Rock And Rage On Desperation Blvd

DESPERATION BLVD
Band • 2020 • Photo Credit: Gabriele Boz

Rock And Rage On Desperation Blvd

Desperation Blvd has arrived and are primed and ready to rock the world with their raging anthems.  Based out of Italy, the band recently presented their debut Self-Titled EP, and what an absolutely hard rocking masterwork this one is.  In addition to the superb main band, musical guests to be found within the sonic highways of Desperation Blvd include members of groups such as Bangalore Choir, Serenity, Temperance, Hardcore Superstar and more!  Highwire Daze recently caught up with guitarist Crown to find out more about the almighty Desperation Blvd!  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Desperation Blvd, and how long the band has been together.
Hi my name is Crown, I play guitars. I created Desperation BLVD with my drummer Hell in 2019!

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We live one hour away from Venice in an Italian region called Friuli. Actually our music scene is a bit sad due to the pandemic period. There are a lot of bands indeed but we don’t have enough rock and metal clubs as it was years ago. This is also due to the socials generation where it seems that the young guys are more interested in appearance than in a real r n’ r attitude and life style. Me and Hell are in our 40’s but we have the same energy we had 20 years ago when a lot of bands used to play everywhere!!!! Everything was richer in every aspect of music in our local scene.

Select two songs from your Self-Titled EP and what inspired the lyrics.
1) November Pain. 3 years ago I suffered an horrible tracheitis that lasted 11 months. I was so weak and I had to stay home a lot before being able to go out, so I was close to the point to get crazy!! Even if some reviews say that this is about the pandemic and lockdown, it is not. I had Covid-19 last month but it was not so terrible as the tracheitis man!

2) Henhouse Tales. It’s about a friend of mine that lives in U.S.A. He gets crazy working with a lot of women. He says that when they are together all the worst aspects of their personality come out! I hope he won’t hate me for writing this song thinking about him! 😀

Has any member of Duran Duran heard or commented on your cover of Hold Back The Rain and what made you decide to cover that song?
I don’t think they have listened to it but I would like to let them know about the cover. Well, me and Hell love Duran Duran, so he came out with the idea to cover this tune. I was excited and I had a lot of fun in rearranging it in a rock mood!

Who produced the Self-Titled EP and what was it like working with them?
It’s self produced. We want to have the total control on this band at least at the beginning in order to find the right label for our first full length due in 2021. We made a lot of mistakes with other bands during the years and we want to be sure to do the right thing this time. We are working only with the Mighty Markus Eck for a worldwide promotion. The guy rules! We are happy to work with him!

How did David Reece become involved with the making of the EP and what was it like working with him?
Another idea from my drummer. We wrote him and he replied quickly. He rearranged and wrote again some parts of the lyrics and both parts are very happy with the result! Another super guest. His voice is incredible!

Fabio D’Amore of Serenity also appears on the EP on vocals. How did that come about?
Fabio is Italian and was part of the Friuli scene in the early years of the new millennium. He was in a prog metal band, Pathosray and used to live 30 minutes away from my house. We are super friends. As you know he plays bass in Serenity now and lives in Austria but we are always in touch. Even if he is a bassman he is a great singer too, so as soon I asked him to sing Hold Back the Rain – he was on board and very happy to do that!

Alessia Scolletti from Temperance is amazing on the song Sorry (I Don’t Want You). What was it like working with Alessia and how did Alessia become involved?
I know Alessia for long. She is the girlfriend of Michele Guaitoli that is the sound engineer for the record. The both play in Temperance and ERA. We know them very well and usually have dinners with them so it was very easy to involve them. She made a great job and we are very proud of it!

Do you have a full time lead vocalist currently?
Not yet. We are writing new songs for a future release but we want to be sure to find the right guy/girl for the band. We had this 6 songs and didn’t want to wait to release them so we opted for a trio release with super guests!

What has it been like to release new music in the middle of a pandemic and so much social unrest in the world?
We can work only with socials now and with Skype to create new stuff. It’s a little ‘plastic’ but it is the only option now. Honestly, being and old school guy I don’t like all of this, but what can I do? 😀

What is a live Desperation Blvd show like for those of us who have never seen you before?
We never did one yet but I can assure you it will be pure r n’r and fun man!

If Desperation Blvd could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Guns n’ Roses and Motley Crue. My greatest inspiration. I think there isn’t anything else to add, two giants! Obviously a beautiful dream :-D. About actual bands I would say Hardcore Superstar and Crashdiet! We love them as hell!

Are you currently involved with any other band outside of Desperation Blvd and if so, what is going on with the band?
Me and Hell also play in REVOLTONS, the heavy metal band I formed in 1991. We love metal too and in this way we can fulfill every artistic aspect of our musical creativity!

What do you hope 2021 brings for Desperation Blvd?
A new album and tons of r n’ r shows everywhere!!!! Tours, tours and tours!!

Any final words of wisdom?
Words of wisdom? Covid-19 you gonna die!!!R  n’ r and metal will be stronger than before! Pandemic is Satan, music is God! See you on the road boys and girls!!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
Thanx to you ant to everyone who will read this interview! R N’ F R!!!!

LINE-UP:
Crown • Guitars
Matt • Bass
Hell • Drums

Guest musicians:
David Reece (Accept, Bangalore Choir) • Vocals in ‘North-East Boulevard’
Thomas Silver (Hardcore Superstar) • Guitar solo in ‘North-East Boulevard’
Fabio D’Amore (Serenity) • Vocals in ‘Hold Back The Rain’
Herma (Sick ‘n’ Beautiful) • Vocals in ‘Queen Of Heartache’
Alessia Scolletti (Temperance) • Vocals in ‘Sorry (I Don’t Want You)’
Claudio Coassin (Raintime/Fake Idols) • Vocals in ‘Henhouse Tales’
Mattia Martin (Bad As) • Vocals in ‘November Pain’

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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