JIM KIRKPATRICK INTERVIEW ( 2008/09)

Aquí os dejo la entrevista que realicé al actual guitarrista de FM Jim Kirkpatrick al poco de incorporarse a la banba allá por 2008 / 2009 cuando estaban en proceso de grabación del disco Metrópolis y al poco de haber debutado con FM en el Firefest VI

First of all, thank you very much for your kindness and attention. Congratulations for the great concert you did at Firefest 6. It was amazing.

If you agree, firstly we can talk about your professionaltrajectory and we will end the interview talking about you joining one of thehard rock/aor cult bands.

Antonio Lázaro: Can you tell us briefly your guitarrist trajectory? In which bands have you been before joining FM?

Jim Kirkpatrick: For yearsI've had my own band which plays blues rock (Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan). Over the years we've done the club/pub/festival circuit. It's pretty good fun. The drummer worked with the Climax Blues Band for a long time while the other players in the band sort of come and go. All name players though. I played for 4 years with singer/songwriter Thea Gilmore. A bit of a departure style wise for me but a good experience. We had a few minor hit's and toured a lot in America. I've worked with Bernie Marsden from Whitesnake a lot over the last 4 years and of course with Steve O. I've recently done a bit of work with Chris Ousey from Virginia Wolf/Heartland. There's a more detailed list on my Myspace page.

Antonio Lázaro: In your web page http://www.myspace.com/overlandkirkpatrick we can listen to and enjoy songs recorded with Steve Overland like: If I were you (a very melodic song), No such thing as a sure thing (a more blues and rock song similar ZZ Top), Better late than never (another super melodic song), Eternally (beautiful ballad similar to the country/pop), Start it up (a rock and blues song) and Lost Highway (a great country song). The songs are very fresh and melodic, some of them very close to the Overland/Jupp SO project and others very close to the country… Let’s talk about these songs. When were they recorded?

Jum Kirkpatrick: Those songs were recorded over the last 4 years at my home studio. 'Sure Thing' was written for a project that Merv was working on but never got used. All the others were written for another project that unfortunately got shelved. They may get used in the future but probably not by FM.

Antonio Lázaro: How did youmeet Steve Overland and how did it come the idea of working together? What pop/rock bands have you worked for composing songs?

Jum Kirkpatrick: Believe it or not but I met Steve in the pub. It turned out that we'd been close neighbours for a long time but never realised. We were introduced to each other by the landlord and I thought 'there can't be too many Steve Overlands in the world'. As it turned out, there isn't and this was THE Steve Overland from FM who I was well aware of. I've worked with the above bands as well as my own stuff and some commercial music.

Antonio Lázaro: Will youofficially release these songs in the future?

Jim Kirkpatrick: I hope so but I'm not sure under which particular banner.

Antonio Lázaro: What music do you enjoy? What are your musical influences?

Jim Kirkpatrick: I have a really broad taste in music. My first heroes were Queen, Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallagher but I like anything from Metallica to Little Feat to Django Rheinhardt to the Beach Boys.

Antonio Lázaro: Regarding your age, I suppose you grew up at the same time as the two big FM records were released “Indiscreet” and “Tough it out”. What are your memories of these two records and what do you feel being able to play songs of these two big masterpieces live?

Jim Kirkpatrick: It's great to be playing them. I have a friend who introduced me to FM when I was still at school (that sounds weird) and I bought Indiscreet on vinyl. It was only after meeting Steve that bought the rest of the albums but I remembered a few of the songs from hearing them over the years.

Antonio Lázaro: Did you ever think about playing in a band so respected and known as FM?

Jim Kirkpatrick: I certainly never expected to end up playing in FM.

Antonio Lázaro: How do you get along with all the members of the band? Are they as kind as they seem or do they have their obsessions?

Jim Kirkpatrick: Believe it or not but we all get on very well. Give it another year though Wink

Antonio Lázaro: Can you tell us the reason why Andy Barnnet left the band?

Jim Kirkpatrick: As far as I know, I don't think Andy was able to give enough commitment to the band. I think he had another project going and was planning to move abroad. Playing with FM I think is probably very different now to what it was 15/20 years ago. Unfortunately we don't have lots of staff or large budgets to work with. Every member of the band takes on a lot of responsibility individually and has to do a lot more than just play music. It's very time consuming and I'm not sure that Andy was able to do that.

Antonio Lázaro: Who suggested you to join the band? What came to your head in that moment?

Jim Kiirkpatrrick: Steve Overland put me forward for the job. I never ever expected to get it.

Antonio Lázaro: When you joined the recording of the new cd of the band, I suppose all the songs were almost written but have you been able to contribute with ideas to the new songs?

Jim Kirkpatrick: One of the reasons that the album has taken such a long time is because when I joined, the boys had a batch of songs already written. As time went on, we started writing more and better songs came along so we've sort of started from scratch again. For example, we didn't have 'Wildside' a few months ago. The download was going to be a different song altogether. So now, I think the only song on the album which was completely finished before I joined is one called 'Who'll Stop The Rain' although I still play guitar on it.

Antoinio Lázaro: What musical style do you feel more comfortable with?

Jim Kirkpatrick: Blues and rock.

Antonio Lázaro: Do you feel dizzy to be in front of so many people onstage as it happened at the Firefest?

Jim Kirkpatrick: I've played in front of much bigger crowds before (10,000 ) but the Firefest is still a big crowd and I was a little nervous beforehand.

Antonio Lázaro: We all agree thinking you did a great concert and that everybody liked your way of performing the songs. Did you feel comfortable on stage?

Jim Kirkpatrick: Yes, as I said before, a little nervous beforehand and I was aware that a lot of people would be judging me. That's the most difficult part.

Antonio Lázaro: What can you bring forward about the new FM cd? Will it be similar to the first single “Wildside” o will we have surprises?

Jim Kirkpatrick: 'Metropolis' is going to be a very strong album I'd say. It'll fit nicely between the Chris O and Andy B eras of the band. It'll be more melodic than 'Wildside'.

Antonio Lázaro: What are your memories of your appearance in the Winstanley College last March? How did it come the idea of broadcasting through the internet to all the fans of the band?

Jim Kirkpatrick: Winstanley College........very nervous and terrible sound. The broadcast was Ant Critchleys idea, I think.

Antonio Lázaro: Is there any possibility that you can play in Spain? Did you know that at Firefest 6 there were more than 100 Spanish?

Jim Kirlkpatrick: Yes, I was aware at how many Spaniards were there. We're planning to come to Spain hopefully next year.

Antonio Lázaro: What are the plans of the band in the near future?

Jim Kirkpatrick: Get the album finished!!

Antonio Lázaro: I was very lucky to be able to meet you during this year Meet and Greet. How did you feel being surrounded by all the fans of the band? Did you feel strange signing records in which you hadn’t collaborated?

Jim Kirkpatrick: Yes, it does feel strange but soon they'll be a few more CD's that I have collaborated on.

Antonio Lázaro: How many FM records had you listened to before joining the band?

Jim Kirkpatrick: I knew all of the albums before I joined the band.

Antonio Lázaro: How will be the launching party of the new FM record? How many people will be able to attend?

Jim Kirkpatrick: You'll have to check with Merv but I think around 300-400.

Antonio Lázaro: There are rumours saying you could do a tour with Danger Danger in UK. Is it true? Do you know Danger Danger? What are your favourite hard rock melodic bands?

Jim Kirkpatrick: There are a lot of ideas kicking around at the minute but I don't think I've heard that one....but don't rule it out. I'm hoping that we might do something with Romeos Daughter and maybe Dare next year but nothing has been approached yet. These are just my ideas.

Fave hard rock melodic bands:

Styx

Queen

Bon Jovi

Bryan Adams

Virginia Wolf (enjoying that at the minute)

Jimmy Barnes

Whitesnake

FM!!!!

Antonio Lázaro: To finish, we would like to thank you for your attention and to congratulate you for taking part of one of the best AOR bands of all times. We hope to see you live very soon and if it is possible in Spain.