Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.69 07/10)
excerpts from an interview with Bogáti-Bokor Ákos (Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards)
Well, the album was released by Rockszerviz in Hungary, Musea Parallele only distributes the CD... thanks to Musea I have no insights of the sales, so I really can't talk about that, but the reviews I've read so far were really positive, so I must say that I am really happy (with our part of the job). Tabula Smaragdina is a project band, we see each other only 2-3 times a year, so this album is almost a world record :)) So, from this point of view, I am more than satisfied about what we did.
Please give us a short overview of the history of Tabula Smaragdina.
It all started in 1998 when I met Daniel in a philosophy campus, we both are graduated philosophers... what a surprise :). We soon found our common musical language and started to jam. Basically from the first jamming session the band was ready, with Zsigó László on drums, ant Turi Tamás on bass, who had to leave band due to health problems just before recording the album... so I had to play bass on this album. After the album was launched, we found a very talented bass player, Popmájer Tibor, so the band is ready to rock in live situations too. We did two songs for Colossus' Dante CD boxes (Purgatorio and Paradiso), these new songs show the new direction of the band.
What's the album about lyricalwise?
Lyrically this album is very intimate thing, mainly it's about love and waves of emotions based on my life's things I was going through while we recorded the album. After all I am happy with the results although I don't like my own voice, I'm just not a singer... I can play keys, bass, guitars, almost anything, but I am not a singer... We really must get somebody to do the singing instead of me :))
What are your future plans for Tabula Smaragdina?
Well, Tabula Smaragdina is a project band. The band lives in Nyírbátor, in Hungary, and I live in Romania 200 km-s from the rest of the band, so we can't meet very often. The whole thing works just on professional basis, everybody knows its parts and is aware of his role and job, so in a weekend we can perform magic while rehearsing. I am sure that we'll record some more in the future... In August we'd like to record our song for the upcoming Flower Kings tribute CD, the rest will follow...
Your second prog band is called Yesterdays. They have already released an album that got excellent reviews in the prog scene. Why do you lead two prog bands? What's the main difference between them?
First of all, Tabula Smaragdina is led by Krivánik Dániel, my best friend, the keyboard player. Although the debut is dominated by my compositions, he is the main motor of the band. So, I think this is the main difference. Yesterdays is completely different, it's my dream and my vision... but while preparing our second Yesterdays album Enyedi Zsolt (keyboards) and I have found the ideal band-mates like Kolumbán Zoltán (bass guitar), and Enyedi Sugárka (lead voice) so right now it's a professional workshop :) One band is fun, two bands is more fun... it's simple as that.
When you are working on a new song, does this happen with a clear idea in mind whether it should be a Yesterdays or a Tabula Smaragdina song? How would the criteria look like?
Very interesting question. I really can't tell why, but I am always sure which band will get the new song. While Yesterdays is a more sensitive thing, Tabula Smaragdina really rocks, especially in live situations!!! It's not hard to decide, I just feel the vibe and know the right thing.
Any priorities regarding both bands?
There are no priorities. Just like when you have two children, you love them both and although they are so different, you can't choose between them. You need and love them on the same level. I just feel blessed that I have the chance to play in two fine bands. This is my life.
Talking about Yesterdays. In the meantime, you have worked for several concept samplers (Colossus etc.). In total, you would nearly have a full-time album with this material alone. How did this happen and will this also in the future be a remarkable part in the career of both bands?
First of all Marco Bernard of Colossus is "to blame" for this :). He's a very cool producer and idea-master and he just pulled the band into his projects. Spaghetti Epic III was the first one, his first request and I think I wanted to do the Dante things, so one thing led to another. Yes, we have an almost full album material out on these releases, we still have two things to complete for Colossus, but in the future I'd like to stop these projects in order to spend more time with our concepts, our new materials with both my bands. But I'd like to continue playing guitar in Marco's project band The Samurai Of Prog... we did some fantastic works together (Marillion's, The Flower Kings' and Yes' tribute CDs, Tuonen Tytar II. Etc.).
There has been a considerable fluctuation within the band (Yesterdays), especially with regard to the position of the lead vocals. What is the current situation?
Yes, this is the most sensitive part. In Hanna we thought that we found The Lead Vocalist, but after more than a year she just didn't put enough energy to the band, so we had to replace her and now we found somebody (hungarian jazz singer Enyedi Sugárka) who fits perfectly to the new concept. You know, this is a constant struggle...
There is no longer any flute player in the permanent Yesterdays line-up, which is a pity. Does this mean that future albums won't include wind instruments or will this be implemented through guest musicians?
Yesterdays now is like an open Universe, we worked with so many excellent musicians while creating our second album. We have a constant guest musician, Kecskeméti Gábor, who's a fantastic flute player, he will be present all the time on the records and in the most important live gigs.
Are there any bands that you have dreamt of playing with live? Is there any goal that you say: we definitely want to play with band XYZ one day?
Yes, I have dreams like that, but you'll be surprised when I tell you that I wouldn't play with famous prog bands, any of them... To play with/for Robben Ford, Tears For Fears would be the dream for me... or to play guitar in The Corrs or my all time favourite: Roxette... I'd love to play with/for Tim Christensen or Mike Viola, The Wondermints or Lenny Kravitz, just to mention a few.
Which artists/bands did influence you most?
Although my playing is often compared to Steve Howe I must admit that this thing still surprises me... even when my solo spot (If ever...) on Holdfénykert was a complete different thing technically and compositionally from any of Mr. Howe's work, but still, I was compared to him all the time in every review... just because proggers can't imagine anyone else on a solo acoustic guitar. :) I can play for you Mood for a Day or the Clap anytime for fun, but as an influence Pat Metheny was more important for me as a guitarist. I don't have many guitar heroes, but I love Robben Ford, Richie Sambora's stratocaster playing, and I admire Alan Morse's vintage sound. My influences are mainly songwriters like Per Gessle (he's a HERO!), Mike Viola, Tim Christensen, John Lennon, Ty Tabor, Lenny Kravitz. I think that progressive rock just reached it's limits. Every progband tries hard to write more and more sophisticated and longer songs. I think the best things are simple. I love catchy songs... Progbands forgot about Wonderous Stories (of Yes)... My goal is to keep our music catchy, simple and interesting. I don't want to put thousands of notes into 20 minutes long songs, that just bores me to death.
Are you playing in other projects apart from the two mentioned bands?
Yes, I've mentioned Marco Bernard's fantastic project called The Samurai Of Prog, and I just started to write and to produce a solo album with/for Antal Karola, the backing vocalist of Tabula Smaragdina's debut album (a real pop thing!) and near these things and my 2 prog bands I am working on a solo record, which will be more like a powerpop thing than prog :)
How did it happen that you have worked with You and I?
I was their fan since 1995, we started to correspond (pre-internet era...), we've met several times when I visited Budapest. And in 2004 band-leader Dorogi Károly heard me playing guitar and he wanted me to join the band immediately. I was shocked and I was the happiest man on Earth... to be guitar player of a band which I was a fan of... So the current guitarist, Gavrucza Nagy László and I re-produced You and I's last album to an acoustic version. It was truly GREAT! We loved it. We had only one gig and it was really good, but just after the recording of Exit-Acoustic CD in the studio Károly and Fanni turned their backs to the band because of cheap ego problems. It's a pity that the last line-up couldn't finish the CD... all the guitars, drums, keyboards and backing vocals were recorded. The thing stopped before recording the lead vocals and the bass... the rest is history...
What are your main goals for 2010 and 2011 from the viewpoint of a musician?
I'd like to play live as much as I can with Yesterdays, we are planning some gigs in Western Europe (Holland, Germany, Finland) and in November a short Transylvanian tour. In 2011 we'll shoot our very first DVD and I can promise one thing, you won't have to wait 4 more years for the third Yesterdays disc! With Tabula Smaragdina we took things slow, Dániel has lots of great musical ideas, I think the second album will be more his child than mine, but I will be so happy playing on with TS.
Jürgen Meurer © Progressive Newsletter 2010