Hey, super nice to have the chance to chat with you.
JDP: My pleasure!
Rob: Happy to be here. Thanks so much for having us back on Lost In the Nordics!
What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
JDP: Pretty much same as always – singing, making music and video. That’s what I do.
Rob: It’s been a real period of growth for Gravelle-Perinbam; not only have our video views gone up by leaps and bounds, but quite a few Internet radio stations have put our songs on daily rotation.
John and I have also been hard at work on a steady stream of originals and covers. We like to put out new material every few months, so, while we’re promoting Beyond the Cage of Silence, we’re also writing, arranging, and recording so that we’ve got our next few songs ready to go when the time comes.
I’m very interested in how you started your adventure with music, and did you know from the beginning that this is what you wanted to do?
JDP: I’ve been singing as far back as I can remember – my late father said he remembered me singing in the crib! I don’t remember that, but I do remember singing along to The Beatles probably around age 4 or so. I also remember writing my own songs even at a very young age and, with my siblings and some friends, playing ‘concerts’ in front of my family.
Rob: I actually started out on piano the age of three. That went on until I switched over to guitar as a teenager, at my cousin’s suggestion that we both learn guitar and start a band. At that time I listened to a mix of classic metal (Maiden, Priest, Metallica) and progressive rock (Rush, Saga, Triumph). I was also very influenced by the virtuoso guitarists of the day, including Rik Emmett, Malmsteen, EVH, Marty Friedman, Jake E. Lee, etc. As a result, my own style evolved into a mix of moderately intricate rhythms and flashy solos.
Once I started playing live I immediately tried to emulate my heroes, specifically Rik Emmett, by including a 15 minute unaccompanied guitar solo in the band’s sets. I soon discovered that, while I wasn’t a bad player, what works for Rik Emmett in front of ten thousand adoring fans does not go over so well for an unknown (mostly) cover band on a Tuesday night. Before long, my solo got trimmed down to two minutes. At that length, the audience seemed to tolerate it.
Congrats on your new release, ‘Beyond the Cage of Silence’.
JDP: Thanks so much. Hope you’ve enjoyed the song and the video.
Rob: Thank you. We are really proud of our baby.
Can you give us some insight into it?
JDP: The song was written by Rob and myself years ago – in fact an early version of the song was actually performed live back around 1998 or so by our then band, Dr. Squish. A few years back, we decided to rework it to be part of Rob’s solo project but it took a back seat as our band Ivory Knight was still active. But with Ivory Knight sidelined during the pandemic and, due to various commitments and priorities, unable to return to action afterwards, Rob and I decided to release original music under the Gravelle- Perinbam banner. Black Veil of Silence was the first release, and this is the followup.
The song is about overcoming obstacles imposed by damaging thought patterns inflicted upon us, especially in childhood. Thus we become trapped in a cage of silence, afraid to be ourselves, follow our dreams, or voice our opinions. Instead we blindly follow paths that lead into misery because someone else told us that was the way. Summarized, the message is essentially: “Never let anyone put you down. You ARE good enough. Be yourself.”
Rob: That song has been in the making for a long time, since the late 90s actually! An early version of it would have been on Dr. Squish’s 2nd album, if that had materialized. After Dr. Squish disbanded, I reworked the music a bit and planned on releasing it under my own name in the early 2000s. Then that got put on hold when I joined Ivory Knight. Now, after the Covid pandemic, seemed like the perfect time to revisit it because the song is all about hitting the open road, something that I’ve been itching to do ever since the lock-downs started.
I’m really happy with the final result. The song has just the right mix of classic rock and progressive elements. I would go as far as to say that it’s our Magnum Opus. Artists often fall in love with their creation and think that it’s a lot better than it really is. But, after 30 years of music making, I like to think that I’ve become a fairly good judge of a song’s merit. My hunch is that this song will outlive us all. It’s the kind of song that an artist can only hope to have once in their career, and I feel really fortunate that lightning struck.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
JDP: I am always working on improving my capabilities both vocally and instrumentally. That never stops. That improvement generally leads to broader horizons to explore self-expression, with fewer limitations. As far as growing and developing Gravelle-Perinbam, we’re planning to continue to hit up as many music publications, blogs, and radio stations to maximize our coverage, same as we’ve been doing for all the material. It’s very much a grassroots type of thing – trying to reach as many listeners and viewers as we can.
We’re also active on social media and are happy to interact with fans. The best way to find us is via our website , which is now alive and well!
Rob: As part of a strictly recording act, I don’t get to hobnob with a lot of other artists. To make up for that, we make it a point to attend a lot of live shows. Whereas John goes to a lot of local shows, I enjoy seeing a lot of big out of town concerts. For example, I saw Rammstein in Montreal last summer, along with about 43,000 other revellers. That show was huge! They must have had the entire Montreal area fire department on standby due to all of the fire in their show.
What should we expect from your next releases in terms of style and sound? How different are they going to be compared to your previous works?
JDP: I think we’ll keep that in the bag, so to speak. We like to keep everything a hopefully pleasant surprise. Hint: we have a couple of covers we are working on.
Rob: We make it a point to never divulge what’s coming next because we want each release to be a surprise. I can say that we got more progressive material in the works, as well as a more straight ahead rocker. That’s all you’re getting!
Where are you based?
JDP: Ottawa, Canada
Rob: Same here. John and I actually live a short drive from each other.
Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
JDP: As Ottawa is quite a small city, the scene here is somewhat limited – although we are blessed with many great venues. Maybe as a result, I don’t think there is any one particular “Ottawa sound”, so to speak. There are many great bands and artists here but, like us, everyone’s doing their own thing, not following what others are doing. I say that’s a good thing!
Rob: I don’t think that living in Ottawa has affected our sound at all because the bands that we grew up listening to came from other places like Toronto and Britain. However, I would sat that living in Ottawa did hamper our progress as recording artists because we weren’t really exposed to the art of sound engineering. There were only a few local studios and they weren’t really all that knowledgeable about mixing heavier music styles. I remember giving the studio our tracks for mixing, and we’d get the finished product back in a few days. We rarely got to see the art of mixing in action. After being disappointed in the final mix a few times, we started mixing our albums ourselves. It took a while, and many iterations of trial and error, but we eventually got the hang of it. You can hear how far we’ve come in Beyond the Cage of Silence.
If you could perform at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
JDP: Personally, if I’m performing, I’m happy. Doesn’t matter where.
Rob: I’ve already played my dream venue a few times now. Back in the day, one of the best music venues in town was Barrymore’s Music Hall. I got the opportunity to play there a few times over the years. It was a real thrill to play on the same stage as the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Megadeth, Saga, and so many other great acts.
Can we expect a new EP or an album from you in the near future?
JDP: We do have a lot more original and cover material in the works but at the moment we prefer the digital single format, which lets us release music more frequently and lets us interact directly with our fans. But I will never say never!
Rob: I wouldn’t hold my breath for an EP or LP, but do expect more singles in short order!
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned for 2023?
JDP: As far as I can see, we’ll be keeping Gravelle-Perinbam as a studio recording project for the foreseeable future. Who knows – maybe at some point we may decide to put together a complete band for live performances.
As I mentioned we’ve got a couple of cover tunes that we’re working on right now, and more originals coming soon. Stay tuned!
I’d also like to thank you for your support of Gravelle-Perinbam, and invite you to visit our web site gravelleperinbam.com for latest news, merch, and quick links to our videos and music. Rock on!
Rob: We’ve got our plates full for the remainder of 2023, so we’re thinking ahead to 2024 now. I can say that there’s lots more music coming! We’re also looking into adding more merch to our store. If you haven’t already, give Beyond the Cage of Silence a listen and check out the video.
