Every new
record of Praying Mantis who represent the softer side of NWOBHM is always
quite an event in rock music. The band hasn’t released a weak or a bad album
and keeps on delivering a bulk of hits with every new CD. “Gravity” is the
second album for the singer John “Jaycee” Cuijpers and the drummer Hans In’t
Zandt. I’ve seen Mantis twice — at Aero Rock Starz in Bulgaria and at
Headbangers Open Air in Germany where the above mentioned pair made their debut
in the band. A few weeks ago i was able to talk briefly to Jaycee about the new
album, the first live show with Mantis and some other topics.
As far as I understand, you have finished the
recording of the new album. So how did it go?
It wasn’t
easy and it took some planning but it worked out fine!
Where the album has been recorded? Did you fly
to the UK or did you work on your parts alone?
We recorded
some vocals in London and some in Belgium and of course the rough vocal lines
or ideas I recorded at my house or at Hansie’s house as sort of a guide line.
Was there something you had to struggle with a
little bit?
I had laryngitis
and had to take antibiotics and wasn’t able to sing properly while i was in
London for recordings but after a couple of days all went well. We therefore
had to do some extra vocal recordings in Belgium.
Tell me a bit about the songwriting process in
the band. Did you use any ideas which left from the previous release?
To be
honest we didn’t so there are still some songs on the shelf for the next album.
What songs were written first? Were there any
songs which you had to rework many times?
Because we
all work separately on songs I don’t know which song was written first but most
of them were almost right from the first takes. Some parts were reworked but
that is normal after listening to it a couple of times. "Shadow Of Love" almost
didn’t make it to the album because all of us were not satisfied about it. The
very last day in the studio we reworked it and gave it some extra cojones and
we all loved it (it’s the only song all 5 of us collaborated!!!)
Do the Troy brothers accept your ideas or are
they very determined writers? Are there songs on the new album which are based
around your ideas or entirely written by you?
It’s a band
effort and we feel like family so everybody has got their input and they are
very open to suggestions and ideas I suggested. Because of my busy schedule I
did not have too much time to write songs but I did "Time Can Heal" with Andy.
Some ideas are still on the shelf for later albums.
I can only guess the meanings of the lyrics, so
can you comment on the songs “Time Can Heal”, “39 Years”, “Ghosts of the Past”?
“Time Can Heal”
is about making choices in your life and if a choice turns out bad you know
that time can heal all wounds. I lost my father and son a couple of years ago
and maybe if there were other choices made they would still be alive. Some
things can be influenced and some can’t. I wrote the lyrics and vocal melody.
“39 Years” is
about a man being in prison for 39 years and it turned out he is… innocent! So he
got his freedom back but lost 39 years of his life.
“Ghosts of
the Past” tells that some things in life happen and you would rather forget
them or wished they never happened but they are a part of you no matter what.
What is the idea with the title “Gravity”? I
understand the album is called after one of the songs but why especially this
song?
We already
had the album title in2016 because we wanted to have a catchy name like Legacy
but give it some extra weight. The idea for the song was written while we were
in Chania, Greece, 2016 when we were walking over the boulevard.
What are your touring plans? Have you ever been
asked to play in Russia?
Our booking
agent is working on a tour end of 2018 through Europe and there are plans for
South America, North America, China and Japan but it all depends on the
financial aspect of things. Unfortunately we have never been to Russia but we’d
love to!!!
Last year you played some shows with Lionheart
in Japan where both bands have a huge following. What are your best memories
about the trip and the shows?
We love
Japan and the guys from Lionheart were real friends so we had loads of fun and
the fans are amazing. They know every song by heart!!
Touring life can be really tough and dangerous.
What have been the scariest moments of your career?
Yes it can
and the most scary thing is when you see accidents on the road and thank god we
haven’t experienced it ourselves.
It’s been 5 years since you joined the Mantis.
Name 5 brightest and exciting events or moments which happened to you as the
singer of the band.
Being
recognized as a lead singer and the compliments from all over the world…I have
been fighting for recognition for over 35 years and besides Praying Mantis
doing some great projects with Ayreon and other bands/musicians. I cannot name
5 because all events are exciting to me. I try to enjoy all moments in life and give every show 200 %. Tomorrow
could be my last day so my motto is: Carpe Diem.
Do you remember your first show with Praying
Mantis? As far as I remember you had only a few days to learn the songs. What
was your state of mind back then? Were you nervous?
Yes it was Headbangers
Open Air Festival in Germany. I just was on holiday in the south of France and
as my wife and kids went to the beach I was listening to the songs. I came back
a few days early for this festival and of course I was nervous but I knew I had
to give it all and I did so the rest is history.
Do you remember how you got in touch with the
band? Were you surprised when they approached you? Why did you decide to give
this chance a go? What points convinced you to join the band?
I was
playing the Very Eavy festival in The Netherlands with my Iron Maiden tribute
band called Harris and also Dennis Stratton was joining us on stage for a few
songs. He played with Praying Mantis on the same festival just before us and
stood and watched us play. The guys watched the show and said to each other “We
definitely need a singer like Jaycee” and two days later I got an email from
Chris asking if I would be interested joining the band? They knew that if Mike
Freeland was out the band the drummer Gary (Mackenzie) would leave because they
are best friends so they asked me if Hans would be able to join as well. They
send me a demo version of “Eyes of a Child” and would base their judgement on
me singing that song because they only heard me singing Iron Maiden songs. I
always dreamt about being in a band and touring all over the world making
records and doing millions of shows but it never really happened so the
decision to join Praying Mantis was easy and they are great amazing guys!
The band has very impressive back catalogue
with a lot of singers. Who is your favorite singer of Praying Mantis? Whose
vocal parts you like best?
I don’t
have a specific favorite singer and I can only base my judgement on recording
material and then I would say Mark Thompson Smith but my personal influences
are David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio just to give you an idea of what I like.
Please say a few words to your fans.
It has been
a great ride so far and would love to meet as many fans as possible!! See you
on the road somewhere and thanks for accepting me to the Mantis Clan. All my
love and stay safe, healthy and enjoy life as much as possible. Stay positive!
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