THE ESSENESS PROJECT…Technical Metal Heroes !
Interview with Steve Smyth
1. Hallo Steve, as your bio says you’re not a newcomer in this scene. Please tell us about your experiense with bands such as Nevermore, Dragonlord, Testament, Vicious Rumors.
Hi Billy! Well, yes, I guess you could say I’ve been around for a bit here! ha ha I was with Vicious Rumors from 1995-1999, did 2 albums with the band, Something Burning in 1996, and Cyberchrist in 1998, and several tours in the US and Europe in support of both albums. Great band, good times, and a good learning experience. In 1999, I took on the touring lead guitar slot with Testament, and did that from 1999-2004. We were going to do an album at one point, but it didn’t work out for the time. There are a few “official” bootleg live DVD’s that came of it, which you can find on Testament’s website. I had a great time here as well, playing with such great musicians, got to know a lot of really great people, and played some awesome metal music. During this time, Eric Peterson revealed he wanted to form a side project, and asked me if I would be interested in playing lead guitar for it. I accepted, and we formed the early lineup of the band, did two records, Rapture, in 2001, and Black Wings of Destiny, in 2005. A new side of metal music for me to explore, and I had fun with this as well! Wrote a song on the latest album, Fallen, co-wrote a few more, and had a hand in arrangements of both albums as well. I started my association with Nevermore in a touring situation in 2002, while Chuck Billy was battling cancer. What was supposed to be 3 festivals and some US dates, ended up being 1 festival with the guys in Germany, Bang Your Head. We had a good time, and the guys asked me back to tour with them on the Enemies of Reality tour in 2003, which I did every show on the tour except for 3, I believe. The guys asked me to join the band, in which I accepted, and joined in 2004. We did a video for “I,Voyager” from EoR, and started writing for a new record, This Godless Endeavor, which we recorded and released in 2005. We toured for 6 months of 2005, and at the top of 2006, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. I went ahead on my doctor’s confirmations to try and finish out as much of the tour as I could, but failure hit in late May 2006, and I had to leave the tour. I left the band officially in August 2007, due to personal and business differences.
2. What led you to the decision of forming The EssenEss Project?
The EssenEss Project is something I have had on/off with my buddy Steve Hoffman for years, and we finally decided to make a go of it in 2001 or so, and took our time writing demos for the album, and making sure we got what we wanted out of the songwriting process this time around. It’s a new outlet, a new style of music coming from me, and an area I’ve wanted to explore for some time as well, and am glad to have finally started my journey into this area of music as well.
3. Atma Anur and Steve Hoffman are your partners in crime. Would you like to introduce us your partners?
Steve Hoffman is a great friend of mine, and former bandmate of several Bay Area bands we were a part of. Steve and I have a 20+ year playing history together, playing since we were 15 or so, and can read each other very well when it comes to jamming, and song writing! He’s an awesome bass player, and an even better writer! Atma Anur is best known for his work with a lot of Shrapnel Records artists, including Cacophony, Jason Becker, Greg Howe, Tony MacAlpine, and many others. Steve and I had worked with Atma before, on an earlier incarnation of The EssenEss Project, and when the time came to record this debut album, we knew we had to get Atma for this, and we were very lucky to get him back with us to record this album. His playing is phenomenal!
4. As far as this project is your personal journey, can you describe us the album in musical and spiritual level too?
Well, it’s not solely my songs you’re hearing here. Steve H. and I co-wrote the entire album. Certain songs are mine in as far as who started what, and Steve H. the same way. It’s been a long road to get this done. This album was worked on between my schedule, and Steve’s as well, and then when we brought Atma on to record, his as well, so it was crazy to say the least! ha ha In 2006, when I was diagnosed and went into kidney failure, oddly enough, that was the time I found to finish this album, and worked very hard in conjunction with my treatment and recovery, to finish this album to the best of my ability. As for a spiritual connotation in there, there really isn’t any, unless you mean the spirit in which this album was done in, which was to get the best performance out of all 3 of us who recorded on this album. But two of us wrote the album, and one of us does not believe in organized religion. Some of the song titles have been suggested to me that they imply religious connotation. Words are words, to me. Unless there is a specific thing in the music that would imply this, I can’t accept that as a viable thought. There are no lyrics, so how can one come to that conclusion?”
5. I can feel different atmospheres in the album from jazz to speed metal to new age. What’s the personal spiritual umbrela in your mind that includes these different music worlds?
Truly nothing more than influence, and inspiration, and coming from different musical backgrounds, Steve and I, this has reflected in our music. I am influenced by the heavier types of music, as well as very dynamic and moody music, as is Steve. It just comes out differently when we put them together in a song, I suppose! ha ha! I feel that music of all types has a common thread, tonality, that binds it all together in the end. Even music most do not consider to have tonality, I believe it’s there, and can be utilised and fused together. I think Steve Hoffman would agree with me on this one.
6. Why did you choose the independent way and not the label road, how easy or hard is for you the path of being an independent musician?
Well, for one, we’re not giving up completely on seeking a label! ha ha I made a decision a few years ago, that we would self release this album, given the state of the music industry at the time, see how it did, and go from there. We are at the stage now where it’s still early days; we’re within 4 months from the time we released the album, and so far, we’ve not done too bad, so we’re looking to expand who we can reach, through advertising. That is the next step. Doing this on your own is no easy task at all, let me tell you. There is only so much one person can do within one day, so I am looking at outside help at this point, to keep this idea expanding. But, at the end of the day, I know where the money is, and where it’s going as well, so I am happy in that respect.”
7. Kent Matcke, a man that has worked with Metallica and Joe Satriani is your producer. How was the cooperation with Kent?
Actually, Kent only mixed this album, he did not produce. John Cuniberti mastered the album, and I produced the album. Kent helped me out in a lot of ways with respect to the mix, guiding things along, and getting edits done, and suggested a few things, but in the end, it was my production effort, my first. How did I do?
8. Are you going to turn this project into a real band, any plan for touring or guitar seminars?
” I’m glad you asked! We are trying to get together a few shows here and there, but with 2 guys on 1 continent, and 1 guy on the other, we’ve got to schedule things in the right way, so it works. That’s been the tough part so far, but we’re working on it now, so we’ll have to see what we get going on this year. Stay tuned on our website: www.theessenessproject.com for more details as this develops. As for seminars, I just gave one recently, at a music school in England, and am looking toward booking more of these across Europe and in the US as well. Still in the developing stages!”
9. What’s your goals as a musician and as a personality?
Well, as a musician, I have always set out to do things that were new to me, a different path, and see where I could go within that style or mode. On a personal level, I have accomplished quite a few of my own goals in music, and always have more to go! I know I will continue doing The EssenEss Project for a while, we already have another album in the planning stages here, and I’m also writing metal music again, in my style, which has always been a little bit more progressive than most, I feel. It’s a return, but in a new way, as this would be a band based around my own songwriting, though I want to bring other experienced musicians into this as well. Stay tuned on my website: www.stevesmyth.com and I’ll keep everyone filled in there!
