SOLUTION .45
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 23rd July 2010.
Solution .45 released the rather awesome "For Aeons Past" a couple of months back. We caught up with guitarist Tom Gardiner to find out more...
Hi Tom, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Tom: Yeah, I'm ok, thanks. A little busy, but hangin' in there somehow..!
How did you originally get into music, and when did you realise you had a real talent for it?
Tom: Well, music has really been around me all my life. I actually took it for granted as a kid. You'll get more of the picture from the next question, ... But, anyway, I was originally a cellist, but gave it up because I found out that Nintendo was much more interesting for a kid like me at the age of 8. But, after a couple of years, one of my friend's big brothers was getting pretty advanced on the guitar and that was it! That's why I got into music again: witnessing someone playing with devotion, passion and totally ripping and shredding – it was so amazing!!
Plus, the instrument in itself; guitar, was mostly the part that hit me; I really loved the feel of it! After a couple of years of playing, I realized the advantage I’d gained from my early cello playing. When I began seriously studying music, I discovered that I have very accurate hearing and I got through all the music theory classes with ease.…..
Looking back, I think my best talent is my devotion and patience! Without those I wouldn't have gone anywhere! I always think of a famous phrase from one of my idols, Eric Johnson: "I don't think of my self as being that talented, I was simply willing to do the hard work!"
Do you come from a musical family?
Tom: Oh yes!! Both my older sisters were young musicians, in the conservatory of our home town, and my dad played several instruments. My parents were kind of conservative and they didn't approve of rock music at all; in fact, my dad was one of those "rock 'n' roll destroys kids" kind of fathers, ha! ha!... So I grew up with Beethoven and Mozart and stuff like that, without really appreciating the music. And when old enough, my dad signed me up at the conservatory too, and I played the cello…. (see above)…
As you might have guessed, I wasn't too serious about music and the cello, Ha! Ha! But, fortunately, things changed when I discovered rock music and the guitar!
Who were you early inspirations, both musical and otherwise?
Tom: Well, early on, it was Bon Jovi, Metallica, Guns n' Roses and stuff like that because I didn't really know any better. Then came along the "headbanger"-phase, and I was all about Pantera, Anthrax and Slayer.. Before, along came the "I'm getting better at music now, so I need to mature my CD collection"-phase, and it was Dream Theater, Steve Vai and the usual guitar orientated stuff.
Then came the super-shredder phase, a Jazz-fusion-phase, and after that the Frank Zappa and the Mothers, etc. until it was time for metal time again.. I would say I have a pretty standard evolution of musical tastes and inspirations, really.
If talking about inspirations other than music, then that would have to be movie characters! Hannibal Lecter and the dark emperor in ‘Star Wars” are still my inspirations!!
Could you give us a brief history of Solution .45 now – how the band came to exist etc.?
Tom: Yes… You can think of it as a gradual fusion of a several different bands or line-ups of different bands. Jani, Christian and Anders have a musical history together, and at the same time, Jani, Rolf and my self (and Mikko Härkin, who was the keyboard player for the initial S.45 line-up) were all playing in a band called Essence Of Sorrow…. So when S.45 started to happen, Jani had a pretty good idea who would be in the band, right from the word go.
So is Solution .45 a band, or more of a project?
Tom: Definitely a band! I should point that out straight away! Most of the previous line-ups from where S.45 evolved could be considered "projects", but Solution. 45 itself is definitely a "band", yes!
When did you start work on “For Aeons Past” then, and how easily did the album come together?
Tom: Well, most of the material was already written before we were technically Solution. 45, so it was a transition more than an actual process….. From the very start, the goal was to eventually have an album out. I would say that, in 2007, most of the raw material already existed but it would be 2008 when Jani and Christian really started pushing it together, slowly, but surely. All the recordings were on tape at the end of 2009, though the album was released this year!
Does the band have one main writer, or did you all contribute towards the songs?
Tom: Not really… On "For Aeons Past" it was mostly Jani, with a couple of things from Christian; and Michael Stanne (Dark Tranquility) who did the lyrics for most of the album. As you might have guessed, there wasn't too much space for the rest of us to contribute songwriting-wise because the material was just about ready….
Things will be much different for the next album though: not only do we have some fine musicians in this band, but we’ve also got some very talented songwriting potential in all the members!
Was Solution .45’s sound a conscious decision, or did it evolve naturally when you played together?
Tom: I would say a conscious decision, yes…! Though the final ‘print’ always sounds kind of different to the one you might have in your head in the first place. An album's "sound" can change very dramatically through seemingly simple changes like vocal arrangements, synth patches and overall mixing!
How would you actually describe the ‘sound’ of the band then? We find it refreshing and unlike anything we’ve heard in a long time!
Tom: Thanks!! It’s hard to put it into a couple of words, like say "Melodic Death Metal" or something stupid like that, He! He! Christian’s multi-style vocal arrangements are in a league of their own, but instrumentally, I would say we are somewhere in the realms of Nevermore or Fear Factory, with maybe a slight touch of Dream Theater and Devin Townsend...
Was it difficult finding that balance between heaviness and the more melodic side?
Tom: No, not at all! I don't see those two sides canceling out each other in our case, if that’s what you mean?
Is there an overall story behind the lyrics, or are the songs standalone entities?
Tom: Oh my gosh!! I honestly have no idea. Ha! Ha! We see them as stand-alone songs with their own character… You'd have to ask Michael Stanne whether he had an overall idea in mind.
Did the band use any special instruments or recording/mixing techniques to get the sound?
Tom: Not really! I'm sure Christian has a bunch of vocal recording tricks he uses, he’s an incredibly versatile performer and vocalist; and Jani has a good sense of synth tones….. But nothing I can think of that I can specifically mention! I’ve been playing a Chapman Stick recently. It wasn't utilized on the album, but I'm hoping to have it all over the next one!
Where does the album’s title come from, and does it have any significance?
Tom: Well, It was a song title first, before it became the album title, and, to be honest, I don't know for sure how it eventually ended up as the album title, but I’ve grown to really like it! I'm sure the title has personal significance for all of us! You know, the feeling of doing a shit load of work, but never getting anywhere. Well, now we did something truly worthwhile!
Where did the concept for “Lethean Tears” come from? We love that song!
Tom: That is actually, 100% Christian’s handiwork. You can think of it as, kind of like a tribute to those 80's hard rock bands….., Ha! Ha! If you take away all that make up and the cocaine, there is actually some great music in that period, and all of us grew up with that stuff! “Lethean Tears” has a really obvious Whitesnake / Dokken vibe to it, but with a modern metal approach….. And of course, since we are absolutely, the most ‘Hottest Metal Vikings’ to ever come out of Scandinavia, we need to have a song for the ladies!! Ha! Ha!
Do you have any favourite tracks yourself?
Tom: Yes, but you’ll have to do some hunting to find it because, sadly, it didn't make it to the official track list, but can be found on the Japanese release! It's called "Spirit Side Dreaming". And, there are some really wacky guitar parts in there!! I'm kind of sad it's not on the album! But, check that one out if you can!
There’s talk on your MySpace blog about using nonsense lyrics on the promo, just until the real ones were written and recorded. What are your favourite ‘nonsense lyrics’, and have any of them ended up on the finished product?
Tom: Ahhh, that question, Ha! Ha! Well, they’re not exactly 'nonsense lyrics', but when we were shooting the music video last March, for the song "Gravitational Lensing" we started hearing our own "miss-heard lyrics" and it got kinda weird. Mind that we were getting pretty drunk at the end of the day though…. In the chorus, there is a phrase, "I am in denial", which we started to sing as "I am in DANIEL", Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Where did the idea for Pär Olofsson’s artwork come from? Was it all his work or did the band have some input?
Tom: Sorry, actually, I really have no idea on that one, I'm afraid! Me and Rolf (the drummer) actually live in Finland, so we weren't "in the loop" on some of the last minute details concerning the artwork! I'll have to check on that one my self…. I think it’s a cool piece though!
Do you plan to head out on the road and play some of this music live?
Tom: Oh yes! Absolutely!! I'm afraid I can't announce anything at this point, but I'm aware of some potential tours that might happen. Watch this space on our Myspace, etc..!!
Finally, any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Tom: Well, all the questions are always about music, the album, tours etc., so maybe something different…? Nobody ever asks us about women, football, Playstation?
So here is a quick answer to those (…. you can figure the question out yourself, Ha! Ha!). In no particular order; Women: Eva Mendez!! Football: The Netherlands!! Playstation: Spartan Total Warrior (…fuckin' awesome game), Ha! Ha!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Tom: Well, as I said, Rolf and I are over here in Finland and I’m actually going to pack my bags and go off to play a cover gig with him right after this! Rolf and I play gigs together all the time; he's my number 1 drum choice for any purpose!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Tom: Well, yes… I sure hope England do better in the next World Cup in 2014…! See, I'm half English; my dad is from there! So everybody reading this in England: please have some ‘Bird's Custard’ for me!! I can't get that here in Finland, Ha! Ha!
Thanks for your time Tom!!
Tom: My pleasure!! Check out the album, and hopefully, see you soon!
Thanks again to Tom for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Solution .45's latest album "For Aeons Past" by clicking here.
http://www.myspace.com/solution45
