HARD ECHO

MetalHeadRadio
Whats the origin of your band name?

HARD ECHO
Norm- it was 1st a sound I had programmed on my Guitar processor which I changed
to “rip my notma”, then a song in a previous band. It was about learning from ones
mistakes as to not repeat them. For this band, it also describes who we are, fans of
Hard Rock/Metal, an Echo of our influences if you will.

MetalHeadRadio
How long have you all known each other?
How did you meet?

HARD ECHO
Tony- Norm and I met through his old bassist in his band Anonymous (then Melted)
and I helped him and showed him some guitar tricks. We formed Hard Echo when
his singer in the next band, Robotwife was driving them all crazy. We found Mark
and Tim through San Diego’s Reader magazine and found Dobbs on myspace.

MetalHeadRadio
When did you form your band?
What inspired you to make music together?

HARD ECHO
Tony- We formed in 2000 and wanted to be a METAL force to be reckoned with.

MetalHeadRadio
What is your music background?

HARD ECHO
Mark- Singing forever, bands in San Diego & Hollywood including Victim and Outrage.

Tony- Been six string slinging since 12 years old, took lessons and majorly influenced
by Eddie Van Halen and Ace Frehley early on. Cover bands and Thrash bands
including Volatile and the Sons of Vengeance.

Tim- Played both guitar & bass, jamming with friends and in a punk band, Some
People’s Children in L.A. & San Diego.

Norm- Started playing bass at 15, switched to guitar at 17 and back to bass when
original bassist left to join the Army

Dobbs- Drums since I saw Head-bangers Ball when my babysitter used to watch it.
Played in cover bands in Oklahoma

MetalHeadRadio
Who are your musical influences?

HARD ECHO
Mark- Led Zep, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Dio, Pantera, KISS,
Scorps, Priest, Van Halen, Maiden, Early Metallica, etc.

Tony- B.B. King, Ace Frehley, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Dave Murray,
80’s Metal, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, basically anyone who shredds

Tim- Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Adrian Smith, Priest, Accept, Motorhead,
Metallica, etc.

Norm- Randy Rhoads, Akira Takasaki, Steve Harris, Motorhead, Ace Frehley,
Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath, Dio, etc.

Dobbs- Motley Crue & Tommy Lee, Metallica, Iron Maiden, The Cult, too many
drummers to mention

MetalHeadRadio
What are your immediate music career goals? (Next year or so)

HARD ECHO
Mark- Get signed, quit our day jobs & hit the road!

Tim- European tours

Norm- banging girls ½ my age while touring the world!

MetalHeadRadio
Who handles your daily business activities? (Bookings, promotions etc.)

HARD ECHO
Norm- Tony handles our home site www.hardecho.com including our fan e-mail list
and Mark and I handle the myspace page. Any of us can book a show. I preside over
the artwork and the $$$.

MetalHeadRadio
Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

HARD ECHO
Norm- Not yet but we are working in that direction

MetalHeadRadio
Do you think internet radio is a viable means to get your music "out there"?

HARD ECHO
Jason- The internet is how I found these guys!

Norm- I’ve been utilizing internet radio for many years to get our music heard,
“underground style”. A lot of the DJs are sooo fucking cool, just fans like us who
want to be a part of the rock world! They have helped HARD ECHO beyond
imagination, playing to their world-wide audiences. We’ve sold CDs in a shit load
of countries exactly because of this.

MetalHeadRadio
Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues?
Do you have any upcoming shows?

HARD ECHO
Tim- So far we’ve only played to San Diego audiences but we are road ready and
will definitely branch out this year. We’ve opened for W.A.S.P., Dokken, Gilby
Clarke, Cage among others in some of SD’s better venues including the Stadium.

MetalHeadRadio
Where would the "ultimate" venue for you to play be?

HARD ECHO
Mark- Madison Square Garden

Tim- The L.A. Forum or the Hammersmith Odeon

Tony- B.B. Kings club in my hometown of Memphis

Norm- Wacken Fest in Germany or the Hammersmith Odeon

Jason- All over the world, I don’t care

MetalHeadRadio
Which songs do you perform most frequently?
Do you ever play any covers?

HARD ECHO
Jason- we play all the songs off Mouth of the Sun except Merciless cuz I haven’t
learned it yet. We play Salem/Traded Secrets and The Underground from the 1st CD
and we are learning The Torch this week. We have 2 new songs, one we play live and
the other, we are still memorizing. We play covers by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath,
Judas Priest, the Scorpions (2), Iron Maiden (4), Motorhead, Metallica, Motley Crue,
and KISS.

Tony- looking forward to learning some Cult, BLS, Rob Zombie and Megadeth!

Mark- sounds like a fucking good party!

MetalHeadRadio
Who writes your songs?
What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
Who comes up with the most song ideas?

HARD ECHO
Norm- I wrote the entire 1st CD, both musically and lyrically. The themes actually
formed a loose concept we decided not to pursue (a “concept” album per se) but most
of the themes involved both science fact & fiction but also ranged from kleptomania
to post nuclear relationship problems LOL! The 2nd CD is getting a far better reception
and I think the reason is that Tony and Tim added their talents as songwriters and
Mark was much more comfortable in the studio. I enjoyed writing/arranging with them
and adding bass lines to riffs I never would have written myself. Tony comes to us with
an almost finished song and we just learn it but Tim writes only music and I provide
lyrics for his songs, although he must approve them. When I write now, I leave parts
to a song open to their contributions and we finish my stuff together. We are ALL
very excited to record this next CD with Jason because of his 24/7 excitement and great
attitude concerning this band. Mark is adding lyrics to one of Tony’s songs so far
and Jason has written lyrics to for 2 songs as well.

MetalHeadRadio
What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in
which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

HARD ECHO
Mark- We practice 3 times a week religiously and usually for about an hour and ½.
We work on whatever we are learning or if we have an upcoming gig, we write a set
and go through it a couple practices before.

MetalHeadRadio
How has your music evolved since first began playing together?

HARD ECHO
Norm- Buy both CDs and see for yourself LMAO!

Tim- Faster, louder, better tones, tighter, more leads for me!

Tony- A more professional sound and more room for all of us to contribute

MetalHeadRadio
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

HARD ECHO
Jason- Play the music you love and you will be happy no matter how far you get.

MetalHeadRadio
What is the name of your most current CD?
Where can it be purchased?

HARD ECHO
Mark- Mouth of the Sun

www.hardecho.com (both CDs and t-shirts)

www.cdbaby.com

www.cduniverse.com

and the I-tunes link is… http://phobos.apple.com

MetalHeadRadio
Do you maintain a webpage or myspace page? If so what is the URL?

HARD ECHO
Tony- www.hardecho.com and www.myspace.com/hardecho