{"id":1231,"date":"2010-09-08T19:05:29","date_gmt":"2010-09-08T09:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=1231"},"modified":"2011-09-11T19:06:17","modified_gmt":"2011-09-11T09:06:17","slug":"electric-mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2010\/09\/electric-mary\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Mary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I am not going to beat around the bush with this one.\u00a0 In my humble opinion what we have\u00a0from Melbourne rock outfit Electric Mary is on one of the finest takes of\u00a0“classic rock” heard in quite sometime.\u00a0 In the Melbourne rock scene and hell, let’s make it Australian rock scene, Electric Mary are a veritable supergroup of sorts.\u00a0 But on their past I will not dwell as names and faces are irrelevant.\u00a0 Electric Mary have already packed in more ROCK than some pretenders could hope for in a lifetime. To quote the band themselves Electric Mary is indeed Rock N Roll the way it used to taste.<\/p>\n

Like the greats\u00a0that\u00a0paved the way for the path that they now tread, Electric Mary suffer from a problem, which is a problem that no amount of time has solved.\u00a0 How does one possibly capture on a plastic disc the energy and rawness and\u00a0power that comes from a live show that a band like Electric Mary can deliver?\u00a0\u00a0 You can’t, but they sure have come close with their full length album release \u201cDown To The Bone\u201d.<\/p>\n

Only after you have seen Electric Mary live\u00a0will you truly appreciate the words I have just spoke….just as have the likes of David Coverdale, Judas Priest, Deep Purple and Iron Maiden who are amongst the bands growing legion of admirers.\u00a0 A recent trip to Europe playing at France\u2019s rock and metal festival HELLFEST was confirmation of the band\u2019s growing international reputation, playing along side the likes of Slash, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, KISS and Motorhead.<\/p>\n

A few days out from hitting the stage at their hometown Melbourne rock city, lead singer Rusty updated us on what\u2019s been happening in camp mary!<\/p>\n

Hey Rusty, thanks for taking the time to chat with May The Rock Be With You. \u00a0After a trip overseas (which we will talk about) and no doubt some time to recover back home, you are back on stage again in Melbourne, rock city! How is everything going in the Mary camp right now?<\/strong>
\nThings are pretty frantic in the camp mary right now, we are rehearsing new songs and getting ready for the upcoming shows.<\/p>\n

Now you have had a few weeks to reflect, what were some of your more memorable recollections of “Hellfest” in France where you shared the stage with some of hard rock and metal’s biggest names, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, Mot\u00f6rhead…<\/strong>
\nWe drove nine hours overnight after a show in Compiegne, slept in the car for three hours and headed into the site with the garbage trucks that were cleaning up for the day ahead.\u00a0 We were filthy, bleary eyed and we had the biggest smiles on our faces looking at the two huge stages that lay before us knowing in a few hours we would grace Stage 1 along with Slash, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, KISS, Motorhead and the rest of the rock pigs!<\/p>\n

In addition to Hellfest, you also played at the World Cup soccer for The Fanatics, a concert also including Powderfinger and Fatboy Slim, how was that experience?<\/strong>
\nYeah that was a great experience but it never turned out that way.\u00a0 We each played our own night at The Fanatics headquarters in Durban which were crazy assed shows with a little of the world game thrown in for good measure.\u00a0 We then flew to Capetown where we played a killer show with Electric Mary and Powderfinger gracing the stage and ending in an evening of self gratification!<\/p>\n

Whilst recently in the USA i believe you commenced writing and recording some new tracks. \u00a0What can you share about these songs and when are we likely to hear new material?<\/strong>
\nWe have been writing for a little while now and recording in a few differen\u2019t places to see if we can get a feel for some magic.\u00a0 We usually record with our engineer Riki Rae, but alas his studio is out of action for a bit.<\/p>\n

Can you share with us an insight into the songwriting process within the band and who is the riff master? <\/strong>
\nThe process of writing usually starts with myself and a guitar followed by a trip to Pete\u2019s (guitarist) to dissect and demo.\u00a0 Followed by another trip to the rehearsal studio to add each members musical D.N.A.\u00a0 Alex (bass) now brings in a new taste.\u00a0 AH and the riff master is Ritchie Blackmore!<\/p>\n

Without wanting you to necessarily reveal your secret herbs and spices, what are the necessary ingredients that must be included when you are writing an Electric Mary song? <\/strong>
\nThere is no real rhyme or reason.\u00a0 I love riffs and melody.\u00a0 I write in blocks, I don\u2019t write everyday.\u00a0 I write when I get the urge and go back to the riffs I have on disc and see what happens.\u00a0 I have been writing a bit with Alex for the new album. \"\"<\/p>\n

Where do you draw your lyrical ideas and inspirations from?<\/strong>
\nMy lyrics come from differen\u2019t places, usually I just sing along and I\u2019ll say something that strikes out at me and I take it from there.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually a subconscious thought.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s just completely made up out of nothingness.<\/p>\n

Whilst nothing could capture the energy and sweat soaked intensity of an Electric Mary liveshow, your studio recordings do have a distinct live feel. \u00a0Do you record your songs as a full band “live” in the studio, as opposed to individually recording your parts?<\/strong>
\nWe record all together until we all agree we have the take.\u00a0 Then we look at each guitar part to see if there is anything that is just not good enough.\u00a0 I would say 75% of our songs are live and we will continue to do that into the future.<\/p>\n

What is your take on the Australian music scene when it comes to the place of “classic rock”, especially in comparison to the likes of USA, UK and Europe where they seem to worship the gods of rock far more passionately as collective nations?<\/strong>
\nYou\u2019re opening a can of worms!\u00a0 Firstly we have far less people than most in Europe.\u00a0 We as a nation suffer from being stuck in between following America and Europe for our trends.\u00a0 I wish it wasn\u2019t that way.\u00a0 We still tend to throw our heroes away when they hit 30 and there are not enough Australian songs played on the radio!<\/p>\n

The way i see it, since the evolution of Electric Mary you have been rather deliberate in the way you haven’t forced Electric Mary down everyones throats. Slowly but surely, the rock n roll foundations have been built and the fans have come, all largely on the strength of word of mouth and obviously the power of your music & live performance…is my assessment correct, was this the plan, or was there no plan as such in the beginning? \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>
\nAbsolutely, we had the build it and they will come theory.\u00a0 We believe in what we were doing and we didn\u2019t want the fans to burn out on Mary before we had a chance to explore all the musical possibilities.<\/p>\n

Having seen you play the smaller stages of Melbournes rock clubs, all the way through to supporting the likes of Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple and Judas Priest in stadiums, as a band, have you felt increased pressure when you are “support”, or is it the opposite and you hit the stage with a mentality of “we have nothing to lose, let’s slay them….”<\/strong>
\nWe have nothing to lose.\u00a0 We are usually playing with our heroes, the people that built the rock ship that we sail on.\u00a0 The first Whitesnake show was where it really started for me.\u00a0 David Coverdale is my hero and we were told in no uncertain terms stay out of the way, this is not your show.\u00a0 That was cool, I just wanted to enjoy the fact that I would play on the same stage as David.\u00a0 He walked into our bandroom after our show, stuck out his hand and said in that beautiful voice \u201cPhuckin great show man\u201d.\u00a0 Arrrrggggghhhhh I was in heaven right there.\u00a0 From that day forward I had nothing to worry about.\u00a0 I knew the people had come to see the headline act and if we did our best we would deliver to them some goodness they weren\u2019t expecting.<\/p>\n

I know this is an Electric Mary interview, but I have to ask looking back now on the music of Mr Brown and the days of that band, what are some of your positive memories? <\/strong>
\nAwe yeah, Mr Brown.\u00a0 We never got that right.\u00a0 Mr Brown had too much plastic surgery and it strayed way too far from it\u2019s original path.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is a contradictory question, but do you think Electric Mary would have happened if Mr Brown had of been somewhat commercially successful? <\/strong>
\nElectric Mary is the best band I have ever been a part of and when it finishes that will be it for me.\u00a0 I hope she never strays…..<\/p>\n

The origins of Electric Mary largely started as an unplugged entity and has now evolved into an international stadium rock behemoth…what has been the most satisfying elements of the journey so far?<\/strong>
\nThe fact that we have been able to take it to a world stage, for me it\u2019s all about the live gig.\u00a0 No matter how big or small.\u00a0 We have met some great people through this band.\u00a0 We have played with some amazing bands and all with NO management, NO record companies.\u00a0 It\u2019s a feather in our collective hats.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Australia<\/p>\n

Band Members:<\/strong> Rusty – Vocals, Venom – Drums, Irwin Thomas – Guitar, Pete Robinson – Guitar, Alex Raunjak – Bass<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> www.electricmary.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong> Down To The Bone (2009)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t