Review Projection: Highwire Daze Magazine

Posted 31 Dec 2020 in News

Interview Questions for Slow Burning Car from Highwire Daze Magazine

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Slow Burning Car, and how long the band has been together.
I am Troy Spiropoulos, bassist/vocalist/songwriter/founder of hard rock band Slow Burning Car. In various incarnations this project has been active in recording and performing for 15 years.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We are based out of Los Angeles, CA and have seen the scene mutate into various subgenres of rock over the last fifteen years, At this time due to Covid few bands have been finding the opportunity to perform live so it has been rather dormant.

Before we start talking about the new album, let’s ask a few questions from the past since it’s the Highwire Daze 30th Anniversary Issue. Tell me about your first band Lighter Fluid which Highwire Daze covered way back in the day. Do you still keep in touch with any of the members?

Lighter Fluid was founded by the Ferrigno brothers (John and Paul) and their friend Joe DiPino here in Los Angeles when the three friends relocated here from New Haven, CT. I still touch base with them via Facebook/Messenger.
I believe you wrote up another band of mine The Quick & The Dead which I did with Mike Zimmerman and Bryan Gage. I am still in touch with them as well.

You’ve worked with Jesse Damon of Silent Rage, who Highwire Daze has covered a few times. What was that experience like and how did it come about?
Jesse is a fantastic guy, musician, and songwriter! I met him almost 20 years ago in a post office in Redondo Beach, CA of all places…I think his Kiss T-shirt was our conversation starter.

On the first Slow Burning Car album Blowback in 2007, you had Tracii Guns from L.A. Guns involved as an honorary member of your band. How did that come about and what was it like working with him?
He was rehearsing with his version of LA Guns at Nightingale Studios in Burbank, CA, next door to the live room where I was recording. I would poke my head in on occasion to hear them rehearse and we got acquainted…I finally struck up the nerve to ask him to record a lead on the song “King Con” from our debut album Blowback. He came in for 10 minutes and knocked out a terrific solo on the spot. Being a huge LA Guns fan growing up you can imagine what a thrill this was for me.

Since Slow Burning Car is truly a collaborative effort, introduce us to the rest of the current band members and what are their backgrounds.
Adam Idell drummed on the last two albums Defection and our latest Projection…he is on hiatus from performing however due to Covid so we are playing with a terrific guy named Zak St.John (who also tracked drums on the song “Public Cynic” from Projection). Tommy Marcel is our rhythm and lead guitarist while Aaron Kusterer is our lead and rhythm guitarist! Rounding out the sound is our sister Krista Turkolou Ray on background and occasionally lead vocal. I handle lead vocals and bass (backing vocals when Krista is on lead).

Is there any overall story or concept behind the new album title Projection?
No concept, just a fresh batch of tunes.

Ladish Man is such a rocking song! Tell me about that song and what inspired the lyrics.
The main/chorus riff was an old riff I used to jam on with some old high school friends. I always wanted to turn it into something more…a song but never could really build anything around it. About 4-5 years ago I revisited the riff and added a musical bridge to it that I liked but it still wasn’t ripe yet…so it went on the backburner. Until last year when I came up with a verse portion that I stuck in and it worked musically. As far as the lyrics go I came up with the title which was inspired by a dream I had (as pretentious as that sounds). Krista had a few vocal lines that we started with and then I built out the lyrical concept around that.

Tell me about the single Public Cynic and what inspired the lyrics.
Public Cynic is a dissent on current social norms created by the Covid crisis (?) and a defiant response to the weaponization of this crisis by politicians and globalists.

Select any other Slow Burning Car song on the new album and what inspired the lyrics.
Funnybone is an ode to the Joker (DC Comics)…and an old neighbor I had in my apartment complex in Redondo Beach, CA 15 years ago.
Memoirs Of A Gentleman Ghost is a fictional account of a British Noble and his family murdered on his American plantation in the 19th century.

The Quantum Mariner, again a fictional character that can travel through space and time.
Another great song is Diamond In The Rough written and arranged by Krista about a former love interest.

What has it been like to record and release new music in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and so much social unrest in the world?

Public Cynic is my only commentary on that lyrically…otherwise it was no different from recording/writing any other time…more Lysol and masks in the studio, but aside from that…

What could one expect from a live Slow Burning Car show?
High energy, intense musicianship, precise execution.

You’ve actually been playing shows during the pandemic. How have they been going and were you nervous about performing at all?

Our last show was part of a Cars In Concerts series in Oxnard, CA outside in the parking lot of the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. We played well to a few hundred people who really enjoyed it and supported us in buying much more merchandise than we are accustomed to selling. We will be doing it again, November 21st at The Montclair Canyon Club in Montclair, CA with Lose Your Illusion (a GNR tribute band). We weren’t nervous just very excited to be given an opportunity to continue doing what we love when many bands can’t right now.

What’s up in the New Year for Slow Burning Car?
The formal release of Projection on January 21st, 2020 to all digital and retail outlets, a formal CD release show where we can specifically perform all the songs from it, and hopefully some international dates in the UK.

Any final words of wisdom?
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life! Much like our good friend Ken Morton who for thirty years has brought us the best in rock by keeping his ear to the ground and discovering/sharing talent he has discovered. To another thirty my friend and thanks for keeping tabs on Slow Burning Car throughout the years…and the other projects I have been involved with which you have supported.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these question

Posted by Troy


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