Nalle Colt, Richard Danielson, Rick Barrio Dill, Ty Taylor
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We have all just been through Christmas days while listening to your new song “Santa Why”. It feels like an equality anthem to me. What drove you into writing this track? What 2017 has brought you so special to deserve a Christmas song?
Ty Taylor – I was driving down sunset Blvd and saw a huge billboard with a sad poor child looking up Santa asking: “Why do you give more to the rich kids than to the poor kids?” It hit my chest like a ton of bricks. Made me sadly realize how early we set children on a path of believing that the rewarded are those with deeper pockets. We thought, as a band, by creating and releasing this song we would be doing our part to stop classism that gets set into our beings from the time we are toddlers.
I really enjoyed your shows in Imola and in Milan and I can easily compare you to The Allman Brothers Band. You do have an extraordinary talent in capturing your audience. Who is your performing role model? Has this changed over the years?
Nalle Colt – Thank you. Well, I’m not sure about the comparison to The Allman Brothers Band… As a band, a great role model is Ike & Tina Turner’s band. Great live band and the energy they put out. Our influences changes with time individually of course but Ike & Tina always been close to our hearts. Personally I like Gary Clark Jr. a lot. He’s got a good mix of new RnB style and dirty blues, and he’s great guitar player.
May I ask you if Ty Taylor is always so full of energy when is off stage as well? And what about rehearsing?
Ty Taylor – Energy, passion and excitement have always been threaded in my fabric. Music makes me dance and I get-off on the process of creating. My body still thinks I’m a kid so when we are working out arrangements I literally have to concentrate on standing still sometimes in order to listen and feel objectively. A blessing and a curse, it is, I tell you. When I was a barely walking I was already the boy doing flips from bed to bed, swinging down clothes lines and back-spinning on cardboard boxes. I hope that until the day I die I am connected with the part of my soul that wants perpetually spin. I’ve always been a big fan of Warner Bro’s cartoon: the Tasmanian devil.
You were the opening act to AC/DC for their “Rock or Bust Tour”. How does it feel to perform in front of such a huge crowd? Was it your lifetime dream? And what is your next most important goal?
Richard Danielson – To play in front of so many people is surreal to say the least. But at the same time it’s really just another show in many ways. You can’t over-hype your emotions or you play stiff. You have to remain calm on the inside no matter how wild you’re feeling and showing outward. And for that tour the crowds were so large that you can almost lose a sense of the massive scale of people before you. It become one incredible breathing giant that ebbs and flows as you as if you’re the conductor, which as musicians we are. It’s such a beautiful dance, really. And It’s definitely a dream to play in front of such large crowds. Something I think most young musicians dream of when they’re practicing in front of the mirror copping rock star poses wile playing air guitar or drums. But as you grow up and actually conquer this great beast, then believe it or not, a small gig in front of only a couple hundred people can have just as much allure. Or even smaller. To be in intimate settings can have an impact that’s just a profound. I can’t say I actually prefer one over the other. I think our goal as a band is to continue affecting people through music. And it’s always a challenge to stay true to your vision as well, and yet allow yourself to evolve within that. And we must always have fun at what we do. That is a goal always. Seek the love and enjoyment and the rest flows so naturally.
I am particularly interested in your memories of the show in Imola, during that tour: you conquered 90.000 people back then…but the same applied to your show in Milan last summer. I couldn’t find any substantial difference in these two gigs though the venue and the audience were so diverse. May I ask you what show did you enjoyed the most and why?
Rick Barrio Dill – to be totally honest, I have strong memories of both of those shows for different reasons. Imola was one of the largest audiences we have ever played to as a band and the overwhelming energy of it all was something you dream your entire life about. It’s something of a dream realized and is something that will be incredibly special to us forever. But Milan is equally special and memorable because the city itself is sexy and so worldly that even though the crowd size was smaller, it felt like we had a connection with everyone there on a deeper level. I remember how many gorgeous people were in the crowd and were dancing and connecting with each other, it also is something that sticks out in my mind in the best way possible.
Now your Italian fans are counting down the days to the 19th of January when you will rock the Phenomenon stage in Fontaneto D’Agogna. Why don’t you anticipate us a little bit of what your fans can expect from your next visit? Perhaps an acoustic set?
Nalle Colt – We love Italy and truly wish we could play there more. Our Italian TroubleMakers are amazingly supportive. There is a lot cities we yet have to discover there. Regarding the set, who knows? We are always spontaneous and you can always expect 120% from us.
Since your debut in 2010 you managed to tour with huge rock acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bon Jovi, Brian May (Queen). What experience has been the most rewarding for you so far and why? What have you learnt from them as far as performing in front of these large crowds is concerned?
Richard Danielson – I think the most rewarding aspect of these incredible tours we’ve been blessed to be a part of is the validation that comes with them. We’ve been made to feel like whatever it is we’ve been doing is working well. That is a very rewarding feeling. And to be given such opportunities makes you really step up and take ownership of who and what we are as a band. So it’s rewarding but continues to challenge us is ways as well. We not the like of band that will ever rest on our laurels so-to-speak. We feel inclined to step up our game constantly. As for what we’ve learned from performing in front of large crowds is to stay true to what we believe in a and who we are as a band. An example would be the gig we played at Hellfest, which is primarily a metal festival. In the middle of our set we played our slowest and possibly most heartfelt balled. This was in a time that we felt the message of the song was something that needed to be heard, and it ended up being a highlight of the set.
We can’t help asking you if you if you have witnessed to any strange ritual in one of these backstages…
Rick Barrio Dill – We have been blessed to have shared the stage with so many incredible artists, there are a lifetimes worth of memories. The one that pops in my head first is Briand Johnson and the guys from AC/DC coming to meet us at the stage before going on in front of 120K people in Spielberg Austria and right as we were walking to the stage saying to us: “don’t fuck this up boys”.
And who would you like to tour with next?
Nalle Colt – We got to do a show with The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park London. I would love to tour with them for awhile. I’m a big fan!
You have been awarded of a very interesting label, I mean “a modern-day answer to Otis Redding”, whereas your music has been defined “a formatted recklessness”. What achievement, review and/or criticism you are the proudest of?
Ty Taylor – More than the comparisons to my heroes, I love Tye reviews that call me “The World’s Best Party Host”. I love getting spirits to vibrate on a higher level and conjuring bodies to gyrate feverishly. I am tickled by the honor of being asked to sing in the concert of at The Apollo Theatre in Harlem The is honor of Otis Redding 50th Anniversary of his passing. I used to hate it when people would compare me to other artists as descriptives but I let that ego thing go and allowed myself to dig into the goodness that is being associated with the greats. Hopefully one day someone will compare an up-and-coming to me.
What can we expect as follow up to “Knock Me Up”? I am very curious to know something about your next album…
Richard Danielson – We’ve got about 16 new tracks that we’ll be putting out a couple songs at a time starting real soon. There are some definite stompers like “Knock Me Out”, as well as some various new looks for us. We spent some really amazing days in the studio recently just being recording artists, trying things, exploring various aspects of our influences both old and new. So we’re really mixed it up quite a bit on this one. We’re excited to release these new babies out into the world. So look for these new VT songs soon, and then stay with us as we’ll be releasing new material about once a month or so until we have enough for the whole record, then we’ll compile it into album 3.
Before saying goodbye, could you please leave a message to your Italian fans and our readers?
Rick Barrio Dill – we are so blessed with so much true love and passion that comes at us from all over the world, but there really is something a little extra that comes from our latin TroubleMakers from all over. Italy was one of the first places to bring us into their homes in such a sexy and strong way, we can’t wait to give that same amount of intensity and love back to you as much as possible.
Richard Danielson – Italy is my favorite country outside of my homeland. In my humble opinion you have the best art, the best wine, the best food, the best sea (with the Mediterranean) and such a vast a storied history. The Renaissance started in Italy. Come on! Not to mention that my daughter and her lovely mother are of Italian decent and we spend time in Italy every year. So, needles to say, I’m in love. And the people, as Rick said, we feel so much of your fire and passion. It’s a place we always look forward to playing.
Nalle – I can’t thank you enough for supporting and digging our music! I’m a dreamer and the fact that I can come all around the world and go to Italy and play guitar in front of you all makes me so HAPPY! I love You!
Thank you for your time!
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