10 Quick Ones with DINO JELUSIC of ANIMAL DRIVE – February 2018

According to a recent press release: “Introduced to the label by the one and only Jeff Scott Soto, ANIMAL DRIVE immediately impressed the label’s executives thanks to the singer, Dino Jelusic who had an incredibly commanding presence befitting of the enormous hard rock songs that were being performed. Hailing from Zagreb, Croatia, ANIMAL DRIVE were created in 2012 by singer Dino Jelusic, who is the primary songwriter and driving force behind the band’s sound. Dino was chosen by the late, great Paul O’Neill to tour as a featured vocalist on Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s most recent U.S. tour, which is how he crossed paths with Soto and which would ultimately lead to them becoming labelmates.” We get singer Dino Jelusic to discuss new music, his influences, and more in our 10 Quick Ones…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Hmm, good one… Well, I played the first guitar solo on ‘’Carry on’’, and I played keyboard solos on ‘’Hands of time’’ and ‘’Deliver me’’, nobody knows that! There’s a lot of little details that fans might pick up on 3rd listen if they are musicians.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

When I was a kid I use to sing along with one of Croatian singer and I just couldn’t stop doing it, so my parents took me to singing contests and it just went on and on, and I got into music school and I kept growing.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

There’s a lot more, but I will choose from each genre one. If its rock/hard rock, I’ll take Whitesnake, absolutely adore them. When it comes to piano guys, I’d go with Billy Joel. When it comes to Progressive, I’d take Dream Theater and Steven Wilson. Metal… Pantera and Lamb of God… And overall, I would go with Toto, stunning musicianship and phenomenal music hidden under great melodies.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be?

It would be Prince or Dio. They both died so I’ll go with 2 great young musicians. Luke Holland on drums and Brandon Ellis (Black Dahlia Murder) on guitar.

5. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before?

Catchy and melodic heavy metal with hints of progressive stuff. I think anybody can listen to our songs. It is heavy, it is influenced by different metal bands overall, but when the chorus comes up everybody can sing along.

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Girls are instantly attracted to you ha, ha, ha! But to be honest, except that, I really love being able to express myself through music, singing or playing, that’s what matters to me the most.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Wow… That’s a tough one, especially with this line up! Ha, ha! Keller gets the drinks in, Adrian and I would bring the acoustic guitars, so that makes Rokindja our masterchef I guess, lol!

8. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

I would play table tennis. I would say table tennis is my passion almost like music.

9. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”?

Well, there was a lot of mistakes, but it’s all part of the journey. If you’re a good artist, you can never be satisfied.

10. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I would pick Slip of the tongue from Whitesnake and Pull by Winger. Those 2 records changed my view on hard rock, since it brings a lot of different elements, and I would love to see the writing process and how it all came together.

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Category: Interviews