Author: Rok Klemše
Interview date: 07/13/2007
The German melodic rockers made their Slovenian debut at Heavy Metal Night on July 14 in Veliki Ubeljsko. Their set will be remembered as supremely confident, relaxed, energetic and fun… Even though, thanks to a traffic jam at the Karawanks, they rolled up at the scene of the crime a whole three hours late. Real pros that they are, it didn’t rattle them one bit, and they turned out to be hugely entertaining interviewees too, especially the big-mouthed American Dennis (bass), the fiery Greek Kosta (drums) and the excellent frontman David.
RockLine: Welcome to Slovenia, guys! And for the first time ever! A few months ago you put out your tenth studio album, In10sity. How have the critics and your fans reacted?
David: So far, really well. We’ve already read a few very positive reviews. As for our fans… I like to think they’re happy with the record, but we still have to find out how it goes down live, which we’ll surely see today, and then next week at a bigger festival in Karlsrühe, and then the rest of the tour follows. The crowd’s reaction will be the best indicator of how good the album really is.
RockLine: I wrote a review of In10sity myself, and I have to admit it’s an excellent record. It feels a bit darker and more aggressive than your previous albums. How would you describe writing and recording it?
Dennis: (laughs) It was actually the same as with the previous albums. We mostly write the songs and parts individually, and then we finish them together during the recording itself. In other words, we start with a basic arrangement and then finish it off with all the modern technology available in the studio. That’s how we’ve worked pretty much from the very beginning, and this recording was easy and efficient for us too, and I think pretty typical.
Kosta: I don’t think it was all that typical, though, because for the first time we used a second guitarist. Maybe that’s part of why the album is more aggressive, like you said. In10sity is based more on guitars and riffs than on keyboards.
RockLine: Dennis, you’re also known as a producer. You’ve produced everything from Edenbridge to Angra and, of course, Pink Cream 69. Is producing your own band different from producing someone else’s?
Dennis: It’s different with every band. Some of the basic ideas are mine, but Pink Cream 69 is another story, because the production is the work of the whole group. I’m just kind of a supervisor or coordinator, since we all create material at home on our own too. With Angra, for example, it’s different, because I’m there from start to finish, for every second of every track.
RockLine: Given how many records you’ve produced, could you pick out your best production experience?
Kosta: Producing kids? (laughs)
Dennis: (laughs) Heh, yeah, at least the trying part. Good question… It’s definitely Pink Cream 69. My best experience, actually, was the Food For Thought album. We recorded in the town where I was living at the time, and the studio was only a few hundred meters from my home. We’d just discovered computers back then, so we spent more time playing computer games than recording. Really great memories… maybe not for poor Dave, since he always had to wait until we’d finished our round (laughs).
RockLine: Many people say Food For Thought is your best album. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but did you know that Iron Maiden wanted to call Piece of Mind Food For Thought?
Dennis: Really? I had no idea. The title’s actually one big cliché, it simply means thinking something over. Back then we were convinced this album was something completely different from the previous ones, so we had a kind of message. Dave came up with the title.
RockLine: When Andi Deris left the band in 1993, was it hard to find a replacement for such a good singer?
Dennis: Very, very hard. We got a huge number of tapes from potential vocalists, around 400. One of them was Dougie White, and we’d already started doing some rehearsals and prep with him when he told us he was about to land the singer spot in Rainbow, which he did end up getting. Of course we were incredibly happy for him, but we were left without a singer again. We thought we’d never make it, and then we got David’s tape. I think he was our new vocalist by the end of that weekend.
RockLine: David, what was it like for you as the newcomer in the band?
David: It was an honor to be accepted into a band like that. I had no idea what Andi was like on stage, what the fans were like, what they expected… I got a taste of the fans on the first tour. They were pretty chilled, with just the odd dumb remark from the crowd. Looking back now, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. I think people really accepted me when we made the Electrified album, but for plenty of them I’m still the new singer today (laughs).
RockLine: You come from different countries – Germany, the UK, Greece and the US. How do you manage to keep the band together?
Dennis: You do what you have to do and you don’t overdo it. We take things very seriously, but not so seriously that it swallows up our everyday lives.
Kosta: In Germany we all live in the same area, our base is Karlsrühe.
RockLine: You’ve played all over the world. Where do you like playing most? I think you’re pretty big in Brazil and Germany.
Dennis: Not in Brazil, actually, we’ve only played there once. Japan is incredible, and so is Sweden.
RockLine: What do you expect from tonight’s show?
David: We expect everybody to get “rocked”! (laughs)
RockLine: Dennis, you also play in Desperado. What was it like playing for them?
Dennis: I don’t play with them anymore, but it was a lot of fun. The guys asked me for help and I was glad to jump in. It was something new for me, and for a change I got to play guitar.
RockLine: What are your biggest influences? I read that you listen to a huge variety of music.
Dennis: Yeah, we share some bands, but otherwise our tastes are pretty different. For me it’ll always be Van Halen, Rush, AC/DC. Phew… There are quite a few – Eagles, Journey, Toto… Dave worships Led Zeppelin.
David: Yeah, we like Britney Spears too (laughs)
Dennis: Haha yeah, especially now that she’s bald and fat. Now she’s hot.. rrr… (laughs).
RockLine: Are you planning any tours this fall?
Dennis: Yeah, a few shows in October in Germany and the surrounding area with Freedom Call. So far that’s the only tour.
Kosta: It’s not easy to line up everybody’s schedules, since we’re all doing different things. We even fight over rehearsals sometimes (laughs), because we all have different commitments. When you asked about a message – we love what we do, we don’t see it as our job, we do it for our souls. Maybe that’s why we’re still together after so many years.
RockLine: Do you have any fresh ideas lined up for a new album, or maybe a new live album?
Kosta: Dennis actually already has a few ideas in pre-production, and we’ll also record some live material for a live CD and DVD. Tomorrow we play the Masters of Rock festival in the Czech Republic, and next week we play at home in Karlsrühe at an even bigger festival, where we’re expecting 40, 50 thousand people.
RockLine: And finally, your last message for the Slovenian fans?
Dennis: Dave, that honor goes to you.
David: Oh, no (laughs). Where’s my cheat sheet? (laughs). We haven’t been here many times, I think the last time was two years ago…
Kosta: No, that was Slovakia.
David: So this is our first time here (laughs). Anyway, it’s always fun to come to a new country we wouldn’t normally get to. So far people have been incredibly friendly, and I hope they like our music and that we can come back.
RockLine: Thanks a lot, guys. I wish you a great show and a trip without any hiccups (laughs)!
Pink Cream 69: Thank you, we hope there won’t be any traffic (laughs).
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