ANYONE – The Ecology Of Progressive Music
1. Hello Riz, please let us know about the current status of the band Anyone.
ANYONE are currently active and have released a new album, a 20th anniversary edition of ‘Live Acid’, and several new singles in the month of August.Unfortunately, like all other bands we are not able to tour or appear live due to the pandemic. One change in the band is that I’m playing all the instruments on the studio recordings.So like, say for example NIN, I am creating the music in the studio and bringing in a band to perform it live.
2. Why did you use the word Anyone as a band name?
When i named the band I wanted to come up with a name that would underline the random and universal nature of music and inspiration… As if to say, this music comesfrom this band, but it could have been anyone, it could have been anywhere or anytime, and yet it is so specific in its randomness. Also, the name ANYONE is allencompassing and inclusive, and I always imagined that the bands music should be a force for bringing people together.
3. Why did Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) and Jon Davison (Yes) leave the band Anyone upon the band signed a deal with Roadrunner Records?
Taylor Hawkins didn’t leave the band, I kicked him out. Although he’d played a major role in defining the bands sound and even in writing much of our early material, wenever got along personally and I wanted a drummer with more technical prowess. And so when I finally grew tired of his ego and his constant attacks towards me I justkicked him out and replaced him with a drummer who could play on the level that the music required. Taylor’s main concern was to be famous, a rockstar.. so he instantly took a gig as a sideman in a bubblegum act (Alanis Morrisette). Jon Davison did leave the band, however. He left because he grew tired of the constant drama that Taylor was bringing to the band and he moved to Seattle where he joined the band SKY CRIES MARY. Jon plays his fretless bass on a track on the new album called ‘Thought I Was’. He also has sang lead vocal on afew songs of mine that are destined for my solo album ‘In Humanity’, which will come out in the future.
4. Where and how did you record your new album entitled “On the ending earth”?
The album was created from a collection of older material combined with brand new material. There are literally over a hundred songs that I wrote for the band over the yearsand many of them are in various states of completion. I’d also been creating some brand new material that sounded like ANYONE and I realized that a very clear theme was emerging in the songs. The material was an exploration into the spectre of living in a world in full collapse – The environment is collapsing, the governments are collapsing, we are in the midst of ‘The Sixth Great Extinction Event’ in which life on earth is vanishing. And so the album title came to me, ‘On the ending earth…’, which was inspired by poet e.e. cummings. The newer songsinclude ‘It’s Already Too Late’, ‘All That Lives is Born to Die’ and ‘Fade To Black’. Lyrically they all share a similar theme in that they are all valedictions to the world as we know it.
5. Does the album’s title reflect the concept of the lyrics? Is this the end of the world as we know it?
YES. The album title is very much in reference to the world and the current state of collapse. ANYONE has never been escapist. There is entertainment and then there is art which seeks to reflect and react to reality. This album came about because I’m deeply concerned about the fate that humanity has brought about for itself. The album offers no solutions.Solutions are complex and perhaps not even possible at this late date. The lyrics are more of a reflection of my sense of disappointment with humanity.
6. There is a variety of dynamics and time changes in your new album. Would you call it a Progressive rock album?
Well, it’s always been difficult to define ‘progressive’. My intention with the band was always to evolve into more and more progressive territory, culminating in an extremely progressive band thatwould be dedicated to breaking new ground and experimenting. I’d say that ‘On the ending earth…’ is a step toward progressive and away from the more song driven approach. But I would hesitate toplace it in the category of full blown ‘progressive’ music. My solo album ‘In Humanity’ is truly progressive. I’ve been working on it for several years and collaborating with people like Jon Anderson and Jon Davison. That album has extremely complex music, longer songs and extremely experimental arrangements and instrumentation. I often toy with the idea of making an all out progressive albumby ANYONE… both heavy and extremely progressive. It’s not out of the question.
7. Are there any guest musicians on this album or other members who contributed music or lyrics?
Yes – Jon Davison (YES) plays fretless bass on ‘Thought I Was’, Ethereal plays piano on ‘A Brief Sparkle in the Nothingness’ and Miles Martin plays bass on ‘Sip the Pleasure of Days’.
8. My favorite track from the album is “Want”. Could you discuss with us the lyrics of the track?‘
Want’ is a deceptive track, lyrically. Everyone assumes it’s a love song written for a girl. But I actually wrote it about the ocean. The ocean is my greatest love. And I think of the ocean as a woman, ‘mother ocean’. I want to be near her, in her, with her. I always have and I always will. My greatest heartbreak in life is watching mother ocean die, watching the kelp forest and the coral reefs disappear. That is why I am doing everything I can to protect and preserve the ocean.
9. Which is the meaning behind the cover artwork of the album?
The album cover was created by Brazilian artist Andrea Garcias. I have always been a fan of her work and I was drawn to her image which combined dystopian ruins with youth and beauty.I felt that the artwork was a perfect visualization of the album’s title, ‘On the ending earth…’.
10. How do you deal with your music career during the Covid-19 crisis?
The pandemic has clearly had a devastating impact on live music and the artists who rely upon touring for sustenance. I am fortunate in that I place no financial reliance upon ANYONE.As a filmmaker, writer, producer and marine naturalist I have other ways of earning money. This keeps ANYONE pure and real. There is no commercial consideration involved, no playing to a labelor even the crowd. ANYONE will exist as long as I feel inspired to keep creating it and no business situation will ever stain that.
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