Henning WANNER
(Jaded Heart, Tramps White Lion)

Interview with Henning Wanner (Jaded Heart, Tramps White Lion) November 2005 by Farida Schmoll

Farida Schmoll : I'd like to start from the very beginning of your career. How did it all start?
Henning Wanner : Well, if you mean my first contact with rock music, then it was when I listened to an old Kiss record in my parent´s collection at the age of 6. Then I got piano lessons in classical music. But I started to play in bands when I was 16. I was influenced by Savatage and was the vocalist and bass player. Later I changed over to vocals / rhythm guitar and additionally played the keyboards in a cover band. But those were all only regional well known bands so I decided to join an international act…which was Jaded Heart in 2001.

Who have been the biggest musical influences?
It all starts with Kiss, Maiden and Metallica. For me Savatage is my biggest influence and when it comes to singing I love Ted “Bullet” Pulit´s voice (ex-Thunderhead). But on the other hand the piano ballads from Chris de Burgh and Elton John left a big impression on my music, too.

What are some of the bands you are listening to these days?
It´s the same as I mentioned above. At the moment I listen to the new Depeche Mode and Robbie Williams stuff…maybe next week it will be again Slayer and Korn and after that some Kyuss, Monster Magnet…

Any artists you’d like to work with?
There are really too many to mention, but I would love to sing and play once in my life a duet together with Jon Oliva…hopefully on GUTTER BALLET…

What do you like doing in your spare time outside of music?
 I think it is the same like everybody does…I love travelling to different places…lying on a beach and reading books…and at home I love to relax and watch some good movies. Besides that I am a big Football (soccer) fan, and I played in a club for nearly 20 years, which is all over now as my knees are nearly completely destroyed by that.

Lets talk about Jaded Heart, how do you feel about the new album, are you satisfied of the result?
Yes, I am very satisfied, as I think it is the best JH album ever. I really love Trust and Journey, but this one is just great.

How did the recording process go? Why did you choose to call it HELLUVA TIME and can you tell anything about the cover artwork?
 The recordings were full of fun though we recorded it in 3 or 4 different places (drums and mix in Rosenheim/Munich, Germany; guitars, basses and keyboards in Duisburg, Germany; vocals and choirs in Stockholm, Sweden; mastering in Berlin, Germany). Because of our new situation and the real fun we had we decided to call it HELLUVA TIME, because this was a hell of a time. Actually, the title was my idea and I came up with the main idea for the cover artwork, too. We wanted to have something which fits to “hell” so it was this mix of the devil and the angel. The background and the logo/title should be a bit reminding of the Trust cover, and I think the cover artist made a great job. When you look at Trust and HT next to each other, you see there is a certain line we wanted to follow; despite the fact that the old one is green and the new one red…

How would you describe the sound of HELLUVA TIME?
 It sounds like a big international production which we do not have to hide. Make up your own mind and compare it to other new releases and you will see it is just blasting everything away.
Well, and the sound of our music just became a bit more powerful. There are more guitars everywhere without loosing our band sound and it just happened by chance that we put only one ballad on the album. Maybe on the next one will be again 2 or 3 ballads…who knows…

What are your favourite songs on the album?
Besides the fact that I love all the songs and can listen to the album without skipping any song my absolute favourite Jadede Heart song of all time is SOMEWHERE.

So this is the first album without Michael Bormann, the main songwriter and producer of Jaded Heart, did you feel any pressure during the recording of this album? Were you anxious about the reactions from the fans?
No, not really anxious, but we knew that the album had to be very strong without our old vocalist. By the way, I just returned from our first live show with the new singer, which was at the united-forces-of-rock-festival in southern Germany. It was great, and all the reactions from our fans show us, that the album is great and the live performance is even better with Johan, so from now on we don´t have to talk about the old chapter anymore.

What can you tell about the new singer Johan Fahlberg?
We are so happy to have a guy like him in the band. He is so crazy, funny and friendly that it is pure luck for us to play with him. He does not only have this very wide range in his voice but he brings a new understanding of friendship into the band, as well. Besides that it is quite funny to see even Muelli looking up at him as he is more than two meters tall…ha ha. On stage he really rocks so we are confident that he will conquer all the fan´s hearts by storm.

Jaded Heart is going on tour on December as support of Helloween in France and Spain, do you have an idea about the set list?
Yes, we have already a set list which will consist of the following: Tomorrow comes, Somewhere, Live&let die, Inside out, The journey will never end, Dreams you´ll never see, Paid my dues, Shores of paradise, Anymore, Feels like home. Maybe we have to shorten it a bit, but we will see. We are really looking forward to this tour, as it is the first time for us to play in France and Spain and we hope to reach a lot of new fans. We want to party with you, so RAISE YOUR GLASSES…!


You have recently played in Denmark with Mike Tramp, how was that?
 It was another great experience for me. The gigs were fantastic and the home show in Copenhagen was just awesome. We had a very nice stage set up and I consider the guys in the band as new friends and brothers as we had a great time in Denmark. It was nearly the first time for Tramp to have keyboards in his solo live set, and he was very happy to play songs like “The good, the sad…” and “Nothing at all” in their original sound. We even played “The road to “Valhalla” which even was a surprise for me!

You also have joined Tramp´s White Lion, were you ever a White Lion fan? How did it feel to be asked to join the band?
Back in the 80s I was one of the biggest White Lion fans in the world! So it is no wonder that I still feel kind of honoured to get this opportunity to play with my old “poster” Mike together many of my favourite songs…haha…
But now we are real friends and sometimes he still makes fun of me and my White Lion past…
It started back in 2003 when my manager from Jaded Heart asked me if I wanted to take part in a White Lion reunion. I thought it was a joke but he already talked to Mike so I was invited to the next Tramp solo show in Germany where we talked the whole night and made plans about playing together. Unfortunately half a year later the festivals in the original line up were cancelled, but then Mike came up with the idea of the Tramp´s WHITE LION line up and we were together again.

What are the best memories you have from touring with Tramp´s White Lion?
 For me this whole tour is one great memory so it is hard to pick out some events. The time in LA before the tour was fantastic as we got to know so many people and musicians. Later we had one party night with Motörhead in Cleveland which was cool for all of us. Besides that I enjoyed the rides through Utah, Nevada and New Mexico because I love this wide and wild country.

Do you know when and where the new Tramp´s White Lion tour will start?
 There will be a European tour in spring 2006, but I do not have the schedule yet. In the summer we are going to play some of the big festivals all over Europe…it will be great!

What is the best place you've ever played in?
It was without a doubt the Bang-your-head festival in June 2005 with T´s White Lion. Great crowd, great organisation and a fantastic performance of the band – we nailed it!


What are your own future plans?
I am going to concentrate on my bands and will try to live my life. Besides that I want to get my private life into the right order which is sometimes a bit tricky when you are on the road all the time.

Any last words?
Thank you for your attention and hope to see you all soon somewhere on tour ! Rock on and do not download or burn all the CDs but by some of them, too, as some people have to live from that ;-)