The RatHole - Fireworks Magazine

January 6, 2009

ISSUE 20

Shy
Charade
Joe Lynn Turner
Paul Gilbert
Dare
Season's End
Darren Smith
Danielle McKee
Starbreaker
Kamelot
Scorpions
Legs Diamond
Heartland
Rich Ward
Doogie White
Averi

James LaBrie*
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THE SCORPIONS
An interview with Matthias Jabs by Andy Brailsford

The Scorpions have been in existence for around 35 years now, so you have to conclude that they are a success. Being the only notable band from Germany, they remain the flag wavers for that country as far as rock music goes, even though, over the years they have had a career that has had its ups and downs. At the end of the eighties the Scorpions were a household name with the single success of ‘Wind Of Change’, and saw them sharing the headlines with rock's elite. Things have become a little quieter since then, some fans taking exception to the new direction the band tried with their 1999 studio album 'Eye To Eye.' Subsequent to this they released 'Moment Of Glory' which saw some of their classic tracks rewritten for orchestra, and they filmed an acoustic show from Portugal which was released as a DVD titled 'Acoustica.'

With their latest album, 'Unbreakable,' they have returned to the old style Scorpions sound, and have had excellent reviews among the music press. I had chance to speak with lead guitarist Matthias Jabs about these things before their recent show with Judas Priest at the Sheffield Arena.

Last time I spoke to you, you had just done ‘Eye to Eye’ which was a change from your usual style, and you had said you had to do something different at that stage. You now gone back to the old style Scorpions sound, so is that an admission that the change didn’t work?

"No, what I said is, and I think I can repeat it, was that it felt after 25 years we wanted to do something different. We learned though that the fans don’t like it - they are much more conservative than we thought. They always want the same thing, more or less. It was an experiment, and it failed, but I still call it the best mistake that we made because we learned that was not the way to go, it’s not really us. It wasn’t a bad album, but they way it was produced ... it was just not right, it was not us. Then in the meantime, between ‘Eye to Eye’ and now, then there a few other experiments that you might have heard, like the Berlin Philamonic project and the ‘Acoustica’ album. It felt good when we went into the studio early last year and just do what we normally do, because due to the break and the various things we had done in between, it felt like we were hungry again for the stuff we were not bored with at the time, but we felt from a musician’s standpoint it was, relatively speaking, the same thing, more or less. One album after the other, one tour after the other ... we wanting to break that routine. But now it felt much better to do what we like best."

I actually quite liked the ‘Eye to Eye’ album. Maybe if you had tried something like that earlier in your career ...

"It’s not a bad album. When I listen back to it myself, I think it’s pretty good. But the fans just thought ‘What are they doing?’ It’s like, if people want to listen to AC/DC, they want to hear AC/DC! Same with the Scorpions - they want to hear that sound. We noticed also live - we used to play a few songs from that album for quite some time, but it felt like something wrong with it, so ... And we only play one song from ‘Unbreakable’ tonight, as the album hasn’t been widely reported. The record company seems to be in a deep coma in England. We can play songs from the new album in between songs from the old days, and they all fit very well together."

I’m surprised at what you say about ‘Unbreakable’ because all the report I read in this country were very good reviews.

"Very good reviews, I know. But if the record companies could sell albums then it would be even more worthwhile."

Having mentioned the ‘Moment of Glory’ album, I have to say I love that album because I like orchestral/classical music. So how did you feel doing that project?

"It was great. The Berlin Philharmonic came to us already at the end of ’94. We discussed it back then, we had an arranger ... but it took some time for us to get started, because you need somebody who understands rock music and classical music, and has to be able to write scores. So it’s hard to find somebody who combines all these things. We found somebody from England who had worked with the Alan Parsons Project, and he was not bad. He arranged a few songs with us, but we didn’t like it so much. And then we did another album and another tour and we were busy, and then we had the idea that we not only wanted to do this properly, but we also need an event to present it right. And then the Expo 2000, the World Exhibition, was supposed to happen in our home town, Hanover in Germany. So we thought this could be the right platform to do it, so we started late ’99 in Vienna, having found Christian Kolonovits in the meantime. We all went down to Austria and we were recording and he was writing at the same time - we were basically doing it together. So we wanted it to not be like a few albums that had been out prior to ours that were basically an orchestra that’s playing something in the background to the band’s music. We wanted it to be like this, like a real cross-over and not just having an orchestra accompanying us. Like the Metallica version for example. It’s okay, but it’s the same songs with orchestra softly in the background. With ours, it is totally different. With the Berlin Philharmonic, now I know much more about orchestras than I knew before. People say they are one of the top three orchestras - they may be the best in the world, and they are great. We played two shows in our hometown in the new arena that was built for the Expo, and it was broadcast on television and the DVD is now out. There was a lot of stress to do this, without rehearsals. We rehearsed ourselves and they don’t rehearse! When we did the recordings in Berlin, they looked at these big scores - like big books - and they open it up and just start the recording session. It’s amazing how good they are! So it is a big challenge for a rock band to play with these guys."

And then that led to ‘Acoustica’. Which again, the DVD - not only does it sound good, but it looks brilliant. The picture quality on that DVD is excellent.

"We’d been asked by record companies, especially in Asia, that if we would do our songs in an acoustic version then it would be a top seller. And so, since the old MTV Unplugged days, like from the middle of the 80’s, we’ve been asked to do an acoustic album, which we didn’t really like the idea much, so we postponed it and postponed it ... and then finally we’ve done it, and yes, that was also a very nice experience. We did it in an old monastery in the old part of town in Lisburn, and played 3 shows. It was a very small place - maybe 800 people, but a great atmosphere. It was just right for an acoustic setting. We recorded the three songs and took the best songs."

Did you never consider doing that as a tour?

"Actually we did. We were also touring in 2001 when it came out. In Asia, we took 12 people on stage - the whole big band, so to speak, on tour, and played through Asia and a few shows in Europe too. Never in the States. But you know, that’s enough for a project. We do it again this year, in the Middle East. We are playing places like Dubai, Bahrain and Beirut, where we’ve been before, Israel, Egypt ... should be interesting."

Any chance of doing it in the UK?

"The idea of being over here is to re-introduce us to this market - that is why we are supporting Judas Priest. We haven’t been in that slot for quarter of a century, I think. And just to be able to play to a lot of people - we couldn’t have done it by ourselves and therefore we thought this was a good opportunity, with the idea behind it to come back next year and play a full show - maybe play a festival or something. We also have to do a new album this year, so maybe with the new album we come back next year and play the full show. Because fans are going ‘Wow, it’s only 60 minutes. We would’ve liked to see and hear more.’ So yeah, next year."

There is a younger audience out there now.

"I was surprised. It’s a nice mix. Of course, it’s the loyal fans - for both bands - from the early days but there’s a lot of young people there. So it’s good! I’d say rock has definitely revived. I can’t really say it’s a comeback - every time has its music. This type of music has a longevity quality obviously, and I think it’s never going to go away but it’s not exactly in everybody’s face anymore, since radio airplay is more like a corporate outlet these days - it’s all Britny Spears and Robbie Williams, so there is no space for rock. So what can you say? In the live market, the concert market, rock has always been good, no matter what is played on the radio. We don’t get played on the radio anymore, but world-wide we played seven and a half months last year. This year, we also do a few shows in South America. So we are still playing a lot, we are making albums, but you can tell there is not the support anymore like it was in the 80’s, before the hip-hop and the rap and all that stuff."

You’ve now got a new bass player, Pawel. So why the change?

"Ralf has been living in Los Angeles for basically, almost since he joined us. We actually brought him over from Los Angeles and he lived in Hamburg for 2 years, then he moved back - he likes it there. He was always very much into music like score for films. He plays keyboards, likes to programme music. He’s not 100% like a rock orientated musician. He’s more somewhere else. He got good offers - he’s writing music for films and he was going to concentrate on that. So before ‘Unbreakable’ we said we were thinking of doing a real rock album again, and we think it’s better for both parties that you concentrate on your own stuff - because his mind was always over there - and we find somebody who’s just pure, fucking rock. And that’s Pawel. It’s funny that we found somebody from Poland - we never expected it. He lived 11 years in the States - 9 years in New York, and played with various bands. He’s a very experienced, and very good musician. He also play in jazz bands on the side. Maybe we have to do a jazz album one day, haha!!"

Did you enjoy the last tour you did, because it was the smaller clubs. I can’t believe it was 6 years ago!

"I know, same here. We came to London at the beginning of this tour 2 weeks ago, and it was the same hotel, and we said ‘Wow, we have only just been here.’ And then we think wow, when was that? 1999. Unbelievable. It’s amazing how time flies. Did we enjoy it? Yes, we enjoyed it but it was the first 2 shows of that tour and they were just thrown in. It was more or less like warm-up shows. We would have liked to have come later and be better prepared. It was a little weird, and with the new music at the time ... I don’t have the best memories. But this time it feels much better!"

I remember one thing you said to me back then - you complained it was the first time you were using in-ear, and you could hear all the crap the other people were playing.

"Now I’m used to it, but I still don’t like it. Especially in these boomy venues. It’s obviously an advantage, because you can play tighter and hear everybody better, but if the sound isn’t right you can’t turn your head away. Normally, if something doesn’t sound right, instinctively you go ‘Urgggh’. But now it follows you, it’s always there whatever you do. So if it’s not a good sound, it’s so close - it’s in your head more or less. It’s not too loud, but after one or two hours ... So I still don’t like it, but sometimes I take one side out."

You did the opening of the Tour De France on a motorcycle. What’s the chances of you doing the World Cup next year?

"I don’t know. We have been asked to do a song, but I guess they ask a thousand other artists as well. The final will be in Berlin, and we want to see the German team in the final, but you never know with these guys. In the final last time they played like crap. I guess they will be better this time. Chances are we might be doing something anyway, if we get a football song. I don’t even know if I like the idea so much. Obviously we are thinking about it, but I personally prefer songs that are not really written about football, just from the lyrical point of view - what should you write about? So when we come back from this tour, we will try to write a few songs and see how that feels. You know, you definitely have to avoid any kind of cheesiness."

Yeah, you have to go with something like ‘Winds of Change’ which has a ‘world’ feel to it.

"Yes, that is one way to go, maybe. I prefer to have something that is a bit more uptempo, because I imagine when they show you football scenes, like highlights from the night before, they usually show the most powerful scenes - but the music they are using is also powerful. It’s got to be powerful. So I think football fans are mostly like rock fans too, so it’s got to be something with a bit more drive."

So you’ve been doing this for 35 years. What is the most surreal thing that has happened touring with the Scorpions?

"Surreal? Hmmmmm ... I’ll tell you what is the most memorable thing. We’ve done many good things, but I think I should mention when we played in 1989, two nights at the Lenin stadium at the Moscow Music Peace festival. That a German band, singing a song in English, and 120,000 Russians singing in English as best they could, with the song ‘Still Loving You’ - the whole stadium, and they lit up the Olympic torch which they didn’t in 1980 because it was boycotted. So that scene ... and it was still the USSR at the time, so to be on stage in that huge stadium, and have the language connection, the song, the USSR, the Olympic flame ... all those things together was a very impressive situation."

This interview was reprinted with permission from Fireworks Magazine.

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