TONY CAREY Interview with Tony Carey of Sign of the Wolf Q1: "Sign of the Wolf" is one of the best hard rock albums of the century for me! It's really masterpiece! This project started as a project of Bruce Mee of Firework Magazine, would you agree? TC: I was asked by somebody else to play on two songs, I don't know Bruce Mee personally. I'm happy that you like it so much.... there's a lot of talent in this project, and I wanted to work with Doug Aldrich and Vinnie Appice anyway. Q2: Many of the band members are associated with Ronnie James Dio. In a way, is it a tribute to him? Also, what was Dio's voice and person like for you? TC: I hadn't thought of it as a tribute to Ronnie. Ronnie's voice? One of the very best. As a person? I loved the guy, he was 14 years older than me and more like an uncle. I never had any sort of problems with Ronnie or Wendy Dio, they were great people and Ronnie was American, like me. I had never worked with British musicians and having another American in the band was a great help. Q3: When your keyboard sound echoed in the introduction of "The Last Unicorn," it was as if Rainbow had returned. In fact, your keyboards were indispensable on "Rising" and "On Stage". What did you think at the time about the keyboard's place in Rainbow, with the absolute presence of Ritchie Blackmore? TC: Rainbow live was very different than Rainbow in the studio. I played a LOT of Hammond in concert, and (almost) none on the records. The ‘Rising' and ‘Long Live Rock and Roll' records were mostly guitar overdubs instead of Hammond. Our live sound was very different and THAT was Rainbow for me. Q4: Back then, there were many keyboard heroes like you, Keith Emerson, and Jon Lord in the hard rock world, but there are few of them in the rock and metal world today. Why is it so hard to develop keyboard heroes? TC: Well, I'm not a hard-rock keyboard player, I'm a singer-songwriter. I played what I thought the band wanted to hear in Rainbow, and that was my only hard-rock band ever. MY influences are Matthew Fischer, Richard Wright, Ray Manzarek... NOT Emerson or Lord. Hard rock keyboards are out of style and there is a very small audience for retro bands who play 70s and 80s style. There are MANY, MANY fantastic keyboard players playing other genres of music. I've played with Cory Henry a lot, he's a mix of jazz, Gospel, Blues – Cory might be the best player I've ever worked with, and one of the best I've ever heard. He's 35 years old and he's not interested in hard rock. And honestly, neither am I, although when I get offered a session like ‘Sign of the Wolf', I'm happy to do it if I like the songs and arrangements. Q5: "Rainbow's End" is a really great song, but in a way it is an iconic title. Is it about Rainbow as a band? TC: Sorry, I don't know the song. Q6: However, the album is not only about Rainbow, but also about Dio, Black Sabbath (Dio&Martin Era), Thin Lizzy, and other great hard rock bands. How do you feel about the difference between that era and today's hard rock and metal scene? TC: In the original era, 60s, 70s, and 80s, the music was new and the style was being invented. It's now 50 years later for me – I joined Rainbow in 1975 – and the bands I hear today aren't inventing anything. That's the difference. © Marunouchi Muzik Magazine - May 8, 2025