Zak Stevens on stage with Circle II Circle

 

I first heard of Zak Stevens when the rumors were out that he was going to replace Jon Oliva in Savatage. Savatage is a band that Jon founded with this younger brother Criss. Jon had decided to take a leave from the band and Zak Stevens had been named the replacement in Savatage. Edge of Thorns marked Zak’s debut with the band, the band got considerable airplay on radio and at the time MTV. Shortly after tragedy struck and Criss Oliva was killed in a car wreck, the band issued Handful of Rain as a tribute to Criss; Zak released more music with Savatage, until Jon returned to the fold. Zak has gone on to record with Trans Siberian Orchestra, which features Savatage alumni and has most recently started his own band called Circle II Circle, they have released three records the most recent entitled Burden of Truth which is a concept record based on where the book The Da Vinci Code left off. I had a chance to talk to Zak on 10.3.06, about Savatage, Circle II Circle and the new album Burden of Truth out in North America on Locomotive Records.

Zak?

Yeah is this Ruben?

Yes. You’re out in Florida?

Yes, Tampa Florida. Where are you at?

I’m actually about 60 miles away from Portland, Oregon.

Ah yes, Oregon.  That’s a beautiful part of the country.

So let’s get rolling if it’s okay with you?

Yeah, sure no problem.

How did you first come to know the Oliva brothers?

Well, now I really first met them when I was living out in Los Angeles, it was when they were on tour for the Gutter Ballet album. When they came through on that tour in L.A. they played at The Palace. I went with a friend Dan Campbell who’s still to this day involved with me and Circle II Circle. Dan at one time was a guitar tech for Criss Oliva and had known him for years in Tampa, so when I was in L.A. I met Dan just by doing some demos, after making the transition from drummer to lead singer after many years of being a percussionist. So basically I met them on that tour, and then about a year after that I ended up in Boston working with a group up there from 1991 into 1992, we played regionally. We did a demo with Bob St. John who you might know from his work with the band Extreme. That demo got the attention of Savatage when Jon (Oliva) wanted to take a break from the road and they were looking for a singer. They got the demo and that opened the door, I think what they liked was the fact that out of all the demos they had I wasn’t trying to sound like Jon, I was just being me. I’m just grateful to have been able to be part of the band. It was a wonderful experience for me.

You signed on for the Savatage album Edge of Thorns how exciting was that for you? And were you nervous about taking over the reigns and fan acceptance as the new singer?

Well, you know there’s always going to be that element; I really didn’t want to focus too much on that part. I was focused more on what I could do and what I could bring to the band, do the best I can. I wanted to given Savatage a different edge and do what I could to be able to get them on the radio. I think that was the band’ focus at that particular time. They had done everything except having that hit, as we were working on Edge of Thorns Paul O’Neill would keep that in mind and all the guys had that in mind. I had to change my style a little bit, it wasn’t like I would walk in and do what I did and that would be it. I went in there and developed my voice, I think if you hear my voice now I can get their gritty sounding vocal, well that’s what I began to develop during the recording of that album. It was funny a great producer like Paul O’Neill will see what you have even if you don’t think you possess it. He would coach me in the studio until I would get it right, for example that was the case with the song “The Edge of Thorns,” which turned out to be the biggest radio success that Savatage ever had and I was just happy to have been able to help. I wasn’t concerned about the outcome of the album and I don’t think anyone else was either; we had this attitude that we would leave the studio with an album that would kick serious ass. We were all working as a team.

Edge of Thorns is a fantastic album I know you mentioned the title track being a huge radio hit. I first heard you in Savatage doing “Sleep” on Z-Rock, you guys were on regular rotation on that station and they even got some live feeds from a number of gigs if I recall. Great follow up to “Edge of Thorns.”

Funny you should mention this, I began a scrap booking project last night. I have started to get together all tour laminates from all the various tours that I have done, from Savatage, TSO and Circle II Circle. Anyway, one of the laminates that made it into the book was a Z-Rock laminates from when we attended a special event in Dallas. It was a summer concert series or something like that, which could have been one of the broadcasts that you mentioned. That was one of the first stations that got behind the album and 95 Rock in Tampa. So that one brought back a lot of memories, it’s funny that you brought that up.

Was it hard to record Handful of Rain since Criss was gone? In retrospect what do you think of that record?

That came at a time when we all thought it was over. When we got over the initial shock, we all began to talk about doing one for Criss, he wouldn’t have wanted us to disband and not continue. He definitely wouldn’t have wanted us to be a bunch of wimps about it. We went in and when we get together there’s always a chance at greatness when we all click. One song that I’m very proud of on that record is doing “Alone You Breathe” for Criss and having that on there for him, and then you stumble on something like “Chance” which is based on a Japanese fellow that was creating a shelter for Jews in Germany while trying to get them visas into Japan so they could escape. You take a story like that and Paul O’Neill is notorious for taking the story and expanding it and translating it into song. That kinds of song really gave a new life into Savatage, the whole road was tough after Criss passed. And personally I don’t think we ever did overcome it, but at least we used his memory as motivation to move forward. I think it was a tribute that we were able to get an album out after losing such a great friend and the best guitarist in the world at that time. You’re never going to over come something like that, but I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish with Handful of Rain.

Could you share some memories you have of Criss Oliva? Apart from an outstanding guitarist what kind of a person was he?

I have a lot of memories about Criss. I think the most impressive thing about him was when I joined the band; he really wanted to get to know me as a person and also wanted me to get to know the guys in the band. He didn’t want me to be the hired gun; he included me and really wanted me to feel like I was home. That was a huge impression on me, which spoke volumes of him as a person. He wanted to spend a lot of time together to make up for lost time, he was wanted to spend a lot of time together, we’d work at his house late, I’d stay the night and we’d work some more. Just him reaching out and going overtime as far as getting to know me, it was just unbelievable. I could not have asked for more, it was great times. Criss was like a brother, he could have not done anything personally to make it more comfortable for me; he went well beyond what anyone else would have done. In retrospect I feel that Criss knew his time was short. I don’t think he thought this was his last record, but the way he approached the songs on The Edge of Thorns he was on fire. This was guy that never sat down while playing the studio, when he’d cling onto a lead he’d play it like he was performing it on stage. That energy came across on tape.

You've had a couple of albums since replacing all the band members. Do you consider Circle II Circle more of a complete band or more like the Zak Stevens project?

We’ve had the same line-up for two of the three records. The first line-up, we put the band together in Tampa, there were some issues, where some of the band members didn’t want to tour much. We decided that if were to get to where we’d like to be we were going to have to make a change in the line-up, it wasn’t the easiest thing. As it turns out Jon (Oliva) has my old line-up, because that is the kind of band that he needs at this time, so in a sense it all worked out and no feelings were hurt. Now we’re very happy and it was the best thing to do. I don’t think we’d be were we are if the change had not been made. I have two albums with this line-up and we’re gelling very well. We’re stable, all there writing was done in house and with this band.

On the previous albums all the writing was done with me and outside writers, but now we write as a band. The goal is to make these guys shine and show the fans out there what they are capable of as musicians and song writers. We needed to make a strong third record and catapult this band to where we need to be.

How has your music progressed or changed since you parted with Savatage?

It has changed with every record; I’m trying to get better at what I do and what needs to happen musically on each album. I use my percussion background a lot, my vocal ability, writing melodies and my production skills. I have produced two of the three albums, everything continues to develop as I continue to write and record. It’s a work in progress; I don’t think I’ll never stop developing my skills. One thing that I have worked hard at is giving this band a trademark sound; I know I will never escape the comparisons to Savatage, I think anyone that hears Circle II Circle could say “that could be Savatage.” And it could and how could it now be being that I was in that band for nine years, surely there was a style and influence that has carried into Circle II Circle. And honestly people have the right to express their opinions, do I care? No, I know the reason I’m where I’m at is because I was in Savatage, I’m proud of it and I can’t deny the time I was in the band.

Favorite album from the Circle II Circle catalog so far?

(Thinking) I think Burden of Truth will eventually become my favorite but I have to give credit to Middle of Nowhere for getting us back on American radio. We got on the air waves, Middle of Nowhere might have been a blip on the radar, because it came out at the same time as our label’s president died suddenly when he was involved in a car accident at 41 years old. He was a huge support to Circle II Circle, and that was another spell of bad luck, and since that time the staff at the label in Europe has completely been revamped, new people, new staff and the label was bought out. So Burden of Truth is the first products with the new team, before we had Andy (AFM’s former President) do all the promotion for the records, so that last record did nothing as it was released and there was no one to help promote it. We’re looking forward getting some much needed help in getting the word out there about Burden of Truth. Thank goodness for Middle of Nowhere, it got us on XM Radio, “All that Remains” was the most added song I’ve had since “Edge of Thorns.” We’re certainly looking forward to getting back on radio with Burden of Truth, I personally think it’s more radio friendly. Luckily we caught that radio wind and we’re going to take full advantage of it.

Satellite radio is the wave of the future; it could potentially do what MTV used to do for bands. One play will hit “X” amount of fans and they will pick up the records and then they will tell a friend or two.

Yeah, I agree, it’s amazing radio played six songs off of Middle of Nowhere and I’m excited about what they will do with Burden of Truth.

I’m just happy to get on regular rotation again.

With Burden of Truth it’s a concept album that is based on material that has been covered on The Da Vinci Code. Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s more or less stating that Jesus and Mary of Magdalene were husband and wife and she was with child and their decedents are among us to this day?

The concept is pretty simple, it started with the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail which I first read back in 1998, and all the guys in the band had read it. That particular book came out in 1982, so by no means is this a new topic or controversy its’ been around for some time now. Basically it leads into the Holy Grail with Dan Brown and the movie coming out (The Da Vinci Code), we thought well with the movie coming out we should try writing a concept record inspired by the subject matter. We had talked about doing something like this before, but with the people becoming more familiar with the controversy, we went for it. So it’s really pretty simple, Sophie at the end of the movie (The Da Vinci Code) is identified as one of the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, she would have the holy bloodline. These days who knows who would posses the bloodline, the theories are out there, if they will ever be proven who knows? Burden of Truth would be a musical sequel to where The Da Vinci Code left off, what the character will be going through once they have been identified as having the bloodline. It’s when a secret society comes up to you, tells you have the bloodline we have the proof and they need to talk to you about it. Then boom the first note of the record kicks and the journey begins, and the character tries to find the self within himself and goes through all kinds of stuff. Then at the end he’s able bring together people that have been at war for thousands of years that’s what the song “Live as One” is about. It’s about a real deep journey, rediscovering the real person inside you. So the movie helped educate some of the people out there and we’ll see how they react to the record.

Why cover this topic, was this something that you had in the works for a while?

Well I had talked about doing it a while back, but to be honest when I heard that The Da Vinci Code was being made into a movie and then when it came out we had to do it. Everyone in the band was into it.

The funny thing is that haven been raised Catholic I have seen the painting of the last supper for years, but at an early age maybe 7-8 years old I questioned people as to the figure to Jesus’ right. To me it’s clearly a female, among 11 and then Jesus.

Right, so the possibility of this actually have happened isn’t that far fetched now is it?

The Da Vinci Code became a movie there was tons of controversy around it for obvious reasons. Did you get a chance to catch that movie and if so what did you think?

Yeah I caught the movie I think it’s a task to try to make a movie on the book as it is time limited. You can’t properly touch on every point in the book and movies are about moving forward or else you’ll loose the audience. The book is like once you begin reading it you can’t put it down, same with Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I think in the movie it would be hard to follow, for example the old has the burden of filling in a lot of the back story and I would be confused if I hadn’t read the book first. That’s the complaint I have about turning The Da Vinci Code into a feature film.

Zak, you guys completed recording on Burden of Truth on 6.6.06? This is a strange coincidence.

Yeah the album ironically enough did complete recording on 6.6.06, it was really kind of weird and it’s just a nice fact we had the label add to the press kit.

How quickly did this album come together? Was it a lengthy writing process?

Good question, it came together relatively quickly, and I’d say about one month give or take. We took about two months for rehearsals and to refine a couple of the song here and there. Overall not that long at all, but we work very quickly anyways.

For a concept record that fairly quickly! You should give Queensryche some tips!

(laughs) Well, we’re available for some consulting.

If you had a gun to your head and were asked to pick the best track on Burden of Truth what would it be and why?

I would say “Revelations” I love how that song came together and I also like how it kicks in on the record, I think “Revelations” brings everything together. I also like “Heal You” I like how the character finds his power and how he’s able to heal, but not without disclosing his abilities and how it will ultimately change his life.

How is your reception overseas? Do you feel that the US can still be an important place for metal bands?

We are treated very well in overseas. I think America is still a very important place for metal or heavy music if you stick to your guns and maintain the freshness then definitely.

I think there’s a lot of stuff out there that is being overlooked because there are trends, but there’s still enough room for everyone.

Have there been any discussions of live shows or appearance in the United States to promote Burden of Truth?

Well, we are planning to head overseas soon for some dates then we’ll be back in the United States. I hope we can tour extensively here, as I said we are getting airplay of satellite radio that’s a step in the right direction and the reviews have been fairly good. We just played Progpower VII in Atlanta and the audience was very receptive, we’re hopeful to bring this show out on the road by year’s end or early next year. You might be interested in knowing that we will be releasing our first ever dvd soon, we shot the entire show from Progpower VII that will be the main focus of the dvd but there will also be additional footage. It should be a nice souvenir for fans. Priority is getting out and playing live, you should see these guys we have in this band they are outstanding musicians. I went and looked some of the photos from the Progpower show and the energy they have comes through onto the stills. I’m very proud of what we have in Circle II Circle.

Are you planning take part in the fabled Savatage 25th Anniversary, whenever it actually comes together?

Fabled?! No, this is happening if I have anything to say about it. We’ll be wrapping up with the next TSO album at the beginning of 2007 and we’ll all get together and write for a studio album which will be part of the celebration. Even though it will take place on the band’s 26^th year. The plan is to record an album, do a live dvd and also hopefully do multiple live appearances with the entire cast of characters that have been in Savatage.

Man,that sounds like you’ll need a stadium to pull something like that off?!

(laughs) We’ll definitely need a lot of room for that stage. Yes, this will happen and I look forward to being a part of it.

Before I let you go, you can find the review for Burden of Truth on the Pivotal Rage archives, I love the album, it’s the best material from Circle II Circle if you ask me. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the site?

Yeah, I have been interviewed by you guys for the last record, I have seen the site and I thank you for the support.

Excellent. In closing is there anything you’d like to say to the reader of Pivotal Rage?

If you haven’t checked out Circle II Circle before give it a listen it is a great album. Look into Burden of Truth, and to those that have supported me since the Savatage days thank you, I appreciate it and I hope to see you all out on the road by year’s end if not early in 2007. And thank you Ruben and Pivotal Rage.

I’d like to thank Carol and Mr. Mike at Kayos for all their help in getting this set up and of course Zak Stevens for being a standup guy. Hope to see Circle to Circle out on the road soon and please check out the archives for the review of Burden of Truth.

 

              Zak and the guys from Circle II Circle

 NOTE: Photos courtesy of Circle II Circle.