Interview with Coral Caves, September 2008

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   Here you can read an interview with Pietro of CORAL CAVES 

Thanks to James Russel (Finnforest) for the help...

Please, could you tell us something about Coral Caves beginnings? 

Coral Caves were born in winter 2001 on my initiative and of the first drummer of the band (Stefano Bartolomei). We were both coming out from different musical experiences and, to tell you the truth, we hadn’t a clear idea of what we wanted to do, the only things we were sure of were: giving up hard rock to take a musical path that sooner or later would lead us to compose our own music. So we decided to form a tribute band dedicated to Pink Floyd: in Palermo nobody else used to play their music and they were one of our favourite bands. I contacted Dario who introduced to me Salvadores and Lucio... Along with us, many bassist and drummers came and went in the line up, until Massimiliano joined us and I decided to play the bass in addition to my singer role.

What have been your main musical influences?

Our main influences come from all the music of the period from the mid sixties to 1977, in my opinion the golden age for music in general, not only for prog. We used to listen to Genesis, Deep Purple, ELP, King Crimson, Camel, Queen, Yes, Credence Clearwater Revival, Doors, Quatermass, along with Italian musicians such as PFM, Lucio Battisti, Le Orme or Il Balletto di Bronzo... Then, as far as I am concerned, I have never denied my great love for Frank Sinatra! At the moment we are trying to pay more attention to the music broadcasted by the radio stations... Sometimes it could be an appalling experience but we do not like do be “musical hermits” and every now and again (although not really so often) we can find something good even in “modern music”.

How would you define your music? Do you like to be labelled as a progressive band?

We love progressive more than any other rock subgenre, but we do not like to be labelled in any way. We do not write music with the aim to play progressive, we are just trying to compose music that mirrors our personal taste, without any constraint. We do not believe to “invent” our pieces... In some way it’s like they already exist and we just remember them. For this reason we are not ashamed to write a piece that lasts 3 minutes or another in a conventional song form, we do not follow canons nor rules... All in all progressive was born to break rules, wasn’t it?

Could you briefly describe the content of your lyrics?

If you ask this question to Salvadores he would answer that some of them are love songs while others tell about Pietro’s crazy fancies! To tell you the truth some are really love songs because we are anyhow romantic and we live the shivering of our young age... Anyway the other lyrical contents swing from “philosophy” (like “Il dolce canto della terra” and “Mitopoiesi”) to politics (“Sorridi”, “Tenochtitlàn”) to storytelling (“Torno a casa”)... I wrote all the lyrics on “Mitopoiesi” except “Senza di me” that was written by Dario. Like the music, I do not think to “invent them”, it’s the music that inspires the words to me.    

Who produced the album? Did someone help you during the recording sessions in studio?

We self produced the album but our sound engineer Renato D’Anna helped us very much during the studio work along with Al Dilio, an experienced Sicilian musician who also made a present to us composing especially for us a little musical pearl on “Mitopoiesi”. What a wonderful present! In studio we have always accepted with constructive attitude their advice because we think that a detached and objective opinion coming from someone who isn’t involved like us in the song-writing is very important, especially when the work is almost finished.  

How did it start your collaboration with Mellow Records and what was exactly Mellow Records role into the album release?

In 2006 we had already recorded four of the nine tracks of our album on the “Promo” (later remixed along with the new tracks), and we started to send our CDs to some labels to find out what they think about our work. I think that Mellow Records was the first one we considered because of its great tradition and because of the renowned professionalism and competence of Mauro Moroni. We were pleased and honoured to know that Mauro had appreciated our songs and, once collected enough money, we went back into studio to record the other five tracks. After the recording sessions, Mellow Record took charge and didn’t disappoint us thanks to the high quality of mastering, print and supports.    

How was born the idea of your videos? Have you scheduled the release of a DVD?

Our videos are born just for fun... We had been contacted by a student organisation called “Giovane Sicilia” that was organising a TV program dealing with culture and topical subjects managed only by students at the Palermo University. They thought to give us some space in the programs and we made the videos that you can watch on our website just because there were too many technical problems to play live in the studios. We had much fun with this experience and we have to thank director Claudio Palazzolo who worked hard for free to release the videos. At the moment we have no plans to release a DVD but we like the idea. Anyway we would prefer a live DVD with these videos as “bonus tracks”, preferably remixed and edited in some parts. 

The present prog scene in Sicily seem to be rich, featuring bands like Malibran, Conqueror, Randone, Il Castello delle Uova... Can you easily find places where to perform live? Are you planning some tour? Have you got a manager or do you plan your live dates by yourselves?

In Sicily there are a lot of people playing wonderful music and we are happy of that. However there is a shortage of places where to play original music and it’s really hard to go on. In some way we are able to play live in our city planning by ourselves our live activities but we are looking for a good manager or an agency doing it for us... Our dream is to play abroad, in places where our music could be well received.

There are many emerging bands that sell their CDs and merchandising through their websites avoiding traditional distribution... How do you think to promote your album? Where can people find it?

The music business is going through a period of crisis... Few days ago I was passing by Palermo streets and I sadly noticed that many “historical” CD shops had closed and given place to outlet stores... Majors speculation and the rise of internet caused this crisis and I believe that we are going through a long period of transition where everybody tries to experience new ways to avoid drowning... Don’t ask me how it will end up, but I think that the bands that sell their stuff only through their websites do it because they can exploit alternative ways to get publicity... What a chance! You can purchase our CD through us, through Mellow Records, through other dealers and you can find it in the few specialised CD shops that survive on the planet! As far as we are concerned, we are trying to get the utmost from internet to get the word out and, most of all, through the concerts    

What are your projects for the future? Are you planning some changes in the line up? Are you going to record a new album? 

For the moment we are promoting our debut album but we have a great deal of new ideas that could find shape in a second one... We would like to release a more “conceptual” work, without changing completely our style and taste, but with different “musical colours” and a different atmosphere (thanks to some collaboration that we are thinking of)... What really scares us is to become like one of those bands that are incapable to change and grow musically just because they have received some appreciations and so they keep on composing always the same stuff. Anyway at the moment the real problem for us is to find the money to pay the recording sessions... Do you know, by any chance, some “meacenas” or benefactor who could sponsor us?

You can listen to Coral Caves album on their official website or on myspace:

Official website: http://www.coralcaves.net/
Myspace:   http://www.myspace.com/coralcavesproject

andrea parentin

Edited by andrea - September 27 2008 at 14:25

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andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2071	Topic: Interview with Coral Caves, September 2008 Posted: September 27 2008 at 13:28
	Here you can read an interview with Pietro of CORAL CAVES Thanks to James Russel (Finnforest) for the help... Please, could you tell us something about Coral Caves beginnings? Coral Caves were born in winter 2001 on my initiative and of the first drummer of the band (Stefano Bartolomei). We were both coming out from different musical experiences and, to tell you the truth, we hadn’t a clear idea of what we wanted to do, the only things we were sure of were: giving up hard rock to take a musical path that sooner or later would lead us to compose our own music. So we decided to form a tribute band dedicated to Pink Floyd: in Palermo nobody else used to play their music and they were one of our favourite bands. I contacted Dario who introduced to me Salvadores and Lucio... Along with us, many bassist and drummers came and went in the line up, until Massimiliano joined us and I decided to play the bass in addition to my singer role. What have been your main musical influences? Our main influences come from all the music of the period from the mid sixties to 1977, in my opinion the golden age for music in general, not only for prog. We used to listen to Genesis, Deep Purple, ELP, King Crimson, Camel, Queen, Yes, Credence Clearwater Revival, Doors, Quatermass, along with Italian musicians such as PFM, Lucio Battisti, Le Orme or Il Balletto di Bronzo... Then, as far as I am concerned, I have never denied my great love for Frank Sinatra! At the moment we are trying to pay more attention to the music broadcasted by the radio stations... Sometimes it could be an appalling experience but we do not like do be “musical hermits” and every now and again (although not really so often) we can find something good even in “modern music”. How would you define your music? Do you like to be labelled as a progressive band? We love progressive more than any other rock subgenre, but we do not like to be labelled in any way. We do not write music with the aim to play progressive, we are just trying to compose music that mirrors our personal taste, without any constraint. We do not believe to “invent” our pieces... In some way it’s like they already exist and we just remember them. For this reason we are not ashamed to write a piece that lasts 3 minutes or another in a conventional song form, we do not follow canons nor rules... All in all progressive was born to break rules, wasn’t it? Could you briefly describe the content of your lyrics? If you ask this question to Salvadores he would answer that some of them are love songs while others tell about Pietro’s crazy fancies! To tell you the truth some are really love songs because we are anyhow romantic and we live the shivering of our young age... Anyway the other lyrical contents swing from “philosophy” (like “Il dolce canto della terra” and “Mitopoiesi”) to politics (“Sorridi”, “Tenochtitlàn”) to storytelling (“Torno a casa”)... I wrote all the lyrics on “Mitopoiesi” except “Senza di me” that was written by Dario. Like the music, I do not think to “invent them”, it’s the music that inspires the words to me. Who produced the album? Did someone help you during the recording sessions in studio? We self produced the album but our sound engineer Renato D’Anna helped us very much during the studio work along with Al Dilio, an experienced Sicilian musician who also made a present to us composing especially for us a little musical pearl on “Mitopoiesi”. What a wonderful present! In studio we have always accepted with constructive attitude their advice because we think that a detached and objective opinion coming from someone who isn’t involved like us in the song-writing is very important, especially when the work is almost finished. How did it start your collaboration with Mellow Records and what was exactly Mellow Records role into the album release? In 2006 we had already recorded four of the nine tracks of our album on the “Promo” (later remixed along with the new tracks), and we started to send our CDs to some labels to find out what they think about our work. I think that Mellow Records was the first one we considered because of its great tradition and because of the renowned professionalism and competence of Mauro Moroni. We were pleased and honoured to know that Mauro had appreciated our songs and, once collected enough money, we went back into studio to record the other five tracks. After the recording sessions, Mellow Record took charge and didn’t disappoint us thanks to the high quality of mastering, print and supports. How was born the idea of your videos? Have you scheduled the release of a DVD? Our videos are born just for fun... We had been contacted by a student organisation called “Giovane Sicilia” that was organising a TV program dealing with culture and topical subjects managed only by students at the Palermo University. They thought to give us some space in the programs and we made the videos that you can watch on our website just because there were too many technical problems to play live in the studios. We had much fun with this experience and we have to thank director Claudio Palazzolo who worked hard for free to release the videos. At the moment we have no plans to release a DVD but we like the idea. Anyway we would prefer a live DVD with these videos as “bonus tracks”, preferably remixed and edited in some parts. The present prog scene in Sicily seem to be rich, featuring bands like Malibran, Conqueror, Randone, Il Castello delle Uova... Can you easily find places where to perform live? Are you planning some tour? Have you got a manager or do you plan your live dates by yourselves? In Sicily there are a lot of people playing wonderful music and we are happy of that. However there is a shortage of places where to play original music and it’s really hard to go on. In some way we are able to play live in our city planning by ourselves our live activities but we are looking for a good manager or an agency doing it for us... Our dream is to play abroad, in places where our music could be well received. There are many emerging bands that sell their CDs and merchandising through their websites avoiding traditional distribution... How do you think to promote your album? Where can people find it? The music business is going through a period of crisis... Few days ago I was passing by Palermo streets and I sadly noticed that many “historical” CD shops had closed and given place to outlet stores... Majors speculation and the rise of internet caused this crisis and I believe that we are going through a long period of transition where everybody tries to experience new ways to avoid drowning... Don’t ask me how it will end up, but I think that the bands that sell their stuff only through their websites do it because they can exploit alternative ways to get publicity... What a chance! You can purchase our CD through us, through Mellow Records, through other dealers and you can find it in the few specialised CD shops that survive on the planet! As far as we are concerned, we are trying to get the utmost from internet to get the word out and, most of all, through the concerts What are your projects for the future? Are you planning some changes in the line up? Are you going to record a new album? For the moment we are promoting our debut album but we have a great deal of new ideas that could find shape in a second one... We would like to release a more “conceptual” work, without changing completely our style and taste, but with different “musical colours” and a different atmosphere (thanks to some collaboration that we are thinking of)... What really scares us is to become like one of those bands that are incapable to change and grow musically just because they have received some appreciations and so they keep on composing always the same stuff. Anyway at the moment the real problem for us is to find the money to pay the recording sessions... Do you know, by any chance, some “meacenas” or benefactor who could sponsor us? You can listen to Coral Caves album on their official website or on myspace: Official website: http://www.coralcaves.net/ Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/coralcavesproject andrea parentin Edited by andrea - September 27 2008 at 14:25

Finnforest Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17249	Posted: September 27 2008 at 13:36
	Awesome job Andrea, thanks for getting the word out on one of the finest new bands. Anyone who loves melodic prog with a Floyd/PFM influence needs to hear Coral Caves.
	...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"

Nightfly Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659	Posted: September 28 2008 at 12:26
	Enjoyed reading the interview Andrea, nice one!

jimmy_row Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: July 11 2007 Location: Hibernation Status: Offline Points: 2601	Posted: September 29 2008 at 09:26
	Great stuff Andrea and Jim. I hope to hear their album before too long...
	Signature Writers Guild on strike