Print - Interview - Vivian - Ultimate Guitar - 25Jan2019
Jan 25, 2019 9:35:14 GMT -8
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Post by CindyJ on Jan 25, 2019 9:35:14 GMT -8
Vivian Campbell Reveals Statement Last in Line Want to Make With Second Album, Admits the One Regret About Band's Name
During an interview with UG's David Slavković, Vivian Campbell talked about Last in Line and the band's upcoming second album "II," which is due out on February 22.
The second Last in Line album, "II," is coming out next month. So far, you've only released 'Landslide' as a single. What can fans expect to hear on this album and how does it compare to the previous one?
"I genuinely believe that this album shows growth and development and ambition compared to the 'Heavy Crown' album, our first record [from 2016].
"And that's one of the simple reasons why I wanted to name it 'II.' I know it's not an original title, it's been done many times before, but it really represents a second album for me and I wanted to kind of simplify it.
"Also, together with the name Last in Line, I'd like to move more towards just LIL. I thought 'LIL II' would just be something that would kind of simplify and streamline that process.
"If I'd known that the band was going to be at this stage where we're releasing our second album of original material, I don't think I would have called it Last in Line. When we first started doing this back in late 2011, we had no ambition to get this far.
"We're just original remaining guys of the Dio band having fun playing early Dio songs in clubs around Los Angeles. So that's why I kind-of decided to call it Last in Line, just because it made perfect sense. We were just playing songs that we had written and recorded with Ronnie and the Dio band. And here we are, eight years later and we're on our second album of original music.
"So I kind of wanted to streamline it LIL and the album 'II' just to kind of make a statement of where we are at this stage. But it is an ambitious musical record I think. Certainly in comparison to the 'Heavy Crown' album. I think the songs are more complicated, more intricate, and like I said, show more ambition."
Are there any songs that stand out to you on this album? Do you have any favorites?
"I am happy to say that there's not one song on this record that I am uncomfortable with. I'm very, very, very pleased with the entire album. There are certain standards, we did go with 'Landslide' for the first single because I felt that it was the most immediate track and was reasonably up-tempo.
"I didn't want to go with anything too slow for the first track. Although we do open the album with a song called 'Black Out the Sun,' which is a pretty slow-paced song. But it's super-heavy. That's another one that I'm particularly pleased with.
"'Year of the Gun' is another one I get really excited about. There's nothing in particular... You know, when I listen back to the 'Heavy Crown' album, there are two or three songs that I tend to skip over if I listen to the record nowadays.
"But there's nothing on this record that I feel that way about. I really feel there's an overall record, I think it's a great package."
Can you tell me a little bit more about the guitars and the rest of the gear that you've been using for this album?
"It's a very, very simple setup that I use with Last in Line. My guitar rig with Def Leppard is very, very, very complicated. And, to be honest, I have no idea how it works. And the opposite is true with Last in Line - I keep it very, very, very simple. I like a very direct signal path with the thought process that less is more.
"When I play with Last in Line, I don't use the wireless system, I just run a cable. The only floor pedal that I use is the wah-wah pedal, a Dunlop Hendrix wah. I play my Les Paul.
"The two Les Pauls that I used on this record... First off, there was the one that I used the most with Last in Line - it is the first Les Paul I ever bought. I bought it when I was 15 years old.
"And I know the serial number - 72987537. [Laughs] That was a guitar I really learned how to play on. It's probably, to me personally, the most valuable guitar I have. If the house was on fire, that would be the one that I would grab.
"And I used that with my first band, Sweet Savage, and I used it with Dio on the 'Holy Diver' album and tour. And I used it with Last in Line. So I recorded most of the album with that guitar.
"I did maybe 10% of the album with my new Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul that's a phenomenal instrument also. But those were the two guitars that I used for the record primarily.
"I use an Engl Blackmore head live and in the studio. So I use the Engl for the rhythm tracks and all the solos. And I would also reinforce, I'd do a double track of the rhythm. I do the first track with the Engl. We record live bits and drums and then I go in and I do another rhythm guitar track.
"Jeff Pilson, who produced the record, had an amp called Naked. I'm not sure if you're familiar with those. I believe it's a clone of a JPM 45 Marshall. Sort of a boutique amp - a bit of a cleaner amp. It's more crunchy-sounding as opposed to saturated, which is what I tend to go for, for the rhythm tracks. I only turn the gain up for the solos.
"So that's what I do most of the double tracks with. Jeff had a few other guitars laying around the studio that I used for little embellishment parts - like a standard Telecaster, or a Fender Stratocaster, or a Gibson 335, an electric 12-string, I believe it was a Gibson.
"So there's a couple of little color parts that are put on with those guitars. But all the tracks and all the solos were done with the original Dio Les Paul."
Phil Soussan joined your band in 2016 after Jimmy Bain passed away. How is he fitting in with the lineup after these few years?
"Exceptionally well. Couldn't be going better. As a person and as a musician, Phil has been a perfect fit for the band. His personality and the balance he brings to the band - he's a very funny character, he's English and Jimmy was Scottish, and I'm Irish.
"So the band originally had that balance of Jimmy and myself being Scottish and Irish and Vinnie [Appice] and Andrew [Freeman] being American. So we had two Europeans and two Americans. And with Phil, we still have that similar balance.
"And that humor comes with being British as well. It's something that works well for us. So on a personality level, Phil has fit in great. As a musician, he's exceptionally talented as a songwriter. And indeed on a technical level - he's fit in really well.
"The difference is that I notice immediately between Jimmy's bass playing and Phil's playing is that Jimmy was a very fundamental player, very straightforward and very simple player. But Jimmy's tone was absolutely immense. Jimmy's tone and his timing were his greatest attributes as a player. And Phil is a more intricate bass player.
"I'd say he's more in the line of Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath, or John Entwistle in The Who. He's looking for parts to play rather than just playing the fundamentals. But not overplaying, not just filling in the gaps for the sake of it, but finding a space and filling it with something very musical. He's a very, very creative bass player and he's been a joy to work with. He was very much a part of the creative process of this record."
What would be the main differences between working with Last in Line and your other bands, like Def Leppard, when it comes to the creative process and your approach to playing?
"Oh, it's totally different. Def Leppard and Last in Line are two extremely different bands. Both in terms of performance and in terms of the creative process. In terms of the performance, Def Leppard is a very polished show, very high production value.
"We don't leave anything to chance in Def Lepard - we don't jam, we're not very spontaneous, we don't deviate from the plan very much. If we want to change something in the Def Leppard show, we rehearse it and we finesse it.
"So in Def Leppard you could say that all the t's are crossed, all the i's are dotted, everything is as it should be and everyone knows exactly what's gonna happen. And that's what works well for a band like Def Leppard.
"Last in Line is entirely different. In Last in Line, we frequently ad lib when we're on stage, we'll do little musical diversions that are completely unrehearsed. [Laughs] And we have no production in the Last in Line show. But that's only due to the fact that we have no money in the Last in Line budget. [Laughs]
"If we had a bigger budget, I'd like some production at our shows. But we're not at that stage yet, we're still very much just playing clubs and whatnot. So it's small theaters, we're still growing the band.
"It's a very different thing. For me as a musician, the guitar parts in Def Leppard are very intricate and challenging. But the real true challenge for me in Def Leppard is as a singer. Our vocals are so intense in each and every song.
"And the opposite is true with Last in Line. With Last in Line, I actually don't want to sing. I just want to play guitar. And being the only guitar player in Last in Line means that I have to do all the heavy lifting. Whereas with Def Leppard, obviously, it's myself and Phil Collins, so we get to split the guitar duties.
"And to be honest, with Phil doing the majority of soloing in Def Leppard because we're playing the majority of historic material that pre-dates my involvement with the band.
"So with Last in Line, I'm definitely much more guitar-focused and much more about playing solos. And I don't have a microphone. [Laughs]"
Most of you guys in Last in Line have worked with Dio in the past. When you're writing and performing this music with Last in Line, how much are you inspired by Ronnie James Dio? I know you said you're kind of trying to move away from that, but is there anything still like that within the band? Any kind of inspiration or influence?
"Obviously, the band started just for fun playing songs from the early Dio records. When we released the 'Heavy Crown' album in 2016... We had to cancel our tour obviously when Jimmy passed away. But we did eventually pick up and started playing some dates with Phil Soussan. And we've done a bunch of shows in the three years since that.
"But the majority of the show is still based around the early Dio catalog. Now that we have our second album in place, we will begin to move away from that a little bit further. But we'll still be playing the important Dio songs, certain key songs intermingled with our original material...
"It kind of reminds me of 1983 when we did the 'Holy Diver' tour with Ronnie. The first tour we did with him was Jimmy and Vinny and myself and Ronnie. There were only nine songs on 'Holy Diver.' So when we first played that tour, we had to fill the show with Black Sabbath songs and Rainbow songs together with some songs from 'Holy Diver.'
"And by the time we were touring in 1984, with the 'Last in Line' record, we were playing less Black Sabbath and less Rainbow. We still had some of it in the show all the way through my career with Ronnie. We were still playing a certain amount of Black Sabbath and Rainbow songs. But with each successive record, we were including more of the original Dio material.
"And the same is true with Last in Line. Now with the second album, we'll be able to include more of our original material and play less of the Dio songs. But we'll never completely move away from that. That's still the heritage of this band. And I think nobody will play these songs as well as Vinny and I."
Source
During an interview with UG's David Slavković, Vivian Campbell talked about Last in Line and the band's upcoming second album "II," which is due out on February 22.
Last in Line is a band founded in 2012 by members of the original Dio lineup. You can check out the conversation below.
"I genuinely believe that this album shows growth and development and ambition compared to the 'Heavy Crown' album, our first record [from 2016].
"And that's one of the simple reasons why I wanted to name it 'II.' I know it's not an original title, it's been done many times before, but it really represents a second album for me and I wanted to kind of simplify it.
"Also, together with the name Last in Line, I'd like to move more towards just LIL. I thought 'LIL II' would just be something that would kind of simplify and streamline that process.
"If I'd known that the band was going to be at this stage where we're releasing our second album of original material, I don't think I would have called it Last in Line. When we first started doing this back in late 2011, we had no ambition to get this far.
"We're just original remaining guys of the Dio band having fun playing early Dio songs in clubs around Los Angeles. So that's why I kind-of decided to call it Last in Line, just because it made perfect sense. We were just playing songs that we had written and recorded with Ronnie and the Dio band. And here we are, eight years later and we're on our second album of original music.
"So I kind of wanted to streamline it LIL and the album 'II' just to kind of make a statement of where we are at this stage. But it is an ambitious musical record I think. Certainly in comparison to the 'Heavy Crown' album. I think the songs are more complicated, more intricate, and like I said, show more ambition."
Are there any songs that stand out to you on this album? Do you have any favorites?
"I am happy to say that there's not one song on this record that I am uncomfortable with. I'm very, very, very pleased with the entire album. There are certain standards, we did go with 'Landslide' for the first single because I felt that it was the most immediate track and was reasonably up-tempo.
"I didn't want to go with anything too slow for the first track. Although we do open the album with a song called 'Black Out the Sun,' which is a pretty slow-paced song. But it's super-heavy. That's another one that I'm particularly pleased with.
"'Year of the Gun' is another one I get really excited about. There's nothing in particular... You know, when I listen back to the 'Heavy Crown' album, there are two or three songs that I tend to skip over if I listen to the record nowadays.
"But there's nothing on this record that I feel that way about. I really feel there's an overall record, I think it's a great package."
Can you tell me a little bit more about the guitars and the rest of the gear that you've been using for this album?
"It's a very, very simple setup that I use with Last in Line. My guitar rig with Def Leppard is very, very, very complicated. And, to be honest, I have no idea how it works. And the opposite is true with Last in Line - I keep it very, very, very simple. I like a very direct signal path with the thought process that less is more.
"When I play with Last in Line, I don't use the wireless system, I just run a cable. The only floor pedal that I use is the wah-wah pedal, a Dunlop Hendrix wah. I play my Les Paul.
"The two Les Pauls that I used on this record... First off, there was the one that I used the most with Last in Line - it is the first Les Paul I ever bought. I bought it when I was 15 years old.
"And I know the serial number - 72987537. [Laughs] That was a guitar I really learned how to play on. It's probably, to me personally, the most valuable guitar I have. If the house was on fire, that would be the one that I would grab.
"And I used that with my first band, Sweet Savage, and I used it with Dio on the 'Holy Diver' album and tour. And I used it with Last in Line. So I recorded most of the album with that guitar.
"I did maybe 10% of the album with my new Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul that's a phenomenal instrument also. But those were the two guitars that I used for the record primarily.
"I use an Engl Blackmore head live and in the studio. So I use the Engl for the rhythm tracks and all the solos. And I would also reinforce, I'd do a double track of the rhythm. I do the first track with the Engl. We record live bits and drums and then I go in and I do another rhythm guitar track.
"Jeff Pilson, who produced the record, had an amp called Naked. I'm not sure if you're familiar with those. I believe it's a clone of a JPM 45 Marshall. Sort of a boutique amp - a bit of a cleaner amp. It's more crunchy-sounding as opposed to saturated, which is what I tend to go for, for the rhythm tracks. I only turn the gain up for the solos.
"So that's what I do most of the double tracks with. Jeff had a few other guitars laying around the studio that I used for little embellishment parts - like a standard Telecaster, or a Fender Stratocaster, or a Gibson 335, an electric 12-string, I believe it was a Gibson.
"So there's a couple of little color parts that are put on with those guitars. But all the tracks and all the solos were done with the original Dio Les Paul."
Phil Soussan joined your band in 2016 after Jimmy Bain passed away. How is he fitting in with the lineup after these few years?
"Exceptionally well. Couldn't be going better. As a person and as a musician, Phil has been a perfect fit for the band. His personality and the balance he brings to the band - he's a very funny character, he's English and Jimmy was Scottish, and I'm Irish.
"So the band originally had that balance of Jimmy and myself being Scottish and Irish and Vinnie [Appice] and Andrew [Freeman] being American. So we had two Europeans and two Americans. And with Phil, we still have that similar balance.
"And that humor comes with being British as well. It's something that works well for us. So on a personality level, Phil has fit in great. As a musician, he's exceptionally talented as a songwriter. And indeed on a technical level - he's fit in really well.
"The difference is that I notice immediately between Jimmy's bass playing and Phil's playing is that Jimmy was a very fundamental player, very straightforward and very simple player. But Jimmy's tone was absolutely immense. Jimmy's tone and his timing were his greatest attributes as a player. And Phil is a more intricate bass player.
"I'd say he's more in the line of Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath, or John Entwistle in The Who. He's looking for parts to play rather than just playing the fundamentals. But not overplaying, not just filling in the gaps for the sake of it, but finding a space and filling it with something very musical. He's a very, very creative bass player and he's been a joy to work with. He was very much a part of the creative process of this record."
What would be the main differences between working with Last in Line and your other bands, like Def Leppard, when it comes to the creative process and your approach to playing?
"Oh, it's totally different. Def Leppard and Last in Line are two extremely different bands. Both in terms of performance and in terms of the creative process. In terms of the performance, Def Leppard is a very polished show, very high production value.
"We don't leave anything to chance in Def Lepard - we don't jam, we're not very spontaneous, we don't deviate from the plan very much. If we want to change something in the Def Leppard show, we rehearse it and we finesse it.
"So in Def Leppard you could say that all the t's are crossed, all the i's are dotted, everything is as it should be and everyone knows exactly what's gonna happen. And that's what works well for a band like Def Leppard.
"Last in Line is entirely different. In Last in Line, we frequently ad lib when we're on stage, we'll do little musical diversions that are completely unrehearsed. [Laughs] And we have no production in the Last in Line show. But that's only due to the fact that we have no money in the Last in Line budget. [Laughs]
"If we had a bigger budget, I'd like some production at our shows. But we're not at that stage yet, we're still very much just playing clubs and whatnot. So it's small theaters, we're still growing the band.
"It's a very different thing. For me as a musician, the guitar parts in Def Leppard are very intricate and challenging. But the real true challenge for me in Def Leppard is as a singer. Our vocals are so intense in each and every song.
"And the opposite is true with Last in Line. With Last in Line, I actually don't want to sing. I just want to play guitar. And being the only guitar player in Last in Line means that I have to do all the heavy lifting. Whereas with Def Leppard, obviously, it's myself and Phil Collins, so we get to split the guitar duties.
"And to be honest, with Phil doing the majority of soloing in Def Leppard because we're playing the majority of historic material that pre-dates my involvement with the band.
"So with Last in Line, I'm definitely much more guitar-focused and much more about playing solos. And I don't have a microphone. [Laughs]"
Most of you guys in Last in Line have worked with Dio in the past. When you're writing and performing this music with Last in Line, how much are you inspired by Ronnie James Dio? I know you said you're kind of trying to move away from that, but is there anything still like that within the band? Any kind of inspiration or influence?
"Obviously, the band started just for fun playing songs from the early Dio records. When we released the 'Heavy Crown' album in 2016... We had to cancel our tour obviously when Jimmy passed away. But we did eventually pick up and started playing some dates with Phil Soussan. And we've done a bunch of shows in the three years since that.
"But the majority of the show is still based around the early Dio catalog. Now that we have our second album in place, we will begin to move away from that a little bit further. But we'll still be playing the important Dio songs, certain key songs intermingled with our original material...
"It kind of reminds me of 1983 when we did the 'Holy Diver' tour with Ronnie. The first tour we did with him was Jimmy and Vinny and myself and Ronnie. There were only nine songs on 'Holy Diver.' So when we first played that tour, we had to fill the show with Black Sabbath songs and Rainbow songs together with some songs from 'Holy Diver.'
"And by the time we were touring in 1984, with the 'Last in Line' record, we were playing less Black Sabbath and less Rainbow. We still had some of it in the show all the way through my career with Ronnie. We were still playing a certain amount of Black Sabbath and Rainbow songs. But with each successive record, we were including more of the original Dio material.
"And the same is true with Last in Line. Now with the second album, we'll be able to include more of our original material and play less of the Dio songs. But we'll never completely move away from that. That's still the heritage of this band. And I think nobody will play these songs as well as Vinny and I."
Source