DAVID DEFEIS
Official website: www.virgin-steele.com
Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Virgin-Steele-Official
Thanks for the help with organization interview to Mark Gorman.
*Interview was done in April 2014
News.
"We are releasing 4 records in June. We have THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL Part 1 and THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL Part 2 coming out together in one package with some bonus tracks, and we have INVICTUS coming out, and inside that package we have a 60 minute album of live and studio acoustic tracks. That album inside INVICTUS is called “FIRE SPIRITS”, and I am very pleased with how it turned out. It’s really raw and very emotional. In October we will release a Box-Set that will include at least one new over 70 minute album in addition to the re-issues of HMYNS TO VICTORY and THE BOOK OF BURNING. There is a real possibility that we might issue 2 new albums in there…it still all depends on the label at this point…but it looks promising. After that we will issue a brand new large-scale epic type VIRGIN STEELE album sometime around February or March. And meanwhile we are planning some videos to go with the June releases."
"You can’t fight the rhythm…you have to adapt .."
Touring is something that you have to prepare for both mentally and physically. It isn’t something where you just get up and go. So much detail goes into planning the logistics and the overall experience from what happens onstage, to what happens on the highway or the plane. For me in order for it to be successful, I have to adapt to the new rhythms of the road, and just flow with the groove of the day-to-day, and night-to-night experience. You can’t fight the rhythm…you have to adapt otherwise touring can then become a drag and not the cool experience it should be. I have to forget about home and any problems that I left behind and just live in the moment…like a Cat does. Once I adopt that mindset…I can stay out there forever. What I like the best about touring apart from the concerts of course, are the endless possibilities to meet new people and make new friends. As far as expectations go…I find it best to not have to many…I simply expect the unexpected and improvise from there. Disappointments for me are gigs that perhaps did not go as well as planned, and the occasional situation where someone is out to stab you in the back rather than assist you.
"Once I get going…I want to continue and things tend to snowball."
I truly enjoy the creative process. I love the writing and the working out of all the arrangements. For me that is the best part. I am not always delighted about being constantly in the studio…but I do love it in there when everything is coming together nicely. The hardest part of the creative process for me is to try to turn it off! Once I get going…I want to continue and things tend to snowball…get bigger and bigger and more ambitious…but I know that the more I write…the longer time I will have to spend in the studio…which means more time away from performing…but…I am a madman and this is what fuels me…so there it is.
"it gives me a reason to get up in the morning ..."
Music is what pulls me forward and keeps me going no matter what happens in my life. It is my salvation and my destroyer…it gives me a reason to get up in the morning and it also totally takes over my life and
sometimes condemns me to Hades…but I would not…nor could I ever change that. I was gifted with a stubborn, relentless streak to my personality, that won’t allow me to give in or give up…this trait came from both my Parents. Therefore when it comes to Music, which is something I consider…Sacred…I will go to Hell and back to try to bring forth the kinds of sounds, songs, emotions I hear in my head and experience with my Mind, Body & Spirit.
".. through Music I come to know myself, and others ..."
I have the same feeling with every new Work that I create. I am amazed, overwhelmed, honoured, energized and grateful whenever I come up with something that I think is really good. It can keep my Spirit up for weeks on end when it happens. I view my World through sound, and through Music I come to know myself, and others, and I immerse myself in what life is in this way, so writing is essential to my being. Before being a singer or an instrumentalist…I consider myself a composer first and foremost, and through my songs I communicate with the people in my World.
Be on stage.
"It is over the top! It is powerful, invigorating, life affirming! Also humbling…when you reach out and really touch someone with Music…for me there is nothing else like it. It is an honour for me and one that I do not take for granted. When I see grown men & women crying in front of the stage…it is incredibly inspiring. It makes me want to give every ounce of energy I possess to them."
"If you really love Music…it can be enough to nourish your Soul..."
If anyone forces another person to make a choice between them and their Art or whatever career, path or job it is they wish to do…for me that would be the first clue to say…”run the other way”. If someone really loves you they will want you to be happy and fulfilled in the life you choose…not the life they choose for you. For those who are making a living, or are trying to make a living through Music without the support from Family or Friends…I say…”continue…be strong…through this Music you will make new Friends and a new Family, and if you really love Music…it can be enough to nourish your Soul…."
"We need dreams and dreamers."
Dreams are wonderful…we need dreams and dreamers…but…one must have the courage and the discipline to follow through and bring forth those dreams into the cold golden light of day and the cold silver light of night. It isn’t enough to have an idea or a hope…one has to have the Will…to work and work incredibly hard if one wants to do anything worthwhile in life. Yes…it really comes down to discipline and also having good organizational skills…knowing how to prioritize. I would say that I am a dreamer…but I have always step by step tried to turn my dreams and visions into something concrete, and this is what I still do. I still dream and I try to give birth to those dreams…It doesn’t always happen…but the more one tries…the more one succeeds. And anyway the end result is not always the most important thing…it is the simple act of “doing” that really matters. I think it is all about challenging oneself and going for it no matter what happens.
I have so many more musical ideas that I want to achieve…different types of songs, concept pieces, ideas for full on classical albums, and ideas for concert events…movies, videos, books it goes on and on…
"I don’t like limited thinking and I don’t like to be labeled ..."
If someone is really trying to give a constructive critique and really knows what they are talking about that is one thing. If someone is clueless and simply just trying to trash talk an artist…that is truly another story. I have no patience with that type of critique. I don’t appreciate it when someone who has no understanding of what an artist is trying to do, talks thrash simply because the piece of art is beyond their limited comprehension and doesn’t conform to what they are used to. Those types of critiques speak more about the critic…than the artist. My feelings are the same as they were in the past. I don’t like limited thinking and I don’t like to be labeled and forced into doing the same thing over and over again.
The most important thing in life ...
"The people in the World that I care about…my Animals…my Music…and keeping myself strong enough to take care of those that depend on me."
Life credo.
"Fear nothing…be a God…."
"Music is like Fire…"
Music is the universal language. I believe that it does motivate, challenge, nourish, sooth, stimulate and move people or open them up to other ways of feeling…and being. There is absolutely nothing else like it. Music is like Fire…otherworldly, mysterious, and once you let it in…it marks you for life. It can help change our world by changing the people who connect to it.
"..let’s bring back the 19th century…"
For me…a better World would be one that shows more tolerance for the different, more compassion & love for those who are suffering, has more time for real communication…and one where people rely less on excuses and instead really chip in and go for it…whatever “it” may be, and who try to achieve something…anything…rather than complain, and, or numb themselves and take the easy way out. Also personally…I would prefer less reliance on technology…let’s bring back the 19th century…
To young musicians.
"For those struggling musicians out there I say…”believe in what you are doing, enjoy what you are doing, don’t be swayed by negative comments, trust your instincts, and don’t be a slave to trends or whatever the flavor of the month is. It isn’t about how much money you make or how many “friends” you have on a media site…it is only about the Music, what it has to say."
Last words.
"Many Thanks and Hails to all of you out there who are trying to turn your dreams into reality…whatever those dreams may be…keep roaring, keep on believing and remain…INVICTUS! Thanks so very much for all the wonderful support you have shown to VIRGIN STEELE…see you again soon…
BY THE GODS & GODDESSES,
David DeFeis."