A Dirty Dozen with ROBERTO PUISSA from OLD ROGER’S REVENGE – May 2020

According to a recent press release: “In the middle of the sea, people got betrayed by their own nation after years of toil. They lost their livelihood, their homes, and their future. But a group of men refused to bend and chose to take back what was theirs, sailing under the flag of Old Roger’s Revenge. Teaming up with Pavement Entertainment, Old Roger’s Revenge will soon unleash their first full-length album, entitled Vengeance of Blackbeard, which washes ashore on May 22, 2020.” We get the singer / bassist / guitarist Robert to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

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 you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

This album is something new that comes from the past. When I started to write music with Old Roger’s Revenge, I wanted to blend stoner riffs with death metal drums, and I wanted to play something that no one in my zone plays. Passing through many kinds of metal genres. I don’t know what a Listener can grab or not, but if you are grown up in the 90’s, you can recognize the mood. Our background starts from Delta Blues, passing from ’50 Rock ‘n Roll classic, up to the present days. But I can be inspired by ancient music too,  and only an acute ear can recognize it. Listen to the album and let me know 😉

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

I don’t know, I sing since from nursery school, or at least I try. I Write lyrics since 1992, but I never studied music, never have the opportunity, because my family had no money. I learned on the street step by step. I’ve put it all into the music when the subprime mortgage crisis broke out. There was no certainty in tomorrow, but I had goals, and the only certainty was my inventiveness. So I had to put my soul into music.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

There are many. It’s a long list. I can start for example from Jerry Lee Lewis, to James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jethro Tull and many more. Passing to Metallica ’80/90, at Pantera with the Great Southern Trendkill.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Blues, Rock ‘n Roll, Heavy metal, Death metal, and Black metal.

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

At this moment I don’t know. A few years ago I had more clear ideas. But now I think that If I call someone famous for collaboration and he says yes, I could have a heart attack and die instantly.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

It depends if the person listens to metal music or not. If the person does not listen to metal music, usually I say only metal. If the person knows the genre, I could say something like Nola’s sludge scene, something like Orange Goblin, or something like stoner metal with a little bit grunge, a little bit doom, a little bit all. Bluesy riffs on hard Drums. Until now, no one compared us with something bad. Like it or not. At best, people told to me you are not my genre, but you are good. Other people watch you and remain in silence.

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

When we hang out, usually we don’t cook. we eat on the street or to the venue. But I like to cook or better I like to eat. Andrea does work in a kitchen, we will not starve, but we’ve risk many times to die by “thirst”. Andrea is a Jukebox on the guitar, instead, I play air guitar, singing riffs that no one listens. Because you can pull out your invisible guitar in every moment and start to play unexpectedly. Everywhere  😉

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

With Tim King in Ravenna in October 2019, because I saw in one night all the Bands that at my youth I only could saw on television. I had a lot of fun.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician for me is giving emotion to the people,  tell him a story, and maybe make them thinking or dreaming. What would be my dream job? Be a musician 😉 Now I have a job because I don’t live off music. I do music of passion. I’m mechanic of motorbikes and I’m building some cafe racer bikes. But If one day I could no longer be a musician, my dream job would be the winegrower, and work on a farm. But I need money, much money. At the moment, I have only debts. So it’s better if I keep fixing motorbikes. 😉

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I never asked a question at an interviewer before. So I never had an answer. But one question could be: how do these questions come to your mind? The answer would be curiosity. The question that I’m tired of answering is to describe my music because people that listen to me can have different sensations. I think music is suggestive, it touches the strings inside us, but sometimes are not the same strings for everyone.

11. 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,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Yes. Being the only one who anticipated the money for this album.

12. 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 can’t answer. There could be a lot of albums, but probably it would not be the same, because the magic passed through those hands, not mine. And I love to taste the music as they made because only they know what they felt at those moments.

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Category: Interviews