Matt Bankes (MB): When did you all start to get in to rock and metal music?

Theresa Gaffney (TG): I started getting into metal by the exposure of my cousins in junior high school. My first bands were Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, Pantera, but I’d really say that Iron Maiden pushed me into pursuing more metal in my life. (laughs) And then I just eventually picked up the guitar.

Billy Chrissochos (BC): From early music, I don’t remember much. I lived in Greece, I used to hear Elivs and stuff like that. The first metal tune I probably heard was when my brother showed me “Flight Of Icarus” by Iron Maiden and I thought it was great. Afterwards it was basically that, Scorpions and Manowar.

Wayne Noon (WN): I got into metal around 1990. I probably started with Metallica stuff, and onto more harder stuff like King Diamond and Iron Maiden and Guns N’ Roses, stuff like that.

Chris Pollatos (CP): I guess it was late-mid 80’s, I was listening to 95.5, back then I didn’t know what it was called, and they were playing the Pyromania album of Def Leppard, and that just got me interested, and of course being friends with Billy and all the influences when I met him when I was 10 years old, Iron Maiden and the rest.

MB: What made you all decide to become musicians?

TG: Well, I played piano since I was about ten. I’m not like a virtuoso or anything but I always enjoyed playing music. I don’t think I ever really considered performing music until the end of high school when just a lot of friends of mine would just start assigning instruments to people and, you know, when I was 16 I picked up the guitar and I wanted to just play guitar, but then I realized I could sing too and I’d rather pursue that too. I had a band I was jamming with my former roommate in another band and she would play drums and I would play guitar and sing and we had a guitarist, but that didn’t work out. Then I found Phoenix and it worked out from there, that I was just singing, and I play guitar too once in a while, but singing is the destiny! (laughs)

BC: Originally I started taking guitar lessons in sixth grade, but I didn’t like the guitar, then eventually I picked up the saxophone from junior high school and in high school I became first alto sax, which I like. My father kept pushing me to play guitar because his father was a like a famous player. I didn’t like until high school, then I started to get more into metal and stuff like that, and I picked up the guitar and that was it from then, I knew that was the way to express myself. I knew that was the instrument for me.

WN: Actually, I started out playing guitar at first, and then during one of my sessions I heard somebody playing the drums in the background. I actually thought that sounded really cool, and I figured why am I playing guitar, I’m going to start playing drums because it sounds like there’s a lot more involved with it, and I could annoy more people with it. So, I listened to Def Leppard and Rick Allen. He was one of my favorite drummers and he inspired me to play, especially after he lost his arm, I was like “wow, if he can play, so can I.”

CP: When I was five my mom made me play piano and I liked it, it was interesting but I didn’t think I was going to go into it. After I kept playing it and playing it gave me a good background of music and then around high school time Billy and I joined up with the jazz/rock band where we performed at the high school with different people. Right at the end of senior year, Billy’s like “alright, let’s do this.” We played with a bunch of Cuban brothers, our red headed brothers and it was fun! We just went on from there.

MB: What was the first band you were all in?

TG: The band that I was in first was titled by the other guitarist we had named Billy. Shadowzone, It was pretty retarded, we never ended up playing a show, we just practiced a lot. I didn’t work out, but it was a fun experience…you know, whatever. You learn.

BC: I don’t remember what…

CP: It had to be called BC…

BC: (laughs) BC…Billy Chris..

TG: (giggles)

CP: And he said it was Billy and Chris, but it was really Billy Chrissochos!

BC: My initials were conveniently put in…

CP: Yeah, conveniently! (laughs) BC!

BC: and somewhere down the line it just became Phoenix later on, many, many moons later.

WN: My first band was actually called Brainwashed after an Iced Earth song. We didn’t really do much, we had a really good singer and all of a sudden he just stopped talking to us and we lost contact with him. Our guitar player tried to sing for a little while. We actually almost sounded kind of like Nirvana-kind of stuff. Then we just all lost contact with each other and basically broke up.

CP: Yeah, same thing. It was BC. I remember we were in Billy’s room there, and our first song was called “Cool School” (Theresa, Billy, Wayne and I laugh loudly) for our high school.

MB: Billy and Chris, You are the two original members of Phoenix Reign, how and when did you start the band?

CP: Greece, right?

BC: Yeah, it was the summer of ‘98, we formed Phoenix…

CP: You and I were playing…

BC: Me and Chris played before…

CP: And you met Gus (Psarros, guitar)…

BC: in ‘97, I believe…

CP: Summer of ‘98...

BC: We knew Gus already…

CP: We knew him?

BC: We met Eugene in ‘98. We made the band with Eugene, the original singer in ‘98. We were all somewhere in Mikonos hanging out and listening to Blind Guardian and Stratovarius in the morning to wake up, you know, before we go to the beach, and this guy starts singing, one of our roommates, We’re like “Oh, you like to sing music” and he’s like “Yeah, I like all this stuff!” and I’m like “We’re looking for a singer”. We’ve been looking for like a few years for a singer, on an off, so he’s like “Oh, I’ll do it!” and that was it. In the summer we came back and we met Wayne from the internet (laughs). Phoenix became in ‘98, the name Phoenix.

MB: Theresa, how did you end up joining Phoenix Reign?

TG: Well, I had known Eugene the original singer back in ‘99-00 and I continued talking to Wayne. I introduced some of my friends to the band too, like Jose, and he would keep in touch with them, and I still went to their shows. When they ended up parting ways with Eugene, I at first was just encouraging them to find a singer and at the time I was still jamming with my band, but once that broke up in January 2002 Jose had said “Maybe you should sing for Phoenix”. I never even considered it until he said that and so he convinced the guys who weren’t really considering a female singer. He really convinced you, Billy, I think, to try it out.

BC: Yeah, we were always looking for male singers.

TG: Yeah, They really didn’t care at the time for a female, so I just went in, and I did my thing and they liked it, because I had already been exposed to the music, I guess, so I had a grasp of it and actually gave a damn, so it helped. I wasn’t perfect, but I guess they liked what was going on, and the potential, so it was really cool.

MB: You have been working on the debut album for the past year. Where have you been recording the album, and who has been handling the production?

BC: We’ve been recording all the rhythm and drum tracks in a professional studio called Spin Studios in Astoria, NY.

TG: Trans-Siberian Orchestra recorded there.

BC: Yeah, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Chris Caffery…

MB: Wow! That’s some big names there!

TG: Yeah, they get a lot of good clientele.

BC: Our producer’s name is Themi Kyriazis and we also work in his place too…Tractor Studios?, and I guess that’s it. He’s our producer/engineer.

MB: Has there been any huge problems recording the album, and if so, how have you dealt with them?

TG: Well, I mean, the only problem is when you are doing a self-financed album at this moment, so when you have that you have to pool your resources and that can be difficult. I guess that’s the real obstacle at the moment. Also, since you have to work in order to fund the album you also have to find time for the studio around that. That’s probably the real issue, you know, a lot of bands get done weekends, evenings and you feel physically exhausted when you’re going in the studio but then you wake up and you’re like “You know, man, this is what I want to do” so you go and you persevere. I think that’s two obstacles, just time and money, but I think that’s for everybody. But, we’re really having a great time, and we’re mixing now, so we’re almost there.

MB: During the recording of the album have you had access to Pro-Tools?

TG: Well that’s what you…Pro-Tools is what you use to record it. We go to the studio and everything’s recorded there and then Themi produces it on Pro-Tools and works with the tracks there. He has whatever…24, 32 tracks…whatever it is at this point, and that’s what he does. If you’re referring to Pro-Tools magic I don’t really think we take too much advantage of that. We just use it, it’s like a glorified tape recorder at this point. We obliviously use it to the best extent to get the best product because it is state-of-the-art material and we do need it, and it helps you out when you are in a bind, if you need to do whatever, um, salvage a good part.

BC: We’re not trying to re-create something we can’t play live, but we are trying to make something that’s gonna sound good, it’s going to be listenable, it’s going to be a little bit more than what you get live.

TG: Pro-Tools helps because you can dump some really cool effects on it.

BC: And you learn, it’s a learning process. We actually became better guitar players and singing from the practice of it.

MB: Can you talk about the album and what we can expect from it?

CP: Metal, but there’s also the guitars, a nice melodic sound coming out from the guitars. The voice is kind of kick out, punching kind of a sound as far as singing goes. Wayne’s smashing those drums. It’s live and in your face, that’s basically what we are going for, and a nice sound to it too. A nice melodic sound to it, music and voice.

WN: It’s got a good mix of metal, hard rock and light. It’s good. It’s actually a good album. I keep listening to it over and over and over again. I haven’t got sick of it yet.

TG: It’s got a full range, I think. The only thing I can say at this point is that it’s definitely not pigeonholed into one little song 10 tracks over. It’s got different songs in every way.

CP: Yeah, it’s not old. It’s not like “old metal”. I mean, I know a lot of people compare it to Iron Maiden and stuff, but we also introduce some new stuff. Because Billy and I are Greek we also put some Greek influences into that. Gus (Psarros, guitar) put some great Greek bouzouki or classical guitar sounds. It’s nice, well rounded.

MB: What influences your songwriting and lyric style?

TG: A lot of it’s experience but then sometimes it’s almost storytelling. You kind of put yourself into the shoes of someone you’re thinking about, and you express yourself through that, kind of like “Run Now” I put myself into the shoes of someone else and Billy did too when he was getting the idea of someone just trying to break away from their shackles. Sometimes what you can’t get from your own experiences you take from others, so that’s at least lyrically.

BC: Just to touch up a little on that, I guess sometimes when I used to get ideas for writing, it helps if I travel around the world, you know, if we went somewhere with Gus or Chris, and certain places, even here in America, wherever, it will give us ideas. It depends on if you’re angry, you’re happy, the weather is bad, we’ll try to create and paint the picture, especially with some of our epics.

CP: Some of the earlier stuff that you wrote was quite poetic.

BC: Yeah, earlier on.

CP: It was pretty nice.

MB: Theresa, you are a female vocalist in a genre which is dominated by men. You have a style which is feminine, yet tough, which is a great style by the way. There seems to be two types of styles for metal female vocalists: the operatic type and the tougher, more in-your-face type which is what you are. What made you decide to take the route you have taken?

TG: I’d say just because at the time when we were really getting together as a band, when I joined, there was a lot of drive towards the operatic. You know, I’m not trying to say I could do whatever they (operatic vocalists) are doing, I sang in church but it’s not anything that could work for a band like this. I wanted something a little more aggressive because I think it’s a little more expressive the way I sing than if I try to go in my head voice and sound airy and light. I don’t think it would give the same effect to the music. Especially coming off a singer who was a man, your kind of still trying to bring that air of toughness that he brought and just build upon it and show that women can rock too. You listen to Pat Benatar, she wasn’t singing opera, she was just singing out there and it was the same with Joan Jett…There was a band from Sweden that just broke up that I liked a lot, Amaran, she was a great singer, their lead singer. I feel a lot more energetic when I’m just going out there. I guess the phrase is “balls out” but it doesn’t apply to me. “Boobies out”! (laughter all around)

MB; What singers and musicians have been the biggest influence on you?

TG: Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford. A lot of my influences are guys. I guess that’s another reason why I sing the way I do. I loved Pat Benatar growing up, too, so she was another great, great influence. Those are the top four I guess.

BC: Adrian Smith and Steve Harris, I mean, all the Maiden guys, the Priest guys, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mick Mars, George Lynch, Dokken, Stryper, everything!

WN: Obviously the drummer from Def Leppard, Rick Allen. Mikkey Dee back from when he was with King Diamond and then Ingo (Schwictenburg) from Helloween, but he’s gone now. The two most recent Helloween drummers Uli (Kusch) and Dani Loble, he’s actually really good, and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden, but now he’s in Pearl Jam which I really don’t like but, just drummers like that. I like so many different drummers it’s hard to pick a few.

CP: When I started with keyboards and then I heard Iron Maiden, Steve Harris’s style was amazing. He actually got me going from a keyboard to a guitar to play bass. Of course, stylistically Duff (Mckagan) from Guns N’ Roses, just love, love it.

MB: Theresa, You have great stage presence and a great command of the audience, and a great image. How important is stage presence to you in a live performance?

TG: I think it’s extremely important because you can be great musicians, but if you don’t come off performing, you won’t capture the audience’s attention. Those are the people that are gonna say “Hey, I like Phoenix Reign, I think I’m gonna check them out in the future.” Also, it’s fun for you as a performer to go out there and just give your best and go out there and just have fun because you’re not doing this just to be doodling on the stage and showing “Hey, these are my pipes. Listen to me sing lalalala.” Since I am in the front and I’m the front woman, I have to kind of be larger than life for the rest of the guys too. When they’re playing their solos, sometimes they can’t move around, whatever, so I’m moving around, and it’s fun! I love reaching out for that person at the back of the room, in the front of the room, that guy over there drinking his beer, hi fives, come on, fists, metal, whatever! I think it’s great. I love being active on the stage. I was building upon what the last singer was a little weak at, I think, so I always felt like I have to one up that guy, so I did, I hope! (laughs)

CP: And she is active. You can tell by my black and blues because I’ve gotten punched multiple times. (laughter all around) Because I’m standing behind her, elbows to the face. But it’s for love! It’s for performance!

TG: Yeah, sometimes he’s active a lot, Chris gets really into it…

CP: We get cables tripped…

TG: Crash into each other sometimes!

MB: You’re the most physical band in the world!

TG: It’s like “ECW! ECW!” (laughs)

MB: What was the best live show you think you’ve done so far?

TG: That’s hard to say, to be honest, because sometimes we say a show sucked, people are like “That was the greatest damn show you ever played!” I think one of the better performances we’ve done was at Don Hills with Riot, even though we had sound problems I felt really confident at that show, but…

WN: What about The Hook…

CP: At The Hook, at that competition, I think we played great.

BC: In Brooklyn.

TG: Red Hook, in Brooklyn, that’s another good show.

BC: I don’t know, for some weird reason I liked Don Hills too. I think, unfortunately the Dimebag (Darrell Abbott, Pantera guitarist) tribute show…

TG: Dimebag tribute show! That was great.

BC: There was a lot of people. It was in the city, in Lower Manhattan.

TG: We played a Dimebag Darrell tribute show.

MB: Was that the show where I saw pictures and you wore a Pantera T-shirt?

TG: No, that was Tipperary Arms.

BC: This was a big place.

TG: This was like a month or two after. A bunch of people got together, local bands.

BC: It was a great vibe. We played in front of a lot of people.

TG: There was a lot of people.

WN: Parkside Pub, over on Long Island.

BC: Parkside Pub, yeah.

CP; We feel good, every show we play. We feel something real and new.

TG: I’d say Don Hills, Red Hook, those are my personal faves.

CP; Even a couple Continentals ago…

TG: Continentals are always good.

BC: Or the Tipperary, where we did “The Trooper” that first time.

TG: Yes, yes. Always good.

MB: Did I tell you that song (their live version of the Maiden classic “The Trooper”) knocked me on my ass when I heard it?

TG: (laughs)

MB: (pointing to Theresa) Her vocals and the musical execution knocked me on my ass because I never heard a woman sound like a man before. (referring to the ability to sing with grit and power, not masculinity)

TG: (laughs)

MB: That is a great complement. We need more female vocalists that sing with “cojones“.

MB: What was the worst show you’ve done so far?

TG: Oh God, um…

CP: The one that we had the most problems with was the last show in Jersey.

BC: The one you were at.

CP: The one you were at.

MB: I loved that show!

CP: It was fun, we had a great time, but on the first note Billy’s stings popped.

BC: Yeah, and my backup guitar, something happened with the humidity, all my tuners got stuck, so it took me a whole song to get the wrench out.

CP: On “Transcendent”, yeah.

TG: And they didn’t let our guitar tech in.

BC: Yes.

MB: I remember that.

TG: So, that was a problem because he’s 20, but the place is 21 and over, and this guy’s a genius with guitars. He would have had that fixed in no time. And then the electricity went out on one side of the room. That had nothing to do with us. I mean, I felt on top of my game, I felt we were ready to kick some ass.

MB: You were awesome, you all were awesome.

TG: Thank you.

BC: Whenever we played our highlight song “Another Night Alone”, and that was when the electricity went out…

MB: And it became “Another Guitar Alone”!

BC: And that was when I started the solo, and it was just like an orgasm that didn’t happen. I was just annoyed. (uproarious laughter all around) That was when our “guitar moment” comes out and we just couldn’t do it.

MB: Try new strings!

WN: That should be the title of the album!

TG: An orgasm gone wrong. (laughs)

BC: No, that was not me, that was the electricity that went out. The first two songs, just screwed up. Can’t play without electricity!

MB: What was the funniest or most embarrassing thing to happen to you guys on stage?

CP: Tell him about the wireless. We had a “Spinal Tap” moment.

BC: I tried my first wireless, the battery said they last 8 hours, I only used them for an hour at home, and 30 seconds into the song the wireless goes out.

CP: “Another Night Alone”!

BC: Again! It was “Another Night Alone”! It was just annoying, I was like in the middle of the song and the stupid thing goes off, and then we couldn’t figure out how to unplug it and plug the things and get back into the song, right in time for the solo, (laughs) Which we did, but it was annoying.

WN: I usually have cymbal problems, but otherwise, that’s pretty much it. Billy’s leg, that’s a big joke!

BC: Oh! (laughs)

TG: I mean, there was a time where I lost my voice at the last song at Tipperary Arms. Basically, I couldn’t hit any high notes. It was alright, it wasn’t horrible, I just couldn’t talk after the gig. (laughs)

BC: At the Brooklyn place, the mikes went out.

TG: Yeah, but I’m talking about physical performance and stuff.

MB: So thankfully, none of you have ever had any wardrobe malfunctions?

TG: No, thankfully I don’t wear tube tops.

BC: I’m gonna bring a fan, though, because I sweat a lot. I can’t stand it.

MB: The last show you did at Axxis Lounge in Carlstadt, NJ, was your first show outside of New York state. How do you think it went, and do you have any future plans to venture outside the Big Apple again?

TG: We’re definitely going to be playing outside of the Big Apple now that we have an album coming out because it’s necessary. It’s just now that the opportunities are arising to play outside of the state because especially that a lot of New York City venues have been closing down, you know, it forces you to go outside, and besides it’s kind of stupid just to play in this state, you want to play out other places. I think the show (at Axxis Lounge) though, we already said that it kind of malfunctioned a bit in some departments, but I think we were on fire because we had a lot to prove to the people who were there, and I think we did pretty well.

BC: We were going against a pirate band, we had to show off!

TG: Yeah! We had to show off against a pirate band. (laughing while talking) Swashbuckle.

CP: Overall, it was a nice place too, it was a nice place.

BC: It was a venue though.

CP: It was interesting, how they split it up into two separate rooms.

MB: I thought that was weird!

TG: It was weird…

CP: Interesting.

BC: It has potential.

TG: They could have done a lot more, but what are you gonna do?

BC: The sound we heard was nice.

MB: Honestly, you guys sounded good, but I thought the sound was shit.

MB: One of your favorite venues, The Continental, is closing it’s doors to live music. What are your feelings about that? Will you miss it?

TG: I’m going to miss The Continental because the booker, the guy who we know, Kevin, used to book Castle Heights, and that’s my most missed place. Castle Heights was a great Queens venue that played a lot of bands that actually went on to a lot more notoriety now, like Shadows Fall and whatnot, they played there. And they had a really great crowd. They used to bring their faithful to The Continental. The Continental is smack dab right in the middle of the freakin’ Village which is like, you know, the Mecca of rockers in New York City. So, I’m going to miss that because it was a good place. The sound was great, they record the show for you, and you know, whatever!

WN: I won’t miss the smell of the basement, though.

TG: (laughs) The smell of the basement.

CP: It was a nice stage too, The Continental. You had enough room to walk around. A lot of stages are really long, and you really can’t move.

TG: Either long and thin, or short and broad.

BC: And it’s famous, too, so it’s great to play there.

MB: You played in the Emergenza festival in February. Unfortunately, you did not advance. Was that a good experience for you all to at least get the chance?

TG: Well, technically there were some technical issues with that show. I don’t think it was run very well in Brooklyn. We had technically got enough votes to move on but their website miscounted the votes, so we were like second to last, or something.

MB: An election controversy!

TG: Yeah, well we’re not the type to go make a big deal about it. It wasn’t worth it for us to go and call them and be like “Listen, you didn’t count our votes right”, but they ended up calling us anyway and telling us “Oh, another band dropped out, you’re moving on” but we couldn’t do the date they had prepared, so we just by choice didn’t do it.

BC: They forgot to turn on our amps as the set started.

TG: Yeah, they didn’t turn on the amps because they forgot.

CP: But it was a good experience though.

BC: It was fun.

TG: They were nice.

BC: The sound people were really nice.

CP: Just seeing all the different bands play, that’s the best thing about the whole Emergenza. Just watching a variety of bands.

MB: The current state of metal music in the United States, can you give us your opinion on that? Is it on the way up, down, the same, or non existent?

TG: I think that’s a hard question to answer because different people will give you a different opinion. It depends on what style of metal you’re in to. Someone who likes the popular stuff like Avenged Sevenfold right now will say “Oh, it’s on the rise” but people who like Priest or Maiden will be like “It’s only on the rise when Priest or Maiden come to the States”. But, I think it’s there. It’s never going to go away, because it’s like that cockroach you can’t stomp out, it’s always going to appeal to someone. I think it’s there, I don’t think it’s gone down, I don’t think it’s gone up. I think it’s exactly where it’s meant to be. I wish there was more recognition for it, but the types of power metal and stuff that I really enjoy, that is coming on the rise a bit because now you see Sonata Arctica and bands like that coming to the States. That’s my opinion, I think power metal is starting to go on the rise at least.

BC: The heavy metal in America is non-existent, but the power metal scene, the other end of the spectrum I guess is kind of coming in for a little bit, so that’s good. For general speaking, there is no heavy metal in America, it’s hardcore and other forms of it but it’s not the melodic metal that we like. It’s great power metal is sort of coming by, but most of it is in Europe, Latin America and Japan, unfortunately.

WN: I think it’s on the rise, actually, especially with all the bands going to play at BB King’s as of late, like Sonata Arctica, Helloween and Iced Earth. And actually going to music stores now you don’t have order too much through imports. You can just go to a regular music store, like FYE or something in the mall and just pick up anything that you like now, so I think it’s starting to pick up a little bit.

BC: Not on the radio, though.

WN: It never really was on the radio, though.

CP: Heavy metal will rise, as soon as our album comes out! (chorus of cheers and a high five)

MB: Thanks for everything! You guys were just awesome. Can you give us a closing statement, and maybe a few words about RisingForcesUSA?

TG: Well, we really want to thank RisingForcesUSA for all the effort they’ve put into contacting us. I think you’re a great guy, Matt and I really want to keep in touch because you’ve done great justice to independent metal because that’s a group of people that don’t get enough recognition. As for the band, we really thank you, Gus too, who couldn’t be here, he really wanted to express his gratitude.

MB: Hi, Gus!

TG: Hi, Gus!

WN: Thanks for listening to our CD, even though it took you a month or two. (laughs)

TG: It takes time. When you get CD’s at shows you sometimes don’t get around to it until a little bit later.

WN: Thanks for braving the GW bridge and all the accidents.

BC: Thank you for coming down.

CP: And you’re enthusiastic, we feel loved and thank you.

BC: You are.

TG: And appreciated!

MB: I hope you don’t mind me saying it, but I love you guys too.

TG: Yeah! It’s a big hippie circle! (laughs)