Interview with Giorgia
http://www.chaoswave.it/

My first encounter with this Italian/Danish unit was at Aalborg Metal Festival 2008. The band presented their modern and catchy heavy metal to our audience for the very first time. Beside of being great musicians these guys are good entertainers and showmen which always help in drawing attention towards band’s music. Another important feature is the fact that the vocal duties are being taken care of by a young lady called Giorgia. It was al together enough reasons for me to send some questions to her recently in order to give her a chance to present herself, band’s latest opus Dead Eye Dreaming and just about anything in between.


MR: Ciao Giorgia. How are you? Have you arrived home to Italy or are you still on tour?
Giorgia: Ciao bellissimo. Being too busy, as you can guess. Sorry for being late with answering this interview. The gig in Aalborg was only a one-off show. We returned home a few days after, to prepare for our first video shoot, the American cd release, some local shows… and Christmas of course.

MR: It is just recently that I saw your live performance at Aalborg Metal Festival. Have you enjoyed your stay here and what are your memories of that particular gig?
Giorgia: Aalborg is a very cosy city, and the show was really good. What I remember best is the audience response during and in between the last songs. There were also a some rather emotional moments:  our former bass-player moved to Denmark in May, and it was the very first time that we'd see him in the audience, instead of having him on stage with us. It was also the first time that we played in Guf's hometown, and he was so excited and happy that he was contagious! The atmosphere on stage was electric!

MR: You were taking a lot of pictures prior to and after the gig, so I guess you also have a picture of me somewhere in your camera (Laughing)?
Giorgia: (Laughing) I guess so. Now I gotta check better at home. Actually I am very fond of doing photography, and always take a lot of pictures at most of our shows. It's also good material to put on our different internet sites.

MR: Was it first time for you to play in Aalborg and what do you think of our audience here?
Giorgia: We played in Denmark many times, but it was the first time in Aalborg. The audience was amazing. Playing in the early afternoon is not always easy, but we really had a very warm welcome.

MR: I see, your connections to Denmark are strong. Henrik (guitars) is from Denmark, right? How did you come in touch with him?
Giorgia: Guf (Henrik's nickname) moved to Italy 6-7 years ago, and started the band. I was asked to join and happily agreed.

MR: Also Mircea from Mnemic took some of your promo pics. How and why? I mean, is there anyone in our little Kingdom into the metal scene that you don’t know (Laughing)?
Giorgia: (Laughing) of course that is due to Guf being Danish. He knows several of the different Danish bands. He comes from Aalborg and I think him and Mircea go way back. Mircea was in Sardinia visiting us this summer, and took the pics for us. He did great job too, by the way.

MR: Have you seen any other bands performance at this year’s AMF?
Giorgia: We saw many of them. The ones that impressed me the most were definitely Opeth, for the precision and great sound, and Hatesphere for their stage appearance.

MR: Other wise, what are your personal favourites? What do you listen to at home? Favourite genre, authors, writers, musicians, porn models, anything…
Giorgia: If we talk about music, then Metal is of course the most played genre in the house, but not the only: I also like some hard rock and some Italian music (no, not Laura Pausini or Ramazzotti)!  As far as porn actors are concerned, national pride Rocco Siffredi, deserves a mention…I don't watch that much television, but I am a serious addict of "House MD". And I'm a readaholic. I read everything: novels, comics, signs, shampoo labels… it's almost obsessive!

MR: Who’s responsible for the lyrics in your band? Where do you find inspiration when writing lyrics?
Giorgia: Guf writes most of them, but I wrote a couple myself, so I will try to answer the best I can. The lyrics on the new album are inspired by many different topics. Personal problems, overcoming grief, religion vs. science, the war in Iraq…

MR: What about your status in Italy? How many people know of your existence? Do you play shows more often in Italy?
Giorgia: Tough question. People know of us, but we are still growing. We play a lot of shows in our region, but Italy is a big country so it takes a while to get your name spread. That said, we always have a pretty good show up at our shows, no matter where we play.

MR: What is the best and the memorable gig that you ever played? Any ‘spinal-tap’ moments you would like to share with us?
Giorgia: I think one of the best shows was actually AMF. It was great coming so far to get such an audience. Another great show was the Metal Female Voices Fest in Belgium Oct. 2008. We had some cool "rockstar" moments with signing sessions, and fans that came from as far as Spain and Greece to see and meet us.
Spinal tappers… so many. I dropped the mic once while clapping my hands over my head. Almost hit our bass player. "Luckily" someone recorded it to make it even more embarrassing.

MR: Now tell me something about your latest record Dead Eye Dreaming. What is it about? Can you introduce it shortly for the readers of Metal Revolution who still haven’t heard a new record?
Giorgia: The main idea of our music is to write really hard hitting metal with melodic and atmospheric vocals. For those who know our debut, I can best describe the new album like this: take our debut, add more aggression, more melody and a better songwriting. Then add the great production of Andy LaRocque (King Diamond), and the cool guest leads of Steve Smyth (ex-Nevermore, ex-Testament). It's just a great metal album.

MR: I agree. You’re signed to Nightmare Records. I think it’s cool, but what do you think of your co-operation so far? Satisfied with their support?
Giorgia: So far it seems very promising. Our debut was released by DVS Records, a small Dutch label. Nightmare is definitely a step forward for us. They have a very good distribution in the States, while in Europe the release is distributed by Silverwolf and SPV Records - probably one of the best distributors in Europe. The European promotion is handled by Gordeon Music, a promotion company that worked with everybody from R.E.M. to Morbid Angel. The cd is also set for release in Japan and Australia by the way. So as you can guess we are very excited about all this.

MR: Do you have any favourite track from Dead Eye Dreaming?
Giorgia: One of the songs that never tire me is "Dead Eye Dream", probably my personal favourite off the album. "Two Shadows" I don't listen to that much, but it's a very personal song, and I poured all my heart into it.

MR: So nothing you would like to change on that album, looking now from a certain time distance?
Giorgia: There is always something. I will use the debut as example. We have many things we could have done better, if we made that album today. But the debut is what we were, and I am proud of what we managed to do with it at that time. The same thing with the new album. Right now we all just think it’s a great album. Maybe with time and more experience we will look differently at it.

MR: Elaborate on the album cover.
Giorgia: Guf does all the graphics for the band, so he is probably gonna to correct me, (Laughing). Anyway, I think he was aiming for a simple and effective album cover this time. He also wanted it to clearly reflect the album title. Basically the cover shows a male face with a "dead eye dreaming". When Guf showed us the first draft, we all liked it right away…

MR: Do you ever worry about changing too much that you loose that core fan base or do you think that the sheer nature of Chaoswave warrants such perpetual sound evolution?
Giorgia: With this being only our second album, I don’t think it is still a real issue. The fan reaction to the new album so far has been overwhelming, so we have no worries there. Anyway, I don’t think any band should ever worry about such things. Where would bands like The Gathering, Sepultura, Paradise Lost, etc. have been if they hadn't changed sound? In my opinion, fan care is about giving the fans time and respect when you meet them and when you play live for them.

MR: What are your plans for the future? Still recording and doing live touring?
Giorgia: Dead Eye Dreaming is released the 6th of March in Europe and Japan, and we aim for as much touring possible for 2009. We also have a video release coming up for the song "10 Years of Denial". It should coincide with the European cd release, and we already have confirmation of airplay in one of the major Italian music channels.

MR: …and kids and husband? You’re a lady and you know this question had to pop-up sooner or later?!
Giorgia: I guess that sooner or later I'll have to face the issue, but there's still time… The band is my baby at the moment, and I won't be happy until I see my baby all grown up and strong!

MR: In Italy there’re many sexy (metal) chicks; apart from you there’s also Cristina S. (Lacuna Coil) and a few others. Do you ever think of your status as a ‘sex symbol’ to some men? Is it irritating or just something you enjoy?
Giorgia: Well, I wouldn't really go as far as describing myself as a sex-symbol… I consider myself a normal looking girl, but I like to be at my best when I am on stage… I think every girl would! It would be hypocrite to say that I don't care about my looks… if they bring more attention to the music we play, I'm more than happy. The real important thing is that we keep on making great music, so that if people check us out only because of me can see what this band is really about.

MR: I think I have no more relevant questions so I’ll let you say the last words to our readers.
Giorgia: A big thanks to all the Danish fans that came to our shows during the last 2 years. Denmark is becoming a second home country to us. Please remember to pick up a copy of Dead Eye Dreaming when it is released in March. I don’t know who is handling SPV in Denmark, but it should be easy to find in the stores.

Interview done by Bato


* Here you have a unique chance to read a breathtaking short introduction into the life of Giorgia.