MTI:
Hey Duane, Thanks for your time man! Let's kick off so tell me how did
you get involved in the world of Metal . What has made you decide to
become a musician?
DUANE:
My father played guitar in his own band in the 60s. I showed an early
interest in music. He started teaching me guitar at age 5. When I was a
teenager, some of the best guitarists in the world were in hard rock
and metal bands. So I naturally gravitated towards that genre.
MTI: How long do you exist in the music scene, and which were, if any, your previous experiences?
DUANE:
I've played music all my life. I played in school band and orchestra. I
found guys to jam with once I left school. I've always had music in my
life. We were always playing music in our house.
MTI: Some history information about Distant Warning would be nice! You know, the regular stuff like where you come from and who's who in the band...that kinda things
DUANE:
We're all from Colorado Springs, except Ron who was born in Erlangen,
Germany. Ron and I started working together in 1988. We played with
various musicians and had gone through several name changes. Together,
we had many original songs written by the time we hired Jim on bass
back in 1995. We started playing out in 1997. We brought Mike in on
drums in 2002. He had played with many local bands. Finally, Drew is
the newest member. We hired him as rhythm guitar in 2003. We all grew
up in the same neighborhood pretty much, so we've known each other for
a long time.
MTI: Do you believe that a US Metal band like Distant Warning is easy to create a name in the rest of the Europe as well?
DUANE:
It's never easy to make a name for yourself no matter where you play,
because there are so many other great bands out there trying to do the
same thing and get noticed. But as of late, we've been listening to a
lot of European metal. So it's starting to influence our writing a
little bit. People in the US enjoy what we do because of the wide
variety of influences we have. I think Europe would be even more
receptive to our kind of stuff. They want to hear music with melody and
emotion.
MTI: I've heard a few brilliant samples on the Distant Warning website the other day. Are you agree with me when I say this is pure US Metal influenced by several bands from the eighties?
DUANE:
The 80s is when we grew up. Of course we are heavily influenced by that
sound. We're not ashamed of that at all. Some of the bands back then
may have looked a bit ridiculous, but they were great musicians for the
most part. In most "nu metal" these days, you can't even hear a guitar
solo. It all starts to sound the same after a while. It has gotten very
stale and old. Back in the 80's, melody and musicianship were
important. Most European metal bands have not forgotten this. But in
the US, melodic metal as declined in popularity because the US
corporate media does not want to support it anymore.
MTI: Four albums so far, right? Please guide me through the older ones before telling every important news about the new release.
DUANE:
The first one is called "In the Beginning" and was released in 1993.
It's basically a demo of early stuff that we wrote. There are some fast
heavy songs on here, there are some slow ballads, a love song or two, a
couple bluesy songs, and some classical influenced stuff. There was no
formula or direction for this CD. We just recorded whatever we wanted
to. There's a nice version of Giuliani's "Allegro" on here that I'm
quite proud of. The second is called "Season of Grey" and was released
in 1997. Here our writting is starting to mature a little bit.
Again
there is a mix of slow and fast songs, just like on the previous on.
Those two were recorded on analog 8 track machine, so the quality is
not stellar. Our most recent demo is called "Desiree" and was released
in 2003. I'm really proud of this one. I believe it's the best writing
we've done to date. There are some really good songs on here, and my
recording skills have gotten better each time. All three demos were
recorded at home. Last year we finally decided to spend the money and
go into the studio and have someone else mix it.
The new Distant Warning album is call "For All Eternity". It 's a collection of the best songs from the previous three demos. We
hope to secure a distribution deal soon so we can make it widely
available. I'm currently checking out CD Baby, iTunes and others
options. You can always purchase any of our CDs directly from our
webpage (www.distantwarning.com) for $12 USD.
MTI: Can we compare the previous with the new one or something is changed within the music?
DUANE:
The big difference your going to hear with the new one is the quality
of the recording. The demos were mainly Ron, myself, and a drum
machine. This one has the whole band playing on it now. We are using ProTools
now, professional mics, a pro studio and an engineer who really knows
what he's doing. As far as the content of the music itself, you can
hear for yourself how the writing has changed over the course of the
three albums. There are things we can do now that we couldn't before
because of digital technology and track count. But the songs themselves
have remained unchanged for the most part.
MTI: I'm pretty curious about the results of the new album. Can you give me a release date and what about the distribution. World-wide distribution or not?
DUANE:
The new CD "For All Eternity" was just released in November 2005. As
mentioned before, we're in the process of looking for world wide
distribution if all goes well. Until then, we will have it available on
our website. We can ship it anywhere, so that's not a problem. We're
also exploring the possibility of internet distribution, where you can
download it. Some people are OK with just downloading the music. I
personally prefer to have the actual CD with all the artwork, lyrics
and stuff.
MTI:
Now that the new album is done, what are your plans to support it? Do
you have any live shows or any dates planned yet? Can we see you guys
in Europe?
DUANE:
We play locally all the time. It's financially difficult for an unknown
band to go on a major tour. If we were invited to tour with some bigger
names, and if the circumstances were right, we would love to play in
Europe. Unfortunately, we all still have the day jobs happening. The
cost of touring is the biggest obstacle. Every band knows this. But if
the right deal came along, we'd be there in a flash. We'll just have to
wait and see how well the new album does and go from there. In the
meantime, I've been sending out copies to radio stations, magazines, CD
reviewers and anyone else interested in promoting original metal music.
MTI:
Tell me the way that the band is composing music. Is there an equal
contribution from all members, or is there a main songwriter?
DUANE:
Everyone in the band contributes ideas and parts of music here and
there. Everybody shares in the writing process. Ron and I write the
bulk of the music. Ron writes most of the lyrics. I do most of the
music, arranging and finalizing of the songs. We all have different
influences and ideas that we bring to rehearsal. We just start jamming
and sometimes a songs starts to form. Then we take those ideas and work
on them until the song is finished.
MTI: What do the lyrics of the albums talk about?
DUANE:
Many of the songs are stories about people or events in our lives,
people we've known in the past. Some songs are just various emotions
that we go through that we feel compelled to put down on paper. Some of
the songs are just pure fantasy, fictional characters and events that
we just think up. There's no underlying theme behind our lyrics, we
just write whatever sounds cool at the time.
MTI: Which are your favourite subjects and where you get your inspirations from?
DUANE:
I derive my inspiration from many sources. I enjoy reading a lot.
Mostly fantasy, science fiction and horror stories. I like medieval
stuff too. I like that "epic" metal, or "movie" metal I think someone
called it. I get inspiration from everyday events and people that I
know. Friends that I hang out with. I'm inspired by bands and musicians
who play better than me. That just makes me want to work harder and be
better at my craft which is making music.
MTI: An honest meaning about the nowadays Metal scene would be great Duane and what are your favourite styles in Metal. Please name some bands you definitely admire with all of your heart. Which was the first Metal album you have heard?
DUANE:
I'm not a big fan of "rap metal" or "nu metal" as it's called in the
US. While these bands usually have phenomenal drummers, the rest of the
music is typically boring and lacks any real musical innovation. There
are a few acceptions, but that's the impression I get from a lot of
local bands I've played with who play that kind of metal. I like metal
with musical variation in it. Melody, harmonies, solos, timing changes,
key changes, interesting lyrics, and great musicianship. Music should
move you emotionally no matter what genre you listen to.
My
favorite styles are prog, symphonic, melodic, European, old school, and
virtuoso metal. Some bands I admire are Iron Maiden, Metallica, Ozzy,
Helloween, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Dream Theater, Symphony X,
Rhapsody, Yngwie, and too many more to mention. The first metal album I
ever heard was Black Sabbath's first record. My uncle had that record
and when I was five, I would shut off all the lights, close the door
and listen to that spooky first track. Lots of fun! They thought I was
a strange kid for listening to Sabbath at such a young age.
MTI: Can you describe the experience of playing live and give me a summary of bands you've played with in the past.
DUANE:
Playing live makes it all worthwhile. All the practice and hard work
pays off when you are on stage and everybody knows your songs. To me,
it's like a release from all the day's stress. You can have the worst,
stressful day ever or you could be going through some difficult times
in your life. But when you're playing that evening, you're expressing
yourself through your instrument in it's purest form. When I'm playing
live, all my problems disappear and I'm having the best time of my
life. I enjoy playing music and would like to make a decent living at
it someday. We've played with hundreds of local bands, but some of the
bigger bands we've played with are Jackyl, Kiss Army, Edgar Winter,
Flotsam and Jetsam, Exciter, Reverend, and Shadowkeep.
MTI: Which is your opinion about the Internet, especially about downloading Metal music. Is it fair enough for you many Metal maniacs working like this or would you like to see it in some other ways?
DUANE:
I think Internet downloading is here to stay and it's not going away.
It's a great way for an unknown band to get some exposure and have
their music heard. Bands have become famous by bootlegging tapes back
in the old days before the internet. There are a lot of people who
still buy music once they've heard of a certain band. I don't think
it's hurting the musicians that much because there are other avenues of
revenue available. If anything, I think it's hurting the big record
companies who in my opinion were never really fair to struggling
musicians in the first place.
So I don't think most new
artists are missing that revenue that much. If you're a good band,
people will still buy your CDs, DVDs, shirts, and go to your concerts.
As far as using the interent to promote yourself, it's wonderful!
Anyone with a computer can go to your website and learn everything
there is to know about your band. How else can someone half way around
the world listen to your music and chat with you at the same time!
MTI: Can I ask you about the Distant Warning future plans?
DUANE:
Our immediate future plans are to get the new Distant Warning album
shipped to your music stores! We have also been busy writing new
material for the next album, so we want to get that to you very soon.
We are working on a DVD as well. It has some live footage, some stuff
that we shot in the studio, and a full length video of "Rest in Peace".
Plus it will have some bios and some extra goodies too. Basically the
five of us goofing around for the camera. Hopefully that will be
available sometime in spring 2006. We will also be focusing on getting
some national touring next year if all goes well. We'd love to hit the
road and come play for you!
MTI: Well, I wish you and the rest of the band all the best with the new album. Thanks again for your precious time and if you want to add some final words to our readers, just go ahead right here, right now!
DUANE:
Thank you for interviewing us! Enjoy the CDs, write to us and tell us
what you think! We hope to see you over in Europe very soon!!
