Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2021 5:01:42 GMT
Tobias Sammet (43), front man of Edguy and Avantasia, explains in a Corona interview why he looks like the young Günter Netzer, how things are going with his new album and how he sees the chances for his concert with Avantasia in the summer.
Fulda - One year of Corona : What does that mean for the cultural scene? We asked artists, organizers and museum directors about it. Today in an interview : frontman of Edguy and Avantasia Tobias Sammet.
Corona and no end. For artists this usually means: the postponement of the postponement of the postponement of events. You locked yourself up in the first lockdown and worked on a new Avantasia album. Is it ready yet?
No, and I don't even want to be finished yet, because the creative process in my own little world is a lot of fun for me at the moment and it helps me to distract myself. From a purely artistic point of view, everything is fine. The whole thing will be released sometime later in the year, and I hope that someone will buy CDs then. Two years ago the market was down, Covid has now gone one better, and everyone is listening to music on the Internet. But I'm a haptic person and want to touch things, booklet, CD, L , that's a total work of art. All this digital stuff, on the other hand, is really suspect to me.
A bestselling author recently told us that he thinks hairdressers have a bigger lobby than artists. Do you think so too?
That is somehow understandable. If I look in the mirror now, for example, then I see the young Günter Netzer . And when you go shopping you can also see the hairstyles of the others, or what's left of them since the lockdown. The advances in everyday life so somehow more into the consciousness of people , as the lack of concerts . Music is more important to me than hairstyle , but basically we're all in the same boat. I wish every hairdresser the best and don't want to enter a competition to see who is poorer off. Also this hacking on the privileged professional footballers because they are still allowed to play. Let them do it!
As a rule, every artist has a complete arsenal of sound engineers, tour managers, merchandisers, drivers, roadies and so on, who have just been on dry land for a year. The general public receives very little from this guild.
You have other insights; how bad is it?
Bad. It is a matter of hope and fear, some are facing the end, and the first try somehow to orient themselves professionally because it is no longer possible. Many of them have used up their last savings; these are mostly independent one-man companies without a network and a double bottom in their retirement provision. Everyone is hoping that the vaccine will soon return to some kind of normalcy. And yet: on the whole, despite all this, there is a general understanding of the Corona measures, and some of them have had too blatant experiences with the virus in their environment.
We are all not clairvoyant, and we will see whether your concert with Avantasia can take place in front of the cathedral in the summer. Would you prefer to be able to follow through with conditions, or would you want to wait until the world is halfway right again?
That depends on how "halfway in the balance" looks. I definitely don't want anyone to fall critically ill because I gave a concert . That's not how I interpret my basic rights. But I am not a scientist . If the situation eases in early summer, which is what I hope, then I am optimistic. It is then summer, the concert is outside, there is a lot of space and a lot of fresh air. In the end, however, I cannot conclusively judge or even make a decision. We finally have to step on the gas with the vaccination.
How are you personally in the current situation? Are you still sanitizing your mail?
No, I'm careful, but not paranoid. Overall, I'm fine, but of course it's all a big challenge. And I understand when people despair of it and sometimes get angry. But that doesn't get us any further. Nobody wanted it that way, and nobody has experience of how best to deal with such a situation. This applies to politics, to science and also to musicians in lockdown. I always think that's all pill palle compared to what our grandparents had to go through. I stick to the measures and ultimately focus on what I can influence myself.
How do you distract yourself when you're not working?
I often watch football. I think it's good that we haven't turned the juice off of the Bundesliga as well. Schalke fans may have forgiven me for that. Anyway, that gives me nicer thoughts on Saturday afternoons. Otherwise I watch the birds, shovel snow, if there is any, and just sit around, but very often I actually make music. For me this is not just work, but relaxation. When I compose or record, I ignore everything else.
Do you think that with culture, a kind of natural selection will take place through Corona and in the end only what is substantial will survive, or will we be inundated by a horde of wild Mario Barths afterwards?
Most likely the quieter and smaller ones who run out of breath will disappear. But somehow I would also like to believe that quality and the substantial might ultimately prevail in the end.
Fulda - One year of Corona : What does that mean for the cultural scene? We asked artists, organizers and museum directors about it. Today in an interview : frontman of Edguy and Avantasia Tobias Sammet.
Corona and no end. For artists this usually means: the postponement of the postponement of the postponement of events. You locked yourself up in the first lockdown and worked on a new Avantasia album. Is it ready yet?
No, and I don't even want to be finished yet, because the creative process in my own little world is a lot of fun for me at the moment and it helps me to distract myself. From a purely artistic point of view, everything is fine. The whole thing will be released sometime later in the year, and I hope that someone will buy CDs then. Two years ago the market was down, Covid has now gone one better, and everyone is listening to music on the Internet. But I'm a haptic person and want to touch things, booklet, CD, L , that's a total work of art. All this digital stuff, on the other hand, is really suspect to me.
A bestselling author recently told us that he thinks hairdressers have a bigger lobby than artists. Do you think so too?
That is somehow understandable. If I look in the mirror now, for example, then I see the young Günter Netzer . And when you go shopping you can also see the hairstyles of the others, or what's left of them since the lockdown. The advances in everyday life so somehow more into the consciousness of people , as the lack of concerts . Music is more important to me than hairstyle , but basically we're all in the same boat. I wish every hairdresser the best and don't want to enter a competition to see who is poorer off. Also this hacking on the privileged professional footballers because they are still allowed to play. Let them do it!
As a rule, every artist has a complete arsenal of sound engineers, tour managers, merchandisers, drivers, roadies and so on, who have just been on dry land for a year. The general public receives very little from this guild.
You have other insights; how bad is it?
Bad. It is a matter of hope and fear, some are facing the end, and the first try somehow to orient themselves professionally because it is no longer possible. Many of them have used up their last savings; these are mostly independent one-man companies without a network and a double bottom in their retirement provision. Everyone is hoping that the vaccine will soon return to some kind of normalcy. And yet: on the whole, despite all this, there is a general understanding of the Corona measures, and some of them have had too blatant experiences with the virus in their environment.
We are all not clairvoyant, and we will see whether your concert with Avantasia can take place in front of the cathedral in the summer. Would you prefer to be able to follow through with conditions, or would you want to wait until the world is halfway right again?
That depends on how "halfway in the balance" looks. I definitely don't want anyone to fall critically ill because I gave a concert . That's not how I interpret my basic rights. But I am not a scientist . If the situation eases in early summer, which is what I hope, then I am optimistic. It is then summer, the concert is outside, there is a lot of space and a lot of fresh air. In the end, however, I cannot conclusively judge or even make a decision. We finally have to step on the gas with the vaccination.
How are you personally in the current situation? Are you still sanitizing your mail?
No, I'm careful, but not paranoid. Overall, I'm fine, but of course it's all a big challenge. And I understand when people despair of it and sometimes get angry. But that doesn't get us any further. Nobody wanted it that way, and nobody has experience of how best to deal with such a situation. This applies to politics, to science and also to musicians in lockdown. I always think that's all pill palle compared to what our grandparents had to go through. I stick to the measures and ultimately focus on what I can influence myself.
How do you distract yourself when you're not working?
I often watch football. I think it's good that we haven't turned the juice off of the Bundesliga as well. Schalke fans may have forgiven me for that. Anyway, that gives me nicer thoughts on Saturday afternoons. Otherwise I watch the birds, shovel snow, if there is any, and just sit around, but very often I actually make music. For me this is not just work, but relaxation. When I compose or record, I ignore everything else.
Do you think that with culture, a kind of natural selection will take place through Corona and in the end only what is substantial will survive, or will we be inundated by a horde of wild Mario Barths afterwards?
Most likely the quieter and smaller ones who run out of breath will disappear. But somehow I would also like to believe that quality and the substantial might ultimately prevail in the end.