KARLA TALLAS - REPORTS WITH GOTTHARD IN JAPAN | Page 36

WITH GOTTHARD IN JAPAN!
THE SHOW IS ALWAYS
THE MOST IMPORTANT!
Not only that the show is the most important, but
also as it’s said: save the best for last. That’s why
I left the impressions about GOTTHARD and their
gigs in Japan for the end of this report. The shows
of my favorite bands are very important in my life
and the most fulfilling thing for me is when I feel
the attitude of the musicians is as honest towards
the music as to their fans. This is exactly what
I always felt with GOTTHARD, not only from their
live shows, but from their music and albums as
well. Some people can argue that GOTTHARD is
not the most original hard rock band in the world,
which is in my opinion mostly influenced by the fact
they were formed in the beginning of 90s and not
in the time of rock’n’roll’s biggest fame. GOTTHARD
started their career in the time when the power
of hard rock music and rock music in general was
failing due to the onset of modern trends on the
scene, but fortunately they never succumbed to
them. They also confirmed this assertion with their
studio album “Firebirth,” released in 2012, with
which the band went back to their roots.
playlist. There are no songs from “Open” (1999)
and “Homerun” (2001) as well, and if I don’t count
the cover “Hush,” there’s also no original song
from the debut album “Gotthard” (1992). Now, the
most important is of course to promote the new
release “Firebirth” and to introduce a new singer to
Japanese audiences. The fans could enjoy the stable
GOTTHARD line-up throughout the years until that
tragic accident happened to claim frontman Steve
Lee as the victim, who was in the band from the
beginning. Finding another singer was the biggest
change in the line-up in the band’s history so far.
GOTTHARD is a band with officially 5 members:
Leo Leoni – guitar and Marc Lynn – bass guitar,
who formed the band together, Hena Habegger
– drums, who played on the debut album as
a sessional drummer and officially became a band
member after the second album “Dial hard” (1994),
Freddy Scherer – guitar, who first appeared on the
third GOTTHARD album “G” (1996), afterwards he
was replaced by Mandy Meyer, who joined the
band again on “Human Zoo” (2003), and Nic Maeder
– vocals and guitar, who has been a band member
since 2011. The unofficial sixth member is Ernesto
Ghezzi – keyboards, who supports live shows.
With a history of more than 20 years now and with
10 albums in their discography, it’s definitely hard
to create a playlist to satisfy every single fan and
to play all the great songs GOTTHARD has written
during one show. There’s definitely no song from
the “Need To Believe” album because it was the last
one with Steve, as the band members explained.
Actually, it’s not the only album missing in the
As I had a chance to notice, all the band members
are very focused before each show to perform
as best as possible. Every single show is very
important for the band. What I really appreciate
about GOTTHARD is they are very famous in their
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