Interviewer: Sarah Schwindling

 

 

Gared: Hello. We are back again with a FanTerview from, about, through Gared Dirge, conducted by Sarah. That's Sarah.

Sarah: Hello.

Gared: She prepared a catalogue of questions which she'll ask me now and I'll answer the best I can. Let's go. Intro go!

 

Sarah: First a very kind question, how are you?

Gared: Oh, I'm pretty good I can't complain. Thank you very much.

Sarah: And how is Jill?

Gared: Jill, who doesn't know her, that's Jill. Jill is good. She's doing well and we live in harmony.

Sarah: Then, how do you feel about the tour until now?

Gared: Now, retrospectively considered, a bit fast. I can't believe that this is the fore-last tour-block. We'll play in Köln, Osnabrück, Hamburg next week, in a different order. And very pleasant but somehow already over, very strange but really nice and it makes, as always, a lot of fun.

 

Sarah: Is there a song of Empyrean that you like to play on stage?

Gared: That changes daily, like favorite song by us or of the new album in general. Yesterday I had a lot of fun during No Gods No War. That's such a pretty, full axe where you just pelt the guitar but like I said it changes daily. I think two days ago it was.. No not two days ago. At the fore-last show it was the first two ones. Which ones are they... Drag Me To Hell and Miss Machine. They come back to back and they make a lot of fun as opener. But like I said, like I already said three times now, it changes daily.

Sarah: What I'm very curious about is, how was it to learn how to play the theremin?

Gared: Exciting. Above all things completely new for me. I come from a musical background where you kinda... you have a haptic response, first of all, and second also.. you are bound to the 12 tone chromatics that we use in our west music world, the tones between C and C, which are kinda pre-written. And with the theremin you don't have that chromatic, kinda similar to the cello or violin where you just have the fingerboard, where you can move free. There you have an optic and haptic response at least. With the theremin you only know the tone with where your arm is. It was very exciting but also very difficult I have to confess. But it works pretty well. It was a true adventure.

 

Sarah: Were you nervous when you played the theremin on stage for the first time?

Gared: A lot, a lot. Of course I had one or another rehearsal with it but on stage I thought: “Okay, hopefully it works. Hopefully I'm good with my intonation. Hopefully this will work well.” A theremin is very influenced by its environment. It needs a certain room around it with nothing in it besides of my hand that definite the pitch, because you move in an electromagnetic field, to explain that real quick for the viewer too. You move in an electromagnetic field that gets send by an aerial and you definite in that field with a certain distance with your hand or arm the pitch. And in that field shouldn't be anything else and it was very uncertain if that works with all the stuff on stage.

 

Sarah: What are you doing besides of Lord Of The Lost?

Gared: I'm generally bookable, that sounds a bit like prostitution... As which musician you'd like, as a keyboarder, on stage or as a drummer or in the studio or as whatever. I do what I can. Once in musical regard but also in sound technical regard. I also assume technical stuff in productions if somebody asks me for it. I work a lot in productions that Chris and Benny, our tone-man, have together in the studio. And I work in a concert location near my apartment as...time-killer sounds stupid, that sounds like I'm bored, but I have the time for it and I'm up for it and it saves my rent every month. As musicians we move in a business that's very uncertain. It's possible that there is one month or a few months that are shit. Thus I have a job alongside that saves my rent and makes my fridge full. So I make it how I have time.

 

Sarah: What would you like to do job-wise if Lord Of The Lost wouldn't exist?

Gared: I'd definitively be active in music in a different way. An other option never really existed. If not with Lord Of The Lost, I would have found an other way into the music world or in the music buisness. I make music since I was a kid anyway so it was like predetermined way for me. I don't want to do anything else and I can't do anything else. I can cook a bit but no. Music in every way yes and maybe sound technician because I studied this.

 

Sarah: Can you imagine to give music lessons?

Gared: I give music lessons, in fact. As a temporary replacement, more or less. I always switch with Corvin Bahn our invisible sixth band member. The most people know him as the second keyboarder of our acoustic ensemble, that we put on stage many times now. He gives instrumental lessons, piano lessons at a music school and we switch places. So when he's on tour and I am at home, I undertake his lessons for a few weeks or for how long he is away. When he's back her undertakes it. So, I do, but I have to admit, I can't imagine to only do this. I always need the balance. It is beautiful and it makes fun otherwise I wouldn't do it, but I would need the balance to be active in music myself. But this in a combo is awesome.

 

Sarah: How did you made up the stage name “Dirge”?

Gared: It was a combo of a little schnaps-mood, as we came together 7 years ago. “A cool stage name would be nice. Gerrit Heinemann is not so... Let's do something.” And somehow this word always fascinated me. Dirge, for the people who doesn't speak English that well, is a chant for death. A song that gets played on a funeral. And somehow this word amazed be. It sounds like something do musical wise but at the same time dark and morbid and maybe sad too. It fitted back then, maybe I would make up something else today but now it belongs to me.

 

Sarah: What was your craziest meeting with a fan?

Gared: A few. I don't know which one is the craziest. I would have to think about it a little longer. A few less crazy, a few where I thought “What was that?” and some in a sort of uncomfortable way, where someone just walked up to me and said something straight into my face, where I was really confused. I can not say it, because of far reasons. But there where a few weird things.

 

Sarah: And what was the craziest gift from a fan?

Gared: Hmm, I got some Unicorn-Condoms. I don't know if you know them, they are vegan and correct and they probably taste good too, I don't know. They feel very good too. That was pretty crazy.

Sarah: And what was the most beautiful gift from a fan?

Gared: There I have to be a bit more basically. The most beautiful gifts are the gifts that fans make by themselves. I got in Helsinki a few months ago a selfmade scarf in rainbow colors with the Nyan-Cat. The people of the internet will know what I'm talking about right now. A 1 meter long scarf, that was fascinating. You have to know how to do it and it looked perfect like it was made by a machine. These are the most beautiful things, which come from the heart.

 

Sarah: What was the first concert you went to?

Gared: Good question. I think the first concert I went to and bought myself a ticket for was Die Ärzte in Braunschweig back in 2002 or 2003. I was 16 years old and thought “Now you'll go to a concert.” And I put on my army jacket, my jump boots and went to the Ärzte concert. That was amazing. I believe that was my first concert.

Sarah: What was the first album you bought yourself?

Gared: The first one I bought myself and didn't get as a gift? Okay. I think that was the Bravo-Hits 95. Or a maxi CD of Scooter that I always bought with my brother and that we absorbed because we found it so awesome. That was in the mid 90s so it's one of those two, I'm not sure.

 

Sarah: Did you received a immoral offer by a fan?

Gared: Yes. Yes. And no I didn't accept it. None of them, I believe. No.

Sarah: If you could switch your life with the life of one fictional character, who would it be?

Gared: A fictional character of movies and stuff? Okay. I think I'd like to be the doctor of Doctor Who or his companion. For one day this would be cool.

Sarah: Do you have a favorite food or a favorite drink, that preferably is alcoholic?

Gared: A food that is alcoholic?

Sarah: No, a drink.

Gared: You can't go wrong with beer, I have to say. Rather good cold beer or, I'm getting old I've noticed it myself. I begin to like Gin Tonic, what means begin, I do like it. A few months ago you could have throw me to death with it, but I like it now. But I think a good red wine or a cold beer. I'm pretty simple in these things and not only these. Food, I think a good steak, a good rare or english steak without side dishes, just a steak. Really awesome. You can't go wrong with that.

 

Sarah: Now to the last question...

Gared: Already?!

Sarah: Yes.

Gared: Pity!

Sarah: The most important question of them all. What is your secret how to become a fabulous unicorn?

Gared: Well, the sense of a secret is to keep it to yourself and don't tell it anyone and to just do it and everyone thinks: “How does he do that?”. If I tell you, I have to kill you afterwards.

Sarah: I don't have a problem with that.

Gared: That makes a mess and we're here in the backstage of Aeverium and they will wonder why there are blood splatter everywhere and then the forensics come and the CSI and that doesn't have to happen. I don't want to do that to you. But it's very important to be fabulous, to be a bit homo flexible, that means being party gay. You have to like rainbows. Like? Like? Like rainbows. Is there rum in the tea again? Just be a unicorn. That's the secret. I think we can close it with this. That was it with your question catalogue already?

Sarah: Yeah, I don't have more.

Gared: Pity! It probably was longer than it seemed. This was a very entertaining and deep conversation, with Sarah and me. I found it beautiful!

 

 

 

Translation: Sarah Schwindling