Interview with Clepsydra

Clepsydra are
Aluisio Maggini on Vocals,
Marco Cerulli on Guitars And saxophone,
PhilipHubert on Keyboards,
Andy Thommenon Bass
Pietro Duca on Drums and Percussion.

How would you classify your music ?

Andy : I would classify our music just as good music, music we like. The others call it progressive rock, art rock and symphonic rock. I don't like to classify music, but if I really have to, I'd choose progressive rock.

Do you all have day jobs and if so what do you do ?

Andy : Oh yes... we all have day jobs...
Pietro (drums) is an electronic engineer,
Phil (keys) is a software engineer,
Marco (guitar)... what is Marco doing? ...I don't remember... oh yes, he'a also an engineer... has something to do with architects... anyway;
Alu (voice) works for the city in some office and I am a system administrator.

How did the band get together ?

Andy : Pietro , Lele (former guitar), Phil & I went to the same boarding school, the Papio College.
That's where we first met. We started several music projects, some were dance music, others were just making music...

What are your musical backgrounds ?

Andy : We all knew Marillion, Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd. When we recorded Hologram (1991) we had no idea about the progressive rock scene! Know we are listening to most of the known prog bands as Spock's Beard, Arena, IQ, Pendragon,...
I'm the only one that listens almost only progressive. Phil and Pietro have a glimpse to jazz-rock, Marco likes heavy metal and Alu loves Italian music.

What kind of music do you like to listen to when your not playing ?

Andy : As I said, I love progressive rock. Now I'm on Enchant, Spock's Beard and Arena.

What do you do to relax ?

Andy : I sleep, walk in the green or watch TV.

If you had the chance to jam with any band, who would that be ?

Andy : Spock's Beard! ...but I thing that my bass play is not good enough for them...

Whats the best thing that has ever happened to you ?

Andy : My wife Kiki!

Whats the worst thing that has ever happened to you ?

Andy : ...loose my sight! About 10 years ago I had surgery on my right eye and my eyes were out of service for 3 days... a very dark experience. This experience is the theme of "No Place For Flowers" (More Grains Of Sand, 1994)

Who writes the songs ?

Andy : Clepsydra! There's no particular member writing the songs. We all work together. The music of Clepsydra is the synergy of 5 people. Just the words are mostly written by me, but everything is discussed with the band.

Where do you get your Inspiration from ?

Andy : The words are personale experiences in wich most of the band members can find themselves somehow. Most of the music is a result of jam-sessions that are later selected and than we work on them again. The last work is done in the studio while recording. Some songs are very different after the recordings...

Who thought of the bands name and how did you choose it ?

Andy : I found the name on a dictionary. we were ready for the recording of our first album (Hologram, 1991) but we still had no name. The words of the first songs were all about the passing of time... Clepsydra is an hour-glass filled with water, a Greek word.

Which are your personal favorite songs and why ?

Andy : Prisoner's Victory (More Grains Of Sand, 1994) and The Nineteenth Hole (Fears, 1997), just because I like them, they're very sentimental...

Do you play many gigs and if so where ?

Andy : We just are back from our European tour. We played in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland.

What is your view of the music scene in Switzerland ?

Andy : In Switzerland there is no, absolutely no progressive rock scene. No fanzine, nothing! The people just buy what they hear on the radio: top 40 songs, that's all!

What bands would you say have had most influence on you ?

Andy : On me... Pink Floyd

What are your plans for the future ?

Andy : For Clepsydra a little rest than we'll work on our 4th album. We also are planning for the end of the year a little sampler with live tracks and unreleased studio tracks, it'll be probably called "Counter Clockwise".

Any last words or remarks ?

Andy : With the discovery of the progressive rock scene I discovered a whole new world of music, a lot of new releases, a lot to listen at. I'm sure that this underground scene will become bigger and bigger!

WEBSITE : http://www.clepsydra.ch