TARA'S SECRET

UK based melodic rock band Tara's Secret have just released their debut album and if you're a fan of Magnum, FM snd 'Season's End' era Marillion then they are well worth checking out. Over to band member Craig Chapman (guitar,keys.vocals)...

1. What are you currently up to? (e.g. touring/studio,etc.)

Mostly local gig pub shows 15/10 Burton Union, 29/10 Barton Shoulder of Mutton, 31/10 Littleton Arms Walsall 6/11 Scropton Foresters, 26/11 Burton Union, 4/12 Leicester Shed Writing new songs, promoting album and sending reviews/promos to labels, promoters etc

2. Brief history of the band and the style of music you play.

Craig (guitar/vocals) started ball rolling as Fuse in May 2002, Chris (bass)& Glyn (drums/vocals) joined in 2003 and Tara's Secret was born. John(vocals) and Richard (guitar) joined in March 2004. Gigging within weeks and album recorded by July. Style - strong song based melodic rock, with strong vocals and harmonies, plenty of guitar solos.

3. Who was/is are the biggest influences on your career?

Influences - Journey, Hagar, REO Speedwagon, Train, Matchbox 20, Styx, David Coverdale, Eagles

4. What has been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?

High Point - Recording the album, getting airplay in the USA, receiving so many positive reviews from people we respect Lower - 4 years to find right people, too many tribute bands, studio computer crashing and losing all our re-takes.

5. What would Tara's Secret like to achieve ideally by this time next year?

Signed & touring, 2nd album on the way (we've written enough good songs for 2nd album already) Yeah, the album is recorded but it needs more editing and a bigger master job which we can't afford on our own.

6. Could you take us through some highlights of your debut release, 'Spectrum Wheel'?

As many bands prove through the years, you need some good songs to make an album which then allows the individual members to shine through. The variety of melodic rock styles works for us, we hate albums that have 10 versions of the same song. John's voice and Rich's solos are the obvious stand-outs, whilst the overall discipline to let the songs breathe is paramount. The harmonies do turn heads too. Chris adds some lovely melodic bass, whilst Glyn plays his dynamics so well on drums. Calmer Karma is an epic about mental illness that builds up into a real tantrum before sighing away , Whoever You Are has an Eagles lilt, Heavens Above sounds huge, Wild Frontier has received some lovely comments, She Wears A Rainbow is hit material and the type of song made for jukeboxes whilst Venice Of The North has received accolades from all over. We try to build the songs so that they have definate climax spots and actually go somewhere.

7. How easy/hard is it to get gigs in the UK, especially as you are not a covers/tribute band but one playing original music?

Very hard. The tribute circus is pathetic and seeing bands like Magnum dragging nu-metal supports to Wolverhampton will send even more melodic rock rock fans off to the tribute shows. Many gig promoters have no idea of melodic rock, we get lumped in with student goths and noisy emo bands when we should be supporting the masters of our genre. Label feedback has been similar so far, many prefer to hang onto old names but don't realise they will die out with them - no disrespect intended. Magazines like Classic Rock are more like Saga, given the "remember when" stories they keep regurgitating. They are simply contributing to what Nirvana and Matthew Kelly started. Birmingham "promoters" are no more than gig secretaries. They demand we drag 50 fans into Brum for 30 minute sets through crap PAs with 5 other bands of various styles. Then they want a 30% stake of the door money. Leicester Shed on the other hand has a lets-try-and-build- something policy which is wonderfully refreshing. We applied for the Magnum support slot but were overlooked in favour of Newbreed who won 0 out of 1200 new fans at The Wulfrun. We'd love to get a manager with contacts to get us into the right venues and gigs. You'll see my comments on the potential of melodic rock on our website www.taras-secret.com (topical page). At a time when labels sell so few CDs, melodic rock not only sells itself, but also cars, washing powder, clothes, films etc, so why the hell don't labels sign and promote this quality genre that really sells (Matchbox 20 sold 30 million albums in 6 years)

8. Do you see the interest in rock & metal music growing in the UK & Europe at the moment?

If The Darkness is the face of British rock at the moment, then yes the interest is up, but I'm still unsure of the benefits for us. Darkness play well, work hard and good luck to them, but they allow themselves to be seen as being a bit cheesy which is an image the media loves to pin on any rock band. We're coming from an different angle and whilst we have fun, the songs and integrity is different. Bands like Matchbox 20 and Train have enormous respect in the USA and that interests us a lot more than the goofball features and bunch of gimmicks the media looks for.

9. What's the most rock 'n' roll moment the band has had so far?

Sorry to be so boring but it's been pretty low-key so far, we're all married with kids and have full-time jobs to pay for our expensive noize toys. Beating John 5 and other signed acts on a USA radio phone-in show must rate up there.

10. What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?

Our debut album "Spectrum Wheel" is available off our website www.taras-secret.com or directly through www.loud1.net. T-shirts, hats, mugs, and even doggie-jackets are available on our website through Cafepress.

11. Message to your fans?

Thanks for giving good original music a chance, we love seeing you singing our lyrics back to us, thanks and keep coming along to see us - just bring more friends and neighbours next time !!!

Website: Artist website

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