Manilla Road Interviews: Interview with Randy Foxe for a Online-Mag from Greece |
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manilla road
The group is active. I am, however,
no longer involved. We were working on a new album, though I do
not know the fate of it. Mark and I had a parting of ways.
I won't speak badly of him, though. He is an incredibly gifted
musician, composer, and performer.
As it stood just before we parted, Mark
and I were the only real members. He has a bassist with whom he
has been working on a solo project. I believe that is the
bassist for the "new" Manilla Road. I know nothing of
the new drummer.
Oddly enough, Manilla Road's management
saw me playing guitar in another band. They had heard me say
that drums was my main instrument but that I would not go back to
playing the drums unless I found a guitarist who was better than I.
Shortly afterwards, that band's vocalist found religion and we
disbanded. MR's management approached me with an audition for
Manilla Road. Meanwhile, Mark and Scott had grown weary of
auditions at "The Road House" (the Roadster Records
headquarters) and, when told about me, decided to come to my house and
listen before allowing me to audition. I played for about thirty
seconds when they stopped me and asked if I could play double-bass.
I did about fifteen seconds of double-bass when they stopped me and
asked when I could audition. I was in the band after the first
evening of playing together. Obviously, I found a guitarist who
was better than I!
Sorry, the name predates my involvement.
I don't know it's origin.
To my knowledge, the only "unreleased"
song was an incomplete song from the "Mystification"
sessions. It's been doctored and will be included on the "Mystification"
rerelease. There were, however, many songs which we never
recorded. For example, the original song which carried the name
"War in Heaven", which was totally unrelated to the song on
"Out of the Abyss" was a massive forty-five minute long epic
and that was after several severe cuts! It was an amazing piece
of music. There were many, many others.
Virtually anything except country music.
Also, I'm not fond of most rap. I listed to a very wide variety
of music.
Currently, I've been listening to a lot
of Devin Townsend's projects: Strapping Young Lad, Ocean Machine,
Infinity, etc. My other two favorite musicians would be the
late Brian MacLeod (R.I.P.), of Chilliwack and Headpins, who could just
rip on guitar, keyboards, and drums, and Mick Tucker, the drummer for
The Sweet. I know these may seem to be odd choices for a
"metal" drummer, but, again, I listen to a variety of music.
Favorites of all time would include (in no particular order)
Chilliwack, The Sweet, Headpins, Devin Townsend, City Boy, Bernie
Torme, Crack the Sky, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, T-Ride, Mott the
Hoople, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Touch, Godley/Creme, Ambrosia, The
Guess Who, Pink Floyd, Todd Rundgren, UFO...the list would go on and
on. I have somewhere near 2500 record albums and over 1000
compact discs in my collection.
How's this for a cliche: music is my
life. It's true, though. I also own six guitars, two
keyboards, several sound modules, and my kit which, when fully set up,
includes twelve drums, eight cymbals, fourteen electronic pads, the
two previously mentioned keyboards, four pedals, and five footswitches.
Incidentally, on "The Courts of Chaos" if you listen closely
you'll find that the drums and keyboards happening simultaneously are
each being played with one hand. That's how we performed them.
I played drums with my right hand and keyboards with my left.
There were various exceptions: the beginning of "Into the
Courts of Chaos" was two-handed keys, "The Road to
Chaos" was just a performance intro(up until the guitar and
bass come in), and "D.O.A." was a hand switching
nightmare!
Also, at one point I was experimenting
with left handed guitar (all hammer-ons and pull-offs) simultaneously
with right handed drums. However, I was hauling more equipment
than both Mark and Scott combined so I didn't pursue it.
There really isn't an American metal
scene today.
Favorite album: The Courts of
Chaos. Favorite song: The Prophecy.
I would love to but doubt I will ever
have the opportunity.
I'm afraid not. I really don't
listen to much metal. Manilla Road was metal to me. It was
most of the metal I needed.
PART 2
-You said that you left Manilla Road.
Could you give some additional information about how it happened?
The short
version of the story is that the partnership of which I believed I was
a part no longer existed. Without that partnership, I didn't see
any point of continuing.
-Are
you involved with another band at this moment? Any plans for a solo
project?
I've been
recording some solo material. However, I have to warn you
that it's not anything like Manilla Road. I don't know if it
will ever be released. My solo material is sort of a "therapy"
for me...it keeps me sane and makes me happy.
-Do you earn your living from music?
I'm afraid
not. I truly wish I could but, as I mentioned, I have a family
to support.
-Last time, I asked you your opinion about some bands and there were some you didn't know. So let me enrich your knowledge and reach the point of the question. "Omen" is an epic metal 'cult' band. Some describe them like "Iron Maiden on the battlefield". Their old stuff is very good but their reunion dissapointed everyone. Keep an eye for them... The next one was Immortal. A popular black metal band with some epic stuff. I wanted your opinion about Black/Death metal.
I've
always been uncertain where the definitions of Black/Death/Thrash/etc.
metal lie. I have a Death Angel disc that I like a lot. I just
never was exposed to much Black/Death metal.
-I was surprised that you didn't know Boney M. They were one of the most popular disco groups. Perhaps you 've heard their greatest hit "Rasputin". Nevertheless, do you like disco?(I mean the old 'original' disco and not today's commercial garbage)
I'm not a
big disco fan, old or new. There was some interesting disco in
the seventies, but I was listening to more complex, progressive
music at the time. During the seventies, when disco was new,
I was trying to teach myself several instruments and I wanted to work
with music that really pushed my abilities.
-I was surprised that you play so many instruments.How old were you when you decided to play music?
I took piano
lessons when I was five or six years old. However, they
were forced on me and, unfortunately, I really didn't learn much at
that time. I started playing the snare drum when I was ten and
learned various percussion instruments over the next few years. I
started playing the drum set at fourteen, the same year I started
teaching myself guitar. I got back into piano and other
keyboards at sixteen. I got interested in the different style of
playing bass guitar, as opposed to six-string, at about eighteen.
Drums is the instrument that is the easiest for me to play.
Lately, however, I've bee
-Our
"fanzine" has to do with internet. How often do you use the
"new technology"?
I check my
email most every night when I get home from work. After I work
on music for a while, I "surf" until I get sleepy
enough to go to bed. I work an unusual shift (not by choice)
that makes a normal sleep schedule impossible.
-Do you play video games?What do you do in your spare time?
I used to
play computer games. I still do on rare occasions. My
favorite is the Descent series and both System Shock games. I
was totally immersed in the worlds of those games. Lately,
however, I've been trying to dedicate more time to my family and
to recording.
That's a very
difficult question. I read whenever possible and have always
loved movies. As for books, I enjoy Douglas Adams ("The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe), Terry Pratchett (the Discworld
novels), and early Clive Barker. However, the book I've read the
most is William Peter Blatty's "The Excorcist" which I've
read at least ten times.
As for
movies, it's even more difficult to choose. The movies I've
viewed most would be "The Fifth Element", John Carpenter's
"The Thing", "Cannibal Apocolypse", and most any
Peter Jackson film. Peter Jackson is my favorite filmmaker.
I've watched "Bad Taste", "Dead Alive" (the U.S.
title for "Braindead"), "Meet the Feebles", and
"The Frighteners" many, many times. I'm awestruck by
the effects in "The Frighteners" and I think there were some
incredible acting performances, as well. I also have a fondness
for old black-and-white movies, especially comedies with Cary Grant,
Danny Kaye, or The Marx Brothers.
That's all...Your answers will be edited translated word-for-word on the 26th of June (and not July as i have written). The only thing we'll change is the order of questions. I hope there is no problem...no, that is not a problem.
You are
quite welcome! Thank you for giving me the chance to speak to
the fans! You have a wonderful summer, as well!
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