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When I heard the debut album of this band, I was addicted right away! Hard rock from the seventies with a metal edge. You will rarely hear something like that anymore in 2005. Responsible for this awesome CD are former members of DESTINY’S END (Perry Grayson- guitar & vocals) and the cult band of all cult bands in the metal scene CIRITH UNGOL (Greg Lindstrom – bass). Together with PALE DIVINE drummer Darin McCloskey, they form a new sensation on the metal map, in my eyes. All the more reason to ask Perry Grayson a few questions about their new band and very successful debut album….
When did you form FALCON and who were in the first line up of the band?
Perry Grayson: âI wanted to get FALCON going much earlier than I did, but a band like this needs just the right members, and Iâm glad I waited until 2002 to get the ball rolling. Thatâs not to say I didnât try to get it going earlier. I had one jam with my friend Mike Bear (bass) from ARTISAN and a drummer in 2001, while ARTISAN was drummerless, but that didnât work out âcause the drummer wasnât into it. Iâm glad actually, because it made me realize I needed to be more selective about who I got involved in FALCON. Enter Greg Lindstrom from CIRITH UNGOL! One of my all-time biggest music heroes and all-around cool guy. Iâd been friends with Rob Garven, the drummer from CIRITH UNGOL for years before I met Greg. Though Rob no longer played drums, he kept saying that he thought Greg was itching to jam again, and he put me in touch with him. Initially, I met up with Greg to do an interview with him for Psychedelic Fanzine as a follow-up to the one I did with Rob. We got to showing each other some tunes on Gregâs axes and it was just very obvious that weâre both on the same page musicially. Gregâs unused UNGOL tunes fit very well with the FALCON originals Iâd come up with over the years. I hit Darin McCloskey from PALE DIVINE up to play drums, because Iâd been in touch with him for a while and Iâm a big fan of his band. I knew Darin was every bit as much of a die-hard fan of late sixties and early seventies heavy rock as I am. Goes without saying that this is the music Greg loves and inspired him, Rob and Jerry Fogle to form CIRITH UNGOL in the first place. Me and Greg demoed two of my tunes with the aid of a drum machine in fall of 2002, then Darin came out to L.A. for proper demoing in late March of 2003.â
In which other bands did the band members of FALCON play before they joined the band, and how did you actually get together as a band?
Perry: âWell, we just talked a lot about that, actually. But Iâll elaborate a little more for those who arenât familiar with us. Greg Lindstrom was a founding member of CIRITH UNGOL, and he was in the band from the very beginning in 1971-72 until after their first LP âFrost & Fireâ was released (he left around â82). He pretty much retired from the music biz after that until I badgered him into returning. Ha! I feel very fortunate to be in a band with Greg!! I was in DESTINYâS END from 1997 until 2003. Quite a different band from FALCON. Very technical power metal, verging on progressive at times. In DESTINYâS END, I just played guitar. After I left DESTINYâS END, I formed ARTISAN with my friends Mike Bear (bass/vocals) and Ana Greco (guitar/backing vox). ARTISAN got going because I thought Mike and I needed to work together in a band again. Mike and I had spent some time in a technical thrash band called STORMHAVEN together. STORMHAVEN never really got off the ground and broke up just before recording a demo. In ARTISAN I also tackled aggressive vocals. A lot of the stuff I did in ARTISAN sprang from my listening to bands like DEATH, SACRIFICE, SADUS, ANACRUSIS, CORONER, etc. a lot. The vocal style really got to me towards the end. Eventually, I started to really burn out on playing such super fast stuff, and I really wanted to explore new territory with FALCON, so I left ARTISAN in fall 2003 after playing a farewell gig opening for CATHEDRAL, STRAPPING YOPUNG LAD and SAMAEL. I still love Death and a lot of those bands, but heavy/bluesy rock was what made me want to play guitar in the first place, so I just had to concentrate on FALCON. Darinâs always been in PALE DIVINE. Heâs the mastermind behind the lyrics and pretty much the direction PALE DIVINE took. Which is very admirable for a drummer. Not too many drummers get that involved in the songwriting process and Darin does!â
Who decided on the musical direction of the band, and why did you turn the clock back for about thirty years and come with a style that sounded like it was created in the very early seventies?
Perry: âA very simple question to answer. I knew what direction FALCON would take from day one, if it ever got off the ground. With Greg and Darin involved, two consummate pros, it became a reality. Like I said, Greg grew up listening to bands like THIN LIZZY, DUST, TRAPEZE, BUDGIE, CAPTAIN BEYOND, when the stuff was first released. CIRITH UNGOL sounded the way they did, because all the guys in the band listened to that kind of music. Stuff like AEROSMITH, RUSH, SCORPIONS, AC/DC and the like are what got me excited about guitar in the first place. The more obscure bands like HARD STUFF, TIN HOUSE, HAIRY CHAPTER, BULL ANGUS, TOAD, NIGHT SUN, etc. are the things Rob Garven and Greg Lindstrom were listening to back in the days. I stumbled on some of that obscure stuff, and it was blowing my mind even before I joined DESTINYâS END. Of course I loved BLACK SABBATH, BLUE OYSTER CULT and stuff, but my friend Rob Preston turned me onto some really rare and buried heavy psychedelic bands. I wasnât at all surprised that these were the same records in Rob and Gregâs collections. You could tell thatâs where their heads were at.â
Darin McCloskey: âLikewise for me. Rob Preston enlightened me to a lot of bands that I would’ve otherwise never known existed. I’m basically a child of the eighties, but I really began listening to music in the mid-seventies. So the stuff that I was exposed to early on (KISS, ALICE COOPER, BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, etc) became the impetus for my style of playing… Granted the eighties had a lot of influence too, but it really pretty much only supplemented what had already been ingrained through those early influences during the seventies. Playing this style of music is not only enjoyable for me, it’s also very natural.â
Was the name FALCON an obvious choice for your band or have you also thought of other names too, before you decided to call the band FALCON?
Perry: âNo, FALCON was really the most fitting name I ever had in mind for a band like this. It was at the top of my list, when I was playing in a nameless rock cover band for a short while around 1993.â
You recorded a four track demo, before you released your self-titled debut album. Which songs are on this demo? And how were the reactions of the press on these four songs, or didnât you use the demo for promotion towards the press?
Perry: âThe songs were âShelobâs Lairâ (a CIRITH UNGOL tune, that was an intergral part of their set in â75-â76), âDownerâ, âThe Crying Of Lot 246â and âOn The Slabâ. We did the demo both for ourselves to progress as a band and to get the word out that we existed. Sent tons of copies around to mags and webzines worldwide. I think we got like one or two reviews, that werenât 100% positive. Other than that, the response was awesome, which is something I never expected and was really glad about!â
Darin: âI was a bit surprised by the response. The demo was more or less a rush job, and as Perry explains was more or less simply to let people know that the three of us had gotten together to jam and this is stuff we’re going to be doing in the future. I think a large part of the postive response came from those die-hard CIRITH UNGOL fans, who were hungry for something new to sink their teeth into. Whether this material be in the form of CIRITH UNGOL or FALCON was really pretty inconsequential, as long as Greg Lindstrom was involved people were already psyched. The old CIRITH UNGOL diehards were and are the main fanbase for FALCON, I think. It’s really cool that FALCON has attracted the interest of fans outside the CIRITH UNGOL fanbase, too and I think it’s what we had all hoped for.â
Your album was released on Liquid Flames Records. Is this your own label?
Perry: âLiquid Flames is the label CIRITH UNGOLâs âFrost and Fireâ was released on in 1981. Itâs Rob Garvenâs name, actually. We decided to resurrect the Liquid Flames name and give the FALCON album the piece code of LF002, since âFrost & Fireâ was LF001. In this day and age itâs actually very cost effective for a band to both record and manufacture their own CDs. Granted we donât have huge distribution at this point, but weâre in complete control. Which is better than getting screwed over by a even small label.â
You already played a few dates with bands like SMOKE, EARTHRIDE, SASQUATCH and FIREBALL MINISTRY. What was it like to play with these bands, and did you play with other bands in the meantime?
Perry: âAll the gigs were great! I never expected FALCON would get a chance to play live. After all, Darin lives in Pennsylvania, which is 3,000 miles away. But we ended up getting Andrew Sample to play drums for us locally, and that enabled us to do these shows in Southern California. It was especially cool playing with EARTHRIDE, âcause they really appreciate CIRITH UNGOL and… BANG! Sherman (vocals) from EARTHRIDE flipped, when he saw us covering BANGâs âRedmanâ live. Same goes for all the bands you mentioned. FIREBALL MINISTRY is awesome, and weâre very lucky to live in the same area as them. It was a blast to play with those guys-very cool people. SASQUATCH and SHAKEY MALLARD also did a gig with us. Theyâre good friends, who also play in a similar style to FALCON. A definite brotherhood of heavy rockers, who steer clear of Sunset Strip trendy nonsense!â
Which bands would you refer to as being the major influences for FALCON? You can refer to doom and stoner rock bands, but I believe that the influences go deeper into the past and I am more thinking about bands like THIN LIZZY, BUDGIE, DUST, and BLACK SABBATH to name a few.
Perry: âDefinitely not current stoner rock bands. A lot of current bands were inspired to do what they do by listening to KYUSS. Not me. Good musicians, but not my fave band by any means. It does indeed go way back to the late sixties and early seventies, where FALCONâs concerned. Aside from the ones you mentioned, Iâd have to say TRAPEZE, BUFFALO (Australia), HARD STUFF, MASTERS OF THE AIRWAVES, THE FROST, URSA MAJOR, PENTAGRAM, FRIJID PINK, NITZINGER, MOUNTAIN, CACTUS, ATOMIC ROOSTER, BLUE CHEER, RANDY HOLDEN, etc.”
Darin: “…and let’s not forget CAPTAIN BEYOND and GRAND FUNK! Basically, all the heavy duty hard rock and roll that came from the era is the inspiration for what we do. There’s stoner rock bands around now, that play music also influenced by the groups we just mentioned, but I think their commitment to that style is more âtongue in cheekâ and less faithful than what we’re doing.â
Greg Lindstrom: âOK, you guys didnât leave me much, but STRAY DOG, early SCORPIONS, HIGHWAY ROBBERY, HEAD OVER HEELS, STRAY, early RUSH was a big influence and I gotta say that I still love some new wave and power pop stuff like THE CARS, 20/20, PLIMSOULS, etc. That stuff influenced a lot of the âFrost & Fireâ material, for better or worse!â
How would you describe your music yourself, if stoner rock or doom metal wonât do the trick?
Perry: âI always just refer to FALCON as early seventies style heavy rock or vintage heavy rock. There are doom elements, as there were in CIRITH UNGOL, which pretty much all points back to BLACK SABBATH.â.
Darin: âThere’s so many misconceptions centering around specific labels. I think it’s better to just go by heavy rock as Perry said and let the listeners decide what they want to call it.â
Why do you have a drummer for your live shows (Andrew Sample), and a drummer for the recordings (Darin McCloskey)?
Perry: âAgain, âcause me and Greg live in Los Angeles and Darin is in Pennsylvania. The logistics for playing gigs in L.A. with Darin are impossible. But weâll finally be playing some gigs with Darin on the drum throne in April, when we go to Europe with RISING DUST (France) and PALE DIVINE.â.
Darin: âYeah, as Perry just said because of our locations, it’s simply impossible for me to play with FALCON on a regular basis, so they recruited Andrew Sample to play with them. From what I understand the shows have gone very well and the most important thing is that the music gets out there so it’s all good.â
Who writes the lyrics for FALCON and what are they about?
Perry: âYou can see from the FALCON album that me and Greg are the writers in the band, both the music and lyrics. Itâs pretty much split right down the middle. While Iâve written fantasy inspired songs before, Iâve pretty much been concentrating on real life issues with the FALCON material. Stuff that I feel strongly about, whether itâs the more politically oriented âDownerâ (a pessimistic view of how overzealous conservatives try to take away peopleâs inherent freedoms) or the environmental stance of âThe Crying Of Lot 246â. Gregâs contributions to this first FALCON disc were all old CIRITH UNGOL tunes, stuff he wrote when he was much younger. Lots of fantasy inspired stuff, whether youâre talking the post-apocalyptic visions of âHalf Past Humanâ, the demonic road tune âRoute 666â or the J.R.R. Tolkien inspired âShelobâs Lairâ. Oh, and âHigh Speed Loveâ came out of Gregâs love for Ferraris and other high performance sports cars. Ha! I have a fantasy inspired song called âElflandâs Daughterâ, thatâll be on the next FALCON album. Like âIdle City/The Fortress Unvanquishableâ in DESTINYâS END, I wrote this one while under the spell of Lord Dunsanyâs stories.â
Do you have a certain way in how you get a new song together. Please tell us a bit more about how new FALCON songs are born?
Perry: âFor my stuff Iâll usually write all of the music on my own at home, then throw the riffs on a CD-R for Greg to come up with bass lines. Sometimes I have an identity for a song before the lyrics are written, a title. Other times I donât. Sometimes I actually have some lyrics written before I have the music. After Greg gets the CD-R I either send a CD-R or upload an MP3 to Darin and Andrew, so they can start thinking about the drum parts. A lot of Gregâs material for Falcon is old stuff that never got properly recorded by CIRITH UNGOL. Most recently, Greg came up with a totally original tune, called âEverything You Need To Know…â Greg will either give me an old CIRITH UNGOL rehearsal or demo recording or a new guitar (or guitar and bass) only of him playing the parts to learn âem. A lot of times the UNGOL tapes were only instrumental, so I have to come up with vocal melodies based on where Greg tells me the vocals were placed in the song.â
Whatâs your favorite FALCON song and why? Our choice would be the tribute to Phil Lynott âOn The Slabâ and âRoute 666â (great title, by the way!)
Perry: âAll of âem, really. FALCON is the first thing Iâve done, where I actually like all of the tunes 100%. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Gregâs one of my fave songwriters. His stuff speaks so directly to me. But if I had to choose a fave tune, itâd either be âShelobâs Lairâ or âRoute 666â. Gregâs a master!â
Darin: âThat really is a tough call, since they all seem to flow so well together. Off the top of my head “Half Past Human” stands out. Thereâs just a real cool vibe to that one. Likewise “Shelob’s Lair” is a fave too, kinda simple in some respects but very strong overall and great riffs! I also have to say “The Crying Of Lot 246” is a favorite of mine as well.â
Greg: âMy favourite FALCON song is usually the newest song that weâre working on. I tend to like Perryâs songs better than my own, âOn The Slabâ really captures that THIN LIZZY vibe, and âCastle Peakâ gives us a chance to get in a Southern rock kinda groove, something we never attempted in CIRITH UNGOL.â
Letâs have a closer look at your live shows if we may. Are you able to play many gigs in America, or is it still difficult to tour for metal bands?
Perry: âItâs really tough out here. Which is why weâre going to hit Europe first, I think. The climate is definitely very hostile towards a heavy rock band like us. Itâs all nu-metal out there on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Pay-to-play bullshit is still running rampant here in Hollywood and a few other areas. So, we stay away from there and play places like Silver Lake. Outside of Southern California there are definitely good places to play, and I hope weâll get around to that later. Places that arenât as trend driven.â
Do you also play âcoversâ (of your previous bands maybe) or do you stick to the own written FALCON material only during your live shows?
Perry: âWe love to play BANGâs âRedmanâ live. Itâs an integral part of our sets. We throw in some improv jamming at the end most of the time to give folks more of a taste of that old loose seventies vibe. If we start jamminâ other covers, weâll throw some of those in too sometimes. Weâve been doing CIRITH UNGOLâs âEdge of a Knifeâ off âFrost and Fireâ a lot live, too.â
Greg: âIâve been pushing for us to do an old ERIC BELL period THIN LIZZY tune like âGonna Creep Up On Youâ or âReturn Of The Farmerâs Sonâ.â
Are there any bands with which you want to tour in the future?
Perry: âDefinitely! It would be great to tour with a band with a similar sound, someone weâre friends with. PALE DIVINE, INTERNAL VOID, EARTHRIDE, PENTAGRAM, FIREBALL MINISTRY, SHAKEY MALLARD, SASQUATCH, ORODRUIN or SLOUGH FEG. There are other cool acts here in the U.S. like DIXIE WITCH, OGRE and the like. Overseas, Iâd like to mention WARNING, FIREBIRD, MINOTAURI and MORNINGSTAR.â
Is âOn The Slabâ also on the setlist? And who does the vocals of Bobby Liebling (PENTAGRAM) when you play this song live?
Perry: âI sang it on the demo and also in the studio. Wasnât 100% satisfied with my performance, so we decided to let Bobby have a crack at it. We havenât been playing it live, but we will, and Iâll be handling the vocals. Unless of course we get to play with PENTAGRAM or just in the D.C. area, in which case Iâll invite Bobby up on stage!â
How did you actually get in touch with him, and how did he manage it to sing this great song on your album?
Perry: âThe possibility of having Bobby sing a tune on the FALCON album was brought up by Darin McCloskey, and I think all three of us were up for it. But we had a very limited time to get the recording done. It was towards the end of our fifth and last day of recording when I went back to try to sing âOn The Slabâ again. While I felt I was doing better at it than I had the day before, it was still the one song that we thought could be a bit better. So, Chris Kozlowski again brought up Bobby, and we all jumped at the chance. I left a brief note and the lyrics for Bobby with my phone number. Greg and I flew back to L.A., and Bobby called me about two days later to say how floored he was by the track. Which in turn just blew my mind, âcause I really admire Bobby as a songwriter. He was thrilled to be able to pay tribute to his (and our) hero, Phil Lynott. When he said how much âOn The Slabâ nailed THIN LIZZYâs style, I was just speechless. To this day Iâve never met Bobby, but we had some good long talks on the phone, and I hope to see him the next time Iâm in the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area.â
When can we see FALCON play over here in Europe?
Perry: âAh! Thereâs the biggest FALCON news to come in recent months. FALCON will be touring Germany, Belgium and Holland in mid-April with PALE DIVINE and RISING DUST. This originally started as just PALE DIVINE and RISING DUST. Darin called me up and asked if it might be possible for me to fill in for their bassist, Jim Corl, since Jim couldnât make the tour. Up to that point I didnât consider myself a bassist, although Iâve played bass pretty much since my formative guitar playing years. But I jumped at the opportunity, because I love PALE DIVINE and Darin is such a good friend. I love challenges like that. Iâve always plunked around on basses, even borrowed friends 4-strings on occasion. It wasnât more than several days after Darin inquired that I went out and grabbed myself a Fender Jazz bass and started to learn some PD tunes. There arenât many bands Iâd consider doing this for. I consider myself primarily a songwriter, and to not really be contributing to something in a very creative way, I really have to be a die-hard fan of the material (as I was with Rich Walkerâs music that he wrote for ISEN TORR). We were unsure at first whether Greg Lindstrom would be able to make it, seeing as his wife, Angela, was due to give birth in November. Although it was on Darinâs and my mind to get the other one third of FALCON over to Europe on this trek, we didnât ask Greg until a short while after I picked up my bass.â
Darin: âFunny how things sorta fell into place here with this! Perry was kind enough to accept my offer to play in PALE DIVINE, when our bassist quit. After we had confirmed, that PALE DIVINE would play the Doom Shall Rise III fest, as well as about a handful of shows to follow, it seemed like a pretty obvious thing to ask Greg Lindstrom, if he’d be into playing with Perry and I as FALCON. Greg agreed and we’re pretty psyched up about it. I’ve personally never played (or have ever been) overseas, so this is going to be a real blast for me. Perry and I will be playing two sets a night. something I’m pretty sure that neither one of us has ever done before, so that adds a bit of a challenge for us that makes it even more exciting.â
Letâs take a few, short sidesteps to the past here, if we may. Letâs start with your drummer Darin McCloskey, who plays in PALE DIVINE. Does this band still exist?
Darin: âPALE DIVINE does still very much exist and like FALCON (usually) we’re comprised of three members. Though at this point in time I guess it’s more accurate to say, that it’s Greg Diener on guitar and vocals and me on the drums.â
I believe that there will also be a new album coming out of PALE DIVINE? When will it be released and how will it sound?
Darin: âEternity Revealed was released on Sept.28th, as far as how it sounds? Well, there’s also a bit of a seventies influence in there as well but PALE DIVINE differs from FALCON in that there’s more of a traditional doom metal sound similar to bands like TROUBLE, THE OBSESSED and of course PENTAGRAM.â
Donât you envy Andrew Sample, that he can play with FALCON on stage during their shows?
Darin: âWith all due respect, I wouldn’t say I envy him. It would certainly be cool to play more shows with FALCON, but obviously the distance between us is a huge factor preventing that from happening. Andrew is a very cool guy and a solid drummer. I’m happy that he’s playing with the guys and more power to him. It’s only understandable that Perry and Greg want to play out as often as they can and having Andrew there behind the kit allows them to do so. It’s all about the music.â
Greg Lindstrom, you’re the former bass player of cult metal band CIRITH UNGOL. How come you never came to Europe to tour here? I believe that you had a strong bond with your European fans here, especially in Holland?
Greg: âWe certainly wanted to play in Europe, but we could never get hooked up with any assistance from our record company, and we couldnât afford to do it ourselves.â
I even heard that the band sometimes made phone calls with their fans in Europe. Thatâs really something special. Were the fans of the band so special to you all?
Greg: âI consider all our fans to be special, because they tend to be serious and very musically knowledgeable, not just your casual trend followers.â
I am wondering if there ever were any videos shot at your live shows, because CIRITH UNGOL is one of the very few metal bands from which Iâve never seen any live footage on video?
Greg: âThere was one concert video that one of our friends shot in 1981 with the âFrost & Fireâ line up at a small club in L.A. doing most of the âFrost & Fireâ songs, as well as âRoute 666â and âMaybe Thatâs Whyâ with me singing (!), but unfortunately, no one that I know has a copy. There was also an amateurish music video made of âJoin the Legionâ right before CIRITH UNGOL broke up in 1992. Jimmy Barraza had quit by then, so Rob had to grab a guy off the street to be the guitar player!â
You also have a nice collection of bass guitars, as I could see on the website and on one of the pictures on there. Please tell us a bit more about the different instruments that you have, and is there any special instrument that you like the best?
Greg: âBeing an engineer, Iâm kind of an equipment geek, so I love talking about guitars! My basses are: a Fender Custom Shop Relic â62 Jazz bass in Candy Apple Red, a â67 Rickenbacker 4000 in Fireglow, a sunburst â69 Gibson Thunderbird II (one of twenty-seven made that year), a â72 Acoustic Black Widow bass (black of course), a â75 Greco Suzi Quattro Signature bass, a â83 Hondo II Longhorn bass, a newer Epiphone Jack Casady Signature bass, and an Ampeg Dan Armstrong reissue bass. Live, I play through an Orange Custom Shop AD 140B head and a couple of Ashdown 4 x 10 cabinets. The Jazz bass is really my main workhorse for playing live, but Iâve had the Rick and the Tbird for the longest time and they would be very hard to replace. For guitars, I have a Gibson Les Paul Gary Moore Signature, a Gibson Custom Shop Pete Townsend SG Special, and a Fender Telecaster â52 Reissue. For keyboards, a Hammond XK-2 and a Novation K Station synth.â
I also noticed you were wearing a âYESTERDAY AND TODAYâ t-shirt on some pics. Is that an original t-shirt from one of their tours maybe, and if yes when did you see them play then under that original name???
Greg: âI saw them play at least five or six times as YESTERDAY AND TODAY from 1976 to 1980 and probably close to twenty times over the years as âY & Tâ. Theyâre from Oakland, near San Francisco, so they were always touring up and down the California coast. Theyâre such a great live band. The first time we (Rob, Jerry, Tim, and myself) saw them was in early 1976 on the first BOSTON tour, and Y & T totally blew us away (and BOSTON, too!) I remember searching far and wide for their first LP. The shirt is a promotional item from their original record company, London Records, that I snagged from a friend who worked at a record store at the time. Itâs almost like a religious artifact, so I have to wash it very carefully!â
What would be your favorite CIRITH UNGOL song, and why?
Greg: âIâm Aliveâ is a favourite of mine, because the music and lyrics of âIâm Aliveâ really combine to evoke a melancholy mood, and âEdge Of A Knifeâ , âcause itâs a little more upbeat than most of the CIRITH UNGOL stuff. And the Chaos trilogy on âParadise Lostâ is great stuff.â
The CIRITH UNGOL logo with the two kneeling skeletons was re-designed for FALCON use (they now have little wings) and I think it looks absolutely cool. Who came up with this great idea?
Perry: âHa! Iâll take the credit for that one. Iâm such an enormous CIRITH UNGOL fan, and have always dug the kneeling skeletons and bizarre font of the CIRITH UNGOL logo. Even though itâs very simplistic and Greg got the skeletons out of a clip art book, I still love them to death. I think Greg would actually like to tape my mouth shut on this particular answer. Hahahaha! He gets a little tired of the skeletons sometimes. After all, FALCON is its own band and has its own identity, although we do owe much to CIRITH UNGOL. Even though Greg would rather distance us from the praying skeletons, I had to at least throw that graphic up on the website, complete with the falcons perched on their shoulders!â
Do you have any inspirations being a graphic designer or am I asking a stupid question here?
Perry: âIâll take credit only for selecting the font that is used and the effects that were put on the lettering. As far as the amazing skull in winged helmet goes, thatâs a small piece of a brilliant pen and ink sketch done by Virgil Finlay in the late 1930s. Finlay was a master. Iâm not an artist, but I do know what I like to see art-wise. I could never passively sit back and let the artwork for one of my recordings be chosen by people outside the band. Artwork and packaging have a lot to do with how a bandâs perceived, and I need to make sure that people get the right idea about what FALCON (or anything else Iâm involved with) is about. A friend of mine at work, Quinn Diep, did the layout and some design. Quinn helped me achieve exactly what we wanted out of the FALCON CD packaging.â
The songs on the FALCON that were written by you, have got this special CIRITH UNGOL like atmosphere, while they also have a certain FALCON feeling. Is it difficult to let the spirit of your old band disappear? And do you know what your former band mates think about the new music that youâre making?
Greg: âMy four songs on the FALCON CD are actually old CIRITH UNGOL songs, and having played the songs with both bands, I can say that the main difference is that Darin and Perry play with more of a groove than Rob and Jerry did, so the overall feel is a little less intense, but more soulful. I know Rob likes the album a lot, and some of our old comrades like Kevin Sage (CIRITH UNGOLâs old road manager) loves it.â
Are you still in contact with your old mates of CIRITH UNGOL, and are they still active in the music scene? It would be a crying shame if the vocals of Tim Baker would never be used again, he is the best heavy metal vocalist ever for me!!!! And Iâve heard zillions of good vocalists!!!!
Greg: âRob and I are still great friends, although we probably spend more time talking about Ferraris and racing than about music. Rob is still very bitter about the way that CIRITH UNGOL got handled by the music industry. He sold off his drum kits a long time ago, and now he lives for his Ferrari 308GT4. I havenât talked to Tim or Flint in probably ten years, neither of them have shown any interest in a CIRITH UNGOL reunion. And to be honest, I think that twenty-five years of cigarette smoking has taken its toll on Timâs voice.â
I heard that an underground label is working on a CIRITH UNGOL tribute CD for future release. Which band(s) would be suitable to play a CIRITH UNGOL song in your opinion? And do you know about any bands, besides the Italian metalband DOOMSWORD, who covered any CIRITH UNGOL songs on their albums or demos? (DOOMSWORD played âNadsokorâ on their debut album, by the way!)
Greg: âBart Gabriel, who runs the official CIRITH UNGOL website, is the man behind that project. There are around ten bands signed up right now, and I canât say that Iâm familiar with most of them, but itâs really gratifying to know that so many fellow musicians are into CIRITH UNGOL. Iâve heard DOOMSWORDâs version of âNadsokorâ and they did a great job. By the way, FALCON is planning to be on the CIRITH UNGOL tribute as well, possibly with âEdge Of A Knifeâ or a different version of âHalf Past Humanâ. I would love to hear PENTAGRAM do âIâm Aliveâ. I think Bobby singing would really add some poignancy to the lyrics.â
We know that itâs impossible to reform CIRITH UNGOL, simply because Jerry Fogle passed away a couple of years ago. But is there still a possibility that this band would do some kind of a reunion tour in Europe somehow in the future?? The hope of many fans is still there, that it will happen!!
Greg: âI never say never!â
What do you think of the fact that people are still asking you questions about the time that you played with CIRITH UNGOL?
Greg: âIâm really touched and honoured when people tell me how much CIRITH UNGOLâs music has meant to them, everyone from sixteen years old to 50+. But itâs bands like ours that attract lifelong fans, because theyâre into the music itself and not something trendy to impress their friends.â
Maybe we can set up an interview about the CIRITH UNGOL days in the future, I have so many questions that I want to ask to you and/or any other ex band member. But since this is an interview about FALCON I would like to close this short flashback section with the request of telling us one or two nice stories about the rich (touring) history of this band?
Greg: âMaybe we can save the CIRITH UNGOL stories for the interview. Instead, I can tell you about the time we saw Rush and Moxy play at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in Hollywood in front of about fifty people. It was about six months after RUSHâs first album was released and Neil Peart had just joined the band. We were talking to Geddy Lee after the show and telling him how much we loved stuff like âWorking Manâ and âWhat Youâre Doingâ but Geddyâs favourite band was GENESIS, and he wanted the band to be playing more progressive stuff. Sure enough, thatâs what happened. And we saw them last summer at the Hollywood Bowl on their 30th Anniversary tour and they were fantastic. Still playing âWorking Manâ too!â
Perry, you played at the Wacken Open Air festival with DESTINYâS END in 1999. What was this experience like? How did you like the European metal public?
Perry: âWacken was the coolest live experience Iâve ever had. Not that I was there, but I can only compare it to the original Woodstock. Except in this case itâs thousands of metalheads all gathered to enjoy the music they love. I didnât encounter any bullshit there. It was a very genuine vibe. I love playing in Europe and visiting there. I think the fans are more die-hard and theyâre less concerned with whatâs trendy. Nothing has compared to playing Wacken, though, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to do that.â
Did you see any other bands playing that weekend, and are there any bands that you liked a lot?
Perry: âHell, yeah! SOLITUDE AETURNUS played shortly after DESTINYâS END with Lyle Steadham on bass! Iâd been waiting to see them since like â94 when they were on tour with MERCYFUL FATE. They had to cancel their L.A. date âcause KING DIAMOND was ill. I missed JAGUAR, but got to see MEMORY GARDEN from Sweden and also RAZOR.â
What was it like working with James Rivera, who we recently saw playing with HELSTAR at the Keep It True Festival in Germany? (Great show, in my opinion!)
Perry: âHmm… A lot tougher than working with the folks in ARTISAN, ISEN TORR or FALCON. I didnât know James well when I joined DESTINYâS END., and as time passed it was clear we didnât belong in the same band together.â
Why did you actually leave DESTINYâS END?
Perry: âDrug and ego problems were making things turn south in DESTINYâS END. Before things got really ugly, I decided to bail out. I quit. I was asked repeatedly if Iâd reconsider and come back, but to do that wouldâve been extremely counterproductive for me. People canât think clearly and lots of unnecessary drama is created by the drugs (which feed the ego). Typical band bullshit that you hear about time and again. It was really starting to intrude on the scene when we were on tour in the U.S. and when we were in the studio finishing up âTransitionâ. I knew Iâd be happier in a band with my friends, so I left.â
You also released an album with ISEN TORR in the beginning of this year. Is the band still alive, and are you working on any new material maybe?
Perry: âThe ISEN TORR âMighty And Superiorâ EP, yeah. We havenât started working on another EP yet, but hopefully we will this year. Iâve been talking to Rich Walker about it.â
How would you describe the sound of this band?
Perry: âItâs like NWOBHM with more down-tuned guitars and tons of traditional Celtic/English melodies.â
Maybe you can also tell our readers one or two nice (touring) stories about your time with DESTINYâS END?
Perry: âSACRED STEEL saved the day for us at Wacken â99. Our gear didnât make it on the same flight as we did, and Metal Blade flew us out on the same day we were to perform only a few hours before we were supposed to hit the stage. SACRED STEEL loaned us their guitars for that day. I lucked out, âcause Oli Grosshans has a B.C. Rich Mockingbird thatâs very similar to the one I own. Thanks a million, Oli!!!â
You also played in a band called ARTISAN, which is an unknown band to me. What kind of music did you play with this band, and what else do we need to know about ARTISAN?
Perry: âARTISAN was/is by nature a strictly regimented metal band with a much more modern style than FALCON or ISEN TORR. ARTISAN blends elements of technical thrash, death and even some power metal, with a mix of clean and aggressive vocals. For me the impetus to get ARTISAN going came mainly from listening to DEATH, CARCASS, SADUS, SACRIFICE, CORONER, CYNIC, WATCHTOWER and of course CONTROL DENIED (Chuck Schuldiner was a mastermind!). I felt the need to explore that heavier, faster and more progressive territory with my old pal Mike Bear, with us collaborating on the songwriting. I formed Artisan with Mike Bear (bass) in 2000 just after I left DESTINYâS END. Our good friend Ana Greco came aboard immediately as the other guitarist. It took us a long time to find a drummer, which was very frustrating for everybody. But we spent tons of time writing material and practicing with the aid of a drum machine. Matt Conley from Rockford, Illinois-based VIGILANCE joined in 2001 as our first drummer. We played a bunch of gigs with Matt-alongside other metal acts like ONWARD, ENGINE, DREAMS OF DAMNATION and PROTOTYPE. With Matt we recorded a four song demo that never got properly released, although itâs still available for download on the Artisan site. I had gotten FALCON going while I was still full-time in ARTISAN. Gradually I just started burning out on playing such super technical, fast and aggressive stuff. The more I worked with Greg Lindstrom on the FALCON stuff, the more I realized thatâs where my energy should really be concentrated. I knew Iâd be kicking myself if I didnât give Falcon the attention I wanted to. So, I gave ARTISAN advance notice that Iâd be leaving, and even offered to do a farewell gig with them. We had a big ARTISAN meeting about my departure just before I left to record the ISEN TORR âMighty & Superiorâ EP in July 2003. When I came back I played my final gig with ARTISAN at the Whisky in Hollywood, opening for CATHDRAL, SAMAEL and STRAPPING YOUNG LAD. Iâm still very good friends with all my old ARTISAN bandmates, and Iâm really happy theyâve kept the band going. They got my good pal Ed Laing to fill my shoes, and I have to say they couldnât have picked a better man for the job. Ed rules! Heâs not only an amazing player, heâs also a damned fine guitar builder and tech.â
Back to FALCON now guys. How were the reactions on your great, self title album? And how do you deal with any negative reactions, if there were any?
Perry: âThe reaction has been awesome, and I could never have expected it to be this killer. Everyoneâs been really positive, and that really puts a smile on my face. We got some negative comments from one or two places about the demo, but I think that owed a bit to the limited resources we had to demo with.â
The album was recorded in five days. My jaws drop to the floor now. How can you record such a monster record in five freaking days, and only three days of mixing?
Perry: âAll I can say is Greg and Darin are total pros, and theyâve got all the chops necessary to tackle such a recording with a minimum of rehearsal. There was only one way we could record with FALCON, and thatâs with the three of us jamming together in the same room at the same time. Basic tracks live, just the way they used to do it in the sixties and seventies, with a minimum of overdubs and punch-ins. As for mixing? We knew exactly how we wanted this thing to sound, and if not for the capable Chris Kozlowski engineering and mixing the album, I donât think we wouldâve achieved that vision.â
Darin: âActually all the reviews I’ve read have all been positive, I haven’t actually seen one negative review yet. If there were to be any negative reactions…I suppose I’d take it with a grain of salt. Music is a personal thing, not everyone s going to like everything they hear. The thing is to try to understand that and not be discouraged, because someone doesn’t care for what you do. It’s like the saying goes: “Different strokes for different folks”.â
âRedmanâ is a cover of a band called BANG, who originally recorded it in 1971. I am afraid that Iâve never heard about this band. Maybe you can give us a short update about how you heard about this song, and why you recorded it?
Perry: âAn old friend, Rob Preston (Doomed Planet Records main-man) introduced me to BANG a decade ago. I was mesmerized by their cool combination of heavy riffs and catchy song arrangements. Several years after I first got into them I discovered BANG had reunited and started a website. I hooked an interview up with original drummer Tony DâIorio and managed to land that feature with Metal Maniacs in the U.S. and also Psychedelic Fanzine and Slow Ride. It was especially cool for me to get to know Tony, Frank Ferrara and Frankie Gilcken. I met them a few times when they came out to L.A., so thereâs definitely a personal connection there. Theyâre one of those bands from the seventies that Iâm just such a nut for. I couldnât believe that theyâd decided to get back together, much less that Iâd have a chance to meet them and show my appreciation for the killer music theyâd committed to vinyl!â
I always like to read the âthanks listsâ of the albums. Itâs always great to read some of the curious names that were obviously a big help or a big influence to some of the band members. Looking at the âthanks listâ on this album I came to a few interesting names as well. I hope that you can give a short reaction to them please, like Mel Sisneros (NEW EDEN, SINERGY, THE IRON MAIDENS), Mark Shelton (MANILLA ROAD) and Chuck Schuldiner (DEATH).
Perry: âMelâs been a friend for years. A big supporter of the local SoCal metal scene, a talented bassist and a very down-to-earth lady. Of course Mel has been lending hand to Dan DeLucie from DESTINYâS END in his new band, CRESCENT SHIELD, too.â
âMark Shelton? One of my metal heroes and a big influence. Iâve exchanged some emails with him and Bryan Patrick over the past several years. Cool guys and an absolutely awesome band! The Shark has to be one of the smartest dudes in metal. And also one of the most distinctive vocalists and guitarists. Love the horror and epic fantasy elements of Sheltonâs lyrics!â
Chuck Schuldiner wins, hands down, as my biggest hero in the more aggressive realms of metal. He was just such an original and had such artistic integrity. Chuck really believed in the metal tradition, and it showed. He loved vinyl and all the old cult bands, and if it wasnât for his list of personal influences, I donât think I wouldâve discovered stuff like SORTILEGE or HEAVY LOAD as early as I did. I met Chuck in 1998 when DEATH was in California. Got to spend lots of time when they were here hanging out with Chuck, Shannon Hamm and Scott Clendenin. All cool guys. It was magical sitting there before soundcheck watching Chuck play his B.C. Rich Stealth without anyone else around. Iâll never forget that. He was such a gifted musician, and he didnât deserve to die so young. A friend of mine, Joey Severance, was working for Metal Blade at the time and had handed Chuck a DESTINYâS END CD at the Milwaukee Metal Fest. Chuck and I were talking on the bus just before they were gonna leave Ventura, CA, and the possibility of DESTINYâS END and CONTROL DENIED hooking up for a tour was just something Iâd dreamed of before that talk. Unfortunately, just after Chuck got off the road he discovered that he had cancer. And though the CONTROL DENIED album âThe Fragile Art Of Existenceâ did get released, there was no tour. Chuck was a down-to-earth and funny guy. Just before I left that night he pointed to a box of tissues that was made by the âJames Riverâ company and considered adding an âaâ with the pen he was signing peopleâs stuff with.â
Do you have any touring plans already? And will these plans also bring you over to Europe this time?
Perry: âCanât wait to get over there in April to play in Europe, especially in Holland with FALCON and PALE DIVINE (on tour with RISING DUST)!â
What do you think of the metal scene in general, or donât you consider yourself part of the metal scene nowadays?
Perry: âI think to a certain extent that a lot of metal bands have forgotten how to rock, that a lot of them are just not paying attention to history. Facts are facts, and if it hadnât been for BLUE CHEER and BLACK SABBATH, none of the stuff we call metal wouldâve evolved to where it is today. Even black metal bands got their appearance from somewhere!? ALICE COOPER, KISS and IGGY POP did the makeup thing years before any of those guys were crapping in their diapers. I consider myself to be a very metal dude, but I guess what some people call metal is open to interpretation these days. I remember having a good friendly argument with Vince Levalois from PROTOTYPE, when we were recording the ARTISAN demo about whether FALCON was metal or not. Though I consider FALCON to be primarily a heavy rock band, I still think that if you consider BLACK SABBATH, early JUDAS PRIEST and CIRITH UNGOL metal, then weâre metal.â
Are there any new bands of the new scene that you really like a lot?
Perry: âWITCHCRAFT (Sweden), OGRE, SHAKEY MALLARD, RISING DUST, THE HIDDEN HAND, PLACE OF SKULLS… A lot of veteran musicians in new acts, but a few new bands.â
Are you recording any new material at the moment and can you tell us how it will sound? Maybe you can already give us some song titles too already?
Perry: âWe demoed a tune months ago, one of Gregâs. Itâs called âBad Sceneâ, and it too was once a CIRITH UNGOL song. (Back when the CIRITH UNGOL guys were playing this tune, they were about eighteen-nineteen, and it was called âTight Teenâ.) We expect to demo more before we record another full-length, but the plan is to record another album in 2005. Some of the song titles Iâve got already are âElflandâs Daughterâ, âCarelessâ, âCorporate Whoreâ and âFalconâ. Gregâs got an completely new track called âEverything You Need To Know…â, which I love, plus weâll probably also do some more of his old stuff like âShow You Allâ and maybe âFlesh Dartâ or something.â
What are the future plans for FALCON- short and long term, please?
Perry: âTour Europe in April for a couple of weeks, finish arranging new material for the second album and record it sometime in 2005. Hopefully do some gigs on the east coast with Darin playing drums and more out here on the west coast with Andrew.â
there something that you would like to add to this interview. Maybe there is something that slipped through my mind while making these questions, that is essential enough to mention here?
Perry: âToine, I think you did a pretty exhaustive and job with these questions!!! You definitely did your homework. No, thereâs nothing more I can add!â
Do you have any personal messages for our readers?
Perry: âHmm… Hope to see you all in Holland in April!â
The last words in this interview are for you Perry, Greg and Darin….
Perry: âThanks Toine, for givinâ us the space to rant and for supporting FALCON! To the European fans: a massive thank you for buying our CDs and spreading the word about the band! It all gives us a lot of encouragement to continue with FALCON.â
Darin: âI just really want to thank everyone for all the kind words and support since the release of the FALCON CD. It’s really reassuring to hear that people are into what we’re doing. It personally gets me psyched up for the next one!â
Greg: âI can only repeat what Perry and Darin have said and add my thanks and appreciation to the hundreds of CIRITH UNGOL fans, that have told me how much that band has meant to them.â
Interview by: Toine van Poorten, for Headache magazine/March-April 2005
True Metal Fan
http://truemetalfan.org/falcon.htm