Rockezine.com interview with Arena on May 04, 2003

with John Mitchell on May 04, 2003

Last night Arena played in the Boerderij in Zoetermeer; and today I got the chance to interview their guitar player John Mitchell. I said, “to interview”, but I rarely got the chance to ask any questions. This guy can talk!
		What is it like to take ‘Contagion’ on the road, since it has been almost one year after you recorded the album? Well, we started recording about a year ago. The producer Mike Stobbie is a very busy guy and didn’t quite realize the amount of work involved. Because of that we missed several deadlines. Eventually we decided to tell him goodbye. So we produced the album ourselves in my own studio. The original release date of the new album was November last year.
		Did you change any songs, since you had some extra time? No, the mixing was done in two weeks to get it finished before the new deadline set by Clive and Mick. But then they decided that considering the Christmas period it would be better to postpone the release of the album to the beginning of this year. So we also had to cancel and reschedule the tour, which was quite disappointing.
		Are you pleased with the way ‘Contagion’ works out on stage, and why didn’t you just play the entire album as one piece? Yes, we are pleased; but we decided that some things won’t be played. There is just too much material, so we can’t do the whole thing. We want to play the other songs that the people want to hear. Also we’re not doing the entire album because we feel that the set loses too much energy when with songs like Mea Culpa. This song works much better as an encore. We did make some small changes in ‘Bitter Harvest’; we recorded it with a full band but the acoustic approach sounds better. We shortened the song and put a lot of energy into the outro.
		Who is responsible for the great visual effects during the show? A) First of all I must say that we are very, very pleased with the visual qualities of the show. One of the crewmembers is constantly filming during the show. The shots are combined with visual effects on several screens. It looks fantastic. I know bands that have done it before; Porcupine Tree and IQ have done it. But we’ve done it in such a way it just seems that the connection between the crowd and the band on stage is more intimate. We’ve tried some things in the past, but this is the first time that it is really working. We’ve got a great crew of eighteen people, doing a great job. We’ve got a sound engineer who in my opinion is really good. It’s always a big gamble, considering the limitations of budget. In my opinion this is the first time that we’ve got a really good team, with mutual respect. What struck me at previous Arena tours is that afterwards we usually heard a lot of criticism of the audience. Usually they loved the show but there always seemed to be criticism about the sound. Vocals being too dry; or you couldn’t hear the bass; the sound was too loud. But this year we’ve only heard positive sounds after the show. Paul really listens to the album and knows what he’s doing. This is really important to me.
		What was your highlight during last night’s set? I always enjoy ‘Solomon’. ‘Solomon’ is great time to play. I also like to play songs from ‘Contagion’. Those tracks are more riff-based, which is very different and rather interesting. In a strange way it needs more concentration because there are less notes to play. This gives me more space, which means I have to concentrate more.
		Arena sounds more polished this day… It is clear to me that Arena has evolved into an own identity. I must admit that in the past I felt guilty, every time someone stepped up to me and told me that we sound too much like the old Marillion. When someone would say that to me now, I would raise an eyebrow.
		Zoetermeer completely sold out; can you tell me how the rest of the shows are coming along? Can you believe we had to turn people away at the door last night? No one has ever turned out on an Arena gig and hear oh sorry we’re sold out. That’s quite strange. We tried to get in as many people as possible but we had to consider the fire regulations. This year it’s like a different band on tour. Usually out of each five gigs, two won’t be well attended. This year we’re averaging 400 to 500 people every night.
		In the tour plans it is stated that there will be a secret gig at the end of the tour. I know what secret means, but can you tell me a bit more about this gig? Oh yeah, well, it’s not so secret anymore. Making up a tour plan is quite difficult. This tour started out as the Arena dartboard tour. We’re going form one place to another, which is usually 600 miles in the wrong direction. We’re playing Paradiso, then Paris. We can’t have a day off. So what’s between Amsterdam and Paris? That’s Verviers. So that is where we decided to play, and how the secret gig idea turned up. It’s a lot better than a day off.
		What is it like to play 27 gigs in exactly 32 days? Mad, but an achievement in itself considering the nature of the music we are playing. It’s real fun to play for a consistently good audience. I don’t know why all of a sudden people decided to go and see our gigs, so caring.
		Are you guys considering a live DVD-recording? We are doing a live DVD in Poland. Jadis is supporting and John Wetton will attend too. One of the days in Poland we’ll be in a TV studio. First I’ll have to play with John Wetton and record his show. After that I’ll play and record with Arena.
		Anything you want to add? Last chance to see Arena play Holland this year is in Paradiso Amsterdam, April 27th. See you there!
Thanks for this interview and good luck with the rest of the tour. (Geert Oldenmenger)