Glass Wolfe, your main project, have got a brand new album out, Predator. Every serious hard rock fan does know Philip Wolfe for sure, but would you like to introduce your actual bandmates?
Maria Glass is the lead Singer and Lyricist and we have worked together for several years.
This CD was recorded with various guest stars depending on who was available and interested in helping us make our project a reality. I have been happy to play on their projects and live performances as well. From time to time we have a lineup to play live shows which changes depending on who is around at the time. Some of our more notable guest stars are...
on Guitar..Ray Schenck, Stuart Smith, Neil Citron, Howie Simon, Iain Ashley Hersey, and Dennis Lotka on Bass.. Pat Cicinelli, Dario Seixas and Kurt Barabas on Drums...Stefan Svensson and Dave Norwoods on Backing Vocals... Paul Daniels, Swan Montgomery, Steve Johnstad and Dyna Shirasaki

Glass Wolfe’ s sound has got an evident epic/gothic flavour, while we’ ve got used to know you for appearances in bands playing a quite different kind of hard rock. Does this actual sound perfectly mirror your own true musical tastes, or is it the result of some kind of compromise between different songwriting contributors?
The songwriting style mainly reflects my musical taste for this project and Maria’s lyrical direction.
Ray Schenck brought in the music to “Driven” and Dennis Lotka “Children of the Night”.
All the rest was mainly written by Maria Glass and myself.

How does a Glass Wolfe song flour out?
I usually write a guitar part (with guitar samples played through a marshall stack) to a drumbeat that I programmed and then see what lyrics and melody that Maria has to fit. Next is tracking the real drums and bass and guitars and keyboards and so on.

In their previous record Glass Wolfe featured a lineup including a couple of promising musicians such as Howie Simon and Dario Seixas, who have actually joined some more famous bands. Do you think that their departure has somehow been negative for Glass Wolfe?
Cheers and best of luck to my friends Dario and Howie and thanks for the contributions that they made to the first Glass Wolfe CD and the new CD Predator which has them as guest stars.

The legendary Keith Emerson is said to have heavily influenced both Maria Glass and you, so I wonder: how did your musical partnership get started?
I had been playing in an ELP tribute band (Knife Edge) and other projects (1998) when Maria and I first started writing and recording demo’s. We also put together a cover band which had Maria singing songs by a number of females of rock including Heart, Benetar, Melissa Etheridge and more.
Keith saw me play in the tribute band and invited me to his rehersal. Later Will Alexander came to me and asked if I knew a lyricist to write with Keith and I suggested Maria. She has penned 2 songs with him that got to the demo stage but ELP soon broke up and the songs remain unpublished.

You have a great reputation as keyboards wizard as well. But is there any particular ability you think Keith Emerson is out of reach for?
If I understand your question correctly... Keith’s playing is one of the “stars” that I will always reach for... as well as many compositions by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and other classical masters.

Among the new generation of keyboards players, can you mention any particularly talented one who truly impressed you?
(answer): ???

After a long search, I managed to get a decent copy of the Impellitteri’ s live at Powerstation ’88 homevideo. Seems like both Chuck Wright and Pat Torpey, who were credited on the “Stand in line” album, did not go touring with the band, and a completely different rythmic section joined you guys onstage that night…Do you remember who was given the task to replace the originary bandmates?
I remember playing left hand bass at rehersals for 2 weeks at Mates Studios untill Dave (the Beast) Spitz (Black Sabbath) arrived to play bass and Stet Howland (with us for 2 months) on drums later got me the WASP tour in 1992 after he landed the gig with Blackie Lawless.

The lineup on “stand in line” was a real all-star parade: how easy was it for you to get that role as keyboardsman?
A piece of cake... Chris had already seen me play with Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge in Project Driver (NRG) in 1986. When Rudy and Tommy went on to Whitesnake, I started working with Impellitteri on what I thought was to be an instumental album with me playing double leads with Chris and shredding. A few months later, Graham came into the picture and it became what you hear on the record ...Stand In Line.

I’ ve always got a big curiosity about vocalist Graham Bonnet, for being so “different” from the typical cliché of the hair bands that were highly popular at those times. Graham was a great screamer, but probably paid his lack of an image as a true rocker, and never received an adequate highlight by the press… So I wonder: what can you tell us about him, having got the chance to share a touring experience with?
What can I say....A legendary singer and a real classy guy. A good friend and bandmate with advanced musical ability like perfect pitch (Graham can sing a Beatles tune acapella and tell you the chord changes off the top of his head!!) and down home British charm and wit.

You’ve been having loads of further important appearances during your career: can you reveal to us any funny episode or curiosity about some of the bands you happened to work with?
In Tokyo after Impellitteri’s 1st gig (Powerstation) the fans were lined up outside behind velvet ropes. When I came out they were chanting “fear, fear, fear”. I asked what they were afraid of and I was told that they were trying to say my name “Phil, Phil, Phil”...
Billy Joel picked me up in his limo on the streets of Tokyo at 2 AM and it took 3 hours to got back to the hotel only 2 miles away..and he wasn’t driving...
I thought I had been thru everything in 20 years of rock and roll when one band leader put a gun to my head and informed me that I was not to leave his band. We’re still friends...
After I had played in England with WASP a reviewer from Karrang (Dave) published a review about WASP that featured me !! much to the disaproval of Blackie..

I know you’re often busy on other musical projects and on live activity. Do you manage bringing your own Glass Wolfe songs onstage, or do you just happen to play cover versions with different musicians?
We have played Glass Wolfe gig’s where we played our songs and an occasional cover and we have also played with other bands doing covers (Stuart Smith / Perfect Strangers), unless I am doing an original show with another artist (Iain Ashley Hersey).

You’ve also recently released a solo recording, “Lifeforce”. What are the main stylistic differences on that cd, compared to the Glass Wolfe music? Who’s playing with you on that album?
I had written this material around the time of my Monsters of Rock Tour with Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and WASP (1992 -93) after the tour ended I started recording with Steve Fontaine and later replaced him with Mark Weitz whom I had met when working with Impellitteri (1989) At that time I was influenced by Asia, Rainbow and Foreigner as far as songwriting.
I wrote and played all the musical parts on the keyboards (including all the guitars) as well as about 1/2 of the lyrics and Mark Weitz did all of the singing and the balance of the writing.

As far as I know, the band is in the process of finalizing some deal for a regular distribution of the album Predator at the moment: but how can your fans order the Glass Wolfe cds in the meanwhile?
glasswolfe.com
cdbaby.com/glasswolfe2

Any other message for all your fans out there?
Everyone needs a break in this business , a chance to get a gig that means something, maybe everything to them... I was given my “break” when Rudy Sarzo called me to audition with him and Tommy Aldridge for the band Driver in 1986. I had been playing in cover bands for 7 years all over the rocky mountain states and was living in my van on the streets of LA to “make it” or die trying. Although we did not get a “deal” after writing, recording for 9 months and showcasing for every major label, the experience changed me and made me ready for what came next. In the same spirit, I have been happy to work with a promising younger player and give them a chance to make it happen with our project as a vehicle. Through times of feast or famine, riots, fires and earthquakes, I have remained true to my musical ideals and have not sold out, and will continue to record and play what I and hopefully you will enjoy.
Cheers