West, Richard (September 2002)

The Threshold Phenomenon

There are now two Richard West interviews on ProgressiveWorld.net this year; he must be popular guy. Critical Mass, Threshold's new bombastic tour de force is what this interview focuses on, but, hopefully, you also get a broader sense of Threshold, and what the band means to West himself. With a discography featuring six albums, including the aforementioned Critical Mass, the band has seen change both musically and personally. However, they still continue to write good music, a key to the band's success for the fans and for themselves.

Shawn Lakhani: Hello Richard, thanks for doing this interview. Ok, to start off, can you describe your musical background and beginnings before you became a member of Threshold?

Richard West: Well I started when I was five; I wasn't writing symphonies or anything, but I had piano lessons for ten years and I also studied cello. I was the only keyboard player in my school class so I ended up in quite a few school bands, and then at university I did my first real gigs with a band called Up From Under. We were a four-piece without a drummer, so I used to take out a drum machine as well as a couple of really cheap old keyboards. Nobody else in the band really wrote much music so we ended up playing mostly my songs, we got a bit of local interest but we split up after a year or so. I concentrated on writing and ended up in a band called Mercy Train, which included Threshold's Karl Groom on guitars and Pendragon's Peter Gee on bass.

SL: Basically, how did you become part of Threshold? When you were first brought in to do the keyboards for Wounded Land, did you expect to be where you are today?

RW: Well, although Mercy Train was predominantly a rock band, it introduced me to the British progressive rock scene. I did a tour sessioning for Shadowland and then Karl asked if I'd add some keyboards to Threshold's debut album. The CD was pretty much complete but they just wanted a few extra things going on, so I was quite happy to be involved. It was only really a side project for me, I was more interested in Mercy Train at the time, who were also busy recording an album. But nothing much came of that in the end, so when Threshold asked me to do a few gigs with them, I thought yeah, why not, and ten years on I'm still doing it.

SL: Now, let's fast forward into the near future, as I know many people want to read more about the new album, Critical Mass. Any stylistic changes on this album, a different musical direction perhaps? What should the fans expect from Threshold on this forthcoming release? Basically, discuss the new album musically and lyrically if you would please, Richard.

RW: Critical Mass sounds to me like a big step forward from Hypothetical, both in terms of the music and the production. The whole thing's more modern, there's more use of effects and loops than before, and there's a lot more quality and space in the overall sound, but somehow we sound like the original Threshold. I hear touches of Wounded Land, Extinct Instinct and Hypothetical in there, all wrapped up in a more modern sounding package. Lyrically there are two themes I guess, Jon [Jeary] wrote half of the lyrics, which have their own story, and I wrote the other half, which are mostly about how different your life can be if you follow your dreams. I think it's sad when people give up on their dreams because they're scared of the unknown or just get comfortable and forget about them. You only get one life, so it's worth using it the best way that you can.

SL: The band's last few covers, including the new one, have been done by Thomas Ewerhard, a wonderful artist. How does his work on Critical Mass identify with the overall concept of the album itself?

RW: Critical Mass was Jon's idea, it's the first time we've used a song title as an album title. It covers a variety of themes from nuclear fission to a group of people becoming a movement, and Thomas's artwork focuses on the nuclear aspect. We love his work, each cover he does for us just gets better and better.

SL: What does this mean to you and the band?

Musicians on Hypothetical		Musicians on Critical Mass
Mac: vocals Karl Groom: guitars Nick Midson: guitars Jon Jeary: bass Richard West: keyboards Johanne James: drums		Mac: vocals Karl Groom: guitars Nick Midson: guitars Jon Jeary: bass Richard West: keyboards Johanne James: drums

RW: Oh yeah, it's a good feeling, to be in a time of consistency. The current line-up started in 1998 on the Clone tour, and we've also done the live fan-club album together, so we've had a lot of time to grow as a unit. I think it shows on the new album, there's a strong cohesion between us all, in terms of both the writing and the performance. We work well together on stage now, Jon and Johanne [James] really lock in solidly, Karl and Nick [Midson]'s guitars complement each other very well, and Mac's really settled and grown as a vocalist and performer since Clone. So I'm really looking forward to doing the live shows later in the year.

SL: Was there ever a time in the band, especially with the numerous line-up changes, that you ever thought it was over? Has the past events played any positive role for you guys at all? Has it made you guys, at the present moment, stronger in a way?

RW: I think we've all had our moments of doubt, where you go through the feeling of "is it worth carrying on?", and then coming out of that thought process with a stronger resolve than before. I was ready to pack everything in after Clone, I thought we'd run our course and it was time to move on, but Hypothetical really moved things forward for us. And yes, I think that for all of us, going through that thought process does make the band stronger, it stops you carrying on for the sake of carrying on, it gives you more of a will and a purpose.

SL: I remember reading that the band usually took two to three years off between albums. Why did Threshold decide to work on Critical Mass only 15 months after the final mixing of Hypothetical?

RW: Well we left three years between our second and third albums, and I don't think that did us any favours because we lost all the momentum we'd gathered from all the exposure, the gigs with Dream Theater, all that. So our record company was anxious that we kept things moving after Hypothetical, and we came out of the tour feeling much better as a band, so it was good to keep that impetus going. We basically did the 2001 tour, put out the live album, wrote the new songs and went straight back to the studio. And a month later we were already rehearsing for the 2002 shows, so things have been pretty continuous.

SL: Do you feel that with each album you guys are becoming better musicians and songwriters? Was there ever a time in your mind when you thought the band was not progressing musically?

RW: I think we've always progressed, but not necessarily in terms of trying to play more complicated music on every album, that's not what we're about at all. We went through a pruning stage with Clone, we didn't want to try and out-do Extinct Instinct in terms of the progression or ideas just for the sake of it, so we purposely cut back to a heavier straighter sound on Clone, and that's allowed us to branch into new areas with the last two albums. Probably the obvious statement would be to say that we've matured along the way, I think we've become better craftsmen both in terms of playing and writing, and it's much easier to see the whole picture than it was when we were young and inexperienced, back when showing off was part of the game plan. Nowadays we just want to make good albums.

SL: What has been and maybe still is the purpose of Threshold?

RW: Well, it was never about becoming famous; if it was then we'd have done something a bit more commercial! But for me one of the most enduring aspects has been the freedom to write music with depth, rather than being constrained to a formula. We do pretty much what we like in Threshold, we explore a lot of musical areas that we just wouldn't be able to do if our goal was to write pop songs. I find it's wonderful to be able to immerse myself in putting together a song, knowing it can have as many chords, time changes, different sections and original ideas as I want. And also lyrically, Threshold don't do pop lyrics, we cover life, philosophy, faith. So I guess the purpose of Threshold is expression without boundaries, the pursuit of art and truth.

SL: When a band claims they were influenced by Threshold, or when a keyboard player says Richard West has been one of his or her inspirations, how does that make you feel? What have been and are some of your influences?

RW: It's obviously kind of cool when it happens, it helps with your general sense of fulfilment and justification for what you're doing, helps you feel you must have got something right. I don't have any particular individual influences that I'm aware of, although I've probably been shaped most by the music I listened to as a kid, bands like Queen, Genesis and Pink Floyd. Nowadays I listen to everything from classic rock to nu metal, from pop to jazz, and it's more the production than anything else that's likely to have an effect on me.

SL: How has the jump to new technology affected the production and overall sound of the band?

RW: It's more of an evolution than a jump, staying with the latest production ideas and using whatever technology is available to help us achieve the sound we're after. Over the years we've gone from analogue tape to digital tape through to a complete hard disk system, and the main difference is probably the time that's saved. Instead of spending half a day trying to mute noise on a vocal track or salvage something from a chewed up tape, we can spend that half day doing something more creative. And the same goes for effects, it's always been possible to come up with strange sound effects but computers just make it quicker and easier, so there's more time to try new ideas out and push the sound envelope a bit further than in the past. I don't really feel like we've changed our approach to Threshold production over the years, it's more like somebody's constantly freeing up our hands to achieve more of what we always wanted to do.

SL: How has working alongside your wife, Farrah West, on her musical career been both personally and musically gratifying?

RW: Although there's a great freedom in writing for Threshold, there are still contraints within the style we play, certain parameters that we work within. With Farrah we're still trying to maintain that sense of musical freedom, but just within a different set of parameters. But the freedom aspect is great, it would be so easy to fall into somebody's perception of what you should sound like or how you should write, but we wanted to start with a clean canvas for the Farrah West project. So in many ways the approach is similar to Threshold, where I can write and shape a song with Farrah bringing input in the same way that Karl or Mac might with Threshold. I trust her musically so I know that if she wants to change things then I should take note because she's already put the music through a pretty good filter, and that's a strong position to be in with any project. I'm really looking forward to finishing our album, it's been a long time in the making and it's obviously going to feel more personal to than a Threshold album, as that's the collaboration of so many more people.

SL: Now, let's discuss both the USA and European Progpower festivals. It will be the band's first live show in the USA, correct? How come Threshold has never played in the USA before and what makes Progpower USA the best place to start?

RW: We've always wanted to go, but until recently we haven't had much exposure over there. Now events like ProgPower have really helped bring that following together, so we're really looking forward to going. The event is already sold out and I've got a feeling there's going to be a great atmosphere.

SL: Progpower Europe named Threshold headliners for Saturday, October 5th. How great is that for you and the band; and for both performances, what should the fans expect, maybe you can even mention an early set list of sorts (please, haha)?

RW: It's cool to be headlining there; it's been three years since we last played at ProgPower Europe and I think that fans going to our 2002 gigs can expect our strongest shows yet. As for a set list, obviously we'll be focussing mostly on Critical Mass and Hypothetical, but we've also responded to some requests from the fans and pulled out some different old songs like "Angels" and "Sanity's End," so there should be something for everyone in there. It all really depends on how long we get on stage, we've got a lot of songs ready but quite a few are up to 10 minutes long so it's hard to fit everything in.

SL: It seems that many bands in the progressive metal category have different keyboard styles and even different reasons for the use of keyboards. How do you fit into the musical scheme of things as a keyboard player?

I see my role as a sound-shaper rather than a keyboard player. When I'm writing or producing, then the overall picture is more important to me than the keyboard parts, to the extent that I don't always add keyboards at the writing stage. I'm just as happy to use loops, samples or vocals to achieve the sound we're after, not just the keyboards. But obviously we play quite technical music at times so I can't forget about it forever, I have to keep constantly practicing and exercising my fingers to keep on top of everything.

SL: What is the future for Richard West?

RW: Threshold, Farrah West, but more than before.

SL: How would you define Threshold in one word?

RW: Overflowing.

SL: Now to my final question; I bet you are glad to hear that. What lies ahead for Threshold, Critical Mass and beyond?

RW: I'd love to know! I believe we've got a good line-up, a good album, good artwork, good fans, lots of good things. But from now on it's all up to God, we'll just have to see where he takes us.

[Aside from live releases and fan-club only releases, the band have released a further 2 studio albums. Around 2007-2008, Mac left the band; Damian Wilson returned as vocalist and in 2011 the band are currently working on a new album. In August 2011, Mac passed away -ed.]

Discography:
Wounded Land (1993)
Psychedelicatessen (1994)
Livedelica (1995)
Extinct Instinct (1997)
Clone (1998)
Decadent (1999)
Hypothetical (2001)
Wounded Land: Special Edition (2001/2002)
Psychedelicatessen/Livedelica: Special Edition (2001/2002)
Concert In Paris (2002)
Critical Mass (2002)
Wireless - Acoustic Sessions (2003)
Critical Energy (2004)
Extinct Instinct: Special Edition (2004)
Subsurface (2004)
Replica (2004)
Surface to Stage (2006)
Dead Reckoning (2007)
The Ravages Of Time (2007)
Paradox - The Singles Collection (2009)

Critical Energy (2004) (DVD)