Artist: Power Quest  

Date: 27 November 2011   

It is with great pleasure and pride that we are able to bring you the very first interview with the new lead singer of Power Quest Colin Callanan, together with the founding member and main man himself, Mr. Steve Williams. 

MM - How are you guys doing today.
Both - Fine thanks.

MM - Here we are with a bright new chapter to Power Quest and a new lead singer. 
SW - Yes, hello everyone, please meet our brand new singer all the way from Galway in Ireland, Colin Callanan.
CC - Hello everyone! It's great to be here.

MM - I know you've been a fan of the band for a long time now Colin, but how did you actually come to being the new lead singer of the band?
CC - Well I'd been doing my own work up in Galway with my other bands Karuna and also Crystal Snowstorm before that, and I'd been singing quite a bit and had some samples already recorded. So when I heard that Power Quest needed a singer, which was back when Alessio left actually, I straight away contacted Steve and we had a chat on the phone.  I said listen Steve, I know this position is currently open.  I'd been working with Karl Groom at the time and Karl suggested I could be a good match.  So I chatted to Steve and we were in talks for quite some time, but in the end Chitty got the job, although I was definitely in the short list.  I said to Steve, next time around, if I had the chance again, I'd definitely be interested.

SW - We took a different approach this time around as to how we'd done it in the past, when we were looking for the new lead singer.  This time around we took the YouTube / Journey approach, to see if we could find potential candidates for the position.  In the end we had around 7 or 8 guys that we whittled down to about 3 or 4, who we then brought over for an audition.  I think Colin was one of the last auditionee's.  It was very reminiscent of when Gavin auditioned for the band, we got that feeling within about 30 seconds that this was something really good.  It just felt right.  We had a guy over from Switzerland try out and a couple of younger guys from the UK, all of those good singers, but it's as much about the actual voice and how it blends with the other voices and the music.  

I think we always knew that Colin's voice would suit Power Quest.  The fact that he already knew all the songs as well was just an added bonus.  He came over and slotted in immediately, not just musically and I go to pains to emphasise this, but it's actually 50% about the music and then 50% about do we actually get on as people.  Colin and I have a lot of things in common other than music, but we're both IT guys when it comes to work.  We both know what it means to do a proper job and also what doing a high pressured job is all about.  So we understand each other on that level as well.  That just helps, it's nothing to do with the music, but you understand each other's head space and what makes you both tick.  It's been brilliant.  When Colin auditioned and when we did the rehearsals yesterday, Colin did a storming job. Everybody's smiling and that's what I want to see. 

CC - When I came over to meet the band it was great to find out that everyone in the band genuinely gets on really well with each other, because even if the band had asked me to join them, if I felt it maybe wasn't the right environment for me and that the band perhaps wasn't the right one for me, I wouldn't have taken it.  But this is such a positive environment and everyone's smiling and gets on so well.  It's a really good atmosphere to work in.   It's all about the music and not about the other things that people can sometimes get distracted with.  It really is all about the music with these guys.  It's all about doing the best thing for Power Quest.  It's not about the money, or trying to do something that people are going to like, it's about doing what you feel in your heart is right.

MM - Yes, that's one of the things we first noticed when we first got into Power Quest all those years ago.  The band came out after the show and hung out chatting to us well into the early hours of the morning.  You knew the band were working hard to get where they were and you could feel the passion and commitment to the band and the music when you talked to them.  It had a family feel to it where everyone cared about each other and what they were doing. 
SW - Yes, I think we do have that family thing going on within the band, but you also have the extension of that family which is the fans and guys like yourselves, who we see out every time we go on tour.  It's all part of the experience now.  We think of our fans as friends and as part of our family, and we genuinely look forward to seeing you all when we go out on tour.  I know music aside, if I was ever up your way and said ... do you fancy going out? ... we would do that.  That's another important facet of the whole thing for me, perhaps more for me than the other guys, but I truly believe all these things combine to make the bigger picture.

MM - I would imagine during those difficult times more recently, the community of fans, that extended family of people behind you and believing in you, must have given you the strength to carry on.  I don't think you would have ever thought of the fans as just being fans and not listened to what they had to say. 
SW - Yes.  The crux of it is that things aren't about the money and the success, it's about making an impression on people and an impact on people.  If you're making an impact of 20-30,000 people, as opposed to 20 or 30 million people, that is nothing to frown upon, or anything to lessen that impact.  People write to me regularly and tell me that this song or that song helped them through difficult times. When you're a kid and you think about being in a band and making a record, you never think about that aspect of it all, but that's actually the most important bit, because those are the people who, in 20 or 30 years time, long after the band has gone, will be saying to their kids ... oh there was this band I used to love when I was younger, I really used to like them.  If you can get people talking about it like that then you've done something tangible, not just monetarily, but emotionally.  That's really what's at the heart of it all for me and that's what I genuinely believe.

MM - Even now when I listen to the very early albums, they still stand the test of time and when certain songs come on you feel like ... Ah yes! I remember the band playing this live and everyone was singing along to it, you remember what the atmosphere at the gig was like and everything.  That's something you (Colin) are also going to feel a part of as you move forward as the new singer of the band.  You're going to remember when the crowd went wild at different bits of the show. 
CC - I find music very uplifting and the attitude and respect I've felt from the band is very uplifting.  I'm looking forward to being very positive about life, because life's so short and you have to make the most of it.  If Power Quest can play a part in lifting people's spirits up then that's great.  

SW - It's all part of that thing where people say Metal should be evil and horrible and tough and grim.  The singer should be groaning and looking like he's half dead, but it seems as soon as you start smiling, suddenly everyone thinks you're gay! (laughs).  What are we all, 12 years old?!? (laughs).  

You're right, we want our music to be uplifting and if someone's had a crap week and they come along to one of our shows, hopefully that could be the turning point in their week and they'll come back and see us again next time.  The whole chatting with the fans after the show, or even before the show, it's such an essential part of it.  I've had people in the band over the years who didn't like that aspect of things.  Well sorry but you're in the wrong band mate.  We don't do ego's or you need your quiet time to pray to whatever, these people have traveled and paid their money to see you play, the least you can do is come out and have a conversation with them.  

It's funny because I went to see the Freedom Call gig last week in London and I hardly saw any of it.  Most of the time it was people coming up to me and asking if I was Steve from Power Quest, and it was conversation after conversation.  That's great, what more can you ask for really?  It fires me up for all the right reasons.

MM - You've actually ended up with a more UK based band, I'm not sure if that was ever your deliberate intention in the longer term or not? 
SW - Well I think as time's gone on, and the business side of things has got tougher, the flying people in from miles and miles away just isn't feasible.  But the more I think about it, I think the whole UK thing is quite nice.  I know technically Colin's from the part of Ireland that's not classed as the UK, but it's close enough.  I think the real deal is now we have five guys who fit my work ethic and are also the sort of people I like to have as friends.  You can't ask for more than those two things and in the past sometimes it's been difficult to get that.  The guys are working as hard as ever now and Colin's just come in and is working as hard as anybody.  Hopefully we'll show everybody what it's all about later on tonight with Colin's debut gig.

MM - You (Colin) do realise you're going to have to stay with the band now because if you don't then we'll have to beat you up! (laughs).  
CC - I've signed a lifetime contract have I? (laughs).
MM - Yes you did.  Steve you did you not explain that to him when you made him sign the contract in blood? (laughs).

MM - When the announcement came that Chitty was leaving the band, the statement made by the band was very gentlemanly and gracious, but then shortly afterwards Chitty decided to issue a very different statement that was quite ungentlemanly and ungracious, which got a lot of people's heckles up.  Now without dragging up what's gone on in the past, would you like to just explain to the fans a bit more about how things actually work in the real world, when you're in a band and you have costs you need to cover, because I don't think a lot of people fully understand that side of things. SW - This is a very good question. The reality is that we're a band that's been around for 10 years, we have 5 records out and we've been on the road a lot, but what people need to understand is how these things are financed.  The days in which multi-million dollar deals and 10's of thousands given to band's to record an album, or even just 20,000 quid to record an album, are long gone.  I'll give you a breakdown of how it actually is for us.  The last album we did, I paid for 50% of all the costs, the label paid for the other 50% of the costs.

Every tour we've done since that record came out, I've financed.  I've had no label input, I haven't got some sugar-daddy sponsor writing cheques for me like some of the other bands out there have.  It's all me.  How do I do all that?  I work bloody hard in my day job and I have guys who commit to travelling to things and they pay their own costs.  They pay their own way.  They don't come and say Steve ... can you pay for my dinner, can you pay for this, can you pay for that ... they want to do it as much as I want to do it and they see how much I'm sacrificing and they think, OK, a tank of petrol isn't a big thing in the grand scheme of things.  

The record industry is changing and changing by the day almost, and people need to understand that record labels calculate tour support funding on CD sales.  We're selling less records now than we did when we released 'Neverworld', but more people seem to have the record.  Therein lies the catch 22.  You have people who say they downloaded the record and that they didn't pay for it, but then say they'll come and see us if we come out and play.  But it's like ... Yeh, but mate, you're in Chicago, based on what I've just said, how am I supposed to finance the band to get them to Chicago to play?  Plus if you're going to go all the way to Chicago, then you might as well stay there for a bit and the cost of touring out there is astronomical.  

So I pose the question again.  So, you've stolen my work and yet you expect me to finance a trip myself across the world to play for what, 50 people?  How does that make any sense?  In any other walk of life in business that would be shot before it even got out the box.  Much as I don't like to think of it that way, you have to think of it that way, and people have to understand that if this carries on, bands like us are going to disappear.  Not because we want to, but because we can't afford to stay around.  

The problem is also the internet is a marvelous tool, but it's also amazing at distorting how big something is.  People think, so you've got a fancy website, you've got five records out, you've toured round Europe, oh you must be making loads of money.  What a daft assumption!  Anyone who doesn't believe me come and see me and I will show you the accounts that state exactly what I'm talking about.  

Take for instance the tour with Angra, that cost us £15 grand.  Where did the £15 grand come from? The band and they're still paying for that 5 years on.  That's just a snapshot of it really.  It's an unbelievable struggle in some respects, certainly the financial side of it is, the artistic side of it isn't because that all comes naturally.  But it is difficult, times are hard, you go out on tour and people haven't got the money to buy merch like they used to do.  It's very difficult and we've been talking quite recently about what the answer might be.  I don't think there is a categoric answer, but maybe the answer lies in, unless you're signed to a big record company like Roadrunner or bigger, is there any real value in being a signed band any more?  Personally I think the answer's no.

CC - This is something we have been discussing a lot.  Just how important is it for us to be signed to a record label really in these difficult times.  Things are changing so fast that we need to look at other ways of spreading the word. 

SW - We've discussed a number of different business models and alternative ways of doing things, which I don't like because I'm old school and I like a physical product, but the problem is you can't sell things to people if that isn't what they want to buy.  Maybe they want to buy downloads as opposed to a physical copy.  I know there will always be a small minority that are going to want the physical product, but I think that percentage is going to go down as time goes on.  So you need to factor in how things are going forward, not just thinking short-term, but mid-term as well.  Where are we going to be in say 5 years, or even 10 years time?  It's difficult and it does beg the question ... well why should I make a record?  Why should I in affect put myself in debt and let everyone have it for nothing?  

Therein lies another issue in that I think music to some of the youngest these days is a free commodity, it's not something they think they should go out and buy.  I think once you've gone down that road you can't turn back and make something chargeable that has been free.  Who knows what the ultimate future will be on that side of things but it's of a big concern for me.

MM - I think one of the problems we face now is it's difficult to make money from an album.  But it costs money to make that album, regardless of whether you make it available to sell as a physical copy or as a download.  If people take that for free and think they think they'll justify it by coming out to see you if you tour, well you still need that money behind you to finance the tour, whether that be as a headliner or a support band.  Even tours with "little bands" cost a fortune to buy on to these days, they're asking silly money.  Fans have to realise if they want the music, then they have to invest in it because otherwise they're just going to loose it.  

MM - What does 2012 hold for Power Quest? SW - 2012?  Well I don't think we're going to be massively active on the road, I think it will be a case of the odd thing here and there and maybe some festivals.  We already have one European festival lined up and who knows if we manage to get a couple more of not.  Maybe we'll look at some festivals over here.   We've got other issues going on in the band as well, our bass player Paul is going to be a Dad in February / March, so we have to give him a little bit of room to settle into that aspect of his life, which means that would be a good time to get our writing hats on and for us to use that time to formulate the ideas we have for the next album, and even whether it will be a physical CD or not when we do finally release it.  That all needs to be thought through.   We even talked about whether we release an album, or whether we perhaps release a different song each month, over a 12 month period, to help keep the band's profile up there.  Who knows.  These are all just things we're thinking about at the moment.   I would have liked to have got a record out again next year but that's just like saying I'd like to increase my debt next year in all honesty.  I think we'll take out time and craft and construct the songs and then release them when we are ready.  Hopefully we'll be able to pick and choose some good shows to do as well.

MM - Well not only that, but Colin needs to find his feet.  He needs to find what direction he's happy to go in and you need to fully understand what he's capable of. 
SW - Yes, that will all take time but the natural vibe I'm getting already, suggests to me that that won't be a particularly long winded process.  I think it's going to be quite snappy to be honest.  I don't think it will be long before we're cranking out 5 or 6 new songs in rehearsals.  

CC - Before I joined Power Quest I was already writing all my own songs for my other band Karuna.  I actually sent the songs to Steve when I did the album and he gave me some excellent feedback.  He said it wasn't that far away from the material they do with Power Quest, although there are obvious differences between the two.  I think sometimes there are ideas for things that come to me but that perhaps wouldn't be right for Karuna, so who knows, they might be more suitable for Power Quest.  I have a similar writing style to Steve in that it's melodic and uplifting.  I'm really excited to see how the fusion of the two turns out. 

MM - Will you keep going with your other band Karuna now you're in Power Quest?
CC - Yes, although the thing about Karuna is it doesn't have a massive impact on my time and then it's mostly writing.  There's no touring band as such, there's only me, a keyboard player and a drummer.  So we'd want to have a proper road show.  Hopefully though what we could do is get in some session musicians to do a few shows.  But we're not a big touring band, so that's not going to have a big impact on my time.  

MM - Did you ever have the opportunity to see Power Quest play live before you joined the band? 
CC - I have yes.  I saw them with the old line-up at a Metal Fest in 2009 and it was a really great show, although it was kind of bitter sweet because it was at the time the other guys were leaving and that was also kind of sad. 

MM - Vocally, how would you compare your vocal style to the other Power Quest singers that have gone before?
CC - I think I'm more like Alessio.  On some of the songs I kind of do some things the same as him, but at the same time I have to get my own identity in the band. So sometimes I sound a lot like him and other times I give it a bit of a twist, so I can give the songs a bit more of my own stamp on them.  

SW - That's something I've said to all the guys, yes that's what has gone on before, but whoever has moved on now and you have to make the song your own now.  Don't feel you have to copy what they did.  The songs are all yours now.  

MM - Well this is the band's 10th anniversary and this is the turning point, a brand new decade and a bright new future for the band.
SW - Yes we're over that line and it's hopefully onwards and upwards from here.  We've got a big track record, a big history and a big back catalogue, but hey that was then and this is now.  As you will hear from the setlist tonight, it's radically different to what we've been doing earlier in the year.  There's a lot of old classics that have made a come back, that we couldn't do before for one reason or another.  There's also a couple of songs that haven't been aired for quite a few years, so it will be interesting to see how they go down.  Without giving the game away, one of these songs is actually one of Colin's favourite songs.  

CC - Yes, it's one of my favourite songs.  

SW - I don't think we've played that song live for maybe five or six years.  

MM - Well you can't leave us hanging like that without telling us what the song is!  That would just be such a terrible tease!   CC - OK I'll tell you, it's 'Children Of The Dream'.  It's really nice and melodic and it should hopefully get the crowd singing along to it.   SW - It's one of those songs that captures what we're about as a band.  Yes we're maybe not kids any more, but in our hearts, we still act as we did when we were fourteen or fifteen.  I know we are grown up now and we're not kids any more, but you have to have your dreams.  No matter what you're doing in life you have to have something to reach out for, whatever that might be.  It's different things for different people and it doesn't have to be something of earth shattering magnitude.  It just has to be something to strive for and that's what we all want, to keep on going.  I truly believe in what we're doing here.

MM - The band have a couple of festivals lined up already for next year, one just into the New Year. 
SW - Yes there's the Arctic Festival in London which will be another good chance to let Colin get out there and meet people.  The PPM festival in Belgium looks like it's going to be a pretty cool event.  They've got Blind Guardian and Saxon playing as well, so that should be good fun.  

Something that the Bloodstock experience and festivals like that, that we've done over the years have taught me, is that this band is made for those kind of events.  I think we really have the ability to convert people, who may have just casually wandered in to see what we're all about. That's where the catchy, uplifting, hooky bit comes in to it.  So many people have got into the band that way, totally by accident, because they've heard something and come along to see what we are about.  On the whole it's been a very positive experience, the whole festival thing for us.  

MM - Can I make a couple of suggestions for you for merchandise further down the line.  Can we have some hoodies with just the Power Quest logo on them but no tour date info on them? 
SW - Well a bit like what I was discussing earlier, the whole merchandise thing also falls to me to finance all that as well.  So that's why we don't have 25 lines of whatever.  It's purely because I can't afford to do it.  But the request for hoodies does crop up quite regular on the wish list of people, so it's something that we could consider further down the line.  Merch is one of those things that's a real pain because if you do short runs of things, then obviously it's more expensive.  But if you do massive runs of things and you don't manage to move them, then you've got three or fours boxes sitting in your garage, year after year.  

MM - The only other merch related suggestion I would have, would be messenger bags.  Kamelot have done them before and they were really popular.  I think a lot more blokes are wearing "man bags" these days.  Again just with the logo on and no dates, that way they don't date and both men and women can have them.  Also all ages can use them now and it's a great way to advertise the band.  Although I know it'd be nice, but it all comes down to money in the end.  
SW -  We'll see how things go.

MM - Have you managed to have many rehearsals all together?  Colin, how are you finding the flying over? 
CC - The flight over to do things with Power Quest takes me approximately 45 minutes.  Most of the time I have to leave my house around 3.30 am to get a bus and then get the flight across.  Yeh I am a little bit tired when I get over, but it actually work's out to be not that long a journey.  Some other members of the band have to drive for a lot longer than it takes me to fly across. They are driving more than 4 hours each way when we all get together.  

SW - Again I think that shows the type of commitment that all the members of the band have towards the band and the music.  They are all prepared to get in their cars and drive, or get on a plane, or catch an early bus.  They do what they need to do to get there.  You can't ask any more than that can you?  

MM - I know it's nice to be able to pay the bills, but at the end of the day it has to be the love, that passion, for what you're doing.  It can't just be a transaction, because there's a lot easier ways of making money than being in a band. 
SW - Yes definitely, that's why we all still have day jobs.  The reality is that pays for everything and allows us to pursue our passions.    

MM - Is there anything we've omitted to ask that you'd like to add? 
CC - Well this is my very first interview, so it's nice that it could be with you guys.  Hopefully this will be the first of many interviews I do with you in future. 

SW - Yes it's always a pleasure talking to you two guys as well.  We really appreciate the support and thanks for coming down to support us yet again.  

We'd like to thank Steve and Colin for taking the time out before Colin's debut live performance with Power Quest at The Snooty Fox in Wakefield.  Having witnessed the show that followed shortly afterwards, we are very happy to announce that Colin gets a big thumbs up from all at The Mayfair Mall Zine.  We look forward to seeing him and the band again in the near future.                

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