CARINA LIROLA INTERVIEW
- SLICE 2008 -
Carina Lirola is a super talented young british singer with her roots in classic rock. This summer, she releases her brand new full blown album, and the list of heavy duty names that appears on it reads like a who´s who in classic rock. But then, she has a lot going for her, not least one of the best voices I´ve heard in years coming out of the UK. This interview was made in early 2007, but with some additional questions answered by Carina in early march 2008.
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What is your full name and where do you currently reside?
- Carina Lirola, I live in Liverpool (home of The Beatles, ha ha!!).
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you discovered music.
- My Dad´s a guitarist and I grew up hearing a lot of rock records like AC/DC, The Who, Van Halen, around the house so it´s in my blood!!
Can you mention a few people or artists that inspired you and what they meant to you?
- Van Halen, Eddie and David Lee Roth are the classic duo of killer guitarist and dynamic front man , I love classic Van Halen - Metallica, they are great! I love the “Black” album, especially “Sad But True” and “Enter Sand Man”, Lars is one of my favourite drummers, and James is a great player. Ozzy Osbourne, I love Randy Rhoads, the first two Ozzy albums are amazing, “Crazy Train”, “I Don´t know”, “Mr Crowley” rock!!
If you could pick three records to take with you to a desert island, which would they be?
- Ozzy “Crazy Train”, Yngwie Malmsteen “Far Beyond The Sun”, Van Halen - “Panama”.
When did you record music for the first time?
- When I was 3!! My dad recorded me singing and that was my first time in a studio!!
If you have to pick out a few favourite tunes from your catalogue, which would they be?
- “Tears Of Silence” because it was the first song I wrote, and I love it!! “Loaded” because it was my first video shoot, “Cinderella Is Dead”, Yngwies drummer Patrick Johansson is playing on this - “Broken” becuse I wrote this with Bernie Torme - he’s an amazing guitarist and a great person to work with.
Many seasoned artists still fear that moment right before showtime, how did you learn how to deal with that and how is it for you these days? - Vodka on the rocks!! I have done over 600 shows so the nerves have kind of gone now!!
What´s the best tour/s you´ve ever been involved in and why?
- I did a 9 month tour of the UK and it rocked!! What I can remember of it!! Ha ha!!
What´s the situation for your type of music where you live right now? - There is a big rock scene here in the UK especially where I live, and we get a lot of great bands coming to Liverpool / Manchester, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio, Motley Crue, Evanesence, My Chemical Romance.
What are you currently up to?
- I´m recording my new album with some great players, Bernie Torme, ex- Gillan and Ozzy guitarist, Billy Sheehan on Bass, Patrick Johansson on drums (Yngwie Malmsteen). Jens Johansson is playing keys on a track for me and Reb Beach, Whitesnake / Winger / Nightranger is playing guitar on a track for me. I´m going to be working with Bobbi Rondinelli of Rainbow and Black Sabbath, he is dong some drums for me. I´m also playing live with my band at the moment.
Tell us about the new record. Who is releasing it, how many songs are on it and how will you promote it in the months to come?
- I´m signed to DEMOLITION RECORDS UK home of Hanoi Rocks, McQueen, David Lee Roth and Twisted Sister. My new album is called ‘Cinderella Is Dead’ and it will be out June 2008. I´m touring with WASP and Twisted Sister in Europe - there are some shows in Scandanavia!! Plus I just got confirmed for the Joey Belladonna UK tour in September! I´m shooting two new videos for the new singles soon, so that will be fun! We are thinking of putting out “Loaded” as a single in Scandanavia soon as my label wants to get it out there and have a hit like they did with Hanoi Rocks!!
Who wrote “Tears Of Silence”?, I think this track is one of the best that I have heard in years and I think your singing is exceptionally good.
- I wrote “Tears Of Silence” with Andy, Pete and Dave of Love To Infinity my producers, we all sat round playing guitar and jammed it out!! Proper old school style, we kept going over and over sections until they sounded right! You know there are no rules and no schools in Rock´n´Roll, I just make it up as I go along, ha ha!! If it sounds good it is good! I do like the high vocal on the chorus, its great to sing live at gigs! I love to belt that one out!
What´s the best feedback you ever had from a listener?
- I get lots of comments each day on my MySpace page. It´s nice to hear from fans that they like my music I always message them back so its nice to speak to them.
Do you take a personal interest in your MySpace page and what do you think of this new invention?
- I LOVE MYSPACE!! I run my own page and check it everyday!! I think it´s great you can reach out and meet so many new people all over the world!! Plus I met Billy Sheehan, Patrick Johansson and Bernie Torme all through MySpace!!
I see you have had about 65.000 hits on your MySpace page (february 2008).
- MySpace is great and crazy!! you get to really meet the people who listen to your music, I run my own site so you can always get me on there, I´m on most days when I get time to keep it all up to date! My video to “Loaded” has had 130,000+ hits! Now if they where sales I´d be number 1 for 6 weeks, ha ha!
Do you think the recording industry is out of touch and what would you change if you could?
- The Majors are always slower than the Indie labels but at the moment the industry is going through a great change with downloads now counting for the charts in the UK, it will take a while for the industry to adjust and get used to this!! I think rock acts will benifit as they are more album orientated so it will be better.
Do you have other major interests outside music?
- SHOPPING!!!
What authors do you like and have you read anything good lately?
- I have just finished reading “The Time Travellers Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger, that´s a great book! I want to read it again now!
What favourite actors in film and television do you have, and what do you enjoy to watch?
- Don´t really get time to watch much television, but I do love going to the theatre when I can.
What favourite food do you have?
- Chocolate bars, chocolate cake, chocolate milkshake, chocolate bisquits! I´m sure you´ve heard many bad pickup lines, did you ever actually hear a good one that made you think that this person is perhaps interesting?
- A total stranger once got down on one knee and asked me to marry him as I was about to start a show, I didn´t think he was interesting though I thought he needed professional help!
Do you have an interest in the paranormal, the unknown?
- Yes, I think I may be a bit psychic! I always know if there is anything weird about a place!
How many gigs have you done in the last year or so?
- I´ve done about 15 gigs in the past year, we have been supporting Bernie Torme and his band GMT, John McCoy is great, he is very funny, he keeps teasing me, ha ha! Robin is the most amazing drummer live I have ever seen. Animal from the Muppets anyone?, ha ha! And Bernie is just the closest thing to watching Jimi Hendrix live you can get! He is unbelievable a true living guitar hero! Bernie has such a unique style you can instanty tell when he is playing, now there is not many players you can say that about!!
Do you have funny tour memory that you can share with us?
- All my tours have been fun, its one big party!! I have been known to shampoo the bands hotel beds when they are out!! They don’t like that, ha ha, so they threw my suitcase out the tour bus on the motorway! So I put fish in all their bags before we got to the airport!! Boy! did they smell real bad at check in!! Ha ha!!
Bernie Torme has been deeply involved in your record, any chance that he will also do some shows with you?
- We have been doing live shows together, but I have still to get him on stage with me for an encore! Bernie and I wrote “Surrender” and “Broken” off the new album together and he did some smoking guitar on them too! You know all that whammy bar - harmonic stuff , he makes it look so easy!
How did you hook up with him?
- Andy Lee my producer knows him, and he gave Bernie a CD to listen to, next thing I know I´m in Kent in England writing with him for the new album! I got to play his white strat and the blue/green one Ozzy gave him on the “Diary of a Madman” tour, they are real relics, truely unique stratocasters!! And completely battered!!
If you could give a piece of advice a younger sister that would like to follow in your footsteps, what would that be?
- Be prapared to live on very little sleep! He he!
Mike Eriksson
