BigMusicGeek.com recently conducted an interview with vocalist Julie Westlake of US melodic hard rockers HYDROGYN. Amongst topics discussed are the group’s failed collaboration with DIO axeman Craig Goldy, their controversial split with Chavis Records and the long-awaited release of their latest emotionally-charged opus Deadly Passions. An excerpt follows:

BigMusicGeek.com: How did you initially become involved with Hydrogyn?

Julie: “That’s a really funny story and the guy’s all wanna kill me every time I tell it. If you ask them, (guitarists) Jeff Westlake and Jeff Boggs will deny it. I actually started out doing Country music. This girl didn’t even listen to rock music growin’ up, so it was a big change for me. They (Jeff Westlake and Jeff Boggs) played guitar for me when I was doin’ my country stuff. They hated it, but I needed someone to play for me and they’re both great guitarists, so they agreed to do it. They were writing on the side, kinda doin’ their own thing, wanted to form a band and were looking for a vocalist. They had auditioned a few male vocalists, but hadn’t been able to find anyone suitable because they wanted to do some different things. They needed someone who had some range. They said ‘Hey, do you think you could do it’ because they had actually booked some shows thinking they’d have someone. It came down to like three weeks before the first show. So we got together and I had to learn like thirty or forty songs. You couldn’t even see the stage because of the lyrics that were taped to the stage and the monitors. It was crazy, but I just automatically fell in love with it.  I had a blast, ya know?  And the crowd was very receptive to it because in our area, the area we come from, there are hardly any female-fronted hard rock bands. We were like ‘Let’s take this out a little further’. So yeah, it all started out in a little country band (laughs)."

BigMusicGeek.com: Did you find it difficult to make the transition from country to hard rock?  Obviously there are some similarities, but at the same time, there are also countless differences.

Julie: “I enjoyed it immediately, so it wasn’t a situation where it took time for me to like it. Vocally, yes because it’s so much more aggressive, ya know? We have an album out there called Best Served With Volume. There are songs on Best Served With Volume that we redid for Bombshell. If you listen to the differences vocally, you can tell that I have strengthened a lot since we started. But it was a big change. You’ve gotta feel comfortable with it, ya know? I had never done the aggressive thing before, so initially, I didn’t have the confidence that I could pull it off. It took some time to build up my confidence and vocally so that I could do it.”

BigMusicGeek.com: Musically, what do you feel are the main differences between Bombshell and Deadly Passions?

Julie: “Our last album Bombshell hadn’t turned out as heavy as we wanted, so we went into the writing process wanting Deadly Passions to be a lot heavier. We actually took quite a bit of time. The last album was written rather quickly. We had actually been writing for Deadly Passions ever since we finished Bombshell, so we had a lot of time to focus on the songs and get them where we wanted them to be. So in the end of January (2008), we went into a local studio.  Michael Wagner (KING'S X) actually wasn’t available to produce the album, so (Hydrogyn guitarist) Jeff Westlake produced it and we did it locally near our homes.”

Head to this location to read the interview in its entirety.