by Alexandra Mrozowska
— Senior Columnist —
If there’s one sure thing about all music fans worldwide, it’s that regardless of their taste, patience isn’t usually their strong suit. Due to that, an artist recording an album every ten years might not be forgiven even by his most dedicated aficionados – well, unless we talk about David Minasian. Ten years after Random Acts Of Beauty, this classically trained pianist, singer/songwriter, producer, screenwriter and director returns with The Sound Of Dreams featuring guest performances of who’s-who of Progressive Rock. Hardrock Haven caught up with the multi-tasking artist to discuss music, movies and whatever else sparks his creativity…
Hardrock Haven: Your new album’s title is The Sound Of Dreams, so the first question can’t be different but what is your biggest dream as an artist?
David Minasian: Writing and recording with legends like Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Steve Hackett of Genesis and Annie Haslam of Renaissance on this album, along with Andy Latimer of Camel on the previous album Random Acts of Beauty, has been of course a dream come true for me. These are the heroes I listened to growing up, who inspired me. But now, it’s my dream as an artist to create music that sends shivers down the spines of listeners, just like these musical icons did for me. And it’s my hope that those who listen to this new album get inspired enough to follow their own dreams.
Hardrock Haven: You’ve just mentioned 2010’s Random Acts Of Beauty. Do you think the follow-up to it would be very different if you released it in the span of two or three years after the previous one?
David Minasian: Oh, absolutely. First off, the songs would have been different. Although a few of them had been written shortly after Random Acts had been recorded, most of the material is relatively new. In addition, the special guests had a tremendous impact on the direction of the album. A few of them, such as Annie Haslam, Billy Sherwood and PJ Olsson, I didn’t even know until recently. Therefore they wouldn’t have been involved had it come out earlier. So yes, this would have been a very different album.
Hardrock Haven: The Sound Of Dreams has a really vintage, ‘70s vibe to it. What’s inspired the new material in terms of music and lyrics?
David Minasian: Lyrically, I wanted to convey a message that we should never give up on our dreams. There is a line in the song Hold Back the Rain which says “whatever we choose we can achieve.” I suppose it’s a variation of a line a young 20-year old British lad named Justin Hayward wrote in his classic song “Nights In White Satin” which says “just what you want to be you will be in the end.” Musically, my style of writing hasn’t really changed all that much since the late ‘70s. Also, my heavy use of Mellotron and of course the legendary guests which all hail from the ‘70s, makes it impossible to avoid having a ‘70s vibe… which is great because it’s a sound that I love!
Hardrock Haven: Similarly to your previous album, The Sound Of Dreams features your son Justin on guitar. What is it like to collaborate with your own kid and alongside all the influence you must’ve had on him as a father and an artist, do you think he influenced you in some way too?
David Minasian: My son Justin is an amazing musician and songwriter. He picked up on my love for Progressive Rock as he was growing up. But he also brings to the table a number of other styles and influences including Jazz and Metal. Frankly his taste in music is quite a bit broader than mine, which is what makes his style of playing so magical. He can begin to craft a gorgeous melodic guitar solo, then suddenly make a left turn into a Speed Metal riff which is totally unique. He’s completely unlimited in what he can do. And yes, he’s had a tremendous influence on me too. One of his amazing traits is that he knows intuitively what I want to hear on any given song without me even saying anything. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s tuned into the style of music I love or if it’s genetic. Perhaps a little of both?
Hardrock Haven: Probably! You’ve already mentioned some of the guest artists who performed on the album, but the entire list is impressive to say the least… How did it come about?
David Minasian: In 2013, I directed a concert and documentary DVD for Justin Hayward called Spirits Live, which reached #2 on the Billboard video charts and then was picked up for broadcast by PBS. We both enjoyed the experience so much we did 3 more DVD’s together and then decided to collaborate on “The Wind Of Heaven”. I had come up with the basic outline of the song and then turned it over to Justin, giving him complete freedom to do whatever he wanted with it. I wasn’t worried because I knew that whatever he came up with would be fantastic. And of course it was. The song first appeared on Justin’s All the Way Greatest Hits CD and then Justin graciously allowed a slightly different, longer version to appear on The Sound of Dreams. During this time I also began to ask various friends if they wanted to participate. I had met Steve Hackett backstage at one of his shows many years ago and we began to discuss the idea of working together. It took awhile, but we finally made it happen. His solo on the title track is simply breathtaking. I think it’s one of his best, and that’s saying a lot. It was an absolute joy to work with Steve on this project. Our drummer Geof O’Keefe introduced me to Annie Haslam who in turn introduced me to Billy Sherwood of Yes. Julie Ragins I’ve known for many years as an amazing vocalist and musician with the Moody Blues’ and Justin Hayward’s Live team. Grammy winner PJ Olsson was the last to get involved. He’s been with Alan Parsons for the last two decades as the band’s lead singer. We met up last year while we were in Europe filming a number of concerts for Alan Parsons. His vocal arrangement and performance on the track “So Far From Home”, the album’s first single, is truly sublime. To be honest, I don’t really know how this all came together. When putting together the CD booklet for the album, I noticed the list of musicians that appeared on the track “The Sound of Dreams (First Movement)” and it had Annie Haslam on vocals, Steve Hackett on guitar, Billy Sherwood on bass and me on keyboards. I started to laugh – what was I doing on that list?
Hardrock Haven: I believe the guest musicians were also engaged in the songwriting process.
David Minasian: My collaborations with Justin Hayward, Steve Hackett and Annie Haslam form the cornerstone of the album. With Justin and Steve, I came up with a basic idea for the track, turned it over to them and let them run with it. With Annie, the collaboration was a bit different in that I simply wrote the music, sent it to her, and she wrote the lyrics. What an absolute honor to be able to co-write with such seasoned pros.
Hardrock Haven: What are your thoughts on your early endeavours such as Tales Of Heroes And Lovers? If you could travel back in time and change anything about your early recordings, would you do that?
David Minasian: I had recorded the Tales album independently out of frustration back in the early ‘80s when I couldn’t get a record deal with my Prog demos. To put it mildly, that time period was not very welcoming to Progressive Rock. Not much happened with the album, although a video I did for one of the songs did get airplay on MTV. I think the songs are a good snapshot of the time period and a good representation of what I was trying to do back then. I probably wouldn’t change anything. That particular album has never appeared on CD so perhaps I should look into a remastered release.
Hardrock Haven: It’s high time you did I suppose! Alongside your music endeavors, you’re also a seasoned motion picture producer, director and writer. Do you think there is a kind of correspondence between all those different modes of artistic expression?
David Minasian: I love both music and film, but they are two very different arenas for me. I have a desire to create a very specific style of music, the kind with soaring melodies and lush arrangements that gives me, and hopefully the listeners, the chills. This style can only be found in a very narrow section of the Progressive Rock genre. And it would be naive to think I could make a living doing only this type of music. On the other hand, I enjoy all aspects of film production and don’t feel the need to pigeonhole myself into any one thing. Over the years, I’ve been able to write, produce, direct, edit, and do cinematography. And with so many options available, I’ve been able to make a living in film doing what I love without compromise. In music, I’d have to compromise to make a living at it, which would be pointless.
Hardrock Haven: You work on films as well as documentary and concert videos, including numerous collaborations with aforementioned Justin Hayward. Does directing music performances require a different kind of approach than film making?
David Minasian: When directing a concert video, it’s important to know the music inside and out in advance. One of the reasons Justin Hayward enjoys working with me is because he says I “get” his music. I know where to focus the camera on any given song and I’m therefore able to capture the intimacy of his music on film. I can tell when other directors aren’t necessarily fans of a particular band and are just going through the motions. I also think it’s important to not only know the music but to love it, because in post production you’re going to be hearing those same songs over and over. And if you hate it or are indifferent to it, you won’t take the time to get something right because you just want to get the editing process over with. I’ve been very lucky in that I absolutely love the music of the bands I’ve had the pleasure of working with including The Moodies, Camel and Alan Parsons.
Hardrock Haven: Some people value raw imperfections of live performances whereas others don’t mind perfecting the live footage in the studio afterwards. What’s your opinion on that both as a professional and a music listener?
David Minasian: Part of the charm of watching a live performance is in its unpredictability. Mistakes are an accepted part of the process. But recording the performance for posterity is a different story. Do people really want to hear the same mistakes over and over as they play back their favorite live recording? I can certainly see why most artists prefer to “fix” things in the mix before a live recording goes out. I’ve now had the occasion to film over half a dozen performances featuring Justin Hayward. On a few occasions, Justin has actually stopped a song in mid-performance due to a flub and start over because he knew the show was being filmed. The irony is that he actually allowed me to include one of these flubs in the behind-the-scenes documentary about the tour. Alan Parsons is someone who came up through the ranks as a studio engineer and is known for his high level of audio perfection. As a live performer, he’s got an extremely talented band of professional musicians. And his shows are truly something to behold. Trinity Houston, my producing and directing partner, and I have now filmed three of his performances and I’m just glad that he feels the quality of our filmmaking rises to a level that matches his sonic output.
Hardrock Haven: Speaking of documentaries, you’ve worked on really different ones – from The Passion Behind The Passion to music documentaries. What do you think an ideal documentary should be like?
David Minasian: The best thing you can do when making a documentary is to try to capture the reality of any given situation. The difficult part is to figure out a way to edit a sequence of events together that keeps everything moving and makes it interesting, but doesn’t actually alter it. I always try to avoid using editing as a manipulative tool. I can tell when editing is used deceptively to manufacture a scenario that didn’t really happen. I find it best to focus on reality since real life is actually far more interesting than fiction.
Hardrock Haven: How difficult is it to juggle so many artistic challenges, each requiring attention? What is it that sparks your creativity and how do you manage to keep it flowing?
David Minasian: The reason it took so long to follow up Random Acts of Beauty is that music has always taken a back seat to my various film endeavors. It’s not so much by choice but out of necessity. I’m busier now than I ever have been. Both music and film provide tremendous satisfaction. And I look forward to getting back into the recording studio very soon. Creativity is something that doesn’t sleep, at least for me.
Hardrock Haven: What do you think is your proudest moment or the biggest achievement so far?
David Minasian: The easy answer is my kids, of course. But I think you’re looking for more of a creative answer. I have been unbelievably blessed to have led such an interesting life… working on The Passion with Mel Gibson in Rome; traveling around Europe and the Middle East with Alan Parsons; co-writing songs with the very people who inspired me as a kid to try my hand in music; working with countless celebrities and the best creative minds in the music and film industries… the list goes on. I suppose I could say I’m most fond of the Random Acts or Sound of Dreams albums, or the Justin Hayward: Live at the Capitol Theatre DVD, but I think my best achievements are still to come. In fact, there are three projects that will be coming out next year that easily surpass anything I’ve done so far. So stay tuned…
Hardrock Haven: We most certainly will! So, is there any message you’d like to wrap our interview up with?
Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams… It’s worked for me…
Visit David Minasian online: http://www.davidminasian.com/
