- Hi and welcome to this interview. Tell us about your latest release.
Hello "Given To Rock", thank you for the interview. We have received nothing but positive reviews for our current album "Signs Of The Time". The CD was released last year and the exciting thing about it was that we actually started with a completely new line-up. Apart from me as the singer, all the other musicians had retired from music before and during the pandemic. That wasn't easy for me, as we are all long-time friends. But somehow it worked out and the album shows that it was worth it.
- How would you describe your sound?
Well, Dark Sky was a typical hard rock band in the 80s and due to later influences, I would say our style is now melodic metal.
- What do you write about?
Thematically, our lyrics are very close to what moves us and what we experience ourselves. Take the title track of the current CD, for example, where we dealt with what we experienced during the government's restrictive measures in the name of the pandemic. A song like "Its Not The End", on the other hand, is a very personal lyric on the topic of "saying goodbye to a loved one!"
- What do you listen to when you are home?
I think everyone from DARK SKY has slightly different preferences when it comes to music taste ;-) I listen to a lot of our own music at home, especially the new songs we're currently working on for the next album. In addition, I of course really like listening to music by Beast In Black, Powerwolf or Kissin Dynamite as well as old stuff from the 80s and 90s.
- Your favourite live performance so far?
Oh, that's hard to say, because there have been so many unforgettable concerts in recent years. Perhaps the most special was the performance in Colmar (France) as support for the Scorpions. We entered on stage and were welcomed almost as if we were the headliner. The audience was fantastic.
- Tell us a funny story that happened in studio or on stage.
When we were on tour with Magnum and went on stage in Munich, we saw that our sound engineer wasn't at the mixing desk. The intro started and really at the last moment the sound engineer appeared, wanting to say goodnight to his son backstage on the phone... Or once I was backstage right behind the stage when the headliner was playing and suddenly the drummer ran from the stage into the backstage area and threw up in the trash can. Afterwards he said: "now it's better again" and ran back to the drums!
- Your favourite albums?
My all-time favorites are the Pandemonium album by Pretty Maids, the Final Countdown album by Europe and Slippery when wet by Bon Jovi. But also the Radical Peace album by Mob Rules and of course all the DARK SKY albums, ha, ha, ha!
- A musician you would like to meet for a beer?
I think I would like to chat with Bon Jovi over a beer about all the daily worries of a frontman. And of course I would love to have a coffee with Nikki Sixx and talk about what moves us. That would be cool just for a photo together where you can see that we can hide a certain similarity - the same applies if I ever get together with Alice Cooper ;-)
- What would you ask for backstage, if you were the most important band on earth?
Ha, ha, ha, everyone in the band would probably have different preferences, but I don't want to go into that any further!!!! From my tour experience, I would say: A clean, warm, large backstage room, with clean toilets and showers, but please with warm water and enough drinks and food. ;-)
- What are your plans for the near future?
We are currently working on new songs for the next album and are preparing for the upcoming concerts at the same time. We already have some really big events planned for next year and I can hardly wait to be back on the big festival stages.
Thank you for the questions and the interview. I hope to see you somewhere in 2025 at a DARK SKY concert. Until then, all the best, Merry Christmas and a good start to the New Year.