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Hello Leo! First of all, I
wish to thank you for answering our questions.
GOTTHARD is back now, a bit less than two years after the
launching of Lip Service and few months after “Made in
Switzerland”. Is it your own pace of work?
Is it too hard to follow? Too long or what ?
No! For us, fans, it is perfect!
You know, it is not a matter of pace of work. We made Lipservice,
then toured but we wanted to make something live. Our fans
asked for a live album since long. We thought that the Lipservice
Tour was fitting it well. We were together and willing to.
We recorded the album in Zurich, in the biggest place we played
in Switzerland for the Lipservice Tour. We thought then it
would be nice to release it. This live version was well accepted.
This is why we kept on touring with the Lipservice Made In
Switzerland Tour until last November. It was time to release
a new album since we lived for two years with Lipservice.
Clearly, for the fans, there were three albums in three years
whereas there are just two albums in three years.
OK, but it is a lot of work!
For sure, a huge work. But we do like what we are doing. Fans
are there, awaiting records to arrive and buy them, to be
with us. We try and give them a little more.
You said that you started working in November, we are in March,
it makes only 4 months of work. How did you organise yourselves
to compose this album?
You see, this is the way we work. While touring, we are collecting
ideas. When we have time, and a studio, we work on these.
When we stop touring, we already have material to work with.
The track is OK, it is not, we have to arrange it, write new
stuff… It helps! We are lucky to have a studio, every
time we record something, we capitalize. It is quite a luxury
to have this studio!
Yes,
for sure. But it is a luxury for us, fans, to have records
so close in time!
So, it is well done, everyone’s happy!
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I
have had the great luck to listen to your new album. As of
to me, it differs from Lip Service. There are fewer tracks,
I would say straight rocking you were used to in the beginning.
It seems you preferred more personal compositions, a bit darker
in the mood. Would you agree with this?
Bah! For me releasing a new album means not to make a copy
of the former one. With Domino Effect, there is continuity
with Lipservice but we try not to repeat ourselves. What is
sure is that it is a rock’n roll album containing rock,
melodies, power and weight. With also a lot a sentimental
things that were not present in Lipservice, or they were but
the message was not so clear. A track like “And Then
Goodbye” is quite sentimental, in fact. It is maybe a
little more personal, more serious, with texts that make you
think. It is what I wanted to do for the fans. In this album,
there moments when you stop and wonders “What are they
telling me?”. It is quite important as music is not only
music but something that make you think, that may push you
to discuss with someone about what you have listened to or
about your feelings. This is what we wanted to achieve with
this album, give something extra, not only music.
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It contains excellent rock with remarkable melodies. In any
case, you always sound brilliant and punchy. What it your
secret?
Haha! Just because we do not sleep! More seriously, I don’t
know what is the secret, but we feel it this way. When doing
something, we always try to place ourselves in the role of
the listener, of the persons who buy this record and that
want to buy good quality albums. First of all, it is a matter
of respect for the ones that purchase records, respect for
the fans. It is also and above all a matter of respect for
the things you write. Speaking for myself, I wish I could
listen again to this record in some years and find it sounding
as good as today. We don’t want to say that we did something
for the sake of it! It is the trick, the secret of what we
are doing. Auto criticism is also quite present in the way
we work. The first draft, the first cuts are not evidently
the best we can do.
Leo, you sit also in the producer chair. Is it a will to manage
the whole thing or is it due to the fact that you wanted to
have something sounding exactly the way you want to?
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I
don’t think we want to keep the overall control; it is
rather because no one knows GOTTHARD as we do? If we want
to release something, we are concerned at first. It is better
if we can manage it. We know ourselves better than anyone
else, we want to make it the best we can. We worked with other
producers in the past, we did not reach the result we wanted.
They used our name. Now we are satisfied with that, so everyone’s
happy!
OK but it makes extra work for you!
Yes… We have 24 hours per day and we can use them!
Did you record extra songs to be included as bonus tracks
as for Lip Service?
There shall be bonus tracks, I think, on the Digipack or Diamondpack
edition. There shall be a bonus for Japan. And two different
outtakes should be released in the second half of the year.
Is it a wish from the band to record all the songs ready for
studio? Or is it just that you have so many songs and that
the choice is quite difficult?
That’s right, we always have a lot of material and we
try and give enough for the price the fans shall pay. But
there are specific clauses for the different markets, always
wanting something more or different versions for each. We
are pleased to do so, as we always did. Within few years this
might change with the Internet. Wait and see!
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If you agree, we’ll talk about the Internet a bit later.
Together with Freddy, you quote the Beatles in your favourite
artists.
Yes, I believe that they wrote the Bible of rock, didn’t
they?
Yes, for sure! Would you like to make a cover from them?
We did one with the second album, making a cover of “Come
Together” some years ago. It is not within our projects
to make a new cover from the Beatles. So many people are making
some! I would add that I find very difficult to do something
that was perfectly done before! So, what do you want to modify!
It is quite important, if you make a cover, that do make it
personal, something more than a copy of the Beatles. So for
the moment, we keep this idea in the drawers!
OK, your cover of “Come Together” was really sounding
personal and…
We always try to do so with the covers. These are some kind
of tributes we pay to the bands we make covers of, to those
who helped us in our inspiration. With a huge respect.
It is now 15 years (and 7 studio albums) that you are in the
rock business. What would say about this rich career?
Isn’t this OK? Seven studio records, two live albums,
one Best Of, one Best Of Ballads… I guess it is good!
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Yes for sure, fans are quite happy with that! Are there any
things you wish you had done (or things you wish you have
NOT done!!!)!
Yes, we regret not to have toured in the USA. We played few
dates but a real tour would have been so great. But the rest
of the world is wide and we are happy with that. We have been
touring the world for more than 15 years and it is OK. On
a more personal side… It is difficult… No, I always
like everything I did, I have no regrets!
Swiss rock is rather rare but high quality rock. Is there
any particular reason to this?
I believe that the Swiss try and do as good as they can what
they are doing: chocolate, watches…
So for you it is genetical?
No, I don’t think so. I grew up with that. Always do
your best. It might be because, also, to the fact that the
small Switzerland exports itself a little more. I don’t
know. I believe that quality comes also from the fact that
we keep a critic eye on everything we do. But there is a lot
of music coming from Switzerland, in fact. I guess you know
Stephan Eicher, in France, don’t you?
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Is it difficult to play hard rock or metal in Switzerland,
as it is in France?
It is always difficult to do things few people like. We are
lucky as we do what we love. It is difficult to play music,
whichever style it is. The is good music and cacophony…
You have to keep always on the good music’s side! No
matter which music it is: pop, rock…
Shall you start touring to promote your
new album?
Yes we start in May!
Shall we have the luck to see you in France? For the moment,
the only dates planned are in Switzerland and Germany.
Yes, on September 8th and 9th!
You shall play in France?
Yes, in Saint Julien, for the festival. And the Raismesfest…
Are there other dates planned in France?
I do not know what are the plans of our agent, right now.
They have to confirm these two. It is already great news,
isn’t it?
Yes, for sure as it is not available on your website!
No, they still have to confirm. In fact, I wrote it myself
as they just told it to me!
This is great! Of course, if you play other dates in France,
it shall be even better for us!
We try hard, we hope! In fact, we start in May and we’ll
see when it stops. On our website, there are only partial
information for now. Many dates are still to be confirmed.
Russia should be in, South America as well.
Let’s come back to the Web: what do you think about the
explosion of the Internet? Is it important for bands to lean
on this tool or do you feel that it might be a danger for
them?
You can see this from two angles. Good or bad. In fact, it’s
both! You can try and compose with it or go against it. But
Internet is here, downloading is here too. Fight against this
is lost in advance as Internet is so big, so powerful that
you have to find a way to work with it. You have to find a
way to have this machine, if we may call it so, helps music
and doesn’t kill it. I believe that there are now plenty
of fantastic possibilities and that music shall be supported
by the Internet. Nowadays, an artist with a low budget can
record a song and with a click, it comes to the other side
of the planet, where it couldn’t reach before as a recording
contract was imposed before. It is highly positive; we can
try and work with it. It is the same when CD arrived. There
were LPs, some were saying that LPs were better, that CDs
had lower quality. But CD is still there, you have to keep
on the technology level.
Do
websites as www.hardrock80.com can help you and rock bands
in promoting their albums and our kind of music?
Yes, the Internet world belongs to everyone.
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With a click, from the other side of the world, you can listen
to a track. When a lot of people talk about something, talk
about GOTTHARD in the present case, plenty people shall know
about GOTTHARD. This can help, for sure!
Frankly speaking, Leo, GOTTHARD rests in the heart of the
fans. Few weeks ago, there was a discussion on the site’
forum where people were saying that they were eagerly awaiting
your album. Some are counting the days!
Oh, this is so nice. You can tell them that it is nearly there!
I leave you the final words for our readers of HardRock80!
A big hello from me. Now that Internet is here, music shall
keep on living, in a new format. But we have to support music,
in any format!
Many thanks to you, Leo, it has been really great to talk
to you!
For me too and I hope we shall meet at one of the dates in
France. Thanks for your support!
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