Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? Q5

How was the band formed? The band was formed in 1983 when Floyd Rose and Jonathan Scott K from a Seattle band called The Core approached Evan Sheeley and Gary Thompson from the legendary Seattle band TKO to see if they wanted to record some demos with them. The answer was yes and the rest is history.

Can you tell about your band? Q5 formed in 1983 and then recorded and released their classic album "Steel The Light" world wide in 1984 followed by their second album "When The Mirror Cracks" in 1985. After having musical differences the band disbanded in 1986.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? The band members are from the Seattle, Washington USA area. Current members are: Jonathan Scott K (vocals), Rick Pierce (guitar), Evan Sheeley (bass) and Jeffrey McCormack (drums).

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? To make quality high energy heavy rock/metal music.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? The music of Q5 is a combination of heavy rock/metal with powerful melodic vocals.

Where was your first gig? Seattle in 1983.

Where was the latest gig? Athens, Greece and Nicosia, Cyprus in November 2014.

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? We all write our songs together as a band and our singer comes up with the lyrics.

Who has the best sense of humor in the band? I would say that we all have a great sense of humor but if I had to name just one person though I would say that our drummer Jeffrey has the best sense of humor.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? All is good with the band. We are a heavy rock/metal band in the tradition of AC/DC, Accept, Judas Priest and Scorpions.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We picked the style of music that we play because that is also what we listen to and like to play. Our songs are about pretty much whatever our singer wants to write about.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write all of our own material.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We have made two albums so far and we are currently at work on a 3rd. Our first album is entitles "Steel The Light" and our second album is entitled "When The Mirror Cracks".

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes. We have clips from shows that we did in Germany at the Headbanger's Open Aire Festival, in Sweden at the Sweden Rock Festival and in Greece at the Rock You To Hell II Festival.

How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am currently 59 years of age and feel like I am 21 years of age when I am on stage playing with Q5. I got started in music because I wanted to play the bass.

At what age did you start playing? I started playing bass at age 11.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? I was 11 years of age at my first professional gig.

What year was the band started? 1983.

Best/worst gig you've played? Best gig was at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2014 where we played with Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Billy Idol and lot's of other great bands. We don't have a worst gig because we enjoy every gig that we get to play.

What places will you be playing in in the immediate future? We have shows lined up for Seattle, Chicago in the USA and are working out our European dates for 2015.

Where have you played from then till now? Q5 plays mainly in Europe these days with occasional shows in the USA.

Which band is the best you´ve seen? Black Sabbath at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2014.

Is it always the same songs live? No, we mix different songs in from time to time to keep ourselves from getting tired of the same songs.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Sweden Rock Festival 2014.

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? European tours mainly.

How big crowds do you usually play for? Typically 2500 to about 40,000.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? We are currently writing new songs for our 3rd Q5 album that will be released in 2015.

Where do you usually play? All over the world.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? We don't need to get psyched up for a gig. We are immediately psyched when we hit the stage and see the people.

What are your goals with your music? To make people happy and have a great time.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? at age 11.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? For us it is mainly the bands we grew up listening to, but sometimes we will hear a new band that will really get us inspired.

What are your sources of inspiration? Life in general.

What's the first step when making a new song? We usually come up with a guitar riff or a chord pattern that we like and then follow it up with a vocal melody.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I prefer vinyl records the most, followed by CD's and then downloads due to the change in the sound quality.

What would be your dreams for the band? At this point we just want to play our music and have a good time.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Mainly classic rock, heavy rock and heavy metal.

What do you hold most dear? Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Budgie, Slade, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple and Accept.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? I don't fear the future because I live in the moment.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? No fear on stage at all. I just have fun.

What songs and what years were they released? All of the Q5 songs were released in the mid 1980's.

Have you been part of any other projects? Yes. TKO, Nightshade, Randy Hansen, James Byrd's Atlantis Rising.

Have you been in any other bands? Yes. TKO, Nightshade, Randy Hansen, James Byrd's Atlantis Rising.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I own a company called Bass Northwest that sells bass guitars and amps to people all over the world. I started the company in 1994.

What would you do if there was no music? Probably read a lot.

How important are your fans? Our fans are really important to us. Without them we wouldn't be able to do what we do as a band.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Nothing really stands out. Our fans are typically very appreciative that we are there playing for them.

How often do you rehearse? Every week.

Where do you rehearse? We have a rehearsal facility in Seattle.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Steel The Light from our 1st album and a new song called The End Of Days that we are working on for our 3rd album.

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Led Zeppelin back in their prime.

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Playing great music is a lot like having great sex. Once you have had it you want more ;)

Do you have any webpages? Yes. We have a web site, Facebook page and a Twitter account.

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Just keep on playing the music that you like to play and don't let other people change your mind on what you want to do.

Describe your show, visually and musically Powerful, creative and well executed.

How do you view the music industry of today? A lot different from when we first started back in 1983. Today the music industry seems totally disjointed. I will say though that the heavy metal fans of the world have really stuck together though.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Play as much music as you can and have as much fun as you can.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Typically money and places to play.

What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Playing a club is OK as long as you have people who really want to see you playing your music,

Tell us about upcoming gigs and why we should be at them? You should come to any Q5 show that you can because we play great music that will not only move your feet, it will move your soul.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence Powerful.

What is your favorite crappy instrument? Not sure that I understand the question but I will take a shot at it and say Jaw Harp.

Whats your Pre-show ritual? We get together like a sports team, put our hands together in the air and say that we are a band of brothers. The we go out and play a great show.

Do you have anything to add?Just that I thought that you asked some really good questions!