Brian Rademacher: Hello Johannes and welcome to RockEyez.
Johannes Stole: Thanks for having me.
Brian Rademacher: Let’s go way back to ORANGE CRUSH (from 1998), was melodic rock always the style you wanted to go into?
Johannes Stole: I always liked melodic rock because I always listened to TOTO and other bands and that’s the things I wanted to do. When I met Daniel he had the same vision and we started writing those kinds of songs and started the band.
Brian Rademacher: When you started PEDESTRIANS OF BLUES you got great reviews did you still want to continue with that band?
Johannes Stole: We did continue but with a name change to SLAVES TO FASHION but basically we are P.O.B. , we play P.O.B songs and we have also written some new songs. That became a more progressive rock band now with XORIGIN being my melodic rock band.
Brian Rademacher: So tell me about FishFarm Records?
Johannes Stole: (Laughing) You heard about FishFarm Records?
Brian Rademacher: Yes, I do some studying before interviews.
Johannes Stole: Alright! That was the guitar player from P.O.B. and me. We decided to record an album, the first P.O.B. album. We got some offers from small independent labels to release it. Than we thought we can do it ourselves, so we started FishFarm Records. That was a great learning experience (to see) the way the business works. We decided everything ourselves from the album cover, promotion and the music.
Brian Rademacher: Are you looking to sign any bands?
Johannes Stole: Right now we put that to bed because we had an offer to put out another P.O.B. album from another label. We got a record deal from Germany. It was fun to try our hand at our own label but I think it was too much work playing , producing, writing and dealing with all the business side of it. So we are not looking to sign any bands right now, maybe we will pick it up later.
Brian Rademacher: Let’s get to the new XORIGIN record on Frontiers, "State Of The Art". Were you also looking to Frontiers Records to go with because they are the biggest melodic rock label in the world?
Johannes Stole: Frontiers were always the label we looked to getting signed to. We had a dream of always getting signed to Frontiers. It was a combination of hard work and luck (that) landed us the record deal.
Brian Rademacher: I watched the video this morning for "Can't Keep Running". It’s an excellent video. I read some comments on YouTube saying the songs fantastic but the video was ok. I think whoever made that comment really didn’t watch the video and see the emotion in the band during the shooting of it. I enjoyed it.
Johannes Stole: I think we capture what we wanted and we had a great location for the filming. I think we got the most out of it with the budget (that) we had.
XorigiN - Can't Keep Running
Brian Rademacher: I feel the song had a little flare of John Waite to it. How do you feel about that comment?
Johannes Stole: That could be. I feel our music is a mixture of all the classic rock we’ve been listening to over the years.
Brian Rademacher: Were there any songs more difficult to record than others on the record?
Johannes Stole: Yes, the song "Gina". Daniel had the basic idea for that song and we sat and wrote it together. He wanted me to sing the verses low in the beginning but it didn’t sound very good. He said try to sing an octave up; I said that is going to be ridiculously high. He said give it a try. So I tried it and we said that’s the way it should be. There was quite a bit of songs that were difficult to sing because they were so high. But it was a great experience and I love high vocals and big harmonies.
Brian Rademacher: The new CD is only out a short time, so how are the reviews going?
Johannes Stole: We got a bunch of great reviews and we’re very happy about that. We had a few mediocre reviews but the majority is very positive.
Brian Rademacher: Is XORIGIN a studio project or a live touring band?
Johannes Stole: We are planning on putting a live touring band together now. We will be based in Sweden where Daniel is. I live in Oslo, Norway.
Brian Rademacher: I talked with Daniel this morning via instant Message, seems like a nice guy.
Johannes Stole: He is a great guy and has a great sense of humor and is a hell of a guitar player. He’s brilliant!
Brian Rademacher: What is a typical day for you?
Johannes Stole:Daniel and I are always writing songs and writing songs for other artists as well. We are doing a lot of promotion and my other band SLAVES TO FASHION are going on tour in October in Germany and Norway. It’s music 24/7!
Brian Rademacher: Can you tell me any other artists you are writing music for?
Johannes Stole: Yeah, we are doing some stuff for Isis and we have other songs we have shopped around. Daniel has some of his songs placed with other artists too.
Brian Rademacher: Do you see a follow up album to "State Of The Art"?
Johannes Stole: Definitely, we want to do another album; actually we are planning it already. I hope people enjoy this album so we get a chance for the follow up.
Brian Rademacher: How do you feel about the world as a whole right now and for the future?
Johannes Stole: That’s a tough question. I try to be positive, there’s a lot of shit happening out there. I know what I’m here for and that is to make music and if I can make people happy with my music and I can make a difference to people that’s what I tried to do and be positive.
Brian Rademacher: What was your feeling when that tragedy happened in Norway with the youth summer camp recently?
Johannes Stole: That was horrible. I live in Oslo and it was surreal especially the first day because we didn’t know who did it and if there were more bombs. I think it changed the lives of so many in Norway. (In a way) I was glad it was one lunatic that did it and not a terrorist group.
Brian Rademacher: In closing would you like to say anything to the fans?
Johannes Stole: I hope they enjoy the album and feel happy listening to it. We hope to see you on tour. Bye bye.
