 |
|
|
Harem Scarem made a triumphant return to more of a hard rock sound with their latest album "Weight Of The World", so we figured it was about time to question them about "then" and "now" and "future" too. You might also note that many of these questions are from the die-hard HS fans from the Harem Scarem mailinglist! So here's Pete Lesperance and his answers to our questions!
-Harem Scarem was the name of one of the first Bugs Bunny cartoons.
2. There's been a few people sending in questions about your live dates.
What have you got planned? Any dates in Canada (Ken from London, Ontario would like to see you
there and Toronto was mentioned too) or Europe besides the already announced gigs in Spain, UK
and Germany? Paula from Holland is hoping to see you live in her county, I wouldn't
mind seeing you in Finland either! :)
-We are doing the few dates that you know of in Europe and then a short
Japanese stint but for now that's all we have planned.
Dear cynic....
The Rubber thing musically was where our heads were at the time and if
you listen to the previous record I think it was pretty obvious that we
were headed in that direction. That being said, The name change to Rubber was a way to get some people
who had a preconceived ideas about Harem Scarem being a bunch of hair
farmers to actually listen to the music and that did work better for us
in Canada then Harem Scarem had in about 7 years since Sunshine was a
top 40 single.
As far as the music we made as Rubber, it was in no way an experimental
stage, I still think that the first Rubber record was some of our best
work to date (in my humble opinion) so I know exactly why we "wrote that
crap in the first place". So what's up with the name change ?
Labels and fans alike wanted another Harem Scarem record so we gave them
one... simple. H.S or Rubber or whatever... we only ever really have one goal and that
is to write the best songs that we can and produce the best record that
we are capable of. We just don't like to do the same thing over and over and over and
over...So if we lost some fans along the way it was all for the sake of
expressing ourselves musically the way we want to and since that is
something that makes this job so great... I wouldn't change a thing.
4b. I'd like to suggest a name too...what about Desmond Child? Do you
think
you could
create something with that guy?
-We would be happy to write with anyone that we respect as a writer.
It's always great to expand your ideas and you always learn something
from working with other people.
5. Jon from Ottawa, Canada has a question: "which acts have you
enjoyed the most touring with? For example, in the
early days you played some gigs with Aldo Nova,
Aerosmith?"
-Way too many to pick just one but the Foreigner shows were always
cool...we grew up on that stuff.
-I'd love to hear Weezer do a Rubber song.
7. Is RUBBER now gone and forgotten, and will it be just Harem Scarem
from now on?
-stay tuned...
8. Has there been any talk about a Harem Scarem DVD? A live thing or a
promo video collection would be a nice treat for the fans!
-I think we are going to attempt a dvd from the european dates.
9. You've got some European dates lined up, incl. Gods & Nemelrock. Are
you looking forward to them, and what kind of sets can people expect?
-We love playing in Europe and the set will consist of a cross section
of all the records and about 1/2 of WOTW
10. What did we miss? What is the question no interviewer ever asks but
you'd like to answer? Shoot!
-was that you I saw out with Jennifer Love Hewitt last night?
answer...yesssss!!!
|
|
|
Interview
by Kimmo Toivonen |
|
1. Where does the name come from? Even before I actually heard the band,
I thought it had a nice ring to it!
3. Here's a question from Dave from the HS mailing list:
"I would like to know why the band made the sudden switch back to their
melodic rock roots? During the Rubber era, the guys said that they were
"tired of writing the same style songs and could write stuff like Mood
Swings in their sleep". Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not
complaining, but I'd just like to know why? So many bands do this. They release an
album or two of material that strays far away from what got them where
they were, they put down the music that all their fans adore, then when it
doesn't work, they go back to their roots and explain that they were
just in an "experimental" stage and they don't know why they "wrote that crap in
the first place". What gives? Sorry, I'm just a natural cynic, I guess."
4. Rob asks: "I am
wondering if Harem Scarem might consider co-writing
with another Melodic artist who would mold with their
style real well. For example, guitarist Mike Slamer
formerly of the band Streets is an excellent Melodic
songwriter and tasteful guitarist. I can imagine the
Melodic masterpieces that could be created if the
Lesperance/Hess team were to join forces with Slamer
to record a CD...or even just to write a few songs."
6. You and Harry are both profilic songwriters, and have written songs
for projects outside the band. If you could get anyone you wanted to record a song of yours, who would
it be?