"Tales from the Bay" - Genesis in conversation with Bay Radio's Joe Tanti
during their visit to Malta for the "Congo" videoshoot. Transcript and photographs
courtesy of Joe Tanti.
JT: Is it like "major league" to go from Stiltskin to Genesis?
RW: It's different. A number of things stay the same in that it is
music, you know; music is music and when you do a video you go through the same
motions as you do in any band. The difference between Genesis and Stiltskin
is the experience, the professionalism, the way the thing is run and the songs,
you know there is a very, very different approach to song writing but it has
been brilliant to be honest, I have loved every minute of it.
JT: Was it a nerve wracking decision to join Genesis or was it even
worse to leave Stiltskin?
| RW: It was ending anyway, so it wasn't really
an issue. I did think about it, you know. When I went to my first audition,
I did think twice about it. It was difficult I think when I was approached
and when I heard that there was interest there. I was amazed and I thought
"God in Heaven, Genesis" and I instantly got the three Genesis albums
instantly out of the cupboard to see what I was letting myself in for.
Can I do this? And Phil's voice in particular is higher than mine and
I thought I can't really take over from Phil and can I do this? Is this
the right thing for me to do? Once I got that nonsense out of my head
(laughter) I went and did the audition and things have worked out since
then but I think that I was pretty freaked out by it in the beginning.
I didn't really know quite what to think.
JT: Tony, a new Genesis line-up, a new Genesis album, a new
type of music for Genesis. It is "And Then There Were Two" somebody said...?
TB: It is now back up to three - three and a bit and when we
go back on the road it will be five again so.... I think it has... some
of it is new but it owes a lot to the past you know; it is a natural continuation
in some ways but it is a big change; a new singer. So much of the group's
personality comes from the singer that it does have a new feeling at times
although it is still appreciably identifiable as Genesis to people who
appreciate the music. |
Tony and Ray in conversation with Joe
(Photo - J. Tanti) |
JT: What keeps Genesis together?
TB: Well, as you've seen only one person has left at a time and this
time one person left and the two - Mike and I - had to make a decision: do we
carry on or not? What we decided to do was try and see how it went and it seemed
like quite a challenge to try and write a few things together and see what we
could get going and we felt that that went really well and then it was a matter
of looking for a new singer; auditioning people and listening to lots of potential
and just seeing if there was someone out there who could just really excite
us and those sort of things ended up happening for us and we ended up making
an album that obviously we're very proud of so... that's why it is going ahead.
If it hadn't happened that way, if one of those things hadn't happened, we would
have called it a day.
JT: Most of the Genesis people go out and do solo albums as well,
do you have any solo projects coming up?
TB: Solo wise? Well; no because the group has taken all of mine and
all of Mike's attention for the last sort of year and a half really, because
there are a lot of things, apart from writing; all the auditioning and things
and it has been quite a lot to get together and we didn't want to rush any part
of it because this is too important and we want to get everything right. And
so, no, I haven't done anything solo since I did the "Strictly Inc." album which
I did with Jack Hues, that was the last thing I have done.
| JT: Can you give us a hint about what the new album is going to
be like...?
TB: Great! (laughter). Well, I think if people will hear it
in relation to what has come more recently from Genesis, I think it has
got a more dramatic style perhaps; a little more rock. It has certainly
got a slightly more harder edge because Ray's voice is slightly more tougher
than Phil's. I think and that gives a certain effect; but in some respects,
Ray's voice bears slightly more resemblance to Peter's voice so there
are times when you get slightly more of an atmosphere coming through because
you can get a very dramatic thing; and we have let ourselves go a little
bit with one or two slightly more extravagant songs than on the more recent
stuff. The chords are a bit faster, or the music is a little bit more
interesting; you know? It is a mixture of short and long and all I can
say is we are very pleased with it and there's a home team so to speak,
of the people who immediately around us who seem very excited by it but
until it comes out and the public hear it, they will give it the thumbs
up or the thumbs down, I'm sure...
JT: When will that be...?
TB: Well, it is coming out at the end of August, beginning of
September although hopefully people will hear something from it before
then. And there is a single coming out at about the same time and we are
doing the video for it here.
JT: What song is that...? |
A still from the "Congo" video, filmed in Malta
(Photo - K. Arrigo) |
TB: It is called "Congo" and it is quite a rocky sort of track and
the video is great fun, there's water all over and we got very wet - unfortunately
we agreed to any sort of damp plot the director had going didn't we really!
(laughter). So that is what we have been doing here.
RW: It really has been good, though. It has been good fun.
Thanks to Albert Gouder for sending in this interview and the photos for
us, we hope you find it interesting.