The Answer, are a hard rockin’ blues rock band from Newcastle and Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. You may or may not have heard of them. For those new to The Answer, let us enlighten you, the band's debut album 'Rise' sold in excess of 30,000 copies in the UK & Europe, 10,000 on day one in Japan and 100,000 worldwide on the whole. The Answer played several festivals as well as a support slot with Whitesnake throughout their 2006 UK tour. The band also managed to secure themselves another support slot with Paul Rodgers at the Royal Albert Hall in the fall of 2006 as well. What's the saying? When you're hot, you’re hot! The summer of 2007 also saw the band support The Rolling Stones at a huge open-air gig in Belgrade (Serbia), and Dusseldorf (Germany), and The Who in Dublin (Ireland). For all you gamers out there, especially those who are hooked, like we are, on the "Guitar Hero" series, The Answer's 'Never Too Late' is featured in the latest edition, "Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock.
Here are some other things you should know about The Answer. The band played at a Phil Lynott memorial benefit gig in Dublin, where bass player Micky Waters played Phil Lynott's black bass, becoming the first person to do so since Lynott’s death. The same instrument is used by Waters in the music video for Keep Believin'. They also covered the Aerosmith song "Sweet Emotion" for a free Kerrang! CD. This was included on the second disc of the Special Edition of the 'Rise' album.
Def Leppard's lead singer Joe Elliott is a fan of the band and during an interview with AOL, he cited them as a possible influence in the way their forthcoming album will sound. He also said, "They're amazing. They could be the new Free!" Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is also a fan and has attended several of the band's gigs and stated so at the 2005 Classic Rock magazine Roll of Honour Awards.
The buzz about The Answer is starting to spread here in America too. Earlier this year, the band played two memorable shows that rocked the City Of Angels. Trust us, we were there. The future definitely looks bright for these lads from Ireland. Plus, when the legendary Paul Rodgers proclaims, that your band is the best rock band since FREE, you know that you are well on your way to becoming huge. So, when we found out the band was in town recording the follow up to 'Rise', we knew we had to make contact with them. One day before heading back to Ireland, we had a chance to talk with the band's vocalist, Cormac Neeson.
AAM: Welcome back to L.A. Cormac, thanks for talking with us. So, how long have you been in town?
Cormac Neeson: Hi guys, great to talk to you again. We've been in L.A. five weeks recording the album. It's been all good and it’s been busy. Getting used to the heat was kind of rough. At least there was a pool in the back of the studio. Every now and then we'd jump in, when we got too hot (laughs).
AAM: Okay, let's talk about the highly anticipated second album. We know that your debut, ‘Rise’ was full of loud guitar, ass kickin’ old school rock, what can we expect? Do you have a title?
CN: No title as of yet. The new album is definitely a step up from 'Rise' in every area. I and everyone in the band performed really well on the new record. We've come a long way since the first album. We've become better songwriters, better players, better singers. There is still going to be Paul's signature guitar solos, but they are going to be more defined. We were listening to the new songs for the first time yesterday and they really just grab you by the nuts.
AAM: You played 2 shows in L.A. a few months back, three songs were “new” songs, one was called “Revolution”, the other two, "Comfort Zone" and "Dead Of The Night"
CN: The new songs you guys heard live, we did off the cuff. We didn't really have time to think about doing them, we just went up there and did them. Everyone in the band now is really into expressing themselves as far as how they want the new album to sound. On our first album we were a bit inexperienced as far as how the whole process worked and even though we are extremely proud of that album. There were a few things that we could have changed. On the new album we are going to make sure we are not going to have any regrets. We are just going to create music that we are proud of.
AAM: Will these new songs make it to the CD?
CN: Yes, those three songs will appear on the album and they’re sounding great. Every song on the new album is new, "Revolution", being the oldest of the new songs. We've been playing that song live for the past six or seven months.
AAM: We’ve heard that John Travis (Kid Rock, Buckcherry) is producing, what was it like working with John?
CN: John Travis is a great guy. He works us hard. We're in the studio from 12:00 pm to 2 or 3 am, the following morning. He just doesn't let up. We're always waiting for that positive reaction from him. When he gives you that, you know you achieved what you needed to achieve for that particular song. John is definitely the kind of producer that we needed. He’s a real good rock and roll producer that worked us hard and did not let us lose focus while we were in the studio.
AAM: You guys started pre-production in Ireland before coming to L.A. right?
CN: Yes, we did three weeks of pre-production in Ireland before coming out to L.A. We were in this small studio in the middle of the countryside. We pressed the best songs that we could there and brought them here to finish the album. We basically have been doing a track a day and playing live in the studio. The whole process has been conducive to the kind of band that we are. At the end of every day, we have a song to listen to. It’s not like we had fifteen drum tracks, then fifteen bass tracks then the rhythm guitar tracks. By the time I come into to do my vocals I would forget what the vibe would be like. With the new album we captured everything all at once and that worked out well for us.
AAM: So, how many songs did you guys demo?
CN: We demoed 30 songs and we did fifteen songs here. We just didn't have enough time to do anymore. I imagine the album itself will have eleven or twelve tracks. Then we have three tracks we can use for Japanese releases because they always ask for extra tracks.
AAM: Five weeks in L.A., did you guys play any gigs? What did you do on your time off?
CN: No, we didn't play any shows this time around. We've mainly stayed in the studio recording. The most that we got off was a couple of nights at The Rainbow (laughs).
AAM: There’s a live video on youtube of THE LEGENDARY Paul
Rodgers onstage with you, what was that like?
CN: That was amazing for me! Paul Rodgers is my favorite singer of all time. Growing up listen to old Free records, stealing my Dad's records, sticking them on the player and listening to "Fire and Water". That video shot right before Christmas. We were doing a special gig for our fans. Then we got a call from Paul Rodger's management and said that he was in town and would like to come to the show and get up on stage with us. So he got up on stage with us and we did "I'm A Mover" and for an encore with did, "The Hunter". It was unbelievable. He got up on stage and said, 'This is The Answer, the best band since Free!' Christmas definitely came early for me.
AAM: Do you remember the first place/time you stepped on stage to play? What happened?
CN: Will never forget it. It was in a typically dark and dingy Belfast rock bar called the Front Page. The gig was going great until the very last tune and a massive fight broke out, involving one of James’s family members. Come the last note, he just dropped his sticks dived straight into the brawl and threw 2 blokes head first out the fire escape. You couldn’t plan that shit!
AAM: Will you put out a DVD"... the making of..." "...backstage with...", "all videos with live footage...", "behind the scenes, plus a day in the life of..."
CN: Yes, we've been having a camcorder following us around and we've been doing short blogs every day. Our experience for us this time around has been very well documented. I am pretty sure in the near future we'll put something together for public consumption.
AAM: Touring with Black Stone Cherry. You guys toured with them before right?
CN: That is correct; we are going to be doing a European tour with those guys. It’s going to be fun, we've toured with Black Stone Cherry before in Paris on our previous tour of Europe. We had a great time. Basically, we're doing this tour to build up the hype for the album; it’s a perfect way for us to get back into the game, so to speak.
AAM: Now according to what The Answer fans are saying on your website, it should be the other way around.
CN: A gig is a gig you know. The Answer fans are going to see us perform either way, whether we are opening or headlining.
AAM: If you could tour the U.S. with any bands, who would they be?
CN: If we toured the U.S., we'd want to tour with The Black Crowes. I've never seen them live before. They're a great band and I can imagine when they play live they create a great atmosphere.
AAM: Cormac, it's a pleasure talking with you mate. Thank you for sharing your time with us.
CN: Call me anytime. I appreciate you guys taking the time to talk we me. Thank you for all your support. We'll see you next time around. Cheers.
The Rocker and I along with All Access Magazine would like to thank Cormac Neeson for talking and sharing his time with us. People have asked us a number of times about which new bands are going to bring rock music into the new millennium and keep the spirit of rock music alive? The list is a short one and The Answer is definitely at the top of that list.
FOR MORE INFO on THE ANSWER: www.myspace.com/theanswerrock
