Interview with Kelly Simonz
(by Ronny Elst)
In the past Japan delivered several good
heavy rock/metal bands like Loudness, Earthshaker, Anthem and
(more recently) Concerto Moon.But the biggest talent from these
days is in my honest opinion Kelly Simonz which two albums
"Sign Of The Times" and "Silent Scream" were
recently re-released by Lion Music from Finland
(www.lionmusic.com). Kelly is one of the best new talents in the
neo-classical/melodic rock/metal genre.Currently Kelly is working
on his new album and he will also tour in Europe (in September)
with the Hughes Turner Project. Kelly was so nice to answer some
questions that I've asked him.
Please introduce yourself to our readers...
Kazuhiro
Shimazu, 32 years old, living in Osaka. Though I don't have any
specific hobby, I enjoy watching movies or sometimes drawing
pictures to refresh myself. I am looking forward to the coming
European tour, since I like traveling as well.
Please tell me in short
what you've been doing since you've started playing the
guitar.(in which bands/projects have you played, which were your
guitar teachers at G.I.T., have you teached guitar lessons,...)
I started
playing the guitar at my age of 14 and soon formed a live band
playing the Loudness songs. When I became a high school student,
I played mainly the songs of Yngwie. As for writing my songs, I
started it at 16 and played my original songs with my band at 18.
If I mentioned someone at G.I.T. those memorable to me was Paul
Hanson, Joey Tafolla and Brett Garsed.
Which artists/bands
have inspired/influenced you the most ?(as songwriter, musicians,
vocalists, composers,...)
If I asked
the most, probably Sting. He is my most favorite artist from
various point of views. However, as for the guitar playing, I
like Yngwie. As for singing, I like Paul Rodgers and Ray Gillan.
I would believe these influences make me different from other
so-called neo-classical guitarists.
You're the best
Japanese vocalist that I know!Have you followed singing lessons
and from who ?
Thank you
so much. In Japan, unfortunately nobody was interested in my
vocal since my public image was like Japanese Yngwie. Honestly
speaking, pronunciation-wise English is very difficult for
Japanese. I always tried to improve myself and actually took 3
years of vocal lesson in the U.S. However, the most important
thing is to carefully listen to the good singers and find out
what makes them so different from others.
Your 2 albums were
already released some time ago in Japan.Why took it so long
before they were released in Europe too ?
Telling
you the truth, I signed a contract with German company 4 years
ago. They, however, retired from the music industry from the
business trouble. Since then, though I approached many companies,
I couldn't make it successful. Even the recent contract with Lion
Music, I owe Ronny so much and always appreciate kindness from
the fans overseas.
Now you finally formed
a real band.Which are the other members and which instrument do
they play ?
They are
Keisuke/Bass and Tetsuya/Drums. Even we are using Midi for the
Keyboards, it works so well so far. As a trio, though the live
show is always challenging, we are pretty much enjoying the
current situation. We can't wait for the live show in Europe.
When will your new album be
released (in Japan and Europe) ?What's the title and what kind of
songs can we expect ?
It is
going to be released in Japan in coming September 15th. In
Europe, I don't think it will take so long. Each version contains
different bonus tracks and I am planning to put some instrumental
tracks in the European version. You could enjoy lots of melodies,
classical feel as well as heavy sound on this album. I would
believe everybody loves it. Please wait for the official
announcement from Lion Music.
Later this year you'll
tour with HTP and Domain.When will the tour start & end ?Do
you already know how many songs that you can play ?
It will
start from Sweden on September 9th and until October 5th in
Spain. 20 shows in a moth. We are planning to play about 7 songs
considering our time table, which is 40 minutes. Of course, we
are going to change some of them based on the reaction from the
audience.
Can you advice us about
other good Japanese guitarists/bands in the heavy rock/metal
genre ?
I am sorry
to say I am not the right person to answer to this question. I
usually enjoy listening to Sting, as I told you before, R&B,
or classical music. Of course, I am very open to collaborate with
any musician if there is a chance.
Which future plans do
you have ?(musically and personally)
First of
all, I would like to make my European live shows successful to go
up to the next stage. In any event, I am seriously considering to
move my music base to Europe or the U.S. That's my personal plan
as well. Actually, the Belgium family is living my neighbor and
recently Belgium is becoming my favorite country after talking to
them.
Extra thanks to Lasse
and Masa for helping to arrange this interview!
Extra
information : www.kellysimonz.com
