home back to interviews	A BIT OF FUN Rob Sowden – November 2005
	An interview with Rob looking back on the past tour! You have now finished the tour. How did it go?  The tour went well and seems to have finished quickly. How did the audiences respond? And how did they react to the new material? We have had a great reaction from the crowds this tour and they really seem to like the new stuff. Maybe it was the wig! Of what element of this tour are you particularly proud? It's been a long tour and my voice has held up pretty well. Also the band got on very well. No problems. What do you regret? Not doing Spain. A favourite gig of this tour? The London gig was great as it was better than expected. Very satisfying. This was Arena’s largest tour ever and you played in some exotic places. Which destination did you enjoy particularly? The tour schedule is usually quite tight, was there some opportunity for sightseeing? America was better than I thought it would be. They weren't all fat and they sometimes understood irony. We played in the venue where ‘The Blob’ was filmed. Cool. I saw a few places like Vilnius in Lithuania, but as you say. You don't really get too look around. Probably the best bit was riding on a horse and cart around Vienna. Great architecture and we stopped outside their oldest pub for pint.  What was your first reaction when you heard the final mixed and mastered version of Pepper’s Ghost? Cool. It's different again. I like the fact that the writing genuinely does progress. In my opinion, Pepper’s Ghost is musically a lot ‘louder’ than Contagion. I read an interview with you in an issue of the Cage in 1999 where you stated ‘I'm a kind of a romantic, so I do like the gentler songs.’ From this, I would conclude that Pepper’s Ghost won’t be your favourite Arena album. Is that correct? I have favourite tracks not albums. I like Purgatory Road on this one.  Your vocals also seem to have a more ‘raw’ edge on this album, due to a combination of the way you use your voice and the production of the album. Was the recording of the vocals for this album very different than Contagion? The technical process of recording was the same, but with each song, I ask Clive where I am coming from and he puts me in the emotional zone for the performance. So if the album is different then I must have been singing from a different emotional state. What do you think of the lyrics of Pepper’s Ghost? The songs are less theatrical in nature but you can always tell Clive's lyrics. It's not the type of writing I could do myself, but it suits the music of Arena. What do you prefer: a concept album like Contagion or a conceptual album such as Immortal” and Pepper’s Ghost? I think the concept album works well in Prog. I like the self indulgence. And what do you think of the artwork of the latest album? I really like it apart from the awful portrait at the back. It's a shame we didn't manage to do a comic/program as first hoped for. You played twice at the Boerderij in Zoetermeer during this tour. The first time you said to the audience: ‘Next time we’re back here, we might know what we’re doing.’ What made you say that? First gig shakiness. We weren't as smooth through the set as we would have liked. Having said that, when we came back it was just as bad as the set was moved around again to accommodate Paul and J.J. As you say, the second time you were joined on stage by John Jowitt and Paul Wrightson. And now a question you probably expected: How was it for you to share the stage with your predecessor? He still enjoys great popularity among the fans. How do you respond to that? I had no problem with it. I thought it went down very well and was a bit of fun. Every Arena album is presented as a serious and coherent whole of music, lyrics and artwork. Despite the costumed and dressing up, to me that coherence is lost on stage. What I see is a band which makes music but basically leaves the theatrical aspects aside. What’s your view on this? If you want to pay for a stage show for Arena I'm sure we would accept your offer. We would probably need another bus for the gear. I had some ideas involving mirrors and such, but apart from anything else some of the stages we play on aren't big enough for much in the way of theatrics. We aren't Genesis at the end of the day so to try doing something on a cheaper scale looks exactly that. Cheap. Also, as I have said, the music is not as theatrical as when Arena started out. It's moving with the times at the moment, but you never know, we may make a return to that style in the future. I thought my costume for Pepper’s Ghost was pretty good though and that wasn't cheap I can assure you. Also I think the visuals were excellent and work well for us when we play a big stage and when I don't have much room. What are your plans now that the tour has ended? I'm getting married and we have a baby due in March so I won't be thinking about Arena for a while, but I believe we have already been asked to play some festivals next year. Are there already any ideas for a new album? I'm sure Clive, Mick and John have some ideas in the pipeline. Clive mentioned some ideas on the bus, but you'll have to wait and see. Can we expect a successor to ‘Dark Places’? Thank you for asking. It would be nice. I have the material, but again we'll have to wait and see. Cheers. Have a good Christmas and New Year. Love, Rob.  By: Niek Hermsen