Festival
Gotthard in a free wheel against Lake Geneva
The Swiss hard-rock decapsula the first edition of the Pully Festival, a 14e Album in pocket and renewed energy. Singer’s words.
Gotthard in 2025. Nic Maeder is in the center.
Manuel Schütz
The Gothard, everyone knows what it is. He evokes a long line with verified solidity, sound accelerations then sudden brake strokes, traffic jams and sometimes waiting, the reverse of his success. And also tragic accidents … but there remains unchanging there, in the center of Switzerland, a roar crossing between its populations.
The tunnel? Yes, too. But we were talking about the group. With an “T” in addition, and a lot of electric guitars.
From Ticino to Switzerland
For the past thirty-three years, Gotthard’s music has scolded from Ticino. His guitars early the mountain, conquering German-speaking Switzerland and then Germany and Europe with hard-rock riffs and bristling ballads. French -speaking Switzerland has never been outdone, but it vibrates better than ever for the quintet since the child of the country Nic Maeder gave the center of the debates a gently “assidissessque” power rock with which he won during an Australian youth. He raised the task, which many thought impossible, to replace the original singer, Steve Lee, killed by the trailer of a crazy truck on a road in the United States, a 2010 day.
Immutable smile and long tifs ditto, Maeder takes advantage of the promotion to pass the family to kiss, on the side of Yverdon, and put his French in order. She had emigrated to the antipodes, where the 53-year-old singer spent most of his life in English-speaking, before tackling German and Italian when he joined Gotthard at the end of 2011. Double promo on the menu: his headliner, Thursday, June 26, Pully Festival Premier by the name. And a new album, “Stereo Crush”, the fourteenth …
Gotthard sold 3 million records, including 1 million in Switzerland. An album still has the same weight?
Clearly, no, it has nothing to do with the situation of only fifteen years ago. Everything has reversed, the group lives almost only from its concerts, like most artists.
As such, the penultimate disc, “13”, was released … on March 13, 2020, the first day of the semi-confident in Switzerland. The worst tile.
Yes, we We were met in Lausanne little before, I remember. We were still hoping to turn, but, every day, dates were canceled as European countries entered confinement. In the end, we couldn’t do anything, the disc could not exist. I was in Zurich, the spring was super beautiful and my cellar full of wine, but it goes for a moment … Gotthard had never stopped since 1992 – album, promo, tour, new album. Perhaps this forced break has done good, we felt it by taking up the composition of “Stereo Crush”. We no longer had our contract with Sony either, so no pressure. The disc was really born at its own pace.
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The historic founder of the group is the guitarisate sound. However, is an album a common creation?
Yes, we like to be the three, Leo, the guitarist, Freddy Scherer, and me. One of us brings an idea and we work on it, generally in Lugano, in Leo’s studio. We have this luxury of being able to compose in such a place, to do our demos and then to record and mix the album. I love the composition, even before live. When it starts with not much and it becomes a whole song.
What is Gotthard’s audience, and the most receptive country?
It’s quite family, sometimes we see three generations. In Romania, we had been blown in a big festival: there were only young people, really. Full to crack! They sang all the songs, the lyrics. But our main territory remains Germany. Also Austria, Central Europe. France a little less. French -speaking Switzerland is very faithful, too.
Is the United States still a dream?
We never made them. But we get older, I don’t think we would be ready to cross the continent by bus. It’s huge, it is very expensive, it’s a kid’s adventure.
Gotthard, soon in Pully.
Manuel Schütz
The Rock’n’Roll side of the tours is also behind?
We are rather wise, we have always been, compared to others. Me, I know I have to sing, so I’m very wise! (laugh) We are no longer 25 years old, you have to be careful to hold several concerts.
At this age, you were shooting in Australia with Maeder, your group…
It’s true. From 22 to 40 years old, the rooms, the small pubs, the bars, even when we were signed at Warner Music. We did everything ourselves, we went up and descended the east coast. At one time, we had a residence in two alternating clubs: one week in Sidney, the other in Melbourne, 800 kilometers each time. But we were happy. There is always a reason to hope. We had a single pushed by the label with TV, radio, clip, etc. And suddenly, everything breaks up, we have to start from anything, but we leave.
Did you go to play with Gotthard in Australia?
No. We were to Japan but we did not go further.
In 2011, would you have imagined being there again fourteen years later?
I had no idea. It would have surprised me, I think. But over time, a group becomes like a family. With its ups and downs, we learn to live together. I like the group’s idea. It’s funny, we see less and less among the youngest, there are only solo artists. Playing together, if possible in front of an audience is still great.
In Pully, you will have to choose between how many songs with fourteen albums? Nearly 200?
Minimum. Well, we have the classics, it always fills a good end of the set. We might not not play “Heaven”, for example. People also come for that.
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What are the beautiful encounters you made during your trips?
Surprisingly, it was in Zurich that I met Tommy Henriksen, the guitarist of Alice Cooper. He lives ten minutes from my home, we often see each other, we made a fondue last month! But I have never met AC/DC …
Pully Festival, from June 25 to 28. In concert on the 26th (10 p.m.).
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