Interview with David Victor of VelocityVelocity are a Hard Rock band from the U.S. They have just recently released their debut album 'Impact' The band on the album was David Victor on Vocals and Guitars, Chris Dodge on Guitars and Pat Torpey on Drums. How would you classify your music ? Rock 'n Roll! We like to call it "the next generation of melodic rock". Do you all have day jobs and if so what do you do ? Yes! Bob works for a clothing manufacturer, Chris Thornton works at a home-furnishings store and I'm a programmer. Chris Dodge is taking college courses in programming. How did the band get together ? I founded the band back in August of 1995 along with our original bass player John. We added Josh Ramos (from THE STORM) to the band, and went through various drummers. VICTOR (as we were known then) played several well-received live shows. At some point we realized that Josh wanted to devote his energies to work on The Storm project, so we parted company. John got burned out auditioning so many drummers, and he left in January of 1997. Right around that time, I found Chris jamming in a music store. We got Pat Torpey of MR. BIG to do the CD with us, but we still needed a permanent drummer and bass player. We found Bob a few months later, and our latest addition is the final piece of the puzzle, bassist Chris Thornton. Pretty much all of '97 was spent working on the album. What are your musical backgrounds ? I first became interested in songwriting during the mid-seventies and hearing all the great R&B and pop on the radio. I became interested in learning how to play guitar as soon as I heard Eddie Van Halen. It's hard to describe the impact that album had... and it still sounds great today! Chris Dodge loves Van Halen, Mr. Big, Nuno Bettencourt and Blues Saraceno and a lot of pop and dance music, like Mariah Carey. What kind of music do you like to listen to when your not playing ? Maybe not what you'd think... I like to listen to Sarah McLaughlin, Melissa Etheridge, some dance music. Most new rock these days depresses me. I like happy stupid rock. This pissing contest to see who can be the "heaviest" doesn't interest me in the slightest. To me music is the most incredible mood-altering substance in the world. Why not use it to enhance your time here on earth? Some of the highest moments of my life have been at great rock concerts... Thin Lizzy, Rick Springfield, Scandal. What do you do to relax ? It's hard to remember back that far to when I last relaxed...! Working a complex full-time job and recording an album is not a great way to "relax", even though it is a lot of fun. When I do get time to relax, it's usually movies or TV, or a good book like a biography. The last thing I read was the David Lee Roth Bio... very interesting read. If you had the chance to jam with any band, who would that be ? Maybe Journey, just to see how the pipes feel hitting all those high notes! I think Chris Dodge would take Mr. Big any day! What's the best thing that has ever happened to you ? Getting "IMPACT" released worldwide! What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you ? MTV, ever since they stopped playing rock videos! Who writes the songs ? All the songs on 'IMPACT' were written by me. Hopefully on the next album we'll have some input from the new guys! All the songs were finished by the time the band was put together, so there was never any need to say "wait, let's start over and see what happens". Where do you get your Inspiration from ? That depends on the song... I usually just try to put myself in a space that defines a moment. Could be something that happened to me, but often it's just trying to put myself in someone else's shoes. I like hearing other people's stories... everyone has usually got a good one to tell. Who thought of the bands name and how did you choose it ? I thought of it, after holding two band meetings specifically to try and think of a name, and getting nothing but jokes! Thinking of band names has got to be one of the least productive ways to spend an evening! Which are your personal favorite songs and why ? There are several on this album that I really like for different reasons. I really like what happened with "Janine"...It's maybe the most intimate song I've ever written... just really trying to describe someone else's life. "You Don't Amaze Me Anymore" has the best pure riff I've ever written. "Supernatural Lover" has some nice lyrical imagery. "More Than Tonight" is a nice blend of "singer-songwriter" type vibe with a big-production sound. Do you play many gigs and if so where ? We are starting to play all the time lately! In the past, we were not playing that much because we were so busy with the album. Lately we've been playing every weekend! What is your view of the music scene in Northern California ? Northern California is a great place to live overall, but the prevailing musical mood here is very "anti-hard-rock". On the positive side though, I figure if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere! There have been a lot of great local bands that nobody ever heard from like Tyrant and Head On. It's tough to make it out of this area. The music biz is still centered in L.A. and New York, despite a few signings here and there in other areas. What bands would you say have had most influence on you ? Probably Van Halen, Rick Springfield, Montrose, Def Leppard and UFO. What are your plans for the future ? To quit our day jobs! Any last words or remarks ? We just want to thank everyone who has been there in support of our music since the beginning. Now that the album is out in Europe, anyone can go into their local store and check it out. We hope that anyone who ever enjoyed rock 'n roll gives "IMPACT" a listen, because we think they'll dig it! Website : http://www.rockhardmusic.com |