– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with HOTEL DIABLO?

Things have been going great. Our debut «The Return To Psycho, California» hit stores this week and we have been doing all kinds of press for it. Things really couldn’t be going any better.

– Though all of you are well-known artists intothe Rock world, HOTEL DIABLO is a new project so first off, if you don’t mind,I would like you to tell us how did the band get together.

Rick Stitch (vocals) and I were touring with Steven Adler in his now defunct band «Adler’s Appetite», at first it was just a GN’R tribute type show, but we soon started writing original material, once we got going with that we realized that there was some real chemistry there and decided to break away and do our own thing. We ended up in a rehearsal studio with Mike Duda (bass) and Mike Dupke (drums) and thing really just came together from there.

 

– Due to this I would like to know if HOTEL DIABLO is a serious and steady band or just a way of escape of your other bands? What does this project provide you personally? As you have played in severalwell-known acts.

Hotel Diablo is 100% it’s own thing, no question. It is a great outlet for us and the common goal was to put together the kind of band and write the kind of songs that we felt were missing from today’s declining hard rock scene.

 

– And why did you pick that name in Spanish for the band?

Honestly, it’s name that Mike Duda had kicking around for a while. Hotel Diablo can mean a number of things, it’s really more a state of mind than just a specific «place»….

 

– You have just released your debut album, entitled «The Return to Psycho California». How are the first reactions being? And what are your expectations on this record?

The reaction to it has been overwhelming to be honest. Having Scarlet Records working the record has been great, we have gotten a lot of great support from some pretty big radio stations here in the US, as well as being named «Pick Of The Week» on VH1’s «That Metal Show» this past month. So far, it has far exceeded our expectations.

 

– We could say is a modern album of 80’s Hard Rock full of energy and catchy melodies. It certainly brings back the feeling 80’s Rock releases had. Was this vibe and uplifting feeling something you consciously wanted to recover? As it seems to be forgotten in most nowadays releases into the style.

We really had no «plan» for what we wanted to do, it just came out when we started writing.

 

– This being said, how is the songwriting process like for an all star band like HOTEL DIABLO?

It really depends, some of the stuff starts out as just a riff on an acoustic guitar and some of the stuff we just worked out at full volume in the rehearsal studio. Every song was different…For example «Taken» was all of us in the room just going for it, while «What You Do To Me» was carefully arranged by demoing it over and over again.

 

– As I’ve mentioned you are a so-called «all-star band»; has this made things easier for you or due to this people is more demanding? As I think this can be a double edged-sword.

We don’t really look at it that way, and 95% of the people out there don’t even consider it that as it’s not being marketed that way at all.

 

– I read songs on the album are a collection of true stories of real events but, what are some of the oddest things you’ve experienced being on tour?

We have all collectively experienced a lot of craziness on the road, however the songs on this record our based on the intense times we have shared right here in Hollywood, or «Psycho, California»…It can be a pretty crazy place at times and we all got in pretty deep with some aspects of it, I think we are all lucky to have lived to tell the tale to be honest.

 

– The album has bee produced by Gilby Clarke with the cooperation of Matt Starr (your ex-and mate in BEAUTIFUL CREATURES). Have they obtained the resultyou were looking for? And how was this process like? I imagine working in such a familiar environment may have had a positive effect on the final outcome.

Working with Gilby was great, he was really the whole reason this thing came together the way it did. He had originally contacted us right when we had first formed to record a couple of songs and it grew from there. Gilby has a great ear for big, loud guitar rock and really brought the songs to the next level and the vibe at his studio «Red Rum Recording» was killer as well. Matt came in and did the last two songs «Wicked Lines» and «Bury You» and did a great job on those as well, it was nice to work with guys that really seem to «get» the band.

 

– You have also featured a really interesting cover for OASIS «Wonderwall»; how did this arise? And what other songs would you like to cover?

«Wonderwall» is a song that I always liked and thought we could make it our own, I don’t really see us doing any other covers, but you never know…

 

– Finally, all this about «The Return to Psycho California» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?

Dark, Real and Life.

 

– And what are your near-future plans?

We are putting together some shows for the end of the year, as well as working on some very cool custom merchandise with a friend here in LA, we have also started writing more music for the next record as well…staying very busy!

 

– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.

Thank you! Keep in touch with us at – www.thhoteldiablo.com and http://www.facebook.com/#!/hoteldiablo

 

Sergio Fernández

sergio@queensofsteel.com

 

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