• There are some bands, whose music is like a time machin taking you back to times where the passion and love for heavy metal was true and above everything! Here we find Denim & Leather who manage to take us back in time and bring to life memories we never had (we were too young to live the 80's metal birth), but this doesn't mean they sound old and weiry.

• We started in 92, but we didn’t take it too seriously until 1998 when we started with serious rehearsals. We recorded our first demo-tape untitled “We Wear...” in 2000 and in 2001 we recorded a CDR-demo untitled “Too Damn Loud!”. We have plans to release a new CDR-demo by the end of this year. The only line up change that we had was in 95 when Gustavo decided to learn how to play bass in order to join the band. Today’s line up is: Sergio Turano (g), Marcelo Lanfranchi (v), Gustavo Lanfranchi (b) and Hamilton (d).

• It was in 1992, and there was no good Metal bands around. Even though we decided to go to that festival (I think there was Living Colour playing that night) and we met together and started to complain how good Metal bands were missing, not only in the festival, but everywhere. So someone said “hey, you play drums, don’t you? And you sing don’t you? So let’s put a band together to play Heavy Metal songs from bands like Saxon, Picture, Girlschool, etc.”

• Yes, Saxon is one of our favorite bands and DENIM & LEATHER one of our favorite albums. When we were about to choose the band’s name we decided for a name of a song that we all like, then the name DENIM AND LEATHER came naturally and we thought it represents very well who we are, what we like and what we intend to do as a band. We like Heavy Metal bands from the 80’s, most from the N.W.O.B.H.M. like Angel Witch, Witchfynder General, Blitzkrieg, etc. And bands like Judas Priest, Motorhead, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, etc.

• Yes, and the most important reason is that we love to play these songs. We are still playing and recording them. On our first demo-tape we recorded a WITCHFYNDER GENERAL cover, on the second one a TYGERS OF PAN TANG cover and, we don’t know which yet, but on the next one there will be for sure another NWOBHM tune.

• Yes, there are still many people interested in the NWOBHM. In every city we play there are fans asking for songs, wearing t-shirts of the bands from that era, etc. There are two different crowds when it comes to age, people around our age (30-35) that has been Metal fans since the 80’s and there are kids around 15-18 that are starting their Metal life’s now, but we don’t see to many people between 20-28 years old. Don’t know why, maybe it is a grunge effect.

• The reactions have been excellent! Really, I cannot tell you a bad review we had. Maybe because there are also many NWOBHM fans on the press too, haha. I think there is one or two saying that the production could be better, but that’s it.

• Yes, we are still satisfied. I still like to listen it on the car. The changes that could be done would be on the production, I think. Maybe a better guitar sound, I don’t know. But we are very proud of everything we ever did.

• It's not easy to find a gig here in Brazil, we play typically once every two months. That's because there are too many bands and too many bad producers. A typical Denim And Leather live show is heavy, fast, with jokes in between!

• Just to compilations, not to a full length album yet.

• I think we are playing better, we have better songs and the production is better too. But “We Wear...” is very good too, that’s why we included those songs on the “Too Damn Loud!” CD-R. Right now we have a couple of songs that will be on our next release and I can say that they are even better.

• Each one of us thinks differently. For me (Sergio) is “Watch Out” and “More You Sweat”. Because they are heavy and fast.

12.IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?

• Gustavo: I am not able to compose....haha... And I already do another thing, I work with Astronomy.
• Sergio: Difficult to say, because composing is the best part of being in a band, but if I were not able to do it I would probably play cover songs, which is the second best part of the band.     Marcelo: if I were not able to compose (am I?) or sing??? I would like to be a "ghost hunter".     Hamilton: I would like to drive Power-Boat.

13.WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE UNDERGROUND SCENE OF YOUR COUNTRY? CAN YOU PICK OUT SOME INTERESTING NEW BANDS FOR US?

• Brazil has a very big underground scene, but not very well organized. Bands come and go, Zines come and go, and places to play (venues) come and go. Another problem is that most of the Metal fans only look for foreign bands. Some bands that deserve your attention are: TORTURE SQUAD, DOMINUS PRAELLI, STEEL LORD and HELLISH WAR.

• I think the best part is that we sound like the bands from the 80’s, which are the bands that we like to listen to. I think all improvements that we need, can be done with more rehearsals.

• Since 3 of us are physicists you could expect the strangest questions:
• Gustavo: Creature that created the universe??!!! Is there really such a thing???  haha... I guess I would make a lot of questions: how did you created it? What's the universe shape? It is endless? Are there other universes? Other life forms?
• Sergio: I would say: “Ok, I understand (or I will some day) the whole idea of the universe, Big-Bang, etc, but what I want to know is, why humans? You predicted this, or it just happened without intention. If it was predicted, why to create something so insignificant that judges    himself the center of the universe and keeps boring you with stupid questions like this?”      Marcelo: WHY ME?!
• Hamilton: What is Death?

• Gustavo: DIO - Killing the Dragon, OZZY – Down To Earth, HALFORD - Crucible, and a lot of NWOBHM MP3 songs.
• Sergio: TOKYO BLADE - Tokyo Blade, KILLER (Bel) -Fatal Attraction, MOTORHEAD - Hammerhead, KREATOR - Violent Revolution, FIST - Back With A Vengeance, BLITZKRIEG – Mist Of Avalon.
• Hamilton: DIO - Killing The Dragon; ORDALIA - The Return Of The King; DARK MOOR - The Gates Of Oblivion; TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA - Beethoven’s Last Night; MOTORHEAD - Hammered; SENTENCED - The Cold White Light; together with the classical ones IRON MAIDEN - Iron Maiden; BLACK SABBATH - Sabotage; FATES WARNING - Awaken The Guardian; IRON MAIDEN - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son; DEATH ANGELLS - Act III.     Marcelo: The same as my brother.

• Gustavo: I would like to go back to 0,001 seconds after the Big Bang to see what really happened and how our Universe became what it is today. What would I miss? A lot of things: the music, football, Brazilian cachaça, pizza, and the women, of course.
• Sergio: United Kingdom 1979. To see those wonderful bands. From our time I would miss this band. Denim And  Leather rules! Haha.
• Marcelo: Back to 79, 80 in England to feel the atmosphere of those days and see a lot of shows. I would like also to go back just one day and feel the sensation of finding myself and give me our CD, so I can see the future is not lost (he,he,he...).
• Hamilton: Ancient Egypt. Football and my records (CDs) are the things that I would miss the most, since it seems that beer already existed at that time!!

18.WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?  

• Maybe “New Wave Of Brazilian Heavy Metal”, would be good as a title. As a prologue, I don’t know, I think you should listen to the promo-CD and write what you think about it. Or maybe not, if you don’t like it.

• Thank YOU for the most interesting interview we ever had. We would like to thank BEHIND THE VEIL for the support. You all can check our web site, and our web site about the N.W.O.B.H.M. at (http://www.nwobhm.cjb.net), although most of it is in Portuguese. Stay Heavy!
• DENIM AND LEATHER
• A/c Sergio Turano
• Rua Herculano de Freitas, 73/21
• 01308-020 São Paulo/SP
• BRAZIL
• http://www.denimandleather.cjb.net
• [email protected]
Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis