 are live, you're on the metal voice, live. It's interesting thing that we got one guy in Germany, we got Ian in Germany and we got Nigel in England, I guess England proper is that where you're at, is that? Yeah, yeah, down on the south coast. Down on the south coast and some great news, a new band, six by six, featuring of course Nigel from Saxon, Saga is one and only guitarist Ian Crickton and Robert Berry who played with Emerson, Berry and Palmer and three, I guess they called the band three back then, right? Yeah, yeah. Yes. That's Creighton. Creighton. Yeah, Creighton. Us guys from Montreal, you know, we got that. Get it all. Creighton, it's okay. Ian, it's a pleasure. You've never been on the show. Nigel is like a regular, but it's a pleasure to have you on. Yeah, fellow Canadian. All right. So whose idea was to put this band together? And I'll just either one of you can answer that. I say out of the three of us, it would have been Robert. Okay. They were putting together a band. They were looking for a guitar player. And long story short, they ended up contacting me. Nigel wasn't involved yet. So it was kind of another three piece at that point with the keyboard player, Eric Norlander and things sort of changed and it became just Robert and myself and we're looking for a drummer. Robert knows Nigel contacted Nigel and Nigel's right into it, right? Yeah, yeah. Flew right out to San Francisco and recorded on these tunes that we wrote. And that's how it started. Right. So Nigel, who came up with the name six by six? What's the mean? I guess two dice, right? It's two dice, but who came up with the name? Actually, to be quite honest, I'm not sure who came up with the name. I mean, I heard it mentioned. I mean, we've got the two dice, but I've also heard it mentioned something about the length of DNA or something. So I don't know where that came from. Well, we were sitting around for a lot of names, Robert and I, and we came up with, we were going to call it six foot six, which is the length of human DNA, but there's a band called that. So we tossed it around, tossed it around and we got back to six by six and it just made sense. There's three guys, six arms, six legs, six eyes, six balls. Nigel, okay, you're typically the metal guy. And now suddenly you're shifting. It's not that you haven't done Prague in the past. I mean, with GTR and, you know, what do you, I mean, is this a passion of yours to also play Prague as well as metal? Oh, God, yeah. I mean, I've always been a pro kid. You know, I really have, you know, I did a thing from magazine the other day. And like my, you know, who was my prog hero? And I said the drummer from PFN, you know, which he is. I mean, I used to spend hours blapping my way through their albums, you know, in my bedroom when I was still living with my parents, you know, and I just used to put headphones on and play along to all the albums. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, you know, and PFN, Genesis, all those bands, Tull, all of them, I love them. And what about you, Ian? I mean, okay, Saga has been typically a Prague band, right? Less metal, but more Prague-y. What were your influences? Well, I should ask you, what are the influences or the style on this album, the songs? Like if someone has never heard any of the songs, how would you describe it? The songs? Well, that's a hard one, really. I mean, we're a mixture of Prague and rock. And, you know, with the three different guys, like Robert Beds was playing with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer, Nigel was playing with Saxon, and I'm with Saga. It's like three different kinds of worlds. And it's made a really interesting Prague-rock thing. I think we've come up with our own style of rock, really. I mean, you know, we haven't, we've made our own sandwiches. Okay, we'll call it your own soup. Nigel, how would you describe the sound? Like, I could tell you what I think, but how would you describe that whole soup? Yeah, I mean, as, I mean, as Ian says, it's definitely rocky because I mean, all of us have got rock in us, all three of us. But I think that again, as Ian says, it's just like we come from complete three different, completely sort of different backgrounds and style of music we're playing. And what six by six is the result. You know, I can't really, can't really explain it anymore than that. I gotta say, Ian, your guitar really is showcased on this maybe because there's a lot more space. I don't know what it is, but your guitar is like phenomenal on this. I really enjoy listening to your guitar work. Not that I don't in Saga, but it's, it's, it's, it's, you know, it's a three piece band and the guitar is right out there. You know, there's not, there's a little bit of keyboards, but it's, you know, mainly in the background. I think one of the songs starts with a B3, but then that's quickly gone. And it gives me all the freedom and size that I could have in a three piece, you know. All right. And Nigel, how did you, what was the sort of writing process of these songs? Was it all of you guys collaborating together, or was it one guy coming in with one idea and you sort of playing off of that? How did that come about? No, I mean, I mean, mainly, you know, it's all, it's at least these songs are all in and Robert's, you know, from the thing, obviously sort of the sort of icing on the cake. I suppose that was the last sort of thing in, you know, obviously Robert sort of, you know, the guys gave me rain to play stuff. So obviously I suggest, but no, they were the writers on this definitely. All right. And I guess favorite tracks off the album, like, I'm going to tell you guys, like when I hear this, what on one song, I'm hearing a little bit of Genesis and another song, I'm hearing Asia, perhaps, and then a little bit of Saga and it's just, yes, I hear a lot of yes coming in and out. Maybe it's the guitar and the keyboards working together. Yeah, that's what I hear. Interesting. That's what I'm hearing. That's what I'm hearing. And I'm trying to figure it all out. And I don't know, but melody is the key. Melody is the key here, right? And yeah, yeah. Was it, there is a very prominent 80 sound here. I don't know if it's the type of keyboard tones that you're using or the guitar tones or the reverb. I don't know, but was that purpose? I'm done on purpose, these 80 sort of flavor to it all. It was not done on purpose. I mean, when we started writing and stuff, things just come out as, as writers know. I mean, you know, I didn't consciously sit down and, and try to specifically write one way. I was just writing that way. And, you know, when I sent Robert my ideas, Robert is a phenomenal arranger and also with other parts, he'd send it back. And that's really how it worked. And it just developed that way. Like I hear song like China. And I think, okay, that's like a saga-ish song. I don't know if you'll agree with that. It's got a more of a saga vibe. But then I hear Skyfall and I'm saying, oh man, this reminds me of like 80s, maybe 80s, yes, in a sense, or Asia. Is that, am I off the mark here when I say that? I don't get any Asia off the record at all. But it doesn't, I mean, if you're hearing that, you know, I mean, when people are going to hear this record, they're going to make up their own mind about this. Yeah, I know Nigel had a lot of, you know, he did the Steve Howe, Steve Hackett sort of collaborations. And maybe that's, and Asia had sort of like a flavor of keyboards, but they still had that 80 sound, but they were still melodic. The songs is short and sweet. That's why I'm kind of getting that Asia flavor. Well, there are all sort of keyboards. We have very little of that. It's mainly guitar based drums. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then I hear a song like Upside of Down and I'm hearing harmonies and I'm thinking of yes, drama perhaps. Interesting. Like nobody, like we're drawing blanks here. What do you guys hear? Like, what do you guys hear? We just, we just hear us. You know, we just, we just ask, this is what you get, the three of us, this is it, you know. Well, then I hear Battle of a Lifetime, the beginning starts sounds like kind of, I guess, maybe Pink Floyd, the final cut, the intro. You guys hear that? No, you don't hear that? No. I'm going to listen to that now. I'm emulating a bagpipe there sort of thing. Oh, that's, that's a reaction to feel calm. That's where you're sort of emulating your guitar as a bagpipe sound. Is it not? Yeah, so it's a, it's an ood like an oolian pipe, which is the Irish version. Yes. Are you guys planning to take this on the road? Is this going to be a band or is this more of a project? No, we want to tour. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And how does that fit with your schedules? I guess the off time with Saxon and Saga, that's when you're going to go on tour? Yeah, well, you know, we've got to work around stuff. I mean, Robert's doing stuff as well, you know, not so much live, but like sort of production and sessioning stuff. So yeah, we know, I mean, the whole plan is to take this out and do it. And I'm really excited about the fact as to when we can do it, because I think it's just, I'm really looking forward to it. I guess you want to see what the reaction is when it gets out there first. Is that the plan? Oh yeah, sure. Yeah, of course. Yeah. As far as touring goes, you know, in the past, you know, back in the 80s, I was on tour for almost two years with on the lose, wind them up and all that. But nowadays, you know, we go up for longest tour in a row would be four or five weeks. And then some of those during the year. So there is a lot of space between four or six by six to go out. All right. And here are some questions that are people are texting, right? Tim's saying, is the music closer to the saga sound or a bit heavier? So does it fall into Ian's world or more into Nigel's world? That's what we're trying to figure out. It's kind of both, really. I mean, it's heavier than saga, I think, in a lot of the stuff, like especially China. That's a lot heavier than saga. Yeah, especially the last track, too. Yeah, go ahead, sorry. Yeah, true. But having said that, there's the album takes you on a pretty nice journey. So there's a lot of different feelings, places, styles that we've come up with them. Not that we change the styles, but there's a lot of moods and stuff on the record. It's not all one heavy thing or light thing. You know what I mean? Here's a compliment to you, Ian. Metal Madness says Ian is an absolute underrated monster of a guitarist. The best saga songs are the ones where his guitar playing is the highlight. Take a bow. Take a bow. And I would agree. And I think this, go ahead, sorry. I've got to say, without wanting to blow smoke up in, you know, up in whatever, is that, yeah, I mean, he's just blowing like mad on this stuff, you know. I mean, when I was in doing the drum tracks, you know, we had some of the solos were down, sort of, and he wanted to change them. And I said, I absolutely forbid you to change that solo on that, you know, cover of the songs. Don't you dare, you know, because he's just blowing great. So I obeyed Nigel. Well, on the other hand, you know, Nigel, I bribed him. I said, you do that. Now, I'll find a decent curry house for you. That's the ticket over in England. Yeah. Yeah. But on the other hand, also Nigel, you know, he's drumming, you know, he's one of the best, you know, out there. And, you know, I would definitely say, you know, it's nice to see Nigel in another sort of, you know, area other than metal, you know, it's cool. Yeah, I mean, it was fun to do. I mean, there's some quite sort of coming in cold. So, you know, there were a few little sort of demanding bits in there, you know, which pushed me. But I always try to be pushed, you know, I like, you know, I always try to push myself. So it was, it was great to sort of tackle some of these sort of weird time things going on. Yes. Yes. Yes. I'll put up the album cover now and you guys can't see it's six by six, right? There's the two die up there and then there's three guys because I'm assuming it means you three. So what's what's up with the picture? It's like these, you know, 1918 a stylistic sort of car and whose idea was that? I think it was, it was a graphics guy, wasn't it? I think it was Rob. Okay, it was Rob. Yeah. And he just came up, he was just throwing stuff out. I mean, as soon as I saw that picture, I just loved it because it was just so different. Yeah, okay, cool. And it's not meant to be us. God forbid, I mean, I was looking at the guys and I said, nah, that can't be. Wait for another 10 years, Nigel, you know. So you had your first single that came out and I think it was yearning to fly, right? Which is, and I think a lot of it got some good reaction from everyone. What do you guys think it was that one of the better songs in the album or it's just the whole album's great and. Well, I'm pleased with the entire record. The record, you know, Inside Out Sony chose to put that out and no argument, you know. So, you know, it's not necessarily Dan's favorite song, but it definitely represents us 100%. And there we go. I think we're up to 22,000 hits in a few days. Yeah, yeah. So ready to go check that out. Ian, who are one of your guitar influences over the years? Well, you know, I like a lot of players. You know, when I grew up, it was Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimi Page, all these kind of guys. And then I got to my mid-teens and it became John McLaughlin and Gentle Giant, Gary Green, and all kinds of players, you know. But I mean, back even Roy or Rory Gallagher are a lot of people. Not anyone is specific, really, you know. Okay. And I want to help myself, too. Well, I love your tone on the new album. It's great. Sounds good. Tim is asking, Nigel, what is the difference when you compare your drumming with Saxon to this band? What is the difference? You know, how do you feel like? How do you feel different or what have you done different or all the above? No, I don't know really. I mean, the most important thing for me in whatever I play, it's got to be the groove. You know, any song, whatever style, there's got to be the groove. That's the most important thing for me. But I think this is a lot more, I think there's a lot more sort of up and down mood-wise with this stuff. Whereas generally, I think with a lot of metal stuff, well, you know, a lot of sax and stuff, not sort of knocking it because it's great and I really, you know, I love it because it's, you know, but there's a lot more up and down and sort of softer moments and stuff within a song. It's not just like blast through sort of thing, you know. Would you guys be interested in playing the US or just a European sort of shows or tour? Six by six will play anywhere, except for a few places in the world, you know. Yeah, I mean, anyway, we just want to get out there and do it, you know? Yeah. What would the set list consist of? So you guys are on, you know, if you were to do a tour, you can have, of course, all the songs in this album. You're gonna throw in a couple of sax and songs, cover songs, saga songs. Well, we have a few songs that didn't make the record that we really like. Okay. We would probably present those two. And, you know, a show would be an hour and a half long, would be a good length show. So we can do all kinds of stuff to the material that we have. We can stretch out a little parts and do live sort of versions of section. You know, we can make that happen. So I think we have enough material. You guys have played together. Saxon and Saga have played together, correct? Do you find there's overlap between your fans? What's that? Is there overlap between the Saga and the Saxon fans? Yeah, I'm sure those fans that like both bands, you know, I'm sure of that. You know, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Maybe it's a more or less situation, you know. I told, I told you before we started, you know, in Canada, you know, Saga was played on the radio, like just as much as Led Zeppler when I was growing up. It's just on the radio all the time. So it was a big thing. Yeah. And Saxon, too, later on. So anyways, so the album's going to be released August, let's see, what do we have here? August 19th. Is there anything else you guys want to talk about in regards to the album? I'm super excited about it. I really am. I mean, you know, I've been a three piece guitar based drum thing that's been in my mind for many years. And it's great that it's come together. I'm super excited about it. So, you know, we're just looking forward to getting this record out and starting to do some shows and thinking about the rest, you know. Nigel, any last comments? No, I mean, as I say it, when they sort of, you know, my first thing, when they first contacted me, I was like, wow, yeah, come on, let's do it. And I mean, I think I was out with it. What was it within a week? I've flown out after Robert and, you know, Robert and Ian had contacted me and I was there, you know, like a Tasmanian devil, you know. But no, it's just great. And, you know, we just, because we've known each other anyway, sort of, even though we're not in, you know, we weren't in the same bands. We've known each other for a long time. So it was like, it was just great because it was just mutual respect there and everything, you know, from the off anyway. And we're great friends too, which is great. And Ian loves curry and I love curry and we both love beer. And so, hey. So there you go. Ian, quick plot. What's your next show date in Germany? Is it, are you still touring Germany for Saga? We're traveling to Switzerland tomorrow. Okay. We're doing Basil. Basil? Yeah. Burn, burn Basil, yeah. Basil, burn. I don't want to get there. Don't make any fuss, get on the bus. Nigel, what's your next tour date with Saksit? Yeah, we've got this coming Saturday. We've got Grass Pop in Belgium. Okay. That's, that's the next one. So here's your, I'll just plug this. It's, I don't have the other album. There you go. There's only the Saksit album. And you know what? Pull this one out. I always like that album cover, right? Yeah, me too. It's a great album cover. Love it. Guys, if there's nothing else, thank you so much. You guys did a great job. I really enjoyed this album. I really did. You know, it was refreshing. Melodic, progressive and great guitar work, great drums, great everything. Yeah. Guys, I wish you all the best of luck. Thank you very much. And I'm sure we'll talk again soon. I'm sure we will. And by the way, I've got to say before we go, your what picture you sent me, you look as if you're damn freezing in that little, that snow behind you. I took a look at your face away. Oh, he's cold. Yeah, yeah. It's actually pretty warm. It's my basement that's cold. Well, we're used to that up there, aren't we, Jimmy? Yes, we are. Yes, we are. Yeah. Yeah. All right, guys. All right. Thanks a lot, man. Bye.