Interview with Steel Assassin

Steel Assassin hail from the Boston area and formed back in 1980 as a cover band. They broke up in 1985, but reformed a few years with a 4/5 original line-up and now have released a CD called “War of the eight saints”. I recently got to interview bass player Phil Grasso and guitarist Mike Mooney to find out more.

MM-Who are your musical influences?
Mike: I have a lot of influences but if I had to just name a few and say they're the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place it would be in no particular order Ritchie Blackmore, Ace Frehley and Brian May. I know that's diverse but in the 70's growing up, these guys just made my hair stand on end and I decided THAT'S what I wanna do. Musically my favorite band is still Rush for all their diverse subject matter and the intelligence of the song writing. The thing that makes SA work is that all 5 of us have completely different listening preferences and it's that small portion where we all overlap that creates our sound, whether it be unique or not, it seems to work for us still.

MM-So this band actually formed in 1980, but didn’t officially become Steel Assassin until 1983.
What kind of covers were you playing? What brought about the name change and the change in musical direction towards doing originals?
Mike: The progression towards writing our own songs was only natural, that's what every musician aspires to I think. We were playing just about every NWOBHM band you can think of, Saxon, Raven, Accept, Priest, AC DC, Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, etc. We were originally called Assassin but we and others thought the name a bit generic so we decided to add the Steel to sort of make sure there was no mistake in what they were about to hear or see.



MM-You broke up in 1985. Why did you break up back then?
Mike-There were many reasons, some the same old stuff, but we were being managed at the time by some folks that had major label contacts and were really pushing us to write radio material. That didn't bode well with us and though we were diluted and somewhat misdirected, it eventually got the best of us. Once it was clear that we were going to have trouble getting "signed"(the big term of the day back then), a few members got frustrated and decided to move on. We've all remained truly the best of friends all these years though.

MM-Did you ever get much interest from any record labels back during your first run?
Mike: The interest we got was minimal from major labels, we did have some offers from indies, but our management at the time kept pushing for something bigger....regrets? maybe a few. ha ha

MM-Did everyone stay in music or not? If so then what did everyone go to?
Mike: Pretty much we all stayed playing in one way or another, although we each branched out into other careers and families. Kevin and I actually had a great Thin Lizzy tribute band going for a few years in which we were able to play in Dublin, Ireland for the annual Vibe for Philo which we were very proud of.

MM-Now you did a brief reunion in 1988. What that just a show or did you work on any material at that time?
Phil: "Don't know anything about that. The band did get another singer and bassist after Doni and I left. I think that lasted about a year. Maybe in '86 the band and Doni got back together around '86. They asked if I was interested in rejoining, and I declined. Our friend Ed Keeke from SPLIT IMAGE joined on bass. It lasted one show, and then it broke up for good, until our reformation in 2005.
MM-The 1988 reunion was mentioned in the paragraph on the back of your CD.
Phil-I think that reunion was in '86, because I used the "reunion band" to do an instrumental tape of some S.A. songs that I put my vocal on, and that was '86. '88 was when I was doing my AQUITAINE band, and Mike and Ed was in that band, so the reunion must have been before then.



MM-When and why did you guys decide to reform the band?
Mike: It actually started at a cookout in my backyard, Phil asked me and Kevin if he could get some label interest would we be interested in giving it a try. We were so intrigued at the prospect of getting together and writing all new metal that we truly just could not resist.

MM-Vocalist John Falzone is new to the band. Where did you meet him and what does he add to your sound?
Phil: "We've known John for a while. He was in TRIPHAMMER back in the day. It was Rich (Spillberg) who suggested John to the band. And the rest is history...

MM-Are all the songs on “War of the eight saints” brand new? If so then how do the new songs compare with the material you were playing back in the 1980’s?
Phil: "All the songs with the exception of "Barabbas" were written during the Reformation period in 2005.



MM-What has been the response to the album so far?
Phil: " Great!"
Mike: Myself I've been truly humbled at all the great responses we've had to the album, it has totally exceeded my expectations and become something we're all VERY proud of. By the way, wait until you hear the next one.

MM-Since Steel Assassin didn’t exist for like twenty years, do you think that a lot of people outside of your home area remember the band?
Phil: "It was acutally the people from our area that forgot about us. Everywhere else they remembered us, which took us all by pleasant surprise!!"

MM-What was the Boston metal scene like back in 1980’s? Who were some of the other top club bands back them?
Phil: "Better than it is now, but it still wasn't as good as RI, CT, NY. The clubs we played with some sort of regularity back then was Celebrations at The Kenmore Club, Paradise, Channel, Salem Theater.

MM-What is the metal club scene like in your area these days?
Phil: "Still better in RI, CT, and NY", at least for our style of Trad. Power Metal. Death, Hard Core, and that type is doing well here from what I hear."

MM-What are some of your favorite albums of 2008 so far?
Phil: "I don't follow the Metal scene too closely to be honest. I can tell you the newer bands that I really like are DREAM EVIL, FIREWIND, CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE and KAMELOT. I listen to more of the old stuff, although I don't listen to too many other bands when I'm busy writing for STEEL ASSASSIN."

http://www.myspace.com/steelassassin