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Interviewer: Gordon Taylor
Interviewee: Frank, Cheryl
Date: January 1999
1. WHEN DID DREAMCHILD FIRST BEGIN AS
A BAND?
Frank: Dreamchild
began in 1995 after we killed off the dream/pop band we were
in prior to that. With the purchase of some new technologies,
our sound changed drastically and we spent a fair amount of
time working with the new sounds and writing the material
that became Gates To The Sea.
Cheryl: Frank
and I have been working together as a creative partnership
for sometime, but Dreamchild's inception was in 1995.
2. YOU ALL HAVE INTERESTING BACKGROUNDS
COULD TELL THE READERS OUT THERE WHAT YOUR BACKGROUNDS HAVE
BEEN?
Frank: Prior
to working with Cheryl I was in a variety of rock and blues
bands. My formal musical education was mostly limited to a
few years of theory and related courses in college. The implementation
and additional stuff came from experience. While we have both
been in a variety of bands, from rock, punk, folk, new wave
to artsy, experimental stuff, we have also been involved with
theater as well. We work with Behind The Mask Theatre and
write all the music for their productions. Our latest project
with BTM was an adaptation of the Oddyssey from the points
of view of many of the characters who came into contact with
Odysseus, leaving him out altogether. We also performed in
the production, with Cheryl taking 90% of the female roles.
We used alot of electronic sounds and textures as well as
acoustic traditional instruments like the bowed psaltery,
the lyre harp, dulcimer and, of course, the wire strung harp.
We've also done the music for a series of Yeats plays for
the Yeats Society of Boston in their annual presentations
and have performed at Renaissance Fairs.
Cheryl: I
have had traditional voice training and have sung in the past
in various & sundry select choirs, Madrigal groups, etc. However,
I decided against being a voice major at University, as I
wished to avoid the forced, stylistic artifice and sterile,
rigid concepts of "how to sing" which are all too often imposed
upon 'classical' vocalists.
3. WHAT DO YOU ALL DO IN YOUR SPARE
TIME?
Frank: I
wasn't aware we had any. We both have day jobs, Cheryl actually
has two. In addition to writing, rehearsing and booking for
Dreamchild, we also are working with Richard Grandfield in
a project called Lillies of The Slab that has a dark atmospheric
experimental flavor to it. Richard writes the poems/lyrics
and plays bass and electronic percussion. Cheryl adds her
voice and percussion and I add processed guitar textures.
I also do some independent recording and production work from
the entertaining to the horrifying dull (from rap to insurance
courses!) and am co writing a book on Celtic Seasonal Celebrations
and the Wheel of The Year with published author/artist Clare
Walker-Leslie. And I never miss an episode of Brimstone or
Buffy The Vampire Slayer if I can help it.
Cheryl: Spare
time....what is that? Seriously, in addition to Dreamchild,
we are also working on a friend's band/project (Lillies of
the Slab) plus, I work at two day jobs. (One as the manager
of a gothic/exotic/romantic clothing store called "Gypsy Moon"
in Cambridge Mass-www.gypsymoon.com.) When I do find a free
moment, I enjoy creating tattoo designs for the work in progress
which is my skin (my back piece is underway as we speak).
I also read voraciously whenever I can get a book in my hands,
and regularly listen to music, other than ours, of course.
4. WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND THE BANDS
NAME?
Cheryl: Alice
Liddell, the real "Alice in Wonderland" (or at least the inspiration
foth both books) was referred to as a 'dreamchild' by the
Rev. Charles Dodgson, AKA Lewis Carroll, and I have been enamoured
of the two dreamlike "Alice" books (especially because of
their nightmarish qualities). But the name also evokes the
dreams and visions expressed in our music.
5. WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU ALL PLAY
AND IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR INSTRUMENT YOU ENJOY THE MOST
Cheryl: I
play wire-strung harp, bass and sing. For me, the ultimate
instrument is the human voice; one can express anything (and
everything) vocally- no instrument can emote quite the way
the voice can - and singing is as natural and necessary as
breathing to me. Having said this, I do adore my wire-strung
harp, and feel it is a very mystical and profound instrument
which can carry you to other places & times with its unique
and archaic sound. (though it is not quite like ancient wire
harps which would probably have had 'buzzers' on the strings
- sounding more sitar-like). Finally, playing my bass is also
very fulfilling, and allows me to expand our material rhythmically.
Frank: I
play the guitar, the VG8 guitar (a type of guitar processor
that enables the user to get a much wider variety of sounds
than a normal guitar without relying on midi-triggered samples,
like many guitar synths), dulcimer, bowed psaltery, autoharp
and more miscellaneous percussion. I enjoy the VG8 most of
all for the wide variety of unusual sounds and textures it
can produce. Its very expressive and otherworldly and its
easy to get lost in, which I love. As it also emulates a wide
variety of traditional guitar s and amps, it has saved me
a ton of money as I don't have to buy all this extra gear
now.
6. WHAT CREATIVE PROCESS DO YOU GO THROUGH
WHEN COMPOSING YOUR MUSIC?
Cheryl: Frank
and I truly work as a writing team. We work on batches of
songs at a time; wither he or I may present a musical setting,
chord structure or atmospheric ambiance. Alternately, he may
create one portion of a song while I come up with the next
section. I compose the melodies for the songs. It is particularly
wonderful when I immediately hear a melody which just flows
out as we play the underlying musical section (this happens
quite often, actually). Finally, I write all of our lyrics
- usually they come to me when the music is all in place,
though sometimes (as with "Seahorses") melody and words arrive
simultaneously.
Frank: I
tend to play with different sounds and let the musical phrases
develop from the sound and texture. Once the phrase presents
itself, I develop it while trying to maintain the mood and/or
feeling it first carried. I try not to define anything verbally
until I've really got a handle on what it is I've played.
I tape stuff obsessively and play the tapes for Cheryl that
I created while she was at work, or go through the process
with her in the room during writing sessions.
7. WHAT INSPIRES YOU WHEN YOU WRITE
YOUR MUSIC?
Cheryl: Inspiration
comes from so many places and things...the mood created by
a Stravinsky or a Debussy piece, a poem by Poe or Taliesin;
a Clive Barker tale; a Beardsly drawing; a tragic/gory traditional
ballad, a vision or dream...
Frank: Sometimes
its just a sound or a texture, sometimes a word or phrase.
Paintings also play a part. I suppose, responding to someone
else's art and what trying to achieve what they did in their
piece, but by framing it in one of my own. I like posing a
situation to myself and then writing the soundtrack to it.
That often presents a lot of fun stuff to work with. Another
thing I like to do is watch a movie than try to come up with
better music for specific scenes. That also works with taking
scenes from books.
8. MANY OF YOUR SONGS TELL A STORY OR
A SET THEME, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT WRITING LYRICS. AND WHAT
SUBJECT MATTER DO YOU ENJOY WRITING ABOUT.
Cheryl: As
with inspiration, subject matter for lyrics can come from
many sources: mythology (particularly Celtic or Western);
otherworldly stories of realities other than this; historical
events with an eerie or nightmarish quality (such as the loss
of the Titanic). Sometimes subjects arise due to the sound
of the music we've created - Seahorses is based on the tale
of the Irish hero Bran's meeting with the sea god Manannan
Mac Lir. Bran sees an oceanscape, while Manannan sees his
realm as land with meadows, horses and chariots. Frank's horse-like
sound caused these lyrics to appear spontaneously along with
the melody.
9. ARE YOU INFLUENCED BY ANY OTHER BANDS
AND DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE BANDS THAT YOU LIKE LISTING TO?
Frank: Bands
influence us in different ways. Seeing bands buck the mainstream
approach and being somewhat successful commercially is a positive
influence. Bands like Dead Can Dance on an international level,
and bands like Sabot locally (here in the Boston area -Northeastern
US)or Future Perfect in Florida. It reinforces our commitment
to do the music we believe in rather than trying to find a
way to play something that will make us rich. Although rich
would be nice. I listen to bands to see what people are doing
musically, even if its something I wouldn't do myself. I love
the stuff DJ Spooky created on Songs for a Dead Dreamer. Its
incredible. I love 'With Sirens Entranced". I like many of
the collaborations Michael Brook (an experimental guitarist)
has out with various 'world' musicians. I love the fire and
passion in Flamenco. I also like what King Crimson is doing
now-breaking into fractals of the current 6 piece lineup and
creating spontaneous music with varying configurations. I
also love a lot of old bands for the inspirational value they
had on me as a naive kid. Its nice to go back and try to recapture
innocence by reliving a mood from your youth. It also reminds
me that the kinds of things that me me buy records are the
same kinds of things I try to put into our material-cool sounds-great
mood and strong lyrics.
Cheryl: I
especially admire Lisa Gerard (of Dead Can Dance) and Diamanda
Galas. Both women have incredible voices and are interesting
complements (contrasts) to each other musically; two sides
of the same coin, one 'angelic' and one 'demonic'.
10. TO THE READERS WHO MAY OF NOT HEARD
MUCH OF YOUR MUSIC HOW WOULD DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?
Cheryl: It
is very "visual" - a soundtrack to dreams and nightmares-
ethereal and dark; very harsh and disturbing in places; very
delicate and otherworldly in others.
Frank:
Its a book for your ears.
11. HOW HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN WITH THE
NEW ALBUM.
Cheryl:
The response to Gates To The Sea has been very positive, we're
pleased to say.
Frank: We've
been getting a lot of airplay from the college stations and
people seem to really like what they hear. The deejays say
they're always happy to play it and they get requests for
it a lot. And the reviewers are actually 'getting it' for
a change. which is really nice.
12. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO PRODUCE
THE ALBUM?
Frank: The
recordings were done over a period of three years, from 1995-1998
amidst a lot of personal turmoil. As we recorded all the material
in our own studio, we were able to take our time and get it
done to our taste and satisfaction and were able to record
when the inspiration struck. We found that very important.
Cheryl: We
worked on some tracks in '95though others were completed just
a week or two before we mastered the disc. So it represents
three years work overall.
13. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
"GATES TO THE SEA"
Cheryl: Many
of the songs on this CD are elementally very 'watery'. From
a rainstorm to the ocean's ebb and flow, from siren's to the
shipwrecked, many aspects of water are expressed by these
songs. Hence, "Gates To The Sea" as the listener is invited
through the Gates created by our soundscapes into these other
worlds.
14. WHAT HAVE YOU GOT PLANNED FOR THE
NEXT ALBUM. WILL IT BE SIMILAR TO OTHER ALBUMS
Cheryl: We
are currently working on a new batch of songs, very dark and
unearthly but somewhat lonely as well. Similar in mood in
places to "Gates", but perhaps a bit more unnerving and creepy.
Frank: So
far, my impressions of the music are that it seems to be the
music of crypts in cathedrals where people his form the horrors
of the Inquisition (I, of course, realize, they wouldn't have
hidden in the crypts, but the image works, despite its historical
inaccuracy.
15. WHERE HAVE YOU TOURED, ARE YOU PLANNING
ANY UP AND COMING TOURS.
Frank: We played in the New England
area, from New York to Maine, via Connecticut, Massachusetts
and New Hampshire. We're mostly looking at solidfying this
base before going after the rest of the world.
16. WHAT GIG DID YOU ENJOYED THE MOST
AND WHAT WAS THE AUDIENCE RESPONSE.
Frank: My
favorite so far was playing at Betwixt's CD release party.
It was a great crowd of people, most of whom were unfamiliar
with us and we went over very well. It was exciting because
it was our first test before a mostly new crowd.
Cheryl: It
is difficult to pick a favorite gig. Performing live is always
an enervating and exhilarating experience. A recent gig at
the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge was most enjoyable.
17. WHAT GIGS DID YOU NOT ENJOY.
Frank: I've
enjoyed every gig we've done as Dreamchild so far. There have
been problems with the venues and other bands on the bill,
but nothing that ruined my enjoyment of the gig. We've played
with bands that we had no common ground with and some that
were pretty unprofessional, but no one attempted to sabotage
us and so far, we have no horror stories.
Cheryl: I've
enjoyed all of the Dreamchild gigs so far. However, a bad
gig with an earlier band springs to mind. I had a horrible
flu/virus the day of the gig (101-102 degree fever, vomitting,
etc.) but did the gig nonetheless, which was videotaped. I
only looked a bit paler than usual (if that's possible) but
otherwise my performance was fine per the videotape. Having
completed the set, I RAN top speed to utilize the clubs facilities.
Ugh.
18. IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL INCORPORATED
WITHIN YOUR PERFORMANCES
Cheryl: We've
used several looping devices, so we can do more than one vocal
or guitar part at a time. Though there are only two of us
onstage, we can successfully recreate even the more complex
material on our CD. People are often astounded to realize
that I am singing more than one part simultaneously. Its marvelous!
I always wanted an extra Cheryl or two to sing with me onstage.
Meanwhile, Frank can play looped guitar plus percussion all
at the same time.
19. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS.
Frank: We
are doing gigs to support the airplay we've been getting for
Gates To The Sea while writing and recording new material.
Cheryl: To
create more Dreamchild music and work on other interesting
projects as well.
20. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE
TO SAY TO THE READERS OUT TO THERE
Cheryl: Thanks
for joining us online and for exploring the worlds of dreams
and nightmares which are Dreamchild.
Frank:
Please visit our website and stay in touch. And thanks for
listening to our music.
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