AWA : Introduce yourself by comparing yourself to music track. Hermien JD: Hi… My name is Hermien Jerian-du’Fort but most people know me as Hermien JD, which is pretty cool by me considering JD is what I tend to drink a lot of… Jack Daniels that is…. Comparing myself to my music?.. I guess “what you see is what you hear is what you get", if that makes any sense,  & it probably doesn’t at first

…What I'm trying to explain is this… Hermien JD is a guy without too many boundary’s & I try to bring that out in my music… Most of my tracks are a combination of many styles & moods fused into one format, meeting in the middle & tied together with a fancy ribbon made of metal… Well, in many ways that’s me I guess…
 

AWA : Tell me what Hermien JD Is all about ?

Hermien JD: As I already explained… I'm a fusion of styles, attitudes, opinions & mood all tied together & meeting at a central point… Typical examples are the tracks Dark Dimensions, Breaking Point, Rise of the Gargantua, Corvu Satanicus… Listen to them & you’ll be closer to knowing what I'm all about coz much of my inner character is reflected within what I create musically…
 

AWA : What is your definition of art ?

Hermien JD: My definition of art is something without limitation’s… Something which is not afraid to be different be it grotesque or beautiful… Personally, I prefer the beautiful side of art when looking at a painting, but there are many forms of art… To me a beautiful woman is an art form… On the other hand, a well choreographed battle scene in a movie is art i.e. *Saving Private Ryan, Lord of the Rings, Gladiator* are three great examples…
 

AWA : What are your influences ?

Hermien JD: My influences come from what I like to see & hear… It could be a favorite movie or character within it, a shocking world incident or simply a great composer past or present who’s style has given me some creative input…
 

AWA : What is Hermien involved in ?

Hermien JD: Right now I'm working on several separate pieces of music, one of which is a kind of tribute to one of cinema’s greatest horror icons *Vincent Price*… Nobody had a voice like that & apart from that fact he was a great versatile actor… One day I just felt the urge to create a piece of music drawn from one of Price’s movie characters Dr Phibes*… At this time of writing, the track is near completion but I'm at the thinking point with it needing something extra… Right now I don’t know what it is but I’ll find it soon… I always do…
 

AWA : What is your complete story of creativity?

Hermien JD: During my school years the only things that interested me to learn were sketching & later on, human psychology… I was crap at everything else & was not interested the way I was being taught… In fact, it was my mother, Katie & not the teachers who taught me to read…

My psychology trainings really started to come in handy just over the past few years… Since I have to deal with people offering & promising me musical work & projects etc I get a pretty good insight of who’s genuine & who’s dishing out the bullshit… Yep!!! Body language is universal & you can get to understand a person far more by it than from the words they speak…

As for my creativity… My prime subject at school was sketching in black & white… While the teachers were warbling on about some crap I wasn’t interested in, I would be scribbling away on my desk creating massive battle scenes about the Trojan wars or Custer’s last stand…

Everyone thought I would go on to become a great sketch artist & be featured in magazines & weekly comics etc but it wasn’t to be… Instead, like an idiot, I decided to learn to play drums & take my chance at becoming a rock star…

On both sides of my family way, way back in the past there were professional musicians, including two drummers who during the 1930’s & 1940’s became quite famous in the big band circuit throughout the UK & Europe… One was compared to legendary American drummer *Gene Krupa*…

Although they were long before my time, I guess I took my initial inspiration from my two drumming ancestors, plus my more recent uncle Johnny, who was a great jazz & classical pianist…

When I was a kid I would spend hours listening & watching Johnny play... He would try & teach me scales & left to right hand co ordination but at that time I was still too interested in sketching battle scenes…

It wasn’t till many years later that I became interested in music… Strangely, my uncle Johnny suggested I should learn drums… Obviously coz at that time he realized I was gonna be crap at learning piano, or anything else for that matter…

Well, at that time I thought “yeah, drums are great… Eazy peazy, & I get to bash things & make lotsa noise”… Little did I realize how damn fucking hard it is… Yeah, anyone can bash a kit but to really play the drums takes time to learn, effort & dedication… Much kudos to all the great drummers in world, including my sister Denise *Girlschool* for keeping the drum flag flying…
 

While the teachers were warbling on about some crap I wasn’t interested in, I would be scribbling away on my desk, creating massive battle scenes about the Trojan Wars or Custer’s Last Stand…

Anyway, I did learn to play drums to a pretty high standard & went on for several years touring & recording with a great variety of rock & metal acts including Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells), members of the David Bowie band & Angel Witch (UK’s top cult metal band. & main influence behind Metallica… As a point of interest, I was voted by several music magazines & fanzines of the time *loudest drummer in the universe”… To me, that’s even better than being voted best, especially as I was playing hard rock & metal using a massive custom built double drum kit… Ooh yeah, that baby was built to sound like world war 3 especially with me behind it… To bring me up to this moment in time , it all started around 10 years ago… For some reason, I kept getting calls from friends who I hadn’t seen for a long time… They were not English & were living in other parts of the world… They kept phoning & telling me they would be in the UK sometime & wanting to meet me for drinks etc… Each time I asked, where shall we meet the answer was the same, *The Tower Of London*… At first I thought nothing of this but after the fifth time I realized, maybe something weird was to be driving me

there… In many ways this part of the interview should be part of the next question as to whether I've ever had mystical experiences…

A few months previous to the first call from an international friend, I had decided to try writing & creating movie influenced soundtrack styles… Although I was very positive about my ability to do this I was kinda lost & confused as to what direction to take musically…

After visiting the Tower of London five times within the short space of four weeks it dawned on me… History, medieval, Braveheart!!! Gladiator!!!... That was what I wanted to do… Action based dynamic soundtracks, & for effect I would use storyline narrative spoken by actors or better still, one of the Beefeaters (Yeoman Warders) of the Tower of London…

Well, one day I plucked up courage to ask one of the Yeomen guys Tom Sharp… It was just after he had given a guided tour of the Tower… Yeoman Tom looked at me, or should I say, glared down at me as though I was some unworthy weirdo nutcase drugged up slug…

I explained my idea for a medieval project concept CD about King Richard the Lionheart… He listened but didn’t say much… We exchanged contact details & after around 20 minutes of me shaking in my boots, parted…

To my amazement, two days later, I received a very official looking written letter from him inviting me to Yeoman Warders private club inside the Tower one evening after dark & after public hours… Tom wanted to hear further details about my project, & over a drink or few… Well, the rest really is history for me… I made a concept CD based around the third Crusade of Richard the Lionheart titled *1189, Lionheart: The Third Crusade*… From start to completion it took just under 2 years, one year of which was taken up with me researching medieval history… I thought, if I'm gonna do it I better do it right with dates & events…

The CD got limited release at my request coz I figured, Its not pop or rock & wont appeal to the average record buyer… Instead, I released it in historical sites & shops specializing in history & pageantry… As it turned out, the CD did sell several 1,000’s over the past few years & I kinda re-established myself as not being just a heavy metal drummer… It also made me get accepted within the Tower of London community & become a friend & welcome guest… Along with author Tom Clancy *Patriot Games, Hunt for the Red October*, I'm one of the few outsiders to get accepted by them… Not bad for a semi Goth heavy metal rock-an-rolla LOL…

Anyway, Since the Lionheart project I gained a reputation for creating historical influenced & went on to create the Tower of London web site… It was one of the first internet sites to feature a full audio soundtrack of original music… I was contacted by USA company Camelot International… Although initially American Camelot were & still are specializing in European history… They suggested creating the Tower web site & then we went on to do interactive Jack the Ripper, the Romans in England & the medieval ages web sites…

From the outset the Tower of London received more than a million hit’s a month & became know as the official tower site through the backing of the Yeoman Warders… The soundtrack I created for the Romans titled *Legions* was played inside St Paul's Cathedral & was used as part of the UK’s school history learning over a two year period…

Now, I'm always thinking of ideas & always looking for inspiration to create… It could be a simply a word, a title, an event but I'm always on the lookout for new inspiration…
 

AWA : Have you ever had a mystical experience and if so can you elaborate.

Hermien JD: Well, apart from the bizarre way I was led to become involved with the Tower, yes!!! I have had many other strange experiences… One in particular stands out which also involves my sister Denise…

Some years back while I was staying at my parents house, one night I was laying in bed not being able to sleep… I was in between having my own apartment my parents let me use a special spare room that had been added to the outside of the house… It was around 3.00am & I was facing the wall just staring at it & trying to sleep… Suddenly, replacing the walls design was a back view of three people wearing Victorian style clothes… A man with top hat, a woman with wide hat & wide long skirt & small girl dressed similar to the woman & carrying a small parasol wearing old… The figures were in black silhouette form & standing still just looking ahead… Beyond them the scene was very bright & sunny… There was a wide wide road with large square-ish houses on the opposite side… There were several horse drawn carriages going in both directions & people walking casually, all wearing Victorian styles… Men with top hats & long jackets… Women with wide brimmed hats, long wide skirts & carrying parasol’s…

I wasn’t scared at all but fascinated by what I was seeing… The vision lasted around 15 minutes before it faded… I was totally awake & in fact once it had disappeared I got out of bed & made coffee because I just could not sleep after what Id seen…

A few years later, I was talking with Denise about strange experiences & suddenly she told me that while living at our parents house she saw something strange in the wall… It happened years ago & she hadn’t told anyone coz she thought they would laugh at her… Anyway, it turned out that she had almost the same experience as me, only years later… The odd thing is, she was in a different room on a top floor while mine was on the ground floor… Also she saw the family of three from a front view but everything else was the same as mine… The wide road, the carriages, the houses, the clothes… All else was the same…

The house this happened in was owned by my family for nearly 90 years & was built in Queen Victoria’s time, which was also the time of Jack the Ripper… Since having that strange experience I have seen old photo’s & images of the area & it all looked identical to what myself & sis saw in the walls…
 

AWA : Can you make a sentence or paragraph from these words:

Phibes , Gods , Muse , Influence , Tracks.

Hermien JD: Dr Phibes is a movie & character staring one of cinema’s greatest horror gods, Vincent Price… In many ways Price has been a muse & an influence to me... Right now one of the tracks I'm creating is a tribute to him & the character of Phibes…
 

AWA : Can you think of 3 life changing incidents that have occurred in your life? If so, what were they?

Hermien JD: Going to see my uncle Johnny play piano for the first time…

Going to Japan for the first time…

Going on MySpace the first time…
 

AWA : If you were going to start your own music hall of fame. Who would be your first five nominees?

Hermien JD: Led Zeppelin, Hans Zimmer, Rhapsody of Fire, Musogorsky, Rainbow.
 

AWA : Not in a religious aspect but, I believe in messengers also called ** Angels ** what is your opinion ?

Hermien JD: Angels??? I certainly don’t believe in the winged angels of religion. I do believe in good people, bad people & extreme people… So I guess I if I believe in good against bad they can be classed as angelic through their actions…
 

 

AWA : Tell me what are your goals ?

Hermien JD: My goals are to be internationally respected as a world class musician… To break into the movie soundtrack scoring circuit as a regular film composer & to gain acclaim & possibly awards…
To be respected as a human being…
 

AWA : Do you think that you are limited in what you do and why ?

Hermien JD: No, I’m not limited at all… As long as I have a brain that’s working at least 90 percent LOL, I wont be limited… my style is all about input & imagination… As I said earlier in this interview, If I have input, whether it be a word, a scene, an event or an image I can create without limitations…
 

AWA : Any new recipe you want to share lol ?

Hermien JD: I cant believe you asked for a recipe lol… Well, one of my favorite movie directors, Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk till Dawn, Desperado, Once upon a time in Mexico) gives ten minute cookery lessons on all the special edition DVD versions of his movies so if he can do it, so can I, plus, as Robert Rodriguez says “Cooking is as easy as f***king… If you can do one, you can do the other lol…

Fortunately, I’m not too bad at rustling up a decent bite to eat… I like spicy & exotic kinds of food such as Thai, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, Szechuan Chinese etc…

A few years ago while living in North Hollywood USA I found a small but great family run Mexican restaurant… They made the best Mexican & Tex Mex food I’ve ever eaten… I became a regular there at least once a week & became friendly with owners who were 100percent Mexican…. I asked them what the secret to their great minced beef Chilli was… They told me that Chilli beef known as Chilli con carnie was more Texan than Mexican… They also said that there was no strict recipe for it apart from the obvious of minced beef, chilli’s, onions, beans & tomatoes… The dish was created according to what was available in the area… But this restaurant had a special ingredient which they shared with me… Chocolate… Thiers was chocolate Chilli…

This is my version of it… it’s a kind of *Chocolate chilli deluxe* though coz I add extra vegetables & ingredients…

Hermien JD’s Chocolate Chilli deluxe.

Ingredients:

A reasonable amount of beef minced enough for 4 to 6 portions.
I very Large onion or 2 smaller onions.
6 small chilli’s or more according to taste.
I teaspoon Chilli powder.
I teaspoon cumin seed or powder.
1 tin tomatoes.
1 tin kidney beans.
1 tin sweet corn.
A cup of frozen peas.
One large red pepper.
One beef stock cube.
4 cloves of garlic.
Lemon juice.
Tequila, Jack Daniels or Beer
Around 2 inches of sweet chocolate.
Vegetable oil & a chunk of butter…
A reasonable s amount of grated cheese.

Chop & dice onions, red pepper & chilli’s then fry in oil & butter for around 5 minutes…
Fry minced beef till brown…
Chop or crush around 4 cloves of garlic & add to pan & stir.
Add around teaspoon full of cumin & a teaspoon full of Chilli powder.
You can add more or less Chilli powder according to taste.
Add peas, tomatoes, beans & corn & mix in.
Add beef stock cube.
Bring to boil & stir… Cover pan & simmer for 30 minutes…
After 30 minutes, add a small chunk of chocolate, a single measure of Jack Daniels, Tequila or quarter cup of beer & around a teaspoon full of lemon juice…
Stir & cover… Cook for around 30 more minutes occasionally stirring…
After 30 minutes, take lid of pan & cook on low flame for 10 minutes stirring most of that time… This will thicken it but if it thickens too much add small amount of water.
Taste & add extra chill if you really wanna fly round the room lol.

Add the grated cheese on top of Chilli once it is on your plates or bowl.

Serve with plain rice, fries, mashed or baked potatoes or tortilla chips & mixed salad or just eat it on its own… The choice is yours.

The great thing with this kinda food is it tastes great, lasts a few days in fridge & can be frozen.
 

AWA : Is there anything you want to add to this interview ?

Hermien JD: Yes… Thanks for reading this… Hope you like the music & “BON APPÉTIT” for the Chilli… Indigestion pills are freely available at your local drugstore LOL…