Alan Tecchio: If memory serves, Jack suggested doing a Billy Idol cover and I picked the song. Flesh was always my favorite tune of his.
“Be” is a ballad. Had you done many ballads in the past, and do you think slower songs are a better showcase for your vocals?
I had never done an outright ballad before. Acoustic stuff yeah, but never a track like "Be." It was a challenge to write to keyboards too since I had never done that either. I suppose it does showcase the vocals a bit more than
a heavy tune does, but my thinking was that I wanted to have Amped be a well rounded metal recording. Some of my favorite metal records have many different moods to them and I wanted Amped to be like that. You know
stuff like Judas Priest’s Sin After Sin, Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, etc. Those bands were not afraid to be mellow at times and I respect that. Especially since many metal bands today are caught up in the whole
“heavier than thou” thing. "Be" was a very emotional song for me since I wrote it for my wife as a first anniversary gift.
What are Seven Witches tour plans for 2006?
In March of 2006 we will support W.A.S.P. in the Northeast for a week and then do two weeks with Demon in Europe come April. Sprinkled in there will be some extended weekend dates in California and Canada plus a few European
festivals.
How long have you been working for Steppin’ Out Magazine and what are your duties there?
I have been there for eleven years. My main gig is selling ad space but I wear a few different hats. I write a weekly nightlife column, a ski column during the Winter and a motorcycle column as well. I have decent graphic
art chops and am able to improve those at Steppin’ Out too. I am also a Motorcycle Safety Instructor for the state of New Jersey part time.
Are they good with giving you time off to do the music thing?
Well, I work on a straight commission basis so I am technically my own boss. That said, I have a weekly deadline so that is pretty hard to break away from. They are cool with me splitting for short spurts of time but it is
difficult to leave for an extended period. So as a band, we have to kind of work around my and Kevin’s schedules (he owns his own instrument and effects company: www.godlyke.com). Again, Jack has been understanding
about this stuff knowing that we all plan to push and support 7W as much as possible. It’s certainly more than I’ve done for any band I’ve been in over the last ten years or so.
