RON COOLEN – Interview

“The album is basically a solo project. (…) I had to invite singers and solo guitarists to fill the musical gaps. (…) it may feel like listening to different bands (…) I am very proud to have such an incredible line-up of guest musicians on “Rise”…” – Ron Coolen

Hello Ron! And you fulfilled your big dream. You released your solo album! How much long did you work on it?

Having my own album has always been a dream since I was a kid. Sometimes it takes a while to execute things, and in this case it took many, many years. 3 years ago I started writing my first song ever, and within a few months I had a number of songs, and decided to go for a full album. The main process of writing and structuring existing ideas into end-to-end songs happened until the end of 2018. I had about 25 songs, and worked on 15 of them from that point onwards. Searching for the right guest musician, and get flabbergasted every time they submitted their parts. 2019 was a very intense year completing the whole album, not only musically, but also prepare for the promotional side of things, since I do everything myself.

Several months have passed since the album’s release – from February 20, 2020. What is the interest in this album?

The interest has been overwhelming so far, as the album is getting great reviews all across the globe. I have been very busy promoting the album, and I still am. Only 2 weeks after the official launch, this pandemic hits the world. Yeah, it is strange, and things have changed. And there’s is a big impact on the promotional side as well. Radio studios are closed, magazines postpone next issues etc. To make the best of the situation I have started writing new songs, the time is right now, as musicians have a lot of time available. I got some very cool cooperations coming up again!

You are a multi-instrumentalist … However, you invited many great guests to record the album. Let me mention them all… The vocalists: Keith St. John (BURNING RAIN, KINGDOM COME, LYNCH MOB, MONTROSE), Göran Edman (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Chris Clancy (MUTINY WITHIN, WEARING SCARS) and Sam Walters (DRIVEN MAD), and the solo guitarists Christopher Amott (ARCH ENEMY, DARK TRANQUILLITY ARMAGEDDON), George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB), Joey Concepcion (ARMAGEDDON, DAUGHTER CHAOS, THE ABSENCE, SANCTUARY), Stéphan Forté (ADAGIO), Thorsten Koehne (EDEN’S CURSE, CODE OF PERFECTION), Daniel Verberk (PHYSICAL GRAFFITI), Johannes Persson (KERBERA) and Steve Lamb (TYGERS OF PAN TANG)… Did I forget someone? I think these are your friends?

The album is basically a solo project, next to my “usual” instruments of rhythm guitars and drums, I also play bass and keyboards on the album. I had to invite singers and solo guitarists to fill the musical gaps. I have a network of musicians, which built up after I had done some charity work for Jason Becker between 2008 – 2011, and through hosting a hard rock radio show in the same period. So I had access to some great musicians. Still, I was very careful and conscious as to who I approached for a contribution. I had to make sure that every guest musician’s skills and style added value to the song, giving exactly what the song needed, and lift it to a next level. Also, I had to make sure that having so many guest players would not make the album too messy and too diverse. Yeah and of course I am very proud to have such an incredible line-up of guest musicians on “Rise”.

Each of them gave own breath to this album. Hard Rock and Heavy Metal are the basis. However, there also heard significant elements of Progressive Rock or neoclassical virtuosity and themes straight from Thrash Metal, Modern Metal and even Black Death Metal elements. As a result, the music has become very diverse, rich in means of expression and multi-genre accents. Sometimes I get the impression of listening to different bands…

Yeah I can imagine it may feel like listening to different bands at some points, and in a way they are different line-ups, where the guests all give a specific dimension to each song. To me the album reflects all the influences I have experienced in 40 years of listening to music, so the variety makes total sense to me. My main musical influences go back to the seventies and eighties, but have developed ever since. The most dominant influences are the ones from my youth, when I was totally into AC/DC, Van Halen, the whole NWOBHM movement, their American equivalent, then followed by the typical MTV-glam-and-hairmetal-period. I was also totally into all the Shrapnel guitar shredders. Then later as a grown-up I also learned to love bands like Arch Enemy, Lamb of God, Korn and Slipknot.

Were you the only composer? And they only played or sang their parts? Or did you let them be creative?

I have written all the music, and the lyrics were written by Keith St. John, Chris Clancy, Sam Walters and by a lady called Francoise Vaal. Francoise and I played together for years in bands and she helped me out with some lyrics.

Keith St. John also helped with some re-arrangements of the songs, he was very involved in the whole project. As for the vocals and guitar solo’s, I let all guests be as creative as possible. They were such professionals that they did not need a lot of musical guidance. And let’s be honest, who am I to tell George Lynch to tell him how he should play a good guitar solo?……

Ron, tell those who haven’t heard the album “Rise”. What you write in your lyrics about?

Regarding lyrics, I have a broad interest in social themes like politics, religions, climate and all the mechanisms around them. As mentioned, lyrics were written by others, and they wrote beautiful lyrics on some intriguing happenings, like the huge bushfires in California in 2018 (which is what the song “Paradise” is about) and the “festival-killing” in Las Vegas in 2017 (the topic of the song “Too late to surrender”).

I did a lot of retrospective research into these disasters, to really understand what happened, and also, how victims still deal with the consequences of these events every day, while the rest of the world has returned to business as usual. This is very sad, so therefore I hope the 2 songs will also raise awareness for the people of Paradise, and for the victims of the shooting and their families.

But is’t not only serious and social topics on the record. Sin City is about sex, so there is some traditional rock type of lyrics on the album too, ha ha

The cover-art of “Rise” can suggest different interpretations. But what did the author mean by creating it? Has anything influenced it appearance?

A young Greek guy called Jor Art Designs has done all the artwork. He was recommended to me be a band he had worked for. I just gave him input on my story behind the album, and this is how he translated that into an image. He came up with the phoenix idea, and the birds representing the guest musicians. Great job, right?

Oooo, that’s a good idea indeed. I would never have thought of it… Currently, during the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic, most of the concerts have been canceled. However, we all wait for a return to normality. Are you going to go on a concert stage with this material?

My ultimate dream would be to play the whole album live with all 12 guests, but that is likely to become a logistic and financial nightmare. Keith St. John and I have discussed the option of doing some live touring together. It all depends on the level of interest, and with the current virus shit going on, and the implications it has for the music and entertainment industry, it is hard to predict how this will work out. But playing live is the ultimate thing for me!

Who would be play guest parts?

So Keith St. John would be on vocals, I prefer to play rhythm guitars myself, rather than being the drummer. Other names are only in my mind, I have a wishlist though, but have not approached players yet……

You are currently promoting the album by yourself? Or is anyone to help you with this?

I do everything on my own, I switch hats all day, from being a musician, to record company (RISE is released on my label RC Music) to being a promoter of the album. It is quite intense, and I would welcome more time to be the musician, improve my guitar skills and write new songs.

Now I thought you would stylistically match to Danish label Mighty Music. Have you ever thought about establishing cooperation with someone?

Yeah sure I have thought about it, but until the release there was not a real interest from companies. Now that the album is released, there is interest from several companies, so I might end up in a cooperation. I agree with you that my album would be a good fit with Mighty Music, so who knows…

Of course, RON COOLEN is your solo activity. In all your musical life you have come across many bands. Which of them do you consider the most important in your career? Do you currently play with anyone?

I think my first and last band were the most important one. The first band was a heavy metal band called RAZOR, we wrote our own songs back in the early 80’s, and this band has brought me the love for playing music. The last band I was in is AC/DShe, and AC/DC coverband, and there I made the step from drumming to playing guitar. The first time on stage playing guitars was an incredible experience !

Shortly after the coronavirus hit the world, we quit with AC/DShe, since it looked like it would take a very long time before we could get back on stage, and I needed to focus on my own music for a while !

Jason Becker is your greatest inspiration. We all know what misfortune has affected him. But despite everything he still creates music. I know that you are strongly involved in various forms of help for him…

Next to making music I am a sporty guy doing crazy challenges. In 2008 with a few friends we decided to run the New York Marathon. In the Netherlands it is very common to combine such a challenge with fundraising for a good cause. I decided to raise money for Jason. I have been a Jason fan from the Cacophony period onwards, and followed him ever since. Via MySpace I asked musicians to donate their memorabilia (signed CD’s, guitar picks, albums, posters, cymbals, whatever), and I the sold it to the highest bidder on eBay, with the proceeds going to Jason. Through this I got to know many musicians who appreciated the initiative. Most of them were actually a huge fan of Jason themselves. In the same year I went to see Jason at his house in Richmond (CA), and this was almost a spiritual experience.

Then in 2011 I was part of the group that organized the “Jason Becker Not Dead Yet Festival” in Haarlem (NL), where an incredible line-up of musicians paid tribute to Jason. We had Atma Anur, Guthrie Govan, Michael Lee Firkins, Stephan Forte, Andy James, Kiko Loureiro, Michael Lee Firkins, Timo Somers, Mattias Eklundh, Stuart Hamm, to name but a few, all on the same stage.

So now with the release of RISE, it was logic for me to do something for Jason again. I learned from him to believe, do what you love and go for it. I will donate 1 USD to Jason for every album (CD/digital) that is sold. Jason’s medical state is always critical and he needs a lot of care, which costs a lot of money. He needs every bit of financial support he can get!

Yeah, it is noble goal… Thank you for the interview. I wish you further success!

Thank you too for the opportunity to present my music to the Polish rock fans! I would love to come to your country and play for you! In the meantime you can check my album RISE at www.roncoolen.rocks or on Bandcamp: www.roncoolen.bandcamp.com . There are 2 songs on Spotify and I will release more songs on Spotify during this year ! Follow me there to stay up-to-date !