Intervju med Cry Holy

Här kommer en intervju med det melodiösa rockbandet Cry Holy från Washington som jag gjorde för några dagar sedan.


Can you tell me how the band formed?

Mike Maxwell (drums) and James Henry (guitar) started playing together around 1993. We started a
band called Sahara Rain. Some of the Sahara Rain songs ended up on our first album "Ten from Two" released on Aorheaven in 2001. Cry Holy formed in 1996 with Randy Loran taking over lead vocals. Shortly after we were joined by Randy's brother Scott (rhythm guitar), Erik Routson (bass guitar), and Gary Reems (keyboards). Monty Smith, the newest member, took over guitar duties on the new album Alienation released by Metal Mayhem in 2005. Monty has worked in the studio and on the stage with Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult and The Joseph Lee Wood Band.

What is the band's influences in music?

The band is influenced by all types of AOR melodic rock, but the #1 influence is definately Journey. We've also been told that we sound a lot like Survivor and Queen is also an influence because we like huge backup harmony vocals.

Can we expect a new album by Cry Holy?

There is nothing planned right now however, we just signed with Roxx Productions to rerelease Alienation. Roxx has done previous work with Stryper. The new version has been remastered by J.K. Northrup of XYZ and Rough Cutt fame. It has previously unreleased tracks and a live DVD included in the album. J.K. Northrup even guest appeared on one of the songs on the album. We're a Christian band that has made pretty good headway into the secular AOR scene which only God could accomplish. Roxx Productions will be our first time testing the Christian market.

Do You Write your own songs?

Absolultely. The band would write the songs instrumentally and when we got what we thought was a complete song, then Randy Loran, our lead singer would add in his lyrics. After that, we would rearrange the songs as necessary. Then in the recording studio working with a producer, the songs would go through even more arrangement, instrumentally and vocally. The songwriting process never seemed complete until they were ready to be mixed. Songwriting is a process that we enjoy immensely.

Is there anything else we should know about the band?

My motto for Cry Holy is "never say never". We started out with a five song unmastered demo and now we're working on our third release with the fourth record label we've dealt with. Also our second DVD release. Our albums have been reviewed and we've been interviewed by AOR magazines and webzines from all over the world. Our albums have been released in Europe and America and we've had radio airplay. We've played concerts and festivals with some very well known acts including Petra. In 1997 we won The Washington State Christian Talent Contest winning first in the bands catagory and grand prize out of all catagories represented which included male vocalists, female vocalists, songwriters and bands. This is not to boast at all, we're still very much a small fish in a large pond of course, but I'm very proud of the things God has accomplished through Cry Holy. So who knows what the future holds?

För mer info om bandet Cry Holy kan man besöka deras hemsida på myspace.