rarely listen to any of the others except for the debut Shadow Gallery disc, which I love, but maybe because I am not on it and I can hear it with a better perspective.

Since you guys almost never played live I checked your official Web Site HYPERLINK "http://www.shadowgallery.com" www.shadowgallery.com out looking for tour dates and got excited by your Milan date on October 6th. Besides that, how are you experiencing this decision to perform a tour? Also, are there any other dates (and where) not yet confirmed?

GW: We started with just a show or two, but now are trying to add more and more. We are trying to take this opportunity to visit more than a few countries. We have shows in the US, Netherlands, England, France, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Germany and Belgium booked.

Despite the fact that I have enjoyed a lot Room V and Legacy because of their more prog oriented influences, I really felt surprised of your return to a more heavier way to perform music. Was this a thought decision or it just came heavier during the creation process?

GW: At one point early on in the writing, I saw a trend towards some heavier faster pieces and thought it would be good idea to steer away from the trend of including piano pieces and slower songs. I felt Room V had more than a fair supply of that and we all decided we would tend towards more guitar-based songs. Still, songs write themselves. At times there are many mood changes going on and even with a heavy song like “With Honor”, it really encompasses many turns, fast and slow in its journey.

Not changing the subject, could you please describe your creation process? How do you guys organize it and were there any differences on it between Digital Ghosts and past albums ?

GW: I would love to tell you that we all jam together and record the results, but usually it is either Brendt [Allman] or myself fully demoing a song playing all the parts and then we work on it from there.

The song begins that way, and then we may have some vocal melodies in mind. We send it off to Carl and he works on what inspires him. He drives around playing the music and writes a lot in the car I think - or he did. From there we chip away at some changes and add more parts and sometimes do another demo or two. I wrote more lyrics and vocal melodies on this record than in the past, which was fun for me. It can be a challenge to add lyrics on your own to someone else’s story, but I try to deeply understand what is going on and then add another twist or dimension. Even if one person does favor writing more, it will sound like Shadow Gallery because there is so much to add along the way of recording. It takes on all of our personalities during that stage.

In your albums you usually cooperate with some other musicians/singers. I know it is a out of the context question, but how was working with (my idol among men) Arjen Lucassen?

GW: It was as good as it can be because he is as great as it gets. I know him very well and we can both be very honest with each other, if we are not joking around that is. He really made some nice contributions to ROOM V.

Besides, on the new album Shadow Gallery invited Primal Fear and Suspyre vocalists to cooperate in a couple of songs. Were that a specific reason for these two? How was the harmony with Brian?

GW: Mainly because they are both great singers, but also because we knew of Clay already and he was close to us. I had done a small gig with him just prior to the SG recordings, so I was aware of what a powerful singer he was. It was also nice working with Ralf, although his parts were recorded in his own studio and sent in. Brian did not do any harmonies to those songs or sing any vocals on the songs they sang on.

This may be Shadow Gallery’s first tour that includes Europe. Should we expect a Live album?

GW: I do not think so.

And how are your side projects doing (this one is specially for Gary)?

GW: I just did some solos for Arjen and the new STAR ONE record.

I am also contributing to some local things as well.

A cliché question: What are your musical influences and what are you guys listening lately (own material does not count)?

GW: This is always the hardest question to answer. I have the same answer. but have to think about it for a while. I like Rush and saw them recently so they have made my playlists more often.

Brendt and a few of the guys were recently raving about Devin Townsend again...

I know the last period was not easy for Shadow Gallery, and I am (and I can speak for this site and plenty of other S.G’s Fans) very, extremely maybe, glad that you continue your path. What are the plans for the near future?

GW: To tour, to make another video, to capture some of the tour with some pro video shooting, then to consider another record next year while hitting some US shows in the spring. I think we will know a lot more about our direction after playing a dozen shows.

Please talk us about the production and recording process from DIGITAL GHOSTS.

GW: For me, it starts in my head. What do I want to accomplish that I failed to do in the past?

I make a big list of things and ideas and then sometimes this inspires me or leads to a direction.

For example, I thought early on, that we could do CLIFFHANGER part 3.

I composed some new music and added in a few older Cliffhanger riffs and melodies in there. By the time it got to Carl, he was moved by different emotions that he wanted to write about, and so he didn’t write lyrics about Cliffhanger. This became the song “Pain”.

The Production and recording is an extension of all of that. Most of it happens in the demo. In fact, the drums and keyboards for “Pain” are all from my first demo. The continued production is fun and Brendt and I had a great time with all of the background vocals. Everyone contributes to the production and shape of the record.

There is a lot of creative material on this record, and also it is so lengthy, why?

GW: I don’t think it is longer than other albums... Probably shorter I think.

Why is so special this album for you?

GW: Because it is the latest one and is recorded better and I am still not sick of it.

Are you working on new material?

GW: Yes, but it is not necessarily for Shadow Gallery yet. I think we have stages where we all write music and songs, but you are moved by inspiration and the ideas may or may not ultimately be Shadow Gallery material.

There are side projects for the band members?

GW: We have all agreed to make the tour our priority for now.

In the winter we will likely have other things going on.

Please tell us about the participation from the talented guest musicians.

Which song is the most special for you and why?

GW: I like Haunted a lot. This one turned out well, but is special to me for personal reasons.

The way this song’s music was written came about in a different way. My son Gabriel was two years old at the time, and just started speaking and playing the drums. We would go into my studio and just bang around the drum kit. He started playing some beats and said, “No Daddy. You don’t play drums. You go play piano. You and me can jam.”

I was happy to hear him say this and I went into the next room, where I had a piano.

I started playing something simple and rhythmic so he could hear me, but he could not really hear so well. I just kept playing the pattern over and over again.

15 minutes later he came in and said he liked what I was playing. I said “Great! Let’s record it!”

I went back in the drum room and dragged my overhead drum mics into the piano room - as far as they would reach and then ran back and hit record in my studio.

The piano sounded terrible, out of tune and distant because the mic cables (intended for the drum kit) would not reach all the way in. Still I recorded it and improvised an inspired continuation of chords for a few minutes. When he wanted to have lunch I added some keyboards very quickly- strings and organ. Then I started thinking “this could be good for Shadow Gallery” and sent it off to Carl. I had Queen in my head and even recorded some vocal melodies.

Carl (who only heard the music) wrote something so similar to what I was hearing, I was totally amazed! This whole piece became “Haunted”, and the out of tune piano is what inspired the title and a bit of the story perhaps, so we kept all those demo parts, even though they are a bit out of tune and all. So, I really have a two year old Gabriel to thank for getting that whole improvised song started and he was there for all of it. That song will always be very special to me for that reason.

I will use my last question to give you guys a open space to leave a message to HYPERLINK "http://www.perfectprog.com" www.perfectprog.com fans and/or mention something that maybe has not crossed my mind…Feel free lol.

GW: Our music is defined not only by us, but by the listeners. We are all an active ingredient in what happens and are just as happy to hear from, and meet the great people who buy our music, as much as they are to meet us. We are eternally grateful. If we can all create and find emotion in this music, we can all influence each other and move this world to the places we want it, one note at a time. Thank you!

Thank you very much for the attention and I will see you guys October 6th on Milan tour date. You guys Rulez!!!!! Keep on doing the extraordinary work…for good music sake.

BUY SHADOW GALLERY LATEST ALBUM DIGITAL GHOST AT: http://www.shadowgallery.com

Add Comments, Reviews, Updates, Links, News and Corrections About this Band:

Comments