This is my version of events, I cannot speak for anyone
else and don't really want to.
"It all started back in Leeds around
1992. I'd moved there from Teesside and I'd put an advert. in one of the guitar
shops. It was answered by a bassist called Craig and a keyboard
player/programmer called Tim. we started playing around but nothing really came
of it as I get rather ill and was eventually forced to return to Teesside.
The Hated Reign as a proper band really started in 1993. I met this guy
called Mark Gittens and we got to talking. Then, suddenly, I had a band almost
overnight. Sort of like when mould appears on bread. Anyway, these people were
Stav(bass guitar), Peter Fielding(drums) and Rob Hymers(keyboards). There were
several attempts to find a lead guitar player but with no luck until Sav pointed
out that Rob could play guitar. He picked his guitar up. We played The Flipside
Rationale and we found our lead player.
We rehersed, we did a few gigs
with that line up and recorded a demo. Then friction started between Peter and
I. I can't remember how it started, but it ended very badly with Peter leaving
at exactly the time we needed the most. We were just about to get a management
deal(thanks to Stav) and I was talking to a small label from Preston called
Stonewell Records. Everything ground to a halt as we tried to find a replacemnt.
Did one gig with a stand in drummer that was a nightmare because the headline
band had control of the PA engineers. Strange how every other band on there
sounded crap while they sounded great.
We found another drummer, called
Pete. He lasted for 2 gigs and one recording session with a dodgy 4-track.
After that I decided to forget the idea of a drummer. Unfortuantely Stav
and Rob didn't really like playing along to a machine. I can see why, but it was
expiediant. It started to become obvious that none of us were enjoying what we
were doing anymore, so we decided to call it a day. That was 1996.
Once
the split happened, I found I just couldn't pick up a guitar for about 6 months
or so. I just wasn't interested so I decided to go to college near Brighton. I
started to play and write again, but wasn't really interested in getting another
band together. The lyrics I wrote then and the songs are dire and will never be
used.
It wasn't until 2000 that I suddenly realised how much I'd missed
being in a band when I went to see The MissionUK play at the Leeds cockpit.
Ironically enough, this was where we had gone to meet our prospective manager.
Anyway, seeing The Mish again made me realise why I picked up a guitar in the
first place.
That same week Stav phoned me totally out of the blue and
suggested we got the band back together. I agreed, but warned him that I was at
college(this time near Winchester) and so rehersals would be difficult. He
didn't seem bothered and so I started things moving. The website for a start,
registered the band name world wide, that sort of thing. I warned him that I
still preferred drum machines because of all the trouble we'd had in the past
with the human version. He agreed and I said we could use the machine up until
we found a drummer.
With a bit of persuasion, Rob agreed to re-joined
and we started talking about how we'd work it out.They'd play along to the old
tapes and I'd find some musos while at college and see about doing a few gigs
with them down south. This didn't really work out as I'd hoped. Anyway, you can
read about that on the site.
In March 2001 we had an out break of Foot
and Mouth disease. I was attending an agricultural college at the time and we
got closed for a few weeks. In that time I recrded a few songs and found that my
playing had totally changed from when I was with Stav and Rob at the beginning.
I recorded one of the old songs, 'Surrender' and it was totally different,
almost unrecognisable. I was writing the music and playing the way I'd always
wanted to, both guitar and bass. The songs were sounding the way I'd always
wanted them to. Except I'm never happy with my singing voice.
Anyway,
that's the point I'm at now. Not sure if Stav and Rob will stay, but strangely
I'm not that bothered. It would be a pity if they left, but at the moment I only
really need musos for gigs. That's until the second CD gets recorded anyway.
THURSDAY, JUL 5, 2001
INTERVIEW WITH THE HATED REIGN.
Questions from www.mp3.com
Question: What you feel is the most important thing about your music?
Answer: It brings back a certain level of intelligence to the 'gothic/cyberpunk' genre.
Question: Do your songs have a message?
Answer: Yes, they all contain some kind of message, but I use metaphors a lot so the listener has to peal back all the layers in there. The most obvious meaning isn't the real meaning/s.
Question: Where do you want to be a year from now personally?
Answer: A deal would be nice, hopefully working on the second album.
Question: Name and describe your most memorable gig.
Answer: That would be one from a while ago..We'd entered a battle of the bands in Tesside(UK) and really had the crowd going, I mean in the palm of our hands. The feeling is incredible.
Question: So, tell me..what exactly, motivates you, the artist to write songs?
Answer: It's a need. I just can't stop and there have been times when I very nearly have. I also like to play around with sound. I just love sound, and the highest from of sound is music.
Question: Describe the times revolved around your song SURRENDER, that led to it being written:
Answer: Well, SURRENDER, was written in response to the original drummer leaving and I just got all the bitterness out of my system and put a bass line to it. It all flowed from there. I used my feelings of bitterness towards the drummer to get bitter about human relationships in general and political relationships as well.
Question: How do you guys put songs together?
Answer: I write all the lyrics, then the drums and bass are added, finally the guitars, keyboards/whatever to get the sound in my head out and onto the instruments. I usually get the music as well as the lyrics, but I can always do with the help.
Question: Something's burning.. Did you leave dinner on the stove?
Answer: (Laughs)Nah, I tend to eat take-away.
Question: What is your favorite song on your current album?
Answer: Surrender and Dust Angel.
Question: Most people will never know what it feels like to be on stage in front of a crowd, explain that feeling to them:
Answer: At first it's really scary, but once the crowd get into it it gets much more enjoyable. The moment when you break through to a crowd is better than sex.
Question: What is your favorite chord?
Answer: Any minor chord, but I particularly like Am, Bm, and Dm.
Question: Will mp3.com really provide an avenue for people to make it?
Answer: I don't think that everyone who signs up for it will make it, but it will help the truly talented and penniless get coverage worldwide that they wouldn't get any other way. Yes, I'd say it will help.
Question: What do you like most about being an INDIE artist?
Answer: Just that, being independent, even though that doesn't mean the same thing that it used to.
Question: Where would you want to be musically say a year from now?
Answer: A better song writer, or rather, be able to get the sounds out of my head in a much better way than I do now. It would lead to a lot less frustration!
Question: Do you or your organization promote up and coming artists?
Answer: We don't have management at the moment so we do all our own promotion, but once I get my own label fully functional, I'd like to sign similar bands to it. So eventually yes and I always like to use local bands of similar type as support for our gigs. I just wish more bands would do that.
Question: Tell us a story about the making of a song:
Answer: That's really hard to answer. I don't really think about what I do when I write a song, it just happens. I do spend a lot of time 'people watching' and most of the time the lyrics are a stream of consciousness and I keep the best bits. The songs sort-of write themselves really.
Question: Where do you think this MP3 business is going?
Answer: Steadily into the hands of the major labels, but it's still a much needed resource for new artists to get their music out to a much wider audience. The record industry still hasn't caught on to how helpful it could be for their A&R departments yet. Some bands just simply can't afford the studio time to get a demo out and so use home PC's and mp3's on their websites help get their music out.
Question: Give us a run down of your audio equipment:
Answer: I use 12-string guitars a lot, I've got 4, 2 electric and 2 acoustic. An old Aria Pro 2 bass and a Gibson SG copy. Recording wise I use Voyetra's Digital Orchestrator Plus and Cool Edit, for the drums I have Bio-Drummer installed on my PC.
Question: How do you write your songs (how do you think of them)?
Answer: The inspiration comes from anywhere, usually dodgy nightclubs and from the feel of the lyrics, the emotions expressed within them, I get how fast or slow the song will be and I go from there.
Question: How important do you think tour support is?
Answer: Very.
Question: What is your favorite local venue?
Answer: The Cockpit in Leeds, West Yorkshire UK
Question: If you could put on a show anywhere were would it be?
Answer: The Royal Albert Hall or the Coliseum in Rome.
Question: What would you do if you lost your musical abilities and are you a fullfilled enough person to accept that if it happened?
Answer: I don't know, probably a wildlife ranger.
Question: Tell us about your website:
Answer: It's still under construction and doesn't have half of what I'd really like on it.
Question: How do you feel about NAPSTER's situation?
Answer: It was inevitable once the major labels sent in their attack lawyers.
Question: What do your lyrics talk about?
Answer: All the different kinds of human relationships using many different metaphors.
Question: How long does it take for an average song to go from a musical idea to a recordable song?
Answer: There's no such thing for me as an average song, but sometimes it can take years for the song to be completed as I write a lot of lyrics.
Question: If your band could open for a headlining act, who would it be and why?
Answer: Either The Sisters of Mercy or The MissionUK as they were the two main bands that made me go 'I want to do that'.
Question: What makes you and your band unique?
Answer: The way we blend our influences to make something different.
Question: What would you like to change about your city's local music scene?
Answer: More live venues that support local bands better.
Question: Who drives the tour bus?
Answer: As I'm the only one who can drive in the band I do.
Question: Do you desire to come up with a new form of music or do you like safety in numbers?
Answer: There's no such thing as new music, just different ways of re-interpreting what's already been done. Oasis are a classic example, I would say that's there's not enough variation in the charts anymore, particularly in the UK.
Question: Who is your favorite unsigned Band?
Answer: Don't have one, I'm too busy concentrating on what I'm doing really.
Question: What would you change about the music business in general?
Answer: The strangle-hold the majors have, particularly in the UK.
Question: Nice shirt your wearing, where did you find that?
Answer: Can't actually remember.
Question: Have you ever paid for advertising for the band?
Answer: No, I tend to do all the gig advertising on my PC and put up fly-posters.
Question: Do you feel that "underground" is just a marketing term like anything else?
Answer: Not really, but it's starting to get that way.
Question: Your standing on the beach on a hot summer day. What comes to mind?
Answer: Vanilla ice-cream, Hagen-Daas, (chuckles)and licking it off the really nice redhead that just walked passed.
Question: If you could talk to anyone in the music business, who would it be?
Answer: To have a proper conversation with? Andrew Eldritch(The Sisters of Mercy) or Wayne Hussey(The MissionUK). I've met both of them, but never had the chance to have a proper conversation with either of them.
09.02.01 / FANS COMMENT...
From: myfaithfulconcubine@yahoo.com
To: "The Hated Reign"
Subject: An MP3.com Fan has sent you an email!
Date: Sat, 01 Sep 2001 23:18:06 -0700
right on, i
love "sometimes". Very sisters,really love the drive to it. Going to put a link to you from our site. joe
From: malabeats@gmx.de
To: "The Hated Reign"
Subject: An MP3.com Fan has sent you an email!
Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2001 08:21:06 -0700
Hi
I´m DJ Mala and Producer from Mala ´n Marsh vs. DJ 2M. Steve hamburg/germany. I´m listening to your new song "sometimes".Its great stuff man. I like the sounds.Im not so in that kind of music but I bookmark your site to come back later to hear more from you. We upload a chillout/Ambient project soon.
I´ve found you on the new song list at mp3.com.
take a look:
http://www.mp3.com/MalafeatLimata
bést wishes
DJ Mala
http://www.m-studios.de
The Hated Reign :: Main Console
