Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

have any of you played in other band? yes, but at the moment, only the drummer, plays in a Kiss cover band

how is that you started playing music? personally (francesco), my passion for guitar started when my sister, younger than me, had, as birthday gift, a guitar. i was 16, I got a hold on it and, for long time, she didn't see it!

What are your names' who plays what' How old are you?

MESSERSCHMITT: Luca "Frankenfurter" Loreti (vocals), Fabrizio "Fiz Bizzy" Appetito (lead guitar), Francesco "Riffmachine" Ciancaleoni (rhythm guitar)

Mario "the Drill" Ghio (bass), Luca "the Animal" (drums). Everyone around 50.

Have you had other previous members? Messerschmitt formed in 1983, we had a lot of line-up changes and today, from the original one, are just the two founders, Fabrizio and Francesco, the guitarists

Did you make music even when you were young? We started writing and composing as we learned the first few chords. in 1980 i stole my sister's guitar and, with Fabrizio, founded the Zellofen. In 1983 we changed the band name in Messerschmitt. we always had the pleasure and need to make music

Whera are you from? we are from Rome, except Mario, the bass player, who is from Bari suburban area

What year did the band form? 1983, officially

What's your style and genre? Always HM. in the beginning there was more punk influences, then more NWOBHM, now lot of references to 90s

What inspires you? our teen idols were Kiss and Iron Maiden, but along the years, we appreciated other rock and metal bands

How often and where do you rehearse? we all have families and jobs, we're not music professionists. we have rehearsals in a basement used as a music studio. we rented it for twice a week, but usually we rehearse once

How have you developed since you started with music? Each one of us has different experiences. personally (francesco), I'm a selfmmade musician and only recently (4 years) I started a more structured musical learning phase.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? of course, not being professionists. over work and families, for me (luca loreti) reading, travelling and sport, the same as francesco

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? taking into consideration our age, our approach to life and our passion for music, we decided to avoid the "pay to play" system, and, at the moment, we don't have deals with booking agencies. Anyway we are not hard-minded about that and in the future, we could be looking for cooperations that can fulfill our ambitions and availability

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? As mentioned before. actually we produce ourselves, even if we cooperate with friends' labels for promotion, but, once again, no hard-mind, you know, sometimes it's better to be poorer but more free......and beautiful

What makde you decide to make this music? personally (francesco) the triggering event was a Kiss concert in rome, 1980 (opening act was iron Maiden). There i decided "i wanna do this and guitars to sound like that!"

What are your songs about? After an easy beginning, in which we thought that lyrics were not that important like music, more recently, as mature guys, we started appreciating to tell personal stories, social issues, politics and philosophycal themes. we can actually say that we are out of the metal cliche'. Today we try to communicate personal concepts and emotions, trying more and more, to put music at the service of lyrics (in the past we used to do right the opposite)

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? For a timeframe, after 2012 reunion, just me (francesco) had time for songwriting, both for music and lyrics, but now things changed and the work is the result of collaboration among each band member. a lot of pieces written by fabrizio and most of lyrics written by our singer, Luca loreti.

Do you start with music or lyrics? Everything starts with a guitar riff!

Do you compose in a certain environment? No partticular environment, mood helps a lot. Best ideas uusually come to surface when you have the need to tell, outburst, or when there's happiness, feeding vital energy for the whole

Have you done any covers live? we have made just one cover in our career, Kiss' Deuce, to particpate in a compilation that one friend of ours produced. We played live just a couple of times. we want to play our original music, anyway we have respect for those who love to play covers

What language do you sing in? we made a reasoning about the chance to better express ourselves in italian, but our love for sound which accompanied our adolescence prevailed. Halford, Dio and Dickinson sing in english, and that's why we think that HM must be sang in english. Respect for those who think the contrary

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? we are an underground band, we were lucky to play even in front of thousands of people (festivals, contests, opening for important bands) but the truth is that in a city like Rome you have to be aware that you can play in front of few people. in the clubs of Rome, 50 people is a blast!! This doesn't discourage us, and we don't feel shame to confess that on a rainy wensday in 2013, we had a gig in front of 7 people........5 of them were the members of the other band scheduled to play!

What ages are most of your concert attendance? Unexpectly younger than us. there is the 2old guard" (40/60) but always less (in the evening they at home with families). Those who encourage us the most are the youngest that, through us, can connect with 80s (we were actually there), anyway our audience is metal fans of all ages

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Set list is always changing as we produce new music, but 3/4 pieces, considerd as classics (rearrangments of songs played since 1985) are a must play

Do you have a regular place you play live often? Rome had, along the years, meeting places, where bands like ours could lean on and feel at home. The last was the "closer", a club now closed, and where we, as thanksgiving, recorded a live set turned into a cd called "naked truth, live closer". Today the situation is ongoing, more important clubs accept only cover bands. there are still places where we can feel at home, like the "fucksia", managed by our true friend Marco Fatini, or the "let it beer", places where original metal has room

What was your first gig like? Paradoxal and unforgettable, it was 1982 and dressed in leather and studs we played for a neighborhood religious celebration. The stage was lighted by religious decorations. despite all expectations it was a success, an occasion to make ourselves known in the area where we met and rehearsed.

What was your latest gig? we played the "Fucksia", a cozy club in Rome for metal bands, feeling at home

have you had to cancel a gig? if I'm not wrong just once, our siinger had job issues, we couldn't participate in a very valuable concert, an event dedicated to historic metal in rome. we had revenge in the next year edition. in more than one situation, for bad set changing with other bands, we had our set list cut, resulting in fight and argument

Where have you played live this year? Just Rome, in june we will have a date in puglia, south of italy

Where do you plan to gig the coming year? With the cd release, we want to increase live activity, going out of Rome more often. the target is to join festivals and rallies, to have fun and make ourselves known

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? merchandising is very fun for us and we keep the faith. over t-shirts, adhesives and pins, we have signed postcards, mugs and watches. Our selling bench is always full of things!

Where can people buy you merchandise? in the live sets, but even on our web site, you can order and purchase

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records nowadays? It's a non-sense topic right now, fighting piratery is impossible. anyway we think that metal fans are the most interested in purchasing original music, because for real fans, the package and the item in itself, matter. Wild downloading resulted in a record industries crisis affecting even artists life. personally (francesco) i think that it's understandable, if you look at the enormous offers, that a fan can easily listen to all the music he is interested in, but then, as it is for me and other people I know, he decides to purchase a number, according his economic situation, original products to support the artist's work he loves the most.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? it has affected music industry very much, but it has also gave many people the chance to know bands, that otherwise could not be reached. We like thinking of a future where people can listen to music with more knowing, I'm afraid the trend is to the opposite way. maybe the worst damage it's not about downloading, but the talent shows and realities increasing, that lead record companies in budgeting only for artists attending those formats, forgetting about them, the very next year. metal fans, as other cult styles (see return to vinyl), resist to masses trends.

what do you think of my work? We didn't see yor blog yet, but your questions reveal interest and competency

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Even the smallest contribution can help. It's a real pleasure to have perception of interest in what you do and we will spread this interview through our channels, for our pleasure and to make your work be known

Do you have any role models or idols? of course we have, each one of us could tell a lot. maybe talking about models or idols, at our age, could be too much, anyway some names bring to memories, emotions and inspirations. As being born in Rome and ac Roma football club fan I (francesco) can't help to name francesco Totti. for music, our hero, as guitarist (fabrizio), is and always will be Eddie Van Halen

Why do you think that they exist? This is a hard question, but to get it short, when you are young, you need to figure out your future taking inspiration from someone or something that can get you excited. It's natural to dream you can emulate this attitudes, an absolute value.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Living in Italy doesn't help our love for metal. There are many metal fans here, but they're not the majority, there's not enough dedicated clubs and no mediatic care. We knew that since the beginning, and we accepted as a matter of fact. Add the crisis, the age, families and work and you see that more than obsttacles you have to talk about a miracle if we are still on a stage!

What advice would you give other bands or artists? According our experience, i would say to join other people and play, this pleasure is a paycheck despite all flops. never discourage, follow always your passion, live you musical passion as a chance of sharing and expression, not only as a way to success and fame. we are still having fun we are very motivated, but the most beautiful thing is to feel a band, in a social environment dominated by individualism. complicity, sharing, facing other people thoughts, spending time with them, living the dream you had when you were 16.......do it, it's worth it!!!

How do you get psyched for a gig? We, more or less, all take care of our shape. it's important for the stage acting, but even to manage necessary energies for creativity shared with others and that often keep you on the edge.

Do you have any new material? our new cd is about to be released. it's a full lenght record called "raising hell", foressen for next june.

What are your web sites?

http//www.messerschmittheavymetalfighters.it

Our Facebook official page is www.facebook.com/messerschmitt.heavymetalfighters.official/

What are your plans for the future? After the cd release we will start promoting live in Italy and wherever we can play. we have already material for, at least, other two albums. by now we will concentrate on live sets.