|
At a Friday night we, Ilia and I went to Verviers to see Vanden Plas at the Spirit of 66. I missed the German prog metal quintet when they toured Germany, or more exactly I preferred to meet my friends Overkill one more time instead of going to see Vanden Plas in Mülheim.... Vanden Plas play quite often in Germany and so I thought that I'll get a second chance soon... And here we are in Verviers! The Spirit of 66 is one of my favorite bars with live music and since I've been here with American Rock Live I took every chance to get back here...
After a superb show of the five piece I finally had the chance to talk to singer Andy Kuntz for a few minutes... If this interview seems to be a little confused, it's because we got disturbed again and again and so I got lost sometimes....
You just toured through the clubs with Far Off Grace. I was always wandering why you are more successful in France then in Germany which is unusual. You also released a French album. Where do you see the reason therefor? You supported Dream Theater, but the big bang didn't come...
Successful.... What is successful?
More or less... You are successful in France, more than in Germany.
I think that the French market is better for this kind of music in general. Beside that we have a 3 year advantage in France. Olivier Garnier and his company NTS kinda discovered us 3 years earlier then everyone else and he had the right strategy to push a band like we are. He showed the media that he beliefs in the band. With our German label Dream Circle it was different. We kinda made it to the same level here in Germany and now we have the support from the media. In comparison with France we are not as successful in Germany as we are there. In France we have up to 1,200 fans attending and in Germany we now have up to 600 or 700 people. The discrepancy is not as big anymore than in the beginning. For me the success it that the magazines now accept us and don't see as anymore as Dream Theater clones. When they became big with Images & Words a lot of bands tried to jump on the band-wagon, also German bands. We did this kind of music for quite a while at that time and we tried to progress our music. Soon we been categorize and throw in the same folder. That was something we didn't wanted, but now the people except us, respect us and partly they like us more than nowadays Dream Theater. The problem is that if you got lumped together with a band which is around for a longer time, you'll always be no. 2! And if it's an American band, you don't have an advantage been a local act like a local team would have in sports.
But through the internet there are many fans outside Europe, even in the States where the current album isn't release and you haven't toured...
That's kinda miracle...
... And even if there is no media support in the States or even in South America for bands like Vanden Plas.
About the States I can say that we got pretty good reactions there. The former manager of Dream Theater got us on the US market and he didn't make any mistakes yet. He had enough time to kinda discover the band and to see how we are live and that's a basic to start discovering the US market. He knows that he can promote the band without having doubts about the bands ability. We are a live band and we are around for quite a while...
In my opinion it's healthier for a band to start playing live and build up little by little.... Are there any plans to release the back catalogue in the States as well?
It depends on the sales of the album. At the moment we just have an interim statement about the sales and the figures are better then expected! I think that they'll be released somewhere in future. When our live album will be released in September, they people will listen to songs from our previous releases. I think than there will be a demand and then they'll re-release the albums there.
A question which got asked again and again is, why doesn't Vanden Plas play in the States or South America. And I read a few posts where people said that they plan to go to Europe on holidays to see Vanden Plas....
Come on over! Yesterday and the day before a young lady from Japan came to see the shows in Frankfurt, someone told me. First I thought that's a joke someone plays on me, but then I met her. Soon I found out that we been in touch by mail in the past, but I didn't knew that she'll come to that shows. She told me that she came to Frankfurt last year to see us, but the show was cancelt. She isn't or wasn't on a round-trip in Germany, she came just to see Vanden Plas! And so we decided to take her with us for today's and tomorrow's show and bring her back to Frankfurt on our way back home. We also had people from Sydney and Stockholm which is amazing for us. It just make sense to tour in a country far away, if you sold more than 10,000 copies of the current album there. The fact is that it doesn't make sense for the distributor, if less copies been sold. At the moment it seems that we'll reach that figures in the States.... We sold very well in Japan in the past and we hoped to get there, but before the release of the latest album we've been kicked. The label got the order to kick every band which sales less then 20,000 copies and we been one of these bands. With our album The God Thing we build up a lobby for us, we sold about 10,000 copies and with Far Off Grace we probably would have sold about 20,000 copies. In that case it would have make sense to tour there.
I see.
But even that we been kicked the album been reviewed in Burn!!! (biggest Japanese genre magazine - the editor) and got 88 from 100 points, got into the import charts... Btw, at that issue we got the highest rating! And I think they'll release the album soon there, too.
I think they have to, coz they see that the album sales very well as an import. And the reason why the Japanese versions have bonus tracks, is to make it more interesting for the fans to buy the Japanese release instead of the import. Even if the import releases are almost less expensive... I was a little surprised about the cover version you released on the single. You recorded a track from Sting who is not a usual pick to cover for a metal band! How you came up with that track? It's not an artist you think of first when you think about cover versions...
I think it's obvious, if you know us for a longer time, coz I'm a huge fan of Sting and....
But that doesn't explain it at all, coz I think it depends if it's possible to transpose it.
Okay, that's right. But our background is much wider, e.g. we did play musicals! From our abilities there is no doubt about doing it, but...
That's nothing I said....
Right, in general it was a question for us, if it fits. We always been open-minded and right after Colour Temple ... (then we got a little disturbed...) ....After the release of the first album most bands would have stick to that sound, but we always try not to limit ourselves. I think in the beginning it maybe didn't helped us and fans probably been kinda scared... I belief in the progress and continuity of a larger variety which in the end is more interesting for different people and also for the band.
I think it's healthier for a band to grow instead of releasing a debut and make it. In a case like Hammerfall's there is a huge pressure on the band to make expectations and realty fit together, for them it worked, but other bands failed...
Absolutely, it's better to grow as a band.
Anyway, I wondered about that pick, even if I have to confess that I like Sting. What I would like to know is, how been the reactions about the French version of How Many Tears outside France?
The idea was that there are fans who wants to own everything and for the rest of Europe where this version wasn't released, we wanted to give the fans a chance to hear it. I don't expect or want fans to go to France to buy a whole album to get that version. They would pay about 40,- DM for the album, just to get that track which won't be fair! But we know that many fans would like to have that version and so we decided to put it onto the single. It's not to show Germany that I can sing in French. That would be ridiculous.
Personally I prefer the French version!
I agree and I like singing in French a lot. It'll be on the coming live album...
I think it's obvious that you like to sing French...
I wouldn't just sing in French to ingratiate with the French fans, no way! For me it's fun and if it fits into the concept, why not? My intention was... I always been very bad in French while I was at school and my teacher, Mr. Schneider, shall recognize that he was wrong!
That kinda reminds me of myself....
That was the intention in the beginning....
I think that's very interesting to hear songs in not so common languages. Like Angra who recorded a song in Portuguese which been released at a limited edition....
But in that case....
I know it's there mother tongue, but it's interesting to listen to that stuff, coz they never had Portuguese songs in the past. Beside that we are used to listen to English words and partly to German vocals and a different language is interesting to listen to.
In my opinion it's important to have fun and not to think about the commercial success. If you like to do it, just do it! And if you are honestly do what you like to do, the people will understand and appreciate it. At the live album we did something special, during the slow piano part at Far Off Grace we worked in a Jaques Brel song Ne Me Qui Te Pas. The interesting thing is that the Brel song is lyrically about the same theme as Far Off Grace... More or less. The song is also about losing and being abandoned, in that case it's about a woman, but he say just once something which tells that it's about a woman. So I rewrite that, coz it make no big difference, if you say in French king or queen. I rewrite it in the way that it fits to the story of the old man who lost his son and is now in search of something. I think it fits almost perfect into the mood and the story, so I'm proud to have it on the album, especially because it's live! It's really cool!
I think it's also interesting, coz most metal fans won't know Jaques Brel and that makes it even more interesting in my eyes to work it into your own song.
I'm curious to see how the people react and what they think about it! That album will definitely be released all over Europe! For me it's also kinda incentive to try new things... People translated How Many Tears into Italian, but word-by-word, so I can't use it. I could imagine doing something in Italian. it's a beautiful language. I don't speak Italian, but I can sing it, if someone tells me how to pronounce, etc. It would be fun to do, but it doesn't work with that translation.
I probably can help with that. I can ask some friends from Milano to do the translation and the good thing is that they are singers, too. So they know how to write lyrics. They did an Italian song at their latest release.
Which band?
Lacuna Coil. I'll ask them, but I think that they would like to do it.
That would be cool!
I think the fans appreciate it when a band sings in their language...
If it's fun for me, I would do it, but not to catch the attention of the fans!
I think that's what it's about, doing whatever because it's fun and not because it maybe successful! Back to the live album... Can we expect other special things?
I think you already know about, that's why you're asking.
No, I just have the idea that there is more then the Jaques Brel thing...
I think it's a surprise, I mean for me it was a big surprise. At the Far Off Grace we had a cover version of Kiss Of Death which we play live and in Paris we got joined by Don Dokken! He likes our version and he wanted to join us on stage and sing the song together with me! That will be on the album and it's pretty cool! We are proud to be on stage with a kind of dinosaur of rock. He's a great guy, we talked for quite a while and got along very well. We first met at a photo session and later he listened to our album and so it happened... He's really interested in the band and it was a lot of fun for him, too. He's someone to learn from.
That's for sure! He's around for more than a decade and he had his ups and downs. I saw him back in 80's and he still is amazing!
His performance and the idea behind the whole thing is what impresses me. If he enters a room, it's a special moment. He has a great aura.
Yes, he is very charismatic! And that's something you have or not, nothing you can learn!
Right, but it's something you shall aspire to, coz many people have it. Often this people don't allowed themselves to let it happen, but that's something you can learn.
If you already have it, then you can learn to accept it. But people tend to keep it inside which is due to the compulsion we feel from our surrounding, from the masses.
I try to break free from that. At the moment a lot of things happen due to the release of the single, especially with the radio stations....
And that was the point of the final interruption, the club was closing and we had to leave without getting answered the last question... But we agreed to go on with that conversation the next time we meet. As far as we got I think it was pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to continue this chat somewhere in future...
|
|