Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.57 11/06)
excerpts from an interview with Claudio Mirone (Guitars, Vocals)
We do love many different styles, from fusion to metal, from punk to psychedelia and this is reflected in our songs. I am the main composer but the way my bandmates re-arrange the parts I propose them is always great, because it reflects their musical perspective... for exemple I'm not personally a very "jazzy guy" in my improvisations, but I know enough jazz to be led by my band members into something interesting anyway. This is a good way to explain how our different tastes melt together in a whole bigger than the sum of the parts. I think that this way is possible to play music accessible even to people who don't necessarily like those kinds of music.
You’ve started Gecko’s Tear as a Prog Metal band. Do you feel that this style has still the strong impact on your music?
Oh it's true: 5 or 6 years ago, when I started playing in a band, I was really into the 90s progmetal, and this was clearly listenable in my music. Then I grew up and I realized that those bands took melodies and patterns from other elder bands... so I started listening to the bands who influenced what I liked... and I recognized that I liked more who really invented those patterns... then I heard Frank Zappa and I stopped my search for the origin, because he was completely over any chronological scheme :) So the answer is: yes, progmetal influenced me very much and I don't deny or repent it, but I feel I'm gradually losing that kind of influence.
Does the album’s name - "Contradiction" also reflect in some way your musical approach, as you work with a lot of contradictions and changes?
Yeah! This is exactly the meaning of my album, my music and my life! I see tons of contradictions in myself and in the world I'm living in. Moreover I do think that those contradictions are so clear that people must have noticed them, but they pretend not to see, and the price for this situation is a dying world and a strange sad feeling in everyone's heart on this earth. This feeling is the Gecko's Tear: the tear of an unsatisfied animal who cries for a better life, with the clear feeling that what you do won't save the world anyway. These are very sad thoughts but my music is not very sad, and I'm not a sad guy... but this is just another contradiction, right? ;)
Were you surprised about the positive feedback so far?
First of all the breacking news: A few minutes ago I got an email from the italian Progawards 2006: we are nominated for the best italian prog album on the year! (www.progawards.it) I have to say that we've been always pretty sure about what we've done, particularly for the songwriting and the interpretation. On this two features we just agree to the reviewers and it makes us happy, but it doesn't mean that we think our album is perfect or that we are gods. :D There are some little aspects that could have been better, this album made us grew up very much, personally and musically. In this album there's our music, our blood, our sweat and our tears. Even if you don't like it, believe me: it's true!
You were compared to a lot of different bands ranging from Area, Deus Ex Machina, Frank Zappa to Frogg Café. To which of this band do you really feel a connection and which comparison you can’t understand?
Well... Area strongly contributed to create prog rock; Deus Ex Machina is great band in the same, beautiful musical attitude; Frank Zappa created his own musical world; Frogg Cafè is a great prog-RIO band... So first of all we have to say that are honoured by such comparisons! The second remarkable thing, which maybe makes me personally much prouder, is that we got compared to many other bands, even very different or much more modern than those mentioned before. Sometimes through those comparisons we discover new bands... I first listened to DEM or Frogg Cafè when "Contradiction" was almost finished. I understand those old-school comparisons, but I also have to say that we mix this feature to modern stuff, with some spicy metal elements... sometimes I feel uncomfortable underlining our modern and aggressive aspects, because it may scare some "traditional" listener... but I think that our strength is to use many metal features without bothering the jazz-fans and vice versa.
You had a lot of line-up changes in the past, do you feel that you’ve now found the right line-up?
Definitely YEAH! Musically and personally we have fun playing together, since everyone has his own tastes, and each of us know how to teach his skills to the others, so that we constantly improve ourselves. We spend a lot of time in and out our rehearsal room and it's always a great pleasure. We speak about everything and grow up together listening to music or watching movies.
You’ve played together with Daniel Gildenlöw on stage on a Pain Of Salvation Fanclub Party. How did it come to this cooperation?
Hehe, it's a weird story: I'm a huge POS-fan: I've seen them live 7 times - I also flew with some friends to Sweden and Holland to see them - and through the italian fanclub (Spirits of the Land - www.painofsalvation.it ) I had the chance to play during their meet 'n greet session at a fanclub-party. When I was in Eskilstuna at the Be concert - I was in the first row when the DVD was recorded! - I asked Daniel about a "strange song" I heard on the internet. The next day he gave me the demo CD of his first metal band called "K-Krunkers from Hell", containing the song I described him. So when I played before him I asked him to join us... so he came and together we sung "Ultracoola Svempa", the first song of the demo! :D You can see that performance (and other Gecko's Tear live stuff) on www.youtube.com
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2006