Interviews

MR: The band was once called The Hollow. Is the line-up the same for both bands? Are there any differences musically between the two bands and if so what?

Matthew: The line up has always been myself (Matthew von Wagner) on vocals, but I have switched to drums for Alpha Galates. I always played drums on the albums, but we would use a live drummer before. Todd Lefever and Karen Wagner have always been in the band, but we added 2 new members Rowan MacPhail (guitars), and Harmony (piano/keys). The music is more epic, and has a lot more vocals (often everyone singing in 5 part harmony). We used to think of ourselves as more of a metal band when we were "The Hollow", but now we feel that there are no limits to what we can do.

MR: There has been a lot of hype and press about your new album. It seems like EMI is doing a solid job of promotion. How did the deal with EMI come about and what has it meant to the band to be signed by a major label?

Matthew: We can't complain about EMI. We are just happy the album finally came out! haha. Singing to a major wasn't something we had ever really thought about. But when they offered us a deal that allowed us to keep our creative control, we were more than happy to sign. You have to understand that we only make the music we want to, that is all we really care about. EMI has money to spend on things we never did, so that helps too, haha.

MR: What are some of your main musical influences? I hear a little bit of Tool as well as influences from classic progressive rock like Pink Floyd and King Crimson….

Matthew: Those are definitely big influences, but to be honest I wouldn't have enough room to list them all. I love ALL music. My real inspiration is movies to be honest. I always try to view song structure as if it was a movie. I love any great song!

MR: As far as musical ideas, do all of the band members contribute, or is the writing done by a select few?

Matthew: Myself and Todd are the main writers, and Harmony writes all her own parts. Some songs are written by one person, some by all of us. We really have no system.

MR: What can one expect for the live Alpha Galates experience?

Matthew: Alpha Galates live is loud, epic and sweaty! We try our hardest to give people our songs played to their fullest, and there are a lot of vocals! And 2 lovely ladies!

MR: What are some of your fondest memories of playing live and have you had a chance to meet and/or share the stage with any of your major influences?

Matthew: We opened for Scorpions at the Molson Ampitheater (Toronto) in September, that was unbelievable! My fondest memory was our CD release show last week. It felt great to be playing in front of my closet friends, with the people I love. ANY time we play is a great time.

MR: There are lots of solid lead guitar parts on your new CD. It’s nice to hear lead guitar making a comeback. How important is that to the sound of Alpha Galates and what do you thing of bands that shun any lead guitar in favour of using riff breaks etc.?

Matthew: I guess it depends on the guitarist. I hear a lot of shitty guitar solos these days, and a lot of amazing ones. People should never solo just for the sake of soloing. There HAS to be a reason that helps the progression of the song. Otherwise it is like the late 80's, when all the songs were was guitar solos. I think that guitar solos are being played in the perfect amount these days, haha.

MR: Are there any plans in the works for touring outside of Canada/U.S.?

Matthew: Well, nothing confirmed, but we are hoping to get over to Europe this summer.

MR: One of your songs, Natio I believe made it onto the soundtrack CD of the Halo 3 game. How did that come about?

Matthew: Virgin records put out the soundtrack, and we are on EMI (Capitol/Virgin), so i guess someone just liked the song and thought it would go great with the game.

MR: Has the band filmed any videos yet? If so, will they be getting played on MuchMusic or MTV in the U.S.?

Matthew: We filmed a video for our newest single, "standing" that JUST came out on MUCH LOUD. There are so few spots for videos on MTV and MUCH these days, I guess we have our fingers crossed that they will play it. It is on YOUTUBE and on our website.

MR: Where did the name Alpha Galates come from? Does it mean anything or just a cool name that someone thought of?

Matthew: A bit of both. It is taken from a secret society from World War II. I saw it in a book called "rule by secrecy" and i just thought it looked cool. haha.

MR: What’s in the immediate future for the band…..live shows/promotion….or both?

Matthew: We leave for tour in a few weeks, across Canada. Then, hopefully Europe. We do this full time so we are always doing something for the band.

MR: It’s unusual to find a drummer who is also the lead singer. I’ve only seen it in classic bands like The Eagles and The Band and even then, the drummer didn’t sing every song. Is it difficult to handle both duties and does it ever influence the song writing process as far as being able to properly reproduce the tracks in a live situation?

Matthew: Drumming is what I do, and have always done, but since I was originally JUST the singer, I had most of the songs written before I thought about playing and singing them, so I do get tired sometimes. I just love the feeling of playing, so I try not to think too much about exactly what I am doing up there, haha. I look forward to having a bit more programmed drums so I could get up and just sing a song or 2, but that is for a different album.

MR: Any thoughts/words of wisdom for our readers?….the forum is open……

Matthew: In music, play what you want to play, don't worry about money or fame. We have always been struggling to get our music heard, and have never ever changed what we have done for everyone, but that makes putting your album out that much sweeter. Seems like a lot of people think about "radio" songs, and trying to please someone else. Just please yourself.

In life, THINK FOR YOUR SELF, QUESTION EVERYTHING. This is our right. Don't believe everything you read.

MR: Thank you very much for taking the time for the interview and good luck with the new album!!

Matthew: THANKS TO YOU!!!

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