Steve Brown (Trixter) – interview

Steve Brown (Trixter) – interview

22 Luglio 2015 0 Commenti Alessandro Lifonti

interview by Alessandro Lifonti

italian version

MR: Hello Steve, welcome to melodicrock.it.
SB: Great to be here… still rocking!!!

MR: Let’s start talking about your debut album. I think it is a very underrated record. Some people say the production is not that good. What do you think about it?
SB: We were very young and not experienced in making records when we recorded our debut.
Our producer,BILL WRAY, did a great job teaching us and I’m forever grateful to him and all the people who helped make the record. The sound of the record was not my choice, it was the label’s idea. They wanted us to sound like a garage rock band not so polished. But I think we would have been a bigger hit if the cd sounded better. Listen to the video remix of ONE IN A MILLION.The late Mike Shipley (Def Leppard) mixed it .That’s how we should’ve been mixed. But overall we hit the big time ,so who cares. I can’t complain.

MR: And two years later (1992) you released another awesome record (Hear) that still stand the test of time….
SB: For sure making “HEAR” was a great time for TRIXTER.We had just come off the road after 13 months of touring and we had all the songs written and demo’d. Working with JAMES “JIMBO” BARTON Rush,Queensryche) was mind blowing. The sound we got was very big and powerful. We recorded in Philadelphia,New York and Los Angeles at the best studios money could buy. We were living the rockstar dream and I think you can hear it in the music.

MR: You toured the world with several super bands….Kiss, Scorpions, Poison, just to name a few! What did you learn from those unbelievable experiences?
SB: Touring with those legendary bands taught us how to put on great shows night after night.
We were always wanting to learn new things. Every band we ever toured with STRYPER, DON DOKKEN, POISON, THE SCORPIONS ,WARRANT & KISS all treated us incredible. So many great times.

MR: When “Hear” was released you were on top, but then grunge came, and you were swept away….do you remember those days?
SB: I remember that time very well. We knew things were rough when MTV wouldn’t play our video for “ROAD OF A THOUSAND DREAMS”. But we soldiered on while touring with KISS and made the best of it.

MR: What did you guys do when the band broke up? Did you take separate ways? Did you keep in touch?
SB: When we took a vacation in 1995,PJ and I started a great band called,THROWAN ROCKS,
The other guys went to beauty school. We did keep in touch but not as much as we should have. But I always knew we would get back together. In 2008 we turned it on again.

MR: Let’s now talk about the reunion (2008). Why did you decide to give the band a second chance?
SB: It was time…it felt right to all of us. Our first show was at Rocklahona ’08 and it was so much fun. The magic was back and the band is better now than ever.

MR: A couple of years ago you signed with Frontiers and you released the mighy “New audio machine”! Great songs, catchy chorus, you made the die hard trixter fans happy again….
SB: So proud that the band is at the top of their game.”NEW AUDIO MACHINE” gave TRIXTER a new found confidence and spirit. The cd rocks…fans all around the world loved it.

MR: And here we are with a brand new cd called “Human era”! How did you come up with the title of the album? And what a great artwork by the way….
SB: Pj Farley came up with the concept. Our band is a family…the guys are like my brothers.
After 30 years of friendship, you start to sometimes look back and go “WOW” we are very lucky to still be here. We built our band in a time when there was no internet,cell phones, social media….It was magical. The artwork is awesome. Nello at Frontiers did a fantastic job.

MR: This album is full of great songs! There are powerful tracks, midtempos, and ballads on it. How long did it take you to record the whole thing and in your opinion what’s the difference between this record and the previous ones, if there are any differences?
SB: HUMAN ERA represents everything that TRIXTER was and is now. We are not trying be anything but TRIXTER 200%. It took about 3 months to finish. I had some song ideas left over from NEW AUDIO MACHINE. This is our best effort yet. It has all the elements of a classic hard rock album.

MR: Are there any chances for the european fans to see you playing live in Europe?
SB: We hope to… just waiting for the right offers.

MR: Thank you once Steve. We hope to see you soon in Italy!
SB: Thank you and we can’t wait to come over and rock.

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