interview with Skansis
What is the name of your band? Skansis
What does the name "Skansis" stand for?There's no special meaning. It's just a fantasy name.
What made you call the band "Skansis"? The former name of the band was "Shine". But then we realized that there's already another band with this name. That made us to change our name. Every band member wrote a suggestion on a piece of paper and we made a draw.
How was the band formed? When Bax heard Reto singing for the very first time he just wanted him. That was the beginning.
What made you form the band? We wanted to make music and to play gigs.
Can you briefly introduce your band and who you are? Skansis is a Swiss melodic hard rock band. The debut album from 2007 is called "Take Your Chance". In 2011 we released "Leaving You" our second studio album.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? All band members are living in the "Emmental". This is a beautiful rural area in Switzerland. Reto Reist is the singer, Bax Heiniger the guitarist, Clemens Pfister plays bass and Matthias Hagmann is our drummer.
What was the ambition of the band when you started? Playing gigs and recording an album.
Could you explain your music to someone that hasn’t heard you? We are a melodic hard rock band and all our songs are own compositions. If you like bands as Gotthard, 3 Doors Down or Europe then you will like us.
Where was your first gig? It was 2006 at “Waldrock-Open-Air” in Röthenbach (CH)
Where was the latest gig? At “Shakra Powerplay Festival" in Pratteln (CH).
Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? All Songs are written by Bax Heiniger and Reto Reist. Daniel Joss writes the lyrics (he also played in the band for a several years as a guitarist).
Who has the best sense of humor in the band? Every band mate has a different sense of humor. But Reto is definitely the one who cracks the most jokes of us.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? We are friends and play hard rock together.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? It's the music genre that we like. We also listen to other hard rock bands and visit concerts. Most of our songs are taken from real live.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Every song is an own composition.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We have released two studio albums: "Take Your Chance" (2007) and "Leaving You" (2011)
Do you have any clips on YouTube? We have made a music video to our song "I Want You". You can watch it here: http://youtu.be/pY6N2QT7QR4
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are still young at heart.
At what age did you start playing? That’s different… Every band member did start playing in other bands or with different instruments many years ago.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? That’s also different.
What year was the band started? It was 2000.
How old were you the first time you saw a live band play? Probably we were teenagers then.
How old were you at your first gig?/Best/worst gig you've played?
We try to not worry about bad things – we do talk about bad things and we always try to make it better. A good gig is when the audience is satisfied - no matter how many people are listening to the concert.
What places will you be playing in the immediate future? There will be some gigs in Switzerland.
Where have you played from then till now? We have played many concerts on small and big stages in Switzerland – as headliner or as supporting act. We were opener for Krokus, 3M (ex Whitesnake), Bonfire and Shakra.
What songs are in your live set's? We play a selection of songs from our two albums.
Is it always the same set's live? It depends on how long is the show time. Sometimes the set list is longer, sometimes it's shorter.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? A promising gig is when people come to us after the concert and tell us that they just have discovered a new band.
Have you had any bigger tours from start till now? Planning a tour is not easy because we all have our families and jobs. A few years ago we had planned a tour in Europe with another band. Unfortunately the other band had to cancel this tour because of a case of illness.
How big crowds do you usually play for? That's very different and depends on where we play.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? We would like to play some good gigs and write some new Songs.
Where do you usually play? We like to play in music clubs all over the country.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? We drink a beer!
What are your goals with your music? We want to have good times, play cool gigs and release another CD.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? We don’t go all in for the music – we all have our jobs to earn money.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Inspiration comes from modern bands.
What are your sources of inspiration? Every one of us has his own idols. Reto gets his inspiration from Jeff Scott Soto and Steve Lee (R.I.P.) and Bax is inspired by John Norum and George Lynch.
What's the first step when making a new song? Bax plays the guitar. When he has a new idea he records it in his home studio. Then he works on the strophes and the refrain – till a new song is almost finished. After that he meets the singer to define the vocals. Finally Daniel writes the lyrics.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? You talk about free downloading? Legal downloads where you have to pay for the songs are absolutely O.K. (e.g. iTunes). People don’t get bread or milk in stores for free. Why they want music for free? It’s a question of respect for the artist if people pay for the music or not. On the other hand it’s better to get to know a band by downloading than you never get to know it.
What would be your dreams for the band? Writing some cool songs… Gigs… A new album… Looking for a new label…
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Hard rock, heavy metal, blues, rock, pop, singer-songwriter stuff, and… and… and…
What do you hold most dear? Family & friends.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? That mankind will destroy our planet and it will be uninhabitable for our children.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? When there are not enough women in the audience.
What songs and what years were they released?
We have released two albums (see above) but we never released a single.
Have you been in any other bands? We all have played in some other and unknown bands.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music?
Every band mate has his job to earn money. We have our families and other hobbies.
What would you do if there was no music? We are happy that we don’t have to make a decision. Music is too important in our lives.
How important are your fans? They are very important. Without fans there’s no one who is listening to our music!
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? It’s great when fans come to our concerts again and again. We appreciate to see how far they sometimes travel just to see us!
How often do you rehearse? One or two times a week.
Where do you rehearse? Our rehearsal room is in a bomb-proof refuge in a small village called Weier.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Every band member has his own favorite songs. Bax likes “Changed My Mind” and “Leaving You”.
What do you feel is the best liveband you've seen? There are so many great live bands… It wouldn’t be fair to name only one band. Some good live bands are Alter Bridge, Europe, Shakra, Gotthard an many more.
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? That’s difficult to answer for us because we do not make a living on music. We have fun to make music.
Do you have any webpages?
http://twitter.com/skansis_band
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse… never give up!
Would you like to add anything else? No.
Describe your show, visually and musically You have to visit it and you’ll find out
How do you view the music industry of today? Music has lost his value. For some of the younger generation it’s just a use-and-throw thing. They don’t want to spend a lot of money for CDs or concerts.
What advice would you like to give other bands? Never give up and never lose the fun!
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Interpersonal problems. If you pull together you can remove obstacles.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? It’s great to play in a club. We like being close to the audience and getting a direct feedback in a comfortable and homelike atmosphere.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? Upcomming concerts are shown on our homepage You should be there because we like to entertain you.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence Melodic hard rock that creates a good mood.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? We can’t remember quarrelsome times. We have some small problems as anybody else, too – but we always try to solve them together.
What won't you spend money on? Ugly women.
What do you feel a band/musician should spend their money on? High quality equipment for good sounds.