David Reece, best known as vocalist with Accept, Bonfire and Bangalore Choir, expands on his singing career and what the future holds with regard to new music and live gigs.
Who were your influences in the early days and have you always wanted to be a singer in a band?
Hi, thanks for asking me to be part of your interview and hello to all the readers. My earliest influence was country music actually singers like George Jones, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride. When I started getting into rock I'd say at first it was John Fogerty and then Ian Gillan. And I suppose yes singing in choir as a boy and seeing rock 'n' roll singers on TV I've always wanted to be a front man.
Have you ever auditioned for the vocal spot in any other notable bands?
Other than Accept I actually was contacted by the Judas Priest management once but it never materialized. I jammed with Badlands after Rays death but after leaving Accept I sort of forged my own path.
You have appeared on a great number of albums. Do you have a favourite and why?
I am proud of the record I did with Accept it opened a lot of doors for me and then forming Bangalore Choir for me was a milestone. I've done some projects yes in my life but I'd have to say my solo albums are my favourite records now. I'm really excited about the collaboration with Herman Frank I'm doing called Iron Allies which will come out in October 22.We are recording during March and the songs are very heavy and melodic. It's crazy we were in the same group at different times and now we're together writing and recording he's a great guitarist.
You appear to have a healthy amount of gigs lined up in Europe these days. Do you still get the same buzz out of singing live as you did in the past?
For me studio work and writing is sort of the baby steps but live is where the songs get their legs and seeing what the audience identifies with that to me is the pay off.
Some vocalists are on strict dietary regimes or gargle with special liquids. How have you kept your voice in tip top shape all these years?
I decided to stop drinking alcohol three and a half years ago. I found it gave a false sense of security and was holding back my potential as a singer. Also, I've had a lot of voice lessons in the past which taught me the correct way to sing. A real plus for singers is sleep because it's a muscle and you use your whole body and soul when singing. Also I try to eat right and work out to maintain my voice.
The Bangalore Choir reunion was a highlight at FireFest as far as I’m concerned. It’s been 10 years since the release of the last album “Metaphor”. Is there a possibility of new music from this band?
Sadly no. I tried my hardest to get Curt Mitchell back in the loop but he's not into the day in and day out battle it takes to keep going especially with record companies. It's sad really as I think he's one of the greatest to ever play luckily I'm still working with Andy Susemihl on music so all is not lost. I will be doing a special Bangalore Choir set in Hamburg in September but with different players. I've also recently released all three Bangalore Choir records via Global rock records which is really well put together and I found lost demos we did which will also be released sometime this year on Global Rock records it's got lots of unheard tracks that never made it to On Target.
Are there any musicians that you have not worked with, but would like to in the future?
I'd love to do an album with Jimmy Page actually he's the real deal and of course Iommi.
With the live circuit opening up again, is there a possibility that we could see you performing some live shows in the UK?
Hopefully yes, especially with Iron Allies I love playing the UK and IA would be perfect I believe not only with the new album but imagine the medley we could perform live in the set? Interview by Stuart Dryden
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