CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning spoke with Mark Morton

Examiner.com about the death of former band frontman Midnight (real name John Patrick McDonald Jr.) who passed away on Wednesday, July 8. He was 47 years old. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Morton: Man, this a really tough conversation to be having, and I can’t imagine what you and the family must be going through right now.

Drenning: "It’s something we’re dealing with as a family and a band – we have each other to lean on."

Morton: I know Midnight and the band have had differences over the years, but did you manage to remain in touch during all the down time?

Drenning: "Oh yeah, we were brothers. We were always talking, seeing each other and communicating. It’s just a matter of us not making records together, because Midnight had the solo project he’d been pushing to get off the ground, and he had his health issues to deal with."

Morton: That’s something I wanted to mention to him when we were going to do our interview that never materialized. The press, more than anyone, over the years had painted this really negative image of Midnight, because of the problems he’d been having, when ultimately, it was his music that would shine through.

Drenning: "We knew early on that we wanted to make special music. We worked consciously to create something that was truly unique that would live long past our lives. Midnight and I talked about this all the time, creating this magical music that had longevity and would leave the band a legacy. We were very fortunate to have worked together. And I had always looked forward to the day when Midnight and I and the rest of the guys would be able to work together again, but we needed him to get healthy again."

Morton: Was he really a misunderstood soul?

Drenning: "I wouldn’t say Midnight was misunderstood, but he was an eccentric artist. You know, he had his own way of dealing with things and creating. But we understood him very well; we knew him better than anyone. We grew up together as kids. We all grew older together."

Morton: I always thought it amazing that as a group of musicians, you were able to come together, because, material aside, Crimson Glory didn’t conform to the standard rules of genre, although you were considered a metal band. You really created amazing music.

Drenning: "Well, I appreciate that. We really had a lot of different influences, and we wanted to get those out and express our differences. Midnight came from more of a LED ZEPPELIN/PINK FLOYD/BEATLES–type background. I was a few years younger than he, and my background was more into the hot and heavy metal side of things. We all brought different types of things to the band. It’s pretty common for a lot of band to say this, but making it gel, making it work and making something magical; that is a different story. Every band thinks they are going out and make music to change the world, they all intend to that, but very few of them get the chance to make something magical and legendary."

Read more here.