*When did you really get involved in music in general and into metal specifically? Who was responsible for your interest in (metal) music?

-Mike: I really got involved in music at the age of 14 years old when I heard the band Kiss. A girl that had a crush on me gave me all of the Kiss albums as gifts, thanks to her father who worked at the local music store. That was my first introduction to rock music, and I was hooked. When I was in high school, people around me would write the names of bands on notebooks, and wear denim jackets with the band names on the back. This encouraged me to buy more metal albums, and discover more metal bands.

-James: I got into music and specifically drumming around 12 years old. My first influence and inspiration for drumming was the Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s live album. When I heard Carl Palmer play, I decided that’s what I wanted to do! The person responsible for getting me into metal would have to be- whoever created the KISS ALIVE album cover, because that’s what reeled me in. That album cover was so compelling that I bought the album simply because of the cover, but when I heard it, I became a metalhead for life.

*Which artists or bands did influence you the most?

-Mike: The bands and artists that influenced me the most were Black Sabbath, especially the ‘Heaven And Hell’ album, which featured Ronnie James Dio. I was also influenced by Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Ray Gillian from Badlands.

-James: My early Metal influences are similar to Mike’s… Kiss, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and just about every metal band that had a great drummer.

*Which instrument do you play and how and when did you learn to play? Did you have lessons in school or private lessons? If so, was that because your parents expected that from you? Or did you learn to play the instruments by yourself? Do you still follow some lessons?

-Mike: I play guitar but never took a proper lesson. I am a self-taught guitar player. When I started playing guitar I had to figure things out on my own, which wasn’t easy. But now I’m around a lot of great guitar players and learn new things from them. And today, with YouTube tutorials, it’s easy to learn just about anything you need to know. As a singer I’ve taken lessons over the years which taught me better techniques and ways of singing. To this day, I still follow a vocal lesson workout to keep my voice in shape.

-James: I started playing drums at age 12. Later in life I took up keyboard and then guitar. Keyboard and guitar have always been a writing tool for me, I am by no means capable of playing guitar or keyboard in a band, professionally, but I use those instruments to write songs. Some of the earlier HOLY MOTHER songs were actually written on keyboard and then converted to guitar, but now I play guitar a little bit better so the songwriting process is easier due to the initial interpretation of ideas presented. I did take drum lessons earlier in my life but most of what I know on guitar I learned from Mike who is actually an amazing guitarist as well as singer. As far as continuing with lessons all I could say is; with the Internet these days, there is so many amazing incredible musicians out there that I’m finding something new to learn every single day!

*Do you follow other or are you interested in other styles of music besides metal? If so, what is the music you prefer to listen to?

-Mike: As far as following other bands or artists, I try to stay current with today’s hard rock and metal music. I listen to satellite radio in America, specifically Octane channel, which features a lot of the newer metal bands. I also follow bands like Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed, mostly because of the power in their production, which is why we took Holy Mother’s new album to the same producer as them, Mr. Kane Churko at Hideout Recording Studios in Las Vegas. I am also in a top 40 wedding band, in which I learn and sing everything from the 1940’s to today’s top pop music.

-James: I listen to and play many different styles of music like classic rock, jazz, fusion, funk and I believe that all of these styles of music help in the creative flow and originality of playing. My preferred style of music to play drums to is metal because of its use of double kick drum, however there’s nothing like the internal feel that you get when you’re slamming down a really great funk groove.

*Is music a full time job for you now or do you have a job beside music? If so, what kind of job are you doing? If you would be really successful with music, would you quit your other job?

-Mike: Basically music has been a full-time job for me. Of course, Covid-19 has put a damper on that for me this year, but I’m hoping things will look brighter in 2021. Especially so I can get out there and support the new Holy Mother album, ‘Face This Burn’!

-James: It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to support myself and my family from the income that I make from music alone, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case. I’ve always held a second job (in business management) alongside of my musical career, to supplement my income. During these difficult times it’s hard to support yourself from music alone with all that’s going on in the world, But I still maintain hope that at some point in my life I’ll be able to do that. Yes if this band was successful enough I’d absolutely quit everything else to focus full-time on music.

*If you could start a band with other musicians on other instruments, which artist would you pick for which instrument and why? (Something Like an “All Stars Band”.) Would you still go for a heavy metal band? Or would you do something completely different?

-Mike: My drummer would be Ray Luzier from the band Korn. When I saw Korn live in New York, I didn’t know who Ray Luzier was, but when he played drums that night, I was blown away. His feel was amazing, his dynamics were incredible, and he puts on a great show. My bass player would be the bass player from Tool, Justin Chancellor. I love his style and I love his sound. There are many guitar players that I look up to, but for my all stars band, I would have to go with Zach Wylde. I just love the way he adds so much attitude to everything that he plays. His rhythm and his guitar solos have a lot of character. Also, my all-time favorite guitar player and singer is John Sykes. I feel he has the most style for rock/metal and he’s also an incredible singer. If I had to add a keyboard player it would be hands-down Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater.

-James: All Star Band : Devin Townsend, Steven Wilson, Fieldy from Korn, Dino Jelusick on Lead Vocals. Devin and Steven are just such amazing songwriters and players, and they both sing great too. The vocal combos with Dino, Steve and Devin would have endless possibilities. And Fieldy’s bass playing is just sooooo heavy! I must add, though, that my All star lineup would definitely include Mike. He has always been my favorite singer next to Ronnie James Dio, and there is no one I’d rather write songs with.

*If you had been banned to an uninhabited island and you may pick 5 albums to listen to, which albums would you choose and why?

-Mike: Definitely ‘Heaven And Hell’ by Black Sabbath because of Ronnie James Dio’s voice. Whitesnake’s ‘1987’ album which has incredible songs along with great vocals from David Coverdale. ‘Audio Slave’ with Chris Cornell who was an amazing singer and songwriter. Oasis ‘Morning Glory’ because the songs are so catchy and melodic and reminds me a bit of The Beatles. Don Henley’s solo album, ‘I Can’t Stand Still’.

-James: Alice in Chains – ‘Facelift’, Led Zeppelin ‘Physical Graffiti’, Tool ‘AEnima’, Deep Purple ‘Perfect Strangers’, The Eagles ‘Hotel California’.

*What happened between the last album, ‘Agoraphobia’ (2003), and the new ‘Face This Burn’-album? Seventeen years is a very long period without new work for a band!

-Mike: Seventeen years is a long time, and a lot has happened during that time. After ‘Agoraphobia’, I was approached by a band from Germany which you might be familiar with. At the time, they were called Repression but later changed their name to Messiah’s Kiss after we signed a record deal with SPV/Steamhammer. I became their singer, and we were managed by Rainer Hansel. I recorded all the vocals in a studio in Bochüm, Germany for the first album. We then played at the amazing festival ‘Wacken Open Air’, and then toured Europe in support of Doro Pesch. I am still with Messiah’s Kiss, and we are currently working on our fifth studio album. In between all of that I got a call from Mark Reale of the band Riot to join and tour with the band. The first show was in Granada Spain on a festival with Megadeth and Quiet Riot. The response was incredible by the fans and press. We followed up with some shows in the United States and Europe, along with two tours in Japan. After the band Riot took some time off, I was diagnosed with Stage III stomach cancer which was the same cancer that Ronnie James Dio had. Through extensive chemotherapy treatments followed by a full gastrectomy (which means they removed my entire stomach) it took some time to feel somewhat normal again. After my treatment and recovery, I was offered to play the part of David Coverdale in a Las Vegas rock show called “RockStar”, which featured different singers portraying different characters such as Steven Tyler, Bon Scott, Nancy Wilson, Robert Plant, and several others. That show lasted eight months. I stayed busy after that with my wedding band, Entourage, as well as recording, writing, and touring with Messiah’s Kiss.

-James: The true hiatus of Holy Mother for me started after the ‘My World War’ album. This is where the songwriting team of Mike Tirelli and Jim Harris split. The ‘Agoraphobia’ album was Mike continuing on with the Holy Mother name, and yes he had Randy Coven with him, but it was more guest musicians then a true Holy Mother album. When Mike and I split I explored some solo projects and then started writing thriller fiction novels, I really left the music business for a long time. As Mike continued on with music we still kept in touch as good friends and a few years ago discussed putting together a “Best Of” Holy Mother album. We even got together in a studio and catalogued everything and listened back to find what was best. But during all those years that I was out of the music business I still kept the creative writing juices flowing by writing books, which I believe helped improve my writing craft. (Lyrics particularly). When I decided to get back into music, which was through Mike’s encouragement, I felt that my leave was a good thing. It opened my eyes to so many new techniques and skills. The Internet, the window to the world, became the greatest learning tool for me. It was my greatest tool to improve my craft of drumming, and continue improving every day.

*Every new album (or ep) of a band or an artist is the best one, that’s what they always say. So here is a chance to promote the album. Why should a music lover buy your album? What are the standout tracks for you on this new album and why?

-James: For me this absolutely is the best Holy Mother record. I felt like when we got together to do this album The collaboration between Mike and I was very reminiscent of the ‘Toxic Rain’ sessions. We had a unique, awesome chemistry back then and we had it again writing ‘Face This Burn’. There was a fire. There was a burning desire to make something really great. And this time we did it on OUR time without the pressures that we had 17 to 20 years ago – when record labels had demanding deadlines for demos the final product. In addition to this our skill levels have exceeded what they were so many years ago. Mike’s singing is amazing, he has really fine-tuned his abilities and with all that he went through, (traveling the world with different bands, almost dying of cancer, being a part of one of the biggest Ponzi scheme’s in America) the passion that he had when he sang this album surpasses every other Holy Mother record . I had spent the last few years relentlessly studying the great new drummers of this generation to improve my own skills, and I was anxious to express 17 years of lyrical ideas (some of which became passages in my books) into our music. And Mike made the song writing process easy. Every day he would present new song ideas with some of the coolest guitar licks I’ve ever heard. You see, Mike has also been refining his guitar skills for the last 17 years as well, and when it came time to find a guitarist for this new incarnation of Holy Mother, it was no easy task. We had to find someone who could play the guitar parts that Mike created just as well as Mike could play them – or better, and then take it to the next level, and that is exactly what Greg Giordano did. I had always felt that ‘Toxic Rain’ was our best album until ‘Face This Burn’. I suppose you could say it’s ‘Toxic Rain 2’, but with a modern day production.

– See “CD-Review” for a review (written in Dutch) for the new Holy Mother album ‘Face This Burn’ (Massacre Records) –

*We suppose you will promote this album through live concerts (when of course everything is getting back to “normal” after the Covid 19 disaster). If so, would you prefer small clubs or big festivals? And is there a chance we can see Holy Mother in Belgium?

-James: We just became part of the Coallier Entertainment family, and they manage and book bands like Dee Snyder and Killcode, worldwide. If fact, our bass player Russell Pzutto is also Dee’s bassist. We have high hopes that our man Danny Stanton at Coallier can get us some Live shows in 2021. Europe, South America, Japan as well as the US are all territories that we are eager to play again. And yes, Belgium is a favorite of ours! As Far as preference of small clubs versus big festivals… it does not matter we love to play anywhere!

Holy Mother: Mike Tirelli (vocals) / James Harris (drums, vocals) / Greg Giordano (guitar) / Russell Pzutto (bass)