ProgressoR / Uzbekistan Progressive Rock Pages

Interviews of Prog


Scott Rockenfield
Scott Rockenfield
(ROCKENFIELD/SPEER and QUEENSRYCHE fame)

(Questions by Vitaly Menshikov)

VM: Thank you for doing the interview and welcome on ProgressoR, Scott! First tell me please how your creative tandem with Paul Speer was formed. Also, why have you decided to create exactly this union as a duo, and not a whole band project?

SR: Paul and I feel that we don't need to add any others to what we do. We like to do things by ourselves and only add to that if we feel necessary.

VM: It'swell known that "Hells Canyon" is your second work in collaboration with Paul Speer. Please tell us a little about your previous, "Grammy" nominated album and what musical style is presented on "TeleVoid".

SR: Televoid was released in 1998 and received a Grammy Nomination in Long Form Music Video. It was the first full length project for Paul and I as a team. We had to cover many different styles of our music on televoid because we were scoring to picture. It was an incredibly exciting project and we had so much fun working together on it.

VM: As you probably know, I consider "Hells Canyon" an original and fresh album. Please share on the creation of this album.

SR: Hells Canyon is Paul's and my second full lenght release together. It is dark, progressive, ambient rock. We came up with the idea that we wanted to write music about the geographical location, Hells Canyon. One of the deepest gorges in North America. It was a very inspirational concept. There have been alot of exciting things that have happened in history in this location. We were also able to push ourselves and our music even further. We really started to define the sound of Rockenfield/Speer.

VM: Now I'd rather talk about your part in your "mother band" Queensryche, if you don't mind. I always felt your presence as an author in each Queensryche album. Also, I've noticed that you participated mostly as an author of just one composition on an album. After listening to "Hells Canyon" my supposition that you're not only an outstanding musician, but also an excellent composer has proved to be true. Wasn't your author presence in the creative process of composing in Queensryche confined as if purposely?

SR: Thank you for the kind words. Queesnryche is very different than my work with Paul Speer. Queensryche has certain boundaries that it has to live within and my work in Rockenfield/Speer is boundless. All of the members of Queensryche contribute musical ideas and it just depends on what we want to do with a paticular record that we end up with the songs that are chosen.

VM: It'senough to look at the Classic Prog Metal band list on ProgressoR and see the ratings to understand that Queensryche is one of our (and there are only two of us working on the site since its birth on October 1, 1998, myself and Gene Revin) favourite Metal bands ever existed - at least it was up to 1996. But the two last band's albums don't stand up to the Queensryche we used to hear - with distinct progressive tendencies as it always was with "Promised Land" being the last such album. Why has Queensryche become another great yet regular Seattle grunge band? (Btw, Tashkent and Seattle are twin cities, and we have a beautiful park in Tashkent called Seattle.) What was that? A creative crisis, a wish to attract attention of a larger audience (i.e. obviously a commercial approach to creation) or something different? Also, what is your personal attitude to this metamorphose?

SR: Well I feel that everybody has their own opinion about what they hear. You see, we hear Queensryche as being an ever expanding musical machine. What we have done recently is just another expansion of that.

VM: Anyway, I see your work with Paul Speer in some ways as your wish to make something different out of the current Queensryche production. Do I guess right here?

SR: Yes, my work with Paul is just another level of my musical desires. Rockenfield/Speer gives me the ability to expand and express myself where Queensryche can't.

VM: Finally, what's next on the agenda of the tandem Rockenfield-Speer? It would be interesting for our readers to learn about the future plans of Queensryche, too.

SR: Rockenfield/Speer is currently working on a live show and we will begin production on our next release soon. We are also in the proccess of some possible deals to score music to film... Queensryche is currenly working on our next album...

VM: Many thanks for your time, Scott

SR: Vitaly... It was nice to talk to you. THANX!!!!!!! Peace........

December 1, 2000
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