Kurdt Vanderhoof

Vanderhoof

Throughout the years Kurdt Vanderhoof has always been a force to be reckoned with, be it in 80's heavy metal flagship Metal Church, Hall aflame or more recently with the excellent 70's Rock formation Vanderhoof.
Although the past year seems to have been rather quiet, he has been bussy in the studio with the recording of the second Vanderhoof album, due to be released soon. More than reason enough for me to do a quick update on the current band-situation, find out a little bit more about the record itself and of course ask about the current Metal Church situation.

By David Kaluza

• February 1, 2002

First off, it's been a while since there was any news about Vanderhoof, save for the re-mixing and re-mastering of the forthcoming album, could you tell us what you did in the meantime ? (after the Metal Church tour up to now) And what went wrong with the initial mixing of it ?

After finishing what was to be the second album, our singer quit for the second time. That fact, as well as seeing that the record was such a departure from the first Vanderhoof album, it became incredibly obvious that it was a completely different band sound-wise, so we basically shelved that record.... it will eventually be released as a progressive rock side project. After replacing our singer, we made a conscious choice to go back and make a record more appropriate for the second Vanderhoof release, which is more in line with the direction of the first album. That album is now complete and will be released early-mid spring.

Is the band line-up still the same as on the previous album ? Or are there any line-up changes ?

There are changes... we have a new singer - Drew Hart, and a new bass player.

Could you tell us something about the musical direction - are there any significant changes musically between the first one and this ?

No, not really.. it is still very 70's oriented ROCK... and hopefully even more so than the first record!

What is the album going to be called, and could you give us some song-titles, and tell us a little bit more details about the songs in themselves if possible ? (eg..what direction each seperate song takes).

The album title is A Blur In Time. 30,000 Feet is a song about what goes through your mind on a night flight across the country. Electric Love Song is about the whole cyber-dating thing in general, the sometimes silliness of it all, and just how people can view it.

For the last Vanderhoof album I remember that you guys opened up for savatage. Are there any plans to take out Vanderhoof on the road this time and would you like to do a support of headlining tour ? Any bands in particular wich you'd like to team up with ?

Yes, we have definite touring plans. We would prefer to not open for a metal band because we're not metal... but we would love to open for anyone who will have us. Rush, Styx or Kansas would be good. (grin)

Do you follow the current rock and metal scene ? What do you think of the state that it's in ? Anything terribly good or terribly bad wich you'd like to comment on ?

I think music is in a very sad, sad, sad, horrible state, which is why I'm making the music that I am.... in a defiant reaction to the direction which music has gone towards.

Have you bought any music for yourself lately ?

Yes, but it's been older records that I didn't have time to get into when they were current, such as the early 70's prog rock stuff. I do like the new Buckcherry CD. Love Spock's Beard, the Flower Kings, and a lot of the early-mid 90's Britpop stuff.

Of course, this is a rather unavoidable question as well. What is the current situation on Metal Church ?

John Marshall and I are currently writing songs for the new Metal Church record.

Is Dave Wayne out or is he in ?

Dave Wayne is out.

There have been a lot of rumors about Mike Howe getting back into the band ? Is there any truth to that ?

There is some truth to the Mike rumors, but it's hard to say at this point whether or not it will happen.

Also, if you are going to tour with Vanderhoof will you be playing any Mc songs live in the setlist ? I remember last time start the fire was played ? (correct me if i'm wrong).

Maybe.. it's hard to say right now.

And lastly, thanx for taking the time to answer my questions and any final words for the fans & readers of the interview ?

Hopefully we'll still be flying the flags of REAL ROCK!!

Well, this concludes this interview, to finish off i'd say look out for A blur in time at your local record dealer soon, and in the meantime, keep checking out the band's official site for more information and updates.

www.vanderhoofband.com

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