BLACK ROSE
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 1st August 2010.
UK band Black Rose have been around for a fair old while. They've just recorded and released a new album, so we thought we catch up with them to find out more.
Front man Steve Bardsley answers questions.
Hi Steve, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Steve: I'm great thx Jon.
I understand Black Rose started back in the early 1980s? Can you give us a brief history of how the band came to exist, and a rough timeline of how you got to 2010?
Sure, The band was originally formed by me when I was still at school with three of my mates in 1977, we were just fooling around, trying to play instruments that to be honest we couldn't really play. The band progressed into the 1980's with a few different line ups and we recorded two albums, various singles/EP's, gigged all over the UK and Europe and the only member who stayed the same was me.
Where did the name come from, and does it have any special meaning to you?
Steve: The name came from the Thin Lizzy album of the same name, there is no special meaning or anything, we just thought it sounded like a cool name for a band.
Did you know what sort of music the band was going to play right from the start, or has it developed considerably over time?
Steve: Well when we first started we were much heavier and faster, very influenced by bands like Motorhead, Saxon and Iron Maiden with lots of hard riffing which is why we got labeled with the NWOBHM tag. But I guess as time went by we kinda mellowed a bit and became more melodic, still hard rock, just with a bit more thought into our song writing.
How would you describe the sound of the band to someone who hadn't heard you before?
Steve: It's changed a few times over the years so we would say that In the late 70's and early 80's we were very heavy metal rock, then in the mid 80's we became more melodic hard rock and now in 2010 we're a mix of bluesy, hard melodic rock.
Who or what would you list as your main influences, both then and now?
Steve: Early years it would be Maiden, Priest , Motorhead and AC/DC, then into the mid 80's it was a mix of the hair metal bands like Ratt, WASP, Van Halen, Crue and some of the more melodic bands like Journey and Foreigner.
You're releasing a compilation album "Bright Lights Burnin" a few years back. What's the story behind its release, how did it come about etc.?
Steve: Well that was released back in 2006 through Majestic Rock and their boss Geoff Gillespie just asked us if we fancied doing a compilation CD and we said yeah why the Hell not.
Any personal highlights on the album?
Steve: It's a collection of recordings from albums and demo's that we did back in the 80's so they sound a bit dated now, but we're still proud of all the stuff we did back then. It starts with the stuff we did in 1980 with our first single and then right up to our very last demo in 1989.
You have also, I believe, recorded a brand new album of original material, "Cure For Your Disease". When did you start that, and how easy was it to put together?
Steve: Yeah it's just been released and can be downloaded from all the major music stores like Amazon and iTunes. The whole thing came about when Majestic Rock got Chris and I thinking we should get together and write some new stuff. Majestic Rock were all for it and said they were gonna release the new album, but then they folded as a record company so we decided to just do it ourselves.
It was done very differently to how we'd recorded before, not in a conventional recording studio like everything else we've done but on our home studios and across the internet. Everything was recorded and then came to me where I mixed and mastered it.
How does it compare to your older work in terms of sound and style?
Steve: Even though the older stuff was recorded in professional music studios, it was all done on a low budget and the production on most of it wasn't very good. We're much happier with the sound of the new album. It still sounds like us, like we did back in the 80's but with a modern edge...and we haven't changed our style to suit the millennium. It's still us playing our 80's style rock!
How does the writing process in Black Rose work? How would a typical song be created?
Steve: Chris and I write most of the stuff...well, I perhaps write the most and then everyone contributes their bit at rehearsal. It's not about who writes the songs, it's about how the whole song sound's when it's finished. The song will have started as an idea in mine or Chris' head and then finishes with creative input from everybody.
Do you do anything special to get your sound, or are you quite a traditional back-to-basics band?
Steve: Definitely a basics band. We plug in, get a rockin' sound, play and record...and then keep on recording until it's right. To be honest our sound is pretty straight forward as a band, although Chris has his own guitar sound that he likes to experiment with a bit using different techniques.
Can you talk us through of the songs and the stories behind them?
Steve: When it comes to writing lyrics I'm no John Lennon, but I do try to tell a story with each song. From songs about Love ( Baby believe Me ) to ones about life experiences ( Sign Of The Times ) and even alien invasions ( Fight For Your Life ) I try to keep people interested lyrically as well as musically.
Do you enjoy the whole studio/creative experience, or do you prefer playing on stage?
Steve: Chris and I probably like being in the studio more than the rest of the guys simply because we like to hear the ideas we originally had come to life in the mix. But playing live is a buzz for everyone and we're looking forward to doing some live shows to promote the new album.
Have you got any live dates lined up to promote the new releases?
Steve: Because of logistics unfortunately neither Chris or Ian can be with the band to perform live, so we're currently looking for 2 lead guitarists to join Kiko, Mal and I to do some gigs. As soon as we get this sorted then the band will be playing live but no dates are booked yet.
Assuming you get to play some...what is one of your live shows like? What should fans expect from one of your performances?
Steve: Haha,,,,,well we ain't as young as we used to be so it will be older, balder, fatter versions of our former selves wobbling around on stage! No, seriously we all enjoy playing live and we'll be rocking as hard as ever.
I've heard about this book of NWOBHM bands by Mark Gregory you are part of. Can you tell us a bit about how you feature in the book, and how you came to be giving a free song away with it?
Steve: Back in the 80's Mark was just one of the local young guys who liked heavy rock music and decided to write his own rock fanzine when he was 18 or something. He used to travel all over the place interviewing bands and doing live reviews for his magazine, he came to see us a few times and we got to know him quite well. When Mark told us about the book we told him we releasing a new album and he suggested giving away a track as promotion, we thought it was a great idea so we provided a link with every book to download our song Twice Shy Once Bitten.
Any question you love being asked that I've missed? If so, what's the answer?
Steve: Yeah Jon the question would be "Would you like a beer guys?" and the answer is YES !! LOL
What are you up to once you've finished answering these questions?
Steve: Damn now we've gone and mentioned beer......that sounds like a good idea to us :)
Anything else you would like to mention?
Steve: Just to say again that the album is out now and is only available as a download at the moment (maybe a CD version will come out later on) and you can buy it online from all the major music stores.
Thanks Jon.....Rock On !
Thanks again to Steve for his time.
http://www.myspace.com/blackroserockband
