- MuzicNotez: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.
What motivated you to start creating music? What age did you begin?- Alien Beagle: When I was young my older brother was in a band that went on to be signed by Chris Squier of Yes onto Atlantic Records. They were called Critical Mass. They would often rehearse in our house and I would sneak around the corner and listen. I thought it was really cool, I wanted to be like them. I started learning keyboards at age 9 and later switched to guitar at age 11. To this day I still keep in touch with those guys.
- MuzicNotez: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the musician you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?
- Alien Beagle: Early on it was The Beatles and Led Zeppelin but as I grew older I got into a lot of Progressive Jazz/Rock like Return To Forever, Dixie Dregs and Al DiMeola. High school saw me into The Police, Rush and Van Halen…
- MuzicNotez: What’s the ultimate goal you want your music to achieve, or for you to achieve in your career as a musician? Any particular message you wish to send?
- Alien Beagle: I guess the ultimate goal is to be able to make a decent living from my music and have something of value that brings pleasure to fans that listen. I love getting feedback from fans. It really pushes me to keep creating.
- MuzicNotez: What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever been to or performed?
- Alien Beagle: That would have to be Al DiMeola on his Electric Rendezvous tour in 1983. I was really into his music at the time and he just blew me away.
- MuzicNotez: Your latest release is the album ‘Breed From Beyond’, what inspired this release? How would you describe it?
- Alien Beagle: I wanted to make a “Guitar” album and show my versatility. That’s why it’s half Rock and half Acoustic. Definitely not what people expect but hey, I’m in control not some record company looking to push singles. The only way I can describe it is “Heavy, man”.
- MuzicNotez: The latest single from the album is ‘Down In The Dark’, what was going through your mind when writing this track?
- Alien Beagle: I tend to usually write a guitar riff first and then add the rest. That’s what happened here. The lyrics went through several incarnations that I struggled with but then one day it just flowed like water. The theme is that sometimes you have to go all the way down to bottom in your life, hit the floor and bounce back up to know which way is up.
- MuzicNotez: How did you come up with the name Alien Beagle? What does it represent?
- Alien Beagle: I get that a lot HA! I’m a bit of a deep thinker. In essence I believe that humanity is the result of the original God or Source creation mixed with tampering done by various extra-terrestrial groups that use this planet as a sort of “gene pool”. Also, Evolution plays a small role as we are all constantly evolving. “Alien” is God or Source and “Beagle” refers to Darwin’s ship the “HMS Beagle”. Hence “Alien Beagle” means a cross between Creationism and Evolution.
- MuzicNotez: What else are you working on? What can we expect to see and hear from you in the future?
- Alien Beagle: I’m working on my third album now. It will hopefully be a more advanced blend of acoustic and electric.
- MuzicNotez: Anything else you wish to say about yourself or your music? Any message for your fans?
- Alien Beagle: I’d have to say that by far the most positive response I’ve gotten so far has been for “Godzilla vs. Alien Beagle”. It’s an instrumental that takes on the mighty Godzilla with guitars. It has sound bytes from various old movies and reaches a furious crescendo with an all-out guitar solo at the end. Very dramatic. Definitely not your father’s instrumental. Thanks to everyone for listening, I really appreciate it!