ORANGE SKY from Trinidad is about ready to break into the North American and European markets with their new album Upstairs on Granite Records. Mixing Classic Hard Rock and Caribbean/Reggae styles into one, ORANGE SKY are sure to reach the masses.
Metal Express Radio:
Nigel Rojas from the band ORANGE SKY joins us today …
NR:
Good to be here, thanks for having me.
MER:
ORANGE SKY recently finished the album Upstairs, which has a sound and style that’s going to come through as very different from a conventional Hard Rock album. How would you describe your music?
NR:
Well, you have all of the elements of Rock and Hard Rock, both old school and new school … and we also have all of the elements of Caribbean and Reggae music as well. As a band we’ve been exposed to many things, and all of those elements and flavors are included in Upstairs.
MER:
What were your motivations behind this album?
NR:
Well, really and truly we just feel very fortunate and lucky so far. What we really wanted to do was to have others outside of the Caribbean take notice of us … we wanted exposure to people in the States and in Europe so we could plant some seeds and make some new friends. That’s why we feel so fortunate that through Granite Records and Universal, we have received the backing that we need to begin realizing our dreams and goals. So, basically, we couldn’t be happier with our situation right now, and are looking forward to the actual release date on September 27, 2005 in North America to start making those new friends.
MER:
ORANGE SKY has been together about 3 or 4 years so far. How did it all come together?
NR:
Well, my brother and myself, we’ve been traveling together since we were small. We just decided to form a band with some other guys … I do most of the songwriting, and thankfully we’ve had an incredible response across the Caribbean. We’ve sold a good amount of albums here in the Caribbean and in South America, and feel we’ve done all we can do in these places, so we’re just looking forward to branching out.
MER:
Were you and the other band members a part of any bands or musical projects in the past that the Hard Rock community would recognize?
NR:
This is the first band that our drummer has been in, but everyone else has been in other bands. All of them have been here in the Caribbean … there’s actually a pretty happening music scene down here, but nothing that’s made its way any further.
MER:
ORANGE SKY’s unique blend of Hard Rock and Caribbean/Reggae music makes it almost impossible to pinpoint your musical influences. Who would you list as your musical influences?
NR:
You can go back all the way to the early 80’s actually, with Judas Priest during the British Steel era and Motley Crue during the Shout At The Devil era, along with Black Sabbath, Kiss, Van Halen … and, of course, a lot of Reggae. Definitely a lot of Reggae. We’ve all listened to a lot of music over the years. The ultimate party in Trinidad is jamming a lot of Hard Rock with a lot of Reggae … with a lot of gangia burning. You know what I mean (wink wink)? That’s the ideal party in Trinidad, and we come right out of that mold.
MER:
It sounds like the first key to realizing your musical dreams and reaching out to new continents was to land a deal with a record label. How did the relationship with Granite Records come about?
NR:
Our manager got us in contact with Dave Austin from Granite Records, and they were looking for some new talent … we feel very fortunate to have been able to sign up with them.
MER:
Jeff Glixman produced Upstairs, and he’s worked with some major acts like Black Sabbath and Kansas. How did a band from the Caribbean hook up with a guy like Jeff?
NR:
He came down to Trinidad one time to check out a studio facility that many big acts from the States have checked out before. When he was down here to check it out to do some re-mixes for Kansas, he ended up coming to one of our shows and seemed to really really like it. After the show, he came up to us and said, “Let me see what I can do to produce your record and get it to more people than just in the Caribbean.” Then he got us in touch with our manager, and the team started to develop. For instance, we have Chipster P.R. on board and we got ICM as our booking agent … everything just seemed to start to come together with Jeff.
MER:
What are your tour plans?
NR:
Well, we’re pretty excited about taking our show out of the Caribbean. Starting in mid-September (2005), we’re going to hit the States as an opening act for Adema, and then possibly for Yngwie J. Malmsteen. In Europe, our release date will be later in the year, and will be touring Europe as well, but the specifics still need to be ironed out.
MER:
What is an ORANGE SKY concert like? What would people see when they come to your show?
NR:
Playing live is our thing … that’s our opportunity to make a connection with our fans and the people there in a serious way. We love to play. I know it sounds cliché, but people who come to see an ORANGE SKY show should be ready to get their asses kicked and have a really good time.
MER:
Will your set be predominantly songs from Upstairs, or will you mix in other material from before … perhaps some covers? The new album, for example, has a great cover of the Cat Stevens classic “Peace Train.”
NR:
We’ll mostly focus on Upstairs, but we’ll also bring in a few new songs that we’ve been working on to see how the crowd reacts and to give us a better idea of what we should focus on with our next record. Basically, we just want to see what kind of reception we get and we’ll adjust if it seems like a good idea at the time.
MER:
Nigel, to close this out, is there any message you’d like to convey to the Hard Rock/Metal Community out there across the world that we haven’t touched on yet?
NR:
First, I’d like to thank Metal Express for the opportunity to help promote ORANGE SKY. We really appreciate the P.R. and the exposure and want to thank you for taking the time. Second, people should check out our website to learn more about the band and announcements about our tour plans. People can also hear a few sound clips from our new album there. Lastly, we’ll be coming out to a town near you real soon … we’re looking forward to make some new friends across the world … so keep your eyes open for us!
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