DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Wounded Cross
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Wounded Cross sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and how did they cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
You're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Tom: Honestly, probably Purple Rain by Prince which isn't exactly very fitting for a place called Devil's Island but I'll explain. I feel like that album has a bit of everything on it, upbeat rock, melancholy ballads even some dance music if I feel like it! And Prince was a genius so there is always that too.
Graham: probably the hardest question I've ever had, I'm the kind of person who listens to brand new music every Friday on release day, and make geeky lists of top 20 bands etc, live shows of the year and all that. But my top 3 favourite bands of all time are Rush, Black Sabbath and Killing Joke. So..an album I could not live without truly changes week by week, but I'd probably go for Black Sabbath - Vol 4. But next week it could be a different choice!
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Tom: Probably the first Black Sabbath album, it's interesting to look at and should be terrifying enough to scare away any seagulls.
Graham: Rush -2112. Because it's truly iconic and the coolest thing ever, I even have it as a back patch on my jacket.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Tom: This is a hard one. I really like Tiger Ale but I know that if I had an infinite supply of that stuff my liver and head would hate me. I guess they'll get over it.
Graham: Much like Tom, I prefer ales to spirits, if I had Boon Doggle, Tribute or Icebreaker on tap, I'd be chuffed with that!
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Tom: Hmmm, that's really tough. It wouldn't be my Led Zeppelin alarm clock that's for sure. Probably my Pink Floyd glass because I'll need somewhere to put all that ale.
Graham: My ArcTanGent hoodie, if it gets cold, need some warmth lol
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Tom: I have to be a boring Dad for this question and say my Daughter. Again, I'm not very cut out for "Devil's Island" stuff.
Graham: Probably the boring answer but I'd absolutely rather be with my wife! 20 years together and she's still the best person I know. Not that my band mates aren't great dudes.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Tom: Made in Japan by Deep Purple for sure. It's an incredible live album and I love how different the songs are from their studio versions and the improvisation between Blackmore and Lord are just incredible. I do have to give a special mention to Live Sentence by Alcatrazz though, which debuted Yngwie Malmsteen to the world. That's a phenomenal live album too, Graham Bonnet and Yngwie worked great together and it's a shame they couldn't get along well enough to make another album together.
Graham: Rush, show of hands. Probably my most played and enjoyed live album, I have it on four separate formats, CD, vinyl, dvd and on VHS tape! Absolutely love 80s era Rush, totally my vibe.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Tom: Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden for sure, that guy can fly a plane and looks great in leather trousers, what more do you want?
Graham: Toms answer is purely logical, ha, Bruce could save you from the island. If I ever get asked what famous person I'd want to mee I'd always say a member of Sabbath, but I can't see Ozzy being especially helpful at rescuing us from an island lol
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
Tom: Honestly I'd rather sacrifice myself than have to eat another person. Not because I'm selfless but that's nasty, even with seasoning.
Graham: that's a rough question, but if he's willing to sacrifice himself, I'll let him do it lol
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Tom: This is the hardest question for me, even harder than deciding who to eat. That said, probably Ritchie Blackmore because watching him play live really influenced my approach to music in general and my outlook on improvising in the way where Ritchie would improvise but always within the framework of the song in a way that makes sense. I admire that a lot, it keeps things interesting without it being chaotic. He also taught me the power of simple riffs and hooks. The idea that something doesn't need to be super complex to be interesting and cool, it just needs to be catchy and have presence. This idea actually goes for guys like Tony Iommi as well who is the riff master, but Blackmore is my favourite.
Graham: Vocally I'm hugely influenced by Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke, clean and aggressive, no matter what the song needs, he has such power. Lyrics he also writes about the world in a very matter of fact way (although occasionally sides too much with conspiracy theories) Also lyrically, I'm heavily influenced by Neil Peart. I particularly love how he uses metaphors sparingly and how the stuff he writes about makes sense to me.
