2006 was rather a good year for Lauren Harris. As well as playing her own shows she also managed to pick up shows with  Alice Cooper and slots at Download and Germany's Rock Im Park. To round the year off she also blagged the opening slot on Iron Maiden's Japanese and European tours. Having chatted to Lauren before it was more than time to catch up with her and find out how things are going....

Lauren & band at soundcheck - Newcastle

When did you find out about the chance to support Iron Maiden? 

LH – It was about a month prior to Japan. We managed to get a couple of warm up gig’s under our belt to get used to playing again but apart from that it was pretty much in at the deep end.

When you found out did you think I’m supporting Iron Maiden or my dad’s band?

LH – It was a bit Iron Maiden but it was mainly dad as I know so many of the backstage crew. I was scared of letting them all down as well.

So how has the tour been going for you?

LH – This tour has been brilliant for me. I was very nervous when I was supporting Alice Cooper earlier this year & when I got to Japan it was like Oh my God! In fact it wasn’t the fact that I was going to be playing to venues who had 8/9,000 capacity, I was more worried about what everyone backstage was thinking & didn’t want to mess up. Japan itself is so different though. Although I have visited the country twice, once as baby & once when I was about 10 or so, I couldn’t really remember much about the place. While in Japan we stayed in the same hotels as Iron Maiden, but back in the UK it’s back to separate hotels. 

   

Has your view of what your dad does changed at all as you have now been on the road yourself? 

LH – Not really as he's not a different person on tour as he is always level headed & likes to know what’s going on. He is also strong willed & can be stubborn. It’s just been a case of seeing how he is with many other people rather than just family & friends as normal.

What’s the crowd reaction been like 

LH – On the whole very favourable. I especially find that when I ask the crowd to put there hand’s in the air if I then repeat it with PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS IN THE AIR it really work’s as they don’t expect a small female on stage to come out with this. 

What’s it like to play on larger stages? 

LH – In a lot of way’s it’s easier as you have a lot more space to move around & with the bigger audience’s I’m nervous & scared a bit. 

With that in mind what have you learnt from these shows?

LH – I have learnt to have fun on stage & taking it all in can be overwhelming. The real big thing is how important times are & making sure you are on time for sound check. It’s really been about learning the logistics on a tour like this. 

So with the high profile of touring with Maiden are you getting recognised at all?

LH – During the tour after I have finished my set I sometimes go to the sound desk  to watch Iron Maiden a few people have stopped me to speak which is a nice feeling especially if they have nice comments to make. 

Have you sold much merchandise? 

LH – We have sold a few shirts in the UK & we were really pleased with the sales in Japan. 

The last time we chatted you said that your album was almost finished, how's it coming along now?

LH – The album is close to completion but with this tour it’s been put on the back burner a little bit. Once the tour is over we'll head back into the studio to finish it. We have at least 14 tracks to choose from for the finished product. 

Do you have a record deal yet? 

LH – Not at the moment in fact two record companies are coming to Earls Court but we are not too worried about a deal at the moment. We are more concerned with creating a buzz in fact we may even release the album ourselves. We don’t want to get a deal with a company who wants to turn me into something I’m not it’s all about finding the right deal & not just taking the first that’s offered. 

So at this point in time would you say you are ahead of schedule with your career plan? 

LH – Oh way ahead. We really didn’t know how the Iron Maiden crowd would react as I have a different sound to dad’s band. Trivium have an altogether heavier sound & I was worried about the reaction. Our first gig was in Alborg, Denmark & even my drummer/producer Tom McWilliams was worried but the response was really great we were so pleased we could hardly believe it.  

On a slightly different note, what was it like being photographed by Ross Halfin? 

LH – To be honest I hate having my photo taking & thankfully in Japan it wasn’t a formal shoot as dad & I were just walking around & we were in front of a wall of light & then had some pictures taken. Dad is also into photography himself. 

Is you’re my space site still getting loads of hit’s?

LH – Yes this tour has done us a lot of good. 

What are you doing next? 

LH – Well Tuesday 19^th December is a day off so I’ll be out Christmas shopping but I am looking forward to having a break over Christmas...

If 2006 has been a busy year for Lauren, then for her dad Steve and Iron Maiden it has been, arguably, one of the best years of their career. At the time of writing Different Worlds is sitting at number 3 in the UK singles chart. It's parent album. A Matter Of Life And Death has been a critical success worldwide, even breaking the band into the USA Top Ten for the first time and of course their live shows have been virtually sold out throughout the world. Catching up with Mr. Harris prior to their Newcastle show on the UK leg of the tour HardRockHouse tried to find out just what makes Maiden so unstoppable....

Hi Steve, thanks for talking to us, first up how has the tour been for you so far?

SH - It's been a great tour and a real challenge playing all the new material. With this much new stuff in the set it makes us focus more as a band. We've generally had really good reactions from all the fans and most of the venues have been sold out. The crowds is Scandanavia were mental, but both Barcelona and Milan were intense.

With just a handful of shows left do you personally feel “thank god it’s nearly over” or is it more a case of ‘I wish it could go for another three months”?

SH - It's been a relatively short tour by Iron Maiden standards and so not too bad. We are planning on coming out again though in 2007 although at the minute it would be unfair to announce any details until everything's in place. (editors note: since the interview maiden have confirmed their appearance at Desert Rocks in Dubai and Bruce commented on the UK tour that they would be playing an outdoor show in the UK sometime this year)

The decision to play the new album in its entirety was brave, and perhaps in some quarters a touch controversial, how much discussion did you have before finally deciding to go for it?

SH - Brave, or stupid? It just felt right to make a statement with the new record. It felt good in rehearsal and then we suggested it to Rod. We told Rod though that if we played the entire album we wouldn't bottle it after four or five gigs as we had made out bed and would have to lie in it. It's a challenge playing the whole album, but we enjoy the challenge and it definitely makes us work harder each night. Sure there's been some moans on the forums but to be honest I don't go on there a lot, although luckily some of the new rules on there have changed this a little. 

   

In a 2005 interview with Classic Rock Bruce was quoted as saying “From now on you should expect a live DVD and double album after every tour”, so does that mean at some point in the future there’ll be a record covering this tour?

SH - Who knows. We've been filming and recording on this tour, as with every tour but whether it comes out all depends. I tend to do all the work with the live albums and DVDs and although I've tried giving it to someone else it always ends up back in my lap and it's like more work then. 

In the ‘Run To Hills’ biography you are quoted with regard to the ‘Ed Hunter’ tour as saying about playing a greatest hits set that it “felt a little bit cabaret and that you “found that difficult” Given that the band are now interspersing album tours with the retrospective shows and that the next tour will be built around the Powerslave era, do you still feel the same way, or do you look at your back catalogue these days from a different perspective?

SH - Yeah the tour will be loosely based around the Powerslave album but, to be honest, we haven't planned anything yet. It's the next step from the Early Years tour though. Ed Hunter was difficult to play as we had nothing new to promote - it was a best of with Bruce back in the band. With the early years shows we had something to promote so it made sense to play a set based around those albums. You know we were playing songs that were twenty odd years old and a lot of them we hadn't played since Janick and Nicko joined the band so we had to relearn a lot of them 

Moving on to the album itself, as with the previous two studio albums A Matter Of Life And Death sees more of a collective approach to song writing than in earlier days. Has this been a conscious decision?

SH - Yeah it was a more collective approach, working with Bruce and Adrian but it wasn't a conscious decision, it was just the way it worked out. It does take some of the pressure off me though knowing that the others have brought some great songs in. There were a lot of different partnerships this time round. Janick brought some great stuff in and I worked with him arranging the best bits and moulding them into songs.

On the DVD that came with the album it appeared as if everything, even down to the running order of the songs was worked out before you entered the studio, was this indeed the case?

SH - Everything was worked out pretty much before we got into the studio. We were well rehearsed and to be honest we only flipped two songs around in the running order once we started recording. 

Also on the DVD you discuss the different ways both you and Bruce approach writing lyrics and melodies. With this in mind how do you decide which of you will actually write lyrics to particular songs, especially where you came up with the melodies?

SH - yeah we do differ in that respect. Bruce is more of a lyricist than a songwriter and usually writes with other people. I still think I am right though and that the melody is the most important. If you write three syllables where the melody needs two it changes the melody and it may not be as strong. Bruce will always say it's the lyrics that are more important. It's all much easier now that we are older though, we don't tend to fight. As to who writes the lyrics - good question. It depends mainly on who's working on a song first. If it's mine then I tend to write the lyrics, whereas as I said before Bruce mainly works with other people.

‘Out Of The Shadows’ arguably comes closer to Bruce’s solo material than anything Maiden have attempted in the past. Was there any apprehension recording a song that had such similarities to Bruce’s own work?

SH - I don't agree there. We've done similar stuff before 'Bring Your Daughter' was definitely a Bruce song as was 'Wasting Love'. Everyone has different impression though. 

I believe you also chose not to have the new album mastered, is this an indication that in some way you were unhappy about the final outcome, sonically, of the last couple of albums?

SH - Mastering can change the entire sound of an album. In the days of vinyl the engineers we used were at the top of their game. With digital there's not as many experts and you can work months on a record and the mastering changes all the frequencies and the mixes as they try to cram as much level out as possible

You have also chosen to release Different Worlds as the second single from the album. Releasing it at Christmas, is this aiming for the number 1 spot again as with 'Bring Your Daughter'?

SH - It's a different strategy. Rod wanted Different Worlds as the first single but we went with a different approach with Benjamin Breeg. Rod loves chart positions and although their great it's not the be all and end all. You always have hopes with a single, we would love a Number 1 though, number two is like close, but no cigar and it makes people proud and gives a kick up the arse to non-believers 

Bringing Lauren out on tour with you must be a great feeling, but did you have misgivings about how she would be received by Maiden/Trivium fans given that her music is not quite as heavy, or involved, as perhaps what they might be expecting at a Maiden show?

SH - It's fantastic. I'm really proud of Lauren as you have to be good, no qualms about it, to cut it in front of a Maiden audience. I've seen a few bands over the years not go down well at all. With three bands on the bill it's not easy as there can be only a third of the people in when she hits the stage. But Lauren's gone down amazingly. It just shows how hard the band have worked, she just loves to take an audience on and have a go

So do you feel like her boss or her dad on this tour?

SH - A bit of both, but mainly her dad. I can give her info and encouragement about what to expect each night from the audiences. Some places are more laid back, other more expecting and I can pass this knowledge on. Most nights I watch from side stage and I always encourage what she's doing

Do you feel that it’s harder for younger artists, such as Lauren, these days to actually build a career in the music business given the emphasis on instant success and celebrity rather on quality and gradual growth? 

SH - Yeah it's definitely harder and harder with all of the downloading going on. These are changing times and you can record an album in your own room these days

  

And with that we all headed off to see Lauren rock the crowd in Newcastle. Many thanks to Steve & Lauren Harris fort taking the time to speak with us and to Steve Altman for arranging the interviews and photo passes.

Jackie Rull & Steve Cummings