TESTIFY
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 7th December 2010.
Southern Californian band Testify - featuring amongst its members Vixen bassist Lynn Louise Lowrey - has a new album "Pushing Back Darkness" out. We recently reviewed it and featured it in our Previews section, so we thought we'd better complete the triplet and interview the guys too.
Read on...
Hi Guys. What’s the history behind the band? How did Testify form, and how does today’s line-up compare with the one you had in the beginning?
Scott: John and I have been playing together for the last 20+ years. We were in another Christian band and split from that to form Testify. The first line up was with Shane Berringer on drums and Ron Paggione on vocals. Shane wasn’t able to commit to the band and left, we then added Chuck Hernandez on drums. After recording our first CD 24:27 Ron decided he couldn’t commit fully to the band either. We then asked Lynn to join and thankfully she accepted.
Who were the early influences?
Lynn: Heart, Pat Benatar, Dokken, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Iron Maiden
Scott: Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Dio, George Lynch, Randy Rhoads
John: I loved Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, I always practiced to those old records
Chuck: Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Rush, The Yellowjackets, Tower of Power and many others.
Did you know what sort of sound the band was destined to have at the start, or has it developed a lot over the years?
Scott: With all the different influences we have it has developed over the years.
John: The sound has definitely developed. I had no idea things would end up like this. I know we wanted metal, but things have really evolved.
The “Christian Rock” moniker...is that simply because of the spiritual message in the lyrics, or is it more of an all-encompassing way of existing as a band and making music together?
Lynn: It is our passion and our way of life. We all have been transformed and touched by the love of Christ. We love to share the Gospel “Good News" of Jesus through our other passions ..."MUSIC".
Chuck: I believe it's both, the message and who we are as believers that keep us moving forward together with a common purpose. It's an honor to make positive music for listeners that probably would never hear Metal in a "Christian" atmosphere.
John: Being a Christian is a way of life now. It reflects in our music because we want to get the message out there.
When did you start work on latest album “Pushing Back Darkness”, and was it hard work, pleasure or both to put the LP together?
Lynn: It was a pleasure, and a total blast.... the songs came together so easy ... it was a blessing.
Chuck: We began recording January 2010. It went very smooth considering the time frame we had to work with. I know 8 songs was a bit of a downer for some but we are holding down jobs at the same time.
Scott: Like Chuck said we began working on some demo recordings back in January at Lynn’s studio. I believe we started the album recording in May, with a deadline of mid June to finish. We did it all over a couple of weekends, so it was a little hard, but I love recording and can work in the studio for hours on end.
John: Pushing Back Darkness was a blast to make. There was some pressure, but for the most part a great experience.
How does the writing process in Testify work? Talk us through the birth of a typical song....
Lynn: The guys jam out some riffs and grooves, and lyrics come to me.
Chuck: It's pretty much like Lynn said, John or Scott will come up with an idea and we start putting our ideas and thoughts into it. It's a lot of fun to hear an idea develop into something very different from where we started.
Scott: Yeah like they were saying, John or I will come up with a riff and it takes off from there. We have been playing together so long it’s like we already know what we are going to do.
John: When we write music we just bounce ideas off each other till it all comes together. We have a really good chemistry together.
How do you come up with your lyrical and musical writing ideas?
Lynn: It is a miracle; on this CD the lyrics came easy. I would listen to the groove and the lyric ideas would come.... it was a blessing.
Scott: Same with the music, most of the songs just fell together and some came from riffs and bits we have come up with over the years.
Is there a story flowing through the album, or are the tracks all standalone?
Lynn: Stand alone.
Chuck: stand alone for now. I know some of us want to work on a concept album. We will see, you never know.
Scott: Yeah I think it would be cool to try and do a concept album, although the hardest part would be for Lynn as she is the lyric writer.
Do you do anything special or unusual in the studio to get your sound?
Chuck: Not sure if it's "special" but from what I have been told by the last two producers is many bands don't take the time to really tune their drums properly. If you start a recording with great sounding drums, the end result is just that much better.
Scott: Not really, just try to dial in the sound I want for my guitars. I do layer guitar parts however to get a bigger sound.
John: Nothing special this time around.
What’s your favorite track on the LP, and is it the sound of the song or the memories behind it that make you love it?
Lynn: I love Eyes of Fire.... it has a freaky story.... we had booked the studio before all of our songs were complete ... so the pressure was on.... we needed one more song ... so the week before our last practice, I started working on lyrics for a song ... that week John had a musical idea ... at our last practice on Sunday before our Friday studio time, the guys played me the music idea John had, crazy thing is my lyrics I wrote that week fit the song ! trippy stuff ... " Eyes of Fire" was born ... it was the last song we wrote and the first song on the CD ...
John: I couldn’t pick a favorite track; each one is special in its own way.
Chuck: Glad Lynn mentioned Eyes of Fire; it was a very strange thing how that song worked out. My favorite track on PBD is Sound The Alarm the run at the end of the track just ROCKS and it is awesome to see John and Scott just playing off each other.
Scott: I like Eyes of Fire and Sound the Alarm the best too. Like Lynn was saying the way Eyes of Fire came together was totally a trip. Sound the Alarm is also a blast to play.
How is the album doing so far in terms of reviews, airplay and sales?
Lynn: so far so good ... we are getting positive feedback... our goal right now is getting it out there and letting people know about it.
Chuck: it's had mostly very good reviews. Our debut show at Cornerstone 2010 had people lining up to buy the CD before we got off the stage. That was a great feeling and blessing to have that sort of response at a very tough venue.
John: Everyone that I have talked to has loved it so far.
Scott: Selling pretty good on CD Baby, a lot of digital sales. I think once we get out and do more shows the sales will pick up.
Do you enjoy the whole studio/creative experience, or do you prefer getting up on the live stage?
Lynn: I love them both ... it is so cool to hear your ideas come to life in the studio, and rewarding to hear your fans enjoy the music ... the best of both worlds...
John: Studio vs. live, is like apples and oranges. Its always fun to record because of the creativity. Playing live is great too because you get an instant reaction from the people.
Chuck: I enjoy getting on the stage and laying it all down for the fans. The studio has been a ton of fun too. It's a lot of work but very rewarding to be able to get through the process. Many bands don't get the opportunity to get through a recording session so I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to do so.
Scott: Both. The studio allows your creative juices to flow and playing live lets you give it all for your fans.
What is a Testify show like? What should fans expect from one of your performances?
Lynn: LOUD, intense, in your face headbangin' jams
Chuck: live and VERY PLUGGED IN! I believe our sets take you through "in your face" lyrics and screaming guitars to slower grooves that maintain that very heavy thick sound.
John: We bring a strong metal show with a Godly message.
What is your view of the current musical climate around the world?
Lynn: times seem hard everywhere right now ... people need music therapy more than ever ... our songs have a message that resonate with the current climate ...
Lynn is the bass player in Vixen at the moment. Do any of the other guys play in other bands?
Chuck: I do work for a cover band and other works as they present themselves.
Scott: I play on my church's worship team when I can, other then that I am fully committed to Testify.
John: No, Testify is my main focus.
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Lynn: we have a bunch of new song ideas ... it seems like every time I take a shower nowadays another song idea comes in my head ... the shower has great reverb ... lol ... we would love to get tour together for 2011... So lots of work to do....
Chuck: Would be nice to say that I need to get back on the kit to work on material but my day job is calling, wait....it's lunch time !
Scott: Same boat as Chuck, I will have to start getting ready for my day job after I am done here.
John: Hopefully getting together to write some more songs.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Lynn: God Bless all our fans ... we love you guys ...
Chuck: Don't pass up our first CD entitled 24:27. Lynn is on track 12 Death Inside Of Me...It ROCKS! Yes, a big THANK YOU to everyone supporting Testify "pushing back darkness one song at a time".
Scott: Yeah I would like to thank everyone for there support, hope to get a tour together and see you all in 2011.
Thanks again to the band for their time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Testify's latest album "Pushing Back Darkness" by clicking here... and check out their Preview page (including sound samples) here.
Artist's website(s): Testify | MySpace
