After 10 days of no sleep

This picture is just scary... It's got that 'Resident Evil' thing kinda going on here with the effects. I not sure what he is doing, but I like the T-shirt.

Derek reaching for the CoCo Puffs...

Reach! Ahh... that chocolately addition! That sweet yummy been under my bed too long taste of CoCo Puffs crunched on the bedroom floor. Will the joy never end!

John, getting his groove on.

This is really an inspirational photo, to see someone so into their thing - that the rest of the world is ablivious to them. At least for a small amount of time.

True Stage Presence

Havin Fun at the show, Chris is playing hard in a cloud while John rocks on in mid flight.

Nice Guitar Mike!

Mike and John show their stuff in true style.

Rock on Motor Bike Boy

Mike Get's mad busy matrix style with yet another sweet ass guitar.

Royal 7

The Interview

Royal 7's Derek Cole entertains us with an in depth interview about his band and showcases their true talent, will and desire.

Black Water: I read on IUMA's music site that the name "Royal7" came about from some kid that which had the name Royal, written across the back of his Little League jersey with the number 7 who was screaming for his parents attention on the New York subway. Does this kid even know you named a band after him?

Royal7: No. I had no idea who the kid was but he was loud and begging for attention. He got mine.

Black Water: How Many Members in the band & Who does What?

Royal7: Four, Derek Cole - guitar and vocals, John Barry - bassist, Mike - lead guitar & Chris Lynn a.k.a. Sticky - drums

Black Water: I understand that Derek Cole and bassist John Barry lived in New York before relocating to Columbus/Atlanta over a year ago, and that Rocky Reid and Chris Lynn were Royal 7's lead guitarist and drummer upon arrival. Who originally filled these positions, where these the only changes of to Royal7's band member history and are the current members considered have a more permanent interest in the band?

Royal7: John and I lived in NY when we started R7 with Rocky. We didnt play out live much. Just recorded with studio drummers and shoped demos mostly. We came to Atlanta in 2000 / September and started looking for drummers. Rocky was the guitar player up until December. He had to leave because he lives in NY and was spending too much time away from his home. Mike took his place. (The drummer) Chris is Sticky. Sticky comes from a dumb basketball player I created on Nintendo and it looked like Chris so we started calling him that. He liked it not even knowing what it meant.

Black Water: Have any member of Royal7's ever played in any other bands? If so How Long & Where & What type of music did the member's previous band play?

Royal7: John and I have only been in R7 while Chris was in Crave (so he says. I never heard of them). We met Mike while he was playing with Shana Alverson.

Black Water: How would describe Royal7's sound or classify your current music genre?

Royal7: Fun. I know it sounds dumb but thats what it is. Not all dark and fake like most rock music out now. We call it agitated pop.

Black Water: Since I noticed you have four albums available on "Arc The Finger" web site and I was wandering just how long has Royal7 been around?

Royal7: The first R7 record was recorded by me and the guy who owned the studio in NY back in 1999. It was an EP that featured "Pop Star" on it. From there John moved up to NY and then we recorded our first full length record in 2000.

Black Water: Is there any album currently in the works?

Royal7: We are about to record an EP at the end of the Summer and tour to promote it. The guys at ARC have been talking to some really good producers to help out. I usually produce R7 but want to just be the artist for once. It is titled "Attracted to Trouble" right now but could change.

Black Water: Who takes care of the production and distribution aspects when creating and releasing a new CD? & Can I only get them over the net or can anyone buy them form a regular retail store?

Royal7: Right now its just arcthefinger.com but we are working on distibution for the EP including Target which is cool and kinda white trash. Love that!

Black Water: Out of the albums that Royal7 has out so far is there a personal favorite?

Royal7: I like "Who you Callin' Punk" because its different and has a lot of hip hop influences in the production.

Black Water: I originally found out about you guys through a flyer for a show at Vinyl a venue in the Earthlink Live building; how long have you been playing live shows?

Royal7: since 1999 but we all did the garage band thing starting out also.

Black Water: Where Was your first show & what was it like?

Royal7: The Continental in NY and we invited all of these managers and labels out. We sucked! The songs were there but our show was not. We learned that if your going to play out in NY and have music industry people come see you, do not suck. We got a manager out of it somehow.

Click Here.. Interview continued on page 2