WildeStarr is an American Melodic Power Metal duo comprising London Wilde on vocals & keys, and Dave Starr (ex Vicious Rumors) dealing with the Guitars & bass. Phil Wooldridge recently reviewed this hard rock offering for the Ravenheart site and gave it an impressive 9/10. After having heard
for myself the track 'Arrival' on WildeStarr's myspace site, I agreed with Phil that perhaps an interview was in order. So here it is:-
Q: Firstly Dave, Vicious Rumors has been on the scene for a while. And I understand that you was their original bass player. Can you tell us why you left Vicious Rumors, and was it your intention to create a band with a female lead vocalist?
Dave: I originally left VR back in 1993 after 9 years in the band. I played bass on the first 5 albums. I came back to VR in 2005 and played bass on the WarBall CD that came out in late 2006. I recorded the bass tracks in Feb. of 2006, but I left the band before the CD came out. I really only wanted to play on the record and then get back to work on WildeStarr. I had thoughts about touring again with VR, but to be honest... my heart was just not in it. I wanted to concentrate on WildeStarr, and I knew that was my future and what I really wanted and needed to do. I have a long history with VR, and it was great to work with Geoff Thorpe again... but without Mark McGee and Carl Albert (RIP)... it just wasn't the same to me like all the great times we had in the past. As for WildeStarr, I had no real clue what I was doing in the beginning. London liked my song ideas and said she wanted to work on tunes with me.
Q: Did you know London prior to setting up WildeStarr, or did you audition for a vocalist, with London then fitting the bill?
Dave: London and I have know each other for about 23 years. She was a fan of VR and she was always at the shows back in the day. We became good friends and hung out all the time. Fast forward to WildeStarr, I never auditioned anyone. I never really do that, I have a very short attention span and I don't think I could go through the audition process with people. I would rather stick a fork in my eye. She said she wanted to work on lyrics and melodies on my songs, so I just told her she had the job!
Q: And a question for London. Were you in any bands in the past, and how did you feel when given the opportunity to be in a band with Dave Starr?
London: I had mostly been a studio musician for the last 10 years or so before joining WIldeStarr, and had been in a few local bands in my early days singing in the late 80's early 90's. It seemed every time I started or joined a band project, it would just fall apart, and nothing stuck. I felt very excited to start a band with Dave, and I felt a lot of pressure to do a great job, because Dave has worked with who many, myself included, consider to be one of the best metal vocalists ever, the late great Carl Albert. I took it as a challenge to put my best foot forward.
Q: Dave, what made you get into music in the first place?
Dave: A friend gave me KISS Alive! back in 1976. That was it. Game over!
Q: And Can I ask London the same question?
London: Music was a part of the fabric of my life as far back as I can remember. My father played guitar and sang Johnny Cash and Elvis tunes and performed as an amateur. My grandmother and uncles could wail a honky tonk piano till it shook, my grandfather would pull out his banjo and jam along. It seemed everyone in my family played an instrument or sang. But it wasn't until I was about 14 that I decided music is what I wanted to do with my life.
Q: Can you give us the story behind the WildeStarr album itself and generally, how has it been received by the punters and indeed the music media?
Dave: We had no real clear vision or concept in the beginning. We used some of my old song ideas and also wrote lots of new ones. As we went along, we got better and better as a song writing team. We refined things, made changes here and there, and even tossed out ideas along the way. What was a great idea at the start... was not good enough 6 months later, so we continually got stronger as song writers and pushed ourselves to be better in every area. Some how, things all fell into place. It was an insane amount of work for 2 people, but we did it. We were not really sure what to expect from the fans and media, but we felt that we had done a great job and that ARRIVAL was a very strong album in all aspects. So far, it has turned out that we were right! The response has been great. I have read 50 or 60 reviews so far, and I think there was 1 bad one. Thats a pretty damn good ratio! I was not even angry about the bad review, I actually laughed my ass off after I read it. We have received countless e-mails from fans all over the world who love the record, and thats an amazing feeling.
London: We started writing material for the record in 2004. In the beginning we did envision getting a complete band, but we had trouble finding the right people. Eventually we became comfortable considering ourselves a duo, since Dave was perfectly capable of handling guitars and bass, I could do vocals and keys, but we still needed a drummer to complete our album. Things finally came together in 2008 when Brad Gillis recommended we get in touch with Jim Hawthorne. Everything clicked, and in late 2009 the Album was released. The response from the fans and press has far exceeded my wildest expectations!
Q:Was there any band or artist that influenced you in the writing of the music on this record?
Dave: For me, its just all the music I have loved over the years. So I can't say any one artist in particular. When I listen to the CD, I can hear my influences like Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, KISS, UFO, X-Japan, BOC, Savatage... I could go on and on. If it was one band... I would have to say Judas Priest has been a huge influence on me.
London: Probably the influence of Judas Priest can definitely be heard in our music, since that's one band Dave and I have in common as far as influences go. I think every bit of everything you hear , ends up stuck somewhere in your brain, and flows out in one form or another into your music, whether it's your favorite band, or a jingle you heard when you were a kid, or the sound of your local garbage truck idling in front of your house.
Q: And for those unfamiliar with your music, would you like to describe the music to our readers?
Dave: Melodic, symphonic, metal. Great vocals, great guitars, big hooks, dramatic and dark. Thats how I would sum it up.
London: Traditional metal with modern and symphonic elements that is Intense, aggressive, seductive, dark and beautiful all at the same time.
Q: And where did you record the CD and what was the studio experience like?
London: I recorded the vocals, rhythm guitars, bass and keyboards at our own studio. The Lead guitars and drums were recorded by Jim at his studio Spirit Wind in Hayward. We mixed and mastered the tracks at Jim's place as well. There was a lot of work involved for me, since I was also engineering tracks, and it really seemed overwhelming at times, but I love having a lot of control over the final outcome. Now that we have established kind of work flow working together, I think the next record will go a lot more smoothly and be a bit more fun. Jim and I handled the lion's share of the mixing, but Dave was also very involved in the mix, so I consider the result of the final sound very much a collaboration between the three of us.
Dave: I have recorded many albums in the past on bass, but this was the first one with me on guitar. It was a tremendous amount of work, but we took our time... and that made it nice. In the past, I was always on tight budgets and time constraints, and that made things very nerve wracking and stressful for me.
Q: Has there been any label interest?
London: We did have some label interest after we posted our first demo song, "Generation Next" on myspace back in 2004. They all wanted to hear more material, and since we didn't have a drummer at the time, it was a matter of not wanting to send them our stuff incomplete. By the time we got Jim Hawthorne in on drums, a lot of time had passed, so we just forged ahead on our own. Looking back, we probably should have tried to shop "Arrival" before it came out, but live and learn!
Dave: We did have label interest, but I was a bit worried about sending out the finished songs that they wanted to hear. I knew they would end up on the Internet in no time. We decided to go it alone with our own label. In hind sight... maybe that was not the best thing to do, but thats what we did. Like London said, live and learn. I think we will have a deal for the next CD and hopefully ARRIVAL will also be a part of that. We have been working closely with Chip Ruggieri (PR for Judas Priest, Rob Halford) for a few months now, and will continue to work with him on the next CD. He is opening lots of doors for us.
Q: Is WildeStarr just a one off project, or will there be any chance of another record in due course?
London: I am finally in a band that I like, that can't kick me out...I'm not giving that up anytime soon! We are writing for the next record right now, we hope to have the new album out late this year, or early next year.
Dave: I don't call WildeStarr a project. Its a band with 2 people in it. Or call us a duo if you want. We are moving forward like London said.... and the new songs are turning out great!
Q: What are your fave tracks on the record, and why :)?
London: Rose In the Dark is probably my favorite. It has a lot of interesting changes, it's very full and orchestrated sounding, with a huge wall of sound. The vocals have a lot of variety to them, which is fun for me to sing. It's just a great song! Other favorites would be "Arrival" I really like the dark seductiveness of it, and "Rise" because it's balls out insanity!
Dave: Hard to pick one... but I would also say Rose in the Dark. That song has so much going on in it! Rise reminds me of Halford alot, and thats cool. Down of the Sun, that one has lots of drama and powerfully changes.
Q: Ravenheart Music is my little baby and I set it up with the help of my Gothic Musician Friend Aimee Halford in 2006. The main reason being that a couple of musician friends of mine Stateside, told me about a certain prejudice in some quarters against ladies in rock and metal music. I think things have improved, but what is the scene like in the USA regards female fronted rock and metal, and indeed, the rock & metal scene in general?
London: I think that is very admirable of you to shine a light on the female rockers! I agree things have improved over the last 20 years since I have been in this genre. I think being female fronted is a double edge sword. On one hand, since there are not as many bands in metal with a female front, you have the opportunity to stand out. On the other side of that, you are always going to get some metal fans who just don't want to accept a female vocalist. As more females join the metal ranks, there is further acceptance, but I still see chat and message boards that discuss female vocalists solely on the virtues of their looks instead of their talent, and I would really like to see that change someday.
Dave: Females have always had a hard time in metal and rock in general, its a 99% male dominated genre. I think things have changed for the better, people are more open minded today then they were in the past.
Q: Given the chance, what band or musician/s would you like to tour with?
London: I'd like to tour with guys that shower regularly, don't smoke too much pot or drink too much, that are reasonably quiet and respectful. Maybe I need to tour with a church choir! Of course in my fantasy it would be awesome to tour with any of my idols, such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Dio, or Queensryche, but I honestly don't care. I just want to get out there and play for the fans, make new ones, and spread some WildeStarr magic. I'll play at Joe's Tire Emporium on a Saturday, it really doesn't matter.
Dave: Judas Priest!
Q: A question to both of you, what are your musical influences and who/what do you listen to when relaxing?
London: My musical influences are Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford and Geoff Tate. When I am writing besides the music we are working on, I like to listen to music that is totally different than metal. Usually classical piano, Beethoven, Lizt, Rachmoninov, or Harpsichord and chamber music. When I am not writing I listen to my favorite metal bands like Judas Priest, Halford, Queensryche, Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath, and symphonic metal bands like Nightwish, After Forever, Tristiana etc.
Dave: Judas Priest is the biggest influence on me, Thin Lizzy as well... KISS, UFO, all the great metal and rock over the years. I never relax, I am wound up 24/7.
Q: And outside of music, do you have any hobbies that keep you busy/out of mischief :) ?
London: I am sort of a compulsive creator...I have to be making something at all times. If I don't have something nearby to create with, I will end up making tiny sculptures out of bits of paper, or I will doodle. When I am not making music, I have a lot of hobbies to fill in the blanks. I spent the last two years creating a video for our single "Arrival", which just came out a couple of months ago. I enjoy art, painting, video and photography. I love the beauty of the outdoors, and I have special places I like to go for walks or bike rides. It's a way to "turn off" my brain for a short time. I am a huge movie buff as well, and I read a lot.
Dave: I don't have much time for hobbies. I did when I was younger. I do read alot, mostly WW II history. I have studied military history my whole life.
Q: Well, thanks copious amounts for your time and good luck in all your future endeavors. We wish you all the very best for the future, and finally, is there anything that you would like to say to anybody across the world via this website?
London: Thanks Dave and Ravenheart for the interview opportunity , we really appreciate it! Thanks to everyone at this web site for supporting female fronted metal! I wish everyone peace and happiness, and I look forward to getting out on the road and perhaps meeting you in person!
Dave: Thanks for all the support, we really appreciate it!
An amazing duo. All I can say is check out their myspace site at www.myspace.com/wildestarr, and then buy their album. Cool!Dave Smith (Mar 15, 2010)
