~+INTERVIEWS+~
Streaming Alone At MidnightMaiden Voyage Interviews
KAT MARCO INTERVIEWS
I Had The Honour To Talk To Kat Marco The Goddess Of Rock Indeed On Dec 4/99
(Eddie):Tell Us How You Got The Name "Kat Marco"???
(Kat):I was nick named Kat at birth, short for Kathleen.When I first started doing original music 20 years ago,I called my groups Marcopia. I pulled the Marco out of Marcopia to come up with a stage name that worked for me, Kat Marco. I felt like it was very original, and for many years it was. But then around the end of the 80's early 90's droves of Kat guitar players emerged. all of them spelled with a K. Making a unique name become cliche'. It's not like I can change my name being I have been Kat forever!.
(Eddie):As A Band How Did You All Meet Up????
(Kat):I have used session players since the late 80's. When I first started out I did the band thing but it was tough to keep the focus with band members changing, getting married and having their wives/husbands interfering in band business, and just in general tugging and pulling in many different directions. So I decided to hire players at need, and keep the focus centered. I still always go for a group sound as I feel it is very important to rock music.
(Eddie):Share A Little History About "Kat Marco"???? (Kat):I have been in love with music since I was born in 1957. I always enjoyed guitar music and loved the energy of rock. Growing up as a teenager, I was into Sabbath and Ted Nugent. When Heart and Benatar came out I knew without question that was what I would do! I would rock. I didn't play guitar at first, I sang lead. But the more I got into writing my own material, I discovered I needed an instrument. At first I went for synthesizers, but guitar was what I became obsessed with, so I began practicing 8 to 10 hours a day and turned myself into a lead guitarist/lead vocalist.
(Eddie):Where Can We Get A Copy Of Your Current CD,And Your Previous Releases????
(Kat):Oh! Through my web site! KAT MARCO
(Eddie):What Made You Want To Become A Musician And What Were Your Main Influences????
(Kat):I just always love music so passionately. I can't remember a time before wanting to become a musician. I can remember many influences along the way though. Songs influenced me actually more than other musicians. Songs like Dream On by Aerosmith, Hell is for Children by Benatar, Bringing on the Heartbreak by Leppard, Temples of Syrinx By Rush...Pat Benatar influenced me as a vocalist and I love the neoclassical vocals of the 80's like Jeff Scott Soto from Ynqwie's Rising Force, and Geoff Tate of Queensryche. George Lynch, Tony MacAlpine and of course Yngwie inspired me to play serious guitar. And Savatage!
(Eddie):What Drives "Kat Marco"???
(Kat): I am inspired by purity of heart. I believe beauty comes from a gracious and powerful spirit. When my heart is at it's purest, my music sounds best. I try to gain my inspiration by the breath of life.
(Eddie):What Type Of Sound Would You Classify Kat Marco As???
(Kat):Hard Rock/ Melodic Metal
(Eddie):What Can The Fans Expect To See "LIVE" When Kat Marco Plays???
(Kat):Alot of emotion, passion and dramatic music.
(Eddie):What Was Your Most Memorable Experience Making The CD,Or Playing A Show,Or Both????
(Kat):Making Maiden Voyage has been incredibly memorable. Working at the famous Morrisound with Jim and Tom was awesome. I got the sound I wanted, and was impressed with the galant way of the Morris brothers, as well as the rest of the staff. Steve Wacholz of Savatage co-producing and having the legendary Jeff Berlin perform the bass was amazing! Playing live for the Penthouse Pet of the year birthday at Studio 54 in 1984 is one of my live memories, but I have many. Like one time I played with just my guitar and voice between sets at a show and a man gave me $10,000 because he was so blown away.
(Eddie):Any Current Information Or Tid Bits You Would Like To Add To Inform Your Fans Of???
(Kat):I am doing a new record! I am working hard on recording new songs, and will be touring upon it's completion. I am keeping much of it a secret until time comes closer to release!.
(Eddie):Well Kat This Has Been Truly Informative,And Enjoyable,We Thank You For Taking The Time To Do This,And We Look Forward To Doing This Again In The Near Future!.
(Kat):Eddie I had a blast,and i would love to do this again sometime,And i really enjoyed talking with you too,:).
INTERVIEW BY LAURENT @ THE FRENCH CONNECTION January, 1999
1 - Can you tell us more about you , your past & history ...? Hello Laurent! I'd rather know about you. What got you into all this music? I know I as born into it. And into poverty. So I wish I could tell you that I was a trained artist and that I had a huge corporation backing me, but the truth is I am self taught, and has been responsible for raising all the finances involved in bringing my music to life. I always had the greatest effect from music, especially the harder kind. Primarily guitar oriented music.
2- What are your most important influences? The first band I heard that made me say 'I want to do that' was Heart, even though I was mostly into Black Sabboth and Ted Nugent then. It was Pat Benatar that really got me going though, and then the 80's neo-classical. I got into George Lynch, Yngwie, Criss Oliva, and Tony MacAlpine for guitar and Ronnie James Dio, Geoff Tate, and Jeff Scott Soto for vocalists. I primarily wrote my own songs, and so haven't spent much time learning other peoples music, so I have been able to develope my own style.
3 - Can you present & tell us all about your album 'Maiden Voyage' ? You know Laurent, as soon as I knew I was going to be serious about music, I started recording. I have for the most part been quite reclusive and I work well alone, so I just proceeded ahead with the necessary steps it took to begin working a music career. Recording Maiden Voyage was a natural evolution. I originally planned to record more songs, but had to re-negotiate with my business plan to accommodate the fact that I wanted a grandstand production, and I have been basically broke. That’s why there are only three songs. My goal was to capture the essence I saw for myself as Kat Marco. I wanted to have songs that could be played on radio, that would light up an arena, reach into the mortal heart, and show my vocal and guitar abilities. And I wanted the recording to be sincere. The songs are true to my heart. I always felt from the beginning that a musician would always be best as a performer if they did their own material because of that truth. I have lived the emotion of each cut. Rebel Renegade is my theme song, Standing against all odds, I have ben alone for the most part because I have been single minded about the music, and have been forced to find love from within, the katalyst for Alone At Midnight, thus giving birth to the song of great love, To Touch Your Face.
4 - This album has be released in a famous studio & with a more famous producer. Can you tell us more about these famous persons? Can you explain how they finally work with you? I knew that if I was going to get the monster production I was going to have to go to the professionals. So I picked out the best metal studio, Morrisound. I started rapping with the boys there and found out who I would need to work on the project. That’s when I decided to have Jim Morris be part of the production team. I was blown away at how great I was treated there. I could cry thinking about it. They we're gracious. Everyone at Morrisound that had anything to do with my project was galant....Even though they were exceedingly talented. Jim Morris did most of the engineering, except when I cut my solos, Tom Morris engineered that session. I found out that Steve 'Dr. Killdrums' was on leave of absence from Savatage, and tracked him down to ask if he would assist the production. It was right around then that I found Jeff Berlin and recruted him to cut the Bass. Jeff had played for Yes, Allan Holdsworth, and Bill Bruford, besides being named best in the world in '86 and '87 from Guitar World Magazine. I put together the super cast! 5 - You also start a new company.
5.Can you tell us more about this one? I released my first single, Sleeping Beauty, in 1990, and had all these people helping. No one understood the way I wanted things so I put out my next release on Rockat Records in 1992, that was Bootleg Kat Marco a compilation of 14 songs from a decade of songwriting and performing with a slew of master musicians. I named it Bootleg Kat Marco because only half of the productions were done right, the rest were done the hard way. The songs were strong though. I mostly put out the cassette out so I could gain a hold of the side of the cliff I was falling over. So Maiden Voyage was my first grandstand production. See, so that is why I started Rockat Records.
6 - 'Maiden Voyage has been released a few years now. Do you have some new songs to be released soon? I sure do Laurent! I have eleventy-jillion songs. I am preparing for my next release which will be titled Monolith. It's got songs like Once I Pull The Trigger, and Stand And Deliver that I am very excited about! I am going to add some acoustic guitar to this production. But it will still be bombastic!
7 - Can you tell us more about your lyrics? What are they talking about? I believe the lyrics are a vital part of songs and in many ways the most vital. So each of the songs are reflective and speak of how I feel, but written in a way I can imagine others could feel. I try to deliver the meaning in a universal was so that the complete emotion can be easily accessible.
8 Heavy metal is back with new bands & with the return of "old" bands like Maiden, Judas, ...Do you think there's some differences between old & new bands? I'm just really glad that Metal is back! I never understood why it was gone because it never left me. I have seen Metal expand incredibly. There is more diversity in Metal music than any other genre that’s for sure!
9 Do you think that it is advantage or an inconvenient to be a woman in metal? Why? Only in the fact that it's a disadvantage to have less strength physically, so I have to work harder to accomplish the same on guitar, and an advantage to be able to reach the higher notes more easily. as a singer.
10 Do you prefer people to talk of you a sa guitar player or as a singer. in these 2 ways, you're really excellent! Both Laurent! I hate it when I am referred to as one or the other, I work equally as hard on each. I wanted to be equal on both and for you to tell me that you enjoy both makes me want to kiss you right on the mouth!
11 A last word? For me.... music is a mystery, it is a journey, a life of it's own. And nothing can take it's place! ~+I Love It+~ and ~+I Love You+~ Kat Marco lbocquet@nordnet.fr ---------------------------------------------------------
INTERVIEW BY dedKitty Zine
What more can I possibly say about KAT MARCO? She's an awesome guitarist and vocalist, has smarts as well as hot looks (hey, I'm a guy - shoot me!), is an animal lover (like me), and the epitome of Rock Goddess-ness. Well, she recently did me the honor of granting an interview - the results of which are below..... Hope all's great with you and the pooches. All of us animals are doing grrrreat!
Kat, you're an amazing guitarist. Who are some of your idols? Who (or what) inspired you to take up the guitar? The sound of guitar itself has been my biggest inspiration. If I had to pick one main guitarist I love I would say George Lynch in the DOKKEN / LYNCH MOB days for his solos, killer rhythm, and awesome tone.
Aside from being a killer guitarist, you also have a very powerful voice. Which vocalists do you admire? My favorite male vocalist is Jeff Scott Soto, the vocalist from Yngwie's RISING FORCE, and for women PAT BENATAR, although I admire many others like Ray Gillian (BLACK SABBATH) and Jon Oliva (SAVATAGE). Were you involved with any bands prior to the solo thing? Yes, but not a lot. I always felt more comfortable creating my own thing, but I did a stint with a group in New York called TOYS. We played Studio 54 for the Penthouse Pet of the year birthday party in 1984. A few years after I left the band to go neo-classical. Al Petrelli did some recording with them, before DREAM THEATER.
How did you hook up with Steve Wacholtz of SAVATAGE to have him co-produce your CD? That was one of my better moves for my career. I found out that he was on leave of absence from SAVATAGE, and tracked him down. I was living in Tampa at the time and so it was easy to get a hold of him. Things were right with my recording at Morrisound to have Steve come in to co-produce. He and Jim Morris are great to work with. They helped me to control my passion, and use it within a production.
You mention "Rebel Renegade" as being inspired by Genya Ravan. How so? Are you a fan of hers? I met Genya when she was the A&R Director For Saturn Records, a one time Florida Indie. She kept telling me to write something really great lyrically and she was hard to impress. One night a friend came to my house with a Renegade cap for me and called me a rebel. After he left the lyrics for "Rebel Renegade" came to me and I called Genya the next morning with the results and she loved what I came up with. She and I talked about the possibility of her producing Maiden Voyage and the possibilities of her mixing the songs, but I hedged away because I wanted Jim Morris and Steve to be the main influence in that area because of their extensive Heavy Metal background. I think Genya is hot and her music rocks, but I wanted that big fat sound mixed with the transparency I got from Morrisound, and I wanted the royal touch Steve gave in his thought process.
Maiden Voyage seems to have done pretty well for you. Have you gotten any label interest? I turned down 3 1/2 million in backing from a group of businessmen from Las Vegas who wanted me to sign everything over including the rights to my name while I was recording Maiden Voyage! I never really talked to labels much because they usually are looking for something that fits in, but I have been approached by many labels, including Sony. I just have a hard time doing the 'Keep It Simple Stupid' thing. So I have raised all my own backing. I have a huge meeting in one week that means 1/2 million in backing for the record I am presently recording. I raised nearly $100,000 for Maiden Voyage. There is a great deal of satisfaction in being able to say I made it happen. I am not looking for a label deal but if a great offer was on the table I would not just walk away, but I do want to continue in control. That’s what I LOVE about the Internet! My network had over 100,000 visits in the first year!
So you have some new recording plans? Yeah man! I am recording a full length CD which will be as bombastic as Maiden Voyage with a bit more orchestration. I have been planning to call it either Monolith or The Motherlode, but I am a woman and can change my mind on that if I want. ~+smile+~
Is it still an uphill battle for a female in the Metal scene? Not like it was in the 80's, or maybe I am just past letting it bother me. I used to ask if I could Rock out, now I just reach out and take it, so it really seems to have changed. As a singer it was easier for me physically to get my chops down than on guitar. But I never let that stop me, I just put in more hours and sleep with wrists braces on!
So .how do you keep yourself busy when you're not making music? My 5 Rottweilers demand alot of attention and I work hard at keeping them tame. I have raised them all from puppies and it is so cool to have dominion over such beasts. I say "here now" and a herd comes roaring. I don't mess around either, when I command they listen, but I also work with their personalities and allow them to challenge me if they have a good point. I also get into the law and litigate any conflicts. I have represented myself in a number of lawsuits. At this point I always win, now that I know my way around the court system.
Which would you say are your favorite bands, old and new? Right now I am really into COVENANT, I start my day out with Chariots Of Thunder. SAVATAGE, RUSH, PAT BENATAR, DOKKEN, and Yngwie are forever! I like all kinds of music. Metal is by far my favorite though, but I love any great talent. I really love tenor opera singers (because they go higher in the natural voice than sopranos). I would love to hear Celine Dion do a Rock record! I like Cher's thick sound! HAMMERFALL, NEW EDEN, SINERGY, THERION, James Murphy, AYREON......The old stuff like BOSTON, TED NUGENT, BLACK SABBATH, RONNIE JAMES DIO, QUEENSRYCHE......
Which CDs are you listening to the most lately? I make compilation tapes of my favorite songs and play them over and over until the tape stretches. Right now my favorite listenings are COVENANT "Chariots Of Thunder", SAVATAGE "The Price You Pay" and "Strange Wings" both off Hall Of The Mountain King, "For A Million Years" by LYNCH MOB, RUSH "Overture/Temples Of Syrinx" Benatar "Hell is For Children".....
Famous last words? Stand and Deliver!
Now that you've had a chance to read her thoughts and opinions, check out the Maiden Voyage CD Review elsewhere in his 'zine.....
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