We are very honored to present you our interview with Rolf Kasparek, guitarist/singer of Running Wild! Rolf talked with Zisis Petkanas about the band's new album, "Rapid Foray", the reform of the band and his upcoming plans! Enjoy!
Rock Overdose: Welcome to Rock Overdose. How are you?
Rolf: I’m fine, yeah.
Rock Overdose: How things going on Running Wild’s side?
Rolf: I’m doing interviews, it’s very busy (laughs).
Rock Overdose: I think this is necessary for the promo of your new release.
Rolf: Right, pretty much that, yeah.
Rock Overdsose: So your new album “Rapid Foray” released a few days ago. How do you feel about this?
Rolf: I’m very excited about this because I’m very proud for this album. We put so much work on it, so I’m really looking forward to hear from the fans how they’ll react for the album, you know.
Rock Overdose: Did you made any pre-listening and you had any reactions from the press?
Rolf: A lot, you know, because I do interviews straight for about, I don’t know, two months or something like that, so I did about a hundred interviews nearly, and it I had very very positive reaction for the album because everybody says “Wow, this is a great album, one of the best you ever did”, so that’s why I’m really looking forward when the album comes out to see the reactions of the fans.
Rock Overdose: Would you like to give us a few details about how long did it take for you to finish the album, about the difficulties that you faced up?
Rolf: I pretty much starting writing the first ideas when I finished “Resilient”, in 2013, and on Junary 2014 I broke my shoulder so I nearly lost about one year. Pretty much awful, I couldn’t work at all and it was very difficult to come back on the guitar, because I broke my right shoulder. That was a bit of the problems but I could make on my mind about the cover and everything like that when I couldn’t play guitar at the time, you know. And then I came back to the album and I had to put it down again to do the pre-production and also I had the auditions for the last band for the Wacken Open Air last year and when this festival was finished I really needed immediately to go back to the album. So, I had 30-35 basic song ideas from which I had to pick 10 songs to make the album. But it really worked out even if these songs are really different from each other. But i had figure out the appropriate sound for each song because I don’t want to have an album which sounds from the first to the last song the same way, that was not my intention. Fortunately, I had the time to do all these and to pick the songs I wanted to put in the album, before the pre-production started. That’s why it’s a great album.
Rock Overdose: Does the new album remind the classics? Maybe we should call it a back to the roots album?
Rolf: Yeah, of course. When I was writing the material I was thinking that some of the songs could be easy on one of the classics on the 80’s or the 90’s. Some of the songs are inspired from this area, so yes, maybe we could say that. This is the feeling, it’s the feeling from the 80’s.
Rock Overdose: So, it will be a feeling from the 80’s with a more modern sound?
Rolf: Yes, right, because I tried to use everything that I use today so as to have the best result, so that’s why the sound is like that.
Rock Overdose: So, If you have to describe the album with one word, which word would you use?
Rolf: Classic.
Rock Overdose: According of your opinion, which of the songs could become a hit, a metal hymn let’s say.
Rolf: Oh, this is hard to tell because you know, on every album you have some songs that people like more but at this time, everyone who heard the album, all the 11 songs are mentioned as the favorite song of someone, so it’s hard to tell. It’s a total different situation this time. But I picked up “Into The West” so as to play it live, before we release the album. This is the first time we do it actually, so I picked up this song so as to play it live. But I don’t say that it’s the best song of the album.
Rock Overdose: I suppose that it’s up to the fans.
Rolf: Yes, right. The fans will say what they really like.
Rock Overdose: Which is the next plan for the promotion of the album? Any video clip maybe?
Rolf: A lyric video actually, it will come out within the next days. Then we’ll just talk about our future plans, playing live some festivals at 2017. Maybe some shows.
Rock Overdose: Let’s talk about your touring plans. Is Greece in your touring plans?
Rolf: Today no, because we are playing at festivals and after that will see what we can do and what not. Also, Running Wild has a very expensive show, so you need a lot of money to bring it on the stage, so we just wait the offers from the festivals in the first place and the albums isn’t released yet, so after the release will have a lot of offers.
Rock Overdose: But I suppose that you’re looking forward to play here.
Rolf: Yes, it would be great but the problem is that we usually play to festivals. We really want to do it but the plan of the next month is to see what offers we have and see what we can do.
Rock Overdose: There is a story behind some of your last albums, where there are no credits to a drummer or bassist.
Rolf: Running Wild is a solo project now and the musicians that play the bass and the drums live record some stuff but the band is a solo project. We play live as a full band but when it comes to the studio, I play the bass, it’s not a problem for me but I can’t play the drums that’s why there is a kind of difference between the studio and the shows. But I didn’t want the band to become a solo project, it became step by step. It just happened.
Rock Overdose: In 2009 you have announced that you bringing the band to an end but in 2011 you reformed the band. What happened back then?
Rolf: Well, I just announced it on 2009 but I started to think of it in 2006. I didn’t want to do that anymore. I couldn’t write songs, it was very difficult for me and I thought that I had to take a break. So, record companies came to me and they wanted to record all the old stuff classics, because, you know, they aren’t on the market. I said okay, we can try this for the fans. And I then I started to write again some new songs and the album was there. It became a full album, but there weren’t plans for this at the beginning. So, we said let’s try it. And many fans liked it. It came out great.
Rock Overdose: You are one of the first and most famous speed metal bands which have influenced many bands. How do you feel?
Rolf: We never thought that we are speed metal, we just write fast songs. I started to write really fast songs but I never thought that it’s speed metal. This became a part of Running Wild.
Rock Overdose: You have sixteen albums so far. Do you plan to release even more?
Rolf: Yeah, there will be definitely another one. I ‘ve written a lot of ideas when I did the final recordings for the album, so there are a lot of songs for the next album. There will be definitely another one, absolutely.
Rock Overdose: Well, would you like to send a message to your fans and readers of this interview?
Rolf: Well, I really hope you like the album the same way I like it. I’m really proud of that.
Rock Overdose: So, Rolf, thank you very much for this interview.
Rolf: Thank you!
Interview: Zisis Petkanas
Questions and transcription: Sotirelis Konstantinos
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