Trucker Diablo Interview

Northern Irish rock band Trucker Diablo have been creating something of a name for themselves with their hard and heavy Southern rock. We recently reviewed their debut album The Devil Rhythm and really liked it. We spoke to Tom Harte from the band to get some of the background story.

How did Trucker Diablo initially get together?

Simon and I had been in bands for years and funny enough the first idea of us getting together started to happen about 10 years ago. We just started to get to know each other and we knew we wanted to do something....Fast forward 8 and half years later after a break from music and we got back in touch and decided to put the band together, Terry played in one of my previous bands so it was really a no brainer getting him in and Glenn who had been a fan of the previous band stepped in from Terry's recommendation and the band was born. We only started the band initially for fun because we loved playing music, but the material was getting better and people started to take notice, so we switched from first gear into overdrive and started taking it more seriously....

Your music is usually described as Southern Rock or Classic Rock, how would YOU describe what you do?

I was say we walk the line that sits between those genres, we love the southern stuff and classic rock. So let's say they are having sex at the moment and we are the bastard child lol.....

Which bands would you cite as your biggest influences?

I think most of us grew up on thrash and metal, the big 4 getting the most plays in the teenage rooms. But as time rocked on the influences everything from Skynard, Annilator, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Therapy, Kiss, Pride and Glory and many more played a part.....

Your new album 'The Devil Rhythm' has been receiving some positive reviews, happy with the reception?

Definitely, The album was about 6 months in the making right from "Let's do this" to " Thank fuck that's over" lol...We wanted all the songs to come across as genuine hard rocking tunes that we loved to play...There's a very real factor in the songs with topics covering taking no shit from anyone to being so drunk that your like a human alcoholic tornado that wipes out everything in its way....We have so many people saying they love the album and that genuinely makes us really happy, we been trying to do something together that means something for years and we finally feel we are making headway. Obviously Ricky Warwick made Juggernaut an unstoppable force and we went to number in the Amazon rock charts with his help and to have such a recognized rock name on the album gives us a bit more clout...Then he sent me a message to say Joe Elliot from Def Leppard loved it and that just made it better for us.....

How do TD songs come about, is there a prolonged writing process or do things come together quite quickly?

Really quick, I normally write songs on the toilet lol, its true...it's a place to think and play your guitar. We bring the ideas together and spookily we all know where all the songs are going musically, next thing you know we have a song, the best ideas come out collectively.

Who does what in the creative process?

These days the songs I write, I sing and musically direct and the guys add their bits, Glenn and I work on tunes together sometimes and bring together some great riffs. Same for Simon he brings his ideas, he writes and sings his songs and we add our bits and pieces.

What is the Rock scene like in Northern Ireland, is there a big following for 'proper' music?

I know this is my opinion but I really think Northern Ireland has one of the best music scenes in Europe, there has been a big following for local indie bands in the past and recently, but the rock scene is getting stronger and stronger all time with a huge following for the local bands....

I first became aware of you via Twitter. Do you see that, Facebook and MySpace as valuable tools in getting your music out?

I only really started using Twitter through our friend Darren Seaton and have found it invaluable for contacts, Facebook is great for creating awareness and help you to achieve milestones. Recent examples for us being voted onto the Rock and Blues festival in Derby via facebook and the Get Trucker Diablo to support Thin Lizzy support page set up by the fans...Myspace is good for people listening to your music and that's about it, the 3 of them together are a great social package, if they combined them that would be rockin..... twitmyface.com maybe!!!

There are some who say that the days of charging for music are coming to an end, and albums will become secondary to tour revenue and merch sales, what are your thoughts on this ?

I think there is some truth in that, the market changes all the time and we have to change with it and adapt to maximize your potential...as long as we get to rock and people get to hear the music and you make a few quid along the way...then we are happy.....

Will there always be a market for physical 'things' or is the future entirely digital?

It's a generational thing, the more society gets used to a certain process the more they accept it, luckily we are still in a generation where people like to have cd's and downloads we we can accomodate, years down the line when we can't string a riff together it may be the case but for now there is still a demand....

What does the immediate future hold for the band. There are rumours of festival appearances next year?

We really hope so, we did the rock and blues festival and it just felt right, we want to experience playing download and all the festivals we can play...Right now we are writing some new tunes, still promoting and selling the album and have 8 shows before we wrap up for Christmas....We are also in for the SXSW festival in Texas next year so that will be great to get out to Texas to play that.......

Finally, the energy in your music suggests an intense live experience. What can we expect from TD live?

You can expect a hard rocking, fun night with loads of Hi5's , knuckle bumps and empty beer bottles and hopefully you will remember Trucker Diablo.....DRINK BEER, ENJOY!!!

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