Interview with Ray Cappo, 11.6.2001

Dani: Hi, we were quite surprised to get a new shelter album. We’ve heard lots of stories, that “when 20 summers pass” was the last album. Then you had several line-up changes, so where’s Shelter right now?

Ray: Well, as far as I know, we play a show tonight, in Zug, Switzerland…(laughing) Well, I already told myself to stop making music, ‘cause I’ve also other interests, and I always realised that I can’t stop doing it. Sometimes I think I gonna stop just because I’m looking maybe something else to get into. And last year… Porcell’s gonna have a baby, and he won’t be up on tour anymore… so we’ve asked ourselves to do another record or not… You know, last year we’ve had so many good tours, so many kids who loved “when 20 summers pass”, and they always asked: why don’t you do another record? My answer was, “no”, I wanted to travel, to get new experiences outside of music, but everyone said: Well, just do this also, you can travel round an write songs… That’s when I really started re-thinking, you know, who I am, and want I really want. Why I started to music… all that stuff. And at the end of that process “The purpose the passion” was written…

Dani: Were the actually Shelter members already together when you started to write the songs?

Ray: No, well I tell you: With Shelter, there’s no secret, that when I started the band, it was a solo-project. The first record “perfection of desire” came out as a solo-project and it was supposed to be my last album ever… (laughing) And it became a band, three years later Porcell joined the band and became a very steady member and then we just had different member changes. But basically, you know 95% of the music and 100% of the lyrics were always written by me.

Dani: So you wrote the new album before having the musicians to record it?

Ray: Well, I knew them… me and Supergrass, who was in the band last year, he joined when Gram moved back to Sweden. And…äh... he’s an incredible guitar-player, more than he’s a bass player. So when Porcell left, I knew he could play Porcell’s stuff, better than Porcell could play itself… he’s twenty years old, and… so I just let him play guitar. So basically this time we wrote this album together, Supergrass and me. So he came to me to California, I played drums and bass for a while… I came back to the early sense of Shelter as an experimental project. You know, most of the shit was always done by me, but I usually hang out with people, and I also get interested people into the band. So with this record and this tour, Franklin, who was in the band for “Mantra” and “beyond planet earth” then he played on last year’s album, Supergrass was on tour with us last year, and then SRI, my ex-girlfriend and good friend of mine. She was in “Baby Gopal” and now playing guitar as well… That’s the story why these people are now on tour together as “Shelter”.

Dani: How do you look at Shelter today? It’s more successful than Better than a thousand and Youth of today (Ray’s former bands) ever were. Is it still just a project?

Ray: Over all, yes, you’re right. I mean especially Youth of today still has this crazy die-hard fans…

Dani: As I am!!!

Ray: Thanks! But yes… Shelter is bigger, much bigger. But for me, I don’t know, it’s still my baby, or whatever… You know, I never cared about how big my bands were. To me, Shelter is successful in an other way than being famous. It’s successful because of the experience I got with this band. Even when I never became as big as Linkin’ Park or Limp Bullshit, it’s successful to me. I travelled the world, with this band, I found a way to express my mind, all that makes Shelter personally successful to me.

Dani: You are a very spiritual guy, and I think you try to give people a message with your music or lyrics. But here, we have this gap of language and lot’s of people do not even understand what you’re singing about. What do you think about it?

Ray: Well, I think people are all on different levels in their life. So always when there is a spiritual message, or a deeper message, people can understand it at one time in their life, maybe not now. It’s like… recently I’ve read this book “1984” by George Orwell (Excellent book!) It’s still the same book that I’ve read when I was 14 years old. When I was 14, I liked it. But when I re-read it now, it made so much more sense. Sometimes, age, or where you are in life, certain things have more meaning or less meaning. So I won’t criticise people who don’t know all the lyrics. It’s sort of unimportant, ‘cause of the feelings, so when people walk away from a Shelter show, there’s a good feeling, a good energy, so it has an effect on people. And when I read what people write into the guestbook on the Shelter website, (www.ineedyourshelter.com) you know, there’s so much intelligence… so it has an effect on people. Maybe not on 100% of the people, but maybe on one or two people, and that’ s already a lot. Isn’t it a great thing when you can influence two people with your job? To me it is!

Dani: So what is more important to you with Shelter? The message or the music?

Ray: Well, it’s like salt and pepper. You neither want to much of one, nor the other. It needs a good balance. It’s good message but shitty music, or good music but stupid message… doesn’t make a difference. That’s the problem I have with Hip-Hop. You know, I like some sort of Hip-Hop-Music but the lyrics… sexism, racism, violence… stupid!

Dani: What do you think about the actual emo-core trend then?

Ray: Oh, it has always being very big I think. And I don’t care if something’s is big or trendy right now. It’s just music. I don’t care if bands are big either. I like good music, if it’s trendy, cool. If it’s not trendy, cool.

Dani: Do you’ve ever thought if this album is really the last one… or what’s you’re future plans?

Ray: Oh, I stopped thinking like that! (laughing)

Dani: So, Shelter, as the band is together right now, is just for this tour or…

Ray: Who knows! Where should I know that from? (laughing) Who knows what happens tomorrow? Maybe we die!

Dani: Ok, we’ve talked enough. Let’s have a look at the pictures we have from the last Shelter shows.

Ray: Oh, yes, and “dankäschon” (Ray try’s to speak German)

Dani: Thanks a lot.

By Dani

Back