An Interview with the Members of Salem Hill

Salem Hill is:

to the interview

1) Carl, Kevin and Pat: Tell us a bit about your background and influences.

CARL: I was a late bloomer. When I was 11, I heard The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” (10 years after they recorded it!) and immediately knew I wanted to create something like that. I took guitar lessons for about three months and was in various outfits throughout high school. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Belmont University and got my Master’s at Middle Tennessee State University.

My rock influences are quite…narrow. I love most bands that begin with a “K”! Kansas, King’s X, Klaatu, King Crimson. Most classic progressive rock thrills me (Yes, ELP, Tull, etc.) Certainly, the Beatles still inspire me. Late 19th/early 20th century classical music (Mahler, Stravinsky, Bartok) excites me. Currently, I find myself primarily listening to King’s X, Marillion, or Mahler!

KEVIN: My background & influences… I got my first drumset when I was 12. It was the biggest surprise of my life, as it was a Christmas present, and we were living in an apartment! From that point on, I participated in all the school bands. I had my own three-piece rock band, and we played all the rock that was happening at that time. In the quest for more challenging music, I went on to college to study jazz improvisation on mallets and percussion. During those years, I played a considerable amount of jazz and pop music in the club scene. My wife and I moved to Nashville, TN in 84′, and I attended Belmont College, where I met Carl in an improvisation class. After a period of time, the drummer left Carl’s original band which he had formed, and he invited me to join. He was already pursuing a different sound, and I think this band was the vehicle by which he could define and perfect his writing skills.

My influences are many; the most prominent ones would be THE BEATLES (which will always be my favorite band), followed by KANSAS, and KINGSX. I have respect and admiration for so many bands that it is hard to accurately pinpoint all my influences without starting a small catalogue! The music which moves me most often are those bands that create a new style, like THE POLICE, STING, and especially KINGS X, the most underrated band of all time! The drummers that have most influenced my playing are Phil Ehart-KANSAS, Neil Peart-RUSH, Don Brewer-GRAND FUNK, Steve Gadd, and Jerry Gaskill-KINGSX.

PAT: Influences: Rush, Kansas, early Journey, W. Blake, Genesis, HP Lovecraft, Ozric Tentacles, A. Rice, King’s X (CS Lewis of course), Return to Forever, Zeppelin, TS Eliot, S. King, Yes, beer

2) How would you describe the music of SH?

CARL: Although labeling can be a really dangerous thing, I have no qualms about labeling us “progressive”. I write in a very classical way, and I think Pat’s songs are quite formal, although I think he’d deny it and growl at me! We approach our stuff in a symphonic way, all three of us. I think if you singled out any one of us in a track, you’d hear something that could stand on its own as a musical idea, logically thought out, not a subordinate or throwaway part of the song.

KEVIN: I would describe our music as sublimely spiritual; the lyrics quite often dealing with some aspect of life’s struggles or internal conflicts. Musically, I would say that we are a fusion of classical form and progressive rock. If we must categorize ourselves…Claprock! 🙂

PAT: Salem Hill continues to push the musical boundaries set forth in the ’70’s, yet with ’90’s accessibility. It’s the type of music you secretly pine away for when turning on the radio…

3) What or who inspired the tunes of SH 1 and 2?

CARL: I’ll spare you the tediousness of going into a song by song explanation. Most of my tunes are written lyric first and I’m usually inspired by a book, a story, the news, a dream, etc. Rarely will I write just to write. On SH1, “The Dilemma” is about an examination of how we view regret. If we could go back and do things over, what would be different in the present? My brother, William Neagle, wrote the lyrics to “In Between the Two” based on The Talisman, a book by Stephen King and Peter Straub. (I’ve never read it!) BTW, Bill also did the painting which is the cover of our first album. I’m particularly fond of “Evil One”. It’s probably the closest we’ve ever come to actually recording what I had envisioned. Most of the other songs of mine on SH1 are experience or reflection songs.

On SH2, there’s more bitterness. Pat and I share writing on that album 50-50. Of my four tunes, 3 of them are quite cynical. “Brave New World” and “There’s Always Canada” are songs lamenting what I perceive to be the “ethical muddying” of America. Right no longer being called right, and God forbid someone ever saying something is actually wrong. “Same Planet, Different Worlds” has to do with betrayal, apostasy. “Can’t Let Go” is a song about the struggle within one’s self to do what he knows he should but a very big part of him won’t let him do it.

KEVIN: Since I did not write any of the tunes, I will not comment on any except HANDS AND FEET, which Carl wrote for me, describing, from my perspective, the talks we had and his eventual conversion to Christianity. It’s a beautiful, well-written song.

PAT: Speaking only for myself, inspiration came mostly from my previous musical and reading influences. I’ve always been inspired by music & other subject matter that is widely exposed but rarely understood. Boredom & stagnation are my muses.

4) Robbery Of Murder is quite different from the Band’s previous efforts…a distinct shift of mood from the light into the dark. What is the story behind The Robbery of Murder?

KEVIN: This story was inspired (prompted) from a real occurrence. Carl is best suited to describe the motivation behind this concept piece.

CARL: Actually, the story is based on a real tragedy that occurred to a lady I once worked with. Her husband and young son were out driving one day when they were hit by a government truck. Her husband was killed, but the boy survived. The little boy was in a severe state of denial about his father’s death. He would stand at the window in the afternoon waiting for his dad to come home. He would ask his mom “when’s daddy coming home” which sent her into quite a sad state. Incidently, no fault was blamed on the government workers, and the mother and boy received no compensation. The story inspired me immediately. I think I wrote it all in about 5 weeks.

I added several elements to the story, obviously. In The Robbery Of Murder, the driver who kills the boy’s father is a drunk driver (I’m not sure if alcohol was a factor in the actual story.), and the boy’s denial turns into a myopic quest for revenge in his adulthood.

5) The Robbery Of Murder is a concept album as is your new CD, Catatonia. What is the motivation behind the release of “concept albums”?

CARL: Speaking only for myself, I really enjoy writing thematic material. I find I enjoy most albums in which the material stands as a collective rather than a conglomeration of unrelated songs. Of course, I think that this is true with epic songs, also. I think that many of the true masterpieces of the rock era are either concept albums (“Tommy”, “The Wall”, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”, to name a few), or well-developed, thematic songs (“Close to the Edge”, “Supper’s Ready”, “Closet Chronicles” “Bohemian Rhapsody”, etc.) Of course, this isn’t to say there aren’t some really cool recent or current concept albums (“Brave”, “3 Sides to Every Story”, “Amused to Death”, etc.)

KEVIN: Once again, I am not the one to ask about motivation. Though I do not write, I tend to be a “sounding board” for ideas or direction. I will venture to say that one motivation behind these united compositions is Carl’s desire to unite classical with rock, where the form (Lyrics and music) are stated, developed and resolved.

PAT: They really must have a strong story line. “Operation Mindcrime” and “2112” are great examples of that. I feel it’s possible to be successful with them today (Smashing Pumpkins), but it also seems that the attention span of the public is quite short. On the other hand, I don’t think radio would shun tunes which stand out on their own. “Awake” of our new album is a tune I can hear by itself. I also feel that the market is hungry for this kind of stuff as there’s nothing like it out there.

6)Tell us about your new CD.

CARL: It’s called “Catatonia”. It’s about a person whose dreams no longer exist, figuratively and literally. He has never dreamed. While still a child, as a sort of compensation, he found he had an ability to self-induce a catatonic state whenever he wanted or needed to get away. However, as he gets older, he finds that this “gift” has its negative points: With age, it becomes increasingly harder to leave the catatonic state. So, in fear of being trapped in Catatonia forever, he abandons these “trips”. After years of a mundane existence, and a realization that there are very few “real” things in life, he “resigns from living” and voluntary enters “Catatonia”, knowing that it is quite probable he will never be able to leave. (Certainly you don’t expect me to ruin the end?!)

KEVIN: This project is by far the most mature, ambitious, and challenging music we’ve done. For me it was the most difficult to perform. Sometimes I think Carl really tries to write things that I will have a hard time performing, just for the fun of it! There were some very tough parts to play on CATATONIA. Since the drum tracks were recorded last, it was incumbent upon me to make it sound like we were all there together. Pat threw in many interesting bass parts for me to “compliment”, as well. His bass playing on this project is incredible! This music is powerful, emotional, pensive, lush…it has many facets which are not revealed with just a few listens. The words and music go deep, and will be “fully” appreciated by those who are spiritually minded. THE JUDGMENT is a masterpiece!

PAT: This guy’s pissed off, disillusioned. I feel that he’s actually a reflection of “Man”, dead to everything–a “Christian atheist”–he knows the truth but is driven and dictated by the world. He’s looking for something real.

7)Each SH recording has been different. Where do you see the band going musically?

CARL: We’ve always been a little diverse. We never sit down and say, “okay, how about this sound, and this direction…” . Rarely do Pat and I write together, so when tunes are first heard by the whole band they’re fairly well fleshed out. All three of us arrange and make suggestions, and there are times when the suggestion is to throw the poor thing out. The songs have always written themselves, basically, and that fact alone guarantees musical diversity. I think you’ll notice that on the new album. For example, we start the album with a fairly straight ballad, and the next song is in 7/4 much of the time with an extended development section. And the album continues with that diversity. To me, that’s what I’d like to see us continuing to produce; music which is meaningful and interesting.

KEVIN: Hopefully, in the same direction! Not necessarily all concept cd’s, but songs which utilize the elements of theme & development, with strong melodies and lyrics.

8) What are your views on the world which surrounds you and specifically the “popular” music of today.

CARL: What a dangerous question! Actually, I like a lot of pop music, but it has to be very artfully done. I like a lot of the stuff Aimee Mann does, the Cranberries have their moments, Joan Osborne. Also I think a lot of stuff which gets labeled as “pop music” is far more. For example, I don’t think it’s accurate to label Sting, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, or Peter Gabriel as pop artists. It is a testament to their craft that I adore much of their music although many times I vehemently disagree with the sentiment of their lyrics. To me, that is a truly great indicator of art: to be able to say something so well that it moves a person, even when they disagree..

I think incredible bands like King’s X have been laden with so many labels people are confused. Sad, considering how great they are and how few truly great acts there are in today’s music.

Now for the negative stuff! Although I’ve listed a few artists which I feel transcend “pop music”, by and large the music I hear being produced today is simply uninteresting. I’ve heard a billion love songs, a billion “thank you for being there” songs, a billion “anti-this” and “anti-that” songs. Plus, they were actually done well the first time in the 60’s and 70’s! I want melody. I want originality. I want subtlety. I want craft. I want art. It seems as if boasting of one’s lack of musical ability is the gauche thing today. I think that is insulting to every player and writer out there. Plus, it “dumbs down” the public to where they feel okay about eating candy all the time, not knowing that there’s real meat and potatoes out there!

KEVIN: I like some of the popular music today; but most of it is meaningless, and will soon be forgotten. Perhaps the world today is a metaphor for the vast wasteland of bad music being created. It is interesting to me that the more technically advanced we become, the more primal and unmusical the music becomes. I don’t know why that is. The only pure American music, jazz, is largely unappreciated here; it’s too complicated for this generation. In my opinion, the great musical works from any era are those which come from the inspiration of someone who is not afraid to defy predominant musical idioms of the day.

PAT: Sucks. Next question.