In a recently published interview by Lucem Fero's Welsh interviewer Anthony Morgan, conducted in May 2008, Leverage / Brother Firetribe vocalist Pekka Heino discusses Brother Firetribe's sophomore album "Heart Full Of Fire", its lyrical content, the possibility of touring, working with Nightwish's Anette Olzon, and covering both Mike Reno's "Chasing the Angels" and Dio's "Hungry For Heaven". Several excerpts from the interview follow:
Lucem Fero: Could you provide an introduction to 'Heart Full of Fire'?
Pekka Heino: The new album, to begin with, we're really pleased with 'Heart Full Of Fire'. In most instances, reviews thus far have been overwhelmingly positive. The material is exactly what a listener would expect from a group named Brother Firetribe; high quality melodic rock, armed with both a massive sound and massive choruses. If you prefer music to possess a laid back vibe, and like to have a good time, then I think 'Heart Full Of Fire' is the perfect recipe for you.
Is it difficult to arrange any po ssible Brother Firetribe concerts, considering “Emppu”'s touring schedule with Nightwish?
Yeah. That's the current situation, and there's nothing we can do to address the situation. Leverage is currently touring, whereas Nightwish will be performing live dates for God knows how long - Nightwish have embarked upon a massive global tour, and that's just how it goes. Brother Firetribe will perform gigs when each member is ready, willing and able. Unfortunately, we're not able to tour in support of 'Heart Full of Fire'. Be assured that some day in the near future though, possibly during 2009, we're going to get onstage, and play our asses off again.
Were certain melodic rock acts an influence?
There are numerous groups, so I don't know where to begin (laughs). Well, there's Journey of course. Steve Perry is probably one of the greatest singers that has ever lived, if not the greatest even. The mighty Van Halen is another; we all share a love of Van Halen, and they're likely one of the coolest groups that has ever walked this planet. There's plenty of other groups as well, such as; Bon Jovi, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Blue Murder, Bad English, Night Ranger etc. There's so many known groups that are an influence, not to mention a plethora of these more obscure groups from the past.
Where was 'Heart Full of Fire' recorded?
At three different studios. The drums were recorded at Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki, I think. Erno, meanwhile, laid down all his guitar parts at his own studio, and that studio is called E Major. 'Heart Full of Fire''s other musical parts were recorded at Tomppa's studio, and that studio's name is Nitro. All those studios were of an extremely high quality, so recording at three different studios actually worked.
The title track features Nightwish's Anette Olzon. How did she get involved? Was that arranged through “Emppu”?
Anette sang in an AOR group called Alyson Avenue, which was a great outfit. She immensely enjoyed 'False Metal'. When she heard that we planned to start cutting material in support of 'Heart Full of Fire', she was willing to contribute background vocals. Our response was; “Hell, absolutely. You're more than welcome”. She's a great vocalist, of course. I've always loved a good duet. Only prior to initial recording sessions, we began listening to each track, and thought; "Hey, maybe this song might work as a duet". We didn't want to opt towards the obvious choice, the obvious choice being a ballad. We wanted to focus upon 'Heart Full of Fire''s rockiest track, and transform the song into a duet number. Of the album's tracks, “Heart Full of Fire” happened to be the rockiest. We asked Anette if she could contribute more vocals, and she was more than willing to do that. She visited the studio, and just sung really well. She did a great job; Anette's both a class act, and a great person. The eventual duet was a pretty cool recording.
The EP 'Heart Full of Fire... And Then Some' was released in May, and features an exclusive track entitled “Two Hearts”. Can you reveal anything as concerns that song?
Oh, yeah. That's an amusing ta le. We weren't sure that “Two Hearts” should feature amongst 'Heart Full of Fire''s track listing, given the fact that it's an ultra ballad. It's really soft, slow and somewhat emotional. We thought; "Hey, maybe this is a bit too much - even for Brother Firetribe" (laughs). We began to seek the opinions of different people, however. We played “Two Hearts” to them, and some of those people had tears in their eyes. Some of them said; “Holy shit, man. Don't you realise that this song could be Brother Firetribe's "Open Arms”?”. They were referring to the track by Journey (originally featured on 1982's 'Escape'), and what the song had meant for them. Our response was; “Get outta here, we don't believe that”. Eventually, “Two Hearts” wasn't included amongst 'Heart Full of Fire''s final track listing. The album had its share of eleven good songs, so we thought; “Ok, maybe we'll just save the song for a later date”. We then opted in favour of issuing the EP you referred to, namely 'Heart Full of Fire... And Then Some'. The EP includes the following songs; “Heart Full of Fire”, a funny little dance remix of the same song, E2Two Hearts”, and an interpretation of Dio's “Hungry For Heaven”. That EP includes some pretty good bonus material. In our opinion, it's extremely well worth purchasing.
In the years to come, where would you like to venture with Brother Firetribe?
As I've said a million times during this interview, Brother Firetribe mainly revolves around friendship. Brother Firetribe primarily concerns enjoyment. I'm just happy to spend time with those guys, and am happy to continue writing the type of music that I love. That's the key point. If you're a member of a group, and that group issues albums and schedules gigs, then the greatest aspect is obviously performing live. That's pretty fucking clear. In the future, I'd be extremely pleased if we embarked upon some nice tours. Hopefully, there's a demand for us to perform. If Brother Firetribe doesn't have a potential live audience, then there's no point in us touring.
To access the entire interview go to this location.
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