Roy Z Official Website

Roy Z interview - The Bruce Dickinson Well-Being Network

2000-02-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Interview by Mattias (The Bruce Dickinson Well-Being Network).

After some great assistance from Suzan Kverh on Playground Music. We finally came to arrange this interview with Bruce's collaborator Roy Z. via phone in Los Angeles. Roy was in the middle of producing Rob Halford's new solo album but took the time to talk to the "Network".

Now when Bruce is back in Iron Maiden again will you continue to do the more traditional kind of metal the you have been doing on Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding?

I would like to do an extension of Chemical Wedding, a next phase.

In what way do you mean extension?

Just continue on that thought. To go back to Accident of Birth wouldn't fit in any more. He is covering a lot of that area in Iron Maiden. Like to do stuff that he gets off on and that I get off on. It might get spacier. But also some parts might get heavier, I might use some of the lower guitar sound. Not play it safe but give the people what they want and not go too far outside.

When we met Bruce in August we talked a bit about this and he said that he have been having some ideas of trying some more progressive things. He is a bit of fan of progressive bands from the seventies, band like Van der Graaf Generator and that kind of stuff. But he also said that you were kind of reluctant to that.

I like some of the progressive bands myself. The thing is to really make that happen and make it right you have to put that kind of band together. I grew up with bands like Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Deep Purple. I like that stuff. Basically if Bruce would tell me he wants to do that I would do that for him. But when we get together we go for the melodies. I don't know, I really like doing what we were doing on Chemical Wedding. I think making another record, not like it but an extension from there. That is the first step the next step is something else. That to me is happening. Progressive stuff is cool and if we did some songs like that I'd be totally into it.

How do you write with Bruce? Do you have a finished song that he just puts the melodies and the lyrics to. Or do you present a riff? How does it work?

There is no set way. Some times I have a song sometimes I have a riff..

Give me an example. Name a song that you had more or less finished and that he just put down the words to and some other song that you built up together.

Let me think... Accident Of Birth. All that he did was to come up with the melodies and the words and then it was done. A song like Chemical Wedding we worked on. The album was pretty much already written but Bruce felt he didn't have any key song. So he came over and we put that one together in one afternoon. I had different parts and we moved them around. Sometimes Bruce just picks up a guitar and he has an idea and we go on from there. There is never a set way it works.

When it comes to the arrangements and the orchestrations of things do you work together with Bruce or is it more or less you stepping in to your role as an producer and try to work things out for the recording?

Most of the time I am in working the band or I'm in working the ideas, to death. Until it works. I just keep on trying different things. There is pretty much standard arrangements you could try and I am always trying weird ones. Hopefully one day a nice weird one will work but most of the time they don't.

But you are trying.

I am trying to come up with different arrangements but it's not easy to come up with off the wall arrangements. Especially in metal. Because its pretty clear how things should go. As far as orchestration and stuff there is not a whole lot in this. On an album like Chemical Wedding I would sit with it in the studio and work on one song for three days. Just coming up with parts. Different guitar or keyboard or sound effects, whatever. And try out different things. Its like a big puzzle and you got to figure it out. Sometimes someone will hear something in their head "Hey what about if we had this in there?" Sometimes Bruce or even Adrian would come up with an idea "What a about a part like this?" Or Dave goes "Let me try this on this with the drums." So we all talk and work together on different things.

So you wouldn't call yourself a very "bossy" producer that says "This is the way it should be", you consider yourself being a more "listening" producer?

I have different sides. I do work on what you call robotics and sometimes I like to hear what everybody thinks and work on it. I collaborate a lot with other people. I have learned over the years that there is no set ways to do it. The best way to do it is not to worry about it and just make it happen. I don't really think about it, I just do it.

So Bruce more or less leaves you to do the actual producing work in the studio and then he just comes in a evaluates with you or is he present in the studio all the time.

In the beginning Bruce was there for everything but over the years I think he trusts me more. But most of the time Bruce is there. I remember when we were doing Accident Of Birth he said; "I don't like the drum sound lets change the drum sound." He has been more hands on in the past. But lately I thinks he has more trust cause we have done enough things together were he just says "Go ahead and do it and I just come over and do my vocals".

And you feel more confident in your role as a producer as you have worked with him for quite some time?

The thing is even though I produced Accident Of Birth don't forget that we did an album together and I had known Bruce for a while now. So I am really comfortable around him, I can be myself you know.

What is the biggest difference when you are working with, say, Rob Halford compared to working with Bruce?

There is not that big difference to be honest with you. Because what have helped me working with Rob was working with Bruce. Its real similar. The feeling is the same. Ok, you get over the fact that you are working with a legend and now you gonna make it happen. I think that's why Rob liked me cause I felt comfortable around him and always trying to figure out what he wants to do.

Do you feel any kind of pressure? As you said yourself you are working with legends so do you feel pressure from the fans or the industry that you have to come up with classic metal that everybody wants or do you feel free to try different ideas with these musicians?

I don't feel any pressure per se. But I always feel my own pressure to do the best job that I could possibly do. But I also think as a fan, what a fan would like to hear. So I approach it as a fan. You yourself is a fan and I think if you were in the studio with Bruce you would say "Oh no, lets try it this way!" So I approach it as a fan. It's that simple.

Do you have any role models, any producers that you, kind of, look up to?

There is a few guys that I like to look into and see what they are doing. But to start from the beginning I like the work of Martin Birch. I think its amazing. And after that I would say Terry Date. I think his work is amazing. I got into people like Bob Ezrin that made Pink Floyd's The Wall. Alan Parson. I like the mixing of Andy Wallace. I am good friend with a guy called Ritchie Polodor that did Steppenwolf and bands like that. But my favourite producers are guys that always can bring it together and didn't really have a sound. Do you know what I mean?

I think I do. Like Martin Birch. Iron Maiden does not sound like Black Sabbath or Rainbow.

Yeah, Terry Date can do everything from old metal to new Metal. I mean Soundgarden does not sound like Deftones. I think guys like that are happening, the more old school kind of producers. I think the new guys are more of glorified engineers.

I think you are right.

Now everybody is trying to fix things on the ProTools trying to make it perfect. To me making it not as perfect is a lot better for the fans and for the listeners.

How do you compare Balls To Picasso to the other records that you have done with Bruce?

Balls To Picasso is a different album cause Bruce didn't want to sound like Maiden. He didn't want to have anything to do with that. I tried to sneak things in (laughter). But I think it's a great album. The stand out tracks are Cyclops and Tears Of The Dragon. There are other parts that are really cool. I think no one really knew what we were doing on that. Except for those songs. I think the other songs we knew what we were doing. We weren't guessing. So Balls To Picasso was lot of guessing. From all our parts we were like "what are we gonna do?"

There was never the option of making a Balls To Picasso part II or making more traditional metal when you started working on Accident Of Birth ?

Like I said I had four or five songs that were in one direction, they were in that Accident Of Birth sound. I sent them to Bruce and he said "Yeah. That's it."

So working more in the direction of Balls To Picasso is not an option any more?

I don't know if it's an option. We didn't know what we were doing then to be honest with you. I don't know if we can do it again. Cause we just had no idea of what was happening.

Well I think its an amazing album.

Thank you. I haven't heard it in years.

I think you should listen to it.

I will check it out.

I read an interview with Bruce were he stated that you and him had been talking about re-producing Balls To Picasso. Working with the guitar and trying to get a better drum sound for the album.

Well, my thing is that I never liked the sound of the album. I think the producer was kind of whacked out. (laughter)

In what way?

We were all having too much fun. (laughter)

That can never be good in the studio can it?

We were all in England working. My whole band was there. Everybody was crazy. We were all working hard but you had the occasional joint or too many beers or what ever it was it was you were doing. I think we all were there just going for it. Not knowing what was happening. I don't like the sound of the guitar. The drums are ok but even those are a real thin. I'm always telling Bruce "man please let me remix Tears Of The Dragon, please!" Cause I want to hear the lead solo. Its hard to hear the lead solo for me. The drums are real thin and the picking guitar in the beginning is to squeaky.

I think I enjoy it actually. It sounds very natural. I like the natural a bit raw sound. Not that it should sound like a rehearsal room or any thing but the mixing could have been better.

I mean the sound could have been more direct on the drums. It has like a garage/room sound. I prefer either no room sound or control that a little bit. I wouldn't have like thick reverbs or things like that. I would just make it a little bit more focused.

You prefer the more "dry" sound of Chemical Wedding for example?

Yeah I like that kind of sound more. I do like big natural wet sounds. I like those too. I like using reverbs on some things when its appropriate. But I like hearing every little note. When you have that big drum sound you don't get to hear that.

What's happening in the future for you and Bruce? You are trying to make an new Bruce Dickinson solo album for next year?

Yeah. Right now I'm in the middle of doing Rob Halford's new album.

What are you doing at the moment?

Guitar solos. So all day I'm hearing (doing a dwidelidwidely sound).

It doesn't sound too thrilling (both laughing).

Actually this album is pretty cool cause its different from the last album. Different in a good way.

Different in what way?

It's a step up. Its not the same. An example I could give you is Accident Of Birth to Chemical Wedding. It does not sound like Chemical Wedding but it's a progression. I like it very much. I start vocals in about a week. And hopefully I'll be done by February so I get to work with Bruce in March.

That's the schedule for you. So you are not producing the next Iron Maiden album?

Not that I know of. Doesn't mean I don't want to.

If you got the chance to produce it what would you be focusing on? That you feel have been lacking on the latest albums?

Well without saying anything I think the songs are too long. The arrangements needs to be looked at. They try to have too many epics on one album, every song has to be like a grandiose movie. I think its more effective if you have maybe two on the album instead of maybe six. I did like parts of the last album but I like early Maiden. I like two or three albums with Bruce and the first two are incredible. I like more of the punkier stuff. Its heavy but it has got speed, it's fast and the songs are short.

When I grew up I always liked the long songs like Rime of the Ancient Mariner, To tame a land or Hallowed be thy name. But when they started to make albums that were more or less all in that vein I felt that something was not right. Songs were not epics but just too long, too repetitive.

If I got to work with Maiden I wouldn't change anything, except I would just look at the arrangements and try out different sounds for the guitars. I wouldn't change the drum sound or the bass sound I wouldn't change Bruce but I would update the guitar sound. I would have used those three guitars. I would have turned them into an orchestra.

I was kind of disappointed when I heard Brave new World cause I felt that they didn't actually use the third guitar when it came to texture and working out interesting arrangements. They just used Adrian's guitar to make the sound heavier and put it below the others.

Yeah, if you take a three guitar band like for example Radiohead everybody got a different sound and they are all doing all different counterpoints, they are doing different things and I would have done that within the Maiden sound. I would have really worked the guys. And have said " No lets work on make this guitar special" So if I ever get the opportunity that's what I would do.

I vote for you! If you had to choose between guitar playing, song writing and producing what would you use. Where do you get your biggest creative output?

I'd say song writing. I love it. I could give up producing. I could give up even playing guitar which is sad to even think about. But I don't ever think I could give up writing songs. I mean, I write songs that none ever hears that I just write here at home.

Are you working on any solo album or new Tribe of Gypsies album?

Yeah, I just did eight songs for Tribe of Gypsies and I'm hoping to do another eight or so and put together an album for next year. That's what I am doing, I'm just writing songs for that. So we will pick the best twelve for an album.

What is the direction?

Just what ever it is. I don't know. Some people say Santana. Some say Pink Floyd. Some say they hear Allman Brothers. I don't know.

That's interesting. You have mentioned Pink Floyd twice now in the interview. Cause I hear Pink Floyd, David Gilmour-ish things in your playing. Like in Omega.

Yeah dude! I love Pink Floyd. I think they are one of my top three bands. With Beatles and Led Zeppelin after that. Floyd is awesome.

I thought I could hear a bit of David Gilmour in your guitar work.

I wish I could play like him. I mean the guy is unbelievable.

I think you have a very good tone when you play, which reminds me of one of my favourite guitar players Michael Schenker.

Oh yeah! I grew up with Schenker and Uli Jon Roth. These are my guys. I really like them. Adrian really likes Schenker I know that. When we are working together "Schenker! Oh yeah man!" Adrian is an amazing guitarist.

I was kind of upset really when I heard the latest Maiden album cause most of the solos are Janick's. They say he is a more natural lead player, that might be so but I don't think he is the best.

Adrian writes some incredible lead lines.

He puts the solos down as they were little songs so you can remember them. That is also the case with many of your solos.

That's cool. My role when I was playing with Bruce was more the young speed gun guy and Adrian was more the phrasing guy. He threw in some licks too. He was picking up licks left and right. I don't know if Adrian is gonna work with us any more so maybe I'm gonna get to a bit more just big leads not to flashy. Cause we were trying to balance it. Its boring if everyone is doing the same thing. It gets boring. I hope Adrian one day does a solo album with instrumentals or whatever and gets to show people cause he is amazing. Great feel. You can't figure out his timing, but its so good. I feels so good.

Would you like to have Adrian working with you on the next Bruce album?

Yeah!! I really enjoyed, especially towards the end I really got along with Adrian. If he comes in on a few songs or for the entire album like in the old days I would be totally up for it. I'm not that lead kind of player anymore, I don't care. I like doing the songs. Don't get me wrong I like playing leads. I still listen to my Uli Jon Roth collection. But I'm more into the songs and the sounds now.

Roy Z Interview - On the Rocks

1990-01-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

Interview by On The Rocks.

First of all: Congratulations for your great new album "Standing on the shoulders....". I think it's another big step forward for TRIBE OF GYPSIES. How satisfied are you with the new album?

“Thanks for the compliment. It's definitely a step forward for us I think and I am happy with how it turned out. We managed to cover a lot of ground on 'Standing.' but I think there's still a flow to it all and the album does not sound disjointed.”

In comparsion to the first two albums, "Revolucion 13" and "Standing on..." are less heavy and move into a more poppy direction. How do you think about that and did you plan this new style or was it a natural change?

“Yeah, I guess 'Standing.' is a bit more pop-oriented for lack of a better term than 'Revolucion 13' was. It was a conscious decision on our part to try to be a bit more accessible with this new album. 'Rev13' had all these long epic songs, which is what we wanted to do at the time. At first, we were even thinking about doing an instrumental album with 'Rev13' because we didn't have a singer when we wrote those songs, so we didn't worry to much about how long the songs were. When it came time to write the new album we went for more of a song-oriented approach if you want to call it that. The other thing with the Tribe is - we are trying to keep things fresh and challenge ourselves. You'll never hear the same record from us twice. In fact, our next album will probably be heavier again.”

How did you find the title for your new album and what is the meaning behind it?

“The title is actually part of a quote attributed to Isaac Newton, the famous 17th Century British scientist. The words 'Standing on the Shoulder of Giants' are also engraved on the British 2 pound coin, which is where we got the idea from. Actually, our manager, Merck Mercuriadis, suggested it to me when we were looking for an album title. The original album title was gonna be 'Designed For Life' but then we found out that there were a couple of albums out there with similar titles, so we scrapped that idea. That's when we came up with 'Standing on the Shoulders of Two Giants', which we then shorted to 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.'”

Did you know, that the Brit-Poppers OASIS plan to entitled their next album "Standing on the shoulders of a giant"? Ain't it a pity?

“Yeah, it's pretty unfortunate that they hit on the same thing at the same time even though we had the title first. 'Standing.' was originally supposed to be out back in August in Japan but ended up getting pushed back a couple of times for different reasons. Our fans know that we didn't steal the title from Oasis, but it may look that way to much of the world because Oasis' album will be out worldwide before we get a European release. We've thought about it and came to thge conclusion that it would be best to change the title for all the other territories.”

Just a personal question that suddenly crossed my mind: What means the "Z" of your name? Zorro!?

“Zorro, huh - that's pretty funny! Actually, the story how I came to be Roy Z is pretty simply. My real last name is Ramirez, but back in the 80's it wasn't really all that cool to have an ethnic last name, so I flipped it around and it became 'Zerimar'. Eventually, people just started abbreviating it for convenience sake's and called me 'Z', and it stuck.”

I think that the time couldn't be more perfect for a new TOG album: Latin pop is storming the charts and SANTANA's successful comeback is simply unbelievable. How do you think about that?

“I think it is pretty incredible that Santana have made a comeback of that magnitude and it's great to see Latin music making inroads and finding acceptance with the mainstream. You would think that a band like the Tribe would be a shoe-in for a major deal at this point because we are basically what's happening right now. Unfortunately, and as hard to believe as it sounds, none of the majors are beating down our door. Sanctuary shopped the album to some of the majors months ago and got turned down by everyone! We did a string of shows late last year and had a few label people come out but nothing came of it.”

What do you think about SANTANA's "Supernatural"?

“I think it's a very good album. I mean, I'll always prefer the first 3 or 4 Santana records because those are the classics, but it was a great idea on Clive Davis' part to hook up Carlos with all those different writers and artists. It's what he needed to do to appeal beyond his core audience and obviously it's worked incredibly well. Hopefully it'll help open doors for Latin rock and bands like us will benefit from it.”

Do you know the ABRAXAS POOL album Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie recorded some years ago? What do you think about it? I simply love it.

“It's a good record even though the Latin influence isn't very prevalent compared to the Santana stuff, especially the early stuff which Schon, and Rolie and Michael Shrieve were part of. Maybe they should re-release it or do another Abraxas Pool album now that Santana is so commercially successful. Although - those guys are probably busy with Journey right now.”

On the other hand some people could impute you to jump on a new trend, coz they don't know about the long history of TOG. Are you afraid that this could happen to you?

“No, not really. It may actually help us if we look like a brand new band in the eyes of these labels. A&R's tend to think there's something wrong with you if you have 3, 4 albums out and nothing big has happened yet, so it may actually work in our favor if they think we are new. They can think we are jumping on the bandwagon for all I care, even though nothing could be further from the truth, as long as they take an interest in the band.”

I must be true when I say, that I'm a little bit missing the unique voice of Dean Ortega. Don't understand me wrong, I like Gregg Analla´s voice (especially on the new album), but I think Dean's voice had something more special. How do you think about that? Why did Dean leave the band and do you know what he is doing today?

“I have not talked to Dean since he was asked to leave the band in early '98. We didn't exactly part as friends although I really have no animosity toward him. He on the other hand still seems to be very bitter about the whole thing from what I've heard through mutual friends - maybe because his band, Revolution Child, doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Dean really has himself to blame though. He decided that he wanted a different manager while the band was gonna still be with Sanctuary; he pretty much refused to ever sing in Spanish, which was something we had discussed and are still considering for a future album. Dean is and was a great singer and I would never take anything away from him in that regard, but it just wasn't working out anymore on a personal and also a business level, which affected the creative aspect, too, so we cut our losses. I think we were incredibly lucky to find Gregg who is not only a great singer and a great frontman, but also very easy to get along and work with, which wasn't always the case with Dean. So in my opinion it's all worked out for the best.”

I think, that Gregg's voice has really increased since "Revolucion 13". He sounds more mature now! How do you think about that?

“I think Gregg's performance on 'Standing.' is top notch. If he sounds more mature to you it's probably because he's had time to adjust to the Tribe and grow into the situation. You've gotta to remember that 'Revolucion 13' was already written and recorded when Gregg joined and all he could do is add his lyrics and vocals. He went from doing Queensryche-type metal to doing Latin rock, which required a totally different style of singing, almost overnight. The Tribe are basically a band whose sound is rooted in rock and hard rock band rather than metal, so that required some adjusting on Gregg's part. I think he feels more comfortable now singing Latin rock and it's only natural that he is exploring different aspects of his voice and growing as a singer.“

Is Gregg still singing for SEVENTHSIGN?

“No, SEVENTHSIGN are no longer active although Gregg has mentioned they may do another record down the line. I think we were lucky in a sense that Seventhsign did break up because Gregg may have never accepted our offer to join otherwise. He was actually the very first guy we had in mind when the Tribe first came together. Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records recommended him to me after his band, 9.0, had broken up. But by the time we tracked Gregg down, he had already moved back to New Mexico and started Seventhsign and wasn't interested in moving back to L.A. because the whole experience had left a sour taste in his mouth.”

When my information is correct, then TOG have a new bass player!? Why this?

“That's correct. We let Eddie Casillas go in early 1999 because things just weren't working out anymore with him in the band. Its like, if we're not making money with this Tribe thing - at least I want to have fun, and that wasn't the case anymore before we made the change. Our current bass player is Juan Perez from Kkleq Muzzil and Civil Defiance. Juan is a great player and everybody in the band loves playing with him. He actually filled in for Eddie when he and Dave (Ingraham) were touring Europe with Bruce for 'The Chemical Wedding' in late '98, and once we let Eddie go we knew Juan would be the perfect guy.”

On "Standing on..." you have been working Richie Podolor and Bill Cooper (Steppenwolf). How did this come cooperation come together?

“We have known Richie and Bill for years - ever since we recorded at American, which is their studio, for the first album and 'Nothing Lasts Forever'. I've also done work there with some of the other bands I've produced, like Downset and more recently, Rob Rock. It just made sense to have them get involved because they have a natural understanding what a band like the Tribe is all about. Our music is rooted in the classic rock sound of the 70's and Richie and Bill have been part of a lot of classic stuff from that era. We had three more songs we wanted to do for 'Standing.', which was originally supposed to be an EP only, and it seemed like a good opportunity to cut those tracks with Richie and Bill. They are great to work with although we were under considerable pressure. We basically wrote those songs, 'Rays of The Sun', 'Admit It', and 'Don't Bother Me', in the studio, arranged them, Gregg wrote the lyrics, and then we cut most of it live with minimal overdubs.”

"The Flower" was co-written by Bruce Dickinson - that's unbelievable! The song shows absolutely no parallels for what Bruce is known for as songwriter for IRON MAIDEN or his solo career!?

“Bruce appreciates all kinds of different music and he is a lot more diverse as a musician than most people think. 'The Flower' was actually not a 50/50 co-write - I had the music and most of the lyrics pretty much written, but Bruce helped me out with the vocal melodies, especially in the chorus, so he deserved to be credited.”

You did a cover of "Parisienne Walkways" on the new album. I think, that's a real unusual choice, coz the song comes from a totally different musical direction! Why did you cover this song?

“First of all, I am a huge Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore fan. I don't think the song is an odd choice at all and it really isn't a stretch for the Tribe. We actually played 'Parisienne Walkways', along with 'Johnny The Fox', at the Phil Lynott Tribute show at the Palace in Hollywood back in '97 and people loved it. Phil's mom was there too watching us from the wings and I think she cried when she heard us play it. 'Parisienne...' is dedicated to Philomena if you read the credits in the booklet.”

I listened really intensively to the song "What cha want" and I mean to notice, that the background vocals were maybe done by Bruce Dickinson. Is that correct or am I totally wrong?

“Nope, there's no Bruce in there anywhere. It's all Gregg. Plus we had a friend of ours come in one night to adlib a few things just to give it more of a party vibe. If you listen closely you'll hear a bunch of crazy yelling and whistling during the break down before I go into the guitar solo.“

With TOG you play latin rock. With artists like Bruce Dickinson, Rob Rock, Warrior or Rob Halford you play pure Heavy Metal. How do you manage these totally different directions inside your musical mind? Which musical direction do you prefer in private?

“I've always listened to a wide variety of music from very early on and that's never changed. Latin music is something I was exposed to because I am Mexican and grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood. And of course classic rock and hard rock, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, etc., was everywhere. Eventually I started getting into heavier stuff in school, everything from AC/DC to Maiden. I love metal, but it is not the be-all end-all. Great music is great music, period, no matter what the style is, and every genre has something to offer. The fact that I keep and open mind in terms of music has helped me to be able to tune into all these different worlds as a player as well as a producer. So whether it's Latin rock with the Tribe, metal with Dickinson, Halford or Rock, or more hardcore-type stuff like Downset - I would like to think that whatever I do sounds authentic and not in any way forced.”

Do/did you play live with TOG?

“The Tribe has been playing live around L.A. since '93, but there have been periods when we didn't play out much. We did a lot of gigging before getting signed to Mercury, but then that whole thing fell thru and at the same time we started getting more involved with Bruce Dickinson. I really didn't see the point of playing L.A. just for the sake of playing gigs, not making any money or worse having to do pay-to-play, so we cut back for that reason, too. Other than L.A., we played in Japan opening up for Bruce, and we also did a gig in London at the Borderline in '94 while we were in town recording 'Balls to Picasso'. We would obviously like to play more and go on tour, but that's really not possible from a financial point of view without tour support from a label, especially since we are a 6-piece band. A tour would only make sense if we had an album in stores instead of people having to shell out 30 bucks for an import. So until that changes we're pretty much confined to doing shows around Southern California only.”

What's on with a record deal for TOG in Europe and the States? I always hear some rumors, that you finally found a deal, but so far they sticked rumors!?

“Well, the European deal is finally happening. We've just signed with Bruce's Air Raid label for Europe, and it looks like 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants' will be out sometime in early June. There has also been talk of us coming over to Europe for a string of shows in the summer, but it's too early to say if and when it will happen. Sanctuary Records will be handling it for the US through Never Records, but we don't have a release date yet. I'm guessing it will be around the same time as Europe.”

What are your main musical influences and influences as a guitar player?

“I think the Beatles, Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin are bands that have influenced me probably more than anything else - Jimmy Page was an incredibly imaginative songwriter, producer and guitar player. As far as guitar players go - Jimi Hendrix is my all-time favorite, but I also love Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, Peter Green, and Uli Jon Roth who's got the most amazing vibrato.”

It's already some years ago, when you recorded the legendary DRIVER EP-Cassette with Rob Rock. When I take a look inside of the cassette to read the songwriting credits, then I can see: Written by Roy Z. But when I take a look on the IMPELLITTERI CD "Answer to the master" that features the DRIVER songs "Warrior" and "Fly away" then the songs are said to be written by Chris Impellitteri. Did you know that and what happened behind the curtains?

“I lot of people think that Rob and I wrote that song in Driver but the truth is - 'Warrior' was a song Rob had written with Chris Impellitteri when they played together in the 80's. We just sort of re-arranged it a bit for Driver and ended up recording it for the cassette EP. When Rob hooked up with Chris again, they decided to do their version of the song. That's how it ended up on 'Answer to the Master.'”

I don't want to ask you any deep questions about your latest cooperations with Rob Rock and Rob Halford, but maybe you can give a shot little comment to each album about what we have to expect musically!?

“Halford's album will pretty much be a back-to-the-roots affair. It's classic Priest-style metal with hints of 'Painkiller' and maybe a little bit of 'War Of Words', although I'm trying to avoid going too much in the latter direction. I definitely think fans of the old Rob will be very pleased when they hear the album. As for Rob Rock's album - it is heavier and more metal-oriented, partially because there are no keyboards to speak of, than what's on the Driver EP. We didn't record any of the songs from the EP but ended up re-arranging or using parts of several of songs we had demoed back in 1990 and never got to record properly, like 'Never Too Late', 'One Way Out', 'In The Night' and 'Beautiful Lady.' It's a kick ass melodic metal album and Rob really sings his ass of on it. He is really stoked about how it came out and the people at JVC who've heard it love it.”

Do you know, what's on with WARRIOR?

“WARRIOR have signed or are in the process of signing a new deal with a European label. Joe (Floyd) has been really busy with his studio working on his own or helping me with Halford and Rob Rock, but they're finally starting to work on the demos for the upcoming record. Time permitting, I'll probably be involved one way or another. I think they're trying to shoot for a summer or early fall release for the new album.”

The final question for now: What do you think about latino-beauty-queen Jennifer Lopez?

“I wouldn't mind if she stopped by my place sometime, ha ha...”

Thanx for the time and patience you take to answer all my silly questions...

“My pleasure. Hopefully we'll see you and everyone else in Germany later this summer.”

Roy Z interview - Hard Radio

2000-09-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

Originally published on Hard Radio.

Roy Z: Man Behind The Masks

After a couple of delays, the new TRIBE OF GYPSIES album, Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants is out in Japan on JVC as we speak.The offical release date was actually January 1, so it's very likely that 'Standing' is actually the very first release of the 21st century! Sound clips are available at www.tribeofgypsies.com. Furthermore, the song 'Dreams' from SOTSOG is included on the Unerhort - Best Of The Unsigned CD that comes free with the current issue of Rock Hard, Germany's leading hard rock publication.

In other TRIBE related news, Roy Z has just finished mixing the forthcoming ROB ROCK (IMPELLITTERI) solo album, Rage Of Creation, which he produced, co-wrote and played guitar on. The album also features appearances by drummer Reynold Carlson (ex-JAG PANZER, DRIVER), bassist Ray Burke (LIFE AFTER DEATH), former OZZY/BADLANDS guitarist, Jake E. Lee, as well as the TRIBE OF GYPSIES' Gregg Analla who provided backing vocals. Moreover, Roy is one of the guitarists featured on the GLENN HUGHES archives release, Incense & Peaches, appearing on 'Let's Get Together', one of several tracks Roy and Glenn co-wrote back in 1995. The CD can be ordered through Glenn's official website at www.glennhughes.com/.

And currently, Roy Z. is in "full-on HALFORD mode" as he toils away producing the new solo album for the legendary JUDAS PRIEST singer. "We're just hammering away. We're done with all the drums and now we're going to go and do some overdubbing for awhile, and we'll start mixing in early February and we should be done early March. The music we're coming up with for the most part, sounds like classic Halford-era Priest. There's a little bit of his newer stuff in there, a little bit from the Painkiller era, and a very little bit of the FIGHT stuff. But that is the stuff I am trying to avoid, myself. I'm just steering the whole thing towards the killer classic stuff."

A total of 24 tracks have been demoed so far. Previous to Roy Z taking the production helm, there was talk of Neil Kernon taking the job, possibly Neil in conjunction with Tom Allom, Bob Marlette handling it alone, and then Roy in conjunction with Allom. It also looks like, due to Rob now being under the wing of Rod Smallwood and Sanctuary (Maiden's management), that Halford will be touring as support to Maiden.

Roy has also set BRUCE DICKINSON up in the same studio complex, and has given him virtually "months" of work to do for the next Bruce solo album, realistically not ready for launch until 2001.

"Actually, Bruce flies in today (ed. Jan. 6th). And I've already got a bunch of songs for him, and he's going to be at the studio I'm going to be at. He's going to be in the back room, singing his butt off. He's in town for a couple of weeks and he's just itching to get back to doing his solo stuff. I'm not sure of the exact dates, but he keeps telling me that we're going to record it in August, because he's going to have a break from IRON MAIDEN. And in the meantime we're looking for songs to put out for his compilation album, Catacombs, of the stuff he's never used. So we've been going through those songs, and talking about remixing a couple of things."

Has Roy heard any of the new Maiden material?

"Very little. I think people are really going to like it. I've only heard Bruce singing it to me (laughs). I go, 'how's it sound?' And he goes, 'like this', and then he sings. Bruce won't play it for me, and to be honest, I don't want to hear it. I try to stay away from it anything that I'm not supposed to know or hear. Plus I don't want that to interfere with what I'm doing. I've been listening to the 24 songs we'd demoed with Halford, and I've been listing all the way back to Sad Wings up to Screaming For Vengeance. That's all I've been listening to so my head is just way deep into Halford land." Roy indicates that there is a very real possibility of a Halford/Dickinson duet on one of Roy's songs called "The One You Love To Hate'.

"At first it was going to be for a soundtrack, and now we're talking about putting it on an album, because it's a really strong song. It has elements of both Priest and Maiden, and it also has that kind of Chemical Wedding sound."

Roy also indicated that two days before our interview, he had just received word that he would be producing the new HELLOWEEN record, which goes into production in March.

Roy Z interview - The Atomic Chaser

1999-05-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

Interview by Tony (The Atomic Chaser)

The first time I saw Tribe Of Gypsies perform was at The Palace in Hollywood, California. It was at memorial show for Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott. I had heard so much about the band and to finally hear them and see them perform simply blew me away, needless to say so were a lot of people there that night. Their performance was filled with vibrant energy and lots of rock and roll soul. When I left that night I knew what I had to do and that was to get my hands on any CD done by Tribe Of Gypsies! The search was on.

Though the search was long, it was worth it. I finally got my hands on the band's self-titled debut release and must have played it over and over for weeks! Then when I got my hands on the band second release, Nothing Lasts Forever, the affect was the same. It was safe to say that the band found themselves a dedicated fan. Its something about the way the band projects their sound, a sound that comes from the heart and hits the listner straight between the eyes with a lasting impression. Combining a rock sound that is filled with a Latin influenced percussions and grooves. While the band enjoyed local success in Los Angeles and in Japan, I was really surprised that the band did not get support from any of the local radio stations. All the information I got about the band was from local rock critics. Just goes to show how bad of a scene it is for rock bands to get a break here, especially a band as talented as the Tribe Of Gypsies. I have feeling the times are changing and it won't be long before the rest of the world, thanks to the internet, that Tribe Of Gypsies will finally get the recognition that they truly deserve.

The driving force behind the tour de force sound of Tribe Of Gypsies is guitarist, Roy Z. Truly one of the finest guitar players that have graced this rockers ears. The sound that Roy creates is filled with energy, power and melodic grace. His guitar wizardry will simply hypnotize and captivate you. Aside from performing with Tribe Of Gypsies, Roy Z. has also wore the hat of "Producer". He produced such artists like LIFE AFTER DEATH, WARRIOR and of course, BRUCE DICKINSON where he also plays in Bruce's band. Roy is truly a person who is totally dedicated to his work and all his hard work is evident in the magic he creates through his music, be it with Tribe Of Gypsies or any other band he works with. I had the opportunity to ask Roy Z. a few questions about Tribe Of Gypsies and the band's latest release, Revolucion 13, and here's the lowdown.

What is the story behind the title of the new CD, Revolucion 13 ?
Well, everyone has there own interpetation and it's open to interpretation. As for my self, the number 13 is a number that used culturally to identify yourself with who you are. I feel there is revolution happening among our people, so thus the title. Also, the number 13 in Aztec numerics is a very significant number. Thats what inspired the artwork for the CD. The moon revolves around the sun actually in 13 months not 12. The number 13 for christianity is a bad number, so they made fit into 12. So, there you have it.

The new CD features Gregory Annalla formerly of Seventhsign. How did you get him to join the band, and did you have to audition any other singers? If so, who were the other choices?

Well, Greg is our new singer, he was the first singer I wanted in the band originally. I couldn't get a hold of him. I had seen him in a band called, 9.0. He was recommend to me by Mike Varney of Shrapnel records. He told about a singer who he thought would fit perfect. At the time, Greg was moving back to New Mexico and I couldn't find him or get a hold of him, so basically , a friend of ours, Chris, got his number and when we played in New Mexico with Bruce, his band opened up. So we got to talking and it went really good and next thing you know, he was the singer. We did get tapes from around the world , but I just felt good to go with Greg he just seemed to be the perfect fit. Plus, he was a nice guy.

Dean Ortega was the band's original vocalist, what was the reason behind his departure?

Actually, Dean was the third vocalist of the band, the original singer was, Robin Garcia, in fact Robin and I wrote, Nothing Lasts Forever. Then there was, David Young, he was only in the band from a short time then came Dean. The reason that we let Dean go was basically it was becoming very difficult working with Dean and one of the things that made it difficult was he didn't want to sing in Spanish. Though we do incorporate a litte spanish influence in our music, our plan eventually in the future is to re-do all our songs in Spanish. Not right now though, we do not want to confuse people. Yeah, Dean was not into that at all, he just said, "No, I not gonna do it." So that and acculmanation of other things. I was just not right anymore, it was time move on and get somebody new. I feel we made the right choice and all of us are really with Greg.

Some would compare the sound Tribe Of Gypsies to bands like MALO, AZTECA or SANTANA, how would you describe the band's sound?

Yeah, you can say that bands like those pave the way for new bands like ours , but we're morphing, melting other forms that maybe these guys did not have. Although we may have similarities, we're doing it a little bit different, a little more modern. You can definitely say that these bands did influence us in one way or another. To describe the sound of the Tribe, the Tribe is basically a melding of musical identities of roots, of ideas. Some people call it Latin Rock, some call it Tribal Rock and some call it whatever. To me it's the sound of the Tribe. To me, that would be the best way to describe our sound, the sound of Tribe Of Gypsies.

As a guitar player, who are your influences ?

In no particular order. Jimi Hendrix, for different reasons other than the playing. Also his songwriting. Jimmy Page, because he influenced me not only as a guitarist, that amazing riffs and solos, but also a producer. Uli Jon Roth, is another big influence his phrasing really blew me away as did his sound. All the guys that were in Thin Lizzy, especially Gary Moore. Peter Green for sure. Peter Green influenced me a lot. Those are just a few guys, there are a whole bunch more guitar players that influenced me, thats all I can think of right now.

Aside from being a brilliant guitarist, you've also produced such bands like, LIFE AFTER DEATH, WARRIOR, DOWNSET and three albums by BRUCE DICKINSON. How do you find the time to do all this? Will you be producing anymore new bands in the future ?

Well, I really don't know how I find the time. Its so hectic, especially when I'm producing and playing. The way that I find time is that I have to make time. Because I have to get the job done, usually I have a deadline. I love producing and I love playing. Doing the two at the same time, is very difficult. Althought I like doing once in awhile, sometimes it gets really hard. As far as doing new bands in the future. There are some new things that I will be doing. I will be doing the DOWNSET album. There are some new things that are not set in stone yet. So, until they are set in stone, I won't talk about them. Basically, I like working with the same people a lot, 'cause I already know what I am going to deal with. That's an important thing. This year, I do want to work with new people because I need to broaden my horizons a little, as far as musically styles.

I thought the Tribe Of Gypsies releases, the band self-titled debut and Nothing Lasts Forever were great. How will the band's latest release, Revolucion 13, match up to the band's previous works ?

I think the band has grown since then and I think the new CD will be a little more focused. Not jumping from one musical style to another. Although the new CD is not a concept album, it sorta built that way musically. Where all the songs fit together and conicide with one another. There are a lot more insturmentals on the new CD because, we wanted to showcase more of the guys in the band, the percussion and the keyboards. So, you'll hear a lot more percussions and keyboards in the insturmentals. That's the difference, but it's still the same style and it still rocks with a little more depth in the songs, for sure.

All three releases by Tribe Of Gypsies have been released in Japan only, why is that?

Basically, the reason for that is, we had a hard time getting deals in Europe and especially here in the United States, that we liked. We don't like getting ripped off, so the thing is, why put it out if people are going to rip you off? That's our philosopy. We are working on a deal in 1999 for the European market that looks really good with a release some time this summer. As far as the States, it's not looking that great, but I'm still hoping.

Aside from opening for bands like DIO and IRON MAIDEN in '98, are there any other shows planned in the future?

We'll been playing shows on and off, but currently the next shows we do will be warm up shows before we hit Japan. We'll be doing guess opening slots like we did with BLUE OYSTER CULT. To do the club grind here, to me, seems pointless. We'll do a few gigs, but again it's just pointless. Although, people do show up, it's just like the promotors are ripping everyone off and like I mentioned before, I am not into getting ripped off. So, I rather not play, unless it's to get new exposure for the band like the BOC show. We made a lot of new fans, those are shows we like doing. It's the club grind that we are not interested in. The next concrete gigs we do will be the ones in Japan.

I've heard a couple of the new songs from the new CD, all of which are fantastic, which ones are your favorites?

I love the whole new album, I really enjoy it. Its the first album I can listen after it's done. To pick one song would not be fair or a few songs. I would say the whole thing is my favorite. I am really please with the way it came out. We really didn't have enough resources to do this CD. I thought with what we had we created miracles. I really can't just pick one song, the love the whole piece.

It's been a long time coming, but the band finally has an official website, what are you thoughts about the internet? Do you think it's a necessity? I've been told by some record labels that it's not.

I love the internet, I love going to the website and I like interacting with the fans as much as I can. I think the internet is a necessity. You are able to get feedback from fans all over the world. You can comunicate with other people, you can network your band, especially if you get a few good links. You can definitely multiply your bands fan base. So I would say that the internet is a great thing. Having a website is fantastic. I would like to thank Julien and his brother Clem for setting up and mainting our website for us. We are very happy working with them and they are great guys. These guys have done a fantastic job and we're really happy with it.

Thanks, Roy for your time, you have really shed a lot of light about the Tribe Of Gypsies and your thoughts. I know all the Tribe fans really appreciate it! You ROCK!

Thank you very much and we'll see you, bye.

For those who haven't experienced the tribal rock sound of Tribe Of Gypsies I can this, you are really missing out on hearing one of the most powerful, energetic and truly talented rock bands to come on to the Rock Music scene! To the Tribe Of Gypsies, thank you for the music and to Roy Z., thank you for your time and your insight. Tribe of Gypsies fans around the world appreciate it and look forward to hearing more great music from you guys!

Tony aka The Atomic Chaser

Looking back into the past

1998-12-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

19/12/98, Paris (France)

Roy, we're all well-aware of your work with the Tribe or with Bruce, but tell us a little bit about where you come from.

I was blessed with a talent and I don't want to use it to promote anything negative. At the same time, I don't want to be an hypocrit because like everybody else, I do stuff that's bad too. And I don't want to be a preacher, because there's already enough of those around. Seeing positive stuff is good for me, it makes me feel good and it makes me feel that I'm using my talent in a positive way. Also, growing up where I grew up, a lot of things that people took for granted were actually a privilege. Having your own car instead of taking the bus, having somewhere to live, having some food to eat, some OK clothes, some Nikes or something... This is true, it may be stupid stuff and people may think it's dumb. If you grow up in a poor area, in the so-called barrio, it's a big deal.

Growing up where I grew up was fun, but it was also difficult because there was a lot of negativity and it was so easy to get caught in drugs, gangs, doing crimes to get money. It was so easy to get into it... For me, I lacked in role models when I was a kid, I didn't have any. I'm not out to be some role model or big brother or anything, but if I can be a role model for a kid who's in my shoes and help him... I've been working with this band, Downset, and I was a role model for them. They've gone on and now people know who they are and they tour all over the world. These kids started looking up to me and I feel good about that, because now, kids look up to them and they sing about things that are positive. I think that's a good thread that I helped start.

Where I grew up was a melting pot. Lots of black people, lots of Mexican people and there were some poor white people too. Also, people from Africa, Central America, ... There was a lot of mixture of people and the music that was going around in my neighborhood was pretty incredible. You had the latin stuff, my white friends were playing Led Zeppelin and Sabbath to me. The guy across the street was from Belize and he played steel drums. Next door was a lady from Honduras and she played salsa. The lady two houses down sang in a gospel. All this music, man, was really cool.

It's not what everybody thinks, but it's like everybody thinks at the same time. When you grow up in what people call a ghetto or a barrio or whatever, violence exists. Gunshots everyday, bad drug deals that went wrong, prostitution,... All that stuff exists. But there's also harmony, you make friends. Growing up wasn't that bad.

When did you start playing music ?

I'm told that I liked playing music when I was very young, when I was 2 or 3, but I don't remember too much. I know that the first songs I heard in my life were Hey Jude and Come Together by The Beatles. This are the very first songs I remember hearing. Then I got into sports and I kind of abandoned music when I was 5 or 6. I wanted to be a baseball player and then a football player. That's what I was gonna be, either one of those. Then when I was 6 or 7, I discovered The Beatles again and I really started getting into it, just as a fan. When I was 10, I got into Zeppelin. I'd go to my uncle's house, he had a guitar and I loved just messing around for hours. When I was in Junior High, I was about 13 and I got some money for Christmas, $50 or something, and I bought myself a guitar and that's when it started.

I didn't know how to tune for the first 6 months, so I'd make my own tunings. From the first week, I was making my own songs, jamming for hours and hours. I knew I liked writing songs. I'd write them and play, record myself, listen to it. I played with my brother because he played keyboards, so that's how I started playing guitar.
Then, you got involved with Metal in the early 80s.

At the time, when I was growing up, the big bands were Scorpions, Priest,... Maiden was still rising. I got into these bands at school, they were the heaviest shit around. They were the extreme back then. You get involved listening to this music and your friends at school show you these bands, AC/DC, Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix,... This is the first stuff I remember trying to figure out.

And you played in a number of bands...

Yeah, backyard parties. When I was 15-16, I was playing parties in the summer, maybe once a week. It was great! You learn to play for people, for your friends. Maybe make a little money, charge $2, have beer for everyone. It was lots of fun. I was playing in bands in the neighbourhood. One of the first bands I was in, we did a lot of AC/DC covers, a lot of stuff like that.

Then, the big explosion happened in L.A., all the hair bands and so on...

It was cool. You'd go out to see the bands with your friends, your Mom's friend would take you and drop you off to see a band like Ratt, Armored Saint, Motley Crue or WASP. To be honest with you, I never really liked these bands too much. Ratt had good guitar players. I didn't like the music that much, but I'd go for the guitar players : Jake, Warren DeMartini,... I never was a Crue fan. I saw them when they opened for WASP at the Troubadour and I didn't like it. I didn't like WASP either. It wasn't my cup of tea, as they say. My favorite band at that time from that scene was Warrior. I really liked them a lot. Steeler, too. A lot of bands tried to be like Motley Crue, but I never was into any of them.

At the end of the 80s, all these bands started to fade away. And all the sudden, in the early 90s, you decide to start Tribe of Gypsies. Why latino Rock ?

You gotta understand... Where I was, in L.A., I knew that I was a good guitarist. I was probably one of the better ones out there. I used to go to a lot of auditions for bands looking for a guitar player. Pretty big bands. Everyone was auditioning at some point. You sent a tape, but if you didn't have the right look, the C.C. DeVille [Poison guitarist] hair job (laughs), they didn't call you back. I was playing in a band called Driver in L.A., it was one of the first professional gigs I ever got. I was 18 years old and we moved to Connecticut because we wanted to break New-York, because in L.A. it was all about glam. To us, this stuff was dying and it was. I played in this band from '89 to '91. Then, the band broke up, because the singer decided he would join another band. I was basically in the middle of New England somewhere, feeling very bad, very sorry for myself. I got sick of trying to conform to something that I didn't fit because I didn't look like C.C. DeVille or...

Yeah, whatever the ideal poster child was. I know I'm not ugly but I know that I don't look like some of these guys in these fucking bands. They look like shit, you know. They look like girls and I knew I didn't want to look like a girl (laughs). Pretty Boy Floyd, Slaughter and bullshit like that... Then, I decided that I was gonna do something where I wouldn't have to fit in, where I am what fits. That's when I decided to do latin Rock.

How easy was it to find musicians ?

Oh it was impossible. I came up with the concept and two months later I moved back to L.A. and started looking for musicians. I hooked up with one of my old friends, Robbyn Garcia. I told him my idea and he was into it, so I started writing songs, coming up with pretty good ideas. The first song that I wrote was Nothing Lasts Forever with Robbyn. He wrote the words and I wrote the music, it was really good, I really liked it. I did a demo with a drum machine and a friend of mine played bass on it, Patrick Kelly. After that, I tried to find musicians but I was broke. Typical musician story... The musicians I wanted to get, I couldn't afford, because people who play latin music are always working ane making killer money. To get these was impossible. So I tried to get friends of mine who could learn the style, but it was too hard because they didn't have the vibe. Then, I was asked to join Warrior, so I kinda quit doing the Tribe. Warrior was one my favorite bands when I was a kid, so I was like : "Hey, this is cool!". Just for the fuck of it, just for fun, man.

While I was in Warrior, this friend of mine, Chris Leibundgut, he had the tape and he got me in touch with a small German label called Dream Circle Records. I met with the guy, we went out for some beers and he said that he liked it a lot and that he wanted to do a deal. I didn't know what to think, I was very excited! I had a record deal from this tape so I started recording some more demos, but he said that he really didn't like the singer and that I should find another one. I told my friend Robbyn and he was devastated. I think to this day he's still kinda hurt that he's not the singer in the band. I feel bad, because he's a good singer but he used to be an incredible singer. He took vocal lessons and it fucked up his voice because he started thinking too much and he lost it. Even on the original demo of Nothing Lasts Forever, he didn't quite have it like in the old days.

I started looking for singers and I met with Eddie Casillas who's from my neighbourhood. He didn't grow up in my area, but he's from my town and I used to be in a band with his cousin and we knew each other pretty well. I told what I wanted to do and he was into the idea, even though he didn't really know latin bass lines. Maybe you don't know them, but you can learn them because it's your blood, it's easy to pick up. He got into and said that he knew some guys. We started to meet more people and the band started. It's easy to get a band toghether when you have a deal. Piece of cake. Because everyone wants to do a record. We got the whole band except the singer. I put the word out and I must have looked at maybe 30 singers and 20 drummers. Dave Ingraham was the last guy in the band as far as the players are concerned.

From this point, things started moving pretty fast!

The road was pretty smooth back then, incredibly easy. I found one singer, David Young. He was a Paul Rogers kinda singer, he was very cool. But the first singer I ever wanted was Gregg, but I couldn't get a hold of him. The second singer was Dean Ortega. He came to jam with us but he said he didn't want to be in the band because he already had one. We started doing the album with Dave and we finished it. Just before we mixed it, we played a show and it was packed. I was blown away, people had heard about the band and they were interested. Our first show was a big success to us and the very next night at the same club, Dean's band played and we went to see him. His band sucked, it was horrible for him. His guitar player was breaking strings and out of tune, the people were embarrassed for him. His band was no good. We played again that same week and he came to see us after the show and said he wanted to be in the band (laughs).

Right after that, we mixed our album for this German guy, we met Bruce and he wanted us to help him. Right when we met Bruce, a band I was working with, Downset, got a record deal and introduced us to Mercury. Mercury heard the band and wanted to sign us. Then a bunch of labels wanted to sign us too. They started a bidding war : "I give you $75,000", "$100,000", "$150,000". It was there for a while and the guy from Warner Bros said $175,000. The guy from Mercury said he'd pay $250,000, take it or leave it. We said we'd take it (laughs)! We had all this shit happening, it was incredible and very fast, maybe within one month and a half!

How do you end up on a Japanese label?

This is the story. We were on Mercury and they had given us all this money. We had the album done, so we used the money for health insurance, money for the guys. We had to buy out the German label and that cost us a lot of money, lawyer fees etc. We didn't care because we knew we had a major deal. Then, there were problems at Mercury and they fired everyone. The only guy left is know the president and he's an R&B guy : Vanessa Williams, black artists, etc. He didn't know much about other music. They ended up letting us go, because they said they would put the album out, but they didn't know how to promote it: They didn't know what style it was, they didn't have the budget because they were spending more on Bon Jovi...

We ended up getting off from Mercury, but it took us about a year. They let us keep the album and the money but they wanted a cut of the album. We then went to the other labels that wanted to sign us. One by one, they all went under. Warner Bros changed everything, Eastwest merged with Elektra... Mercury screwed us because in that year that we waited, we couldn't do no deals and when we finally got out, we couldn't do no deals either. So, we ended up not putting the album out in the States. We just went with a Japan-only deal because it's a small part of the world. I'm really grateful to them, but we wanted to put it out smal and start working on a new album. That way, Mercury won't have a piece.

Then you put out an EP.

The EP was just leftovers from the album. Some of them were gonna be B-sides, some were recorded and for whatever reason didn't go on the album. We had all this stuff and the Japanese said that they'd take it. Then, we parted ways with Dean and now, we have Gregg Analla.

Yeah, he told us all about it some time ago. Actually, Gregg and you were in Japan last month. How did it go?

It went really well. The fans there are very recpetive and open-minded. That's what I like about Japan. At the same time. I wish it sould have been the whole band instead of just Greg and me. But it was fun, I had never really done that. We only did oneacoustic show before, a long time ago as a make-up show. We owed somebody a show in L.A. and we did it like that. Anyway, the new songs really came across really well acousticly.

The new songs are pretty different from the first album. Is this a conscious move or just a normal evolution?

It's just a normal evolution, I would say. We wanted to make, at least I did, a record that fit from the very first to the very last song. Like the old records. You put on Wish You Were Here or Zeppelin IV and they fit from the beginning to the end. You never wonder : "Why is this shit here?", you know. It's the first album I've ever made where I can listen to the whole thing and not want to turn it off. A lot of my older albums, I can't even stand to listen to them (laughs).

Your music has a very positive side with the Tribe, as well as a darker, heavier side with Bruce. How do you put them back together?

Bruce is writing all the lyrics, so whatever the contents of his lyrics are, that's what they are. I have no control of that. Musically, I'm catering to Bruce. It's not necessarily my style, but I feel that I could do any style in the world. There's nothing alien to me, except maybe Country music which I'm still trying to like.

If Garth Brooks calls you...

Hey, I'll try, shit, I'll try to make him heavy (laughs). There's very little Country that I like. Anyway, I cater to Bruce. I'm doing for Bruce what I think Bruce should be doing. With the Tribe, it's very natural. We had more songs and we took them out of the album because they didn't fit the vibe. That's something we didn't do on the first album and that's why I don't like it as much.

It's the end of 1998 and it looks like 1999 will be a busy year for you.

It seems like for the last few years, every year has been a busy one (laughs). But yeah, sometimes I'm overwhelmed. If I think too much about everything I have to do, I think I'll have a breakdown (laughs). I'm in the studio with Downset and hopefully that will be finished by the end of February. Then, I have to do 6 more Tribe songs for a new mini-album, some very cool stuff. In between, I'll be writing new stuff for Bruce. I don't know when we'll dot it but he already asked me to start writing. Also, I'll be doing some other things for different people. And let's see what happens.

Yeah, things may happen. Any message for the Tribe fans?

Anyone who does like our older stuff should really check the new stuff. It's a little more focused, we have a fantastic singer and overall, this is the best record I have ever made. Period.

Thank you!

Roy Z Interview - The ACCIDENT OF BIRTH Listening Party

1997-05-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is a excerpt from Strange Death #9, the now-defunct Bruce newsletter written by Jeremy Haines.

The ACCIDENT OF BIRTH Listening Party
May 10, 1997 - Los Angeles, CA

I'd heard Bruce mention earlier that some of the other band members were at the party; but since I'd never seen any pictures of them, I didn't know where to look. I asked Adrian if Roy Z. was around, and he pointed over toward one end of the room and described him for me. Walking over there, I saw Roy hanging around a group of people who were talking among themselves and didn't seem to know who he was. I started a conversation with him, and he seemed excited to talk to someone who was into his work. The first thing I asked was how he felt about Alex Dickson's live re-interpretations of the material from "Balls to Picasso". Roy said that he'd actually seen their live show in person, and that Alex was "doing his own thing with the songs, and that's cool." He thought that the biggest difference was in the guitar tone, which came from Alex's use of a Stratocaster instead of a heavier-sounding setup. I asked if Roy would be re-interpreting any Skunkworks songs on the upcoming tour, and he said that anything along those lines would be "up to Bruce". Given that they haven't decided on a setlist yet, I guess the question was a bit premature.

Next I asked him about the rumor that the Tribe of Gypsies had released an album in Japan. He said that the rumor was true: their full-length, self-titled debut album was written in late 1992 and released in Japan in 1996. He didn't know of any importers off the top of his head that carried the album, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to order it. Roy said that the Tribe was a 7-piece unit, and he described the music as "psychedelic 70's hippie rock". Sounds interesting... Then I mentioned that his rhythm sound seemed noticeably different on "Accident of Birth" as opposed to "Balls to Picasso"...only a few passages on the new album reminded me of the old sound (the guitars under the chorus of "Darkside of Aquarius" come to mind). Roy's expression turned a bit grim, and he said that he wasn't happy with the guy who recorded "Balls to Picasso" [Shay Baby] because that album didn't faithfully capture his "metal sound"; but "Accident of Birth" apparently does...and it should, since Roy produced the album himself.

Finally, I asked Roy where he stood with Bruce's band and his own band. Was he in with Bruce for the long haul? Would he alternate working with Bruce and the Tribe? Roy said that he'd really enjoyed working with Bruce, and that it meant a lot to him that Bruce had let him produce "Accident of Birth", since that was essentially placing his entire career in Roy's hands...and whenever Bruce wanted to call on Roy in any capacity, he'd be there for him. But beyond that, Roy was pretty noncommittal about working with Bruce in the future or being a permanent band member. He's still pursuing a domestic record deal with the Tribe of Gypsies; and as soon as Bruce's tour is over, that'll become his #1 priority again. I enjoyed talking to Roy; he's a really nice guy, and I think he was genuinely amused by the idea of people wanting to have their picture taken with him, etc. He even gave me his email address, though he said it would be deactivated in a few days, and all of my attempts to send mail to him wound up bouncing. (Roy, if you're reading this and you have a new email address, *please* drop me a line...thanks.)

I only spoke with Eddie Casillas briefly...he spent most of his time horsing around and videotaping the party for posterity. Let me tell you, this guy is HUGE...he could kick Lou Ferrigno's ass easily. When I introduced myself, he asked semi-menacingly, "Do I know you?" I said, "Uh, no...but you're the bass player, right?" At that point he relaxed a bit and wound up telling me that he and the drummer were just waiting to find out what was happening with the tour, etc. I think he was pretty disinterested in the scene at the listening party, and I can't really blame him for that. Speaking of the drummer, I never encountered Dave Ingraham at the party...I'm not even sure he was there. But I got a chance to meet most of the band, so I was pretty happy about how things went.

Welcome to the NEW Official Roy Z Website

2006-03-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

We are proud to launch the all-new RoyZMusic.com website to showcase guitarist, songwriter, producer extraordinaire, Roy Z.

Enjoy the photo galleries, videos, guestbook and discography. Be sure to check back regularly for news updates on Roy Z.

Roy Z Tour Dates

2006-03-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

Roy Z is not touring at the moment.