Location: KD KRUH hall / Križe (Tržič) / Slovenia
Interview date: 27.12.2009
If you’ve been following even a little of the daily news from the Slovenian rock scene, you probably know that this December, Mit and Rock Shock selflessly joined forces, booked a bunch of gigs around Slovenia and hit the road together to promote the albums “Rock Shock” (RockLine review HERE) and “Mit” (RockLine review HERE), under the banner of a joint tour dubbed “Rock Stik”. The tour wrapped up at the Kulturno društvo KRUH hall in the village of Križe near Tržič on 26.12.2009.
Mit had just finished their set, and Rock Shock had already cooled down a bit backstage. The driving forces of both bands joined the chat: guitarists Miha Oman – Buco (Mit) and Janko Tomšič (Rock Shock)…
RockLine: The Rock Stick tour wrapped up tonight with the show in Križe near Tržič. How are you feeling, and how would you sum up the whole thing?
Buco (Mit): The feeling is fantastic. Joining forces, Mit and Rock Shock, was one of the best ideas and best things we’ve done. We achieved what we set out to do, and I hope other bands take this as a good example of how they can help each other out this way. It’s just easier to land gigs. But the key is that there has to be selflessness between bands like this, mutual encouragement, a shared wish for both bands to make it. So the whole point of this tour was to present both bands to the crowd as well as possible. And we pulled it off.
Janko (Rock Shock): A team-up like this gives you five times the effect compared to doing everything on your own. Meaning, you’re not the one chasing gigs and all that by yourself. Of course, it has to be settled from the start that the two bands won’t be throwing sticks in each other’s wheels.
RockLine: So in Slovenia, bands can find a common denominator, like on the Rock Stick tour, back each other up and reach their goals more effectively than they would otherwise.
Buco (Mit): I think that’s possible between any bands. Only one condition has to be met: there can’t be any envy between them when they go into it. It’s also very important that the energy put into a tour like this is split down the middle, that it’s equal.
Janko (Rock Shock): Mit and Rock Shock simply clicked. So with us it’s been great gigs, great vibes and great company the whole way. It just makes everything work more smoothly.
RockLine: Is another plus of a tour like Rock Stick maybe that Rock Shock and Mit are quite far apart genre-wise?
Janko (Rock Shock): It’s definitely a plus, because the two of us offer the crowd a different experience. That can make the whole thing even more interesting. Then again, even if we were closer genre-wise, I don’t think it would make a big difference. Every band approaches its music differently and presents it in its own way.
Buco (Mit): Rock Shock and Mit never even thought about who plays what or how. The main goal of this tour was to present the albums “Rock Shock” and “Stik” as successfully as possible. And to promote both bands, in the media too. We were also very well covered on the PR side, and I think both Mit and Rock Shock squeezed the maximum out of this experience.
Janko (Rock Shock): The main thing was that we clicked on a personal level, the members of both bands. Once that got rolling, we said it was time to join forces and set the goal of promoting our music.
RockLine: On this tour, Mit played before Rock Shock at some shows and the other way around at others. How did you work out those arrangements before the gigs?
Janko (Rock Shock): Location played the main role here, the particular date on the tour. In some parts of Slovenia Rock Shock are better known to the crowd, elsewhere Mit are. So we adjusted who would play first and who second. The band on second, if I can put it that way, was the one playing on its “home turf” on that particular Rock Stick date. But we also sometimes just agreed casually, whatever suited someone better at that moment.
Buco (Mit): Yeah. Look, it’s totally simple. A gig wouldn’t have the same effect if, say, Mit played after Rock Shock in Postojna, or Rock Shock after Mit in Tržič. That’s really good. See, Mit are already well known in Upper Carniola and they bring people to the show. At the same time, those people get to discover Rock Shock too. On top of that, we offered a special deal: through this tour in December, people could buy both albums, “Rock Shock” and “Stik”, for 10.00€. So you got both CDs together for 10.00€. We also had joint sales of official merch. Not each band separately. Everyone who bought Mit’s CD also bought Rock Shock’s CD. So it’s like a domino effect. More people come to the show, hear both bands, buy both CDs, “click” through to both bands’ official websites and start following what both bands are up to.
RockLine: Buco, a more personal question for you. What made you pull on that red Soviet Union shirt at tonight’s show here in Križe?
Buco (Mit): A good friend had just come back from Chechnya. He’s from Tržič too. He got back a few days ago and brought me this shirt. Of course, before the show I was thinking that this would be the first time in my music career that I’d stand on stage in a shirt that isn’t black. But I did it for him, he’s our big supporter, a supporter of our music, because I knew it would really mean a lot to him.
RockLine: Mit also pulled off a really friendly gesture at tonight’s show in Križe, inviting two rappers on stage to play a song together.
Buco (Mit): I’ve known those two guys for a while and they’re working hard. They’ve had a lot of bad luck with people, you know how it is these days? Finding the right people to get something done is a real art. They’re from Tržič too, they tried it with two bands, but somehow the plans didn’t pan out. So we said let’s make a song together that’s both ours and theirs. That’s the track Save Your Life. The two of them are a duo now. At first there were five of them, now they’re a duo called Five Masters Duo.
RockLine: Janko, you’ve got two intense days behind you. Yesterday in Postojna at the Božični Rock festival, today here near Tržič. Two completely different nights, and I’m guessing you’re starting to feel the tiredness. How would you sum up those two nights?
Janko (Rock Shock): Yeah. We’re tired, but, how should I put it, pleasantly tired. The two days were totally different, and both were phenomenal. In Postojna there was that special moment when we stepped onto such a big stage and the hall’s energy came back at us, erupting. That’s really something special. Tonight is a proper club vibe, with a hand-picked crowd that’s maybe even better, because the people who come see you know you, they’re involved with you, they’re in some kind of contact with you, it’s a more tuned-in audience. Doing a few more weekends like this together next year would be really great.
RockLine: A small club atmosphere gives you the chance to meet people who know you, you can see them from the stage, maybe even communicate with them more intensely while you play your material.
Janko (Rock Shock): That smaller club vibe is definitely special, because it’s easier to connect with people, it feels more intimate, and you can get right up close to the crowd through talking to them. On the other hand, a massive festival brings a special feeling too. When you step on stage, when it blasts, when it booms, when the crowd throws a massive roar back at you….
RockLine: Are you Rock Shock already forging any plans for the new year, after this tour? Any ideas yet how the new album will sound?
Janko (Rock Shock): The tenth anniversary of Rock Shock is slowly approaching. Next year we’ll be preparing plenty of interesting stuff. Among other things a new record, since we’ve already written some material for it. I’ve prepared a bit of new stuff myself, and Matej (Matej Zalar, Rock Shock vocalist, ed. note) has already prepared a lot too. At the start of the new year we’ll still be devoting ourselves to promoting the current album, and we’re also preparing a new video that should come out soon. And one more single.
RockLine: What’s it called?
Janko (Rock Shock): Heh, heh, heh… we’ll tell you when the time comes. So, next year we’ll try to channel our energy into even more massive promotion, because it’s the band’s 10th anniversary, and that’s a really special occasion for us that we’d like to mark properly.
RockLine: If we can go back for a moment to the start of the interview, did the successful tour bring Rock Shock and Mit even closer together?
Buco (Mit): Yes. Besides the basic aims and goals the tour achieved, that’s an important factor, that the two bands got even closer.
Janko (Rock Shock): Honestly, the tour even exceeded my expectations. We got kind of attached to Mit. It’ll feel really weird when we go on stage by ourselves. I’m going to miss them a bit, somehow.
Rockine: What are Mit’s plans for the future after this tour? I’m guessing the new album is already pretty close? You’ve got a brand-new band member, Matej Žibert…
Buco (Mit): Yes. As for our new bass player Matej Žibert, we found someone whose character is right for Mit, he works hard, he gets better from gig to gig, and he’s breathing with us more and more. I can say that with him we’ve finally found the fifth member of the lineup, someone who’s ready to work. With today, the Rock Stick tour for 2009 is over, but I believe that next year there will definitely be a few more gigs under the “Rock Stick” banner. I’m actually pretty sure of that. As for the new album, I won’t overpromise anything in advance, but the plan is to really release it next year, and I hope we’ll manage it.
RockLine: Rock Shock have had some lineup troubles too. For this tour you had to find a replacement for bass player Marko Turk.
Janko (Rock Shock). Yes. Sadly, before the tour our Marko injured his eardrum and the doctors ordered strict rest, because that stuff heals very slowly. It has to heal naturally, without exposure to any strong vibrations. So Marko had to take three months of forced rest. Martin Rozman kindly answered our call and has been filling in for Marko for the last two months, and we have to give him a special thank-you for that. Martin has fit in with us very successfully too.
Buco (Mit): In a way, Martin basically saved the Rock Stick tour, made it possible to pull it off at all.
photos: Matej Zalar (Rock Shock), Klavdija Bogataj, Aleš Podbrežnik
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