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Fast chat ...
... with David, Edward and Josh shortly after the Special Gig on
December 13th 2003, when they teamed up with former EXORCIST drummer
Geoff Fontaine at THE VILLAGE PUB SOUTH, Amityville, NY ...
1. How was the gig on Saturday night? Please tell me your
impressions of the evening.
David: It was quite good thanks for asking! Really excellent! It
was extremely powerful, emotionally moving and full of daring, risk
taking improvisations! I think the audience was a bit shocked. I
don’t think they expected such ferocity. It was definitely
not what most of them were used to, but the audience was very vocal
and totally enthusiastic. It was one of those gigs that could have
gone on for years & years! It seemed like nobody wanted to go
home.
Edward: The gig was fantastic!!!!! Quite a magical night, lots of
passion and expression.
Josh: The gig went great on Saturday. It was a lot of fun just
cutting loose and getting into the music.
2. How was the crowd reaction?
Edward: The crowd reaction was electric, they made the evening a
whole lot more rewarding.
Josh: The crowd was very receptive the entire set. All of the feedback
I heard was very positive.
David: I thought at first that it might be a bit of a disaster,
as the PA during the sound-check seemed really inadequate, but once
the lights went on during the actual performance, it was great.
We were devastating. The Band was completely on target.
3. What was the Set List and how was it decided upon? And,
what were your personal favorites to perform?
Edward: I do enjoy the Zep material and the Billy Idol stuff, the
set was just a natural act of love.
Josh: Dave has the set list. It was decided upon basically by trial
and error. Someone would name a song, we’d jam on it, and
if it felt good we played it. I enjoyed playing any of the Zeppelin
tunes, In the Clouds, Superstitious, and some others.
David: It was decided/finalized, based upon what we all new and
could perform with very little rehearsal and also whatever I could
think of to do that would be both…fun to play and once again
easy to learn without rehearsing too much. The show was well over
2 hours long.
All of it!!! But perhaps… hmmm… "Purple Rain"
(very emotional), "Queen Of The Dead" (Total Power!),
"Ten Years Gone" (Epic Sky Power), "Ace Of Spades"
& "Black Leather". Overall, I’d say that the
attitude or how we played, was more important than what we played.
The set was as follows:
1. BIG "E" Chord Intro!!! WALKING THE DOG
2. CRYING IN THE RAIN
3. "SUPERSTITIOUS" JAM / Funk stuff / BORN ON THE BAYOU
4. THE ROVER
5. THE WANTON SONG
6. PURPLE RAIN
7. F# DRONE GTR SOLO / VOX SOLO: BLACK LEATHER
8. EYES WITHOUT A FACE - DRUM SOLO
9. BASS SOLO - ACE OF SPADES
10. QUEEN OF THE DEAD
11. TEN YEARS GONE
12. D drone / VOX & GTR SOLO - IN THE CLOUDS
13. Organ Solo / YOUR TIME IS GONNA COME into...
14. THANK YOU
15. BRING IT ON HOME
16. Doors Jam - complete with "Ribald After Dark Intro"
/ ROAD HOUSE BLUES
ENCORE: KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
4. How did this gig with the former Exorcist drummer come
about?
David: Geoff Fontaine called me up last year and we did a show
together over at the Vanderbilt Club down here. It went so well
that we thought… why not do it again and perhaps… again!
I’ve remained good friends with him for years. He’s
a wonderful drummer & a wonderful human being.
Josh: From what I know, the other guys played a similar show last
year with a couple of different people. When this year’s show
came about, I was asked to jump on and I gladly accepted.
Edward: The Exorcist drummer is amazing, great groove. He is actually
a dear friend who I see from time to time.
5. Will there be more shows of this type?
Edward: Yes of course, Surprise, surprise!!!!!
David: Oh yes! Definitely! It is a real pleasure to play with this
Group! I would like to do an album with them and also take the Group
over to Europe. I think we will do some dates in February or March.
Josh: I think we will definitely be playing more shows with this
lineup. It was a lot of fun and we all seem to fit well together
musically.
6. Anything unusual, unexpected or magical happen?
Josh: Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a good vibe between everyone.
Edward: Nothing in particular, the evening was just magical and
emotional.
David: Yes we pulled it off royally!!! No seriously it was one
of those gigs that was, truly… pure Magick. Everyone played
really well, and was divinely inspired. There was something more
going on than just playing the right notes. There was Grace, Power,
Beauty and Aggression, and a real Communication between the Group
& the Audience.
7. What were the highlights of the concert?
David: The various improvisatory sections in tracks like "Purple
Rain" & "Superstition", plus the overall feeling
of connecting with a force outside ourselves. It was a Communion
with Spirits unknown.
Edward: The Exorcist`s drummer solo.
Josh: The highlights had to be the solos..... just being our flashy,
flamboyant selves.
8. Any after-show party stories?
Edward: No I did not stay for the party so I wouldn`t know.
Josh: Just some hangin out, havin a few (more) drinks.
David: I’m not sure about the others, but there wasn’t
much time for that for myself, as I was in the midst of a personal
crisis with a Family member in the hospital. I was at the hospital
directly before the show and also directly after. And sadly shortly
over a day later we had a death in the Family…
9. Did you perform any VIRGIN STEELE music?
Edward: No, however it did have the VS power.
Josh: Dave and Eddie might have jammed a Virgin Steele bit or two,
but no full length songs.
David: No we did not. We were going to do perhaps “God Of
Our Sorrows”, or some of the acoustic versions of the songs
like "Emalaith" or "Gate Of Kings", but somehow
we did not end up doing that. Perhaps on the next gigs we will.
Remember it wasn’t VIRGIN STEELE it was different musicians.
Yes it was me singing, Edward on guitar, & Josh on bass, but
it was Geoff on drums, not Frank and we also had Lynn Delmato on
keyboards. It’s a different animal so to speak than the VIRGIN
STEELE Beast. As regards VIRGIN STEELE, we are planning some very
over the top material for our upcoming GREEK Concerts! We are completely
wild about these shows! I can’t wait to unleash the full fury
of the Band over there!!! Everyone is very focused on their respective
instruments. Frank Gilchriest is studying timpani and various exotic
percussion instruments, plus he’s also doing the occasional
gig with an Orchestra. Edward and I are also doing our acoustic
thing and Josh has been recording with some other musicians, so
we are all fired up and ready for further VIRGIN STEELE adventures!!!
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