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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Dante Fox (26.04.2007)
HH: Hi! Congratulations to your new record! How are you?
Tim: Hello, we're very well thank you. Thank you for your congratulations we are really proud of the new album.
HH: How are the reactions for Under The Seven Skies up to now?
Tim: The reactions have been overwhelming. We have some great reviews from Andrew at www.melodicrock.com and www.rockreport.be and magazines such as Rock Hard and Classic Rock, Powerplay and Fireworks in the UK. These people are saying such nice things about our album that we are very humbled. I must tell you that we are receiving a lot of press from Germany and Sandra from Undercover Promotions is doing a great job.
HH: How long did it take to do the song-writing? And who is responsible for the song-writing?
Tim: Well when we started rehearsing for the Firefest show in May 2005 and our Vixen support tour in June 2005 we started to inject the set with some new material just to spice it up a little because it was a new line-up at the time. So I would say this album took about ten months to write. The first songs written for the album were "Goodbye To Yesterday", "Love Tried To Find You" and "Hold Out Your Hand". We then decided to write a few rockier tracks to even up the pace so we wrote "Breaking Me Down" and "Firing Guns". Sue Willetts and myself wrote nine of the ten tracks together because we have always been the chief songwriters but on the title track we invited our new band members to get involved because we wanted a band feel and it was important for us to deliver something a little different for the title track which was Sue's idea almost with an "off the wall" feeling especially with the thirty-six bar guitar solo which I particularly enjoyed.
HH: Why did it actually take such a long time to finally release your third record?
Sue: Well quite honestly after the Japanese release of our second album The Fire Within we needed a break and it happened to coincide with John's departure, we felt like we'd been let down by our UK label Now And Then Records because they licenced the album to Avex who were in the process of closing down and were not interested in any of the releases around that time. I.e. Jimi Jamisons Surviour and Rik Emmetts albums being two others. We had next to nothing promotion and we felt that after all the hard work, solid groundwork and good press from our first album Under Suspicion it should have been a lot more successful. So we decided to take a break for a few years which went on for about four years. We still wrote and played but we felt a little burnt out. This was the case until March 2005 when we put a new line-up together because we were offered the Vixen tour and a place on Firefest 2005.
HH: I think not everyone knows about you, could you please tell us something about the band history?
Sue: Dante Fox was formed in September 1989 by myself. Guitarist Tim Manford was in a band called Express, but because nothing major had happened the band split. Tim and me joined forces and began writing songs. The next few years were spent recording, writing and playing anywhere and everywhere. On the strength of the songs and live performances, Dante Fox came to the attention of a lady by the name of Linda Bruce who was quite well known in Birmingham, as the owner of Rich Bitch studios which she owned and ran along with her husband Rob Bruce. Rich Bitch was used by Black Sabbath, Slade and Magnum. She heard one of the new songs and liked it so much she asked Rob to come and have a listen, and they booked the band into their studio to record it. The song was "How do We Learn About Love". We recorded more songs and Linda pushed the tapes around various major labels in the UK. With new band members Jon Cooksey on Drums and Bryan Jones on Bass, we signed to Now And Then Records in March of 1996 and in May appeared on the Gods line up next to Hugo, Ten and Jamie Kyle. The band was eager to play live and appeared on the ELO tour of the UK. In October 1996 Under Suspicion was released in the UK and Europe and the response from the press was very encouraging, with Dante Fox being compared to artists such as Heart, Cher and Witness. On the back of the success of Under Suspicion we were asked to go over to Europe to play the Antwerp Metal Convention, the Ardshock Festival as well as some headline club dates in the Netherlands. The next territory that we wanted to crack was the Japanese market. In April 1997 Under Suspicion was released in Japan and we were reviewed in Burrn Magazine and Tim received a great double page interview in Young Guitar. In February 98 we entered Mad Hat Studios to record the second album The Fire Within. Again with a positive response from the press and some great shows, it was time for a well deserved break. In February of 2005 the support to US Melodic female rockers Vixen and Girlschool for their summer tour of the UK was offered to us. Dante Fox recruited Mick Hales on drums who is a veteran of the midlands rock scene (who had been recently playing for ex-Judas Priest singer Al Atkins). We also appeared at the Firefest show with House of Shakira and Pride in Bradford. The band received an awesome reaction and was featured in Powerplay magazine. We have been very busy supporting bands such as Shy and Hayseed Dixie from the USA. In 2006 we recruited new bass player Mike Dagnall (Hope n Glory, Max Bacon Band) and Keyboard- and Guitar Player Roman Wieckowski and have started to record our third album Under The Seven Skies at Mad Hat Studio's.
HH: Who came up with the idea of the band name? Does it have a special meaning?
Tim: I have always liked the double barrelled names such as Def Leppard or Deep Purple for example. These names don't mean anything but they just sound good give you a classic timeless feel. One day when we were searching for a band name an ex band member mentioned the name "Dante" and I just added the "Fox". There you have it "Dante Fox". I'm afraid there is no special mystical meaning.
HH: What are your songs about? Could you please tell us something about each song?
Sue:
The Last Goodbye: This is the story of a man with a deep dark secret and the woman who knows that there is something unsaid between them but she is too scared to question the words of their last goodbye.
Firing Guns: This is one of my favorite songs and I have already outlined it above.
Hold Out Your Hand: Sometimes you can hold onto love just by a thread but when it is strong enough, it can always be reached through time and distance, but only if someone recognizes that it is there.
Breaking Me Down: This is a song about forces that we would not count as natural that can keep a love addiction and someone waiting for a thousand years.
Goodbye To Yesterday: Young love is great and nearly all of us have experienced it, but it is the wise who gather the strength to walk away when they know it is no longer the right thing.
Walking The Line: There are some people in this world that you know will never belong, or be trusted, or be honorable. Unfortunately it is all about them and they do not care how their actions impact on others, you know that the consequence of this will be devastating, you know that it will happen sooner or later so you walk the line.
Love Tried To Find You: Casanova, we all have known one, or seen one at work. The poor desperation of the man or woman who is deeply, deeply in love but they know they are just a moment from heartbreak.
Save Me: This song was written a long time ago and it is about the realization that you are falling in love with someone and the fight of trust. Can you ever really trust anyone to be there in the morning in the following months, following years.
Lucky Ones: This song follows on from the theme of breaking me down the darker side of romance.
Under The Seven Skies: I have always wanted to write a themed album and this really is my first attempt at writing in a different style. I wrote the melody of the verse whilst watching the ocean break against the rocks on a beautiful summer's day in Cornwall. The song is about many things but I based it around a mother whose son is taken from her when he gets involved in things he is not proud of. It is a love song from a mother to a child and a promise to never stop looking and waiting for his return. The song is in three parts with an absolutely amazing musical section with Tim given the space to tell his story. The end of the song is ended with the pledge of the mother that she will always be waiting till the end of time.
HH: Who came up with the idea for the cover artwork?
Sue: Well this was a journey and a half. I had an idea for the front cover but when we were introduced to Carl Andre Beckston and I told him about my initial ideas he said that he was already working on something and would we be prepared to look at it. Well when I saw the artwork I was so moved I could not speak and Tim thought I did not like it. This could not have been further from the truth and I was so moved by what Andre had created I felt that he was totally connected to the album. Carl Andre described my lyrics as poetry and completely understood what I was trying to convey with my songs. I would be honoured if he would work with us again on the fourth album.
HH: What are your musical influences? Do you have any idols?
Tim: I have always been a big Journey fan from Neal Schon's guitar playing to Steve Perry's awesome vocal style and the fanastic chemistry the whole band have when they ride and play together. I also sight Whitesnake,John Sykes,Gary Moore as huge influences.
Sue: Mine are all the obvious Heart, Fleetwood Mac, \Whitesnake, Barbra Streisand, the Bat Out Of Hell album and many, many more.
HH: Are you full-time musicians? Or do you have a fix job?
Tim: We all have day jobs which helps us to finance new gear etc. It would be great to do it full time as we're very passionate about our music and would truly appreciate the opportunity. We have recently secured a management deal with a US company Paramour Group LLC which is led by Dean Swett who also manages Vixen, Girlschool and is Glenn Hughes agent in the States.
HH: Thanks a lot for the interview! Do you finally want to say something?
Sue: We would like to thank all the fans in Europe for staying loyal after such a long break from the scene. We will make sure it won't be so long until album number four. We are starting to record tracks for this in June. Also we are working on being included in some of the autumn festivals across Europe. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support!
Andi