Albums of Purgatory interview Bittur Harvest's Stuart Harding

Albums of Purgatory: Firstly, whats the band up to right now?

Stuart Harding: Right now we're in the process of going into the studio to record a new cd. With any luck we'll have it ready by mid-September. As for the old stuff, we no longer play those songs. When we fired the previous
singer, we decided to change our sound to bring it more up to date.

AoP: How would you describe the Bittur Harvest sound?

SH: The Bittur Harvest sound is somewhat difficult to describe. We don't sound like anybody out on the scene
right now or even anyone in the past. Most of the band would call us a Metal band, but I like the openness of
the Rock label. We play heavy, we play loud, we play with intensity, and that's about the only way I can
describe our sound.

AoP:  How did you get involved with the band?

SH: Steve's(bass) nephew, Marty, and I went to high school together. One day he came over to my house and
told me that his uncle was looking for a drummer. I went and checked them out and the rest is history.

AoP: Were you involved in any bands before Bittur Harvest?

SH: I was in many bands before this one, as a matter of fact, I was in the process of building a new band with
an old bass player when I joined these guys.

AoP: Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?

SH: Our first show was at the White Rabbit here in San Antonio, with our first asshole, I mean singer, Rob
Steel. It was a great show which impressed the club owner so much that he only wanted us to play the main
stage in a headlining slot from there on out.

AoP: What are your favourite Bittur Harvest tracks?

SH: That's a tuff one. I love all the songs we play, but if I had to pick a favorite it would have to be "War
By My Side", or "Striaght Through The Darkness". There is one of the old songs that I would love to play
again. It's a song that I wrote the lyrics to that's about the Arthurian Legend called "Mordrid". If you
would like to hear it, go to our songs page on our web site at: www.geocities.com/bitterharvestsa. Listen to it and
sign our guestbook, maybe if enough people like it we can get the guys to play it again.

AoP: What are your favourite all time songs or albums?

SH: My favourite album would have to be Rush "Different Stages", but there are just toooooo many great songs
out there to choose from.

AoP: What was the first record you bought?

SH: I think it might have been Def Leppard's "Hysteria", but I'm not sure.

AoP: What would be your dream band line-up?

SH: Neal Peart - Drums, Les Claypool - Bass, Bruce Dickenson - Vocals, Jimmy Hendrix - Guitar, Randy Rhodes - Guitar.

AoP: What do you think of the position of metal and music in general today?

SH: It's rather boaring lately. Everyone sounds like everyone else, and the only good stuff comming out is
that of the older bands like Maiden and Rush, but that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

AoP: Which other bands in the scene stand out for you at the moment?

SH: Like I said, it's mostly the older bands that stand out.

AoP: Do you have any funny stories about the band you can share with us?

SH: We have an annoying habbit of forgetting some equipment when we go to gigs. Like our show last Friday when we met at our practice house one of our guitar players(Jason) left his guitar at Steve's house on the other side of town.

AoP: and finally, what do you see in the future for Bittur Harvest?

SH: We hope to hit the scene in Europe soon, both with a recording and physically going and playing shows. As
an Air Force brat who spent time in Germany and France, I would love to see them again.