April 05, 2005

Interview with Dante Fox

The interviews on Strike Up The Bands have always been something I have really enjoyed working on and a lot of fun because we get to see the artists behind the music! Today we have the opportunity to get to know not just one, but all of the members of Britian’s own Dante Fox! I love to see the different personalities come to light and enjoy the banter between the band mates as they tease and joke with one another, even though it is obvious they care a great deal about each other and share one common goal … Great music and good times! I hope you enjoy this look into what makes a modern melodic rock band tick and we will keep you up to date on what’s happening with this band in the hot news section and in the bulletin board!

1. I always enjoy the start of these interviews when we get a chance to meet the people behind the music, and today we have the added excitement of multiple artists! So … I think we better get started by asking each of you to take a moment and introduce yourself, the individuals behind the music…

Tim
Hello my name is Tim Manford and I’m the guitar player co-songwriter and along with Sue the founding member of Dante Fox.

Sue
Hi everyone I’m Sue Willetts lead vocalist, co-songwriter and founder member of Dante Fox but of course I’m much younger than Tim.

Bryn
Hi I’m Bryn Jones bass player with Dante Fox I’m the youngest and the quietest in the band …(laughs)

Mick
Greetings everyone out there I’m Mick Hales and I’m the new drummer in Dante Fox and I’m not the youngest but I sure am the loudest in the band.


2. And now, please take a moment and introduce yourselves, as a group as the band Dante Fox :) and perhaps you could tell us about how you got together …

Tim
Dante Fox are a British Female fronted Melodic Rock band dedicated on producing quality melodic songs with great vocals and big catchy hook-lines. We have Two Albums available “Under Suspicion” from 1996 and “The Fire Within” from 1999 of which we’re very proud.

Sue
Dante Fox was formed as far back as 1988 when I wrote some songs and I was looking for musicians to play on the demos. Tim was just leaving a band called “Karrier” (who were also known as “Express”) and he jumped at the chance because he preferred the direction of my material as opposed to the heavier material he was playing in “Karrier”.
We signed a management deal and recorded a single called “One Night” which was produced by “Diamond Head” guitarist Brian Tatler that should have been released through a subsidiary of EMI but never was. Maybe we’ll re-record it as it was very commercial and instant.

Tim
I was then asked to take Brian Tatler’s position in “Radio Moscow”. We recorded the Album “World Service” but all the promises of being signed to Phonogram fell through so I left shortly afterwards.

Sue
We then concentrated on writing new songs in a very commercially accessible style. We realised that to get signed we needed to up our game. We finally got the interest of a wonderful lady named Linda Bruce from Ritch Bitch Studioplex in Birmingham. She had the first fully Digital Studio in Birmingham and had lots of contacts within the business. As soon as she heard the songs she offered to manage us.

Tim
Without Linda and her husband Rob Bruce there wouldn’t be a Dante Fox. We are eternally grateful for their help.

Linda was very ill for quite some time and she died last year. We attended the funeral and it was a fitting goodbye to an extremely special Lady.

Bryn
It was thanks to the demos from Ritch Bitch Studios that helped us secure our record deal with Now and Then Records or was it my good looks and charisma.

Tim
Our first album “Under Suspicion” was released in October 1996 and off the back of that we toured with ELO, Enuff Znuff appeared at Two Gods festivals played the Hard Shock Festival in Holland, The Antwerp Metal Convention and a short club tour of Holland. We then recorded our second album “The Fire Within” and mixed the album at UB40 ‘s studio DEP International. We toured the UK with Mitch Malloy and backed American Singer/Songwriter Stan Bush with his first ever UK appearance.


3. Your last album, “The Fire Within”, has gained a lot of respect and has become a classic in many fans hearts. So the next question is of course, what is happening with the new album we hear about? How many songs are written? Does it follow the sound of the previous releases? What can you tell us about it?

Tim
We have written 90% of the new album. The style and sound is classic Dante Fox but with a twist. We now have a rhythm section to die for in Bryn and our new drummer Mick Hales who has brought in a really powerful, thoughtful and very musical approach that has added a new dimension to Dante Fox.

When we discussed what kind of drummer was needed to replace Jon Cooksey I just said “Tommy Aldridge.” Mick’s playing is definitely from the Tommy Aldridge, John Bonham mode.

Bryn
In my view its far better cause we have pushed each other to get the best performances onto tape. Some of the Bass lines take me back to my original influences.

Sue
There are some really nice vocal harmony arrangements. One song is called “Goodbye to Yesterday” which starts acoustically and builds to a great chorus with lead vocal/ backing vocal interplay idea which we had never tried before. There is a song called “Love Tried To Find You” which has a wonderful Storm/Journey type of vibe to it with a Neal Schon inspired guitar solo. Other titles are “Hold Out your Hand” which is a good album opener cause it’s a rocker with an anthemic chorus and a nice Thin Lizzy-esq harmony guitar intro. Another is “Break Me Down” which has a swaggering bluesy feel and definitely is the heaviest track so far and is very Whitesnake in style.


4. On the last album you had both Tony Mills and Paul Hodson adding to the project. Are there plans for more work from them or other special guests on the new album?

Bryn
Not yet but never say never. It’s good and very rewarding to work with outside musicians.

Tim
Especially when they are in the calibre of Tony Mills and Paul Hodson. I think it would be great to have Tony to possibly contribute to some backing vocals simply because his voice is so well suited to Sue’s.

5. What else besides the working on the new album has the group been doing, live shows, promotions, writing new material?

Mick
We have been very busy rehearsing for the Firefest warm up show and our tour in June with Vixen. As I have only been in Dante Fox about Six weeks I’ve been learning the set that consists of songs from the first two albums as well as some new songs.

Sue
We have also been looking at adding a second guitar player to complement some of the textures Tim has recorded on the some of the new material that is definitely more guitar based than previous albums.


6. One of my favorite aspects of your music is the emotion behind the lyrics and the performance. When writing a new song do you work as a group, start with a lyric, a riff, what works creatively for you as a group?

Sue
Yes your right the lyrics to our songs are very emotional and they all mean a great deal to us. I am very passionate towards the lyrics because the songs will last forever.
New ideas can start from a chord progression or a riff from Tim or a vocal melody or even just a few words that can inspire something.

Tim
There are no rules in songwriting we write from the heart and it has to be true to us. All of our songs are like our babies to us because the songs are represent the good times and the harder times.

Bryn
There is no pacific way for me. I hadn’t heard any of the new material prior to recording so it was a case of running through and playing from the heart.


7. 2005 marks the sixteenth year for Dante Fox, a huge accomplishment and a credit to the music and you as musicians. Looking back over those years what advice would you give to a new group starting out?

Tim
Work hard and learn your craft in live work and songwriting .Be true to yourself and most importantly relax and enjoy it.

Bryn
Don’t give up and be true to yourself, keep your feet on the ground and Have Fun!!


8. The music industry has certainly changed over the last 16 years, budgets have shrunk but to balance that out technology and the internet have given artists the tools necessary to do much of the work on their own. How do you think the music world of today differs from when you where starting out?

Tim
When we first started out there were hardly any record labels apart from the majors so unless you were lucky enough to acquire a major label you had little or no chance of getting your product out.

These days we all know there tons of great Independent labels such as MTM, Frontiers etc.
Recording was very expensive in the 80’s where these days you can purchase a mini 16 track digital studio for under £2000 and have release quality recordings. I think the music-recording scene at the moment is very healthy.

Sue

Trying to promote ourselves back then was very time-consuming where as the opportunities the internet bring are fantastic. I think on the negative side that because there are all these melodic indie labels bands don’t tend to approach major labels anymore which I think is very sad.

Bryn
In some ways it’s easier with the internet opportunities as Tim explained but there is no substitute for hard work.


9. And, to keep going with that thought, what would you like to see happen in the industry over the next few years? Many believe the second dawn of Rock and Roll is here!

Tim
I would like to see great live bands playing classy melodic songs on prime time radio and Television and the artists getting the recognition they deserve.

Here in the UK there is definitely a turn around in interest of Rock music. Just look at the amount of bands touring in the last 12 months. I think there are exciting times coming for all of us.

Mick
Who would have thought that major talent such as Neal Schon, Virgal Donati would be gracing the UK stages. I agree exciting times ahead with mucho opportunities.


10. I really do enjoy your music, I wonder if all of you have a favorite song of yours that you could tell us why it is special to you and a bit of the history?

Sue
Yes my favourite Dante Fox song has got to be “Under The City Lights” because the essence of that song captures the youth and that moment when you realise you’ve fallen in love. That one moment when you know you want it to last forever.

Tim
My favourite would have to be “Firing My Heart” cause it’s a great up-tempo rocker with a classy chorus and a very inspiring break down section. And “Remember” for being the song I wish I’d written.

Bryn
“Still Remember Love” is a favourite of mine cause it was the first song I recorded for the band. “City Lights “ cause it ROCKS and “Lonely” cause its real smooth.

Mick
I would have to say “Still Remember Love” because of the vocal performance and the drums/bass interplay on the verse.

11. I would now like to turn the interview over to you and open it up for a closing message to the fans waiting to hear the next big thing from Dante Fox…

Thanks to all the fans for staying close to us through out this journey we really do appreciate it. Look out for our next album and new website and come and say hello at the forthcoming gigs.

DANTE FOX
April 2005


Mike DeJager has just joined Dante Fox as the 2nd guitarist to the line-up. Mike is a highly accomplished player both in the US, the UK and from his native country South Africa. A sampling of some of the artists that Mike has been involved with include: Simon Lees, Al Atkins, Brian Tatler and Dennis Stratton. The addition of DeJager should prove to give Dante Fox the rawer edge sound needed to complement the arrangements for the new album. For those attending Firefest be sure to check out the pre-show as Dante Fox will be showcasing some of their new material.

Welcome Aboard Mike!

Posted by Kathy at April 5, 2005 07:31 PM