|
 |
|
Interview with Bill Carter
of Screamer
February 2009 by Metal Mark |
| |
Wisconsin's Screamer released their debut
"Target Earth' back in 1988. The band is back again with a new
album. I recently had the chance to talk to vocalist Bill Carter and
find out more.
You have a new album out called “What Excites You”. Tell us a little
about it.
What Excites You was released by the band in October of 2008, and is
a blend of modern and classic melodic metal. We recorded at Belle
City Sound in Racine Wisconsin USA with Chris Wisco engineering and
mastering and he produced with the band. Guitars are by Mike DeRose,
Ron Valeo, Bass by Paul Bigalke, and I handle the vocals. What
Excites You contains tasteful dual guitar melodies, heavy drums and
driving punchy bass parts, and melodic vocals. The first pressing of
the CD is available in a cardboard sleeve, subsequent pressings may
be in a different format and or contain bonus materials. That's in
the works.
What has been the response to is so far?
CD sales have been steady, and we are about 250 disks short of
selling out our first pressing. We have distribution set up in
Japan, Greece, Germany and the US. The record seems to have the most
appeal to die hard melodic metal fans from the 80's who still love
this style. The response to our live shows have been strong, and I
think the fans can tell we are having a lot of fun playing the
music.
How does it compare with “Target Earth”? Did
you approach writing and recording any differently than on the
previous album?
Our sound has definitely matured, but you can still tell it
is Screamer. The trademark guitar harmonies are ever present, the
drums and bass are heavier and punchier than Target Earth. I backed
off a bit from the nasal high pitched tones in my vocals and opted
for an approach I feel delivers my message more clearly. I would say
that the songs on What Excites You are a bit more straight forward
than Target Earth.
In regards to writing, we wrote both albums the same way. The band
comes up with the music, I fabricate a vocal melody, then I find a
topic and write the lyrics.
Recording was totally different. Back in the 80's we were recording
on 2" analog tape, and today we record digitally. There are some
appealing aspects of both mediums, but in the end I believe that the
in your face sound of What Excites You wins from a sonic
perspective. Target Earth, if mastered differently could have really
kicked some ass.
Are all of the songs brand new or were any of
them written even in part back during the band’s first run?
There are several guitar parts that were left over from 20 years ago
that we reworked with modern riffs. It's a blend of yesterday and
today. 2021 and Special Corsetry are 100% new riffs. All the other
songs are a blend of new and old. |
|
|
The
new album is with 3/5 of the line-up that played on the previous
album. Who are the other two players and when and where did you
bring them into the fold?
It's a bit of a misnomer that Pat Hainault is a new member of
Screamer. Pat didn't play on the Target Earth record, but he joined
the band shortly after it was released and played many live shows.
Mike DeRose is the new guy. Mike came on board at the tail end of
recording What Excites You. We rushed him into the studio and had
him add his parts.
Prior to recording What Excites You, we looked long and hard for a
great player that could fit into the group. We finally gave up and
went into the studio with just Ron on guitars. Then, of course, when
you stop looking you find what you want and Mike fell into place.
DeRose is a great guitar player and all around nice guy so we can't
wait to hear his song writing on the next record.
It has been over twenty years since the
previous album. Did everyone remain involved with music project
during that time? If so then what was everyone doing?
Paul and Pat played live and recorded in a band called Haphazard for
years. Ron was a co founder of Electric Hellfire Club and Ron
Valeo's New Mafia, and I played in several bands playing and
recording through the years.
When and why did the band break up in the
first place? |
 |
We broke up a
couple of years after Target Earth was released. We basically self
managed ourselves into oblivion. We failed to put together a proper
tour, we failed to drive forward and release a follow up record. We
became frustrated with our lack of success and imploded. We failed
to be patient. There was a lot of bad blood which is why I didn't
speak to the band members for 20 years.
How did the band come to reform?
About two years ago, a friend of mine kept giving me a hard time
about not playing with Screamer. Every week he would call me up and
tell me how great new material would be if we wrote it, how he loved
Target Earth, and how there were people out there that might want to
hear something new from us. I finally woke up one day and asked
myself if I had done something significant in the last few years
musically? The answer was no. I had not spoken to any member of
Screamer for almost 20 years, and didn't know how to get in touch
with them.
I sent an e mail to New Ren, and they forwarded Paul's e mail
address to me. Paul, Ron and Pat had already decided to re-form
Screamer, and were looking for me but could not find me. They had no
idea if I was alive or dead. I'm assuming they would have found
someone to fill the slot eventually, but lucky for me the planets
aligned and I reached out to them.
How did you get signed by New Renaissance back
in the 80’s? How was your relationship with them? Did they give you
much support? Was there much of a tour to support “Target Earth”?
I think we slipped the road manager for King Diamond a demo tape,
and it ended up in New Ren's hands somehow from there. Our
relationship started out well enough with New Ren, but it didn't
stay that way. As I mentioned before, we pretty much self managed
and did a horrible job at it. I heard later that there had been some
very unprofessional communication from us to New Ren, and I suspect
their support decreased a bit shortly after. New Ren is a small
company of course so money is not endless, and I think they gave us
the support they could at the time, and the support they thought we
warranted.
We supported Target Earth for about two years, playing in the
Midwest Region of the US. I believe that had we gotten our act
together and toured overseas it could have changed the history of
Screamer. We will never know.
New Renaissance re-released Target Earth on CD
in 2006. Wasn’t there some problem with bootlegs of it being out in
Europe before that?
There are still bootlegs being produced today as far as I know, but
I hear the sound quality is not very great. There are still Target
Earth CD's out there from the 2006 re-release so people should be
able to source that disk on the Internet without having to go the
bootleg route.
Did you much receive much Screamer fan mail
during the time when the band didn’t exist?
I didn't know the answer to this question so I called Ron who was in
charge of the fan mail back then. For two years after we disbanded,
Ron says we received a huge amount of fan mail from around the
globe, and even received phone calls looking for us. Ron had moved
on to other projects and my impression from him is that he did not
give the mail the attention it deserved at the time. That's a shame.
I know that you have a few dates coming up
soon in Wisconsin. Any chance that you will play outside your home
state or you would you be interested in any festival appearances if
they came up for summer of 2009?
We are very interested in playing festivals in the summer. We have
had some offers, but so far no promoters have stepped up with the
minimum of travel expenses to make it happen. With air travel
dropping in price from the US to Europe, I'm hoping the festival
promoters will step up. We're ready. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
How do you the music scene has changed over
the last twenty years? What’s better about it now? What’s worse
about it now?
We have gone from an age where the Artist delivers a self contained
vision to their fans, to an age where each song can be bought
separately and must stand on it's own. It's like cutting up a piece
of framed art and selling it like smaller framed puzzle pieces. I
can't tell you how many times I fell in love with a "B" side song
that I thought sucked the first (10) times I heard it. If I bought
(1) song at a time, I would never have the pleasure of warming up to
a song. I refuse to purchase anything but the entire record
personally. Aren't we telling Artists to not take a chance by buying
(1) song at a time?
All the technology is also the greatest thing that could have
happened to music. I would have never known we had so many great
fans without the Internet. We would have never been able to
distribute our own CD without technology, and since we are
underground I doubt a label would have picked us up for What Excites
You. However, with the power of the net perhaps a label in Europe
will be interested since about 75% of our fans are there it seems.
The one thing that I miss from the old days is mystery. Seeing the
way a band looks for the first time at a live concert rather than on
an internet site like You Tube or their Myspace site. There is
almost too much transparency; It kills the mystery to me. When I saw
Iron Maiden live they were like Gods walking out on the stage and
hitting the first few notes. First metal show I saw was Priest
Screaming for Vengeance. Halford ruled the planet for two hours. If
I was growing up today, I would probably know what kind of breakfast
Steve Harris prefers.
It's just different today, not better not worse.
Since it’s early into the New Year, what would
you like to accomplish in 2009?
I want to play shows in Europe and continue to write music in 2009.
I hope with enough fan support we will convince the show promoters
to give us that chance. We are already in the process of writing
more material which I am excited about as well.
Looking back is there anything that you wish
you had done differently with this band?
I don't live in the past and tend to move forward at all times.
However, I think you can see in some of my answers where mistakes
were made that if I owned a time machine perhaps they could have
been avoided.
Pick the band from each of the following pairs
that you prefer and tell why you picked them.
Iron Maiden or Judas Priest
That's almost an impossible choice for me. Maiden has to win because
I used to live and breath Maiden growing up because of Bruce's voice
and Steve's bass playing. Also, the time changes and complexity of
the music always drew me in. I love Priest as well for the rawness
of it.
Scorpions or UFO
Scorpions for me all the way. Vocal melodies that you can't get out
of your head. They just have this sound I love.
Fates Warning or Queensryche
Queensryche hands down for me. Rage for Order is an incredible
record. Mindcrime is great....Is there
anything else that you would like to say about your band or your
music?
I would like to thank all the people who have shown us support
through the years, and continue to supported us by purchasing What
Excites You. If you would like to e mail me I can be contacted at
screamerband@yahoo.com
Check out our myspace page
www.myspace.com/screamertargetearth and you can purchase the new
CD from there. If you want us to play live near you, then push the
issue with your local concert and festival promoters and we will be
there for you. Thanks again for being interested in Screamer. |
|
