Interviews: Seventh Station

This is a new interview with the Progressive Metal band Seventh Station from Slovenia. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you plan it or came out just like that?

Dmitri: The name came from a combination of numbers that I was doing some calculations with, which ultimately led to seven. After searching a lot of different names with our then bassist and co-founder Alexey, we finally decided on Seventh Station.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Eren: We didn’t really think of a particular genre but rather the music we came up producing is classified as progressive metal. I think we don’t really constrain ourselves by genres but rather driven by correctly representing stories and ideas. 

Grega: It’s a challenge to play and it gives you a lot of different options for expressing emotions or anything you want to express. And it's loud and fast. 3. 

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Dmitri: I was in the music academy before the band was formed and we met with our co-founder Alexey through the academy. The rest of the line-up has changed through the years by searching for the best of the best.

Jure: I met Dmitri a year before he asked me to join the band for the second album. We live in the same community (town).

Eren: Dmitri reached out to me online a decade ago, looking for a keyboardist for Seventh Station. After a brief discussion, he then immediately flew to Boston to track and record all the synths. We've been at it since then.

Grega: I didn’t really.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Dmitri: Nowadays it is Toto.

Eren: Nowadays it is Justice.

Vidi: hard for me to choose, right now I’d say either Mr. Bungle or The Bad Seeds. it really comes and goes.

Jure: Gov’t Mule.

Grega: Iron Maiden

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Dmitri: Until around my 20’s, I was reflecting on different kinds of emotions and feelings I was going through. Later on I stumbled upon a quote by Tchaikovsky, “Inspiration comes with work.” It made a lot of sense to me and now it has become a principle, that I keep working on my music to find inspiration and go with it.

6. Where was your last gig?

Dmitri: I produced a two-day Metal festival called “Deri po Bresicah” in Brezice, with 15+ bands from all over Slovenia. We covered everything from power, black, death to heavy metal, where we also performed. This was right after we finished tracking keyboards in Boston with Eren.

7. Where would you like to act?

Vidi: There is an artificial cave under ancient Jerusalem called Tzidkiyahoo’s Cave, this place is dated back to the destruction of the first temple and invasion of the empire of Babylon, during the last few years, it was renovated and nowadays they play concerts there. They have never booked metal over there, I’d love to play there.

Eren: I’m really excited to bring a full-fledged Seventh Station show to Zorlu PSM in Istanbul, Turkey.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Dmitri: Frank Zappa if we could. Just imagine what kind of crazy stuff we could pull off. This man is an inspiration to anyone looking to think outside of the box and I want to believe we could create great stuff and besides he seems like a cool guy to hang with.

9. Whom not?

Dmitri: The list is too long for one interview.

Vidi: That kid in my class that used to drink coffee at the age of eight and thought it would make him a grownup. I hated this guy.

Eren: Anyone who could be a great musician but not a good human being.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

Eren: Through my time in classical music, for about fifteen years every other four months or so I’d have to give a recital of an hour or two of memorized music spanning almost five four centuries. Even though you could be absolutely sure of yourself, performing live is a different circumstance. How it eventually disappeared for me was to just keep performing, gradually it goes away.

Jure: Of course. The best way for me to overcome it is to remember that there’s a bigger purpose to the show than just performing it. It is a part of a larger game. 

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Dmitri: Going through the early years, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and of course, Pink Floyd. Later on, I discovered Dream Theater where my thinking of metal completely changed, from there I explored and got inspired by bands like Symphony X. To be honest as a classically trained musician, the most inspiration I find as a composer is from the composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

Jure: The Allman Brothers. Their camaraderie in living and playing still feels like home to me.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Vidi: There were some sexual offers I’d like to forget. Also, there are always weird moments but I’m trying not to judge, have you seen our latest Clip?? we’re weird as well.

Jure: “Give me your bass, I’ll play! “

13. What do you think of your fans?

Eren: We are absolutely thrilled to share our latest stories and music with our fans and we think they’re going to be really excited about it.

Jure: We wouldn’t exist without them. The nurturing is two-way.

14. What do you think of our site?

Vidi: I really appreciate how you guys support newcomers and not just chasing the rating of big-known bands, the work you’re doing will eventually define the next generation of the underground. Thank you for that.

15. Something to add?

Vidi: The new album is just around the corner, we’d love it if you follow us on our pages, come and say hi