HUMAN RHYTHM
One of the latest sensations out of The States is the band HUMAN RHYTHM, a band playing an excellent mixture of Progressive Rock and AOR, with a lot of clean melodies in each and every song on their debut CD (recently reviewed by us). I had to do an interview with them to find out more about this New Jersey settled band...
Please
introduce us your band, when did you form HUMAN RHYTHM and did
any of you play in bands before HUMAN RHYTHM?
Human Rhythm's lineup consists of James Douglas (lead
vocals/guitars) and Mike Zaffarese (guitars/backing vocals).
James: We
started Human Rhythm back in May of 2001. We played a few local
clubs with acoustic guitars and the response was overwhelming.
With this positive energy in our favor, we went directly into the
studio and started recording our full length album. Since the CD
release in February 2002, we have been preparing for
live shows and touring while we market ourselves to the public as
well as labels. Bassist and long time friend Frank Tuozzolo has
recently been recruited into the band. His solid playing and deep
interest in our music make
him a perfect fit. While auditions for Drummers are still
underway, we expect that to be completed very soon and have our
lineup ready for the live stage. This selection is an important
step in the process because a solid rhythm section is critical in
order to recreate the dynamics and emotion of the songs when we
take the live show on the road.
Mike: Before Human Rhythm, both of us were in Herbal Junkie.
James was recording a demo in my home studio back in Feb.1999. I
really took an interest in the songs and we decided to form a
band together. I was working with a band at the time but things
were on the downside, so I decided that this was a good
opportunity to start something fresh and new. We ended up writing
more songs with some recruited members from my former band. We
recorded and released 1 album, and played quite a number of shows
receiving some good press. However,
After about 18 months , we decided that some change was needed in
order to evolve as artists and become more serious towards taking
the next step. That is when we decided to branch off and form
Human Rhythm.
Can you
tell us all about your fantastic debut CD?
James: "We knew that we wanted to write songs that were more
melodic and heartfelt." "I had real life topics and
issues to touch on in my lyrics. There are things that I have
seen in my neighborhood while growing up and within my
surroundings throughout the years both good and bad that have
made very big impressions on me." "I wanted to have the
listener actually relate to the lyrics and know what I was
thinking and feeling. I want people to feel the emotion."
Each day, real people experience many things in daily life
varying from Happiness to Tragedy, and there are many extremes.
We see violence and depression in the world every day in the news
and in front of our faces, but sometimes we are lucky enough to
see the good. I wanted truth and emotion, instead of writing
something stale and not true to life." We completed the
album as a team effort. We wrote the songs, arranged them, and
produced them together in the studio. Both of us took on many
roles going as far as becoming multi instrumentalists and
producers. "We wanted to make music without influence from
other musicians that had contradicting ideas. We had a formula
that we wanted to follow and both of us believed in it strongly.
The melodies and harmonies have to reach out and hook your
ears." We invited five different bass players who were also
good friends of ours to come into the studio for guest
appearances to finish the bass parts after the album was near
completion. This approach worked out perfectly and provided some
very tasteful lines that compliment the songs quite well.
Mike: James and I wanted to concentrate more on melodies and
chord progressions rather than just riffs and guitar solos. We
made a conscious effort to come up with memorable melodies and
build the rest of the song around that. This was a different
method of writing than what I was used to. Many times, we would
come
up with parts in our heads and later figure them out on the
guitar. This is a much less restrictive way of writing music.
You're not bound by the limitations of the guitar and it opens
your creative process to a broader spectrum. We know this method
was working for us when we started writing songs in very
un-guitar-like keys such as C sharp and B flat. The only downside
is that its harder to play on the guitar. But this only made us
better guitarists
in the end. It was an eye-opening experience.
Your music has influences from
80s AOR as well as Progressive Rock, which bands influenced you?
(I guess RUSH and BOSTON were major influences)
James: "I am definitely a big fan of Rush, Van Halen, and
Journey". I like many styles of music ranging from Pop &
Rock, to Reggae and Classical with no limits on a specific time
period. If a song has a great melody and it
makes you feel something, then it's basically timeless. That is
what I believe makes music great. The Beatles, Van Halen, and The
Police all wrote great songs that will still be great 100 years
from now. People may get a little tired of hearing them on the
radio but you can't say they weren't great songwriters. There are
songs from every decade that are still great when you hear them
today. Every time period has its immortal classics. I feel that
way about The Scorpions from the 80's.They were a big influence
on me, (along with Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen) to pick
up the guitar in the first place and start practicing.
Mike: Rush is definitely one of my favorites. I also listened to
bands like Yes, Genesis,Van Halen, Boston and AC/DC during the
time I started playing guitar. I guess thats why my songwriting
is influenced by these bands.
They showed me that it was possible to write music that was both
complex and enjoyable to listen to.
You're coming out of New Jersey, a state that mainly brought us
many BON JOVI clones (some good, some bad), how's the scene
nowadays? And are you popular in your area?
James: There are still many bands fighting it out to be noticed.
The Jersey scene has in many ways changed a lot over the years.
There aren't too many places to play original music. The people
in the area aren't usually very open to new original bands until
they hear them over the radio airwaves. Bands have to mix covers
in the set to keep the crowd going. Luckily, our pop melodies
catch the ears quickly and stick in their heads. We are still
very new to the scene, but We have a definite growing fan base in
and around our area. We believe that if we continue to play and
market ourselves, with the help of our fans the music will spread
worldwide.
Mike: The scene is definitely not what it used to be. A lot of
clubs have been closing while others only book cover bands. Its
become very difficult to draw people to local clubs. I think this
is partly due to the number of bands on the scene increasing
while the quality has gone down. Its an unfortunate side-effect
of bands like Nirvana and
Green Day. I mean people like Kurt Cobain made it look like all
you have to do is be loud and obnoxious to be famous. The sad
part is, most kids didn't understand that there was real talent
behind it. They started their own bands and tried to sound just
like someone else. After a while people got tired of paying good
money to go to a club and hear 4 or 5 bands with no real talent.
Have you tried to get in touch with European
labels yet?
Mike: Not yet! We definitely want to. We aren't too familiar with
the proper way to go about it and which labels to contact. In the
US, a lawyer is needed to shop material in nearly every case.
However, based on the response we have been getting in Europe, I
think that is going to be the next logical step.
What are
the plans for the next coming months?
James: We plan to continue supporting the album and increase our
popularity. We hope to organize touring of various US cities and
create a strong demand. If that goes well, maybe we can venture
overseas for a European tour. As always, we are constantly
writing new material as the ideas keep flowing. This band will
most certainly continue to progress and evolve. With each new
experience in life, we also learn to reinvent ourselves.
Finally,
do you have anything to add to our readers?
James: We would like to especially thank the European music fans
and media for their support of Human Rhythm, and their strong
interest in Independent American Music. We hope to reach the ears
of every open minded person and to have our music touch them in
some way positive. We want to make music as long as we can. In
our eyes, there aren't many things that are more rewarding. With
the support of our fans everywhere, we will keep growing
stronger. We thank you all.
Mike: We hope that you like the album. We put a lot of time and
effort into it and are satisfied with the results. We really
believe that we have put together a CD that has musical integrity
and is accessible to a wide range of
listeners. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Thanks.
