1. Hi Mike and Carla. This is an honour for me to interview an awesome up and coming band. Many people here in the UK would not have heard of La-Ventura, although I am working at trying to change all that! Can you tell me a little about how you arrived at the name La-Ventura and a little about the band's history?
Carla: Well, it all started with an advertisement on the internet. Erwin (drums) was looking for musicians to form a new band and I responded to his add. After we met, we decided to work together and combined our ideas for new material. After a year we went on looking for other band members and finally found Mike and Sascha willing to enter the band. After we discussed a lot of potential names, LA-VENTURA was eventually chosen. Later on, we discovered it meant ‘luck’ in Spanish. It has proven to be a very fortunate name for us, because we have had our share of luck already!
2. Your debut album "A New Beginning" I suppose is just that, with a deal just signed with American Label Renaissance Records. It is also an awesome album. Can you or members of your band tell me more about the songs on the record, and the label that has released your album?
Mike: Thanks Dave, for your kind words about the album! That’s always great to hear, of course! The songs are about things in life that keeps Carla busy. It can be about matters of the heart or some political issues that are from this time in our lives.
Renaissance Records is an American based label that will release our album on the 18th of March in The States, Canada and Mexico. This label operates in almost every style of music and is now trying to get European bands out in America. We are fortunate that they are real professionals with the right attitude towards the bizz and are very open-minded to suggestions and comments from the band or myself as manager.
3. Do you have any preferred tracks?
Carla: One of my favourite songs is "A New Beginning". It’s a song with a strong message and good melody lines. There is also a lot of room for the vocals in it and I can express my feelings fully, when we are on stage. I can see and hear often afterwards, that it touches people. For me, this is one of the highlights in the set.
4. Was the recording of your debut album simple or was it complicated?
Carla: The recording process went very well. Each band member had the possibility to record the tracks at their own home studio, so we didn't have to go through the pressure of recording at a studio you have to pay for each day. We could do this in our time, which was a great and a relaxed way of working. After we finished our recordings, we send the tracks to the US where it would be mixed and mastered by our previous label. Unfortunately the record company worked with a different timeline and didn't come up with a finished product for over half a year. That's when we decided to pull the plug and took over the production process ourselves. Within three weeks and with help of friendly professionals we managed to deliver the album in time and with a satisfying sound!
5. There is a long story behind me obtaing a copy of your album, which we will not go into, but my reaction to your cd has been a good one. It picked up an impressive review on this site and elsewhere across Europe too so I have noticed. Have you had any reactions to the album from the USA as yet?
Mike: Not yet I’m afraid, but to be fair: the album has just been send to the press in The States. Hopefully around the release date in March, the first reviews will come in! I’ll keep you posted!
6. Have you or any other members of your band been involved with any other musical projects that you would like to let us in on?
Carla: We all participated in several bands and projects. Erwin is perhaps most known as drummer of Orphanage. He went on tour with big bands like Within Temptation.
7. Within Temptation has been making waves here recently (thanks to Roadrunner UK getting behind this band). What are your expectations of the female fronted rock/metal scene as a whole in mainland Europe and indeed the UK?
Mike: This type of Metal we play, is gaining in popularity all over the world and I have seen that the UK is also picking these bands up. There is no limit in success, but we as artists, have to work our asses of to get the right attention from the industry, but most important the support from the fans! We are nowhere without the support from those who support us in our work, buying our cd’s, seeing us live and letingt us know what they think of the music and all. They make things happen!
8. Would you hope to tour here in the UK if given the opportunity?
Mike: Of course! We like to do gigs, because it gives us the opportunity to look the people in the eyes and see them enjoying our music and performance, giving feedback on what we do! This connection is vital to know whether things can work yes or no. So let’s see what the future will hold, shall we?!
9. Musically and spiritually who are your inspirations, and what sort of music would you be currently listening too?
Carla: Over the years many bands and musicians inspired us. We still like to listen to: Sevendust, Kill Switch Engage, Machine Head, Lacuna Coil, Katatonia, A Perfect Circle, 30 Seconds to Mars, Pantera, Kiss etc.
10. Finally is there anything that you would like to say to anybody anywhere?
Carla: Thank you very much for this interview. Enjoy reading. We thank everyone from Ravenheart Music for their support and friendship!
And I love this band, so check them out at www.myspace.com/laventura
Dave Smith (Aug 1, 2008)