Multi-platinum selling band SKID ROW will embark on a full Australian tour this October whilst also hitting Auckland New Zealand. It will be the first time Australian fans get to see former Dragonforce singer ZP Theart up front and he will be joined by guitarists Snake Sabo & Scotti Hill, bassist Rachel Bolan and drummer Rob Hammersmith! We talked to ZP Theart about joining Skid Row, the tour to Australia and much more.
Metal-Roos: You have had a hell of a life and career so far! Growing up singing along to Bon Jovi and Skid Row in South Africa, move to the UK to chase your dream, achieve that dream through massive success with Dragonforce. Then you make, what most would call crazy, decision to leave… start a new project I am I, get involved in Pentakill and now you’re sharing the stage with some of your idols fronting Skid Row…wow!
ZP: Hahaha! I know right! Hahaha, it’s crazy when I think back about it…
Metal-Roos: So, let’s start with performing with Skid Row. Was it intimidating at all? It seems like you grabbed the mic and ran with it…
ZP: Man, I just knew the material so well, and now I had a chance to sing them live and not in the car! Hahaha, but since I was so comfortable with the songs and the guys are just so welcoming that it felt easy.
Metal-Roos: It took a year of feeling out to see if it was a good fit, did you ever doubt it would happen?
ZP: Everyone is people, you know? They had to make sure it was the right move for them, I had to make sure it was the right move for me… But I didn’t really think about whether it would happen or not. I just rode with it and enjoyed my time singing the songs of my childhood. I wanted it to happen especially since I got on with the guys so well…
Metal-Roos: I saw the announcement happened while performing, with Rachel announcing the news from the stage… was this planned? Did you know that was about to happen? How did that feel?
ZP: No! I had no Idea!! Hahaha, I was like “You could have let me know”. Hahaha. It was a shock for sure, but just being on stage with those guys is still a shock, everything seems so surreal.
Metal-Roos: The guys in the band talk about you respecting the history of the band. Is this to do with how much you love performing the material?
ZP: Oh yeah, like I said I grew up singing those songs it was like second nature to me. Skid Row is the soundtrack to every dumb thing I did in my youth! Hahaha, they have always been a massive part of my life.
Metal-Roos: What was the first Skid Row song you jammed?
ZP: Oh man, now you’re asking… I think it was Youth… they asked me to prepare six songs and I was like: which six? I already knew all of their songs, so we just started jamming and it was fantastic.
Metal-Roos: Can you tell me anything about the final installment of the United World Rebellion trilogy? Have you been able to do any writing for the album?
ZP: Man, we’ve been so busy with playing shows in the US and over in Europe that we have had barely any time but we have a few ideas. In fact, there is writing to be done after the shows we have coming up, at the end of this week. We’ve been to Michael Wagner’s these past couple of weeks just jamming the new songs, getting the structures right, and writing more and more hoping to have a whole bunch of sings so we can whittle them down for the album. But as time allows we squeeze something in every minute of the day, there’s no lounging around. We gotta roll!
Metal-Roos: When writing lyrics what are some of your inspirations? Most lyricists take a view of the world around them and make statements on that through their own personal lense, is that what you do?
ZP: Dude, it is that! There’s a lot of things in life that interest me and I take something from all of that and throw it in a hat. Whether its’ some sort of storytelling or something that pissed me off during the day, you know, there is literally something around every corner to draw inspiration from and you can see where it leads.
Metal-Roos: So, you don’t set boundaries for songs? Like you don’t go in with a theme in mind and stick to it?
ZP: No, absolutely not. Sometimes you have a title and you wanna write around that title, but then you get to the end and you look at the title, re-read what you have and go “Shit, that has nothing to do with it”. You know?
Metal-Roos: Do you scat or free flow to find melodies?
ZP: Usually I come up with a whistle of a hum, start phrasing rubbish words over it just to get the phrasing. When I originally started writing lyrics you would read them and think “Man, this guy has some psychological problems”. Nothing made sense and it didn’t go anywhere. I was just looking for phrasing and exclamations, plus some words just sing better than others.
Metal-Roos: I loved your cover of “You’re the Voice”. By the way are you a John Farnham fan?
ZP: Oh, it’s a massive song. I was on the way to Australia, actually. On the plane I had the whole middle four seats to myself with my Ipod on shuffle and woke up with this song jamming in my ear. I thought “Oh, man, I haven’t heard this for years”. It was such a warm feeling. So, when I went back to the UK, I said “Lads, I got an idea”. We just took it from there…
Metal-Roos: So, touring… having so much experience on so many different levels and different venues, not talking about your voice, what are three of your dos and don’ts for succeeding as a touring musician?
ZP: Ummm, well, Dos and Don’ts… I don’t adhere to any rules, man. So, some nights I party way more than I should, and the next day I pay the price. I don’t have any dos or don’ts, I’m not one of the guys that will walk around with a scarf around my neck all day to avoid a cold, hahaha. I think that’s all bullshit. As soon as you start thinking that you have to do or not do things to prevent something from happening, then you’re already falling down the cliff, man. I think in the beginning you would over-stretch yourself and not really knowing how to sing. I tried that throat coat stuff and couldn’t stand it to be honest with you… all the lozenges and all the crap are just placebo. When you go up there and tense up, you’re doing yourself damage. Some nights when monitoring isn’t right, you sing louder so you can actually hear yourself instead of just turning it up. By the end of it you know you shouldn’t have done that. It’s all a learning experience. No-one started off at the beginning with a book of dos and don’ts its more a book of hits and misses and how to make it to tomorrow…
Metal-Roos: Did you use the couple of US dates as warmups?
ZP: Dude, we tour here all year long. It’s such a massive country with so many people, then we take a month off and go to Europe or Australia, the UK, but the rest of the time we are here touring the States. We’re in the fortunate position where we do a lot of fly in and fly out dates. None of the tour bus malarkey where you sit on a bus for six months… haha
Metal-Roos: How was the UK in August?
ZP: Oh great! It was warmer this time! Which was awesome. We made it to Dublin this time which was awesome. Last time we tried to play, it was snowed out. The boys flew in from the States and their plane was the last to land for the day, and I was taking the piss saying “everytime I have to travel the furthest to go to any gig when we play the States, and now I’ve only got 40 minutes just across the Irish sea”. Then it took over 24 hours to get there on a bus because it was snowing so bad… so, it went from me heckling them to taking twice as long but it was great man. We had a run of shows earlier in the year, which is why we unfortunately weren’t able to finish. Then we came back and word of mouth had spread like hellfire. People were very excited we were back, and I was so bummed out that I couldn’t finish the first run of shows. I was very ill and it was the first time ever I had to pull a show in my entire life. There were only three shows left and I didn’t want to let the guys down, but I would prefer to pull the shows and rest up than wreck all the hard work and great shows by having three bad ones at the end of the tour. People will focus on the bad shows, they will take the piss and all that hard work would be out the window. So, we decided to pull and come back, we had the shows booked like a week and a half later. We were always going to make work of it. When we went back there people went crazy. So, we are going back in January.
Metal-Roos: Crazy! Well I guess it’s better to be busy than bored…
ZP: Totally man! That’s it! And especially in this climate to be a touring band and to be able to be out there and do it is a blessing.
Metal-Roos: Looking forward to coming over to Australia?
ZP: Oh shit, yeah, dude! This is the first time coming over with Skid Row…
Metal-Roos: It’s a quick fire tour, will you get a chance to have a look around? Do some sightseeing?
ZP: Man, I don’t think so. It’s a really really busy one. My family live in Australia, so I’ll visit them when we go down to Melbourne. I have a bunch of friends coming to Brisbane and I’m super keen to get down there with these guys and how crazy the Aussie crowds down there, you know, that it’s gonna be a blinder!
Metal-Roos: Then you’re off to Auckland for a show, is that the first time to NZ?
ZP: I’ve been there before. I think in 2007 we played Christchurch. That was the first and only time I have been there so keen to get back.
Metal-Roos: Those long flights can be a pain… Have you moved from the UK to the US? Is that on the cards?
ZP: Man, I’m so settled here in the UK. I like leaving the US and going back home, you know? I live in the middle of absolutely nothing, my nearest neighbour is over a mile away. I get home and it’s absolute bliss, and I appreciate that. I grew up on a farm as a kid, so I got used to the space and the quiet. I am down to come over here and work my ass off for the band. Then take a break and go home for a few days de-compress, then come back and do a show. One more thing, hanging around these guys, there’s no pressure, it’s just a relaxed atmosphere. They’ve been friends for over thirty years and if they haven’t sorted their shit out by now they never will… Hahaha, it’s amazing hanging out with these people man.
Metal-Roos: Did you ever set our certain venues as targets when you were beginning your career? Have you achieved those goals?
ZP: Man, I didn’t know any of the venues to be honest. Growing up down there I was so detached, all I ever saw was from videos. But the first thing I ever wanted to do was Download. I just wanted to get on the download stage and that would have been me done. On 2006, we played the main stage at Download; that was a blast, totally amazing. In fact, that was almost the first show I ever missed! I had tonsillitis and was in the emergency room till about 3.30 in the morning trying to get medication but there was no way I wasn’t going to walk out to play the main stage at Download. You would have to shoot me but from what I remember it was a phenomenal show!
Metal-Roos: Apart from every single night, have there been any tour highlights, or shows that were extra special for you with Skid Row?
ZP: Dude, every single one. We did this StoneDeaf festival in the UK which is like a Monsters of Rock one day thing and that was a highlight so far. It was really well organised, just a bunch of local dudes, putting their heads together saying they want a great festival and to do it the old way. We had a fabulous day. As far as shows go… we’ve done so many!! I think it’s like 300 shows in three years…hahaha crazy!
Metal-Roos: If I can ask about your decision to leave Dragonforce for a second. It was such a brave move as the band had developed a strong following which is difficult to achieve. Especially in metal. Then you walk, did you have anything lined up? It’s obviously worked out for you now, but how did it feel at the time? It must have been frightening…
ZP: Well, I wasn’t doing it anyway, so it wasn’t really a big jump… hahaha, I was in a place where I had nothing to lose. I had nothing lined up. Frightening is not the word… it was a hell of a lot more than that. But I had reached a point where I questioned myself everyday and had to do something about it.
Metal-Roos: I’m completely out of time but I have to ask one more thing. You’re singing for one of your all-time favourite bands, not only once as a stand in but the official front man. Now you are about to make an album with them… that’s kinda hard to top… what else do you want to achieve in music and Skid Row? What’s next for ZP Theart?
ZP: Hahaha! I don’t know man! Give me a Grammy! Hahaha
Metal-Roos: Thank you so much for chatting with me today!
ZP: Cheers! See you guys soon!
Skid Row Australian and NZ Tour Dates
Thursday 18th October BRISBANE Eatons Hill Hotel
Friday 19th October MELBOURNE Prince Bandroom
Saturday 20th October SYDNEY Manning Bar
Sunday 21st October PERTH Astor Theatre
Tuesday 23rd October ADELAIDE The Gov
Wednesday 24th October AUCKLAND The Studio
Tickets: http://silverbacktouring.com.au
