"I didn’t sound like everybody, and nobody sounded like me. I think that I influenced a lot of bands in the 80’s."

Photo provided by: Aldo Nova

Hiatus - an interruption in time or continuity: break. especially a period when something (such as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted. after a 5-year hiatus from writing.

According to indeed.com Stress and anxiety are the two most common reasons people take a break from work. These may result from a hectic schedule or a toxic work environment which can lead to various health issues. These include physical and mental exhaustion and conditions such as insomnia and depression.

Depending upon the timing of a hiatus an artist may view his work as incomplete, a failure, or nonexistent. All which could lead to the abandonment of a position or career choice. Specifically, as this relates to the music industry. However, our purpose is to focus on the upside of a hiatus. This is not an article to suggest anything or to diagnose what leads up to a hiatus, but to suggest that taking a break is beneficial. As a writer, I have suspended projects due to lack of focus. There are times when those I sought to help resulted in disappointment. Which is a story for another day. However, taking time out from a project, career or activity can be the key to continued success. Countless famous people have taken a hiatus for different reasons, only to come back stronger than ever. They had the right view of a hiatus. They didn’t allow themselves to be caught up with thoughts of failure. The following individuals had to take a break from the entertainment industry:

1. Taylor Swift
2. Selena Gomez
3. Demi Lovato
4. Adele
5. Leonardo Dicaprio
6. Matthew McConaughey
7. Shania Twain
8. Winona Ryder
9. Dave Chappelle
10. Eminem

These are just a short list of individuals that sought a hiatus at some point in their career. Only to come back stronger than ever. They didn’t look for reasons to discontinue their line of work. They took time to readjust and reassess their priorities. Now, you can’t turn on any media outlet without hearing about their accomplishments.

There is another talented artist in the entertainment industry that found the need for a hiatus. Aldo Nova came to a point in his career where his own goals for his music career were put on hold. Did it cause him to give up? No not at all. In fact, he went on to collaborating with some of the top entertainers in the world. There are articles written about his reasons for taking a break. However, it was what Aldo needed to continue moving forward.

ABOUT ALDO NOVA

After four decades, dozens of classic songs, and hundreds of shows, multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist ALDO NOVA can finally be seen alive and kicking after a long self-imposed hiatus.

Aldo Nova took the world by storm when his first multi-platinum, top ten self-titled debut album, Aldo Nova, gave the world the definitive Rock Anthem "Fantasy." On its heels came the platinum-selling Subject...Aldo Nova yielded another massive anthem," Monkey on Your Back." He made his third and last album, titled “Twitch,” for Portrait Records, a division of CBS Records, now called Sony Music when the executives at the record company wanted to take creative control and forced Aldo to do songs that he didn’t write. This led Aldo to go back to Montreal to wait till CBS let him out of his contract. He started to write jingles for companies such as Coca-Cola, Chrysler, Air Canada, and more, earning him the TBA award for writing one of the top ten jingles in the world that year. 5 years later, Sony Music finally released Aldo from his contractual obligations towards them, and at that point, he was finally able to move on. He made his next album, "Blood on the Bricks," with Jon Bon Jovi., which was written and produced by both.

He emerged as a trusted collaborator for some of the biggest stars in the world. He co-wrote the song "Mr. Big Time" with Jon Bon Jovi for the soundtrack of the movie "Armageddon" and worked closely with Jon on his soundtrack album for the film Young Guns 2, doing all the pre-production and demos himself in Bon Jovi’s home studio. He also wrote the signature riff from Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory," which was his first number 1 song as a solo artist. For Celine Dion, he penned "A New Day Has Come," which was a number-one hit in 26 countries for six months, along with "Your Light," "Can't Fight the Feeling," and "You and I," and 15 other songs for her, in English and French, her native language. He garnered a GRAMMY® Award in the category of "Album of the Year" for writing and producing three songs from her diamond-selling album, Falling into You. He has worked with Elton John both on Jon Bon Jovi's Young Guns 2 soundtrack and produced the song "Levon" for Elton's multi-platinum Two Rooms, the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. His discography also includes writing hits for everyone from Faith Hill, Carole King, and Clay Aiken to Garou and Blue Öyster Cult. In 1997, Nova released his all-instrumental, critically acclaimed album, “Nova’s Dream,” which he will be re-releasing in 2023.

He has toured the world with bands like Cheap Trick, Hall and Oates, Sammy Hagar, and Blue Oyster Cult, and as a headlining act. He was also the musical director for Cindy Lauper during her tour of Japan and Australia and with both biggest stars in France, Johnny Halliday, and Patrick Bruel. He speaks and writes in three different languages, English, French and Italian, and has written and produced hit songs in all three.

On February 6th of 2008, Aldo made the conscious decision never to write, collaborate, produce, or arrange anyone else’s music but his own and embarked on his 14-year journey to create his Rock Opera, titled “The Life and Times of Eddie Gage,” which he finally finished on March 5th, 2022. The Rock Opera is now 2 hours and 5 minutes long and consists of 25 songs.

The release date still hasn’t been established, as Aldo wants to make sure that after 14 years of blood, sweat, and tears, his work doesn’t just fall between the cracks. He writes the music and the lyrics to all his songs, produces, arranges, engineers, and mixes all his own projects, which are all released on his own record label, Viral Records.

 On April 1st, 2022, he released his 10-song EP "The Life and Times of Eddie Gage," a Rock Opera by Aldo Nova that showcases all-new material. He filmed, produced, and edited three videos for 3 of the songs from the EP, “Free Your Mind, “Burn Like the Sun,” and “King of Deceit,” which showcases Aldo in full costume and makeup to give a powerful performance which is in a more theatrical style.

On April 19th, 2022, he released Aldo Nova 2.0 Reloaded, which consists of all his biggest songs completely redone and turbocharged. Aldo didn’t stop there and released his 3-song EP of never released songs called “Short Stories” on May 15th, 2022, and then on June 19th, 2022, he released his 3-song all instrumental. Sonic Hallucinations, which was described by critics as three symphonies for aliens. All four albums can be found on every major streaming platform and in CD format everywhere.

 On February 1st, 2023, he will release the 1st single to his “The Life and Times of Eddie Gage,” a Rock Opera titled “The Bitch in Black,” with its video directed and edited by Sylvia Bechard.

Aldo Nova is a force to be reckoned with in the music world and is in a class all his own, and he’s back with a vengeance in 2022. He will start touring throughout 2023.

INTERVIEW WITH ALDO NOVA AND GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE

Guitar Thrills: Before working on this interview with Aldo Nova, I had no idea that he worked so closely on projects with the likes of Bon Jovi, and Celine Dion. I never knew he was a Grammy Award winner. His achievements in the entertainment industry surpass what is mentioned in his BIO. It was back in the early 80’s when I first heard the song Fantasy from his Billboard topping and debut album Aldo Nova. It was a distraction from what was happening with AC/DC. I thought this band is going to surpass any of the rock bands crushing the industry that time. Decades later the song Fantasy continued to be a huge hit. This wasn’t the only accomplishments Aldo Nova had at the time. However, it was the one song that made a lasting impression on me. I have my list of artists that “I need” to interview. I am delighted to have Aldo Nova as a guest and featured artist for the January Issue of Guitar Thrills Magazine.

Guitar Thrills: “It was the best time to be young! Love the song “fantasy”. Wouldn't trade being old for anything.” Hello Aldo. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions. What do you think about that opening quote? This is the same type of message that I have seen with references to your music.

Aldo: Yeah, I hear it all the time, and it’s true, those were better times. Young, old, all in all, everything was less complicated. The music was fresh, had a new sound and made people happy. In my case, I took all the elements from my heroes and blended them together into one big melting pot. The heavy power chords, with interesting synthesizers that had new sounds and parts and big stacked background vocals, I created a new sound and songs with big choruses that were catchy and simple enough to remember easily, yet they told a story. I didn’t sound like everybody, and nobody sounded like me. I think that I influenced a lot of bands in the 80’s. As far as everybody missing the MUSIC, well it’s pretty obvious now, with every big festival and tour being the bands that came from the 80’s.

Guitar Thrills: What do you miss about the era of music that will never be repeated? (70s and 80s reference).

Aldo: In those days, especially in the 60s and 70s, you had to know how to play an instrument. A lot of the players from the bands back then, especially in the late 60s’, players like Hendrix, who was my reason for playing guitar, had obviously spent hundreds if not thousands of hours wood shedding, learning their instrument and playing clubs. Bands were huge just by radio airplay because there was no MTV or YouTube. That WAS MUSIC. I won’t even talk about today’s music; it doesn’t deserve to be called that. As for just the era, as I said before, people could hang with their friends and girlfriends, have a beer and listen to the radio. A lot of people miss that era because music is a time machine, and every song can bring you back to the exact moment where you were and what you did when their favourite song played, again, on the radio.

Guitar Thrills: I strongly believe that many music lovers missed out on one of the best decades to be alive. I contribute MTV for making music come alive. Especially with songs that some would have never heard. Unless they lived their lives a record store. Which was one of my fondest memories growing up. Thank you for contributing to the success of the music industry throughout the decades. I could easily go off on a tangent talking about old school rock, and this interview would never get completed.

I must ask you about the topic for this interview. Why did you take a hiatus from writing your own music?

Aldo: When my first album being such a huge hit, my record company expected more of the same sound. But I had different plans; I wanted to blend all the elements of my 1st album with a bit more prog-rock style and develop a certain recurring musical theme that became Subject. When that didn’t do as well as my 1^st album, they decided that they were going to take creative control of my 3^rd album, Twitch, and I hated that because they had me do songs that I had even written, like a cover band, so I quit, went back to my hometown of Montreal, and started writing commercials, or jingles for Coca-Cola-Air Canada, Chrysler, and made more money there than I was as a multi-platinum selling artist.

I waited till the record company let me out of my contract, which took 5 years, but after that I was free.

Guitar Thrills: How do you feel it benefited you, and your creative thinking process?

Aldo: It benefited me in the sense that I could do, creatively, whatever style of music I wanted. But don’t think that during those five years off, I stopped writing music because I never stopped. I was always writing and recording and refining my craft. I only got better at what I was doing.

Guitar Thrills: There are some artists that never come back from a hiatus. Why do you think that might be?

Aldo: I don’t know. I can’t answer for anyone else but myself. I took a long, long time off to raise my children, and to me, that was the right thing to do.

Guitar Thrills: I have read about your achievements helping other entertainers. What influenced your decision to start working again on your own music?

Aldo: I was tired of writing songs for other artists because I wanted to make a Rock Opera that was called The Life and Times of Eddie Gage, so I started working on that, with my first song being written on February eight, 2008. The songs came quickly, and it felt amazing to be so creative after years of writing by numbers for everybody else.

Guitar Thrills: Do you find it difficult to work on your own music versus someone else? Is there any difference in approach to working on your own projects?

Aldo: No my music flows out of me because it’s written from pure inspiration and nothing else.

Guitar Thrills: Aldo Nova 2.0 was a flash back to some of the top hits from your earlier days. Do you walk on pin and needles when it comes to a remake of iconic songs, like Fantasy, Foolin yourself, and Ball & Chain? Remakes never quite hit the mark, expected by the fan base. How did your fan base feel about the remake?

Aldo: It depends, are you talking about my 2018 2.0 which I had removed from all platforms because I thought it wasn’t a good enough statement, or my Aldo Nova Reloaded which came out in 2022. I play all the songs in the Reloaded versions live, and people love them.

Guitar Thrills: The Life and Times of Eddie Gage took you 3 decades to complete. First, why did it take a brilliant mind like yours so long to finish? Also, why choose a Rock Opera?

Aldo: I wrote 9 songs in one month in 2008, and then waited for inspiration to hit me for each song rather than writing by a formula, so I wrote songs in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, and wrote thalas and final song, “Les Anges” which is on the EP, on November 22^nd 2022. Again during my hiatus I raised my kids. When they grew up, I made my decision to get back out there. To me I call it a Rebirth rather than a comeback, as I felt reborn.

Guitar Thrills: I call it a work of brilliance. It shows the depth of your creative abilities. What are you working on now? Is there a release date for a new project?

Aldo: The final completed 25 songs, 2 hours and 5 minutes Rock Opera still hasn’t been released yet because I am waiting for the right time. But before that comes out I think I will be releasing completely new music, which isn’t on the Rock Opera, that I just wrote as singles, because the Opera is a special project. My 1^st new single will be called Sex Machine, which is extremely HEAVY. My favourite band is Rammstein, and Sex Machine leans more toward that than classic rock. Let’s just call it Aldo Nova on Steroids.

Guitar Thrills: You have toured with some of the best musicians in the industry. Do you have the desire to continue touring?

Aldo: Yes definitely. I’ve given myself till the age of 78 to keep at it till I find myself making it again. I’m in better shape now than in my 20s, so I’ve got a lot of juice left.lol

Guitar Thrills: The Gibson Les Paul seems to be your brand of choice. I have always found it to be a bottom-heavy guitar. With someone that performs on stage as much as you do, why the Les Paul?  I personally love the sound and feel of the Gibson SG. What are your thoughts about your guitar choice?

Aldo: I didn’t play a Les Paul for 20 years and played my custom-designed guitars. I have a builder here that makes the guitars I design. As for the Les Paul’s, they’re extremely modified. I change the pickups, add Futone floating bridges, add my own customized electronics, everything is custom. Only the body is a Les Paul shape. That’s the only thing that’s a Les Paul, the shape.

Guitar Thrills: Are you impressed by any of the modern bands or artists? Would you compare their style to your own?

Aldo: Well not exactly a new band, but I would have to say Rammstein..lol  They’ve had the same lineup since the beginning, use a lot of humour, and they have the best frontmant that I’ve ever seen, Till Lindeman. Apart from that, I love Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, which also isn’t new. Apart from that, I can’t seem to think of anybody now. I just listen to the great ones of the 60s 70s, nothing else.

Guitar Thrills: I could go on about music, especially with someone that has achieved as much as you have. I want to thank you for joining us to answer some questions related to hiatus. It seems that it has proven to be a strength for you, and we look forward to enjoying the results of your hard work and dedication. Please feel free contact us to promote any of your upcoming projects.

Aldo: Thank you so much, for giving the chance to do this as it brings me closer to my fans.

Vera Black

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