interview with Roxxess
How was the band formed? The Band was formed in the summer of 2008 by Mathias "Lemmy" Kiener who was looking for Band Members to form a Group who´s going to write their own songs.
Can you tell about your band? "We deliver Rock & Roll" - that’s the best way to describe the feeling the band wants to put across. It´s all about the spirit of Rock Music that appears a lot from Rock Bands from the 70´s and 80´s.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band?
We are much alike from the same area in north Bavaria, small cities, not much to go to as Rock & Roll items concern.
The Band is Mathias "Lemmy" Kiener (Vocals, Guitars), Hermann Bierner (Guitars, Vocals), Nick Baumer (Bass, Vocals) and Robert "Gussi" Kick (Drums);
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? To get some musicians together and write own material in the Melodic / Hard Rock style of the 70`s and 80`s combined with the spirit of Rock & Roll.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Our music reflects a lot of the 80s flair - catchy riffs, melodic vocals, short but to the point solos and here and there a little bit of rock & roll licks and fills. A Combination of Bands like Def Leppard, Scorpions, Van Halen, KISS, ZZ Top;
Where was your first gig? Our first gig was kind of a Schools out Party, we played on a Truck it was outside and it was fun :)
Where was the latest gig? The last gig we played "Deja Vu" also on a Truck, it was a big Summer Party held by a Bar in a City called Waldsassen.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? A lot of the material writes Mathias "Lemmy" as well as the lyrics. As later joined Hermann to the band he also writes material for the band.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? I guess it´s our Drummer Robert "Gussi", he always got something funny going. Crazy dude :)
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? I think the genre is more or less Melodic Rock combined with elements from Classic Hard Rock, AOR, a little bit of Pop-Rock and Rock & Roll.
Why did you pick that particular style? /What are your songs about? The style comes from your inside, what you feel and what music you’re interested or keen on in your childhood or still today. Our Songs have on the first sight a really listener friendly message, poppy if you like... but on the other hand it´s a lot of room for everybody´s own interpretation. Themes like the hanging out with your friends and having a good time type of thing, as well as hang on to your dreams and make them real, and of course relationships and Love;
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write our own material as well as we according to where we play also do covers.
Have you made any albums? /If yes what are they? We made two EP´s, SKY HIGH (2010) and SHINING IN THE NIGHT (2013) both are available on Amazon.de and the EP SHINING IN THE NIGHT also on iTunes.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? We are on planning a music clip of our own, but till today there are only some Live Videos on You tube.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Hard to say....there´s a lot to mention: KISS, JUDAS PRIEST, MAGNUM, IRON MAIDEN, YES, ALICE COPPER and a lot more....
Is it always the same songs live? It depends, we always have our little bit different Setlist on every concert, of course our own material we play as long as the time is sufficent on every concert.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? The most promising gig so far never happend, we was invited to play as a Support Act for Jimi Jamison (SURVIVOR) in Stuttgart. But because of a traffic jam we didn´t get in time there, as we arrived they already played.... later we meet the band and Jimi Backstage, it was awesome... but we couldn´t play.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Wé´re still looking for a Bokking Agency who will work with us, we are hungry to get on tour but so far there is no tour on our scheduled.
How big crowds do you usually play for? Sometimes fifty or sometimes 500 or more.... most of the time we play in small clubs for 100-150 people.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? To play more gigs, we are planning on doing some shows in the Czech Republic.
What are your goals with your music? To get some touring going, make a whole album and release it with a good label on our side.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? More the older ones… there has been so much creativity in the 80`s there’s so many small details you can catch after listening so many times on one particular Album, that’s something I am trying to rediscover in our own songs.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Too much to mention… from Dire Straits to John Campbell there´s a lot!
Have you been in any other bands? For myself, I played in various heavy rock projects and 5 Years in an AC/DC Tribute Band. Then I started to form “Roxxess” in 2008.
How important are your fans? The Fans are the most important people, they keep the Rock & Roll truck rollin`!
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? “All I Wanna Do” because of its Rock & Roll Driving edge and “Can´t Live Without You” it really turns out great on our new EP.
Do you have any webpages? We have our own website www.roxxess.com there are also Links to Amazon, You Tube, and Facebook and so on.
Describe your show, visually and musically Vital high energy Rock & Roll with Melodic Rock meets crazy stage acting – we are a “non-still standing” band :)
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them?
To capture the energy of “Roxxess” in think the best way to experience it it´s to see us live.
Check our next shows on www.roxxess.com
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Get some quite…. The calm before the storm if you will.