Detritus
Mini-Issue #323.5 - July 1, 2005
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*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
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Patrick Brower, Editor
patrickbrower@...

Sean P. Gahgan, Editor
lof@...

Tim Wadzinski, Owner
tsw512@...

Steve Shumake, Co-owner
vongoober@...
http://www.vongoober.com/

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*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
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-Apologies to Symphorce... Vocalist Andy B. Franck's last name was
misspelled in this week's "News/Rumors" section. Fifty lashes with a
wet noodle for all!

-Now, let's start July off with a cool interview Neal conducted with
Evergrey guitarist Henrik Danhage, eh? Have a great weekend. - Tim

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*** SPECIAL REPORT ***
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by Neal Woodall (MysticX10@...)

-Interview w/ Henrik Danhage (Evergrey)
June 23, 2005

After five excellent studio albums, Sweden's preeminent metal band
Evergrey have released their first live DVD and CD A NIGHT TO
REMEMBER. I spoke with guitarist Henrik Danhage about the DVD,
Evergrey's current plans and his views on all things guitar...

DETRITUS: You have a new DVD out!

HENRIK DANHAGE: Yep.

D: A NIGHT TO REMEMBER has 19 songs live, six hours of backstage
footage, interviews and six videos...

HD: Yes sir!

D: You guys did an excellent job on it. I've had it since a few days
after it came out and it's awesome.

HD: OK, thank you a lot!

D: Is a DVD like that harder to put together than a regular album, or
about the same?

HD: I think some things were kind of the same but looking through the
whole thing and deciding... There were two things: deciding all the
songs and the whole thing with the concert, the footage of the
concert; I mean practically he [director Patrick Ullaeus] did all the
things with the concert so we really didn't have that much to do with
that after we recorded the concert; with Evergrey we took care of all
the extra material, especially Tom [Englund, guitar and vocals], and
Jonas [Ekdahl, drums]. I think it turned out really good, we are very
happy and very satisfied.

D: I understand it went to #1 on the Swedish DVD charts?

HD: Yeah, that was good. It was there for two weeks, then it went down
to #4 and this week it went down to #9, so after four weeks it's still
on the top ten list.

D: How is it doing worldwide?

HD: I really don't know, but I think it's doing OK -- I mean, live
albums and DVDs you can't really measure that the same way you measure
a regular studio release, but it's good, from what we've heard so far
it's doing all right.

D: Are any of the videos currently being played on MTV, like "More
Than Ever"?

HD: I really think so, I haven't heard anything so I don't know if it
has been aired yet but I suppose so because they have been showing all
our other videos; so hopefully because it makes a lot of difference to
be shown on "Headbanger's Ball" and Fuse and all that, a really big
difference when they start airing them on those television channels.

D: How did you choose the set list? Was each member involved or did
Tom have a big hand in choosing the songs?

HD: No, he's just like a regular member when it comes to all that -- I
mean, that is the beauty of being a five man band, you can always take
votes on everything. It's like the regular songs we play when we have
a headline concert plus some songs we thought we just wanted to have,
songs from all the five albums and just have a nice flow, especially
since we knew it would be a long show as well. So it was more of that,
we just sat down, the five of us, and decided which songs we wanted to
have, so I think it was kind of smooth...

D: Yeah, it's a good mix!

HD: Oh, thank you.

D: Was there anything you would like to have put on there that didn't
make it?

HD: I don't think so -- I know a lot of fans would probably really
have liked if we would have put on "Great Deceiver" and "Ambassador."
But we don't have any extra songs lying around, those songs were the
ones that we recorded that night so we used all that we had.

D: The camera work is really good, how many were used?

HD: They used 15 cameras...

D: Fifteen! Does all that bother you when you're playing or do you
forget about it?

HD: No, I don't really think about it at all, there were so many other
things that I was kind of worried about, like having a power failure
that night!

D: Oh man, that would have been bad!

HD: Yeah, other than that it was just like any other show, except we
were in this beautiful theater and all our families were there, so it
was a special gig regardless but having it on film is just a really
nice bonus. Plus all the fans that flew in, it was just an amazing
show and great night...

D: The show was filmed in Gothenburg. Did you discuss filming anywhere
else or was it pretty much a certainty that it would be filmed in your
hometown?

HD: Really early on we were talking about shooting it in Paris, but
I'm really glad we got that out of our minds (laughs) and did it in
Gothenburg, as the whole vibe of that night is really good and I think
that Patrick who directed the whole thing really managed to capture
the whole feeling that night, really good on camera..

D: Had you ever played in that hall before?

HD: No, that was the first time that we played there. It was nice,
there were probably 800 people there -- it wasn't too big, all the
people who had tickets felt really special as well.

D: How difficult was it to coordinate the choir and the string
quartet?

HD: I think we rehearsed with the choir two times and we had done two
shows with them before, in Sweden. The string quartet, they just
showed up that day! (laughs)

D: Oh really?

HD: Yeah, we just did a sound check with them. But they do this for a
living so it wasn't a big problem for them, and most of the songs they
played on they had recorded in the studio as well -- they were the
same guys -- so it was very convenient.

D: What kind of equipment did you use to record the show?

HD: You're asking me that? (laughs)

D: I was reading in the booklet that Arnold Lindberg was the sound
engineer -- he did the recording on computer?

HD: Yeah, he had two Pro Tools systems -- we just used the same old
shit that we always use as far as equipment goes, so it was pretty
much like any other day at the office! (laughs)

D: That was a good idea to include the interviews with everyone
discussing their gear, so now you don't have to keep answering the
same questions! (laughs)

HD: Exactly! I mean, a lot of people find that interesting as well, so
it's kind of nice to have that as a reference. You can always tell
people when you think they are asking too many questions, buy the DVD!
(laughs) I know a lot of people think it's interesting, so yeah, I
think it was a good thing to do.

D: What about the cover, that's really nice with the artwork from each
of the five albums -- who did that?

HD: It was Tom's idea -- he threw it around with Mattias [Noren] --
but Tom had the basic idea. To start with, he didn't really see that
it looked like a pentagram as well, so after that we kind of jazzed it
up so it turned out to be a real pentagram as well -- really metal!
(laughs) We have a good relationship with Mattias and it's working out
great, so yeah, the cover is good and it makes a hell of a good T-
shirt as well. We're happy.

D: Well what's going on with Evergrey right now, are you taking a
break or are you working on new material?

HD: Right now I'm home with my parents. The whole band is coming here
tomorrow actually because we celebrate midsummer, so we're all going
to get drunk here at my parents' tomorrow. (laughs) Then in the
morning we're going to the airport and we'll be playing Bloodstock.

D: So you'll be doing some touring this summer?

HD: Yeah, like some festivals and hopefully getting more gigs and more
tours. I'm trying to come up with some new songs as well; we all have
some bits and pieces now but I don't think we have any actual songs so
far. So that's what is happening right now. It would be really nice to
come back over to the States again. It's always nice playing in the
States, we have a good following there as well, so it would be kind of
stupid not going. Even though it's a DVD and a live record that we are
promoting, we should be over there.

D: Yeah, I was really expecting you to be at ProgPower USA this year.
What happened with that?

HD: I mean, we've been doing that and Glenn [Harveston, ProgPower USA
organizer] is a cool guy; we've been having discussions with him as
well. But just going over and doing the same old thing that we have
done before -- just flying over for one gig -- at this time both we
and Glenn thought it was best that we should come back next year or
the year after that and do something really cool, you know? We really
don't have any new songs as well, so hopefully next year... I mean,
it's a good festival, Glenn is cool as well.

D: Any places you would like to tour that you haven't made it to yet?

HD: Japan would be great. For some reason we are not selling a lot of
CDs there. I really don't know why.

D: That's strange because I don't think Rush does very well in Japan
either, I would think they would be huge there.

HD: Yeah... Australia would be really nice as well, and South America
would also be great.

D: I know there are a lot of fans there who would like to see you!

HD: Yeah, there are a couple of dreams there that are waiting to be
fulfilled, in a couple of years hopefully.

D: Tell me about your solo project Death Destruction. How is that
going?

HD: I think we have like 15 songs out there waiting to be mixed, and I
think I'm going to do some soloing on a couple of the songs. Other
than that it's all done. We've been sending out some CDs but we've
been really lazy and it's been a really slow process because we've
been busy, me and Jonas. And the bass player, Fredrik [Larsson], he's
always doing guitar tech for me, and now the singer [Jimmie] is
playing in another band as well so it has been tough to find the time.
We're going to put some effort into it again. It's really cool and
from what I understand the homepage is going to be up in about a
month, it's going to be like http://www.deathdestruction.com/ , with
sound clips and some pictures, stuff like that. Hopefully, you know,
some Evergrey fans will like it, some will hate it as well! (laughs)

D: I'm sure the vocals will be a bit different than Tom's...

HD: Yeah, exactly, it's like, scream more -- he's very good singer.
It's fun to play heavy music again like I did before I joined
Evergrey. It's nice to be able to do that as well as playing in
Evergrey, just having all those riffs and being able to make songs out
of them, you know, that wouldn't fit into Evergrey's format. It's fun.

D: Do you have any plans to do a solo album, like an instrumental?

HD: I had a little song about a year ago, it's already recorded but I
haven't released it. I don't think it would be a problem releasing it
on InsideOut as far as a record but, I don't know what I would be
doing -- it would probably be a lot of slow songs in that case. It
would be nice but it takes some time, I believe, because I really want
to do a CD with some tasteful playing on it and have some good songs
as well. It would require a big amount of time and I really don't have
that right now. It would be great to do that; that is one of the
things I would like to do before it's all over, you know?

D: Right. What about movie soundtracks?

HD: Oh, that would be really great to do that, but we'll see what
happens. I'm in a good place right now and the same with the band; I
don't think we have to rush anything.

D: You're happy with what's going on right now?

HD: Yeah, exactly. But a solo CD before I have to leave the music
industry would be really nice...

D: Let me ask you a few guitar questions for our guitarists out there.

HD: OK.

D: Do you have a practice regimen, or do you keep your chops up just
by playing live and rehearsing with the band?

HD: Yeah, I've never really been one of those practicing guys.
(laughs) I really admire the guys who have the discipline to do that
but for me, I don't like to do that. I love playing guitar and I love
the sound of guitars and all that but unfortunately I'm just too lazy
myself. (laughs) But I have my little riffs and licks that I use all
the time; that comes very natural to me. I've tried to practice and be
a good boy but it just wasn't me, you know. So I play a lot when we
are out on tour -- for me a lot is like, two hours a day. (laughs) I
start playing about two hours before with a little practice Marshall
amp, one of those little tiny ones for about $50 (laughs), throw it in
a bag and put a T-shirt over it, that's pretty much what I have and
just play, basically. So I don't have a practicing schedule that I do.

D: Do you have a favorite key to play in?

HD: C# is really nice, F# is really nice as well and E is working good
-- I hate all those like G and C, horrible to play in. (laughs)

D: Chords for folk music. (laughs)

HD: F also, you can't do anything in those keys... (laughs)

D: Do you have any weird tunings that you like, such as dropped D or
C?

HD: When we're out now we have five or six guitars. We have the
standard A440, then we have the dropped D, then we have the same
tunings down a whole step, then we have a seven-string tuning but
without the high E string. Then for "Recreation Day" we have the
lowest strings tuned down -- to a low G, then C -- then the rest of
the guitar is a whole step down. So there's a lot of guitars for the
tech to keep tuned! (laughs) I think we're going to try to keep the
new songs to two tunings, because it's a real drag having all those
guitars around. It's just ridiculous, having that many guitars out on
tour, that's what I think! (laughs) When we did the tour, I think we
had four guitar changes and we played 30 minutes -- it's just stupid!
(laughs) So we're going to try to think about that.

D: When you're composing and coming up with solos, do you hear things
in your head that you are unable to play yet or can you usually get
down what you want?

HD: Yeah, I think I can get down what I want because I never hear
myself sweeping over three octaves or something like that. (laughs) I
tried a funny thing when we recorded the last studio album, THE INNER
CIRCLE. I think for one or two songs -- I remember I did it on a song
called "Harmless Wishes" -- I had the solo section but I just recorded
the solo with the drums. I did the solo first and then we did the
rhythms after that; that was kind of cool.

D: That's a different approach!

HD: Yeah, and that was really nice. But I just play until I have
something that I really like -- I mean, it's not rocket science what
we're doing here, it's rock n' roll! (laughs)

D: What do you feel is your best solo on record?

HD: I really like the solo in "Harmless Wishes" and then there is
another... I really like my guitar playing on the last CD, I think,
and especially on the first one I was on [IN SEARCH OF TRUTH, 2001]. I
probably had some pressures that you had to be on a certain level, you
know? Now I realize, this is my level. If I play what I'm really
comfortable with and find my own voice, then people will recognize
that it's me that is playing rather than me trying to sound like
somebody else. It's funny that you have to be over 30 years old just
to realize that (laughs), because there's always going to be a faster
guitar player and a more accurate and a more, whatever. But there's
never going to be anyone like me...

D: That's the more important thing, originality.

HD: Yeah, and that's what I think people should focus on more, what
their own thing is, you know? I mean, I think it's kind of stupid
spending a lot of years trying to play Yngwie [Malmsteen] licks
because you're never going to be better than Yngwie (laughs), you're
just going to sound like Yngwie!

D: Yeah, I just saw a video of an eight-year-old playing pretty much
perfect Paul Gilbert licks, but that's all it was, it was cool,
amazing, but just technique...

HD: Wow, do you have a link?

D: Yeah, I'll e-mail it to you. [Note: It's
http://www.plsthx.com/disp.php?type=m&id=316 . - Neal]

HD: Thanks.

D: I understand you like stuff like Loudness, Racer X and old Pantera
-- guys like Akira Takasaki?

HD: Oh, yeah -- he's great! I just bought a ton of old CDs when we
were out in Europe on the tour. I found this really nice record store
in Belgium that had a lot of cool things.

D: Have you heard any recent material from Loudness?

HD: A friend of mine bought one of those CDs and they were trying to
be heavy.

D: Like Pantera?

HD: Yeah, and it didn't come off that good...

D: No, the early stuff is better.

HD: DISILLUSION is my favorite album, DISILLUSION and THUNDER IN THE
EAST.

D: Yeah, those are great!

HD: LIGHTNING STRIKES is good as well. Yeah, I really like them. That
was my first encounter with some really good guitar playing, I think,
when I was growing up. But there's so many good players out there...

D: Anybody impressing you right now?

HD: Yeah, the cat that was playing with James LaBrie, Marco Sfogli. He
was so good that I was out there watching him every night because he
had his shit down and played so tasteful and good and he had the best
vibrato, I could talk about him all night. He's very melodic and had a
lot of chops as well but he was in focus -- I mean, he wasn't focusing
on shredding, lots of chops but tasteful so he's probably the guy I
want to push for right now, probably the coolest as far as guitar
playing.

D: Is your son into music? Is he old enough to appreciate Evergrey?

HD: The thing is skateboarding right now, that's what he's doing. Last
weekend he finally tried to start working on guitar -- he's a lefty
though, so it's kind of hard but I'm going to try to get him to play.
I think it looks kind of goofy playing the wrong way and it's hard to
get cool guitars for that, but we'll see. (laughs) If he would like to
do that he will have a lot of cool guitars to choose from, lots of
gear. I don't know, right now skateboarding is the main priority in
his world...

D: Well, that's about it Henrik, good luck with the DVD and I hope to
meet up with you and have a beer pretty soon, next time you guys are
over here touring.

HD: Yeah, that would be nice!

-Thanks to Eric Corbin and Henrik Danhage for the interview.

Relevant links:

Evergrey
http://www.evergrey.net/

InsideOut
http://www.insideoutmusic.com/

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*** OUT ***
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