Vengeance
I Don't Think About Stopping

09.02.2012

This interview was just plain necessary. The thing is even though many people know the name Vengeance, too many of them know them as “the band featuring…” For this there may be two options – either you know Vengeance as the band in which prog metal wizard Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) performed hard rock in the 80s, or you know Vengeance as the new band of such respected musicians as drummer Chris Slade (ex-AC/DC) and guitarist Keri Kelli (ex-Alice Cooper). Too few people know the actual music of Vengeance, which is, in fact, very catchy European  hard rock, and too few people know the man who was behind the wheel of the band for most of 30 years of its existence. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome singer extraordinaire Leon Goewie, who will take us through the ups and downs of the band’s career, from the upcoming album “Crystal Eye” back to the band’s 80s heyday and then to the present time again…

How did it happen that the new Vengeance line up is nearly the same as the line-up of AC/DC cover band Chris Slade’s Steel Circle? What happened to musicians from the previous Vengeance line-up which recorded your previous album “Soul Collector” (2009)?

The thing is that everybody is very busy at the moment. After the death of Jan (Somers, guitar), I decided to work on the new album, but nobody had the time. The schedules would not align. When I was working with this Steel Circle thing, I just asked them to play in the studio, and they all said, “No problem!” So it was easy for me to get this new formation, because I was already working with it. The other guys couldn’t make it because of schedules, there was no fight or anything like that.

How did you become the singer in Steel Circle? The band mostly consists of Americans, and you are from the Netherlands…

Yeah, we’re all from different countries. The thing is that I got a call from Nicholas (Kostadimas), who works with Mothermanagement from Switzerland. They previously had the singer of Survivor in that band, but he had some voice problems and he cancelled some shows, so I was sort of backing him up. They called me up and said, “Do you want to play with us?” So I did it, and it came out very well, and we’ve been doing it for almost four years now.

The past three Vengeance albums have been produced by Michael Voss, and he’s also your permanent songwriting partner. How did you get to know him? Why wouldn’t he become a full-time Vengeance member?

Michael has been producing me since 2006, that’s right. I met him 30 years ago, he was supporting us in Germany with his band Mad Max. At the moment he’s still doing Mad Max and he’s releasing a new album with Michael Schenker, he’s a singer and guitar player there, he’s touring and going all over Europe and Japan with Michael. Basically he’s got too many of his own bands. But he’s also a prominent producer, he’s producing a lot of bands in Germany, where he’s considered among the best producers of the year. He’s too busy to work with Vengeance full-time.

You said before that Vengeance first and foremost “communicates a positive feeling”, but the new album is “slightly more serious” than your earlier releases. What are the serious topics that you now handle? Can you say a few words about the lyrics of the album?

The lyrics are more serious because of the death of Jan, it changed a lot band-wise. (Jan Somers died of a heart attack at his home on January 28, 2011. He had recorded three studio albums and a live CD with the band – ed.) I spent a lot of time with his parents, and because of these emotional things you get more serious, too. It’s already the second member of Vengeance whom we have lost. (The first one was drummer Paul Thissen who died of heart failure on January 16, 2006 – ed.) I was ready to put more ballads on this album, I just wanted to, because my feelings were telling me so.

The song “Whole Lotta Metal” was written especially for Vengeance by Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath). How did it happen? Is he a Vengeance fan?

I met him a couple of years ago at a festival we did in England. We had a quick talk about various things. He would always say, “Listen, I’ve got a song for you”, and when I was getting ready to do this new album, I gave him a call and asked him to send something. And he sent me this fantastic song “Whole Lotta Metal”. I thought it was great, and I still do. I wasn’t actually in the studio with Tony, he just sent me the song, and I prepared it myself.

How much did Timo Somers, the son of Jan, play on the album? Will he continue with Vengeance, or does he intend to do music on his own?

Timo is playing guitar on three songs. He’s going on tour with us, the tour starts on April 28, and Timo will be one of the members on stage.

Who else will be with you on stage for that tour?

Chris Slade and Chris Glen (bass, ex-MSG) will be there, but Keri Kelli is not playing, because he’s too busy in America. With Steel Circle we go on tour in March, and also in April from 9 to 26, and already on April 28 we’re going out with Vengenance. He will be replaced by Peer Verschuren, who was a member of Vengeance back in the 80s, he played on the “Take It Or Leave It” album (1987).

What kind of people show up at your concerts? Are they old fans or do you have many young fans, too?

It’s a mixture. Old people and new people make 50/50, and I must say that I am very surprised by this. When we toured a couple of years ago, things were very bad in the business, but now we see a lot of new people in the scene.

Do the people want to hear old stuff, or do they request new songs as well?

I must say that most of the time they’re waiting for the old stuff from back in the 80s. What we do is play about 50% of old songs and 50% of new songs.

What are your aspirations for the new album? Do you expect it to bring the band to a new level, or are you satisfied with the current level of popularity Vengeance has?

I must say that the new line-up featuring an ex-member of AC/DC kind of lifts the band up. For the past two weeks I have had at least five or six interviews every day. The album is coming out on February 28 in Europe, and I feel there is much more interest from magazines. I am very happy about it.

In the 80s you were known not only as a singer, but also as a showman. Who influenced your stage performance? Were you inspired by David Lee Roth?

The thing is that I can’t stand still! (laughs) I’m so nervous… Really, I don’t know, whenever I’m getting onstage, I feel at home, and offstage I’m crazy, too. It’s just who I am, I don’t have to do it, it’s my way of having pleasure from playing music.

Are there any video recordings by Vengeance from the 80s? Is there any chance for an archive DVD release?

We will be shooting a brand new DVD at the start of the tour, on April 28, and a new videoclip will come out, too. As everybody is living and playing in different countries, we decided to do it in the first two or three days of rehearsing.

And what about the old stuff?

Yes, we are busy with that, and we’ve got loads of old stuff. Next year the band will be celebrating its 30th years of existence, and we will release a box with all the albums we have done, and there will be a documentary DVD with insider stuff filmed on the tour bus and behind the scenes. It will happen next year when we reach our anniversary.

Why did you part ways with Vengeance after “Arabia” (1989)?

We had an argument about management. Back in the 80s, we had a very very bad management, and I had a lot of arguments with them. I’m not going to tell you what we were arguing about. (laughs) But anyway, one day the manager told the band, “You can choose either Leon Goewie or me”, and they made the choice in favor of the manager. They made a mistake, and they realized it, so after two or three years they had to apologize to me for doing this. It was a really terrible decision, because at that time “Arabia” was selling really well, and we played big stadiums, but it ended after they threw me out. Also my behavior was partially to blame, I was pretty much of an asshole – I have changed by now.

After Vengeance you joined German band Stonewashed. How did you get together with Peter Szigeti (guitar, ex-Warlock)?

Oh, do you know Stonewashed? We did just one album (“Way Of Thorns”, 1995) and one tour. Originally they were the German band of Doro Pesch, and they had a deal with Polydor. Polydor asked me to sing on that record, which I did, and it was followed by a tour, but it was terrible. To start with, there was already another band called Stonewashed, and we had to change our name to Way Of Thorns. The album is OK, though. For me it was just helping people out.

In the early 90s you also cooperated a lot with German guitarist Alex Parche. Can you say a few words about your collaboration?

Alex is – or rather was, because he died a few years ago – one of the best friends of Udo Dirkschneider. I knew Udo, too, it wasn’t about playing, it was a friendship thing. He called me up and said, “Do you want to be part of this project we are doing with Alex Parche?”, and I said yes. We did three albums (“The Alex Parche Project, 1992; “Son Of A Healer”, 1993; “Prohibido El Paso”, 1994), and then he suddenly got a stroke, which forced him to stop playing – he wasn’t able to do things in the fast way.

You did a couple of attempts to revive Vengeance in the late 90s, but you only succeeded in 2006 with the release of the album “Back In The Ring”. What do you think of that album at the moment?

Yeah, I had good feelings about it, because it was a wonderful time. Our former drummer died during the recording session of “Back In The Ring”, but for me being back after so many years felt really good. The album is very good song-wise. I’d prefer the live album (“Same/ Same… But Different”, 1997) to “Back In The Ring” now, but for us it meant going back on the road again, and it was great.

What did you do from 1997 to 2006? For nine years you released no albums…

I was painting pictures. I was sick and tired of being in the music business, I had had enough of this thing, and I saw no sense to continue singing. Luckily I got the feeling back and started again, but I had some terrible years at that time. I didn’t want to make music.

And why did you decide to sing again?

Barend (Corbois, bassist) and I just started to play again. I must say that it wasn’t my idea. It was Barend, he called me up and said, “Do you want to make another album? I am a good friend of Michael Voss, and he seems interested in making another Vengeance album”. That’s how “Back In The Ring” came about. First I said, “Why not?”, and it turned out fantastic. I started again because of Barend.

You have been in the music business for more than 30 years. What advise can you give to young singers?

I think you have to play as long as you can. All these things such as selling records are bad in the business, but as long as you have something special to say, you must play live as much as you can, and you can win the crowd over. The only way to win them over is to be fantastic live and to play all over the world.

Chris Slade and Keri Kelli are visiting Russia quite often, playing with various cover bands. Has there been a discussion about bringing the entire Steel Circle or probably even Vengeance to Russia?

With Steel Circle we’ve actually been in St. Petersburg, we played at a motorcycle festival in June last year. Do you know the Wolves? We played at their event. We’ve never been invited to Russia as Vengeance, so if you have any connections to bring us down there, it should be nice.

How did you like St. Petersburg then?

I loved it! We spent a few days there, and I really liked the town, the country, and the history behind it. And women are beautiful there! (everybody laughs) Really, you can’t imagine how pretty girls are in Russia!

You said that Vengeance will be celebrating its 30th anniversary soon, and you now have Peer Verschuren in the band. Have you considered doing a kind of special show with more old members, guys like Arjen Lucassen or Oscar Holleman?

No! We are all in contact, but they are very busy, and everybody has got his own work. For them it’s over. Maybe when I stop, I will arrange one big gig that will involve all the old members, but I don’t think about stopping. The line-up is fine now, and I am very happy with it.

Vengeance on the Internet: http://www.vengeanceonline.nl/

Special thanks to Maxim Bylkin (Soyuz Music) for arranging this interview

Interview by Roman Patrashov
Photos of Leon Goewie taken from Leon's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/leongoewie)
Photos of Chris Slade and Keri Kelli by Alexander "SUMRAK" Nefedov
January 25, 2012
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