MR. JULIANO MALLON (AOR WATCHTOWER)

Name: Juliano Mallon

 

Country: Brazil

 

Age: 41

 

Name (and link if present) of your website/magazine:  AORWatchTower – http://aorwatchtower.blogspot.com

 

Position in your website/magazine: Managing Editor

 

Online since (year when your website went online): April 2009

 

Introduce you as editor and your website with a little bio  (year and how you started to write reviews, possible previous versions and/or name of the website, more you want do add):  Hello there. I’m Juliano Mallon, Managing Editor of the AORWatchTower.blogspot.com. The AORWatchTower rose up from the ashes of the now defunct AORShrine, my first blog dedicated to AOR/Melodic Rock. It was back in 2007 when I brought the Shrine to an end, but due to the constant messages trying to convince me to bring it back to life, I ended cabving in, but not without changing some details first. With that done, the AORWatchTower debuted on April 13th 2009 and it’s been online since then.

 

Many people ask me why the AORWatchTower is written in Portuguese instead of English, and the answer is quite simple: there are very few spaces dedicated to AOR/Melodic Rock here in Brazil, and I opted for bringing information on those genres in Portuguese, so I could reach a wider reading audience in Brazil, first and foremost. Also, with the thousands of great AOR websites in English, I’d be another one lost at sea.

 

When I started it all, I never tought I’d ended having the privilege to interview so many great names from the AOR universe like Steve Overland and Pete Jupp (FM), Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), Robin Beck, Mark Spiro, Fiona, Leigh Matty (Romeo’s Daughter), John Parr, Ted Poley (Danger Danger),  Jimi Jamison (Survivor),  Mitch Malloy, Kevin Chalfant (The Storm),  Marcie Free (Unruly Child),  Stan Bush,  Hal Marabel (Bad Habit), Mikael Erlandsson (Last Autumn’s Dream, Lover Under Cover), Robert Säll (Work Of Art, W.E.T.), Bruno Kraller (Laneslide, Brunorock) and many more. But even better was having the opportunity to keep in touch wth most of these guys Who so kindly contribute with news and interviews to the AORWatchTower.

 

Favorite rock styles (AOR, Melodic Rock, Hard-Rock, Westcoast, Glam, Sleaze or so on): I think they’re all linked to one another in some level, but I can honestly say that AOR has a special place in my heart and if I ever had to choose only ONE genre among them all, it’d be AOR for sure.

 

Other music styles you like:  I’m really into rock and whatever comes from it, but I also like 80’s music in general, some stuff from the 90’s (with no restriction on genres whatosever), but keeping my eyes and ears open to whatever’s new that’s worth having in my collection.

 

"THE" band / artist that fully embraces your tastes in music: Hummm... that’s a though one. Though I have a whole lot of Journey material, I also have a ton of Toto, Foreigner and Survivor albums/singles/bootlegs. Hard to pick one, but if I had to, I’d go with Survivor.

 

Your personal TOP 5 of all times:  Survivor, Journey, Giant, The Storm, Bad English

 

Your personal FLOP 5 of all times: Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Queensrÿche, Survivor (with either Jeff Scott Soto or Robin McAuley, despite being excellent vocalists, they just didn’t fit the bill) and anything Lita Ford  and BoN Jovi put out after 1992.

 

Your biggest delusion in music (a crap album, a missed interview, a bad concert you've attended, etc): I never understood all the hoopla about Guns N’ Roses. Despite having excellent musicians – and a crappy vocalist – they didn’t do anything Aerosmith hadn’t already done in the 70’s

 

•     Some bands that keep re-recording old hits trying to re-live some glorious time, instead of coming up with new music that’s just as good.

 

•    The shameless use of autotune. C’mon, we’re not idiots...

 

 

Your highest point reached in music (a long awaited interview, a meeting with one of your idols, results reached with your webiste, etc): Though I already had the opportunity of interviewing some of the artists I like the most, there’s always someone new to go after. I think “the best” is yet to come.

 

Your most successful / favorite review: Some of the interviews that are really meaningful to me, due to the admiration I have for their work were the ones with Steve Overland and Pete Jupp (FM), the always kind Robin Beck, the one and only Leigh Matty (of Romeo’s Daughter), Jimi Jamison (one of my favorite vocalists ever) and the legendary Mark Spiro.

 

Your bitter regret about one of your reviews / interviews: For me, the worst thing is when an artist confirms the interview and then disappears. It’s happened sometimes and with some pretty big people, who shall remain nameless. It’s sad, but true L

 

Your 5 most promising acts / artists of the "new" generation: Well, there are many people releasing good albums now, but most of them sound quite the same. And it’s because most of these bands use the same songwriters and, sometimes, even the same musicians. I try not to hold my breath at first, but if a band/artist puts out two great album in a row, then a change of mind occurs. There are hundreds of bands/artists that suffer from the “first album syndrome”, where they put out a great effort, just to release a weak follow-up.

 

Your vision for the next year about the music biz of our music styles (possible death of the cd format, thoughts about digital releases, evolution of rock labels, etc.): It’s a fact that piracy had a huge effect on the market. And also the digital mídia, but in a different context, of course. I can’t really see the end of piracy in a short term. Nobody was ready for that – as the years proved true – and to this day neither the industry nor the artist community have a plausable solution. But as piracy came up, there must be something on the way to afefct the market once again, but this time in favor of the artists. We’ll have to wait for that, whatever that is...

 

Your personal suggestions for today's labels and artists: Quality is a must, for sure. A shiny smile and a pretty face don’t fool anyone. Invest in quality and you’ll build not only a strong name for yourself, but also a solid reputation of putting out albums by genuine artists.

 

As for artists, remember this: people are looking for the real deal. And we’re not stupid!!! Invest in your work, perfect your material and the results will come. There’s a huge market out there needy for true artists because there are one too many wannabes aout there.

 

Anything you want to add: Just a sincere THANK YOU for the time and attention, mate. It meant a lot to me to be able to share a few words about music with so many other enthusiasts. Hope to hear from you soon. Best regards from Brazil to you all J

 

Rock on...

 

 

YOUR LIFE IN ROCK SONGS! (name one song for a particular moment of your life)

 

The one that changed your life: "Breaking All The Rules", by Peter Frampton.  I was about 10 years old when I listened to that guitar intro and was never the same again... LOL

The one for your birthday: "Don't Give Up", by The Storm

The one for the love of your life: "Without Your Love", by Toto

The one for your beloved ones: Heaven Help My Heart – Tina Arena

The one for the best moment in your life: Don't have a specific one... LOL

The one for your worst enemy: Don't think I have one, but if I do, he doesn't deserve a song... LOL

The one which represents you and your vision of life: "Alive Again", by Strangeways, is just one of them. But I love this song...

The one which helped you in your saddest moments: Too many to mention... LOL

The "Rock Music Manifesto": It would be Peter Frampton's "Breaking All The Rules" again, for sure.

The one to say goodbye: "I Will Remember You", by Amy Grant. A very beautiful and emotional song...

The one for your funeral: "Going Home", by Corey Hart