Shannon might not be a band that’s a household name but if you’re a fan of Classic Melodic Rock 80s style, then you owe yourself to check out Shannon’s World Of Desire EP! Guitarist Patrice Louis took time out to talk about Shannon’s push to make a name for themselves, as well as providing details on the new album!
MER: Hello Pat! Thanks for taking the time to speak with Metal Express Radio and your fans.
Patrice Louis: Hello everybody! It’s a pleasure to talk with music fans.
MER: How would you describe your music?
Pat: Melodic Hard Rock with refrains which hook you. 😉 Our music is tinted with Hard Rock from the 80′ s and with an actual sound. For our first album, we were compared to Danger Danger, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard. With our new songs, we’re compared to Dokken and Pink Cream 69. Hard Rock is rich and diversified and, for example, on our first album, we did not lock ourselves into a single crenel, with one song you can think about Firehouse and with the next one about Pretty Maids. The next album is in the same vein; when you listen to our music it is less boring. In many cases, the melody dominates above all … it is the most important!
MER: What story is behind the band’s name of “Shannon,” which seems Irish in nature?
Pat: Ha, ha … it’s often a question people ask … good, they talk about us (lol)! First of all, Shannon is the Ireland’s longest river and in Celtic Mythology was also a goddess, and it’s a female first name too … so, it sounds good and this is why we chose it, it fits well for us and for our music! Nothing more …
MER: Some Crew members here at the station have made comparisons of Shannon’s sound to classic 80s Krokus. How do you feel about this?
Pat: Thanks, I take it as a compliment, cause I love and admire this band. It must be true cause you’re not the first to say that. I suppose that Olivier’s [vocalist] color of voice helps to make this comparison and songs like “No Better Times” accentuates this. However, on the first album, nobody said that.
MER: Do all the 80s comparisons to Shannon’s sound offend anyone in the band?
Pat: Absolutely not! I listen to Melodic Hard Rock everyday and I won’t be able to live without this music. I get a lot of pleasure listening to CDs released 20 years ago and with the actual productions too. It is the media, which banished this kind of music from the musical landscape for the benefit of Grunge and Metal. The young people have liked it and are not interested in classic Hard Rock, but all the kids which came to see Dokken, Van Halen or Cinderella in stadiums 20 years ago, still like this kind of music. Moreover, all these bands are still here in spite of splits or some changes of musical orientation, Van Halen, or Great White and Scorpions are still playing good Hard Rock and there are a lot of other examples! Thus, no, nobody in the band is offended ‘cause it’s a deliberated choice; we do the music we love!
MER: What’s the current music scene in France look like?
Pat: Not so good. France was never a real Rock country with regard to our German or Spanish neighbors, but as I said, kids go to see shows but not for classic Hard Rock Bands but for Metal Bands. Thus, our audience is between 30 and 50 (the same which moved in masses to see Def Leppard and other bands, most of them do not come anymore to shows for several reasons (job, have kids or don’t listen to music anymore …), so there’s a small audience for shows here. Great bands like Thunder and Royal Hunt play in front of 100 people … and nowadays, bands avoid France! It’s a pity cause there’s a lot of good bands in France, but it’s hard to tour.
MER: Your 2003 debut album is seeing a re-issue in 2007. Who’s distributing it and did the associated record deal cover just the re-issue or perhaps future new albums as well?
Pat: There’s no deal with a Label for this release! We’ve got some problems with our first Label and we did the new edition alone. It’s available on our MySpace page.
MER: Will the re-issue see any remastering or tweaking of any kind or any bonus tracks?
Pat: No, It’s the same album we released at the end of 2003. We released it again cause it’s no longer available and a lot of fans want to buy it! Sure, to add some bonus tracks could be good, but we had no time with our forthcoming album to do something like that.
MER: The band recently released a 5-track demo entitled World Of Desire. It’s seen some rave reviews from the press. How have fans responded thus far?
Pat: All the reviews about our EP were good and enthusiastic, it really pleases us ! We have more and more fans and it is also thanks to you MER and to all the passionate people who officiate with their webzines all around the world. Our music is compared to the music of DOKKEN, PINK CREAM 69, TNT, BON JOVI, KROKUS, FAIR WARNING, TREAT, XYZ. And fortunately, there are always fans of these bands and when they listen to our music, they are pleasantly surprised and are very satisfied to see that there are still musicians who play this kind of music.
MER: World Of Desire has a nice production quality about it; where was it recorded and mastered?
Pat: We recorded it in our home studio and Thierry (keyboardist) did the whole mix. It sounds good, it’s true, but the album will sound really better. I can tell you that the sound will be different!
MER: What’s behind the artwork on World Of Desire as the painting of a sword might lead curious listeners to jump to comparisons to Epic Metal bands like Manowar?
Pat: Ha…if they are really curious, I hope they will listen to our music too and they’ll see that it’s not Epic Metal at all ! … lol It’s different cause there is a woman’s face and not a warrior as Manowar’s artworks! The artwork defines a Rock ‘N’ Roll side with the dagger, the snake and the melodic side by the woman face. It was drawn by Marc Leroy, a really talented guy. In another interview, they said that it looks like Mötley Crüe’s Dr Feelgood artwork… in any case, everybody agrees to say to us that it is beautiful!
MER: Any plans to record the next full-length album?
Pat: We’ve finished the recording and mix is on its way. Some labels were interested some months ago when they heard our demos and I hope they still are. The marketing of CDs is changing so fast, which everything can change from day to day … so, wait & see!
MER: Any exciting tour plans or perhaps festivals you guys are scheduled for?
Pat: No tour, but some shows in September and we’ll be at the Raismes Festival with Gotthard, Koritni, and Glenn Hughes.
MER: Has MySpace helped spread the word about Shannon?
Pat: Yes. It is a great tool because a fan who reads a review or an interview, and I hope that it will be the case with those who read these lines, goes directly to our MySpace page and can hear 4 songs (3 new songs and one from the first album), see photos, read a biography, read other reviews, buy our first album or/and our EP and can stay at home. They can even contact us by e-mail or put a comment on our page. Openly, I find it really good for young bands, if your band is not a well-known band, and for fans to discover new bands.
MER: In closing, any last words for your fans?
Pat: Well, Thanks for reading till the end! I hope to have given you the envy to discover Shannon and do not hesitate to go to our MySpace page or onto our Web site to talk to us. I thank you because without you, we could not share our music!
MER: Pat, thanks for your time!
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