Portrait by Cunene
Links:
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Date of birth?
July 25th, 1984
When did you start playing?
I started with violin as a child, then at the age of 15 something changed…
Why did you start playing?
My parents noticed my interest in music and encouraged me to start taking lessons.
Favourite bands?
Iron Maiden, Queen, The Police, Europe, Toto, Journey, Survivor, Judas Priest, Symphony X, Angra, Lordi, Stratovarius, Rhapsody and a lot of classical and film score music.
Favourite musicians?
W. A. Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Freddie Mercury, Steve Harris, Sting, Joey Tempest, Samantha Fox.
First album bought?
It think it was “Piece of Mind” by Iron Maiden, in late 90s.
Favourite albums?
Queen “Innuendo”, Iron Maiden “Seventh son of a seventh son”, Europe “The final countdown”, Shaman “Ritual”, Symphony X “The divine wings of tragedy”, Stratovarius “Infinite”, Angra “Fireworks”, Rhapsody “Legendary Tales”, The Police “Synchronicity”, Toto “Isolation”, Nightwish “Wishmaster”, Journey “Frontiers”, Sabaton “The Great War”.
First concert (as visitor)?
A lot of classical music and operas with my parents, first rock concerts probably were Deep Purple or Angra in 2001. The same year I also attended one of the very first Elvenking shows in Venice!
Best live show you’ve seen / would like to see?
The Police (Boston 2008), Stratovarius + Symphony X (Milano 2003), Iron Maiden (Bologna 2008), Rammstein (Verona 2010) / after those ones I can die now.
Favourite EK songs?
Pre-Jakob lineup: Seasonspeech, Jigsaw puzzle, Trows Kind, A riddle of stars, Dawnmelting, The last hour, Silence de mort.
With-Jakob lineup: Midnight skies winter sighs, We animals, Through wolf’s eyes, Chronicle of a frozen era, King of the Elves, Moonbeam stone circle, The solitaire, Draugen’s Maelstrom, The horned ghost and the sorcerer, Silverseal, Malefica Doctrine, Reader of the Runes Book I.
Favourite EK song to play live?
Silverseal, Runereader, Moonbeam stone circle, Draugen’s Maelstrom, Black Roses for the Wicked One…
Which band would you like to open up for?
Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Europe…
Highlight of your career on/off stage?
On stage: Wacken (2016), touring Japan (2016/2018), Masters of Rock (2013/2017), touring South America (2017/2019)
Off stage: receiving our triple gold disc from AFM Records; entering the mainstream charts in Germany; verifying that in the southern hemisphere the toilet water really flushes counterclockwise; chilling and chatting with big metal stars…and still behaving as a teenage fan.
Craziest situation on/off stage?
On stage: Amps exploding in smoke and flames, wireless systems fails during the bass solo in front of 15k people, unbearable sounds on stage, starting with the wrong song and all those wonderful “the show must go on” moments.
Off stage: a lot of toilet-related situations!
Most embarassing moment of your career?
Good old university years. In the band I had at the time, we used to party a bit too much, and that should have happened after the show, not before…
Favourite drink / smoke?
Coke, Mint tea, Mojito / No smoking!
Favourite movies / actors?
Movies: the whole Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Dune, James Bond, Alien and Pink Panther series; everything by Mel Brooks, The Naked Gun series, war, history and western movies in general.
Actors: Sean Connery, Peter Sellers, Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Leslie Nielsen, Clint Eastwood, Gerard Butler, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis.
Favourite TV series?
The Mandalorian, Das Boot, The walking dead, Duck Tales.
Favourite books?
Julius Caesar “De Bello Gallico”, Bram Stoker “Dracula”, Michael Crichton “Jurassic Park”, Frank Herbert “Dune”, T.E. Lawrence “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”. Comics: Uncle Scrooge and Tex Willer.
Favourite computer/console games?
Tetris, Sim City, Warhammer 40k, Hearts of Iron, Dead Space, Call of Duty, Civilization, Company of Heroes, Tropico, Two Point Hospital…
What do you like to do on your freetime?
LAN parties & videogaming, concerts, cinema and mountain trekking.
Describe yourself with 3 words:
Lack of sleep.
Equipment you use?
Endorsements: Spector basses, Dogal Strings, Tech21NYC pedals, Mesa amps, Stefy Line straps.
Personal backline: Mesa Subway head, Schroeder 1212 & 1215 cabinets.
Pedalboard: Tech21 Sansamp – Sennheiser Wireless.