The Art of Prog

NOTE: Greg Hasbrouck interviewed Royal Hunt keyboardist and founding member André Andersen, in June of this year.

Greg: So first off, thanks for taking time out of your evening to speak with me, I really appreciate it.

André: Thanks.

Greg: So just to start things off, for those people who may still not be familiar with ROYAL HUNT, how would you describe your music? I would think describing it simply as Prog Metal would be overly simplistic.

André: Yeah… that’s the usual problem we have. Because we have kind of like a mixture of a little bit progressive, and then melodic, and there’s Classic Rock mixed in there. So basically, (laughter) I don’t know. (mutual laughter) To be completely honest, I don’t know. I’m so used to everybody calling it something different. I was laughing my ass off the other day. I was reading some interview, and a guy was talking about bands and he said, “It sounds a little bit similar to JOURNEY” and that’s fine. Then I open another magazine and they said it was almost like a European DREAM THEATER. Completely opposite direction. So I don’t know, we sound in the middle of it.

Greg: While reading your bio I noticed you started playing music at the age of five. At what age do you begin to realize, this is something I want to do with my life?

André: Probably like most musicians, I started to love music when I was 13, 14, something like that. I hated it when I started.

Greg: Oh really? Was it one of those things where your parents forced you to play?

André: Oh yeah. Absolutely. I hated it all the way. And then, all of a sudden, I finished musical school… in a way I was kind of like wunderkind a little bit, because I was so young when I started. Usually, you’re supposed to be like at least 8, starting, but my mother kind of pushed me through it anyway. So when I was done, I had this little diploma thing, I’d bring it home and say, “Here it is.” I put it in front of my parents and said, “Thank you, good night.” That was it. (mutual laughter) And then some of my friends, when I was 13, 14, just started kind of messing around with bands and instruments and stuff like that. And all of a sudden, everybody needed a piano player.

And I remember there was some kind of dance thing, or whatever it was, and local bands were playing there, and my friend was playing drums. So I was 13 or something, so I was dressed up… all the dancing and girls around and blah, blah, blah. And the band started playing and all the girls were in front of the stage and I was completely forgotten. So an hour later, when they were done, I came over and said, “Hey guys, you looking for a piano player?” (mutual laughter)

Greg: So it’s the oldest story in the book; you joined a Rock and Roll band to meet girls?

André: Absolutely. It’s such a cliché, but it’s true.

Greg: You often cite DEEP PURPLE and Jon Lord as some of your earliest Rock influences. On your web site it says you discovered them, and I’m quoting, “Accidentally by getting DEEP PURPLE’S “In Rock””. Can you describe what you mean by “accidentally”?

André: So I didn’t even realize this kind of music existed. This story is a little special. I grew up in Russia, and back in the day it was still the Soviet Union. And none of my friends had albums like that. I don’t remember exactly at what time I discovered “In Rock”, but obviously it was a few years later, after it had been released. And I remember a friend of mine, who was getting this album called me and said, “You should listen to this.” I remember, he had this “In Rock” on some kind of tape recorder and he started playing it and I remember this classical organ intro. And then all of a sudden “Speed King” started. And it’s indescribable. It was completely off the wall. I didn’t expect anything like it. It was like seeing a Martian or alien or something. I grew up in this Classical music and obviously I heard some kind of Pop songs, but it didn’t really catch my interest in any way. And all of a sudden it was like this beast jumping at me from the speakers. And I was taken by it, on the spot. So I didn’t have to get used to it. I just loved the song from the first second.

Greg: It seems that DEEP PURPLE has had a huge influence on a great number of musicians. Can you elaborate on what it was they did, that accounts for the impact they’ve had?

André: Besides the fact that they were probably the most popular band back in the day and most people got exposed to them. But I’m pretty sure there were other bands around, who were equal to them or better, but they were quite popular at the time. And of course a lot of people were exposed to them as their first Rock band. They have something, they have this nerve. And they were very Blues based. But at the same time they had some kind of Classical… not in our sense, it’s not like new Classical today. Because Yngwie (Malmsteen) already did it all. It was something different. There was something majestic about it. And it was extremely aggressive… at the time. Compared to SEPULTURA or something like that, it’s Pop music. But back in the day it was shocking; there was something incredibly powerful about it.

Greg: That’s very interesting. Aside from Jon Lord and DEEP PURPLE, and Rick Wakeman of YES, which Classical musicians have influenced your music?

André: Ohhh… I have a vast collection of Classical music. It’s very hard to pinpoint. It’s such a huge variation. You like every composer for something different. Obviously, the Paganinis and Mozarts, everyone is mentioning them and Bach and Beethoven. It’s such a cliché. But they’re all different. I mean… it’s probably a combination of it. When you’re exposed to Classical music that much, as I was when was a kid, you’re going to suck it up. And you’re sucking up these details from every composer. On top of that, I was playing some of their works and some of them are interesting because of arrangements, the modes, the way the melody is constructed. It’s impossible to mention one. Even with Rock music, DEEP PURPLE was the first thing I heard. But Classical music, it’s tougher; there’s tons and tons of different composers.

Greg: OK. So let’s jump back to ROYAL HUNT. One of things I’ve noticed is that if my count is accurate, there are 10 x-members of ROYAL HUNT. What I’m curious about is, as a musician, has this turnover been a benefit, because you’ve had a chance to work with so many gifted musicians, or a detriment, because you can’t build a cohesive collaborative vibe, which may be built over a period of years?

André: It’s both. It’s absolutely both. Probably like everybody else, I hate change. I don’t like change. Everybody hates it. But the music world became… what it became. It’s very, very, very hard to be like another ROLLING STONES, which I would love… I would die to do that. But it’s impossible. There’s a lot of things. Because the economy is so screwed up today, it’s very hard for guys, to be like it was back in the day, in one band, continue touring and making albums. Everybody is involved in something else. And at some point in time, if you’re playing in different projects, one of them is getting a better deal, or getting ahead with some touring, blah, blah, blah. So people, understandably, are taking a chance and going on that direction. So all of a sudden, they don’t have time to be in two, three, four bands or whatever. It’s very frustrating. I understand all those things. ROYAL HUNT has been my baby for twenty years. So I’m kind of like proud to be here. I’m not leaving. But I regret it every time we lose another guy. It’s one reason or another. For most of them, it’s economical. Because we didn’t have any fights in the musical direction.

André: That’s the negative side of it. But the positive is yeah… every time you’re trying to find a new guy your expectations are growing. And you’re putting the bar higher and higher every time. It’s not to say that the previous members weren’t that good, they were great… all of them. Absolutely. No exceptions. But the thing is, of course you’re trying to find a guy who’s even better, in that perspective, in another perspective. Plenty could be different, it could be musical things, or whatever… the way he participates, the way he records. You know… little details. So in that sense, it’s been good, because the level of musicianship in the band, if you look back at 1990 when we started with the first album… much higher standards today. And previously, I’ve been accused a few times, by fans and the press, that’s a natural thing, that I’m kind of like, showing off too much. And nobody is saying it today, because the rest of the guys are seriously kicking my ass.

Greg: So with that in mind, let’s talk about a departure and an arrival. John West left the band in 2007 and you guys cited the typical “creative differences”. Was it really as simple as that?

André: No. There’s no drama there. Our relationship has never been better. On a social level, it was excellent. The thing is he spent eight, nine years in the band. And we had such a great time. I remember when he joined the band I was the happiest guy on Earth. He’s such an outgoing personality, and he’s a great singer and the whole thing. So we were just on a roll. What I noticed in the last couple of years, this little spark, we lost it somewhere. Because me and John, we became too predictable. I just noticed, when were doing PAPER BLOOD, whatever line I came up with, he kind of… like an old couple, finished it for me. And I would do the same thing with him. He would come up to me, “Oh, I have this idea for this lick” and he just opens his mouth and he goes, and it sounds marvelous, but I already know where it ends. But at the same time, when we were not making music, we had a great time, we would barbeque, we would go into town and we could talk for hours. Great friend… but all of a sudden I had this feeling, and John kind of partially agreed with me on that, we were not coming up with anything interesting. Everything became kind of predictable. Another thing, which I think partially, was kind of like involved in this thing, I think John was a little bit disillusioned. I don’t know if I have a right to say it, it’s obviously a personal thing. It’s more kind of like a John West thing. I noticed lately, every time we were doing a new album and let’s say we have a very enthusiastic journalist, and he’s like, “This is a great album” and blah, blah, blah. The keyboards are amazing, and the guitars and everything… and then John West as usual. It’s not great, it’s not horrible, it just like, as usual. I’m trying not to read the reviews. I’m trying to convince the guys not to do that. Because you know how it is; in one magazine they’re saying you’re god and in another you’re a piece of shit. Just ignore it. When you’re releasing an album you know you did the best you can. Why bother? But John, he would look at it, and I had a feeling he was disappointed a few times. Maybe that was a part of it, it’s hard to tell.

Greg: So John left, and Mark (Boals) came into the band. Can you talk a little about how you got hooked up with Mark?

André: It was very simple really. We just started looking for a singer, like everybody does these days. And then all of a sudden I had an e-mail from Marc. He saw our web site and he was kind of looking for a band. And somebody from Frontiers (record label) mentioned to Marc that we were looking for a singer, and he was looking for a more stable situation. He hadn’t been involved in the music business in like three years… like family problems, this and that… personal reasons. And he was on the way back and all of a sudden there’s this band he heard of, a little bit. So, he sent a demo of stuff he was doing and we sent a couple of old tracks he was supposed to sing on. And everything sounded very promising. All of a sudden we started working and it fit well, very much. When I started getting ideas for this next album, which became “Collision Course”, it was a very strange thing. Usually when I’m writing a song, in my head I can hear the singer’s voice. That’s a usual thing. Later you think about technical things, his range, this and that. But basically you have his timbre in your head. But when I started writing this song, I didn’t. Some kind of other structure to this voice. So I thought, OK, one song, whatever, so I just continued. The all of a sudden the second song, and I have this same thing again.

That side… Kind of accelerated the whole thing with parting ways with John and to find somebody else. I realized, when Mark sang on a couple of demo tracks that is the voice that will fit. Because I think subconsciously somehow, when we did the first “Paradox”, we had D.C. Cooper singing. And he had this very extended high range as well. And that kind of seemed to me appealing at the time. When Mark started doing some of his thing, some of his wails and falsetto, really supersonic screams, it’s sort of the same atmosphere as “Paradox”, which seems to be perfect.

Greg: So let’s talk a little bit about “Collision Course”. Its predecessor was released in 1997. What prompted to you to write a follow-up more than a decade later?

André: For five or six years, everybody was on my butt to do “Paradox II”, when we released the first one. Because when we did the first “Paradox”, nobody liked it actually.

Greg: Really?

André: Yeah… it was a new record company, new management, even the band didn’t like that much. Obviously, more than everybody else. But they were unsure about it. I remember everybody saying, who the hell will do a concept album? It’s ’97, and blah, blah, blah. And it sounded kind of weird… they didn’t like that. There wasn’t rounds of applause or anything. I remember on top of that I was sitting in the studio and I was doing this mixing thing and the guy from our record company, he called me and said, “I just heard this track you sent me, this Message to God.” I said, “What do you think about it?” And he said, “Hmmm… nothing special.” And I’m sitting there mixing it and he says, “Nothing special.” So it was weird, the whole vibe to this album. All of a sudden, two, or three or five years later, everybody is saying this is the best album we ever did. But probably most, so-called “good albums”, probably have this weird birth anyway.

Greg: Interesting. I saw an interview you did in Greece, where you talked about recognizing that while “Paradox” may be a fan favorite, it’s not one of your favorites. So then, if someone said to you, “What is ROYAL HUNT about?” which album would you give them?

André: Besides the last album? Because obviously you have all these feelings about your last album, so exclude “Collision Course”. Probably one of the least favorites of most of the fans is “Fear”. That’s probably, and the first album, that’s probably my favorite. Sometimes I’m in this whacky mood; I think “Eye Witness” is good. A lot of people hated it, because fans were saying, it’s a completely un-ROYAL HUNT album. Possible… I don’t know. I kind of like to experiment a little bit. But “Fear” probably, of all-time.

Greg: That’s interesting. You just mentioned how the fans view “Eye Witness” as “the least ROYAL HUNT album”. You’ve been doing this for 20 years, you have nine studio albums out. As a musician, do you ever feel confined by the expectations of your fans?

André: I’m fighting it every single day… trust me. Every single day. I just mentioned “Eye Witness” is a very un-ROYAL HUNT album, there were songs on it, especially this little Jazz thing, and it’s a ridiculous thing. I remember, Century Media in America, they dropped us. One of the reasons was that song. I mean, obviously they didn’t like the album, that’s another thing. But this was probably the last drop. Then they heard this song, and I remember this guy, he was talking to our manager, he said, “We can’t release this on this label”. I do understand them. It’s not like I was upset or anything. I do understand. Especially in the last 10 – to 15 years, everything is so cleverly, insightfully, particularized. Everything has a label, and hundreds of sub-labels. Sometimes I have a feel… I don’t do it consciously, but sometimes I feel like I’m doing things like that, to provoke somebody. Because why the hell would I do some sort of Jazz number? I’m an old-timer. I remember, back in the day, when I was getting one of the first QUEEN albums, they could go from Hard Rock, to Bebop, and it was fine… it was allowed. Nobody called them a Jazz band just because or whatever, just because of a bebop drum line. It was just natural; a much freer atmosphere. Today for god’s sake, if you have an album and for the first five minutes, you didn’t start with double-kicks, you’re not Metal any more. It’s a little ridiculous. I understand how it happens, in my mind. But still, it’s a little ridiculous when you step outside and look back in. It’s hilarious, actually.

This ends Part One of Greg’s interview with Royal Hunt keyboardist/founding member André Andersen. The complete interview can only be found in the official (printed) ProgPower USA program given to all attendees. If you want to read the entire interview, you have to come to the show!

Final Note: All photos/images used to illustrate this interview are used in compliance with the principles of Fair Use. They illustrate reviews, opinions, and interviews with the band members who created the albums and on whose official web sites and MySpace pages some of these images reside. The photos of the band are borrowed from the band’s official web site. No copyright violations are intended.