Roy, you were already playing the trumpet at the age of ten, does that mean you stem from a musically inclined family?
Roy Paci: "In fact I started to play the piano even earlier; I think I must have been four or five years old. My mother was as singer and my father played the trumpet and the saxophone, so, yes, I guess you could say I stem from a musically inclined family. (laughs)"
Why did you suddenly make the change from the piano to the trumpet all these years ago?
Roy Paci: "My piano teacher was a diabetic and in time his condition worsened. When at one stage the disease also caused him to go blind, he was no longer able to teach. I was really upset, but my father encouraged me not to rest on my oars and he took me to another teacher he knew from the brass band he played in. He let me try out several instruments, but with the trumpet it was really love at first sight."
Do you play different trumpets all the time or are you the kind of artist who sticks to one fetish instrument?
Roy Paci: "Since I built my own studio, my house is littered with instruments among which are a number of trumpets, but in general I tend to stick to the same instrument. I've even named that trumpet; she's called Sophia and I've had her in my possession for about twenty-five years now, making her the only woman who's never abandoned me yet! (laughs)"
Before you started Roy Paci & Aretuska, you played in numerous bands and projects. Which of these have left a more lasting mark in your memory?
Roy Paci: "The project I still remember most fondly is Banda Ionica (Italian folk band focusing on the Sicilian brass band tradition. Traditionally the banda's brought operatic and classical music to the people, red.). It's not just me though, the other musicians in Aretuska have also been involved in numerous other projects, but it's that mix of influences that provides exactly the right ingredients for the dish we want to serve."
One often refers back to the time you spent with Manu Chao. You're still often announced as Manu Chao's trumpeter.
Roy Paci: "Well, it doesn't really bother me, to be honest. My time with Manu Chao's Radio Bemba was well-spent, but I was but one of about a dozen musicians that made up the band. Playing in an orchestra like that is like playing in a soccer team: to make a team work, every player has to be as good as the next one. That also applies to Aretuska."
What were your intentions or aspirations when you started playing with Aretuska?
Roy Paci: "When I started playing with Aretuska, we were just playing ska and I never intended it to turn out to be a long-term project. To me, it was nothing more than a side project I could have some fun with, playing locally in Sicily. I would have never imagined the worldwide success we are now enjoying."
Italy and Sicily have been feuding for centuries. What makes Sicilians so different from other Italians?
Roy Paci: "Even though those feelings have largely disappeared, you can still find Sicilians that hold a grudge towards the rest of Italy. Paradoxically, Sicily is now governed by politicians affiliated with the North-Italian Lega Nord, a party that looked down on Sicily in the past because of its historic ties to North-Africa (By 826, Euphemius the commander of the Byzantine fleet of Sicily forced a nun to marry him. Emperor Michael II caught wind of the matter and ordered that General Constantine end the marriage and cut off Euphemius' nose. Euphemius rose up, killed Constantine and then occupied Syracuse; he in turn was defeated and driven out to North Africa. He offered rule of Sicily over to Ziyadat Allah the Aghlabid Emir of Tunisia in return for a place as a general and safety; a Muslim army of Arabs, Berbers, Spaniards [then an Islamic region], Cretans and Persians was sent. The conquest was a see-saw affair met with much resistance. It took over a century for Byzantine Sicily to be conquered. Syracuse held for a long time, Taormina fell in 902, and all of Sicily was eventually conquered by Arabs in 965, red.). I'm glad I have North-African blood in my veins, because being Italian is nothing to be proud of at this moment!"