THE LIGHTBy
Nicky Baldrian
It's funny how some bands are
survivors in this crazy world of music, THE LIGHT have just
released a new set of expertley produced demos that continue
where their debut album "On A New Horizon" left off.
The debut recieved much praised reviews in the British and
Euopean magazines and these new songs are total class, following
in The Light tradition of progressive orchestral rock/aor. What's
interesting about the band is the inclusion of one Denise Geltman
whose style is very similar to LANA LANE, as is the bands
music,she adds so much more sparkle to the bands music. The Light
are one of the most honest and original hard working bands, and
after falling totally in love with these new songs I decided to
get to together with bass player Ken for a brief low down and
where the band are headed.............
Nicky:- Tell me
about THE LIGHT and how long has the band been together?
Ken:- The Light
began with what could be described as a waking dream. I was
sitting at the foot of my bed one day playing my bass after the
break up of my first band called Evolution.....an intensely
progressive project.
Suddenly, I had a vision of sorts. With the vision the name The
Light. It's was rather too intimate to go into much
detail....very subjective. It lasted about a second but it was so
overwhelming at the time that I've been pursuing
this dream ever since. The group with it's current members has
been together about 10 years. Give or take a couple. But The
Light seems to always be evolving and the only thing that's been
constant with it has been myself.
Nicky:- What are your musical influences?
Ken:- Classic rock
of the 70's I should think. Mainly the progressive groups of that
time. Also, The Beatles are a huge influence as well as the
classical composers. We like to be very musical. But
unfortunately, that's not what sells to the masses. We are an
orchestral rock band by nature but often slide in a more
commercial/AOR tune. The writing can often be diverse, but it all
usually comes out in the end with the signature sound we have
developed.
Nicky:- What happened after the release of "On A New
Horizon" as everything went quiet?
Ken:- Well, to be honest....it's about money. The music BUSINESS is the problem. We took "On A New Horizon" as far as our independent movement could without the financial and promotional backing associated with a major label deal. A band get's to a point in there evolution where they hit a brick wall. At that point, either someone sticks a hand over to give you some help up, or you just kind of stand there and wait. We've been standing for a while. We'd love to record our second CD and go on tour, but that all takes massive amounts of money to do it right. Otherwise you end up at the wall again. We've had a few offers, but with labels who were unable to produce the kind of budget this band requires to manifest their full creativity. So, we wait in hopes that someone sitting at some record label desk who has the inspiration to promote this group.
Nicky:- Where did you find your current lady vocalist Denise
Geltman? And what are her influences as I love vocal pitch?
Ken:- Denise Geltman is one of the best singers in Los Angeles who is attracted to the kind of music we do. I put out a cattle call ad in the music magazines. I think I spoke with about every available female singer in LA. After narrowing it down to about 20, Denise was clearly the most talented. She had the most powerful and unique voice and her pitch was astounding. She shares the same influences which is rare in a female vocalist. She loves progressive rock and has a natural affinity for our music. On top of all that, she's a babe....
Nicky:- Also what has she done previously?
Ken:- Strangely, she's an unknown. Been in a couple of bands but does most of her public singing in Karaoke bars. She's had extensive training but never quite found her outlet until she met up with us. She's quite a find and we hope to be able to do some serious recording with her.
Nicky:- Tell me about the new songs?
Ken:- Well, the
next 2 CDs are already written. They are less "rock"
than "OANH" I think. More majestic and emotional. Still
in the same tradition of orchestral rock. Some ballads, some more
AOR and some totally progressive. But who knows what exactly they
will turn out like in the final mix. Production is at least 50%
of a song. I'm always amazed how a song finally comes out after
all is said and done. Sure, you go in with a fairly good
idea of what you want the song to be, but it seems it always
turns out different. And always better than you had originally
imagined. I just love the magic of the studio.
Nicky:- The new songs are very powerful, almost progressive and
cinematic, how did you get such a massive production on those
songs?
Ken:- Time. Time
and passion for the music. Everyone's passion. Plus, we are all
veterans here and know how to make things big. Nowadays,
technology makes things a lot easier. You have a production idea,
and with little
effort you can hear how it sounds right away. The demo songs you
are referring to were done in a small but powerful digital studio
with average equipment. Imagine what could be accomplished with a
nice budget and
expensive mics and outboard gear. The quality of the equipment
makes a huge difference. Give me those old tube stuff and some
great mics.
Nicky:- What's next for THE LIGHT?
Ken:- Well as I
said....waiting. Maybe someone will read this interview and get
in touch with us. Some really great music waiting to be unleashed
here. Sure, we could spend the next 3 years trying to record our
next CD in our spare time, but very difficult to find the time
when everyone has day jobs to survive. We killed ourselves making
"OANH". Usually recording from 10pm till dawn and then
going to work. Do that for a year and you'll see why a band needs
a record deal. I know a lot of groups who put together CDs that
just don't sound good. They do it in a hurry at some inexpensive
studio and then release it. But everything suffers just for the
sake of saying they have a CD out. We just can't do that. Our
music needs the big production and anything short of that just
won't do.
Nicky:- Is there anything that you would like to say to people who haven't heard your music?
Ken:- Sure. First,
go to http://thelight.okayweb.com We've been described in many ways. Been
compared to at least 20 different bands. We have a unique sound
that is the culmination of AOR, prog rock, classical and of
course The Beatles. I've made a lot of mention about the
mystical/spiritual side of the group. We're not religious and are
not going to load you down with any preaching. We are not a
Christian band in any way. There's simple truths to life and all
of us that everyone would like to find. I like to think that The
Light expresses itself in an uplifting way and offers people some
insight into these truths. I mean music is for the soul and has a
powerful influence over us. The Light is one of the few bands
that is dedicated to touching people in a most positive way.
Moving you with energy and inspiration. Our message is simple.
Take the higher ground.....be The Light.
Amen to that,
if your a fan of progressive rock bands like RAINBOW, SPOCK'S
BEARD, LANA LANE, through to YES and GENESIS, and aor bands like
JOURNEY, ASIA, BOSTON, PRIOR PARK and MAGNUM etc.. then do
yourselves a favour and don't let another great rock band fall by
the wayside, The Light offer a
very diverse amount of musical enjoyment, the new tracks that I
have reviewed elsewhere on this website are completley awesome,
any self respecting fan of rock music should really enjoy this
band, and if there
are any interested labels out there, then please give the band an
email at: TheLightCD@aol.com