NETWERK 9
By
Nicky Baldrian
Los
Angeles based Hard Rockers NETWERK9 (previously known as ARTICA),
have just isued a brand spanking new three track demo which as we
speak is under consideration by some of the major record labels.
As Artica, the band issued a much praised debut album in 1995
called "As It Should Be" which won the hearts of many a
writer and music fan, butunfortunatley a name change was in order
to enable the band to continue playing. I caught up with the band
as they embark on a new chapter in their career.......
Nicky:- Why did you decide to
change the name from ARTICA to NETWERK9? Was it because of
something to do with your previous record label?
Robby:- It was mostly to update
the look and the logo of the band, to get to the 2000s with the
band, and we have been told about the Italian heavy metal gothic
band called Artica, who we want to make sure we are separated
from, which I'm sure you can understand!!
Nicky:- Yes sure, but what about
the fans who bought "As It Should Be"? Everybody
remembers the name Artica and they may not realise who you guys
are and pass you by, how do you feel about this?
Robby:- Even though the name of
the band is going to be different, the album name remains the
same. We feel this is one good way we can let the people who
already like the band know who we are. But our eyes are more
focused on the bigger future than what has already passed, so we
feel confident that we will be able to reach more people now,
with the new name and new vibe.
Nicky:- "As it
should be" created quite a buzz for the band, were you
pleased with the level of success it achieved? I remember all the
magazine's going nuts about it!!
Robby:- We never saw any success
as far as money, but we were pleased with the response of the
media — Empire Records went out of business so we never saw
an accounting of what we sold.
Nicky:- So your now
back with a new name and a new demo, what are your plans for
NETWERK9?
Robby:- Well. first things first
is to secure a recording contract to put out our new stuff, and
we have 3 albums of material!!! We are ready for something to
happen!!
Nicky:- Three
albums worth of material! WOW! You have been busy, can you reveal
any details about which style and direction the music on these
albums head towards?
Robby:- We have always striven
to do this: keep one eye on what we have done, what we are, what
we know we sound like, and the other eye on what is out there
now, and in the future and get a balance of all of these things,
past, present and future. So basically what you get out of that
is music with our core writing style blended with the sound that
people are familiar with, now.
Nicky:- What
actually happened with your old label?
Robby:- We don't know!! Like we
said before, we don't even know how many records were actually
sold so, we are at a total loss.
Nicky:- Man, that
must be fustrating, Tell me about the new songs on the demo,
Robby?
Robby:- All of these songs are
about the real exchanges we have with people in our daily lives.
There is nothing new in the fact that you have got to take hold
of your life and make what's good of it work for you, and the
people around you, especially your loved ones. It's time to push—taking
hold of life and making it all work out-realizing
that its you that makes it work—for us, through music, and
knowing the right thing to do, even though some may do wrong.
Nicky:- And what are your
musical influences?
Robby:- Well. for John, we'll
say BOSTON, JOURNEY, QUEENSRYCHE, for Mark, SANTANA, ROBIN
TROWER, early JOURNEY, and JIMI HENDRIX and Roger and I kind of
fall under the same place of ELP, YES, GENESIS and lots of jazz
stuff.
Nicky:- A lot of bands these
days like MILLENIUM, JADED HEART etc, seem to be covering songs
by the bands that influenced them, to help boost their careers,
have you thought of doing this?
Robby:- That's funny you ask
this, because John and I have had this conversation just
recently. Yes, we would be really open to doing a cover of a
song, if we could just pick the right one. I'll tell you one
thing, though, it won't be
from a band that influenced us. It will more likely be from a
band that you would never think of us doing, but done in a way
that would amaze the listener. That's the only way to do a cover,
taking something and making it YOU.
Nicky:- Did you do any live
shows to support "As It Should Be"?
Robby:- Absolutely!! All here in
Los Angeles, though, so none of you over there would have gotten
to see us. We played sold out shows in all the big clubs here and
in Hollywood, outdoor festivals, etc. Unfortunately, Empire or
Zero couldn't get us over in your area. We would have loved to
play in Europe where the cd was actually being played and sold!!
Nicky:- So what is next for
NETWERK9?
Robby:- Well, at this point we
continue to write and record in the studio. We are also trying to
ezpand our base of knowledge and our equipment so that we can
become completely self-sufficient in the recording process. That
really is becoming the new way of doing things in the business
and we want to be right on top of it. Of course our main goal is
to secure a record/distribution contract and then to conquer the
music world!!
Nicky:-If you could describe
NETWERK9's music as a part of a woman's body, which part would
you choose?
Robby:- This one took very
little thought, but especially with our resident boob expert-Mark
Adrian. The answer would definitely have to be breasts. Why?
Well, they are up front and in your face, sometimes soft and
sometimes
hard. We want to be large and successful, so they should be the
same, right?(LAUGHS)
Nicky:- Finally is there
anything that you would like to say to your fans here in Europe
and the UK?
Robby:- You know, we have to
totally thank you for doing this interview especially on this
question because it gives us a chance to say a big Thank You for
the support we have received from all the fans in Europe. You
guys
are great and we wish more than anything that when we did the
first outing of "As It Should Be" we could have toured
to support the record and really get out to play live for all of
you. Because of stuff beyond our control,
we didn't get over there, but we would still love to if we can
get a record company behind us who will make it work to play for
you all live. We have received some great fan letters from people
in Europe and they have been a
great inspiration to us to keep on going and to keep putting out
the music that we know our fans dig on--RockOn
BACK TO INTERVIEWSINDEX
BACK TO HOMEPAGE