D-Day's Revenge...
Speak Your Mind!
Click here to add text.
In my never-ending quest to find the best of all things metal in the world, I've now run across a guy who speaks for my own thoughts in his project, Calling Hour. For anyone who takes the time to follow my various entries here at this little project called D-Days Revenge... you know that I simply love people and bands who are passionate about hard rock and metal. Mark, from Calling Hour, fits that bill and was good enough to answer some questions for us to enjoy....
D-Day: First off, thanks for speaking with D-Day's Revenge!
CH: No problem man, always cool to chat with you.
D-Day: Who was your inspiration for getting into music?
CH: Growing up I’ve always been into music and art. My parents were always supportive. From playing around with pianos to playing trumpet in middle school I’ve always been fascinated by it. Back when Mtv debuted I was right there soaking it all up. Guitars started looking really cool, got myself one and away I went. I started learning the guitar when I was 15 back in the dark age of 1986...started learning Scorpions songs, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Ratt, all kinds of stuff.
By the end of that year I played my first show as a bass player with my guitar teacher and his band, Heaven’s Rage. A northern VA cover band back then. Played some bar in Maryland, I was singing songs like Cinderella’s Save Me and Born to be Wild...Great times..but when I got a hold of some thrash albums I took the guitar playing up a notch.
D-Day: You are showing yourself as being a one-man band. Do you have interest in forming a full band?
CH: Perhaps, if the right combo of individuals could be found. Easier said than done! Lol Just finding a Lombardo inspired drummer whose ready to jam is like a quest for the holy grail! I have jammed in bands before and playing live is quite a thrill. I do miss it. But I’ve also found fun creating songs solo as well. I would prefer to do a little of both. I think I’d like to work with some other musicians in their 30s and 40s...gotta have a frame of reference we can all grab a hold of.
D-Day: How long does it take you to complete a recording?
CH: Most of the time is spent working the drum programming. Once I’ve got that matched with the song ideas it gets much easier. But I do the songs in bits and pieces..might work on the drums for a week then put it all down for a few weeks, pick it up later and record the guitars..that kind of thing, very laid back with no pressure. Some of the positives of working alone and being unsigned. Haha
D-Day: If you could tour the world with any 3 bands. who would they be and why?
CH: Hmm so many out there. Testament, Exodus, or Metal Church comes to mind, maybe King Diamond or Slayer? Yeah, dreaming...lol bands like that really inspired me, their music really shaped me in many ways, and a lot of other bands. But hell, just getting a "hello, thanks for the support" msg from one of them would be enough. LOLOL
D-Day: The internet is obviously a way to get your music out there and heard. But if you were to release an album and discover that 1,000 people managed to download it for free.... would you see that as advertising or stealing?
CH: I’d call it a good day. Haha if that many people wanted to hear the music I’d feel quite accomplished and humbled.
D-Day: Let's try a multiple choice question. Calling Hour was called upon to provide entertainment for our troops overseas. Just as you hit the stage, the alarms go off to signal incoming fire in the general area. What would you; do from the following list?
a) Act cool and try to continue your show anyway.
b) Dive for cover!
c) Take your cue from the soldiers... move when they move.
d) Piss yourself and remember to kill the promoter later.
e) other
CH: Hmm a combo of C and D I think. LOL
D-Day: What is your main goal? Where do you want to see yourself in 5 years?
CH: Well with the jobs these days I hope I’m working a steady job. The music will always be there thankfully, that part of my life is free. So hopefully I’ll have some money coming in so I can afford to have an official jam room for myself. I record all these songs in the living room with my 8 track on a tv tray. Glorious yeah? LOL
D-Day: What advice would you give a young person with talent who wants to be in the rock biz?
CH: Be afraid, be very afraid..hmm work on a plan B "just in case"...
D-Day: What has been the most satisfying thing about life in metal, and what has been the hardest?
CH: Back in the 80s it was a dreamland. I was in heaven. When I started getting into playing guitar all the big thrash and rock bands were in their prime. I was 14-15 years old and loving it. So much inspiration and so many people into metal and good music in general. The entire music scene was filled to the brim with incredible musicians and original, great songs. I could go from The Police to Dokken to Iron Maiden to Anthrax all in one day. The music (and movies) of the period truly were a great time..I feel very fortunate to have been able to grow up in that scene, the late 70s-80s scene. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Sure I miss it..but I’m also glad I was there man.
I played in quite a few bands and had a blast. Had the honor of opening for a few cool bands like Whiplash, Nuclear Assault, some others I can’t remember up in the DC area back when I lived in Alexandria VA. The 9:30 Club was quite a thrill back then. The DC area was a hell of a good time during that period. I had an absolute riot of a good time there.
But being a military brat brought lots of moves and changes..tried some moves but things didn’t work out. And as the 90s kicked in things began to slowly change with the scene, the mood, the styles..just the way of things I guess..I found myself in El Paso Texas one day going WTF just happened and where am I now? LOL
I think it was around 97 when I looked up from my beer and realized that the whole scene had REALLY changed..when I could ask somebody about something common to me like Kill em All and they’d say they’ve never heard of it...well I knew it was time to close shop, regroup, rethink things...I quit looking for new band members, put the guitar in the closet for about 8 years, just put music out of my life...I missed the old days so much that it sickened me to hear music anymore...
But that wouldn’t last, I still had the metal fire within me..near the end of 05 I found myself in a guitar shop and was surprised at how cheap digital recording had become. So I bought one, started writing songs again. Not long after that I found myspace. Perfect way for a solo artist to share their music with the world. So I quit sending my music to labels and focused on sharing my version of metal with the world. Its been much more rewarding and satisfying that way. I’ve made some cool friend and heard some great music.
So the best thing, how much fun it "used to be"..and I guess the hardest thing about my life with metal was seeing it decline and change from what it was back in the late 70s and thru the 80s into the early 90s...it’s a completely different world now on so many levels...I truly feel like an alien visiting a hostile planet sometimes..I hate to be a "remember when" kind of guy..but I can’t help it. The times were incredible. Don't listen to the people out there in the media who try to downplay the 80s...believe me they were AWESOME!!!
And then seeing band members I’ve idolized much of my life passing away like David Wayne of Metal Church or Robin Crosby of Ratt and so many others...just brings me down sometimes.
D-Day: How do you see the metal scene overall today?
CH: Scene? What scene? haha seems everybody hangs out in Europe these days. Haha
When the powers that be took Headbangers Ball off Mtv back in the early 90s I knew the metal scene was doomed here in the states...it pisses me off. All music styles should be represented not just a few. With all those cable channels out there with hardly anything worth a damn on em..couldn’t they fit a channel with active metal bands promoting their vids? Seems strange to me..social engineering at work perhaps? Oh the conspiracies....haha
I remember not too many years back a channel called Fuse came onto the scene and they were pumping out the metal. I remember Mistress Julia and shows like that really taking off. Well it didn’t take long before that all changed. From my information Mtv bought out Fuse..and what happened next? All the metal was removed from the channel...and then Mtv brought back a diluted version of Headbangers Ball. Course that’s just what I heard, not sure about that so maybe somebody out there could find out the real deal?
But man, if I only had the money to have my own metal music channel..I wouldn’t have cared how much money Mtv or whoever wanted to pay... I’d have NEVER sold it.....
D-Day: Thanks again for speaking with The Revenge! Any final words to the fans?
CH: Thank you for checking out my songs, I had a lot of fun making them. And if it weren’t for people like D-Day, willing to play songs from living room artists like me, I’m quite sure you would never even know I existed out here. I hope in some way my songs might inspire somebody else out there to record some songs and get em out there.. I would love to hear them.
Keep up with Calling Hour here:
