{"id":789,"date":"2020-01-27T12:27:31","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T11:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aormusic.de\/?p=789"},"modified":"2020-01-27T22:31:01","modified_gmt":"2020-01-27T21:31:01","slug":"mallet-proud-to-be-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aormusic.de\/?p=789","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Mallet \u2013 Proud to be independent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was in 1996, when a friend of mine with a small record store in Frankfurt and sent me a CD from a band, whose name I had never heard before. At the time there was no internet and getting informed about unknown musicians wasn\u2019t quite as easy as it is nowadays. But I was hooked by the melodic rock the three piece called MALLET had on offer. Nearly 25 years later, the guys are still alive and kickin\u2019 –\u00a0 for four decades. And they have a very good new album out called \u201cRock N\u2019Roll Hero\u201d. So it was time for a chat with Manfred D\u00fcnzl, bass player and business cat of MALLET. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can you tell me about the\nmusical influences of the Mallet members?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My main influences are surely Melodic and Classic Rock , but the other two (J\u00fcrgen \u2013 guitar player and vocalist and drummer Mario Gerhards) love to listen to Jazz and Prog Rock sometimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mallet – new album
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40 years of Mallet with 25 in the\nsame line-up. Not many independent German bands can compete with a career like\nyours. What\u2019s the \u201csecret of success\u201d for playing together for so long?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, I have to tell you it\u2019s all about fun and passion, and we still love what we do. Having this train going independently isn\u2019t easy at all, getting all the gigs, the money for the next record and promoting it, with just the three of us. If we hadn\u2019t shared the work it would have been much more difficult. J\u00fcrgen is the \u201cmusical director\u201d, while I\u2019m mainly concentrated on the business side of MALLET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years since the last record \u201cMan On Fire\u201d but regarding the impressive touring schedule over the years, you managed to come up with \u201cRock N\u2019 Roll Heroes\u201d. How did you find the time to write new material? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the songs were already written during the\nperiod of the last album. Due to the fact that we have a pretty good job\nsharing in the band it sounds more difficult than it is. J\u00fcrgen is constantly\ncoming up with new music. In earlier times, I was responsible for the lyrics.\nNowadays, Mario has taken over this part, because he was in many English\nspeaking bands before MALLET and so English is his second mother tongue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like its predecessor, recordings took place in the well-known Horus Sound Studios in Hannover. Results speak for itself, but surely not the cheapest studio in Germany. What are the reasons for using that place?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spent a lot of time and even more money on our records, because we want to have the best possible standard for our productions. The last albums were all done in the renowned Bazement studios run by Markus Teske, and we were absolutely satisfied with the results. But for this album, we felt it is time for a change soundwise. We wanted to sound \u201cold -fashioned\u201d, but in a good a way. More 70s and 80s sound, especially for the drums than modern Heavy Metal. The result is amazing and the best in our four decades career \u2013 thanks to Arne Neurand (Horus Sound) and the mastering done by Robin Schmidt of 24-96 Mastering in Karlsruhe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking about my personal\nhighlights of the record. \u201cRock N\u2019 Roll Hero\u201d is one but I especially like\n\u201cMachine Man\u201d? Comments?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRock N\u2019 Roll Hero\u201d together with \u201cEighties Coming\nBack\u201d is our remembrance on the past. We look at ancient pictures from time to\ntime and try to put our thoughts about the \u201cGood Old Days\u201d. \u201cMachine Man\u201d deals\nabout a robot getting out of control, because he sees what went wrong with\nmankind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which of the songs mean the most\nfor you personally and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLonely Without You\u201d is clearly one of my highlights \u2013\nlove the drive and the melody of the track. \u201cKing Kong\u201d is a very old idea of\nJ\u00fcrgen using a rap part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know you were involved in the \u201cRock Around\nBarock\u201d musical for many, many years. This year will see a restart not in\nWiesbaden, but in Essen. Is there anything new in the program?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More money was spent for the stage pictures and\nespecially for the lighting. In the beginning, the ballet, the choreography and\nthe music was  top notch, but the lights\nwere only black and white. That has changed nowadays.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you recorded the jubilee gig\nfor a possible live album?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, we haven\u2019t. Plan was to come up with the record you now hold in your hand for this event. As we all know, that didn\u2019t happen – but we wanted to enjoy this very special event with both our fans and a lot of band members from the past. Even our Frenchman Jacky Voutay and some of the former American band members showed up. A packed place on top \u2013 what more can you ask for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mallet 2020
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

40 years and just one DVD of live\nfootage. Don\u2019t you think it\u2019s time to come up with a new one?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t think so. We did the \u201cAll For One\u201d just for fun, but it was a pretty demanding process, because I wanted to put some rare footage on it as well. If I had known before how expensive such a production is, I\u2019d probably stopped the project immediately. For instance, I had no clue about the GEMA fee, which is much higher than the costs for a normal CD. Because of the cheap pressing costs however, I still got tons of this DVD in stock.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking back \u2013 what are the highlights of four\ndecades?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all the ballet,  but not close behind I have to mention the\n\u201cEuropean Biker Week\u201d in Austria at lake Faake, where we take part each and\nevery year since 1999. A lot of fans show up and it\u2019s always great fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andreas H\u00f6hn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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