Interview with Vinnie Tex

1) It's a pleasure to have you with us, Vinnie Tex, guitarist and lead guitarist of Leather Leone band. First of all, how are you? Vinnie Tex: I am very well, my dear friend Ada. It is always a pleasure to talk with you. I am very excited about the release of our new album "We Are The Chosen". 2) You are a talented musician, but before digging in your musician career, I would like to ask you: Who is Vinnie and how did your love for music, especially your love for guitar, start? Vinnie Tex: I was born in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in a family of Portuguese immigrants. I started playing guitar under the influence of my father, who is also a musician. I always had exposure to music at home. Because of that, my parents felt I had a talent for music from a very early age. They forced me to take singing and piano lessons when I was nine years old. At that time, it really did not interest me. My passion for music didn't really begin until I was thirteen years old and I began listening to Rock and Metal. Like every young guitarist of the 90's, I was influenced by the guitar legends like guitarists like Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Jimmy Page, Steve Vai and so on. 3) Before joining Leather, you had an interesting career! What could you tell us about it? Vinnie Tex: I'm a very eclectic musician. I've always been involved with different styles of music. To have a music career in Brazil, the ability play many different styles of music certainly helps. For many years, I was active in the extreme metal scene. I played in several black and death metal bands. Over the years, I tired of playing extreme metal. I definitely prefer the more traditional vocals and melodic and harmonic structures of rock and heavy metal. 4) Now, on to bigger questions... How did you and Leather meet? How does this incredible journey start?

After I completed a 2015 tour in Brazil with Paul Di'Anno (ex-vocalist ofIron Maiden), my tour manager recruited me to tour with Rob Rock (Impelliteri) and Leather Leone (Chastain) in South America. Leather really liked my performance and invited me to work with her. After that tour, we started writing songs for Leather 2.

5) Let's talk a little bit about the first album you released with Leather, "Leather II". How was the composition, etc.? Vinnie Tex: The writing process for "Leather II" wasn't easy. At the time, Leather and I hadn't known each other very long. We had a very short deadline to write an entire record. The "Leather II" album turned out to be a great learning experience for both of us. The challenges we encountered during the process gave us great perspective and were fundamental in determining our approach to writing, recording and producing an album like "We Are The Chosen". 6) You played on both "Leather II" and "We are The Chosen". What do you think changed in the sound and generically in the composition? Vinnie Tex: We didn't have the same freedom or time for planning in "Leather II" as we had in "We Are The Chosen". There were too many people involved on "Leather II" which made agreement on the final result very difficult. In contrast, "We Are The Chosen" was a fully planned album. From the very beginning Leather and I agreed we wanted heavier, more modern songs with catchy melodies and choruses. "We Are The Chosen" was written prioritizing Leather's vocals above all else. We had the time and freedom to work on every detail and to write songs we are extremely proud of! 7) I want to focus now on "We are the Chosen". I saw how much effort you both put into this album and how amazingly well you two worked together. But, explain to the readers, how the pandemic affected the composing and recording of the album. What challenges did that present? Vinnie Tex: "We Are The Chosen" was all written and produced by Leather and myself. The writing process was all done from a distance during the pandemic period. Actually, the writing process during the pandemic was an advantage for us. We had a lot of time available to work on the songs.

We met at my house in Portugal for a few days to settle some of the the last details prior to heading to Hertz Studios in Poland, where we had recorded previously. From the beginning we agreed on the importance of a high quality recording. We knew Hertz Studios, in Poland, was the place to achieve that. As far as the recording, I recruited my friend Douglas Pinella who did excellent orchestration on Always Been Evil, Shadows, We Are The Chosen and Hallowed Ground. The drums were recorded by Braulio Drumond who was already our drummer. This team was perfect in the production and it made all the difference in the quality and final result of "We Are The Chosen". For the artwork we wanted to keep Leather's image on the cover, as it had been on her previous albums. At the same time, we wanted it to have more of an impact. Leather also wanted something a little darker this time. Without a doubt I knew my friend, Marcelo Vasco (Troops of Doom), was the perfect artist to design it. In my opinion, the artwork on "We Are The Chosen" is the best of Leather's career to date. 8) We talked with Leather about "We Are The Chosen". Now I want to ask you the same question I asked her: What is the significance or meaning of "We Are The Chosen" for you? Vinnie Tex: When you truly believe you have a mission to accomplish in this world, nothing can bring you down. When you believe in your purpose, you have the determination to overcome obstacles. You find the strength to fight every battle. For me, those words give me strength and keep me moving forward with purpose. 9) Is there is a song on "We Are The Chosen" you feel closest to? And, one you prefer to play? Vinnie Tex: The title track, We Are The Chosen, is without a doubt my favorite! From the beginning I knew it was going to be a great song. Initially, Leather and I envisioned naming the album "Always Been Evil". But, after we wrote We Are The Chosen we completely changed our minds. The We Are The Chosen song idea came up because we wanted a song the crowd could sing along to with Leather. We needed something simple, but at the same time epic and rhythmic. My inspiration for writing We Are The Chosen was Richard Wagner's Ryde of the Valkiries. We Are The Chosen, in my opinion, is a perfect song on this album. 10) As guitarist, who are your biggest influences? Vinnie Tex: For me, this is always one of the hardest questions to answer. I like many different styles of music and my influences are widely varied. Writing songs is not an easy task. I often look for inspiration in other styles. Incredible as it may seem, Metal is not at the top of what I listen to these days. Talking about the guitar, what gets my attention are guitarists who are capable of creating good melodies and good harmonies. 11) In general, what are your musical influences? Vinnie Tex: When you work with music for many years, you need to be open minded to anything that adds to your knowledge. I find it very difficult to listen to the same style of music for too long. I get bored easily. I come from a family of musicians, and I grew up listening to a lot of different styles. That was really good for me. My relationship with music is linked to my different moods. I'm always switching between instrumental guitar, fusion, blues, classic rock, Brazilian styles, 80's songs, traditional heavy metal and etc. Playing different styles of music helps me a lot when I'm writing. It's often the key when I'm out of inspiration when I need to write a new song. 12) Let's talk a little bit about gear. What is your ideal type of gear, meaning, what is the essential gear a guitarist should have, in your opinion? Vinnie Tex: When you play guitar for many years, you develop your own identity and unique tone. As you create your own identity, you find some things work better than others. You can spend lots of money trying to replicate the sounds and characteristics of famous guitarists, but I believe it is more important to create your own identity. I've used all kinds of equipment. But, nowadays I'm back to using classic pedals, amps and guitars. Most of the time, simple things can better meet your needs.

13) What can you tell us about future live performance plans? Vinnie Tex: We already have some dates scheduled in Brazil. We also have some proposals to tour with other artists in Latin America. As soon as anything is confirmed, we will announce the dates. We are already confirmed at the "Life After Death Horror" festival in Mexico in December with W.A.S.P, QUEESRŸCHE, COVEN, VIXEN, KAMELOT and others. We are in talks with booking agencies in Europe and the US. Leather and I are already writing songs for the next album. 14) What message would you send to all the young musicians who want to start play music? Vinnie Tex: To never give up on your dreams. Be calm and patient, make plans and develop strategies to achieve your goals. Be careful with friendships, don't be too trusting of anyone. Don't be radical, listen to and play different styles of music. You'll be a great songwriter if you're an eclectic listener of music! 15) Thank you so much Vinnie, it was a pleasure! What can I say? I look forward to seeing you play live!!! Vinnie Tex: Many thanks, my dear friend Ada, for this wonderful interview and for all the support and encouragement you have given Leather and me. We hope to play in Italy again soon and finally meet you in person!

Written by Ada Hauteville