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Exclusive Marc Bryant Interview

So Marc,
It's great to finally get to this point, as you have been a site regular for several years now! How does it feel having this CD done, mixed and mastered?
Gratifying doesn't even begin to cover it, mate. In a lot of ways it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, ya know? I can move onto the next stage of my career from a creative standpoint.

How long have you been working on this album - the songwriting and then the recording?
As far as the songwriting, the oldest song, Going Down, goes back to '93. Everything else was written between 1994 and 1998. Tracking began in Spring of 1997 and was finished in December of 2001. We had most of it mixed before that point but we had to finish up mastering and the final touches before sending it off to the label I was signed to at the time.

You are an independent artist - what resources did you use to get this project off the ground and to this point?
Well, I wasn't in the studio from 1997-2001 in a single block interval. Basically, I would work my ass off at the day job and save what I could for studio sessions. Luckily, Eric Sands helped a lot with guitar and bass tracking and John McLane believed enough in the project to help keep costs down.
After the CD was finished and things didn't materialize with Chavis, I decided to invest in myself and work to put it out there on my own. You can't expect anyone else to believe in you unless you believe in yourself. So, I put my money where my mouth is and here we are. I may not be able to eat for the next 3 months but by God this album will finally be out...hahahaha. The wonderful folks over at ON4 Productions have also been a tremendous help as well as Mike Bode who did the graphic design for the CD layout.

Is there anything you would do differently armed with the knowledge you have now?
I think I'd rather go in with a full band next time. Playing most of the instruments and cutting all of the vocals yourself can become very exhausting even with the incredible team of people I had working with me. Especially John...the man is a genius and one of the most well rounded musicians I've ever had the privilege of working with.

You have had several bands over the time I have known you - much like any new artist looking for a break - tell us about the line-up on the solo album and your current band Strech...
The line-up on the solo album is predominantly myself on vocals, guitars and keyboards, Pete Roberts on bass and Chad Wedlake on drums and vocals. Eric Sands played lead guitar on 4 tracks as well as bass on Sacrifice and all of the guitars on Take Me Home.
I had some other friends help out here and there but John and I pretty much filled whatever holes were left. As far as STRECH, the line-up is: Joel Adams-Guitar & Vocals, Shane Doss-Guitar & Vocals, Mike Goodman-Bass, Chad Wedlake-Drums & Vocals and myself on lead vocals. Chad just joined the band recently which I'm pretty excited about. He and I work very well together and he's one of my closest friends.

How would you describe the music/style/sound on Naked Son?
Basically, melodic hard rock in the vein of Dokken, King's X, Journey and Night Ranger with a little bit of Stone Temple Pilots, Lenny Kravitz and Butch Walker thrown into the mix. Vocally, lots of King's X harmonies and the usual Paul Stanley comparison I get quite often.

And those tunes are lyrically inspired by....?
Life in general. Whether it be my own experiences or other people, I tend to draw the most inspiration from the environment that surrounds me in day-to-day life. I think most songwriters are that way.

It's a good production quality for an indie album - how did you achieve this?
The bulk of the credit on that goes to John McLane and his many years of studio experience. Eric and I did a pretty good job on laying down guitar tracks at Laughing Gas but John really polished things up and brought the whole album to life. Whether it was production advise, digital editing or encouraging just the right performance, he helped all of us involved just shine. I'd love to work with him again in the future.

Let's go through the songs...
Can you tell us a bit about each track;
Sacrifice – This is Chad's personal fav and one of the first songs we tracked over at John's place. It's basically about my spirituality and how sometimes your own problems pale in comparison to other people's. Eric Sands did a great job on this one, both on bass and the smoking guitar solo in the middle.

Guilty As Sin – This song was written about a certain ex-football player who allegedly killed his ex-wife and lover. It also features Chad on co-lead vocals and Scott Banks on some great guitar and keyboard work.

Farewells – This one was written about a former love interest whom I was head over heels for. At least out of heartbreak, I always seem to write the best songs. Brad (Gillis, Night Ranger) was originally supposed to play lead on it but schedules never seemed to work out for either one of us. Definitely a Night Ranger/Damn Yankees influenced power ballad which Brad made sure to point out to me when he heard it…hahaha

Rapunzel – This is still my favorite tune off the album and the one I'm most proud of from a vocal performance standpoint. Inspired by actress Reese Witherspoon, I really got to pay homage to the greatest American rock trio to ever walk the face of the planet, King's X. Kick ass bass work by Pete on that one.

Feel – The first single and one of the quickest to record in the studio. Very Marvelous 3 meets Rick Springfield. It's probably the best radio song on the disc and most people's favorite upon hearing the album.

Soul Searchin' – I wrote this one with guitarist Tommy Thompson back in '95, I believe. A very Dokken influenced affair complete with the big vocal bridge in the middle. Tommy and I plan on writing some more stuff for the next album between my schedule with STRECH and his with Transmission (http://www.transmissionrock.com) some time this summer.

Going Down – I don't know why but I just really got obsessed on this song from a guitar standpoint. I must have about 10 guitar tracks layered throughout so the listener usually hears something new on every pass. John did an excellent job playing drums on this track.

Road – This was the first tune that was finished for the album. I came up with the chorus one day while driving and finished it a couple months later with the STP/Zeppelin inspired riff for the verse. Another one of my personal favorites off the disc.

Won't Play The Fool – This was the first song recorded for the project and one of the most frustrating ones to nail vocally. Lots of King's X and KISS influence throughout.

Take Me Home – Originally intended for StrangeWorld, this song took on a life of it's own in the studio. Eric Sands completely smokes on this track and it's some of the best guitar work on the entire disc. I tried to cop a David Coverdale vocal on the verses to give it that bluesy feel. The layered vocals in the chorus really turned out well…Chad and I blend really well together in that department even it did look like his head was going to explode while tracking the high parts in the studio.

What are your influences as a song writer and also as a musician?
As a songwriter, there are quite a few people I'm influenced by but some of the big ones would be Jack Blades, King's X, Rick Springfield, KISS, Journey and Stone Temple Pilots. It really depends on which project and what mode I'm in at the time. As far as guitar influences, it's all about George Lynch and Ty Tabor. Those are two of the most unique players on the planet. You can hear 2 measures of they're playing and you know it's them right away. Vocally, I get Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, Paul Stanley and Doug Pinnick quite a bit. The only reason Chad ever started playing with me 10 years ago was because he's a huge KISS fan and thought I sounded just like Paul on my demo...hahaha

Tell us about your cover of Rick Springfield's Living In Oz - a popular download when I featured it a while back!
Ahhhhh, the infamous StrangeWorld track. I still get e-mails from people about that one. I had always wanted to cover that tune but none of the bands I was ever in would touch it...that whole 80's stigma dealio. Well, I ran it by Eric just for the hell of it and much to my surprise, he thought it was a great idea. We cut the basic tracks in like 30 minutes and finished things up at John's studio the next week. The funny thing is Chad has never heard the original Rick Springfield version.
I kid you not, Andrew. He just came in and laid everything down based on what Eric was playing. I asked him a couple years ago if he wanted to hear it after I got Rick's live disc and he was like "no...that would ruin it for me." I had a blast doing that one though and would love to play it live. Eric and I are going to start working on more material for the StrangeWorld project early next year.

You had a label deal in place earlier this year, but decided to go it alone. Why was that?
When I signed on with Chavis Records, I was under the impression the album would be released in Spring of 2002. Things came up like they tend to do with a small upstart operation and it got to a point where there was no release date in sight and I wasn't getting any info from anyone at the label. After having this project sitting on the shelf for as many years as I have, I decided I would be better off just coming up with the money and putting it out myself. Bill Chavis has always been extremely supportive and believed in me when no one else did. I wish him the very best as well as the rest of team over at the label. It was just time to move forward.

Where would you like to see this album release take you?
Honestly, I would just like to be able to share my art and make a living out of this after working at it for so long. I know selling huge quantities is unrealistic but I really appreciate the fans out there that still do wholeheartedly support the melodic rock genre. Hopefully, they'll be open to this album as well as my new band, STRECH.

What plans do you have with Strech?
Lots of live dates will be coming up over the next couple of months in the U.S. We should be heading back into the studio with producer Rus T Cobb in January to work on a demo to shop to labels. This is probably one of the best group of guys I've ever jammed with and the writing chemistry is undeniable. That's where a good bit of my focus will be this coming year. I can't wait to get back on stage.

Is there an album on the horizon there also?
Well, since this project is a little more marketable in the U.S., it'll depend on what kind of record deal we secure. I really feel this is going to be a successful band. I'd love to do the full-length album with Butch Walker though. Hopefully, he can find time to do it if we have the right budget to work with. In the mean time, everyone can check out the four song demo at: http://www.strech.net

What are your plans for the future - what's next for you as a solo artist?
Coming up in late December, I'm cutting a 4 song acoustic EP to be released for Acoustic Outreach (http://www.acousticoutreach.org) which will benefit a charity organization for cancer called Happy Days And Special Times (http://www.happydaysnspecialtimes.org) I encourage everyone out there to check out both web sites and get involved. Songs included will be Feel and Farewells off the album and two new songs, Beauty In You and Overthinking. I've got about 25 songs written for the next album and I'm hoping to start work on that sometime next summer.

Anything you would like to add mate?
There are so many people out there who have been supportive of me within the melodic rock community over the last few years and I just want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all of the encouragement. That's what keeps me going and it means the world to me. See ya on the road with STRECH!