D-Day: I notice your discography starts in 1990 and goes in two year
increments like clockwork until 2000 and then stops. Why the hiatus?
Bill: There are a lot of reasons actually, both musical and business. The
clockwork thing is a bit deceiving as the first two albums were recorded
some years before they actually got released, and Excelsior! and Angels
were made only a year apart. So the cycle varies despite the actual release
dates. Firstly on a musical level I felt like the Angels of the Apocalypse
album wasn't really exactly where I wanted to go... it was in the right
direction, and I like the compositions, but it was a bit too metallic
sounding overall to suit me. More specifically too 80's like power metal.
I'm not a huge fan of that genre and though I wanted to bring the music
into a more contemporary realm, that just wasn't quite it. We made that
album very quickly and if I would have had some time to live with it, I'm
sure it would've turned out somewhat differently.
I like a looser bluesier jazzier feel. Power metal usually just ends up
sounding like Polka to me! A very stiff two-four for the most part. I
prefer music based more on improvisation these days. Also, we struggled
with band members for a while... sure you can record albums in the studio
like building a car model, fitting all the pieces together, but you need
real people to interact in real time for improvisation and you need
everyone pulling in the same direction to really make a band work, so we
went thru several personnel changes. Building models is satisfying to a
degree, but real time interaction between people, playing live, that is
what I love most about being a musician. Then finally, we got involved with
a record label that didn't really understand us at all and in turn, did
little to promote the band, so I felt the need to step back for a while
until the time felt right to carry on. That time is here!
D-Day: Anyone who is truly serious about metal is familiar with the name
Jens Johansson. How did your relationship with him start?
Bill: I met Jens in a music store back in 1987... I saw him play and it
just floored me! I knew nothing about Yngwie really, but I knew THIS guy
was talented! So we stayed in touch and it is Jens' solo works such as
Heavy Machinery and Fission that really appealed to me, not his metal
output. When I heard Fission I knew we had to work together! He's simply a
brilliant musician and a fun guy to hang out with as well. But he is also
very involved with his day job, Stratovarius. And although Mastermind as
an entity benefited from Jens contributions as a soloist certainly, he
played no real part in shaping the direction or content of the music. In
any case I'm sure we will continue to record together in the future, but we
are de-emphasizing his involvement with the current configuration. This is
about the four people you see on stage night after night, me, Rich, Tracy,
and Laura.
D-Day: Your bassist search stopped with the addition of Laura Johnson. What
set her apart from the rest?
Bill: She's an actual musician. She plays by ear and by feel, not by sheer
brute force memorization. Some of the things we threw at her were quite
difficult, and some of it very old skool, but she latched on to it right
away and pulled it off. As dumb as this may sound to some, she's also the
only player to come along that can play a fucking blues! All kidding aside,
if you can't play blues - the underlying foundation of rock and jazz - then
you can't play. Period. You're a robot. Plus Laura has an upbeat
personality and fits in well. She actually understands more than most where
we are coming from.
D-Day: Tell us a little about your upcoming album....
Bill: It's a very solid album from a compositional point of view. Some good
old fashion songs. The "Broken" EP disc we've just released has two tracks
from the forthcoming album and gives you an idea of what we are going for.
We should see the full album released in 2006, but for now "Broken" is kind
of a calling card to remind people we're still here rocking out. Plus it
touches on the wide range of things we feel we can connect musically, from
21st century metal (Weak & Powerless) thru classical (William Tell
Overture) and back to the blues (I'm So Glad). In my mind anyway it is all
connected lol.... a kid came up to me recently after a show and said
something to the effect of "man, that was the most peculiar selection of
music I've ever heard, yet somehow it all worked!" High praise indeed as
far as I'm concerned.
D-Day: Do you have some immediate shows that you'd like to announce?
Bill: Not at this exact moment. 2005 was one of our most active years in
terms of live gigs and we expect 2006 to be even more active. People can
always check our website for upcoming dates, the site is very up to
date. http://mastermindband.com
D-Day: You're from the same state as Bon Jovi. Do you ever feel pressured
to cover some of his songs for your local audience, or do you just want to
find him and kick his ass?
Bill: Ha!! To tell you the truth I never think about Bon Jovi at all, is he still
alive? Actually, I did think about him last night when I turned on the
radio when I went out.... the ONLY time I turn on rock radio is when I go
out so it sounds like someone is home! When I come home I rush to turn it
OFF as fast as possible. Anyway, when I got in last night this awful thin
whiney weak cheesey little kid voice was pouring out of my stereo... and in
fact it was Bon Jovi cheese. Yuck!! Horrible. I couldn't shut it off fast
enough! But he made a bunch of money and that's good for him I suppose...
if he doesn't lose it all on that stupid indoor football thing. ha!! Just
'cause you're rich don't mean you're smart! But the porcelain teeth, the
Miss Clairol streaked hair... it's entertainment! Just don't get it confuse
with music. It has NOTHING to do with music. Anyway no, I never feel
pressured to do anything except meet my own ridiculous internal standards.
D-Day: Speaking of other bands, name three bands that you feel would be a
perfect touring package with Mastermind.
Bill: Tool, King Crimson, and Type-O-Negative. That would be an interesting
line up!
D-Day: Your bio mentions tours in Europe and Japan. Do you have a fan base
there, and how was the experience?
Bill: Sure, we have more fans in Europe & Japan than the States. It's a
fabulous feeling to go halfway 'round the world and have people knowing
your name, waiting for you when you get there. Now we have a good solid
live band I'm already talking to people about getting back to Europe in
2006, then possibly Japan as well.
D-Day: Since you started before 1990, you've obviously experienced the new
wave of the internet in it's initial "boom" and it's potential for
promotion. What are your feelings about it and how it could help bands?
Bill: Mastermind was actually one of the very first bands on the web! We
had a fan that was a computer science student put up a site for us in 1994
(the web was launched in 1991, the first web browser was introduced in 1993
FYI) and it's done nothing but good ever since. Hence the reason we feel an
online presence is to this day incredibly important. Obviously it is the
easiest way for a band to be available to fans worldwide, but by the same
token you must promote yourself to get people to the site. We got in early
so a vast majority of our fans know to check our website for news. Myspace
too is a great place to reach new people, but once again you gotta work it.
You can't just put up a web page and hope people find it, you have to
promote it.
D-Day: What is the craziest experience you've been through so far during a
show or tour? (crazy fan, Spinal Tap moment, someone shit their pants, you
get the idea...)
Bill: Jeez... I dunno. A couple good drinking stories I wouldn't repeat in
public maybe. We've also encountered obsessive fans over the years, but
nothing we couldn't handle. The whole freaking thing is Spinal Tap tho'...
radio coming thru the amps, revolving bassists, shit falling over or
blowing up, then there's the who-knows-what-you-get-till-you-get-there
deals with shite sound systems & no stage monitors. Standard stuff I guess.
The craziest thing I think is we're still going strong!
D-Day: Let's say Martha Stewart asks Mastermind to create the theme song
for her new show. Would you say:
a) Sure! Cha-Ching!!
b) Well O.K., but you must autograph your security ankle bracelet and give it to us.
c) Hell no, but we'll take some homemade cookies.
Bill: Well (a) is the obvious choice! Take the money and run lol...
D-Day: What would you consider to be the high point and low point so far
for Mastermind?
Bill: The high point is performing with the current lineup for very
enthusiastic audiences. For some reason we've really been connecting with a
lot of fans both new and old. What is that reason you ask? We are real
musicians who play real music. Think to yourself for a minute what does
music mean, what is it's purpose? The simple answer is to make you *feel*
something. Then further on to engage your mind and tickle your other senses
perhaps, but if you don't *feel* anything, the rest matters not. Far too
many of these other bands we play with just kind of regurgitate the same
droning noise through their whole performance, no dynamics, no nuance, no
FEELING. Just a monotonic exercise in craft with varying degrees of skill.
B-O-R-I-N-G! So they simply don't connect with people.
Somehow I do believe that people in general can latch onto, if even only on
the most basic level, real music played from the heart, not from the play
book. And it is all too obvious to nearly everyone these days that
contemporary rock, from the shallowest pop to the most extreme metal, all
sounds very much the same. People are lazy, they don't want to think, they
just take what's handed to them and THIS is why the industry as a whole has
suffered. As for the low point it was playing with bassists who aren't
musicians to any degree, just guys who owned basses and managed to memorize
the parts somehow. Like bass parrots. It was like trying to run with
cement shoes on... now matter how great a runner you may be, if your shoes
are made of cement you're going to look like an idiot! It was no fun at
all, but there were times we were at our wits end trying to find people to
keep it going. The talent pool is shallower than you may imagine.
D-Day: Do any members of your band have side projects that you want to tell
us about?
Bill: Nope, none. Mastermind puts enough of a demand on us all, there
simply isn't time.
D-Day: How would you like the world to remember Mastermind when all is said
and done?
Bill: Interesting, unique, honest and pure. On top of those qualities rich
and famous would be okay too. We get a lot of feedback along the lines of
"thanks for keeping it real" which I find very satisfying.
D-Day: Any parting words to the fans?
Bill: Thanks to everyone who has supported the band by buying our music and
coming to shows. We love you all! You can really help us out simply by
telling your friends... word of mouth is the best form of promotion. Thank
you!!
D-Day: Thank you!
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All photos coutesy of Mastermind and the respective owners...
12/24/05
