Bryan: Well, are we on record? (laughs) It's like night and day, really. I mean, I am still friends with most of the guys in Tokyo Blade. Really was cool to work with the other guitar player; but the others guys, so I don't want to bash the others, it was hard to work with the others in the band in a professional environment...but the whole aspect of the band was not working. In Reverence, we don't have that, and everything works a lot better. Everyone is down to earth, so it works a lot better, and I am happier in this band.

Well, I am really looking forward to the show. I am a big supporter of the police community, fire and anything regarding that. It started out as a one-day show initially, then a two-day show, and now got stretched to three days. They are getting a lot of great talent, such as King Kobra, Ron Keel, among others the who's who of metal in the '80s and '90s. It's going to be a blast. Such a great festival to be a part of.

Well, for me, I always loved music, always been a music fan; but for me, it did not really did not decide anything till I saw Kiss doing stuff in the same vein of Phantom of the Opera-type theatrics, and I decided then and there I wanted to be like Kiss. (laughs) Everybody has their idols, inspiring them to do what they do. If you love it, hopefully you will make something from it. I eventually got out of Kiss and got into different bands, but that's where it started and just snowballed from there.

The first record, we did not even have the band built yet, so basically, I started the whole thing. Then I found Todd, and he partnered with me; so me and him started writing before we had the other guys. In faith, there was no really room to have any other guys work on the songs with us – by the time we had the other guys join the band, we had about 70 to 80 percent of the songs worked out. Basically, I set the foundation, sent it to Todd to add his flair to it, and we worked together. He writes all his lyrics and all his melodies, and he gives me suggestions, and I would do the same. We both idolize Chris Olivia from Savatage. Overall, the whole experience was very good. Pretty much, it was all done over mp3s via the Internet, and it really seemed to work for us.

Well, I think social media and stuff is crucial these days, opposed to the days when Rolling Stone magazine and various other publications were the thing before the age of the internet; yet [it] brings certain problems; you have to constantly update, because people can be fickle and want to know what is going on, so you constantly need to keep people informed; so it gets a bit challenging. It's two sides to the same coin, so it gets a bit tough, but it definitely easier than it has been in year's past.

Well, musically it's a lot different in some respects. The guys in the band are from various different backgrounds and with different affiliations. You have that flip side, as well like, oh it's not like Tokyo Blade, or it's not as good as Savatage. Compared to what we have done, I really think it's good to branch out and not be someone from Tokyo Blade or sound like Savatage. If you want that, then go listen to them. We are trying to bring a new element to the table. We made something different and new, and hopefully people really enjoy it.

I appreciate that. Well, when you're a part of the song writing, [it] is hard to know what is good or bad. You just do what you do and hope people will like it. Initially wanted to go with a British-New-Wave-of-Heavy-Metal-sound, so it was a bit Iron Maiden-ish; then I wanted to go in a more Judas Priest-direction. People said we sounded like Metal Church and Warrior, but I never listened to Metal Church, so I was a bit confused. I had to go back and listen to Metal Church, and then could say, okay, I see what people are saying now.

Well you should, its great.

Well, Traci, my wife, she is more of the band's management, but she has worked with some booking agents over in Europe. She is not particularly booking, at this point, but she booked shows for Tokyo Blade in the past. Honestly, it's a lot of work. It's a thankless job, and, yeah, I'd rather leave it to someone who knows what to do, rather than leave it to someone who does not really have an idea of what they are doing. She has done it in the past – done an exceptional job – and it's someone who I can trust, and [that] makes it that much easier.

Well, touring is a lot of work. If you're in a smaller band or a bigger band, it's a lot of work, but it can be fun – especially traveling with other bands; and we are looking forward to taking Reverence out on the road and getting the album out to the public, play some big festivals with Exodus and UFO Girl School and Flotsam and Jetsam in Tokyo Blade back in Europe. On the subject of that, I am excited to get back to Europe because I am a huge WWII enthusiast, so going to that area where that took place is a hug plus for me. We got to play a show at a reformed WWII bunker. That was really cool, I loved it – seeing this bunker for real. [It] was very intimidating and frightening that this stuff happened, like this really happened, and it was pretty intense to finally see this up close.

I am just really glad we were able to hook up and glad to see the attention you guys have given us and to spotlight the band and any interest that we receive is an honor and to support it is really great to hear. I am really glad [about] the reception this album has gotten so far.

Absolutely. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me and your interest in the band. Thank you very much, have a good night.