Bacio Della Medusa interview 5/08

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I am more thrilled to share this interview than any
other.  The reason is short and sweet: I have not been so moved by an
album in….I can’t even tell you how long.  It is called “Discesa
agl'Inferi d'un giovane amante” and you *need* to hear it: it packs as much
focus, composition, unforgettable melodies, and overall spark as any of the ‘70s classics
but with the production and vibrancy of this young band today.  Their
sound is warm, inviting, organic, and alternates hard rock with gentler
sections.  The other wonderful surprise
is that these folks are as friendly and unpretentious as they are
talented.  Chatting with them online has been a highlight of my prog
year.  They were enthusiastic and had a great Spaghetti story which you’ll
read below.  In fact we did some fun
questions instead of just the usual stuff.  

I am
honored to introduce Prog Archives readers to Il Bacio Della Medusa (BDM for
short):

-Welcome! 
First off, is the band still based in the Perugia area or are you working from
somewhere else? 
We are
always between Perugia and Trasimeno Lake ... the inspiration by our land is
crucial for the composition and lyrics!

-Give us a
brief history of BDM and how the band came to be.  
The
genesis of the band called “IL BACIO DELLA MEDUSA” started in September 2002
thanks to DIEGO PETRINI (drums), FEDERICO CAPRAI (bass) and SIMONE CECCHINI
(voice and acoustic guitar).
From the
ashes of a previous group which already involved Petrini and Caprai (Ornithos)
, a new musical artistic laboratory was born: its main purpose  has been
since the beginning the rediscovery of the 70’s Progressive Rock through the
sometimes maniacal search of old vinyl records and it opened up a prosperous
and creative season that restored the right dignity of texts and musical
arrangements.After several turnovers of staff (various guitar and keyboard
players have come and gone) in December 2003 SIMONE BROZZETTI (guitar) and EVA
MORELLI (Traverso flute) joined the band.

After a
year and a half of intense work BDM decided to revisit and to rearrange the
pieces under construction : the band started recording in April 2004, and in
June the project became real and it came to completion with the making of the
first record, the homonymous “IL BACIO DELLA MEDUSA”.
In
January 2005 DANIELE RINCHI officially joined the band: with his violin he gave
an enormous contribution to the restyling of the sound of the band; the sound
experienced a further evolution thanks to the introduction of new instruments
such as Petrini’s organ and Cecchini’s sax.

The
collaboration with the BLACK WIDOW RECORDS represents the very turning point
for the band; the famous Genoese label, renown among prog aficionados, has been
distributing the first record of the band starting from may 2005.  From
September 2005 the group started working on a new concept album called “DISCESA
AGL’INFERI D’UN GIOVANE AMANTE” which has been issued only in May 2006. During
those months the group continued promoting the old pieces and at the same time
they started testing new pieces revisiting their live performances.  After
finishing the album recordings in September 2006 “BDM” stipulated a contract
with the Black Widow Records for the reprinting of the first work and the
production of the new one (LP-CD).

-You have
two albums under your belt now.  For your fans who do not speak or read
Italian, please give us a brief summary of the lyrical content of each
album.  What are they about?
The
lyrics of the first album concern several issues, from death and pain of
“Requiem per i Condannati a Morte”, the eternal clash between East and West in
“Orienteoccidente”, mythology like the battle between the god Apollo and the
satyr Marsia in “Lo Scorticamento di Marsia” , until poetic themes of 
“Cantico del Poeta Errante” and”De Luxuria, et de ludo et de taberna”, prog
arrangement of the delirious poetry of Cecco Angiolieri...

The
second album tells the life-story of a young lover dragged by events...
He
initiates a journey which, from the fight against evil coming from outside,
will lead to a profound knowledge of himself and his inner demons.  However,
it is complicated to translate our concepts in English!!!

-Your
latest album is just stunningly good.  One of the most impressive things
to me was the quality songwriting and impressive arrangements.  The flute,
sax, piano, and violin, all add so much to the heavier guitar/bass/drums.
 I would like to know about your songwriting process.  How does it
work?  How are songs formed and arranged during the writing process?
It’s
very complex to explain the genesis of our songs, because each one has its
history… 

Some are the result of successful marriage between the compositions of Petrini
and lyrics of Cecchini, then riplasmate the sound of the whole group, or the
result of situations existential feel extremely common and shared, as
"Requiem per i condannati a morte" or "Ricordi del
Supplizio". 
Others
stem from a more intimate (Melencolia, Nosce te Ipsum, Sudorazione a freddo…),
since the birth a song is also the result of specific interior situations
arising in us the spark of creation.

-Most bands
hate being labeled but how would BDM classify themselves?  Progressive?
Hard rock?
Art
Rock Progressive...but we don’t like labelling!

-What are
the challenges of being a rock band in Italy 2008?  Does the band feel
well supported and able to do the things they wish?
Being
rock musicians progressive in Italy is something quite difficult,
because our lyrics are deep and not very commercial, as well as compositions,
lengthy and complex. But lately the Progressive Rock is returning a lot, you
look group like a Delirium, Le Orme, Osanna ... the real art is independent of
the mode ... the real art makes us free! 

-Fans of
Italian Prog occasionally discuss the topic of Italian vs. English
vocals.  Most of the die-hard fans (myself included) much prefer Italian
vocals and not English.  What is the band’s opinion of the language
issue?  
For
us the Italian language is the best way to express deep concepts and poetry,
because we have a lot of words which derive from the Latin language necessary
to explain what we feel inside our soul.

-BDM
seems to combine the spirit of the classic ‘70s Italian prog bands with the
fresh energy and modern production of today.  What are some of your
favorite bands, either classic or modern?  
Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator,
Jethro Tull, Genesis,Frank Zappa, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Area, PFM, 
Camel, Caravan, Black Widow, Egg, Soft Machine and all the Canterbury scene,
Gong, ELP, Affinity,… in short, all the prog ’60-’70...the acid and psychedelic
atmosphere of Grateful Dead, Quick Silver and Jefferson Airplane… Italian
songwriters like Fabrizio De Andrè, Branduardi, De Gregori…. Jazz music like Dolphy , Corea,
Coltrane, Brubeck, Miles Davis, Hancock....all the Blues... until get to
classical music, hard rock and heavy metal like a Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin,
AC/DC, Motorhead, Megadeath, Pantera... very interesting are Radiohead!

-What do
think of “prog-metal” and do you enjoy bands in that genre?
We
don’t like prog-metal...for us it’s really too cold, but many ideas are
interesting!!!

 -Does
the band play live outside of Italy?  Have you played in the USA?  Any future touring plans at
the moment?
The
only live outside Italy we did in France in 2005, at the Class Eu'Rock Festival
... simply wonderful, although we hope to have soon the opportunity to play
outside, in Europe, in the U.S.A., in Japan ... it would be wonderful to spread
our music live in the world!

 -When
playing live, are the songs close to the album, or is there lots of
improvisation?  
Some
songs are equal of the cd version ... but in many songs BDM shows his
creativity in extemporaneous eccentric and theatrical improvisations... for
example, in songs like “Lo Scorticamento di Marsia”or “De Luxuria, et de ludo
et de taberna”... !

-What are
the goals of BDM?  Often bands face pressures over time to conform to the
rigors of “day jobs.”  Do you guys plan on continuing the band for the
long run?  
Our
goals are to create a free music to listeners and spread throughout our
ENERGY!!!

-What
is in the immediate future?  Are you writing for a 3^rd album
already?
No,
we‘re preparing a series of live dates, the“Ascesa dagl’Inferi Tour”.

-As
younger musicians, what are your opinions on the Ipod revolution and the
downloading of music?
We
love to listen to our favourite music in LP and CD... the Ipod revolution
hasn’t even touched upon us!!!

-Brozzetti
sounds like a Gibson man.  Is that a Les Paul used on the second
album?   What is his guitar choice for the live shows?
Simone
Brozzetti always plays Gibson guitars: in the first album he have used a ’95
Les Paul  standard (heritage cherry sunburst),  while in the second
album he used in add another new Les Paul model with  new pick-ups from
2004 (desert burst). Finally, he always uses a tube amplifier, wah-wah and
talkbox effects.

-The album
covers are very striking.  Who did the covers?  Were they done specifically
for the band’s material or were they existing and just chosen by the band?
The
covers, when the first is connected with the second one, are two paintings made
by Federico Caprai, bass-man of BDM, and there are a visual explanation of the
deepest content of the two albums ... music and painting together for a total
art!

-There are
lots of problems in the world today.  Lyrically, does BDM have a desire to
write about topical current events or instead write more about
fictional/mythological subjects?   
The
BDM’s lyrics don’t want to talk about actual events, or outer problems...but
inside ones.
They are
never fiction, but real expression of the inner part of soul; then they could
talk about mythology, religion, literature or poetry, love and death.

-Any chance
we’ll see a live DVD from the band?
Maybe...we
hope to realize a DVD of our next live performances: our “Ascesa dagl’Inferi
Tour”.

-The band
members are in their 20s I believe.  Besides music, what do you all do for
fun…hobbies…etc?
We
love many things in addition to the music: Eva loves cooking, Simone B.
collect  little train models, Diego likes seeing thrillers  movies
from ’60 -’70 , Simone C. likes to ride on his Harley Davidson, Federico
collects Japan robots, and Daniele loves cats. 

-From the
photos on your webpage and indeed from the music itself, it seems BDM are a
group of close-knit friends…that you all have a close bond.  Is that a
fair statement?  What goes into keeping the band a fun experience?
One
thing really crazy took place during our stay in Aix-en-Provence, where we participated in December
2005 to a European festival really fantastic, the Class Eu'Rock Festival… In
the accommodation (a wonderful residence in the country) Fabien, the nice
manager, wanted to honor the presence of "Italian group" with one of
our most typical dishes…SPAGHETTI. 

The problem is that it has filled a huge pot with cold water, put tomato, meat,
butter, spaghetti and then everything in cooking, on the flame…. Well, let all
of you to imagine the result… !!!!!

-Name one
album you love that doesn’t get the respect it deserves?
Asylum
by Cressida!

-Any other
comments or thoughts you’d like to share with ProgArchives readers?
Last
thing...:PROG RULES!!!

-Lightning
round—pick one:

Banco or PFM?  Banco del
Mutuo Soccorso

Waters or
Gilmour?  Waters

Page or
Blackmore?  Page

Caravan or
Soft Machine?  To this
question the answer is impossible ... They are both wonderful!

Bonham or
Moon?  Bonham 

Osanna or
Semiramis?  Osanna

-You have
the chance to go see a PFM/Jethro Tull double bill in Rome (with QVL reunited as an opening
act), or attend the baptism of your first born.  Which do you attend?
We‘ll
baptize him with Holy wine in Rome on stage, by the flute of Ian
Anderson and the PFM melodies!

-Last, favourite
beer please?
All
... but we love more red wine!

Hear their music right now at www.myspace.com/ilbaciodellamedusa
Read my review of their 2^nd album at
progarchives.com

My thanks to the band for the interview.
[by Jim Russell, 14 May 2008]

Edited by Finnforest - August 03 2008 at 12:49