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(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.
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