SERPENTINE
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 2nd April 2010.
UK band Serpentine has just released its debut album A Touch Of Heaven. Featuring Gareth David Noon, Christopher Gould, Gareth Vanstone, Tony Mills (TNT, State Of Rock), John Clews and Charlie Skeggs, the record has been getting a lot of attention across the internet and plenty of hits on YouTube.
We caught up with Gareth David Noon to chat about the band and more.
Hi Gareth; thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Gareth: Very well, thanks Jon! The album is finally out, which has taken some time, but it's all been worth it. The response has been generally pretty awesome, and we've managed to achieve a lot with this first release. In Japan, for example, we've managed to chart and get on 27 syndicated FM radio stations. It's good to know the music is alive and kicking and that people are getting a buzz from the album!
How did you first get into playing the keyboards and song writing?
Gareth: I started learning to play the piano and keyboard from a pretty young age, actually. As I got older and started appreciating music more, I started to take it a bit more seriously than I probably had been doing and took it from there. Gareth Vanstone (our bassist) and I were friends throughout high school and as we started getting more and more into music, we started trying to write songs in the hopes of one day putting a band together. It wasn't until 2007 though when we met Chris (Gould – Guitar) that we were able to kick things into motion and actually started what has become the Serpentine of today.
Do you come from a musical family?
Gareth: Errrr; yes and no. Nobody else in my family actually plays a musical instrument, but music has always been around me since I was a small child. My father, for example, is an avid music fan and I can remember hearing loads of classic rock as a kid…. So, I guess it was ingrained in me somehow, and I've come full circle?
You are described as “Award Winning”. Could you tell us a bit about your previous projects and where those awards came from?
Gareth: Good question! A few years ago I won the 'South Wales Young Keyboard Player Of The Year' while I was a student at a music academy in Cardiff. I actually won the award for a self-composed piece of music, which really fanned the fire in terms of wanting to step up my focus on songwriting. Other projects so far stand at absolute ground zero though...Serpentine is my main priority at the moment!
Could you give us a brief history of how Serpentine started – where and when were the first inklings of the band born?
Gareth: As I said, Gareth and I went through high school together wanting to form a band at some point. We'd come home from school and listen to music while playing computer games and stuff like that. I can remember first getting into bands like Journey, Starship and the like and just being totally blown away and wanting to do something similar. The blue touch paper was well and truly lit when we met Chris, not only because he was another piece of the puzzle musically, but because he is also a music engineer and had the technology side of things set up to allow us to record pretty professional sounding demos.
Drummer Charlie Skeggs is described as “Keith Moon’s lost love child”. Is this a comment on his playing, his looks, his partying habits, or a combination thereof?
Gareth: Well, we unfortunately had to part ways with Charlie after the album sessions had been finished. It was a real shame actually because, to watch him play was a pretty incredible experience...he's an awesome drummer. He could party pretty hard too now I come to think about it! His playing on the album is awesome!
Stepping into his shoes in the band now is Roy Millward, who's also a top-notch player and fits in with the band perfectly. Look out for him…! We've been lucky with drummers.
How did you get Tony Mills onboard?
Gareth: Tony came on board in December of 2008, and it was just one of those things where the planets align and good things happen! We'd parted with our previous singer not long before and had honestly been getting a bit depressed about the whole singer situation, jamming with a couple of guys who, simply put, just couldn't cut it. Chris was engineering a session at a studio in Blackwood when he ran into Bob Richards, the drummer from Shy. He played him a few demos, and Bob just suggested we should get in touch with Tony, who was with TNT in Norway at the time. We had a proper chat when he got back and he began laying down some vocals to our rough demos almost immediately! Our whole problem with our previous singer was that things just took too long to get done. Tony works fast, and that suits us down to the ground.
Did you know at the start exactly what sort of music you wanted to make, or has the sound developed a lot since the beginning?
Gareth: The sound has definitely developed. When we started it was just the three of us: myself, Chris and Gareth. When we started, we wrote everything from ‘west-coast’ ballads to metal trying to find our best sound. It was only when we first started working with singers that we found a proper direction and started focusing our energy on this specific style of music… I think that is the best way to go about things though - play around with what you can do and find out what you're best at.
Who or what were the musical inspirations behind the band’s sound?
Gareth: I'm asked this a lot, and the obvious bands always get mentioned: Journey, Toto etc. The truth of the matter is though that there are a whole load of bands out there from the revered to the obscure that have had a massive influence on us. Bands like Boulevard, Dare, FM, Ten, House Of Lords and the like have had a massive effect on me, and likewise, Chris is into a lot of the heavier stuff like W.A.S.P, Metallica, Children Of Bodom.
It's just an amalgamation of great bands that have led to “A Touch Of Heaven”... There are a lot of people out there who seem to be ready to put the last nail in the melodic rock coffin, but it's still alive and well and the scene is enjoying a new wave of new bands at the moment paying homage to these great acts.
When did you start work on debut album A Touch Of Heaven?
Gareth: We went into the studio in June last year to start laying down the first notes of the record. It was the first record for five out of six of us in the band, so it was a massive learning curve and a great experience. We were lucky to work with a couple of great producers and we finished up the mixing and mastering process in about September.
What did producer Mark V Stuart bring to the project?
Gareth: Mark has a brilliant set of ears, and some great ideas. Together with Sheena Sear, we got exactly what we wanted out of the record. Mark's long relationship with Magnum is well known, and his years of experience were exactly what a young band like us needed: the ability to hear things that needed to be there and trim the fat away from some of the songs to get the best out of them. The two of them did an absolutely stellar job and we'll be back at M2 for the next album, no doubt about that!
What was the time in the studio like? Was it fun, hard work, or a bit of both?
Gareth: Good question! Of course it was a lot of work, and countless hours; weeks and months go into making any record, but it was a total blast and to say it was a lot of fun would be the understatement of the century!
Did you use any special techniques or instruments to get your sound?
Gareth: Chris would probably know a lot more about the technical aspect of this than I would, but I would say we did what most bands go through in terms of looking for a great sound in the studio. When we were laying down the rhythm guitars for example, we played around with a couple of different guitars to see what sounded best. The original plan was to do the rhythm through Marshall Amps with a Gibson Les Paul and then double track them with an Ibanez, but the Ibanez just wasn't getting anywhere near as good a sound, so we just double tracked with the Gibson in the end. I guess it's true what they say about nothing sounding better than a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall! I love the drum sound on the album too… That was basically achieved by recording them dry without any effects on them, and adding some reverb etc later on. Very nice!
How was the song writing done? Does one of you do most of it or is it a band effort?
Gareth: It's a band effort to be honest with you. On every song someone will have an initial idea and then we'll just work on it from there. There's no ego in terms of anybody needing to have an input on everything...we just want the best possible songs, which is why we ended up with the songs “Lonely Nights” and “Let Love Rain Down”. Tony had co-written those with some outside writers in the early nineties and they were perfect. The material comes first.
What difference did it make to you having a ‘veteran’ performer like Tony working with you? Has his experience counted for a lot?
Gareth: His experience has been invaluable. We are obviously where he was with Shy twenty-five years ago, so he has been there, done it and got the t-shirt. With everything from rehearsing to songwriting to recording, Tony has had a lot of tips for us on what we should be doing to get the best out of ourselves and it has saved us a shed-load of time and made us better at what we do in the process. The guy is a legend of the genre and, quite frankly, we feel totally privileged to have him alongside us in Serpentine.
There must be quite a few years between him and the rest of the band. Did that feel awkward at times, or is what you do ageless?
Gareth: There are a few years between us, but funnily enough, it has never been a problem. Everyone in the band has the same goals and there's a great humour and camaraderie in the band. Tony's everything we want in a singer and a songwriter...that's all that matters to us.
Is there a concept behind the album, or are the songs standalone entries?
Gareth: On this album, the songs are standalone entities, although I do think the that album flows very well. I'm a really big fan of concept albums when they're done well - actually Tony is working on one with John Payne and Greg Bisonette at the moment, so look out for that! I wouldn't be against doing a concept album at some point, but I wouldn't have wanted to do one for our first album! When they're done well, they are usually a lot to digest and as a new band you can't afford to lose people's attention.
How did the decision to cover ‘Unbreak My Heart’ come about?
Gareth: That was Tony's idea actually. He suggested a cover version to help with our promotion, much like Shy did with the song “Devil Woman” back on their “Excess All Areas” album. We came up with a few ideas, but Tony seemed really intent on doing this one and we went for it. I think it's translated really well into a rock ballad. It has divided opinion somewhat: some people really love it and some people are like "a Toni Braxton cover, WTF?!?!", ha! ha!, but I really like it and it closes the album perfectly.
Are you tempted to release it as a single and see if it’ll break the charts?
Gareth: It's an idea, but if we were gonna release a single, I think it would have to be one of our own songs. We did a video for “Whatever Heartache” last December and that has really helped us to push the album, to the extent that we cracked that the album chart in Japan, but a single is another thing entirely. We have the opportunity to do another video in May, but we haven't picked which song it'll be yet, so who knows…?
Are there any other songs you’d really like to cover?
Gareth: There are a few ideas kicking around for the next album...we'll see what happens!
Tony Mills obviously has TNT and State Of Rock on the go. Will he be able to perform live with you or would you look for another singer for live dates?
Gareth: We are trying to arrange some live dates at the moment, and Tony is very much a part of them. I'm not sure how much State Of Rock will gig, but this is very much a festival-only year for TNT from what I understand. We do a lot of rehearsing, so when the opportunity presents itself we'll be ready!
Where do you see Serpentine a few years down the line? Is this a long term project, or do you take one day at a time?
Gareth: The word 'project' is one word we try to avoid like the plague. Serpentine is a band and we'll definitely be kicking around in a few years time, no doubt about that. We're working on our second album, the aforementioned live dates and promoting this album at the moment, so there's no doubting the commitment of every guy in the band. We're really happy with the way our debut record has come out and we're looking forward to moving onwards and upwards.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Gareth: I gotta say this was pretty comprehensive...I'm scratching my head as to what else you could possibly ask!! Thanks!!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Gareth: Watching the football with a few beers...sounds like a plan!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Gareth: A MASSIVE thanks to all the guys out there flying the flag for melodic rock who come to support us. We look forward to seeing you all on the road and look forward to making this journey with you! Love For The Future x!
Thanks for your time Gareth!
Thanks again to Gareth for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Serpentine's latest album A Touch Of Heaven here...and you can watch the band's first video below...
http://www.myspace.com/planetserpentine
