Tower is the New York City rock n roll party that will keep you thumping up all night long. Following a brief hiatus two years ago, these classic rockers have returned with a new music video for their single "Run For Your Life, from their upcoming Tomorrow and Yesterday EP, due October 19.
I first met Tower at the 2016 Revolver Music Awards, which you can watch below. During a two-hour span, where I interviewed living legends like Ace Frehley, and an innumerable amount of bands I had never heard of nor heard from ever again, Tower stuck out with their vintage looks and wide-eyed grins, like some gang of underage kids who crashed the open bar of a wedding.
And Tower deliver the goods, too. Their 2016 self-titled album is a rowdy listening experience, one that will remind you to uncross your arms and let loose. Life is too short, man.
On the eve of their new EP, I once again spoke with Tower's guitarist James Danzo, who also shreds in the thrash group EAT LEAD!
I first met Tower at the 2016 Revolver Music Awards, which you can watch below. During a two-hour span, where I interviewed living legends like Ace Frehley, and an innumerable amount of bands I had never heard of nor heard from ever again, Tower stuck out with their vintage looks and wide-eyed grins, like some gang of underage kids who crashed the open bar of a wedding.
And Tower deliver the goods, too. Their 2016 self-titled album is a rowdy listening experience, one that will remind you to uncross your arms and let loose. Life is too short, man.
On the eve of their new EP, I once again spoke with Tower's guitarist James Danzo, who also shreds in the thrash group EAT LEAD!
What was the creative process like for your new Tower EP?Side one has two songs that were written entirely new, no old riffs or ideas from the previous lineup were used at all. I blurted out the riff for "Run For My Life" one day at
Sarabeth's house, and the song more or less wrote itself from there. "Leaving Today" is unprecedented as Sarabeth wrote the music as well as the lyrics. I "Tower"ed it up a little
and added a couple parts to complete it. Side two features "Misery" and "Dead Or Alive" which were recorded in 2017 with the old lineup. We tracked 6 songs back then, but
could only settle on two to release. Another one from that session was "Race With The Devil" which is available on youtube only.
How did Tower's reformation come to be?
and added a couple parts to complete it. Side two features "Misery" and "Dead Or Alive" which were recorded in 2017 with the old lineup. We tracked 6 songs back then, but
could only settle on two to release. Another one from that session was "Race With The Devil" which is available on youtube only.
How did Tower's reformation come to be?
We broke up for a little while after a real stressful year. Philippe decided not to partake in the reunion but him and Justin are in a band together again called Somnuri. We all still hang out, it’s all good! Jeff Filmer is the bassist now, not only an old and dear friend but very much part of Tower since the beginning as he produced our first demo and the debut album. Claire is the newest kid on the block, but at this point she's actually been behind the kit longer than anyone else! So glad to report it's been real smooth sailing the past year and a half. Jeff and Claire have other bands called Shadowland and Subversive Rite, check ‘em out!
What can rockers expect to hear with the new Tower material?
Everything you liked about the last album and none of what you didn't like! Well, okay, the lead off track and video "Run For My Life" reminds me of old Crüe and Scorpions with a little 80's pop thrown in. Classic verse chorus verse structure, a natural single. "Leaving Today" speeds things up and sounds kinda like Saxon to me. "Misery" is mostly a mix of Zak riffs that reminds us of old Def Leppard but it's heavier than that, and a real mellow middle part with a Brian May type lead. At least that's what I was going for! "Dead Or Alive" is probably our heaviest song to date. Wait til you hear the newest one we wrote after the EP.
When did you decide to be a guitarist for the long haul?
I've been playing since I was 9, but always switching between guitar and bass. I got real serious about lead guitar only since about 2005. If you can grasp Rhoads, Iommi and old Hammett, I'd say you're in pretty good shape. Still working on it!
What was the first guitar you ever owned?
Oh jeez. It was a red Lotus strat style guitar. My first electric, anyway.
What's the first song you learned to play on guitar?
I wrote a riff before I learned to play anything! It was a dissonant Voivod sounding thing I called "UFO" - of course I had no clue what dissonant or Voivod meant at the time. The first song I learned was whatever the first song is in an instructional textbook called Guitar For the Small Fry.
You're also at the helm of EAT LEAD! How would you describe this band in your
own words?
Ah! I started it as a revenge band after Vermefüg broke up. Let me express how happy I am to be able to use more than one umlaut in this interview, by the way. It's brutal crossover with ex-members of Vermefüg, Deceased, and Agnostic Front. There's lots of leads a la Suicidal Tendencies, but more frenzied.
How does the creative process differ between Tower and Eat Lead? Or is there no difference?
Oh, there's a big difference. Eat Lead just wants to leave you in pain, while Tower has higher standards for lack of a better term. The songwriting isn't necessarily more labored, but it
can be.
Who are your musical heroes?
Cliff Burton at the top, Steve Harris, Lemmy, Malcolm & Angus, pretty much anyone who
defied the trappings of their time, stayed true to themselves when it wasn't easy, and
came out with their integrity intact. At the same time I also admire artists like Alice
Cooper and Judas Priest who can adapt to any style and put their stamp on it. Versatility
is cool. Phil Lynott!
What album gave you your first heavy metal hard on, and why?
Appetite for Destruction gave me the first one, but when I heard Rust in Peace and Kill 'Em All on the same day it resulted in a permanent hard on that it can still take someone's eye out if they’re not careful.
What's one of your favorite concert memories from "back in the day?"
The first time a crowd surfer landed on my head during the Ramones at Lollapalooza, getting hit in the head with a Frisbee during Wu Tang Clan's set at the same show, getting pile-drived off the stage by Billy Milano at an SOD show, smoking a blunt in Carnegie Hall for Spinal Tap, Metallica at Webster Hall.... then this summer I had the pleasure of seeing Iron Maiden for the ninth time, and the Stones for the first time, both waaaaay up front.
You've also played guitar in Deceased. What was it like shredding alongside these death metal veterans?
Fucking amazing! It's a shame I can't clone myself and be able to stay in the band. This past tour with us and Savage Master was like the first taste of blood a shark has had in two years for me.
What's your movie, and why?
Robocop, because it tells a timeless tale of insatiable greed and the disregard for human life it leads to, yet the immortal soul triumphs against all odds. Ain't that sweet? Lots of blood and coke helps it go down easy.
Thank you James for going one on one with the GRIM-1. Catch Tower's new EP on October 19, and you can also see EAT LEAD! open for Prong in November.
Thank you James for going one on one with the GRIM-1. Catch Tower's new EP on October 19, and you can also see EAT LEAD! open for Prong in November.
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