SHYLOCK
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 31st March 2010.
German band Shylock - Matthias Schenk, Johannes Amrhein, Michael "Nudge" Bayer, and Achim Thiergärtner - has just released the excellent new album RockBuster. We caught up with Johannes to chat about the LP and more...
Hi Johannes, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Congratulations on the new record; I assume you are proud of it?
Johannes: Thank you for your kind words and this great compliment, Jon. Yes, we’re totally proud of RockBuster….., and really happy right now.
Could you give us a brief history of Shylock?
Johannes: Shylock was founded back in the year 2000. For our first album, we managed to get a deal with Munich based label Point Music…. The next two albums were published by MTM, and then we toured a lot in Germany and Switzerland. After MTM quit working with us, we released “Devotion” on Artist Service/MusicBuyMail and went on tour with Bonfire in Germany and Spain….. And now finally, in our tenth year, we’ve signed a new record deal with AOR / Metal Heaven. It’s a great thing to work with Georg Siegl and his team!
You’ve been around for more than a decade now. How do you keep the music fresh and exciting?
Johannes: I guess it’s the fact that we’ve never tried to sound the same way on each album. Schenky (Matthias Schenk – Vox) is a tremendously versatile singer with a great talent – he’s developed his songwriting skills with every CD. And it really makes it so much easier to keep our songs fresh and not boring, you know? I love the way this band works actually, it’s a really strong unit these days!
Was there anyone who originally influenced your sound, or have you always tried to do something unique?
Johannes: Sure, there are some bands that influenced our sound but we’ve always been trying to create our own thing, so I won’t list them here too much…. We don’t sit down and think about the way we could sound, you know, listen to our favourite bands and try to pull something out of that? We just play the stuff we like to play and everything comes straight from our hearts.
When did you start writing new album RockBuster?
Johannes: ‘Schenky’ started with the first song 'Just 4 U' right after the release of Devotion. This was back in 2007. It was a very busy period for us back then, but a few more months later the songwriting for RockBuster was done. It was a really fast record to write but it just needed the correct deal and the studio time to finish it off!
Was the album title there from the start as an inspiration, or did it come after the music?
Johannes: The album title basically came after the production was done and it was an idea from my elder brother Chris! He loves the songs and loved the idea of combining and changing the word Blockbuster to “RockBuster”!! I hope people like it, it rolls off the tongue well, no?
How does the writing work in the band? Is there one main contributor or are the songs a band effort?
Johannes: Well, Schenky does all the songwriting for Shylock, basically. He’s the main man behind any new song and the main man behind all the ideas! He always records a lot of ideas. We’ll go through heaps of tapes and basic rhythms, then I’ll pick them up and try to arrange them in the best way I can. After that, we go into the rehearsal room and check it out…It’s not really a band effort but we always try to combine and discuss the ideas with every band member – that’s super important!
Did this album feel harder or easier to put together than your other releases?
Johannes: For me personally, RockBuster was easier because I was able to arrange everything the way I wanted to do. I changed some song structures and I was really able to let my inspiration flow this time. It felt great to do this. I’m really happy with how it turned out!
How long did it take to create from start to finish?
Johannes: If you don’t count the breaks in between, almost two years. It was weird. We had some big breaks - touring particularly took up a lot of time - but when we got to the studio, the recording session was done within just a few weeks. We recorded the lead vocals for example, in just 3 days.
How does it compare in terms of sound and quality with your older work?
Johannes: I don’t think you can compare RockBuster with older work at all, Jon! That was a band in its own time. The sound now is very modern and fresh and the songs are a new “Shylock” in many ways…. I guess we’ve managed to combine our strength of writing catchy refrains with modern elements that have really got the band back on its feet.
How would you describe your style to somebody who hadn’t heard you before? You seem to head down lots of different avenues (which we like).
Johannes: I would say the Shylock of today is a hard rocking band which always concentrates on good, catchy choruses. One critic wrote: “Don’t bore us…get to the chorus”, which I think is a pretty good description of our attitude, and I think the boldness and strength of the music just flows from there!
Was there any particular theme to the lyrics, or are the songs standalone entities?
Johannes: There is definitely no particular theme behind the lyrics, if that’s what you mean?…. And, I’d even say no certain, planned idea with the songs either to be frank. Every track tells its own story… Schenky will come up with many diverse ideas when he’s writing and we just try our best to capture each one of those and make them a Shylock song!
What’s the story behind the excellent cover of ‘Rumours’? You’ve really made it your own!
Johannes: Thank you for that wonderful compliment my friend! 'Rumours' has always been a favourite song of mine – I’ve loved it ever since hearing it for the first time…. And some years ago, we just knew that now was the right time to finally record our own version and release it on an album. RockBuster just seemed to be the right album. The way each song worked really complimented the song…. So, here it is!
Are there any other tracks you’d really like to cover one day?
Johannes: Ahh, I don’t know about that! We think one cover version is probably enough for Shylock? I don’t think that we’ll record another one. And right this moment I don’t think there is any particular song in our mind, either! 'Rumours' was definitely our first choice, probably the only choice, and I think it’s right it should remain that way!
And how about ‘Rose Of Cairo’...What’s the story behind that? Did the Egyptian sounds or the Egyptian lyrics come first?
Johannes: That’s a Schenky special, for sure! He’s a huge fan of Egyptian culture and especially of the secrets behind the pyramids. He’s been there on holiday and, this song is definitely inspired by that journey…. It’s a kind of homage to that very old culture… I know that the Egyptian sounds came first and the lyrics came later. It’s a great track!
Did you use any special techniques or instruments to get the variety of sounds on the album?
Johannes: No, we didn’t use anything special this time, really. We just recorded with the same equipment we use on stage, the same live sound we try to get on stage, the same feel we go for live…. Maybe that’s the secret behind RockBuster? It’s just a very organic album which really reflects where this line up is right now!
What did producer Ondrej Hurbanic bring to the album that would otherwise have been missing?
Johannes: Ondrej did a fantastic job and I really thank him for it. He gave real power to the drums and he knows how to record guitars. He also contributed some important arrangement ideas to songs like 'Rose Of Cairo', the awesome breaks in the intro and even some ideas for 'Wrong Planet', so working with him was much more than just a relationship between band and producer… It was honestly “the best” choice to work with him and we hope we’ve helped him into the scene a little more because he is a great person and a great talent!
Do you enjoy the writing and recording process, or do you prefer being up on stage playing live?
Johannes: I’d say we love both. Writing and recording is a very exciting journey but being on stage is also very important to us. They’re two different beasts, but they both have their place!
Are there plans in place to tour in promotion of this release?
Johannes: Yes, we’ll try to tour RockBuster later this year. We’ve always enjoyed touring in Germany and Switzerland, and we played in Spain with Bonfire last time, but due to some personal reasons we have to take a break till August – just some stuff we can’t avoid right now – so we’ll see what happens? We already started rehearsals a few weeks ago, so I can’t wait!
Any chance we’ll see you in the UK?
Johannes: Hmmmmm, I don’t know yet. It’s a hard place to go… It depends on our promoter in the UK and if people want to see us in your country? There’s not too much feedback from the UK so far, but if the chance came, we’d certainly take it!
Who did the album artwork?
Johannes: The album artwork was actually done by me. There’s been heated discussion about that rocking pig, actually, from all over the place…. We loved the idea. It was our contribution to the swine flu discussions that have spread all around the world. It seems that some people don’t have any sense of the ironic or even comic themes these days?
I see you recorded a song recently for Football team FC Nürnberg (not on RockBuster). Are you big football fans, and did they approach you or did you approach them?
Johannes: That’s right… Schenky is a big fan of FC Nürnberg and he decided to write that song as a kind of tribute to the team. By surprise, some few months ago, the guy who organizes the fan CDs got to hear of it, we’d made some attempts to get in touch with the team… and, suddenly, he’d arranged everything and this song was on this compilation. It’s wonderful!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Johannes: Hey Jon, no, you’ve done a very good job…There’s definitely no question missing!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Johannes: Just chilling at the moment, doing press etc..
Anything else you would like to mention?
Johannes: No. We thank you for this great support – we love it! Hope this isn’t the last time we speak! Cheers!!
Thanks!!
Thanks again to Hannes for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Shylock's latest album RockBuster here.
http://www.myspace.com/shylockmusicde
