Interviewed by Brian Rademacher
Date: October 2010
Brian Rademacher: : Hello Harry and welcome to RockEyez. What a great music career you’ve had so far. Can you pinpoint your biggest highlight in your career so far?
Harry Hess: Getting our record deal with Warner was great and also recently signing as a writer with Universal Music Publishing. As far as live shows go, our first sold out tour in Japan was a highlight for sure…
Brian Rademacher: With all the work you’ve done so far in music how do you keep your family life happy?
Harry Hess: Well the two are the only things I really do! (It’s) Just work and a home life… Although I spend a lot of hours doing music, I still work from home when I can and try to be around for as much family stuff as possible.
Brian Rademacher: I’m checking out BLIND VENGEANCE on YouTube and it sounds kind of like early IRON MAIDEN, would you have ever thought your music journey would take you to melodic rock?
Harry Hess: I just checked that out, my god that was horrible…. Just a bunch of kids that had no clue of what they were doing trying to write songs and record… Ha-ha, good times though!!!!!!
Brian Rademacher: Can you put into perspective the band RUBBER releasing their self-titled record under both the HAREM SCAREM and RUBBER name in 1999?
Harry Hess: Yes, HAREM SCAREM was having a hard time getting airplay in Canada so the record company thought they would send it to radio under another name to see what the reaction would be and it proved that they were not playing us because of who we were. Under RUBBER our first single "Sunshine "was a top 20 hit… Everything was pretty good in Europe and Asia for us so they didn’t want to change the name in every territory (crazy record labels)….
Brian Rademacher: When Justin asked you to contribute to "Liberty N Justice" what was your first reaction?
Harry Hess: He must like my heavenly lyrics!!!! I’m always happy to collaborate with other artists and labels so I said yes.
Brian Rademacher: What kind of kid were you during your school years?
Harry Hess: I never wanted to be there, I preferred being at home doing my own thing and during high school I was really into music and didn’t care much for school (but I did finish and even did a year of college).
Brian Rademacher: What was the first record you owned/bought?
Harry Hess: I think it was KISS "Destroyer ".
Brian Rademacher: What was the first concert you attended and did it make any impact on you?
Harry Hess: It was Max Webster and also APRIL WINE in Oshawa, Ontario… Funny that I later ended up touring Canada with APRIL WINE with HAREM SCAREM.
Brian Rademacher: You worked with Eric Ragno on FIRST SIGNAL. He can’t be that nice of a guy! Do you know or have any feelings towards Eric? I have to ask that because he’s a friend and I’ve never heard a bad word about him so maybe you can give me some dirt? (LOL)
Harry Hess: I wish I could give you some dirt but we worked separately on the recording so we didn’t get a chance to meet.
Brian Rademacher: How are the HAREM SCAREM fans accepting the FIRST SIGNAL release?
Harry Hess: It’s seems pretty good, I think most of them are fans of melodic rock and are happy that I was doing a rock record again (like I was). So I would say it’s been very positive.
Brian Rademacher: Has Frontiers talked to you about doing a follow up solo album?
Harry Hess: No… I recently decided to make one and I’m currently scheduling it all and putting it together… It will be under "Hess ".
Brian Rademacher: When you did FIRST SIGNALcompared to HAREM SCAREM do you put yourself in a different mind frame during the writing/recording process?
Harry Hess: I (actually) just sang on the record and Frontiers brought me in after they had songs in mind.
Brian Rademacher: When you did sign with Frontiers did you approach them or they approached you and were there any restrictions with the sound of the record?
Harry Hess: They approached me to do it and I got the feeling they wanted it to be a "melodic rock" record but I really liked the songs and I was happy to be involved.
Brian Rademacher: Any idea where the FIRST SIGNAL moniker came from and is there anything behind the name?
Harry Hess: The name seemed to be in place when I got involved.
Brian Rademacher: In your producing of other artists are there any artists/bands you would love to work with?
Harry Hess: QUEEN would have been fun to produce… with Freddie of course.
Brian Rademacher: Do you think you will ever play any dates in the U.S.?
Harry Hess: (There is) nothing in the works at the moment, there are so few opportunities these days unless you are willing to loose a fair bit of money…
Brian Rademacher: Is there any prized possessions from your music career that you keep on your wall at home?
Harry Hess: You wouldn’t even know I’m in the music business if you came to my home. I’ve put up the Gold and Platinum records at the studio in the last few years, but that’s about it.
Brian Rademacher: Can you tell us 3 things that fans might not know about Harry Hess?
Harry Hess:
- I like hockey.
- I love sushi.
- I hate people with big egos.
Brian Rademacher: Before I let you go you know my last question has to be… Will there ever be another HAREM SCAREM release?
Harry Hess: Never say never but we can’t think of a reason to make one (or not make one!) at the moment…
Brian Rademacher: Is there anything you would like to mention to our readers before ending; other projects, guest spots, anything?
Harry Hess: Just the solo record as far as what I’m doing as an artist. Also writing/ producing and mixing lot’s of other bands….
Brian Rademacher: Harry it’s been a pleasure.
Harry Hess: Thanks for the support!!!!
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