(Before intro music: Gared mumbling to himself about how he sets the camera and the not so nice picture quality of it.)

 

Q: Do you have a hobby, which is not related to music? If yes, what is it?

A: Generally speaking, no. My only real hobby is music, which meanwhile has more or less become our profession, or at least we are getting there, and there’s this saying, “if you make your hobby your profession, you lose your hobby” … so far music is still my favorite hobby and meanwhile it also is part of my income… so… no time and also I’m not interested in any further hobbies.

 

Q: Have you always wanted to become a musician? What did you do work-wise before Lord of the Lost? 

A: I studied sound engineering at SAE Hamburg. That’s where I met Chris – and so I got spared from having to do a “normal” working career, as it soon started off pretty fast and pretty nicely with Lord of the Lost. Beforehand there has only been the not worth mentioning school- and civil service “career”, which you cannot really call “work”. 

 

Q: How many instruments do you play and which are these? 

A: (Jokingly) All of them! Well, maybe that was a little bit of a lie, a little exaggerated, but it’s actually 2-3; I use to call myself a drumming pianist who also knows a thing or two about guitars, which pretty much sums up, what I mainly do; that’s also what you see me do on stage with Lord of the Lost, with those 3 aspects. Besides that I have been playing vibraphone and marimbaphone for quite a while – these instruments are mostly used in Jazz … which I used to play for years, before I got more intensely involved with Rock music. I’m still able to play these instruments and still like to do so, but right now I’m not active with these. You can generally say, so far I have not played and have no experience yet with wind instruments and string instruments. (then comes a pun, that only german speakers will understand…sorry, not translatable).

 

Q: Is there a chance to just go have a drink with you? 

A: Nope. Sorry. 

 

Q: Are you happy?

A: That’s a sweet question! YES. 

 

Q: If you had to choose… Beavis or Butthead? Why him? 

A: Definitely Butthead. For whatever reason. I think, for Beavis I might be a bit too smart. 

 

Q: What is your currently favorite song? Which song is your favorite one to play on stage? 

A: My favorite song keeps changing daily, according to my mood, that can one day be metal by Opeth or Devin Townsend, next day I might listen to Lana Del Rey or the “happy mood” music by Muse…it changes. Right now… I can’t say, and if I did, I might have to revise that in 5 minutes anyway. Which song I love to play on stage… that’s usually the songs that keep me busy the most within my circle of instruments surrounding me, songs like I.D.G.A.F. where I pretty quickly switch from percussion to keyboards or Black Lolita, where I all the time switch from percussion to guitars and back … the songs, that “entertain” me most, are on top of my list. But generally each song that makes its way on our setlist has its charms and thus finds my full approval on stage. 

 

Q: Is Bo’s guitar now your constant one? And do you have a fetish?  

A: Bo’s guitar… let’s call it lovingly a permanent loan – which I am very thankful for, but no, it’s not my constant one. My only constant guitar is Nora, that has surprisingly been built for me and I’m already talking with Tom from Cyan guitars about something for next year that will primarily be a real guitar without keyboard or further paraphernalia, with 6 strings, as it should be with a good guitar. This will be the “Gared Dirge signature guitar” – but you will see that next year, when it’s built and hopefully will knock your socks off, like Nora.

If I have a fetish?? I do have a table, but there’s no fairies on it (another pun in german, not translatable, sorry.) so – unfortunately I don’t have a fetish. 

 

Q: What is a "yololita"?

A: I don’t know… you tell me? You can write me on Facebook or tell me in some signing session, I really have no idea. 

 

Q: Hi Gared. Do you have a girlfriend? If no, how would a woman (internal and external) have to be to have a chance on you? 

A: I don’t spend time in such utopian illusions, I lack the “thinking energy” and time for that. IF there was a woman… wait, there IS one… that I’d give my whole heart to, which I actually already did, so -let’s forget about the conjunctive at this point…there is a woman that I gave my whole heart to and she will keep it eternally … she sometimes hangs on my neck and you all can see her…no, it’s not the one hanging to my neck right now *points at the LOTL logo necklace*, but Nora, my highly appreciated keyboard-guitar, whatever you want to call it. I have fallen for her… I’m sorry.  

 

Q: What was your reason to become a musician? 

A:  Very simple…the already mentioned love at first sight. As soon as I had started to play the piano, I had almost already decided that I want to do that for the rest of my life, and in the best case even make a living from it. Back then I wasn’t aware, that that’s difficult, but at some point I didn’t mind any more.

 

Q: Who are your musical idols? 

A: I’m not really into “idols” I have to admit, which may sound a bit self-glorifying, but I do not consciously perceive inspiration or something like that, but if I now think about who influenced me and who I look up to somehow, I’d say, inspirationally speaking, it is a mixture of classical piano music such as Chopin and Rachmaninov, then the inevitable Jordan Rudess, keyboard god of Dream Theater, whom I had fallen for for years, as Tobi still is, but also people like Steven Wilson, who are probably somewhat unknown in this scene, but all gifted musicians. If anyone, then them. 

 

Q: You play a lot of different instruments. Is there an instrument that you still want to learn to play? How did you get to be in Lord of the Lost? 

A: As already mentioned, while I was studying at the SAE Hamburg, I got to know Chris; he saw me play on the piano or the keyboard there, apparently he liked what he saw and he thought, “I could use that guy for my little band project that I just started and that I wish to get on stage also – and for that such guy on the keys could be really cool.” He asked me, I said yes. It started with “let’s play one show as a sort of test”, which then was discarded, instead it was “wouldn’t you like to play some piano parts in our upcoming album, so that the songs get a touch of “humanity”? (Antagony), which somehow also got discarded, instead I got asked to actually join the band. (The first two ideas I also did then.) That’s how it happened that I was a member of the band…since April …or May?  2010 I think.

 

Q: It has already been found on some/various photos that you can also be very feminine optically - are you rather proud (in the sense of: variable), indifferent or averse to this?

A: Good question, I like it, and I like to answer it. I really like it, otherwise I would not “celebrate” it the way I do, or “use” it the way I do, like e.g. at the M’Era Luna festival, where I appeared as a “Black Lolita” in a ripped Ballerina dress. I wouldn’t do that, if I did not find it good, that I have this kind of “gift”. In my opinion it is, the more feminine a man CAN be (here is the emphasis on “CAN”), the more masculine he IS in reverse (when he’s not currently running around like a woman ;)  ) – a little bit true to the motto “not cool is the new cool” . 

I need to correct myself a little bit here… I never actively watched “my little pony”, but really liked the rose motive (?). I am generally a friend of everything that is in any way silly and in the eyes of others possibly appears as totally not cool – like for example this jacket that I got as a gift – it has little ears! That’s cool! 

 

Q: I would be interested to know how Gared got the clef in his signature and whether it means more to him than a music symbol?

A: That’s very easy to explain: the clef that I use there to make my signature a little more individual, is the treble clef, also known as the G-clef, the first letter of my name is a “G”, so… it was obvious.

 

Q: Do you believe in horoscopes? 

A: Nope.

 

Q: Is there a Lord of the Lost song, that you really do not like to play live? If so, why not? 

A: Nope. 

 

Q: What do you prefer, coffee or tea? 

A: Tea. Very British, with a little milk and a little sugar. Black tea. Nice, strong and delicious. 

 

Q: As you are away a lot I’d like to know, if you often miss your family, friends etc.? How important are your family, friends etc to you? And what do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not on stage? 

A: I’d be a monster if I didn’t miss my family and friends while we’re on the go. A part of my friends are logically always with me while we’re on tour, the band, the crew, all of us that we are hanging out there together; you miss your family and friends more or less, depending on the daily mood and how much there is to do, so you’re distracted. This somehow also answers already the question what I like to do in my spare time: meet family and friends, catch up with them, spend time with them.

 

Q: How do you manage to answer all the questions here? 

A: That’s easy. I filter out duplicates and questions about which I have nothing to say or don't want to answer, and questions that I can't think of a useful answer within, say, 10 seconds. 

 

Q: Finally an opportunity at which I can ask you this, without appearing somewhat strange: Why are your eyebrows so beautiful? What the hell are you doing with these, so they are so beautiful? 

A: Very simple – I pluck them.

 

Q: Are you a morning grouch or do you jump out of bed and are a “good mood bear”?

A: Neither of them. You cannot expect me to be a “good mood bear” at any time of the day or night anyway – but I’m not really a morning grouch either. I’m rather quiet in the morning until I am a bit more awake. Some confuse that with being a morning grouch, but I can refute that. In the morning I’m simply even more of an introvert than I am already normally.  (smiles “Good Mood Bear” ) 

 

Q: Is Gared your real first name?

A: No. Well, almost, but…no. 

 

Q: Do you believe in rebirth? If yes, what would you like to be reborn as? 

A: No, I don’t, therefore I also don’t think about what I’d like to be reborn as. No idea, what comes after the biological stop in the body but that’s something I don’t think about anyway. 

 

Q: What has been so far your best experience in or with Lord of the Lost and how is it for you when you shoot music videos?

A: Best experience? Definitely, without further thinking about it, the Gothic meets Classic last year, this was my personal highlight and I suppose it was the highlight for all of us, it was a childhood dream come true, to be on stage with a whole symphony orchestra and to perform our own songs in moving. Another highlight was the last M’Era Luna, where we played at an uncommonly early morning time, 11:30am, and it still was pretty crowded in front of the stage. Neither we nor the organizer had counted on that… that was also pretty moving. 

 

 

Translation: Margit Güttersberger