Combining tons of pop smarts, the prog elements of Tool, the aggression of Alice in Chains, and a burning drive, Madleaf was a very welcome surprise this year. Coming from Greece, the Pope and I really wanted to ship our red leather interview couch out to the Mediterranean, sip some Ouzo at a cafe and chat with the boys, but then the budget came in. Damn. We settled for asking bass player and spokesman, Dorian, to come join us at our humble abode and talk music.When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears. What have been your musical epiphany moments?
D: When I was at the age of thirteen, a friend of mine gave me Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast! I knew that I wanted to be a musician then. It had this cover with Eddie and fires and all this hellish thing and thought it looked neat. But then I turned the record over and there’s Steve and Bruce, the band looking like something I’d never seen before. Then I put the record on. That was it, the music bug bit me. Until then I wanted to be an astronaut!
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
D: I think it’s the typical process. Sometimes. A riff comes to our heads we play it and then the lyrics and all. Some other times Nick has a riff on an acoustic guitar and start strumming and pretending that he’s Jimi Hendrix! Ha ha! Then we put on the distortion pedals and we rape the riff! That's what we do! You open the door for the demons, and everything just comes out! We don’t write 100 songs for an album and pick up the best of them. We try and write the stuff that feels really good and we are sure we want to record it.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
D: It’s kind of different each and every time. That’s the awesome thing about music you never know when and why inspiration is going to hit you. Emotional turmoil can be a useful source of inspiration and I kind of naturally find myself in situations like that. Broken hearts are always a good inspiration.
Genre's are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?D: Ummm… sensual rock! Ha ha ha! Backstreet Boys gone rock!!!!!
What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?
D: To walk away with the understanding that all roads lead in the realm of rock n' roll...
In songwriting, how do you bring the song together? What do you look for in terms of complexity? Simplicity? Time changes?
D: There’s no specific formula when we bring a song together. You can’t say “Oh, now we’ll play something difficult or with a lot of time changes”. We just play what it sounds and feels good to us. Either it has time changes or it’s something simple. We just play with our heart and music and rhythm find their way.
The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?
D: The States are the big center of the music industry worldwide so it’s hard for newcomers like us to don’t know what to expect from the music business. A lot of promotion is the key I think, to get a band forward. Write good music, playing live shows, internet promotion. You know. I think when you write good music you will be discovered no matter what. We stay motivated cause we like what we’re doing no matter what.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
D: You know, the normal things. We haven’t been on tour to say much. Some X-rated yes but not too much yet. We’re gonna have our first tour this September with a band called Feuerzeug. We’re label mates. It’s a European tour. Ask me for details after that!
Where do you see you and your music going in ten years?
D: I honestly don’t know where the leaf will be ten years from now. I suppose if everything goes well we’ll have seven more albums. We already have 8 or 9 new songs ready for the next one and we’re very up for it. It’s hard to tell really cause you never know how life can bring it up. All I know is that we love what we’re doing and we want to continue doing it for a long time. Deep down I know we will. We’re trying to create something beautiful that hopefully one day, 20 years from now, can be picked by a kid and hopefully have an effect a bit close to what Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin had on me.
What makes a great song?D: You can’t really tell. A great song for me is the one that will make me have 3 cigar breaks you know! That will make me sad or depressed or remind me something I used to love you know. On the other hand, a great song is the one that’ll make want to headbang everytime I listen to it. I can’t tell. I think there’s no prescription on how to make a great song. It differs from each other. Music for me is an emotional thing.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
D: I was sixteen and I was much influenced by Maiden so the first one I wrote was much inspired by them. With time changes and all. Hey I still remember the chords.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
D: Sinners!
Who today, writes great songs? Why?
D: I think that rock music today is really good. I think there are a lot of good bands out there that write great songs. Hurt’s last album was awesome. 30 Seconds to Mars have great songs. A great song for me is the one that have emotion in it. Either is a Dimmu Borgir or a Carcass or a HIM song.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
D: I think vinyl is for me. You got all these great album covers that MUST have them bigger! I think vinyl has a different vibe. Even the smell of the paper inside. I don’t know if I’d had the same reaction back then with the Number of the Beast album if I had seen it on CD. Then there’s the sound matter. The CD sounds more plastic. At least for my pair of ears. The good thing about CD’s is that they don’t take too much space and are more easy to use. Digital??? Hmmm… No!
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. When we come to your town, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
D: It depends in what format you want. Vinyl or CD? A place called Monastiraki is full of record stores. Vinyl. You’ll like it there. I think when you guys come to Greece you’ll lose yourselves in the islands than into record stores!
www.myspace.com/madleaf
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