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Hydrovibe

Coverage by Nobuhiro Hosoki

From the left, (Left to Right) Eliot Lorango, Mat Dauzat, Heather St. Marie, Philippe Mathys

Interview with Mat Dauzat, Heather St. Marie

 

Could you tell me the process in landing a "Saw 3" soundtrack?

(Heather)  For us, it was indirectly through personal connections.  We had been introduced and befriended actress Shawnee Smith (Amanda from the SAW films) through our friend Robert Trujuillo (now bass player for Metallica who was Ozzy Osbourne's bass player at the time).  Shawnee quickly became a fan of Hydrovibe's music and insisted that our songs were perfect for film.  As she got involved with Twisted Pictures and the Saw franchise, she began turning them onto our music.  She ended up bringing SAW II's director Darren Bousman to a Hydrovibe show in Hollywood, and he fell in love with the band.  He gave us hints as to some of SAW III's subject matter and asked us to write a song for the film...and we presented "Killer Inside".  The whole SAW team loved it and voted unanimously to have the song included in the film and on the SAW III Soundtrack.  Later, Lionsgate recorded our music video to the song and included it in the SAW III Director's Cut DVD and the SAW Trilogy Box Set DVD.

I heard that one of your band members was discovered by Sharon Osbourne. How did that come about?

(Heather)  Long story!  When Limp Bizkit lost their guitar player (Wes Borland), the band hired a musician referral guru in Hollywood to help find a new guitar player, who eventually contacted Mat.  We were located in Louisiana at the time, so Limp Bizkit flew Mat out to audition for the band.  Mat decided not to pursue a career with that band, but did return with a strong desire to move out to Hollywood to give Hydrovibe a proper launching pad for success.  Over the next year as we were planning to move to Hollywood, the musician referral guy kept calling Mat for auditions frequently, but Mat had to turn them down due to being 2,000 miles away (he didn't quite understand that Mat lived in Louisiana, whose state is abbreviated LA - instead of the abbreviation for Los Angeles (L.A.)!  However, the day that we moved to Hollywood, Mat called the guy and said "NOW I'm actually in Los Angeles and would love to come to any audition you have going on."  Three days later, he was auditioning for the lead guitarist position in Kelly Osbourne's band and got the job!  By the end of the month, he was playing on major television shows and touring the world.

Heather, what is the toughest thing in the mostly male-dominated world of aggressive rock?

(Heather)  Hmmm… There are different expectations for a female front person than for a guy.  Sometimes, I have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously; however, I don't mind a challenge! I like proving to people that I am a hard working, hard rock girl.  Overall, I don't find much of it to be difficult being the only girl. I guess that's because the guys in my band really take care of me!

Are there any musicians that you got inspired by?

(Heather)  Janis Joplin, Pat Benetar, Ann Wilson of Heart, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Layne Staley of Alice In Chains, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Ian Thornley of Big Wreck, Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge

What was the element that got the Japanese record label "Spinning" interested in your music? 

(Mat)  Undoubtedly one of the biggest elements of Hydrovibe that attracted Spinning initially is the stunning beauty and searing vocal power of our singer Heather St. Marie.  Spinning has enjoyed much success in launching strong careers for international female-fronted rock bands in Japan, and we hope to be the next in line!

I heard that the album "Nothing Left to Lose" had been a long time in the making. Could you tell us the process for that?

(Mat) We were in the middle of recording what would have been the album when we got word that our song "Killer Inside" was going to be featured in the movie SAW III.  When we got that news, the movie's release was only a little over two months away, so we decided to hurry up and package 5 songs to have an E.P. with the song "Killer Inside" available to capitalize on the exposure generated from having the song in the movie. We immediately launched out on a Metal Edge Magazine - sponsored US Tour and ended up staying on the road in the U.S. for two years.  The band became much stronger on the road and the songs took on lives of their own, so when we returned to L.A. to revisit the album, we knew we'd need to re-record the songs in their more current states.  We're very pleased with the outcome!

I know that artists like you hate to be labeled, but what kind of rock genre do you belong, it's not metal, but...

(Heather) Oooh... Always a tough question!  Yeah, we have a strong footing in the Heavy Rock genre and sometimes tiptoe into the Metal genre.  I always tell people that Hydrovibe is Heavy Melodic Rock.

Are you guys going to Japan to promote at the same time with your album releasing? 

(Mat) We won't be there immediately as the album is being released (March 3rd), but we hope to be in Japan very soon thereafter.

Are there any things that you want to see in Japan, and are there any Japanese musicians that you like?

(Heather)  Japan is very rich in culture, and I want to experience it all!!!  I can't wait to see the sights, enjoy the cuisine, and most of all...PLAY SOME ROCK SHOWS!  We don't hear much about Japanese artists here in the U.S., but Yoshiki is a friend-of-a-friend of ours.  He knows about our upcoming album release in Japan.  He was actually supposed to be at our show at The Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood last week, but was in a studio session that went longer than scheduled.  

Could you give us a message for Japanese fans?

(Heather) Japan is world-renowned for having some of the absolute best music fans...especially for rock music.  We are very excited and honored to be a part of the music scene there in Japan...thank you very much!  We hope to see you at a show very soon!

End.