GEORGE: Welcome to BeRock Radio, Jeff, the most melodic place! I am George, please make yourself comfortable.
We're glad to have you here. The last year, 2015, was a busy one for you! You took part in many great collaborations.
Let's begin. In Joel Hoekstra's "Dying To Live", you've done the vocals in some of the tracks.
The tracks "Until I Left You" and "Start Again" stood above the rest for being melodic hard rock ones,
which is where your voice shines! Tell us a few words about this cooperation.
JEFF: It all began with Joel, very and embarrassingly asking if I would sing only backing vocals on the album because
he is not a fan of songs where the singer is doing his own backing vocals. He likes when the songs have other energies
involved as it can sound sterile. He had already recruited Russell to sing on the entire album but mid way through the
recordings, Russell all of sudden was slammed with Symphony X stuff and sadly couldn’t finish the album. Joel called me
wondering what to do and I told him ‘I’ll sing the 2nd half if you want to have 2 singers on it’. He ran it across everyone that
needed to approve and it was done, I did the 2nd half of the album! I love Joel, I think he is one of the most talented guys
out there today, his star is shining now and I am happy to be a part of it!
GEORGE: In 2014, you had worked on "Summer Days" with Gus G. On "Brand New Revolution", which was released in 2015,
you also did the vocals for "Gone to Stay" and "Generation G". Tell us a few words about this collaboration.
JEFF: Gus came to me for our collab on his 1st album then I told him if I give him one, he has to give me one, which ended up
being Wrath on the Inside The Vertigo album. We have such an easy going work ethic together, we kinda know what the other
wants from each other so it was great to be invited for TWO on the new album…which I once again went back to him for a collab
and we have a song on DIVAK called Time together. But he is not performing on his track this time, he only contributed the writing.
GEORGE: Let's move onto SOTO now. Have you been satisfied with the results of the release of "Inside the Vertigo"?
Was it what you expected?
JEFF: It was a bit hot and cold really…I was going through quite a few management staff during and after the release of the album,
none of which worked out for us in the end. I think this made the promotion suffer especially when we had to cancel a poorly
planned tour last year. I didn’t want to sit and cry over the spilled milk, I told the guys lets keep going, lets make a better album,
lets get it out right away, like the old days when bands would record, tour, record, etc., But not let people forget the seed we planted,
hit them on the head with a KILLER new album and selection of songs!
GEORGE: We are now expecting "DIVAK" from SOTO, which is coming out April 2016.
Can you tell us some information on the album?
Was it difficult composing the tracks? How long did the recording sessions take?
JEFF: We started putting songs together from the summer of 2015 all the way until we mixed the last note…there were 2 songs that
even came in last minute, that we finished when we already had the album done but they were so good, they had to replace others!
Its certainly heavy but I’m not chasing that Power Metal real estate as much, we want hard hitting, detuned kick your head in songs
with melodies and hooks you want to sing to. I think this album overshadows much of ITV and that’s saying a lot because I LOVE ITV!
We wrapped the mixing and mastering literally days before the label deadline, we used every minute to get it right!
GEORGE: What inspires you while writing songs?
JEFF: Life, experience…mine, others…emotions and personalities. Things we all go through as a society and things we need
a LOT of work on. But I have the most fun writing lyrics about people who have fucked me over, man, there is no better therapy!
GEORGE: Did you encounter any problems during the recording of the album? If so, how did you overcome them?
None at all, only that we had to drop some songs for others because we had too much…that’s a good problem to have.
JEFF: None at all, only that we had to drop some songs for others because we had too much…that’s a good problem to have.
GEORGE: Can you tell us about the line-up of the album?
JEFF: It’s the same as on ITV except the band are featured more on the album than the 1st. ITV started as a solo album so the band
were only only bits here and there, this time, to get the true essence of the band, so the guys can play THEIR parts that THEY created,
I wanted to unleash how incredible they really are and leave my famous friends off this time, haha.
GEORGE: Should we expect any video clips before the release of the album?
JEFF: Yes, the 1st lyric video for FreakShow came out end of January, I never expect much from them, no one watches lyric videos,
its just a chance to hear the song. But just before the album drops, the 1st band video for Weight Of The World will be unleashed.
We are very busy now with touring so we took advantage finally on getting lots of photos and extras done this time!
GEORGE: Are you thinking of doing a tour to promote "DIVAK"?
JEFF: We’re wrapping a 6 date US run ending at the Monsters Of Rock Cruise next week.
We have all of March off then we hit Europe in April, South America with Winery Dogs in May.
We will take the summer off as most band slots are filled this year but probably return to do dates in
Europe that we missed this run in Sept if all goes as planned.
GEORGE: For the past 4-5 years, we’ve been seeing a bloom in Melodic Hard Rock.
Do you believe that rockers want more quality in the music and listen to more of this genre?
What is your opinion on this?
JEFF: Well lets not get over excited, albums don’t sell like they used to, today selling 5000 is considered a lot and that’s what most of the BIG
bands are selling. Its much like our parents who listened to music in the 50’s or 60’s, when they got older, there were always revivals of every
scene but once the artists and even audience start fading away, you see it as a faded time in life. Don’t get me wrong, I am not negative at all,
but even a young band influenced by bands like Whitesnake and Def Leppard will have a hard time finding audiences because most older folks
wont follow a young band and younger kids have too many varied tastes and choices out there.
GEORGE: In recent years, the music industry has changed. We see that a lot of people prefer digital purchases,
which are more convenient, faster and more accessible.
What are your thoughts on the future of physical copies, such as CDs?
JEFF: I still like to HOLD my music, an mp3 is air, there is no photo, there is no credit, there is no lyric…it’s a masterpiece someone
put their heart and sweat into sent into the air like oxygen. I understand it and completely fall prey to the iPod and having 50000 songs
with me on the road instead 24 heavy CD’s but I still like the idea of holding the work, appreciating what went behind it.
GEORGE: It’s not just the music industry that has changed over the years. Nowadays, we see social media sites
(Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc...) have become hugely widespread.
How much support do these sites offer to a band and in what way?
JEFF: Without it you’re dead…on the same token, you’re beyond a dime a dozen now, as the old saying goes, you’re one in a million and
not in a good way! YouTube is today’s MTV and anyone can post a video on YouTube, go viral or completely flop. There are no more rules,
no more stepping stones to earn your way up, its all upside down right now but I remain humble I got my foot in the door the right way and
earned it the right way!
GEORGE: Thank you for your time, I wish you all the best for the future! The last words are yours for this interview.
Feel free to say whatever you want to all BeRock Radio's minizine readers!
JEFF: Hey Malakas, hahahaha, sorry that’s my only Greek word,
Rock On everyone, see you in Greece very soon!
