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by
Sergio Motta,
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Sergio
Motta - As I understand it, Metaphor has been active since the
last decade. Have you
kept
the band name as Metaphor from that time?
Malcolm
Smith: When we first formed as a Genesis tribute band, we kicked
around several names, and decided to stick with Metaphor.
Marc
Spooner: I didn't want to have an obviously Genesis-derived name
(like the Musical Box, Grand Parade, etc.), though I remember that “The
Soil” was suggested - I liked that one.
Jim
Anderson: The band was already named by the time I joined.
I didn’t have any choice. In fact, it was only because they were
named Metaphor that I joined. If they had been named “Squirrel Enema”
I might have kept looking.
Malcolm
Smith: …which is of course another Genesis-derived name.
John
Mabry: I wanted to change the name to Mayflower Gorillas, but no
one would budge. Puritan Apes didn't fly either. Next month I'll suggest
Plymouth Chimps, but I have little hope.
Malcolm
Smith: I’d go for Pilgrim Primate..
While
you were a cover band, which of you definitely sat down and said: “Hey
guys, what
about
composing and performing our own repertoire from now on"?
Marc
Spooner: Malcolm always had a few songs in his back pocket (the
ones that became Seed and In the Cave) and played me tapes of them.
Malcolm
Smith: Plus, I had a lot of raw material that I brought to Marc
with the idea that we’d move into all original music. To me, that was the
intent all along - a tricky way to find other musicians of like-mind!
I
know while being a cover band, you were doing only the Genesis songs
from the Gabriel
era.
What is your impression of the Genesis music of the Collins era?
Marc
Spooner: I always thought ‘’Trick of the Tail’’ was an unqualified
masterpiece. ‘’Wind and Wuthering’’ is about 85% great. I always
had a soft spot for ‘’And Then There Were Three’’. I like ‘’Duke’’
in parts and same with ‘’Abacab’’. After that, I can't really listen
to them. Whatever the era, they were always a great live band.
Jim
Anderson: Really? I can’t listen to ‘’Abacab’’,
in fact I think I sold it! But I never had a chance to see them live
until the following tour, I guess it was the “Genesis” tour, which was
fantastic! Each of the different Genesis eras had their moments.
John
Mabry: I'm actually very influenced by the Collins era, and came
to my appreciation of Genesis through Phil's era, and working backwards.
As the singer, I kind of see my role as "finding the pop" in the progressive
pie the rest of the guys have served up. Coming up with hummable, catchy
melodies to sing on top of the very complicated and sometimes dissonant
musical textures we write is often not easy, and I draw more on Phil's
ghost than Peter's in this task.
Concerning
the ‘’Starfooted‘’ album, I have had the opportunity of reading
some reviews
of
it, and as far as I could see, it was very well received by most prog fans.
How does a
musician
basically feel right before having his very first album thrown into the
market?
Is
there any sort of apprehension towards the acceptance of his work by the
listeners?
John
Mabry: We were shaking in our boots! At least I know I was. It's
very scary, like going out on stage naked. Without your teddy bear. Fortunately,
most people were very kind. We only got one bad review for ‘’Starfooted’’,
as I recall, and what do the Kurdistanis know, anyway?
Malcolm
Smith: The funny thing is that many reviews mention bands and other
artists as comparison or even influences on our music, when in some case
one or more of us has never even heard that material!
Marc
Spooner: I was nervous as hell! Total apprehension. I was just
glad to be acknowledged. And the fact that people really liked it was just
extra special. I'm still excited to see our CDs in the vendors' boxes at
NearFest.
Malcolm
Smith: Of course we wanted the music to be accepted by the prog
rock community, but we’re careful about not trying to produce music that
we think will please anyone except ourselves.
Jim
Anderson: Actually I became a big fan of this album right before
I joined the band.
Malcolm
Smith: That was a requirement of the audition!
Jim
Anderson: For me it was one of those CDs that only comes along
every few years--it didn’t leave my CD player for weeks! It was only
then I heard they were looking for a new bass player. These guys
actually pulled me out of retirement! “Starfooted” was a great,
fun album for us to play and practice as we started writing for “Entertaining
Thanatos”.
Some
reviewers of your second CD “Entertaining Thanatos” have strongly
taken its
sonority
as being very close to that of Genesis. I personally disagree and
would say it is a
bit
closer to the Neo-Prog direction on many aspects, in some of the keyboard
passages
for
instance, and I quote bands like Arena and Grey Lady Down
as a lively reference.
Would
you personally take it as a progression or were you intentionally trying
to get rid
of
the old roots?
Malcolm
Smith: The material on “Entertaining Thanatos” has in many
ways moved away from the Genesis influence...
John
Mabry: I think we were very consciously trying to forge an original
identity. We’ve kept that basic Genesis sound-palette, but we have
far less overt mimicry on this CD, which is a departure from ‘’Starfooted’’,
which sometimes borders on pastiche.
Malcolm
Smith: Well, our hope is that we’re developing more of our own
identifiable style. I wouldn’t call it neo-prog, it’s simply music.
Marc
Spooner: I'd much rather be accused of being influenced by Genesis
than any neo-prog band. Form what I've heard of some neo (and I'm no fan)
I don't really think we sound like that much at all.
Malcolm
Smith: There are so many sub-genres of prog rock, I think our music
crosses into a few of them.
Marc
Spooner: All these definitions and labels are slippery and have
limited use. Not to mention many critics are lazy and also have to write
their reviews after only one listen to a new CD, so their impressions are
often shallow. All good music requires many hearings to get what is really
going on.
Clearly,
‘’Starfooted’’ and ‘’Entertaining Thanatos’’ are successful works. Has
the success
of
those two CDs brought the band a certain recognition, requests for gigs,
label interest,
or
other positive professional results?
John
Mabry: It brought us a lot of personal pride, and plenty of praise
from our peers. It has also given us a lot of confidence, like, "Oh, a
critically-acclaimed album--we can do THAT. Give us something hard!" I'm
sort of kidding. ‘’STARFOOTED’’ was SO well received, we were a
bit daunted to follow it up. Fortunately, we had so much material written
and in rehearsal when it finally did hit that we didn't spend too much
time agonizing over it.
Malcolm
Smith: It’s also resulted in us being asked to provide songs on
a number of compilation CDs, and we get the occasional interview request.
Distributors and reviewers know who we are..
From
what countries does your music receive the most positive reviews?
Malcolm
Smith: Both our CDs have received good reviews from around the
world, maybe the most positive ones for ‘’Entertaining Thanatos’’
are from France and the USA, so far.
Marc
Spooner: I’d say Europe and South America seems to be where we
are gaining the best reviews for ‘’Entertaining Thanatos’’.
Jim
Anderson: I’ve been told we’re big down under.
Lyrics
for some of the songs on ‘’Entertaining Thanatos’’ were based on
mythological
tales.
Will you be making use of any other literature on forthcoming albums by
Metaphor?
Marc
Spooner: Yes, the next CD will be based on the novel, "The Sparrow"
by Mary Doria Russell.
John
Mabry: It’ll be a rock opera, like ‘’STARFOOTED’’, and it
will be one long story. As the lyricist, I really like using mythology
and stories to base the libretto on. Mostly because myth and literature
is so rich, and the human experience so universal, that I can usually find
some personal drama in almost any story. Like Galatea 3.3 on the new CD.
I never had any real resonance for that story. Marc just threw it out one
night, and so I went home, reread the myth, and started riffing on it.
Eventually it hooked into an experience in my own life, and the lyrics
came together very quickly after that. About half of the lyrics are written
for our adaptation of The Sparrow, and most of the music.
Your
first CD was released by Galileo Records, a label from far-off Switzerland,
and
‘’Entertaining
Thanatos’’ is released on your own label, TropeAudio. Did you receive
any
offer
from labels in your own country?
Marc
Spooner: Most prog labels are either not interested or cannot offer
a good enough deal to make it worthwhile for us financially. In other words,
we'd take all the risk. So that's what we did for Thanatos - took all the
risk and released it ourselves.
Malcolm
Smith: We did receive a few offers from other labels, for ‘’Entertaining
Thanatos’’.
Jim
Anderson: U.S. labels and others!
John
Mabry: Nobody will touch us. It could be the poison ivy, though.
Malcolm
Smith: Galileo was great for ‘’Starfooted’’ - we were that
label’s second release and we really appreciated their enthusiasm and excitement
about the music.!
Concerning
the current live performances, do you still play out any Genesis
tunes when
asked
by the audience, or do you only play out your own songs now?
John
Mabry: Live! Ha! You make me laugh.
Malcolm
Smith: With our work and family and lives, it’s tough to find the
time to write, rehearse, and record, let alone gig.
Marc
Spooner: We don't play live at all, sadly.
Jim
Anderson: I keep hoping we’re just waiting for a better offer!
Malcolm
Smith: For a live performance, we have more than enough original
music to choose from.
Marc
Spooner: If we did play out, it would be only Metaphor songs.
Malcolm
Smith: Even Peter Gabriel doesn’t play Genesis songs anymore!
I
understand that ‘’Starfooted’’ is being distributed here in Brazil
by Rock Symphony
Records.
Are you aware of its acceptance here and also around other South American
countries?
Marc
Spooner: Yes, we were thrilled to have ‘’Starfooted’’
licensed by Rock Symphony and hope that your review and this interview
will help sales of ‘’Entertaining Thanatos’’. It's great to have
fans in South America!
John
Mabry: We were very pleased when Rock Symphony picked it up, but
we have no idea how many have been sold.
Malcolm
Smith: Both our CDs have done well in South America, thank you!
John
Mabry: We do feel lucky to be represented by Rock Symphony, and
to be available to South American prog fans. Now if only Rock Symphony
would answer our e-mails!
Just
to close our interview, would you like to impart any message for all those
who
appreciate
not only the music by Metaphor, but the Progressive Rock music in
a
general
way?
Marc
Spooner: Keep listening, keep buying, keep caring about it, and
don't let anyone tell you what you should be listening to.
Jim
Anderson: Music is a universal language. Progressive Rock
in general knows no borders. I hope you enjoy ours!
Malcolm
Smith: Let me just say to our Brazilian fans: Obrigado lendo esta
entrevista! Nós esperamos que vocês apreciem ‘’Entertaining
Thanatos’’, e ‘’Starfooted’’. Com os melhores desejos
do pessoal do grupo Metaphor! (sorry if I insulted anyone!)
John
Mabry: Thank you for listening, and for allowing us to contribute
in our small way to this wonderful music that we all love so much. Prog
may never be commercial again, but it is music that feeds the souls of
millions, and we are honored to be a part of it.
Sergio
Motta
is
a friend and partiner from the Progressive Rock And Progressive Metal Site
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Jim
Anderson - Bass Guitar and other low frequencies
John
Mabry - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Marc
Spooner - Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Mellotron & Synthesizers
Malcolm
Smith - Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Guitar Synthesizer, Flute
and Backing Vocals
Greg
Miller, Drummer with the fine Bay Area band "Mind Furniture",
will be guest drummer on their upcoming 3rd CD.
with
guests: Feffrey Baker & Bob Koehler - Drums
Discography:
"Starfooted"
June, 2000
"Entertaining
Thanatos", February, 2004
Metaphor
Home Page
http://www.metaphor.org
Metaphor
History
The "Genesis" (sorry for the pun!) of Metaphor: In 1993, San Jose guitarist
Malcolm Smith placed the following advertisment in BAM Magazine (San Francisco
Bay Area):
"Hackett seeks Banks,
Rutherford, Gabriel, Collins.
Object: Suppers Ready."
Only a very few people either 1) understood the ad, and/or 2) responded.
Despite the cryptic nature of the ad, Metaphor was formed with keyboardist
Marc Spooner, drummer Bob Koehler, and brothers Vince and Robert Montia
on bass and vocals. This first version of Metaphor specialized in performing
the music of "classic" Genesis, from the so-called Gabriel Era of 1970
to 1974.
Though rehearsals were sporadic and "real life" continued to interrupt,
Metaphor fully realized over three hours of this very creative and challenging
music, as a tribute to the music of classic Genesis.
Following two successful performances, the band decided to drop the Genesis
material and pursue original, uncompromising, progressive music. In 1996,
a search began for a new bass player and singer, to replace Vince and Robert
who left to pursue other creative endeavors.
In 1997, Jim Post joined as the bassist, and John Mabry as vocalist/lyricist.
Rehearsals began with much of the music written by Malcolm and Marc, as
well as a piece penned by Bob and two by John. Recording for Metaphor's
debut CD began in fall of 1998.
In 1999, Metaphor completed recording its debut CD, "Starfooted", at Suspect
Studios in Sunnyvale, California, and subsequently signed a record contract
with Galileo Records, a Swiss progressive rock record label. Galileo released
Starfooted in April, 2000 to very positive reviews.
In July, 2000 bassist Jim Post decided to leave the band in order to focus
on other endeavors. The band fortunately found a wonderful replacement
in Jim Anderson, who now handles all bass and bass pedals duties.
In 2001, Metaphor focused its limited time on writing and arranging a lot
of new material. At the same time, recording of two new songs took place,
one of which will appear on the BayProg compilation CD, to be distributed
in the Spring, 2002 issue of Expose Magazine.
After the recording sessions for the two new songs, in late 2001 drummer
Bob Koehler, one of the original members of Metaphor, informed the band
that he was ready to move on and focus on other priorities in his life.
Metaphor in 2002 auditioned a number of drummers to fill the spot, and
welcomed Jeff Baker as guest drummer for its second CD, "Entertaining Thanatos"
released in spring of 2004.
Throughout 2004, Metaphor wrote, arranged, and began rehearsing a 3rd CD's-worth
of material.
What is Metaphor music?
Like a lot of quality progressive rock being produced today, the original
music of Metaphor is not easy to classify into a single genre. It (hopefully)
is not too derivative of any particular band, although the influence of
a number of classic (as well as lesser known) progressive rock bands can
be discerned.
Progressive music itself is well-described by writer and prog afficionado
Bradley Smith as,
"An art form...concerned with abstraction and introspection, rather than
with the commercially-driven trends and fashions that shape works created
purely for entertainment. Progressive music always looks forward,striving
to be new and different, dissenting vigorously from the current musical
establishment. Like all serious art, it is a challenge to the senses, and
like all serious music, it requires active listening."
That description can certainly be applied to Metaphor. Creativity, interesting
and changing moods, alternating time signatures, quality musicianship,
and a commitment to creating music of our own design, regardless of commercial
potential (or lack thereof!), are also apt descriptions of Metaphor.
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