VOODOO HIGHWAY (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for your time. What are you guys currently up to?
Hi Tania!! Thanks to you instead and hail to all the readers!! Currently Voodoo Highway are gigging a lot in Italy, we’ re having a great time… things are going great with the album too! A lot of orders from abroad, great reviews.. really great period for the band! Actually we are starting to compose our second album too!!
– You’re a band almost new so, could you please make some history of VOODOO HIGHWAY?
Well… we started back in Springtime 2010 by the meeting between me (Filippo Cavallini, bass), Matteo Bizzarri (guitar, and my cousin too) and Federico Di Marco (vocals). We’ ve decided to play some fucking old school rock n’ roll, inspired by our eternal idols Deep Purple, Rainbow and Queen and so here you are Voodoo Highway! Lorenzo Gollini (drums) and Alessandro Duò (organ) joined the band in April and May 2010, then we recorded our first EP called “This Is Rock n’ Roll, Cocks!”, then we started gigging a lot (as we really like free booze after the concerts! Eheh)… in Autumn we started recording our debut LP “Broken Uncle’s Inn” and so, here we are…!
– And how did you pick «Voodoo Highway» for the band’s name?
Oh… so many people ask me about it! Looks like an interesting name so..! ahah! It’s an odd story about me on a highway to Rome wanting to listen to the song “Voodoo” from Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules… so Highway plus Voodoo, and I thought: “wow! Voodoo Highway it’s a great name for a band!” …then I recalled that also one of my hard rock fav albums is called this way, and it’s from Badlands… so I thought: “yes! All fits fine!!”
– Your latest piece is «Broken Uncle’s Inn» and, before getting a bit into it, I would like to know how did you come up with such title…
“Broken Uncle’s Inn” is the English translation for the Italian “La Locanda dello Zio Rotto”. “Zio Rotto” it’s a strange character, friend of us, living in our hometown Ferrara (Italy)… we decided to dedicate the album to him as a sort of inspiration to us. We use to pass our summer evenings with him at this pub in Ferrara, so we thought it was a good idea to dedicate him the album too!
– How has been the reaction from your fans toward the album and how have been the critics?
Actually things are going great… each review is AMAZING!! Really great reaction… we also sold more than 250 copies in just one month.. we are really happy! As it’s a self-produced album (actually we are not signed with any label), we are really glad of it! Our concerts are often a full-house 
event, so also the fans are surely glad of it and of the band!
– Anyway, I think it has got an overwhelming acceptance all over, as the band in general and your previous EP, did you expect this? Or did you even expect to achieve this when you formed the band?
Mmmmh… well… honestly we started playin’ together only for fun, it’s been strange to record an album after only seven or eight months playing together and get so much appreciation all around the World… great anyway! We are rocking hard and we’ll rock more!
– You are one of the bands that have had a bigger impact into the style in these late years, what are your expectations or aims to get now and when you started with VOODOO HIGHWAY?
Well… actually our great aim is to have some European touring, just that… into the next five years we would like to build up a new religion cult, getting millionaires or simple things like that… ahaha! Jokes apart, we only want to rock more, and more, and more, and more and make people happy with some fine old school hard rocking…!
– I personally think your sound mixes Hard Rock and classic Rock perfectly, and I also noticed some Blues influence. Was this blend of styles something you wanted to do or things just flow?
Well Tania, Matteo Bizzarri and me are something like Ritchie Blackmore fetishists.. I guess Voodoo Highway must have become what we are or nothing else. We breath, eat and listen to seventies hard rock since we were children, it’s in our veins… nothing more! J
– For example, I noticed some keyboards that bring us back the golden 70’s Rock melodies; could you please shed some light on this?
Two words: Jon Lord. We love that sound and we want to use it in our music too. Organ, Hammond organ… the fury unleashed, it’s just what we like!!
– And, for example, opener guitars for “The Fire will Burn Again” sound a lot like CINDERELLA. Has this band influenced you in any way?
Mmmmh well… we are great fans of hard rock from the eighties too, and yes, Cinderella are a band we love too… anyway I guess that song came from some Bon Jovi and more modern influences like The Darkness… someone told we remind something about Skid Row too, that’s good! We love sleazy music as well…!!
– On the other hand, tracks as “Running Around” have some PURPLE flavour to it. Even Craig Gruber said you’re next to them. How did you feel about that?
Oh… it’s been an honour! Craig Gruber used to play with Blackmore and Sabbath and we are glad a name like him recognized the great musical debt we have with those giants of Rock!
– Due to this I wonder how has the songwriting for the album?
We really use to jam in studio… we don’t like those kind of songwriting where you write the stuff on some fucking guitar pro program on your PC and then you deliver the stuff to the other guys when you arrive in the studios… no no no! If you love music you PLAY, all together! This is what it means to be in a band!! No faggot computer like music…!! When you are in the studios you can chat with your friends, drinking some cocktails, talking about girls etc etc… when you are all alone in your house… well… we all know what you do when you are alone! Ahaha!
– And also what are the main musical influences for the band…
Guess Deep Purple, Rainbow, Queen, The Darkness and AC/DC fits well in this answer J
– When I reviewed the album I said you mix different styles so perfectly that anyone that loves Rock, from any country, era or style, would be delighted with your music. Do you think this can bring you new fans?
At least I hope so! Surely you’re a fan now, isn’t it?? J …we would really like to have some of our freaking and circus-like show in Spain one day soon… hope this will help!
– We don’t tend to get much Rock bands from Italy, though I can mention a few ones as SKULL DAZE or UPPER CLASS BASTARDS among others. Anyway, what Italian Rock bands could you suggest? How’s the scene like around there?
There are some really good metal bands, but if you ask “Rock” I can suggest our friends Hot Pants, Bad Bones and Dumper!! They rock!!!
– Finally, what are your near-future plans? Is a tour viable?
A part the new album I was talking about, we are planning some touring… can’t talk yet, but I guess we’ll announce something in the next few months! Hope to visit beautiful Spain really!!
– That has been all, thanks again. If you want to add some final words; last lines are yours.
Ok Tania!! Thanks to you for this interview, I am and we are really honoured! I would like to salute all of our friends and fans in beautiful Spain, hope to visit you as soon! Also want to thanks our manager, that great man in the shape of Axel Wiesenauer at Rock n’ Growl, our friends and supporters in Italy and our friends and constant opening act The Hot Pants band…!!! Hail and always LONG LIVE ROCK N’ ROLL!!!
