RAP: Love the video with the revision. Working as a photographer you appreciate being able to see live footage of concerts on a stage. When was the last time Hillbilly Vegas was able to perform on stage?
Steve Harris-Well we got in the bus and back out on the road on July 3 and unfortunately, we had a bus accident. That accident derailed our live performance plans by a month. Last week we made our triumphant return. It was a great feeling to be performing again. We head out on the road again next week…finally.
RAP: Every band has their favorite spots in the music world to be in. Some love the writing and production, others the time on the road, for some on stage is their high. Where does Hillbilly Vegas find their “High Time”?
Steve Harris-Truly the old saying to everything there is a season. I think we tend to like whatever we are doing at the time the best. Recording is the best until we are finished and then the road is the best until we get home. So we like it all.
RAP: What do you think Geraldo Dominelli brought to this revisioning over what Alex Gerst had originally brought to “High Time For A Good Time”?
Steve Harris-Alex did all the heavy lifting on that track. We really didn’t go to Geraldo and ask him to fix anything. We just wanted Geraldo to add some tracks and put a new spin on the song. We told Geraldo to take the song and make us want to release it again. He did! The thing is we truly love what both guys contributed to the song.
RAP: You brought in some friends on this rerelease too to play. Were you able to come together to jam or was it all done from various locations?
Steve Harris-Technology is both a beautiful thing and a very impersonal thing at the same time. In 2020 everything was done virtually. Todd Ronning from Bad Company jumped on the track while Geraldo had it in Vancouver. So we didn’t get to be there but it was great we were able to have Todd on the track even though we were all so far away from each other.
RAP: Moving onto the next thing Hillbilly Vegas is bringing their listeners, an album? What can you tell us about the album?
Steve Harris-It will be 100% a creation from the minds of Hillbilly Vegas.
RAP: Will there be singles released from it prior? Is there a focus track coming from it? What will it sound like?
Steve Harris-I don’t have all the answers yet. Not sure about which single will be first or a release date yet. We’ve got a couple of things we still want to do before we let it be released. As far as the sound, I think at this point we are embracing who we are. For years some in the industry have tried to make us pick a genre and stay there. But that’s not who we are. We love to explore our rock side, countryside, southern rock side. Just whatever we are feeling at the time, that’s what we create. So we are going to be who we are and only work with people who also understand and want to let us be who we are.
RAP: Are we looking for vinyl, digital?
Steve Harris-vinyl is cool I guess. I know it’s a hip thing. But I don’t much care how people hear our music…only that they do hear it. Digital is for sure. Vinyl is more of an unanswered question at this point. People like to have something physical to purchase when they visit our merch table, so I’m sure there will be something physical for purchase.
RAP: New merchandise coming with new album artwork?
Steve Harris-We actually own our own merch company and make it all ourselves. So yeah we always have new merch. We’ve got some fun designs on the way. My brother is a professional artist and has always done our art. He comes up with all kinds of cool things. This time he’s outdone himself. I’m very excited about our new designs.
RAP: And of course will there be a tour to support it?
Steve Harris-Touring is tricky and an iffy business in 2021/22. Lots of factors don’t have anything to do with music. So, we’ve got some dates, and as long as it’s safe and we can do it…we would love to add more.
RAP: We would love to talk with you again once the album is out and get into all the ins and outs until then, we of course were pulling for you all when we learned about the tour bus accident. How is everyone healing up?
Steve Harris-Thank you. Everyone is getting better and better every day. There was a couple of serious injuries that required more treatment and time but we’ve resumed playing and we are ready to hit it hard again.
RAP: We do hope that moving forward it will all be good news and much HV from here on out!
Steve Harris-Thanks for everything
