~ Interviews Kamelot France ~

Interview with Thomas Youngblood

Oct. 26th 2010

- Kamelot can soon celebrate their 20 years of career. How do you keep the flame alive? What helps you keep moving on?

- It seems like only yesterday we were playing our first gig in Germany at the Bang Your Head festival in 1998. I am motivated by the fans and also my personal love for this, the creative part and also the live shows. I feel like we can easily do this for another 10 years.

- What would you say about your professional evolution within Kamelot, as a musician? 

- I have mostly grown immensely as a writer the most. The first albums sound very green and unplanned, that is mainly because we were all kids without any experience. The ideas and creative juices were always something I felt were there. Over the years of working with other musicians, I have developped my songwriting skills. Also understanding arranging, production and other important factors that go into an album. 

-  You’ve been working together with Roy since « The Fourth Legacy ».  How would you describe your collaboration? Have you been through important clashes or moments of doubt that could’ve put the band in danger? 

- Roy came in with the experience we were lacking, he had a strong songwriting basis and also great melody writing skills. The union of my style of riffing and ideas with his style of singing and songwriting was something magical. We have been working together now for 12-13 years and there have been very few flareups here and there but nothing that would put the band in danger. I hope Roy can recover from his burnout, he has our support. 

- We now know the way you work when writing and designing an album. Don’t you feel it more and more restrictive, or tiring, to be scattered all around the world like you are?

- Not at all, I write a lot of ideas here at home and most musicians have a small studio to work on ideas in their private way. Getting together away from home is an important factor for having a free mind without the normal distractions of being home.

- Your tours are extremely long: lots of dates, cities and countries. have you ever wanted to take a break and give priority to your family life and personal projects? 

- In comparison to many bands the Kamelot tours are quite compact. So the answer for me is that we could actually tour more. Yes, being away from home can be difficult but as soon as most of us are home for a few weeks we are ready to tour again. I love meeting new people and seeing new places. The time on stage with the fans is something magical each and every night.

- Having a look at the Kamelot discography and the main topics you went about, how do you see the next titles? as black as our future is?

- I can imagine stepping back a bit from the dark subjects, still have with a melancholy feel that I think we are known for. Its hard to say at this moment since only a few ideas have popped up for the next release. I can however imagine a full concept album coming. 

- What was the trigger (and was there any) to make such a dark-progressive album? 

- I think the times are reflected in the album. Many friends and family here have lost jobs, homes and more. I lost my last surviving parent when my Mother passed recently. Look around at the world, its not so idyllic a place these days. The music is more progressive on this album simply because the ideas for the music came out that way. What the next album will bring is still a mystery. 

- How do you manage to keep Kamelot’s music evolving into a different album each time - still with the Kamelot touch, but never a ‘copy’ of the previous one?

- Its very difficult to be honest. We are very conscious of this and work hard to make albums that are unique.

- Would you say that you receive from your fans as much as you give to them?

- I think it is a symbiotic relationship. We can still make albums without the fans but the special and amazing nights in concert are a give and take of emotion and passion. We have the best fans in the world!

- I can imagine that being one’s own producer is not so easy, but do you feel more free now?

- I guess you mean having our own record company now in the US? It is great but also requires more work and also risk. In Europe we have Edel/earMusic and they have been great so far. I look forward to working with them closely on future albums. The newest CD is still produced by Sascha and Miro.

- Don’t you fear to be more limited, financially speaking, than you would be with a big label? 

- You have to believe in yourself and also have great people working for and with you when you do things without a label. We are fortunate to have some of the best people in the business working for KMG Recordings. In addition to that, they have passion for Kamelot, which is key to having success in anything you do. 

- Does topics' progress follow music’s progress, or do you freely allow yourself to enlarge the field of your lyrics?

- I think we can write about anything we want to, as long as they stand the test of quality and a certain moral ethic. Its important for us to be able to include personal songs, historic elements are anything else we desire. I think our fans love the diversity we offer them.

- Themes seem more and more topical...

- I guess so, maybe its a phase we are going through or not. We will see with the next CD how things evolve. 

- You said in an interview that PftP was the third and last part of « a kind of trilogy », started with TBH and GO. Could you explain this ? 

- I did? Haha, I don't remember saying this but maybe I was refering to the darker elements in these albums. Its hard to say what the next album will be, I do imagine another full concept album but dont hold me to it. ;)

- All of you guys look more energetic than ever on stage now that Sean has joined the band. Do you feel it’s due to Sean’s personality, or more to a ‘chemistry’ between you all? 

- Sean's energy is definitely infectious. I think with every tour we grow as performers and the larger the stages get the more room we have to move. The concerts are getting so intense, we sometimes walk off stage and think “man, thats was freaking amazing!” When the fans are part of the show with us its magical. 

- Overlooking those 20 years of career, do you feel that you’re now where you wanted to be when you began?

- I think most of us feel we are just getting rolling, yes we are very happy with where we are. But I still want to grow, musically and with the live shows. I want to push the envelope of what we can do with our live concerts. I still believe there is room for growth in the production of the albums and sound.

- What do you miss - if you miss something - to be deeply happy with Kamelot’s career?

- I only want to make sure we see the full potential of what Kamelot can do musically and also creatively. There are so many ideas that will come out in the future and its very exciting.

- The shows are more and more impressive. How far will you go? ;)) Should us fans be ready for even more?

 YES! As I mentioned, we plan to move the shows up another notch.

- What have you never done on stage yet and would dream to do in a next future?

 Thats a secret! Haha

- What are your best and your worst memories since the beginning of Kamelot?

- Best memories are the many amazing concerts that we have had over the past year. By far the worst was canceling the North American tour due to Roy's burnout. The fans support for us, to tour regardless was very inspirational however.

- How do you imagine Kamelot within the 20 years to come? And when will you come back in France? We already miss you and we are ready for a big party !! 

- I think the future is quite exciting for us and the fans. As usual with any band, there will be ups and downs but I believe there are some of our best days and nights ahead. We are looking at kicking off the next European tour in April 2011 and the first show at the moment is Paris. After not touring in the states I can tell you that Casey, Sean, Oliver and I are dying to tour and rejoin the party with our extended family.

It sounds a bit corny but I still think Kamelot will exist in 20 years, I think it belongs to the fans in a way. 

- Some words for the fans who’ll be reading this? ;) 

We miss all of our fans dearly, we will be back on the road soon and the next tour will be another step for all of us!! Thanks for your undying support!

Interview by Erzebet & Mephisto1 - proofreading by Waënelin

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