Local Band Q&A: Fist of Five

Local Band Q&A: Fist of Five

oklahoman.com



•Why: Fist of Five (John Gates, DJ Windle, Steve Jones, James Cyrus and Josh Anderson) is making things happen and priming itself for the national stage. The band's high-intensity rock show is full of passion and emotional power.

•When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

•Where: Bricktown Ballroom, 103 E California.

Q:How did working with producer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica, Hinder) come about?

A:DJ Windle , singer/guitarist: I'll tell you what, making contacts is hard, and it is a lot of hours doing research, just calling around and making friends. It's a big world, and it's very hard to get anyone on board, especially someone with Mike's credentials. The funny thing was, he came to us. He had a mutual friend who enjoyed our music, and he e-mailed me and expressed interest in working with us, so here we are.

A:John Gates, lead vocals: He believes, and we all do, that we can do this, so he found someone who can get us where we need. It takes a lot of hard work to find just one person who believes, but it looks like we did.

Q:So you'll be recording in Dallas at Gary Long's (Mercyful Fate, Burden Brothers) Nomad Studios as opposed to going to Fraser's studio in Vancouver (British Columbia). How did Long come into the picture?

A:Windle: He was around for our last album and was pretty impressed. I kept in touch with him through all this time, and when we talked about a new album, he basically expressed that he would like to be in on it. So we got a major hookup. Mike Fraser is coming down to do the album, but we're getting the studio for free down in Dallas.

Q:John, you've been known to wear a mask onstage that covered half of your face. You've recently decided to lose the mask for good. What brought that change about? How have fans reacted to that announcement?

A:Gates: Well, it boils down to the fact that a mask covers who you are, and I want to be able to show people who I am. We are the music, not a mask. Here I am a man in a mask, writing about how people need to face their fear, but I'm wearing a mask. I just decided to practice what I preach.

Q:You will finally be playing your rescheduled Battle of the Bands show date this Saturday. Has the wait to do this show built the anticipation for you and your local fan base to a great extent? Is this the first local show since you dropped the mask for good?

A:Gates: This will definitely be the first, and I would say absolutely to the first question. Fist of Five's home is Oklahoma, and it always will be. We have been all over the Midwest region, but the fans we have in Oklahoma are who got us going.

A:Windle: It definitely is a great scene, and there are a lot of great bands. But I'll tell you one thing. This music scene really wouldn't be anything without people like Medman up at Q102 in Woodward and Steve Van Halen at the KATT. Those guys support local music like none other, and we will be in contact with those guys until the end.

— Michael Senior