Hypnotic Turtle’s Arlo White recently caught up with Germany’s Doro Pesch, metal’s reigning queen! From her beginnings with Warlock to her most recent release Raise Your Fist, Doro has been destroying audiences for 30 years! She and her band will be here tomorrow--Sunday, February 17th--at Moe’s Original Bar B Que (3295 S. Broadway., Englewood, CO). She talked about Wacken, her fans, guerilla video-making on the streets of New York, and the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. . .
Hypnotic Turtle: Hey Doro, how are you doing?
Doro: Pretty good, pretty good. Everything’s good.
HT: Well, thank you so much; I really appreciate your taking the time to talk to me, and thanks for all of your music over the years. Your amazing performances and such a strong female role model for younger women to pick up the flame and carry on to make amazing heavy music.
D: Thank you so much. I always think of the fans, and every couple of years I have to make another record just to keep it fresh and make everybody happy and something new. The longer I do it the more I love it, and the more I appreciate it too.
HT: Speaking of the new record, Raise Your Fist, were you surprised you haven’t used that title before now?
[hour long pause]
D: [laughter]
You’re funny! Yeah, totally. We had this song, “Raise Your Fist in the Air,” and so we thought the title for the album should be Raise Your Fist. I tried it out in Wacken. Usually, I start off the festival with the Wakken anthem, “We are the Metalheads,” and then last year I played the demo. It wasn’t even finished, and I took it to the guys who founded the Wacken festival, and they listened for like 20 seconds and they were like, “You gotta play it,” and I thought, “Oh no, it’s not ready.” He said “You gotta play it live.” So last year, we played “We are the Metalheads,” “All We Are,” and then “Raise Your Fist in the Air.” And then I tell you, it was so great, and then I told the people, “This is a new song, show me your fist, and then 60,000 fists came up, and I thought, ooh, this is definitely a song for the album!”
HT: And that was the first time you played it live?
D: Actually, yeah, it was the very first time we played it live; not even with my band; they have a band there. That was how the festival got started. The guy who is doing Wacken with his friend, it was like a mini festival with his band called Skyline. And now, 24 years later, the festival is so huge. Yeah this band Skyline always played at the beginning and had different guests like Udo Dirkschneider (Accept). And then they always ask me what I want to play, so I said “We are the Metalheads” and “All We Are,” and then it was “Raise Your Fist,” and then I knew it was something that might never leave our setlist. And we played it a couple of times on the last tour to check it out with my band, and one time in Russia. We were in Moscow, and then we know it really well, and then in France, and I asked the fans what is it called in French, and they said “Lève Ton Poing Vers Le Ciel”, and I thought, ooh, that sounds totally great, so I have a French version that’s on the EP. It’s a big hit in France; we are played on the radio where usually our music doesn’t get played on normal radio at all, but yeah, the French version is definitely doing something. I was just there two weeks ago for a promotional tour.
HT: I just saw your new video for “Raise Your Fist,” and you looked like you guys had some fun. Was that in New York City where you guys were walking around the streets?
D: Yeah, actually, to make the video, it’s so hard to get permission to do that kind of thing. . .
HT: You were just kinda sneaking around?
D: Yeah, we just go and filmed as long as we can, as long as the police don’t stop up, and we tried to find great neighborhoods--the most dark and fucked up neighborhoods--and I was singing, and suddenly I said, “I’m not alone,” and some gang members were coming up like “hey what are you guys doing, this is our territory.” I thought, “Oh shit,” and said “oh I’m so sorry, this place looks really cool; we’re just doing a little video.” And they actually looked like they would like heavy metal. And I played the song, and they were like, “That’s pretty cool.” Then they joined me and dancing and singing. And then we went to some other neighborhood, and we really thought that we were totally alone, but there were so many homeless people living there, and they came up and were like watcha doin’? And then this one guy, 78 years old, with a white t-shirt on--he was so sweet--he said “Yeah, I love jazz but I love that song” He was in the video, too. [laughter]
It was a combination of all the cool people in New York City, the Wacken people, and my band members.
HT: And you live in New York now?
D: Yeah, I live in two places. I have a place in Germany for when we’re in Europe--it’s in Dusseldorf--and I am also living in Long Beach (New York). I don’t live in Manhattan anymore. In Long Beach, my house got destroyed last year in Hurricane Irene.
HT: Yeah, I was sorry to hear that. . .
D: But I’m still living here, Ya, and it’s slowly coming back to normal. The guy who owns it, he repaired everything. It was awful, and I lost everything. It was an experience. . .
HT: Were you home when it happened?
D: No, I was on tour, and I saw on the news, there was a grandpa who actually wouldn’t leave his house, and people had to come and get him before he drowned. And there a little orange house with some people, and I thought, I think I know that person who lives on my street, and it was. . .
HT: Oh you’re kidding? That’s horrible. How is it to be on tour when something like that is going on at home ? Do you just have to put it behind you and focus on what’s going on?
D: Yeah, a couple of days later we actually played in New York. I came home, and I thought, it will be alright, it can’t be that bad, but it was SO bad. I couldn’t believe it. I had to go on tour again and couldn’t take care of it, and then all the stuff which was a little bit ok started to mold, and. . .I saved a couple of things, but not much. I found out that I could definitely live without anything except the fans . . . seeing the fans, that’s something I love.
HT: Let’s talk about “All We Are.” Do you ever get tired of it, or do you look forward to singin that song?
D: Yes, when I see it’s coming up on the list--the last couple of years we did “Breaking the Law” into “All We Are”--the bass drum, and then kind of the rhythm goes, and then I’m so happy! Every day, I love it. There’s not one time that I thought, ah, it’s coming up again. Every day it makes me so happy, and and then I see the fans singing along and having such a great time. It’s so cool. It’s awesome! I will never get tired of it. There’s so much positive energy. Definitely lifts people up and gives everybody big smiles. We usually play many, many encores after that, and. . .
HT: I love that you keep it heavy, Doro.
D: Ya, ya, I never do it out of commercial reasons.
HT: I guess you’re headlining Wacken again this year. Is that official?
D: It’s official, yes, and it’s sold out already!
HT: So you’re on tour now, coming through with Sister Sin?
D: Yes, that’s correct, and I think it’s a great band, great singer; it’s cool. I would say kick ass rock and roll. I think you’ll really enjoy it. We played together before in America, and i think it will be good. I look forward to coming to Denver!
Doro w/ Sister Sin
Moe’s Bar B Que South
3295 S. Broadway
Englewood, Co
9 pm $14