How are you?
Good, thank you.
Is this your first time in Budapest with Kamelot? Last year you were here supporting Dream Theater, right?
Yes, this is the first time that we are headliners.
But personally, is this your first visit to Budapest?
No. But I’ve been here before. My father is from Budapest so I spent a lot of time here during my childhood. And with bands I played with Doro Pesch, Blaze Bayley and Circle II Circle here before.
Do you speak Hungarian language?
Yes. (Speaks something in Hungarian)
Your latest album ‘Haven’ came out a year and a half ago. You have many guests on the album such as Alissa White Gluz from Arch Enemy, Elize Ryd from Amaranthe, Charlotte Wessels from Delain and Troy Donockley from Nightwish. Can we expect to see some other names on next album not only as guests but as full time members?
No, I don’t think so. These musicians are just guests on one song and that’s it. This is just short guest appearence. This has been Kamelot’s tradition for quite some time.
Are you satisfied with the album?
Yes, sure.
How is tour going so far? You started last year and tour continues this and next year.
Actually, we will not play that many shows next year. We will play on 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise and after that we will focus on writing songs for our new album.
Do you already have some ideas for the new album? Do you ever work on a new songs while you’re on tour?
No, I work at home in my own studio. It’s very difficult to work on tour. There’s not enough space or time.
Your drummer Casey Grillo was a guest on a new album of Croatian band Sage. They will play their first show in Croatia soon. Can we expect to see someone from Kamelot on the show?
I didn’t even know about that, so I don’t have a clue. All of us in the band have many side projects so it’s hard to follow where someone plays.
Will you come to Croatia soon maybe? You have played in countries around Croatia but never in Croatia, so is it possible that you will come next year maybe?
We don’t book our shows. The shows are never booked by the band but by management and a booking agency. They get the offers and the offer has to be good enough for us to come, it needs to cover all the expenses. So if there aren’t any offers because the local promoters don’t think it’s worth it or that not enough people would come to the show, then we can’t come. So I hope Croatian promoters will give us a good offer soon because we would like to come and play in Croatia.
Do you like Croatia? Would you come on a vacation there?
I was in Croatia in 2004. I played with Blaze Bayley.
Really? Was it in Rijeka?
I can’t remember. But I do remember that I experienced my first earthquake there 🙂
I would like to ask you about your family. You are on tour at the moment and your wife (Simone Simons from Epica, op.prev.) will go on tour soon. Who takes care of your son while you’re both on the road?
My mom. She lives just a few minutes from us and our son is a big boy now and he is used on spending time with his grandmother.
Are there any new, young bands that are influencing your music and your style? Is it possible that you would choose them to go on tour with you?
We always do that. But it’s not our decision, it’s our management’s decision. It depends on the offers. Of course, style has to fit with ours. It’s very expensive for those bands because there are a lot of expenses like tour bus and everything. They also have to be in a good level. It is not possible to take a band that no one knows about on tour. That would not be fair to our fans.
