Heavy Paradise : Hello and welcome
to Heavy Paradise for this interview! It’s really a pleasure to have you here
to share some things about the up-coming release of the “Believe” album. Before starting this interview, would
you like to introduce your band and to give readers a short bio of the band?
Giulio: The band
is composed by Mario Percudani Guitars (Hungryheart, Mitch Malloy, Axe,
Lionville), Paolo Apollo Negri Keyboards (Link Quartet, Wicked Minds, An Apple
A Day), Gianni Grecchi Bass (Blueville, Rusty Miles) and Paolo Botteschi Drums
(Hungryheart) and naturally me.
I met Mario two
years ago for the first time, and it was great to discuss with him about music,
We agreed the
most of the things we spoke about the album.
Mario has worked
for years with the musicians who participated in making the record, and I was
very happy to have them in the project. They are simply fantastic.
Heavy Paradise : After a couple of spins of “Believe”,
I must say that I enjoyed it and it’s about a US-flavored album full of
melodies, catchy hooks and choruses, very good songs and, of course, very good
guitar work!! So, my question is, are you satisfied by the final result
and how do you describe the album’s sound?
Giulio: The
album’s sound is a mix of my influences and the ones of the musicians who play
in it.
What you can
find there is a mix of melodic rock, hard rock, blues, funky, pop.
But our real
intention was to create an album of ten hits without paying too much attention
to the genre and trying to mix vintage and modern sound in a unique project.
We worked very
much on the songwriting aspect trying to reach our goal.
I’m very pleased
with the result and I love it!
Heavy Paradise : Who is responsible for the
songwriting here and how long did it take you for the recordings of the
“Believe”?
Giulio: Me and
Mario started co-writing the songs just over a year ago. It was very easy and
professional to work with him. I love the way we worked.
Everytime our
goal was just to obtain the best solution we could to produce good songs with
something different in the style.
The
collaboration with him is a very good begin for me…
Also the other
musicians participated in part of the songwriting…
Heavy Paradise : The album is going to be released
through Tanzan Music. In my opinion, nowadays, on one hand it’s
pretty easy to promote your music with all these media sources (FB, Twitter
e.t.c.) but on the other hand it’s, also, difficult to sell albums ‘cause of
the illegal download. How you guys do see this situation in the rock music in
general ?
Giulio: We just
think that’s terrible! Crazy that we
can’t do anything to stop this theft. But we trust in people and believe in
their love for the music. On the other
hand we think that it’s very good to have the possibility to promote your music
and creations in an easier way, but sometimes the disadvantages outweigh the
advantages
Heavy Paradise : From your new album, I have to say
that among my favorite songs is the funky and Kotzen-esque tune of “Rockstar”.
Impressive!!! If you had to choose your favorite tracks, which would that be
and why?
Giulio: Oh
yes!!! Good choice!!! It’s one of my favourites too!!! But i love them all for
different reasons.
If I had to
choose, I would choose “My Jesus”. It’s a very special song for me, not just
for the words, but for the melody, choirs and arrangements too. It’s a letter
to Jesus trying to explain how he’s important in my life and how I’m fighting
everyday to better understand where he is and what I have to do to deserve his
love..And maybe to explain to him how I feel his presence in my life. Sometimes
it’s very strange ‘cause I don’t know why this happens to me, but it’s amazing
to have a guide like him! Naturally I’m talking about Jesus, not about the
religion…
Heavy Paradise : Is there going to be a video to
promote the album?
Giulio: Oh yes,
absolutely!!! We’ve chosen “I can’t stand the rain”. We think it’s a very good
hit with a very melodic chorus and an interesting and particular arrangement.
Heavy Paradise : The Italian melodic hard rock/AOR
scene over the last years achieved to build a strong reputation with some
really impressive releases! Do you believe that the Italians have nothing to be
envy about regarding the Swedish melodic scene?
Giulio: Everyone of us
has grown up listening to some great Sweden bands, so I don’t like to compare
the Sweden scene with the Italian ones. Our country has not the Rock
reputation, but in the last years the italian AOR/Hard Rock scene has done
something special, many great albums have come out and we are proud about it.
And it’s nice to be part of this new wave of Italian rock music.
Heavy Paradise : Which are your influences?
Giulio: I have
many and, sometimes, very different influences:Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Buckley, Sanandamaitreya,
George Michael, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Guns’n’Roses, Soundgarden and many
others. When I write
songs I would use all of them, because they all play an important role in my
way to feel the music.
Heavy Paradise : With the album’s title, “Believe” do
you want to sent a message to everyone to believe in something or is I just a
word after all?
Giulio: I think
there’s always something to believe in!! Youjust have to find your way and
something to fight for! Sometimes life events
can be very brutal and we begin to live just for the pain!!! But maybe what
we’re feeling is just our need to believe!!
Heavy Paradise : Are there going to be some live
performances to promote the album in the near future?
Giulio: Oh
yes!!! First of all we are going to play the album in some realise parties and
are planning a European tour as we really believe in this project.
This is just the
beginning!!!
Heavy Paradise : Closing, I would like to thank you for this interview, to wish you all the best for your future plans and to
ask one last question to Mario; what about your main band Hungryheart Mario??
Is there going to be a new album in the near future?
Mario: Hi Vassilis! It’s nice to talk with you
again and thanks for this interview. The new album of Hungryheart is coming
very soon… we will start the recordings during the winter and it’s scheduled to
be released next spring/summer. By the way we will probably come again to play
some shows in Greece and we are working on managing a tour together with
Giulio. We will keep you updated! Talk to you very soon ;)
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