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West Side Dave: What led to the formation of VISION?
Dave Vignola: VISION really started when Juliette and I started writing music together for fun back in 2006. We both had recently left different cover bands and decided that we didn't want to go back to playing in cover bands. We also wanted to work together; being husband and wife we thought we could work well together. So after writing 5-6 songs in our home studio we thought the material was pretty strong and thought it would be fun to play some live shows. At that point we needed to get a band together so we called on some old friends from previous cover bands who happened to be free at the time. Joe and Diane listened to our rough demo and liked the material enough to come down and jam together. After a few rehearsals we realized that we could do something with this music so we "formed" a band.
WSD: What were your primary goals when starting the band?
DV: Our primary goal was to record the songs we had written which at that point was 10-12 songs. Then play some local clubs just for fun. We didn 't have any further thoughts than that at that point. We figured that once we recorded the CD and played some local shows we would see how people took to our music and then take it from there. We were fortunate that people enjoyed what we were doing.
WSD: Has the band always played original tunes or was it strictly covers in the beginning?
DV: We always did originals from the very beginning. We never had any interest in doing cover tunes. We all had played in so many cover bands in the past and didn't want to be just another cover band who did a couple of originals in their set. Actually we wouldn't even do 1 cover song in the very beginning; we were that strict about that. Now we do 2 or 3 in our set because we really like doing them, not because we have too.
WSD: Is the whole band involved in the song writing?
DV: No. I write 95% of all the music and Juliette writes 95% of all the lyrics. The other members do little writing and add their own "stamp" on each song but the songs are usually completed in rough form before the rest of the band even hears it for the 1st time. There are a couple of expectations to that however. "All about you" was a song Joe brought to the band and "Party Song" the lyrics were written by Diane.
WSD: Can you tell us a bit about the recording of "No Regrets"?
DV: "No Regrets" Took about 4 months to record. We would rehearse a song for a few weeks and get it to the point where the band sounded polished and tight. Then we would schedule a day for Diane to come in to the studio and lay down the drum tracks. Then over the next week or so we would have each person come in and record their parts. Once we had everything record, I would spend about 2 days mixing each song. We did all the recording in our home studio so we had a lot of flex ability with scheduling and we didn't have the pressure of worrying about "being on the clock" so to speak. Juliette and I decide early on the we would build a full recording studio in our home so we had complete freedom and all the necessary tools to make a professional recording.
For me personally there was a little pressure because I was the producer, engineer as well as one of the musicians. So, I was very busy on this project.lol.
WSD: Lyrically, are any of the songs taken from personal experiences?
DV: Most of the lyrics are about us or people we know and their experiences. Some are just stories like "Into the Void" which is about Sadamm Husaine and his journey into hell. Or "Don't Touch My Guitar" which is a fun little story.
WSD: Which songs from the CD do enjoy playing the most live?
DV: We enjoy playing "Don't Touch My Guitar", "Wasn't Meant to Be" "Rock Starr" "Into the Void" "Line in the Sand" the most. The fans seem to like them the most as well.
WSD: VISION is planning to record a new CD and a DVD correct?
DV: Yes, we have all the songs for the next CD written and we are rehearsing them now, getting them ready to record, we hope to have the CD released in spring 2009. We also have a DVD documentary of the band and the making of the CD. This documentary will include band interviews, live footage, studio footage and other cool things. We are very excited about the project
WSD: Final Comments?
DV: We just want to thank all of our fans. We have gotten so many e-mails from people all over the USA and we read and personally respond to each one of them. People are very kind to us and we so appreciate it. Honestly, Juliette and I never thought that what started as a few songs written in our 2 bedroom condo would be something that people would like, but they do and we are glad to make more music for those fans. Every time we play a show we see more and more people coming out to see us and we always stick around after the show to talk with our fans. We hope to gain even more fans as time passes. We call them part of the VISION family. We never take them for granted and many fans have told me personally that they feel like they are our friends and not just another customer buying our products. Well, they are our friends!! We don't ever ask anyone to buy our merchandise. People ask us where they can get it. We don't like to push it on people. It's not about that for us. We consider these people family and if the material is good enough, it will sell itself. Not to mention we give away a lot of our stuff for FREE to people at the shows.
Thanks, Dave!
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