QUOTES BY GUESTS
DAVID ELLEFSON | BASS GUITAR (MEGADETH, ELLEFSON, ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE)
Q) David how does it feel to be part in such charity project for Italy along with other great international artists from all over the world?
A) I love it! The Italian heritage is in my own household (and my son’s name is Roman!) so I’m honored to be part of such a terrific cast of badass musicians who all get to shine for such a great cause. These jams help us connect, albeit virtually this year, and keep our rock & metal community strong during the pandemic shutdown which has impacted us all in our industry. And when everyone comes together with a charitable heart it levels the playing field and makes it all about the music and giving for someone else’s needs.
Q) Nowadays, more than in the past, it seems easier to work with “open-source” approach, where boundaries of territory and fame seem to have no longer limits, do you believe it’s a new opportunity for the music and artists in general?
A) I think it’s terrific. I love that fame and success have nothing to do with the collaboration process right now and it’s really this one moment in time where anything goes. Anyone can collaborate with anyone and I think we’re seeing some really entertaining jams and songs being created this year as a result. Be it with long time friends or new aquaintances, when we just open up and jam together we create a unique moment that is just unparalleled. The quarantine jams of 2020 have become the new “stay at home festivals”.
SCOTT IAN | RHYTHM GUITAR (ANTHRAX, SOD)
Q) We know you come from different musical background, was it fun to learn the song and pay tribute to a band which is considered by many among the fathers of Heavy Metal?
A) I’ve been a fan of Deep Purple and Ritchie Blackmore’s playing since I was a kid, so it’s odd that I never learned the riff to Burn before this. I’m happy that I got to do this because the riff is so fun to play!
Q) How important is the role of music in contributing to charity causes?
A) It’s very important. Any time something music related can raise money for a good cause it’s a win for everyone involved. I’m just doing something I love to do and if it helps someone else, that’s even better.
RALF SCHEEPERS | VOCALS (PRIMAL FEAR, ex GAMMA RAY)
Q) You performed in the 2019 live edition and jammed with many different international and local artists. Do you enjoy taking part in initiatives like the Metal For Kids United?
A) It was a pleasure and an honor to share the stage with such talents! And it’s also needless to say that helping Organizations who help kids who are in need is an honor and a pleasure as well!
Q) Do you believe this jam video can capture the spirit of Metal For Kids United! show?
A) It definitely does, yes! I’m glad and proud it turned out so amazing!
BRIAN O’CONNOR | VOCALS (ex VICIOUS RUMORS, DEADLANDS, CONSFEARACY)
Q) You have taken parts in all the live editions of Metal For Kids United! what do you think make this charity project special?
A) The comradery between all the musicians who come together from all over the world for this great cause is amazing. Seeing a bunch of metalheads that truly care about kids is really cool. Faber (Fabrizio Troiano) makes this event a very professional well ran show, it’s the best charity event I have ever been apart of.
Q) Being a metal singer, how does it feel to sing vocal parts originally composed and performed by amazing vocalists like David Coverdale and Glen Hughes?
A) It’s truly awesome! I never thought I would be singing Deep Purple, I gotta tell ya, it’s not easy but it feels killer to get the opportunity to give it a shot. I dig both legendary vocalists and getting to sing both parts on Burn is a great honor for me.
RAFAEL BITTENCOURT | VOCALS & LEAD GUITAR (ANGRA)
Q) How does it feel to join the Metal For Kids United! family for this charity project?
A) It’s an honour to be part of this project among such great musicians that are willing to inspire and help others. I feel like I belong to a chain of goodness and charity. We as artists are role models to many people and that responsibility needs real actions beyond words.
Q) You are a good vocalist, too. How was the experience in singing such old school classic?
A) Singing the song Burn is like going to a rock school. I’ve sang it before in jam sessions and parties but never among high level singers. I learned a lot with the process only by listening to all the different voices.
THOMEN STAUCH | DRUMS (ex BLIND GUARDIAN, MENTALIST)
Q) How did you approach your drum parts for this classic song originally arranged and performed by a legendary drummer like Ian Paice?
A) It is a pleasure for me to be part of this charity jam and I simply tried to bring in as much as possible of my Thomen style, because you cannot copy Ian Paice! He rules!
JENS LUDWIG | GUITAR (EDGUY)
Q) You are familiar with All-Star band because of your band fellow Tobias Sammet’s AVANTASIA and you were also supposed to perform live at the Metal For Kids United! 2020 (which was sadly cancelled). How does it feel like being part of a big charity project like this, anyway?
A) It feels great! Of course I was disappointed when the MFKU Live Jam was cancelled, I was really looking forward to being part of the show. But in these difficult times this is a good example that music still matters, not to forget that it´s a lot of fun to play along with so many other fellow musicians. Would definitely be ready to do this again anytime! 🙂
ROBERTO TIRANTI | VOCALS (LABYRINTH, WONDERWORLD, KEN HENSLEY LIVE FIRE)
Q: Burn is an immortal song which you know very well. What does it mean to cover it nowadays for a singer and for a rocker / metalhead in general?
A: Deep Purple and consequently Burn, are part of the DNA of every musician/singer who literally sank his musical roots in seventies rock, which then flowed into the metal of the following decade, until the present day. Singing that song is completely natural and exciting for me regardless.
OLAF THORSEN | GUITAR (LABYRINTH, VISION DIVINE)
Q: In the past you had the honor of backing the legendary Ian Paice on stage during one of his solo concerts in Italy. What does it mean for a metalhead to cover a great classic like Burn?
Burn is simply an immortal song, which has been one of those milestones of our genre since 1974. Thanks to songs like this that Hard Rock and later Heavy Metal sprang up.
Covering a song like this simply means honoring something that is part of our roots and that unites all of us musicians.
ANDREA MARTONGELLI | GUITAR (ELLEFSON, ARTHEMIS, ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE)
Q: How was the approach to cover a legendary song like Burn which is almost 50 years old?
It’s a true honor, a great emotion and a real trial by fire. The title “BURN” says it all!
Burn has always been one of my all-time favorites; it’s a fiery combination of the best of Rock and Classical Music together as one and it melts faces! What a killer piece of Music! Long live Rock’n’roll and the great Deep Purple!
TOMMY MASSARA | GUITAR (EXTREMA)
Q: For over 30 years you have represented Italian thrash metal in the world. How does it feel to bring your sound into a 70s rock cover tune? Is it still possible to get excited by playing, even at a distance, with two of the Big4?
A) “The cover seems to me to be very successful, having been able to bring my playing into such a historical tune like “Burn” is a privilege. With my band Extrema, over the years we have been lucky enough to be able to share the stages at festivals with Megadeth and Anthrax. To play with Scott and David and share with the other guys the performance of this song, even if from a distance, it was a true honor. I would like to add that I feel privileged to have been called to be part of the Metal for Kids United! crew.”
MISTHERIA | KEYBOARDS (VIVALDI METAL PROJECT, BRUCE DICKINSON, ROB ROCK)
Q: Maestro, along with your Vivaldi Metal Project and Roy Z, you have carried collaborations with international artists of great prestige for years, now. How does it feel to jam a legendary song like Burn with different, talented and distant musicians?
I wish to thank Faber for inviting me to the jam, I was happy and honored. Over the years my collaborations have been created and developed thanks to the network and therefore to the possibility of being able to work remotely, main assumptions that have given me the fantastic opportunity to interact and create music with many international artists. For me, it feels like playing at home 🙂 When all this is combined with the talent of the extraordinary artists who participated in the video jam of “Burn”, the result is something spectacular, a musical bomb, as always in the style of Metal For Kids United!.”
LUCA PRINCIOTTA | GUITAR (DORO)
Q: You are an Italian musician but you have been playing in an internationally renowned German band for over 10 years now. What does it mean for you to participate in a jam like Metal For Kids United, in which other Italian musicians join forces with high-caliber artists from all over the world?
A) When I was asked to participate in this jam I accepted with great enthusiasm because I knew the guys from Metal For Kids United! They would have organized things well and big. It was an honor for me to have been able to make my contribution in jamming with such important characters from the metal scene. Great international names but great Italian names as well! Reviewing the video I was particularly struck by the excellent quality of all the musicians and above all of my country mates! People who can really rock hard!
