DANIE : I formed the original group back in 1988, the group was then called, "Equinox." It was the same concept, three piece, melodic metal, but it was myself and two different players.
Steve joined me in 1989, we've been playing together for close to eight years. We changed the name of the band from Equinox to POWERS COURT in around 1993 because there were too many other bands going by that same name Equinox.
ARTY : [To Steve] Tell me about the time when you decided to join Powers Court.
STEVE : You mean when did I decide to join Danie? We were together already when we changed the name to Powers Court. Danie was recording a demo with the original Equinox line-up and the bass player decided to bail out is how we met. We have a lot in common musically both creatively and career goals, so it just all fell into place and we've stuck together.
ARTY : So did you produce any albums during the Equinox era?
PC : Under the name Equinox, we released a three song demo. The titles on the demo were, Echoes of Silence, Devil's Triangle and Tragedy of Faust. Those same three songs will appear on the upcoming CD2 (Nine Kinds of Hell) due to fans requesting we put those songs on CD.
ARTY : Who can you say, are your major influences?
DANIE : KING DIAMOND, SAVATAGE, IRON MAIDEN, LED ZEPPELIN, TESTAMENT, RUSH, BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER, OLDER METALLICA, not "Load of Shit", ELP, DISSECTION. I listen to a lot of classical and middle eastern, RAVI SHANKAR type music as well as bagpipes and flamenco guitar and medieval madrigal tunes, so we don't sound like a clone of anyone.
STEVE : TESTAMENT, KING DIAMOND, DEATH, IRON MAIDEN, RACER X.
ARTY : I think Powers Court has put out a really great album. How do you feel about your accomplishment?
STEVE : We're very pleased with the results. We recorded and produced it along with doing the artwork ourselves and although it was a lot of work and stress at times, we got what we wanted.
The sound is more representative of what we're all about rather than going into a studio and being at the mercy of someone who wants to make you sound like the flavor of the week. We captured a lot of the uniqueness of the songs and the whole POWERS COURT aura.
DANIE : I'm happy with it, already we're concentrating on CD2 tho and you know how that is, the next one is always going to exceed the first so the fact that you yourself stated it was, "really a great album" really makes me feel good about it. We've gotten really good reviews on CD1 and it was definitely a great experience.
ARTY : [To Danie] How did you get interested in metal anyway?
DANIE : Metal got interested in me with my voice it's not like I could sing Pop music. When I first started playing guitar I played acoustic and learned finger picking that way. The first bands I was interested in trying to emulate were Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Mercyful Fate.
I just did what I was best suited for and felt the strongest connection with, I heard Iron Maiden and it was like love at first listen! Then with Mercyful Fate, it just made my soul dance.
ARTY : Yeah I know about Iron Maiden. That was how I got bonded with metal the first place! I remember getting really freaked-out over "Can I Play With Madness" which I thought was a really cool song.
ARTY : What are Powers Court's current plans?
PC : Right now we're working on CD2 which will be entitled, "Nine Kinds of Hell." I have all the songs completed except for one I'm working on at present.
ARTY : Is there a theme or concept for Powers Court?
PC : Well...that's a tough one...some of the songs are definitely of a "concept" nature. A lot of past life type experiences put to song. There is a strong pull towards the medieval period of history along with the viking era for both Steve and myself, perhaps another past life pull. Some people pick up on that medieval sound right away, here again, this was not a concious decision on our parts. But within the same token a lot of the songs are just about raw emotions that everyone can relate to, anger, depression, taking the wrong path, occult experiences, etc.
ARTY : Occult experiences?
DANIE : Yeah you know, tarot cards, past life readings, etc., etc., occult experiences .
ARTY : What inspires your lyrics?
DANIE : Past life experiences, personal experiences, classical literature, movies.
ARTY : Anything else you would like to add?
PC : I say this every time I'm interviewed and I guess I can't really emphasize this enough, but if you love metal, whatever you do, don't be influenced by the flavor of the week crowd and just toss it aside for the sake of being trendy, if you truly love something, don't put it on the shelf. You must feed the flame if it is to burn brighter. In Europe they've held onto the power metal genre and it's alive and well there, they could care less about what is considered "in" and I feel that is a very wise move. Americans are too often concerned with what MTV is dictating to the masses and those type of people do not concern me whatsoever. I write powerful music for real people who like to "think" not just follow along with the herd instinct, within the same token I can only write what is "me" and I don't look at what is "in" because I feel we'd loose our true essence. I write songs from my heart and soul, not what the record company execs are wanting to force down people's throats. What we do is genuine.
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