Author: Aleš Podbrežnik, Jernej Vene
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik, Jernej Vene
Location: Salzburg / Rockhouse / Austria
Interview date: September 26, 2013
Rene Shades is the man who finally stabilized the current lineup of the legendary Danish hard rockers Pretty Maids in April 2011. After Kenn Lund Jacobsen, better known to everyone as Kenn Jackson, decided after 19 uninterrupted years in the band to park his bass in the corner and left Pretty Maids in 2010, King Diamond’s regular bassist Hal Patino temporarily stepped into his shoes. But the formula just didn’t work out the way the band wanted with him. The guys found their answer in an old buddy, Rene Shades, who had already played guitar for Pretty Maids for a short stretch in 2003. That was when Pretty Maids were trying out two guitarists in the lineup…
Salzburg, end of September 2013! Devilish rain everywhere. Autumn is knocking at the door! A backup caused by an accident on the northern exit for Salzburg sent Jernej and me to the first (southern) exit, the one we normally skip when we visit Rockhouse. Even the Gorenjska highway was jammed up because of a bad crash before Kranj. One of those days when the devil really takes the lard! And yet we managed to hit the right moment, and so here we are, sitting with Rene backstage at Salzburg’s Rockhouse club. That famous spot where a former railway tunnel got turned into a club concert venue…
RockLine: Let’s start with a very general question. How happy are you with the way this tour is going so far?
Rene: Everything’s going really well. Even better than we expected. In some places we’ve played twice in the last year and a half. And attendance has kept growing throughout the tour, which makes us incredibly happy.
RockLine: On March 22, 2013, you released your new studio album »Motherland« on Frontiers Records. It was your first real studio album as an official member of the band. How does that feel?
Rene: True. I also played on the live album we put out the year before (It Comes Alive (Made In Switzerland), ed. note).
RockLine: Dedicated to the band’s thirtieth anniversary…
Rene: Exactly. I’ve known Pretty Maids for a long time. In 2003 I played guitar in the band for a short while. Back then they were trying out two guitarists. Then there was a long silence, all the way until Ronnie called and asked me: »Would you play bass?« »Sure,« I said. I’ve known the guys since 1992. We’ve always hung out together, so we built up a good friendship along the way. For me the offer wasn’t even a question. I took it right away, and gladly. Of course, it’s a whole different story when you suddenly have to work with those friends in the music business. But it’s a priceless experience. I’m really happy that everybody in the band gets along so well.
RockLine: If memory serves, the previous bassist was Hal Patino. He played with Pretty Maids on the tour in fall 2010, and then you got that call from Ronnie….
Rene: Actually it was a message on Facebook. I live in Spain, and the cheapest way to communicate is just Facebook. I can’t go into details about what went on with Hal. I got a short message. I agreed right away. They definitely didn’t say I was in the band. At first they just wanted to test whether I fit in! The chemistry clicked. We’ve known each other for ages. Simple as that. The vibe was obviously right.
RockLine: You’ve got a lot of music. A lot of albums. How do you decide which songs make it into the live set?
Rene: It depends a lot on where we’re playing. Of course, part of it is picking songs we enjoy playing ourselves. But we also adapt to the region we’re touring through and try to give people what they want to hear. Honestly, we don’t actually know what that is. We just try to guess. On this tour we’re mostly focused on the first two studio albums and the last two. On the previous tour, when we were presenting the album »Pandemonium«, we played a much more mixed set. It was really a selection covering all the periods of our career.
RockLine: Pretty Maids are well known in Japan too. Why do you think the crowds there embrace music and bands like yours with so much enthusiasm?
Rene: I think they’re fascinated by the simple fact that they’re getting something that comes from the West. Just because of the geographic distance. Western stuff feels exotic to them. For us it works the other way around. They’re also very polite, very kind people. I think that comes from their traditional culture. We can learn a whole lot from them. And every rocker dreams of playing there someday. You want to feel that reaction, that wave of excitement that only a Japanese crowd can produce.
RockLine: When I watched you on stage with Pretty Maids at this year’s Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany, you looked at first glance like a member of your fellow Danes D.A.D. (Disneyland After Dark). How did you settle on your stage image, and how did the other Pretty Maids guys react to it?
Rene: Really? Ha ha ha… You know, I didn’t even think about it much. It just happened, totally spontaneously. I stuck that hat on my head. You try to work it so people remember you. You try to make an impression on them, and that includes how you look. The bassist from Lynyrd Skynyrd popped into my mind. He always wore hats. I borrowed a little from others. Paul McCartney always said you can borrow things from other people, ha ha ha….
RockLine: How does the home crowd in Denmark receive Pretty Maids? Are you considered local heroes?
Rene: We’re definitely not heroes. That said, pretty much everyone in Denmark knows Ronnie and Kenn and Pretty Maids. For Pretty Maids, playing here in Salzburg tonight is a much bigger success than playing in Denmark. In Denmark it’s good to play festivals. People there don’t really go to standalone gigs at all. Luckily, Pretty Maids have really solid support in Germany, in Japan, and here in Austria too. Thank God we don’t depend only on Denmark.
RockLine: Whose idea was it to pick the Swiss town of Pratteln and its venue Z7 for recording the live DVD and live album?
Rene: At first the recording was planned for Copenhagen, at a venue called Tivoli. But right around then the whole »Patino« thing happened. It was my first show with Pretty Maids. So they were a bit cautious about how I’d handle it. That was in April 2011. Pratteln was chosen later mainly because it’s a hall where you can easily set up multiple cameras, and it has really good acoustics.
RockLine: I assume you had to leave a few tracks off »Motherland«, since you had more of them ready at the start. Who decides which songs make it onto the album and which don’t?
Rene: Yes. There really were more. We decide ourselves. We have total freedom there. Sure, the label can say whether they like an album or not, but the call is entirely ours. We also consult a lot with our longtime producer and great friend Jacob Hansen, who masterfully steers us through the arrangements and the recording process itself. Jacob Hansen is basically our sixth member. He’s very open-minded, and he created a truly brilliant, modern-sounding latest album for Pretty Maids. I can say with a clear conscience that Jacob is one of the best modern rock producers in the world.
RockLine: Which musicians had a major influence on you and inspired you as you grew into a musician?
Rene: The first influence was definitely Elvis Presley. And a lot of The Beatles. I also really like country music. Especially modern country. I adore country artists like Keith Urban. But since I’ve been playing guitar for more than 25 years, I was hugely influenced by Thin Lizzy, and especially Gary Moore. As for playing bass, that’s a whole different story. I like how James Brown uses the bass in his songs. It’s fascinating to watch how the bass line itself behaves and adapts from one moment to the next in his tracks. A lot of inspiration also came from my friends. I’m especially fascinated by the musicians who only play in the studio. On contract. One of them is Paul Beuschner, who played on albums by Elton John, Faith Hill, and Rod Stewart, among others. An Irish musician. An excellent studio musician.
RockLine: This tour is split into two parts. On the first you’re joined by Pink Cream 69. On the second, later German leg, by another German hard rock outfit, Bonfire. Any nerves about facing them?
Rene: No. Not at all. They’re really nice guys. When I was still playing with Mike Tramp, we toured together. I’ve known them for a very long time.
RockLine: And then a break?
Rene: In principle, yes. But we never really sit still. You never know when a phone call will catch you and you’re suddenly in a new project. In the studio, on the road, on stage. As for future plans, I can’t say much for now. Things are developing. Pretty Maids keep going. With the »Motherland« tour we’ll stay on the live stages at least until the end of this year. We’ll also try to visit some places where we’ve never played in our whole career.
RockLine: How do you feel about album sales dropping while you guys are expected to play live more and more often?
Rene: The whole thing has become very competitive, and it’s far from rosy, or simple. Luckily, people still go to concerts, and we’re very happy with the turnout. People in Germany and Scandinavia still spend money to see live shows. In Denmark, though, that’s impossible. In Denmark you have to book a gig on a Saturday if you want anyone to show up at all. The good old days are gone.
RockLine: That’s it. Rene, thanks for your time, and we wish you a great show tonight here in Salzburg!
Rene: Thank you both, and see you later at the show!
interview by: Jernej Vene & Aleš Podbrežnik
translated and edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik
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