DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Violet Blend
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 Violet Blend 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?
Giada: 'Icky Thump' by The White Stripes, I love the band and I love that album, it has wonderful songs that have the power to relax and excite me at the same time. It has always been one of my points of reference in music, I learned a lot from that record and every time I listen to it I discover something new.
Michel: 'Innuendo' by Queen, the masterpiece of masterpieces, an album that never tires me and that I could listen to endlessly.
Ferruccio: I save 'Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory' by Dream Theater, it is the album that tells an intriguing story of an unfortunate love that takes place in multiple lives over time, it is the album that still gives me shivers every time I listen to it.
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?
Giada: I'd put up 'AM' by Arctic Monkeys, it's a representation of a white sine wave on a black background, it'd remind me why I'm on this earth and to dedicate myself to music until the end.
Michel: 'Somewhere in Time'" Iron Maiden, in that cover there is a world, they were pioneers with their artworks.
Ferruccio: I think I would choose a cover that gives peace of mind considering the situation, such as a view of the sea, the earth and the sky, like 'Morning View' by Incubus, but, being on an island, I would have that view constantly, so I would choose an image of a house or a city to remind me where I come from and to motivate me to do everything I can to get back there.
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?
Giada: Absolutely Negroni, it would make me feel at home in Florence, Italy.
Michel: The question fits perfectly, we are just organizing an event here in Florence in collaboration with a well-known Italian Gin brand with purple themed cocktails inspired by our music, I can't help but choose one of those, the “Violet Blend” with gin, tonic, juice blood orange and blue curaçao.
Ferruccio: The answer is obvious to me too, the drink would be the Negroni.
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?
Giada: The gym bag from our band merch, in which I accidentally find the t-shirt with the Demons print, the hoodie with the rib cage and the purple heart and the gas lighter with the logo. I want to point out that I'm not cheating, I only took one object, it's not my fault if there were all those things inside the bag.
Michel: Maybe a sweatshirt could be useful, I would choose our hoodie with the ribcage and purple heart printed, I like it a lot and I wear it often.
Ferruccio: The gas lighter from our band merch, it'd be useful and helpful on a desert island
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?
Giada: Oh man, I see my bandmates every single day and would definitely dream of being with someone else! The thing is, my bandmates are also my best friends, it's a little complicated if we exclude them. Let's throw ourselves into the abstract, I would like to be shipwrecked with a poet, a philosopher and a physicist, imagine how incredible the conversations would be.
Michel: I'll be cheesy, with my sweetheart, without her I wouldn't have been able to face the lock down during the pandemic, a shipwreck would definitely be worse.
Ferruccio: My bandmates from Violet Blend would be at the top of the list, but if I fantasise I might end up with Freddie Mercury, Guthrie Govan and Mike Portnoy.
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?
Giada: 'One Cold Night (Live)' by Seether, a live acoustic album by my favorite band, one of the most beautiful and true. The album contains some of the band's best songs, I listen to it often and it excites me every time.
Michel: I must say that ToTo live have an extraordinary precision and cleanliness of performance, I would choose 'Absolutely Live' from 1993.
Ferruccio: I would listen to our latest live album 'Live and True' on loop, I remember that concert well, it was an incredible experience. I will never forget the warm welcome we received and the audience singing our songs with us.
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?
Giada: I heard David Lee Roth was an emergency medical technician, you have to be ready to handle serious and high stress situations, maybe you'll call him to save us. But if I'm honest I would call our manager Lorenzo Fedi, who we actually consider a member of the band, I'm sure he would find any way to save us.
Michel: For a rescue operation you need someone clever, Brian May in my opinion is one of the smartest musicians. Now that I think about it, even the skills of an airline pilot would be useful, Bruce Dickinson come and get us!
Ferruccio: If we talk about a message in a bottle, Sting comes to mind, I think it will be addressed to him since he is already prepared on the topic: "I'll send an S.O.S to the Police".
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?
Giada: Both! Sorry guys, you know I love you but I'm going to have to eat you. It ends up that I'm the bad one, let’s see how politically correct the other two respond.
Michel: I take the 5th amendment, I wouldn't want to be the one to end up sacrificed.
Ferruccio: Before sacrificing someone I would look for fruit on the trees, berries from the plants and I would go and hunt the fauna of the island thanking them for their sacrifice.
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?
Giada: If I have to choose just one artist, I save Tori Amos, she taught me a lot both in terms of singing and piano and her way of composing music influenced me profoundly.
Michel: Simon Phillips, he makes the drums sing.
Ferruccio: I would have saved Jaco Pastorius, a musical revolution like that must be safeguarded.
Thanks for your time. We hope you get back to dry land before you're next due out on tour!
Thank you for the chat, we had a lot of fun! In case you don't hear from us for some time, send someone to look for us on Devil's Island. We like the place here, but sooner or later we should go back to playing live, thanks.
Giada Celeste Chelli (vocals/piano)
Michel Agostini (drums)
Ferruccio Baroni (bass)
