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INGLORIOUS: Without gigs, but with tons of inspiration!
Interview with vocalist Nathan James of Inglorious by Vera in February 2021
UK classic rock representatives Inglorious never rest on their laurels. Two year after ‘Ride To Nowhere’ they just launched their fourth studio album ‘We Will Ride’ to the world with great success. Busy front man Nathan James – also the initiator of this English band – updates us with the latest news in this next interview with the band.
Since we talked about the previous album ‘Ride To Nowhere’ two years ago, I suggest we pick up the thread around that time. I remember back then you had the intention to do more concerts. Did it happen?
We did a lot of touring during the first year, in 2019. Loads and loads of shows. I think we did 52 shows, including festivals, all over Europe and all over the U.K. and then of course covid-19 happened and we were not allowed to play any shows. It was a crazy time, but I am looking forward to now, getting out there and doing more shows, because we got more music to play. We got four albums to make a show of.
But before this new album came into being, you got some turbulence. I see that the line-up is almost totally changed…
That was over two years ago. But this was the first album I have created with these new guys. First time writing, first time recording with those guys, but it is not new anymore, because they have been here for two years.
Did it make any difference for you in the writing process now that you worked with other people?
Absolutely. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere and I really enjoyed the song writing process. I was going to London every weekend to meet my guitar player Danny and my drummer and bass player. It was a really good time to do my writings. Usually I am very private with my writings, especially when it comes to lyrics, but this time I was very comfortable and I felt like I could write with everyone present.
That’s good, because I remember that these lyrics became more and more personal. Was that the case this time too?
Yes, absolutely. I felt comfortable enough to write with these guys more openly about subjects I had not written about before.
Like what?
Just about my more personal things, about my mental health, what we have been going through the last year with covid-19. Since the line-up change two years ago I am more open about those things. I just needed to find the right people to talk about these things. It is very hard. You cannot be open to people you don’t fully trust.
What went wrong with the former line-up?
I am not going to talk about it. It is out there. It is all over the internet, you can find it very easy.
There is a song about war ‘Gods Of War’ and it is said that you got inspiration from watching Netflix this time…
This was during the lockdown. I think the whole world loves Netflix. I wrote about things I was inspired by and I saw lots of documentaries about weird people, strange people, interesting people… and ‘Gods Of War’ is about a famous politician who’s intention is to inciting a war.
What can you tell about the song ‘Eye Of The Storm’?
I wrote this for my friend Tim who I have known over ten years now. It is about me and it is about how I am human. We all make mistakes. I am not perfect, but that does not mean… well… nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and it is a song about that. Humans are not perfect.
Are you still living in the same place?
Yes, on a farm. It is so beautiful! Especially today, it is the first day of sun! It is warm outside and I am very happy today. I spent today cleaning up animals and it was nice to do in the sun, rather than in the rain or the snow. Living here really helped me last year with the lockdown, having to get up every day to take care of the animals. It helped me very much.
You have worked with a new producer for ‘We Will Ride’…
Yes, Romesh Gogandoda is an amazing producer. He lives in Wales. I wanted him for a long time, I just did not think our budget was fitting to him, but finally we managed to make the budget work and get him on board. He worked with Motörhead, Bring Me The Horizon, Bullet For My Valentine, all these great bands. So to me he was a perfect fit. He made this album so much more modern. I think he brought out things in us that we never had as a band. I love what he has done and I hope that we can make many more albums with him. He is fantastic.
You have a video for ‘Messiah’. Do you plan any more video clips?
For this album? Yes. I think the album is a success here in the U.K. Last week it was the biggest selling album over here. We sold more CD’s than other people, so that is kind of cool. So I think we are going to try to make more video’s for more songs and maybe release more singles and see how people react. The only thing I am struggling with this time is… usually people have a favour for three or four songs, but this time everybody loves every song, so it is going to be really hard to pick singles and choose songs for a video. Maybe we’ll have to do many more, but we will find out.
Could you go to Wales with these lockdowns? Isn’t travelling forbidden?
It depends. If it is for work, then it is okay. Even if we are in lockdown, this is our job, so we actually started the other day a new album a week ago, with the drummer, Phil. His drum parts are finished, so we are now working on that album and also I am working on another album with Michael Sweet from Stryper, Tommy Aldridge from Whitesnake, Joel Hoekstra from Whitesnake and Marco Mendoza. So I am in the studio quite a lot in the next few months, recording vocals. We are allowed to travel for work, not for fun.
In the first lockdown I think there were more delays…
Yes, our album was pushed back two times, but honestly I was thankful for that, because it gave me more time to really work on the lyrics and at the beginning I was not at a good pace in my mind to write or make music. For me those extra two months were kind of really helpful.
It seems that ‘She Won’t Let You Go’ was written with guitarist Danny before he was in the band. Can you tell something more about that?
Danny was writing a solo project that he was going to do, which I agreed to help manage, because I think he is an amazing guitar player and then, when the opportunity came for him to join the band, we overlooked his songs and we wanted that song for him originally. Finally we decided to use it for Inglorious and that became our first single, so it is cool to think that we wrote that song as something different and now it has become a song for Inglorious. It is also just me and him who wrote that song, so it is pretty cool as well. Very special.
You are going to be busy this year I see…
Yeah, it sounds a bit funny. This album is just released and we are working on the next one, but this is the thing about lockdown. I think it is important during lockdown to do things you can do. We cannot gig, but we can make albums, so it is better to go back into the studio and get another album ready.
Yes, as long as you have enough inspiration at least… What were your recent favourite records?
I listened a lot to the new album of The Dead Daisies that came out this year. The new AC/DC is great. I love AC/DC. I listen to older things as well. I just recently discovered a band Big Wreck. Do you know them? I recommend their song ‘Locomotive’, but all of their songs are great. The singer sounds like Chris Cornell. The band is amazing, check it out!
Did you ever see AC/DC live?
Yes, I did. I saw them live with Axl Rose singing. I thought Axl was brilliant. He never looks so happy when he sings in Guns ‘N Roses (laughs). He looked like he was having the best time of his life in AC/DC.
I like the cover artwork. It looks battle like, the woman on the horse…
Yes, the woman on the horse represents three women in the songs. She’s got red hair, like the red haired lady in ‘She Won’t Let Me Go’, she kind of represents Medusa and she represents the lady we are singing about in the last song, the title track, lady Catherine who was a real person. That female on the cover represents all those women in the lyrics.
That is interesting. Do you have another interesting details about the songs?
Like I said the songs are written about different people. There is a song about a serial killer, called ‘Cruel Intentions’. That song I wrote after seeing a Netflix documentary about this serial killer. I mention in every interview that I am never going to say the person’s name, because I think sometimes these serial killers want to be famous. I don’t think we should glamorize what they have done. So I will never say the name, but I am inspired by these weird people. Finding them fascinating.
So the whole new album is already written?
(hesitates) Maybe we did not write it. It might be something else.
Now you are puzzling me…
Maybe it is songs that already exist.
Ah that way… a cover album then maybe… now you make me curious
(laughs) It is an album celebrating the group of people that we are. That is what we do.
In the first place the band was formed by you and you picked up people you did not know. How did you find the new members? Are that friends or strangers again?
Two were friends. Dan and Danny, the guitar players I knew before. Danny was already my friend. Lovely guys. I actually sang with them in Camden so many times after too many beers. And then Vinnie, the bass player, I was suggested by another bass player. I did not know Vinnie, but he is a perfect fit for the band. Lots of people say that it is the first time ever on an Inglorious album that you really hear bass frequencies. Vinnie knows what he is doing, he is a phenomenon musician.
I think it is always more agreeable to have friends around you in the band than total strangers…
Yes I think so too, but sometimes your friends are the best musicians.
If there is something you want to add to the interview, please do…
No, just enjoy the album. We worked very hard on it. It was recorded in a very tricky time, during lockdown. But it is the best reaction we as a band ever had to an album. The reviews have been amazing and people love it. So if you haven’t checked it out yet, go and check it out. Thank you for your support!
Geplaatst door Vera op zondag 07 maart 2021 - 14:02:42
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