“Lacuna Coil” by Rebekkah Raven
If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be sitting down with Andrea Ferro of Lacuna Coil, to talk the music industry, their 20 year anniversary plans, his love of Japanese Anime, I’d tell you to put the bottle down and get some coffee in your system. The evening of Wednesday, September 20th, at GAS MONKEY LIVE in Dallas, Texas will forever be etched in my memory, for all the best reasons. Andrea also had some great advice for bands breaking out, and inspiring words for female fans. Check it out below, and if you can, make sure you see them on their North American tour or book a flight and join the celebration in London in January 2018 for Lacuna Coil’s 20 Year Anniversary!
Rebekkah Raven: Lacuna Coil is celebrating 20 years together, you have 8 albums, concert DVDs, your songs on film soundtracks, headlining festivals, and now a book deal. For most of us who ever wanted to be Rock Stars, that ticks all of the boxes. When you get to the book deal, you almost ask yourself, “What’s left?” What does the future look like for Lacuna Coil, and what can we expect to have available to fans in the future?
Andrea: What we do today is much broader than before, like 10 years ago. You’d cut a record, you’d tour, you’d merchandise, and then you’d be done for two years. Nowadays that cycle doesn’t exist. Luckily, we still see the record sales because of our loyal fan base, but you can’t rely on that like you could 10 years ago. So it’s very important for a band to keep evolving, and keep it interesting even for ourselves. It’s so important to still have fun, and make a living, with quality products and challenging music for our fans.
When we released “House of Shame”, some of the fans were shocked at the heavier edge, but we’re still here and we have something new to say, within our existing style. The book really seems almost “due”, because we’ve been together for 20 years, and we have all of those experiences to share. And like you said, a lot of people want to become Rock Stars, and we want to be able to express ourselves beyond that Rock Star persona in creativity, with sound, stage clothing, and visual means for a complete package.
Rebekkah Raven: You guys have your 20th anniversary show in London in January 2018. Can you tell me a little bit about how you plan to celebrate?
Andrea: The show in London will be something different. We’ll have Dark Circus, who will interact with the band during the songs, and the show will be available on DVD. It’ll be fun and exciting, as we’ll be playing songs we’ve rarely or never played before. It’s a celebration, not just for us, but especially for our fans and the legacy. More than how many records we’ve sold, this is life. The fact that we are living our years around the world, living them for a reason, and sharing that with our fans, is truly the reason behind this show.
Rebekkah Raven: In our current world of female vocalists, not many people may know that Lacuna Coil was the first female fronted band to headline Ozzfest. Lacuna Coil has obviously paved the way for many popular bands today. How does that female influence impact you and what does it mean for your band to be a role model for young female fans?
Andrea: I think it’s important for women to know that they are strong; that there is no substitute for you. Women are as strong as men. We may be different, but we are equal. We live well together when we are complimentary to one another.
Rebekkah Raven: In that element of cooperation, I’ve seen on social media that you promote other bands. It’s not often you see that sort of cross promotion. Has that helped you succeed in this business or is that more reflective of who you are as people rather than a marketing strategy?
Andrea: Even people in the industry that are characterized as “difficult” or not easy to work with have always given us a chance. We’ve always tried to give respect to everyone, and there’s no reason to not promote a band, even if they’re more popular than we are at the time. If you are constantly afraid of other bands being better than you, that means you aren’t sure of what you’re doing. We’ve been promoting Nothing More here recently, and that’s because we believe in what they are doing. Mark, their guitar player, participated in our last record, and we have the kind of relationships that we become friends with bands.
Rebekkah Raven: What is your biggest musical influence outside of metal/ rock?
Andrea: Punk, Ska, rap music. Most of the music I listen to is rock and metal, actually. My first vinyl records were AC/DC and Iron Maiden. Beastie Boys, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More… Faith No More is probably my favorite band that is not strictly metal. In my older age I’ve expanded my music tastes to Frank Sinatra and Elvis. For me, Pop Music stopped with Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna. Although, I do like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Even if you aren’t a fan of Pop Music, you have to admit their great talent.
Rebekkah Raven: If you could go anywhere in the world for 24hrs
Andrea: As a place I’ve already been, I would choose Japan. I’ve been there twice, but always so briefly because of being booked on festivals. I would like to visit there because we had a lot of Japanese animation when I was young. I am a huge fan of Anime. I grew up with as much Japanese culture as the American Culture. Somewhere I’ve never been would be New Zealand. We played Israel earlier this year; the people and the food were wonderful. I have a love of ancient history so to be fair, I would also love to visit Egypt, but maybe at a better political time.
Rebekkah Raven: What is your favorite smell? What calms you, excites you, has a nostalgic essence?
Andrea: It might sound weird, but gasoline.
Rebekkah Raven: That late night truck stop smell?
Andrea: *laughs* Yes, exactly. And of course, in Italy, we are connected to the food. My wife and I cook a lot, so food is a big thing.
Rebekkah Raven: Is there any wisdom that you can share to young bands just getting on the road, touring and putting out music?
Andrea: I am currently trying to do that directly right now, in managing a band from Italy and some of our internal management of Lacuna Coil. Obviously, the music industry is constantly evolving. You must be at the same speed as the people around you. We’ve had band members in the past, we all have different directions in life, and it’s important to know where you stand. It’s important you work with people who also know what they want and they understand their roles in the bands. It’s more important than talent, in some ways, because you have to find the right people to work with and the right way in which to work with them.
Rebekkah Raven/MHF Magazine
