Virgil & The Accelerators Interviewed by Jon Seymour Photos By Andy Hibbs So tell us a little about the band. How it all started, who your favourite musicians were when you were growing up, that kind of thing. The Accelerators was originally set up by our father Hendry. I joined them in my early teens. They kind of pushed me to the front and then decided to step back and bring in a younger rhythm section. Hendry is a blues man through and through so we were surrounded with great music from the very start of our lives. SRV, Rolling Stones, Joe Bonamassa, Howling Wolf the list goes on.
2012 was a really big year for you guys, and 2013 has also started well, with support slots with Uriah Heep last month, and Michael Schenker in April. You guys are making a very good name for yourselves. Do you think that this year might be even bigger? Each year has to be bigger than the last! 2012/2103 have all been about gaining exposure, hence the high profile support slots. We have the 'Live at Marshall' DVD out this month and looking to release a new CD this autumn. So yes indeed this year is another good one for us. Europe is looking very exciting too. Onwards and upwards!!
The live DVD is due out next month. I know you guys had a lot of fun recording it, but what was it like to hear it for yourselves the first time you played it back? We poured everything we had into the making of the DVD. Our label Mystic Records UK gave us a free hand (which we are eternally grateful for). When hunting for a cool venue, Paul Marshall offered us the use of the Marshall Theatre at Marshall HQ, We would need the RAH to top that. We also contracted the DVD crew, lighting engineer and Steve Rispin who engineered our debut album 'The Radium' handled the sound. So if this went tits up, we only had ourselves to blame! It was a very stressful 3 days before the shoot. Against our labels wishes we wanted to do it in one take. Most live DVDs are shot over various gigs and retouched in the studio. Ours is one take and no studio overdubbing. What you see/hear is exactly what went down on the night. So the first time we popped a copy in the DVD player it was a surreal experience, like watching another band. It turned out better than we expected, great job by all involved.
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Firebrand Magazine