Go back to main Interviews page July 2007 - YTSEJAM.com (an interview by Rita Bayer) - EUROPE YTSEJAM.COM : Part 2: Solo album 'Scarlet' & other music related stuff Finally here it is: Part 2 of our interview that Dave answered via email because time was too short when I met him on tour with Roger Waters in Cologne on April 16, 2007. (Read Part 1: Roger Waters ’Äì The Dark Side Of The Moon Tour 2006/07 including Dave’Äòs bio in brief at this location). Part 2 deals with his solo album Scarlet in general, 3 songs in detail (Static, Rain and Brightest Star), his song writing method, involved guest musicians, tour plans, vocal training, opinions that are especially important to him.... Solo album SCARLET: Rita: Your highly acclaimed solo album is finally out now. Congratulation!!! It’Äôs your second solo album and very different from ’ÄòPlaying With Fire’Äô which was released 11 years ago. ’ÄòScarlet’Äô is a song based rock album, featuring the amazing Phil Williams & Pete Riley on rhythm instruments, Anne-Marie Helder on backing vocals, who complements you brilliantly on vocals and even a string quartet. You’Äôre the songwriter, arranger, co - producer, you’Äôre the lead-singer, playing all guitars, percussion and keyboards. Would you say ’ÄòScarlet’Äô holds everything that defines you, all musicality within you is united in ’ÄòScarlet’Äô and what do you hope to get out of the release? Dave Kilminster: Ok, for the first part; No, not everything... I did manage to stretch myself in several different directions’Ķ Vocally, lyrically, scoring for strings (which I’Äôd never attempted before), but there’Äôs still a whole bunch of things that I haven’Äôt even touched on with ’ÄòScarlet’Äô’Ķ In fact I’Äôve got quite a few new ideas for the follow up album already, although they really won’Äôt start to crystallise until after this tour is finished... And what do I hope to get out of it? Well nothing really!! Rita: As far as I know, you’Äôre allowed to sell your album here on tour....how many copies did you sell so far, how many copies do you have in your baggage? Dave: We sold them during the European leg, and they’Äôre also available over here on the US part of the tour... but I don’Äôt actually know how many we’Äôve sold so far. Our merchandise chap said they were going well though, so that’Äôs enough for me!!! R: Before I pick 3 songs later, you’Äôll analyze in detail then, please - a few words about the music, the sound, the equipment you used, the lyrical content in general. Dave: That’Äôs a huge question!!! The music is just a bunch of ideas that I’Äôve had for a while... so of them going back years!!! I wanted to get a very live feel for the album so we recorded the backing tracks together in the studio, and then I went back and overdubbed the solos and vocals... And the lyrics are all based on my own personal experiences, or those of people I know... R: Why did you call it ’ÄòScarlet’Äô? Dave: It’Äôs just a word I like... To me it conjures up images of Scarlett O’ÄôHara in ’ÄòGone With The Wind’Äù, Margaret Lockwood, who was the Scarlet woman in ’ÄòThe Wicked Lady’Äô, A Sherlock Holmes adventure ’ÄòA study in Scarlet’Äô... the Scarlet Pimpernel... Scarlett Johansson in ’ÄòGirl With a Pearl Earring’Äô... all good stuff!!! R: Could you explain your song writing method and how you went about recording the album, please. Dave: I don’Äôt have a method as such... Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes the music... sometimes they arrive at the same time... there’Äôs no plan. I think the best thing to do with songwriting is to let the process happen naturally, and try not to get in the way!! I certainly never thought I’Äôd write a nine and a half minute song like ’ÄòRain’Äô, but I guess some times the tune is as long as it wants to be!! R: How much freedom did Pete and Phil have referring to their parts and did you ever play with the idea to let Keith Emerson participate in this album as special guest as well? Dave: Pete and Phil had total artistic freedom... I play bass and drums, so I suggested one or two ideas, but essentially I let them get on with it!!! Their input was invaluable... R: It’Äôs already announced that you plan to publish a track by track journey on your website sometime soon, so I pick only 3 songs now. Your detailed thoughts on the following tracks: ’ÄòBrightest Star’Äô, ’ÄòStatic’Äô and ’ÄòRain’Äô (On another Planet). Dave: Brightest Star - I really like the lyrics to Brightest Star... they were written specifically for a friend who had lost someone close, and couldn’Äôt seem to find their way back out of the darkness... I’Äôm also very proud of the string arrangement in the middle... :O) Static - I was rehearsing with Pete and Phil one afternoon for a Keith Emerson tour and Phil said ’ÄòHey, why don’Äôt we write a song for Keith... maybe something in an odd time signature’Äô. So I played the first thing that came into my head, and it turned into ’ÄòStatic’Äô. I was hoping to record it on a Keith Emerson Band album, but one of the tracks I’Äôd originally planned for Scarlet didn’Äôt seem to be fitting with the rest... and I needed another up tempo tune so that was the obvious choice. We played it in Japan a couple of years ago and it went down great... :O) ’ÄòRain...’Äô I’Äôm especially proud of... I originally wrote it as an instrumental, but Pete said ’ÄòYou should put some words to that’Äô... I thought ’Äòwhat a stupid idea!!!’Äô, but the more I thought about it the better it sounded. I was messing around with the intro on keyboards, which is when I decided to have the choral intro... and we also jammed out the end, so I slapped a long solo on it... hopefully it doesn’Äôt feel too long though... R: Are there any tracks that didn’Äôt make the cut? Dave: Just a reggae tune called ’ÄòSlipping Away’Äô... It’Äôs a great song, but seemed a little out of context in relation to everything else. There’Äôs more than enough variety in there already!!! R: Is there anything you couldn’Äòt realize with the final album? Dave: It came out as I envisioned it, but I definitely want to go further with the next one!!! R: You plan a solo tour - do you already know if you’Äôll play live with the same band line up? Dave: At the moment I would only consider playing that music with the people on the record... R: Why is ’ÄòScarlet’Äô only available through your website? - Are there recent plans to offer it on i-Tunes, Napster, for instance? Dave: You can buy Scarlet at the Roger Waters gigs too, and I believe it’Äôs also on Amazon?!! But this run is just a special pre release version. I’Äôve been offered some distribution deals, but I’Äôd like to remix the album first... maybe even stick some extra bonus stuff on it... who knows? Basically I’Äôve thrown out a fishing line into the great ocean that is life, and I’Äôm waiting to see if I get a bite!!! OTHER STUFF: R: How much effort do you put into evolving on vocals and how do you go about vocal training? Dave: Last year I had three lessons with this great singing teacher, but unfortunately I’Äôve not had the chance to practice those things, or to use them on this tour. Most of the singing practice I did for the album was in the car driving to the studio!!! R: What do you think, how important are lyrics, vocals, using a global language for submitting the *whole musical picture* you’Äôve on your mind to the audience? - Do you think it’Äôs much harder therefore more challenging to translate a certain *musical picture* through a pure instrumental album? Dave: The thing about lyrics, or even just words, is that the same word can mean completely different things to different people. If I sing the word... ummm... (first word off the top of my head) Mint. To some people it may make them think of money, to others they’Äôd think of the colour... or ice cream, or mint chocolate... for others it could mean the mint sauce they had with their Sunday roast!!! For me, it reminds me of a fruit smoothie I had with mint in when we were in Dubai... which is totally different from all those other ideas!!!!! So I don’Äôt know how important the actual lyrics are... You could be singing the nonsensical lyrics in ’ÄòA Whiter Shade Of Pale’Äô... they don’Äôt make a lot of sense, but people sing along with them anyway. So I guess it’Äôs more the feeling behind the lyrics... it’Äôs the intention that people pick up on. And it’Äôs the same for great instrumental music... Classical music conjures up all sorts of wonderful images to me... R: The most important thing is that you’Äôre 100% pleased with your musical work, nevertheless you’Äôre curious about reactions of course. Whose opinion do you respect the most? Dave: The other guys on the album... My guitar playing friends... ummm....... R: How important are selling figures for you? Dave: About as important as who wins ’ÄòBig Brother’Äô or ’ÄòAmerica’Äôs top model’Äô... i.e. I REALLY don’Äôt care!!! R. What is coming next? Any projects in the pipeline? Dave: There’Äôs a list of possible projects on the horizon, but I hate to plan stuff... Life generally comes up and throws something new at you when you least expect it... Like this Roger Waters tour!!! R: ’ÄúIf this was the last day of your life - ............... How would you want to end this night... Tonight’Äù? (excerpt from the chorus / track:’ÄòHarkness’Äò) Dave: Ha ha ha... nice... It’Äôs why I wrote the tune. I found the question intriguing. There’Äôs part of me that would like to be at a wild party... and another that would like to sit on a beach somewhere on my own and watch the sun go down... Hopefully I won’Äôt have to worry about it for a while yet though!!!!!! R: Finally, do you want to deliver a message to your fans? Dave: Be happy, be true, be good to each other...
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