PARANOISE

1.Tell me about the history of  PARANOISE for those
 that don’t know the band at all

Paranoise has been around since the mid ’80s. The original band was
More avant garde and experimental. The current sound (mixing world music and progressive) began about 5 years ago and we’re still experimenting and developing it. I’ve found a great combination of musicians who share my vision. Rohan gregory, our violin player toured with Page and Plant in the Egyptian Orchestra and plays with the Klezmatics. Bob Laramie the bass player has toured with Morali Coryelle and Matt “Guitar” Murphy. I myself have played with Anthony Jackson, Dave Weckl, Percy Jones and others.

 2. How dangerous is for a band to mix folk music and
 progressive rock ?

As far as I know there aren’t too many other bands that are doing
Exactly the kind of music that we do. Our particular blend of genres is  shocking to some people but 9 times out of 10 people like it. It usually takes some repeated listening to really get the whole picture, but people who don’t normally listen to “Prog” or “World” music end up loving it anyway. The real dangerous part is in the marketing. There aren’t any accepted markets for what we do yet. The Progressive rock genre has welcomed us the most so far.

 3.Have you finished your studies at Berklee , there
 are a lot musicians of today that didn’t made it (even
 Dream Theater) , what is the magic secret in Berklee ?

I dropped out of Berklee after 2 years after having met some musicians
From New York that I wanted to play with. This is a typical story. Not many
people actually graduate from Berklee for this reason. It’s not that it’s so difficult or anything – although it is a great school! The magic secret of Berklee is this: It’s like a monastary, a cult, – You live and breathe  music 24 hours a day surrounded by finatic obsessed people. There are no frat parties or sports teams to distract you like in an ordinary college. You go to sleep and dream in music notation.

 4. The subject of the lyrics are so political that
reminds a lot Rage Against The Machine and not a band
 that is into Progr. Rock , really strange , what is
 the meaning of the lyrics?

Everyone in Paranoise is what I’d call Left-Progressive politically.
Thorne Palmer, the lead singer writes most of the lyrics. Usually, I lay out
The subject matter and set the framework and he fills in the blanks. We try
not to be too literal in our message and try to to keep from preaching but
it’s important that we make the point loud and clear. That’s why we use
sampled voices of people like Noam Chomsky and Michael Parenti. The result is a
kind of multimedia onslaught that works on different levels. I’m not aware of any other leftist-prog bands. Maybe in Europe? Rage Against the Machine is a band that I respect more than like. I’m amazed that they became so popular with such a radical message – after all- this is America the home of big corporate media. They managed to create a product that was biting the hand that fed them. Don’t count on that happening again soon.

 5.Why did you release this CD from your own label and
 not from a different and maybe major label , is there
 interest from labels?

We didn’t try too hard to shop it around. I’ve been signed before and
it was a bad experience, so I wanted to try it on my own this time. A&R people
are idiots. They have no better idea about what’s good and bad music than
mygrandmother. The older, more seasoned owners of the labels are smarter
but inaccessible so that leaves the artist no choice but to do -it – yourself.

 6.Any good or bad experiences from the music industry,
 please tell me a few facts..

I was on Island Records in 1987. They put out the 1st Paranoise album
With no promotion, no tour support and basically threw us to the wolves. We
Were dropped while in the middle of recording out second album; “Start A New
Race”. We raised the money ourselves and finished it. We then found Ozone
records who put it out but then promptly went bankrupt. These are the
facts.The music business has little to do with music.

 7.What is the situation about Progr. Rock today?

Progressive Rock seems to be hanging on a prayer right now. It has a
reputation in the mainstream as being “out of touch”. I respect
proggers for their musical integrity and dedication. The underground networks are
amazingly well organized. However, I think they need some new blood.
When more bands start to think independently and stop trying to sound like
The 1970s Yes/Genesis thing or trying to out-dream Dream Theatre then we
Might have a vibrant growing genre again.

 8.Are there any plans for possible tour?

Yes, We are working on it. These things happen slowly without the big
money push that comes with a label. Get us a gig in Greece!

 9.Do you live by music or you have a daily job?

I own and operate my own recording studio. I produce local bands (literally all styles of music) I actually recorded an album of traditional Greek music last year and the guy is coming back to do another one in the spring. When it’s good music I love my job.