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M:
Really?… We tried to do the best we could! Thank you very much. Let’s
take things from the start. On 2002 you decided to split up Demon Drive
and to reunite again with Casanova… what led you to that decision? M:
When I was on Demon Drive, everybody was asking in every interview if
it’s gonna be a reunion for Casanova and furthermore we had no real
standing with Demon Drive. The sales were kind of bad so we said that we
should finish this project. I was not planning to re-unite Casanova so
quickly after the disband of Demon Drive… but it’s just happened. The
drummer and me got in contact and we talked about a lot of personal things
and this led to a meeting and the guitar player was there as well. We
played together and again and we asked each other who wants to have a
re-union again and the guys said it’s ok lets do it. So that was the
story… and here we are again! Casanova…
with the original line–up again. How difficult was to bring all the
original members back on the band again? M:
Well it was a bit of chaos… because everybody has his own life now. They
have been playing music all the time but in the end we succeed it. The
bass player is working as an actor, he is playing in a musical now, and
the other guys are working as well so we managed to meet together last
December and finally everybody played on the album. We are very happy with
the result of the album. So,
can you tell me, why Casanova split up twice in the past? M:
The first split up of the band was due to grunge music. That came in 1994
with Nirvana and we said ok that’s enough for now and there is no choice
for music again. Then we had an offer in 1999 for doing an album for the
Japanese market and that went fine. Then there were a couple of
unfortunate circumstances, which led to personal hurries, and worries and
we had to split up again in 2000. Now everything is fine and all those
problems belong to the past and I really do not want to talk about them
anymore. Before we
talk about the new album please tell me who had the idea to call the band
Casanova? M:
That was about 12-13 years ago. It was kind of my idea together with
Michael Eurich. We were searching for a name that would fit to our music,
a kind of provocative name. Then I remembered that I was reading a book of
Giacomo Girolamo
Casanova and how he lived a very wild life as he was seducing
women but he was also a teacher in mathematics. So, we thought that was
not only a cool name but it’s sounding wonderful… at that time we
looked pretty good, we were all in good shape and we had a little
Casanovas in the band as well!! (laughs) Ok.
Well, why “All Beauty Must Die”? M:
It’s a phrase from on of my all time favorites songs of Nick Cave and
Kylie Minogue, which is called the “Wild Rose”. That song was a smash
hit some years ago. That’s a very sad song where Kylie is lying on a bed
of roses and a phrase of the lyrics says: “All Beauty Must Die”. That
fits perfectly to the artwork… I think its provocative again… I mean
there is a wonderful lady lying naked on a bed of roses and you do not
know if she is sleeping or if she is dead! I love the artwork it’s
brilliant! That’s why all beauty must die. So, as years passing by and
you are getting older in the end you have to die… that’s the truth. And
why is she lying on roses? M:
The rose is a kind of a logo for Casanova. If you look at the first album
you will find a rose there. That’s why we picked up that photo from an
American photographer, Justice Howard. We fell in love with that photo and
we have to buy it. It is unbelievable! So,
you do not know that lady! What a pity! M:
No, of course not. We found the picture in the internet and then we
contacted the photographer in Las Vegas and we tell him that we are a rock
band from Germany and that we love very much this photo and we like to buy
it. Ok,
back to music again. Are the songs of the album new ones? Or you used some
leftovers from your previous bands? M:
There are a lot of new ones and new recordings. The only one that is a
little older is “Lying”. That is an old song that I wrote almost ten
years ago, between the “InBetween” E.P. and the “One Night Stand”
period. The 80% of the material is kind of new. “All
Beauty Must Die” is a rock album. Was it something that came up
naturally or did you schedule it along with the other members of the band? M:
No, it just happened. We didn’t do that. You know, Michael plays the
drums, I play the rhythm guitars and stuff like that it just happened. It
all came naturally definitely. Now,
let’s talk about the songs of the album. M:
Yes, of course….
“Happy”:
it’s kind of a road song in the style of Bryan Adams. When you are on a
convertible car and listen to music while you are crossing a big road on
South America… it’s a very good song. Makes you wanna run faster with
the car. “Not
Over You”: It’s a bit more modern song. It’s very narrow on the
verse and then it explodes on the chorus again! I love also the chorus of
the song… arada dadada… I’m not over you! (interviewers
note: he
sings again! On my God, what a wonderful voice!!). Especially I love
the bridge of the song. “Would
I”: it’s written by Mr. Russ Ballard who was composing songs for bands
like Hot Chocolate, Rainbow, etc. He is one of the greatest songwriters…
absolutely brilliant! I visited him in England in his home where he played
me a couple of songs and I picked out “Would I”. It fits perfect on
the album and I’m very proud to have a song of Russ on the album. Russ
Ballard???? Where is he? What is he doing? Why is away from music industry
for some many years??? M:
He is a very rich man… he lives in his farm which is very big, it’s
like a castle and he’s sitting there and writing some songs for an
American band and he is quite busy at the moment. Will
he release any solo album in the future? M:
Not at the moment… but he’s got on in the pipeline and should be out
in the next year somewhere. Russ is one
of my favorite songwriters… but let’s go on with the songs of the
album. M:
“Lying”: is my tribute song to Def Leppard… I like the groove, the
backing vocals, and the guitar work very much. “Dreamer”:
A song that made it as the last song on the album and I wrote along with
the guitar player. It’s a rock song… just go out have fun and go for
it! “Last
Of The Runaways”: It’s the favorite song of my little daughter, she is
just two and a half years old she loves the song’s tune. It’s very
good, just a little story. “Under
My Skin”: is a little bit older song it’s was written in 1994 by
Stefan Neumeier and it’s a typical tears for fears. Everybody wants to
rule the world and stuff like that. It’s a little poppy but it has a
very nice melody. “Psycho
Lisa”: I wrote this song along with a very young guy from my hometown
and it is a very strange song and I love it… Lisa nananan… (interviewers
note: he
sings again the melody of the chorus!)… It’s like a psycho path! “After
The Love Goes”: it’s written again from Pertram and it reminds of the
song “Seal It With A Kiss” of the second Casanova album “One Night
Stand”. It has the same groove with that song with a little bit of
english touch in it. Great tune! “The
Guitar Man”: that is a cover version of a 70’s song from an american
band called Bread. It’s a wonderful ending piece for the album, very
smooth and very laid back with a nice melody. It was a smash hit on the
70’s. Do you believe that your fans
were waiting for such an album? M: I hope so. I hope that people will buy and love the album. It’s a classic rock album; I mean it’s not metal. It’s like we always did it in Casanova. We always wanted to do good and dynamic rock music. I love the album and if people love the album like we do, so we did everything right then. Did
you make the production of the album? Are totally satisfied with it? M:
Yes. I did the production and in the end the boys came together and we did
the mixing of the album. Do you
think that now is the time for Casanova to make the big step in their
carrier? M: I do not know. We are trying hard to get back in the business and hopefully we will do another two albums. So, let’s see what’s in the pipeline. Are
you also satisfied from your label? M:
Yeah, it’s great to work with them. Everything is peaceful, everything
is cool and he managed to get us a Japanese deal as well. Things are very
nice. So what
do you think that gone wrong back in the early 90’s and Casanova did not
become so big band as everyone believed? M:
I do not know. You gotta ask the Gods… the Gods of Greece maybe!
Sometimes it happens but at the end I’m satisfied. It’s fine to have a
stand to have a living and to make music. I’m really fine. I have no
regrets and truly I do not want to think of those things now in 2004. Ok, so let
me ask you some general questions now. How do you manage to keep your
voice in such good shape? M:
Well I do not know. I mean I work sometimes with my cover bands, we are
playing for 22 years now on little shows on cities venues and stuff like
that. It never changed. I do not smoke, although I drink a couple of red
wines but not too much and I do a lot of sports. I’m trying to keep
myself in shape and that’s it. You have to lead a good life to do music
and releasing albums. I’m not a broken man neither a smoker nor a
drinker though. The only thing that I’m addicted to is my music and
I’m glad to do that. I can share it with my fans and I’m glad to give
another album and I wanted to make it perfect. Well I’m not that really
old… I’m 39 years old now! No, for
Gods shake! (laughs from both sides). Do you think that hard rock music is
on its rise again… or it has already risen? M: Well good music is
always there. I mean Bon Jovi, Richard Marx, are always selling many albums.
It could be on the rise but the market is too full at the moment because
everybody releases albums! Ten or fifteen years ago you could only find
good releases and nowadays the fans just do not know what to buy! The
companies got too many bands at the moment and the product does not worth
the money… that’s the problem. There are too many albums on the market
now! Can you
tell me in which of those bands that you are participating do you prefer
to play and why? M:
No I can’t. If I start to do music I have to love the music otherwise I
can’t play. I love to work with Silver, I like to work with Casanova as
well. I love my music.
Which
scene do you prefer most? The American or the European one? M:
I do not care… everything. As long as it is good then I have no problem.
There only good songs and bad songs… I do not care who plays them. Well we get
a picture about hard rock bands especially in America that have big
parties, many beautiful women, lots of drugs and less care for the
music… after all hard rock music is all about sex, drugs etc.? Do hard
rockers live in such a way? M:
It’s just a picture and I do not really care about it. Maybe it was
worth the way the American guys were handled that but nowadays these guys
are 20 years older (interviewers
note: we both started
laughing)
and there are too many drugs… well I do not care! Sorry! Which
is the most wrong decision that you have ever made? M:
Too many to mention. The most important thing is to learn out of your
mistakes. Every human being is making mistakes we cannot avoid that. And
which is the best decision as well? M:
That when I became 40 years old, I decided that I wanted to be a rock
star… I must be a rock star, please I need a guitar…. (laughs
from both sides) If
you had the chance to do some things again what would you do first? M:
I do not know… well I like to go on tour and play through Europe for one
or two months. I like to do that! Can
you also tell me which album of Casanova do you consider as the best? M:
I can’t tell. I like all the albums; they are all my babies and every
single note of them. I love they great and unique. What
inspires to write such good music? M:
I do not know… I’m just sitting with my guitar and I’m trying to do
the best I can. I’ve got some ideas around my head and I like to play
around with melodies… Then I breathe my inspiration into the songs.
That’s all! That’s
easy when you are a talented man… but if you are not what happens then? M:
Then I have to take care for another job… (laughs) How
far do you think that you can go with Casanova? M:
I do not know… The plans for the future are to play a tour and to record
another album. So, you will have another Casanova album next year again! Now as
Casanova is back again are there any plans for a tour? Will you visit
Greece? M:
Yes maybe next year! Are
you kidding me? That thing will never happen in Greece! M:
… (he laughs)… well seriously if the albums sells good we will go on a
tour and nobody knows what will happen then. Ok,
so lets wait then… Some Weird Questions now, to relax somehow!!! Do you consider yourself as a rock star? M:
No, of course not!! I had my time when we were playing rock stars but now
I’m fine… I’m a musician. Which
is the most overrated band today? M:
I do not talk about colleagues… I do not care. Do
you prefer working as a producer or to sing? M:
I like to work as a producer, it is wonderful… but the singer role and I
like as well. Both are very attractive roles! Imagine
that your wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy for
herself an expensive ring. How would you react? J M: Kill… I would kill
her!!! (laughs) Ok Michael that’s it for
now. Thx very much for calling me! Add anything you want for the end. M:
I like to go on tour and see what’s happening in the world of rock music
and of course I want to come to Greece. I have been there twice for my
holidays but I have never played there. So, I like to come over there. What more can I say? Michael thx for everything. This was maybe the best interview that I have ever done. Casanova rulezzzzzzz!!!! by Thanos “Casanova” Aggelakis |
Hi
Michael… it’s really so great talking to you. Congrats on “All
Beauty Must Die”… I was longing for this album for many years now!
