Legendary Irish guitarist Bernie Torme called into The GuitCast podcast to talk about his new album 'Blackheart', the current state of the music industry and just what happened to that 'Desperado' project with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider.
Torme, who's early career included stints with Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Ozzy Osbourne and Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), is assisted on 'Blackheart' by fellow musicians Chris Powell (Shark Island) on bass, Ian Harris on drums. Recorded in his home studio, the new album embraces the digital age of recording yet Torme cautions against paying too much attention to whats on the computer screen saying: "The prob is...in the past you could only hear things...visualization on screen has been incredibly problematic because people tend to lock in on problems that really have been on every record forever and no ones noticed."
Exploring new business models, Torme utilized pledgemusic.com campaigns to finance his last two albums. Torme states: "I thought initially it was a stop-gap but doesn't seem the business is in any way shape or form sorting itself out". While some established artists like Torme have found success using this method, he urges caution to those who might think it a cure all for the struggling music industry saying: "It's a new model that's been great for me. I would think it would be hard for a completely unknown".
Speaking on the excess of his 'Desperado' project with Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider, he recalls: "So, we recorded it, everyone is thinking 'great album'. A couple of tracks were played to the [at that time] CEO of Electra who said 'yeah, this is great"...a week later later he said "drop it". He continues: "That was at the height of the 80's, at that time every album had to cost an absolutely enormous amount of dollars or it wasn't a 'proper album'..."I think that album cost $400k or $450k." As to the work going into the album he states: "I think at the end we had about 85 songs, it was insane." 'Desperado' was ultimately released after an 8 year delay.
Concluding his record label experience he sums up with: "I've said it before & ill say it again, those people deserved Napster!"
For the full interview visit www.GuitCast.com. The GuitCast is a weekly podcast bringing you the latest news & gear reviews related to the guitar world along with interviews with the biggest names in guitar.
