A Dirty Dozen with ANDREA VERDI from A CRIME CALLED – March 2021

According to a recent press release: “Italy based, alternative rock quartet A CRIME CALLED has released the official music video for “Drown,” off of their newly released album, A New Path. “Life is an ocean current of situations, people, sensations. Navigation, solitary as it may be, has its difficult moments which lead us to give up and desist. The destination is often only a necessary excuse to keep on traveling, to not die inside. Living is the only means we were bestowed to avoid being drowned by the current”. – Andrea Verdi (front-man)” We get Andrea to discuss new music, influences, and 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?

A NEW PATH is a record in step with the times, ideal for these 20s, in which you can freely express yourself as a musician. You can find in the same album Rock metal songs, alternative punk, electronic, hip hop with nu metal reminiscences, even POP! You will find 3-minute media tracks intelligently structured and accurate in sonority. There is not a single line of a random riff.

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

I started playing when I was a child, 10 years old. Then at 14 I felt the call of rock, I had the guitar at home and it all started from there. In all these years music has given me victories and defeats, but the desire to play never fails.

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

My cousin recorded me a cassette of The Doors LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL. I’m crazy !!!! That was the music, rock was the way (lol). Then came grunge and nothing has been the same.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

The Police, Pearl Jam, Incubus , Slipknot, and Jeff Buckley.

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

I would love to write a song with or for Sting. Is one of the greatest song writers in history, in my opinion.Iit manages to be mainstream by using harmonic and melodic solutions that are far from easy.

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?

The music of A Crime Called is rock with strong distortions, melody and harmonic solutions typical of modern music. all mixed with electronic sounds accompanied by the use of sampler and synthesizer. I was pleased that the new record appeals to music experts and radio DJs from all over the world. I shudder when criticism is trivial. because you are Italian, they are convinced that you cannot make music at the same level as English and American artists.

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?

The person who does ALL these things is me!!! When we are around to play I have the batteries that never run out!!!! I do a thousand things throughout the day, sleep 3 or 4 hours a night.

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

One of the last concerts I saw before the pandemic was that of ARCHITECTS incredible!!!!!!!!! They have reached a level that is difficult for others to reach.

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?

Being a musician allows you to watch, see lots of people, download all the stress you have during a live is something unique. a great thing is when you see people from countries far away from you singing your songs and getting excited. I would like to write or act (this is what has already happened to me).

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?

Nobody ever asks a trivial but fundamental thing: do you feel fulfilled? the answer is SOMETIMES. I’m tired of questions like: when did you start playing?

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 – I was 20 years old. They were the beginnings of what would become A CRIME CALLED. together with the guys in the band I refused to work with a US producer at that time very well known. We couldn’t spend that much money. Thinking about that, it was better to try to recover them in any way! It was a real chance.

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 would like to be part of PEARL JAM’s TEN. it’s a record that changed my life, musically speaking. there are a lot of cool things on that album.

BONUS QUESTION – Due to the current world situation with COVID-19 / quarantine / shelter in place, what have you discovered you miss the most from your life before the pandemic struck?

I miss concerts, travels, evenings with friends awake until dawn. I hope all of this can come back as soon as possible. We need all those things that make us feel good.

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Category: Interviews