Ian Crepea: Tell us who you are  and what you do in the band.

Chris Petersen: Chris Petersen, Cellador and I play guitar.

Bill Hudson: Bill Hudson and I play guitar.

Ian Crepea: What's up?

Chris Petersen: Not much, we kinda got here late here in good old New York but we're ready to play and we're ready to do this interview!

Bill Hudson: Yeah man, we're having fun, we're ready to rock, but a litte late.

Ian Crepea: Ok, this is your first major headlining tour, how has it been going for you guys?

Chris Petersen: It's actually been going really well, as you've said this is our first time going coast to coast with just ourselves not opening for any bands. We figured with this being our first record, and not only that, but that it's been out for only like 4 weeks that we were skeptical as far as the turn outs for the shows, but we we were really suprised that we were getting anywhere from 50 to 100 people . We played a show in Mexicali where 400 people showed up and we drew 45% of that. I would say that these shows were better than expected because I thought we'd go to some of these places and play for like 5 people.

Bill Hudson: Yeah, like Chris said we had great turnouts like in Mexicali. El Paso was great as well. All I can say is that it's been great. Way beyond all of our expectations.

Ian Crepea: Is the new album a compilation of older stuff or is it all new?

Chris Petersen: It's actually a little bit of both. We have four songs that were on the demo that got us signed and we had 4 songs that were written about the time period that we were talking to Metal Blade. One of the songs was written a month before we went to the studio. Originally our plans were to have all new material, but Metal Blade was confident in the material on our demo and felt we should re-record it. We actually have alot of other material that didn't make it on the record because we didn't want it to be too long.

Ian Crepea: When you do these headlining shows, do you play the whole album?

Chris Petersen: We almost play the entire album, it just depends from show to show. Sometimes we have a couple covers-

Ian Crepea: What do you cover?

Chris Petersen: Lots of stuff! Guns & Roses, Helloween, Megadeth, Gamma Ray. We've been doing some Helloween covers on this tour, actually.

Ian Crepea: Do you feel that Cellador competes with Dragonforce now that both bands are getting strongly recieved in the mainstream?

Bill Hudson: Well I don't think it's a competition really. I think it's good for both bands. Alot of people still think that we are competing and even compare us. I've been good friends with Herman for a while. Definitely not a competition.

Mike Ketive: With Cellador's increasing popularity, do you feel that power metal will become the next big craze in America?

Chris Petersen: I don't think it's going to be a craze. There's definitely a rise in the popularity in melodic music and adding metal and maybe even more traditional styles of music in the USA. I've noticed going from the desolate 90s when this sort of music wasn't popular in the US and then seeing all bands from the metalcore scene with all these European influences like In Flames. More and more of these bands are incorporating solos and melodic singing in addition to the hardcore elements. I think this just a steady progression that these elements are moving into the music more and more, giving the kids these days a preference for that style of music.

Bill Hudson: Me and Chris share the exact same opinion on this subject. I hope it gets bigger and bigger, and if it does become the next big craze.. I can't tell, but I hope so

Mike Ketive: Most power metal bands don't get on Headbanger's Ball but you guys have regular rotation for your video. How does that feel?

Chris Petersen: Really good actually. We never expected to have a music video get on- we never even expected to have a music video because as you say, this style of music in America is so underground. Luckily for us, Metal Blade took our band as a large priority and pushed us in a lot of media outlets from the beginning. It's a suprise for us, we never thought we'd get this kind of special treatment. I think alot of it is just because the strong support we have from our label that we have a video on Headbanger's Ball and ads in magazines. We feel really lucky.

Bill Hudson: Lucky is a very good word to describe it. We feel lucky. It's incredible to see our own video on MTV. Us playing power metal. That goes beyond my wildest dreams.

Ian Crepea: Yeah, also you have the ads for the album on Headbanger's Ball being rotated regularly which is cool because I know I'm sick of the same Victory Records commercials over and over again.

Bill Hudson: Let's show them what it's all about man!

Mike Ketive: Definitely. What was the most memorable gig you've ever played?

Bill Hudson: We'd all agree, even though I wasn't allowed to be there, the Mexicali show.

Ian Crepea: That was with Behemoth, right?

Bill Hudson: Yeah. I think Chris can talk a little bit better about that show though (laughs).

Chris Petersen: That was a very memorable show. I think it's tough to pinpoint for us what our most memorable show is, but that show was an absolute blast. It was about 4 or 500 people, and the booker told us we drew like 45% of that. For us being a new band with one record out and being able to play these places we've never played before it's great to see that we already have a following down there.

Mike Ketive: What would you say is your stance on downloading music?

Bill Hudson: Well... It's kind of hard to touch on that subject because at the same time I agree you can't buy an album without knowing what it's about, you're basically asking to give for free the only thing you have to sell.

Ian Crepea: Yeah, it's definitely a tough subject.

Chris Petersen: Yeah.

Bill Hudson: Yeah, it's tough but I see where both sides our comming from. Once the label isn't making enough money it's tough for them to invest in new artists. It's tough (laughs). I don't download. When I like something I go and buy it.

Chris Petersen: (To Bill) I agree with alot of the stuff you said but I have more of an optimistic view. There's definitely alot more oppertunites for promotion and just getting your name out. Granted alot of the kids who download don't buy it, but alot of them do. Not to mention that the people who don't buy the album go to the shows and buy the merch. Especially for a new band like us, we really don't care how much money we make selling albums.

Bill Hudsun: I have agree with that. I may have forgot to mention that (laughs). It's definitely a good way of promotion.

Mike Ketive: Describe the gear you use.

Chris Petersen: I'm pretty bent on the gear I use. I've been using Jackson for about 6 years now. It's really the only brand I use. Some other brands are good and I don't know if I'll be a Jackson player for ever, but they look cool and they play really well for the type of music we play. Really flat necks, fast guitars. Lightweight. I just recently got a deal with Krank amps. Those amps are absolutely incredible. Marshall cabs, dunlop picks. In the studio I use some effects to help my solos for extra gain. I just use an EQ pedal to kick up the volume. I'm not big on using effects.

Bill Hudson: I'm an Ibanez guy. I have an Ibanez Universe I bought about 10 years ago. It's totally customized. It's 7 strings. I have a Jackson Randy Rhoads, and a Jackson Dinky. I play those though Mesa Boogie heads and cabs. Like Chris I'm not too much into the effects. Just the amp and guitars.

Mike Ketive: How do you pass the time driving from city to city?

Chris Petersen: They can be a pain. Luckily we have a few things to help pass the time like a TV screen and an Xbox. We have tons of CDs. We listen to a lot of music. We have a laptop that now has wireless. I used it to do some interviews, some email stuff. Other than that we do a lot of sleeping. A little reading as you can see (points to books).

Ian Crepea: Is there any CD that you play that a lot of fans wouldn't expect you to have?

Chris Petersen: Umm. Maybe. I'm a huge metalhead so that's the extent of my collection. I've got some Guns & Roses. Bill probably has a more suprising collection, ask him!

Bill Hudson: That is true, but do you mean at home or on tour?

Mike Ketive: Either or is fine.

Bill Hudson: Alright, well I have some stuff. I don't even know if I should mention. I'm just a music fan. I have stuff from Backstreet Boys to Destruction to Sepultura. That would be my suprising CD, Backstreet Boys (laughs).

Ian Crepea: Plans for a followup?

Chris Petersen: We want to put out another record to keep our band fresh in people's mind. We have a lot of new material as I've said. We'd like to have a new album by 2007 but I don't know the exact time frame. This fall we have alot of touring plans. We have some prospects for Europe and Japan-

Ian Crepea: When you say the fall, does that mean Gigantour?

Chris Petersen: We haven't been contacted by them. There's rumors. As far as I know we're not on it though.

Ian Crepea: Well there are still a few slots open it seems, according to the press release.

Chris Petersen: I read that Dave was literally looking for a power metal band, but we haven't been contacted. I would just freak out. I love Megadeth. They were my all-time favorite band through high school. To play any show with them it would be amazing.

Ian Crepea: Do you think it's important for an American band to establish a strong European reputation?

Chris Petersen: I think it's important to establish ourselves in any market. Obviously in Europe this style of music is alot more established. Starting this band up, my goal was to part of this European scene. Now that we're on Metal Blade- which by the way was totally unexpected. When we were an unsigned band we never thought we'd be on Metal Blade. I figured if we tried hard enough our best bet would be on a small European label that caters to more melodic band. Once we got offered the contract from Metal Blade it changed our perspectives and our goals. We definitely have a strong focus in the USA. I really think it's very important that we push our band in the USA and not just Europe, but we also want to be apart of that scene because I'm obssessed with those bands.

Mike Ketive: What reception do you guys think you'd get in Europe?

Chris Petersen: Well, we've got a lot of reviews and most of them have been awesome. They've exceeded our expectations. We've had a lot of excellent reviews, but suprisingly alot of the criticisms we've got were from Europe. USA, I've yet to see a bad review. It just seems for some reason we've been getting a better response here than Europe. Maybe that's because they're more used to the style over there and can nitpick a little bit more.

Ian Crepea: (Points to Mike) He's going to be reviewing your CD!

Bill Hudson: You like it?

Mike Ketive: I love it, five out of five!

Both: Awesome!

Ian Crepea: What are your aspirations as far as touring later on? Ozzfest? Gigantour? Wacken?!

Chris Petersen: Next summer Ozzfest is a big possibillity. It's very possible that we can end up on there. We were on the sampler CD too so I don't know.

Ian Crepea: Every year when you get that sampler CD there's always that one band that that isn't on the actual show. In 2004, In Flames was on it. In 2003, Dimmu Borgir was on it.

Chris Petersen: Maybe we'll be lucky enough to get on Ozzfest. I'd prefer Sounds Of The Underground since it's more of our audience, and Gigantour even more than that. Those are all big fests with lots of oppertunity. We have a shot next summer. It would be an absolute dream for us to go to Japan as well. We know that the fans in Japan are really loyal.

Bill Hudson: I really want to play South America. One, because I from there, and two, because power metal is huge there. I really want to play there, especially my home country, Brazil.

Mike Ketive: Anything you'd want to take back to the studio from this experience as your first headlining tour?

Chris Petersen: We learned alot from the studio from working with Rutan. We've learned a lot of things we will take next time as far as pre- production, demoing. Being on the road, it's been really positive. We made alot of new friends on this tour. We've learned alot from just being a signed band. Alot of this is a learning experience for us, actually. We're still building alot of experience. I think 8 months later we've reached new levels in terms of everything. With our next record for sure, we'll take everything we've learned we'll take everything we've learned to the next level!

 

Ian and Mike: Thanks alot guys!