"Almah is Brazilian power metal band, known in the first place by the name of vocalist Edu Falaschi, who is the singer of Angra. But other musicians are also worth your attention, and we sent some questions to them. So now we have some interesting details! Enjoy!
SOM :Edu, are you going to continue writing songs about human’s feelings?
Edu Falaschi: I like to think and talk about our existence and human being, it’s important for me to at least try to understand people’s thoughts, lives, ideas and behaviour. I use to meet, talk and interact with many people in the world and it’s interesting to see how they are so different and at the same time so similar.
SOM : Do you really think that it’s possible to reveal in one 5 minutes song such a complicated subject as a subject of human felling, love for example? Is it possible to get together a few pieces like that, as songs for a complete album, and to impress all your feelings and thoughts for the audience? What about Fragile Equality from this point of view?
Edu Falaschi : I can talk about love even with one look. Fragile Equality talks about balance, and you can note it everywhere on the CD, the balance is in the cover, it’s in the style of the tracks, it’s in the lyrics, it’s everywhere.
SOM : Don’t you think that this is a bit presuming to try to reveal such global subjects in every album? Don’t you think, that power metal style is too much simple and straightforward music to impress such tangled and deep ideas?
Edu Falaschi : The first Almah’s album talks about our different feeling, but this time Fragile Equality talks about BALANCE. It’s totally different.....mmm....or not? Maybe you’re right! Hahaha! Almah is not simple and it’s not obvious and it’s a fresh and modern Power Metal band. Sometimes you think something is very simple, but it depends on the Angle you are analyzing such things, did you see a petal flower in a microscope? There is a universe inside of it.
SOM : Are you trying to make a kind of balance when you use complicated philosophical lyrics/ideas and compose more simple, less progressive music, but with more straight melodies?
Edu Falaschi : That’s a very nice point of view! That’s something you got. We need this balance in everything to co-exist and be centrated, since between the planets until the cells in our blood. All is in a perfect harmony. When the balance is gone, things start degenerating.
SOM : You are a top metal vocalist in Brazil. Do you try (as a rock star) to help somehow to young bands there?
Edu Falaschi : I already do it, through the vocal clinics I use to do in Brazil and now I’m organizing my time to start my works as a producer with new Brazilian bands.
SOM : Are you religious person? Did you specially search for the name of the band in Bible? What do you think about new 7 deadly sins?
Edu Falaschi : I’m not religious. I believe in energy, faith, action and reaction. I just found out this name and I thought the meaning is very interesting.
SOM : Question to both Marcelo and Paulo, how did you get in touch with Almah, how were your first meeting with the band?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): I played with my band Burning in Hell at six Angra shows and did many workshops with Edu and Felipe. When Almah started to think about a new drummer, I was travelling with Edu doing workshops in the south, north and northeast of Brazil. Edu saw how I was playing and invited me. When I joined Almah, they were in the beginning, composing new songs. So I worked together with all musicians. They were working at some ideas and I helped to finish all the songs. For me it was an excellent study. Joining a new band with excellent musicians can teach one a lot.
Marcelo Barbosa (guitars): I knew the members of Almah for years because my band Khallice played with Angra sometimes. The guitarist that was there before me is a huge friend of mine and indicated me when left. I leave in another city, far from São Paulo, where Edu and Felipe lives and Edu gave me a call inviting me to join the group, not only to make the 2007 tour. So, I knew that I was a band member since the invitation...
Paulo Schroeber (guitars): I got in touch trough Marcelo Moreira, who invited me to do a test for the band, I made a phone call to Edu, and when I came to his home we ended the Magic Flame and Meaningless World pre-production in two days. After a week, Edu told me that I was definitely in the band. To get involved with the work was easy, and it happened in a natural way, besides Edu Falaschi is a extremely accessible person. I´ve been involved and played Metal since early times.
SOM : Marcelo, do you like only power metal? Do you listen to other styles of music?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): I listen to many styles, from Hard Rock to Death Metal and other different styles like Latin music, afro music, Brazilian music and others that help me a lot to be a better drummer.
SOM : Marcelo, isn’t it too hot to play drums in Brazil?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): Hehehe In the south where I live it is cold like in Europe. Some days in the winter we have 0 - +5C degrees. But in some regions of Brazil it’s very hot to play. In some cases it’s difficult… it’s like to play for 6 hours hehe while the show has only 1:30hs or 2hs.
SOM : Do you normally read album reviews to your records in magazines and webzines?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): I always do that. I like a lot to know what people think about my work. I always want to do better work, so this is important to know, what reviews say and what people think about all this!
Marcelo Barbosa (guitars): Unfortunally, I have no time for it. Sometimes I do but it is an exception. Normally I prefer to do something else when I have some free time...
Paulo Schroeber (guitars): Yes, I read some of them, but I can’t say that they influence on my work in present and future.
SOM : Do you like to be a rock-star?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): It’s a very good life, it’s different but very interesting! But I live my life as a drummer who works hard. Sometimes people think that musicians don’t work hehehe. But it’s very good to create something that people like a lot!
Paulo Schroeber (guitars): I think that it’s a dream of every person who deals with rock music, right? I’ve always tried not to loose the ground because of that, I’ve always been calm about it, I am not going to let the fame get into my head so much to fray relations with people. But of course yes, recognition from the public is very pleasant for me.
SOM : Which other musical instruments can you play?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): I play the guitar and the bass. When I was young I saw that I need more than only drums to create music. So I started to learn. It helps me a lot to understand what the other musicians in the band think when they play something. When you understand the brain of the other instruments you can create better music.
Marcelo Barbosa (guitars): I play acoustic guitars, bass and try to sing sometimes... LOL
SOM : Question to Marcelo Barbosa. You founded the Institute of Guitar (GTR), can you tell us about it? How did you get such idea of the Institute?
Marcelo Barbosa (guitars): GTR is a project that I’m working for twelve years now. It began like a guitar Institute but now we have classes for bassists, vocalists and acoustic guitar players too. I’m responsible for all didactic material of the guitar course and we have more then six hundred students in three schools. Four years ago I decided to franchise GTR and some people get interested and now we have three schools in Brasilia. The idea started when I was a teenager. At that time, information about was very ifficult to find here inBrazil, and basically, only who had money to travel to USA could study music in a school like GIT or Berkley. At that time my family didn’t had the money to send me to the USA so I started to wonder about open a music school specialized on the guitar. We hadn’t this here at that time and it was something brand new. Of course it is something adapted to our reality, doing business in Brazil is totally different of in the USA.
SOM : Is this Institute big? What kinds of guitar techniques students study?
Marcelo Barbosa (guitars): It is relatively big. We have many students and it’s growing up year bu year. We try to teach music, not one specific style or genre. Rock, Metal, Jazz, Country and Brazilian music is some of the approaches here. About techniques we deal with as many subjects we can, and each student applies it to his reality.
SOM : Paulo, can you tell us what tattoo do you have and what do they mean?
Paulo Schroeber (guitars): most of my tattoos are from local artists, from the region where I live – south of Brazil. My left hand is fully covered with pictures in bio-mechanical style done by artist Luchano Rossi, on the right hand and left leg I have 2 more tattoos: stylized fire and one more bio-mechanical, made by artist Ale Amorin. And on the right shoulder is a picture in the same style, made by tattoo master Kabelu. These tattoos didn’t have any specific meaning when they were made, except the visual. Just two of them are dedicated to my friend who died in motorcycle accident, where I also was... And also a picture of Jesus on my leg, with horns and white eyes, and that means everything I think about religions, which just pull money from people.
SOM : Paulo, when are you going to release your solo album?
Paulo Schroeber (guitars): I have preproduction of the whole album ready on my computer, I am going to start recordings in January of 2009, because Almah is touring the whole December along North of Brazil. I’m very pleased with material, because I managed to gather on the disc different music styles and tendencies, which I analyze and study, like fusion and Brazilian music, of course besides rock and metal. Release of the CD planned planned for August 2009, and I hope I’ll be satisfied with the result.
Som :Paulo, are you satisfied with the reaction of fans and professionals about Fragile Equality? Is it what you expected?
Paulo Schroeber (guitars) :Yes, I’m very satisfied with the reaction of fans ans mass-media, I get a lot of congratulations for guitar work on this CD, and it gives me feeling of deep contentment. And of course I have expected such positive reaction.
SOM : Can you remember any funny cases that took place in the studio or at the concerts?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): Once I saw a fan with my cymbal! Hehehe When I start to play more hard my cymbals start falling down into a crowd, especially in small venues like at that time. So I had to ask that fan to give it back to me hehe.
Paulo Schroeber (guitars): I remember how we recorded guitars during just one week, it was so fast that we didn’t have time to sleep enough when we had to go to studio again. And still we with Barbosa have found some minutes to drink beer and play billiards, and that was really fun! And also I remember shurrasko, which people did in Brasilia. Meat was cooked by Moreira who persuade us that he knows how to do it. But it was salted so much that it was almost impossible to eat! Must drink a few beers to cool mouth...
Marcelo Barbosa (guitars): Though pasta that time was quite good… About meat, there was one more moment, when we first time worked at my place in Brasilia. I live alone, and often I don’t have some necessary things that keep women in a house. We did meat for barbeque, I put it at first to the plastic bag, and this bag I put into bucket to bring it all to the roof, where is place for rest for people of our house (swimming pool, barbeque). As I couldn’t take everything at one rime, I had to leave bucket and return later… When I went back, I saw that Moreira is going to mix and salt meat right in this bucket, and by the way usually I wash floor using it… I shouted «Moreira!!! No!!! Not in this bucket!!!!» So we worked…
SOM : Do you know any Russian bands?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): I know Rage’s guitars and I want to know more of Russian Bands: not only metal. I’m always looking for different music to learn more. All countries have their own culture. And we have excellent metal bands and excellent musicians in all countries.
SOM : Imagine situation: you have a concert in some big club. Suddenly electricity is cut off! What would you do?
Marcelo Moreira (drums): I’m a drummer. I don’t need Electricity. Hehehe. I don’t know what is better to do, maybe something acoustic where people will be the “singers”, or we could do an autograph session."
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