Интервью, полученное 4 декабря 2004г.

Hi! 

Hi! Here are Simone Rosseti and Ettore Salati ready to answer.

1. My first question is very traditional, though, nevertheless, I find it
important. So, above all, I'd like you to tell me of your first
acquaintances
with music 

Simone: I started in the eighties, I like much of the music of those years,
when I began to play, to sing and to write songs. My first efforts have
been to sing covers of Marillion, Genesis, King Crimson, together with the
friends who have been the very first line-up of The Nighwatch. But I wanted
to express my OWN feelings and I began to write music, and the result has
been the release of Twilight in 1998. I’ve been told to be a talented
composer, so I went on… However, also seventies rock has been important for
me, I've been told to be the son-in-law of Peter Gabriel, but when I was a
small boy I used to listen to David Bowie, the Beatles... "Abbey Road" is
still one of my favourite albums.
Ettore: I started when I was a child playing classical piano, but after
eight years I turned to guitar. As a guitarist I began playing with some
friends at school, and then I turned to be a session musician for other
artists. Being in studio and on stage with the other professional musicians
let me know Roberto, who also has been a session musician, we worked
together for a while and then he invited me to join The Watch. Marco, too,
joined the band this way. Tough I worked in music business playing many
sort of music, I have always listened to seventies rock, most of all,
progressive rock and fusion rock, since I was a child, and I was very
pleased to accept the proposal by Roberto! The very first prog record I
bought has been “Selling England By The Pound”, and after it many others
followed…

2. Why group The NightWatch has broken up? 

S: after the release of Twilight we toured Europe, and a couple of members
realized that being on the road wasn't their real desire. I understand, but
when you're a musician, it's fundamental to be on the road. Then it
occurred that some artistic choice grew different among us, and the band
parted. But I wanted to go on my way and I found friends who feel this job
as I feel it, so from the ashes of The Nightwatch, The Watch arose. We
think that the choice has been right, and this band now is stronger than
ever.

3. Where participants The Nightwatch play? 

S: I'm the only one left from the original line-up. I have still contacts
with the past members, some of them are working far from music or showbiz.
Others have kept on playing, but they wanted to be involved in music
different from progressive, such as contemporary classical music, I guess,
and they still want to.

4. You frequently compare with early Genesis. It pleases you, or
irritates?
(Personally it very much is pleasant to me) 

E: we all like very much the work Genesis did in the '70, that's for sure.
But if you ask us which are our favourite musicians, hardly you'll receive
answers like "my favourite guitar player is Steve Hackett", "I think the
best drummer is Phil Collins, I do my best to play like him". For instance,
I love Allan Holdsworth, Marco appreciates Jaco Pastorius above all,
Roberto listens to drummers like Neil Peart, Gavin Harrison, Weckl,
Colaiuta... I mean, we all agree about Genesis' greatness and they are a
band that for us represents a link among all our different tastes and
influences. So it sometimes happens that a song of The Watch require both
an individual interpretation by everyone of us and a group one, and that
the right choice brings you to play in a way that people identify as
"old-styled", in particular "Genesis-styled". So Genesis are an influence
for us as a band, but mostly a "common floor" on which we build our
musicianship. However, to be compared to a great band like them is
pleasing; it could be annoying when we feel that this comparison is
exaggerated and it comes not from having carefully listened to our releases
how their are in reality, but from convinctions that can be close to
prejudice. Sometimes explaining your artistic choices can be not so funny.

5. Whether You are familiar with musicians of the Italian progressive
music?
(Mangala Valis, Malibran, Moongarden, Theatre, Shogoth) 

S: We know some of them and with some of them we worked a little. I was
asked to collaborate to a song for a soundtrack which was written by
Cristiano Roversi from Moongarden, I wrote melodies and sang them for a
song called “Tripping”. We know also Gigi from Mangala Vallis, because he
runs a show focused on progressive rock for a cable TV here in Italy and
I've been invited there a couple of times.
E: In some international festivals we played together with DFA, Il Balletto
Di Bronzo, Consorzio Acqua Potabile, and we know they are all nice guys!
Probably in the next future we'll organize something together for the live
side. You know, musicians are always spread all over the world, and it's
not easy to meet each other, so we hope to have a little time to spend when
we tour together.

6. Whether You know that group Citizen Cain (http: //
www.progressor.net/interview/bell_cyrus.html)
plays very similar music? And the vocalist of group Cyrus is
indistinguishable
Simone Rossetti and Peter Gabriel? 

S: we heard about Citizen Cain, but I didn't listen to their releases. Only
hope they do their work with honesty, just like we do. About the similarity
of my voice to PG's one, that's because my own vocality is like this. If
you listen to me singing a song by Supertramp, like we did during the last
tour, my voice is always the same, the timbre doesn't change... and when
you listen carefully to our albums, the differences between me and Peter
rise up. I don't know how Cyrus' voice is, they told me he's very similar
to Gabriel, but I hope that the fact is the same for him. Collins himself,
when he started to sing as a lead vocalist, was similar to PG.

7. How you concern to followers Genesis? (Rael, Citizen Cain, IQ, Simon
Says, Marillion (83-88), Twin Age, Plackband)? 

S: in reality I know just Marillion, and I like them, in particular
"Fugazi". The matter is that we are not fanatics about progressive rock,
and I don't search for every band that is said to play prog or to be
similar to Genesis. And I don't look for every musician who plays a style I
like. Every musician has his influences, me too, but I like to listen to
and be influenced only by the most important artists, by the giants. 
E: everyone of us in the band agrees on this opinion. However, surely
Genesis meant a lot for Marillion, and this can be easily heard, in
particular I think that Peter meant a lot for Fish.

8. Whether There are videorecordings group? 

E: there are only some occasional shots of our gigs, but there's not enough
material to work on by now. This is one of our next aims, during the next
tour we'll record some digital videotapes and we want to work on them to
release a live video. You know, we have very intense live shows, including
the visual side, there are still fans of The Watch who haven's been able to
see us on stage, and it should be good to let them "watch" our
performances, even if comfortably sitting... Well, coming to a concert is
obviously much better!

9. How public at concerts accepts YOU? 

S: we always have been very well welcomed, in particular in some countries
like Northern Europe. And I mean audience but also the managements from
abroad, the whole staffs… meeting so many people involved in the
organization of prog rock festivals who work hard and believe in what their
doing is really rewarding. And when you hear so many people singing your
songs together, that’s very very rewarding. And it often happens that we
meet odd persons we like very much!... when you work in the prog rock
business, you had to be almost mad! We are, too, and we like people like
this...

10. Whether It is a lot of people at concerts? 

S: Yes, yes! We are very proud of it! The fact is that everyone who
appreciates our albums can't miss our live show, so there are many many
people who travel hours and hours to come to see us at a concert, and the
result is that the venues are always full. Last time we played we've been
interviewed by two journalists who came from America, but we were playing
in Europe! Surely we dont' sell records like popstars do, but everybody who
likes us want to come to our gigs and they are able to do almost
everything...

11. What favourite groups at musicians The Watch? (name please even on 5
groups) 

S: musicians I like to listen to are Bowie, Beatles, Supertramp, Genesis,
most of all, and some rock groups from the '80, for example Tears for Fears
and Toto. Instead I don't like prog-metal and something like this. Roberto
is a real rocker: he likes Rush, Marillion, drummers like Bill Bruford and
so on!
E: I really love Led Zeppelin and some others from the '70, like Genesis
and Pink Floyd. I like also fine song-writers like Peter Gabriel (I mean,
his solo albums) and Billy Joel, plus some rock-fusion musicians: Allan
Holdsworth, Mahavisnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Al Di Meola... Marco, too,
appreciates fusion and psychedelia, he loves Jaco Pastorius and bands like
Ozric Tentacles.

12. As musicians concern to modern progressive movement (I do not
recognize
the term neoprogressive) (the Flower Kings, Spock ` s Beard,
Transatlantic,
Ines, Magenta, Cast) 

E: to be honest, we heard about them and we listened to some of their
album, but we are not very familiar with them, I know a little of Flower
Kings and Spock's Beard. I know better Transatlantic, I think their albums
are good, and it's curious to see how musicians of the new generations turn
back to the past in styling. In fact Transatlantic sound vintage, even if
the production is up-to-date. Probably our releases sort the same
impression on prog audience! The defect I found in Transatlantic is that
their songs are too long and they can be a little boring, and it's a defect
I found in many prog rock artists. The Watch try to be immediate and
energic, and this is why our albums are not long. We prefer to let the
music flow freely and not to be stopped by the mind! With long songs you
risk that your mind stops the feelings that should come down directly to
your heart and your belly... it's a matter of energy flowing!

13. Whether You like King Crimson? (I hate them ??) 

S: well, not so bad. I sang a couple of songs by them when I started
singing, together with the Nightwatch. Twilight is said to be influenced by
King Crimson, and it's somehow true, even if perhaps it's only because of
the guitar tracks, that are played in a Fripp-style. I like Crimson the
less in albums when it seems that they are obliged to be anti-melodic,
anti-harmonic... However, "In The Court Of The Crimson King" was a good
album, also because of the choice of timbres, it's full of mellotron!

14. What hobbies at musicians, Besides music? 

S: We live in Milano, which is an industrial town, and we all miss to be in
touch everyday with nature… so that’s why we all love trekking on mountains
and in general to live open air! Sometimes we go trekking for some days all
together, the Alpes are really amazing and we are lucky to have them close
to the town we live in. When we are in tour we try to visit natural parks,
we've been in Sweden and Finland and we trekked a little, the landscapes
were fantastic!
E: we all love nature, even if we are not so busy with sports! But we do
the best we can... Simone has a bicycle with which he travelled half Europe
and Roberto can’t get enough of riding his horse, while I  love my own
“steel” horse, my motorcycle. And we are all interested in some other areas
in arts and knowledge: Marco is a cinema-addict, Simone in interested in
science, I'm involved in martial arts.

15. Whether Who has professional music education? 

E: I earned a professional degree in modern guitar, and then, before
joining The Watch, I played as a session guitarist, I wrote a rock method
published by BMG. Marco earned degrees both as bass player and guitar
player and like me has worked as a session-man, Roberto too. Learning is
important and you have to work hard before getting results you wanted to
reach, there’s no sweet without passing through bitter. But in reality we
don’t mind about degrees and stuff like this, I know musicians with a dozen
degrees but who don’t understand deeply what playing means, while I know
self-taught musicians who keep music completely in their hands (and in
their heart). Roberto is like this, he’s considered one of the best
drummers in the prog rock scene, and he deserves it. Hendrix was a
self-taught guitarist. And what about Simone, who writes the composition of
the Watch?
S: I look before in my heart and then I start sitting at the piano… don’t
need a degree…

16. What basic specialities at participants of group?

E: I can say about music specialities in this way: Roberto is the technical
element, the one who is the more advanced in technical skill. Sergio is the
one who wants songs to be elaborated, he's born to thicken harmonies...
Marco lets you think about how things are coming out, because he has a very
trained ear, and he feels how a tune will be before it's arranged, a
perfect role for a bass player. I am the one who wants to add something
that could develop some odd atmospheres, little notes hard to be heard, but
that I think they can change the perception of a tune, I like to work on
timbres. Simone writes the compositions, so he's the one who always says:
"This means so, the mood is like this..." and he's able to ask you to
change an instrumental part three times a week... he's always precise,
maybe too much!
S: I think that The Watch are now stronger than ever also because everyone
of us has a strong personality, not only as musicians, but as persons, too.
The human side is important when you're a member of a band, above all if
it's a rather important band, beacuse it means you have to work hard every
day together and spend much time together. As musicians, we have our points
of view, that have to meet. I wrote the tunes and when we arrange them,
it's important that each member of the band understands what I want to
express with those harmonies, so that the instrumental parts come out as
they like and as I think they can properly express the mood of the song.
And it always happens, because we all click at once, a fast glance is
enough to understand each other.

Well and some questions from my familiar from the different countries of
the world:

17. Are there any plans to play in the USA?

S: There are plans about, but nothing yet very well defined. It will depend
on how much Vacuum will sell, so buy, buy! Our US dealer is The Laser's
Edge, their web site is www.lasercd.com and maybe we will plan something
with them for the live side.

18. Do they like old Genesis or TMB better ???

E: We like Genesis. TMB play very well, they are funny and we respect their
highly professional work, but nothing more.

Okay, here are a few questions for the group: 

What have all of you been doing between "Ghost" and "Vacuum"? I wasn't
sure
there was going to be another CD by this band, (which, by the way, I
happen
to enjoy immensely). 

E: thank you, we are aware that many people around the world were waiting
for another album by us. Unfortunately, the production of Vacuum has
required more time than we thought at a first moment, but we decided to
take our time, because we wanted not to release something we were not
completely convinced about. With Vacuum we think to be at our best, and if
some months more had occurred, well, the main important thing is the
result. We've been working in studio for about a year. Before entering once
again the StudioLab, we had to set the line-up, because it has changed, and
then we toured. We've been almost in the whole Europe, mainly in the North,
where we have a great support, and we also went to Mexico for Baja Prog. It
was amazing to be there, we met a lot of nice people we'll always keep in
our heart, the support and the management were strong.

Besides early Genesis, what other bands' music inspires you in your
writing?

S: as we told before, Bowie and Beatles are among my favourite musicians,
so maybe you can hear these influences, most of all in Ghost and Vacuum.
You can find in both albums two tracks which are quite different from the
others, I mean “Riding the elephant” and “Deeper still”, that are said to
be close to Peter Gabriel’s solo efforts. It’s partially true, but these
two tracks were inspired also by something else I like, the British dark
rock scene, like the Cure and Depeche Mode.

Do any of the band members read music? 

E: we read music, but we prefer to work in ear-training. Five lines are
seldom enough to express completely what some notes mean, in particular for
guitar. The danger inside these five lines is that you start to read and
immediately forget what you are playing! And what you want to express…

Describe your current stage show. What could one reasonably expect at a
"Watch" concert? 

S: a great impact, both on the sound and visual side. I have always had a
theatrical attitude, so when I'm on stage I'm interpreting all the songs we
play, and this means costumes, make up, scenary and many odd lights, which
are synkronized with the music... We always try a strong schedule, we don't
want to have our audience to reflect too much on notes, but let the music
flow freely in their bodies... the same thing we try to do with our studio
releases.
E: About the sound, it's strong because we play different intruments: for
instance, I often play a double-neck guitar and with my feet I play bass
pedals, while Marco sometimes leaves the bass to use electric or acoustic
guitars. Most of keyboard works comes out from analogic instruments: Moogs,
Mellotrons, Hammond and so on. Simone plays the flute, too, and he sets for
voice effects by himself while singing. Much of the sound, however, comes
from the magic hands of Simone Stucchi, our producer and sound engineer.

Will you be doing any prog cover tunes on your current tour? 

S: we played them in the past, tunes like "Get 'em out by friday" and "know
hwo you are" by Supertramp, now we are preparing a new live schedule which
will feature a little cover "surprise"... come to see us on stage!

Will you consider making a live DVD in the near future? 

E: we want to, our efforts will be concentrated on that side. During the
next tour we'll be recording audio and video tracks and then we'll consider
what we'll have in our hands and we'll start to work on it. As we said, we
think that our live shows are worth to be seen even if comfortably sitting,
and we'll work for it.

What other musical projects are members of "The Watch" involved in? 

S: The Watch keep me busy almost the whole day long, so I seldom have time
to other projects. I worked on some soundtracks and for music in medical
therapy. As a vocalist, I precedently sang in other bands, but that has
been when I was almost a child... in reality this project keeps me busy
since many many years.
E: as a session musician, I worked with a lot of bands and vocalists. But
wen you're into prog-rock, things are different and there are not many
cross-projects. "Your band is the most important band!"... just to say that
you develop your efforts for your band and hardly to other projects.

What are some of your thoughts on the current state of progressive rock
music in general, and what's the scene like in Italy at the moment? 

S: We are not very close to the Italian progressive rock scene. However, we
can say that on the human side, the scene is strong because there are many
people who believe in what they do, both musicians and listeners. Prog
albums don't sell much as in the seventies, we all know, and it's hard to
find bands which release for major, apart from the giants of the past. On
the other hand, we don't like releases which are considered to be good only
because they are prog-styled. There are so many albums close to home-made
productions, and that's a pity, because many listeners don't understand the
difference from a home-made production and a real studio effort. Surely
it's sad to see musicians who are considered so important while their
musical proposal is in reality very weak, like it happens in the MTV
charts, but on the other hand we don't understand the choice many prog
bands do to be out of the main rock scene, to be out of "market"... you
have to fight, please don't leave the battlefield!

Do you find that you are able to make a decent living just playing
progressive
music, or do you have to do other, non-music related work to keep bread
on the table? 

E: By the moment, The Watch are not enough to earn a living, but we all
work in music in different roles, the good thing is that we are all
involved in this area, however. Keeping on walking your own way surely is
difficult, but it’s worth. We have to devote some hours of our days to
other audio productions, but our efforts are concentrated on The Watch
project. I am also a music teacher and a music consultant.
S: I work mainly as a composer for The Watch and for other projects like
soundtracks. I also have musical-therapy projects, and I think to be lucky
to work with disables, because you can learn much and understand much, that
music has a fundamental role in every person's life. Anyway, we are lucky
to be surrounded by music all our days long; it's hard to combine your
everyday life with music, but there's no life without music.

Big Big Thanks 
Evgeniy









  



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