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GOTTHARD: Round about the Domino Effect

The release of the new album „Domino Effect“ might be the perfect timing for a STALKER interview with the Swiss Metal veterans Gotthard. Bass player Marc Lynn kindly answers our questions and explains, what the Domino effect is all about.

First of all, please introduce the band members with their characteristics or spleens.
Singer Steve: A gentleman who is very eager giving always 100%. Leo, guitarrist: A locomotive in the band, who has new ideas every day. Freddy, guitarrist: A clear thinking person who always has a clear opinion. Hena, Drummer: The rhythm machine who gets straight to the point. Marc, bass: The wild one who lives the Rock ’n’ Roll cliche.



Your album „Domino Effect“ has just been released. Do you expect to continue the success of your last album „Lipservice“?
If it will be as successful as Lipservice will be up to the fans. In our view it is the successor album, because it is the second one with this line-up, and the writing process was working out great.

How about the title, what is a Domino effect?
It means a chain reaction that was caused by an impulse. That can imply a lot, e.g. developing songs from a single idea – rumours caused by a single statement – climate change, gene manipulation! A band that keeps growing with the years and has more and more fans and bigger concerts, thanks to their fans and their word-of-mouth recommendation.

Which song on the new album is the best, in your opinion?
I think, besides the title track it is the ballad „Falling“, but we all like „Oscar“ very much.

Who is responsible for your songwriting? Is it teamwork or is only one person writing songs?
The songwriting is mainly up to Steve, Leo and Freddy. And there are many friends and comrades who write songs with us. Some input from a different side can sometimes cause astonishing results.

What are your goals, is there something you want but have not achieved yet?
Oh, there is still a lot to do. Our main issue are the countries where we have not been on tour yet and where we really want to play live. And this what we are working on right now.

What would you pick if you had to choose between Sex, Drugs und Rock `n`Roll?
Isn´t everything the same (laughs)?

You have been around for some years and have been quite successful. Where does your motivation come from?
Whoever has been with friends for years and living through such nice moments like we did, will know where the motivation comes from It is the love for the stuff we do that gives us power, motivation and pleasure again and again.

What would you do, if Gotthard did not exist? Which jobs would you have?
I would play bass guitar and hopefully had a cool band like this one.

What was the most disappointing/most exciting moment in your band history?
Mostly disappointing is always to find out that nowadays it is not the quality of the music which counts. Very exciting was definitely when we played in Zurich stadion for the first time. This is Switzerland´s Mekka. This night everybody we knew was there, and we also redorded the show for „Made in Switzerland“. Man, we were so nervous.



What do you consider the biggest mistake in your career?
We did not really talk to each other as openly and intensively as we do today. That was the opportunity for others to take trouble into the band. This is no longer possible.

Which of your songs do you think is the best one ever??
Basically all of them, because they were all part of their time and part of a whole, a CD!

What is great about being a musician, what is shitty?
Positive: Not to be in a 08:15 schedule and being free to do what you want. Negative: Being under pressure and making the next album better than the previous one, because nowadays there is just the distinction between good and bad.
What is your opinion about i-pod, downloads? Do you think that it spoils the business?
No – you don´t get paid for it. It is not OK to download songs for free because this is stealing from the musicians. Otherwise it is just another form of medium, easy to handle, that should continue.

How has music business changed since your early days?
In our early days quality was the important issue, the quality of a song - lyrics was nuts and bolts. Nowadays it is no longer the music but only money and power that counts. - Very questionable and sad.

Would you participate in the Eurovision Song Contest?
Never, we have luckily never been that low (laughs)!

Which advice would you give a newcomer band?
Practise, practise, practise, and talk to each other about everything until the tongue falls off, and write GOOD songs.
If you could travel into the past with a time machine, which time would it be?
I would get an XXL Cola and an XXL box Popcorn, sit in the time machine and set it ten minutes before the Big Bang. Then I would sit comfortly in the „nothing“ and could finally find out the most important question of mankind: Where are we coming from?

Do your have a final statement for your fans?
Let´s enjoy the „Domino Effect“ of music together!


Author: Sandy Mahrer, photos hfr., transl. K. Weber
Date: 2007-04-28

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