Forgotten Realms (Pavlos buddelt in den 80ern)

[Jhonny D.]

Coole Sache!
Viele Namen habe ich echt noch nie gehört.

[TheSchubert666]

LEGIONED MARCHER (USA)

Grandios und kannte ich bisher noch nicht. Gerade beim zweiten Stück höre ich auch sehr viel ganz alte Queensryche rauch (so ab 0:30). Wäre schön, wenn da noch was offizielles rauskommen würde, insbesondere, wenn die anderen Songs das Niveau halten können.

Ui. Dieser Legioned Marcher tönt ja mächtig klasse. Das begeistert mich gerade. Ok, die Produktion ist nicht die beste, aber egal. Vor allem das zweite Lied bläst mir gerade frischen Wind in meine verkrusteten Ohren. Herrlich.

[Pavlos]

- Promo 1989
- Demo 1990
- Demo 1991

Dreemwichs "Promo 1989" gehört zweifelsfrei zu den besten USPM Demos überhaupt. Zeit also, sich diesem vergessenen Kapitel des amerikanischen Stahls zu widmen. Zumal da scheinbar noch unveröffentlichte Songs existieren und ein Wille zur (Wieder-)Veröffentlichung vorhanden ist. Doch dazu später mehr.

Mein erster Kontakt mit der Band waren die zahlreichen Artikel im kultigen Underground Empire Fanzine Anfang der 90er. Szeneveteran Stefan Glas erwähnte die Jungs immer wieder mal, lobte bei jeder Gelegenheit ihr Material, rückte den Stoff (sowohl stilistisch als auch qualitativ) in die Nähe ganz früher Queensryche und prophezeite der Band eine große Zukunft. Damals, also etliche Jahre vor dem Internet, als das Erkunden und Beschaffen neuer Musik sich meistens unglaublich in die Länge zog, sorgten die Glas´schen Lobpreisungen für Kopfkino beim jungen Pavlos und ich wollte, nein, musste mir das zulegen.

Zusammen mit´nem Kumpel bestellten wir uns sowohl das Tape, als auch den "Midwest Metalfest" CD Sampler, auf dem die Band mit den beiden Tracks ihres zweiten Demos vertreten war. Und was soll ich sagen, Herr Glas hatte nicht übertrieben, das war tatsächlich grandioser, leicht progressiv angehauchter Power Metal, wie er (damals) eben nur in den Staaten erschaffen wurde: Einprägsame Riffs, kraftvoller Drive, packende Melodien und eine ausdrucksstarke, über allem thronende Stimme. Geiler Scheiss eben, wie wir ihn uns erhofft hatten. Mein Kumpel und ich waren schon beim ersten Durchgang hin und weg, und ich bin es eigentlich auch heute noch bei jedem Anhören. Hört Euch nur mal die letzte Minute vom Opener ´Lonely Child´ an (das geht nicht besser - dieses Riff!!!), oder das Hauptriff vom unten verlinkten ´Silent Whisper´, und ihr werdet verstehen.

Ach ja: Besagtes "1989 Promo" Tape sollte sich heute immer noch im Besitz meines Kumpels befinden. Fall du das hier lesen solltest, Joachim: Nach über zwanzig Jahren in Deinem Besitz könnte es jetzt ruhig auch mal in mein Regal wandern. Wir haben schließlich beide gleich viel dafür bezahlt, du Schuft!!!



Ich hab mal bei Bassist Jeff Dodd angeklopft und bzgl. Vergangenheit und Zukunft (!!) nachgefragt:

Can you remember how Dreemwich started?
Dreemwich began in Topeka Kansas in the fall of 1988. I don't remember the exact 'jams' or 'talks' that led to the thought of getting a band together, but by the summer of 1990 we were touring. The band name was founded by Ronnie Fields. We started jamming in Ronnie's parents basement until we eventually moved to Kevin Streeter´s parents barn on the farm for space and privacy. That was the rehearsal space for many years, until near the end when we moved into a storage unit that was utilized until the ban broke up.

What were your goals, who were your influences?
Many artists and bands influenced the direction we were writing. The obvious Pink Floyd, Dixie Dregs, Queensryche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, Rush, Metallica, Crimson Glory, Queen, Kansas, Black Sabbath, Megadeath, Kings X. Those were the more progessive bands (many more not listed). We all also had many jazz, funk and fusion bands (too many to list) that were huge musical influences. We also all obviously had individual inspirations on our instruments. I think if we found songs interesting and melodic we could find inspiration in it.

How can we imagine the kansas metal scene back in those days, did you play a lot of gigs?
There was a lot of crazy good talent in Topeka, Lawrence and the Kansas City area. This was great because there was this unspoken drive to be more badass then the other bands out there. Respect between the bands was key as we were all striving to 'make it' in the industry, and help put the midwest on the map.
We toured the country in all three major line ups. After being in Metal Edge magazine and RIP magazine we headlined across the nation going coast to coast over the lifespan of the band. We also opened for many artists along the way like Nitro, Cacophony, Baton Rouge, Toy Roz, Vicious Rumors, Banshee and Quiet Riot to name a few. Playing the Whiskey a go-go in LA for the record labels and the Metal Fest at the Governors Mansion in Kansas City were a couple of my personal favorites.

You guys recorded three demos with three different line ups. What went wrong? Why did guys like Matt Cavanugh (great voice, by the way!!!) had to leave?
We were living like we were playing, hard and fast! This led to lots of alcohol (although we weren't big on drugs). Unfortunately a drug habit is what led to having to let Matt go (and cost him his life years later). Ronnie ended up not wanting to continue touring and went on as a guitar teacher spawning off the great Andy McKee as his greatest student. Then we added Steve's brother Mark Case to the first half of the first tour and added Steve Schnieder to finish the first tour. Needing a permanent guitarist we then added Dave Buller. Bryan Cowsert replaced Matt after the first tour. During our second tour to the east coast Bryan ended up in an alcohol rehab and left the band. Dave didn't write in the vein we had always pushed so we ended up replacing Dave with Scott Shipps and Karl Keller took over on lead vocals, replacing Bryan. For me this was the line up that wrote and performed on a level the band had not been on prior. The demo we recorded was never finished (I have a rough mixed version), so obviously never released.

Why, do you think, did the band never really make the next big step, why did you split?
So much time and effort went into trying to excel as a performing, original songwriting band. Between Sleepy Town Productions promotions and lots of writing and stage performance rehearsals and gig time, I don't know the 'Why' it didn't happen. We talked with a few record labels, but nothing ever came to fruition.
Eventually, Kevins love of alcohol caused us to let him go. From this point on the band tried adding new guitarist, but between the distance of members being 90 miles apart (Karl and Scott lived in Kansas City, the rest of us in Topeka), rehearsals became less and the band became no more.

What ́s the status of the band right now?
I still talk with Steve and Ron, Scott, Bryan and rarely to Karl, Kevin and Dave (not sure what they are up to). To my knowledge, everyone still plays with different musical pursuits. Karl, Scott and Steve had worked on a couple of new tracks a few years ago and I fired back the songs with bass tracks, but never more than that. We threw around a reunion gig thought, but somehow that never happened.

Did you guys ever talk about reuniting or at least putting your demos out as an anthology album?
No, but lets talk, I have all of the contacts of the band and we could consider it if interest was truly there. I would remix it and remaster it before I would consider it. I can put you in contact with everyone else if you wanted to get their insight of how things went down. I also have lots of old pics, newsletters and pamphlets and the issues of Metal edge and RIP if you want any of that, too.

[Killmister]

- Promo 1989
- Demo 1990
- Demo 1991

Dreemwichs "Promo 1989" gehört zweifelsfrei zu den besten USPM Demos überhaupt. Zeit also, sich diesem vergessenen Kapitel des amerikanischen Stahls zu widmen. Zumal da scheinbar noch unveröffentlichte Songs existieren und ein Wille zur (Wieder-)Veröffentlichung vorhanden ist. Doch dazu später mehr.

Mein erster Kontakt mit der Band waren die zahlreichen Artikel im kultigen Underground Empire Fanzine Anfang der 90er. Szeneveteran Stefan Glas erwähnte die Jungs immer wieder mal, lobte bei jeder Gelegenheit ihr Material, rückte den Stoff (sowohl stilistisch als auch qualitativ) in die Nähe ganz früher Queensryche und prophezeite der Band eine große Zukunft. Damals, also etliche Jahre vor dem Internet, als das Erkunden und Beschaffen neuer Musik sich meistens unglaublich in die Länge zog, sorgten die Glas´schen Lobpreisungen für Kopfkino beim jungen Pavlos und ich wollte, nein, musste mir das zulegen.

Zusammen mit´nem Kumpel bestellten wir uns sowohl das Tape, als auch den "Midwest Metalfest" CD Sampler, auf dem die Band mit den beiden Tracks ihres zweiten Demos vertreten war. Und was soll ich sagen, Herr Glas hatte nicht übertrieben, das war tatsächlich grandioser, leicht progressiv angehauchter Power Metal, wie er (damals) eben nur in den Staaten erschaffen wurde: Einprägsame Riffs, kraftvoller Drive, packende Melodien und eine ausdrucksstarke, über allem thronende Stimme. Geiler Scheiss eben, wie wir ihn uns erhofft hatten. Mein Kumpel und ich waren schon beim ersten Durchgang hin und weg, und ich bin es eigentlich auch heute noch bei jedem Anhören. Hört Euch nur mal die letzte Minute vom Opener ´Lonely Child´ an (das geht nicht besser - dieses Riff!!!), oder das Hauptriff vom unten verlinkten ´Silent Whisper´, und ihr werdet verstehen.

Ach ja: Besagtes "1989 Promo" Tape sollte sich heute immer noch im Besitz meines Kumpels befinden. Fall du das hier lesen solltest, Joachim: Nach über zwanzig Jahren in Deinem Besitz könnte es jetzt ruhig auch mal in mein Regal wandern. Wir haben schließlich beide gleich viel dafür bezahlt, du Schuft!!!



Ich hab mal bei Bassist Jeff Dodd angeklopft und bzgl. Vergangenheit und Zukunft (!!) nachgefragt:

Can you remember how Dreemwich started?
Dreemwich began in Topeka Kansas in the fall of 1988. I don't remember the exact 'jams' or 'talks' that led to the thought of getting a band together, but by the summer of 1990 we were touring. The band name was founded by Ronnie Fields. We started jamming in Ronnie's parents basement until we eventually moved to Kevin Streeter´s parents barn on the farm for space and privacy. That was the rehearsal space for many years, until near the end when we moved into a storage unit that was utilized until the ban broke up.

What were your goals, who were your influences?
Many artists and bands influenced the direction we were writing. The obvious Pink Floyd, Dixie Dregs, Queensryche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, Rush, Metallica, Crimson Glory, Queen, Kansas, Black Sabbath, Megadeath, Kings X. Those were the more progessive bands (many more not listed). We all also had many jazz, funk and fusion bands (too many to list) that were huge musical influences. We also all obviously had individual inspirations on our instruments. I think if we found songs interesting and melodic we could find inspiration in it.

How can we imagine the kansas metal scene back in those days, did you play a lot of gigs?
There was a lot of crazy good talent in Topeka, Lawrence and the Kansas City area. This was great because there was this unspoken drive to be more badass then the other bands out there. Respect between the bands was key as we were all striving to 'make it' in the industry, and help put the midwest on the map.
We toured the country in all three major line ups. After being in Metal Edge magazine and RIP magazine we headlined across the nation going coast to coast over the lifespan of the band. We also opened for many artists along the way like Nitro, Cacophony, Baton Rouge, Toy Roz, Vicious Rumors, Banshee and Quiet Riot to name a few. Playing the Whiskey a go-go in LA for the record labels and the Metal Fest at the Governors Mansion in Kansas City were a couple of my personal favorites.

You guys recorded three demos with three different line ups. What went wrong? Why did guys like Matt Cavanugh (great voice, by the way!!!) had to leave?
We were living like we were playing, hard and fast! This led to lots of alcohol (although we weren't big on drugs). Unfortunately a drug habit is what led to having to let Matt go (and cost him his life years later). Ronnie ended up not wanting to continue touring and went on as a guitar teacher spawning off the great Andy McKee as his greatest student. Then we added Steve's brother Mark Case to the first half of the first tour and added Steve Schnieder to finish the first tour. Needing a permanent guitarist we then added Dave Buller. Bryan Cowsert replaced Matt after the first tour. During our second tour to the east coast Bryan ended up in an alcohol rehab and left the band. Dave didn't write in the vein we had always pushed so we ended up replacing Dave with Scott Shipps and Karl Keller took over on lead vocals, replacing Bryan. For me this was the line up that wrote and performed on a level the band had not been on prior. The demo we recorded was never finished (I have a rough mixed version), so obviously never released.

Why, do you think, did the band never really make the next big step, why did you split?
So much time and effort went into trying to excel as a performing, original songwriting band. Between Sleepy Town Productions promotions and lots of writing and stage performance rehearsals and gig time, I don't know the 'Why' it didn't happen. We talked with a few record labels, but nothing ever came to fruition.
Eventually, Kevins love of alcohol caused us to let him go. From this point on the band tried adding new guitarist, but between the distance of members being 90 miles apart (Karl and Scott lived in Kansas City, the rest of us in Topeka), rehearsals became less and the band became no more.

What ́s the status of the band right now?
I still talk with Steve and Ron, Scott, Bryan and rarely to Karl, Kevin and Dave (not sure what they are up to). To my knowledge, everyone still plays with different musical pursuits. Karl, Scott and Steve had worked on a couple of new tracks a few years ago and I fired back the songs with bass tracks, but never more than that. We threw around a reunion gig thought, but somehow that never happened.

Did you guys ever talk about reuniting or at least putting your demos out as an anthology album?
No, but lets talk, I have all of the contacts of the band and we could consider it if interest was truly there. I would remix it and remaster it before I would consider it. I can put you in contact with everyone else if you wanted to get their insight of how things went down. I also have lots of old pics, newsletters and pamphlets and the issues of Metal edge and RIP if you want any of that, too.

Yubb, feiner Stoff werter Pavlos, den ich wohl damals bei A. Reisnauer??? bestellt habe(war das spannend, einfach ins blaue, bzw. wegen einiger Schlagworte in den Anzeigetexten- also mir reichte damals US & Power ). Das Demo habe ich dann irgendwann verkauft, aber vorher digitalisiert und somit jederzeit griffbereit.

[Angelus_Mortiis]

- Promo 1989
- Demo 1990
- Demo 1991

Dreemwichs "Promo 1989" gehört zweifelsfrei zu den besten USPM Demos überhaupt. Zeit also, sich diesem vergessenen Kapitel des amerikanischen Stahls zu widmen. Zumal da scheinbar noch unveröffentlichte Songs existieren und ein Wille zur (Wieder-)Veröffentlichung vorhanden ist. Doch dazu später mehr.

Mein erster Kontakt mit der Band waren die zahlreichen Artikel im kultigen Underground Empire Fanzine Anfang der 90er. Szeneveteran Stefan Glas erwähnte die Jungs immer wieder mal, lobte bei jeder Gelegenheit ihr Material, rückte den Stoff (sowohl stilistisch als auch qualitativ) in die Nähe ganz früher Queensryche und prophezeite der Band eine große Zukunft. Damals, also etliche Jahre vor dem Internet, als das Erkunden und Beschaffen neuer Musik sich meistens unglaublich in die Länge zog, sorgten die Glas´schen Lobpreisungen für Kopfkino beim jungen Pavlos und ich wollte, nein, musste mir das zulegen.

Zusammen mit´nem Kumpel bestellten wir uns sowohl das Tape, als auch den "Midwest Metalfest" CD Sampler, auf dem die Band mit den beiden Tracks ihres zweiten Demos vertreten war. Und was soll ich sagen, Herr Glas hatte nicht übertrieben, das war tatsächlich grandioser, leicht progressiv angehauchter Power Metal, wie er (damals) eben nur in den Staaten erschaffen wurde: Einprägsame Riffs, kraftvoller Drive, packende Melodien und eine ausdrucksstarke, über allem thronende Stimme. Geiler Scheiss eben, wie wir ihn uns erhofft hatten. Mein Kumpel und ich waren schon beim ersten Durchgang hin und weg, und ich bin es eigentlich auch heute noch bei jedem Anhören. Hört Euch nur mal die letzte Minute vom Opener ´Lonely Child´ an (das geht nicht besser - dieses Riff!!!), oder das Hauptriff vom unten verlinkten ´Silent Whisper´, und ihr werdet verstehen.

Ach ja: Besagtes "1989 Promo" Tape sollte sich heute immer noch im Besitz meines Kumpels befinden. Fall du das hier lesen solltest, Joachim: Nach über zwanzig Jahren in Deinem Besitz könnte es jetzt ruhig auch mal in mein Regal wandern. Wir haben schließlich beide gleich viel dafür bezahlt, du Schuft!!!



Ich hab mal bei Bassist Jeff Dodd angeklopft und bzgl. Vergangenheit und Zukunft (!!) nachgefragt:

Can you remember how Dreemwich started?
Dreemwich began in Topeka Kansas in the fall of 1988. I don't remember the exact 'jams' or 'talks' that led to the thought of getting a band together, but by the summer of 1990 we were touring. The band name was founded by Ronnie Fields. We started jamming in Ronnie's parents basement until we eventually moved to Kevin Streeter´s parents barn on the farm for space and privacy. That was the rehearsal space for many years, until near the end when we moved into a storage unit that was utilized until the ban broke up.

What were your goals, who were your influences?
Many artists and bands influenced the direction we were writing. The obvious Pink Floyd, Dixie Dregs, Queensryche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, Rush, Metallica, Crimson Glory, Queen, Kansas, Black Sabbath, Megadeath, Kings X. Those were the more progessive bands (many more not listed). We all also had many jazz, funk and fusion bands (too many to list) that were huge musical influences. We also all obviously had individual inspirations on our instruments. I think if we found songs interesting and melodic we could find inspiration in it.

How can we imagine the kansas metal scene back in those days, did you play a lot of gigs?
There was a lot of crazy good talent in Topeka, Lawrence and the Kansas City area. This was great because there was this unspoken drive to be more badass then the other bands out there. Respect between the bands was key as we were all striving to 'make it' in the industry, and help put the midwest on the map.
We toured the country in all three major line ups. After being in Metal Edge magazine and RIP magazine we headlined across the nation going coast to coast over the lifespan of the band. We also opened for many artists along the way like Nitro, Cacophony, Baton Rouge, Toy Roz, Vicious Rumors, Banshee and Quiet Riot to name a few. Playing the Whiskey a go-go in LA for the record labels and the Metal Fest at the Governors Mansion in Kansas City were a couple of my personal favorites.

You guys recorded three demos with three different line ups. What went wrong? Why did guys like Matt Cavanugh (great voice, by the way!!!) had to leave?
We were living like we were playing, hard and fast! This led to lots of alcohol (although we weren't big on drugs). Unfortunately a drug habit is what led to having to let Matt go (and cost him his life years later). Ronnie ended up not wanting to continue touring and went on as a guitar teacher spawning off the great Andy McKee as his greatest student. Then we added Steve's brother Mark Case to the first half of the first tour and added Steve Schnieder to finish the first tour. Needing a permanent guitarist we then added Dave Buller. Bryan Cowsert replaced Matt after the first tour. During our second tour to the east coast Bryan ended up in an alcohol rehab and left the band. Dave didn't write in the vein we had always pushed so we ended up replacing Dave with Scott Shipps and Karl Keller took over on lead vocals, replacing Bryan. For me this was the line up that wrote and performed on a level the band had not been on prior. The demo we recorded was never finished (I have a rough mixed version), so obviously never released.

Why, do you think, did the band never really make the next big step, why did you split?
So much time and effort went into trying to excel as a performing, original songwriting band. Between Sleepy Town Productions promotions and lots of writing and stage performance rehearsals and gig time, I don't know the 'Why' it didn't happen. We talked with a few record labels, but nothing ever came to fruition.
Eventually, Kevins love of alcohol caused us to let him go. From this point on the band tried adding new guitarist, but between the distance of members being 90 miles apart (Karl and Scott lived in Kansas City, the rest of us in Topeka), rehearsals became less and the band became no more.

What ́s the status of the band right now?
I still talk with Steve and Ron, Scott, Bryan and rarely to Karl, Kevin and Dave (not sure what they are up to). To my knowledge, everyone still plays with different musical pursuits. Karl, Scott and Steve had worked on a couple of new tracks a few years ago and I fired back the songs with bass tracks, but never more than that. We threw around a reunion gig thought, but somehow that never happened.

Did you guys ever talk about reuniting or at least putting your demos out as an anthology album?
No, but lets talk, I have all of the contacts of the band and we could consider it if interest was truly there. I would remix it and remaster it before I would consider it. I can put you in contact with everyone else if you wanted to get their insight of how things went down. I also have lots of old pics, newsletters and pamphlets and the issues of Metal edge and RIP if you want any of that, too.

Total geile Band. Den Sampler habe ich auch und das 1989er Demo/Promo hat mir Stefan Glas mal als CDR zukommen lassen. Einen Rerelease würde ich sofort kaufen, also go, go, go!

[Pavlos]

Jeff har mir (in weiteren Mails) mehrmals signalisiert, dass die Jungs Bock auf´nen ordentlichen (Re-)Release hätten.

Da sollte also definitiv was gehen.

[Boris the Enforcer]

Jeff har mir (in weiteren Mails) mehrmals signalisiert, dass die Jungs Bock auf´nen ordentlichen (Re-)Release hätten.

Da sollte also definitiv was gehen.

Das wäre super. Ich würde gerne meine mp3s gegen eine offizielle CD austauschen.

[Pavlos]

Jeff har mir (in weiteren Mails) mehrmals signalisiert, dass die Jungs Bock auf´nen ordentlichen (Re-)Release hätten.

Da sollte also definitiv was gehen.

Das wäre super. Ich würde gerne meine mp3s gegen eine offizielle CD austauschen.

Ich hab das gestern mal an Arkeyn Steel weitergeleitet und habe soeben eine Mail erhalten, dass seit heute Mittag erste Gespräche zwischen Label und Band angelaufen sind....

[Siebi]

Tolle Teile wurden gebracht, wird sich die kommenden Wochen tiefer reingegraben, da gerade Clontarfs saustarker Wichtelsampler abermals läuft.

Weiter so, Pavlos und alle anderen Insider und Schaufelbuddler! Stark!

[Angelus_Mortiis]

Jeff har mir (in weiteren Mails) mehrmals signalisiert, dass die Jungs Bock auf´nen ordentlichen (Re-)Release hätten.

Da sollte also definitiv was gehen.

Das wäre super. Ich würde gerne meine mp3s gegen eine offizielle CD austauschen.

Ich hab das gestern mal an Arkeyn Steel weitergeleitet und habe soeben eine Mail erhalten, dass seit heute Mittag erste Gespräche zwischen Label und Band angelaufen sind....

[Pavlos]

AXID (Schweden)

- Demo 1984

Diesmal geht es ab in den Norden Europas, der in den 80ern unfassbar viel geniale Bands hervorgebracht hat. Wühlt man sich mal durch diverse Youtube Kanäle, wird man von der Masse, aber auch der Qualität, vieler unbekannter Bands schier erschlagen. Eines von vielen Beispielen: AXID aus Südschweden, die es nur zu drei Samplerbeiträgen und einem Four Track Demo brachten, dabei aber eine dermaßen starke Figur machten, dass ich sie hier mal kurz vorstellen will.

Die ersten offiziellen musikalischen Lebenszeichen gab es 1982 in Form zweier Teilnahmen an lokalen Samplern. ´Drinker´ und ´Reptile´nahm man für den "Heavy Metal" Sampler (Pang Records) auf, ´Stadens Lag´ wurde für einen von Produzent Göran Sandquist zusammengestellten Sampler namens "Skansk Rock 1" eingespielt. Mittlerweile war man, auf Druck des Produzenten, von Englisch auf Schwedisch als Singsprache geswitcht. Ein Fehler, wie sich herausstellen sollte, denn nicht alle Bandmitglieder waren mit diesem Wechsel einverstanden. Zwei Musiker verließen daraufhin die Band und Axid mussten das komplette Jahr 1983 pausieren. Anfang 1984 war man wieder vollzählig, wechselte wieder zurück zu Englisch, nahm ein paar starke Demosongs auf und versuchte erneut sein Glück. Wieder ohne Erfolg. Was blieb waren aber ein paar richtig feine Classic Metal Songs......



Tommy, there´s not much info about AXID on the internet, so could you please give us a short history of the band.
I was part of a band called Grudge in the late 70s and played drums. The singer in that band had an incredibly talented brother who played guitar and he became a member of the band around 1978. The bass player at the time had a quite demanding girlfriend who didn´t like when he was at the rehearsals, so in order to get something done with our music, I was transformed into a bass player and a friend of ours joined as a drummer.
So at that time it was Hans Larsson - guitar, me Tommy Karlsson - bass, Mats Thorstensson - drums, Rolf Palmnert - guitar and Bengt Levin - vocals. We also changed the name from Grudge to Accid (short for accident), but we pronounced it Axid. Since almost nobody else pronounced it Axid (most people were saying like Assid) we decided to change it to an x instead of two c. There you go with the bandnamne!!
We had our first public performance in a local club in our hometown Ystad around 1979. After that we changed some of the bandmembers. Mr. Palmnert and Mr. Levin quit and for a while we had a female singer, Inger Pedersen. The second guitar was played by Jan-Inge Sjöström. Both Inger and the second guitarist quit after a few years and we had a other guitarist called Peter Magnusson. We also had a new singer Jonas Samulesson ( older brother to Jacob Samuel in the Poodles) and we also had new guitarist Jens Brandt, and this was the final band that did the demo tape from 1984.

Which bands were your influences? I can hear a lot of Judas Priest on the 1984 demo.
You´re absolutely right, Judas Priest was one of the big influences and of course Iron Maiden, Ozzy as a solo artist (I even wrote a song about him called Ode to a Madman), Saxon, Ufo, Kiss, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy and a lot more…

Before you recorded your demo, you participated with three tracks on two swedish samplers were you sung in swedish. Why did you change from swedish to english for the demo? Have you recorded more songs or just the seven known tracks?
The change to Swedish on the record Skånsk Rock was demanded of the producer, and we just found out the day before recording. So in the morning at the recording day we sat down in the singers (Bengt Levin) kitchen and changed the lyrics to swedish. We recorded a lot of demos but they are in very bad quality. I still have the demo from 1984 but it´s in a very bad shape.

I know a lot of swedish rock and metal stuff from that era and your songs are up there with the best. Classic question: What´s your oppinion about why you didn´t "make it"?
That´s the question!! We did everything possible (writing music, gigs, promotion, rehearsals) but we also had a lot of musical differences about what way to go. It all kind of faded out…

AXID are back together. How is it going and have you thought about recording an album or even (re)releasing the original stuff from the 80s? There sure is a market for such strong music nowadays.
Out of the blue I got a phone call like three years ago and the question if I could be interested to start playing again and put some life back into Axid. I think I hesitated about 0.1 seconds and then said YES!!!!!!! Before that we met like 2 times in 28 years and played for a couple hours, otherwise I didn’t play with a band during that whole time. My old bass was standing in a corner and collecting dust, so it was a tough start for me, but the other guys have been playing the whole time in different bands. When we started out again we started with a lot of covers but we are looking at a lot of the old songs and it´s fascinating how easy some of them are to pick up again. We haven´t talked about a recording yet, but who knows?

[Pavlos]

Jeff har mir (in weiteren Mails) mehrmals signalisiert, dass die Jungs Bock auf´nen ordentlichen (Re-)Release hätten.

Da sollte also definitiv was gehen.

Das wäre super. Ich würde gerne meine mp3s gegen eine offizielle CD austauschen.

Ich hab das gestern mal an Arkeyn Steel weitergeleitet und habe soeben eine Mail erhalten, dass seit heute Mittag erste Gespräche zwischen Label und Band angelaufen sind....

Es ist vollbracht:

Arkeyn Steel Records have managed to track down this excellent band. We dug very deeply and release their entire back catalogue (17 songs in total, more than 78’ minutes of music including everything that the band has ever recorded). It seemed impossible but we finally made it.
As usual all songs remastered from original tapes for the best sound journey.
Comes in 16-page fat glossy booklet with lyrics, band story and full of unreleased pics.
Another US Lyrical Power jewel will be released the way it deserves!
Fans of QUEENSRYCHE, FATES WARNING, LETHAL, HEIR APPARENT, RECON & SACRED WARRIOR must have it!

Tracklist:
1. Lonely Child
2. Pleasure And Pain
3. Without Your Love
4. The Search
5. Silent Whisper
6. Justice
7. Forevermore
8. Beyond Imagination
9. Look Out
10. Prophet Of The Sword
11. Beyond Imagination
12. Power Shortage
13. The Final Day
14. Never Separated
15. Always
16. The Alliance
17. The Brotherhood
1-5 (1st EP/Demo 1989)
6-10 (2nd EP/Demo Unreleased/Promo Only 1989)
11-12 (3rd EP/Demo 1990)
13 (Outtake/Unreleased song from 3rd EP/Demo 1990)
14-15 (4th EP/Demo Unreleased/Unfinished/Rough Mix 1991)
16-17 (Live at Backstage, Oct 14th, 1991)

[Acurus-Heiko]

Laß Dich fest knuddeln, Pavlos. Das wird ein Festschmaus.

[Angelus_Mortiis]

Laß Dich fest knuddeln, Pavlos. Das wird ein Festschmaus.

Ich pflichte hier bei und bemerke noch, dass das ein Pflichtkauf für Qualitätsmetaller ist

[Pavlos]

HARVEST MOON (Wales)

- The Lion And The Snake EP (1980)
- Tales Of Wonder 7" (1981)

Harvest Moon starteten Ende der 70er zunächst unter dem Namen Stepping Stones und zockten primär Coversongs, ehe man sich Anfang 1980 zu einem Namenswechsel entschloss, anfing das Ziel Musikkarriere ernstzunehmen und von nun an ausschließlich auf eigene Songs setzte. Der Stoff weckte das Interesse des nahegelegenen Smile Records Labels und flugs kam es zu einer Kooperation, aus welcher die The Lion And The Snake EP hervorging.

Nach dem Release jener Platte gewann die Band den Radio City FM Battle of the Bands Award in Liverpool, bei dem so illustre Juroren wie Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet und Ian Gillan die Band ganz vorne sahen und ihr somit zu einem weiteren Popularitätsschub verhalfen. Harvest Moon waren nun sowas wie the next big thing und Charisma Records (u.a. Genesis, VdGG, Lindisfarne) konnte sie für sich gewinnen. Im Folgejahr veröffentlichte die Band eine Single (Tales Of Wonder) über das legendäre Label und alles schien glatt zu laufen. Aber das Schicksal meinte es nicht gut mit den Jungs und so hatte ein Wechsel an der Spitze des Labels fatale Folgen für sie. Der neuen Führung, die in der parallel laufenden New Wave Bewegung deutlich mehr Profit witterte, gefiel das Material nämlich ganz und gar nicht und somit wurde das Harvest Moon Budget massiv gekürzt und die Formation letztendlich vom Roster geschmissen.

Die Band zeigte sich über das Verhalten des Labels natürlich enttäuscht, war aber gewillt weiterzukämpfen, denn eine treue Fanbasis war ja immer noch vorhanden, und Szeneprotagonisten wie DJ Tommy Vance und Lemmy Kilmister, ein Kumpel der Band, rührten weiterhin fleissig in der Öffentlichkeit die Werbetrommel für sie.

Durch Kontakte zum Motörhead Boss schaffte es die Band, die sich nun in THE MOON umbenannte hatte, 1982 auf das Billing des legendären Wrexham Rock Festivals, wo sie neben Bands wie Motörhead, Twistes Sister, Tank, Budgie und Raven vor 40.000 Zuschauern ihre Songs präsentieren durfte. Leider blieb der erhoffte neue Plattenvertrag aus und somit kämpfte man sich mit Einzelgigs durch das Jahr 1983, stets in der Hoffnung, dass es doch noch mit dem Profitum klappt.

1984 kam dann das Aus. Interne Streitereien und der Verlust beider Kreativköpfe (Jones zog es zum Reggae, Porrino schloss sich Nightwing an) waren zuviel, und somit wurden Harvest Moon zu Grabe getragen.....was eigentlich verdammt schade ist, denn wenn man sich das fabelhafte Material so anhört, dann hätte der Stoff zumindest einen gescheiten Rerelease verdient. Die Bereitschaft seitens der Band ist jedenfalls vorhanden, und Tracks wie Tales Of Wonder, Harvest Moon und The Lion And The Snake zählen nicht nur für mich mit zum Besten, was die rockig-melodische NWOBHM jemals ausgespuckt hat.



Ich hab Gitarrist Glynn Porrino einfach mal angeschrieben und ausgefragt:

When and how did you guys come together? Tell us something about the early days of HARVEST MOON?
HARVEST MOON grew out of the ashes of a band that started while I was still in the RAF. That band was called STEPPING STONES and just played the local clubs around Northern Wales. Things began to change when I met drummer Tony "Syllysixty" O'Sullivan. Though I had moved back to my hometown of Warrington after leaving the RAF, the two of us just used to rehearse together in his bedroom, mostly doing FREE and RAINBOW covers. After a while we started to add other musicians (Gaz Williams on bass, Dave Evans on Keyboards, singer Alan Shaw and Steve "Pablo" Jones).
STEPPING STONE turned into HARVEST MOON after I wrote the track of the same name featured on the EP. The final transition to HARVEST MOON came when Gaz Williams was replaced by Mogga on bass. From then on the band gained a large cult following and became the featured rock band on Liverpool's Radio City Rolling Rock Roadshow. At the Radio City Battle of the Bands in 1981, HARVEST MOON were awarded all the prizes: best rock band, best song for Tails Of Wonder, and for myself, best lead guitarist.

In 1980 you released the "The Lion And The Snake" EP, one year later you did the "Tales Of Wonder" single. Why only five songs on two releases instead of going for a full album?
The Lion & Snake EP was self recorded at Smile Studio in Manchester, therefore there were only 500 singles ever printed, which I took a loan out and paid for. Recording was very expensive and as a band we paid all the money the band made into our live show, lights, PA, and everything a band needed for a good live show. It was our first time in the studio so we made many mistakes I but learned a lot from that experience.
The Tales of Wonder single was recorded at Amazon Studios in Liverpool. Charisma's A&R man (Ron Atkinson, I think) spent some time in the studio during the recording process. He was impressed and although the deal with Charisma was only for one single, he said that an album was now on the table and it would be recorded at the Manor House Studios. All seemed to go well until the single was released. No advertising meant no one knew of its release. I contacted Ron only to find out that Charisma was in serious financial difficulties and was about to be taken over so all deals were off. No album. The single got some radio play but not enough to make a difference.

Charisma signed you in 1981 and released the Tales Of Wonder single. Shortly after its release you were dropped again. Why that?
We came up against a brick wall where record deals were concerned. Punk had killed off rock record deals, and no one was interested in new "classic" rock bands. We carried on as live band because that was where our hearts lay. Sully was first to leave, caught up in the new wave thing, and was replaced by drummer Chris Harris. We carried on gigging until 1984 when Steve Jones left to form a reggae band, of all things. We drafted in Max Bacon (MobyDick/Bronze/GTR) and rehearsed with him a couple of times. However, Nightwing offered him the place of singer so he chose that route instead.



In 1982 you played the huge Wrexham Rock Festival with bands like Motörhead, Tank, Raven, Budgie and Twisted Sister. How was that experience? What do you remember from that gig?
The Wrexham Rock Festival was wild, to say the least. I spent the afternoon sitting in the stands behind the stage sharing stories with this huge but very nice American guy with masses of blond curls. We watched the bands sound checking and compared notes. Later, after our show, he told me he loved the band, especially Tales Of Wonder, and was almost ashamed to stand on the same stage, That man was Dee Snyder, Singer of Twisted Sister. Myself and Lemmy stood in the wings stage left when Twisted Sister took to the stage and where blown away. Lemmy looked at me and we both had the same shocked expression. WTF!? Dee ran up to my camera as I was about to take a shot but with his makeup on I was so scared i forgot to press the button. But let me tell you, I have never seen a front man do what Dee Snyder did that day. He ran onto the stage unknown to the audience and shouted down the mic, in a voice that all of Wrexham town must have heard, "Off your assholes, motherfuckers!" And they did get off their assholes. He took total control of the crowd in a way I´veve never seen before or since. What a guy! Later when we were talking in Motorhead's dressing room I mention how he took control of the crowd. He replied, in that confident American way, "It's my Job. If I didn't entertain the crowd, I wouldn't be worth the money". Dee Snyder was very easy to like.
Also on that day in Wrexham, Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy) was on guitar for Motörhead and I have never seen a man so drunk play so perfectly .Great guitar player, but later Motörhead fans complained because he was too good for what they wanted. Tank and Raven were a bit run of the mill for me, and it's where I first met Max Bacon as his band Moby Dick were opening the festival. In a strange twist of fate, I met another guy that day: Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath). My wife met his wife in the audience and we became form friends over the years. His band was called Orion - though he had a huge beard back then. Great singer.
By the way, Harvest moon got a fantastic write up in one of the rock newspapers, unfortunately, they called us Shoot The Moon, who were a completely different band, so we lost out there, haha.

Why did you split in 1984? What did you guys do after Harvest Moon? I read that you joined Nightwing.
In 1984 I was asked to session the upcoming Nightwing European tour as Alec Johnson had left the band. It was this time I had a serious difference of opinion with Harvest Moon keyboardist Dave Evans, which caused me to split Harvest Moon and sign up permanently with Nightwing.
After joining Nightwing, I lost touch with most of the boys, though these days I am great friends with Steve jones and Sully. I don't know what Mogga is doing and I haven't heard from Dave Evans since I joined Nightwing. No loss. Hey, I'm a friendly guy, so he must have really pissed me off for me not to have stayed in touch. Such is the lot of rock musicians haha.

Are there more Harvest Moon recordings available besides the songs from the EP and the single? Ever thought about rereleasing the Harvest Moon stuff?
Sadly there were no more Harvest Moon recordings as we concentrated on being a good live band and the studio was far too expensive in those days. Just before last Christmas, a German record company was looking to release a Harvest Moon anthology, but the deal fell through because we only ever recorded five tracks, so not enough for an album. I'm beginning to think Harvest Moon was cursed, lol.