For fans who want strong melodies, big hooks and catchy choruses, pounding drums, thunderous bass lines and powerful vocals. then look no further; this is the band you've been asking for!! Classic-melodic hard rock stuff with attitude! It's ALL here!! Delivered with heart, soul, passion & fun!!
Heavy Paradise talked with Faith Circus' mastermind, Marc Farrano, about their debut album, the melodic hard rock scene in Norway, their forth coming album, their future plans and many other interesting things! Enjoy!
Marc: Thanx my friend & A Happy New Year to you to! Heavy Paradise sounds like the perfect place to be!!
heavy paradise : Firstly, I would like to ask you what's the latest from the Faith Circus camp?
Marc: Oooh! There’s so much going on at the moment… let’s rewind a bit! We ran into some ”trouble” mid ’09, both personal and business related. We left Kivel Records and broke up the band!! Then 10 months later, when things had cooled off for a bit, we tried to reunite.
We had a meeting and a jam, and although things seemed fine for a while, in the end Lasse Koester (bass) wanted to concentrate 100% on his own projects, and we wish him all the best!
So, we had to find a new bassplayer, which was pretty hard the first time around! Anyway, there was only one guy we knew of who would fit in, both personally & musically, and that was Christer Ottesen! He came in for a jam, blew our minds (and ears!) accepted the offer and we got right back to work!
In the fall/winter of ’10 we played a few gig’s (even opening for JORN) to get that live feel back, completed the re-remix of our debut album, put the finishing touches on a live EP (both out soon on itunes, etc…), booked studiotime/started pre-production for the next album and began shooting a promovideo!
heavy paradise : Could you tell our readers a short bio of Faith Circus?
Marc: The REAL short version is that around early 2005 I was looking for some musicians to help me record an album. I had all the songs (except of ”Alive & Kickin”) written and demoed.
A guy I used to play with introdused me to Marius Morch (guitars) who I’de been wanting to work with for a while.
Marius brought along his longtime partner in crime Baard Nordvik (drums). And THEN we went into Spinal Tap mode, using one guy on bass to rehearse and record the basic tracks, having another guy re-record all the bassparts, and finally having Baard suggesting Lasse Koester (who I’de played with in different bands for over 10 years) to become our permanent bassplayer! The same day as we decided and told him he was the guy, I also dropped the bomb on them about Kivel Records wanting to sign us! Kivel told us we needed one more ass kicking song, and I came up with ”Alive & Kickin” in about 30 min. which we recorded in no time!
....And the rest is history… as they say!
Marc: Thank you so much! Well, we actually started writing new material long before the album was completed, and I had a bunch of songs laying around. In fact we were ready to record the second album around the time we broke up! A few of the songs intended for that album stuck, but it’s mostly new material being recorded.
heavy paradise : So, would you give us a taste of what the new album will sound like?
Marc: Heavier songs, still melodic! More Rock `n Roll! Only two ”ballads”!
In fact Baard brought in a complete demo where he played every instrument and all I had to do was to come up with the melody & lyrics… and it sounds like fuckin ”Badlands”!! We’ve been labeled an AOR band, but I don’t feel that covers us completely!
Sure, the first album had some midtempo, ”soft” tracks on it, but that all had to do with the state of mind the songs were written in. I was going through a pretty dark period in my life at the time (as well as listening to a lot of ”Journey”!lol), and it shows in the compositions. I’ve always looked at us as a rock `n roll band ala Mr. Big/Whitesnake/Bon Jovi/Aerosmith/etc… Wait for the upcoming album and judge for yourselves!
heavy paradise : In your debut you had some really impressive guests (Tony Harnell, Morty Black among others)! How was this collaboration with these musicians and are we going to see some special guests on the new album too?
Marc: Although I’ve met Tony, Morty, Tore and the other guys several times in the past the actual ”work” happened through trading files via servers (thank God for the internet!). We have a few people we’ve talked to about participating… so we’ll see!
Marc: Well, the three you mentioned are among my top 5! I also feel that ”Half The Man” is probably one of the greatest songs I’ve written (together with ”Tried `n True). I really like the way it turned out… especially now that it has been re-mixed! But of course I have a special connection with ALL the songs I’ve composed!
heavy paradise : A record contract with Kivel Records seems a good deal! How difficult is it for a band to get a good record contract nowadays?
Marc: I don’t think NEW bands (in our style of music) are able to get ”good” deals these days! There is no money in the business anymore, and unless you’re an 80’s band getting your second wind there will be no promotion and you’ll never see a dime!
Kivel Records, along with all the other indie lables out there, does a good job… within what they can do! But all you can hope for is to get an album out and have some minor press/reviews! Not nothing you really can’t do yourself… if you’re willing to spend a few hours in front of the computer everyday!
heavy paradise : How so and you decided to re-release the first album? If I'm right, it's going to be re-mixed and re-packaged with a couple of bonus tracks?
Marc: Yeah, we wanted to re-mix the album to bring the vision closer to what we actually sound like live, and also there were elements left out of the mix, first time around, we wanted to bring back. We also wanted to be able to own our own master!
And since we didn’t want to charge people twice for an album they might already have, we decided to throw in a couple of bonustracks. ”Heroes”, which was originally intended for the Kivel release, but through a series of events didn’t make the album. And a remake of the classic James Bond tune ”For Your Eyes Only”, which we turned into a duet with none other than the amazing Robin Beck! You can check out the ENTIRE album on our BRAND NEW Myspace: www.myspace.com/faithcircuso
Marc: Well, we have bands like TNT, JORN, WIG WAM & STAGE DOLLS around, and my old friend Bennech Lyngboe from OTR/Main Attraction told me he wanted to start writing with me for a new album project!, but aside from those guys I feel we’re pretty much alone in what we do! Or maybe it’s just me not paying attention?!lol
heavy paradise : How do you see the melodic rock scene nowadays? Do you see that the future of melodic hard rock is bright?
Marc: I think there are always gonna be people around who will love this kind of music! Both people from our own generation, and new fans discovering the melodic rock scene.
But I don’t think we’ll ever experience what we had in the mid 80’s/early 90’s! It has to be clear that we ’re not in this just for the money!! `Cause we hardly see any… We play this kind of music because it’s what we grew up on, and it gets US off! And if YOU want a piece of it… all you gotta do is come see us!
heavy paradise : Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind for these words :
MUSIC: Passion!!
LOVE: Is great when I have it… but I write better songs broken hearted… with a bottle of wine!
FAITH: CIRCUS. That was an easy one…
LIES: Something I’m bad at! The truth is a lot more fun!lol
SUCCESS: Makes what we do a lot easier (and harder in the end!) `cause you don’t have to sell half your gear and rob old people to pay for studiotime!
FAITH CIRCUS: A dream I’ve worked very hard on for over the past 5 years (actually all my life…) and that I’m very proud of!
heavy paradise : Which are your influences?
Marc: My first musical memories are hearing my parents Elvis & Johnny Cash, reel-to-reel tapes! But the biggest change came when I discovered KISS at the age of 5! After that it was pretty clear to me what I wanted out of my life! Later on, bands like Guns `n Roses, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue, Skid Row, HOL, etc, etc… caught my attention.
heavy paradise : If you had to choose your five top singers of all time who would that be?
Marc: The 5 singers I feel have influenced me most through the years would have to be Paul Stanley, Joe Lynn Turner, David Coverdale, Sebastian Bach, Tom Jones & Frank Sinatra! Shit! I think that was six!...
heavy paradise : Are you going to perform live in the near future?
Marc: First off we’ll be opening for TNT here in Bergen on january the 28. We’re also trying to book some other gig’s to keep us busy throughout the year, in between recording the next album and finishing up the video! Unfortunatley (for our foreign fans!) only in Norway. But if you out there want us to come to YOUR country and play, let us know, maybe put us in contact with your local promoters/clubs/etc… and we’ll try to come see you!
Marc: Like I said… we’re not only in this for the money. And as long as we get a kick out of writing, recording and playing live the ”Circus” will continue to fight for it’s place in the spotlight!
heavy paradise : Marc, do you want to send a message to your fans?
Marc: We want to thank all of you ”Circusfreaks” out there who have supported the band so far! It means a lot to us hearing from you, so please continue giving us feeback, both good `n bad!
heavy paradise : I would like to thank you for accepting my invitation for this interview and I wish you all the best for the future!
Marc: My pleasure Vasihl, and thanx for your interest in Faith Circus! Any time bro!
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