EMQ’s With Mad Symphony
EMQ’s With Mad Symphony
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Rockers, Mad Symphony. Huge thanks to their Lead Vocalist, Kevin Wright, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Kevin Wright – Lead Singer. (from our bio) Mad Symphony is the collaboration of accomplished and professional Vancouver-based musicians who collectively have many years of experience writing, recording, and touring internationally with various acts. Formed from the ashes of Seattle grunge-metal band Soulbender (which also featured Michael Wilton of Queensrÿche fame on guitar), lifelong friends and collaborators Dave Groves (guitar) and Wes Hallam (drums) joined up with multi-instrumentalist / producer / engineer Ted Tosoff (Blue Voodoo) in 2018 to begin writing for a new, as-yet-unnamed project. Ted knew of powerhouse vocalist Kevin Wright (The Wilds, TNT (Bon Scott Tribute), whose raunchy and melodic vocal stylings a-la Bon Scott and Robert Plant, fit the new songs perfectly; Kevin was quickly recruited into the fold. To round out the line-up, the formative members didn’t have to look far. Dave and Wes had both played with keyboardist Mike Russell (Sweeney Todd) and bassist Amrit Prasad (Assault), but not always in the same bands or at the same time. With the addition of Mike on keys and Amrit on bass Mad Symphony immediately began recording their debut album and rehearsing tirelessly.
How did you come up with your band name?
We went through hundreds of names… some stupid and some OK… but Mad Symphony finally came. Think of the world and all its many different moving parts, like a symphony… only stark raving MAD!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
West Coast of Canada… Vancouver, BC. There are a lot of great bands here but as years go by… live music venues continue to fade away. Not like it was some years ago.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Blood 2 Dust – EP
Who have been your greatest influences?
Myself? Top 3 singers are Klaus Meine, Bon Scott, Ronnie James Dio… and a big shout out to the late, great Dan McCafferty of Nazareth. Ozzy was pretty big for me too growing up.
What first got you into music?
Violin in grade 2. Sax in grade 5. And my little red record player with a mic attached so I could sing along with records.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I would love to work with Slash.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Anything at Castle Donnington… such an amazing venue and crowd.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Shots on stage! Oh wait… that’s not that weird.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Don’t poop yer pants!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Bon Scott.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Getting to hit the stage and really get the crowd kickin’ ass. Can’t say there is much to hate, although sometimes you put in a shit ton of work with nothing much to show for it… but you keep going.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Get rid of the talentless idiots who make millions and bring back kick ass bands like it used to be.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Scorpions – “Animal Magnetism”.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Vinyl… but I love CD’s for the car.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
All of them
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
A musician’s helper?
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Johnny Depp and 4 of the hottest chicks he knows. Might be a laugh hey?
What’s next for the band?
Keep the muscle flexed coming out of pandemic time. Good to be playing live. Keep writing. We are hoping to find a really great, connected agent / label who loves, and sees the potential of our music and find some great touring opportunities.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
www.madsymphony.ca
https://www.facebook.com/madsymphonyband
https://www.instagram.com/madsymphony
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
We all know it’s a BAP! Like the sound it would make if someone threw it directly at your head.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
We just want to thank all the radio stations and magazine reviewers around the world for all the support we received after our first EP. Mad Symphony came out of the gates just before Covid, so it was a huge challenge to do anything. Let’s keep rock and roll alive!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
