CommunityL4D

Greetings everyone, eXtine here from CommL4D and CommFT and I have with me Greg Dale, a good friend of a good friend who just so happens to be the voice of the Midnight Riders!   
 

eXtine: Let's start with a little bit about yourself, are you a professional musician and how long have you been involved with music? 

Greg: yes I am and have been for a long while now but I do have to do other stuff to make ends meet. I have been known to spray paint myself gold and do the robot for spare change or rent scuba gear and go diving in wishing wells. 

eXtine: What was the audition process like for this gig? 

Greg: Basically I got contacted by the good people at Valve to go audition at some secret location. When the chloroform wore off we ran through some stuff and I got the good word a day or two later. 

eXtine: And once you got the job, how long were you recording? 

Greg: The first two songs that are featured in the game were done at once. My parts took a day or so. We had a blast. 

eXtine: You didn't know what it was for until someone alerted you after Left 4 Dead 2's release correct? 

Greg: No. I knew what it would be used for. I got a sneak peek at the game play during rehearsals. What I didn’t know was that Valve and the Left 4 Dead 2 community would show such goodwill towards the Midnight Riders.   
 
eXtine: Have you played through the campaign featuring the Midnight Riders? Or at least watched someone else do it? What were your thoughts? 

Greg: I have watched some reviews online and two days after it came out a friend I was visiting was playing the dark carnival stage so I got to see it in all it’s glory. 

eXtine: Did you record the Christmas song at the same time as the first two? Or did they call you back in for more work? 

Greg: That was a last minute call. I did my part the day prior the Xmas eve and they were in recording solos and mixing ‘til the early morning hours.  

eXtine: Of the three songs, "Midnight Ride", "One Bad Man", and "All I Want For Christmas (is to kick your ass)", which was your favorite to sing? 

Greg: They’re all masterpieces… do you ask which face would you take off Mt Rushmore or which Picasso to burn? Ha. But seriously the band rips so hard on this stuff it’s hard not to enjoy it all. 

eXtine: Do you know which band member is the singer? Are you Jake?

Greg: Jake? Jake? JJJjake?! I’m the handsome one Smitty and don’t forget it!  

eXtine: When people discovered the Midnight Riders website, speculation arose that the story of the Midnight Riders would be continued in a future campaign. Have you been talked to about doing character dialog or more songs? 

Greg: No comment.  I currently have 8 fingers and 2 opposable thumbs and I’d like to keep it that way.   

eXtine: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and sharing your story with us! All the Midnight Rider fans out there will definitely appreciate it. Any last words? 

Greg: I get a kick out of reading the posts on the web page and thanks for the interest.  Anyone who reads this can contact me at www.myspace.com/greggddale  Keep Ridin’ - g.d 

Thanks again to Greg Dale, very interesting to hear his side of the story. Hopefully we'll be hearing more of him in the future! C'mon Valve, Midnight Riders Campaign!