Classic Rock Society interview / by Dave
Winstanley
Infused? You soon will be!
Dave
Winstanley talks to db-infusion's Danny
Berdichevsky about the band's latest excellent
release...
Reviewing the new album from db-infusion
a short while ago, I was struck not only be
the excellence and diversity of the music
which came as no surprise following the bands
last outting, Dreamscape; but also by a number
of other things not least the distinctive
title which seemed to be making a very strong
statement. Shortly afterward I had a chance to
chat with the bands primary creative force.
Guitar maestro Danny Berdichevsky about these
matters; and I started by asking about that
singular title. He told me:
"I chose the title "Muso & Proud"
as a statement about the current state of the
music business, which is overrun by manufactured
commercial music and talent shows like the
X-Factor; whilst on the other side of the coin
in what is considered more serious music, such
as the current jazz scene, the pervading music
is safe, dated and unoriginal. It's as if the
industry is about all other factors apart from
the music. Fashion, politics, what's cool and
hip; yet just dare mention 'Muso' the reaction
is that people run away as soon as you say the
word. I wanted to create an album that was not
safe and where there are no compromises and I
wanted to make a point of challenging ourselves
and the listener by creating an album that is
interesting and unique."
A bold statement indeed, then and one
which of course will strike a chord with many
followers and fans of the multi-faceted
collection of musical sounds and styles that
come under the all-envolopping term "classic
rock". For all that though, the band's sense
of fun and enjoyment is obvious, not only in
the zest with which they play their dazzling
music, but in other ways too... And that cover
is certainly one you won't normally find in
the all-to-serious world of pop, where
narsissitic, photo-shoots of the artists
themselves are more often than not the order
of the day; or even rock where every band
seems these days to feel duty-bound go for
either "gothic", "ornate" or "obtuse" cover
subject matter. Here we have some cartoon
characters, looking suspiciously like the band
members, amid an array of images from the
album, immediately outside a jazz club. Could
Mr Berdichevsky, the "muso", be responsible, I
wondered?
"Yes, the idea was mine. I
wanted it to be a little bit tongue-in-cheek, and
to have fun with the "muso and proud" idea at the
same time getting the images of the track titles
into the cover. We didn't want to take ourselves
too seriously and we wanted it to be fun aswell.
It's comic, and comedy can be powerful for getting
a message across. When I first mentioned it to the
band members they didn't seem very happy about the
cartoon images looking like the band members, I
guess they didn't think it would come out as well
as it did. So I told the cartoonist, Gary Boller,
not to make the figures too close to us. However
once they saw the samples they really liked it and
wanted it to be as close as possible to our
images!"
This album, I noted, seems to be a melting
pot of influences, where elements of out-and-out
jazz and classical seem to be coming to the
fore. Was the band, I wondered, heading away at
all from the "jazz/rock/fusion" area?
"It's true that the album has more
classical and jazz influences and of course
flamenco influences too, but you still have strong
elements of Jazz/Rock fusion in the album, such as
“Friday's Morning” and “The Flight of the
Bumble-beat” where Rimsky-Korsakov's classical
piece got the rock treatment; And “Asturias” was
arranged differently with quite an intense
high-energy performance by the band. I always
believed that if you record or play any piece of
music, you should approach it from your own
original angle so that you put your own stamp on
it. That;s why, when we recorded “Giant Steps” and
other tunes we approached them in a high-energy
Jazz/Rock fusion way."
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The album is, of course,
extremely well produced, as we've come to expect
from such high-class and experienced musicians. So
it was a cinch to record then?
"No, not at
all. It was a very challenging album to make. first
of all the material was not easy and there were so
many different styles to work with, in particular
working with pieces like “Asturias” and "La
Barrosa", which are normally played as solo
intrumentals; and of course "La Barrosa" has a very
difficult flamenco rhythm (alegrias), so nobody
thought it would work arranging them for the band.
However, we managed to pull it off. Then it was
difficult decided which guests would play on which
tunes and it took time to pin them down to record.
So it was a huge challenge but at the time,
extremely rewarding, especially working with such
talented musicians who really made such a wonderful
contribution."
So having done all the hard work, what, I
wondered, were the band up to now?
"We are working hard to promote the album
as much as possible, doing gigs and sending CDs out
to promoters, festivals and so on," Danny
told me. "The problem is, we are a
relatively new band and this is just our second
album. It is original music and it's unique so it
takes time to get through to the right audience."
Where there encouring signs
in the way the album had been received, I asked?
"So far the response has been very good, both
from critics and from our audience," pointed
out Danny. "I have found that a wide
variety of people are interested in our music. I had a
really good response from a well established classical
concert pianist who loved the album so much she wanted
to come and hear us live. I think because of the
diversity in our music it can appeal to a wide range
of audiences from rock, to prog rock, to jazz and
world music."
...and of all the fine pieces
the band had been responsible for, did Danny, I
wondered, have a personal favourite?
"It's always hard to choose one of the
pieces, as they all mean a lot to me, especially when
I have worked so hard and put my heart and soul into
each and every one of them. However, I think from our
first album, "Dreamscape", “Dark and Blue”, stands out
with its strong melodies and harmonies. When I wrote
the tune I was strongly influenced by the Brazilian
composer Villa Lobos. From the Muso & Proud, my
favourite would probably be “The River” which again is
melodically and harmonically strong; but out of the
arrangements for the covers it would have to be
“Asturias” and “La Barrosa”, which were the most
challenging to arrange and record; but they are such
beautiful and complex tunes that it was enormous fun
working on them."
Finally, what hopes and
aspirations did he have for the band? A follow-up
album, for example?
"I hope we will continue to evolve with the same
direction, challenging ourselves and trying to create
original, unique and beautiful music. I already have
some material for follow-up albums and am forever
composing new material. But for now, we are
concentrating on promoting the current album."
Danny and his band are, in
many ways, typical of the brand of musicians for
which the classic rock society exists: Extremely
talented, and possessed of enough moral integrity to
be able to enjoy making music for its own sake: in
fact, the refreshing antithesis of those who, on the
back of media-hype, come into rock to "get rich and
get famous and get laid". It's up to us to see that
they are supported and encouraged. The future of
REAL music is in their hands.
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