The NAMM Show 2017 Interviews – Margarita Monet from Edge Of Paradise
The NAMM Show 2017 Interviews – Margarita Monet from Edge Of Paradise
Edge Of Paradise is a compelling hard rock/heavy metal collective based out of the Los Angeles area featuring the bewitching Margarita Monet on lead vocals, Dave Bates on majestic guitars, and the powerhouse rhythm section of Nick Ericson on bass, and John Chominsky on drums. So much is happening with this exciting new band – on the verge of unveiling their next magnum opus entitled Alive through ILS/Universal Records, Edge Of Paradise is slated to trek across the Atlantic in September to perform at the Femme Female Metal Event in the Netherlands, headlined by the one and only Delain! We recently caught up Margarita Monet at The NAMM Show in Anaheim to find out more about Edge Of Paradise and their wondrously epic artistry! Read on…
Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in Edge Of Paradise.
I’m Margarita Monet. I’m the singer. I also play the keyboards and songwriter.
What are you the most excited about with NAMM this year?
I always like to see what’s new and the cool stuff that the companies are coming out with. Also I keep in touch from people from all over the world and everybody comes here if they work for certain companies. I met some people from the Netherlands, from Germany, from Italy so that’s been really cool. It’s a very cool kind of Christmas for musicians.
Is there any overall story or concept behind Immortal Waltz?
The whole concept is we always try to make our music positive and have a positive message and the message is that we only have one life and it’s up to us what we do with it. We’re always at this constant dance with life and death, but it’s really up to us what we do with it – we are in control ultimately.
Select any two Edge Of Paradise songs and tell me what inspired the lyrics.
“In A Dream” was actually the first song we recorded and wrote together as a band. That song means a lot to us because we were in a dark place, we were still trying to figure out what to do and it’s hard thing to start a band so, that song is about escape. It’s about just trying to escaping real life and going into your dream. It’s a very positive song and it’s kind of like, you create your own world, but then you can make it a reality if you keep doing what you’re doing.
A newer song, I guess “Alive.” It’s gonna be on our new CD. These days are a very digital world and you don’t really get to interact with people a lot. I think people sometimes forget that they’re alive. Sometimes just walking down the street, just look around and take it all in. The next day you’re going to be old and “I was alive!” [laughs]
How will the music on this new album compare to the previous?
I think our music has evolved a lot. It’s a little bit heavier, most of the songs are in a 7 string guitar now so the sound is more heavy. Also I think as a singer, I’m a much different singer now, because I’m actually a classical pianist, so I never imagined I’d be in a heavy metal band. [laughs] I think I really found my voice now, I think it showcases my abilities more. I think I found my style. So I’m excited for people to hear it. The songs – I don’t want to say they’re better but it’s an evolution. It still sounds like us but if you like KORN and Rammstein with a female singer, that’s Edge of Paradise.
What can one expect from a live Edge of Paradise show?
It’s epic. It’s theatrical, and definitely dynamic, because I love basically a dynamic sound. Kind of bring people in on the soft parts and then really hit them hard with a huge heavy metal sound. I try to put my heart and soul into everything I do whether it’s recording or a live show. So we’re definitely just bringing our all on every show. It’s epic!
If Edge of Paradise could open for any band either now or in the past. Who and why?
My biggest inspiration is Ronnie James Dio and unfortunately we can’t open for him now, but I would have loved to. Iron Maiden of course, right? We love so many bands – like I said, we’re fans of Rammstein and KORN. Also, these days In This Moment is cool. Halestorm, I like female fronted bands too. I’m a fan of Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat, so – there’s a lot of great acts out there that would be great to open for.
What was it like working with Robin McAuley on Mask?
Robin is awesome. He’s a really good friend. I didn’t work with him, Dave had a band with Robin before he met me. So, he actually wrote a lot of songs with Robin, but then Robin went on tour with Survivor and Dave never released the songs. So we took those songs and I sang them and that’s how we started this band. But I know Robin too, we’ve hung out with Dave and Robin, so he’s a really cool guy. I think he’s a great singer.
What are you looking forward to the most about the upcoming Femme Female Metal Event in the Netherlands with Delain?
I’m a fan, and I heard they’re great people. We’ve been really looking forward to going to Europe for a while now. We’re finally bringing the band over there and we just heard a lot of good things about Delain. So I’m excited, I think we fit good together and I heard they’re great people, so I think it’s gonna be good.
What would you like a listener to remember most after hearing your music for the first time?
For us, we always want to make it an experience for a listener. When they listen to it, it takes them to another place and leaves them with some sort of positive feeling whether it’s a heavy metal song or a ballad, whatever it may be. Just kind of take them through the emotions like a roller coaster of musi.
If people want to contact you, how would they get a hold of you?
We’re very active on Facebook. You can message us through our FB page, and our Instagram, Website and I always try to answer everyone. We like hearing from fans and friends. What’s been really cool is when you tour, you meet a lot of people and you kind of become friends. Now we have a huge group of friends!
(Interview by Ken Morton – NAMM Photo by Jack Lue)
Edge of Paradise on Facebook
