Steve West

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Feb

Steve West & Bruno Ravel - Danger Danger (2000)

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Steve West

Bruno Ravel

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Interviews

DANGER DANGER PART ONE
Steve West

Let's go to the Danger Danger album first - when you started recording this album, did you anticipate it taking this long?
No. With us, it takes as long as it takes. We're never quick at anything.

What did you and the guys have in mind when writing and recording this
album? Was there a set goal?
There was a little pressure because 'Four' was received better than we had
expected. We rarely got great reviews for our earlier stuff but critics around the globe all gave 'Four' high praise. It felt good. We felt rejuvenated. We really came to peace with who Danger Danger is and what we're all about. We decided to be the best D2 that we could. That meant great, hard melodic AOR rock. Well crafted songs with great lyrics and music. Lots of melody. Songs you will remember forever. Like our first album but keeping a modern edge as well. We don't want to live in the past, either.

Did you achieve that?
I think so. At least from the response we've gotten so far. Obviously, you
think this record is better than 4 so that means a lot. The fans are
ecstatic. We're pleased. I think some of the best material we have ever done
is on this record. That's a good feeling 11 years and 6 records down the
road. It's nice to know that we're as vital today as we were when we released
our first album.

I love the album as you know, has there been any other feedback yet, even at this early stage?
Masa Itoh, the most revered critic in Japan digs the record and gives it high praise. He thinks we finally hit our stride. That means a lot to us. The Italian press is really diggin' it. We've done more interviews for Italy on this record than we have for all our previous released together. So far, everyone has said great things. We're really fortunate and thankful. The fans love it! That's really the most important thing, though. Just check out the posts on our web board.

What touring plans have you got for the album?
We're in the process of planning dates for Europe in April. Possibly Japan and a U.S. tour this summer.

I won't even ask you about Australia!! haha.
It's a shame. We have so many great fans that write me from Oz and we feel like we've let 'em down 'cos we've never been there. Hey, if some promoter wanted us to come over and play, we'd be there in a heartbeat. We're still waiting for that call. Maybe if you and all our great Aussie fans got together and demanded someone to book us, it could happen. There certainly are enough of them. Do us a favor and start a petition or some kind of drive to get us there. A bet it could happen if someone took up the cause.

Tell us about Gildersleeves..for those that don't have the CD yet or haven't read the extensive liner notes - where does the title come from?
It was the name of a club that Bruno and I use to frequent when we were teenagers back in the '70's. It was the first place I saw bands doing original material. It blew my mind. The music, the fashion, the whole scene changed my life. It was so rock and roll.

What about the album cover? Who's idea was that?
That was Bruno's idea. I wanted to put the picture of the club on the cover.
We wanted to get a picture of the building the way it is now so we went there and took some pictures. While we were there one night we decided to take shots of the city looking straight uptown on the Bowery. We were standing in the middle of the Bowery right in front of Gildersleeves and Bruno was cliciking away at the city. That's the Empire State building on the cover in the distance. It's New York City and it's home.

The album is even better produced and mixed than the last one - who's going to take credit for that?!
Bruno! When we did 4, he had never mixed a full album before. I told him he had to start sometime, so he did. He mixed 4 in literally a box. That was the size of our last studio. I'm amazed it sounds as good as it does. I said, don't sweat it, you'll get better with each album you mix and he certainly has. My nickname for him has always been the ''Mutt Lange'' of Queens.
Although he now resides on the Island of Long.

There are numerous effects sown into the music - tracks like Six Million Dollar Man, She's Gone and When She's Good. Who's idea was this?
That's Paul on Six Million. Lance Quinn who produced our first album had a
lot to do with all the keyboards and effects on the album. He's a mad
scientist. Bruno as well.

They really work well with the context of the album, makes it sound like a big Def Leppard style production. Very cool....
Thats cool. But in deference to Def Leppard, we're big Mutt Lange fans. I consider Def Leppard a contemporary of ours. Mutt is the shit! We've been diggin' him since Tycoon, Roman Holiday,etc. The man knows how to write and produce a tune. Thank you for the compliment!

And you have a monster drum sound also....
Thanks. We tried to move away from the '90s small drum sound and get back to puttin' some big drums in the mix.

You re-recorded 2 tracks from Cockroach again - When She's Good and Walk It Like You Talk It...bloody great versions, much better than the originals.
Is this because you now know more than you used to? Any other reasons these sound so good now?
Thanks again! I hope we know more now.

You guys all play your asses off on this album. Congratulations!
What did you think of each other's performances?
I think everyone did a great job. Especially Paul, with his vocals. The man can sing!

What are your favourite tracks of the album?
Dead Drunk & Wasted, Cherry Cherry, Six Million Dollar Man and She's Gone.

What was the hardest part of the recording process?
Getting the arrangements together.

And how about the best part of the process?
Writing.

Back a little to Four The Hard Way - looking back, are you happy with the response to that album?
We were more than happy.

How about the sales? Did they reach your expectations/hopes?
We don't play those games anymore. It takes it toll. We make 'em and put 'em
out and as long as our fans dig 'em, we're happy. Would I like to sell a
million records? Of course, but we don't obssess with that anymore. It's
unhealthy.

Any tracks from Gildersleeves you are all looking forward to playing live?
Most of them. I love playing new shit.

Ok guys, the hard part - what is the best thing each of the other guys
bring to the band?
Paul brings his voice which I love. Bruno brings his musical ability which I
really rely on. The guy is a monster. He can do it all. And obviously his
techinical skills as an engineer.

Future plans?
Tour!

I know you don't want to hear this - especially on the eve of the release
of the current album...but when might the next one be started?
The next one we'll release is ''cockroach.'' Both versions. One with Ted
singing and one with Paul. That will be out in May.

When you have obviously put so much sweat and tears into a project, how do you guys feel when idiots like myself immediately start asking about the next project?
When you stop asking, that's when I'll worry!

DANGER DANGER PART TWO
Bruno Ravel

It's been a busy couple of years for you mate - first with Westworld and
the new Danger Danger, plus now Westworld 2 and the promotion and gigs for D2.
How do you find being busy?
I actually wish I was busiER!!...Danger Danger & Westworld take up only a
small portion of my time due to the nature of the whole '80's rock scene in
the year 2000. It's very limited.
The rest is spent working on other musical related endeavors that most likely
will be my main gig in the future.

OK. Let's go to the Danger Danger album first - when you started recording this album, did you anticipate it taking this long?
Well, in hindsight I should have expected it, but no. I never thought it'd
take as long as it did.

What did you and the guys have in mind when writing and recording this
album? Was there a set goal?
There really was no set "goal" other than to make sure that we had some great
material and that we stayed true to our "melodic" roots.

Did you achieve that?
I think we did...I think it came out great under the circumstances and I'm really happy with it.

I love the album as you know, has there been any other feedback yet, even at this early stage?
The feedback has been very positive for the most part. Everyone seems to like it.

What touring plans have you got for the album?
Our touring plans are as always, governed by the "touring gods". It's up to
scheduling, demand and finances.

I presume the US during the summer will happen...what about areas outside the US, like Europe?
We love to tour. We wish we could tour like we used to back in "The day", but the demand for D2 shows is somewhat limited, so we rely on our fans and our record companies abroad to get us there. We hope to be touring in Europe sometime this summer as well as some stateside shows following...As for Japan & other territories?...We'll see what happens...

I won't even ask you about Australia!! haha.
You're our biggest supporter in Australia!!..C'mon!!..Get us over there!!..we'll play for free!!

Haha..great..the pressure is on now!
Tell us about Gildersleeves..for those that haven't got the CD yet or haven't read the extensive liner notes - where does the title come from? Sick of that question yet?
Not sick of the question...YET.
"The Great Gildersleeves" was a rock club in NYC that I frequented when I was
growing up . I started going there when I was 14!! and continued for years until they closed down. It was a great scene. It gave me the bug to become a rock musician. Sure, I loved to play and loved music but hanging out in this club was like being backstage at a concert. Totally decadent, trashy and cool. I wish I could go back, even for one night.

What about the album cover? Who's idea was that?
The cover was my idea. I actually shot the picture with Steve as my assistant. It's the street that Gildersleeves was located on. I wanted to give it that "Night time in the Bowery (NYC)" look.

The album is even better produced and mixed than the last one - who's going to take credit for that?!
Well, thank you again.....We were all involved with the "production" of the
album. That means that we all contributed musical parts to every song,
however, It was myself that was overseeing the project.
I also mixed the album. I'd call up a mix, tweak it, then Steve would come to the studio, make his comments, I'd make some final moves and voila......

There are numerous effects sown into the music - tracks like Six Million Dollar Man, She's Gone and When She's Good. Who's idea was this?
It's different on each song. On "6 Million Dollar Man" the voice intro was solely Paul's idea. It was on his demo of the song, and I loved it and decided to put it on the album. "When She's Good", and "She's Gone" were my ideas with lots of help from Lance Quinn.

They really work well with the context of the album, makes it sound like a big Def Leppard style production. Very cool....
God!..You are SO KIND!..I should keep you around to boost my ego!.. Mutt Lange is my idol as far as a songwriter/producer and Bob Rock is my "sonic rock" God. Since D2 is on the hard side of melodic rock, I try to get somewhere in between the over the top, bombastic Def Leppard/Mutt production and the energy and aggressiveness of a Bob Rock mix....of course with a fraction of the studio knowledge and equipment!!

Bruno, you have a monster guitar and bass sound on the album. Firstly - how do you achieve this sound and secondly, how do you enjoy playing those good hard guitar chops & solo's as apposed to the bass?
Thank you, Thank you and THANK YOU AGAIN!!..=]
There's nothing that special about the way we get our guitar & bass sounds.... Great Instruments, Mic Pre's, Compressors, Mikes and a great room...
As for my liking playing the Guitar and Bass? Well I would have rather had Andy or Tony do the guitar work and leave the bass to me, but sometimes it's easier to just do it yourself rather than try to communicate your ideas to others and hope that they understand where you want to go with it. Most of the solos were done by Andy & Tony with the exception of 2 that I played, and one that Paul played. I would have liked for Andy or Tony to do them all because Andy & Tony are 2 of the best guitarists in the world and I never have to worry myself with anything they play. It's all good.

And Steve has a monster drum sound also....
How many times do I have to keep thanking you??!!!..

Haha...no more, really!
We recorded Steves drums basically the same way we did on "4"...went into a
nice sounding room and let him fly.

You take up lead vocals on Cherry Cherry. Tell us a little about that
track!
Ahh Yes. "Cherry Cherry"....
One never knows when they'll be recording their last record, and I for one
always wanted to try to sing one song on a D2 record before we call it a day.
So on this record, I was looking for a song for me to sing. I originally
wanted to sing "Dead Drunk & Wasted", but that song is too good for me to
ruin, so I decided to try "Cherry".

Was it fun to take lead for a change?
Lots of fun..I sang that track with no one around, in my underwear...and
finished it in about an hour. Wish every song would go that smoothly.

I thought the song really fitted your voice and it was immediately
catchy....Are we likely to see more Bruno vocals or a solo album perhaps?
Thanks again....as for me singing again?..One never knows...Btw, you just
opened a rather large can of worms!..=]

What deal have you in place for the US release of Gildersleeves, besides
your website/online sales?
We have distribution through "Sumthin" Distribution..It'll be in all major
stores and if it's not, just ask them to order it and they will.

You re-recorded 2 tracks from Cockroach again - When She's Good and Walk It Like You Talk It...bloody great versions, I think they are much better than the originals.
Is this because you now know more than you used to? Any other reasons these sound so good now?
I don't think that there's one song that I've ever recorded that I wouldn't
tweak now, or scrap and re-record..When you have a chance to listen to something over the years, you always say to yourself..."I'd love to do THAT over",
or..."This part would have made that song a lot better" etc, etc..
Also, when we recorded those records, I knew squat about recording and now I
know a little more about how to achieve what I want to.

There was talk of you re-recording a popular live favourite Shot Of Love....why was that left off this time?
We started recording it, but it was just a little too sweet for this record.
It didn't fit quite as well as the rest of the tracks, so we put it on ice.

Sure, I can see that. Speaking of that album, I guess I should ask you when the Cockroach album will see the light of day?
We have recently obtained the rights to the "Cockroach" sessions, so it will
be released this summer. Check out website for the latest on that.

And will both versions be released?
YES!!!

When did Sony finally give in and hand the rights back? What do you think caused their change of heart?
No change of heart..we finally cut through all the red tape and found the
right person at Sony to deal with..After that, everything went smoothly.

OK Bruno, how about Westworld then? How did you get involved in that?
The producer for that project (Paul Orofino) and I are long time friends.
They already had a different rhythm section in place, but were having
problems with them so Paul suggested myself and John (O'Reilly). I already
knew Tony Harnell and was a huge Riot fan when I was a teen and actually saw
them play when I was 15, so I was curious. I went to the studio and it seemed
like it'd be fun and a no pressure situation, so I agreed.

The album was met with a lot of excitement and some great reviews. What
were the group's goals going into that project?
Tony & Mark are the vision behind Westworld. I think they started the band to
give themselves a release from TNT & Riot. The "goals" if any were to make a
great record and have fun with it.

Did it start off as a one album deal?
One, with options if it did well. I guess it did well enough, cause we just
finished another.

So what have you got lined up for album number 2? More of the same, or something a little different?
My part in the second Westworld album was just like the first one. I acted
first as a bassist, second as a mediator and as a producer. I basically "Trim
the fat". That's why Mark calls me "The Butcher". I arrange the tracks and if
something is terrible, we cut it. I do this while being sensitive to 3 other
egos. It's quite tricky at times. After I complete my bass tracks, Tony &
Mark do the rest adding parts, harmonies etc, etc. It's mostly their doing.
The new record I would say is pretty close to the first one with a few
surprises..you'll have to wait and see.

And is there the prospect of any live dates for Westworld?
Sure there is!...If we sell enough records, we'll play.

How about a Danger Danger / TNT / Westworld tour? HUGE!!!
I'm down with that tour!!....although I won't get laid cause I'll be on the
stage all night!!

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Steve West & Bruno Ravel - Danger Danger (2000)

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