Je le mets là, si ça ne convient pas comme emplacement merci aux admin de le déplacer....
NE: A couple of song on “New Metal Leader” had very manowar-ish vibe to them and a track like song “Dead Man’s Curve” is a bit different. Do you think the rest of the material is similar?
R: No, I would say, that the songs are written by the same people and there are Manowar-ish twinges in the songs considering that I invented it. It’s coming from the creator, so that will be in the sound of the band and the new songs. The new songs are pretty much a combination of the four of us in the band.
NE: You’ve recently recorded a football hymn. It doesn’t sound like a typical metal song…
R: When I joined the band they took me to the stadium where FC Kaiserslautern plays and I was so excited about it. The energy of
the fans was great and they’re called the “fighting red devils”. The last time I checked, devil and heavy metal has something to do with each other, right? I’m a sports freak. I love sports and I said to the guys that we should write a song for this team. We were supposed to have it on the last record, but we never did it, but we finally put it together and the fans love it. The guys from the club love it, so I’m very proud of it and I’m glad that we did it.
NE: Would you say that your musical career would’ve gone in the similar direction if Dio hadn’t introduced you to Joey DeMaio?
R: I would say they’d never been Manowar. I mean what were the chances that I would have really met Joey? We were on the same
tour together and there might’ve been a chance, but Ronnie Dio made testament to the fact that I was going to meet Joey that day. If it didn’t happen that day, who knows, it might not have happened and Manowar may not have existed.
NE: The early image of the band was quite cheesy, when you look at it from a 30 years perspective. Were you and Joey fans of Conan the Barbarian?
R: Yes, we absolutely were fans of that movie of course, but I was into the book and the character for a long time. You know the cheesiness had a lot to do with the fact we didn’t have the money to have fullblown outfits like when we started making some
money.
NE: Have you and Scott always kept in touch since you left Manowar, or did you just reconnect recently?
R: I left in 1988, Scott left in 1990 for the first time, and then three years ago. We really started talking again like two years ago and we’ve been talking a lot and I said, “You want come out, are you gonna start playing again?” Scott had some issues, but pretty much it’s a great thing that he’s here with us now. He’s out playing with us and it’s amazing. He’s not gonna be playing with us forever and we just have a couple more shows, but it’s a win-win for everybody. We loved to have him and the fans love to see him. He’s going to have his new band ready pretty soon and start a solo career.
NE: Scott, you haven’t played with Manowar for three years now, but it took the band a while to actually announce that you weren’t a member anymore. Why?
Scott: That’s a good question. You have to ask Mr. DeMaio. I mean I announced it in Classic Rock magazine because the timing was right.
NE: Is it safe to say that you were fed up with Manowar’s current musical direction?
S: It was a number of issues really. There were artistic differences, creative differences and philosophical differences. It just like a marriage and sometimes marriages don’t work. I’ve been divorced three times and Manowar makes four.
NE: Back in the ‘90s when you left the band for the first time, the official reason was that your son was sick?
S: Well, he was sick, but that was not the issue. It was the same kind of thing, same kind of differences, but only 20 years ago.
R: Scott was really lonely for his old friend. I wasn’t there and Scott got lonely. Go on, tell the truth!
S: Of course, Ross and I hang out all the time. Yeah, he was replaced by a young kid who was a gun-slinger, and guess what? Gun-slingers are not always the right choice. People who play with their heart are the right choice. Faster is not always better.
R: Fast is good when it’s supposed to be fast.
S: Then I did some touring and it didn’t feel right, so when you put on a pair of shoes and it doesn’t feel right, you take the shoes off.
NE: What would Joey have to do to get you back in the band?
S: Get Ross back and have a big bank account.
NE: The same question to you Ross?
R: You know what, I got to tell you something. Everyone asks me the same question. The classic Manowar line-up was a great line-up, it would be great to play in the future and it would be a big deal, but right now I love my band and I don’t think it’s going happen. I’m not saying it’s impossible in the future, but there would have to be a lot of changes made before that would happen, right from the get go.
NE: Scott, what have you been occupied with musically over the last three years?
S: I’ve been writing. I got a solo record done which is almost ready to go and there are snippets on my website. I got another record in the works with the new guitar player. I’m playing with these guys and there’s another band in the works. There’s a lot of stuff going on.
NE: Do you enjoy being on stage with Ross again?
S: Like I said, when a pair of shoes does not fit, you take them off. When a pair of shoes fit and it feels good, you put them on. This is a good thing.
R: I mean, Scott’s got so much ability and he had so much ability for so long, but you never got to hear him. You never heard him
really play. What you heard on the records wasn’t him, it was something else. Let’s face it, if anyone that can’t hear that it’s programmed drums, you’ve got to be crazy. That’s another reason why Scott’s here playing an acoustic set of drums and that’s the way rock’n’roll should be. The drummer should play an acoustic set.
S: Once in a while I like to do a solo with my hands, like John Bonham and you can’t do that with triggers, you know? They almost play themselves.
NE: Ross, as you invited Scott to play some live shows, can we expect a guest appearance on the next RTB album as well?
R: No, we actually thought of doing that, but it didn’t happen. In the future Scott and I are going to play on some tracks together,
somewhere, somehow. Who knows what’s going to happen? But on our next record it’s just Ross The Boss. Let me tell you the line-up, we have Patrik Fuchs lead vocals, myself on guitar, Ross The Boss, Matze Mayer on the drums and Carsten Kettering playing the bass guitar, that’s all ine-up.
NE: Can we expect an extended tour after the new album is out?
R: Yes, that’s our wish. We’re booking a good tour for the New Year. On next touring season we’ll be out with two albums under
our belts.
WOJTEK GABRIEL