Cat's Korner
www.patrickvega.com
www.myspace.com/patrickvega
patrickvegacom@yahoo.com
About: VEGA, Freefall Faith Firestorm (2007, Rock, Self)
How long have you been performing?
I play guitar since my dad gave me my first electric guitar and amp for my 14th birthday
and have been performing ever since which this week (Nov 7th is my birthday) is adding
up to a total of 12 years of playing guitar and performing music.
Do you play live or are you strictly studio?
Oh I love playing live! Playing the Warped Tour was awesome and all the other
countless performances and smaller tours, too. It doesn’t matter if you are playing in
front of one or 5.000 people; you flick the switch and give it your best (I almost tore off
a finger once doing that...)
It’s just a little harder with an instrumental project..on your own..to get financing and get
it out on the road but I do have plans to perform the Freefall Faith Firestorm material
live sooner than later. It will probably start in Europe very soon (I am originally from
Austria but am a resident of Southern California).
When you are writing the music, is it a burst of creativity or is it inspiration
from something in your life?
Excellent question. Every song on the album is based on very intense emotions stirred
up by things that happen(ed) in my life, but was created by a combination of something
that triggers “inspiration” and then the act of actual “creativity”:
I can have all those feelings and no song or I sit down with my guitar and it..just comes
out from my heart and soul. And it’s a very lucky moment when that happens...
Every track on the album I wrote that way. Every song on Freefall Faith Firestorm had
one specific trigger for creativity, way too personal to share and in one case could get
me into trouble…
What was the inspiration for the titles of the songs?
In a nutshell…I’ll just go down the song list of the album with this one. It’s all about
visuals and emotions. Lyrics or instrumental..doesn’t matter..it hit’s the spot when it
touches you. I have a very colorful imagination; always had. See that beach there in the
distance? I can smell the salt..
1.Camael
The infamous stalker song, the track that started it all...True story and actually the
whole thing resurfaced recently so I am gonna keep a low profile answer on this one. It
is very intense and the voice mail that you hear in the intro of the song is by far not the
scariest part of this whole ordeal. Bottom line: “Camael” is a spirit and is out there
watching me. Just like the restraining order I recently put out.
2.No Surrender
“Keep going and believe, ‘cause you’ll be just fine”. It’s strong, determined and positive
(It’s also inked on my arm in Japanese).
3.My Demons
I have a lot of them trying to mess with my head and soul..Visually it’s part 2 of a song
of mine called “Devils of Loudun” where I pictured this little exotic island at night where
little devils are dancing around bonfires…
4. The Voice of Virtue
..is actually a chapter in a novel called “Diary of a drug fiend” and I wrote it to remind
me not to go off on one of the off ramps on this highway and there are many..
5.No One
She was beautiful..yada yada yada it’s written and dedicated to “No One”. With ballads
like that people tend to ask: ”Who is it for? You wrote that for someone?” And I go:
“Yeah, no one”.
6. War Party
The smash hit song on the album. It’s big, it’s bold and it rocks. Inspired by Native
Americans…there’s a creek and the water is bloody.
7.Danza Demoniaca
It’s night. Drug lord premises. Two guys sitting by the window drinking Cognac, playing
cards while watching a lady dancing out there by the pool with a glass of champagne in
hand, throwing her hi heels in the water. Everything falls apart from there…
8.The Big Lion
You could also call it “The Big Monkey” I guess..(No point intended)
9. The Bonus Track
Is only available on the actual CD and not as a download (again..no point intended).
Are there any particular reasons why you chose to do strictly instrumentals?
I can’t sing! Haha..The vision of Freefall Faith Firestorm was to create a unique
instrumental album: compelling rock songs without vocals.
Entertaining but full of substance and melody. There are lots of details that make this
record unique: the tunings, the arrangements, the phrasing. A fusion of vintage and
modern. Van Halen, Page and Hendrix in a nu metal kind of way.
This album title is tattooed on my brain since I was 15: Freefall Faith Firestorm. Now the
album exists and it’s title is inked on my back. Solo wise that’s what I do, but I do have
quite a few band records fronted by a lead singer. I love doing that, too.
How do you feel about the current state of the music industry today? Do you
feel like as an independent artist that you have any chance of success?
Everything goes from one crisis to the next these days…the US Dollar hits record lows,
everyone is downloading..but hey that’s how it is. Generation X, video games, Britney
trying to perform live, combat consuming and weird wars. With a bit of luck the industry
will suck a little less at some point in time. We just really have to figure out how to make
a living as a musician again.
Honestly: I prefer analog over digital, I prefer colorful physical records over a tiny image
of a compressed file on my tiny ipod. I prefer the vivid and dynamic pre - “Loudness
Wars” albums over the ones where the waveform is just a flat line (My album was
mastered in the way that it is not participating in the Loudness Wars).
I enjoy watching the Zeppelin DVD over watching some music video station and I prefer
David Lee Roth’s “Crazy From The Heat” over some staged rock star event of some
pansy bubblegum “here today gone later today, I’m so cool I just did a line” rockstar.
You don’t have rowdie Ozzies, John Bonhams or Jim Morrison’s out there anymore and
the talent is not what it was 30 years ago but there’s good new stuff out there and
Prince did “Musicology” and Zeppelin, Van Halen and Ozzy are playing live so that
probably will inspire some 15 year olds to go out and get a guitar…we’ll see about the
outcome later.
To answer your question, everyone is looking for ways how to sell music but not ways
how to make great music anymore.
Success to me is: Being able to do your music; happily. To others it might mean:
shooting up on Christmas day alone in a mansion somewhere..or sleeping with
everyone that has an apartment or a studio to get ahead…everyone’s different.
I realized:
I am what I am and my dream is: Making my own music, expressing myself the way only I
can do it and one can do that today more so than ever. And I am happier than ever.
Vocals, no vocals, band, solo,...whatever feels right and works out..I didn’t get to meet
my band (gang) members back in the day which was the biggest luck of most major
bands. Everything happens for a reason. But I degress…
For anyone unfamiliar with Vega, what three songs would you pick to give
them a feel for your music?
There is a promo CD of the album featuring:
War Party
No Surrender
NoOne
My favorite song is War Party... What is your favorite song on the CD and why?
I’d have to say “No One”. I actually had tears in my eyes recording it and playing wise I
kicked my own ass.
Is there anything you now wish you could have done differently as far as with
the production of the CD?
There is a version of “No One” with live drums on it…it’s….the music obviously has
much more dynamics and breathes more that way but I almost went insane making that
happen for the CD so that’s why it’s all me on there.
So, no, that’s what Freefall Faith Firestorm is:
All me and I am very proud of it. And it is the ultimate demonstration of what’s possible
doing on your own and this out of a bedroom:
No amps, No Drums, No Band, No Recording Studio. Just me, a bunch of guitars, cheap
bass, my laptop, POD, some drum and recording software and a guy to mix and master
it. Word. Or rather: Pro Tools.
With the Online Music Distributors (OMD), do you think that it is harder to be
heard and noticed?
The Internet is our best friend and our worst enemy: You have the whole world as an
audience but they all want your shit for free.
If you create something that is you and you are outstandingly talented AND driven it will
get you noticed. It might take a while like it did for BB King or Van Gogh or William
Blake..poor guys) I don’t know..it’s all mistery. I’ll go with the Nike slogan on that one
and add a bouncy “Don’t give up” to it.
What are 5 CD's in your stereo right now?
Led Zeppelin ‘Presence’, Some ‘Classic Blues’ compilation CD, PJ Harvey ‘Stories from
the city, stories from the sea’, Nine Inch Nails ‘Year Zero’ and Testament’s ‘Practice
what you preach’.
Are you working on new material? What can Vega fans expect to see and hear
next year?
I finished up the first new song 3 days ago and am working on another one right now. A
lot of things happened in my life recently so inspiration is flowing. There is a tentative
album title and sketched out ideas, so I guess I am working on a new album. I learned
so much during the completion of Freefall Faith Firestorm (bass playing, drum
programming, production, pro tools skills, etc) and will put it to good use on the new
stuff.
Yet I will give Freefall Faith Firestorm time to breathe, it came out not even 3 months
ago…There’s merchandise I designed and live shows coming up. “War Party” is
competing in the upcoming ‘International Songwriting Competition’ and CD’s are being
pressed right now to go on sale…
So far I got tremendous responses from all around the globe which tell me I hit the bulls
eye, an acquainted well known guitar player who I respect very much gave me big time
kudos and a friend recently told me the song titles totally matched the images that
popped into his head when listening to the music; and he wasn’t high..I
think…wait…well he might have been but that’s not the point...
Will you be touring at all? With whom would you like to tour with?
Definitely. An opening slot for a kick ass band or some guitar guru would be amazing
(wink, wink). All I do right now is promote and market the album, design merchandise,
write new stuff and lots of emails…we’ll see what comes from that..
Oh my music is available on iTunes, go and get yourself a Vega track. Peace.
cathy@westcoastrockers.com
© Cathy Angelino Nov. 2007
www.myspace.com/patrickvega
patrickvegacom@yahoo.com
About: VEGA, Freefall Faith Firestorm (2007, Rock, Self)
How long have you been performing?
I play guitar since my dad gave me my first electric guitar and amp for my 14th birthday
and have been performing ever since which this week (Nov 7th is my birthday) is adding
up to a total of 12 years of playing guitar and performing music.
Do you play live or are you strictly studio?
Oh I love playing live! Playing the Warped Tour was awesome and all the other
countless performances and smaller tours, too. It doesn’t matter if you are playing in
front of one or 5.000 people; you flick the switch and give it your best (I almost tore off
a finger once doing that...)
It’s just a little harder with an instrumental project..on your own..to get financing and get
it out on the road but I do have plans to perform the Freefall Faith Firestorm material
live sooner than later. It will probably start in Europe very soon (I am originally from
Austria but am a resident of Southern California).
When you are writing the music, is it a burst of creativity or is it inspiration
from something in your life?
Excellent question. Every song on the album is based on very intense emotions stirred
up by things that happen(ed) in my life, but was created by a combination of something
that triggers “inspiration” and then the act of actual “creativity”:
I can have all those feelings and no song or I sit down with my guitar and it..just comes
out from my heart and soul. And it’s a very lucky moment when that happens...
Every track on the album I wrote that way. Every song on Freefall Faith Firestorm had
one specific trigger for creativity, way too personal to share and in one case could get
me into trouble…
What was the inspiration for the titles of the songs?
In a nutshell…I’ll just go down the song list of the album with this one. It’s all about
visuals and emotions. Lyrics or instrumental..doesn’t matter..it hit’s the spot when it
touches you. I have a very colorful imagination; always had. See that beach there in the
distance? I can smell the salt..
1.Camael
The infamous stalker song, the track that started it all...True story and actually the
whole thing resurfaced recently so I am gonna keep a low profile answer on this one. It
is very intense and the voice mail that you hear in the intro of the song is by far not the
scariest part of this whole ordeal. Bottom line: “Camael” is a spirit and is out there
watching me. Just like the restraining order I recently put out.
2.No Surrender
“Keep going and believe, ‘cause you’ll be just fine”. It’s strong, determined and positive
(It’s also inked on my arm in Japanese).
3.My Demons
I have a lot of them trying to mess with my head and soul..Visually it’s part 2 of a song
of mine called “Devils of Loudun” where I pictured this little exotic island at night where
little devils are dancing around bonfires…
4. The Voice of Virtue
..is actually a chapter in a novel called “Diary of a drug fiend” and I wrote it to remind
me not to go off on one of the off ramps on this highway and there are many..
5.No One
She was beautiful..yada yada yada it’s written and dedicated to “No One”. With ballads
like that people tend to ask: ”Who is it for? You wrote that for someone?” And I go:
“Yeah, no one”.
6. War Party
The smash hit song on the album. It’s big, it’s bold and it rocks. Inspired by Native
Americans…there’s a creek and the water is bloody.
7.Danza Demoniaca
It’s night. Drug lord premises. Two guys sitting by the window drinking Cognac, playing
cards while watching a lady dancing out there by the pool with a glass of champagne in
hand, throwing her hi heels in the water. Everything falls apart from there…
8.The Big Lion
You could also call it “The Big Monkey” I guess..(No point intended)
9. The Bonus Track
Is only available on the actual CD and not as a download (again..no point intended).
Are there any particular reasons why you chose to do strictly instrumentals?
I can’t sing! Haha..The vision of Freefall Faith Firestorm was to create a unique
instrumental album: compelling rock songs without vocals.
Entertaining but full of substance and melody. There are lots of details that make this
record unique: the tunings, the arrangements, the phrasing. A fusion of vintage and
modern. Van Halen, Page and Hendrix in a nu metal kind of way.
This album title is tattooed on my brain since I was 15: Freefall Faith Firestorm. Now the
album exists and it’s title is inked on my back. Solo wise that’s what I do, but I do have
quite a few band records fronted by a lead singer. I love doing that, too.
How do you feel about the current state of the music industry today? Do you
feel like as an independent artist that you have any chance of success?
Everything goes from one crisis to the next these days…the US Dollar hits record lows,
everyone is downloading..but hey that’s how it is. Generation X, video games, Britney
trying to perform live, combat consuming and weird wars. With a bit of luck the industry
will suck a little less at some point in time. We just really have to figure out how to make
a living as a musician again.
Honestly: I prefer analog over digital, I prefer colorful physical records over a tiny image
of a compressed file on my tiny ipod. I prefer the vivid and dynamic pre - “Loudness
Wars” albums over the ones where the waveform is just a flat line (My album was
mastered in the way that it is not participating in the Loudness Wars).
I enjoy watching the Zeppelin DVD over watching some music video station and I prefer
David Lee Roth’s “Crazy From The Heat” over some staged rock star event of some
pansy bubblegum “here today gone later today, I’m so cool I just did a line” rockstar.
You don’t have rowdie Ozzies, John Bonhams or Jim Morrison’s out there anymore and
the talent is not what it was 30 years ago but there’s good new stuff out there and
Prince did “Musicology” and Zeppelin, Van Halen and Ozzy are playing live so that
probably will inspire some 15 year olds to go out and get a guitar…we’ll see about the
outcome later.
To answer your question, everyone is looking for ways how to sell music but not ways
how to make great music anymore.
Success to me is: Being able to do your music; happily. To others it might mean:
shooting up on Christmas day alone in a mansion somewhere..or sleeping with
everyone that has an apartment or a studio to get ahead…everyone’s different.
I realized:
I am what I am and my dream is: Making my own music, expressing myself the way only I
can do it and one can do that today more so than ever. And I am happier than ever.
Vocals, no vocals, band, solo,...whatever feels right and works out..I didn’t get to meet
my band (gang) members back in the day which was the biggest luck of most major
bands. Everything happens for a reason. But I degress…
For anyone unfamiliar with Vega, what three songs would you pick to give
them a feel for your music?
There is a promo CD of the album featuring:
War Party
No Surrender
NoOne
My favorite song is War Party... What is your favorite song on the CD and why?
I’d have to say “No One”. I actually had tears in my eyes recording it and playing wise I
kicked my own ass.
Is there anything you now wish you could have done differently as far as with
the production of the CD?
There is a version of “No One” with live drums on it…it’s….the music obviously has
much more dynamics and breathes more that way but I almost went insane making that
happen for the CD so that’s why it’s all me on there.
So, no, that’s what Freefall Faith Firestorm is:
All me and I am very proud of it. And it is the ultimate demonstration of what’s possible
doing on your own and this out of a bedroom:
No amps, No Drums, No Band, No Recording Studio. Just me, a bunch of guitars, cheap
bass, my laptop, POD, some drum and recording software and a guy to mix and master
it. Word. Or rather: Pro Tools.
With the Online Music Distributors (OMD), do you think that it is harder to be
heard and noticed?
The Internet is our best friend and our worst enemy: You have the whole world as an
audience but they all want your shit for free.
If you create something that is you and you are outstandingly talented AND driven it will
get you noticed. It might take a while like it did for BB King or Van Gogh or William
Blake..poor guys) I don’t know..it’s all mistery. I’ll go with the Nike slogan on that one
and add a bouncy “Don’t give up” to it.
What are 5 CD's in your stereo right now?
Led Zeppelin ‘Presence’, Some ‘Classic Blues’ compilation CD, PJ Harvey ‘Stories from
the city, stories from the sea’, Nine Inch Nails ‘Year Zero’ and Testament’s ‘Practice
what you preach’.
Are you working on new material? What can Vega fans expect to see and hear
next year?
I finished up the first new song 3 days ago and am working on another one right now. A
lot of things happened in my life recently so inspiration is flowing. There is a tentative
album title and sketched out ideas, so I guess I am working on a new album. I learned
so much during the completion of Freefall Faith Firestorm (bass playing, drum
programming, production, pro tools skills, etc) and will put it to good use on the new
stuff.
Yet I will give Freefall Faith Firestorm time to breathe, it came out not even 3 months
ago…There’s merchandise I designed and live shows coming up. “War Party” is
competing in the upcoming ‘International Songwriting Competition’ and CD’s are being
pressed right now to go on sale…
So far I got tremendous responses from all around the globe which tell me I hit the bulls
eye, an acquainted well known guitar player who I respect very much gave me big time
kudos and a friend recently told me the song titles totally matched the images that
popped into his head when listening to the music; and he wasn’t high..I
think…wait…well he might have been but that’s not the point...
Will you be touring at all? With whom would you like to tour with?
Definitely. An opening slot for a kick ass band or some guitar guru would be amazing
(wink, wink). All I do right now is promote and market the album, design merchandise,
write new stuff and lots of emails…we’ll see what comes from that..
Oh my music is available on iTunes, go and get yourself a Vega track. Peace.
cathy@westcoastrockers.com
© Cathy Angelino Nov. 2007
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