Hard rockin' heavy metal act NEON DRAGON have a debut track out and about, with a debut album set, but being taken carefully and seriously before its release. The band discusses history, styling, music context, and the plans for the future.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Neon Dragon formed a few years ago while on tour in the US with Canadian Metal Legends Anvil. We were having some drama in our previous band, and they encouraged us to form a new band with a clean start. In terms of members, I realized after a few months we wouldn’t probably have a permanent lineup for the time being. It’s hard to keep a lineup together so my philosophy is just to let anyone be a part of it who wants to be a part of it.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
We wanted something that would give us some good ideas for artwork and merch. That’s where the ‘dragon’ comes from. The ‘neon’ was just something we thought sounded cool. The imagery from the name certainly gives us a lot to work with, even it is a bit cheesy.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We’re based in Los Angeles, sadly the music scene for this style has declined over the years. There are still some local bands around who I like to check out every once in a while. White Wizzard is still going, I like to jam with them whenever I can.
4. How would you describe your style?
It’s old school heavy music like hard rock. Guitar-wise I’m doing everything with Les Pauls and vintage Marshalls. The sound is very organic, I hate digital amps and plug-ins. I don’t care what anyone says, you can definitely hear and feel the difference, so I avoid that stuff. I’m not saying it can’t sound good but the problem with using those plugins is everyone ends up sounding the same. I have three 100 watt Marshalls from the 70’s and they all sound slightly different. They’re the same model but they each have their own unique little quirks.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We put out our first song ‘Enter the Dragon’ last year. That has Ronnie Romero on vocals. It’s a pretty good song, everyone played really well. As we are still finalizing a lineup our future music might not sound too similar, but it’s a cool song. We also just put out an Anvil cover ‘Ooh Baby’ with Neil Turbin on vocals, Vinny Appice on drums and Becky Baldwin on Bass. That was just kind of a fun thing I wanted to do while we work on our debut album.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Yeah, I’ve been recording our debut album the past year. I’m taking my time with it because I want to make sure I get it right. It’s close to being to finished.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We played some shows in Los Angeles earlier this year. I’ve been touring with another band (Sanctuary) this year and they have shown all over, it’s basically like a world tour. But when our debut album is finished, we’ll look into some touring.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Basically, to finish our debut album and get on the road! I’m really trying to achieve my artistic vision for the music and get it sounding right. That might sound a bit pompous but there’s so much generic garbage out there. I really want to make something I’m proud of. I take my music very seriously. The artwork too. I paint all the artwork by hand with oil paints.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
The best place is our bandcamp (https://neondragon.bandcamp.com/), we have merch available there. You can stream our stuff everywhere.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
This is going to sound very arrogant, but I don’t really care too much about the listener. The music we make is basically for me. If someone else enjoys it, that’s awesome, and of course I want to grow our fanbase. It’s basically like I’m making the music I want to listen to, but if you want to enjoy with me, you’re more than welcome to come along for the ride!
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