About a year after their last show in our country, we have the honor to speak with the young and talented drummer of the Polish band Vader. James Stewart speaks about the band and his personal start as a professional musician.
Rock Overdose: So, James, you are the newest and the youngest member of Vader. When and in which way did you join the band?
James Stewart: I officially joined the band in August 2011 but I auditioned the February before. I came to the attention of Vader when my UK thrash metal band, Divine Chaos supported Vader on the Blitzkrieg V tour over Northern Europe and Scandinavia. I then did a session for a Polish band (Crionics) and got to meet the manager of Vader. Then finally, when Paul decided to leave, he recommended me for the job and Vader’s manager asked me to audition. Pretty simple, really.
Rock Overdose: Being from UK and Vader being from Poland, how hard is it making rehearsals? Have you thought of moving in Poland?
James Stewart: There’s really no need to move to Poland at this stage. It’s only a 2-hour flight away and I live very close to several main international airports in the UK. And as we only rehearse a few days before a tour it is just simpler for me to fly over a couple of days earlier. That all said I am working on my Polish!
Rock Overdose: You started touring the same year you entered the band. Two of your destinations were Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece). Which were your impressions?
James Stewart: Well, it was nice for us to hit somewhere warm (at least for us) during a winter tour! But the reception was really great! We were worried that the financial situation that was unfolding in Greece would affect turnout – which it did, but not as much as we feared! And we all enjoyed the warm weather, good food, good people and the enthusiasm for metal that both of those audiences had! We will definitely return in future!
Rock Overdose: Since 2008 you are also drummer in a thrash metal band, Divine Chaos. Shall we wait something new from this band in the future?
James Stewart: The debut album has been tracked and we’re just waiting on the final mix. The demos are sounding fucking huge and I’m really confident that it will be well received. It’s got a really good mix of influences from a variety of metal and jazz-fusion artists but I think it still remains pretty firmly in Thrash. It’s a very different style of drumming from Vader – blastbeats only appear briefly on one song, so there’s much more focus on other drumming concepts.
Rock Overdose: Back in Vader, you plan some shows outside Europe. Tell us a few words about it.
James Stewart: I’ve just returned home from a tour over South America (you can read all about that in our tour blog on the Massive Music facebook site) and before that we toured in Russia last spring. Now we’re setting our eyes on China (which will be Vader’s first time), Australia and New Zealand. We’re also planning to invade the USA and Canada again but this is only in the baby stages right now.
Rock Overdose: Do you believe that being a member in such bands as Vader is enough to earn a "salary" for living?
James Stewart: There’s no opinion about it. Either it is or it isn’t. The simple truth is, most of the time it isn’t. In Vader it depends on how many shows per year we do. And also for me I already have debts (because of the education system in the UK), so it provides me with a lot of money that I have to reinvest into other projects which I run in my own time between tours. This will either be teaching, session work or other bands. Right now, I’m trying to focus on getting my other 2 bands (Divine Chaos and Written in Waters) into a position where they can also make some money so I don’t ever have to get a real job! But to sum up, most professional musicians will have 2 or 3 projects on the go at once. I’ve seen George Kollias is doing his own dvds, special lessons for Sickdrummer.com in addition to being in Nile. This is pretty normal, but it’s all a labour of love and as long as it keeps me behind a kit instead behind a desk, I don’t care!
Rock Overdose: Vader was one of the first underground death metal bands in Poland. What do you think is the key to success that kept you in the first places during the years?
James Stewart: I’m the wrong person to ask! Wrong country, wrong time! But from what I’ve seen of Peter, it will have been simply, relentless hard work, practice, focus and most of all, perseverance! This is still happening now! We still play and tour all the time and we’re always finding new places to go and spread our music!
Rock Overdose: Now, concerning your last album, is there a connection between " Welcome to the Morbid Reich" and Vader’s 3rd demo "Morbid Reich"?
James Stewart: Again, I’m the wrong person to ask as I came on board after the album was completed – it was supposed to be Paul’s swansong for the band. However, it’s obviously no coincidence that the name of the new album is referencing the 3rd demo. I think it’s simply more of a reference to how far Vader has come in nearly 30 years and though there have been many lineup changes Vader is still strong, more than any specific connection.
Rock Overdose: In 2011 you released your last album. Are there any ideas for a new one?
James Stewart: It hasn’t even been a year since the release of the last album and we're not done touring this album by any means – there are still plenty of people that haven’t seen the new album live or this new incarnation of Vader! And it seems sensible to introduce ourselves (me and Hal) to the world before hitting the studio again. That said, ideas are forming so maybe soon we will be ready.
Rock Overdose: And what is Vader's next goal?
James Stewart: We have some small festivals (no major ones this year) in Germany and then we have some smaller shows in Poland before China, Australia and New Zealand. Then we’ll do a big tour before the end of the year (but this is still being planned). Early 2013 will see us headline Europe again and then no one knows!
Rock Overdose: Well, thanks James and hope to see you back in Greece soon!
James Stewart: Thanks! I’m sure we’ll be back soon - Vader never stop!
For RockOverdose.gr,
Labrini Gouma.
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