ROMEO’S DAUGHTER (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What are you currently up to? How does it feel being back on track with a new album?
We feel fantastic thank you! We are in the process of getting the video ready to show everyone – it is of the 1st single from the album called ‘Bittersweet’
– First off, what prompted the band’s reunion? When you played at some shows, did you already know you will be releasing new material?
No, we had no idea when we played at Firefest in 2009 that we would be releasing any new material – it was only after the wonderful response that we received that we realised there was still an audience out there that were keen to hear a new album. We started writing and recording it the next year and it was released on March 26th 2012!
– And something I have always been curious about; who is Romeo’s Daughter? Do you still remember how did you come up with the band’s name?
We actually chose to call ourselves RD because of a lyric on our 1st album! It is a line in ‘Cry Myself to sleep at night’ and it seemed to suit us as I was the singer (it wouldn’t have worked with a male singer, I don’t think!) It wasn’t a name that we had always had but as none of us could decide on what we wanted to call ourselves, our record label decided on it for us!
– As I said, you have recently released “Rapture”, your third album and the first one in 20 years. Are you satisfied with the result you’ve got?
We are really pleased with ‘Rapture’ – it was quite nerve wracking for us to record something new after 18 years and we wanted to release a record that wasn’t stuck in the 80’s but that still sounded like us, so I think we have achieved that. I am personally very proud of it as I think the other guys are and so far it is my favourite out of the 3!
– I personally think you guys are getting better with the years, you have evolved a lot in different ways. What are your thoughts on this? Have you been involved with music during these years of hiatus?
Craig Joiner who is the wonderful guitarist and main song writer has never stopped being a full time musician as have Ed Poole (bass player) and Andy Wells (drummer). Tony Mitman (keyboards) and I pretty much stopped performing after 1994 and went on to different careers – to be absolutely honest, I didn’t think singing was something that I would go back to but after our 1st gig in 2009 I realised just how much I had missed it. I am so glad that you feel we have evolved over the years as we certainly feel that we have grown as musicians – we never wanted to just rest on our laurels and release all old material – we wanted to make sure we were still relevant in today’s market place
– You also have a certain modern flavour, it seems like you have adapted your music and have embraced new technologies. With the current technological advances we have in production terms, do you think is something positive to take advantage of it?
Yes, things have certainly changed since we released our last 2 albums! It is so much easier to record now as you don’t need to go into a big, expensive recording studio any more – in fact, we recorded everything in Craig’s home studio for absolutely no money at all! We also had a wonderful guy who mixed the songs who was able to put a bit of ‘magic’ on them at the end of the process. We have also learnt whilst making this album what works for us and what doesn’t which hopefully we will put to good use on the next one! We don’t use too many tricks as we are all capable of playing our parts (which we hopefully express when we play live). We are the original line-up and we still have the same roles to play within the band
– All this being said, how could you describe “Rapture” in 3 words?
Joyful, life changing (for me!) nerve-wracking (for me again!)
– If I’m not mistaken you have released this new opus via your own label. How positive or negative has this been for the band? I guess it may give you more artistic freedom but, didn’t you get any interesting offers from other labels?
We decided to release Rapture on our own label for a few reasons – firstly it was so we could have complete control over what songs got on it and how they sounded, secondly it was so we didn’t have to hand all the songs over once again to a record label that didn’t know what to do with them, and thirdly because we didn’t want to wait for any longer to release it. We have been out of the music scene for so long, I think we have to prove ourselves to a certain extent all over again so it made sense to do it ourselves!
– I have always had the feeling you have been an underrated band, do you think with Internet and this kind of tools you will get more recognition?
Yes, that is something else that has changed so much since Delectable – social media! We are very aware that we have to make the most of all the different forums available to us and that it is the way to spread news about forthcoming gigs etc – we have a marvellous lady who looks after all that side of things for us and we are aware that we have to keep as up to date as possible
– Throughout the years the music scene has changed a lot, but you are remaining loyal to your style. How do you manage to keep alive your passion for Melodic Rock music?
I think that it is easy for us to remain loyal to our sound as we make the kind of music we like to listen to! I think that we also have our own sound which is not all melodic rock and not all pop (somewhere in the middle) so as long as we stay true to ourselves and not try to be something that we are not, we should be able to keep the fire burning, so to speak!
– And how do you think has the AOR scene evolved since the 80’s?
To be honest, it hasn’t really been a scene that I have been that involved in – I think that it has been very hard for many AOR bands to be played on the radio (except in the US where it is still thriving and maybe Germany) so I haven’t got to hear many AOR bands in the past – I am now hearing a lot more though since RD reformed which is great! It is always good to see a female fronted rock band doing well (like Evanescence) but I still think it tends to be a male oriented genre. I also don’t think that much has changed musically – in fact as lot of the younger bands I come across still sound very ‘80’s which may be a very ‘retro thing to do!
– Finally, what are the near-future plans for ROMEO’S DAUGHTER? Is this a steady comeback? Can we expect more studio activity from you?
We are in the process of releasing the video to ‘Bittersweet’ and also planning a small tour at the end of September – if anyone is interested in keeping up to date with everything then they can go to our website – www.romeosdaughter.co.uk or join us on Facebook. We are also planning on returning to the studio very soon to start laying down some new tracks
– That’s all from my side, thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thanks so much for your interest and kind words about ‘Rapture’ – we are so thrilled to be back and hope to speak again soon!
Love
Leigh xxx
