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“Pieces of Chris” – Interview for GONE WILD and Friends!!!

Chris with the Uke

Chris Szkup – Pieces Of Chris (Interview)

1. How does it feel to finally have “Pieces Of Eternity” completed ?

Chris:
FANTASTIC!!! Ya know, it honestly looked for a while there like it may not happen at all,
so to be sitting here reflecting on it’s completion is really something!!

2. You first mooted the title for this album years ago, did you stick
to the same set of songs all these years ?

Chris:
No, although there are a few songs that would have been on that earlier version.
Some of the stuff was written as late as 2007.

3. What made you decide to record a solo album as opposed to getting together
in a band situation ?

Chris:
Really just from being burned too many times I think. Eventually enough was going to be
enough, and although there’s definitely something special about being in a band and having
all guys on the same page and equally involved and into it, actually finding that situation
is quite a tricky thing as well.

Having said that, doing some of the earlier sessions for the album we’d lay down the bass
and drums with me singing / playing along, and some of the mateship from those sessions
really reminded me of the earlier days when we used to have a steady band going. Good times!!

4. What lead to you taking on the singing role ?

Chris:
Again, just relying on people, but being let down. I’m definitely not the most able
vocalist on the block, but at least I’m going to turn up!!

And also, because a lot of the lyrics are pretty personal stuff, who better to convey them than
me I figure.

5. Besides playing guitar and singing, what other instruments did you play on this album ?

Chris:
Let’s see….bass on “October 22” and “First Blood”, keys and piano on several tracks, and
some extra drum smacks on “Magical Occurence”.

6. Who would you describe as some of your main influences as a songwriter ?

Chris:
There are soooooooo many really, but in recent times, I suppose Glenn Hughes,
Bumblefoot, George Harrison, Megadeth, Cheap Trick and Queen.

7. You’ve previously been in the band Melodic Candy and Jigsore, did anyof those
experiences of being in those bands have an influence in the songs on “Pieces
Of Eternity” ?

Chris:
Not at all aside from me knowing right away that some of the stuff I was writing
wasn’t really gonna fit in as far as what Jigsore was doing at the time.

8. Your brother Matt plays on “Pieces Of Eternity”, it must be something pretty
cool to have a family member to bounce ideas off of, what did Matt bring to
the fold for this album ?

Chris:
What DIDN’T he bring? Haha. First and foremost, he’s the guy that is responsible
for it even existing. I’ll explain. Since moving from Tasmania in 2004, once in a
while I’d send him some stuff I had demoed. Just “check this out, wrote it the
other day” kinda stuff. There was one song he heard this way called “Innate
Self Destruct”, and he was right into it. Pretty much said that we have to get it
recorded, he knows the perfect place to do it, and he’ll even pay for it if I’m
short of a quid!!!!! What a guy!!!!!!!

So aside from being responsible for the whole thing starting at all, he also brings
enthusiasm (which is pretty much essential), great drumming, guitar playing and
singing, and not a bad set of co-producers ears either.

9. Did you have any other people contribute to the recording of the album ?

Chris:
Well aside from Stew Long who handled the controls for us at Red Planet,
we have Dale Brewer on bass for 7 of the 10 songs.

10. What is your expectation with regards “Pieces Of Eternity” ?

Chris:
No expectations really, other than hopefully some people our there somewhere
getting some enjoyment from it and hearing what fun we had making it.

11. Will you be shooting any video’s for this album ?

Chris:
It is definitely something that is on my mind, and we’ve spoken about this a little bit. I have
to check it out some more, but if all goes well there will be some videos in some shape or form
in the future.

12. Will you be getting a live unit together to play these songs in concert ?

Chris:
It isn’t something that’s planned at the moment unfortunately. Maybe that will change. Sure
would be fun.

13. Previously you had recorded with Jigsore, what happened there, why was an
album never officially released ?

Chris:
That was such a long time ago now, I’m not sure I really know the answer to that!! Haha.
I guess it just wasn’t meant to be – as cheesy as that may sound.

We definitely did some cool things though – cut our teeth playing live together, learned a lot
in the studio, and drank enough alcohol together for a couple of life times. Some fun stuff for
sure!!

14. Aside from your solo projects, have you played on any other albums ?

Chris:
As far as released stuff goes, my mates in GONE WILD from New Zealand were kind enough to have
me onboard for 3 songs on their latest album, and one song on their first, which is always a good fun experience.

Aside from that, there is an album from a chap from the USA called Rick Bone, who is donating the proceeds of his album to MS Research, being a sufferer of the disease himself. To be able to in any way at all contribute to something like that which is so important is definitely a cool thing for a postman from down under I can tell you!!

15. What’s the biggest buzz out of playing on other people’s albums ?

Chris:
Just everything about it. Hopefully at the end of the process you read that your parts added to the song and the person is happy, which is what it’s really all about – making music together and being happy, so I guess that’s the biggest thrill for me!!

16. Do you plan on doing more writing/guest apperances on other peoples albums in the future ?

Chris:
Sure if things come up and I’m available. I pretty much take things as they come, but wouldn’t rule anything out!!

17. It’s now been well documented that you have a side-project on the go – along with writing and recording your 2nd solo album, how easy is it for you to keep The Feckers and Chris Szkup seperated musically ?

Chris:
I don’t really think about it a whole heap to be honest with you. It’s a matter of just doing what you do. With The Feckers, it seems like we’ll definitely be going to some places musically that my album doesn’t, but it wasn’t really a concious decision on my part. Maybe the lyrics Richard sends me can inspire some different ways of thinking in regards to the music, but in general, I have so much music in my head, that I can spread them nicely between the two monkiers and make it seem like some grand plan when in reality it isn’t haha!

18. Who designed the “Pieces Of Eternity” artwork ? It looks great and conjurs up all sorts of
visuals, without being anything too over the top or cheesy!

Chris:
Yeah how cool is that artwork!!! Mr Dan Verkys, who is also from Melbourne. He was a total breeze to work with. Everyone should check out his stuff at: http://www.gardenofbadthings.com/

19. Will you have him do any design work for you in the future ?

Chris:
If he’s available I’d definitely want to keep things rolling there. I couldn’t imagine going to anyone else at the moment!!

20. Lastly, for those that aren’t too sure on how to pronounce your surname, could you
ellaborate on what might be the best way to say it correctly ?

Chris:
HAHAHA!!!! I’m always misunderstood, so even if I were to type it out in this reply, it more than likely isn’t going to come across the right way! Maybe I can make a video down the track haha.

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Update – August 29, 2009!!!

PIECES OF ETERNITY:

So hopefully by now, everyone has seen the cover and heard the sample from “Pieces of Eternity”?? (If you don’t know what I’m on about, go to http://www.cs-songs.com/powerfulostrichearache)I’m so happy that it’s nearly a done deal, and can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks about it.

The latest there is that I’ve OK’ed a digital proof of the album artwork with the manufacturers, and pending everything going smoothly on their end, it’ll be a done deal in the first half of September!!!

Been working on the online store here, so everything will be ready to go in time for the CD’s coming back from print. Also will be doing some promo stuff for the release – interviews, radio etc. Very excited for all that!!!

Keep an eye on my associated sites over the next day or so for a full length track!! ;)

THE FECKERS:

For those who may not be aware of it, for years I’ve written songs with folks in other countries through the wonders of modern technology, and even had the pleasure of a few guest guitar cameos too. One of these collaborations is with a mate by the name of Richard “MacGyver” Anderson, and even though we never really had the money to complete a lot of our ideas so far, we never really stopped collaborating on stuff.

For a while we were really trying to bring the songs to life, but it seemed like the gods were against that happening, which lead to us shelving the idea for a while, and he went and formed a cool little band called GONE WILD, while I was finally getting some of my own stuff together.

Now that we’ve both had some progress on our own sides of the pond, we decided it was time again to team up and hopefully tend to some of those now many songs. This was penciled in to start in July 09, looked shaky for a little bit, but ended up happening and then some.

We’ve made some fantastic progress on 3 songs, which are hard rock / metal, and on those tracks basically all the drums, bass and rhythm guitar is DONE!! Speaking of drums too, we have the most unbelievable skinsman helping us out on this stuff – more on that soon.

Basically everything is going amazingly well, and while this has all been going on, we’ve been recruiting other guest singers and players, and the list is a real impressive one! And we’re not even done yet!

I’m back in the studio next week doing lead and acoustic guitars, and possibly even getting some vocals added to one of the tracks, so stay tuned!!

MORE SOLO:

Started work on what will be my 2nd album in July also!! Once again with my bro Mathew Szkup on drums, and the incredible Stew Long running the controls once again. We’re four songs into the drum tracks, although Stew’s hectic schedule of late hasn’t allowed any more progress to be made on the songs thus far.

Again it will be a mixture of stuff – of these 4 songs, there’s a funk / rock / metal thing, a Harrison esque chord strummer, a piano based rock ballad, and a 10 minute epic kinda thing that to quite Stew “covers most countries on earth” in the moods it creates. Starts off thrash metal and ends up as a waltz!!

Will post more on this stuff as we chip away at it in conjunction with The Feckers stuff.

LIVE APPEARANCES:

While I can’t say too much at the time of writing, it looks like I’ll be getting back onto the stage in 2009, not only in Melbourne, but also interstate!!! Stay tuned!!!

AND IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH:

Just have to say a big THANK YOU to Ron Thal, and Peter Hodgson for their nice words in this Bumblefoot Interview!!!

To say I’m honoured is an understatement!!!

Check out http://www.bumblefoot.com/ for more Bumblefoot, and also Peter’s awesome guitar blog titled I Heart Guitar, at http://www.iheartguitarblog.com/ !!!

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Update – June 22, 2009 – Album is done!!!! (And it’s called……)

PIECES OF ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!

:)) – the story is a long one, but basically, years ago I wanted to and tried to do an album, and that was my title. Stuff happened along the way, and it couldn’t eventuate…..until now!!!

Maybe there was some inspiration from the new Gnr album coming out, I’m not sure, but I always really liked the title and felt like I HAD to make sure I used it. And not to mention there were some bad experiences involved with it not happening all those years ago, and it’s always nice to end things on a positive note wherever possible.

We got through things really quickly the other day at Red Planet, so now it’s onto things like finalising artwork, talking to CD pressing places etc which I’ll be onto over the coming weeks. Am also looking at a digital release of this thing that I’ll keep you all posted on.

Artwork is underway by an awesome artist by the name of Dan Verkys, a fellow Melbournian, and while I don’t have a preview available today for you guys, I can tell you that it’s looking really kickarse, and that it’s great getting the chance to work with someone as talented as Dan. Check out more of his work via the link above, or via his Deviant Art Page.

Anyway that’s about the latest for now. I don’t have a definite release date, but I’ll be working to make it happen as soon as possible. As I’ve never really done this before I wouldn’t want to underestimate. HOPEFULLY it’ll be ready by August, but I’ll have to let you know as it goes.

P.S. As well as the release of Pieces of Eternity, I’ll also be starting two new albums over the next couple of months – my 2nd album, and also a collection of stuff that I’ve written with my pardner in crime, Richard “MacGyver” Anderson over the years. More on those in time!!

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GONE WILD II CD – First Listen!!!

Hell yeah!! Got my copy of the new album in the mail today (thanks Richard!), and am on the first listen as we speak!!

Had heard some of the tracks that I play on – “Georgia Peach”, “State of Euphoria” and “Bourbon Blues”, which before I had heard the rest of the tracks on this album was my favourite from these guys. Now I’m not sure. From what I gather, their aim in doing this album (not to mention that this new one is a DOUBLE album) was for it to be all killer and no filler, and that’s not to take anything away from their previous album, but I guess they wanted to up the ante in every way – take more risks, be heavier but at the same time more subtle, and take it to places it hadn’t been before.

From what I’ve heard today, they’ve definitely done that and them some. I literally had this big shit eating grin on my face as the first song started up. For the record this is a touchy subject matter on that first song “Silent Tears”, and it might seem insensitive of me, but that comment is purely my reaction upon hearing the music start up – it’s good to hear these guys again!!! They’re my friends and I love hearing them do what they do!!

Anyway, I’m really going to have to make another blog on this stuff, cause I still have 13 songs to go!! You’ve gotta really appreciate the fact that they even went the double album route at all – making one solid CD from start to finish definitely isn’t the easiest task for most, but these guys have THIRTY tracks on this thing!! DAYUM!! Every one that I’ve heard so far is kicking arse!! On ya guys!!

To be updated…..

(For more info, samples, purchasing information etc, please visit: http://www.myspace.com/gonewildnz )

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Update – May 18, 2009 – Final Vocals!!!

I’m officially done singing on my forthcoming album – unless of course something sticks out over the next few weeks that I can’t live with, but I’m sitting here listening back, and it’s sounding pretty cool. Not hearing anything that needs changing at the moment!! :D

People who are subscribing on Facebook would have heard all about the cold I had leading up to this session, and it was quite a worry for a while there. I went so far as to make a backup of a demo from my home setup here to take down to the studio in Tassie just incase the throat didn’t hold up. Was going to work on something new instead of wasting the day. But luckily it pulled through. Much thanks go to Lipton, Dilmah and the lemon tree out the front for their efforts in getting this album to the people this past week. I really owe those guys haha!

Anyway, we had “First Blood” to do singing on. Was a lil concerned about this one. The melodies are *just* lower than what I’d usually be comfortable singing, but at the same time, the main riffs to the song have a certain quality to them that is lost if the key to the song is changed and the riff played elsewhere. For a while I wasn’t sure which way to go with it, but I think it’s definitely come together well. Have a few harmonies to decide on using or not, but they’re all recorded, so this song is ready to mix!!! :D

Next up we had an intro piece for the album called “Magical Occurence”, which is a thing we did on an earlier recording ten ( ! ) years ago, but I never felt it was the right version of it.

The title, and music too is a very Kitaro kinda inspired thing that could probably go on his “Mandala” album very nicely, so I went for a Fender strat on the clean guitar to kinda replicate some of the guitar stuff on his album, which by the way is a big favourite of mine, and some of the instrument sounds are reminiscent of his stuff too, and I’m glad to say, this is the version I was hearing in my head!!

I started this one on my home setup a month or two ago, and took the tracks down to Red Planet where we added clean guitar, drums, and what has become the running joke, yet at the same time the unsung hero of these album sessions, my $300 casio keyboard for some clean chord pads.

This same keyboard was used for trumpet tones on “Tribal Eat Pop Slop” after we tried out a bunch of stuff but couldn’t find anything that worked for the song. Same thing goes here – the part was exactly what the piece needed, but the only difference was, I had demoed the song years ago and somehow remembered that the tone was called “Space Pad” and was number 73 in the sound bank, so I took it into the session especially for the part!! (No I don’t have a life!!)

The drums were good fun on this. Basically beating the hell out of two different floor toms overdubbed, then we added some reverb to give it some of that tribal thing, and it definitely adds to it and overall (I think anyway) adds a real nice and dramatic start to the album. Hopefully you will agree haha! This piece is ready to mix!!

Complete tracklisting for this thing (not in running order) is:

Magical Occurence
First Blood
October 22
(I Can’t) Start Again
Transition
Innate Self Destruct
Soundtrack
To A Scream
Lost Soul
Tribal Eat Pop Slop

The players on this thing are myself (guitars, lead vocals, piano / keyboards, bass, extra drums), My brother Mathew Szkup (drums and percussion, vocals, guitars), and our old comrade, Dale Brewer (bass and vocals), and I’ll be posting the first sound samples from it (along with confirming the title) over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

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Update – March 10, 2009!!!

ALBUM IS GETTING CLOSER!!

Vocals_3 - March 09

So we’re basically up to track 8 and 9 (of 10) for the album, and we spent some time tending to these on the weekend just gone.

One of them is a folky little number that I had recorded in the past called “October 22”, but I wasn’t completely happy with that version, and always wanted to redo it when the time was right. On this one, I added bass, two acoustics, lead bits, some flute-ish keyboard bits and lead vocals. Skube and Stew made some comments along the lines of the bass part reminding them of a “walking McCartney type thing” which is of course a massive rap that I’ll gladly take :))

All that needs doing on this track is backup vocal harmonies.

Vocals_1 - March 09

The other one is a hard rocker called “First Blood” on which we did some keys and trumpet bits and retouched a solo, readying it for vocalising, and after that it’s a done deal.

Vocals_2 - March 09

So we’re fast approaching a release for this thing folks – I shit you not!! :P

This is how the songlist for the album is looking at the moment remembering that it’s gonna be 10 tracks:

(I Can’t) Start Again
Innate Self Destruct
Tribal Eat Pop Slop
To A Scream
Soundtrack
Transition
Lost Soul
October 22
First Blood
_______ _________ – (To be confirmed)

More soon,

-Chris