In the not-too-distant past, we received an email from Joe Ramey, one of the members of independent synthpop duo EuroVision. He was wondering if we were interested in using some of his material for our radio station. We got back to him after a while, and eventually heard a selection of the band's songs. "Lost" debuted on the AeschTunes Top 40 on November 4th, at the number 35 position. It has since risen to the number 11 position, as of the December 16th chart. We recently talked with them about "Lost", their upcoming album, a European song contest, and more...
AeschTunes: Was the name of your band inspired by the Eurovision song contest?
Joe Ramey: No, I came up with what I thought was an original name back in 1996, I was always told my music had a european flavor to it, and I always had a "vision" to take my music to the next level and be like my idols, Depeche Mode, so therefore "Eurovision" came up..But to spice it up as a one word name, I capitalize the "E" and the "V", just to be different, EuroVision. I didnt get involved in the internet until 2002 and thats when I found out about the Eurovision song contest through searches. Needless to say I was disappointed, but we havent found another suitable name yet to change it to.
AT: Has the name of the band caused any problems for you because of the Eurovision song contest (i.e. made it harder to get a deal with a label, etc.)?
Mike Allred: Possibly, we did have one reply from a record label that said it was like naming your band the grammys. But I had personally never heard of the Eurovision songwriting competition before I joined up with the band. Now I see that the name could pose a problem for us. We did go over several names a few months back but we could never quite settle on one so we just stayed EuroVision.
JR: I dont feel the name itself has held us back, only a couple of labels have even mentioned the fact we share the name of a song contest over in europe. We havent been signed yet due to wrong timing and not finding the right label yet. We'll continue going forward until we do find the right label to help us get to the next level.
AT: How did you and Mike Allred meet up? What roles do you fulfill within the band?
MA: I answered an ad Joe had placed in a local newspaper and the rest is EuroVision history. We both do pretty much the same things with the exception of singing. That is strictly my job. During live shows Joe bounces between drums and keyboard. Joe is an excellent drummer live and brings a lot of energy to the shows.
JR: Yes, I ran an ad in an Atlanta local newspaper in the summer of 2002, looking for a vocalist and Mike responded. He was like the 2nd vocalist I auditioned and I knew he was the one, plus he could write really well, actually great, and thats an added bonus, I almost offered the job to him then, but I still had a few others to auditioned, so I finished the other auditions before calling Mike back..Which was only a day or two later. He really impressed me from that first time, and I may have been unfair to the other vocalists after that, because in my mind, this guy is THE ONE, my mind was already made up.
As for roles, Mike summed it up. I do songwriting and lyrics, and I program the synthesizers and drum machines and I play drums and percussion as well. Mike does songwriting, lyrics, programs synthesizers and drum machines and also plays guitar very tastefully in my mind. He really is a gifted writer and an excellent vocalist, and that is something I've always had trouble find, A good vocalist who is reliable and responsible. Until Mike came along, I've probably been through 10 vocalists in the 6 years since I "created" the band name EuroVision, and probably even more since I started songwriting in 1989. Plus I get comments all the time about his vocals, positive comments that is. He really has been a blessing as a partner and a friend.
AT: Do you perform live often? How far have you travelled for shows?
MA: Unfortunately we haven't had the opportunity to do very many live shows for several reasons. First of all, Atlanta is not very big into electronic music so it isn't easy to find an appropriate venue here. Second we work pretty crazy schedules so we don't have a lot of free time to do shows. Third it is hard for us to travel because of our full time jobs and our families. We have been asked to play at several foreign venues, but financially we can't just go jetting off to Peru or England at a moments notice. I would love to be able to travel and spread our music throughout the world but at this point in our career it's not really an option. We are however optimistic that things will improve for us soon and we can be out on the road performing for all of our fans here and abroad.
JR: Yes it is unfortunate that finances or lack of, have kept us from playing out and travelling. And since we're still building a following, we're basically playing for free at any of our shows, and Atlanta isnt really big for electronic music, the last show we did, we shared with 1 death metal band and 2 industrial bands, We did well, but the styles were pretty drastic with us..Like Mike said, we've been asked by other bands and/or fans to play shows in their area, which includes Peru, Brazil, Russia, Japan, England, Italy, and Ireland, along with California on the west coast and in Boston and San Antonio, Texas. Maybe one day soon, EuroVision can hit the road and travel. Thats one thing I havent done much of, and thats travel, and i'd love to change that. I love performing, just like I enjoy writing songs..I get so pumped up, its a great feeling.
Also, I cant wait to tour more with Mike, he really does have a stage presence about him.. As soon as he starts to sing, the crowds focus is totally on him, even when he's doing a sound check before the show, everyone stops talking and just look at the stage, and he usually gets fans, after the show, coming up to him, while I'm breaking down the setup. Not that i'm envious, I know my role, and I know his role, he is the front man and its part of the job description, I guess. I'm in the background which is what I prefer, I'm actually got a shyness about me and prefer to be alone, I'll play the music and write it, and let him get the accolades. Just send me a check, hehe..He is definitely a talent..I'm honored he's with me in our band.
AT: Who are some of the primary musical influences that you and Mike share?
MA: First and foremost, I would say and it is probably evident in listening to our music that Depeche Mode is one of our greatest influences, but beyond that common thread between us we have quite different musical tastes. I am a little more rock and blues influenced such as Concrete Blonde and Bessie Smith, and there is nothing like the pain and anguish of a good country song. What can I say, I was born and raised in the south.
JR: Yes, Depeche Mode definitely. But after that, I'd say we are different. I like Genesis and Phil Collins, he's my drumming idol, and then other electronic bands like: OMD, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Tears for Fears, and alot of the early 80's new wave synth bands. Also The Cure and U2 and The Police. And there is alot of underground modern synthpop/electronic bands, that I've been getting into alot lately, too many to name them all..But a few I like alot: Intervox, Null Device, Intricated, Red Flag, De/Vision, Eloquent, Ganymede, Wave In Head, Empire State Human, Cyan and Brainclaw and alot more. These bands and more can be found on The Electrogarden Network (http://electrogarden.com).
AT: What genre would you classify your work under? Do you dabble in more than just one type of electronic music, or do you tend to focus into one area?
MA: I don't really know, I have personally just written songs the way I enjoy hearing them and I don't really like the stigma of only having one genre of music that people expect from you. Not that anyone will ever hear even half of what I have recorded over the years, I have tried my hand at guitar rock, a weird sort of electro blues, and a little of everything in between. I even have a few jazz instrumentals maybe I'll pop on the B side of a single some day.
JR: Yeah I dont like to get categorized either.. Some people who have heard our music, have said things like: Synthpop, Darkwave, Retro, Electro, New Wave, etc... I just consider it Electronic Pop. I dont think I can write too much of anything without it having a "poppy" hook or rhythm to it, Thats just what I write, "pop music" that is synthesized and electronic. But I have written other things, like dance, Industrial and even a couple of jazzy type of things myself. But as a whole, Electronic Pop for me. Its what I like.
AT: While looking at your official website, we noticed a reference to the John Lennon songwriting contest. Can you tell us anything about that experience?
JR: In 2001, I found an advertisement of the John Lennon songwriting contest in a magazine and decided to enter a older song of mine, "No Way" that I had written back in 1989 with another vocalist singing, and the song totally surprised me, out of thousands of entrants all over the country in other styles and genres, My song got an honorable mention for the 2001 contest. I was shocked to the say the least, but from a personal point of view, it was definitely a confidence booster, Because I started out as a drummer back in 1983
for cover bands doing 60's/70's music and some 80's heavy metal, and outside of my wife and a few friends, no one knew I wrote music, they knew me as a drummer and percussionist, I've played congas for one band for 6 years and overall 20 years of playing drums, I've only been writing for 14 years, I started back in 1989 and still use some of those early songs, I hit the ground running..Yes I written some bad songs in those early days just as all songwriters who start out, do, but those never make the cut and I throw them away..So to be known for something such as being a "good songwriter", that was a great experience for me, plus it looks great on our bio.
AT: What made you choose an older song from your catalog, rather than a more recent (at the time) composition? Was there something particular about the song that made you feel it was "the one" for the contest?
JR: Well actually I sent in 3 cassette tapes with one song on each one of them, and the 1st two songs, which were more recent, I really thought were going to be the ones to get noticed. they were with the vocalist that I had worked the longest with, Lloyd Cooper, and the song "No Way" was a last minute decision. I had only done one song with this vocalist, Troy Silvey, and it was so long ago, but the song had a commercial feel to it, a cross between The Cars and Devo, so i've been told. And I like the song alot, but it surprised me that it did as well, Like I said before, I really thought the other two songs would have been chosen before this one. And even though "No Way" did get me an honorable mention, I dont feel like this song fits with the EuroVision sound, so unless I do some solo stuff later, I'm not so sure "No Way" will ever see its way onto a CD, As of right now, the other two songs "Touch" and "Welcome To The World" have yet to be re-worked with Mike, but hopefully down the road we'll do those two..
AT: We hear that your debut album, On Fire is coming out soon. When will it be released, and where can it be purchased?
MA: Truth is with our personal finances the way they are, our album On Fire is kind of stuck in limbo right now. Talk about an album created on a shoestring budget, the majority of the album was created in my little boy's bedroom with a small home studio I have. And we did all of the production and mastering ourselves. So for the price of some blank tapes and a lot of time and effort we created an album, but making quality multiple copies cannot be done so frugally and we both have families and work retail jobs so for now we are not sure of a release date. But it should be some time in the Spring and it will be available on several on-line sites which we will link to our website when it is available.
JR: I'm hoping for a spring 2004 release, but like Mike said, right now its not in the budget. Maybe Uncle Sam will be good to both of us in the first of the year.
AT: We've been playing the song "Lost" on our internet station over the last month and a half. First off, will it be on the album? Secondly, if not, is there a way for our readers to get a hold of the original demo CD still?
MA: First off, thanks very much for playing our song. We really appreciate it. I think it is going to be on the album but the lineup has changed so much I could be wrong. Seems like we are always adding to or taking away from the album. If I had my choice we would put out a box set of our music because it is so hard to pick favorites out of all our songs, but that wouldn't be very practical for a first album. So we just keep adding and taking away. Since the album is still to take awhile to come out we would be glad to make up some CD's to send out to our fans, sort of like a maxi-single with Lost and a few other of our favorites. I guess something like $5.00 plus shipping and handling would be ok. Just e-mail us with your request and we will send you the address to send the money to and when we receive payment, we will mail the CD. Primitive but effective for anyone who
wants some of our music.
JR: "Lost" is a great song, dont get me wrong, But I was kind of shocked that "Lost" got picked over the songs "You're So Fine" and "Without You (I Just Don't Belong)", which both went to # 1 on some other charts this fall. But it is a great song and has always been a favorite of mine, I love the vocoder effect. As for "Lost" being on our debut album, the last time we compiled a list, it was to be on our 2nd CD, not our debut. But that can always change. We have enough material for ATLEAST 3 to 4 albums or more right now between the two of us and thats without us writing ever again, which that wont happen.Just email me at eurovision1980@yahoo.com and i'll respond with a mailing address so you can send the $5 plus shipping and handling and i'll mail "Lost" and a few others on a CD, like Mike said.
AT: A few years ago, Italian group Eiffel 65 released their first album, and one of our favorite songs on it was called "Your Clown." "Lost" has a somewhat similar feel to it - not like a copy of it, but a similar style. We also wanted to showcase a "techno-ballad" on the station - kind of the synthpop equivalent
of the mid-80's "power ballad" if you will.
MA: Wow! Thank you. I've always been a fan of the 80's power ballads and it is a great honor to have one of our songs classified as such. I would really love to hear the Eiffel 65 song "Your Clown." Please let me know where I might get a copy of it.
JR: I've heard of Eiffel 65, but havent heard of that particular song, Now you've got me curious. Yes, I liked "power ballads" too, I believe our song, "Please" could fit that description too..
One other note on the song, "Lost", we've been having bands do remixes for us, particularly the song "Without You (I Just Dont Belong)", but one band, CYAN from England did a remix of "Lost", I like what they did..We intend to eventually release either a Cd single with all of the remixes after the original or a CD of remixes from other bands, but first thing first, we have to release our debut CD. And i'm still pushing for a spring 2004 release, even if I have to take out a loan.
AT: With the imminent release of your debut album, how do you see the group progressing in the next five to ten years? Where do you want the band to be?
MA: I hope we will be financially stable enough in our music careers that we can devote more time into making the best possible songs for our fans. It would be very nice to be able to make a living doing what we love. I also have so many musical ideas that are not possible at this point with limited time and funds to put towards it, but that I think could turn into something wonderful if given the chance. I think we have a lot of potential to be the next big thing. Now whether that is in five, ten, or twenty years I don't know, but I believe if we keep doing what we love our time will come and as long as we don't compromise doing what we love in exchange for the almighty dollar I don't think we can go wrong.
JR: I agree with Mike, I'd like to make a comfortable living making music, recording albums, touring, making videos, etc..And thats where my "Vision" that I mentioned earlier is about..Not just the music, but every aspect of the business. I want to be a part of and behind the merchandise of the band, the artwork on our CD's, and etc.. Plus I wouldnt mind doing "solo" albums, side projects and remixes of other bands music. But EuroVision is and has always been my # 1 priority when it comes to music. As for the music, I feel like every new song I write is better than anything I've ever written before, and thats hard to do, when you've written alot of songs over the years like Mike and myself have done, apart and together. So therefore the songs and the albums will get better than the previous ones. Thats where we're headed, and hopefully the songs we write will continue to mean something to someone and give them inspiration.
AT: A "free question" - what would you like to tell the readers of this newsletter, about the band, yourself, life in general...?
MA: EuroVision would like to thank AeschTunes for giving us an outlet to bring our songs to a new group of listeners. Thanks to all the fans who continue to push us up the charts. Without having fans and critics there would be no point in going further in this venture.Thanks to all of the other talented artists that we share the charts with. We would like to wish everyone the very best. Merry Christmas from us to all of you!
JR: Yes thanks to everyone who likes our music, and just keep watching out in the year 2004, Hopefully our luck will change and we'll be releasing our debut album. Stay tuned for further details..