SOUL DOCTOR
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 7th January 2010.
Soul Doctor is a hard rock band built around Fair Warning vocalist Tommy Heart and guitarist Chris Lyne, completed by drummer Zacky and bassist Jogy Rautenberg. Their latest album Way Back To The Bone features one of our favourite ballads in a long time - 'Times Of Yesterday'.
Tommy answers questions on behalf of the band.
Hi Tommy, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Tommy: Thank you Jon, I am doing fine. Our new album "Way Back To The Bone" came out a couple of weeks ago and the reactions to it so far are tremendous. I’m really happy…Our fans and friends love the new album and the media is very surprised that we are still alive and that the songs are of such good, high quality, ha! ha!
We’re not really, I knew we had some crackers on there, but, if you are looking back at 2000 and the last decade, you’ll see that only a few bands have survived the test of time and are still producing good record. One of them is from Germany called “Soul Doctor". As James Brown would say " I Feel Good"!
2009 must have been a busy year for you, what with new Fair Warning and Soul Doctor albums...do you feel like you’ve done nothing but write and record this year, or is that what every year is like?
Tommy: Actually, yes, this is the way I do it every year, normally. Writing songs and going on tour was always what I had in mind when I was young and started dreaming of becoming a rock star, and it’s good to keep bus.. But, you are right, it was a hell of a year and I never thought that any musical artist can release three albums in one year, ha? ha? Then, now, I know anything is possible and I am still alive!!
Is it difficult juggling your time between the two bands?
Tommy: Hmm, no, not really. As you might know with Fair Warning, we maybe release only one album every three years and in between there is plenty of time for my own band. Look, Fair Warning released 6 studio albums in 20 years; with Soul Doctor we’ve recorded 5 studio albums in nine years!
I hope these two bands will still take care of each other in the near future because both bands have become such a big part of my life now… It’s as though both bands are now part of the family!
Do you consider one of them to be a main band and one a side project, or are both bands just as important to you?
Tommy: They’re both as important. It is like having two kids from two different women. Why should I not love one of my two kids as much as the other? In Fair Warning I am just the singer, but in Soul Doctor I am singer, songwriter, producer...the lot. Let me tell you this straight Jon, these two bands are my flesh and blood, simple as that!
Do you sing in any other bands or projects?
Tommy: Nope. There is just Soul Doctor and Fair Warning and to be honest with you, one more real band would probably kill me, ha! ha! Regarding projects, I don’t know if this is my kind of world? I really need this band feel that exists in both of these two. But one day I want to release a Tommy Heart solo album I think? For a couple of years I’ve been asked by several record companies to do one, but I’ve never really felt the time was right. If the right company asked? Just wait and see...
Although you’d known Soul Doctor guitarist Chris Lyne since the mid 1980’s, and worked with him in other bands, you didn’t form Soul Doctor until the end of the 1990’s. What made that the right time to start the band, and looking back do you wish you’d started it even earlier?
Tommy: Yes, in some ways, but times change and you change. I started working with Chris in 1986 in a band called "Heartlyne" and at the time we were based in West-Berlin. But after a couple of years, the band split up and I moved to Hannover…. Berlin then, was surrounded by the iron curtain - The Berlin Wall - and it was not easy at all getting recognized by record companies if you chose to play Hard Rock or Heavy Metal whilst trapped there.
In 1989, I joined up with the members of a band called "Zeno" in what would become "Fair Warning". We released a few albums, had huge success in Japan but, somehow, the vision we all had for the band was never quite the same. I don’t know why, but as I’ve matured, I’ve always looked at the two bands in a different way. I decided to form a new band with Chris called Soul Doctor there and then - I think everything needs time and 2000 was the right time to work with Chris again – but now things have moved on again, and both bands actually co-exist very well!
Was there a definite decision made on the sound you play, or did the Soul Doctor style develop naturally?
Tommy: Of course, in the beginning, but it all came really naturally, actually. First you can choose a sound or a style to start you off, but after a while you have to follow your heart and you have to try to put your own roots into it; everything will develop naturally. There was this initial magic while we were playing together and that is what it is all about. Finding your own style. I never forget that first magic actually, it’s infectious!
Has the Soul Doctor sound changed over the years, or do you think the music you are making now ties in well with the songs you were putting out on the first couple of albums?
Tommy: Hopefully we’ve made some changes over the years! It would be very sad if no one could hear any changes or developments from album to album, wouldn’t it? I would say we have learned a lot about the song writing and I’m sure everybody can hear it this on "Way Back To The Bone" now…!
How does the writing work in Soul Doctor? Is it shared between you and Chris, or do the others pitch in too – i.e. is it more of a group effort?
Tommy: What is important for all of us is a good song; we don’t care who has written it really! This is the reason why we’ve often put songs from Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner, Mick Jones or Lou Gramm on our albums. A good song is like the engine of a fancy car… that is what counts. People only remember the good songs. They don’t remember who wrote it… Sometimes Chris and I write together, sometimes the band is involved. It’s no problem!!
Do you tend to write everything and then go to the studio, or do you allow ideas to develop at the studio too?
Tommy: Well, we built our own recording studio a few years ago, so all the writing and recording takes place in the same place. It seems like a rehearsal studio, recording studio and band space, so it’s a really positive place. I’m not a fan of ‘having to go into the studio’ – and the pressure it creates, so building our own was the best way to deal with the problem.
In the past we always had problems recording a demo-song and then later, catching the same feel again for the album in a different studio. It was much better to start from the beginning, record your performances on professional recording equipment, and deliver that straight to the main system. It is always better to think about technical problems after you have recorded your great performance on tape. To do it the other way around makes no sense at all. The performance comes first!
How did the writing and recording of this album compare to previous ones? Did it come together easily, or was it hard work?
Tommy: Recording an album on your own is always tough, always hard work. Don’t forget, you have to take care of everything because the golden days where you could have your own producer are gone for now. Writing songs depends on the feel and whether you are inspired by something or not. On this album, there was tons of inspiration, so that is the reason why this album became a killer…!
Do you have any favourite moments on Way Back To The Bone?
Tommy: Well, the whole album is something really special but really special moments during the recordings were “Heartache Heartbreak”, Can´t Stand Losing” and “Times Of Yesterday” which were really special vocal lines. These were the best vocal takes I’ve ever sung and I am really proud of them.
What’s the story behind the album’s title?
Tommy: Well, it’s pretty easy to explain really... We feel really focused again and we take no prisoners with this album… After we released our first live album "That´s Live" in 2008 we had the feeling that we might have started to loose our edge a little bit? Because you’re working your ass off for many years you can get too deeply into the whole band thing… you have to try to look at it from the outside again, and I think we definitely did that on “Way Back To The Bone!
Are you planning to do a big tour this year, and perhaps head to the UK, America and Japan?
Tommy: Yes of course. I think 2010 will definitely see us playing as much as we can. Playing live is the musicians bread and butter.
What’s a Soul Doctor concert like? Do you crank the volume up, go for the full party atmosphere, or, well, what should a fan expect?
Tommy: You have to see it! It’s what every fan would look for I would say; A great classic rock ´n roll concert with great rock songs and a lot of energy. It is pretty hard to describe what is happening on stage but if you’ve got a chance to watch us, come and you will hopefully go away knowing just what is so special about a Soul Doctor concert!!
Are there any gigs that particularly stand out from over the years...or is there anyone you’d still love to share a stage with?
Tommy: There are so many gigs it’s difficult to remember one in particular – our first in Paris was special in so many ways…. There are many great artists I would love to share a stage or play with on a tour – Aerosmith, Kiss, just to name a few…But right now, I am pretty happy with both bands (and their members) – we play with some wonderful bands when we tour - and as you might know, there is still a lot of work with both to do.
If you don’t mind me saying you’ve got one of the finest, most recognizable voices in rock and metal. Do you do anything special to look after it?
Tommy: Thanks a lot! Yes of course. No drugs at all and when you are on tour you have to catch a lot of sleep wherever you can. The pain for every singer on tour is the mantra you hear all the time, ha! ha! "No party."
Did you have training when you were younger, or is everything you have natural?
Tommy: Personally, singing lessons are very important because to look after the voice and consistently sing night after night, you have to learn to breath correctly and to use your vocal chords correctly….
Who were your singing inspirations when you were growing up?
Tommy: Elvis Presley, Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson…. I think the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal was a big inspiration for me in the 80’s. Later I’d discover the bands of the 70’s such as Led Zeppelin, Free, Queen and of course The Doors, but I like to think there was a good balance...
Where do you see Soul Doctor heading? Is it a case of ‘don’t fix what ain’t broke’, or do you see the band trying something different one day?
Tommy: Ha! Ha, Personally I always say, "If it is not killing you and you are always enjoying what are you doing, go on with it until the end of your life"! To do something that you do not like or better what makes you ill, is pointless and you have to stop instantly. Right now, we love what we are doing, we will stick to our guns and try to learn from our mistakes. I am positive our time will come!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Tommy: Yes… Do you like email interviews? Oh yes, .... I hate them!!! Ha! Ha!!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Tommy: I will meet the other guys in a couple of hours at the rehearsal studio to prepare ourselves for some of the forthcoming live shows and we will definitely be working right after Xmas with our management and our booking agency on a tour for this great album…."Way Back To The Bone" deserves a good tour!!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Tommy: Oh yes, I would like to thank our fans for their great support during all these years. I hope to see them all on tour in 2010 and if you’ve never had a chance to listen to Soul Doctor before, I think you have to give new album "Way Back To The Bone" a chance. Check it out at http://www.souldoctorrocks.com/ and enjoy. Believe me, you will not regret it. Take care.
Thanks for your time :)
Tommy: My pleasure!!
Thanks again to Tommy for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Soul Doctor's latest album Way Back To The Bone here.
http://www.souldoctorrocks.com/
http://www.myspace.com/souldoctorrock
