interview with AXXIS
Have any of you played in other bands?
Yes! Long before AXXIS, I've played in an unknown Punk band called Shift IN.
Harry got in these days his own band called Heatline. Dirk is playing right now with Subsignal.
But usually we're all focused on AXXIS
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Bernhard Weiss and I’m the singer
but you get all these information on www.axxis.de
Have you had other previous members? you get all these information on www.axxis.de
Did you make music even when you were young? Yes
Where are you from? Germany Dortmund / Luenen
What year did the band form?
Before official debut album in 1989that bands started as Bold as Love, than Anvil after that AXIS and in 1989 AXXIS.
so the very early beginning must be round about 1980
What's your style of genre? Hard rock , rock music Heavy metal, sometimes elements of power metal
What inspires you? everything what’s going on around me, personal things,etc
How often and where do you reherse? Mainly before a tour or very important shows.
How have you developed since you started with the music?
We walked through Boogie Rockn'roll to Hard rock than more power metal and today a mixture of all these different styles.
For us the songs are important and they give us the genre automatically. We don’t say: okay, let’s do some power metal or something like that.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? sure! diving, motorcycling, family, label work, website etc.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? No, we have one. Bottom Row in Germany
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that?
No. We went from EMI to Capitol records than to Universal Music. After that we change to Massacre- to AFM Records.
But from the year 2000 we formed our own publishing company called PHONOTRAXX Publishing. Today it also our label
and we reached total independency from regular music business.
What made you decide to make this music? when I was young I want to change the world, trying to fight against my parents generation.
What are your songs about? puh...many things!! Nature, future, love, crisis, feelings, personal experiences. Everything that’s surrounding me.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Mainly me and Harry
Do you start with the music or the lyrics?
Both. Hooklines and lyrics comes directly sometimes but sometimes we got the music first. In some situations
I came up with a cool headline for the song idea.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? I compose everywhere - mainly in the studio or at home with my acoustic guitar.
Have you done any covers live? Only two. Na,na,na hey, hey goodby from Steam and the Four horseman from Aphrodite’s child.
What language do you sing in? English but some special songs are in German like Engel aus Hass, Fass mich an etc.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? 2 people in 1989 after the wall crashed in Germany and about 80000 in Wacken or Rock am Ring about 87000
What ages are most of your concert attendants? you mean visitors? from 10 to 60 years :-)
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Out setlist is always on the move. Depends on the day, the city, the country and our taste J
Do you have a regular place you play live often?
I would say in my hometown Luenen. Traditionally we're going to play there every year in a venue called Lükaz.
Unfortunately, a fire in the cellar destroyed parts of the building. So, this year we'll skip it.
Another very important venue is the Zeche Bochum. Here we always organizing our anniversary shows with guest and videos.
Now, in 2019 we're 30 years old and the Anniversary show will take place at 29th, Dec :-)
What was your first gig like? hu... Playing in front of my football team TUS Niederaden in Germany in a small little town.
What was your latest gig? Metal diver festival in Germany 2019
Have you had to cancel a gig? Only once! A promoter in East Germany didn’t want to give us our fee.
Where have you played live this year?
We're going to play
27.04 D - Augsburg / Rock and Loc Festival
26.07 RU - Moscow / Big Gun Festival
28.07 D - Seebronn / Rock of Ages
16.08 D - Hünfeld / Rhön Rock Open Air 2019
23.08 D - Ellwangen / Wild Tigers Rocknacht 2019
24.08 D - Busdorf / Baltic Open Air 2019 - Wilder & Lauter !
12.09. D - Aschaffenburg / Colos-Saal
13.09. D - Nürnberg / Hirsch
14.09. CH- Pratteln / Z-7
15.09. D - München / Backstage
03.10. D - Augsburg / Spectrum
04.10. D - Albstadt / Tropi / Rockin' Autumn
05.10. D - Hamburg / Logo
06.10. D - Saarbrücken / Garage
Special Anniversary show + Guests:
29.11 Memmingen / Kaminwerk Special Anniversary show + Guests
29.12 Bochum / Zeche Special Anniversary show + Guests
http://www.eventim.de/axxis
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale?
we always sell merchandising. We got different shirts, hoodies, CD's DVD's,
check out: https://www.axxis.de/merchandising.html
Where can people buy your merchandise? https://www.axxis.de/merchandising.html
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?
No problem with downloading/streaming. I just have a problem with the billion dollar companies like YouTube that didn't pay a fair fee for artist.
That's a shame! The result: Companies like EMI are gone, musicians are playing in a lot of different bands, cover bands increasing and fresh
young artists are not able to earn money with their music - even if they are successful in a way.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Sure, like i said before
Do you have any role models or idols? Sure, Queen, Kiss, Judas Priest,Scorpions, Iron Maiden etc.
Why do you think that they exist? Because they are successful! J
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I don’t get my inspiration from bands . I get it from my day to day business or experiences I make.
What have been your biggest obstacles? My impatience...still:-)
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Stay alive, be patient, hold on to your dreams and never give up!!
How do you get psyched for a gig? I don't need to get psyched before a show - I'm already are! Living with stage fright is getting normal over the years -but it's still disturbing.
Do you have any new material? Sure a new BluRay ( Bang your head with AXXIS) and a double CD (called Best of EMI-Years) will be released in 2019 because of our 30th Anniversary
What are your web sites? www.axxis.de
How can people reach?
Email: [email protected] Agency : http://www.bottomrow.com/de/home.html https://twitter.com/Axxisworld https://www.facebook.com/axxis/ https://www.youtube.com/user/axxisworld?sub_confirmation=1
What are your plans for the future? Still going on, living from music, great tours, great festivals and trying to survive :-)
Do you have something to add? No
