Paul Mahon (The Answer) Interview

by Brian D. Holland.

Though some rock fans might still be in the dark about this, and they've certainly got to be an isolated and diminutive bunch, The Answer is the hard-rocking foursome out of County Down, Ireland. The group has been touring the globe over the past year opening for AC/DC on the Black Ice Tour. By definition alone, one might think that a label as bold as The Answer is a reference to something that's the real deal, or the actual solution to something. If you're wondering if that's the case in this situation, many rock fans seem to think so.

The truth is, and it's not exactly a news flash, authentic hard-rock bands aren't what they used to be in numbers. Sure, there are a few around, the paradigm being the above mentioned tour headliner. But, not many young bands possess the invigorating power and surging force that Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Humble Pie, and others exerted back in the '70s. It's unfortunate, because a prevailing thirst still exists for that particular style. AC/DC and their mega sold out tour is evidence of it.

The affection fans have for the wailing vocal angst and heavy rhythmic drive that's characteristic of their approach is no secret. And although a tube-driven guitar torrent has very much to do with the adoration, it's a craving that only some truly identify with. Similar to the bubbly roar of a '73 Barracuda's 440 six-pack to muscle car fanatics, or the choppy pistons of a Harley-Davidson to bikers, the thunderously bluesy notes of a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall is music to the ears of rock fans and musicians everywhere.

It's been that way since the '60s and '70s, and it prevails to this day. And comparable to the two previous examples, much of that sound has a lot to do with who's behind the wheel of the machine making the noise. In the case of The Answer, the one hauling ass is guitarist Paul Mahon. Besides Angus and Malcolm Young, both Jimmy Page and Joe Elliott are among the enthusiastic fans of The Answer. And besides AC/DC, the band has been the impressive opener for headliners like Aerosmith, Whitesnake, and Paul Rogers.

Mahon launched The Answer in 2000 when he was just eighteen years old. The fact that the band had gone back and studied the rock music of the early '70s clarifies the motive behind this young group's classic approach. Paul's guitar playing technique is a flagrant display of his deep adoration for the hard and bluesy style of that era, and the same can be said for the other members of the band. While Paul's playing evokes the sonic six-string prowess of Jimmy Page in places, and even the likes of Paul Kossoff and Peter Frampton, the vocal technique of Cormac Neeson is extremely emotional and often in the upper register akin to Robert Plant and Steve Marriott. The rhythm section of bassist Michael "Micky" Waters and drummer James Heatley drives the potent barrage along flawlessly. To top it all off, they're pretty decent rock composers as well.

To date, The Answer has released two CDs in multiple versions and formats, the most recent being 2008's Everyday Demons. Both are resplendent with toxic melodies and hard driving instrumentalism; and although much of it is in a style that can only be categorized as definitive hard rock, the explosive concoction also contains hints of blues, punk, metal, and grunge. But, more than anything, The Answer creates and performs music that assaults listeners with an explosive sound that's comparable to the classic hard rock of yesterday. And that means quite a lot to fans of the style.

Generally speaking, today's rock music world is one in which lead guitar is often disregarded; stone-faced masculinity is substituted for temperamental emotion, making it easy to announce that this isn't your daddy's rock 'n' roll. However, the shining star here is that the Answer is your daddy's rock 'n' roll. They're yours, too. They may just be the answer to it all.

Below is my recent interview with guitarist Paul Mahon, in which he talks about the band, guitars, the tour, and the new CD, Everyday Demons. The Answer was in Prague, Czech Republic, at the time, in the middle of the AC/DC tour.

Brian D. Holland: Paul, the new album Everyday Demons, I like it a lot. It's very consistent in quality rock music.

Paul Mahon: Thank you, Brian.

Brian: How's the tour going?

Paul: It's going great. We're having a good time. We heard a few horror stories about how opening bands were treated on the tour before, but the fans have been very good to us. We're getting a good response every night.

Brian: That's good. What's it like to tag along with AC/DC all over the world?

Paul: It's a dream come true.

Brian: Is Angus as wild off the stage as he is on?

Paul: No. He's very quiet and unassuming. He keeps to himself, drinks tea and smokes cigarettes.

Brian: Wow! Good for him. How long have you been playing guitar, Paul?

Paul: I guess about fourteen years now.

Brian: Supposedly, Jimmy Page is a big fan of yours. I had heard that Joe Elliot is too. Of course, you must be aware of that by now.

Paul: Yeah, I've met those guys a couple of times. They're both pretty cool guys.

Brian: Being a guitarist and all, it must have been something to meet Jimmy Page.

Paul: Yeah, pretty crazy.

Brian: Though you're a young musician, your technique proves that you're very up on the styles of the classic players of the '70s and '80s. You must be quite a fan of the classic material.

Paul: Yeah, well, I grew up listening to AC/DC and stuff like Motley Crue and Guns N Roses, and I'd hear them talk about Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and stuff. So, I went back and listened to them just because they had mentioned it, just to find that I enjoyed that even more than the other stuff.

Brian: There is a little Jimmy Page in your playing, maybe a little Paul Kossoff, too.

Paul: Oh, for sure! Kossoff is probably one of my biggest influences. The first song I learned note for note was "All Right Now." That kind of stuck with me throughout the ages.

Brian: "All Right Now" is certainly one of the biggest rock and roll songs of all time. What about Gary Moore? I'm thinking that, being Irish and all, you may have run into him at some time.

Paul: I met Gary Moore once, yeah. I'm a big fan, especially of the stuff he did on Black Rose and Still Got The Blues, things like that. I met him once, when we supported Paul Rogers at the [Royal] Albert Hall. I met him after that show.

Brian: You guys have been taking the rock world by storm lately. Are you overwhelmed by it, or is it all just going as planned?

Paul: It's all going as planned, as far as we're concerned. Things have been kicking off for us back home now, and that's been great because we've been out on the road so long. We've been kind of isolated from it and don't really know how well it's doing, but we're just taking care of business out here playing night after night.

Brian: Since your father was a jazz trumpeter and a member of the popular Irish show band The Freshmen, that alone must have been quite an influence on you.

Paul: Yes, actually it was. There was always music and musicians about the house. He helped me with getting equipment and lessons and stuff in the beginning, and he was also quite encouraging and always had some advice.

Brian: Do you have any stories to tell from the experiences of opening for Aerosmith and Whitesnake?

Paul: When our first album came out, we were playing in Newcastle with Whitesnake. That's David Coverdale's home town. We had this dressing room on the other side of the building, very far away from theirs. We were rehearsing for an acoustic set the next day when someone came up the stairs and knocked, saying, "Mr. Coverdale will see you now." We were kind of like, yeah, whatever, and kept on playing. The guy says again, "I don't think you understand, but David wants to come in and say hello." We were like, "Oh!" [Laughing] We were embarrassed and all because we didn't know that he was right there and that he actually took the time to walk all the way over just to see us and say hello. We said to bring him in and he came in, and he said that he had the album and that he really liked it. He was a real nice guy.

Brian: That's pretty cool! It's nice when the bigger guys are gracious and outgoing to the new guys on the block. It shows that they haven't forgotten where they came from and that they were once n the same shoes.

Paul: Yes!

Brian: Let's talk about the new CD, Everyday Demons. There are a lot of good songs on it, quality rock 'n' roll and energy. I love the way "Why'd You Change Your Mind" begins so mellow and then pours on the power ala Zeppelin mode. It's a great song.

Paul: Yes, thanks.

Brian: Though the hit single so far, the one that's appears to be getting some radio airplay anyway, is "On and On," the song "Tonight" strikes me as the perfect choice for a radio hit. It has this well-rounded rock ballad sound to it.

Paul: Yup. That could be the next one. We're thinking of shooting a video of it at one of the AC/DC gigs possibly. It's been going over very well at the shows.

Brian: I like it a lot. Now, "Comfort Zone" is a step in a different direction. It seems to possess an early '90s grunge ambiance to it, very Stone Temple Pilots in places. Do you agree with that assessment?

Paul: Yeah. Actually, they were another band I kind of grew up with. It's definitely an influence on some of my playing and it's definitely there in that song. But, there's some Zeppelin in there too.

Brian: Yes, there is.

Paul: But, grunge definitely was an influence on us and it came through in places on the album.

Brian: Now, Everyday Demons was produced by John Travis, whose credits include Kid Rock, Social Distortion, Buckcherry, and Monster Magnet. How did he work out for The Answer?

Paul: John was great. He's quite an ace, and he worked us very hard. One thing we wanted to do was record the tracks with a live vibe, so he was good at getting the vibe in the room right. And we did a lot of work in pre-production making certain everything was perfect. We just had to go in and capture the performance. He made us think about every little thing, like how not every song needs a guitar solo in it. If there's going to be one it must make the song better and take it to another place. We learned that discipline from him, for the vocals as well. He was very good with all of that.

Brian: And on the console were Tim Palmer and Mike Fraser, a couple of engineers who are backed by huge credits.

Paul: They were great. I think different songs require slightly different approaches, as the straight-ahead rock 'n roll stuff with guitar, bass, and drums keeps everything simple. But, both of these guys had individual ways of doing things, which added diversity to all of the songs.

Brian: How is the album doing?

Paul: It's doing great so far. We're in the top 25 in the UK. We're pretty happy with that. The first one didn't do as well.

Brian: I got a hold of the first Answer CD kind of late, so I wasn't really aware of its status beforehand. But, I reviewed the double CD-set version of Rise in my column in Modern Guitars magazine. I liked it quite a lot. Fans of Everyday Demons should get a copy of it if they haven't already, because it's really very good.

Paul: Thanks. It means a lot.

Brian: How do you occupy your time on the road? Do you have any specific hobbies or favorite pastimes while out touring?

Paul: We watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books. James Elroy is my favorite author at the moment. We play a lot and now we've got the bus, and we've got a studio with a computer. I record some riffs and stuff. It's hard to write on the road, but we can capture ideas and stuff and take them home. And when we're in a new city, like today in Prague, we can go out and see all the touristy things and get a good look at the city, as well.

Brian: Let's talk about gear, in the studio and on the road. I've seen you with a Les Paul a lot and I see that you endorse Zemaitis guitars.

Paul: I've got two Les Pauls. One is a Classic from 2000. At the start of this tour I bought a Les Paul Standard. I've got a standard Telecaster and a couple of Zemaitis. I use them for slide. In the studio I use some Paul Reed Smiths as well.

Brian: On the new album I noticed that you play some slide on "Cry Out."

Paul: Yes. And that's the Zemaitis.

Brian: About the amps used, I see that it's basically the Marshall Vintage Modern.

Paul: Yes, the Vintage Modern. And on the album we used a lot of different stuff. We set up three amps and recorded with them all at the same time. The Vintage Modern would be on everything. Then we had a JTM45. Some songs had a Soldano and some had an Ampeg, and some old amps like a Supro.

Brian: Now, about the Marshall Vintage Modern series, is that the 2466?

Paul: Yes. On the record it was the 100 watt. At the live shows I'm now using the 50s, the 2266.

Brian: Since you're basically a three piece instrument band with a vocalist, does a lot of work go into recreating the studio arrangements in the live setting?

Paul: Yeah. I mean, it influences the way you play for sure. There can be a lot of space once the [rhythm] guitar drops out when playing a solo. So the way I play is influenced to cover that. The arrangement might change a bit for playing live. When a solo ends and a sustaining note holds over into the next verse or chorus or whatever, you have to change things like that. The rhythm guitar might have to come right back in following those parts. Little things like that are tweaked. But, a lot of the songs are written in kind of a three piece format anyway. So it's not a real stretch to do that, and not always a big challenge.

Brian: What's on the horizon for Paul Mahon and The Answer?

Paul: At the moment we're confirmed until the end of June. We'll probably be going to America to do some stadiums with AC/DC, and we might even go off and do our own headline shows.

We've been doing some on our days off from the AC/DC tour. It's been quite exciting for us to play all the songs from Everyday Demons, instead of just thirty-five minutes as opener. There will be some more singles off the record and a lot more touring. We plan on going back to America to do our own shows. We'll have to go back home to the UK and do a full tour ,as well. We'll be on the road for the next year anyway.

Related Links
CD Review: Everyday Demons by The Answer
CD Review: Rise (2-CD Special Edition) by The Answer
The Answer
Zemaitis Guitars

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