Doro Pesch Interview 3/15/08

QUESTION: Hi Doro! The tour begins this week (March 20th). What can fans expect when they come out to see you?
DORO: We are going into rehearsal tomorrow and I want to of course get all of the classics in like, "All We Are" and "True As Steel" and play a couple of songs off records that we very much like - all the highlights off each record. I will always play according to the fans, I want every show to be different and I want to feel it out like whatever the fans want to hear. If they want to hear more heavy stuff than I'll play more of the heavy stuff, if they want to hear more anthems than we will put in more anthems, if they want to hear more headbanging, double bass stuff than we will do this. In the encore, they can call out songs they would like to hear and we will try to prepare everything and make it interactive. We want to do a killer, high energy show.  I just got to New York on Thursday and yesterday I went to the IRON MAIDEN show at the Meadowlands in New Jersey and I talked to so many fans there and they are all coming to the shows in the New York area. Touring America is always super, super special and I want to make it special in every way.

QUESTION: So the set list is always going to be changing then?
DORO: Yes, everyday it will be slightly changing, according to the vibe, to the people and to always keep it fresh. Sometimes some people travel to many different shows and the fans always have something to get excited about and to look forward to. It is not exactly the same everyday and it will definitely be a good mix from the WARLOCK songs and the DORO songs. It will definitely be very special.

QUESTION: Have you ever thought about adding some of the songs from albums that were never released in America?
DORO: Yeah, actually we are going to put in a couple of songs and one of the favorite songs from the fans seems to be "Love Me In Black". They call it out usually in the encores and I was so amazed because the "Love Me In Black" album never came out in the states. I'm so glad that the die hard fans are very familiar with even the songs that didn't come out in America.

QUESTION: You came out with the EP "All We Are - The Fight". Tell us a little about that.
DORO: It was for a very good friend of mine Regina Halmich. She is the 12 year women's boxing champion.  She had a special fight,  it was against a guy and she asked me if I would play a classic like "All We Are" and I said OK. We played a little bit different version, we played it live and it was broadcast on TV - in front of like 10 million viewers. After it was broadcast, so many people called the radio stations and the record company called the fan club and said "wow, we love it and can we get it" and some people didn't even know the song, some people were not metal fans and they loved it. The record company said "OK, let's release it", I put in some songs which people who know "All We Are" would be happy to hear some other material on it. There are like five videos on it and four other songs. So I thought it is good to have another single out or an EP.

QUESTION: When you played the song live on TV, you had some special guest musicians with you. Who were they?
DORO: It was Schmier from DESTRUCTION the bass player and Bas (Maas) from AFTER FOREVER was the guitar player. It was just because it was very short notice and Regina called me a couple of days before. At first the plan was that I would sing it alone and then I thought that I would like to invite some friends of mine if I can't have the band over. Schmier is a very good guy and I just did something for his album ("Inventor Of Evil"), "The Alliance of Hellhoundz".   So I called Schmier up and he said he would love to do it.  It was such short notice, otherwise the band would have been there.

QUESTION: You also performed a duet with Floor Jansen on the last AFTER FOREVER album ("Who I Am"). How did that come about?
DORO: I met Bas from AFTER FOREVER many years ago on a promotion tour in Belgium. We also did a South American tour together in Brazil and in Mexico we played together. It was really, really great and we all got along. I love Floor. I think she's a fantastic singer and I always wanted to do something with another female singer. They called me up and said they have a great song and I listened to it, I loved it and then we did it. I think it came out really good. I was very pleased when I heard it.

QUESTION: Is it flattering to be asked to be on other artists albums?
DORO: It's always a big honor when other people ask. Yeah, I love to do it, It's always extra special. Every time I have done collaborations I was really happy to do it and It always came out really good. It's very nice when people ask.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you about the "20 Years a Warrior Soul" DVD. It's one of the best music DVD's I have seen in quite awhile. Tell us a little about that.
DORO; We took so long (to put it out) because the concert now is a few years ago but we had to clear all the rights.  We wanted to not only put out the concert but we wanted to make a little tour movie as well, so we just put on the best stuff from the "Warrior Soul" tour. There is stuff on there from all over the world, from Russia, Germany, Spain, so we thought then let's do a double DVD. I always like to put as much on it that I think the fans will find interesting.

QUESTION: The packaging was great as well.
DORO: I love good packaging with great artwork.

QUESTION: I think the fans can see that too. They really appreciate the fact that you always take care of them.
DORO: Yeah Tony, as you know, I only do it for the fans. Every single day the fans are in the back of my mind and I hope I can make them happy. I get inspiration from the fans. They're the most important thing in the world to me. I always think that I have to do extra, extra good and put as much good stuff on the DVD or CD. Sometimes it's hard, because with the record companies the more you put on the more expensive the production gets.

QUESTION: You are going to do a 25th anniversary show in Germany in December. Tell us about that.
DORO: I'm getting really excited for it. We want to do a couple of shows all over the world, but the first one will be in Germany in my hometown Dusseldorf.  I want to invite some great bands, many, many special guests. We are just talking to some bands, nobody is confirmed yet except LEAVES' EYES. We have a great big metal market where people can go and check out new stuff. We want to do a great stage show with many, many surprises.

QUESTION: Will there be another WARLOCK reunion at the 25th anniversary show?
DORO: We are in the middle of talking about it. It's a possibility.

QUESTION: Are you working on new music?
DORO: Yes, I'm working on the new record. The song writing is going really well and I have tons of ideas. I got so inspired by all the touring experiences.   After the American tour I want to go back to songwriting and then go back to the studio and record it. Probably put out the first single or EP later this year, before the 25th anniversary concert and then the new record maybe in December or January.  It depends. I don't want to put the pressure on me that I have to have it done for the 25th anniversary, but I definitely want to have an EP out where I can present some new songs. I have some collaborations in the making, which I think the fans will really be excited about.

QUESTION: Do you plan on filming the 25th anniversary show for another DVD?
DORO: Yes, we are planning on that. Definitely.

QUESTION: You are playing the Magic Circle festival. Is that the festival organized by MANOWAR?

DORO: Yes that's it and that will be the only festival in Germany that we play, because I don't want to overplay I just want to wait for the 25th anniversary. We will do a couple of festivals I think in Spain and Portugal, but I want to keep all of the excitement and energy pretty much for the 25th anniversary, so we will play just a couple of festivals this summer. I think we will play in America again on the 13th of September in Albuquerque.

QUESTION: Do you think that the European only releases of the early to mid-90's will ever be released in America?
DORO: It's so hard, because all of the record company people they change. I don't know, we've tried like a couple of times but it's not easy. At the moment, there are no plans, but I would love that.

QUESTIONS: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Is there anything you would like to add or say to the fans?
DORO: I can't wait for this American tour to start. The last one, it was so fabulous. It was unbelievable, all the experiences and all of the fans I met. I hope they will come out again, I hope they will bring out their friends, so we can have good, packed places and I want to thank them for their endless love and support. I would do anything for the fans and I always try my best and my hardest. I wish that everybody stays happy and healthy and that we can rock together for a long, long time.