Our good buddy Sixgunsloaded (aka Bill G.) has been one busy guy, but he found some time to talk to Marc, and we're as thrilled to read the interview as Bill was to do it. Enjoy!
On the heels of the newly released live greatest hits entitled “Gasoline and Fire”, lead vocalist Marc Storace has reunited with Fernando Von Arb to bring us the best produced Krokus CD to date, “Rock the Block”. This CD is a full-blown Metal experience an absolute must have! I was fortunate enough to purchase “Rock the Block” early last year when it was released in Switzerland and to this date I have a hard time taking it out of my CD player.
I recently emailed Laura Kaufman of Reality Entertainment*, Krokus’ management, and requested an interview with Krokus. She was kind enough to reply and said that Marc Storace would possibly be willing to do the interview. Here are the questions submitted.
Bill G: The “Rock the Block” CD has been complete for
over a year now and available overseas. Why did you
decide to release “Fire and Gasoline” in the U.S. first?
Marc: Fern and I are proud to have an ass kickin` rythym section in Krokus today.The double-LIVE-album "Fire & Gasoline" contains 20 of our best hits and was the perfect way of introducing the "new" band members to our US fans, before coming out with our fiery new album "Rock the Block" !
Bill: The production on “Rock the Block” is outstanding. Do you think it is modern technology or the fact that you did the producing yourselves?
Marc: I believe it`s a mixture of both.
Bill: Over the years since you joined Krokus in ’80 or ’81 there has been a revolving door for performers, with the exception of Fernando Von Arb. You yourself had left the band on occasion. Did you leave for professional or personal reasons?
Marc: I joined Krokus in the fall of `79. In `88 it was high time for the band to take a well earned break. We wereout on the road for 8 years running during which time we produced 7 studio and one live album . The grunge movement came from Seattle and our sales dwindled immensely. I finally decided I was going to leave after doing the last gig on a tour with "Iron Maiden" ... down in New Orleans .In `95 I left for professional reasons after doing the "To Rock Or Not To
Be" tour.
Bill: Now that Krokus has reformed will you still
do any solo albums or is Krokus what Marc
Storace is all about.
Marc: There is more to Marc Storace than Krokus,
only Krokus has been mostpopular with Marc
Storace and vice versa. I enjoy what I do in Krokus
very much but from an artistic point of view I am
open for other exciting activities also, providing I
have the time.
Bill: Back in the early to mid ‘80’s Krokus opened for Def Leppard. There was a lot of press in the metal magazines about the two bands being at odds with each other and the tour was supposedly cut short. Def Leppard seemed to be the ones the most vocal about the situation. Do you recall what it was all about and if so what was your take on the “situation”?
Marc: Joe Elliot complained about my using "his" whole stage during the
Krokus performances and my manager told me not to take heed since we were
paying good money to be on this tour as "Special Guests". The Lepp`s were otherwise really nice to us and I enjoyed a couple of great late-nght jams
in clubs and hotel bars with Phil Collen ... man what a guitar-player! Even
Joe used to stop for a chat, even asking for advice on how to keep vocal
chords fit etc. He was full of admiration for me and vice versa, so I never
quite understood how things suddenly turned so sour over something so petty. Our managers got into each other`s shit but we musicians stayed out of the
politics ... I mean other big bands we toured with like AC/DC, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Rush, The Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden and many
more never restricted our performances in any way ...! Well anyway, that
happened many moons ago and I hope that when we meet again we shall drink a toast to the good memories from that incredible "Pyromania" tour of `83 ....
because it really was incredible,and their shows and songs were super
fantasic everynight!
Bill: Krokus has toured with many greats, what band was the most fun?
Marc: It`s not fair to just pin-point one tour really, because every tour
has it`s many great moments of glory, but the "Pyromania" tour with Def
Leppard was by far the longest, biggest and craziest of all.
Bill: It may just be me reading things into the “Rock the Block” CD but, is it more political than any previous Krokus CD’s? With songs like “Mad World”, “Looking to America”, and “Freedom” to name a few, did Krokus or Marc Storace have something to say?
Marc: When we were younger the accent was on partying . My writing dealt
with fantasies of every kind. My prime function today is to entertain, more
than ever, but I`m more aware of the harsh tragedies and realities of the
world around us. I tend to let a few drops seep into my writing. This gives
listeners something they can relate to ... a case of art reflecting reality!
Bill: Krokus, to the best of my knowledge, is still the number 1 entertainment export of Switzerland. What group, from Switzerland, would you like to see get the same recognition? And if Krokus were to do a World wide tour would you ask them to open for you?
Marc: We took "Crystal Ball" and then "Shakra" out on the road for last
years`s European Tour and it worked out really cool. I`m afraid there
aren`t that many Hard Rock Bands left in this country. Most are singing
Swiss - Dialect and playing pop. Gotthard came up with some great rock tunes
in the past but they lean towards ballads and soft rock nowadays. The
Lovebugs have some good songs too but then again ... it`s too poppy for
Krokus! What the heck .... We`ll cross that bridge when we come to it !!
Bill: What American band do you really enjoy listening to at this point, if any?
Marc: Velvet Revolver. I love their modern emotion loaded choruses and
hard -driving style .. cool arrangements! Slash deserves the very best .
Bill: There is a collection of greatest hits out there called “The Definitive Collection”. Did you or any other member of Krokus have any say in the track list? If so why was “Schools Out” on the CD and not “Our Love”?
Marc: I had nothing to do with this release or any other Krokus release in
between "Heart Attack", "To Rock Or Not To Be" and "RockThe Block".
Bill: Obviously Headhunter was what really put you on the map and is the main reason, in the U.S. anyway, that people had heard of you. To me one of the all time best albums Krokus put out, prior to “Rock the Block” was “One Vice at a Time”. What is your favorite album and what song do you never get sick of performing?
Marc: "One Vice ..." is my favourite album and the song I love singing most
is our epic ballad "Screaming In The Night" from the "Headhunter" album ...
gives me goosebumps! The sequel to this song is on "Rock The Block" and
it`s titled "We`ll Rise".
Bill: Krokus is quite often compared to AC/DC. Since a major part of this is due to your vocals, does this bother you or do you feel that you were somewhat influenced by them?
Marc: One can hear where I`m coming from after listening to the first two
"TEA" albums : "Sprouts" and "The Ship". "TEA" was a pioneer rock band of
the early 70`s . We were the first Swiss band to add Great Britain to our
European dates and went on the road with the likes of Nazareth and Queen.
Krokus opened some dates on our last Swiss tour .... Coincidence?! Anyway...
it doesn`t bother me to be compared to the late great Bon Scott or AC/DC...
the world`s greatest Rockband .. that`s a comparison to be proud of!
Bill: The “Rock the Block” CD is copy protected. Do you think that people who purchase the CD’s are stealing if they copy a few songs from them or only if they actually copy the entire CD?
Marc: Real fans wouldn`t copy a thing .... Fullstop! I mean, the reason
one would copy is because he or she is a fan of the band in the first place. Copying steals our livelihood .... It could mean the end .... Fullstop!
It`s that simple.
Bill: I understand Krokus is going into the studio again. What can we expect
from the new CD? Will it be along the lines of "Rock the Block" or are you
going to try something different?
Marc: We`re not necessarily trying to be too different but the material is
definitely exciting ... I`m really enjoying it and this time round we have
double the amount of songs to sort out since ideas are coming from all the
band members.
Bill: Is there a tentative release date for the new CD? And will the release
date be the same in the U.S. as Switzerland?
Marc: All I know is that we`re aiming for the beginning of 2005 .
Thanks Marc, for taking the time to answer questions for D-Day's Revenge.
We will eagerly await a tour in the United States sometime soon!!
It`s been my pleasure Bill,
Rock On,
Marc.
* Reality Entertainment manages several other bands as well. We hope to get future interviews from them as well!
Photo's Courtesty:
9/1/2004
