Blas, Slaughter are one of the few bands that survived the musical
'cleansing' of the past few years. Was there a time or two there when you
thought you weren't going to make it?
We went through some very trying times. We never really talked about it but
I'm sure everyone at times had some thoughts that maybe we wouldn't make it.
We're very happy now and things seem to be getting better all the time.
Stick It To Ya was huge - you may not have been an overnight success story like people like to make out (you know, hiding the hard work behind the success), but did it surprise you to have such a hit with your first record?
I think there was so much going on at the time that none of us really had
time to think much about it. We were constantly on the move and busy doing
all kinds of things. When we look back on it although we put a lot of hard
work into it we were pretty lucky to have the success that quickly.
How did each of you guys handle the exposure and success?
Everyone has their own way of dealing with it. I can't speak for everyone
else but I think I kind of created an alter ego to be able to deal with it.
I was not used to dealing with lots of people and crowds very well before so
I had to create another part of my personality. Sometimes you lose track of
who you were before but over time I was able to get a handle on it.
So did your ego's start to build, or were you able to remain down to earth (It
seems you were able to keep it in check!!)
We all remained pretty down to earth. Compared to a lot of people I think
we did pretty well.
Opening for Kiss must have been great!
Opening for Kiss was one of the highlights of all of our lives. I grew up
listening to Kiss so it meant a lot to me. I got to be good friends with
Eric Carr and we all learned a lot from working with them. We all have some
memories that will last a lifetime.
Did you have much pressure on you, while recording Wild Life?
Yeah I suppose there was some pressure. We tried not to think about it too
much and we had a pretty good time making that record. It's a lot more laid
back now working with an independent label. We have more freedom to
experiment I think.
You split with EMI to CMC, where you still are today. What prompted that
decision?
Everyone who we knew at the label had been fired and we were afraid that they
wouldn't support our vision of what our music should be. They wanted us to
be more alternative so we went somewhere that we could make the music we
liked.
Did that move help you stay together as a band? It seems those that stayed with a major ended up being screwed anyway!
Yeah I'm sure it did. EMI has not had any luck with rock bands since we
left. In fact they just went out of business.
So here we are now - it's been a few years since Fear No Evil, how are
things going with 'Revolution'.
Things seem to be getting better all the time. We're going to be on a big
tour here in the states this summer with Alice Cooper, Dokken and Warrant and
radio support seems to be increasing all the time.
I think the album is great! Possibly my favourite Slaughter record.
What was the intention going in to making this album?
Just to make good music. We weren't trying to follow any trends. We enjoy
making music and we're glad we still have the freedom to do so.
Was it to make something a little different?
We wanted to try a few different things. We always like to experiment. Our
main love is good hard rock music though.
Just going through the tracks if we can.....Can you comment on each one?
American Pie is already picking up steam for you. Great anthem (laid back
too!)
We all love the groove, reminds me of the seventies.
Heaven It Cries...heavy, different.
Going over great live. It's one of all our favourites to play.
Tongue 'N Groove....Heavy grooving tune!! Big bass!
Kinda reminds me of some old VVI stuff. Lot's of people who say it's their
favourite.
Can We Find A Way...hit tune all over it!
Great vibe. Haven't tried it live but it's one of my personal favourite.
Stuck On You....psychedelic?
You kinda have to have a sense of humour to enjoy that one!
Hard To Say Goodbye....another single?
Yes, it will probably be a single. It's going great in Japan already.
Another favourite of ours.
Revolution....
great live tune. We play it at the beginning of the set.
Guck?
Mark's kid's first word. He kind of wrote it for him.
Heat Of The Moment....great melody.
Great sexy groove. Lots of females seem to like it.
Rocky Mountain Way...
We used to play that as an encore on our last tour and people seemed to love
it. We were just messing around with it in the studio and decided to record
it.
You're My Everything....catchy as hell...single?
Reminds me of some of our earlier music. It's a favourite of a lot of people here
already.
I'm Gone...the heaviest thing by the band yet? Huge!!
That's the first song in our live set. Great song to get the crowd going.
Ad Majorem.....
We use it as an intro to our show. Cool mood piece.
And finally, you guys support your fans on line, with sites and e-mail.
Do you enjoy that side of things?
It's been great to be able to communicate directly with fans on the Internet.
It helps to keep people informed about new music.
And when did you get into that side of things?
I started getting into computers about six years ago to help with audio
editing in the studio and songwriting.
Anything you want to add to the fans out there?
We're having a great time on tour this year so we hope to see you all soon.
We also look forward to coming to Australia soon!
Thanks a bunch mate!!
