Gotthard
Through The Flames

22.05.2012

I still remember very vividly how back in August 2009 I was interviewing Leo Leoni, guitarist and founding member of Swiss hard rockers Gotthard. This was shortly before the release of their album “Need To Believe” – Leo was positive, talkative and joky, and I remember him as one of my easiest interview subjects… Not a lot of water has passed under the bridge since, but for Gotthard and their fans the world has shaken twice. In October 2010, the band’s frontman Steve Lee died in the course of a motorcycle tour of the U.S., which, ironically, he had been dreaming of for a long time. The band was on the bring of breakup, but a year later Leo and his team decided to raise the Gotthard banner once again, this time with a new singer, whom the band had found by pure luck. On June 1, the band will release its new record, “Firebird”, and this interview was arranged basically to discuss this album. Sitting by the phone waiting for the call, I was tormenting myself trying to come up with the words to begin the interview with, to decide what questions would be polite to ask and what questions should rather be left out. But after hearing Leo’s amicable voice, I realized that, in this conversation, I’d better go with the flow and see where it takes me.

I don’t think that you remember that, but I did an interview with you 2.5 years ago, and now we’re talking again after such an unbelievable tragedy and so many changes your band had to face – it’s a weird feeling and it’s hard to find words… I’m really sorry about what happened. But still, let’s talk about life not death. How was your work on your new album going?

Well, first of all we had all these auditions to get a guy who’s gonna sing for us and we found him. After that we decided to release a new single to present our new singer, Nic Maeder. It’s called “Remember It’s Me” and it was released last year. Meanwhile we kept on writing, because when you get a new singer, of course, you have many new ideas, so we started to share these ideas and to compose songs. And somewhere in November we started recording the new record and I co-produced it with Paul Lani, the guy we’d already worked with in the past. So that’s how it was going… and somehow suddenly we’ve got the record! (laughs)

The album is called “Firebirth”. I’m sure this title must be somehow connected with the idea of resurrection, but could you tell a bit more about it in your own words?

Yeah, it’s like coming back to life, it represents the idea of being to hell and back. On the cover there is a phoenix, the bird that comes back to life after the ashes. So phoenix is another word for firebird and that’s how the cover is gonna look like. If I look back at what Gotthard went through… you know, this tragedy and this and that… it’s like we were almost dead too, and now we’re coming back from hell.
Yeah, talking about ashes… Didn’t you at some point think of disbanding Gotthard and doing something else? If yes, what made you change your mind?

Well, you see, when the whole story happened, of course we thought of what to do and what we’d have to do as a band. But I believe it was important for us to think about what would happen if somebody else would have gone instead of Steve, right? And I believe that Steve would have moved on. So we went on and the things we tried were okay, so we moved step by step. We decided to find a guy who would be able to take this unluckily available spot as a singer and we were at least lucky to find Nic. And we’re still here, the team is back together somehow and I think we’re gonna make this band keep on rocking for those who want us to continue working, I hope… (laughs)

But if not Gotthard, what could you do? Did you keep other projects in mind when you were considering your future?

You see, for me it’s like there’s always something else you could do, but then again when it all happened the first thing to think about was this band. If there were other projects it was like “put it all back”, because Gotthard was and is a very important part of our lives and especially of my career. Everything started with Steve and I, we started the band in 1989… and then after all it was like “okay, let’s start again and make another first album” – more or less that was the only thing we could do in this whole situation. I don’t think I can have any other project to last 23 years, so the main thing was not to find something else to do but to keep on going with Gotthard.

So Nic Maeder is the singer to “start again” with… How were his auditions and what made you choose him? Was it difficult to find “a new voice” for Gotthard?

Yes, it was difficult, because nobody will ever be able to forget what Steve Lee was for this band, it was all about him and he was one of the greatest vocalists in the rock history. It’s hard to find someone that could take his place… In fact, there were three or four other people, and we proposed to have the next round, but at the end of the day we didn’t. Nick was suiting most of the requirements which we had set. I think he was the best, we liked him, all the band liked him, and this was decided. Probably he was the one who wanted the most to be there… Also he’s a Swiss guy, he just lived in Australia. And of course his voice is beautiful and he’s really talented and, you know, he fit in what we wanted to do and he also fit in the songs from our past, so we were like, “Wow, that could be the answer!” Actually at the moment we’re very happy with what we did and what we achieved with the new record. It’s pretty nice. The new record sounds like a new Gotthard record. And I can tell you that it’s a great record!

I’m happy to hear that! You know, one can read on your website that you feel like with Nic you have a special “chemistry” in the band and that’s why you chose him. What makes you feel this “bond”? Is it the same sense of humor or the similar tastes or what?

Yeah, you can compare it to… let me find a right word… well, it’s like in a couple, because the relationship you have in the band it’s not only friendship, though friendship is a very important part of it… But when you sit in a room and you’ve got a new person coming in you have a good feeling or a bad feeling. You can get a feeling like, “Wow, it seems I’ve known this guy since a long time”, like you said, right? Or you go like, “No, this is not gonna fit whatever the jokes, whatever the music is…” And with Nic it was like we talked about music, about guitars, about songs and everything, it was not like it was only Gotthard-Gotthard-Gotthard-Gotthard-discussion. It was like an ordinary discussion of everything and then you feel like, “cool”… It’s like when you wanna have a new relationship with a girlfriend or a boyfriend you know from the beginning if it’s gonna work more or less, right? How can you explain that? That’s the question! You feel it or you don’t.

You know, when I first saw him in “Remember It’s Me” video I thought that he must be much younger than all of you…

(laughs) No, he isn’t that young! He’s celebrated his 40th birthday here in Switzerland, when he came back to Switzerland from Australia. So Nic is 40.

Yeah, and that means that he could have really been a friend of yours when you were younger. You all belong to the same generation and have similar interests.

Right, we grew up in the same kind of setting. And it’s also important for the band, because it can be really hard to get along with someone who has a different basis, whose writing style is different and whose mentality is different and so on. But with Nic it’s okay, we could have had beer together like already ten years ago, for example.

When I heard “Remember It’s Me” for the first time, in the beginning of the song I thought it must be Steve singing – Nic sounded so alike Steve, that I couldn’t believe it’s another singer. Didn’t you think of finding a guy with another timbre so that he wouldn’t be compared to Steve that much?

Yeah-yeah… It may seem that he sings in the same manner as Steve. But in fact… well, maybe it’s not correct, but it’s my view… Nic has his own style of singing also, but he’s singing for this band now and the song is typical Gotthard, so you can expect it to be the same. And if you take another singer with a completely different kind of voice… I can imagine, you know, that if you’d listen to the AC/DC “Back in Black” in 1980 the first thought would have been, “aha, that’s it, AC/DC”, though it’s not Bon Scott, but Brian Johnson singing… So if people want to have the same kind of music and the band wanna go on and play the same kind of songs, like they wanted to do anyway, they have to find someone who could step into this musical spot. Like if you’ve got to replace the violin in the orchestra, you’ve got to use another violin, you can’t replace it with a double bass, for example, or a cello. It’s a musical approach, right? The singer has to sing and his voice is also an instrument. A violin is gonna sound like a violin, even if it’s a different violin. But then you have a Stradivari one or you don’t have it. (laughs)

Right... I read that your new record is a kind of “back to basics” for you. Could you say more about this idea of going back to your musical roots?

Yeah, actually, I can say that it’s like our second first record. We had to start from scratch and of course you take some steps back. If you have some project at first you have to clear everything away before you start. It’s like if you wanna build a house you can’t built if from an old one, you have to take everything down and then see where you wanna go. I think that’s what you have to do if you want to do a good job. (laughs) So that’s what we did. We started from scratch and everybody had to think about what we want this band to be for the next 10 years or 15 years or how long the Lord will give us the chance to be… What I wanna say is that if you liked what you’ve been doing from the beginning and you think, “This is what we do and this is what I like to do”, then you try to step back to the roots and to rebuild what you had before. Of course there’s something new, because we have the new vocalist and the new songs, but the vibe is gonna be always there, ‘cause the rest of the band is still there. And to change drastically, to change completely would have been a mistake, I think. We had to keep it going and if the band like it themselves, why change it? We have already had a change nobody liked.

True. And how much did Nic participate in songwriting?

We wrote all the songs together, except one song which I did as a tribute to Steve, so I wrote it all by myself. But I’d say Nic’s been a very important part of the songwriting for this new record, like Steve was for the previous ones. It’s also one part of audition, you know, it was like, “Okay, let’s see if we can do music together”, it’s not just like we’re good friends, we had to see what’s coming up. So yeah, it turned out that we come along pretty well and we did what we did – a fantastic record!

Are there any songs you like more than all the other?

I think they are all great songs. I’d say that it’s a very colorful record, actually. It’s not too rock, a little bit more poppy, it sounds modern and has some ballads, very intimate ballads, and they’re meaningful. It’s a new Gotthard thing, it’s cool and it’s really hard to pick one song, I would say.

Are you planning new singles?

The next single is gonna be “Starlight” and we’re gonna shoot a video for it this weekend. It’s gonna be available soon, I think. And it’s gonna be the next single after “Remember It’s Me”. The album release will be after that, and then we’re gonna start touring.

You’re going to perform live quite soon. Are you looking forward to see Nic on stage and feel the reaction of your fans? Aren’t you a bit worried about how it goes?

Well… I don’t think that much about the audience, I’m more concerned of what is gonna be on the scene at first concert, because there’s gonna be somebody else on our side, you know. I’m more scared about my feelings than about the reaction of the fans, because there’s nothing we can change. We can’t get Steve back, there’s no way to do that and I think that fans can understand this, though I’m sure there’re gonna be fans that won’t accept this and maybe we’re gonna loose those fans, but I believe that we’re gonna reach and achieve some new fans too… It’s not like the situation with Guns N’ Roses, where everybody’s still alive and maybe one day you’re gonna see Slash and Axel Rose come back together, right. It’s more like the situation with AC/DC. When one of the guys is not there anymore, what do you want us to do? We can either disband or go on. We decided to go on and we’re gonna shoot for the best and go for the best. That’s all what matters.

Have you already seen Nic perform? Do you know what to expect from him?

Well, I expect to get a performance! (laughs) Which I believe he would do. I think it’s gonna be great. The guy knows what to do…

But don’t you want to give some kind of advice or ask him to change his ways somehow?

You know, every human being is different and I think you have to do what you have to do during a performance. We’re gonna work on what we’re good at. It’s not the first time you’re gonna see him in front of the audience, so I think it’s gonna be all right. I don’t think there can be like a “school of rock” to improve your talent for performing… you know, to make you a superstar. It’s like you know what you do or you don’t. And you don’t know before you try.

As far as I know Nic had his own band some years ago. What do you think of the music he did back then?

I think he supported us like in 1994. Just for once. But then he went back to Australia and since then I didn’t hear from him. But three years ago they sent us a CD, because they wanted to support us on our European tour and that was the last time I listened to their music. But when Nic came for auditions, looked back, checked up the video which they did, and it was pretty cool. It’s more like AC/DC style, a little bit into Australian music.

But he doesn’t live in Australia now, does he?

No, he moved back to Switzerland. It was one of the main terms: if he wants to play with us he has to live here.

You’re going to tour South America and then participate in some festivals in Europe, but no dates for Russia…

Not yet. But we’re planning to do something next year. The tour will start in May and we have concerts till the end of the year. So we need to check if we can come to Russia, but I believe it’s gonna happen next year. We’ll keep on touring.

You know, they say that when a close friend dies you start seeing your own life from a different perspective, noticing some things you haven’t noticed before. Can you say that you’ve recently changed too?

Not really. I think I keep living my life… Of course some things have changed, because Steve is not there anymore and Gotthard can’t be the same, but in my life I think it’s pretty much the same. I keep on doing what I did and I try to move on and live my life as much as I can, day by day. I think that as life goes by… You know, when you’re 20 you think about it one way but when you’re 30 you think a little bit different and when you’re 40 it’s different again… It’s the enigma of life you have to learn: the older you get the more people you leave behind, that’s the way it goes and there’s nothing we can change. On your way, on your voyage of life you’re gonna loose friends, you’re gonna loose members of your family. It’s teaching you to think about what you could do every day… and how do to more on this day than the last one. That’s what you have to think about. Anyway Steve was a very important part of my life, so I’ve lost a part of my life with him. There’s a gap that possibly will never be completely filled up, but there’s nothing you can do about it. There’s gonna be a special track on the record, the last track of it… I hope you’re gonna like it and I hope you’re gonna understand the words and get the message.

Do you think that this new Gotthard can be maybe not bigger but at least as big as it was?

Well, that’s a good question. (laughs) I hope Gotthard to still be Gotthard somehow, so we’ll keep on going with this new part of the band and we’re gonna do our best to make our fans happy and to achieve new fans, like I said before. What else we can do but work hard? We’re gonna look for the best solutions and any time we find the best possible chance we’re gonna take it and… go and get it, you know. Time will show if we’re gonna be bigger or not… The first thing is to be back in the saddle and we’re working on it, so we’ll see.

Well, then I wish you all the best and hope to see you soon here in Moscow.

Thank you. I promise we’ll come. I love your country, the people there are so kind. Say hello to Russia from me!

I will.

Gotthard on the Internet: http://www.gotthard.com

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

Ksenia Artamonova
April 12, 2012
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