THE EFFECT (JUNE 11ST, 2024)

The day after their Paris gig at Le Petit Bain, we caught up with the members of The Effect. Since then, their eponymous debut album has been released, giving Music Waves the opportunity to dig out this interview from the archives and present this band as promising as the CVs of their members - notably Trev Lukather and Nic Collins, son of whoever you know - in the hope that the future will be brighter than its progenitor's previous project, Levara...





We like to start our Music Waves interviews with the traditional question: what's the one question you've been asked too many times that you're sick of answering?

Trev Lukather: Oh, that's a good question.

Nic Collins: ‘How does it feel to have Steve Lukather as your father?’

Trev: (Laughs)


In that respect, as the son of legendary musicians, do you feel extra pressure and being judged more harshly than lesser-known artists?

Nic: There are positives and negatives to that. But in the end, there's nothing we can do about it: they're our parents! We don't have a choice. On the other hand, we're very grateful. We're very proud of the careers our fathers have had. We're all fans of our parents. We've been lucky to live a very privileged life and we're aware of that. And we decided to play music because we love it. So of course that can open doors, but at the same time, opportunities don't come our way just because our parents are famous musicians. In a way, there's an extra pressure which on the one hand has been positive because I've had to practise my instrument even more in order to prove to some people that they were wrong to misjudge me and in particular, when I was on tour with my father and with Genesis. From the outside, you might think that it must be nice to do these concerts just because I was Phil Collins' son but I understand that perspective. But I've made sure that I've worked over and over again to prove them wrong and that I deserve to be there. And I think that's the attitude you have to take: you can't just see the negative all the time. But it's true, I totally agree with the fact that we may always carry the stigma or suffer from this predisposed mentality.


And in your case, you're under extra pressure because of your brother Simon Collins who, with his previous band Sound of Contact, released one of the best modern progressive albums of recent years with ‘Dimensionaut’...

Nic: That's true, given that we're in the same league. But that's normal...


There's a part of us that wants to prove our detractors wrong...



Getting back to The Effect, it would seem that for your first album you wanted to pay tribute to your musical heritage, but also to emancipate yourself from it with a distinct style. Was this a conscious decision?

Trev: No. What Nick has just said is true. When we were young, we were inspired by our fathers. But it's like some kids who take up football to be in touch with their fathers: they watch sports etc... As for me, I jammed with my father, I played drums and that was my way of being connected to my father. As far back as I can remember, I can't even remember my life before I had an instrument in my hands. And there's always been a strange, negative preconception in music that if someone in your family is in the business, you'll always have that negative preconception and I don't understand why... But as Nick said, it forces you to play even more because there's a part of us that wants to prove our detractors wrong... But honestly, I've been paying less attention to that for a while now, knowing that there will always be people who have their opinions and it doesn't matter what we do - even if we'd written ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ - we'd be hated by some people because that's the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it.
But we're lucky enough to get a lot of positive feedback. And that's a good thing because we're playing the music we want to play without trying to impress our fathers or anyone else (Smiles): we just want to play the music we're proud of, an album written with our hearts and souls...


In that respect, this album sounds resolutely modern. How do your origins influence your artistic identity?

Nic : In the end, we never thought of sounding like Toto or Genesis, far from it...

Trev : We never thought about it...

Nic: The influences can be felt personally and more or less naturally, like me as a drummer or Trev as a guitarist. But in the end, this band is the coming together of the three of us and The Effect is the combination of the three of us: that's what happened with the album without any particular effort...


Your music and your musical approach seem to be linked to the sound of the 1980s-1990s with contemporary sounds. Is this a connection you've consciously sought to make?

Trev: What you're saying makes sense, but if people think we sound very 80s it's because Nick's done a great job at the time - in the 1970s, 80s, 90s - when you went into the studio and recorded, you really had to know your instrument. There was a lot of musicality in the pop scene at the time. Guitar solos, great drummers, real musicians that we were lucky enough to grow up with, get to know and admire. And I think when you grow up with people like that around you, you want to be part of it too. So you learn to play your instrument over and over again to get to know it. But at the same time, we're also songwriters. So we want to create a song that bears our trademark and be able to be modern and contemporary as well as showing our musicality.
Whether you listen to Aerosmith, Journey, Led Zeppelin... all these bands are great musicians, great singers and it's easy to make songs...

Nic: I also think that having a pop sensibility with rock naturally evokes the 1980s because that's what was being done at the time. But it's not necessarily a conscious effort on our part. The presence of keyboards that evoke the 1980s also contributes to this.

Trev: And finally, we have an incredible singer in Emmet...

Emmet Stang: It's true that people can also criticise me when we write tunes because I grew up listening to my parents' music: I'm a psychedelic rock baby with Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors... I listen to a lot of music but more particularly the early rock that runs in my blood... We've all contributed to this sound and we all unconsciously come from these sounds that inspire us.


You mentioned the keyboards, which play an important role in your songs, particularly in songs like ‘It Could Have Been You’ with guest Steve Perry. How is this instrument crucial to your band? And now that Steve Maggoria is no longer part of The Effect, should we expect an evolution in your music on the next album?

Trev: Probably! But to be honest, we haven't thought about that. But we know a lot of people like David Paich, Jonathan Cain but also young keyboard players who could play on the album or Greg Phillinganes who are legendary session musicians who could play some tracks... Who knows what will happen? It depends on where we are when it comes to recording the next album.


You mentioned session musicians but yesterday, at your Paris gig, there was no keyboard player or bassist... How should we view The Effect: is it a three-piece or are you planning to strengthen the band with new members?

Trev: No, no new members. It's extremely expensive to tour and therefore to pay for a bass player and a keyboard player to come and tour with us... So it's just the three of us who do the gigs. It's 2024 and touring with a twelve-piece band is extremely difficult. Today, for example, Muse do their concerts with a three-piece band... We're living in a different era that allows us to do that. But of course, we'd love to have guys with us on tour but we still have to work to make that possible.


Your songs are pretty direct and hard-hitting. Was this a deliberate choice to maximise the effectiveness and impact of your debut album?

Nic: I think that really comes from the band. We never had a conversation about what the album should sound like. We may have tweaked ‘Unwanted’ a bit because that was the first song and it was going to set the tone for the rest of the album. But in the end, we have common influences even though we come from different musical backgrounds. For example, as a drummer, I follow what I listen to, which is progressive rock/metal and that influences my approach to drumming. In the same way, Trev is obviously a great riff writer and Emmet with his powerful palette... But nothing was deliberate. Obviously, at the end of the album, you make a list of the songs you've got and you wonder whether you need more heavy songs or softer songs to balance it all out, but nothing was deliberate...


We want people to sing along



A track like ‘Sadistic Love’ seems to reflect your progressive influences, alternating pop and melancholy passages, while ‘Something Wrong’ seems more influenced by a modern version of 1980s AOR. Does this analysis correspond to your vision of music?

Emmet: We don't know where the melodies we write come from. When these guys start working together on the arrangements, you have to get rid of this feeling that the music gives you. You don't know yet what the melodies are going to be: they're unknown to us. It's as if the universe is masking them in this creative soup (Smiles): it's like being faced with a piece of marble and having to find a way of creating a sculpture out of it. Each of these songs came about by trying to find a melody that we like. If we like it, we hope people will want to sing it with us. There's a very strong intention in this album, which is that we want people to sing along: that's the origin of the music itself!


You want a lot of people to sing with you, and there's one famous person who sings with you: Steve Perry. How did you manage to get him out of retirement to do a cover of Journey's ‘It Could Have Been You’?

Trev: Luckily, we didn't have to be too convincing... In fact, we've been friends for 18 years and he's been a second mentor to me. Steve's an incredible soul, he's been really supportive and when he heard ‘Unwanted’ he called me up straight away to say he was really excited about our band: he wanted to know everything about all the members of the band, starting with Emmet but also Nick Collins who played with Genesis. He was very, very proud of what he'd heard. Listening to all the praise Steve was giving me, I thought I should return all that love, it shouldn't just be one way. I told him I listened to ‘Raised on Record’ regularly and that we should jam together. And in the course of the conversation, he asked me why I didn't do a cover version. In my mind, we'd just finished composing the album, the mastering had just finished. Nevertheless, he asked me to think about it. I told him that if he sang with us, we could maybe think about it. He immediately said he was up for it. I immediately called the guys...

Nic : It was a pretty obvious thing to do! But there's a lot of pressure that comes with trying to cover a particular Journey song and replicate a voice, particularly Steve's which is so iconic. Doing a cover can be a bit disappointing, but not doing it would have been stupid. Knowing that Steve was extremely committed and appreciated our approach, we gave ourselves every chance of making it work. Because he could have done it without conviction, but to see him in the studio, to see him so involved, it was an honour to see a legend sing his part in front of us...

Trev: And I had the added pressure of having to impress not only Steve but also my father-in-law Jonathan Cain, who's Journey's keyboard player. So there were two people we had to get approval from, and fortunately we got it.


Even though you don't have the same range as Steve Perry, your voices have a similar sensitivity. Did Steve Perry have an influence on you and your voice in particular?

Emmet: Particularly on this track, knowing that I was extremely scared to do it. I'd already done covers on social networks and I knew what it meant. I was well prepared for it but it's not a voice you can replicate (Laughs). It's really beyond replication. So I did my best to honour it in a way that would make sense to me. And when I got too lost, Trev would encourage me by confirming that Steve wanted me to do it that way too. But I really wanted to honour that extraordinary voice.

Trev: And also, Nic's drumming on the chorus is very prog.

Nic: But it was you who wanted me to do it that way in the first place (Laughs)!

Trev: I was wondering how Nick could play it and actually, when I suggested he play it like that, it was weird because it was the way he would have played it anyway...

Nic : ... which makes the chorus sound a bit different. I don't know why exactly, but we tried to give the verses a bit more punch: the groove is the same but it's heavier, harder too... The same goes for the choruses: we try to sound different and that's essential when you're doing a cover version.


We're very modern



As we mentioned earlier, your music can be considered AOR, even if it sounds more like modern rock. What do you think of this categorisation? Is it due to your melodic approach to music?

Trev: I think we're very modern. Whereas to me, to be honest and with no disrespect, AOR sounds old-fashioned these days: the bands, the guys who make this music sound a bit dated and we don't do that...


Even so, are you aware that people like to put labels on things?

Nic : Yes, and it's interesting because, having AOR references, we're categorised as a progressive band. These two categories can be polarised in their traditional sense and for me it's a compliment that people try to find a way of labelling us. As I said before, we have our influences but we're doing something a bit new, at least I hope so...

Trev: That's exactly it! And I don't think we sound like any other band. We're a hard, alternative, pop, rock band... with a real musicality in the background with Nick in particular who has such a fresh and different approach, far removed from the typical hard rock you can find in rock bands. If you listen to our music, you'll think it's progressive, like the introduction to ‘Toxic Envy’, which is typically progressive...


The track ‘Unwanted’ is pretty straightforward. Is it a song that the audience will sing along to?

Trev : We saw that last night, yes (Smiles)!

Nic: Yes, it was the first song we released and naturally it had to be the most direct, by default.

Trev: But also, it's the first one where you're not just in charge of the drums, which is also why it's so direct...

Nic: It's a question of what's appropriate for each song and each tune. This song was the first and a solid starting point: that's why we released it as the first single.


And what was the reaction from the audience at Le Petit Bain last night?

Trev: It was incredible!


Were you expecting it?

Trev: No! We didn't expect the place to be full and to be singing along...


And how do you explain that?

Emmet: It seems that there was a love of the melodies and feelings that our songs convey. It's something we've been hoping for, and we've had glimpses of it through our previous tours and concerts: we're aware of what our music can potentially do for people. And it's been an incredible, wonderful experience for us!


We spoke briefly about Steve Maggiora's departure, but what were the reasons behind it? Was it due to his commitments with Robert Jon & The Wreek?

Trev: He left that band as well.

Emmet: We were just going in different directions. The three of us have a very clear idea of what we want to do with the band and our sound. There's a commitment like in a relationship, a marriage between the three guys here (Laughs)... When you're always working for other people as a session musician, you have a different mentality. I've done a bit of it and I know what it's like and how the guys work and I don't think Steve's made that step yet.


We're talking about Steve Maggiora because, to be honest, his departure reminded us of the Levara adventure...

Trev: ... Yes.


Can you tell us more about the reasons for the demise of your previous band, who had released a very promising debut album...

Trev: Thanks!


Steve [Maggoria] left our band, but that had nothing to do with my previous band...



... But we didn't expect it to end like this...

Trev: Steve has left our band but it's nothing to do with my previous band. In my previous band... - I'm not talking about Josh the drummer (NdStruck: Josh Devine)- I worked with people who had no experience, who didn't understand the business, who didn't understand anything and who were ultimately ungrateful and when the band started to make a bit of a buzz, they thought it was exclusively thanks to them and had no recognition of everything that had gone before and by whom it had been done... : that was clearly the problem with my previous band...


And finally, what do you expect from the forthcoming album?

Trev: What are we waiting for? We're just waiting to work hard and...


... To get more French gigs?

Trev: Absolutely!

Emmet: We'd love to!

Trev: We came here to tour because we really want this album to be heard, to build a fanbase and show everyone the music we're capable of making with our heart and soul.

Emmet: And with these two concerts in France, you've proved that you're a rock'n'roll country...


Which is clearly not my opinion...

Emmet: I understand what you mean, but judging by the reaction of the public and the warm welcome we received, you are...


And finally, we've started with the question you've been asked too many times - what's the one you'd like me to ask you or that you'd dream of answering?

Emmet: That's a good question...

Trev: The question I'd like to be asked? Trev: I don't know.

Emmet: We play music, we don't like words (Laughs)!

Trev: We appreciate all questions from people who are interested in us and want to know more about us. It's a compliment and an honour, but right now I can't think of anything...


Thank you very much!

The Effect: (In French) Merci à toi!


Thanks to Loloceltic and Calgepo for their contributions and @Greg H Photographer for the pics...