We caught up latenight with Mikey from local prog rockers Arcane for a couple of cold ones and a chat about the band, recording and some music philosophy as well.
BrisbaneMusic : Hi Mikey, thanks for doing the interview.
Mikey Gagen : No problems
BM : Tell us a little about the band. What’s the lineup?
MG : Arcane are a 5 piece band, we have a vocalist named Jim, myself, Matt on keyboards, Mick on bass and Stephen on drums. We play prog-metal and too many computer games.
BM : Do you find the possibilities, and perhaps your way of thinking is opened up by the inclusion of a keyboard, instead of the regulation second guitar?
MG : Absolutely, as a guitarist it offers me a lot of freedom to do what I want without having to worry about there being way too much guitar or parts getting too cluttered. Matty (keyboardist) listens to a lot of guitar music and the synths he uses can really fatten up the sound. Also, the pair of us can pull off Iron Maiden harmonies whenever we need to cover Maiden, so a second guitar is kind of redundant. With regards to the way that I think, yes, it does, because I’m really the sort of player who doesn’t dabble in effects. I really only use clean and heavy guitar sounds, so whenever I write, I’m always conscious of the synth part I’d like to hear with any given riff.
BM : Word has it that the band is made up of classically trained musicians. Can you tell us a bit about the history of that? How did the band come together?
MG : Firstly, not all of us are classically trained. I grew up learning classical guitar, for the first 6 years I never learned a rock song or anything like that and as a piano player Matty has gone through the academic side of it as well as Jim Mick and I studying it at uni. However I’ve gotta say, it really doesn’t make us any better at our instruments (there are plenty of instrumentalists in Brisbane who are far better than we are) and we really don’t use it as any kind of calling card regarding our abilities. The only thing it really aids is communication in the rehearsal room.
BM : You have recently recorded and released your first album. Can you tell us a little about the writing and recording process for the band?
MG : Anybody who knows us knows we’ve been recording for what seems like forever, and we were doing it on the cheap and nothing sounded any good and we finally thought “screw this, let’s put some money behind this and see how it turns out”. We began to work with both Alchemix and Kadmium studios to record and the results sound amazing. The album is currently being re-mastered, but working with the right people has definitely paid off, we think it sounds fantastic.
BM : Was there anything in particular that stood out during the recording sessions?
MG : The only event you could call “disastrous” to a prog band is someone losing a finger and here’s hoping that doesn’t happen anytime soon. My favourite memory of recording was showing up after Boyd (from Brisbane death metallers ‘neath) had finished recording his guest vocals and hearing them for the first time. His voice is nothing short of huge; it’s definitely one of the album’s highlights.
BM : There’s always been a lot of debate, often between different musical genres regarding technicality versus emotion in music. What are your thoughts?
MG : Basically there has to be a balance, and I feel we achieve that. The ballad (titled Memory Awaits) that closes our album is to me a moment of real emotion in music and it was great to be there when Jim recorded those vocals. However this is an ancient argument between people who can’t play and people who can’t write songs. The best advice I can give anyone beginning music is while you should definitely learn to play your instrument you should also definitely learn when to shut the f**k up.
BM : Where do you see progressive music in the next 10 years?
MG : No idea, I think it’s hit a ceiling. Listen to a band like “Behold! The Arctopus” and try to tell me music can get more technical than that. Honestly I feel there’s a real need for duality in progressive music. Listen to Emerson, Lake and Palmer from the 60’s. For every incredible feat of musicianship there are about 2 radio ballads. Coheed and Cambria are doing similar things today by combining Geddy Lee vocals with “Mum and Dad, I hate you so much” emo. And it’s really working well for them. So yeah, hopefully a band that can cover the spectrum will become a new flagship for the genre.
BM : So what’s next for Arcane?
MG : We’re ever the ambitious idiots, so we’re working on writing a concept album. Essentially we want to really gel as a band and start to make a name for ourselves in the Brisbane music scene. That and gig, a lot!
BM : Thanks for your time
MG : Not a prob
Quickfix
http://www.arcaneaustralia.com
www.myspace.com/arcaneaustralia
