Aces High For Adrian Smith

I must admit first and foremost, i don't enjoy the new Iron Maiden album, It's no secret. I thought the band had stretched way too far away from their traditional sound which started with "Seventh Son.." I also think Bruce's vocal lines are unexciting and bland. Needless to say Steve Harris and the rest of the band sound ok, but seems a more paint by numbers effect. I was rooting for this record a lot, probably the most anticipated for me since "Somewhere In Time", which ironically in my opinion was their last real spiritual journey. The members of Maiden can ideally do no wrong , even if i think the record sucks. I will always love Iron Maiden. Adrian Smith is a god.

 How has the Final Frontier tour with Dream  Theater been going so far?

It’s been fantastic. The audiences have been great. We’re having a great time playing the music.

Are you playing some of the new songs off of The Final Frontier on this tour?

We’re playing one new song. The album’s not out yet, but we’re playing “El Dorado,” which is available as a download on our website as a taste of the album.

“El Dorado” has been streaming online for a little while and sort of  sounds like classic Maiden. What’s the concept behind the song and who was involved in writing it?

I had the music to the track and I think Bruce wrote the lyrics. “El Dorado,” I think is a comment on how people’s expectations of a better life. A “grass is greener.” People who are borrowing money so they can have the latest fancy car or the big TV and all that. A lot of people got the rug pulled out from under them with the recession and stuff. So I suppose it’s loosely based on that.

What direction did you want to go in with Final Frontier?

I think it’s slightly different, this one. Actually listening to it, for the people who have heard it, the very style on the album is very different from what we’ve ever done before. Some of it’s kind of straight forward, but I think the bulk of it is quite progressive. I think that’s always been a strong point for Maiden; tackling the longer songs, more intricate, but still using a lot of melody. You got an odd combination, you got a couple of straight forward rockers on there like “El Dorado,” and quite a bit of complex and intricate stuff as well.

You have a massive fan base and are loved worldwide. Do you still feel the excitement and enjoyment of performing live? What’s it mean to you?

It’s incredible. Every time we set foot on the stage in front of a Maiden audience, it’s an experience. You can feel the energy from the crowd, the expectation building before you go on stage. It’s like an event, not just a show. The audience makes it an event, really.

Why did you leave the band in 1990? Was it a difficult time for you? Was it because of strife within the band, personal problems? Or did you just want to do solo albums?

A bit of everything, really. I’d been in the band for nine or 10 years, it was a very tense period in the band’s career. Where we went from 1980 with the first album, I came in on the second album, from then, our feet never touched the ground… It was touring and recording. I suppose I was a little bit burned out. I had no life outside the band. I needed to explore some other things, maybe do a few solo things. I got married, started a family, that sort of thing. And then, it was great to be able to come back into the band, it was almost like it’s better the second time around, you’re older and you can appreciate it a little more. I think in the ’80s, it was such a nonstop thing and we didn’t have time to sit back and smell the roses.

You’re usually a private and guarded band, but how was the experience having cameras following you for two months for the documentary Flight 666 and did it portray you the way you had hoped it would?

You’re right, we are a private bunch. At first, we were very skeptical about having cameras around because it can make people act and react differently. Once I found out who was doing it, Sam and Scott from Bangor, I’ve known them over the years doing interviews and I liked them as people. So I thought, if they’re going to do it, it’s going to be good. I thought it would be great to have a document, to go back to what I was saying about the ’80s, we did so much and it was kind of a blur. So it’s great, just personally, to have a document of that tour to look back on in years to come. I think they captured it really well.

Maiden started at the beginning of the NWOBHM, and now the band are the kings of the genre. How does it feel now in 2010 to be able to keep recording and touring and still remained loved?

Well, we’re very lucky. It’s incredible. We’re still getting new fans, young fans. Our fans go right across the board now, age wise. I don’t know, something of a phenomenon. I think the band has been true to itself over the years. We spent many, many years playing to our fans which involved going to and playing lots and lots of shows in every corner of every country. And now, we’ve built up that following the hard way. So I think that maybe that’s a factor in the band’s longevity.

Artist Melvyn Grant was picked again for the Final Frontier cover, he’s showed success on Fear of the Dark and Virtual XI,  even though i much prefer Derek, Are you more comfortable now with his depiction of Eddie compared to Derek Riggs’ style of Eddie? 

Well, I think Derek should have the credit for coming up with the original. He was a fantastic artist. There maybe be some politics involved in why he’s not working with the band anymore, I don’t really know. I think this latest fellow has done a fantastic job, i really like the new Eddie. It’s almost mutating into something else, but you can still see the family resemblance (laughing).

Is this really the Final Frontier for Maiden?

You never say never, we really enjoy being on the road and doing what we do. Like I say, we’re still getting new fans. It’s not our final tour or anything, we’re going to be touring for a little while yet, a few years at least.

For fans of Maiden, the new album Final Frontier can only be expected to be what Maiden does best, but what were you trying to achieve while writing it?

You always see what comes out really. It’s a document of where you are at the time. We always set out to come up with the strongest songs possible, melodies, and try and do what Iron Maiden does best. It’s difficult to preconceive, I mean, I always say that personally, I to try and write shorter songs and try to contribute to the more of the rock ‘n’ roll side. I’m moved into different areas to more progressive pieces, more intricate, which I think is the band’s forte

.

Was everyone involved in the writing process for the album or did Steve pretty much handle most of it? How do you decide on the songs that make it on the album?

We only write what we need. Obviously everyone comes in with a load of ideas, it pretty much was a band effort. I think Steve these days is more into arranging and writing lyrics and melodies. I came up with quite a lot of music, six or seven songs and Janick wrote some also. Bruce wrote lyrics and melodies as well. So it was pretty much was a group effort, probably more than in the past.

Any last words or comments for our readers and your fans?

We just love being on the road and love playing music to our fans. It’s as simple as that, really. We look forward to seeing people at the shows.

Maiden Beat Tornado

Steve Harris has played some strange shows over the years, but one of the strangest in recent memory was at the Sonisphere festival in Pori, Finland on Aug. 8. Before the band went on, a mini-tornado touched down in the concert area and destroyed the second stage, damaging some of Iron Maiden's equipment.

"20 minutes before we got there, the wind was on the floor and trees were down, and when we got to the show the second stage was all messed up and all our monitors and lights were messed up," Harris told Noisecreep. "We were lucky, because our gear hadn't been put on yet. It was weird, because the wind veered in and out. Some parts were untouched and other parts of the place were just trashed. We still managed to do the gig, but we went on two hours late."

By the time Iron Maiden played, the storm had passed, but conditions on stage were dangerous. During the show, vocalist Bruce Dickinson fell flat on his back after he lept from the drum riser to the stage. "Fortunately, he didn't hurt himself," Harris said. "It was just very, very humid and the stage was all wet, so it was very slippery. The last half our of the show was completely fogged over, so we could hardly see most of the crowd. Fortunately they could see us because there was lighting, but it was a very weird gig."

Mötley Crüe, who were scheduled to headline the second stage, canceled their show because the stage was damaged beyond repair and posed a safety hazard. Alice Cooper performed a full set on the main stage, but had to borrow Slayer's drums. Iggy Pop also performed an acoustic four-song set on the main stage right after the storm.

Iron Maiden's new album, 'The Final Frontier,' is out now.

A Chat With Iron Maiden's Manager

I don't hide my creepdom-like fascination of all things Iron Maiden related. It all just adds to the folklore of it all. I had the opportunity of bumping into Steve Gadd a while ago, the world famous Iron Maiden road manager known under the alias of Gaddsy.


The Dope Attic: How is it going? How long have you been working with W. A. S. P. now?



Steve Gadd: This is my first tour with W. A. S. P. as their tour manager. I’ve worked with them when they were supporting Iron Maiden in the 80s, because I work mainly for Iron Maiden and this is my first tour with W. A. S. P., it began 5-6 weeks ago.



And how is it going, up to now?



SG: It’s very hectic. We began the tour in Milan with a bus, and we used to pack everyone in it, but then, as it was impossible to go on with a bus, because we were traveling very far, we went back home and then started to travel by plane. In November, for example, we had three gigs one after another, in Estonia, Sankt Peterburg, Warsaw and Frankfurt – four actually. It’s very tough. People often think we live a glamorous life but people who actually work in the business know that this is not true.



Did you choose W. A. S. P. or they chose you?



SG: I was proposed by Sanctuary Music, because Blackie’s was Rod Smallwood. And then Sanctuary called me and asked would I like to go on tour with W. A. S. P., or would I talk to Blackie and Blackie phoned me to ask… do I wanna do it, so, they chose me.



Your a legend, How old are you?



SG: (Laughs.) I’m not commenting on that now.



Fine. So, how long would you say you spent on tour?



SG: I’ve been on the road since I was a musician myself in 1970 and made seven albums. But that band split in 1981 and I started as a technician in Iron Maiden in 1984, and worked on the Powerslave album. Namely I was a Nicko McBrain’s drum tech for 12 years. Anyway, Sanctuary Music sent me off to work with Iron Maiden. They were good friends of mine, but that had nothing to do with the job, if I’d been just a friend I wouldn’t have got the job. They called me in 1996 to make the Virtual XI tour with them. So I’ve been on the road since, let me think, 25 to 30 years.



Steve, you’re somehow very… English.



SG: Yeah, I’m from London.

Maiden Playing Soccer On Stage

So which is your favorite sport – rugby or football?



Maiden Playing Soccer On Stage



SG: Football. I don’t play very well myself, but I like watching any football on TV.



Which is your favorite team?



SG: Arsenal. I used to go and see their games but actually I haven’t seen them for years. The last game I saw, Arsenal played Everton, home. Arsenal had just sold two of their best players, I don’t remember their names, Leam Brady and someone else. And we drew 0-0 at home versus Everton and then I thought “I’ll never go to see football games anymore” and I really haven’t, since then.



I asked you about football because it’s interesting whether you find any similarities between being a football team manager and a rock band manager.



SG:It’s interesting that you ask this because I was the manager of the Iron Maiden football team, and both somehow look like a… massive military operation. In the same way a football team manager makes sure that everything is all right with his team. You, from the spectators’ viewpoint, can’t quite feel this. But I must say that Iron Maiden has fantastic audience, everywhere in the world, and we’ve never had problems with the audience of Iron Maiden. The ordinary guys are a bit scared when they see leather jackets and see that everything is very… heavy metal, you know. I think, the most… unruly fans. But a great audience. Because I don’t work only with metal bands, as a tour manager. I do hip-hop tours, for example. Still not as much as metal tours, but still that gives me the opportunity to see that metal fans are great.



And which is the next big tour for you?



Iron Maiden.



Do you still play the drums?



SG: Playing drums is like riding a bike, yes, it’s like riding a bike – it can’t be forgotten. Yeah, I do find time but sometimes this happens once in two years. Sometimes I do, I go with Nicko sometimes and do drum clinics, which I was doing seriously in the past. But now, as I’m getting older, it’s in the past, I do it only for fun.



Have you met the other Steve Gadd?



SG: You know, this is a very good question. I’ll tell you one story, a true story. Quite a time ago I was playing in a bang called Charlie, and we were staying at the Sunset Marquee hotel in Los Angeles. We were on tour, I think, with Doobie Brothers.



What a name always makes me laugh..Doobies



SG: Yeah..so like 1978, there’s a pool in the middle of the hotel and small speakers around. We’re sitting around the pool and suddenly a voice says “There’s a phone call for Steve Gadd.” And there were the two of us who went to the phone. I didn’t know Steve Gadd then, I got to know him later, when we were working with Steely Dan. But then both of us went to the phone. And later there was a small article in the American magazine “Billboard,” which said “The American Steve Gadd keeps getting phone calls from girls, while the English Steve Gadd,” me, “is called only for recording.” That’s a true story.



And who was that call for?



SG: It was for me, and it was a girl. I met his brother once in New York, years later. But it’s fun that I nearly got to work for him as a drum technician while he was a drummer with Eric Clapton. That would be really interesting.





Unreal. Thanks for rapping with me your Mcbrain stories always seem to change my life.