INTERVIEW WITH GRAVE DIGGER


GRAVE DIGGER REVIEWS

I interviewed Thilo Hermann (guitars), Manny Schmidt (guitars), and Chris Boltendahl (vocals) of GRAVE DIGGER on March 2, 2008, prior to their show in New York City. Since Manny at one point played in RAGE and Thilo -- in RUNNING WILD, two of my favorite bands, I asked them a couple of questions about those as well.


Welcome to New York, guys! How was your trip?

CB: Very good. We flew in last night and we go back tomorrow morning back to Germany. Then we're flying out to Spain, playing at the festival there.


So you're only doing one show in America? Have you been in US before?

CB: Yes and yes. We're only doing one show and we have been here in 2004 in Cleveland, for the Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles' Six-Pack fest. We enjoyed it a lot and we wanted to come back, but you know how it is. We needed to find a proper promoter and invest some money into it. I mean, I don't want to make "big bucks" here, but I don't want to spend too much money either. I would like to break even! (laughs)


Are you excited about playing here?

CB: Oh yeah! We never played in New York. It's a great city and I hope we'll put on a good show tonight!


Have you visited New York before?

CB: No. It's strange... everything here is so big, and there's so much of everything here... I went for a walk on Broadway in the morning, amazing... but most of the time I spent in the hotel. I live in Cologne, and that's a big city, but compared to New York -- it seems small. Normally it would take me one or two days to "grasp" the city, but here, I defiintely need more time.


I had a great time in Cologne when I was there. So, is Grave Digger based in Cologne?

CB: No. Two of us, me and the keyboard player are from Cologne. One of us is from Hamburg, one from Frankfurt, and one from Essen.


So how do you practice?

CB: Oh, we don't practice so much. Everybody's a real professional. Normally, if we have a show coming up, we meet one day before and we practice.


Chris, you're the main songwriter for the band. Are you the only one, or do other players contribute as well?

CB: Oh yes, the guitar players, Manny, and Jens, and Thilo all contribute. Jens used to contribute a lot, but on the new one, Liberty or Death, that's more Thilo and Manny.


All artists love their latest album most. But, besides the latest one, which album, would you say, is your favorite?

CB: I like Heart of Darkness a lot, Heavy Metal Breakdown, and The Last Supper. Tonight we are going to cover a lot of albums. We play at least one song from most of our albums. The only ones we don't play anything off of are The Reaper, Witchhunt, and War Games, but everything else we cover.


Let me ask you a question about The Last Supper. It talks about the story of Jesus Christ, which is a very sensitive subject to many people. How did you feel taking on it and did you get any particularly strong feedback, positive or negative?

CB: I never really experienced any controversy from this album. We just thought it would make a good story. It's not a religious record or a "white metal" record. It's just a good story. And tonight we're gonna play "A Grave in the No Man's Land."


Oh, what a great song! My favorite album is Knights of the Cross. What are you gonna play from there?

CB: Definitely the title track... and "Lionheart."


No "The Curse of Jacques"?

CB: We played that one on the last tour.


I know other people in GD are also involved in other projects. Are you?

CB: No, defintely not. I invest so much time in GD, in music and the overall artistic direction of it... I just don't understand this whole "side project" thing. If I do a side project, it would sound just like GD, because when I do what I love, that's what comes out! It makes no sense. Jens is playing in an AC/DC cover band, Manny writes on his own, at home, but everybody else is mostly involved with GD.


How did you find Thilo?

CB: We just diecided to get a second guitar player. Manny and I sat down and talked about it, and Thilo Hermann's name came up. We found his old address, because he was completely out of the music scene for six years (kinda like Manny before him, before he resurrected in 2000). We called him, and he said "OK, just give me two days."


Most of your albums are concept albums. The last one contained individual songs, not tied together. What prompted this change and how different was it to write it?

CB: Actually, Liberty or Death is also a concept album, but it isn't about a particular historic event. But when you're writing a concept album, you have to create a certain atmosphere that runs through the whole cd. Our next album that we already started working on will also be a theme album, with its own atmosphere.


What comes first, the music or the concept?

CB: It's different from album to album. Sometimes we first come up with the music, other times -- the lyrics, other times -- the concept idea.

MS: We never write riffs because of the lyrics, or the story, or the melody. We write a riff, and then Chris decides what to apply it to. We create like a pool of music and riffs, from which we pick what we want for this particular story.

CB: We're like a cook that likes to pick and choose what he wants to use for his dish. (laughs)


Any particular stories on how any particular songs were written?

MS: The only thing that I remember is from the time we started writing Rheingold album, we were in the Netherlands and Chris comes into my room and says: "Hey, play this: MMM MMM MMM!" And I said: "What is this shit? I don't want to play it!" But, of course, I played it, and it turned out to be one of the best songs, "Murderer ". "Valhalla" has a funny history too: Chris said we needed another anthemic song, like "Heavy Metal Breakdown." And I said: "Maybe I can play it backwards." So I took the chorus from "HMB" and played the chord progression backwards. That's how "Valhalla" came about. But don't tell anybody, it's a secret! (laughs)

CB: Most of the times we write something, things happen fast, faster than I can keep them in my mind. We're always working on something. When the album is finished and you listen to the whole thing for the first time, you cannot even remember how you got to that point. It's like somebody sucked out your mind. You feel so empty! And then you start from the beginning again.


How long does the songwriting process take for one album? Do you start composing while still touring for the previous release?

CB: Well, most of the recording is done in my home studio. And the recording equipment is always on. So when we meet for the first session for a new album, I bring all my ideas to the table. In fact, I'm pretty sure the rest of the band does the same: record their ideas, then bring them to the table.


The last album was self-produced. Have you worked with other producers at any point?

CB: I hate producers. We know exactly what we want to do every time. Besides, we have other people in the studio: technicians, engineers, and so on, so we always get other opinions on the material. And we keep our ears open.


Which recording software do you use?

MS: "Innuendo." I'm pretty happy with it.

CB: Musicians are like children, they can work with something for a while and be comfortable with that, but then they need a new toy.


Of all the bands in the world, who would you like to perform with?

CB: I'd like to play with AC/DC, with Bon Scott. That was my first concert ever, with Judas Priest supporting, in 1979. It was amazing. And I would like to tour with some big band, like Metallica, to just expand a little bit more.


What about the bands you already played with?

MS: Personally, my favorite tour was back in Rage, when we toured with Motorhead and Saxon. It was a three week tour and it was fantastic. Lemmy, the living legend! He was really cool to me, and the band and the crew... all were great.

CB: Honestly we haven't really played as a support band for many people. It' s usually festivals... Oh yeah, Running Wild, with Thilo Herman! (laughs)


Thilo, do you still talk to Running Wild?

TH: Yes, I call Rolf from time to time. He lives in Hanover now, which is like 700 km from my home in South Germany. But, yes, we speak, mostly of old times. And that's it.


Running Wild has been in a sort of a limbo lately, haven't they?

TH: I left a band 7 years ago and what I noticed was that the touring has dwindled. When I started in RW, we played 14 shows after each album, then 10 shows, then 9... I think last year they did only 3 or 5 shows. I don't know why is it exactly, but from what I've heard, Rolf has started a new project, different from RW. I don't know for sure.


How difficult or easy was it for you to join GD?

TH: Oh, it was very easy. Chris called me, and I was in. I listened to the songs, spent one weekend in playing Essen with Manny, and then came to the practice. Manny is my old friend, we shared an apartment some time ago.


Manny, how different is it for you to share guitar duties, as opposed to being the only guitarist?

MS: It is different, but this was the best decision the band could make! The last two albums are very guitar-based, and when we finished listening to Liberty or Death, we said: "There are so many guitars!" We even had to take some of the keyboards off, to make room for guitars.


Is it easier or harder to have two guitars?

MS: In the studio it doesn't matter. But live, I think, it's easier. It's a new thing for me; I have this new big factor over me. It's not like I'm tired of playing, but I always search for new experiences, and playing with Thilo certainly has a very different feel. In Rage we had a second guitarist on one tour, and I remember that inspired me somewhat. You have new options, even make the old songs sound different.

TH: A lot of old songs are now played with two guitars: one lead and melodies, one rhythm. So rearranging them is interesting.

CB: The songs have more volume now. (laughs)

MS: Actually, when I joined GD in 2001, I asked Chris about two guitarists, and he was like, "Never! It's good just the way it is!"

CB: Now I say: "We should have done this before." (laughs)

MS: I like the new sound, it's very powerful. But, of course, I have to step back every now and then and give Thilo some solos to play. (laughs) When I suggested this new two-guitar sound, we realized we had to make a good choice of who to go with, which man. Thilo's was the first name on the table, the only name, in fact. We were thrilled when he said "Yes, I'm ready to join." I'm not even sure what we would do if he said "No."


Manny, how is GD different from Rage?

MS: Very different. Peevy was the leader, the composer of the music, he basically told us what to do. It wasn't the kind of a democracy we have in GD.


Thilo, how is GD different from Running Wild?

TH: RW was very fast music. It was sometimes hard to play at the speed limit that Rolf demanded. In GD there is more melody and it's also heavier. Now that I started to write with them, I think I can contribute more, melodically, and try various ideas. I feel more flexible here, with more room for experimenting, while RW had a more rigid style.


GD wrote a lot of great music. What's the new challenge for the band, as you continue to make music and release albums?

CB: Good quality. The challenge is to surpass the old albums. To feed both the fans and our own souls, to meet the expectations; that's our motivation. It's not easy to write better records than the ones that we released before, and it's a big challenge. Like Knights of the Cross was different from Tunes of War, and Grave Digger was different from Knights. We gotta keep working and working hard.

Thank you and best of luck with the show!