PHIL VINCENT
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 12th February 2010.
In our second chat with US rocker Phil Vincent we talk about the two new albums he's just released - his solo offering, Controlled Insanity, and another under the Tragik moniker, And We All Turn To Dust - and more.
Read on...
Hi Phil, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Phil: Anytime Jon. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.
You’ve recently released two new albums – a solo effort and one under the Tragik moniker. Was it hard work balancing your efforts between the two, or were they recorded one after the other?
Phil: I worked on both simultaneously. My solo material is usually created late at night into the early mornings. The Tragik band records on the weekends, but writes all the time so it wasn't hard work. I never consider making music work; it's a true pleasure and passion of mine.
To you, what is the difference in sound and vibe between the two albums? Do they explore different sides of your personality?
Phil: My solo material has recently become a type of therapy. I've experienced a lot of pain in the last few years and it is reflected in my music. Chasing this dream of being a rock star has taken it's toll on me, my family, my friends and anyone else who was close to me. The Tragik CD was 3 guys getting together and having fun playing together. It's a good ying to my yang!!! :-)
How long did the albums take to create from start to finish?
Phil: "Controlled Insanity" took about 5 months from beginning to end. Some of the songs are very difficult to listen to because of their personal nature and I found myself getting very angry and depressed because I was taken back to the mental state I was in when I wrote the songs. I think I released a lot of demons with this CD. Drugs, alcohol, depression......you name it, I had it!!!! I thank God I found my way through and hopefully I can move on and not slip back into that ugly world. It does make for very interesting songwriting though!!! :-)
"And We All Turn to Dust" took a few years to finish. We were working on it during the "Poetic Justice" and the "Outlaw" sessions. It's very different from those 2 CDs so we wanted to keep that vision and not blur it with other releases.
Tragik is more of a group effort. How does the writing and recording process work?
Phil: Damian, Dirk and myself live within a few blocks of each other so we're always bouncing ideas off each other. We'll e-mail stuff back & forth and then get together to flesh out all the ideas. Most of the songs were recorded live in the studio and the overdubs were added later on. Tunes really take a different shape when the whole band is rocking at the same time in the studio.
Were there any particular lyrical themes on ‘And We All Turn To Dust’, or are all the songs standalone entries?
Phil: "And We All Turn to Dust" directly references the theory of the end of time being forecast as December 21, 2012. Nostradamus, the Mayans and scientists believe that date is the end of world so we used that as a subject to explore during the lyrical portion of our writing process.
How does this compare sound and quality wise to the last Tragik album, Outlaw?
Phil: We recorded it live in the studio, which is something we haven't done before. You can really tell the difference in Dirk's drum sound. It's huge!!! I think there's more energy when a group of musicians get together in the same room and play as opposed to recording each instrument one at a time. I think this will be the process we use from now on...if we ever do another CD.
Do you, Dirk Phillips, and Damian D'Ercole plan to do any live dates?
Phil: No. There are NO places here in Rhode Island that have bands who play original music. If we did covers then we would be very sought after but we don't want to play anyone else's songs.
How about the new solo album...is there a concept or theme behind it?
Phil: There were many concepts. It's the concept of trying to stay alive!! Living through a serious of nightmares and talking about it later. Trying to let go of things you thought you needed and then finding out you can live without them. Realizing there is hope when everything seems hopeless. Learning to forgive yourself and then trusting again. Learning to forgive others and let go of anger and pain because there was A LOT of that Jon!!! :-)
For the first time in my life I actually thought of taking my own life, which scared the shit out of me and I wanted that feeling gone at any cost. It made me see things in a whole different light. I never felt sorry for myself before and all of a sudden I felt so alone. I didn't know where to turn because like I said earlier, I had lost most of the people who were close to me so this album helped me in so many ways. I apologize for talking about such depressing things but I like to answer questions honestly and sometimes it takes me a few hundred words to explain my feelings if it's not in a song context. :-)
Apart from a few snippets of other musicians, you play everything yourself. How does the recording process work? Do you find it hard work being an entire band?
Phil: Not at all. It comes very naturally for me. I'm an only child so I've always done things by myself. I'm very comfortable recording everything and I'm my own worst critic so sometimes it gets frustrating trying to find that sound I hear in my head. I threw out a whole shit load of lyrics and musical ideas because I wasn't happy with the final result. That's why it took a little longer than usual.
I'm in my studio everyday and I want to make sure I do something productive when I am in there. Sometimes inspiration doesn't allow me to so I strap on the headphones, pick up the drum sticks and lay down a drum track. Playing the drums for 30 or 40 minutes really gets me going and usually leads to a new idea. I know that sounds strange but I am as far as you can get from normal!!! :-)
Do you use any special techniques to achieve your sound?
Phil: The Line 6 POD and Amp Farm are always used for my guitars. The distortion sounds are exactly what I'm looking for. My vocal mic's vary depending on the frequencies of the song but the recording process is usually me on a guitar, piano or drum set just laying down an idea. The ProTools program really allowed me freedom from tedious editing procedures that I normally perform and it moved the mixing and mastering process along nicely. From there it grows into it's own entity. I tried not to stick to a formula, like on the title track. There is no verse, no chorus, no solo break but it's one of the most personal and intense songs i've ever done.
What are your favourite moments on the new albums?
Phil: Each song stirs up different feelings. "On Your Own" is self explanatory, "Why?" reminds me of a particularly violent fist fight I was involved in, "Should Have Known Better" brings all these sad feelings up. You know when you give someone your trust only to find out the whole thing was just a lie? That's pain!!! "Carry On" again was a very important song for me. Billy Roux's scorching 3 minute solo at the end is simply spectacular. "Waiting", "Tell Me Again", "Something About You"....all songs of love, betrayal, ....you know.......the usual stuff!! :-)
"Part of Me" ..............that's a song I point to when I turned the corner. It's about seeing who you are and then realizing it's not who you want to be. It's tough when you ask me what my favourite moments are because there are so many.
I’ve read that these might be your last studio albums. Is there anything you’d like to say about that?
Phil: Well Jon, this search for stardom and recognition has taken it's toll on me. It's too strenuous financially to release physical CDs. After I send out 200 or so promotional copies, I'm already down a few thousand dollars and I can't afford that anymore. I've released 12 solo Cds(3 through Song Haus & 1 through Nightmare Records), 3 Tragik CDs (one through Escape) and 1 Circular Logik album (through Music Buy Mail) since 1997 and I am starting to realize this dream is just that.......a dream.
If you sign with a label, you don't get paid. If you release it yourself, you have to pay a few thousand dollars initially and then wait years to recoup the money originally invested. One huge problem is illegal downloading.Some people think it's their right to steal music. They don't think it's worth paying for, (which is the reason for my earlier stated violent fist fight.) It's totally killing the music scene. Yes, iTunes and all the digital shops help, but .99cents here, 55 cents there just doesn't add up very quickly.
When you find yourself in the mental state I was in because of my relentless desire to have my music accepted and enjoyed worldwide, it makes me question if all this was worth it!! I've paid a serious toll and have gotten nothing in return. My first 4 CDs sold very well and that enabled me to press on, but those CDs were sold locally and the local scene here has become dormant. All 5 CD shops that once sold my Cds have since closed. It's a musical ghost town here in Rhode Island. My only audience is overseas and that makes promotion very expensive.
Any plans for a compilation/greatest-hits release?
Phil: Hits???? I wish I had hits. Then I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now!!! :-)
It would be pretentious of me to call any of my songs "hits". I always compared greatest hits albums to signal the end of a band's existence. If this is the end of Phil Vincent then I will definitely put something together. The cover art would feature a headstone with my name on it and the years 1997-2010 listed below and then the letters RIP engraved underneath.
Very cheery huh???? :-) Pardon my dry sense of humour Jon!!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Phil: It's funny, the question I used to love being asked is "When is your next CD coming out?"
For the first time in my musical life I have to say "I don't know".
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Phil: It's snowing here so I will probably be shoveling in about an hour. Then I'll probably watch some TV. I'm trying to take things one day at a time and not look too far ahead.
I work for The Music Library in California and they're looking for songs for a vampire movie so I'm working on that at the moment. I've had 2 songs featured in the VH1 special "Do it for the Band: The Women of the Sunset Strip" that was on last year so luckily, that leads me to new adventures.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Phil: Yes Jon. Thank you so much for this interview. It's the first I've done since last year and I hope I didn't bore your readers with my mundane rants. It's the first time I talked about any of this and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so.
If anyone wants to hear some songs featured on "Controlled Insanity" or "And We All Turn to Dust" please go to http://www.myspace.com/philvincentrox or http://www.myspace.com/tragikrox. I hope you like them.
Thanks again to Phil for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of his latest solo album Controlled Insanity here, and of the latest Tragik release And We All Turn To Dust here.
http://www.myspace.com/tragikrox
http://www.myspace.com/philvincentrox
