Alaska is :
Al Lewis on Vocals, Drums,
Percussion and Guitar
John O'Hara on Keyboards
How would you classify your music?
Al Lewis : Symphonic,
majestic, classic prog-rock.
John OHara : To quote David Lee Roth talking about Van Halen, "It's
a cross between religion and hockey".
Do you all have day jobs and if
so what do you do?
Al : Carpenter,
I build new homes.
John : Until recently I've been a recording engineer.
How did the band get together?
Al : We worked
together in a cover band.
What are your musical backgrounds?
Al : Various
musical groups and private studies.
What kind of music do you like
to listen to when you're not playing?
Al : Almost every
type.
John : Schoenberg, Univers Zero.
What do you do to relax?
Al : Swim laps,
long walks, read, go to the movies.
John : I read equipment manuals.
If you had the chance to jam with
any band, who would that be?
Al : Jethro Tull.
John : The Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis band. If you're excluding dead
guys, then Yes.
What's the best thing that has
ever happened to you?
Al : Something
personal.
John : Well, musically, I skipped school and hitch-hiked 120 miles by
myself to see ELP once. I got there at noon and ended up spending the
whole day hanging around with Keith Emerson in the arena and watching
him play the piano. I had never seen anyone play like that before, and
I was just a kid. It was of course a lot better than any class I ever
took.
What's the worst thing that has
ever happened to you?
Al : Something
personal.
John : The worst thing involving music, I was working as a studio engineer
and I was putting together some bass parts for music tracks for a rap
artist who came in looking for something to do his rhymes against. The
guy flipped out, he was boiling mad, saying that I was trying to rob
him by wasting his expensive studio time. He said that he he had "never
heard of a bass part being on a record"! It's ugly when you come to
realize that the thing you dreamed of doing is actually not much like
what you imagined it to be.
Who writes the songs?
Al : Alaska
Where do you get your inspiration
from?
Al : Various
places, from a book, a conversation, a picture, movie, other music,
personal situations.
John : Even the process of making music can be the cause of everything
from euphoria to misery, and that can translate into music.
Who thought of the band's name
and how did you choose it?
Al : Came from
the album 'UK'. Also like the feelings you get when you think about
the landscape of the state.
John : Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas, and, as any Texan
will tell you with much bravado, 'everything is big in Texas'. We are
fans of extreme panoramic expanse and the deadly beauty of such a wilderness
has alot in common with our schedule for next Tuesday.
Which are you personal favorite
songs and why?
Al : Anyman's
Tomorrow, WellsBridge, Caring.
John : This afternoon I really like 'Sleeping Giant' from Herbie Hancock's
'Crossings' album. I remember when it was new. It was new in more ways
than one. I'm also wild about 'Rain Forest' from Caldera's 'Dreamer'
album right now. Guess who just got access to a turntable to hear his
old vinyl LPs after 5 years?
Do you play many gigs and if so
where?
Al : We just
started our 1998 shows. We have completed 5 in the past two weeks.
What is you view of the music
scene in Scranton, Pa. USA.?
Al : Active for
club, dance bands playing current top 40 and rock & roll. Not very receptive
to non-cover bands.
John : We had 2 requests for 'The Macarena' and one for 'YMCA' where
we played last week. In the US, these are the lowest-common-denominator
social anthems and are a sure sign that the next request will not be
for Tenemos Roads. The highest paid band locally actually plays the
dangerously experimental "M.I.C.K.E.Y.M.O.U.S.E.". No kidding.
A guy here once said to me "How can you lack the common decency to play
the music that people have grown to know and love?". There's not a lot
of excitement for new music here. Ozzy Osborne is literally banned from
the city!
The town is known as 'Steamtown' because of a train museum, but you
won't be hearing 'Crazy Train' around here any time soon unless Ozzy's
ready to do some hard time in the tank. There are a lot of great musicians
here though, but they are so hard-core obsessed that they can get by
without any encouragement whatsoever, just like the guys in the old
Soviet Siberian prisons.
What band would you say has had
most influence on you?
Al : ELP.
John : Some local guys called 'Chronic Disorder', but not the band by
the same name that you can find on the internet claiming to be 'The
Drunkest Band in the World'. They might be good to though, who knows.
What are your plans for the future?
Al : To play
as many shows as we can book. Hope to find the right agent or management
to book colleges, theaters, clubs, and to promote our current debut
album. Also to start new material for the 2nd album. Hope to play a
tour in Europe.
Any last words or remarks?
Al : Thank you
for your interest in our group Alaska. Hope you enjoy the album and
hope you can see us play sometime soon.
*******************************************************************
alaska98@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~alaska98
Alaska P.O Box 551 Dunmore, Pa. 18512-0551 USA
*********************************************************************
|
