DJ Interviews: Of the sun & the moon

 Hey there all, here's my interview with the band Of the sun &  the moon!

John LORENA:  guitars, bass, keyboards, programming; songwriter and producer

Lory DE LOREAN: vocals, backing vocals; songwriter

Hi Dizzy and hi everyone reading … it’s a honor and a privilege to be here doing this interview and answering these questions … here we go …

How'd you get started in music?

(JOHN) As far as I remember, I’ve always had music in my ears, from an early age, thx to my parents and my closest relatives. They all were fans of music … various genres, from classical to soundtracks and orchestras … and, therefore, I automatically learned to listen to everything and to like it too, especially soundtracks.

When, as a teenager, I started to be, musically speaking, more independent and to use my personal stereo system, then I began to look around, to listen, above all, to the radio charts. The first record I bought, strange to say, was ‘Spirits having Flown’ by the Bee Gees.

One day, I saw on TV a commercial for a US band, they were wearing make up, they were strong, strange, spectacular ... behind’em a luminous writing that said ... KISS! Wow, in the next days I heard a certain ‘I was made for Loving You’ on the radio ... I had to have that record, ‘Dynasty’ ... I immediately fell in love with everything ‘bout them ... and from there it all started ... I wanted a guitar, I wanted the sheet music, and I started strumming something here and there … I had a passion for ‘Beth’ … in the following years I had my first electric guitar, I improved my skills, self-taught, and the desire and the need to write something of my own were born in me, as well as to assemble my first band.

We were in the early 90s and I formed several bands, FightHeads, Magic Touch, but they never took off due to members having other priorities or more likely being ‘posers’ than musicians. Over the years I’ve written and developed a lot of stuff … they’re times when there were not yet all the possibilities of today, at the technological and self-promotion levels … it was all much more difficult ...

… let's get to 2010 ... when I’d almost lost hope, there was a meeting, almost fortuitous, with Lory (De Lorean), and I instantly understood that, thx to her vocal eclecticism and energy, probably, working together, we’d have done and created something interesting and original. She accepted with enthusiasm ... and so it was ... the birth Of the Sun and the Moon ...

(LORY) I lived in a small village in the south of Italy. There was little entertainment, and, as a child, ‘twas a party when, with my brothers and sisters, we watched music shows on TV. I was feeling myself good only when I started imitating the singers I was listening to, and I could sing out loud. I did it to play ... until my parents and some of my sisters spurred to make me take it more seriously.

I state … like John, I’m self-taught, but I like to experiment and improve myself day after day. As a teenager, I started attending pubs, clubs, locations offering ‘open mic’ or karaoke nights to try my voice on real musical bases and, above all, in front of an audience that was not made up of friends and relatives. I also decided to participate in musical events, contests, talent shows, and, at home, I’ve some prizes and awards I’m absolutely proud of.

At a certain point, however, this began to be a bit too monotonous and reductive … I felt closed, as in a loop, while I always thought I’d something more to show, to give and to bring out ... to myself probably. For some time I’d in mind to write, to play and interpret my original tracks and not just covers by other artists. The meeting with John, ten years ago, with rock and heavy metal, and the birth Of the Sun and the Moon was regenerating, opening new horizons for me … it broke down a certain type of barriers ... a rebirth, definitely.

Who are your inspirations or influences?

(JOHN) ... already talked ‘bout KISS ... Lory's and my luck was that, for lots of years, we worked for radio stations and as music journalists, so this allowed us to listen to everything ... music of all genres, from rock to pop, from country to hip hop and rap, to dance, to electro music, classical music ... we’ve thus learned to appreciate the particular nuances of each musical genre ... and unconsciously we’ve stored ‘em ... we’ve behaved like sponges absorbing every interesting element of each song … and now we’re making the music … they re-emerge, time by time, enabling captivating contaminations.

As far as I'm concerned, however, the main influences are well rooted in metal and rock ... they go thru’ a long period ... starting from the psychedelia of Pink Floyd, the genius of Queen, the tenacity of Deep Purple, crossing the NWOBHM, with the elaborate songwriting of Iron Maiden and the epicness of Saxon and Ronnie James Dio, and landing in the Bay Area, with the technique and power of Metallica and Megadeth. I don't want to forget the Queensryche sophistication, as well.

Talking about the 2000s, I’ve been, and still I’m, attracted by female fronted symphonic metal bands, such as Epica and Nightwish (with Tarja), and also by absolutely elegant but energetic hard rock formations such as Kamelot and Evanescence. I also love the boldness and originality of Rammstein, and closely follow Arch Enemy … in addition to being technically flawless, they’ve an extraordinary vocalist, Alissa White-Gluz.

I've always been very interested in the evolution of guitarists such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, the unfortunate Jason Becker, and the mourned Dimebag Darrell. But, you know, in the 90s, I was a big fan of bands like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Depeche Mode, and still today I go crazy for the electronic blues rock of ZZ Top ... so, I feel very multicolored ‘bout my influences ...

(LORY) ... on the other hand, I grew up listening to exceptionally vocally gifted female artists like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, and singers with a strong, hard, biting voice like Tina Turner and Anastacia, or the Italian Loredana Bertè ... ‘bout male vocalists … well, Freddy Mercury, George Michael, Michael Bolton ...

... later, meeting John, I approached metal and rock … being influenced by female icons such as Lita Ford, Doro Pesch, Pat Benatar, Lee Aaron, and today by Simone Simons of Epica, Tarja Turunen (ex Nightwish), the Italian Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil, Amy Lee of Evanescence, Alissa of Arch Enemy. They’re all great sources and models to study.

As regards, however, inspiration in songwriting ... ok … it can come from everyday life, what happens to us, good or bad, or what happens around us; but it can also be a book, a movie, a soundtrack, a historical or fictional character ... as long as it’s interesting and suitable to build a story about ... we’re not barred from anything and everything can strike our attention, imagination or our intellect.

(JOHN) ... a further sign of Lory's eclecticism, on a musical level, is also demonstrated by the fact that, for a couple of years, she’s not only been engaged as a vocalist in Of the Sun and the Moon, but is carrying on a ‘solo project’ that has already given its fruits ... two original singles, one in Italian, pop dance funky style, ‘Note di Notte’, and another born from the collaboration with a Peruvian rapper, Bomber MC, ‘Senza Lacrime’, in Italian and Spanish …

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

(LORY) ... start this adventure only if you’re sure to have the right passion, the fire that burns … if you understand that the love for music will allow to face adversity of all kinds, disappointments, closed doors in your face, sometimes unfair criticism , envy ... be, above all, yourself, always ... don't let anyone shape you ... try to be as independent as possible, write your own songs, rely only on trusted people for music or, possibly, as we try, do everything yourselves … so you’ll be absolutely free to show your talent and you’ll have freedom of action on all fronts.

Don’t be disheartened at the first failure but, rather, analyze the errors and try to improve with commitment and study (even as self-taught, why not?) ... don’t set yourself barriers but, at the same time, do not make out of place or long-term projects ... accept constructive criticism and move away ‘time wasters’ ... give importance to technique, in playing, in singing, but remember … that's not all ... the technique alone is cold, it needs ardor, pathos, the ability to excite and get excited and, sometimes, it needs some mistake as well …

One last thing ... do not expect global success, but welcome every little satisfaction, as if it were the greatest gift ... an incentive to go on ...

(JOHN) ... cuddle each of your supporters, one or a thousand, be always available ... the music world’s always in turmoil and looking for something new that’s not a fad or mainstream ... work hard to find your way, be original, create your own style, unique… and you’ll see that there’ll certainly be someone out there appreciating your job …

… send your tunes to radios and webradios, to magazines and webmagazines, to blogs, use social media in the best possible way … now there’s this utility that didn’t exist long ago ... and it’s definitely an advantage ... give self-promotion the importance that deserves … it became essential ...

… we’ve discovered how the indie and underground world is fascinating, revolutionary, extremely rewarding ... don’t disdain collaborations.

Above all, guys, don't give in to easy illusions… I always get pissed off when I see the various talent shows on TV, described as the easy way to become famous … but where? ... maybe one in a million, when it happens ... parents willing to sell their souls and spend a lot of money on what? ... or people willing to make a fool of themselves for an appearance on TV ... for five minutes of glory ... never be it ... life’s difficult … to reach certain goals it takes effort, blood, sweat ... so is music too. But the satisfaction will be even greater ... and deserved ...

… and finally, never pay to have your song on radios or magazines ... the media must support, propose, play or promote an artist, or a track, exclusively for qualities and not for money ... it's not fair …

We, Of the Sun and the Moon, are sincere and honest … we’re following these methods we’ve recommended and we assure you that we’re earning satisfactions … beyond all imagination, and this is the real stimulus that keeps us going ... proud of what we’re doing ...

 

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

(JOHN) It’s very difficult to answer this question, ‘cause we risk appearing arrogant or too self-confident … in truth, we’re absolutely not. This question should be answered by external reviewers or listeners. One thing’s certain … we consider it a duty to find original solutions in the making of lyrics and music …

The uniqueness, for example, of our debut, ‘The Daughter of the Desert’, was … we didn't limit ourselves to anything. I mean ... a 12-minute track came out, experimental and instrumental … and not at all commercial ... many have called it a real ‘epic metal soundtrack’ suitable for an adventure movie located in the ancient Egypt, which was what we had in mind ... when we start writing a song, we know where we begin, but we never know where we’ll end ... even our name’s linked to the culture, to the mystery of that fascinating civilization.

With ‘Everlasting War’ we changed direction, we disconnected ourselves from that type of experimentation, introducing brand new ideas. First of all, it’s sung, then, there’re two female vocalists, Lory and the American singer-songwriter Frankie McCabe, two extraordinary, amazing and different voices, which created, in these six minutes, an important contrast … even in this case, absolutely desired; furthermore, we’ve a very elaborate ‘intro’, a much more demanding ‘solo’ and a central break completely different from the rest of the tune.

With ‘Sad, the Rain’ … this is a real ‘premiere’, ‘cause the song’s still ‘work in progress’ and we haven't talked to anyone about yet … we’ll try to amaze listeners again with novelties and updates, on structural, instrumental and emotional levels ... alternating sweet moments with really strong and vehement ones, while maintaining important melodies ... Lory’s working hard on vocal part and will give the best of herself in this single ...

(LORY) ... summing up what John said … the concept emerges that we automatically try not to copy what we’ve done previously, we always try to innovate and improve ... we don’t fossilize but we try to overcome ourselves …

... about ‘Everlasting War’ ... a review, for example, pointed out how our lyrics and our music are not so common, not the same as what someone can normally listen to today ... it means that there’s actually something different in our music, something that identifies us from others ... we’ve had over 500 radio airplays all over the world … this will mean something ...

There’ve been listeners, artists, journalists and reviewers that compared us to Heart, to Scorpions, to Evanescence ... the ‘intro’ has even been defined as a ‘son of Depeche Mode and Linkin Park’ ... these comments please us, ‘cause so many such important comparisons make us understand that, perhaps, there’s a little something of each of them in us, but we’re gradually incorporating these influences, shaping something innovative and different ...

… if there’s originality in Of the Sun and the Moon, I believe it’s mainly about songwriting … ‘Everlasting War’, speaks of life as a ‘perennial battlefield’, ‘Sad, the Rain’ is about ‘loneliness’ ... when we’re writing lyrics, usually on a musical base already sketched, we try to build a story behind the main topic, made up of metaphors, references ... in short, you’ve to read between the lines, the understanding’s not so immediate ... in ‘Sad, the Rain’ we thought of novelizing the lyrics, making it a kinda short tale ... ‘a creature, not really human, banned from civilization ‘cause different from the others, lives isolated and despised, sad and damned, ‘til the reaction, the hatred and the final revenge’ ... well, it’s a fiction, but if you know how to analyze it carefully and try to soften the tones a little, you see … it can happen to each of us as well, if you’re pushed aside in the real life ... on this aspect of writing lyrics, we’re working a lot ...

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

(JOHN) We’re currently a ‘studio project’. We’ve our own little studio, the Butterfly, where we rehearse, record, mix and produce our tunes. Our main purpose, now, is to record a number of original songs and enrich our playlist, so that, if we’ve to deal with ‘live shows’, we’ll have a lot of stuff to offer and play.

Since we both are frequenting the music business for many years and have experience in this field, we often organize music evenings ourselves, in clubs, pubs, squares … and we perform together with other bands and artists … usually we offer ‘acoustic versions’ of our original tracks along with some covers.

A few months ago we received a proposal from some US organizers for a selection, bands and artists would be chosen thru’ for a series of tours in the USA or Europe. We’d been chosen directly by the staff and, therefore, we had an advantage. It would have been an excellent opportunity, but we declined the invitation, at least for this year (tours are annual) ... as mentioned, now our target’s to record as many songs as possible ...

(LORY) … talking ‘bout the album … well, our idea is … to make a first EP featuring five songs. It’ll be titled ‘Tides’, and will have inside the 2013 instrumental debut ‘The Daughter of the Desert’, ‘Everlasting War’ ft. Frankie McCabe (released in April 2021), which marked our comeback after 8 years of recording silence, the brand new track, we’ve been working on for some time, and which will hopefully be out soon, ‘Sad, the Rain’, ‘Oblivion’, tune for which a demo already exists … but it will be revised, corrected and re-recorded as soon as ‘Sad, the Rain’s finished, and, finally, a cover that we’ll rework according to our power epic metal style. We’ve a list of covers we’d like to play and record, but we’ll leave the choice to our supporters … they’ll be able to vote for their own favorite.

After this, we’ll get to work on a second EP, again composed of five tracks, three original and two covers. The covers will be chosen following the same methods I mentioned before. About the original songs … there’re already proofs … but still very rough … they’ll be ‘Burn the Witch’, ‘Black Canary’ and the ‘title track’ of our first album … titled ‘Under the Influence Of the Sun and the Moon’.

This album will include the two complete EPs and, probably, one or two bonus tracks. The road’s still very long, but when we get to that moment, it’ll be the achievement of a dream ...