Local rockers Trucker Diablo recently released their excellent new album “Fighting for Everything” after a successful Pledge Music campaign (http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/3211-ni-rocks-recommends-qfighting-for-everythingq-by-trucker-diablo.html ).
I’d posted a e-mail interview with lead singer Tom Harte back in April 2013 and he’d also been a guest on the show in March 2015 following the release of “Rise Above The Noise”. So rather than do another full interview I decided to get Tom onto the Show for a quick chat and to focus on telling us something about a few of the tracks on the new album. You can hear that conversation and five tracks from “Fighting For Everything” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 29th September – available now via our MixCloud page.
The ‘interview’ has been transcribed and posted below.
2013 interview - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1203-ni-rocks-interview-with-trucker-diablo.html
2015 interview - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1838-ni-rocks-interview-with-tom-harte-from-trucker-diablo.html
Playlist
SCREAMING EAGLES – Save Me
DEBBIE RAY – American Nightmare
SEETHER – I’ll Survive
MARTINA EDOFF – We Will Align
TRUCKER DIABLO – Drown In The Fire
Tom Harte from Trucker Diablo Part 1 (3 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – Lets Just Ride
Tom Harte from Trucker Diablo Part 2 (2 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – When The Waters Rise
Tom Harte from Trucker Diablo Part 3 (3 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – Born Trucker
Tom Harte from Trucker Diablo Part 4 (3 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – Detroit Steel
HELL IN THE CLUB – I Wanna Swing Like Peter Parker
DEVILFIRE – She’s Like Fire
COLDSPELL – Forevermore
NEWMAN – High Tonight (Aerial)
BURNING KINGDOM – I Will Fight No More Forever
SONS OF TEXAS – Beneath the Riverbed
WRATH OF THE GODS – Witching Hour
COBURG – A Cold Day In Hell
AEROSMITH – Dream On
AEROSMITH – Livin On The Edge
Check out the band’s Facebook for information and the link to order the album - https://www.facebook.com/TRUCKERDIABLO/
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NI ROCKS - Hi Tom, thanks for taking some time to talk to us. Trucker Diablo’s new album “Fighting for Everything” was released via Pledge Music on 15th September. We just played the track “Drown In The Fire” - tell us something about that song.
TOM – That was the last song written for the album. I’ve a tendency to throw in last minute curve-balls for the guys. It has been abut in different forms for about a year and a half or so before I finally knuckled down and got it finished. It’s just really about the state of the world at the moment, current affairs and things in the news. It’s about Christians who take things to extremes, not just Christians but any religion that takes things to extremes and believe it so much that they’re willing to sacrifice themselves. So a bit of a serious topic for Trucker, but the way things were going it just came out that way.
NI ROCKS – The album came out on Pledge Music, is the band currently signed to a label and are there plans for a wider release of the new album?
TOM – Ohh, funny you mention that! We did it through Pledge because we did it the last time through Pledge and it worked really well. When we were out on tour over the past two years or so people were saying do another one, we’ll definitely support you, so we thought shit, we’ll do it then! We have been approached by a few labels so we’re just talking about it at the minute. Yes we are planning to let that go ahead. As everybody probably knows we do basically everything ourselves – we’re very self sufficient, but at the end of the day a record company will have contact s we don’t have and we see that as an extra element to help push Trucker further.
NI ROCKS – It’s currently available on your website isn’t it?
TOM – Yeah, it’s currently available on the website at the moment.
NI ROCKS - We’ll play another track from the album now. Which one will we play and tell us something about it.
TOM – We’ll play “Let’s Just Ride”. That song went through about ten different versions would you believe. Darren and Barry who help sort of manage the band were like christ is this ever going to get finished (laughs). I sort of finished it about six months ago and it’s really just a summer tune about enjoying life, kicking back and having a few beers over the summer. We just like it, we think it’s a great song to play and good for radio.
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NI ROCKS - Where did you record the new album and who did you work with?
TOM – We worked with our long time producer Frankie McClay and recorded in Einstein Studios in Antrim. He’s pretty much our producer and becomes a part of the band when we’re there. He helps – it’s not all yes this is going to work, this isn’t going to work; he really advises the best way forward for the tunes. I personally have been recording with Frankie for twenty years so I just feel that we work well together and why go elsewhere.
NI ROCKS - How long was the process from first time in the studio to completion of the final product?
TOM – About four months in total. It was probably our longest stint in the studio to be honest. We just felt that with the songs that we had, that they deserved some time put into them. Long enough, but got there in the end.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track now. Again, I’ll let you pick one to play tell us something about.
TOM – We’ll play “When The Waters Rise”. Again, it is a slow song. I have a tendency to write a lot of slow, emotional tunes when I’m playing on the acoustic. This was inspired by a local tragedy that happened and just hit a nerve with me. I tend to write stuff that moves me.
NI ROCKS - The band have an album launch gig in Belfast on 14th October. Have you anything special planned for that gig?
TOM – Well, that would be giving it away wouldn’t it. We have a few things up our sleeves. It’s going to be great. We’ve got the guys from Gasoline Outlaws and we’ve know those guys for so long, it just made sense to have them onboard. Adam helped us out over the summer with a few shows. It’s going to be great and it’s a place we’ve never played before. We just thought let’s do something different this time and hopefully it’ll go well.
NI ROCKS - The band have played some top festivals and supported some great bands since the release of the previous album “Rise Above The Noise” in 2015. Any particular highlights from the last two years?
TOM – The past two years, jeezus Christ I’m trying to remember which one we weren’t drinking at so that I can remember (laughs). Well, we played Steelhouse last month. Unfortunately Simon couldn’t make that one but Adam filled in for him. It absolutely bucketed with torrential rain. It was unreal, but it was one of those special moments where you really connect with the crowd and everyone is enjoying themselves despite how rough the weather was. You’re on a mountain and there is nowhere you can go so just enjoy it.
NI ROCKS – You played a couple of gigs with the Thunder guys at the start of the year, how’d that go?
TOM – They were brilliant. I have to say, a fantastic band, unbelievable. I’ve never really been a big, massive Thunder fan but I’ve always listened to them down the years. I remember seeing them do “When Love Walked In” on ‘Noisy Mothers’ back...whenever; showing my age now. It was a real honour and the guys were really approachable. They loved our stuff and had really good things to say about us, which was great. Danny actually had chosen us to play Download back in 2011and I was able to say thanks very much. He just said you guys did it, all I did was put you forward.
NI ROCKS - We’ll play a fourth track from the new album now. Once again – which track and tell us something about it.
TOM – Let’s play “Born Trucker”. Again this went through quite a few different versions before we got to the final. It’s really just about being in the band and trying to do the best we can. Pushing it to do the best shows, get out to as many people as we can and just enjoy it really.
NI ROCKS - We mentioned the launch gig in Belfast on the 14th October. What else does the band have lined up for the near future?
TOM – We have a few shows in December this year. We’re doing Planet Rockstock at the start of December and then a week after that we’re back in Wales at The Dolls House doing a show there. I think we’ll maybe do a few more shows in around those to make the trips worthwhile. So really looking forward to those. Then next year we have Rock Wich (Sunday 26th August 2018) and we’re headlining it – our first headline festival so that is going to be great for us. There are a few other shows that I can’t say about yet and some big festivals as well. A lot of news coming up over the next six months or so.
NI ROCKS – You’ve just answered my next question which was any other festivals that you’re targeting for next year, but obviously there are and you can’t tell me?
TOM – Yeah there are; we’ve received some communication that they’re interested in having us, but it is early days. There are a few that we are definitely on for. They’re going to announce before we can; just part of the deal.
NI ROCKS - And it’s probably too soon to ask, but what about album number 5? Any timeframe on when we might get something?
TOM – Jeezus, I don’t even want to think about it. Although, I have to say that in rehearsal last week Simon went ‘guys I’ve got a song’!! I was like ‘Jeezus Christ , we’ve only just finished one and you want to get another one going!’ I don’t know. We tend to do things in two year stints. We’re very conscious this time around – we were with Off Yer Rocka on the last album and we just let that play out the way it played out. This time around, at the start we’re very much on our own and we’re very hands on, like back in the “Devil Rhythm” days when we didn’t have a label. We’re just going to try to put as much emphasis and effort into as possible and do a lot of videos for this album as well. I’m currently editing a video at the moment. We feel the songs are really strong and we just want to give it the best.
NI ROCKS - Thanks for talking to me Tom. We’ll finish off with another track from the album. Which one should we go for?
TOM – Let’s go for “Detroit Steel”, that’s just a song about muscle cars. Nothing too deep about that one.