CrazyAxe: The new FIREHOUSE album "O2" is out now from Spitfire Records. Would you like to give us some information about it? It is said that it has the feeling of the first 2 Firehouse albums is that true?

BILL LEVERTY: First, I'd like to say that Spitfire/Eagle Rock Entertainment is a great label and we're real happy to be a part of this great company. They like us for who we are, and have given us complete control and artistic freedom to make that album that we wanted to make. With our new album, O2, we wanted to have an album that would be full of good quality songs that would work well in our live show. We really felt that we made that album, and that it takes us full circle right back to our original sound which is that of a melodic hard rock band with lots of vocal harmonies.

CA: The production is made by you, right? Have you done something like that before? Was it easy for you be engaged with two roles on this album? How long the whole process lasted?

BILL: The recording took 32 days. I produced and engineered the album. It was very exciting to see this project from the ground up. Working with guys like CJ (Snare, vocals), Michael (Foster, drums), and Bruce (Waibel, bass) make a producer's life very easy since they are such accomplished musicians. The hardest part for me was producing myself because I find it hard to be objective, especially when we were under an enormous amount of pressure to deliver the album quickly. As a guitarist, I want to play all the time, but as a producer, I have to exercise restraint. I think that I managed to come up with a good balance on O2, because I always put the song first. I didn't get much sleep while we were making this record, that's for sure!!

CA: Who wrote the songs on this album? What are the lyrics about?

BILL: CJ and I wrote these songs. They are lyrically about things that we care about. Everything from love, friendships, technology, going for your dreams, to partying all night is a part of this album. At the end of the day, we really wrote a "good time" album with O2, but I think that it has a depth to it that shows a little more growth and maturity.

CA: One characteristic of Firehouse is that for more that 10 years the group synthesis didn't alter. What made Perry Richardson (bass) leave?

BILL: We tried to keep the original line up together for many years, but it just wasn't working. There were too many musical and personal differences to keep going the way it was. Ultimately, we had to make a change.

CA: Bruce Waibel is known to be a friend of yours, would you like to tell us some things about him? Do you think he fits perfectly with the band?

BILL: Bruce Waibel is a phenomenal musician who also has an amazing voice. He played in the Gregg Allman Band for 10 years, recording on the "I'm No Angel" and "Just Before The Bullets Fly" albums. He also toured with the Marshall Tucker Band for a few years while Gregg Allman was off or out with the Allman Brothers Band. I was invited to come out and jam with some friends about 5 years ago, and the bass player who was in the band just blew me away. I have never heard anyone who could play and sing like this guy. He was just incredible. I wound up becoming friends with him, and when we finally decided that we needed to make a change and get a new bass player, Bruce was the perfect candidate. He really brings our musicianship to a new level.

CA: Recently you relished your first live album (which I must admit, I haven't managed to find it here in Greece). What made you decide to do that after all these years? Are you satisfied by the outcome?

BILL: We wanted to releases a live album for a long time, but we were unable to work it out with our label. Our new label in Japan, Pony Canyon, suggested that we record a show in Japan, and if it turned out well, we could release it as a live album. I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out. The album captures FireHouse doing what we do best: playing live. The audience was absolutely wonderful, and I really think that they helped us make an album that we are all very proud of.

CA: Your deal with Spitfire is quite new. Are you satisfied with it? What are your plans for the future?

BILL: We are very satisfied with our deal with Spitfire. We have great hopes that we will work together for a long time.

CA: Any tour plans? Any chance you will come to Europe? Will I be too dareful to ask about Greece?

BILL: We'd love to tour Greece, Europe, and everywhere else around the world. All we need is a legitimate offer from a legitimate promoter and we'll pack our bags.

CA: You have toured with tones of groups, which ones do you consider as the best touring experiences you had and you would like to tour again with?

BILL: Touring with Poison, Tesla, and Warrant in the USA was so much fun. Those bands treated us real well. In Europe, we went out with Status Quo, and they treated us so well that we felt like a part of their band. I have so many fond memories of touring with all these bands. I hope we can bring back those good ol' days.

CA: Any funny incident that you would like to share with us?

BILL: A girl gave us a life-size paper mache' statue she had made of herself. It looked so real, and it was dressed up like a rocker girl with a wig, etc. We dragged it behind the tour bus when we drove through the middle of the city and we had a girl who was on the bus at the time scream real loud out of the window on the opposite side of the bus. People thought we were dragging someone behind the bus. Someone actually called the police on us!! The police saw it and thought it was pretty funny.

CA: It is true you have very devoted fans, what is the most crazy thing someone did for you?

BILL: We've been so lucky to have many fans who are willing to fly across the globe to see us. We've had people fly to the US from Japan, Europe, and South America just to see one of our shows. This is a very cool feeling to know that people like our music that much.

CA: In 1991 you won the American Music Award for best new hard rock/heavy metal band of 1991. What do you remember from these days?

BILL: Jumping out of my seat when they called our name as the winner. I didn't expect to win at all against Nirvana and Alice In Chains.

CA: What do you thing about the music scene in U.S.? Is there any hope for the good melodic hard rock band to get more recognition in the future than the alternative ones?

BILL: It's getting a lot better, but not fast enough for me. We're having success now at radio stations where we didn't have any luck 5 years ago. I hope things continue to get better.

CA: Ποιους μουσικούς θεωρείς σαν τις μεγαλύτερες επιρροές σου;

BILL: I have a huge list of these people on my website: www.LEVERTY.com Look under the "Bio" subpage.

CA: Is there anything else that you would like to share with your devoted Greek fans?

BILL: I really do thank all of our fans in Greece for sticking with us over the last decade. I hope that you will check out our new album, "O2". We hope to have the opportunity to tour your country very soon. Please visit our website: www.FIREHOUSEMUSIC.com.

Thanks again for reading this interview.........