Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.32 10/00)
excerpts from an interview with Mario Millo (Vocals, Guitars)
It's in the same spirit as the Sebastian Hardie / Windchase / Epic lll albums in that, there is a thematic thread throughout most of the titles. More importantly, I've been experiencing the same feeling as when I worked on all the early albums, a feeling I haven't had for a long time, in fact not since "Four Moments". If you were into any of the early albums I'm sure this will fulfill any expectations, I'm very excited in the way it's turning out and I would love to perform this music in concert hopefully soon.
After more than 25 years, there's still demand for the music of your two former bands Sebastian Hardie and Windchase. Do you feel proud that you've created music that seems to be kind of timeless?
I do feel proud, it's a great feeling to know that most of the past repertoire could be performed now-days and the effect would be just as powerful as it was back in the seventies.
With "Four moments", the first album of Sebastian Hardie you've received gold status in Australia. How 'big' was the band back in the 70's concerning commercial success, radio air-play, press etc.?
"Four moments" charted in the top ten albums at one point and "Rosanna" I think got to about number eight in the top forty national charts. It was the only time that radio got behind the band and after that, media support slowly diminished, not sure why, I guess it was the nature of the music which didn't fit the three minute pop song formats.
Even though you did create with "Four moments" and "Windchase" two of the finest symphonic rock albums ever, there were no other bands from Australia following in this kind of music. Do you have any explanation for that and is there something like a underground scene in Australia concerning this music nowadays?
Looking back it seems we were the only band doing it. There were other good bands around, but I don't think they would go under the banner of progressive rock. A band called "Ayers Rock" was the only other band around at the time that was doing something unusual, their music was more rocky and sort of tribal, that's the best I can recall. To my knowledge, since Sebastian Hardie / Windchase there's no progressive scene here in Australia whatsoever, that's one of the main reasons I stopped performing in the early eighties and pursued composing for film. Around Sydney, there are a few of the "muso type" venues which feature more the jazz fusion style acts but that's about it.
Do you think that if you didn't came from "down under" it would have been easier for you, being not so far away from the international music scene?Absolutely. People have said many times that if we went to the USA on the wave of "Four moments", we would have very likely become one of the major progressive bands like Yes, Focus etc.
Absolutely. People have said many times that if we went to the USA on the wave of "Four moments", we would have very likely become one of the major progressive bands like Yes, Focus etc.
On Progfest '94 in Los Angeles Sebastian Hardie reunited for just one gig. Which kind of feelings did you have playing together after more than 18 years?
The feeling was magic for all of us, it felt as if no time had passed and was a bit like putting on an old pair of your favorite shoes that fit perfectly. It was a wonderful experience for the whole band and if we never get to play again as Sebastian Hardie it will be an amazing memory for all of us and also for the fans that were there that night. Fortunately it was recorded and is now immortalized on CD for all time.
Looking back to the magic of this gig, didn't you think about a 'real' reunion and maybe recording a new album or is better to keep the good memories of the past in mind and not spoiling them with something that maybe hasn't the spirit of the 70's?
We did certainly talk many times when we returned to Australia about continuing to perform, but as I've mentioned earlier it's just not possible to make a living doing that here in Australia, so everyone has to work doing other things which doesn't allow the time or the energies to flow to create another record. We all keep in touch and if ever the opportunity should arise I'm sure we would be able to do more, even in the 21st century.
Are there also other band recordings besides Sebastian Hardie, Windchase and Men From Mars available you've contributed in?
I did a heap of recordings with a line up called "The Planets" but discarded the entire project not liking the way it turned out. Throughout the years I've also written and demo recorded many songs and bits, but have never been completely happy with the results, all these recordings are archived and perhaps one day in the future I'll look at them again. This is why I know that my new project is so right and why I'm so excited about it. I'm doing what I believe in.
In the 70's Windchase also toured with Santana and other famous artists. Listening closely to your albums, I can even find some hints remembering me of the style of Carlos Santana. Did he influence you and which other musicians did play an important role for you in finding your own style?
I've had many influences, but strange as it may sound , Santana has never been one of them. I enjoy his music and I know he loved hearing us perform Windchase when we toured together in 1976. The Shadows (Hank Marvin) was my idol when I was a kid learning to play, The Beatles (John Lennon) have had a major influence in my life. Then of course there are the more progressive bands such as Yes, Focus etc. I loved early Yes stuff, but then preferred listening to Focus. There are many other acts that I enjoy listening to and too many to name here and I guess that anything that one enjoys is going to have an influence on what you do yourself.
Looking back to your long career, which are the moments, events, highlights that you remember the most?
Most recently "Progfest November '94" is very special because it proved to us that the music had stood the test of time. The last concert Sebastain Hardie performed back in '76 at "Dallas Brooks Concert Hall" in Melbourne - Australia. All knew it was the last concert and we had a full house, it was magical. As support to Dutch band "Focus" who we toured with nationally in Australia in 1975, we had just finished recording "Four Moments" and the opening night was at the Horden Pavilion in Sydney, many fans, press and media said we blew Focus off stage, which to us was the biggest compliment that could be paid - it was a real buzz on stage. We also promoted our own concert at the Opera House soon after the tour and that was magic as well. I can honestly say there were very few occasions when the the band fell flat, most of the time it was an exhilarating experience, a wonderful time.
If you could choose, which are the musicians you'd like to play or record with?
I've always been a sucker for good and long friendships and until I know the person to a certain point I can't imagine making music together, so your question is a little difficult for me to answer, however, I would have loved to play guitar for John Lennon. The reality is that I have many musician friends here in Australia that are world class and they're the ones I want to play with.
Also, you've recorded a lot of filmscores and therefore being involved in the film making process. What's the differences and challenges in creating music for a film or TV series?
The biggest difference is that music composed for film must become an intregal part of the film. In the scores that I've composed, I've always strived to enhance the scenes I'm scoring and drive the emotions and action. When the right music comes together with a great film scene, magic is created and it's a wonderful and powerful thing. Sometimes writing for film can be a little frustrating because of the set boundaries that the film dictates, sometimes a classic music phrase can't be further developed because of these boundaries, whereas when you write freeform the only limitation is your own imagination.
To what kind of music do you listen today and are you aware that there still exist an underground progressive rock scene all over the world with a lot of new bands?
I spend so much time writing and producing my own music that I rarely have the time or the head space to listen to much else. Apart from the music we're bombarded with via the media I enjoy Sting, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, also Santana, Police. I also enjoy alot of the more recent bands like U2, Radiohead, to name a few. I guess it's good for an act like me that the progressive rock scene is still alive a well, although I must confess I haven't followed up on the new prog acts, I'm sure I'd be pleasantly surprised by some of the new bands.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2000