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With the pending
release of his fifth solo studio release, 'Damage Control', we catch up
with the man behind the voice to find out more about the album and what
he has in store for us during 2012.
MM - Firstly let
me congratulate you on the excellent new album 'Damage Control'.
JSS
- Thank you very much, I appreciate that.
MM – It’s
definitely a gritty ballsy rock album.
JSS - Yeh its
definitely back to the basics, not the basics, but back to the type of
work they expect from me.
MM - So was that
your intention from the beginning to make the album you wanted to make?
JSS - I always make the album I want to make. I did on 'Beautiful
Mess' and I did on this one as well. Obviously I’m always at a
different spot and a different place in time, especially when I’m
doing my solo albums, so it depends on my mood so to speak. Luckily I
wasn’t in the mood to make a Country And Western album, but yeah this
one, I had a lot words and discussions with the record company and for
the most part we wanted to listen to the fans and ask them what they
wanted and what they expected. I got to experiment and do what I wanted
to do on 'Beautiful Mess', which was great for me, it was something I
needed to do and get out of my system. But now, it was time to get back
to more of a rock album. Especially on my tour for instance, most of my
audience are rock fans and I wanted to give them something new they
could get their teeth into.
MM - I’ve seen
you live a few times with Talisman, Soul SircUs and as a solo artist, and
live you’re a much more feisty character than on album.
JSS
- That’s one of the worries about having a solo career, it's not
necessary having to play it safe for the sake of what's expected of me.
I
actually like doing what’s unexpected of me. On the other hand, I do
have a responsibility to not only my record company, but also my fans, of
doing certain quality, and when I go out and do a new tour, I’d like to
do rock stuff instead of the same old hat. Hopefully this will be
received as well as some of my past work.
MM - It's is a
cracking album, as with everything you're involved with, there is that
air of high quality, no matter if it's a ballads album, or a mix of
light and hard rock, or any of the projects you're involved in.
The quality is always there.
JSS - Thank you for that.
MM - I know the
Melodic Rock fans are very loyal to their artists, but at the same time
they expect certain things from them.
JSS - Absolutely.
MM - I think
sometimes it puts a little pressure on some artists not to step too far
away from what the fans expect and try to stay on the same path.
JSS - Luckily I do have quite an open minded amount of fans, that
respect the fact that I wanna test the waters and maybe do some things
that are a bit diverse, than some of the artists, who can't go outside
their box. They know I had quite a few different influences
growing up and I like to tap into those resources and try to change it up
a little bit, and for the most part they respect and they except it and
follow it. Yeh you're right, there are a lot of rock fans who
don’t want change and they expect their artists to follow what
they’ve done all a long.
MM - I think
because you’ve had such a varied career, you been in this
business now for over twenty years, and looking back to when you first started out with
Malmsteen, you were on a steep learning curve right from the very start.
JSS - Yeh I guess when I started with Malmsteen it was a much
heavier direction, then I went more commercial, but I varied it over the
years. For the most part its been hard rock and I’m glad and
lucky that now I can tap into all of those resources and give it a
little heavy twist when needed, and be more AOR and Melodic Rock when I
need it.
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MM - This is
your fifth solo studio album and its been three years since 'Beautiful
Mess'. Have you been working on the album gradually in between your
work with T.S.O. and W.E.T, or did you set time aside to work on this
album?.
JSS - I started working on this album back in
September and its been a non stop project, even while I was on tour with
T.S.O.. We got most of the basic tracks down and out of the way before I
started rehearsals with T.S.O.. I originally had a month to get all
my vocals done, because there was no way that I could do any lead vocals
while I was on the road. But at least we were able to get the rest of the
tracks done and my vocals down, and all the rest of the tracks were
built around it. We literally started mixing in December and we just
finished the final mixes and masters and turned them in days before you
received them. What you’ve heard is fresh off the press. Most of he
albums I’ve done in my life and my career have been sitting on a shelf
for two or three months from completion, to almost nine months to
completion. This time everybody I’m doing interviews with is
getting it days after it was released to the record company. That's quite
cool because they haven’t even been dusted off yet. |
MM -
The album
is an all out rocker, with only one track you’d describe as a standard
ballad, ‘BoneFide’, even that is a big production ballad. From the off
you’ve got 'Give It Up’, which rocks big style and ‘Damage
Control’ which is another great rock track.
JSS - There are even a
couple of heavier tracks that didn’t make the standard edition of the
album and are going to be on the deluxe edition. The deluxe edition is
basically my vision of what the album should be, but unfortunately
there were too many songs and the label had to cut them down. But before
cutting them completely, luckily they were graceful enough to say we’ll
release a deluxe edition and that I can release the vision I had for
this album. They were limited to the standard editions, but I’m
going to be pushing the fourteen track edition even if it is an extra
pound or two. It's certainly worth it, especially for the heavier rock fans
who have been following my career since the Malmsteen and Axel Rudi Pell
days. They are really gonna like the heavier side of things I did on
this album.
MM - It’s a
shame that you’ve had to release it as two separate entities because
the label wanted the album to be a certain way.
JSS - Yes I
understand that, but I’m lucky to have the option to do it this way,
because most labels would have said ... “no, these are the songs we want
and belong on the album" ... and would have just have done the cut.
I have no say in
it, but luckily I have such a good relationship with the company, that
they were able to work with me and say we don’t want you to feel you
are being cheated by cutting your vision, and we will do a deluxe edition
of the album. I have the feeling that the majority of my personal
fans, as opposed to the general rock fans, will want more bang for their bucks
so they'll be willing to dish out the extra bucks for the full kit and
caboodle.
MM - The deluxe
edition also has a DVD extra.
JSS - It won't cost that
much more than the standard edition, but they get a lot more bonus stuff
with it.
MM - I
personally love the heavier stuff on the album, take for example 'Krazy
World', it's just fantastic.
JSS - If you like that
then your gonna love two of the other three tracks that are not on the
standard edition.
MM - I also love
'After World' as well, that’s just funk driven rock.
JSS
- Thanks for that.
MM - 'NeverEnding
War' that reminds me of Bon Jovi at the start with the steel guitar
thing. Then it kicks off into a real cowboy rocker.
JSS -
When I first heard the song I actually wrote the melodies and the ideas
differently than Joel. Joel Hoekstra from
Nightranger gave me that tune and when I started writing the melodies,
it
was completely on the wrong tempo with my melodies. I made the song sound
like 'Blaze of Glory' from Jon Bon Jovi. Then he said ... no, you're supposed to
be singing on the upbeat, not the downbeat. I was like .. Jesus I’m
completely turned around on this song. Then it all made sense to
me. So
yeh, I know exactly what you're talking about when you say it reminds you of
something then it takes you a completely different way.
MM - I think
with the album you managed to include something for everyone. You’ve
covered all the bases with this album.
JSS - I really think strongly about that,
and I’m glad you actually said that, because that’s how I felt all
along, especially during the mixes. I finally started getting the
full picture of it. I could see it in my head, but it wasn’t until the
mixing stage, when it was all coming together, that it finally made sense
and I was going ... hey people are really going to like this!, I’m really
liking this!.
MM - There are a
whole list of guest artists on the album, but do you have set line-up
for the live shows.
JSS - Everyone who appears on the album
is part of my live band in some form or another, on the album. The same
line-up I had on the live in Madrid DVD will be the same line-up for the
up coming tour. They are on the album in one capacity or another,
either playing or co-writing with me. They are all on there.
MM - You touched
on the tour. So is it Europe? UK? Worldwide even?.
JSS -
It's going to UK ... all of Europe. Basically I swore to myself that any
place that will have me, any place in the world, that’s where I’ll
be touring this year.
MM - Excellent
news.
JSS - I’m putting that out there, so when these
interviews go out, anyone who wants me, I’ll be there.
MM - We also
touched on the whole T.S.O. thing, that must have been a whole different
experience for you.
JSS - It’s not normally my cup of tea,
but once I got involved in it, it’s something that I’m really proud
to be a part of. The people that are involved, the people I’m working with,
are all great and it’s a great little side path to my career, and it's
something that I hope I can continue with in the future, as long as I
can fit it in.
MM - People who
don’t know of T.S.O. don’t realize what a phenomena it really
is. They sell out arena after arena, night after night. They
are one of the, if not the biggest band in the US.
JSS - It
has quite a huge following in the US. It’s a great thing to be a part
of without worrying about the creative side. I basically just get step
in and do the little bit I get to do, and everybody does their thing, and
that’s what makes the whole machine roll. Like I said, it's not
necessarily something I would have done, but because of the people who are
involved and got me into it, it's now something I’m really proud to be
a part of.
MM - In between
that and the solo material you’ve managed to be involved with the
W.E.T. album, which was regarded by many, myself included, as one of the
strongest releases of 2009. So will there be a second W.E.T. album?
JSS
- Yes, we made an announcement when we did the Firefest show last year,
that we were going to be working on the new album. The songs are
coming together now, so as I’m finished promoting the album we’ll
recording the new W.E.T. album. It's a non-stop process for me.
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MM - As one of
the most in demand vocalists around, do you get any down time to relax and
chill, or do you enjoy the constant working?
JSS - I got bored too easily
to relax. I don’t look at what I do as work, I look at what I do
as pleasure. I look at what I do as life. When I’m recording music,
writing music, or performing music, for me that is life! You don’t get
tired and need a break from life as far as I’m concerned. When I go
out on the road, to me that’s relaxing. I would rather be doing this,
because for me it's not work, it's like eating and breathing. I get so much
joy from what I’m doing.
MM - So if you
could go back and meet your younger self, what advice would you give to
yourself Jeff?
JSS - That’s a good question, that’s a
tough on because people usually ask me what advice I’d give to a
young, up and coming artist who have a dream to make it in this
business, and I always say if you have a dream, stick with it. It's not an easy business to crack and it’s a cutthroat business, but
if you really want it and you persist, you will get it. That’s what
I’d tell a younger version of myself. I lived through a lot of ups and
downs. A lot of ups and downs that come with this business and this is
my twenty eighth year of doing this, and I still have the same hunger and
the same desire as I had back when I was twelve fronting my first band.
I still have that hunger to perform, to make people happy and make
myself happy. It's what music is all about.
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MM - Yeh I
agree. There are so many bands that see music as a cash cow and just go
through the motions. Fans can see that on stage, they can hear it on
records, I don’t see why they continue if they're not enjoying it.
JSS
- There are so many artists that don’t enjoy it, they forget about
that end of it and why they started in the first place. It just comes
a way of life, it becomes a business. I can't really knock them for that,
because everybody needs to make a living. If you can enjoy and still have
the feeling you had as a young person, listening to music for the first
time and experiencing music, your first gig, all those firsts, if you can
still hone in on that and still make a living out if it, I think it’s
a great balance and you can make a long career for yourself.
MM - So going
back to the album, like I said earlier there is something for everyone
on the album, but is there one track you're particularly proud of?
JSS - Absolutely! If I were to list them all it would take a
while. There are some things I like more than others for different
reasons. Some
may be lyrically deeper for me than others and some purely for the music
and melodic side. 'Damage Control' and 'Give A Little More' for instance,
that's why they are the first two songs on the album, because when I
listen to them, I don’t listen to them as songs I’ve done, but as
songs I enjoy, as if somebody else had recorded them.
I try to remove myself from the album and
try to listen to it as a fan would listen to it. Listen to it as
... if I
bought this would I like it? Naturally you get close to things, it
either becomes ... I have to do this because it’s expected of me, or do
this because I really really like it ... it’s a difficult thing to do,
especially as I get so close to the songs, but it's something I have to do.
I really have to step away from it, maybe for a week and then I’ll pop
in and just listen to it the way a fan would. If it hits me the same way
as it did when I was recording it, then I know I have something good there.
MM - As
I said earlier it’s a cracking album and a great way to start of 2012,
anything else we should keep an ear out for?
JSS - I appreciate
that. It seems that there is
a lot of positively about it, I just hope it keeps pouring in.
It's one
of the reasons that I’m hoping that when I do book the tour, the album
is out for some time so fans can live with it the same way they did with
the W.E.T. album, before we even played our first show. Once there is an
anticipation out there, it makes it far more exciting when you go out
and play live.
We’re working on the new W.E.T. album and
in between that
I’ve got another prior commitment that I’ve been working on, that’s
very important to me, but I really cant talk about yet. I’m
hoping to announce that in the Spring. It's not T.S.O. it's something
completely different. So with that, the new W.E.T album, this album and
going on tour, I think 2012 is pretty much spoken for.
MM - Well Jeff
it's been an absolute pleasure talking to you, do you have any closing
message for our readers and your army of fans out there?
JSS - When I get
asked that question I always say the same thing and can't think of
anything that personifies it better. As far as I'm concerned, I’m grateful
for what I do for a living and the people who make that possible, and
naturally that the fans, the readers, the fans of music in general, it’s
a charmed life to be able to make music for a living and I really find
myself humble to be doing this still after twenty eight years. As I said,
I’m still hungry for it and I have people who support me in following
my dream and making them happy in the process, all I can say is thanks to
everybody.
We'd like
to thank Jeff for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat with
us this evening and look forward to seeing him when he's over here in
the UK on tour later in the year.
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