Altsounds Interview: Moonstone Project (Q&A)

'I love the “unexpected”. No way we play the same solo's every night! We are a 70's alike jam band!'

June 28, 2009, 08:18 PM

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For many rock bands becoming 'classic rock' is often the beginning of the end. The audience gets older, likes to hear the old songs instead of the new ones and worse, bands once hailed as the future of rock 'n roll, end up at classic rock shows where every band who lost their frontman seems to end up.

It's not the case for Matt Filippini though, founder and guitarist of the Moonstone Project. He actually starts being classic rock; well, not in the way where you will find him in every Ultimate Rock List. His music is the sound of classic rock, the sound of the bluesy seventies, the stage show ..... and of course a little help from friends like Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Ian Paice (Purple, Whitesnake) and Graham Bonnett (Rainbow).

Altsounds got the chance to talk with Matt Filippini about his special roots, his classic rock friends and the new Moonstone Project album 'Rebel on the Run'.


ALTSOUNDS: Introduce yourself and the Moonstone Project.
MATT FILIPINNI: I'm a guitar player / musician and I mostly consider myself a rock songwriter. Moonstone Project is my own studio project and on top of that I did play several shows with Ian Paice and Glenn Hughes in Italy and Europe.


AS: How did the Moonstone Project start?
MF: It started back in 1996. I started writing stuff on my own. I asked Cozy Powell (drummer of Rainbow, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath among others) to play drums on the album and he agreed on that. Then sadly Cozy passed away [R.I.P]. So I started writing new stuff again in 2002. I sent two demo's to Ian Paice, whom I was playing some shows with at the time. He liked the stuff and I had him flying to a studio in Italy to record his drum parts! That's how it all started!


AS: What's the philosophy behind the project?
MF: No particular philosophy. It was just a dream for me to have a lot of great rock musicians and singers to perform on my music, that's all.


AS: Why exactly did you decide to concentrate on the sound you call the ‘classic rock’ sound?
MF: That's the music I love to listen to, play and write. Saying that however, my musical taste is eclectic and I find myself listening to lots of different kinds of music!


AS: How would you describe this sound?
MF: It's simply classic rock. Blood, sweat, tears, passion and groove.


AS: You collaborate with a lot of famous artists. Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice is on the new album and you planned gigs with Purple/ Black Sabbath vocalist Glenn Hughes and Rainbow/ Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Doogie White. Tell me, how did you run into these guys?
MF: It just happened. I met Paicey during one of his drums master classes. We started to play some gig in Italy together back in 2001 and so on. Regarding Glenn Hughes, the same story. I met him backstage in 2004 after one of his gigs and we started to become good friends. For other artists I just contacted them and asked if they wanted to collaborate. Some said yes, some said no.


AS: Which artist or band made you decide to become a musician?
MF: The Beatles.


AS: Which guitarist influenced your guitar style the most?
MF: Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix.


AS: And which songwriter influenced you the most?
MF: Paul McCartney.


AS: Let’s say you can pick ten songs.What would your personal favourite set list be? You can pick both your own songs and covers.
MF: My songs:

• 'Cosmic Blues',
• 'Moonster Booster',
• 'Shooting Star',
• 'Rebel on the Run',
• 'Where do you Hide the Blues You've Got'.

Covers:

• 'The Stealer' (Free),
• 'Rock Candy' (Montrose),
• 'Black Cloud' (Trapeze),
• 'Too Hot to Handle' (UFO),
• 'Evil' (Cactus).

AS: What songs do you play when you’re alone?
MF: Usually I play some blues improvisation. Or some riff I have running around in my mind!


AS: I’d like to talk about the new album as well. Last year you posted a message on your website about the songs being written and the album already being mixed. Why did it take a year before this album was released?
MF: It has been a very long process to find a good record deal. That's what bores me about music, the business side. I only want to write music, but sometimes you gotta care about business side of things to equal measure.


AS: What – to you – is the main difference between the first and the second album?
MF: The first was mainly a studio project thing. This new one is more a 'band' thing. Just one singer and the same core band. And a very solid sound, isn't it?

I just wanted a band sound. A big one, with just one singer. I also think the new songs are more “live” sounding songs than the ones on the first album. We already played four or five new songs on stage last year and they are just amazing on stage and go down great with the audience!


AS: In an interview with Female First you stated that your collaborator Alessandro del Vecchi is a talented vocalist. Why doesn’t he sing on this album?
MF: Ale wrote the most of the melodies and sung all the vocal parts on the demo's. It just happened he didn't sing any lead vocal on the finished record. He did do a lot of backing vocals on the album though.


AS: Why did you choose House of Lords vocalist James Christian?
MF: I wanted a bluesy rock singer and James is just perfect for this kind of stuff. What's awesome is that Moonstone Project's material is very different from the stuff he does with House of Lords.


AS: Describe a day in the life of Matt Filippini, the recording artist.
MF: I never plan a session, especially when I'm writing music. It could start from a guitar riff. If I think it works then I start to record it, then I add fake [scratch] drums and bass. Sometimes I start from a melody, then I build the basic track. Writing rock music must be “the unexpected” coming to its own life in an organic way.


AS: Describe a day in the life of Matt Filippini, the touring artist.
MF: I'm a very regular man while touring. I love to respect all the timetables and the schedules. I love to rest as much as I can and partying a bit, but only if we have the day off the next day. No way can I party until the small hours of the morning if we have a show the day after. I would be like a zombie!


AS: Tell me a little bit about the tour.
MF: We still have no firm plans. We were supposed to play some European dates in October 2009, but with the current financial crisis we have been forced to move those dates to 2010 instead.


AS: Name three artists you would like to collaborate with in the future?
MF: Glenn Hughes for sure, Danny Carmassi (drummer of Montrose), Paul Rodgers. But it's only a dream.


AS: Do you have any plans for the future already?
MF: I have eight or nine songs ready. They are straight, groovy and rich with feel, I'm very happy about them. I hope to start working on a new album soon and possibly play some quality shows. But I have no firm and definite plans for the future as my personal life has been very confusing lately.


AS: I’d like to end this conversation with two hypothesises.
When it comes to live music: do you prefer spontaneous gigs or calculated shows? And explain why.
MF: Only spontaneous gigs! I love to jam. I love the “unexpected”. There is no way we will play the same guitar solo's every night! We are a 70's-alike jam band!


AS: What would you rather be, a star in your own show or a sidekick for a classic rock legend? Again, explain why.
MF: Probably a star in my own show. Just because I love to play my own music.

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