Igor Piattesi

Vicolo Inferno

Mailinterview

07.07.13

Vicolo Inferno @ Facebook
Vicolo Inferno @ MySpace

Igor, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Here we go...
Thank you too, it’s a real pleasure for me…


Your first album  Hourglass  was released on May 28, 2013, through Logic(il)Logic Records. Are you satisfied with the feedback you got from the fans and the press until now?
This CD is like a part of us and it accompanied us for most of our band history, it followed us in our growth, so for us it has been a great satisfaction to have the opportunity to publish it; then I must say that the feedback is very positive. The most beautiful comment that I have heard several times was like: “I have the CD in loop in my car and I can’t stop listening to it”… for us it’s not really important just to have a positive technical review, but to know that people want to hear the songs again and again after the first listening, it’s real satisfaction!



The album is amazing, congratulations! I like your lyrics very much. Who wrote the songs, what are they about, what were the inspirations?
Thanks... thanks a lot! I wrote all the lyrics and each of them tells a different story that comes from different inspirations. The main theme is the difficulty to break with our past and  Hourglass  song, namely the elusiveness of modern life, tells that we must re-learn to appreciate small things, to make sure they don’t pass without leaving a trace. Regarding the music, it is different for each song; we don’t have a fixed pattern, sometimes we started from a chorus vocal line and the music followed, sometimes we started from a guitar riff and I tried to adapt some vocal lines and lyrics… every time was different.

In general, we start from a single inspiration and every member of the band adds its own contribution… if an idea is good we keep it, otherwise... "Hey man, you're out!”, *ahahahah*!







From the musician's point of view, could you please tell me: what were the most important experiences and impressions on the way from the very first ideas to the finished CD?
One of the best experiences has been the growth of the songs in studio... this time we had time to develop ideas, taking some time in the studio to arrange songs without the time pressure typical of most recording situations. I think the recorded songs are reflecting this process.



There are 10 great tracks and I have my special favourites –  Earthquake  and  Hangin' On The Blade. Could you please tell us a little bit more about the origin of this songs, respectively about the lyrics?
Of course… the most melancholic and the most angry, well... two faces of the same coin. Both songs are inspired by events tested on our skin.  Earthquake  is a manifest of the fact that we are guests on this earth and not masters, and damn, Mother Earth often reminds us this hard lesson; the earthquake in Haiti (and nearly to us in Aquila and last year in Emilia), has shaken our minds and left all shocked. We have tried to put these images in music.

The lyrics for  Hangin’ On The Blade  were written after the death of a dear friend who often followed our live gigs; needless to say he was too young to go, and I tried to bring back the anger that I felt towards life, that many times is fierce!!!



The CD cover fits perfectly to the album-title. Who had the idea for it?
We are happy and proud of the cover, the final idea came from Alex Crini, our artwork designer: we gave him the input of what we wanted to represent, "time slipping through our fingers", and he came up with this image, hitting the center of our expectations.







Are there any plans for a video clip for one of the songs?
Surely a video clip is in our plans, but for now we give priority to other aspects of promotion of the album; there is an idea to make an animated video clip for  Tombstone, in collaboration with artist Stefano Landini (DC Comics, USA) who already created a cover for the single, which was used for our merchandise; we will see if it will be realized in the next months…



You surely will showcase Hourglass  live on stage pretty soon. Do we have a chance to find Germany listed in your tour-schedule, too?
Yes, we’ve already started to promote  Hourglass  on stage in Italy and it would be very nice to go out of our borders!!! We are just looking for contacts to make this happen… and which better land than Germany to offer our music??!!!



What does this first full length album mean for you – did a dream come true?
It’s an important goal, the result of our sweat and passion, but at the same time it’s a starting point, the right way to spread our name and our music.



Marco Campoli and you founded Vicolo Inferno  and you started as a cover band, right? Could you please introduce the members of Vicolo Inferno  2013 and tell us a bit more about the history of the band?
Yes right!! When we formed the band, some years ago, we used to cover great bands and play a lot of gigs, but those were other times… anyway, this has thrown the basics of the band and then we began to write our own songs. We had another line-up since 2010 that has changed too many times... but me and Marco never gave up, because we believed in the songs that we were writing. The new lifeblood of Daz on bass guitar brought us to finish the tracks and record the album; finally we also found a drummer to complete the project, Alex LR.



Where are your roots (read: in which style of music), and which bands would you name as your influences?
My roots are planted in the Classic Hard Rock, but in my life I’ve listened to a bit of everything from the age of 15: from Progressive Metal to Pop, from the Melodic Metal to Black Metal, from AOR to Grunge  (Alice In Chains)… many of these influences came from my friends’ word of mouth and others from my father’s old tapes, from his love for Alabama’s Southern Rock.








Your voice impressed me very much, it sounds awesome. In which age you've started to sing, and when did you start your career as professional singer?
I’m honoured by your words… thanks so much!!! I began to scream under the shower at the age of 18 and then I started taking vocal lessons in 2003, in the same period when Vicolo Inferno  project began.

10 years have passed and I think I have found my own personality, but I never stop learning; then I must say that the singer is insecure by definition, I often say before a gig “Sorry guys, this night I have no voice, shit!!”, and the band usually answering: “Oh, the same old story, no problem!!!”, *ahahah*! I don’t feel like a professional singer, but I believe a lot in what I do!!!



If you would have the free choice to select a duet partner, female or male, across all music styles – which singer would you choose?
Ahahah, nice question, but very difficult to reply… too many names are turning in my mind to choose just one… Eric Martin, Jeff Scott Soto, Jorn Lande, Glenn Hughes, Gary Hughes, Klaus Meine and many more… Uff, you put me under pressure! Two other names out of our hard rock music… Alicia Keys or Joss Stone… greats talents, passionate voices and so gorgeous girls… what else?!!



What do you prefer:
- Studio work or live performances?
Studio work is very interesting, formative and, for a short time, it’s very engaging… but the energy you can feel on stage is always better!

- digital download or physical CD?
... digital what??!! I don’t understand ;) Maybe I’m too old-school but I still love listening to music on physical CDs.

- spaghetti or tortellini? ;-)
I live in Romagna, land of great tastes next to Bologna… tortellini all my life *ahahah*!!! With cream and bacon.








What CDs are spinning in your CD/MP3 player the most these days?
Right now, Black Stone Cherry  discography, H.E.A.T.’s  album  Address The Nation, all about Jorn Lande and Russell Allen. I’m very interested in our underground local releases, there are many good bands in our area, where many of our friends militate… we try to support each other!



What is on your plan for the future - short term and long term?
In short term, we want to play on stage as much as possible promoting the new album: we have already some good ideas for new songs, one of which almost ready.

Finally, in my mind there is the desire to create a rock opera linked to the history behind the name of Vicolo Inferno, a project that might be too ambitious and that will take a long time... for me it would be a dream come true!



Is there anything you would like to add to the interview?
If you find us some good contacts to play in Germany, we promise you to come to your house and play a full unplugged showcase just for you… it’s a threat *ahahah*! ;)
- Note from Marion: wow, what an awesome offer! ;-) -



Thank you very much for this interview. We wish you and your band-mates all the best and much success with the album!
Thanks to you too for this nice interview, I enjoyed a lot talking to you!




Photos: No. 1 ©2013 by Igor Piattesi / No. 2, 3 & 4 ©2013 by Alessandro Gentilini

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