Westworld were formed in 1998. Originally conceived for a one-off project, this ‘supergroup’ consisted of TNT vocalist Tony Harnell, Riot’s Mark Reale on guitar, John O’Reilly (BOC, Rainbow) on drums and Danger Danger’s Bruno Ravel on bass. However, reaction was so positive to their stunning debut that the project has transformed into an ongoing band situation - a blessing for those fans who were maybe disappointed with the last couple of TNT albums.

Kieran Dargan had the chance to chat with Tony Harnell, getting the answers that all the fans wanted to hear...

How do you think the new album ‘Skin’ differs from the debut?

“To me it feels like a natural progression, although I would probably say that about anything we did. I mean any type of progression is great, especially when you are a musician . I feel it shows definite growth and shows us pulling away from our other bands. To me it seems Westworld is developing a distinctive sound of its own.”

Do you consider Westworld to be a real band now, as opposed to the project tag which was attached to it for the first album?

“Oh yeah, we’re planning a Japanese tour right now. Mark and I will be going to Japan in a few weeks to do press, but the real reasoning behind doing the second album was to get rid of that project stigma that we had been labelled with and for us to become a solid unit - a real band so to speak.”

Is there any chance that Westworld could become your main band ahead of the Riots, Danger Dangers and TNTs?

“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see. You know TNT is always iffy at the best of times and I don’t consider TNT to be my main band, and haven’t done for many years. The main reason is because I’m in New York and they’re in Norway and that is always a problem to me. It’s always an album to album situation so its almost like TNT is becoming more of a project to me!”

The debut album by Westworld was a fine release and for the most part the songs were instant. Not so the current album that has turned out to be a much heavier affair which appears to have its roots in the classic rock sound of the mid 70’s. Was the album recorded with that intention or was that just the way things developed during the writing?

“I definitely like 70’s music more than 80’s music. Even when I was doing the 80’s stuff back in the day. I mean the stuff from the 70’s to me still blows away anything since then in terms of hard rock music - Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Rainbow... classic. As for the new album, that’s a hard question for me to answer. I think we may have talked a little about (the musical style) in the early days. Most of it is not really conscious, it just comes out. But one thing we were conscious of was the guitar sound. We felt on the first record that the guitars were a bit too low so this time we have tried to get them to pop out more and I think we have succeeded.”

How does the writing work within Westworld? I notice the credits are all Harnell/Reale?

“Mark gives me a huge amount of freedom within Westworld and as a result I write far more music than I ever wrote for TNT but I find it easy to write with Mark - he knows what he wants but he is very open to other peoples ideas and that helps. But overall it’s pretty much a joint effort with both of us coming up with music and lyrics.”

‘Heart is a Heavy Load’ is one that strikes me as unusual, however I think it’s a great song. The whole funk rock vibe and the Gospel style ending - fabulous! I think it’s amazing but where did the idea to include that come from?

“Oh wow!! That is so cool!! The reaction to that song so far has been ‘What the hell is that doing on there?!’ Wow....cool..thank you. That has made me so happy. I actually wrote that on my own and Mark helped me out with the chords and everything and when I presented it I said ‘What do you think? Is it too bluesy for us?’ and he loved it and we finished it up with the help of Bruno and John .You know, this band is not a heavy metal band, we are just a rock band although we do lean towards hard rock because it is heavy but not heavy as in heavy metal. We are more influenced by 70’s hard rock and I think it shows.”

Is the heavy metal tag something you are desperate to avoid, especially as TNT got lumped with that label back in the 80’s?

“You know, that’s funny because I always thought [TNT] were a pop band really in many ways. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of heavy metal and Rob Halford is one of my favourite singers, but I don't think I ever did that. I know at times my voice did sound as if it met all the requirements but these days I consider myself more of a straight ahead rock singer. In every project I was ever involved in we always had some strange stuff on every single album, even in TNT, but I think that’s cool as it’s interesting and shows a lot of colour in our material. So ‘Heart is a Heavy Load’ is in good company even though its a little out there. I like to push the envelope at times.”

It seems the fans have this particular mindset of Tony Harnell soaring off into the stratosphere on every album. Does this expectation annoy you, especially when you try to do something a little different?

“It does. It’s funny - when I sang a little lower on Firefly they said ‘Oh he’s lost his voice’. It’s funny....I am listening to all the old Judas Priest and Halford has sounded different on every record - high, mid range, super high, but nobody ever said he had lost it, so I can’t understand why people are so caught up in me [singing in the higher registrar]. I think I sound good when I sing low. To me it sounds silly to go sing high all the time, especially when there is no real need for it, so I didn’t bother all that much. There wasn’t any real need for me to do it that much on ‘Skin’ anyway, which was just as well as me doing that would have cheapened it.”

Are we mellowing with old age?

“Nah, not really. Maturing!!”

The Alanis Morisette cover - ‘Uninvited’. Why?

“Well I think her second album is great. It wasn’t as successful as ‘Jagged Little Pill’ but it still sold about 8,000,000 copies and I think she is a very talented writer and she had a lot of really cool things going on with that record. Plus back in the 60’s and 70’s people did loads of cover versions, sometimes within a few months of the original, so I thought it would be cool, seeing as she is a female artist and I am a male artist, and I knew the band would do it very well. Also it gave us a chance to say we are more than a retro band and we do listen and are aware of what’s going on out there and that we are current and viable.”

Does that suggest that you are looking to be accepted as being a modern band and are looking for a crossover or do you still record albums that make you happy?

“A bit of both. I will only record stuff that makes me happy these days, but if I was lucky enough to have a crossover hit I’ll gladly take it. Plus the label are great and don’t really put me under any sort of pressure.”

It must be great for you to be still signed to what today is regarded as a major label?

“Yeah it is. I feel pretty lucky. We are still trying to get signed for America. We were signed to Spitfire but they did nothing with the last Westworld record or Transistor. I went down to their office and begged to be released... they were the worst label I have ever been signed to.”

That’s funny. They seem to be highly regarded by lots of artists.

“The way they work is they release a whole pile of shit, throw it against the wall and whatever sticks they show an interest in and work it. The advance was really good but I prefer my freedom.”

So Roadrunner must be doing a lot better seeing as they are sending you out to Japan on tour?

“Yeah, they are good, especially as we are the only band of this style on their roster. They usually go for the heavier end of the market , but we are hopeful. If they are going to have a band of this type they could do a lot worse than us.”

What has producer Paul Orifino (Riot, Danger Danger, Vaughn) got that others haven’t?

“He’s the retro king!! (laughs) He’s got a killer studio, a lot of vintage tube gear and great microphones - and of course he’s very much into the old style rock and roll, which was of course the sound we were looking for. What I’m responsible for is the more modern approach , then Paul and Mark take care of the traditional rock and roll values like the big guitar sound. But he’s a very talented engineer and a really nice guy.”

So talking of tours, you are off to Japan. What about Europe?

“I would love to do Europe. The last time I played in Europe was in 1987 on the ‘Tell No Tales’ tour, except for a few shows with TNT in Scandinavia in the early 90’s, but I really would love to do it - its been way too long.”

Is it very much a ‘suck it and see’ scenario right now? See how the album does and then try get tour support?

“Pretty much. I have been working really closely with Roadrunner to see what exactly we can do to make things work , so hopefully they may be able to getus a tour with maybe a bigger act. I would have loved the Bon Jovi tour. I think, believe it or not, that we would have been a great opening band for them. I think Westworld easily falls into the Bon Jovi category. I don’t really want to sound like Jon but I think we could fit into most genres and that would be one.”

So, should we all bombard Roadrunner with e-mails and letters telling them we want to see Westworld live in Europe later this year?

“Oh God yes, please do!!! Keep on at them. We really do want to come over and if you send in the mail I can use it all as ammunition. You would never know what it may lead to... mail them twice if you feel like it!”

So what are the goals for Tony Harnell for the future? A musical perhaps?

“I’d do it in a heartbeat. People have been saying for years I should do something like that but it would have to be something cool, nothing cheesy. But so far the opportunity hasn’t arisen.”

I can’t really let you go without asking you the current status of TNT. Any developments?

“I guess the fans know by now the guys have been rehearsing with our original drummer Diesel Dahl and they are putting some music together, but one of the issues is that it takes so long to get anything done with that band. You know I like working fast and that’s the way I like to do things these days. I had a call from Ronnie months ago and I still haven’t received any music. Its a very difficult band to be part of when one is in NY and the other’s in Norway and its expensive to keep it together. One thing I would like to address is a lot of the time the fans think I am the problem because I am in New York and I quit the band all the time. Well I don’t. The truth of it is there is a lot more than meets the eye and like anything, it takes two to tango and work at things. If things are not working out then it’s the fault of two people, not just one. Any time we do produce something you can be sure there has been a lot of work put into it. As for something new, I’m in ‘wait and see’ mode right now.”

A fun question, only because I was watching the ‘Shine On - Live in Tokyo’ video last night. Do you miss the hair?

“No...I actually had it cut off about four years ago. I am kind of happy as it gets hot here in New York city during the summer. I don’t miss the hairspray either”

So is there anything you would like to say to all your European fans?

“Just thanks to everybody who has bought my records throughout the years. Westworld was created with the specific intention of doing this kind of music for my fans and I want to thank everybody who has hung in there with me. I hope you enjoy the records - they are for you.”