Inteview with Greg
found in | Type | Author | Year |
Diskmagazine interviews | Zenith Airforce - Amicom - Anome 68000 - ... | a10/92 |
those kinds of things!) I'm very friendly, too! All the contacts I ha- with GREG/ALCATRAZ ve can confirm that, I try to have by RASTAMAN/LIVE ACT! friends instead of "business-friends" RST: What is your hardware? RST: OK, I'd better start with some GREG: Not very good, I only own an instructions... So: your real name old Amiga 2000 which has the Dos and how old are you? Please, describe V1.2! No harddisk, no cardridge, but yourself! the perfect sound III, an old digiti- zer which makes a lot of noise when I GREG: My real is Greg! Yes, it's try to use it. you see, it's not very true! I don't know why, but some peo- great, but I work with it, and I'm so ple thought that Greg was a pseudo- accustomed now! name, and that my real name was dif- ferent. I had a lot of pseudos before RST: Name some big projects you've Greg, but finally it's better to take been part of... a simple one, and I chose my real na- me! I'm 19, 1m80, brown eyes, dark GREG: I made some musicdisk with Al- hair. I'm a happy person (as my catraz, but the 2 best projects I ma- friends say about me!), I never refu- de were the MegaDemo4 and Odyssey. I se to have a drink. By the way, I'm a remember the old-time of the mega-de- big consumer of beer, coke, and piz- mo. We released it in our copy-party zas! (so I spend a lot of money for in Switzerland, it was not a big copy-party (only 300 guys), but it Metalwar, and some other persons) to was great! And we were very proud of create new group. It was STARHAWKS, our MegaDemo, coz the code, the then STAR, and finally we decided to musics (with my friends Moby and mo- reborn into a new and stronger ATZ! onraker) were of a very high quality The problem of the crash of Atz was at that time. I think I don't have to the members: they were too many peo- describe what Odyssey is, because all ple (about 40), but after the reborn, people know. I only want to say that we were only 8 and we have been able all people who think that Hornet pre- to grow and become the group you know calculates his vectors are lamers, now. because Hornet is a real and great coder, and a lot of coders could not RST: What groups were you in before be able to make what Hornet did. Alcatraz? And have you ever been un- der a different alias? RST: Tell us how did you become a member of ALCATRAZ and when? History GREG: My different alias were...Gene- and organising... ration, Looping, Roger Rabbit, and finally Greg, and the different grou- GREG: long time ago, I made some mu- ps were... The Beach Boys, Alcatraz, sics on the old Sonix Program, and I Starhawks, Star, and back in was the musician of a group called Alcatraz. THE BEACH BOYS. Pgcs heard my music and decided to take all the group in- RST: How long have you been composing to ATZ. But unfortunately, Atz died a music on AMIGA? week later...And we tried (me, Pgcs, GREG: I'm an old guy of the Amiga, I and I like his great style. I like saw the birth of the demo, of the Romeo Knight too. His tunes are great bobs, of the vectors, etc... I think and he's probably the first musician I work on Amiga for 5 years! who had used correctly and fully the effects on soundtracker! Finally, Mo- RST: Who do you admire in Amiga-mu- by has a great feeling in his compo- sic? Why do you admire them? What ha- sitions, and I think that when I was ve they done to impress you? List yo- with him in Atz, I tried to do my mu- ur top favourites... sic like the Moby's one. GREG: First I admire Karsten Obarski RST: How do you get inspiration for for his great program: the Soundtra- your tunes? cker which has changed the music on Amiga. Then I think my spiritual fa- GREG: Usually, it's a strange fee- ther is FRED, an old musician who was ling! I find an idea by singing. But, in his time the best. FRED was in a I am inspirated by a lot of things, group that everybody know because it like a music, a moment of the ordina- is a legend. The group was called ry life, an event which interests me. AckerLight, and I think it was the For example, one of my last music is most important group for the Amiga e- called F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I do it for all volution in the scene! So It's impos- my friends in the world, because they sible to ignore Fred in a chart of are very cool. best musicians ever, because he's the music evolution on Amiga. Then Fire- RST: Have you ever done any commer- fox, coz he did a lot of great musics cial work? Tell us more if any... thought yourself "Now, why the fuck GREG: Only one for a french society do I waste so much time doing this called ACCROSOFT. The game is THE shit?!?!" SHORTGREY, you can see the publicity for it in the end of Odyssey. It's an GREG: Yes, I think that for all Amiga adventure game like Lucasfilm. Now, I musicians there have been times when haven't any part of the game, but I all turns to shit, and when you can't think it will be released in septem- finish a good module. For example, ber or october. Like Odyssey, I made after the copyparty of Aty, I sold my musics only with some informations (yes, I sold...) my Amiga, and a lot and I will see the final version of of people don't know this, because we the game. I really want to do a lot released a music-disk (with Moby). In of other works for software companies fact, my musics were old, and I real- so I'm in a music-production group ly stopped the activities for 6 mon- with other musicians. The group is ths. But I discovered that I loved called the Sound of Wizards, and is very much the Amiga, the scene, doing composed by me, 4Mat (Anarchy), and music in that kind of machine, so I Axel (Brainstorm). Actually, we are rebought an Amiga, and I restarted in contacts with a lot of companies, with musics. and perhaps, we get a lot of works for them. RST: What have Alcatraz planned to release in the next few months? If a- RST: You obviously like the work you nything... do, otherwise you would stop. But ha- ve there ever been times when you've GREG: Now, projects are none, but we think of different things, perhaps great something very great... Diskmags: R.A.W. Intro?: Haven't any idea! RST: Have you got a girlfriend? RST: How long have you owned your A- GREG: The answer is no. I HAD a girl- my? Any other machines before? friend, and now, I'm searching for a tender and beautiful girl!!! (If so- GREG: I own my Amiga since about 6 meone knows her...) years, but I had a C64. (good old ma- chine). The C64 generation was great. RST: Is there anybody in the scene The scene already existed, and the that you HATE?!?! crack was very productive. I remember some good games of C64, which were in GREG: I hate the haters, the persons this time, the best games in the who hate another persons. I think world. (consoles didn't exist) By the it's very lame to do war between per- way, I own an Atari. I know, that a sons, or groups. lot of people think that Atari is pu- re shit, but I own it only for pro- RST: Name your favourite: fessional MIDI. Yes, in Amiga there Demos: Voyage / Razor are midi progs, but the Amiga-midi- Groups: Phenomena progs are not as great as the Atari's Gfx-artists: Rack / Majic 12 ones.(even Bars and Pipes!) Coders: I don't know very well the coders, but RST: Do you play any instrument(s)? what Hornet does is For how long? me friendship is friendship, and I GREG: I play synthetizer since 4 will never forget a friend who has years. I have got a KORG M1, which is problems. a good workstation synthetizer, with many good sounds. But now I don't RST: When R.A.W and ZINE introduced play often, because I've started the the scene-oscars and the plans for Guitar Bass for 1 year. The Bass is a them, what were your thoughts??? great instrument for playing in a group! GREG: Personally, I hate this project simply because there is a lot of dif- RST: What do you think about swap- ferent styles of demos, and it's too ping? Any friendship left?!? hard to choose between them. Or per- haps making different oscars for dif- GREG: In the scene, Swapping is nor- ferent demos. (For example, Odyssey mal. I think it's impossible to dele- and Hardwired are two different sty- te this function into a group. The les of demos. They are very good, the only thing I dislike in a swapper, is one as the other, but we can't judge when he's a pure business man without them together, because the style is friendship. For example, some weeks different.) ago, a FRIEND of mine asked me if I would like to make a chip tune for a RST: What do you do at your spare-ti- packdisk. I never make a chiptune, me? but it would be LAME to ask money, or to tell him: "I don't want to make a GREG: I make music, for my group (We tune for you, fucking asshole!" For play ROCK, FUNK, POP...). I like pla- ying Badmington, or Tennis, too. lame code, all the code is done by Hornet who is a great coder. He made RST: What do you think about the new his own DOS, own vector routine, own and cool style presented by MELON DE- move system, own file and memory sy- ZIGN?? stem for Odyssey, and I think nobody has the right to say that Hornet is GREG: Melon Design has a great new lame. We spend a lot of time and hope style, personally, I love their SOS in Odyssey, and the only thing I want demo. I think demos must be more fun- to say to the lamer who blames Alca- ny, more cool. Melon Design is a per- traz is: Do what we do, and then you fect example of quality and fun. I will be able to speak! just want to tell to Audiomonster that his musics are great, and I love RST: Thanx a lot for answering all his feeling in his songs. (Raphael, the hard (?) questions!!! I wish you si tu veux me contacter, n'hesite luck for your future productions and pas!) life generally!!! T'es super-cool!!! RST: Ok,it seems this interview is o- ver now.. You got any last words? Or talk about something I forgot!?!? GREG: First, I really thank you for this interview. The last word is for the enemies of Odyssey: there are no precalculated vectors, there is no Interview: Greg/ATZ