Archives: Interview with DORO PESCH (2006)

*Interview originally appeared at my former site rock-is-life.com, Summer 2006

For those of you that are confused, Lita Ford wasn’t the first queen of heavy metal, it was Doro Pesch. Breaking out from the German cult metal group Warlock in 1989, Pesch went out on her own and established an abundant collection of underground metal albums culminating with her 8th studio album, 2006’s Warrior Soul (read CD review). 

In her 20+ year career in music, Doro has never stopped waving the flag for heavy metal (and women in rock). She’s traveled the globe numerous times over and shared the stage (and microphone) with some of the most famous heavyweights of metal. With a tour in progress and a DVD on the way, Doro took the time out of her busy schedule to update us with what’s going on in her heavy metal journey. 

RIL: If I knew absolutely nothing about Doro, how would you describe the group’s music to me?
DP: I would say lots of fantasy, heart and soul, and heavy guitars.

RIL: Your new album Warrior Soul was recently released in the U.S. What are some of your favorite tracks on the new album?
DP: I guess the title track “Warrior Soul,” “You’re My Sanity,” and there is one called “Disturbed,” which is a very sad song with a lot of emotion. But I tell you, I love them all. It always depends on my mood. There is a limited edition song called 1999 which is a political song that has acoustic guitars and is very sensitive.

RIL: I think fans like special releases like limited editions. Die-hards feel that have to spring for it because they just have to have everything. 
DP: Yes, two songs, “Angel in the Dark” and “1999” are limited editions. There is video and movie trailers also.

RIL: Have you found the right level of support for yourself and the album with Locomotive Records here in the U.S.?
DP: Yes. So far it’s been nice, and everybody is trying to do promotion and stuff. At first I thought it’s too early, but then the record came out and I was very happy. We just came off tour a few weeks ago, and we can concentrate on the new release.

RIL: Koch Records put out Calling the Wild here in the U.S. (two albums ago). What lead to your departure from Koch?
DP: We were with Koch; then we went to SPV, which was worldwide. Then the deal ran out, so we were looking. We found a person on AFM that heard us and was on fire, so we signed to AFM. Locomotive and AFM merged after that. 

RIL: Warrior Soul was actually recorded in New York, Germany, Switzerland and Tennessee. Was there a reason for that?
DP: I love to work in different studios and different countries. I don’t like to be in one place all the time. I was in Switzerland, and we did a movie there, and it was just so good. The last day I was there we went to a studio and we recorded one song. It worked out so well; even when I changed from Germany to Switzerland. Then I went back to New York to mix it. I was born Germany, but I love working other places, especially in the States. So we started recording in Germany, but I wanted to go back to America. I do whatever is best for the song or the record. I just have so many people that we have worked with, and I would say, ‘Oh this would be so good with this person on this song.’

RIL: Warrior Soul is said to be inspired by the film you had talked about earlier. Is it The Warriors Way?
DP: Actually I don’t know what the title will be. It might be The Way of the Warrior. It was really great and the people I worked with were fantastic. After the film we wrote some more songs, and I was full of new energy.

RIL: How were you cast in the movie?
DP: There was this guy, he was a movie maker, and he visited me on our last tour. Somebody cornered me and said this person would like to say hi and he does movies his name is Luke. He asked me if I was interested in writing a song for his movie and I said yes. He gave me the script, I read it, and it was great. What a great movie idea! I called him up and said yes, I would love to write a song for this movie. He said how about you play this part. There are two women in the movie, one was called Mia and she was a hunter and a warrior. 

I thought this would be great, but I had never done it before. He said no problem. We won’t do anything that you would be uncomfortable with. I haven’t seen the whole movie yet, but I saw the first footage, and it’s really coming out great. I had a lot of fun playing that part. I could identify with it, and that was so good. I had to learn how to shoot bow and arrow. We made a handshake that we would work together again, because it worked out so well.

RIL: You recently toured through Russia. Are there any major differences performing there, or is it like another stop on the tour?
DP: It was amazing. The fans were so passionate. I think there are some photos of me at the Moscow show, and you can really see how much heart and soul is in there. It was amazing. We are shooting a road movie, which will come out on DVD around Christmas time, and thank God we recorded the Moscow show. You can really see that everybody is so into it and so crazy. It’s fantastic because they don’t have many shows over there. They waited for so many years. 

I must say being in Russia, it feels like it’s getting better all the time. They have suffered so much in there lives and it’s hard to feel that. We had said to our tour manager in Russia, ‘Hey Peter, come visit us in Germany.” But he said it was hard to get out of Russia. I was so happy that I came from a free country and I can only imagine. I was there five years ago for the first time and there was heavy security, with guards and machine guns. It was really unbelievable. All over there is stuff like TGI Friday’s, but five years ago you had a hard time to get something to eat.

RIL: I can’t believe TGI Fridays is in Russia.
DP: Yes, and McDonalds. There is a Starbucks on every corner too. Five years ago we were going to the only McDonalds in Moscow and when we got near it, the people said you cannot go. We asked why and the people said because it just got bombed! This (current) trip was great, and the people were great, and I got so many gifts. I had never got so many roses in my life. Everybody brought big bunches of flowers and roses and I can’t believe it. They must be sinfully expensive over there. The income is not like in Germany, and the ticket price was high, so people must have saved for weeks just to buy the flowers. It just meant so much to me. 

RIL: Do you get discouraged that your style of music is not as popular in the U.S. It use to be, but now it seems that heavy metal or melodic metal is not so popular and everyone wants the flavor of the week.
DP: I feel like it’s a bigger challenge to make it work. I have a strong fan base in the U.S., and I’m always writing to my fans. They’re always asking when I’m going to play there or what’s wrong with us that you don’t play here much. We try even harder because of that. What you say I think is right. In Europe in the summer we play to big festivals, and their all in driving distance of the fans, so the metalheads have so much choice. And here, I don’t know of many festivals, maybe Ozzfest, but it’s so tough to make it work. I like to work hard, and the harder it gets the more you have to make it work. It’s all dictated by the industry. It will happen (the tour). I don’t know if it will be September or October, but it will happen.

RIL: You have recorded songs that have been used for various sports, television, movies, and other media promotions. Did you write the music for each of the situations, or were these songs you already had recorded?
DP: Actually, somebody usually contacts us. With the soccer team, someone from the fan club that was a big metal fan contacted us. He said he would collect money so we could do a fan club CD. It sounded like a good idea, and he was such a diehard fan. He was so into it. I said if it sounds good we could try it, and if it didn’t sound good we would drop it. So we did it. All of the fans and the players came and they sang there hearts out. It was so great to see.

RIL: You are a fan of boxing aren’t you? You’re a trained Thai boxer I believe. 
DP: Yeah, I did it in the nineties. I went to all kinds of boxing matches. One time there was somebody announcing the big fight, and it was someone we wrote a song about. After the fight I went up to her and said, ‘Hi, we wrote a song about you.’ and she said, ‘I know.’ From then on we developed a great friendship. We went to her boxing matches and she came to our concerts. A couple of years ago she called up and asked if I could write an anthem for her. Of course I said yes. She went tens years undefeated. I asked her if we could do a limited edition version, and she said sure. She came down and sang in the studio. She had a great voice. We changed the lyrics from ‘she’s like thunder” to “we’re like thunder”. Ten years ago in Europe women’s boxing was not so accepted and everybody was kind of laughing about it. It was sometimes mentioned on TV, but very briefly. Now she’s on primetime TV, and there’s like six million people watching her.

RIL: Weren’t you on TV in a boxing match with pornstar Gina Wild?
DP: Yes. It was for fun.

RIL: Did you win?
DP: Actually I thought I had. We all thought I had won, but the judges…they were faking it left and right. Besides, she was a pornstar.

RIL: Maybe the fight was fixed from the beginning; her being a pornstar and all (laughs).
DP: I got in on the fight because three days before the match, someone got sick. They asked me and I was hesitant, but they said they would play my music so I said ok. It was fun. It was probably fixed, and the judges were looking at her fake boobs (laughs).

RIL: That could be it. You have recorded a few duets in your career. A couple that come to mind are one with Peter Steele from Type O Negative and one with Lemmy from Motorhead. What is it that you like about doing duets? Is it the chance to work with other musicians?
DP: Yes. It’s usually a highlight in my life playing with people I grew up to, or that I was a big fan of. It’s always super super special. The best thing is that usually after working together, we become good friends; like in 1990 when I did something with Gene Simmons. I was a big Kiss fan. I was at the studio everyday; my knees were shaking. I never got over that. He was so good, such a motivated musician, and very intelligent. He was very special. It’s usually something that develops naturally, and that’s what I like. 

Then we did “Breaking the Law” with Judas Priest. We did the vocals together, and it was fantastic. We ended up doing a video for it. I always wanted to say thank you to Judas Priest, because they were the ones that gave me the first chance. At the time it was in Europe in 1986, and they were very nice to us; very supportive. It was a great chance to do a Priest song and keep it cool. It’s always a big honor to do another song with these guys.

RIL: Throughout your solo career each of your albums has at least one song that’s in German. Do you find that this is something you are adamant about or does the song work better in German sometimes? 
DP: I think all of the songs that were translated, never said the same thing back in German. I tried, but sometime the song just came out in German and it was usually the most powerful. And each time I made a record I thought, either the English version or the German version. Even my American band members said let’s take the German version. Also, the big fan bases, like in Europe, like the German songs. I love doing stuff in different languages. It’s hard to explain, but every song has a life of it own.

RIL: You have been in the business for years and the style of music that you do is generally dominated by men. Have you had any problems being a female in a male dominated genre?
DP: Not ever. I always felt that from day one. I had a good connection with the fans. It was always strong and I never felt like I got treated bad. It’s was always respectful and very good. Even with all the other bands, they were always polite and respectful. I never felt that I had any disadvantages or problems at all. I read some stuff in the press, and it was actually not true. For everybody it’s a big struggle, a big fight to survive, and to get your music played. Every record and every tour is always a big struggle. I never made a big deal out of it. It was natural to me and never a big deal.

RIL: There are a lot of female fronted bands exploding all over the world lately; you have Leaves Eyes, Nightwish, Hydrogyn and Arch Enemy all fronted by females. Have you checked out any of these bands?
DP: Of course. All of those bands I love. I think that these women all have strong personalities and a very unique style, and great voices. Everything you would want. It makes women look good having women out there. We just toured with Crucify Barbra from Sweden. We did the Russian tour together. They were the coolest girls and we had a lot of fun. These days I think it’s different from the eighties. In the eighties you had some women in the background to wear tiny bras and lace and stuff. It was a bit cheap. Now there are a lot of women out there that are really proud. The pin-up girls from the eighties were nice to look at, but they never got respect. 

RIL: You appear on the all the covers of your albums in live photos, but recently they’ve been animated drawings. Is there any reason for this?
DP: When ever a record is made, I feel out what would be good on that record. I wanted to go back and make (Warrior Soul) a little more Earthy. I called up the painter and he asked me what (the album) was about. He said he would do something. When he sent it, I loved it. Different sounds, different photos; I think it depends on each record. There are many fans out there who like the paintings. 

RIL: Do you ever see any of your former Warlock bandmates?
DP: Yes. I just talked one hour ago to my former guitar player Tommy Bolin. They always have so much energy; which I always loved. We always kept in touch. Some guys have given up music all together. We did one show together, and the bass player hadn’t played in sixteen years, so we told him you have to play the show; it was a big festival. We had so many band members in Warlock that you had to get everybody together to play.

RIL: Is there any unreleased Warlock material that may be released someday?
DP: Tons of it, but we have so much legal problems with the Warlock name and stuff.

RIL: Is it a band member thing or record label thing?
DP: Actually there are all kinds of problems.

RIL: You can always re-record them.
DP: Yeah, but the band (Doro) is running really well, and we do not want to upset anything. It’s sad, but I would not want to do that to my guys. If everybody would ok it, then maybe, but we just came off tour and it was like one of the best European tours ever.

RIL: I had herd that you had some sort of health problem last year, is that true?
DP: I had two operations. It was a female problem and it was terrible; almost shocking. I never thought those things would happen to me. It was scary, but now I’m okay. It was not cancer. It really makes you think though.

RIL: What is on the horizon for Doro Pesch?
DP: The top priority is an American tour. We want to try and get something good going; either a package tour or do it alone. We are also putting together a highlights DVD that may come out around Christmas. The movie Warrior Soul should be out in January or February 2007.