Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.65 09/05)
excerpts from an interview with Nick D'Virgilio (Vocals, Drums, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards)
It started out with the recording of just one of the songs "The colony of slippermen" for fun during a recording session for another project. The song turned so well that we decided we should try the whole thing. But that all took a number of months to happen.
In which way was the great amount of work for this project divided between Mark Hornsby and you?
Mark did more work then me I think. I was there for all of the basic recording (bass, drums, and most of the keys and guitar) , I did all of the vocals at my home studio. But Mark had to do all of the recording,editing, and mixing. That is a lot of hours.
Did it help you that some of the musicians involved were not so familiar with the original music, so that they didn't have already had some kind of musical vision in their minds?
To me it was perfect that they were not that familiar or not familiar at all with the original. It made the parts that they were playing feel new because it was new to them. t also helped that eacha nd every one of them are amazing players. With great feel and knowledge of their instruments.
Did all initial ideas on the songs made in on the album or did you try out also some other musical approaches on some songs?
We tried a bunch of stuff on each peice while we were in the studio. Talked things over and then went for it to see what it sounded like. A lot of it came naturally.
Do you have now another view on the original record, after re-recording the whole album by yourself?
I knew that it was great already but after getting seriously deep into the compositions I found out how cool the writing is on the record. Some really creative and different stuff. It made me an even bigger fan of Genesis.
Was it just a coincidence that your version of "The lamb" was released almost at the same time as the Genesis Box 1970-1975?
We did that on purpose. We figured that it would be a good time because people would be looking for a new Genesis release already because of the box set.
Back in 1994 on Progfest, you've played "The lamb"with Kevin Gilbert. Is your version also a kind of tribute to him?
Not really. This whole thing came up in a crazy way after many beers and talk about doing something different. The gig with Kevin was an amazing expierience that I will never forget. That was the gig that got me in the door with Kevin and how I met a lot of the people that I know today.
Did you receive any feedback from Peter Gabriel or other members of Genesis?
I have heard from Nick Davis (current producer and mixer of Genesis) that he digs it and also that Tony Banks has heard it and the quote was "he was pretty impressed". Now that is cool!!!
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2009