HallOfMetal.com recently caught up with CHINA BLUE founder Eric Ragno. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

HoM: How came the idea of taking back the old China Blue songs and recording this album now in 2008? We have to mind that band in the '80s was just a solo project from you and Tom Gasbarro.

Ragno: "Tom and I put together the first version of China Blue when our band CRUCIBLE broke up. We were fed up with the '80s imagery and the typical songs about castles, demons and death! We started writing songs in my basement, songs about life, love and the human condition. Our jams turned into parties, and created a vibe that attracted label attention. Tom left to get married, so I was left with dozens of songs from that period. I moved to Los Angeles to start over, and once VOX TEMPUS went on hiatus I had more songs left over, and decided it was time to start writing for myself again. My career picked up momentum, and I started writing for people like Josh Ramos, Danny Vaughn and others. Meanwhile I had this completed album at home just waiting to be finished."

HoM: Apart from Aor/Hard Rock, you also collaborate with proggressive bands like Vox Tempus or power metal bands like SEVEN WITCHES. How do you face those projects? Do you make some kind of special self preparation or do you feel there are no great differences between those styles talking about your keyboard work?

Ragno: "There are definitely differences to the styles, which means using different parts and different sounds in those situations. Nobody wants a METALLICA-type song to sound like JOURNEY, or the opposite, right? But these diverse albums show the different facets of my playing and writing, and each one is a challenge – I did Tony Mills’ solo record this year and it was very metal! When I work with a new band, I spend a lot of time with them and I read everything I can about them – in magazines, on the Internet, etc. I try to understand what it is that they are looking for, and also what their fans want to hear. I listen to other big bands in the genre and the direction they are headed. Sometimes I also buy new gear to get the right sounds for these projects. But there is also a common discipline that I follow for any record that I do, that is basic to the way I work. If I don’t think I can add to it or if I don’t like it, I just let them know. It’s really about talking to the artist. In the case of Seven Witches, I’ve known Jack Frost since we were 15 years old so he is a lifelong friend."

Go to this location for the complete interview.