91 SUITE
Last year we were surprised by many great Spanish AOR releases, such as GOLDEN FARM, NEXX, ICE BLUE, HIROSHIMA, TOKIO, EDEN LOST, ELYTE and the list goes on and on. Now one of the latest new AOR sensations from Spain has arrived and they are called 91 SUITE. They have just released their debut CD on VINNY RECORDS, and I can tell you it's a fantastic pure AOR/Melodic Rock record, in the style of such acts like TOUR DE FORCE, early DANGER DANGER, DRIVE SHE SAID, early HAREM SCAREM... So there was only one thing to do, an interview with 91 SUITE! Here's what they had to say...
Please
introduce us your band, when did you form 91 SUITE and did any of
you play in bands before 91 SUITE?
AOR music was not very popular in Spain at the time we met and
this made it easy for us to meet at different concerts and share
opinions about this type of music as well as become good friends.
We love Melodic Rock and maybe it was fate that brought us
together to form 91 Suite. We had been playing in different
projects as well as recording for other artists. Everyone had its
own life, you know, we had to work to make a living. But it was
great to find a place for 91 SUITE into the AOR musical scene.
Nowadays 91 Suite is made up of Jesús Espín (vocals), Iván
González (guitarist), Paco Cerezo (guitarist), Dani Morata
(keyboardist), and Mario Martínez (drummer).
Can you
tell us all about your fantastic debut CD?
Well, the album was recorded from November 2000 to January 2001;
this period of our lives was quite intense since we had to work
hard every day. When we first entered the studio we had a clear
idea of the sound we wanted, but it took us some time to
technically find it. We are very satisfied with the result. The
choice of the songs in the album was made from the
previously-recorded demos and from some other songs written at
the studio, 25 altogether. In the end, there are 12 songs for the
Japanese and European versions with a different bonus track for
each of them. We think there is a great variety of songs, ranging
from powerful songs (Hard Rain, Give Me The Night, Hurt &
Pain) to more melodic ones (Time to Say Goodbye, Lost In the
Silence, All Is
Gone). We hope everybody will enjoy the songs as we do.
You play
pure 80s AOR/Melodic Rock, which bands influenced you?
Difficult question as you might guess. Many bands have influenced
our sound over the years. Everyone has its own favourite bands,
but to name a few we love Harem Scarem, Whitesnake, Mr. Big,
Stryper, Journey, Dream Theater, Bon Jovi, Red Dawn, Drive She
Said, Firehouse, Alias, Ten, Signal, Gotthard, White Lion, Danger
Danger, Street Talk, Europe, Survivor, and a never ending list of
bands.
You got
help from MARK MANGOLD (an AOR legend!), how did you get in touch
with him and how was working with him?
Wow, you can imagine how we felt when we knew that Mark was going
to be in charge of the mixes! Vicente was the one who asked Mark
to do the job and Mark and his guys accepted it after hearing the
demos. All fans of Melodic Rock know that Mark is one of the best
AOR musicians, and after you work with him you realize not only
how talented he is but also what a nice guy you are dealing with.
Al Fritsch added some background vocals to the album and gave
that special touch we were looking for. The engineer was one of
Mark Mangold's partners in crime, Edward Douglas Guttman.
Moreover
it was a pleasure for us to include Mark on the album as a
performer too!. The song in question is Hurt & Pain, a
guitar-keyboard-driven song. For us it is one of the highlights
in the album. He added some harpsichord in the very last part of
the song. Great touch! Regarding the work with him none of us
could travel to NYC to work with Mark because as said above we
have to work to pay our debts...he he he. But although we could
not be there with him we were in touch via Internet contrasting
ideas. Furthermore, the result of his work really lived up to our
expectations.
Are you popular in your area?
Well, we
are living a very special moment due to the fact that they are
many aor bands in Spain right now...Golden Farm, Nexx, Eden Lost,
Ice Blue, Elyte...so Spanish people is realizing how important is
this musical genre nowadays in Spain. They are many people
supporting us all over the world not only Spain so from here we
want to say thanks to all of them.
Do you also tour with your band (probably in Spain?)? Any plans to tour elsewhere outside Spain?
We are
basically playing Spain, we are showing our album to the Spanish
people but of course we would like to play outside Spain, maybe
in (Holland...hehe) well,Europe or Japan. It's not easy to find
the opportunity
to travel abroad in order to play. We hope to do it this year...
What are you favourite albums at the moment?
Well, they
are very good albums at the moment, Giant - III, Gotthard -
Homerun, Journey - Arrival, Terry Brock - Back To Eden, Pride -
Far From The Edge, Eclipse - The Truth & A Little More, Mr
Big - Actual Size...but we are wishing to hear something from the
last Harem Scarem, Street Talk and Two Fires...
When you
write your songs, what are they about and are there any
interesting stories to tell about them?
I can briefly resume every song included in the album:
1.- The
Day She Left: It’s about a girl leaving her old town to
start a new life in another place. But life in the big city is
not easy. A song inspired in the book Great Expectations.
2.- Down To You: What a relationship is all about you can find it
here: ups and downs, heartaches...It’s like you are living
under the spell of your beloved one. She can get whatever she
wants from you.
3.- Time To Say Goodbye: This is the typical case in which a
man/woman leaves his/her partner. Needless to say, the abandoned
person doesn't want him/her to leave, but he/she cannot do
anything to avoid it. All this seen
through the eyes of the one who loses.
4.- Lost In The Silence: A song based on the difficulties to keep
the fire burning in a relationship. Time goes by and takes its
toll, it’s not easy and you have to go through some
troubles.
5.- Hard Rain: What is left after a break-up?, maybe
friendship...being there to help the other in whatever he may
need. Mature song. Maybe you cannot see what is happening but you
have a friend in me and I'm trying to
help you in any way I can.
6.- Chances: It’s about those chances we all let slip away.
You realize you are not so strong to face the real world and then
you give up some of those chances.
7.- Hurt & Pain: A song about hope, a man changing his mind ,
facing the truth and being stronger than it: “I used to
believe that life was a road of fire and steel but I'm not that
man anymore...”
8.- All Is Gone: It’s not fair when you are giving 200% and
your girl just lets herself go. A relationship should be built up
in confidence and equality.
9.- Give Me The Night: After two years of loneliness, I still
cannot realize you are not here with me. I've got a lot of
memories in my mind. A reading of one’s mind.
10.- I Will Stand By You: No matter how hard they try to separate
us I will stand by you, we will find the key. I'm too tired of
missing you and no one can stop me now.
11.- Chance Of A Lifetime: It is a possible continuation of the
song chances, but into the world of sentiments. You can let some
chances go but in this case you let your heart slip away. A sad
but beautiful song.
12.- Wherever I Am: We might have no money, life is treating us
bad, but we are together and that is, these days, the only thing
we ask for, we only need each other.
How did
you get your bandname 91 SUITE?
Well, you know how difficult is to find a "91 hotel
room" in a hotel . But one day, while we were stayed at a
hotel in Valencia (Spain) we could see it. That was something
really curious for us, so we took the name and
decided to use it. It's just that...you don't have to take it too
seriously...hehe.
Have you been working on some new material yet?
Of course,
we are always writing new songs because we love doing that but we
are now really busy presenting our album and preparing live
shows. We try to combine these two things.
What are
the plans for the next coming months?
Well, we have live shows during January til February. We are also
writing the Spanish lyrics for the Spanish version of the album.
Moreover we want to record an acoustic e.p...so we will be really
busy this year.
Finally, do you have anything to add to our readers?
Of course, Thanks for the interview and we would like to say thank you to all the people who bought and buy the album as well as the impressive feedback we are having via our website www.91Suite.com Remember that you can leave your comments on the album or whatever you like.
