Slaves To The Thrill
Scott Rockenfield of Slave To The System Talks To AAM
Article/Interview by The Atomic Chaser & The Rocker
The music industry is a rough business. The livelihood of a musician is often intertwined with his efforts to satisfy the demands of record label executives, producers, management and countless other cogs in the commercial wheel. But what if a musician had nobody to answer to but himself? This is the question that Slave To The System set out to answer.
Slave To The System have bled for the industry machine: Scott Rockenfield has been performing for over 20 years with prog metal powerhouse Queensryche, where he first worked with guitarist/vocalist Kelly Gray, who is also adept in the producer’s seat. Guitarist Damon Johnson and bassist Roman Glick did their time with radio-rock mainstays Brother Cane, with Johnson also enjoying a current stint performing with Alice Cooper. Slave To The System became a musical vacation from the mandatory minutia.
Slave To The System's music speaks for itself. It is no wonder that a record label adept at handling hard rock and metal projects would take to the heavy, yet melodic, sound of Slave To The System. From the powerful buildup of the opening riff on “Stigmata” to the somber tone of “Walk The Line”, Slave To The System grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. “Ruby Wednesday” is a strong driving rocker, while the powerful acoustic balladry of “Abyss” and “Live This Life” will have any listener singing along. The ballsy crunch and band-defining lyrics of the title track make it the definitive Slave To The System song. A solid album throughout, fans will be waiting in anticipation to witness the power of a live Slave To The System performance.
The Rocker and I wanted to get the lowdown on Slave To The System. The band's drummer, Scott Rockenfield dropped us a line and shared with us what they have on tap for 2006. Here is what he shared with us...
AAM: Talk to us about how you guys came up with the name, Slave To The System...
Scott Rockenfield: Kelly Gray, who also produced the album, had this idea about putting us all in a room. I hadn't met Damon or Roman before, but I was familiar with their work in Brother Cane. A long story short, we got into the studio to see what would happen and it happened!. Within three weeks we had written and recorded a whole album. As far as how we came up with the name of the band, we were all tired of "The System". So we decided to something that we are not going to be a slave of. Let's just have fun making a record without the pressure of the industry looking over our shoulders.
AAM: What was it like recording an album that you guys produced, arranged and wrote without having "Corporate" looking over your shoulders?
SR: It was fun! For the first time we recorded a album on our own terms. Not worrying about keeping deadlines and time in studio. We had a blast.
AAM: How long were you in the studio recording this album? How many songs did you guys actually write?
SR: We spent 3 weeks recording the album. As far as songs, we had written 10 when we first got together. Then we had two new songs, "Ragdoll" and "Cruise Control".
AAM: How important was it for you guys as a band to create something different from what your fans from Queensryche and Brother Cane are familiar to hearing?
SR: What we wanted to do is blend our mutual talents together. Damon and Roman from Brother Cane that had those great hooks and melodic rock sound. Then you have the Queenryche material that I've done which is more of a progressive rock vibe. Combining all that together and creating a sound that is uniquely our own. I think those who haven't heard the songs yet, will really like what they hear with Slave To The System.
AAM: Will there be a Slave To The System Tour?
SR: In fact we just confirmed our first show on the 25th of February in Florida with plan to do shows in New York and Los Angeles in the making. We just have to balance the commitment we have. Damon with Alice Cooper and Queensryche for me to get things going. Damon and I did an interview on Alice Cooper's Radio Show. He actually gave us a gracious invite to come out and open for him as much as we can. That is really big for us. Trying to find or even get a tour nowadays is so hard. Alice has such a great crowd and following. So I think it would be great for us, being a "new band" to play to that kind of setting.
AAM: Good to see that people are starting to response to Slave To The System. You guys are doing great on myspace.com.
SR: We have been really, really been lucky with all the relationship we've had in this business in regards to Slave To The System. Being careful not to burn any bridges. From radio and other forms of media really digging what this band is all about. Good music. We are so happy to see people responding so positive to our music.
AAM: What are your thoughts of the music industry today?
SR: As far as the industry. You can really get discouraged about the way music industry is handled now. Thank god for the internet. It has given us some much more with what we can do with our music. Something that we didn't have 20 years ago.
AAM: Looking back, now that the album is done, are you happy with how it turned out?
SR: Extremely happy with how the album turned out. There is a saying, 'The proof is in the pudding', I think we really put together a great band here. I'll be honest with you, I'm taking this one to the grave with me, I am taking it to the top!
AAM: Does Slave To The System have longevity? There are just so many new rock bands that come onto the scene that have a very short shelf life.
SR: Absolutely! One reason is we really enjoyed our company in making this record. We all like being in a band together. We have a record company in Spitfire Records that is really behind us in getting the word out on Slave To The System. As the momentum keeps growing, we are going to keep on pushing on. All of us are really excited about this band. Slave To The System is definitely here to stay.
AAM: Scott, man we can't thank you enough for spending your time doing this interview. We are really excited about Slave To The System. Is there anything else you would like to add?
SR: Thanks to you and The Rocker! We really appreciate what you guys are doing! Thanks also to all our fans that have supported us through the years. We are looking forward to seeing them all when we go on tour!
The Slave to the System album is due out on February 21, 2006. The tracks include:
• Stigmata
• Ruby Wednesday
• Slave to the System
• Live This Life
• Cruze Out of Control
• Abyss
• Disinfected
• Gone Today
• Will You Be There
• Leaves
• Ragdoll
• Walk the Line
For more information on Slave To The System, please check out, www.slavetothesystem.com
Article/Interview by The Atomic Chaser & The Rocker
