Rockezine.com interview with Tantallon on Oct 19, 2006

with Bobby and Stacey on Oct 19, 2006


		Please introduce yourself and the band to the rest of the world. Stacey : First of all myself and the band would like to say thanks to Jeroen and Rockezine.com for this opportunity and for the interest in the band. I am Stacey Donahue lead guitarist, also on lead guitar is Brian Gleisinger, on bass and backing vocals Barry Culver, I will let our drummer introduce himself……. Bobby : Hi, how you doin’…I’m Bobby Harbin and on Vocals, we have Terry Ferguson. Stacey : We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Terry back to the band. Terry was our original singer 2 years ago when we started this thing out and now he has returned to get down to business.
		How would you define your musical style? Stacey: Definitely Power Metal, but we aren’t afraid to get into some things musically that may be a little outside the norm for that style. We don’t want to get stuck in to much of one thing and not be able to explore other ideas. I would say our style is derived from many things, obviously we all grew up on a lot of Metal bands but I think we have moved away from a lot of American influences and moved more towards the European scene, most of the Swedish, German bands are killer, I could probably name names for an hour but hopefully most people reading this already know these bands. Bobby: Yeah, Power Metal is probably accurate, but I think maybe even a little on the progressive side
		Can you name some of the musical influences of Tantallon? Stacey: My personal main influence is without a doubt Yngwie Malmsteen, and not so much for the lead playing but something I think a lot of people forget or never knew, is that Yngwie is an incredible song writer and will always stay true to himself. Again bands like Armored Saint, King Diamond, Iron Maiden, Dio, Iced Earth, HammerFall, Stratovarius and on. I also get inspiration from a lot of other places such as movies, books and even some non metal bands. Bobby: That’s the cool thing about this band. We all have different influences that can be heard in our music. Two of my personal influences were Led Zeppelin and Kiss. I tend to lean towards the heavy darker music. Evergrey is one of my favourites.
		Where does the name Tantallon come from? Stacey: It comes from a castle in Scotland. There were a lot of severally bloody battles fought there and it has this whole mystic thing so we thought it fit our style and some of the lyrics we had already written. Some of us are very into the Dragons and Swords type stuff, we have the stuff setting around our houses so it wasn’t like “Hey, let’s jump on this bandwagon” or whatever. Although not every song we do has to be about that theme. We all have enough stuff in our day to day lives that goes wrong or is bad so why continue that thought process in the music, it should be an escape or at the very least something to take your mind off the work day or whatever has you down, even if for a few minutes. Bobby: So that’s where it came from….(laughs)
		Can you describe the creative process of making this album? How did the songs get written, arranged and produced. Who does what in the band? Stacey: We are very fortunate that myself and Bobby have a lot of recording gear so we don’t really have to feel rushed and we can try out a lot of different ideas. I love working in the studio and the whole recording process, it’s really exciting to hear how things sound coming back at you, where live or practice you play it once and it’s gone. Recording you can play it back and tear it down 1,000 times…(laughs) As far as writing songs we all play guitar, so there have really been no shortages of ideas. Usually I will come in with a riff and a rough body of the song and it starts from there, everyone starts throwing things out and we try just about everything. Songs have come from Bobby having the main riff or 2 or 3 of us get in a room and play off each other. Everyone is a contributor. Bobby: Yes, we are very fortunate to have 5 song writers in this band. We all have a say in the production and arrangement.
		What are the future plans? Are there any labels or big tours for you? Stacey: Tour the world and sell millions of album…(laughs) really we want to get the cd finished up and into the hands of people, and go out and play live for them anywhere and everywhere we can. We are in talks with a few labels as we speak that have expressed interest with the band and the music, so we are keeping our hopes up. We`ll just have to wait and see. Bobby: I think the big thing now is to get the CD done and work on getting Terry up to speed on everything. Get the live show tightened back up and get back out there playing.
		What’s the best and the worst part about being part of this band for you? Stacey: The best part is playing with 4 of my best friends, you could not ask for a better group of guys and the talent they all have. It’s really fun when we get into a room together and do what we do. The worst part is for me things NEVER happen fast enough, I am extremely impatient so I want everything right now……. Bobby: Yeah, the best part is hangin’ with the guys. We’re like family. The worst part. Hmm… Not having someone lug my drums around and set them up for me….(laughs)
		Is there something I can wake you up for at night? Stacey: To tell me to tour, to play guitar, write a new song or Yngwie is playing LIVE!!!!!! If it has to do with music you are pretty safe….(laughs) Bobby: Hmmmm…No! (laughs)
		Did you ever visit www.rockezine.com? Stacey: Yeah quite a lot, they do a great job!!!!!! Awesome website. Again a BIG thanx goes out to all at rockezine.com. Bobby: Yep…cool site.
		Is there anything I forgot to ask? Stacey: Just one thing I would like to point out, I have seen it in several interviews with some "bigger names" in the Metal community that "America doesn`t know how to rock" or the infamous "America is controlled by MTV" or whatever......I would just like to get the word out there Don`t give up on America just yet....while I`m sure everyone is familiar with names like Kamelot, Iced Earth, Crimson Glory etc etc. there is a whole group of bands in the States that haven`t forgot what Metal is....I`m sure I`ll not name them all but a few that come to mind quickly are Enertia, Sacred Society, Scarz Within, Archetype, Jacob`s Dream and Legion just to name a few. Give some of these bands a listen I think people will see we are there you just have to scratch the surface a little. I think right now is an incredibly exciting time in music......probably now more than ever. Check us out at www.myspace.com/tantallon. Bobby: You didn’t ask me about my Iguana…(laughs)..No, you pretty much covered it I think.
		Thanks for answering my questions. Stacey: No problem....Thank You and we will have the release date for the CD and any other info up at the site.....so keep checking and STAY METAL!!!!!! Bobby: Thanks for the opportunity. It’s been a blast.
(Jeroen Habets)