Shakra
Hard Rock Positive

25.06.2007

The Swiss hard rock scene is primarily associated with Gotthard and Krokus, but this little European country has more good bands on offer, and Sharka is definitely one of them. They have been releasing high-quality albums since the mid-1990s, but it was not until the band recruited singer Mark Fox, signed a deal with AFM Records and released a fantastic album called “Fall”, that they became really popular outside their home country. Even though “Fall” was a bit darker than what people usually expect from a melodic hard rock band, but their new album “Infected” is bound to please the ones who like their music loud, heavy and optimistic. According to Mark, dark days for the band are over, and the future is bright…

It’s natural that every musician says that the latest album is his best work so far. So, in your opinion, what are the strongest aspects of “Infected”? In what ways is it better than previous Shakra CDs?

I think it’s fresher, it sounds happier and not as depressive as the “Fall” album (2005). This does not mean that “Fall” was a bad album, but “Infected” is more powerful, better produced and really fresh.

What are your personal expectations from the new record? Do you set any goals for it – for instance, to reach Top 10 in Switzerland or in Germany, or is it just a set of songs that are ready and need to be released?

I think there’s always the goal to reach more than the other albums. But we don’t think about it too much, and if it doesn’t happen, this won’t necessarily be bad for us. (laughs) We just watch out what’s to come.

Some fans were not quite pleased with the sound you had on “Fall”, they said it was a bit too alternative. On the new album the sound is different. Do you also think you went a bit too far with “Fall” as far as the sound is concerned?

I think this was just a different atmosphere that we wanted to transport to the audience on “Fall”. At that time band members had problems with each other, and I think you can hear that in the atmosphere that “Fall” brings to you. After all these problems are solved, and we are good friends again, you hear it, too, on “Infected”, because there’s more enthusiasm in it.

Your guitarist Thom Blunier has been the producer and sound engineer on almost every album you recorded. Have you ever considered bringing in an outside producer to have a fresh look on the material, or do you think that the band knows the best how it should sound?

I think it’s Thom who knows the best how the band should sound eventually. He produces and records every album, so it’s up to him to know all this stuff. We haven’t discussed going to another studio, because we know that we can do it on our own, and we are not pressured by time limits, so we can take as long as it is needed to make a good album. In another studio you have to take care of the time, and you have no time to re-record some things if you hear mistakes afterwards, so it’s much better and more relaxed to record like we do.

It seems like every one in Shakra has a sector of work that he supervises. Thom handles recording and production duties, Thomas Muster writes most of the music, and you focus on the lyrics. But what do Oli Linder and Roger Tanner do apart from playing bass and drums? How much do they contribute to the songs?

I think, a lot. Roger has a very special groove, and I don’t know anybody else who can do this groove. It’s not just a beat he’s doing, it’s really his own style of drumming. The same is true for the bass. Everybody has his own specialty, and it is this mix that makes Shakra what it is.

You said that during the recording of “Fall” some band members had problems with each other. What is the situation in the band at the present time?

Now it’s much better. We discussed it and decided to give a little more respect to each other, this was something we really needed. We are good friends now, we can laugh, we can make jokes, and everything has calmed down. We have a good working atmosphere.

What inspires you when you write lyrics? You once said that you draw inspiration from your personal life, and judging by an album like “Fall”, your life is quite turbulent…

Yes. (laughs) My life is quite turbulent, because there are many things happening, and there are no two days alike. It’s not like you work in an office or something like that, it’s the life on the road when you meet a lot of people, get a lot of experience, and you can take inspiration from that to write lyrics. Of course, I’ve got a normal life at home, but even there you may have problems, for instance, with paying bills, as it’s written in “Make Your Day” (laughs), so there’s a theme you can use.

What is the song “Cardiophobia” on the new CD about?

This was quite funny… no, not funny… (laughs) I was watching TV one day, and they had a program about cardiac attacks. And I’m a person who’s a bit hypochondriac, and after seeing this I stopped feeling my arm, and my heart hurt, so I thought, “What’s that – a cardiac attack or what?” (laughs) And at that moment I got the idea for lyrics for this song. It was a real problem to write lyrics for it before, I didn’t know what to write, and this was a good situation to describe.

And in general, why did you decide to call the album “Infected”?

This is because we are five people who have been making music together for a long time. For this reason, we must have this Shakra virus in us, so we are infected by Shakra, and now we want to infect other people. (everybody laughs)

This time the CD artwork is very different from the ones you had before. Early Shakra CDs had the same logo with the big letter “S”, on “Fall” the logo was changed, and now you keep it but also have this big “S”, but in a different shape. Is there any message behind a cover like that?

No. On “Fall” we decided that we want a new logo, we didn’t want to have this “S”, because for the artwork it’s not very practical. It’s round, and you can’t use it as you want. So we decided to take away this big “S” from the logo. As to the new CD, what you’re talking about is not a logo for the band, this is just a picture for “Infected”. There is the sign of biohazard in between the “S”, which means that the people who buy the record are infected by Shakra.

By the way, who came up with the idea for the package of “Fall”? This tissue paper in which a maple leaf is cut – it’s something nobody else has done before…

It was my idea. We wanted to make something special, and nobody has done that before.

We’ve noted that in the time of digital downloading bands started paying much more attention to the cover, booklet and other things like that. In your opinion, how much is the visual side of Shakra – the image of musicians, the CD packaging – important for the band?

I think for many people who listen to hard rock and metal music it’s still nice to have the whole package – the booklet and everything original, because this is something you want to have as a fan. For younger people, I think, it’s not so important to have all these things, they just download everything, and nowadays you can download covers, too. (laughs)

Shakra was originally signed to Point Music, but both “Fall” and “Infected” are coming out on AFM. How big is the difference between these two labels?

The difference is that our resources now are much bigger than they were when we were signed to Point Music. They reached the end of their resources to make us grow, they wanted to help us further, but they couldn’t. We have to leave this label to take the next step and go further. But  the performance of Point Music was very good, and AFM works very well, too.

What do you think about the work of your Russian label, CD-Maximum? Are you satisfied with what they do for the band?

I don’t know exactly what happens there in Russia, though I’d really like to know.

Your entire discography is now available in Russia, the only exception is the DVD, “My Life, My World” (2004). Can you say a few words about it for those who have had no chance of seeing it yet?

It’s our first DVD, it includes the concert we played at Z7, the biggest metal club in Switzerland. It was really great how all fans came to this concert, and they were really fantastic. For Russian fans it’s surely a good thing to buy and watch, because until now we haven’t played in Russia. (laughs) At least they can have a look how it’s gonna be when we come.

Speaking about live shows, how was it like to open for Iron Maiden and for Guns N’Roses?

It was the greatest thing ever! It was so cool - both of the concerts happened in Switzerland, thousands of people came, and everybody knew us! Everybody knew that we are Shakra from Switzerland and they were really supporting us with all their hands up and everything like that. This made us feel like big stars.

Did you have a chance to meet somebody like Axl Rose backstage?

No. (laughs) They were in their dressing room until they played, so there was no chance of doing it.  

The guys from Gotthard told us that people aged from seven to seventy come to their concerts in Switzerland. And how does the audience look like at your concerts?

I think it’s not quite correct to say that. I say this because many of Gotthard fans are also Shakra fans, even though our music is not similar, but there are still some parallels. I think most of the audience would be at the age of 30, something like that.

Speaking about hard rock from Switzerland, everybody knows Gotthard, Shakra and Krokus. But are there any other hard rock bands in your home country that you really like?

There are many hard rock bands in our country, but they never succeed, because Switzerland is a very small country, and there’s not enough place to have ten such bands in the charts. The audience is too small, and that is the problem. But there are many good bands, and I think some day you will hear something about them.

Speaking about early days, how did you get a job with Shakra? And where did you sing before joining the band?

Before I joined Shakra I was a singer in an AC/DC cover band. We played little concerts, but we played twice almost every weekend, and it was quite funny. We only played in Switzerland, and we made everybody love AC/DC. (laughs) Then I decided to record my own CD with songs in Swiss German, it was pop rock music, not too soft, but not hard rock. After I finished the CD together with some members of Krokus, the management of Shakra asked me to join the band. I decided to go to a rehearsal and try to sing something with them, and after that it was decided that I’m the new singer.

Do you know that Shakra’s former singer Pete Wiedmar is doing nowadays?

We met him a month ago, and he’s now doing his own band called Juriah – it reminds me of Uriah Heep (laughs), the name, not the sound. His health is better nowadays, and we are on good terms with each other.

And what do you think of the band’s first three albums that were recorded before you joined in?

I think they’re cool, I love those songs and those CDs. I wanted my whole life for a band like that, and this was just a perfect moment.

Have you ever heard about a nu metal band called Shakra from Brazil?

No! (laughs) Does it exist?

Yes, we found it on the Internet!

Oh, what do they want? (cracks) We release our stuff there, so they should change the name.

You mentioned your solo record with songs in Swiss German. Is it the album that was eventually released under the name Fuchs last year?

I re-recorded the whole thing and added some new songs.

Why did you need a solo record? Do you feel limited in Shakra?

No, absolutely not. This was just something that I always wanted to make, these are very personal songs, and I just wanted to have them out. I didn’t want to write songs just to put them in the drawer so that nobody ever hears them. So I decided to release them as a side project between two Shakra album.

How did you get Krokus guys to participate in the recording?

We know each other very well, so it wasn’t a big problem to get them. I think it was Dominique Favez, rhythm guitarist of Krokus, who came to me and said, “Hey, we’re gonna re-record these songs for you,” so it wasn’t me getting them. (laughs)

What do you do in life apart from Shakra and music in general? Do you have time for hobbies or do you have a job?

No, I don’t have a job. If we don’t have concerts or things like that, I do some graphic design to get a little bit of money.

What are the chances of seeing Shakra in Russia or at least in Eastern Europe? In general, what are your touring plans for this year?

I hope we can make it to Eastern Europe and to Russia, because it’s very interesting for us. We’ve never been there, we did go to Slovenia, but it’s not quite Russia. (laughs) We would really like to come, but coming for one gig is not really interesting, so if we can make a tour, we will do our best to be there.

Shakra on the Internet: http://www.shakra.ch

Special thanks to Irina Ivanova (CD-Maximum) for arranging this interview

Roman “Maniac” Patrashov, Natalie “Snakeheart” Patrashova
April 11, 2007
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