Interview with Spin Gallery guitarist Tommy Denander

Complex musical arrangements, killer playing and contemplative lyrics abound on Embrace, the third release from Frontiers Records artist Spin Gallery. This CD is a staggering work of art that works on so many different levels offering something for just about everyone. Whether you are a musician, an audiophile or just a fan of good music in general you are sure to appreciate what Spin Gallery has done on Embrace. I recently posed the following questions to Tommy Denander about Spin Gallery and their newest release Embrace.

Now that your brand new CD, Embrace is complete how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Tommy: Yeah we are very pleased with it, we spent about eighteen months working on this album to make sure every song felt strong by itself because I hate to put filler songs on albums. I’m pretty sure this album is a bit too complicated for a lot of pure AOR (Adult Oriented Rock) fans who love the four chord hit songs from Survivor etc. but there’s a million of those albums out there and even though I love doing those as well, Spin Gallery stands for something else. We try to bridge the great melodic rock of Mr. Mister, Toto, Giant and Journey with artists like Peter Gabriel, Sting and Pink Floyd; it might take the listener a few spins to get into the layers of what we’re trying to do.

What was the writing process like for this CD? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
Tommy: On the first album I wrote all the music, but this time I didn’t have to because Kristoffer is a really good writer himself. I love writing this kind of music because I put no boundaries on myself at all; I don’t have to think commercial, short, pop song so if I feel like doing an eight-minute song with nine parts, I just do it. I have written many songs together with Kristoffer when we sit together over the years but Spin Gallery is my own vision completely, it is almost more of my solo album than some of my own Radioactive albums. The songs were written over a twelve to fourteen month period with no stress. Every time I had something that felt right for us I put it aside from all the other artists I write for.

Even though the songs on Embrace are packed to the gills with huge melodies, intricate rhythms, and complex arrangements, there are still strong songs at the core of it all. When you write do you start building from a simpler frame and then just stack up all of the individual parts and nuances?
Tommy: Thanks and it’s a perfect way to describe them! I always start with the music first and our trick is that the music can be as intricate as we feel it needs to be. We try hard to make the melodies as simple and melodic rock as possible so for the non-musicians it’s still possible to just hum along but the guys with a good clue to musicianship, arrangements and production can dig the craft that we put into it all.

What can fans expect when they pick up a copy of Embrace?
Tommy: A journey deeper than your average melodic rock album, a musical delight for thirsty ears. And the lyrics aren’t your normal “oh baby I love you” crap, they’re deep and sometimes provocative but always on the good side of life.

Are there any tracks that are your personal favorites or that have good stories behind them?
Tommy: “Brilliance Of The Drugs” is a big favorite because it captures all the elements of our sound in one song and the lyrics are very strong. ”Blood In My Veins” is also very special because we wrote it in a room together in the 80’s and always loved the song but didn’t know where to put it until this album.

Embrace comes to us by way of Frontiers Records. Are you happy the way they handled the record, regarding distribution, marketing and promotion? How has the label been accommodating the band’s needs?
Tommy: It’s always great to release albums through Frontiers because people don’t miss the ads and it’s easy to get a copy of the albums so of course we’re really happy.

Every band has its musical influences. What are some of the other bands and artists that have greatly influenced you guys and your music?
Tommy: Our sound is the mix of AOR artists of the 80’s blended with Peter Gabriel, Sting and Pink Floyd but we’re both big fans of everything from Toto, David Foster, Richard Page to Kelly Clarkson, Nickelback and Faith Hill… there is great music to be found everywhere.

When you begin to put an album together, are you concerned at all about commercial success?
Tommy: Not melodic rock albums because they don’t sell much no matter how great they are so it’s a pure labor of love. I do most of my work with big commercial artists and then I’m totally focused on making the songs as strong as possible for the radio market which is also a lot of fun but I like doing this music much more.

What is your musical background?
Tommy: I’ve been a pro musician since I got my first record deal at fourteen and I’m 42 in March, I’ve worked on more than 1800 albums with tons of big stars, musicians, writers and producers. Kristoffer has never done this as a living so he is the normal one of us but he has always been involved in live gigs and doing albums.

What is the toughest lesson you ever learned in the studio and on the stage?
Tommy: The same lesson goes for studio and live… you can’t fake it, you’re either good enough to cut it or you’re not and the people will let you know VERY quickly if you’re not.

What does the future hold for you guys as a band?
Tommy: We have plans for a third album and we will start writing during this winter. There are no plans for playing live since the music is a little tricky to pull off good enough live but you never know what will happen.  [ END ]