Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "al-strange"

If you're a fan of rock music, I have a treat for you today. I recently discovered this band on my wanderings around the Internet, and they are now one of my favourites. Evilyn Strange have released quite a few singles recently, all of which have been well received by radio stations, and are doing well in rock charts. You can download a few free mp3s from Reverbnation to sample their music, and they are currently working on a new album, Mourning Phoebe, which is to be released in a couple of months.







I recently interviewed 2 of the band members, Phillip Strange and Al Strange.

The Interview:



How did you come up with the name for your band?

Phillip: Credit for that has to go to Al as it was 100% his idea so I'll let him explain...

Al: A couple of buddies of ours, Edgar and Alan Frog, suggested it...Apparently Keith Moon came to them in a dream and said that our band was "evil and strange" and would probably go down like a lead balloon at a rave...it kinda stuck...

Have you always been musicians? Tell us a bit about your musical background.

Al: No, before I became a musician I played the drums...

Phillip: I didn't pick up an instrument until I was 16 years of age although I've always been a singer. As kids Al and I used to write songs together just for the hell of it and he's always been a natural on the keyboard prior to drums regardless of what he just said, LOL! :)

Evilyn Strange includes members from the UK and Sweden. How did you all meet and how does it work in terms of getting together to record/write the songs?

Al: I believe Mikael came over to London, England (not to be confused with London Bridge, USA) with the intention of plundering and doing all that cool Viking stuff, kinda like the band Europe have been doing for the last 30 years or so. We hooked up through a music paper and
the rest is toilet roll...sorry, rock n roll. Thanks to the interweb, the world is a very small place...

Phillip: We can meet when we want really but obviously it needs a bit of planning, so we can't just decide to go and do a gig for example. That's the main disadvantage for us.

Who writes the songs for Evilyn Strange?

Phillip: Al and myself wrote all the songs this time out although we have written with Mikael previously.

What type of music did you listen to growing up?

Al: My first love was The Police, mainly down to Stewart Copeland's drumming, but I was brought up on a diet of great singers (Noddy Holder, Lou Gramm, and The Nolan Sisters) so it was no surprise that I got into singers' singer John Farnham, Whitesnake, Badlands, and A-ha. After 1987 I didn't look back...Phill also made me listen to his Yngwie records which left a lasting impression on my haircut for many years.



Phillip: LOL, I think The Nolan Sisters is a typo (surely they were known as The Nolans?). I was a massive Adam and The Ants fan as a small child but I have to say the biggest influence from my youth are Whitesnake and Badlands. All the music Al mentions is still in my CD collection alongside The Beatles, The Cult, Thin Lizzy, Megadeth and Aussie art rockers Icehouse. Has to be said that we were not afraid to like something because of its 'genre' and what Al says about Yngwie Malmsteen is true - I love his work from the 80's and 90's. I just picked up his autobiography in actual fact... :)

I saw Yngwie Malmsteen last year at the Marshall concert at Wembley. He is great! My sister was always a big fan of his, so she was happy to finally see him play live

If Evilyn Strange could support any band on tour, who would you
choose, and why?

Al: I'd love to support Europe, Shinedown, or Whitesnake now Tommy's back on the drums cos' they all seem like great guys to hang out with!

Phillip: I think a tour with any of those guys would be an absolute pleasure!

I think Evilyn Strange would be the perfect support band for Whitesnake!

You're quite active on social media. Do you have any tips for indie bands as to which sites are good for promotion?

Al: I have no idea what social media is...Phill did it!

Ha, ha!

Phillip: Al barely uses email let alone the social sites. I'm no expert but it's a great place to meet like -minded people. It has also been a great source of inspiration, having met many musicians who are in the same boat as us. My tip would be to connect with other musicians and music lovers as they can inspire and support your band in equal measure. Also, there are some awesome indie Radio stations that will play your music too.

On Reverbnation, when people buy some of your songs, there is a donation to charity. Tell us a bit more about that and how you got involved.

Phillip: One of the bands I was following put me on to that. I'd never even heard of ReverbNation at that point so it comes back to my previous point. The songs on ReverbNation are pretty old and some were recorded back in 1997. Rather than just take all the money it
seemed like a good idea to give back, particularly as it's a music based charity that we're helping. Al used to play drums for the school band on a 'kit' held together with sticky tape so he's seen the bad side of not having good equipment.

You've given away quite a few free songs. What do you think about the current trend of artists giving away free downloads?

Phillip: Again, if it helps people listen to us it's worth it. For bands like us who can't easily go out on the road it's not wise to give away too many songs as it's our only source of revenue. If someone downloads our songs and would like to hear more then it makes
sense for them to buy our music too. Without financial support our band will ultimately cease to exist.

Does Evilyn Strange have any tour plans?

Al: Wait and see...

Phillip: If the interest is there for the 'Mourning Phoebe' album...

As you're relatively new on the scene, what can fans do to help with promoting the band?

Al: Just enjoy the music and give us a heads up...

Phillip: Yep, tell your friends about that great new band you're listening to and point them in our direction! :)

I understand that you have a new album coming out. Is this the first album? Tell us a bit more about your plans for the release.



Al: We plan to unleash the record on an unsuspecting world and inspire peace, love and tolerance...

Phillip: 'Mourning Phoebe' will be the first album released under the Evilyn Strange name. It will be available on both digital and CD formats. The first 50 CD's will have an exclusive limited addition Evilyn Strange guitar pick. Al wanted to give away drumsticks but they would cost more than the CD to produce, LOL! :)

As I'm interviewing you on a website that is full of book lovers, it makes sense to ask: do you like to read? If so, who are some of your favourite authors?

Al: I believe 100% of everything I read. My current favourite is Jim Chapin's not so modern syncopation drum bible...other than music I'm a big Robert Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader fan!

Phillip: I'm a major fan of autobiographical, historical, and factual books - which is strange as I like to watch fiction. I have a soft spot for Lustbader's 'Ninja' series and I love the work of Steig Larsson and Stephen King. Everyone should own at least one Maria Savva book too - look her up on Amazon, she's awesome! :)

I've heard of that author... she has some great books. I think people should own at least ten of them ;)

Do you listen to much new music? If so, are there any emerging bands that have interested you lately?

Al: Shinedown was probably the last modernish band that I really got into...I find a lot of the modern rock stuff dull, uninspiring and lyrically tired/ignorant. Where are the poets like Pal Waaktaar?! I still play the first Badlands CD to death...it's so honest, soulful and refreshing even after nearly 25 years.

Phillip: I just got hold of the 'Calling All Astronauts' CD which I'm enjoying immensely. The US brothers 'Aranda' have also just come to my attention as well as 'Firegod Mountain', a Swedish group formed from the ashes of 'Hellfuelled'. I'm also a big fan of a singer songwriter called Michael Hennessy who is worth a moment of anybody's
time...

If you could play any venue in the world, which would you choose
and why?

Al: My house, it's easy to get to and the toilets are in great shape!

Phillip: I've played the smallest places and the Bradford Rio's of the world so the only logical thing would be a step up to City Hall sized venues. An Arena sized venue would be a cool challenge for me as a front man and it'd be nice to find out what it's like without going on some awful TV talent show.

If you had the chance to play with a famous musician (alive or dead) who would you pick?

Al: I'd play triangle as an accompaniment to Rod Morgenstein (Winger, Dixie Dregs). He is a drum genius, and even more than that he seems like a great guy!

Phillip: I'm in a band with my two favourite musicians already but I'd loved to have stood on a stage next to Ronnie James Dio just to witness the power of his voice first hand.



Where are the best places for fans to keep up with Evilyn Strange's news?

Phillip: I would say twitter (http://twitter.com/evilynstrange) is a good starting point. Links to reviews and music can also be found over on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Evilyn...

Where can people buy your music?

From 13th July, 2013, the CD will be exclusively available from our
website via PayPal:

http://www.evilynstrange.co.uk

Digital versions of the album will be available on iTunes, Amazon, and
Spotify:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mourning-Phoe...

Do you have any other news for Evilyn Strange fans?

Al: UUrrrgggh! I just exploded and turned into a green gooey mess!!
Hair today, goo tomorrow!!

Phillip: LOL, looks like we may have just lost our drummer!

LOL Thanks for the very entertaining interview, Phillip and Al. I'm looking forward to the new album!

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I hope you all enjoyed the interview. Don't forget to go to Reverbnation to get your free music downloads, and make sure you're following @EvilynStrange on Twitter to keep up with all the news!