On the Record with..
Mick Priestley (The Green River Project)
By Lynda
(SugarBuzz Atlanta)
SugarBuzz Magazine
1. How long have you been playing guitar?
I started playing the guitar at nine years old - we all had to sit a music test at school and those who passed got to pick an instrument. It was a brass-band kinda thing. I picked the french horn coz I thought it looked kinda cool, but the guy stuck me on the cornet- which is kinda like a crappy small trumpet. Didn't care for it much, so I quit to play the guitar. My Uncle played classical guitar but was killed when he was still a teenager, so playing the guitar has always been a bit of a 'thing' in my family.
2. Who is/are you influence(s)?
Guitar-wise? I have a lot of influences. When I was first learning electric, I taught myself a few Queen songs, and a load of retro stuff like the Kinks....but I never really got into guitar-playing properly until I heard Randy Rhoads on the 'Blizzard of Ozz' album. I found it on vinyl in my Dad's old record cupboard and it just blew me away. It was one of those life-changing moments - I had it in my head that I was gonna study to be a dentist at the time...I'll have been about 14 - but as soon as I heard that album, everything changed. The same thing happened again when I was at college and heard Yngwie Malmsteen play 'Far Beyond The Sun'...I had that album on repeat non-stop for months I thought it was the most incredible thing I'd ever heard.
There are loads of other guys too - when I was younger I'd spend a lot of time learning Steve Vai tracks, Paul Gilbert...guys like that. I always preferred Malmsteen though because they were actually SONGS rather than just a two-hour guitar solo...even I find it hard to sit through a Steve Vai gig but his guitar playing is amazing. I like a lot of guys like Jason Becker, Slash to a lesser degree...Tommy Emmanuel (youtube him if you haven't heard of him) and some classical guys like Simon Dinnigan (another one to search for on youtube).
3. How did you gather your band members?
Well, me and Muggsy have been there since the beginning so finding a bass player was a no-brainer. At the time, Nothin' To Lose was still going but it was becoming pretty obvious to us that it wasn't going to work. We'd already lost two singers, had endless rhythm guitarists and had been through more drummers than Spinal Tap.
I was putting together a CD (Dig Your Grave/Nowhere To Run plus a few others I'd been jamming) and decided they were gonna have to be recorded, so I convinced Adrian Erlandsson (Cradle Of Filth/At The Gates/The Haunted) to put the drums down on the record, and the only singer I wanted to do it was Andy Law - we'd gigged with him before when he was in Headrush and his voice just stunned everyone. He's one of those rare guys where he can hit the lowest notes, but also hit the highest and keep all the power in his voice when he does it. It was pretty obvious that with all these people on the record it was probably going to kick ass!
Once it was recorded, we decided to leave Nothin' To Lose where it was and get outta there and kick some ass with the new material! Adrian wasn't going to be in the live band, so after making a few phone calls Alex Martin was recommended - so we met up for a jam and everything just kinda 'clicked'. It's really cool to finally be part of a band with no weak link - everyone in this band means serious business and we're gonna kick your ass!
4. How long before we can see a full-length?
We're working on it right now! The album is called 'From Hell To Here' and it'll be with you very soon! There'll be more tracks leaking out over the next few weeks - keep checking the myspace at www.myspace.com/greenriverproject08
5. So, is It Mick Priestley’s Green River Project or The Green River Project? And why?
THE GREEN RIVER PROJECT. It originally had 'Mick Priestley's' at the beginning because when I first recorded the CD there was basically only me involved. Adrian and Andy were on the record but there was no hint of doing live shows at the time. The Green River Project has a serial killer connection...I'm something of a serial killer freak and I like the fact that it sounds perfectly nice until you realise what it is. Another band name on the shortlist at the time was '8213 Summerdale' but I decided the number was a little too long
6. Why the demise of Nothin to Lose?
To be honest with you, it was very clear to everyone in the band that Nothin' To Lose wasn't going to work when we did the Hotter Than Hell tour - Max Pornscar left the band, only to be replaced by Johnny Gunn, and to be fair we didn't exactly get on very well. There was a giant argument backstage at La Sala Live in Madrid which resulted in everyone flying separately back to London and having to re-assess what we were doing. On top of that, the scene in London in that particularly genre was dying and is now dead. You'll hear people saying it isn't, but they tend to be lonely souls who are stuck in a timewarp with giant (receding) hair, faded leopardskin and ancient tattoos, usually of roses of dr feelgood badges. The bands that were leading the scene were us and the Red Star Rebels....other bands included Kid Ego, Skintight Jaguars, Renegade Playboys, King Lizard, Drugdealer Cheerleader, Lethal Fixx....most of these are gone now. That whole thing was great while it lasted, and there were some AWESOME shows - I think a lot of people underestimated the buzz that was around everyone at the time - it was really exciting to be a part of it....but we knew we wanted to do something else.
7. Any info you want the people to know......
Basically, we're your new favourite band. Check out Metal Hammer and Terrorizer magazine this week for some Green River Project action...and remember there's an album on the way - 'From Hell To Here' - as well as a Dig Your Grave video and a load of other stuff - keep checking the myspace and we'll be seeing you real soon!