{"id":50498,"date":"2016-11-04T00:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T00:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=50498"},"modified":"2016-12-24T18:07:13","modified_gmt":"2016-12-24T18:07:13","slug":"feature-graham-bonnet-band-11-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-graham-bonnet-band-11-16\/","title":{"rendered":"GRAHAM BONNET BAND – The Next Chapter (November 2016) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

GRAHAM BONNET BAND – The Next Chapter<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nNovember 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

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Graham Bonnet Band (l-r): Conrado Pesinato, Graham Bonnet, Beth-Ami Heavenstone and Mark Zonder<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nEnglish hard rock \/ metal vocalist Graham Bonnet, formerly of the likes of Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri, was in Los Angeles, California, performing Alcatrazz material with his band. The band was rounded out by guitarist Howie Simon, and bassist Tim Luce. These circumstances would plant seeds for the formation of the Graham Bonnet Band.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of getting up a little bit fed up with doing what I was doing,\u201d Graham remembers. \u201cI went down to the Whisky in Hollywood to jam with a band, and it just so happened that two members of the band that I have now were playing that night. We played a couple of Beatles songs and whatever, a little bit of everything, and it was kind of cool. I just remember turning to Bethany (Beth-Ami Heavenstone) our bass player, and saying \u2018This is fun. Have you ever thought about doing something else? Would you like to work with me, for instance?\u2019 She kind of said \u2018Okay,\u2019 and so I went over to her house a few times during the… <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point we were looking for a band, so I said \u2018Who should we get for a guitar player?,\u2019 and she said \u2018What about using Conrad (Conrado Pesinato), from the band we played with at the Whisky?\u2019 I said \u2018Ah. I didn\u2019t even think of him,\u2019 because I was trying to think of people I knew who were probably Brits and living in LA or whatever. So anyway, all three of us got together \u2013 me, Conrad, and Bethany \u2013 and that\u2019s how it started. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had probably about nine songs that I had made up and had some arrangements to. I had written a couple of the lyrics, but probably not too many of the nine. I had no band to play, because we were just going out basically and doing old material on the road. I had never thought about recording, because it seemed to be kind of a waste of time (laughs). We got a deal with Frontiers though, and this gave me kind of a kick up the bum. I thought \u2018Cool. Somebody is interested in the music that I\u2019m writing,\u2019 so that\u2019s kind of how it started. I played the music to the guys in the band and said \u2018Let\u2019s take it from one guitar to making it a band sound,\u2019 because we had to reshape them and probably add some more parts to the arrangements to make them rock or whatever. I think there are 11 tracks, but all of the songs that I had we used. All of the songs that I had in my head that I thought would be good for an album like this, we used. It was about three years ago though, yeah.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, we got a drummer who\u2019s now Mark Zonder. He\u2019s our drummer right now, who\u2019s a very progressive type of drummer. We did the album (The Book<\/em>, November 2016), which became more than I expected it to be because we\u2019ve had some great reviews. I\u2019m very pleased about that (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Warlord and erstwhile Fates Warning sticksman Mark Zonder was introduced to Graham Bonnet courtesy of manager Giles Lavery. \u201cHe was a friend of our manager, and we didn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d the frontman augments. \u201cWe were kind of desperate, because we knew that we had to do these songs quickly. The record company were like \u2018Are you done yet?\u2019 We had three or four drummers that weren\u2019t exactly suited for the band, and so our manager came up with the idea of getting Mark Zonder in. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur manager is a singer as well, so he had played with him and he knew him. He suggested him because he\u2019s very quick in the studio, and so he just put it all together. If it wasn\u2019t for Mark doing these tracks, I think we would still probably be recording. It was through our manager Giles Lavery that we found Mark, because I didn\u2019t know who he was. I had no idea what kind of drummer he was, or anything, but he came along and played on everything. Everything was done within a very short time drum-wise, so he\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Handling keyboard duties on November 2016 debut full-length studio album The Book<\/em> was Jimmy Waldo, formerly Graham\u2019s bandmate within the Alcatrazz camp. \u201cHe found out that we were doing an album, and he offered his services for free,\u201d he divulges. \u201cI thought \u2018Oh, bloody hell. Absolutely\u2019 (laughs), so he put some keyboard parts down too. He was on most of the tracks, I think, and he brought that kind of Alcatrazz-y, Rainbow-y, whatever it is sound to the tracks. Some of it has more of a retro sound, but some of it\u2019s very modern. I\u2019m very glad he came along. Eventually, he may join the band possibly next year, depending on how well everything goes. It\u2019ll be another member of the band, and another pay packet, but I think he may be part of the band next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Graham Bonnet<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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A band entity, the moniker Graham Bonnet Band nevertheless suggests a solo-driven affair. \u201cIt is a band effort, the whole thing, but I always thought that we should have a name,\u201d the singer submits. \u201cEverybody said \u2018Well, just use your own name? What\u2019s up with that?,\u2019 but everybody had their participation on all the music we put down on record, so to speak. It\u2019s a joint effort from everyone. Everybody put their two cents in, or whatever, so it\u2019s not just me. All the other guys helped shape the songs in some way or another, whether it be a small idea or whatever it may be \u2013 a small part of the song in the middle, or whatever. Everybody joined in, so everybody\u2019s got a little bit of their writing in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the compositions included on The Book<\/em>, not all emanated from fresh ideas. \u201cThere is one song called \u2018Rider\u2019, which I wrote in 1980-something,\u201d Graham informs. \u201cThat was an Alcatrazz song, but we never did it because I thought it was a bit too poppy or whatever. I didn\u2019t think it was right, but when I played it to the guys on my acoustic one day, they said \u2018What\u2019s that?\u2019 I said \u2018It\u2019s a song that I\u2019ve never recorded,\u2019 so we did because it had that retro sound. It was very 1980s or whatever; it has a typical 1980s sing-along chorus. I never thought of really recording it seriously in the format that it was in. It was changed to maybe be a little harder sounding, but we did it in that typical 1980s style. That one was around for a long time \u2013 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not many unused ideas lie in the vaults, as it were. \u201cI\u2019ve used just about every old idea that I\u2019ve had,\u201d the mainman discloses. \u201cFor me, something has got to be good studio-wise and a band song, and so then I will get onto it straight away. So, I don\u2019t think I have anything like that lying around any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Book<\/em> musically resembles past bands featuring Graham behind the microphone stand. \u201cIf anybody likes what I\u2019ve done in the past with other bands like Rainbow, or Alcatrazz, or Michael Schenker, then I think they\u2019re gonna like this because it has a modern sound, but there are still elements of hard rock or metal \u2013 whatever you like to call it these days,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI don\u2019t think of it so much as metal as just being… Well, sort of a thinking man\u2019s metal probably (laughs). <\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the songs have a story which I\u2019ve always written in my lyrics, though. There\u2019s always a story behind it, like a real event or something. These songs follow the same trend I\u2019ve used in the past. Country singers always sing about real life boozing for example, ultimately whatever it may be, but I always like to have a story \u2013 like a news event, or something like that \u2013 that I can put into a song. These follow the same format as Alcatrazz, and some of the songs I wrote with Michael Schenker.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lyricist feels there is \u201ceverything\u201d musically within the Graham Bonnet Band from his past endeavours. \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of everything, and because it\u2019s me singing obviously, it\u2019s gonna sound like a lot of the stuff you\u2019re familiar with,\u201d he reckons. \u201cI think it has a modern sound, though, as I was saying before. There is a little bit of Michael Schenker in there and that kind of thing, but mainly it\u2019s sort of an Alcatrazz-y thing, more than Michael Schenker. It\u2019s very much like Alcatrazz; I would say it leans more towards Alcatrazz, especially the second Alcatrazz album where Steve Vai was playing (Disturbing The Peace<\/em>, March 1985). If we had had another album with Alcatrazz, I think this would have been the one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham feels The Book<\/em> shares specific musical traits with second Alcatrazz opus Disturbing The Peace<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s not very straightforward,\u201d he views. \u201cIt has melodies that are not necessarily what you\u2019d call hard rock (laughs). They sort of take a left turn when you think that the song is going to go straight on, but then you suddenly go \u2018What\u2019s that?\u2019 There are little surprise elements, I think, or I hope, anyway. Steve Vai and I were striving though, back in the day, when we made that second album with Alcatrazz, because neither of us were really into the kind of straight-ahead heavy metal, so to speak. I like to add sort of jazz influences, for example. Inventive ideas, instead of it being verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle. Some of the songs are like that \u2013 they have a format \u2013 but sometimes it\u2019s nice to have a surprise, like an odd melody coming in out of the blue and then people going \u2018Oh. What\u2019s that?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we played the final tracks to Jimmy Waldo, there was one track we had a keyboard part to. He played this keyboard part which was kind of disco-y, a heavy, kind of weird mixture of sounds, actually. When I put the melody to it and the words, he said \u2018Oh my god. I didn\u2019t know that song was gonna do that at that point.\u2019 The chorus goes into a weird set of notes, which are a little bit unusual \u2013 not very sort of straight-ahead melodies. I hope I answered that properly. It was long-winded, but anyway…\u201d<\/p>\n

Alcatrazz boasted the likes of aforementioned guitarists Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen among its ranks during its lifetime, major figures within the guitar realm. Graham Bonnet Band axeman Conrado Pesinato arguably has massive shoes to fill, so to speak. \u201cConrad is sort of confused \u2013 in fact, like Steve Vai was when he joined the band way back when,\u201d the composer observes. \u201cYngwie Malmsteen was out of the band and Steve came in, going \u2018Jesus christ, I don\u2019t play like him.\u2019 I said \u2018Of course you don\u2019t play like him. You play like Steve Vai; you\u2019re a different guy.\u2019 Conrad now has Yngwie and Steve Vai ahead of him, and Danny Johnson our third guitar player was a bluesy guitar player. He tried to add a little bit of all of the elements of each player into some of the playing on the actual written tracks, but he is developing his own style to kind of drive away from someone else\u2019s playing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe play some of the old stuff onstage; of course, you have to have the signature parts of the solos, but then he goes into his own thing. Conrad is like \u2018Oh my god. Am I going to be able to do all this with all of the different players you\u2019ve had?\u2019 though, because all of the songs aren\u2019t necessarily the same as well. I think they\u2019re very different from most hard rock songs, I really do. I think it\u2019s a special style that we have there that he adds to very well. He has his own ideas. He\u2019s Brazilian, so he knows all of that jazzy stuff that Brazilian guitar players know, but he also has elements of blues and straight-ahead rock. He\u2019s a young man and he\u2019s still developing his style, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham has performed alongside several noteworthy guitarists through the years, but finds it difficult to select a personal favourite. \u201cThey all had different styles,\u201d he reasons. \u201cAnd because of the different styles, they formulated new types of songs \u2013 Michael Schenker, especially. That was the first time I wrote any words and melodies, and also I thank Ritchie Blackmore for introducing me to so-called hard rock, or whatever you want to call it. All of them have influenced me in different ways. They\u2019re all great guitarists. I couldn\u2019t put one above another, because they\u2019re different styles, they\u2019re different people, and they all have their own thing \u2013 just like singers, drummers, or whatever. They were all great players, and I couldn\u2019t say anything bad about any of them. Nothing at all. I\u2019m glad that I played with the people I did play with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ritchie Blackmore embarked on three dates under the Rainbow banner during June 2016, assembling a new line-up to perform the band\u2019s material. \u201cI think he was probably testing the waters to see if Rainbow\u2019s name over the marquee would actually draw a crowd,\u201d the musician offers. \u201cI don\u2019t know what the attendance was for some of these shows, but I know that now he\u2019s gone back to doing what he was doing before with his wife \u2013 the Blackmore\u2019s Night thing. I haven\u2019t listened to that. I can\u2019t do it. I can\u2019t look at that band he put together and judge it, because I am really not interested. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that it was a serious attempt at bringing back Rainbow. I think that it was a way for him to probably make some money quickly, and use guys in the band that you\u2019ve never heard of before. If he had been putting together a so-called reunion or another Rainbow-type gig, he should\u2019ve used at least Roger Glover (bass, Deep Purple \/ ex-Rainbow) and Don Airey (Deep Purple \/ ex-Rainbow) on keyboards, and whomever as a singer. I don\u2019t think it would\u2019ve been me, but whomever it may have been. If it had a couple of the guys from the Rainbow that I was in, I think it would\u2019ve drawn more of a crowd and people would have seen it as being a real band, but I saw it almost as a session. People have told me that it was a bit lifeless and limp. Now whether it was that way, I couldn\u2019t tell you, but they just said that it wasn\u2019t Rainbow as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain quarters wanted the likes of Graham or Joe Lynn Turner to handle vocal duties, to perhaps lend legitimacy to the affair. \u201cJoe thought that he was going to be chosen,\u201d he chuckles. \u201cI said to him… This was when Ronnie was still alive, because I did some gigs with Joe a few years ago and Ronnie was still alive. He said that there was probably going to be a Rainbow reunion thing, and that they were going to ask him to do it because he did more albums, had more hits, or whatever. I said \u2018Maybe, maybe, but if they\u2019re going to put Rainbow back together, it should be with Ronnie and the other players from when Rainbow was first formed. Not me, not you, but the other guys that were original members.\u2019 So, I wasn\u2019t expecting to be asked. I knew I wouldn\u2019t be, and I didn\u2019t think that he would be. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway, I was right (laughs). Neither of us were asked to do anything. It was a bit of a shock to him, I think, but I never saw it. I could never imagine being asked to do that because it\u2019s old news, and I don\u2019t think Ritchie would want to do that again. I don\u2019t know. Maybe he would; maybe he would want Joe, or me, or whomever to play with him again, but that would be a serious venture because that would mean money, actually (laughs). It means a lot more money than he would probably want to deal with, because he would have to pay players that are a bit more serious than the band he put together. I don\u2019t know if they were unknown people, but to me they were unknown, so that means that they were paid less. Anyway, that\u2019s what I think (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

The performer was friendly with the late Ronnie James Dio, Rainbow\u2019s inaugural singer prior to the likes of himself and Joe Lynn Turner entering the fray later on. \u201cHis wife Wendy was our manager, of Alcatrazz,\u201d he shares. \u201cWe used to rehearse in Wendy and Ronnie\u2019s rehearsal rooms in Hollywood. I knew him pretty well, yeah. I went to his concerts when he was with Black Sabbath, etc., and when he had his own band, and he would come along to our gigs, because we were all part of the same management. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty bad when he passed away. We\u2019ve lost so many people within the same year this year, too, and it\u2019s so strange. We\u2019re all kind of around the same age group \u2013 60-something or 68, 69. It\u2019s a short life. I lost my brother, and he was 73 when he died. That was a couple of years ago, and that was a shock to me, too. All of a sudden, everyone like David Bowie… It\u2019s like \u2018Bloody hell. What\u2019s going on?\u2019 It\u2019s a bit scary. It has scared me anyway, because I am in that age group. Yeah though, Ronnie passing away was a big shock. I didn\u2019t know he was that old, I really didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Graham Bonnet<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Having fronted the likes of Black Sabbath, Elf and the namesake Dio band in addition to Rainbow during his musical career, Ronnie James Dio sadly passed away on May 16th, 2010 at the age of 67 following a battle with metastasized stomach cancer \u2013 ruling out a potential Rainbow reunion with Dio at the helm. Nevertheless, the likes of Graham could still reunite with Blackmore under the Rainbow umbrella. \u201cIf Ritchie asked me to play with him tomorrow, I\u2019d play with him tomorrow,\u201d he admits. \u201cFor like a one-off, of course I would because he gave me a new career, so to speak. I went into a direction I never thought I would be going in, compared to the stuff that I had done before. Man, of course I would. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure Joe Lynn Turner would, too, but it\u2019s a matter of who it would be. I just think that that was a money venture, I really do, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. Don\u2019t get me wrong; I\u2019m not knocking Ritchie for that. We all need to make money, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re all out playing live now. We don\u2019t sell records any more; people are downloading music, and it\u2019s not like it used to be. We\u2019re all getting older and worried what the hell we\u2019re all gonna do if the music business for this kind of music just crashes, so we\u2019re getting in there while we may. <\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily though, there is a new audience growing with this. Some of the guys I know in my age group and in the same genre of music have played to people in their teens, and you wonder how the hell they know this music we\u2019re playing. It\u2019s been passed down from father to son so to speak, though, so there\u2019s a whole new cycle of heavy metal \/ heavy rock people who listen to the music we play, and it\u2019s great. I signed an autograph for an eight-year-old one day \u2013 I\u2019ll never forget that. It\u2019s like \u2018How the hell do you know this music? I\u2019m old enough to be your granddad\u2019 (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to the topic of The Book<\/em>, the vocalist likes to recount stories within his lyrical fare. \u201cI was talking about \u2018The Rider\u2019 song, and that\u2019s about a motorcycle rider,\u201d he references. \u201cYou see riders in Los Angeles, and… Well, everywhere really… They\u2019re growing older, but they\u2019re still riding their motorbikes, and they all look like ZZ Top with long beards and all that kind of stuff. It\u2019s about the guy who never grows up. He\u2019s Peter Pan, but he\u2019s riding his bike, and he\u2019s looking for his long lost sweetheart. She left him a long time ago. The chorus says about how if he finds her, would they have anything to say to each other? So, that\u2019s what that\u2019s about. <\/p>\n

\u201cThen there\u2019s another tune, which is called \u2018Into The Night\u2019. That\u2019s one that we released on video, and it\u2019s about a divorce. A man comes home to find that he can\u2019t get in the house. He has the right key, but he can\u2019t get in. Then when he eventually does get in, he\u2019s let in by his wife and he sees that all of his belongings have been packed ready for him to move out of the house. She tells him that he\u2019s moving out tomorrow, so that\u2019s about a man who gets a divorce and is sent out into the night, hence the title. That\u2019s a story which is a true story (laughs). It\u2019s about me, basically. It\u2019s an event that happened to me \u2013 that\u2019s a personal thing. That\u2019s two ideas there that have a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Book<\/em>\u2019s title cut is dark in tone, meanwhile. \u201cThat\u2019s another thing, where you wonder what the book is,\u201d Graham begins. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a guessing game. I don\u2019t say in the song what the book is, but you get clues as to what it is. It\u2019s actually a telephone book, and it tells… I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever done this, but people used to have a telephone book in the dinosaur age, and you used to write your telephone numbers in there. The people you have in that book have sometimes died, or you don\u2019t know where they are, and… I can\u2019t do it; to cross out their name would be sacrilege. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about that feeling of crossing out their name, if someone has died. It\u2019s almost like killing them again. So, that\u2019s about a telephone book, and all of the people and the memories you have because of this book. Once you open it though, that person comes back to you. That\u2019s what it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The majority of The Book<\/em>\u2019s parts were recorded at the frontman\u2019s home in Studio City, Los Angeles. \u201cThe drums were done at Mark\u2019s studio, and Jimmy did his own parts in his studio,\u201d he notes. \u201cAll of the vocals and guitars were done in the house I live in, in Studio City in Los Angeles. The guitars, the bass, and the vocals were all done at the house, so it was all very comfortable and very casual. It was hard work, but it was nice to be at home and not have to go to a studio and pay zillions of dollars. So, it\u2019s a home-grown product.\u201d<\/p>\n

A medical complaint hampered Graham during recording sessions. \u201cI always like to have a good quality sound to my voice, if I can,\u201d he muses. \u201cIn fact, the problem I had when I was making this bloody record was I had bronchitis, which is not very good when you\u2019re actually recording voice (laughs). We had a certain time to do the damn thing, so I had been taking meds to clear my lungs while we were doing the record. It came out okay. I always like to have a good quality sound on the range of my voice. I\u2019m not talking about the high, squeaky bits but the mid-range and the low end of a vocal piece. It\u2019s always important to me to get that quality of something that sounds as though you mean it. The right kind of vibrato, etcetera \u2013 enough air (laughs). <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have something like bronchitis, you can\u2019t breathe too well. I was using a damn inhaler, and it was a little hard some days. It was difficult, but I think the quality of my voice on this is comparable to things I\u2019ve done in the past. I don\u2019t think people say \u2018Oh god… His voice has gone\u2019 or something. It\u2019s pretty much the same as it\u2019s always been \u2013 my range is the same. I\u2019ve just been very lucky, and I don\u2019t look after my voice in any way whatsoever. I fuck it up a lot by shouting too much or whatever, but luckily it\u2019s still there, whereas a lot of other people have said \u2018I just can\u2019t do that any more.\u2019 I still can; I still strive to do it, every time we play live.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Book<\/em> is complemented by a second disc, consisting of re-recorded versions of older compositions from the singer\u2019s various band outings through the years. \u201cThat was a long-winded one, because we all had to play these songs over and make them sound new after they had been around for like ten million years,\u201d he explains. \u201cTo re-record vocals as well was like \u2018How can I get the same performance or a better performance as I did on the original?\u2019 When you first record a song, it\u2019s exciting, it\u2019s fresh. I\u2019ve sung all of these songs ten million times on the road over the past 30, 35 years or whatever they may be, and it\u2019s very difficult to actually feel excited about putting down \u2018Since You\u2019ve Been Gone\u2019 one more time \u2013 and \u2018All Night Long\u2019 again, or whatever else \u2013 and have the same kind of enthusiasm over the songs (laughs).<\/p>\n

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Graham Bonnet Band (l-r): Mark Zonder, Graham Bonnet, Beth-Ami Heavenstone
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\u201cThe band played them very well so it did give me a bit of a kick, but it took me a while to actually perform and think about how to do certain parts a little bit differently from the old versions. It took a while to do that, but it was worth it in the end. The record company, it was their idea to do this. They told me which tracks they wanted me to re-record, the idea being that people would look at those tracks who probably wouldn\u2019t know what I have done in the past, and go \u2018Oh, that was him on that record, was it?\u2019 It was to remind people that I sang with certain bands, and this will give a little bit of a help toward the new album so people know where it came from, and where I\u2019m at now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accredited with lending keyboard parts to the re-records disc is Angelo Vafeiadis. \u201cThat was another guy,\u201d Graham chuckles, murky with regards to the exact details. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t Jimmy. There were a couple of different guys. Alessandro (Del Vecchio) was one… I can\u2019t remember his second name (laughs). Whatever you\u2019ve got there, that\u2019s right. There were a couple of guys. One guy mixed some of the tracks, as well as playing on them. Jimmy came in much later. He heard that we were making an album, and came in when we were doing the new songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Book<\/em>\u2019s front cover artwork sports a leather-bound tome, naturally. \u201cThat was a joint idea by our manager, and someone else I can\u2019t think of,\u201d the mainman reports. \u201cIt was down to our manager, who asked me \u2018What do you think of this idea?,\u2019 about it being a book. I had an idea of something looking like a Bible almost. I had nothing to do with the artwork; I just suggested something, and I think our manager took it a little bit further. I had this idea of a Bible-type cover, leather-bound, blah blah blah \u2013 gold trim. I think it\u2019s pretty cool, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overseeing the distribution of The Book<\/em> is Frontiers Music Srl, news of the Graham Bonnet Band having inked an album contract with the label being revealed on September 28th, 2015. \u201cThat was something that was through luck, I think,\u201d Graham judges. \u201cOur manager was looking around to get us a so-called real record deal, as opposed to putting it out ourselves. Of course, they knew me from other bands and projects or whatever. They were interested because they were a heavy rock label and that\u2019s the only people that they sign, are heavy rock-type bands. So, that\u2019s how we got in there. We were lucky enough to get a deal, part of the deal being we did the re-recordings of the older songs. They\u2019re being really great to us, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

To promote The Book<\/em>, a 360 degree music video was filmed for the track \u2018Into The Night\u2019. \u201cIt was kind of weird,\u201d the wordsmith recalls. \u201cI\u2019ve done videos before, and this was very strange. We were just on top of a building in downtown LA, and this guy comes up to us with these little ball looking things. They look like something that should take off and whiz up into the air like little spaceships or something. He put it on the floor, and said \u2018Look. Just walk around this thing. Do whatever you wanna do. Go to any part of this roof that we\u2019re on, and just do the song.\u2019 We said \u2018What\u2019s going to happen?\u2019 He said \u2018I\u2019ll show you when we\u2019re done,\u2019 and so you can tilt it through your telephone any angle you want, and see who you want to look at at any particular point any time in the song. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you can look at the drummer, the drummer\u2019s feet, up the drummer\u2019s nose, up my nose, or whatever. It\u2019s like having a camera of your own in your hand. You can move around the so-called set where we were standing and performing this thing, and you can look anywhere you want. It\u2019s really cool, and it was a surprise when he showed it to us. I had never seen anything like it before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further music videos might be filmed to promote The Book<\/em>. \u201cI think they want to do something for the song \u2018Rider\u2019,\u201d Graham states. \u201cI\u2019m not sure yet, but there will be more if things go well. It looks as though with this record, people might actually listen to it, so I think there will be some more, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as well, further material from the songwriter is in the pipeline. \u201cWe were talking yesterday about doing something with this band and with other people, other players,\u201d he confirms. \u201cTo do something as well as another hard rock album \u2013 an album that has different kinds of music. There would be guest players. There might be a bit of r \u2019n\u2019 b, a bit of whatever \u2013 a bit of pop. All kinds of music, except heavy rock. There may be a couple of heavy rock tracks on it, doing something like that, and also doing another album such as the one we just put out. It\u2019d be something in the same style as that, which I\u2019m working on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Graham Bonnet Band will lend their musical services to the r \u2019n\u2019 b material, alongside other musicians. \u201cOf whom, I\u2019m not sure yet \u2013 who they\u2019ll be \u2013 but there\u2019s one track I have which I want Ted McKenna to play on, the drummer who\u2019s from MSG and Rory Gallagher\u2019s band,\u201d Graham imparts. \u201cI have written a song about Rory Gallagher the guitar player, and it\u2019s for him. I want to, if I can, get Ted McKenna and the bass player from Rory Gallagher\u2019s band (Gerry McAvoy) as well to play on this particular track. They\u2019re playing now out in England, and they have a guitar player who plays very much like Rory (Marcel Scherpenzeel). I want to dedicate this song to him; it\u2019s all about him, about Rory Gallagher. It\u2019s called \u2018No-One Ever Sang For Rory\u2019, because he was such a great player, but he never really made it as such. He was never recognised as such for years until now, really, and it\u2019s a sad thing. <\/p>\n

\n\n\n
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Graham Bonnet<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\u201cHe was very anti-showbiz; he was one of those guys that didn\u2019t look right with a plaid shirt on, and a pair of Levis. He never kind of dressed up like people in the 1980s did, when they were over the top with their big hair and all that. He wasn\u2019t into that, and he was never really worshipped the way he should have been. Not worshipped, but you know what I mean \u2013 given any really big recognition. So, this song is for him, and if I can get some of his old band members to play on this track, it\u2019d be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes artists have to pass away to achieve recognition. \u201cI know,\u201d the musician agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s like everywhere, now. If you look on Facebook, there\u2019s a bit about Rory Gallagher, but there was a point years ago when nobody even knew who he was. I knew him because he was managed by the same people who managed me when I lived in England.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham was friendly with the late Rory Gallagher. \u201cMe and his brother, and all of those guys,\u201d he reminisces. \u201cThere was Status Quo, there was me, Rory Gallagher, Micky Moody (guitarist) and the guys from Whitesnake, and a band called Penetration \u2013 they were a punk band back then. This is years ago I\u2019m talking about; this would\u2019ve been 1970-something.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next batch of material to surface from the entertainer will not be the r \u2019n\u2019 b fare, but the second full-length studio album from the Graham Bonnet Band. \u201cI\u2019m going to have to find time to actually do that labour of love,\u201d he ponders. \u201cIt won\u2019t be anything that\u2019s going to be a money-spinner or whatever, but I think the next thing we have to concentrate on is the next Bonnet Band album, yeah, and to do something similar to what we\u2019ve done right now. I\u2019d love to release something that is totally off the wall and nobody expects, though. like some big fucking ballad or something (laughs). Something that really makes you think \u2018Why didn\u2019t Tom Jones do that?,\u2019 or something. Something that is totally wrong than what I have done right now (laughs). <\/p>\n

\u201cMy roots are not in being a heavy rock singer; they are just in being a singer. Suddenly when you\u2019re forced into one little drawer of being this heavy rock singer, you sometimes can\u2019t get out. It\u2019s really frustrating, because I like to sing other kinds of music. Sometimes the band will say \u2018That\u2019s not heavy enough for the band,\u2019 or \u2018That\u2019s not heavy. It\u2019s gotta be heavier,\u2019 or \u2018No, no. It\u2019s gotta be heavy metal, man.\u2019 It\u2019s like \u2018For fuck sake. Can\u2019t we just do something a little more subtle that\u2019s not so bloody obvious?\u2019 This is what I like to do, and if a single came off of it, I\u2019d be so fucking happy. That\u2019s another part of me that people don\u2019t know, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The majority of Graham\u2019s fans discovered him through his hard rock material perhaps, unaware of his musical roots. \u201cI just like to sing,\u201d he offers. \u201cI like what I did in the past; from the 60s when me and my cousin were called The Marbles, and had our first song \u2018Only One Woman\u2019 come out (1968, written specifically for The Marbles by The Bee Gees). That\u2019s more like me than a lot of the stuff that I do now. It\u2019s all me, but you know what I mean. It\u2019s probably something, because that\u2019s how I started. I\u2019d like to go back to the roots of my musical career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lighter musical endeavours aside, heavier propositions are being crafted as part of the Graham Bonnet Band\u2019s second studio platter. \u201cOh yeah, absolutely,\u201d the vocalist clarifies. \u201cI have no titles, so I can\u2019t tell you what they\u2019re called, but I have arrangements. I\u2019m always working, every day. I play, and think of songs and chord sequences all the time. I have always got something going on in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

A potential release date has been pencilled in, as well. \u201cMiddle of 2017, I hope, to follow up this one,\u201d Graham outlines. \u201cI have started that process; I have started doing things and getting ideas for titles of songs, which I haven\u2019t settled on yet. I hope by next summer, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Book<\/em> was released on November 4th, 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl.<\/p>\n

Interview published in November 2016. All promotional photographs by Alex Solca.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GRAHAM BONNET BAND – The Next Chapter Anthony Morgan November 2016 Graham Bonnet Band (l-r): Conrado Pesinato, Graham Bonnet, Beth-Ami Heavenstone and Mark Zonder English hard rock \/ metal vocalist Graham Bonnet, formerly of the likes of Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri, was in Los Angeles, California, performing Alcatrazz material with his band. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50498"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51123,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50498\/revisions\/51123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}