For the last several months, Doro Pesch has been hard at work promoting her latest album "Calling The Wild". She continues to prove to be one of the hardest working, dedicated, gracious and down-to-earth artists in the music business. Prior to the soundcheck at Lakesides in Long Island, New York, Doro was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions. Read on…
TONY: How did the
recent European tour go?
DORO: It was fantastic! I think it was really phenomenal. We played between 2 ½
and 3 hours every night. Sometimes we had to play like 8 encores, because people
would go really, really crazy and I always thought that when people get that
excited you have to give them what they deserve.
TONY: The Hamburg
show was probably one of the best that I’ve ever seen.
DORO: Yeah, I agree. I think Hamburg was definitely one of the best shows of the
tour. It was really exciting to go to all of these new countries where we have
never been like Portugal. In Portugal we played this really cool club where the
people were so fantastic. They were all singing along, it was unbelievable! We
played Spain, which we haven’t played in a long time – it was great! And of
course one of the most memorable gigs was Moscow.
TONY: How was the
audience reaction in Moscow?
DORO: It was mind blowing! It was totally sold out, but there were at least a
thousand people in front of the venue. It was really cold when we went to
Moscow, but inside people were passing out because the temperature was so high
and sweaty and no oxygen. Some people had to be pulled out of the audience.
TONY: Did you do
the same opening in Moscow (that you had been doing on the German tour) of
"White Wedding" with the whole wedding ceremony that starts the show?
DORO: No, we didn’t. We just did that in Germany, but we didn’t do it in any of
the other European countries. We opened up with "I Rule The Ruins" because this
is always my favorite opener, but in Germany I thought "White Wedding" with the
whole dark ceremony, that would be great. At some gigs we had this guy with us -
his name is Dex DeVille - he did like a fire show, spitting fire and swallowing
fire and he was actually part of our wedding ceremony. He was also the guy who
brought the snakes on tour, but we couldn’t do it at every show, because for the
animals its hell being on the tour buses (laughs). So we could only do it once
in a while.
TONY: How did last
years US tour with DIO go?
DORO: It was really, really unbelievable!
TONY: It’s been a
long time. What was it like finally playing the states again after all
these years?
DORO: I have been dying to play here again – like you know so well – for years
and years. Then we got the opportunity to play on the DIO tour. This couldn’t
have been a better tour. It was definitely if not the tour of the year, one of
the tours of the year. I think the bill was great and we got along so well. For
me my personal highlight was the three shows we did in Florida. I sang "Man on
the Silver Mountain" and "Long Live Rock N’ Roll" together with Ronnie. The fans
just loved it!
TONY: So it’s
possible that you could tour with DIO again?
DORO: Yeah, yeah. It went so well. They went out on the road again, but we had
already had our European tour booked. The DIO people asked us if we would like
to come out on the road again. I was really heart broken that we couldn’t do it.
I’m sure we will tour together again. It fit so perfect, we got along great, and
there was so much magic there and a good vibe. I think the fans loved all the
bands.
TONY: Was it
difficult only playing 30 minute sets on that tour, when you are used to play
2-2 ½ hour sets in Germany?
DORO: That was very difficult, but I thought that in 30 minutes I would make the
best out of it. I didn’t play any ballads – usually I love to play ballads. I
thought I just wanted to hit them hard and get the energy level up. Going from a
3 hour set to only 30 minutes, it was very hard to pick the right songs.
TONY: How did you
go about picking the set list for the DIO tour?
DORO: Just by instinct. I wanted to pick the songs, which I believed people
would love to hear. There was a mixture between my favorite Warlock songs like
"All We Are", "East Meets West, "I Rule The Ruins" and "Metal Tango".
TONY: I think a
lot of fans would love to hear "True As Steel" and "Fight For Rock". Is there
any chance of adding any of those songs to your set list?
DORO: "Fight For Rock" I think we should actually rehearse. There are so many
songs to choose from. We’ve done 12 or 13 albums and it’s really hard to please
all of the people. In Europe we played 2 hours and the encores were actually
chosen by the fans, they would call them out and we would play different songs
each night.
TONY: Following
these dates with Britny Fox are there any
plans to do any more touring in the US?
DORO: After this we do a couple of more gigs in Germany. Then we will try to get
something in June for the states.
TONY: Why did you
decide to re-record "Terrorvision", "Dedication" & "Pain" from "Love Me in
Black" for "Calling The Wild"?
DORO: For the simple reason that the record wasn’t released here in the states
and I wanted to make sure that the American fans could get the songs. "Terrorvision",
"Dedication" & "Pain" were favorites of mine and it sucked that the record
didn’t get released in the states.
TONY: Are you
happy with the way "Calling The Wild" was received by the fans and media?
DORO: Yeah, totally! I read 90% great reviews and good articles. Actually, It’s
not so important what the media says, I know I do it for the fans. I know I do
it for the people who love the music.
TONY: The song
"Dedication" has struck a chord with many fans. What was the inspiration behind
the message of that song?
DORO: I felt so strongly about it and it just came out immediately. I just
wanted write a song "For peace and Freedom", but I didn’t want to call it "For
Peace and Freedom", because I felt it would be too obvious – it wouldn’t be as
powerful.
TONY: It’s a great
live song too.
DORO: Totally, totally! I think so too. I love playing that song live.
TONY: I read where
you and Nick are going to be in a movie. What’s going on with that?
(At this point bass player Nick Douglas joins the conversation)
NICK: I talked to the director a few weeks ago. He’s working on two films right
now. He’s also working on a gangster film which he is probably going to start
shooting in May. So it’s been sort of pushed back a little bit - the whole
production on the thriller, but he totally intends to do it. I think his
strategy is once he does the gangster film he’s going to have even more budget
money for the thriller, so he’d rather wait and get that right, before rushing
into it.
TONY: Do you know
the title of the movie?
NICK: It was called "The Final Cut" but he changed the name and hasn’t told us
to what yet (laughs).
TONY: Is it a big
role?
NICK: It’s a big scene that involves Doro and I. Its sort of a twisted kind of
story about a director whose auditioning actors for a horror film but they’re
doing what they think are very close to real reenactments of killings and things
– stabbings and drills and knives and guns and things. But it’s actually really
happening. They think the props are fake but they’re actually real, so they end
up killing each other.
TONY: A lot of
your ballads are heartbreaking. What is the inspiration behind those?
DORO: I think sad lyrics are just meant for a ballad, it’s what really can touch
the deepest string of your heart. I think the whole life existence is made out
of so much pain. I love ballads because I can relate to pain so much – it feels
like second nature. I love doing ballads as much as I love doing heavy stuff. I
always feel that every facet of the emotional personality or mood should go on
the records.
TONY: I heard that
you were going to be taking part in the Ronnie James Dio project "Children of
the Night". Care to elaborate?
DORO: We gave them the song "Children of the Night" and I heard that they liked
it very much, so I hope something good will come out of it.
TONY: Are you
collecting ideas for your next album or is it still too soon?
DORO: I have some ideas already. I’m already working on some songs. I got so
much inspiration out of the last year, there’s a couple of things in the making.
I think the fans will love it.
TONY: Will the
music continue in the same direction as "Calling The Wild"?
DORO: I think every song will be unique. Not one song will sound alike It’ll
definitely have the whole spectrum from totally heavy to sensitive and gentle.
The sound definitely will be powerful. We want to try and make it more intense,
more energetic. It should definitely be raw, it shouldn’t sound polished at all.
TONY: In closing,
is there anything you would like to say to the fans that might be reading this?
DORO: I want to thank all the fans that have seen the tour and the concerts for
making us feel so good. It was so super exciting, the American tour and the
European tour. I was dying to play all these places that I haven’t played in a
long time and seeing the people from years ago – that was just such a thrill and
I hope I can see them again soon. They can be totally assured that I will always
try to give 120% to make it magic. That’s what I live for and I thank them for
all the support for all these years.
Interview conducted be Tony Cannella/DoroRocks.net