At 66 years old, Udo Dirkschneider is still a regular guest of concert venues, news feeds and charts. Yes, yes, hit parades - “Steelfactory”, the 16th studio album of his group U.D.O., became her most successful work in the charts of most European countries, proving that the “German steel machine” is worth a lot on its own, without Accept songs , which he performed in the last three years under the "sign" of Dirkschneider. Now U.D.O. there is a big tour ahead in support of the new album, in the schedule of which, of course, there is a place for Russia, where the veteran and his work are adored by thousands of fans. However, this tour is yet to come (for example, the Moscow concert of U.D.O. will take place at the GlavClub on November 5), but for now, Udo came to us with a promotional tour, during which he actively communicated with journalists and fans. I had the opportunity to act as an interpreter at a press conference that took place at the ITAR-TASS news agency, and at a big meeting with fans in the evening of the same day in the Posolnuhi art space. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I made a selection of the most interesting and topical questions and answers from these events for the site.
Your new album “Steelfactory” reached the 7th place in the national German hit parade - no other U.D.O. album climbed so high, even in the 80s, which is considered the golden age of heavy metal. In your opinion, what is the reason for such success?
(laughing). Yes, this is our highest result in the German charts. What to say? I am very happy about it. But such things cannot be predicted in advance. Getting into the hit parade in Germany or other countries always depends on what else comes out in a given week, whether there are too many other releases, even pop or rap artists. You never know whose company you will be in. This time we were lucky, there were not so many new releases. Again, I am very pleased with our result in Germany, and also in Sweden, where we came in first place - as well as in France, and all this is also the first time. In general, the responses to the new album are simply fantastic, which means that we did everything right. I think so.
Andrey Smirnov, a Russian guitarist, has been playing with you for several years now. How has Andrey changed during this time as a musician? How does he interact with the other members of the group? How do you connect with him musically?
When I was looking for a new guitarist... I don't remember how long ago it was, maybe six years ago. ( laughing). He sent me his demo video and it was done very professionally. I watched it for only three minutes and thought, "This is the guy we need at U.D.O." At our first personal meeting, he told me that for him playing in our band is a dream come true, because he first came to our concert when he was only 15 years old. Now Andrei is a very important participant in the composing process in the group, and we are great friends with him. What else can I say about Andrew? A very good guitarist with a lot of feeling in his playing. He brings a little Russian atmosphere to the songs, you can hear it especially well on the new album.
Prior to joining the U.D.O. Andrey recorded many albums with other bands and artists. Which of these did you hear? Did you like anything? In general, what do you think of Andrey's work outside of U.D.O.?
Yes, I know that he has recorded many albums in very different styles. It's very interesting and it shows that Andrey is a guitarist of a very wide profile. Everlost is something rather… what to call it? ( laughing). Thrash metal, death metal? Don't know. When I heard him growling there, I was very surprised. It shows me that Andrei is capable of many things, many different things.
Five years ago in Irkutsk there was a case when you canceled a concert shortly before the start, and the organizer announced that you simply did not like the club. Could you explain what actually happened? And will something similar happen in other Russian cities?
The problem in Irkutsk was that it was simply technically impossible to play there. It was the first time I canceled a gig, it hasn't happened again in my entire career, but it was absolutely impossible to perform there. I was very sorry for the assembled fans, because we were already trying to arrange a show in Irkutsk for the third time. However, this lesson did us good - now we try to make sure in advance that when we arrive in Russia, everything will work out as it should. I hope this never happens again.
It is known that you have a house on the island of Ibiza, but you also have an apartment in St. Petersburg. The climate of these two places is radically different, and usually people prefer either one or the other. Do you manage to combine them - how and why?
I have been living in Ibiza for 10 years, and I have had an apartment in St. Petersburg for 2.5 years, but I go there because my girlfriend lives there. When I am with my girlfriend, the climate is also very warm.
It has been reported online that bassist Fitty Winhold is leaving the band after this tour. This is true? Could you confirm or deny this information?
Well, what about Fitty? Fitty was in the band for 23 years and I will miss him, but he made the decision. He is tired of touring, he does not want to make music, but instead spend more time at home with his family. Now he has a completely different business. But we remain friends and he will definitely participate in our activities if he has good songs. He will always be part of the band, but he's really tired of touring. I noticed this three years ago. We all get older, but some are still able to tour and some are not. ( laughing). But this decision was not easy for him. He will play another show with us in Mallorca, which will be Dirkschneider's last show, and after that he leaves the band. We already have a new bassist and also a new second guitarist.
By the way, what went wrong with your former guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen? And why didn't it grow together with Bill Hudson, who replaced him?
(coughing). I don't want to say anything bad about Kasperi, he spent almost three years in the group, but he never became a real team player. It is very important to me that the U.D.O. We were one family, one team. I'm not in the category of rock stars who don't care about anyone else. We have a real group and teamwork is very important to me. Kasperi never truly mastered it, and this became especially noticeable in the process of creating the album “Decadent” (2015). When Casperi's place in the band became available, we were on tour, so a new guitarist was needed very quickly, and a friend of mine said to me: "Maybe Bill Hudson would suit you." However, let's just say he was already too much of a rock star. Sometimes I thought, "Is this a Dirkschneider show or a Bill Hudson show?" We just didn't get along with him. Moreover, he did not get along with Andrei. So, in short, after the second American tour, we said: "We can't work with you." However, we had a couple more summer festivals coming up, and I asked Stefan Kaufmann if he could help us out. We are still friends with him, there were no conflicts between us, and he said: “Yes, I agree.” It was important for us to have enough time to find a guitar player who would fit into the band, and I think we found one. He is young, unknown to anyone, he is 26 years old, he is also suitable for my sons ( laughs) and he's a really cool guy. I can't wait to get started with it.
Does your son Sven have any plans to eventually replace you as vocalist?
No! The son definitely doesn't have any thoughts about fronting in his head. He's a drummer and I'm really proud of him. “Steelfactory” is the first album he recorded in the studio for and I think he did a great job. He sings good backing vocals, but he has no plans in his mind to become a frontman.
It's no secret that many rock and metal bands have a lot of trouble finding the right drummer. Is that why you took your son to the group so that he definitely wouldn’t run away from you?
Yes, for the kind of music we've been making with Accept and now with U.D.O., the drummer is really important. We need a certain groove, and not everyone can play it. I could tell you many stories... ( laughing). Of course, Stefan Kaufmann was perfect for this role, but he can no longer play drums. Francesco Giovino was also very good and when he left it was far from easy to find the right drummer. We held a lot of auditions, considered different candidates. And then I went to Berlin for a promotional tour and Saxon played there. At the time, my son was filling in for a sick Saxon drummer, and I turned to Biff ( Byford), to Saxon's vocalist, asking "Biff, do you have a good drummer in mind for me?" He replied: “Yes, he is right behind me right now. If it can handle our drum parts, then I think it will suit you.” Before that, I had not even thought about taking my son to the group, but then I thought about it, and it turned out that this was the most correct option. He just has the same groove - he grew up on this music. Now I am very happy and proud of him. We have a friendly relationship with him rather than a father-son relationship, and everyone likes everything.
I know that you are currently hosting a cooking show on German television. Do you cook yourself? What is your signature dish?
Yes, I have my own TV show in Germany, but it's not just about cooking. I do not cook myself, I am the host of this show. Different groups come to me, bring a recipe according to which they at least cook a dish, and our full-time chef looks at what can be improved in this recipe. And while the cooking is going on, I start asking them questions - how are you doing to me now. (Laughs). But I don't want to do regular interviews, my idea is to hear something more personal from the band. Now I am very interested in doing this, although at the beginning, when I received such an offer, I thought: “Hmmm….” However, everything turned out very well. Now my show is on German TV and it's very popular, so maybe I'll do it in the future.
Also leaked information that you are taking part in the filming of the film in Russia. Could you tell us more about this?
Yes, but this film is not finished. Its director died and there were some rights issues. I do not know what is happening there now, but I heard that there is a desire to finish the work after all. I recently saw the leading man at my birthday party in St. Petersburg and he told me that something was going to happen. I hope the work will continue next year - at least that's what I was told.
Since you spend so much time in Russia, do you have any plans to work in Russian studios?
No. We are very lucky, we have our own studio in Germany near Cologne. However, you can not think ahead, something like this can happen one day. Material for “Steelfactory” we recorded in our own studio, and in the studio of Stefan Kaufmann, and in one studio in Denmark. So when we work on the next album, maybe we'll record something in Russia as well. Or in some other country.
Now many foreign movie stars and artists are receiving Russian citizenship. Are you going to follow their lead?
(laughing). I don't know yet. May be. I do not exclude this.
Now that the Dirkschneider project is nearing its end, how do you feel? Are you happy that it ends? Or is there a bit of sadness about this?
In fact, no one planned that the Dirkschneider project would last three years and play almost 300 shows with Accept material alone. But it was important for me to close this book. The group U.D.O. has its own story, we released 16 albums and now it's time to make your own show without Accept songs. We only have one show left with Dirkschneider, it's in Spain, and to be honest, I don't know how to feel about it at all.
What can we expect from U.D.O.'s upcoming Russian tour? Will you play your classic material?
The tour starts on October 27 in St. Petersburg. Of course, we will play in Moscow, it will be November 5 at the GlavClub, there will also be concerts in Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and a number of other cities. As for the set list… From here I will go to Germany to start rehearsing and I already know that putting together the set list is going to be a real nightmare. Now we have selected 45 songs ( laughs), and it is necessary to leave from them somewhere 20-22. Let's see what songs will be on the set list, we have so many songs that we just have to play. I hope we make the right choice and everyone will like the set list, although it is still impossible to satisfy absolutely everyone.
Where do you find inspiration? There are so many emotions in your songs, and even when I listen to fast songs, sometimes I want to cry ...
I work a lot to make the songs have emotions... It's hard to explain, but there is a certain feeling inside you, and when you record an album, you try to convey it in the records. It's nice to hear that these emotions evoke a corresponding response from the fans as well. So my goal is at least partly fulfilled.
In your song “One Heart One Soul” you sing: “One heart - one soul - one world forever”. Do you think music can influence people, somehow unite people from different countries? For the most part, politics separates people, and music helps them understand each other, as, for example, it happens at the Wacken festival ...
For us, musicians, there are no boundaries anyway, we can play anywhere. What musicians can do is write lyrics like “One Heart One Soul” – this song is about how we live on a small planet, its population is growing, and there is no point in fighting each other. Now in Germany there is a problem of immigration, the same problem exists in Brazil, and in the USA - there are a lot of migrants, but they can be understood: poor people tend to go where there is money. Certain processes are now taking place in the political arena, such as assistance to the peoples of Africa, but it seems to me that this should have started 20 years ago, and then the world could be completely different. I think it's very important for people to be able to coexist no matter what religion they profess and so on. As a musician, you can write a song about it, and if people are interested in the lyrics, that's great. However, if they are not interested, this is also normal - I do not want to be a teacher. But it's important for me to write lyrics about what's going on in the world.
The lyrics of your song “Train across Russia” list all the musicians who played in U.D.O. at that time, and describe what each of them remembers our country for. But now in the group, except for you, the entire composition has already changed. Don't you think it's time to write new lyrics for this song, which will feature new members and their adventures in Russia?
No. You can easily substitute new names in the old text. I already did this - I changed Igor to Casperi, this is not a problem.
As you said, there are no boundaries for musicians. But why is it so difficult for Russian rock bands to achieve recognition abroad? Is it a matter of product quality, or is there still an "Iron Curtain" in the music business?
It would be great to know the answer; If I find him, I'll be a millionaire. ( laughing). It's definitely not about quality: Aria is a very good group, and Kipelov is a very good group. Perhaps the main problem is that they sing in Russian. On the other hand, Rammstein sing in German and are popular both in Russia and around the world. I don't know why Russian bands don't have success abroad. Maybe they should start with big festivals like Wacken - that might help.
We express our gratitude to Irina Ivanova (AFM Records) for photo accreditation and for the opportunity to spend a day in the company of Udo
Preparation and editing of the material, translation - Roman Patrashov
Photo - Natalia “Snakeheart” Patrashova
September 21, 2018
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