Let There Be Rock - the interview channel

Interview with Gus G. (Firewind)

2011-09-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

September 2011: After an incredibly succesful 18 month World Tour with Ozzy Osbourne, it was back to business for Gus G. with Firewind kicking off the European " Frets of Fury" Tour. On September 15 Firewind hit the stage of the W2 club in Den Bosch (NL). Before the show I met again with Gus who explained us about the line-up changes in the band, and all kinds of other stuff. While talking he kept on practising guitar. The show later that night was awesome, when you have a chance, go and see Firewind !
Listen to the interview here, and get your free download too.

Arch Enemy - The interview series

2011-07-07T13:41:00.001-07:00

Arch Enemy are a frequent guest of 'Let there be Rock'. On several occasions we interviewed all bandmembers on all kinds of subjects. Here's the list of interviews from newest to oldest.

April 2011: at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt I met up with frontwoman Angela Gossow to hear all the details of the new Arch Enemy album 'Khaos Legions' which (at that moment) is about to be released in 6 weeks. Listen to the interview here.

November 2010: Moments before they hit the stage at the Academy Club in Manchester (GB), I had a chat with drummer Daniel Erlandsson. Arch Enemy were doing their final shows of a 3-year touring period and were just about to enter the studio to record 'Khaos Legions'. Listen to the interview here.

October 2010: Just before Arch Enemy played at 'Waerdse Tempel' in Heerhugowaard (NL), I had a cool talk with bassplayer Sharlee d'Angelo (far right on bandphoto). We also discussed Spiritual Beggars; he is a cool guy and a real powerhouse on stage. Listen to the interview here

October 2010: Just before Arch Enemy played at 'Waerdse Tempel' in Heerhugowaard (NL), I met up with guitarhero Michael Amott. Main subject of the interview was Michael's other band Spiritual Beggars who had just released a new album called 'Return to Zero'. Listen to the interview here.

April 2010: Hours before the Arch Enemy show at Paaspop Festival in Schijndel (NL) I talked to Angela Gossow at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Eindhoven about all the Arch Enemy plans for 2010 working towards a new album. Listen to the interview here.

December 2009: Moments before Arch Enemy went on stage of the 'Lucky' in Rijssen (NL) I met up with guitarist Christopher Amott. Besides being a fantastic player Chris is a real nice personality. Arch Enemy was in the middle of touring to promote 'The Root of all Evil' and Chris was re-releasing some of his old Armageddon solot stuff. We also found out Chris' plans for a solo record. Listen to the interview here.

Interview with Gus G.

2011-07-07T13:40:00.005-07:00

March 2010: Probably one of the most challenging interviews was the one with Gus G. The rumours told us that Gus had joined Ozzy Osbourne, but Gus was not allowed to say anything about it. So how do you get someone to talk about something he does not want to talk about, without bringing him into trouble? So there we sat that late Friday night at the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Frankfurt. You can listen to the result here, and make sure to get your free download

Interview with Jeff Loomis

2011-07-07T13:40:00.003-07:00

May 2010: Moments before Nevermore went down to play the "De Pul" club in Uden (NL) I had the opportunity to talk with their guitarist Jeff Loomis. Of course we discussed the new album 'The Obsidian Conspiracy', and we also talked about the sudden death of Ronnie James Dio in that week, and our shared passion for Jason Becker. Great guy and phenomenal guitarist! Listen to the interview here, and get your free download too.

Interview with John Norum

2011-07-07T13:40:00.001-07:00

January 2010: I had the opportunity to talk to one of my all time heroes! Hours before they played the Paradiso I had a long talk with Europe guitarist John Norum. Very convenient in John's personal dressingroom in one of Paradiso's dungeons. What a cool guy who drove his tour manager crazy by ignoring all interview timescales! Also some very personal things we discussed. Listen to the interview here, and get your free download there as well!

Interview with Kottak

2011-07-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

February 2010: James Kottak is well known as drummer for Scorpions, Kingdome Come and Montrose. But in his spare time James is playing guitar in his band 'Kottak' with his wife Athena on drums. Athena happens to be Tommy Lee's sister by the way. I had a very cool talk with them backstage at the Rock Temple in Kerkrade (NL), just before they went on stage for a killer gig. Listen to the interview here, and get your free download there too.

Interview with Shinedown

2011-07-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

November 2009: a few hours before their show at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, I had a conversation in Shinedown's dressing room with drummer Barry Kerch (left on the photo) and guitarist Zach Myers (right). After being on the road for almost 2 years with the daily interview stuff, they were very sharp and showed great appreciation. Cool talk about their Iraq trip. Listen to the interview here and get your free download there too.

Interview with Bruce Kulick

2011-07-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

March 2010: sometimes things can be surreal. Like the moment when it is Bruce Kulick (ex-Kiss) gives you a call and happens to be a very nice guy, having all the time of the world to talk about his new solo record 'BK3'. Of course we touched Kiss as well in our talks. Nice guy, great player! Listen to the interview here, and get your free download there too.

Interview with Michael Lee Firkins

2011-07-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

November 2009: minutes after his show in Uden (NL), I had a chat with Michael Lee Firkins in the lobby of his hotel. We share a deep appreciation and friendship for Jason Becker, so it was a very warm conversation with a fantastic guitarist. Sometimes people can be too modest. Listen to the interview here and make sure to get your free download.

Interview with Vinnie Moore

2011-07-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

October 2009: Vinnie Moore is one of my all time favorite guitar players so guess how excited I was to have a chat with him. Vinnie had just released his new solo record 'To the Core' and we had a long talk about the album. Of course we also discussed his band situation in UFO and their new album 'The Visitor'. Listen to the interview here and get your free downlaod as well.

Interview with Darren Wharton

2011-07-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

October 2009: I was very delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Darren Wharton, who played on Thin Lizzy's 'Thunder & Lightning' album, one of my all time favorites. Reason for the interview was Darren's new Dare album, but the most fun was to hear his stories of how he entered the world of Thin Lizzy as a 17-year old. Great guy! Listen to the interview here, and get your free download there too.

Interview with Tony Mills

2011-07-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

March 2010: one of te nicest guys in the business, if not the nicest, is undoubtedly Tony Mills (ao. Shy, TNT). Great singer, great performer, great personality and great stories about his career. It's a very entertaining interview where we topuch many aspects of Tony's impressive career. Make sure to listen to it here, and get your free download as well.

Interview with Andrew Elt

2011-07-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

May 2010: after 17 years Sleeze Beez planned to re-unite and how! They came back for a re-union show as support act for the arena show of Aerosmith at the Gelredome in Arnhem (NL). Weeks before I talked to leadsinger Andrew Elt about this remarkable move and as always it was a very good conversation with a real rock 'n roll singer! Listen to the interview here and make sure not to forget your free download. Warning: the interview is in Dutch language!

Interview with Hank Shermann

2011-07-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

March 2010: 27 years after witnissing him as the guitarist in Mercyful Fate at the Aardschokfestival in Den Bosch (NL), I had the opportunity to have a chat with Hank Shermann. This was moments after the release of the debut album of his new 'superband' Demonica, called 'Demonstrous'.. Hank talks how he decided to change to 'thrash-style'. Listen to the interview here, and get your free download here too.

Interview with Vincent Cavanagh

2011-07-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

2010: My friend Kees Nijpels took over from me and interviewed Vincent Cavanagh of Anathema, straight after they finished their gig at the Burgerweeshuis in Deventer (NL). Of course the new album 'We're here because we're here' was the main subject of the conversation. Great humor by the way. Listen to the interview here and make sure to get your free download as well.

Interview with Oni Logan

2011-07-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

October 2009: I had the honour to have a chat by telephone with Oni Logan. 17 Years after his first succesful period with Lynch Mob, he rejoined the band for their new record called "Smoke and Mirrors". Of course I was very interested to find out why Oni parted ways with George Lynch in the past and Oni was surprisingly open about this. Listen for yourself here, the interview is also available as a free download. In the meantime Oni has joined Warrant as their lead vocalist by the way.

Interview with Will Schut

2011-07-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

April 2010: Will Schut is a Dutch shredder who has been around for a long time and is well respected by fellow musicians like Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Brian May. His approach is somehow unorthodox since he gives his albums away for free via his website; now that's a good deal! Will visited me in the studio to talk about his new album 'Hidden in reality', which is a really great instrumental guitar album. You can listen to the interview here, and download it as well for free. It's worthwhile to have a look at Will's website here .
Warning: this interview is in Dutch language!

Interview with Rhino

2011-07-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

April 2010: I did an interview with Rhino, known as one of Manowar's drummers (far right on the photo). At the time Rhino released a record called 'Kingdom of Evil' with a band called Angels of Babylon. The band has Dave Ellefson (Megadeth) on bass and Ethan Brosh on guitar. Totally relaxed dude, calling from Nashville into our studio. Listen to the interview here, also available as a free download.

Interview with Matthew Leone

2011-07-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

September 2009: just an hour before they went on stage as support to Papa Roach at the 013 club in Tilburg (NL), I interviewed Matthew Leone, bassplayer for Madina Lake. As restless and energetic he is on stage, so laidback and relaxed Matthew is off stage. You can listen to the interview here, you can even download it for free

Interview with Joe Lynn Turner

2011-07-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

September 2009: I did an interview with Joe Lynn Turner (formerly of ao. Rainbow, Deep Purple, Yngwie Malmsteen). Joe happened to be a very nice guy, who had all the time of the world, dialling in from New York. The reason for the interview was Joe's new solo record, but we happened to have a very cool talk on Joe's time with Yngwie Malmsteen as well. Some breaking stories there! You can listen to the interview here; it's free for download as well.