Present yourself to the readers
I’m Gary; I play bass!
Je m'appelle Tim Le Machine et je suis le jouer de clavier dans Aonia .... ok, I am Tim The Machine and I play Keyboards in Aonia
Slick – Guitar
I'm Jo, one of the vocalists. I’m a classicaly trained coloratura soprano and love everything musical from Mozart to Maiden.
Tony, drummer and human mascot.
I’m Mel, also a vocalist, also a classically trained coloratura soprano !
James, aka Carrot (it’s not as exciting of a story as it sounds)…I play guitar.
Who composes ?...How does it work in the band ?
Initial ideas come from various bands members and then we tend to jam them and write as a collaboration.
Yeah, others add their ideas, jamming and that’s how it works.
It depends on where the ideas come from. I tend to prefer coming up with an almost finished song, and then allowing the other members to input ideas and add their own flavour to their own parts to make it sound like Aonia.
Who writes the texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?
Mel and myself write most of the lyrics at the moment, although Jo is starting to. Personally, I can only write lyrics when I have something to say; when I am emotional charged enough to feel like I have to vent. And it's usually when I'm pissed off at something.
I work a bit differently to Tony ; he tends to write very much from the heart so his lyrics are very honest and direct – I love singing Tony’s lyrics because they’re so powerful – whereas I tend to start with a concept and then work out from it a bit more planned and methodical. I love metaphors ; if my lyrics can mean very different things to different people then I consider that a success.
Why the name AONIA ?
It stands for "All one needs is alcohol. "
It's where the muses dwell, so when I was looking for new names for the band (we used to be called Cathexis), it seemed pretty cool, unusual and apt all at the same time. And I couldn't be bothered to look through any more of my big book of weird words (past the letter A).
What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?
From mainstream Jazz to progrock prog metal. Music with virtuosity. Dream Theater - John Petrucci, Scott Henderson, Frank Gamabale, Steve Vai ,Eric Johnson...
My influences are everything is hear and see - I mainly listen to progressive rock and metal but enjoy all styles from classical and baroque to modern atonal jazz. But not One Direction! (Sorry Amy !) Note – Amy is Tim’s teenage daughter.
I prefer rock and metal, but I also enjoy classical music (mainly film and television scores). I can appreciate any type of music as long as it's honest and genuine (so no pop!) My influences would be many and varied, but mainly Iron Maiden, Helloween, Masterplan, Unisonic, Anthrax, Avantasia, Skyclad and W.A.S.P.
I like anything that can move me emotionally – make me cry (Jewel, Sabaton), laugh (Evil Scarecrow, Weird Al, Alestorm), smile (Avantasia, Hammerfall, Ravenage, Dakesis, Divided We Fall, The Mighty Wraith), take me away to another world (Nightwish, Rhapsody of Fire, Sellsword). As for vocal influences… well. Lots. Floor Jansen (After Forever, ReVamp, Nightwish), Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation), Simone Simons and Tarja from the metal world, but I also admire and try to emulate women who have paved the way for women in music, like Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald.
My musical tastes rest firmly within the black/death/ambient black sub-genres of metal, but I also enjoy a bit of classical.
What's your opinion about the current music scene in U.K ?
It lives! People do and always will love music, and metal is thriving everywhere you look. Although, it can be difficult to get people out to live shows, often due to finances or just personal taste.
There is a great underground metal scene but it doesn't get the support it deserves. The European metal scene is much better - in the U.K. it is hard to get people to go to gigs - which is a real shame because there is some great talent and music being played out there.
Oh, definitely. I go to all-dayers full of self-signed bands and think, ‘There is more talent and passion in this one day than in whole rosters of pop labels.’ But we keep being told we’re in a recession and beer is taxed to death so people stop in with a bottle they got from the supermarket and listen to music on the Internet instead. And it’s such a shame. There’s absolutely nothing like the rush of being at a live gig.
There is a lot of really good music. It's just a pity that the majority of music fans; even those that proselytise endlessly about the death of real music, the scene, etc., don't actual go to gigs and support the amazing bands that are out there. I've met, played with and watched many bands which are keeping live music alive, but it's so difficult for many of them to keep going.
Generally, what's the reaction of the public during your concerts ?
Awesome - Our fans are great and it's what makes all this worthwhile.
Depend on venue...
Yeah, it depends on the gig really. We have recieved both positive and negative comments, but when we play a gig with like-minded bands that are not a million miles away from our own material then it is 99% positive.
Well, true. We don’t want a Blues Brothers situation and get bottled offstage ! Usually though people are into it, headbanging, cheering. It’s such a great feeling.
What's your best live memory ? And why ?
With Aonia, all the gigs have been fantastic so it's hard to pick one out in particular. Supporting Kobra and the Lotus was pretty cool, as was playing Valkfest last year (looking forwards to this year's Valkfest too) !
And playing Whitby during the Goth weekend was amazing as well ! Our EP launch was really special. Divided We Fall, The Mighty Wraith and Dakesis all were amazing and it was overwhelming to see so much support for the release of ‘Sunchaser’.
Starting playing the guitar, the first guitar I built...both have defined "my way" I wish to follow.
Probably playing at the Roadhouse in Birmingham for the Bloodstock M2TM final. The crowd reaction, and the energy on stage was just electric and is something I will always remember.
A spontaneous chant of my name (started by some friends of mine) at a 200 capacity venue that took over most of the people there. It was almost like being a real rock star!
What would be the festival of your dreams ?(with you playing in it of course !!!)
That one where they have 10 days of metal on the beach (can't remember what it's called).
For me it would be Download supporting Dream Theater.
Download, BloodStock, Wacken…
Bloodstock, Wacken or Metalcamp.
Wacken - the biggest and best true metal festival in the world.
What are your future dates ?
January 5th, 2015 - that's a future date.
And it’s Jo’s and my birthday ! In all seriousness, we’re playing Valkyrian Festival this year for the fourth time – we can’t wait. It’s the weekend of November 21-23 at the Londesborough in Bridlington ; we’re playing the Sunday. Every Valk-Fest has been fantastic in terms of the talent and each year gets bigger and better. On the 31st this month we’re at the Courthouse in Barnsley and on 1st November we are at the Snooty Fox in Wakefield for their Halloween party – can’t wait to play there again ; the sound is always top-notch and the crowd is amazing !
