TNT officially unveiled their new vocalist, Baol Bardot Bulsara, onstage opening for Scorpions at Oslo Spektrum on November 22, 2017. Just six months later the band’s thirteenth studio album, cunningly titled ‘XIII’ was released in June this year. We caught up with Baol to find out how things are in the world of TNT.
Glenn – Firstly, congratulations on the new album, XIII. I personally think it’s one of the strongest TNT releases in many years. I personally haven’t been able to stop playing it over the past few weeks.
Baol – Thank you very much. This record has been in the kitchen for over two years, I believe. Most of the songs have even had several different versions throughout the process. So it has, under my point of view, that restfulness, like when all the grape juice needs to become wine once in a barrel is time. That ended up being an advantage because every nuance finally shaped and took form the way it was meant to. Many people say that every time they listen to the album they notice another layer, and that’s because of this. We are very happy with “XIII”!
Glenn – Can you share how you came to join the band and what you were doing prior to hooking up with Ronni and the guys?
Baol – A couple of years ago I saw an ad somewhere from TNT’s management demanding material from singers, so I sent a couple links, but later on I decided to record Tonight I’m Falling. I did it at my home studio and sent it too, then I forgot about it completely. In fact, some time after that, Tony Harnell (singer) even came back to the band! Then, a year go, I received this shocking email from Ronni Le Tekro (guitarist and founder member) asking me if I would be interested in flying to Norway to work on his solo project. I was currently on self-preproduction / songwriting with my own recent project, Rawckett, that had, for obvious reasons, to be parked aside! Ha ha!
TNT was going so slow that Ronni wanted to keep moving and record some solo stuff, so I flew to Norway, met him, got along pretty well with him and recorded a couple songs in his studio, Studio Studio Nyhagen, which has been the kitchen for several TNT albums, as well as so many Norwegian and international artists music. By the end of September I flew for the second time, and it was then when they offered me to join TNT… right after asking me to sit down!
Glenn – Tell the readers who may be unfamiliar with you a little bit about Baol Bardot Bulsara, as I understand it you have a considerable resume particularly in theatre and music?
Baol – Well, I have been performing on stages all my adult life. Either theatre, music, or both at the same time. Here in Madrid I have been part of the We Will Rock You and Forever King Of Pop casts, for instance. I am a song dubbing actor also and been working in studios for a long time. I have even played a role in an independent self produced movie! I also write songs, but the funny thing is that I have never had a project of my own, with my own music. Hopefully I can contribute to the TNT legacy soon!
Glenn – You were a fan of the band before joining I believe, even being in a TNT tribute band at one stage, what are you favourite albums and songs of TNT?
Baol – Yes, I’ve been a fan since my teens, but there has never been a tribute band, actually! In fact, I never sang any TNT material live until I joined the band!
My favourite album is Intuition. It is one of my favourite albums ever, not just by TNT. Songs… That’s hard, there are soo many! Tonight I’m Falling, The Letter, Desperate Night, Caught Between The Tigers, Live Today, End Of The Line, Rain, 10.000 Lovers, Sunshine…
Glenn – At what stage of the recording process did you enter the equation and did you have any input into the arrangements or selection of the songs that made the album?
Baol – You have to consider that this record was in a delay spiral, so there was a certain hurry to finish it when I joined the band. Around 70% of it was already recorded, minus the vocals, and Ronni had a very clear idea about what he wanted, so he quickly filled the remaining 30% in the periods I wasn’t in Norway, and whenever I came to the studio I just had to hit on the spot.
Except for some lines here and there, several backing vocal arrangements and a couple things more, my creative contribution to the album was quite limited.
Glenn – I notice that previous singer Tony Harnell gets co-writing credits on 6 songs so I’m assuming these were already written prior to you coming aboard?
Baol – Correct. I sadly never met the guy.
Glenn – One thing I’ve always admired about TNT is the almost 70’s mentality of doing many different styles on each album on this one alone we go from borderline pop (Catch A Wave and We’re Gonna Make It) to heavy songs (Not Feeling Anything and People, Come Together), great ballads (Sunshine and Where You Belong) and anthems (Get Ready For Some Hard Rock) do you have a personal preference and what songs on XIII are your favorites?
Baol – Yeah, I love that fact about TNT too! That’s why I like to call XIII a “Queenish” album, in the sense of touching very different styles but always with their seal intact. If I had to choose, I’d say Sunshine, Can’t Breath Anymore, Not Feeling Anything, It’s Electric…
Glenn – The first song released from the album, Get Ready For Some Hard Rock, received some fairly harsh criticism online with Ronni taking to the internet to assure fans that it wasn’t indicative of the album as a whole… who’s decision was it to lead with that particular track? I think the song does in fact fit very well in the overall flow of the disc.
Baol – That’s right, it fits in the context of the record, but we didn’t see it as single material. It is a wink song, a fun party/cliché anthem. A small piece of it was released as the soundtrack for a teaser of the album but Frontiers took us by surprise when they decided to make a single out of it! It caused a storm for sure! Haha!
Glenn – Your vocals on the album are hugely impressive – who would you say are your main influences as a vocalist and what bands did you grow up listening to?
Baol – Thank you for your kind words! Well, I am an absolute 80s guy! I will shoot and say Freddie Mercury (Queen), George Michael, Gustavo Cerati (Soda Stereo), Mickey Thomas (Starship), Tina Turner, Bobby Kimball (Toto), Sting, Frank Sinatra, Tony Harnell (TNT), John Farnham, Masaki Yamada (EZO), Michael Jackson, Janelle Monáe, Morten Harket (A-ha), Michael Sweet (Stryper), Jeff Buckley… and a long etcetera. The greatest band in the Milky Way is The Beatles (and Ronni will say the same!) As you can see, there’s a little bit of everything there!
Glenn – What is the music scene like in your home country? Are there a lot of original bands in the hard rock style and any you feel have the ability to make it on a world scale?
Baol – The problem with Spain is it lacks this so needed live-music culture. There are countries, like the USA, for instance, in which the fact of going out to have a few drinks with friends to a club where there is a band you don’t know playing their own stuff is a normal thing. In Spain this is just science-fiction. So being a professional musician here is very, very difficult. This is why I really can’t tell about the hard rock scene in Spain, because I actually have never been a part of it. I have always worked playing and recording as a musician and an actor, never with a project of my own, so I can’t talk from experience… What I can tell you is that, being things as they are in Spain, culture-wise, musicians are enduring hard times for sure!
Glenn – A recent interview with guitarist Ronni Le Tekro suggested that this may indeed be the last TNT album – can you shed some light on why he may be thinking along these lines after releasing such a strong album?
Baol – That you should ask Ronni himself, but what I can tell you is nowadays the effort and money of making records is starting not to pay off. This is the artist’s passion, yes, but it is also his job, you know? And numbers do not work. It’s a global problem, you just don’t sell records anymore. Huge artists are OK, definitely not as in the good old days, but they are OK, but the rest are in constant struggle. On the other hand I definitely hope we can keep on releasing material! We’ll see…
Glenn – What is the situation with Frontiers Records? Do they give an advance before recording or does the band record the album and present it as is to the label, and what input do they have?
Baol – Actually I am not very into the business part of it, so there is little I can tell you about this. I don’t know anything about the economic part, but I do know that Frontiers is a filter we have to pass concerning music and artwork. Both parts have to be eye to eye.
Glenn – You’ve recently been playing shows to promote the new album – how have they been going and do you feel the fans have accepted you thus far?
Baol – I think so. At least the majority of them. The reactions I see at the concerts are very good, and almost every message or comment I get in the social media is positive and encouraging! So I am very happy with the fan reaction live, so far!
Glenn – With such huge shoes to fill replacing Tony Harnell was there any apprehension going into the recording or before the initial live show which was in front of 8,000 people supporting German hard rock legends Scorpions?
Baol – Not in the studio. The songs were new and mine from the beginning, if you know what I mean. There was no way to compare to Tony Harnell. Live it’s a totally different animal. You have to deliver the classics the way they are meant to sound. Not imitate, but be aware and very respectful with the material.
Glenn – How are you finding it singing the older songs of which often require vocal histrionics and high notes many would claim only a dog would hear? Do you have any physical regime or warm up routine to enable such superhuman feats?
Baol – Man, this is the most demanding repertoire I’ve ever dealt with. Hard as hell, ha ha! Harnell standards are barely human, as you say, but not just for the high pitch. He is one of my biggest influences and my goal is to fit in the old material being myself, but respecting his awesome work. To bring the TNT classics as close as possible to how they sound in those records I love. To answer your second question, well, I am a quiet guy, I never have smoked nor taken any drugs. Never felt the need, nor the curiosity. I try to sleep and eat well, and protect myself the best I can against air pollution. You have to take care of your instrument, especially when your instrument is yourself!
Glenn – Do you envisage TNT touring much outside of Europe – I had the pleasure of seeing the band in Japan in 2014 and they were well attended shows – surely a return trip would be on the agenda as well as the U.S.?
Baol – It’s a little early to assure anything, but it seems we will tour Japan, and some contacts have been made concerning South and North America too. We’ll see. I am definitely eager to go to those places!!
Glenn – Being from Spain do you just fly in and out as required for live gigs and/or recording?
Baol – That’s right, I fly in and out.
Glenn – Do you hope that, if there are future TNT albums down the line, you will be able to contribute to the writing/composition of the songs? Do you play any instruments yourself and are you a songwriter per se?
Baol – Absolutely! This is one of the things I am dying for, writing songs along with Ronni Le Tekro! I play guitar, but I am definitely not a guitarist, and I write songs, yes. So hopefully we can make new TNT music together in the future!
Glenn – I see a new co-writer Tim Scott McConnell on quite a few of the songs on XIII can you tell me a little bit about who he is and how he became involved?
Baol – Tim’s war-name is LEDFOOT and he is an accomplished American singer/musician/songwriter/producer. You can check him out on the internet, he is awesome! Bruce Springsteen’s “High Hopes” is a song of his. Tim has been a friend of Ronni for years, and has worked in Studio Studio many times as well. Through the recording of the album he was my vocal producer, pushing me and squeezing my craft to the limit. He was crucial for the sound of XIII, vocal-wise. Tim was also involved in the writing of almost all the lyrics, under Ronni’s ideas.
Glenn – Again, congratulations on the new album and thank you for your time. I hope to see you live someday soon sadly probably not here in Australia and please tell Ronni we really do need a fourteenth album sometime down the line!
Baol – Please, take us to Australia, home of John Farnham, AC/DC and Southern Sons!!! Ha ha! Thank you very much, man!
Glenn – Any final words for TNT fans worldwide?
Baol – Thank you for the support, guys! Means the world to me! See you on the road!!
Glenn – Thanks again, Baol.
Glenn Odin spoke to Baol Bardot Bulsara in July 2018
