I spoke with MILAN POLAK and bassist FABIO TRENTINI. So here�s what MILAN had to say about his last album "Straight", and his long career. He has played with such greats as Steve Bailey, Dimebag Darrell, Falco, Marty Friedman, Paul Gilbert- Fabrizio Grossi, Ken Hensley, Shawn Lane, Thomas Lang. Billy Sheehan, Matt Sorum & other members of Guns n� Roses, Subway To Sally ("Bastard"), Joey Tafolla, Tangerine Dream and Jeff Waters. He was also kind enough to reveal what he�ll be up to in the near future with Fabio Trentini!

myspace.com/milanpolak

MUEN: Hi Milan, how are you? Welcome to Muen Magazine.

Milan: Hello, I am fine. Busy working on a new album at the moment. Thank you for the interview.

MUEN: Let�s start with your last album "Straight", in my opinion it�s an amazing album! Is there a secret behind this progression?

Milan: Thank you very much for your kind words. Hahaha, no secrets I guess... I just felt that after a few instrumental albums it was time to move on. I wanted to reach a bigger audience. I have always written what I call "real songs" - songs with lyrics. Many times after concerts where I sang backing vocals people suggested I should be the lead singer. So since I could not find an appropriate singer I finally decided to give it a shot.

MUEN: What song do you feel represents the album the best and why?

Milan: I truly think that every song has a story to tell and a right of its own. The songs on �Straight� are diverse - some are more bluesy, some are more heavy, some even have a punk attitude. It will be different on the new album. The song writing will be more focused on one certain direction. I don�t want to give away too much but it will definitely be heavier, less bluesy, more progressive and more virtuoso guitar playing again...

MUEN: With your music, do you feel it helps the listener escape from reality, or think more about reality?

Milan: With my instrumentals maybe the first but on �Straight� (and even more so on the upcoming album) definitely the latter. My lyrics always reflect upon true stories, things I have experienced or that happened in my life. I constantly absorb and I write down what I think & feel. I speak my mind and I don�t necessarily care about political correctness. A song like "Superstar Mania" for example reflects upon how I feel about casting shows and the "15 minutes of fame" media phenomenon.

MUEN: How would you say your sound has changed or evolved since your earlier albums?

Milan: Well, sound is definitely something I have become more aware of throughout the years. I used to think that sound was not important as long as your playing was good but that�s not true. A bad guitar tone can throw you off no matter how good the performance is. On �Straight� I wanted the sound to be very direct and stripped down without any effects, something not everybody seems to have comprehended...

MUEN: In what kind of situation are you most creative? Alone in a silent place, or when you�re under pressure, or what else?

Milan: That�s hard to say. I guess, it�s a combination of all of the above. The instrumental "Dreamscapes" for instance I have written during my holidays in the Domenican Republic sitting in front of my bungalow watching the sun go down and disappear into the sea.

The songs on �Straight� are a result of about 2 years of relaxed song writing - whenever a song "happened" I just wrote it down and recorded a basic demo of it.

The songs on the upcoming CD have been written in a short period of time in between different music jobs. I had a tight schedule of going on the road and whenever I had a few days at home I tried to write material. The result will be a lot more stringent than on �Straight�.

MUEN: Can you tell me something about your feelings on playing guitar?

Milan: My guitar is basically my tool of expression besides my voice (which I also consider an instrument). No matter if I play an instrumental or a song with lyrics, I always try to make my guitar sing and express the mood of the song. I think that this is much more important than playing fast notes up & down your fretboard and it�s many times overlooked by guitarists, unfortunately.

When I recorded "Sometimes I Still Miss You" (�Dreamscapes�/Lion Music) for instance, I tried to make the guitar talk to the listener. If you listen to "The Glowing Of A Cigarette" (�Straight�/Lion Music) the guitar is basically expressing what the lyrics already say.

I always liked that kind of approach ever since I was a teen. Pink Floyd, for example are really great at doing this. If you listen to �The Wall�, the music is so intense & expressive already, you don�t really need the lyrics anymore to get the message... They are the cream on top of the cake.

MUEN: Let�s talk about some news. You are currently working with Fabio Trentini. How did you start this cooperation?

Milan: Well, Fabio had already played half of all the basses on �Straight�. Not only is he one of the best bassists I have ever worked with but he is also a great musician - he is a great song writer, singer, producer and guitar player. But the most important thing of all is that he is a great guy - we really have become best friends in quite a short period of time.

After I had written some songs for the upcoming CD, I asked Fabio if he was interested in playing bass again on the album as well as co-producing it and fortunately he agreed.

I did not want to have different musicians on this next album. Don�t get me wrong, I have played with a lot of awesome musicians in my life and I also have received offers from some incredible musicians to play on this next album and I am really grateful for that. But I wanted to have a band situation this time. We also have one of the best drummers in the world for this upcoming album but at the moment I don�t want to give away any more information...

FABIO JOINS INTERVIEW:

MUEN: Hi Fabio, Would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

Fabio: Hello everybody, I�m Fabio Trentini, I come from Italy and I work as a rock producer, bass player and composer (for further information please check www.fabiotrentini.com )

MUEN: What did you like the most about playing with Milan?

Fabio: I met Milan at Horus Sound Studios a couple of years ago, when I was asked to play bass for a project he was working on. We�ve been working together a lot since then: I played bass on his last LP "Straight", he played guitar for my pop-rock project "Moonbound" last year, and now we�re producing Milan�s new LP together. What I like most about Milan is his incredible versatility and his musicality. Working with such a musician makes you play better automatically. And it�s big fun, of course.

MUEN: How do you go about the process of composing songs?

Milan: The process on �Straight� was different than it is on the new album. For �Straight� I just wrote songs when they happened. This could mean 3 songs in one week and then one song in 3 weeks. Also, I composed what I felt like writing without caring too much about one specific direction or style. On the new album it�s a lot different: I wrote a lot of songs in a short period of time. About two thirds of the songs for the new album were written and then Fabio came in. At the moment we are working on writing another 3 or 4 more songs together.

Fabio: Milan sent me very rough demos of his new songs. Some of them were just layouts, very stripped down versions quickly recorded with mostly first takes. I wrote down some ideas and suggestions, and we created a kind of to do list. Then we started to make experiments with different sounds and approaches, changing arrangements a.s.o.

Compared to "Straight" the new record will definitely sound a bit more progressive and heavier.

MUEN: In what way does the audience influence you when you�re on stage? How do the different settings influence your playing?

Milan: Of course, playing for people is always a great thing to do. That�s one of the main reasons why we�re doing all this. It�s nice when people like what you�re doing and you get this kind of feedback. You basically feed off each other. Everything is very spontaneous and you only get one shot to perform your part(s). Working in a studio situation is more focused and you get more chances to deliver your best performances but it can also get very sterile easily if you�re not careful.

Fabio: I personally prefer playing in clubs, cause it�s more intimate, but at the same time you�re more "exposed" if something goes wrong.

When you play on big stages the crowd is more distant, and you can�t get a hold of the individual faces.

MUEN: What do you think about the music market right now, after the introduction of iTunes and the digital music?

Fabio: There are pros and cons. On one hand music has become more easily available to everyone, iTunes and mp3 players are very practical tools. On the other hand recorded music has lost its value, because people don�t spend money for records or CDs anymore, and that�s a big problem for the whole music industry, as we all know. I think it�s a very subjective issue. The "culture of buying records" and collecting them is gone forever, and that�s a pity. Whatever you might wish for is only one "click" away today. This is very comfortable indeed, but it also makes things lose their real value.

Milan: Yeah, like Fabio already said, especially the younger generation has lost the feel for the whole package. When I was a teen I was looking forward to having a whole record or CD with all the songs, the cover, the booklet with the info inside, etc. Today it�s more like "here�s one song" and the other 10 on the CD do not count anymore.

People do not appreciate or value the work, energy and also money musicians & artists invest in their products. Especially the illegal download issue has become a serious problem. I mean, people are not willing to pay for a CD anymore but happily spend 4.99 dollars on a fucking ring tone for their cell phone. What�s wrong with you...?

MUEN: What has been your most satisfying event in your musical carreer?

Fabio: (Being a big Mr. Mister and King Crimson fan) having had the chance to work with drummer Pat Mastelotto was one of the highlights in my career.

Milan: Being able to record my own music and having all these great musicians like Fabio to work & play with.

MUEN: What is a typical day for Milan Polak?

Milan: I get up around 9 a.m. and start my daily 90 minutes workout. Then I take care of business calls & e-mails and fan mail. During this procedure (which takes up several hours of my day) I also do my 45 minutes vocal training. Then I have breakfast around 2 p.m. (don�t worry, I drink a lot of tea in between....). After that I continue answering e-mails and making phone calls and try to play guitar or write new material. Of course, sometimes jobs come in like jingles or writing songs for others or playing guitars on other productions. I usually work until after midnight without a break except for dinner. I guess, you can say I�m a workaholic... hahaha

MUEN: What are your hobbies?

Milan: Well, I love what I am doing and since I do it all the time, I don�t really have time for any hobbies... hahaha. But I love scuba diving (I have a few diving licenses) and whenever I get a chance to on holidays I do that. I am also interested in economy, psychology, philosophy, stock exchange markets, I read & absorb a lot and I also love to travel and meet new people & cultures. I travel a lot.

MUEN: What�s the most important thing for you in your life, something you won�t ever give up?

Milan: Music, my independence, my freedom and my close friends.

MUEN: What are you expecting in the future?

Milan: To continue doing what I love, play and perform as much as possible and make as many records as possible.

MUEN: Ok , we�re done, thank you so much for your availability. Feel free to end this interview with a message�

Fabio: Thank you very much for the interview.

Milan: The pleasure is all mine - thank you for your interest. I want to thank all my fans world-wide for their continuous support. And remember: illegal downloading is killing music!

All the best,

Milan

www.milanpolak.com
www.milanpolakfansite.com

Interview by Angel Devil