The roots of NOVEIL were established in 2010 when singer and songwriter Jewel Stiff decided to start a band. She convinced her husband, Jimmy Stiff, the original lead guitarist for Jackyl and multi platinum recording artist, to put together a power trio to back her up.
It wasn’t long and they were making music. The new originals are fresh and heavy plus they love to play their favorite covers, and though a single has been released, the album will go out in late 2016.
In this interview, we speak with NOVEIL about influences, the new project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and streams below.
What attracted you to this genre style (s) or styles (s)?
Our style developed on its on really evolving into the sound of NOVEIL. We all worship metal and rock and roll legends like Ronnie James Dio and Iron Maiden with their epic vocals and powerful riffs but also really dig Evanescence, Halestorm, and Nightwish with their edgy theatrical sounds. The soul of these styles for us delivers a depth of emotion that rips the soul apart and looks inside. You don’t just hear it, you see it and you feel it.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
We’ve all had our time on stage before NOVEIL. I started singing at an early age on church stages with my mom. Jimmy Stiff the guitarist was a National Recording Artist with gold and platinum albums as the original guitarist for Jackyl. Tony Schronce that plays bass toured nationally with a band called 4 AM for many seasons. Clark Welch the drummer was in a touring band called Thin Ice for many seasons as well.
To explain why we push I’ll start with the aura surrounding NOVEIL. NOVEIL is more than just a band name for us it’s a philosophy…a way of life. There are so many veils in ourselves and in our society. Some we’ve put on ourselves and others that have been ingrained in us by outside forces. NOVEIL’s philosophy is – To be yourself and do what is true for you. Our music and lyrics are written with the depth of emotion that I spoke of earlier. We want to rip past all those veils and produce songs that others not only hear but they also see it and feel it. Music is a powerful thing. It allows us to come together as one no matter our differences. We are all one BIG MUSICAL SCORE made up of many notes and man what a beautiful sound.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
My emotions or emotions of others fuel my songwriting. I am an emotional energy sponge. Once it starts no matter where I am it has to emerge and before I know it a song is born. It incubates in me until its recorded and every time I hear it thereafter it takes me back to that exact moment of conception and man what a rush. I admire the power of creating things through music and my muse is releasing it to others. For the guys they are awesome musicians that I could sit and watch for hours. It amazes me how they can put all those powerful riffs into such a massive arrangement and they make it look so easy. They usually don’t end up in tears though like I do while writing. 🙂
The tastes of music that have graced our palettes have ranged from Black Sabbath, Dio, Iron Maiden, Gene Simmons, Alice in Chains, Merle Haggard and Patsy Cline and many more. I still like singing me some Sweet Dreams by Patsy Cline once in a while at Karaoke followed by Holy Diver by my guru Dio. 🙂 Our palettes haven’t changed that much though. From the legends that have paved the way to the headbanging ones that have followed such as Skillet, Evanescence, Halestorm, and Pretty Reckless. We rock them all.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
The aura of the song Broken was born when Tony Schronce the bass player of NOVEIL writing this killer music loop and passing it on to me to add the lyrics. The lyrics didn’t come easy at first because during this time my daughter was going through a dramatic event that had my full hearts attention. She told me one day “I’m just so broken.” and as I watched the tears run down her face I felt her brokenness and cried with her. A week later Broken was written. Fueled by that magical moment with my daughter I wrote Broken for her, myself, and the world. You see it is in our brokenness that we are truly beautiful because when we’re broken we’re open to one another. We are open to LOVE -the light we search for in this Broken world.
What was the last song you listened to?
Broken. 🙂 No seriously. I’ve been listening to it over and over again playing the video out in my head getting ready for the video shoot at Red Arrow Studios next week. Before that though I was listening to Celtic Instrumental Music on You Tube. It helps me relax and resonates with my Irish roots. 🙂 Before that there were Theatrical Movie Sound Tracks. I’m not really sure what Jimmy, Tony or Clark were listening to but I’m sure it wasn’t either one of those two genres. 🙂
How about this one.. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify is user friendly and our fans give us great feedback on it.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
We just really want to be personable with people. Your vibe attracts your tribe and we want to connect to our fans on an emotional level. Sometimes it can be difficult to get those vibes across in such a way in a digital world.
Where is the best place to connect with you online?
You can find us on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter as NOVEIL or on our website www.worldofnoveil.com.
Thanks so much for Embracing the World of NOVEIL by featuring our single Broken.
