We interviewed Dino Jelusić for the first time in November 2017 and now we decided to make a second interview to see what have changed since then and to find out if there are any future plans for Dino himself and his band Animal Drive.
Animal Drive at Metal Fest Pula, Club Uljanik, 2018
INTERVIEW
WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE WE TALKED LAST TIME, BACK IN 2017..? DESCRIBE THE CHANGES WITHIN 3 WORDS.
Grateful to death.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW ADVENTURES ACROSS THE OCEAN WITH TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA.
Getting ready for my 4th tour, new songs are on the way, we might start recording a new studio album. YOU WERE A PART OF CROATIAN CONCERTS AND TV SHOWS (DORA, A STRANA, ZVJEZDE PJEVAJU) FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. IT WAS A FULL SCHEDULE INDEED. IF I MAY SAY, CROATIAN SCENE STARTED TO APPRECIATE YOU LATELY, AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT. WE ALL NOW IT WAS ABOUT TIME. HOWEVER, TELL US SOMETHING MORE ABOUT YOUR RECENT EXPERIENCES. DO YOU THINK THOSE CHANGED SOMETHING - MAYBE EVEN FOR THE BEST?
It was really good, but I wanna focus on the albums I'm doing right now. Tv shows were cool, a new experience and gave me a lot of exposure, but I have to think about what I wanna do. Right now I wanna finish those few albums that I have deadlines for. I'm pretty excited about all of them.
Animal Drive at Metal Fest Pula, Club Uljanik, 2018
ARE THERE ANY PLANS REGARDING CONCERTS AND TOURS WITH ANIMAL DRIVE? OR ANY OTHER INTERESTING NEWS REGARDING THE BAND?
Yes, we are starting to record our 2nd album in July. It will come out next year. A lot more diverse record with 50 sides of us, described in 11 songs. RECENTLY YOU SHARED A VIDEO RELEASED BY FRONTIERS MUSIC SRL (ANIMAL DRIVE'S LABEL), WHERE ANIMAL DRIVE PLAYS A ROXETTE COVER ("THE LOOK") FEATURING ROSA LARICCHIUTA, YOUR COLLEAGUE FROM TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. TELL US SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THAT COLLABORATION.
I always wanted to cover that. And Rosa is a good friend of mine and a great singer. It was really easy and everything was done in 2 days. The reaction from the audience is great.
THE LOOK
ALSO, YOU POSTED A VIDEO WHERE YOU'RE SINGING ONE TINY BUT VERY IMPORTANT AND DIFFICULT PART OF DEEP PURPLE'S SONG CHILD IN TIME. WILL THERE BE A FULL COVER VIDEO ANYTIME SOON?
I might do a full thing once I find time for that, but I only did that short cover to keep the youtube momentum, before the songs that I wrote for Animal Drive and some projects come out. I'm not really a huge fan of covering songs, which sounds weird since we put out a cover EP and I did some Ray Gillen, Dio and Deep Purple stuff, but it is what it is.
CHILD IN TIME
TELL US SOMETHING MORE ABOUT DIRTY SHIRLEY, YOUR PROJECT WITH GEORGE LYNCH AND WILL HUNT. IF IT'S NOT A SECRET.
That album is amazing. I'm getting the mixes these days and it's so cool. So proud of the chemistry and the songs. George is an absolute legend and I'm honored to be working with him. Hunt is one of my fav drummers so I was hyped to do this. Very diverse record too, some songs are more straight-forward rock&roll Zeppelin-ish, some are more Alice in Chains sounding, some sound like Korn (with my vocals haha) and some songs vocally are more on the Bruno Mars goes rock kinda arranged.
Animal Drive at Metal Fest Pula, Club Uljanik, 2018
ARE THERE ANY NEW FUTURE PLANS IN YOUR MUSIC CAREER IN GENERAL WHICH YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR FANS?
I have a few albums, where I'll be sharing duties with so many great singers. Not allowed to tell you more at the moment, but Restless Spirits already came out. That was cool and I got to work with Hernando, Castronovo, Valdez, Gioelli and Del Vecchio (who is producing Dirty Shirley). A lot more to come this and next year. 2020 will be THE year, I have that feeling.
LAST TIME WE TALKED I ASKED YOU WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM 2018. NOW I WANT TO KNOW WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THE REST OF 2019.?
Well... By the end of 2020 I think a lot of the things will change. A lot of the things changed from 2016 up till now. We have so many plans, I have so many songs in different genres, we'll see where it takes us. I got to work with the people I adore and I'm happy.
Animal Drive at Metal Fest Pula, Club Uljanik, 2018
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF - DO YOU LET LIFE HAPPEN TO YOU OR DO YOU PLAN IT A LOT?
Right now I plan a lot, way to many things happened and I'm booked until the end of this year. It's kinda weird. No rest for the wicked. But I love it, keeps me busy, that's good.
ANIMAL DRIVE: "HAD ENOUGH"
Thank you Dino, it's always a pleasure talking to you!
Photos: dipARTicle's archive