Great interview with my client Metal Knights by Jamie Bradley of LPM Voice Magazine Sept '08 Issue:
Headbanging went out with glam stars Motley Crue, right? Maybe. But for all you hardcore, die-hard metalheads out there Metal Knights are here to resurrect the lost art that revolutionized heavy metal music...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Metal Knights started as a tribute band to the greats of the 70's and 80's and transformed, with a little outside help from Craig Goldy of Dio and the superb representation of Hunt Talent Management, into the unique sound they are today. Metal Knights has some exceptional talent that you come to expect when you think of the classic metal bands that gave it their all during their live performances. With the recent addition of Craig Goldy through his Destiny Bridge program (www.craiggoldy.com) Metal Knights and their six highly devoted members (Razor on Lead Vocals, Paul Calder and Billy King on Lead Guitars, Danik Thomas on Bass, Adam Emmons ..boards and Dave Krause on Drums) have become forces to reckon with in the metal music industry.
So as I sat down with Razor, for what would become a very entertaining interview, a vibe resonated with accomplishment and pride bellowed off of him. This dizzying aura that Razor has, which I would later come to find out is derived from his shrewd businessman like demeanor, was unique in comparison to the other bands that I have interviewed. Razor came across as a very intelligent and opinionated individual and naturally I wanted to, as I do with all other artists, ask him what he thought about the current state of the music industry. However, I kept that question at bay for the mean time and asked him for a little history on Metal Knights.
"Well, I came up with the idea to form the band and after a few players came and went, I remembered that Rudy Sarzo of DIO had hooked me up and introduced me to this great guy Dave Krause who plays the drums. Months went by, and at NAMM, Dave and I ran into each other and he mentioned to me that if I knew of anyone that was looking for a drummer, he wanted to start playing again. Well, the next day, our drummer up and quit, so I called Dave and bang, he was in. Then Dave knew Paul Calder and Danik Thomas who is now one of our guitar players and bass player. We found Billy King the other lead guitarist through an ad we placed in some industry magazines. Lastly, we were on a search for months for the perfect keyboardist, and after MANY people applied for the position, it wasn't until Adam Emmons came in and jammed with us at rehearsal that we all just realized this was the young, talented hot shot we needed!"
So how does a great musical group, such as Metal Knights, compose such great songs? Here's what Razor had to say:
"We use a ROLAND JUNO G Keyboard that allows us to compose Drums, Bass, Guitar Power Chords and all kinds of Keyboard sounds. Usually we start out with a riff in my head, and then start building around it. Drums to get a groove going, then the bass, then the guitars and keys. Once we hone it down and get a pretty good demo, we lay it track by track into Pro Tools and do a rough demo mix and then I write the lyrics, and then lay them down. Then we burn that demo and send it to the guys in the band. They all learn the songs and then we go into rehearsal and record the songs. We now have a couple more songs done that Billy King wrote and I am doing the lyrics with him. Adam and I are working on a SHOW OPENER theme and what we are hoping will be the METAL KNIGHTS theme song. That is the songwriting process for us in a nut shell."
The future is so bright for Metal Knights, and the energy and enthusiasm that you can see and feel from the people that are making that future possible is very exciting to experience. That musical experience for the average fan is so important to a band because it is what keeps them fighting for more. More music. More shows. More fun. And of course, more money. So what kind of response is Metal Knights getting from their fans?
"They are eating it up! And that is so great to see. I never thought that things would take off so fast for us. Writing original music and recording that music and then having people spend their hard earned money for that music is quite an accomplishment these days. I think the response from the fans has been "You guys are bringing back that classic BRITISH METAL sound with your own fresh spin on it", and they dig it! Which is very cool to see and hear from them. The press is all over us, with the radio really digging us. We are now being played all over the world in heavy rotation, and it is just very humbling to see it all happening!"
So after a great conversation I get the answer to my favorite question of the interview. "What do you think of the current state of the music industry?" He said: "The music industry as a whole has made a total paradigm shift to digital, everyone knows that. The record stores are all but gone, and the future is for sure digital. That being said, the record companies, the smart ones, have seen this and are going that route too. I would have to say it is much more close knit these days than back in the 80's, when there was a very huge competition atmosphere, at least in Los Angeles. Now we are friends with bands in the same genre as us, as far away as Australia, and Sweden, and we are not only rock bands, but also we have built friendships as well. There seems now, with the advent of the digital distribution to be a much more friendlier feel and vibe going on in music today." Doesn't that all sound great? A big friendly competition between all the bands that we, the fans, love so dearly. Taking the big corporate executives away from the man handling positions they have retained for so long in this industry. It is a good thought to have and only time will tell.
-Jamie Bradley, staff writer www.lpmvoice.com