I am so honoured to have been able to interview Faith (pictured above) from the Italian band The Shiver. She seems a lovely girl to speak too, and I wish her and the band all the success that they so richly deserve. Read on!
Dave: Firstly the name… The Shiver. It sends a chill down my spine =) I quite like it, any reasons behind the name?
Searching for a name, we wanted it to represent the mood of our songs. We wanted it short and direct, straight to the people’s mind. When we’re there on the stage, playing aloud in front of you, I can assure you that before the concert’s over you will be shivering, and not for the cold temperature!
Dave: Can you give me a little history about the band, your music and the story behind your album 'Inside'?
When I was 15 I started to appreciate the dark and rock music side (though I used to study classical music in my childhood), but I really wanted more then listen to other people’s songs, I wanted to make my songs and a more interesting and private kind of music. The band started later in that year, as a joke with other students from my city. We began to play in the venues near our place, then we had the chance to record a demo with our songs, and we started to send it almost EVERYWHERE! As all the young bands, we didn’t know exactly what we had to do to find a label to work with, but in that time we found our (current) manager that helped us to improve our music and our attitude. “Inside” represented the first big step for us, we worked hard to create and arrange the songs, written in the year before the recording session (Dec. 06/Jan 07), we also worked very hard to find out the money for the studio. We recorded our Debut Album in Florence, in a beautiful studio near the centre of the city (do you know Ponte Vecchio?), in a suggestive Christmas atmosphere! It took a lot of time to have the Album mixed and mastered, but finally ”Inside” went out under the label UK Division Records (Code7 Distribution) on the 21st January 08. But we didn’t waste our last year waiting, we had great gigs here in our place, then we made a tour in the UK (10 gigs around the Midlands). At the moment we’re getting ready to record our new Album…
Dave: It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that many bands I come across have to hold down dayjobs to pay the daytime bills. Is it easy to fit band commitments around a dayjob, assuming of course that this applies in your case?
Of course, as every other musician on this Earth, for us would be impossible to live with the band earnings. I like to think about it as an INVESTMENT (high risk investment? ;D). So in some way we make money every month, every day, to spend for the band. At the beginning it was really hard to bear, but passion turned out to be stronger!
The difficult thing is to conciliate the work with the band! We have to organize every single gig, and it’s for sure that when they call us, we’ll play, no matter what! Then there are the months like these, when I am working and composing new tracks, and it’s so hard to keep my mind concentrate. Fortunately I can rely on my team-mates! They are great.
Dave: I set up Ravenheart Music 2 years ago when I was informed by some female musician friends of mine, that there was a prejudice towards females in rock. I myself was not going to change people's way of thinking on my own by setting up a website, but have you yourself found any of this prejudice, or has everybody been 'kind' to you?
I’ve heard of singers who’ve been mocked or worse, even on stage, and I found those things horrible. I truly believe that sometimes peoples are too much close in prejudices, I mean, men are scared by strong talented women.
Personally I’ve never had this kind of problems. I try to be myself, I accept with open heart and mind the critics (if there are), and usually my reaction is to sing stronger and stronger. It’s a hard world and if you don’t fight you won’t win!
Dave: Do you or any members of the band have any preferred tracks on the album?
I can say that everyone’s favourite track is “Edge of Atmosphere”, it has been the first to be mixed and was the result of all our hard works: beautiful! It has been the first single of the Album, and it has been featured in a lot of magazine’s compilation (in UK I can mention Big Cheese Mag in the last spring and Fireworks out on August 08!)
Dave: Have you been involved with any other musical projects, band or solo that you would like to let us in on?
At the moment the band keeps busy the 100% of our time, sometimes Finch (drums) works with some rock band who’s recording an Album, and I’m the vocalist featured in the new cd of a trence music DJ.
Dave: Most fans of the female fronted genre would have heard of Lacuna Coil, and they are a fave band of mine too, but what is the female fronted scene like in Italy as a whole?
You have to know, first of all, that in Italy the music scene is so confused in this moment. And this includes the male fronted bands too. It’s not a case that the wise musicians of Lacuna Coil went abroad to find the real success. Here nobody (in the music industry, that rules even the underground) seems to look at local bands as they worth something, but all that comes from abroad, especially US, is good and spread everywhere.
Talking about rock and metal scene, we’ve had the chance to play with many good bands and many good female singers (see 3rd Room and Ilid), and I wish them all the best ‘cos they worth it!
Dave: Even though Evanescence are a household name in the UK as well as elsewhere, the female fronted rock/metal scene here in the UK in my opinion could and should be better. What are your expectations of the rock scene as a whole in mainland Europe, and more so here in the the United Kingdom?
The UK has always charmed me, I’m in love with your cities, your traditions, the gothic churches to find even in the smallest village! But I have to say that the most beautiful thing is the music culture that you have. During our tour we’ve played with local bands and some of them were really talented; we performed with some female fronted bands, too, and I found them fascinating (Invey, Electra Glide). I’m sure that in UK as in Europe, this reality will rise in a little time. The US, under this view, have been really clever, to notice a band as Evanescence, with a talented singer and a catchy modern sound. In few years the big american labels launched in the BIG circuit Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, In This Moment, etc etc… how much time will pass ‘till Europe will follow this direction?
Dave: Musically and spiritually who/what are your inspirations, and what sort of music are you currently listening too?
I catch my inspiration from feelings and emotions of the people, from the reality outside and inside our existence. I try to read the faces, to listen the voices and I want to talk about it in my songs. What can I do with my music if I can’t talk about something the listeners know? I try to sing lyrics that everyone can read in a personal key; it has no sense to tell the others what to feel. The only exception is telling a story, as in “Symbiosis”, the first track of “Inside”. Every one of us has a different musical background, Finch actually has a jazz, rock and alternative education, my bass player loves progressive metal, the guitar player use to listen hardcore music. I’ve always listened rock music, metal (every kind), dark and electronic, but at the moment I want to keep my mind full only of my own music.
Dave: What are your future plans and would you hope to tour here in the UK again or indeed further afield, maybe the USA for example?
The past tour in UK (Dec 07) has been a great experience, people liked a lot our music and we can’t wait to come back, actually we’ll be there in this next fall for a bunch of gigs, (I can invite you all in Northwich @ the Winnington Rec, on 31st of October). Then we’ll start the recording session for the next Album, and we’ll be back for another European tour during the next year. We hope to be in the USA for the next summer, a lot of people write us from over there asking concerts… So keep in touch!
Dave: Finally is there anything that you would like to say to anybody anywhere out there via this interview?
Even if the female fronted bands are a small number compared to the male bands, I’m glad that it’s a growing reality. I really can’t find any difference between these two sides of singers: it has to do with talent, and a male voice can be charming as a female voice if trained.
I wish all the best to this beautiful website, and I hope that the readers will come and listen to THE SHIVER following this link: www.myspace.com/theshiverband, and supporting our gigs!
Dave Smith (Aug 1, 2008)