(March 17, 2008) PCM's Kristyn talked
to Doro Pesch, the Queen of Heavy Metal.
Kristyn: Hi Doro! How are you?
Doro: Oh, very good. Very good. It is good to talk to you.
I am still in Germany and will be coming over next week.
I am so excited .
K: You are starting your tour, correct?
D: Yes! Its so crazy to be on tour.
K: So, your first date is going to be in Philadelphia?
D: Ya! It is because a couple of our members are based
there and Johnny D, our drummer, is from Philly and I met
him in 1993 and we were preparing for a big world tour with
the DPD and Life and our drummer left and then a friend
of ours, said he knew a fantastic drummer and I said "who
is it" and he said that it was Johnny D .And I always
loved his vibe and he is really good looking too, so I came
over to Philadelphia just for one day and we shook hands
and ever since we have been playing together. So, it is
really great.
K: Yeah, I didn't know they were from Philadelphia.
We are down in Delaware right next to Philadelphia.
D: Ah. Ok.
K: So, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
How did you become interested in music?
D: I started to be addicted when I was three or four years
old and back then it wasn't heavy metal, but it was one
particular artist which I loved and it was Little Richard
and the song was Lucille. I always put it on repeat and
I had the little single and then music was all I wanted
to do and I grew up in the glam rock time with The Clash
and The Stones and then a little bit later I got into metal.
In 1980 I had my first band and in 1983 we all got together
and that was actually the beginning of a really great metal
movement. You could see that somehow metal was going to
be really big. Then in 1983 the first record and then after
a couple more years my first U.S release, and I went to
New York for a little promotion tour of just two days and
then after that I made up my mind that I wanted to stay.
I am half an American and German. I got to know all my band
members and we have all this line up and Douglas the bass
player has been with me since 1990 and Johnny D on drums
since 1993 and our guitar player Joe Taylor from 1993 and
on and we are touring and playing together and we are the
best of friends too.
K: That is always important.
D: Especially when you tour in a little tiny tour bus for
a long time. I think we have a really good vibe. We get
along without words. We don't need to explain stuff and
everybody gets their space and that I am a women and sometimes
I need a little bit more space with my clothes and my make-up
and the whole thing and they are very respectful and very
nice and we really get along.
K: It is nice to be able to speak without words
D: Yes, Yes! When we are in rehearsal and we sing our new
songs everybody is good and the vibe is fantastic.
K: You founded the band Warlock, which is legendary
in its own right, so what became of Warlock as opposed to
Doro?
D: Actually we never wanted to change the name, but we
had to, because our manager, who actually just died a few
weeks ago ,was a shady character and left in 1987 and took
all the money and it was really bad at the time and he took
the name Warlock too. Somehow the judge, didn't have any
mercy, because we were heavy metal guys and allowed him
to take the name and we couldn't perform anymore under the
name Warlock and the record company suggested, hey try another
name. They invested so much in building up the band and
the profile and they said "how about you name it Doro?"
I tried for the longest time to keep it Warlock, but it
was impossible, so we changed the name to Doro. We did have
many line-up changes back then, but that was not the reason
for changing the name of the band. That manger, he probably
didn't do right by other people too. I didn't have any contact
with him anymore for many years and now it looks like that
I don't know what he did, but something must have gone wrong.
Now the name Warlock is mine again, but I don't want to
put the band into the name. At least I own the name now.
K: At least you have it back now and I can understand
the confusion of switching it back and forth.
D: Some of the old members totally gave up music and went
on with their lives and they have families. But some of
the guys I am also in contact and my old guitar player Tommy
Bonin he went to play with us as a guest and some other
stuff.
K: According to your website you are the female voice
of metal rock, which is quite an accomplishment. With the
heavy metal scene made up of mostly males, what challenges
have you faced?
D: I have always loved metal and it doesn't matter if you are male or female
. If you feel metal it comes out from your gut and heart
and I think the other bands always knew that and I never
felt bad as a women. I felt just like one of the guys and
just did the best I could and always tried and I think that
I was always treated very good by the other bands we played
with and I never thought it was more difficult. I think
basically it is more difficult provide good musicians, but
being a women feels pretty good, I must say. The press they
made it out to all be different, but I hoped that the bands
and I had a good thing going and it didn't matter. The magazines,
they always thought it was more interested in writing about
the female perspective, but I always thought it was cool
and it has been amazing to be a singing. I always tried
to do my best and work hard to give the fans a great stage
performance every time and trying to come up with the best
songs and the best records. I don't really think it matters
where you come from or who you are.
K: Well, you have worked with some major players in the
metal scene, including, but not limited to Slash and Lemmy
Kilmiester. What was that like for you? How did those collaborations
take place?
D: I loved doing that. It is always a big honor to work
with those people and I still am! Back when I worked with
Lemmy, a couple years ago, it was amazing. We spent a couple
of weeks together and everyday I picked him up and we were
driving to the studio and sometimes it took like an hour,
because the traffic was so bad and I constantly know all
of his records and he said that tomorrow he would put a
disc in and everyday he would put in new stuff and new songs
and then he was singing along and we were having the best
time and stuck in traffic with him for hours and it was
such a great feeling. He was the first real metal god that
I met in 1980. It was the first time I went to England for
some party or something for this big magazine. I saw someone
standing there and I gave him a little smile and then he
said "Doro do you want to have a drink and he was so
cool and we have stayed friends."
K: Woah! I think I would have fainted. Who has been
your favorite artist to work with so far and is there anyone
you would like to collaborate with in the future?
D: I tell you…all the people I have worked with are all
great and unique Lemmy and Gene Simmons who produced one
of our records, which was unbelievable, because I was a
big KISS fan and to even have the chance to see Gene and
to work with him and to talk with him was amazing. He was
a great producer. He was the best. Then we worked with Drew
Snyder. He worked with me on the classic diamonds record
and we come out breaking the law and we always wanted to
say thank you to Drew, because it was there band that took
us out on a big tour and we got so good and we had a great
time with all the sights and sounds I just met Dave Mustain
from Megadeath when they toured Europe. I would love to
tour with them. There are just many great people, so I plan
on staying in the music business for the next ten or twenty
years for sure. It is great when you come together and then
something comes out of it. Megadeath was my first U.S tour.
It was 1988, so I never forgot. That is why I thought it
would be extra special to be able to do something with Dave.
K: I know you have played before with one of my personal
favorites, which is Ozzy, and I have to ask what that was
like?
D: It was a Legendary Monsters of Rock concert and we played
two places in England and then two in Germany and Ozzy was
headlining and his guitar player was J.T Lee at the time
and I remember everyone in my band was like at the side
of the stage. Everybody was supposed to be off stage, but
somehow we managed to stay on and watch the show. We were
in awe! We did a couple of shows and we talked briefly,
but we never really had the chance to hang out. It was really
big. Over a hundred thousand people were at the concert.
K: Obviously you have toured extensively over the years,
do you have any interesting or memorable tour experiences
or crazy fan experiences?
D: One time, we were doing a gig , I forget what country,
but it was like actually a club and I didn't have a normal
dressing room, it was somebody's apartment or something
and it was at the back of the club and so we were playing
the gig and I was so happy to have my own room or apartment
with a big bed and I loved it, because sometimes I like
to take a little nap before a show. We did the show and
then I got up and the guys had a little room somewhere else.
I went to this apartment and wanted to change my clothes
and there was somebody laying in the bed and he was a fan
of the band, because he had a T-shirt on and I said "Hey
you" and he looks at me and said that he was so drunk
that he passed out and he waited and waited for me to come
up to the dressing room and I think he crawled in from the
window and he didn't manage to do anything else, because
he was so drunk he passed out and he was a big guy, I mean
he was huge, and I told him he had to get out because I
had to change. Then, he passed out and I just let him sleep
and I went and called the club manager and asked him to
take care of it, but it was actually…I think he was fantasizing
about me and a great night together (laughs) but
he did not make it that far!
K: That is pretty funny!
D: And I get so many fans that want to talk about the music so its never a
sexual background. In that case I think it was. He didn't
do anything so...
K: What are some of your favorite female fronted bands
of this era of music?
D: Oh, there are so many great female singers. I love all
my favorites from the 80's. I love Anne Wilson from Heart,
she has the best voice. In this day and age I love Tarja,
the ex-singer of Night Wish and Angela from Arch Enemy.
They are great women. Christina from Lacuna Coil.
K: Christina, she is awesome!
D: And Floor Jansen, She has a Dutch band After Forever.
We actually had did a duet on her last record. It came off
really good. It was a song about a split personality and
I had to be the aggressive part and she sang the angelic
part and it was really good together. She is great. There
are tons of great personalities and great voices. I think
it is very different from the 80's when there were just
a hand full and now there are a lot of women that can do
it and do it fantastic. Actually, on the next record, I
wanted to get all the great female singers and call the
album Rock Metal Goddesses. I definitely want to do that.
K: That would be amazing. I would love to hear that!
D: We plan on putting out the new record at the end of
this year, so maybe a tour of one or two new songs, but
the record will take a little while.
K: Can you tell the readers a bit about your writing
process? What comes first the hook, melody, lyrics?
D: It used to be much different. Back then, when we couldn't
speak English, it was always music first and then the lyrics
on top of it. I must say, the last couple of years, the
best way is when the lyrics come with a melody and with
a hook line and it means much more when the lyrics are there
first for ballads or anything really. I think it means much
more when the lyrics are present. With a rock song it can
go either way. I must say, every song is different and comes
out different. The whole year I collect stuff and there
are years that I think about something I want to write about
or there is a personal experience I want to sing about and
I have a little book with me and write about things I might
want to sing about.
K: So, you can kind of build up the rest of the sound
around the common theme of the lyric?
D: Yes, but it totally depends on the song.
K: Where do you see the future of music heading and
where do you see yourself in that picture?
D: Wherever it is going I will always give 110% and I hope
that the right things will be there. It is actually kind
of sad when I saw the 80's and 90's and now and its very
different. You try to get your music out there and you have
the downloads that hurt me a lot, because there aren't a
lot of people still buying the records. We always try to
make the CDs extra special with great booklets and artwork,
and we are getting this life painting done by this artist
Jeff Ricketsby who did most of our albums covers, so it
is really a piece of art and I hope that this will continue
so we can make great records. I think we even want to do
a special album in vinyl just for the special collectors..
When vinyl was dying I was so sad, especially the artwork.
It was so nice and big and its not like that on the Internet.
I think its great to have something in your hands and I
hope that it will not die, but whatever it will be we will
go with the flow. We will work on making the best music
and working really hard.
K: What do you think of Myspace as a way to connect
with fans?
D: I think it is great. Worldwide it is not possible outside
of the Internet. Johnny D, our drummer, is doing our Myspace
site and he is always answering the people and sometimes
it is so much, but he is doing a good job. I think that
is fantastic and I love it. As long as making records doesn't
die its cool.
K: I hope to never see that day come. A lot of artists
are having to offer much more with the CD when it comes
out.
D: Absolutely. On the last DVD we had three discs and it was really great packaging
and then I saw it in a cheaper version and I was like no
no no. I remember that you used to go on tour to promote
the record and now it's the opposite. It is way different.
I love touring though and its fantastic and I will say that
now it is much better, because we can go to many more counties
and we are touring in Russia or the Czech and other counties
that were impossible before.
K: How is the tour scene different in Europe then in the
United States?
D: Every country is a little bit different. In Spain we
have the biggest fan base. It is like, Wow, they are die
hard metal fans. They are so excited its unbelievable. In
America, they are just as excited. It reminds me of the
80's, because people are just so excited and they are going
crazy! Scandinavian bands are really big now, so we always
tour with them now. Actually, on this tour we have a band
from Scandinavia called Fatal Smile. It is a new band. The
Scandinavian metal scene is huge. Actually, wherever I am
I go where the fans are, big or small. I see in South America
that you have ten or twenty thousand people, but in some
other countries you have to be happy when there are two
other people coming to your show. Whatever works.
K: Well, you music definitely seems to keep the classic
metal sound alive. How do you feel about the nu metal bands
out there, like Korn.
D: I like many bands. I am not just a fan of traditional
metal stuff. I love all kinds of music. Whatever is good
or has something. I am a big Rammstein fan and I think they
are a league of their own. I think like stage wise they
are incredible! If a artist has something to offer then
I like them. It doesn't have to always be the traditional
metal sound. Metal and heavy metal give you freedom to do
whatever you feel.
K: What is next on the horizon for you? What should
fans be expecting in the future?
D: I guess, the new record by the end of the year. I think
it will great. I think there are some great songs in the
making and we have a big anniversary coming up and we want
to celebrate it all over the world and the first one is
in Germany in my hometown of Dusseldorf, Germany and it
will be the thirteenth of December and then believe it or
not I have the twenty fifth anniversary and celebrate it
really big with many bands and friends and then we want
to do a show all over the world, where the fans are that
support us, but first the American tour is the most important
on our list right now. Then, another world tour in 2009
K: I am glad to hear that you guys have a pretty full
plate and we certainly wish you the best with all of that.
D: Thank you. There is never enough time during the day
to put it all together. When we are on tour we concentrate
on the stage performance and we are always trying to talk
to the fans for hours before and after the show and I get
so much out of it like inspiration and motivation and that
is all I want to do when I am on tour. I would be happy
if all the fans would come out and see the show and I promise
it will be awesome.
K: What do you like doing in your spare time?
D: I have no spare time. That is very rare. I am usually
totally exhausted and I sleep for two days straight. All
time is spent for the music. It is all for the music. It
is what makes me happy.
K: So, music really does equal life in your sense, right?
D: Absolutely! Sometimes I want to take a vacation, but
I just think that I'll take a long vacation when I am dead.
K: Live life to the fullest. If you are enjoying yourself,
then more power to you!
D: Yes. To never know when it will be over or when the end will come you just
have to live.
K: Is there any other message or comment that you would
like to share with our readers?
D: I want to say thank you to all the fans that supported
us through all these years and I will try to make everybody
happy music wise and concert wise and I want to thank you
for the support and Keep Metal Alive! It will be a great
kick off for our American tour and I hope everybody comes
out.
K: Thank you so much for speaking with us!
D: Thank you very much!
K: Have a good day!
D: Thank you.
Be sure to visit Doro's
Official
Site
and on
MySpace.
