Epic Rock Radio 2010 12 America/Los_Angeles -0800 compurocker *hi* richzen compurocker Welcome to ERR! richzen hi everyone! Larry Hello there! *wave* richzen how are we all doing today? TheSpydyr *hi* rich Larry Brilliant my friend! :D :D :D Pkirker heyas rich richzen glad to hear it :) TheSpydyr the new album is SWEET! richzen hi sypdyr and pkirker! Larry How are you Rich? :) Kelseran :thumbsup:Hello Richzen. richzen and hi larry! (i thought that one was implied hehe) ~V~ Hello, Rich! So glad you can join us! richzen hi kelseran! richzen no problem :) richzen good to be here! Larry How's the new album coming along? :D TheSpydyr *poke*larry ~V~ Fabio was scheduled to perform the interview but he is currently in the hospital as his sister is having a baby.... we just a few minutes ago found out. richzen well the "new" one was released in october actually! Amir Hi Rich richzen but it's been going really well so far Larry ...I knew that... *innocent* richzen it's had a really positive reception Larry I have to admit...I really don't know much about Aeon Zen sorry *shifty* richzen can't ask for much more than that! richzen that's alright, now you have an extra reason to check Aeon Zen out ;) Larry But I heard "Demise of the 5th Sun" on a compilation CD, and it blew my mind! :buttrock: ~V~ Rich: Since you are basically the band, how do you go about doing tours? richzen oh and i'm sorry to hear that V! hope eerything is ok! richzen thanks Larry, glad to hear it! Amir I liked what I've heard so far on ERR as well TheSpydyr i hadn't heard AZ at all until I joined ERR...now I have and I have liked all that I have heard so far. ~V~ Thanks Rich, I'm sure all is well Kailef Hi, Rich. I'm Jarrod Kailef, the owner of Epic Rock Radio. It's -great- to have you here. Amir Hi Kay Larry Oh wait, so it's like a one-man band? richzen well for playing live i play currently play the bass and handle some of the vocals and then get other musicians in to play the other parts richzen larry: yes, i play all the instruments on the recordings Amir Rich, do you have any upcoming shows? TheSpydyr but on the albums, you do all of the instrumentals right TheSpydyr ah...you just answered that Q...haha richzen exactly right spydyr ;) ~V~ I know you've had guest musicians helping you with your albums, such as Michael Eriksen of Circus Maximus, do any of them also tour with you? Larry Ah right, well that gives me even MORE reason to listen! I love one-man projects. Like Fairyland and Iron Mask :D *beer* richzen they do indeed! Andi Kravljaca of Silent Call (ex-Seventh Wonder) who has made several guest appearances on my albums is singing live for Aeon Zen richzen and Matt Shepherd who has recorded a couple of guitar solos on my albums is playing the guitar live Larry Are you planning any live shows around the UK? richzen and Cristian Van Schuerbeck recorded a couple of keyboard solos on my albums, he is covering the live keyboards :) richzen so there is consistency between the albums and the live shows! ~V~ Excellent! Pkirker Rich, as Part of your recording process do use the standard Pro Tolls everyone seems to be using? or do you have a favorite alternate program? Pkirker oops tools Kelseran Sounds like an awesome Line up. richzen larry: yes, i'm currently working on tours and shows, but unfortunately i can't go into any details just yet! Larry Cool, I'll wait with baited breath :D ~V~ Ohhh, we'll all wait for the news:) Amir let's know, because I moved to London recently, I would be happy to come to one of your shows Rich richzen i actually use Cubase for recording, i love that program! i've used it ever since i started recording on pc and never felt a need to switch Larry Hah!! I use cubase all the time!! XD richzen well i'll be sure to keep you all in the loop when we are announcing shows :) Pkirker I have used that program before.. Kelseran No need to fix what isn't broken? Kailef Rich, of the songs you have released so far, do you have a favorite? richzen i find it really user friendly, much more so than pro tools or logic richzen that is preference and what you're used to, in part richzen i need to start typing slower, the chat isn't keeping up with me! haha Kelseran Lol. Amir Rich, what would be your 2010 album of the year? Pkirker :P richzen am i allowed to say my own album? :P Kailef *laugh* Yes. TheSpydyr heck yes you are Amir LOL ~V~ :epic giggles: Yes! Pkirker do you have a favortie track off your latest album? jdesandozequi *lmao* Amir Other than that? richzen ok then, i'll have to go with .......... *shock horror!* Aeon Zen's The Face of the Unknown, with a close second being Spock's Beard's X i think richzen hehe Larry Argh! I should've learned more Aeon Zen before I came on XD jdesandozequi :thumbsup: richzen but i can never make up my mind on favourites, i change my mind every day Kailef What about say... right now? Pkirker like a true musician :) ~V~ What is your current favorite?:) TheSpydyr lol...we all change our mind daily Kailef If you wanted (hint hint) for everyone to hear an Aeon Zen song to introduce them to your music, what would you pick? richzen i've been listening to Cynic's Traced in Air a lot lately, so that's probably my favourite album right now TheSpydyr good Q kay Larry Cynic are awesome!! :D :D :D ~V~ Rich: What CD is currently in your car and/or what is on your iPod? richzen sorry kailef, i was just about to reply to your message earlier! my favourite Aeon Zen song is probably either Salvation or The Demise of the Fifth Sun, but that's a very tough one! it depends on my mood! richzen but to introduce someone to Aeon Zen i would probably go with the track Time Divine richzen hard hitting riffs, to the point, soaring melodies and shredding solos... what's not to like?? helen hi richy... you asked me to remind you to do something at 9... im a bit late :P Larry It's the riffs that got me, Rich. I wasn't expecting anything as heavy as "Demise..." *beer* richzen haha smooth helen :P ~V~ Rich: Can you go through some of the process of recording your album? (*lmao* Helen) ~V~ Welcome to Epic Rock Radio, Helen! richzen music i've currently been listening to... well, Cynic, Between the Buried and Me, Kevin Gilbert, Darkwater.... the list is pretty endless :P TheSpydyr yes welcome helen *hi* helen thanks, rich is aweosme..plus it beats writing me essay Pkirker write the essay on rich :) Kelseran So Rich, are you the one singing on Time Divine? Larry Ah, nice to hear some non-power metal bands in that list :) richzen well the recording... ok! it depends on the song, but one way i go about it is to write all the music down on the computer, completely notate it all out first, then just go through recording each instrument (usually guitar first, but of course it depends on the song) richzen then when all the instruments are recorded (adding lots of things here and there in the process) i'll start sending out the melodies that i've written to the singers for each part richzen they then (usually) record their parts in their own spaces (or countries more to that matter) Amir Do you have any plans on getting some other musicans into Aeon Zen? richzen then send it back to me and i put it all together, mix it and master, and voila! richzen to make a rather long story short :P headb8nger How/where did you arrive at naming your band/project Aeon Zen? Besides the fact that you don't see "aeon" very much. What should I be picturing when I hear/read Aeon Zen? richzen singing on Time Divine is Nils K Rue of Pagan's Mind :) TheSpydyr ok...so Time Divine is playing now...who's singing??? TheSpydyr :-) TheSpydyr you keep beating me to the punch richzen haha i do my best ;) Kelseran I shall be purchasing Aeon Zen off iTunes here before long... richzen as for other musicians in Aeon Zen, i plan to keep the same structure with recording the instruments myself, but there will of course be plenty more guests :) richzen glad to hear it kelseran! ~V~ Rich: Who are your inspirations? Kelseran :thumbsup: richzen i'm trying to keep up with you all here! haha Larry Well..this is awesome ^O^ Fairplay :D TheSpydyr *lmao* TheSpydyr you're the one who said you needed to start typing slower Kailef I wanted to apologize about something in case we happen to seem a bit disorganized; The staff member who was going to interview you today (Fabio) is at the hospital helping out with the delivery of his sister's first baby. *grin* He said that if he could get away, he'd be here. TheSpydyr just saying richzen aeon zen was named, firstly because i thought it sounded cool and proggy haha but it has several meanings, firstly there's the meaning of the actual words, which suggests an eternal feeling of enlightenment, hopefully my music can get somewhat close to that :P ~V~ I apologize for the hecticness of the Shoutbox. With the last minute changes, things got kind of wild:D richzen and also because i try to get lots of different styles into my music, so it covers A to Z ;) richzen haha it's no problem, keeps me on my toes! xombieboy hey guys! Been a while! Larry Ahhh, clever! :D ;) ~V~ As you can tell, we're all excited to meet you:D TheSpydyr *hi*xombie richzen oh i'm not complaining!! Larry We're all gonna start asking him to the school dance soon *lmao* TheSpydyr and where's sammie...she was one of the most excited richzen ah my inspirations! i nearly missed that one! Larry Yeah!...I'll facebook Sammie now.... ~V~ :) Pkirker doesnt sammy live in cambridge? ~V~ She's having log on issues... can't get into the SB richzen well when i first started playing guitar it was thrash really, bands like metallica and megadeth (although I think now Testament are my favourite thrash band) TheSpydyr that stinks...:( mariokhan Sorry who is Richzen? Larry He's Aeon Zen :D richzen then i gradually started listening around to the more complex stuff, getting into Dream Theater and Genesis, that sort of stuff ~V~ Mario, meet RIch Hinks of Aeon Zen richzen Hi Mario! Larry Good to hear you're a thrash fan Rich ^O^ Larry Thrash Metal is my number 1 passion :) TheSpydyr metallica and megadeath...^O^ richzen oh and then after thrash i started getting into bands like Death and Carcass Larry Anthrax, Overkill, Annihilator and Kreator ^O^ TheSpydyr and we around here love DT Pkirker I look for more structure myself :) richzen so it's fairly broad Larry Death!! Another one of my all-time favourites! ^O^ :) Amir :buttrock::buttrock: compurocker Overkill and Heathen both put out amazing thrash albums this year Larry What time are you here til, Rich? headb8nger do you have a preferred guitar model/maker? ~V~ Rich will be spending about an hour with us:D richzen well for my first album i used an ibanez universe, i really like the thin necks that ibanez make, but for the new album i switched over to caparison, dellinger 7se i believe, which just feels, plays and sounds fantastic xombieboy So changing the subject for just a second...I went to London at the beginning of December to see New Model Army. The night following the second show, Helloween played the same venue, so of course I bought a ticket...STRATOVARIUS OPENED!! richzen although i still use the ibanez but it's mainly used for alternate tunings now Larry Do you write "concept" albums, and have back stories to them? Kelseran :buttrock: Great Song! ~V~ Yes, great song :buttrock: ~V~ good question, Larry:D TheSpydyr yes Demise is Fantastic:thumbsup: xombieboy OH CRAP!! Gotta jet for a spell. lol Larry because I love concept albums :love: jdesandozequi *guitar* richzen no i don't have any concept albums (not yet anyway) but i like my albums to tell a sort of musical story, so i put a lot of time into making sure my albums flow with ups and downs Kailef I'm going to throw another question at you, Rich. Tell me... What instruments can you play, personally? mariokhan in zagreb hello.. open for stratovarius lol richzen but i have started working on another album, so we'll see where that one goes ;) Larry Coooool :) compurocker I like when a band/artist pays attention to the flow, rather than just sticking all the good songs at the front of the album and the filler at the end. hah richzen well piano was the first instrument i started to play, then after that i learnt to play saxophone (alto and tenor mostly), then guitar, bass and drums a little later Larry All my favourite Power Metal bands have concept albums: Freedom Call, Rhapsody, Magic Kingdom, Fairyland etc :) richzen well if you like Demise, that track is the last track on the album ;) compurocker What's your favorite instrument to play? Pkirker yes good story telling by songs...DT does a lot of that. richzen so it goes out with a bang TheSpydyr that it does richzen hmmmmm favourite instrument... i like playing bass for the feel and groove to really lock into the song, but then i also enjoy guitar so i can properly rock out... i think it's a tie :P ~V~ Rich: How old were you when you first started to play the piano? Are there other members of your family that is a musical genius such as yourself?:D Kailef See, that amazes me. I can play drums and slatted percussion (marimbas, etc) with relative skill, but I can't even begin to comprehend how to play other instruments. Guitars confuse me. richzen i started playing piano when i was 5 i believe, which really helped with learning music theory from that age compurocker I can play a little guitar, and a little drums. Both poorly. Slightly less poorly in their video game incarnations, but still poorly. :D richzen my dad was in bands when he was younger, but not quite this style of music hehe headb8nger heh richzen oh don't get me started on guitar hero! i can't do that at all! haha Larry I play piano, guitar, all percussion (including drums), violin, and all brass instruments. ~V~ Music runs in the family vein:) headb8nger lol i hear that all the time, guitar hero being tougher than playing real Larry Yeah, guitar hero is just weird :P richzen well i think it's that i'm used to playing a real guitar, and they really aren't very similar richzen if you're used to guitar hero, then i'm sure it's fine! compurocker yeah they're really not helen rich thats a total lie... you spnet an entire weekend playing guitar hero and kicked tom's ass, who's been playing it obsessively for years helen lol jdesandozequi *lmao* compurocker The new pro guitar for Rock Band 3 might be a different story since it's a real Fender Squier richzen yeah, but last time i played it i really sucked ~V~ :eek:B-) compurocker Woah, the truth comes out! richzen that was only after a really sad weekend playing guitar hero non stop :P richzen can't say i've kept up the practice! helen heeey .. my flat is fun headb8nger the answer is simple, we need one of your songs IN guitar hero!!:D Kailef I've been playing drums for about twenty years, and when I sit down in front of a "rock band" drumset, I completely fail. Larry Wow...that IS sad XD Kailef Seriously, it's embarrasing when my 10 year old daughter can beat me on the same song at the same difficulty. richzen hey, prog is geeky :P Larry Lol! That' ok, I'm a big video game fanatic :D richzen is that comment off the page now?... good Larry *lmao* ~V~ Rich: You mentioned that you listen to thrash and yet your albums are proggy, are you flirting with the idea of playing thrash in the future? headb8nger :buttrock: Larry Oohhh, I hope so.... richzen not outright no, if you listen to parts of my albums there's elements of it all in there, like Demise which you just heard, there's a nice little thrash section in the middle richzen there, you just have to be attentive ;) richzen that was meant to say "it's in there" Kailef (Rich, you should totally listen to Epic Rock Radio to find new music to listen to.) Larry You should do an outright thrash album a la Anthrax, just for a surprise :D Kailef *grin* Let's break away from music for a moment - What do you do for fun besides music, Rich? Hobbies and such, I mean. ~V~ Oh btw... the requester of Pagan's Mind is the frontman and lead guitarist for the band, Seven Kingdoms. richzen i'll do an album like An*l C*nt just to surprise everyone Larry Yeah!! *lmao* ~V~ Personally, I'm not a big Thrash fan but your moments of thrash in your album are wonderful Larry Personally, I love Ax Cx :) TheSpydyr nice...welcome metal richzen well... music is my hobby haha it takes up most of my time to be honest, practicing, writing, recording, and i'm studying music at university too richzen majority of my time! Kailef Well, considering everything you put into Aeon Zen, it's not surprising at all, really. Much of what usually gets handled by a group is pretty much handled just by you. richzen yeah, it might not be the most varied answer, but that's the truth! richzen other than that, i like sleeping when i get the time :P Kelseran Sleeping is good. Kailef Okay, I'm -totally- going to take advantage of you being here.... Are you tuned in to the station right now, Rich, listening? richzen i was earlier actually, but i've heard my own songs enough times so i tuned out for a while hehe richzen although i do like a good bit of Edguy TheSpydyr so rich, I do this thing with song title from an album, by creating a little poetic snippet and I just did A Mind's Portrait for you... mariokhan kamelot?? Kailef I ask because I've composed a little bit of music myself, and I wanted to get your opinion. :-) Pkirker there is another guy who writes everything :) TheSpydyr In 'A Mind's Portrait' through 'The Aftermath' of 'The Wake' we come to 'The Circle's End' and in 'Blinded Rain' the 'Goddess' watches 'The Demise of the Fifth Sun' and the 'Existence' of 'Heavens Falling' 'Into the Infinite' of 'Time Divine.' Larry Oh yeah! Play him some Kailef! :) ~V~ Nice, Spydy richzen very nice Spydyr! Larry That was awesome, dude :D TheSpydyr ;-) Amir nice indeed spyder TheSpydyr whipped it up in about 15 mins TheSpydyr i've done several metallica albums and a couple of nightwish richzen i posted it up on the Aeon Zen facebook page :) TheSpydyr love to write BTW TheSpydyr nice...I will have to check that out!!! Larry Oh yeah, I'll join the facebook group... Kelseran Nice santa hat on the FB page. richzen link for anyone interested TheSpydyr yup me too metalswede Hi Rich! Doesnt it get lonely working on your own in the studio all the time? I mean, who is your "crap-filter", if you get what I mean? ~V~ Rich, I have a special favor to ask on the behalf of someone who wanted very much to be here today, but cannot log into the Shoutbox for unknown reasons.... richzen i have a few people i play my songs to, but i find it much easier working on songs on my own, it helps me get all my thoughts together, and i also think it helps make for a consistent album Larry Aww, Sammie :( Bless her richzen and ask away V :) ~V~ From: Sammie Feather Durell thanks valerie, can you ask him: ~V~ if he had 4 superhero powers, what would they be and why TheSpydyr poor sammie...she really wanted to be here ~V~ i know it's not related to his album but its just one of curiosities questions jdesandozequi *lmao* richzen wow i get 4?! that's just greedy! TheSpydyr *lmao* richzen well i think first i'd have to say teleportation, just think how much easier that would make touring! metalswede *lmao* Kailef (As long as you can teleport all your stuff with you) helen we made a pact! march for you, june for me richzen i dunno, my gear can be shipped, but it helps me avoid flights :P richzen the ability to eat as much junk as possible without feeling sick richzen that'd be awesome TheSpydyr i'm with you on that one...hahahah helen fatty ~V~ :D richzen that's me! jdesandozequi *sly* ~V~ Im sending her your answers as you speaketh Kelseran lol richzen invisibility, then i could visit other band's rehearsal studios and steal all their ideas... TheSpydyr tell her we miss her V TheSpydyr and give her this too...*glomp* Pkirker rofl Larry Yeah, I've been speaking to her on FB...she's devastated :/ :( Kelseran But that gives yet another question, what bands would those be? Chrystallic uhm, kinda just arrived, will this whole chat get posted on the forum? (the time difference....) richzen fourthly, the ability to have 4 more super powers, which i will name at a later date Larry *glomp* Stian Kailef Yes, it will. richzen cop out answer, but i'm just that sensible! ~V~ Great answers, Rich! Chrystallic *wave* Larry, Rich Hinks, Kailef, Kelseran, Pkirker, Valerie, and everyone else :D headb8nger that's like wishing for more wishes:D metalswede You can´t have the power to climb into old peoples hearingdevices and whisper "im the Grim Reaper", its taken already :D:D:D Pkirker heya chrys ~V~ smart richzen it's like it, that's exactly what it is haha Larry WALK THROUGH WALLS!! best power ever :D TheSpydyr *yo* stian richzen well i have the amazing power of being able to walk INTO walls! Amir You hate doors Larry I suppose ;) TheSpydyr *lmao* TheSpydyr nice one rich ~V~ Rich: Sammie has responded to your 4 Chrystallic well... teleportation and invisibility kinda make the need to be able to walk through walls unnecessary Pkirker haha as do we all.. Larry -_- I always walk into them ~V~ heehee tell rich: ~V~ thats cheating, the rules (which I made up in my head) state that you can only pick 4 powers, and the request to pick 4 more is invalid richzen Larry, door; door, Larry Chrystallic teleport through em XD, like in Jumper(bad movie...) Larry Indeed :D ~V~ Rich: One last question from me, if you please... richzen ok then, the ability to automatically not be blind as a bat like i currently am ~V~ If you had your choice for any musician dead or alive :D to feature on your next album, who would that be and why? Larry HEAT VISION!! :D Amir So Rich, which band you would like to tour with, if you have a chance to choose from any of them? And why that band? Chrystallic *wave* Spydyr btw metalswede (ask him what he thinks of Twins Crew) ;) Pkirker Rich, how do you Flush the past albums out of your head for a new album writing session? richzen the band i'd most like to tour with... probably metallica, firstly i've been listening to them for almost as long as i can remember, and it would always a nice large, fresh crowd every night to introduce to Aeon Zen ~V~ good question, phirker Larry Lovely talking to you Rich, I'll be leaving now *wave* richzen pkirker: i'm pretty much constantly writing, i have lots of material in all different sorts of styles and feels, so i can write something even while i'm working on one album that doesn't necessarily fit with those songs, which i can then use on another album Larry I promise to listen to more Aeon Zen *yo* :D Thanks again richzen ok Larry, have a good one! Kelseran Bye Larry. Larry Oh yeah, and Happy New Year to you! :D TheSpydyr l8rs larry TheSpydyr *wave* Amir Cheers Larry ~V~ *hny* OLarry richzen also, with the amount of time that gets spend on an album, i can be working on the current album (mixing etc) while my head is in a different space when it comes to writing richzen Happy New Year too Larry! Amir So when do you decide that a song or album is ready enough for release? Amir Because, I suppose you can always work on details forever to make it more perfect richzen well i almost always have a song completed instrumentally before vocals are recorded, so that's just when i feel that the sound is full (and i can't think of anything else to add), but to release as a finished product, as i work on this a lot i have plenty of time for fine tuning richzen point where you listen to the songs over and over and you can feel that you're happy with them Joe the Tech Great, even more enormous emotes. Just what we needed, V. :D richzen but anyway, i best be off guys! Pkirker On that note..have to get back t work :0 Thanks so much for being on ERR and answering question from us richzen thanks so much for having me :) ~V~ Joe, holiday emotes are temporary richzen it's my birthday in 2 hours, i need my party sleep! ~V~ Rich, you are more than welcome to stay as long as you want and we hope to see you come visit us again. Joe the Tech Well, I was joking more than anything, V. :P Kelseran Happy Borthday! Amir Oh great, so Happy BD Pkirker Happy Birthday TheSpydyr *wave* rich...thx for coming on here and talking to us...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY*party* Joe the Tech OH crap, did I miss the interview? ~V~ We look forward to your new release very soon,hopefully:P richzen thanks for all the good questions, i hope to see you all again soon :D ~V~ Happy Birthday Rich *party* metalswede Happy Birthday Rich! *party* and Happy new METAL year! Kelseran Bye Rich! TheSpydyr come back and visit us more often (as you can of course) richzen thanks, have a good rest of the day everyone! *rockin* richzen and happy new year!! ~V~ That was a great interview! Thanks so much for joining us and helping to make it fun!