Raven
We Smash Guitars, But Not Each Other

16.10.2009

Great Britain’s Raven are a true legend. They’ve been around for 30 years, but the recent release of “Walk Through Fire” showed once again, that the guys remain the lunatics they were during their heyday. We communicated with singer/bass player John Gallagher via e-mail, but even this way it was clear that John is a nice and easygoing person who still has that youthful energy the band is famous for. We talked about the new albums, the good ol’ days and the things which still keep him “walking through fire”…

How are you and your bandmates at the moment? I heard your brother Mark had troubles with his leg he broke in 2001. How does he feel right now? Can you tell me how it happened? Why did the recovery process take too much time?

We are all doing great, thank you! Mark had a horrific accident in 2001 where a building wall fell on him, crushing his legs – he almost lost them. So his rehabilitation took a long time. We actually did a few gigs in 2004 with him in a wheelchair - he was really sick but wanted to do it. We just held on hoping he’d get well enough to continue – and against all odds he has!

You new album “Walk Through Fire” came out this March while the previous one, “One For All”, saw the light of a day in 2000. Which reasons apart from Mark’s recovery accounted for such a long break?

Mark’s accident was the main reason – we started thinking about the new album in 2006 and demoed 4 songs – they turned out so well they are actually on the album. Once we knew we had a great studio and engineer we worked on songs until the time was right to record them – we wanted to make sure we had the right blend of kick ass songs!!!

Usually musicians need some break after record sessions to fairly appreciate their new CD. What you can say now about “Walk Through Fire”? It sounds like typical Raven but more powerful and clear than ever!

Like you said. It’s still kicking our asses – and that’s a good sign!!! We took the time in the writing and recorded it live – then added some bits here and there – but the feel is great and the sound is killer!!

You worked with producer Kevin131 this time. Are you satisfied with his work? Can you compare his working style with Michael Wagener or Eddie Kramer?

Kevin is great – he’s a musician and very good at knowing where to stop us… and when to let us go!!! We love Mike Wagener, and working with Eddie was classic!!!

I was very surprised with your new song ‘Running Around The Circle’. It’s a great mix of your traditional energy and more commercial (so to say) riffs. How did you create this song? What are the lyrics about?

Same way we usually write…I had the main riff for a while which kinda goes round… in a circle (ha!) that inspired the title which was basically about moving out of New York…

What about a tour to support “Walk Through Fire”? Which songs from new album you will play on your shows?

We’ve been playing off and on. Did a tour in the UK last October and just went to Japan.  As long as people wanna see us – that’s the gig we want to play! We’ve been doing 4 or 5 songs off the new album, and the reaction has been excellent…we’ve been doing “Breaking You Down”, “Bulldozer”, “Long Day’s Journey”, “Walk Through Fire”…

This CD was released via Japan’s Kings Records. Did you have any other offers from record labels? I think many of your fans in Europe haven’t a chance to buy your stuff.

We are trying to get a decent deal, it’s not easy these days, but we want to make sure the CD is available & promoted correctly. So hang in, it’s coming!

Is it possible to earn your living by music at the present time? Many musicians forced to have a job in other areas.

Well, with some bank robbing, massage parlour management and good old extortion, we get by!!

Who was the cover artist for “Walk Through Fire”? Did you have a complete idea of its cover art or was it the artist that proposed it?

The Japanese record company came up with it. They wanted to invoke the feeling of the older covers… It looks cool!!

Which Raven cover art do you like best of all?

Dunno… I’ve designed almost all of them, and it’s always very difficult… Usually you give the idea to an artist who changes everything for the worst. But we’ve had a few good ones… It’s very tough being creative on a small space like a CD cover.

Recently you played in Tokyo with Marty Freedman your classic songs - "Don't Need Your Money" and "For The Future". Whose idea was this? I know that Marty is your big fan. What do you think about your band’s influences on musicians such as Marty, Lars Ulrich, Gene Hoglan and many more?

Marty emailed me and asked if he could jam, we loved the idea, he came down to the soundcheck, we ran through a couple of songs, and it was great. Tthe crowd went nuts when he came up – and it sounded killer!!!  You’d have to tell me about the influences we have had on people like Lars, but I know Gene was a big fan way back. It’s cool to hear you influenced someone and inspired them to play, and we do get people telling us this more often these days!!

You worked with legendary Michael Wagener three times. I heard he is a kind of hard-working producers, who can work 24 long without a break. Is it true?

Yeah, back then Mike was as nuts as us. We did 2 weeks 18 hours a day… phew!!! A great guy, crazy and very funny!!!

There is a photo of Michael Wagener throttling Mark in the “One For All” booklet. What did you do to infuriate the producer so much?

Oh that’s just for fun!!! Mark had a lot of guitar problems on that session, and was replacing a pickup I think. Then we went to every music store in Nashville (that’s a LOT of stores…) trying amps until he got the one he wanted!

“All For One”, as well as “Live At The Inferno”, was issued in the U.S. by Megaforce Records. How did you get to know its owner Johnny Z?

Johnny brought us over to the States in 1982. He started Megaforce and licensed the “All For One” album then ended up being our manager. A crazy, crazy guy who did a lot for us…

And why did you leave Megaforce for Atlantic Records? Don’t you think that it was a mistake?  

Not at first… Every band at that time wanted to make it – and to do that you needed a major deal. Unfortunately Atlantic wanted to change us…

I like the album “Stay Hard” but it’s not traditional Raven. In contrast to its name, the album sounds softer than your previous releases. Why did you decide to change your sound?

It’s a little more commercial, but there are great songs on that record. Initially it was an album to give to Neat Records to end our contract, then when we got interest from Atlantic, we added “On And On” and the cover of “Hard Ride”. The sounds are not quite as good as “All For One”, but we did bring Mike Wagener in to record a couple of songs and do the mix…

I saw your video “On And On” – very funny stuff! It looks like your answer to all these pretty girls and tough A&R agents from record labels. Whose idea was that? I guess you had a lot of fun filming this video.

We brainstormed the idea - basically 3 scruffs getting thrown out of every record company!!! It’s a funny video – but deliberately so!!!

Eddie Kramer produced “The Pack is Back”. Was it your own decision or it was idea of Atlantic Records? How did your die-hard fans react to this LP?

Yes, we chose Eddie, but things were odd. Our drummer Rob Hunter wanted to do a commercial album, “a high tech metal album”, which was ok, but then he insisted on playing to click tracks, which killed the Raven feel, and then the songs got more and more poppy… A lot of fans were not impressed.

It seems that your experience with Eddie Kramer was enough for the band – from “Life’s a Bitch” to 2000 you produced your records by yourself. Why did you decide not to work with outside people anymore?

Well, we did work with Mike Wagener in 2000, but we kind of know what we want and what we need, and paying someone thousands of dollars for this seems redundant.

You started as four-piece band with second guitarist Paul Bowden. Why did he leave the band in 1979? From this moment you continued as trio. Did you try to find a replacement for Paul?

Yeah, we had a school friend Pete Shore in for a few months, but it did not work out.

Also you changed drummers very often - Paul Sherrif, Mick Kenworthy, Sean Taylor… Were they not good enough as drummers for your band? How did you get to know Rob Hunter?

Well, Paul only did our 1st gig. Mick was with us a couple of years, same as Sean. They are both good drummers but nothing was happening – we were playing local gigs. Then when Rob joined everything changed - the scene came alive, and we were a different band – a three piece, and we got the Neat deal…

Rob was well-known for wearing a helmet while drumming. When did he put on his famous helmet for the first time? I guess helmet was one of the reason why he got his nickname “Wacko” …

There was an old saying “give it some wack”. He bought the helmet in New York. Mark got the hockey pads to protect his legs, and Rob got the helmet as he was headbutting the cymbals!

Rob left the band in 1988 for his personal reasons. But are you still friends? Do you know what he does now? Does he come to you show after his leaving?

I have not spoken to Rob for many years but we are on good terms. He does live sound and studio sound for Branford Marsalis. I do not think he’s been to one of our shows!

How did you get to know Joe Hasselvander? Maybe you heard him playing in his previous band such as Phantom Lord, Pentagram or Devil Childe?

No, Joe used to stay at the same musicians house as us in New York when he was in Savoy Brown. When Rob left he was the obvious choice – he loved the same music as us, played guitar, and was certifiably crazy… still is!!! And is a phenomenal drummer…

Joe has always had side projects (solo albums, Pentagram’s reunion, Black Manta) and now he starts his own project – Hounds Of Hasselvander. Does his side activity ever get I the way of Raven shows or records? By the way, did you hear his new songs with Hounds Of Hasselvander? What do you think about them?

No, it’s good for Joe to get that side of his music out – he’s done it for years – why not? I think he does the doom thing better than anyone, the Hounds album crushes!!! And it’s ALL JOE!!!

You have played with your brother Mark for many years and it seems you have never had problems with each other, meanwhile bands like CCR or Black Crowes fall to pieces because of personal problems between brothers. How do you feel in the same band with Mark?

Well, we were great fans of Slade, Sweet, Status Quo, Queen - all the bands we saw on TV. We went on holiday to Spain in 1972, and Mark got a classical guitar - we both learned to play on it. Mark and the guy down the street Paul Bowden came to me one day and said, "We wanna start a band - you can play bass," which suited me fine as I was already detuning the guitar and playing basslines! Once we started with the band whatever sibling rivalry we had kind of disappeared - we concentrated on the music. We stopped fighting when we started the band. We only smash guitars, not each other!!!

I know that your mom still likes metal bands. Did you get support from your parents when you and Mark started to listen to rock band and then formed your own band?

Unfortunately our Mom passed away a few years ago. Our parents were very supportive, theu bought our first guitars when they really could not afford to… I think they were very proud of what we had achieved.

You are from Newcastle – a native city of Venom, Atomkraft and Warfare. Together with these bands Raven was and still is one of the heaviest NWOBHM bands. It seems this city had something special in the air…

Newcastle IS a special place! We were all working class kids – hungry and angry and totally into our music at all costs. It’s an attitude …

Raven was a big part of NWOBHM. What do you think about NWOBHM now, when it celebrates its 30 anniversary? Did you think circa 1979 that you would remain on stage so long?

Never thought that far ahead!!! We have always lived in the moment and loved what we do. Going on stage and jumping around like nutters playing loud rock music is the best – we are so lucky!!!

The first three Raven albums was reissued in 2002. Are you satisfied with this reissues? Did you collaborate on them?

Which reissues??? The Sanctuary ones are the ones we collaborated with - we gave them photos, extra tracks etc, so they are the best ones!!

Talking about early days I can’t avoid question about your famous tour “Kill’em All For All” tour with young Metallica. How was it?

Oh that was nuts - 17 people in a 6 berth camper!!! We got on great with those guys, they were young and learned a bit from us. That tour started metal in the USA… totally!

Can you say exactly when and why you moved from England to the USA? Do you like to live in USA more than in England?

It just happened – we came over in 1984 to tour until we got a record deal and a agent deal, and by November we had it. We just kept coming back - go home for Xmas and then back on the road. Eventually we were living here! I like it here, it’s warmer, and there ‘s more opportunity for whatever you want to do. But I still love England!

It seems many British bands wanted to be successful in the USA. But why? I think the British rock and metal scene has always been more interesting.

I dunno…in order to survive you got to go where the money is, and living on 20 quid a week on Neat Records got old very quick, let me tell you!!!! And at the time it was very enticing – for 3 young guys from Newcastle to actually come to America… unheard of!!!

Now that you have achieved so much in your career, when you have kids, what keeps you recording albums and playing live?

The same reason as ever – we enjoy it. We still have many songs to write, many gigs to play and every gig is the most important gig we will ever do – that’s our attitude. We have a lot of fun, but it’s dead serious – we are there to kick ass!!!!

I understand that it’s almost impossible, but… what is necessary to get you to Russia for some gigs? What are your main demands to promoters?

Not that much!!!! Full backline, transportation, hotels and pay our fee!!! We’d love to play there!!! To everyone who has supported Raven – THANK YOU!!!!

Raven on the Internet: http://www.ravenlunatics.com
Raven on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ravenlunatics

Konstantin “Hirax” Chilikin
October 1, 2009
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