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Interview with Vanilla Sky
1. We know that you like the sky of vanilla color. That was the reason for your decision to give such a name for the band? But a lot of time has already passed. What do you think about your name and your style now? Do you want to change anything?
VINX: I would change many things, yeah, and probably the name is not so attractive anymore but still is part of our dna as a band and as artists so I still respect it and I'm proud of carrying it around.
BRIAN: It's hard to say that we still like that name, cause, as you said, 8 years have passed, and we grew up a lot. "vanilla sky" for me is not anymore that image, but more the name of my band. When i pronounce it, i just think about us.
2. What was the reason of Luca and Francesco leaving the band? How did you find Jacopo and Antonio?
BRIAN: Francesco and Luca are not anymore in this project cause after 6 years spent together, our feeling was not the same anymore. We changed a lot during these years and we were not working together as we were supposed to do. This is something that came out from everybody of us. The day we decided not to be in the band together anymore, Cisco confessed to us that he was already thinking about leaving this lifestyle, cause of our neverending touring.
Right after that, we started doing many auditions to get new bandmates. After a long search, we decided that the best musicians we could find were Tony and Jacopo. After a first period of practicing with them, and living the band-life with them we also found out that they're such nice people, and we feel now like they're 100% part of the Vanilla Sky project. They also wrote some of the tracks in the new album.
VINX: Luca and Cisco had given a great contribute to the project till 2008, but at the beginning of 2009 we figured out we wanted different things from music and life in general. I must admit that touring and being in a professional band can be really stressing and put you under such a pressure that depression is waiting for you to fall almost everyday. Brian and I still believed in a serious effort in order to push the band further so I guess we all just made our decisions back at the time. Antonio was already known for being the bass player of another pretty known band called "Mas Ruido", and he had already worked with us as backliner from time to time during the Changes tour. Jacopo had collaborated with us during the Romans Do It Better charity project and was also pretty famous in the scene for being one of the most promising drummers. While Brian and I were already writing the new album we started interviewing musicians to rebuild the line up and we picked up what we thought it was the best for this project, musically, artistically, humanely.
3. After the famous cover version of ”Umbrella”, we heard the second sensational cover of ”Just dance”. It‚’s a really good job! How do you choose your "victims”? ;) and what inspires you for your own songs?
BRIAN: covering songs is just a nice thing to do when you have some time to kill. I normally play a lot of cover songs at home with my acoustic guitar. So there's not a real "plan" behind our covering songs. This is something we do for fun. When i write my songs I normally talk about personal esperiences, or deep thoughts. That's why I usually write them when I'm alone at home.
VINX: Well at the time of Umbrella we did it for fun. We already had a cover in our very first ep, A Thousand Miles from Vanessa Carlton, and because cover songs help you to spread out at the beginning when people do not know you we used to play those songs live, just for fun. We all know that Umbrella became the hit it is now, so after two years of silence and a split line up we decided to get back with another cover to make the people remember who we were and who we are. We're not a cover band and in the record those songs are always at the end of the tracklist, but we wanted to be sure people didn't forget about us because of the dark quiet 2009. So actually there is not a real reason for chosing the covers, we just play what we like as we have always done. Inspiration comes from many aspects of everyday life in general. In FRAGILE we've been overwhelmed with this growing up process of ours where we get older, more mature, we look back at the things we've done and we look forward at the projects for the future and we get stuck in this modern fast society which has mercy for no one but itself: in this record in fact we talk about past things like in the song Back or Changes, we talk about our future and our fears like in Future or 1981, we talk about love like in First Last Kiss or Colors, and we talk about family and life in general like in Frames.
4. What relations have you got in your band? What do you value in each other and what do you hate? What entails respect to a human?
VINX: Concerning relationships inside the band I think this is the best period ever. We all believe in what we are doing and we stand up in front of our troubles as one, I could never be happier in choosing members as we did with Tony and Jacopo. We do really value the effort and the true believing everyone is putting in this project from the inside, above all the new members. There is nothing I can say we hate at the moment inside the band cause probably is also pretty early to talk about it. You mean in general or regarding the band? Cause being in a band is really hard nowadays. You never have enough money to keep living and you must use every strategy possible in order to be attached to your dreams and hope and sometimes people get really selfish and forget of the ones around them who get hurt and suffer the very same situation. We just have to remember our limits.
5. You played a concert in Russia in April 2008. What was your impression? Do you plan to visit us again?
BRIAN: It's a long time since i'm not playing a show in Russia (and I'm sad about it!). But I remember that Russian people were one of the most crazy audiences we've ever met. They dance a lot and make a lot of noise. And after the show, everybody was offering me a shot of their wonderful vodka (which is much better than the one we have in Italy)
VINX: DEFINITELY! We can't wait to come back. We're trying to set up a new tour for this Winter and Moscow was an incredible show. We had so much fun we can't wait to see what the reaction of the audience will be for the new songs. Tohcka has been a very good venue to start our live career in Russia.
6. A lot of musicians who visited Russia say that Russian fans are the loudest and the craziest. And what do you say? Maybe fans from each country have individual features?
VINX: True. I'd never say a russian fan is the same as a japanese one for example, indeed I'd say they're the total opposite. Russians fans are really passionate and alive, they are loud and wild. We like that as we come from the alternative punk scene where those details are part of the dna we've been preserving for all this time.
7. What associations do you have when you hear the word "Russia”?
BRIAN: Russia for me is: Vodka (I loooove vodka lemon. I get one of them before every show), blonde people, Putin.
VINX: Well now I think of the beautiful women and the show we had, I guess before I just thought of Soviet Union and the communist system.
8. Do you watch FIFA World Cup 2010 attentively ? ;) Unfortunately Italy dropped out of a game. What team are you supporting now? (the interview was done before the end of FIFA World Cup)
VINX: I've been for a lot of African teams after the italian defeat, but now I'm probably more for Spain cause they're very similar to italian in the culture and in soccer. Most of the teams have a very physical tradition while teams like Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brasil and Argentina have always based the game on a real show and high techniques. I admit if Holland will win I'm pretty ok with that, dutch people are pretty awesome.
BRIAN: right now I'm supporting Spain and before I was for Portugal. I'm sorry that Italy is now out of the game, but they definitely didn't deserve to be there..
9. Everybody just talk about the premier of "Eclipse‚” movie (the saga "Twilight”). Do you like these books and movies? Or you have never heard about it? :D
VINX: Well everybody here knows it but I've never watch it, not even one. I like very much fantasy stuff and vampire stories but when I saw the first movie trailer I thought it was too much a thing for "teens" than for me. My elder sister though is in love with it. hahaha
10. And in the end, by the tradition of our magazine, your wishes to our readers.
BRIAN: I give to them the best wishes, and I invite them to buy our cd. Being a band is not that easy in times like these, so our fans should support us!!
VINX: We hope you guys will like our new record and we invite you all to our next shows to have fun all together. The show is made by the band with its audience so you make it possible. Keep following us online and keep reading this incredibile 'zine! Thanks to you all.
Vanilla Sky MySpace
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