Interview with British Rock Band Marillion

Marillion is:

• Steve (H) Hogarth - Lead vocals (born 14 May, 1959 in Kendal)
• Pete Trewavas - Bass (born 15th January, 1959 in Middlesbrough)
• Ian Mosley - Drums (born 16th June, 1953 in Paddington, London)
• Mark Kelly - Keyboards (born 9th April, 1961 in Dublin)
• Steve Rothery - Guitars (25th November, 1959, Brampton, S-Yorkshire)

Audioholics: Who is Marillion?

[Pete Trewavas] If you mean which member of the band most typifies what the band is about musically, or indeed the ethos of the band, that is hard to sum up in one single person.

We all add so much to the band both musically and otherwise. The closest I can some up with would be a combination of Steve Hogarth and Steve Rothery. Both are very musically and spiritually driven.

Audioholics: What musical influences inspired the Marillion sound?

[Pete Trewavas] I think Marillion was first and foremost influence by the British music we all grew up with from the 60's and 70's. I think that amongst a vast array of music being played in UK at that time, the changes from Pop through Psychedelic and early Progressive music is what inspired us to stretch out and want to be creative ourselves.

Bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, The Nice, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Van-der-Graf Generator, showed us the rebellious side of music as well as having a clever, more interesting structure to compositions, that we took on board.

I think you can say that as music lovers first and foremost, we listen to good music as opposed to bad or manufactured music. This list would also include bands like, XTC, Radiohead, The Doors, New Order and Coldplay, The list is really quite endless.

Audioholics: What changes occurred in band philosophy when Steve H replaced Fish as lead singer?

[Pete Trewavas] When Steve joined us there was a subtle change from being a band with a very strong front man, which made people think we were just the backing band, to being much more of a whole with a complete unity. This was also felt socially as well as musically. Although Steve writes all the lyrics, the rest of us are happy with this situation. We feel much more as if the topics and therefore the songs belong to all of us somehow. We have always written about injustices and tried to offer a point of debate with our subject matter, this has over the years changed to incorporate more world humanitarian issues.

Audioholics: There's been a dramatic shift in the style and sound of Marillion during the past few albums. Where does the band see their music going?

[ Steve Rothery] We're always most concerned with keeping the music fresh and interesting. We don't decide on a direction when we write, we just follow where inspiration takes us.

Audioholics: Does the band intend to impart, go back to some of their earlier stylistic melodies?

[Steve Rothery] I think we still have that in our music, maybe it's not quite as obvious.

Why doesn't the CD Marbles come as a two disc set in Northern America since it does in Europe ? [question from our forum member Supervij]

[ Steve Hogarth ] It's world-wide distributors saying retailers don't want sell double albums because of the price hike involved. They don't sell as well as single CD's. Thus the retailers preferred a single CD version. We do however make available our entire CD collection, including the double set version of Marbles direct from our website www.marillion.com . You can order using a credit card and we ship within a few days.

I am curious about how Steve felt when he joined the band, about singing songs from the Fish era. Was it daunting to him, or was it just another song to him, or did he see it as an opportunity to put his stamp on it, or what? And how does he feel now about singing those old Fish-era songs? [question from our forum member Supervij]

[ Steve Hogarth ] I was initially reserved about even exploring joining the band because I didn't feel like I was the right guy for the job. I assumed that they would want someone to replace Fish, and knew I wasn't able to do that. The band literally had to pester me to do the initial rehearsal so I decided to give it a try. The band heard my past works and liked my voice, lyrics, etc, and wanted me to carry it over to Marillion. I originally thought they wanted to preserve the same sound, style, and was relieved to hear they didn't. I was happy they wanted me to be myself. You can't be given a better brief than that! This enabled me to remain honest and true to myself, especially since we weren't looking back at being something the band had already been. Instead, we moved forward as sort of an experiment to see what would happen. When we came to rehearse for our first tour together, we had to play back-catalogue due to the scarcity of new material, and the band allowed me to decide which Fish songs I wanted to sing. I chose them on the criterion of what I felt comfortable singing; I had to mean it, understand it, feel it, and respect each song. The songs I chose I felt I could completely relate to emotionally which enabled me to sing as though I had written them. It wasn't and never would be how Fish would have done it as I am incapable of doing so, and it wouldn't be real to me.

I did wonder when playing live how the audience would treat me. However all I could do was go on stage and give 100% honesty and modesty with my performance. I was helped enormously by the fact that the band showed me complete faith and support.

Audioholics: Does Fish still maintain communications with the band?

[Ian Mosley] Yes. I was after all his Best man at his wedding. We speak at least twice a year.

Audioholics: How has the band matured together since Season's End?

[Ian Mosley] It took until our third album with Steve Hogarth (Brave) to become a tight unit all pulling in the same direction. The same thing happened with the original line up and it took until our 3rd album (Misplaced Childhood) to grow together. The older we get the less chance there is of us splitting up!

Audioholics: Brave, Strange Engine, wow! What inspired each of these albums and will we see more conceptual style albums like these from Marillion in the future?

[Steve Rothery] Brave was inspired by the true story of a girl found wandering on the Severn Bridge between England and Wales. She seemed to have lost her memory and Brave is a fictitious story based around what might have happened to her in her life to lead her there. This Strange Engine was originally a poem Steve Hogarth wrote about his childhood and his father. Concept albums or tracks for us just happen; they're not a deliberate decision.

Comments from Steve Hogarth from our phone interview about Marillion

As H pointed out during our discussion, Marillion songs are about real world life and the experiences of the band and their members and/or political and social events. Strange Engine is a testimony of Steve Hogarth which started as an autobiographical poem he wrote about his life and his father. He says that " concept albums or tracks for us just happen; we're actually just as likely to write a pop song, although we can rarely say what we want to say in three-minutes."

Regarding Brave
Back in the mid-eighties, Steve ("H") heard an appeal on behalf of the police on a local radio broadcast about a teen-aged red-haired girl found wandering alone on a suspension bridge in England. When she was found, she was either incapable of, or decided not to, communicate with anyone who questioned her. After a while, the police took the decision to make an appeal on radio to see if anyone could identify her. Eventually, the girl was reclaimed by her family and taken back home. H made a note of this and kept it aside for many years until Marillion began working on what would later become their Brave Album. The Band had written two songs Living with the Big Lie and Runaway when he was reminded of the girl on the bridge and the shape of the album began to happen in his mind. ' Big Lie is a song about how people seem to get used to things to the point of being totally desensitized and Runaway catalogues the plight of a young girl attempting to escape a dysfunctional home. H told the story to the band and suggested how the songs could tie together in a fictitious tale of a life that has undergone problems and horrors such as sexual abuse (an increasingly reported theme in the media at the time) isolation, drug addiction and breakdown, to the point of considering/attempting suicide, and thus was the onset of one of Marillion's deepest emotional 75-minute epic titled, "Brave."

Exclusive Audioholics Interview with British Rock Band - page 2

Audioholics: Is there any intention to break the US market again? Why is there such little presence in the United States?

[Lucy Jordache] We never broke it first time round! (laughs) Because the USA is a very hard market to break and the band has been trying to do it with limited success during the past 25 years. It's too late to throw good money after bad. Instead we are more than content with the fantastic cult following we have and our fans in the USA have stayed loyal for many years and bring new people to our shows and introduce new people to our music. Word of mouth is worth 100 times more to us than a press ad. Our Street Teams in the USA are continuously working hard to get the word out for us.

Comments from Steve Hogarth in our phone interview about 2 disc set availability of Marbles

According to H world-wide distributors say retailers were reserved about selling double albums because of the associated price hike involved, since they don't sell as well as single CD's. However the double CD as well as their entire catalog is available direct from www.marillion.com .

Audioholics: Are you coming to Florida? Please come!

[Lucy Jordache] We couldn't fit Florida into this tour schedule but we'll put it on the list for consideration next time we tour. Sorry to all the fans in Florida!

(We asked Steve if the band will consider coming during their next tour. Steve H says the band would be open but they don't have enough information on where to play. We told Steve H that we will be on the look-out for the perfect venue and we are turning this to our Audioholics readership for suggestions and support in one of our Forum Threads.)

2005 Tour Dates & Locations for the Latest Marillion Performances

Audioholics: Any releases in multi-channel surround (IE. DD/DTS, DVD-A/SACD) planned?

[Steve Rothery] We're talking about a multi-channel version of Marbles . Emi have been discussing the possibility of Misplaced Childhood being remixed in surround as well.

Audioholics: Why so much compression in most of the recordings, especially ones claiming 24bit?

[Steve Rothery] Compression is used at three stages in the production of an album. 1) When recording to tame any wild transients and get a good signal to noise ratio to tape/hard disk; 2) When mixing both on the individual track and quite often on the stereo bus; and 3) When mastering. Mastering engineers seem to want their tracks to sound as loud on the radio as everything else with the result that, whatever the dynamic range a track started with, it's often squeezed almost beyond recognition by the time the final master is produced. My own personal preference is for more dynamic range. I was surprised when Simon Hayworth who mastered Marbles - and who is one of the top UK mastering engineers - compressed the track "The Damage" when mastering as I really didn't think it needed it - I was outvoted. The joys of a democracy!

Comments from Steve Hogarth in our phone interview about compression in recordings

Steve H indicated to us that the "louder is better" mentality is almost always the driving force that governs this. From a marketing standpoint, if your recording plays lower in level than your competitors this is considered undesirable. After all of the EQ'ing and compression is done, dynamic range is often further compromised in the recording with a tool called a Finalizer (high end digital compressor) which is used to max the output levels for more perceived clarity.

Closing comments from Steve DellaSala

As a steadfast follower and loyal fan of Marillion since the birthing days of, Script for a Jesters Tears their albums continue to inspire me by knowing that there are some meaningful and talented musicians who can be found among the midst of bubblegum radio. You see, my older brothers grew up with ELP, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson… but I found my musical identity in bands and musicians such as Peter Gabriel (when he went solo), Pendragon, Porcupine Tree, Rush, and the rebirth of bands such as King Crimson and Yes. But it was with Marillion that I found my true love for music. I remember vividly the day I discovered Fish left the band. It happened after I purchased, opened and then listened to Season's End . During the first song titled, "The King of Sunset Town" I remember being in utter shock and disarray when I heard the vocals from someone other than Fish. For a brief moment I thought I had lost my personal band; a band that belonged to my album/CD collection and not my brothers or anyone else who I knew at the time. With a tear in my eye I decided to continue listening to the album to at least hear the music, not knowing what was in store for me. It only took until the second song, "Easter" for me to realize that I didn't lose my favorite band, but instead, I'd found a unique band with passion, fire, and an imaginative singer with a distinct and talented voice.

With this new singer and new sound it seemed that Marillion was no longer a band that somewhat echoed early Genesis stylistic music but instead, they were now able to stand on their own and be their own. From that point on I eagerly awaited every release from the band with Steve H on vocals to see what new musical treat was in store for me that I could listen to over and over again, each time with the same passion as the first time I'd heard it. One after another I listened to how Marillion was maturing into their own. I have found my favorite CDs from Marillion to be Brave and Strange Engine and all of their others to be equal and close seconds, for the band has yet to put out music that isn't considered "epic" to me. It was a distinct honor and privilege for me to have an opportunity to interview Steve H and to learn more about Marillion on a personal level. There were only two times that I was able to see the band live. One was in the very early "Fish Days" when they opened for Rush at Madison Square Garden. The second time was during the US tour which was funded by the fans. I contributed to the cause and was therefore invited to the band appreciation pre-show in Philadelphia during the Strange Engine CD. During that pre-show event, I had the treat of listening to the band rehearse as well as play obscure songs requested by the fans. Steve H singing Fish-era tunes was a treat. The climax of the evening was during the closing song of the show when they played the title track, Strange Engine . I have never, ever heard a singer sing with such energy and passion and I felt privileged to have witnessed that evening. I remember being exhausted at the end of the closing song and couldn't imagine how Steve H was able to pull it off as he did.

Listening to Steve talk during our interview has rekindled my love of the band enough for me to go back through my entire collection of Marillion CDs as I temporarily turn off my Satellite Radio. In fact, I've even set aside 75-minutes of seclusion from the family and the outside world so I can listen to Brave uninterrupted in its entirety and re-live the life of a person who has struggled to the point of ending their own life but later decided to be "made again." For this interview has reminded me that I too have been "made again" into a new and improved Marillion Fan. Thank you Marillion for continuing to be true to yourselves and your music and allowing us as your fans to be a part of your lives by experiencing what you feel and say through your songs.

Closing comments from Gene DellaSala

All I can say is wow! Speaking with Steve H and interviewing the band really opened my eyes to them as real world, down-to-earth people that share many of the ideals we all cherish. All this while putting forth their best abilities to convey these ideals in the wonderful music they write and perform. I consider Marillion to be one of the best modern progressive rocks bands. They are a treasure in a world where two chord rock and so called reality TV shows are the norm. It's nice to know the dumbing down of what our society considers to be "entertainment & art" hasn't influenced the integrity of this band or their music. I am in full agreement with my brother that Strange Engine and Brave are the ultimate expression of their passion and the fundamental core of who they are as a band. However I believe the best way to get a taste of who they are is to audition their Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other CD which highlights their most mainstream music from the pre- and post-Fish era. If music with substance is your forte, you owe it to yourself to check these guys out. If you prefer bubblegum, simply turn the radio on or tune in to MTV. In the meantime, I hear the voice of command calling me to Strange Engine .

Many thanks to Steve H and Marillion for taking time out of their busy schedules to conduct this interview. We hope someday the financial means will present themselves for the band to do a full blown tour of the USA, and more importantly, Tampa Florida so we can enjoy the Marillion experience live.

Audioholics Recommended Marillion Music Starter List (available for online purchase)

• Holidays in Eden
• Seasons End
• This Strange Engine
• Brave

Check out their entire catalog available online