Stray Train Interview
By Keith Clement
Greetings from Metalheads Forever Magazine, How are you today?
Thanks guys, we’re pretty good. Making plans with Stray Train for next few months.
– You must be very excited from the Scorpions show this week, tell us your experience performing with the legends?
Yeah, we were really excited when we heard the news that we’ll be opening for Scorpions as part of our Blues From Hell tour. Being able to present yourself to big crowds is both rewarding and also great for exposure. Up till now we mainly toured abroad in different European countries, but it’s always a pleasure to play for a home crowd.
– And just recently (May 21st and 23rd) you joined Nickelback in Moscow and St.Petersburg, would you like to tell us the highlights about those shows?
Both shows with Nickelback were a blast. Crowds in Moscow and St. Petersburg were amazing. We got along with Nickelback really nicely. And they seemed to be satisfied with us as well, they allowed us to play 15min longer on our second show, which usually doesn’t happen on such tours. The whole experience was really great. It made us grow as a band and it definitely made us want to grow even bigger, we have big plans for the future definitely.
– Last year you released your second album, Blues from Hell, how was the overall reception from the fans, how do you feel about the outcome?
Yeah, our second album Blues from Hell – the Legend of The Courageous Five was definitely a step forward in sognwriting, production, arrangements. After our first record we went touring all over Europe with Blues Pill and Kadaver. Being on the road, playing a lot of shows definitely contributed to the second album. Like the first album, Blues from Hell was also recorded playing live together in a studio. I think we managed to capture our live “vibe” on the record and we’re really happy how it turned out. I think fans and critics all over Europe also noticed our efforts. We got good compliments from fans and critics which is just saying to us, that we’re moving in the right direction.
– How do you feel to work with Alpha Omega Management?
To be honest when Alpha Omega Management contacted us and revealed the plan they had for us, we didn’t really believe it was going to happen. But soon after we signed with them, the offer with Nickelback was on the table. We obviously didn’t hesitate.I think we’ve shown each other that we all really mean in the music industry. So, as we speak, we’re working already on new dates.
– How is the Rock Scene in Slovenia, do you get enough support in your home?
Our support here is growing really fast, mainly due to our success outside, which is how it usually happens. Pleasing a home crowd is most rewarding but also the hardest. Out music is not really main stream here, but our fan base is definitely growing. We have a really cool fans who appreciate good music and good life performance which we always strive to deliver.
– Can you tell us about Stray Train and how did it all began for you guys?
Stray Train basically started as a “blues house band” in one of the bars in our home town of Ljubljana. We wanted to play covers we really enjoy, and stay in “shape”, become even better musicians. That was the main idea in the beginning. But after few shows in the club we started jamming things out in our soundchecks. We quickly started to notice that we kind of “clicked”. The riffs were coming together on soundchecks and soon after that we decieded to start working on some ideas. This escalated into 9 songs which we wrote in 7 or 8 rehearsals. Everything happened so quickly, we didn’t want to complicate things, we just wanted to be who we are and to let it show on the record. So after less than a year in Jun 2016 we released our 1st record called: “Just Cause You Got the Monkey off Your Back, Doesn’t Mean the Circus has Left Town”. We didn’t expect much, but were totally blow away by comments and critics all over Europe. German magazine Rock It! announced us as a Blues Rock Discovery of the year 2016. So soon after that we got an offer to go on tour with Blues Pill and Kadavar. We were on tour with those guys for 7 week, played almost every night. After that we came home, started to working on new record, record it in February 2017, went on first leg of Blues From Hell tour. Released the record and toured some more and now we’re here J
– What are the next plans for Stray Train?
We’re already started working on our 3rd record. Creative process is just so important for us. When we don’t write songs something is missing. A lot of songs come together in backstages of different venues and so on. So every song has a story, like back in the days when bands use to make music while being on tours. We’re arranging some new tour and so on.
– Do you guys plan on some International tour?
Yes, this is definitely on our schedule for near future. Along with working on a new record. We’ll see what happens.
– Would you like to share a message with the readers and fans?
Yeah sure. The name Stray Train is a metaphor for a lot of people whose lives are not how they want them to be. They don’t do things that they really want to do in life, thinking that someday things will change. Stray Train is a reminder for how quickly we can stray away from who we are and want we want to accomplished in this life. “Your life is yours it’s not on sale tonight, let’s take a leap of faith, let’s feel alive” is a line in one of our songs from the new record. So yeah this is basically it!!
MHF Magazine/Keith Clement
