{"id":69321,"date":"2021-03-24T07:44:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T12:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=69321"},"modified":"2021-03-24T08:38:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T13:38:37","slug":"interview-with-andi-barrels-of-black-diamonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2021\/interview-with-andi-barrels-of-black-diamonds\/","title":{"rendered":"Andi Barrels of Black Diamonds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alexandra Mrozowska
\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Nostalgia is a very powerful tool these days, also in music. But is it possible for a contemporary band inspired with the past to actually replicate the retro vibe to their sound, or is the modern influence always going to be there anyway? \u201cPeople might declare it \u201880s Rock, but for me it\u2019s also something current, something fresh,\u201d says the co-founder, co-songwriter and bass player of the Swiss Melodic Hard Rock ensemble Black Diamonds, Andi Barrels. With the band\u2019s new album No-Tell Hotel <\/em>now out, Andi checked in with Hardrock Haven to discuss the songwriting process, their influences, ways of getting exposure and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: It\u2019s been four years between No-Tell Hotel <\/em>and its predecessor. Why did it take you so long to record a follow-up to Once Upon A Time<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: That\u2019s a very good question! I think one of the reasons is that it took us quite a bit to bring out Once Upon A Time <\/em>album to the live stage. We released it in March 2017, but we went on a first tour in the fall, and then again, one year later. We were writing new songs already at the time and we were ready to record the new album when \u2013 out of the blue \u2013 our guitarist Dee [Andreas Rohner] announced his departure. That came literally out of nowhere. He just came and announced, \u201cGuys, I have to talk to you,\u201d and the next time we met, he said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I want to quit the band.\u201d And until then we didn\u2019t even have a clue that this was gonna happen. And then we had a lot of songs which were pretty much written and we finished and recorded them with Chris [Johnson, Black Diamonds\u2019 current guitar player]. So, I guess that\u2019s the main reason behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve just mentioned Chris \u2013 what did he bring to the table and how does it translate into your current sound?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: He came to us and he played a few of the old songs just to see if we can work together. It was amazing \u2013 he was such a kind person, such a nice person, and then he started playing and it was like, \u201cWow!\u201d His playing is really, really good and while Dee was more influenced by more Bluesy Rock bands like Airbourne and AC\/DC, Chris is more influenced by Metal guitar players and I think his playing is different. Solos he plays are probably more melodic, I think, and they just work better with our melodies and our songs. I think we have an album with a lot of very melodic solos and it\u2019s a bit of a transition, if you ask me. And basically he came in when most of the work [on the album] was done \u2013 he did solos himself and came up with the ideas [for them], but the groundwork in terms of the songs had already been laid by the time he joined us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Funnily enough, songwriting process for the album is what I wanted to ask you about right now. I remember that when Once Upon A Time <\/em>was released, you\u2019ve mentioned in an interview that it\u2019s the first album all band members contributed to…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: The process has actually changed again. I think it\u2019s the first time we used the new media \u2013 this time we had a Dropbox folder and everybody in the band just put in their ideas, like an idea tank, and then different people started working on the ideas. So, for example, I would bring in some riff which I liked and I would ask the drummer to come up with something \u2013 he would play along with it. And I think this way we had more time to listen to the ideas before we actually started recording. When I compare it to Once Upon A Time<\/em>, most of the things were written in the rehearsal room and everybody was struggling with their own things to play, so it was difficult to listen to what the other guys are doing. Now it was much easier with the new process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And as No-Tell Hotel <\/em>seems to revolve around a certain theme \u2013 of the titular hotel \u2013 do you think it can be called a concept album to some extent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: That\u2019s a good question! But I think no, because if we\u2019re really honest, the story we wrote about it \u2013 you know, that it\u2019s all about the hotel and the guests and so on \u2013 that basically came after the album was recorded. The songs were already written at that moment and we decided on No-Tell Hotel <\/em>because we thought it would make the great cover artwork, and also it would explain very nicely how the songs were put together. But it was not an initial concept \u2013 we kind of shaped the concept around the finished songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So focusing on the songs, could you please take us through the album track by track?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Yeah, let\u2019s start off with \u201cNo-Tell Hotel\u201d. I think I came up with the idea when I read a book about a no-tell motel which was a shady and shabby establishment. I don\u2019t know (laughs), I just had this movie in my head when I projected the whole thing and made it plushy, made it big, made it shiny… And I liked it so much that I wanted to write a song about it. The other guys were totally convinced by this as well and that\u2019s how the song came together \u2013 first of all, it was the title and then the music was written to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvil Twin\u201d is the second track, and the idea for it was given to us by a friend of the band. Well, he called himself his \u201cevil twin\u201d when we were out there partying and he got wild. When something happened or he didn\u2019t remember things, he used to say \u201cNo, no \u2013 that wasn\u2019t me! That was my evil twin!\u201d And one day he wrote us a huge e-mail with song lyrics \u2013 I don\u2019t know how many hundreds of lines he had written \u2013 and I\u2019ve tried to write some music along with it. But while the music was what I imagined, the words didn\u2019t fit in, so I rewrote most of the lyrics as well \u2013 keeping his original idea and the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLonesome Road\u201d was brought in by our singer [Michael Kehl]. It was actually the last song written for the album. We were almost done with songwriting and we were focusing on another idea where we had just a beginning [part] and we tried to finish it. And he [Michael] said, \u201cYou know, before we start writing, I have this idea in my head, which I would like to play to you. Maybe it\u2019s a stupid idea and maybe it\u2019s not the best timing, but I would like to play it to you.\u201d And I said, \u201cYeah, sure. Do that.\u201d And he played it to me and I was like, \u201cWow! I really love it! Let\u2019s record it.\u201d And so we did, and we put it also on the Dropbox and the next morning our drummer Manu [Peng] sent a text message saying, \u201cDear God, I\u2019ve just found this sweet melody on Dropbox and I just hope this is an original by us and not a cover of a song that I don\u2019t know\u201d (laughs). But the idea was all about the childhood… Actually, Michael had had the vision of the video \u2013 that we later made \u2013 at the moment of writing the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I came up with the riff of \u201cForever Wild\u201d and only then started looking for some lyrics… I liked that kind of \u201cLast time I checked, I was still alive\/So why should I do what you\u2019re telling me\/I have my own life, I have my own way of living it\/And I don\u2019t need to please any other people\u2019s standards\/I make my own life.\u201d And it was Manu\u2019s idea to have this nice transition from, like, \u201880s drums in the beginning to almost Punk Rock elements in a Rock song. I think it\u2019s a little different from most of the other songs on the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we have \u201cSaturday\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s a song based on a wordplay, like S-a-t-your-day… I don\u2019t know how we came up with it, I think it was in the rehearsal and I\u2019ve just thought… Actually, I\u2019ve ever googled it if anybody has ever made this kind of connection that \u201cSaturday\u201d has this \u201cyour day\u201d inside the word… But I didn\u2019t find anything about it, so I thought, \u201cLet\u2019s do a song about it.\u201d And it\u2019s pretty much about having a good time \u2013 the whole band is about laughing and having a good time together and that\u2019s why I think it\u2019s just fit us perfectly.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnytime\u201d is probably the darkest song on the album. It was written about a grandmother \u2013 my grandmother and the singer\u2019s grandmother \u2013 and you know… Before COVID, everybody used to be super busy all the time. You had to go here and there and everywhere, and both Michael and I shared the same feeling that when our grandmothers got older, we just didn\u2019t have the time to visit them that often until one day they sadly passed away and we realized we couldn\u2019t make up for the [lost] time… So I think it meant something to us…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…By the way, can you hear my cat? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Loud and clear! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Probably he\u2019s telling you I don\u2019t feed him enough all day…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Or maybe he\u2019s just sharing his own ideas about the songs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Yeah, probably telling you all that I tell you is wrong and his ideas are completely different… (laughs) But he would also sing the material a bit differently, if you ask me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Probably (laughs). And back to the album, the next one is \u201cThe Island\u201d…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: \u201cThe Island\u201d is an idea from Manu. He recorded the basic riff idea with Dee one night, when both Michael and I were not at the rehearsal. And when we met together to set up the lyrics, he told me about the situation when you go to a concert, to a bar or whatever and somebody comes up to you and starts talking. And you know, the person\u2019s really annoying and not that kind of interesting… but they don\u2019t stop \u2013 and he said, \u201cYou know that feeling when somebody\u2019s coming up to you and you don\u2019t listen to them anymore after a while, your mind goes off and you go like to your own island.\u201d And I really loved the concept and that\u2019s what the song is all about now. It\u2019s a boring conversation and you take off and fly to your own island where you just relax and nothing can bother you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Fate\u201d is probably the track we\u2019ve done the most revisions for. It\u2019s one of the earliest demos, but we\u2019ve never liked it quite that much. We changed a lot of the verses and also the scrapped and redone some… the chorus also underwent a transition quite a few times, until it was what it is now. We were always like, \u201cMy Fate\u201d is okay, but it\u2019s not good.\u201d Then we found the final way to do the chorus and also the verses, and when it got recorded, we thought, \u201cNo, actually it\u2019s turned out quite nice.\u201d And when we heard the final mix, we just went, \u201cWow. Now it\u2019s amazing.\u201d This is the kind of song we wanted to write all that time. And it\u2019s about just living your life like a robot \u2013 you follow all the rules, and then one day you just wake up and you tell to yourself, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not what I want to do. I want to do my own thing. I want to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Do you think it\u2019s common these days for people to live like that \u2013 as you\u2019ve said, like robots?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I do know a lot of people who live like that, yes. They do things because they think it\u2019s what expected of them, and they can\u2019t break out of these expectations and this pattern of common behavior. And I think we have a chance as a band to live a life that not a lot of people can share… We do our own thing. We also have our daily jobs, but still there is some room in our lives to do something special. And we want to encourage people to find what they like as well and to do that, even though some people might frown and them and say, \u201cHey, you can\u2019t do that. Why do you do that…? That\u2019s not normal.\u201d And it\u2019s like, \u201cNo, just do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. And the next one, \u201cHand In Hand\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: This was also Michael\u2019s idea. He had already most of the song written before he showed it to me. He always told me, \u201cI have this new song idea, but I\u2019m not gonna play it to you.\u201d And I was like, \u201cWhat?!\u201d (laughs) And he kept on saying, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not gonna tell you until I\u2019m nearly finished.\u201d He kept working on it and he kept reminding me \u2013 you know, it\u2019s nice if you know about a secret, but you don\u2019t know what it\u2019s about. But still, when he finally came to me, he was like, \u201cI\u2019ve written some of the words but not all of it because I don\u2019t know how to express it very well.\u201d And it was about his daughter when she was born. And I told him I would like to contribute on the lyrics, but I would like to make them open, because for me, the song is gonna be about my wife. That\u2019s why we didn\u2019t mention a daughter or a wife or whatever \u2013 we just wanted to keep it open. And we\u2019ve just said \u201cIt was love at first sight,\u201d without naming who was it for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Do you generally tend to keep your song lyrics open to interpretation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Yeah, we actually try that a lot, because if you specify it too much, maybe less people can relate to it. So sometimes we have our own view of the story, but we try to generalize it a little bit, so it\u2019s easier for people to grasp the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So moving on to \u201cReaching For The Stars\u201d…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I think it was the first new song that was written for the album. When we wrote the material for Once Upon A Time<\/em>, both Michael and I came from relationships that fell apart \u2013 and we were, well, maybe not too overwhelmed with joy (laughs). And the lyrics are way darker than on No Tell-Hotel<\/em>. But we kept pushing ourselves during that time, like, \u201cLet\u2019s play music,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s go out,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s do whatever \u2018cause everything\u2019s gonna be alright.\u201d And \u201cReaching For The Stars\u201d was the story behind that. It was the way we handled our lives and we just kept telling ourselves, \u201cDon\u2019t forget about your own dreams. Keep going on. Things might not be that good for a moment, but it will get better. Just keep trying.\u201d And we didn\u2019t know it by the time we wrote the lyrics. But we\u2019ve read the lyrics after the song was recorded and I confronted Michael and I said, \u201cHey, did you realize this sounds pretty much like our lives…?\u201d (laughs) We wrote it without such an intention. And he was like, \u201cOh my goodness, you\u2019re right!\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And do you think people now identify with this song in a new way \u2013 with COVID and all this doom and gloom around but also, this light at the end of the tunnel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I think the song gets even more interesting just at the moment. I mean, it was clearly written before COVID and we didn\u2019t even know about any virus at the time. But the words, if you look at them now, they just fit the times like a glove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Exactly, that\u2019s what I thought listening to the story \u2013 that it got even more current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Yes, but this is totally without any intention. When we recorded the song last year \u2013 in May or June \u2013 we thought, \u201cWell, this could be one of the singles, but maybe the whole COVID situation will be over \u2018till it gets out,\u201d so we didn\u2019t focus on that. Unfortunately, the situation isn\u2019t over yet, but the lyrics are still so accurate and I think that there\u2019s so much tragedy and bad news around you every day at the moment… I think life has become a little bleak, so if you find something to cheer you up, I think that\u2019s very welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely, that\u2019s what music is for. And the next one is \u201cTurn To Dust\u201d…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: \u201cTurn To Dust\u201d is the one Dee had the most influence on from all the tracks. He came up with the main riff from the start. And when I went, \u201cI got the riff and I like it, it\u2019s cool \u2013 so if you were to give this song a title, what would you like to name it? What does it sound like to you and your ears, what do you think?\u201d, he said, \u201cWell, I would like to write a song that\u2019s titled \u201cWe\u2019re All Gonna Die.\u201d And I said, \u201cYeah, but it\u2019s too common for a wording, so I wrote all the lyrics around his idea, but without taking \u201cWe\u2019re All Gonna Die.\u201d I just wanted to have a different feel to it, while I think it\u2019s the same topic in a way. It\u2019s like, \u201cLive your own life while you can, because if you just wait up, one day you\u2019re gonna be gone and it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Very true! And the last stop is \u201cOutlaw\u201d…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: (laughs) \u201cOutlaw\u201d is the song that took me the longest to convince the band to play it. When I brought in the intro and melody and I played it to them, I remember well how Michael told me, \u201cAre you crazy? I\u2019m not gonna play Bonanza<\/em>!\u201d And I said, \u201cNo, but this is really cool and I think this is gonna be awesome!\u201d And he was like, \u201cNah, I don\u2019t like it!\u201d Then I went back and wrote the verses and I think the chorus as well. And then, a few months later, I brought up the song idea and I played it live this time \u2013 not just on a tape \u2013 and finally he said, \u201cYeah… now it\u2019s not that bad, the chorus is good… let\u2019s at least work on it. But I\u2019m not convinced yet.\u201d And when we started working on it, after a few times we played in, they were all in for it. So it was an interesting song \u2013 and it\u2019s a little bit of a Western parody really, it has fun elements in it and it\u2019s about a person on the run, stealing things for their life and doing whatever they please… Maybe everyone of us would like to be an outlaw sometimes and it\u2019s just a fantasy…?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Probably! And you\u2019ve mentioned the video to \u201cLonesome Road\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s pretty nostalgic and pretty funny, and probably interesting especially to your fans…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I think so, yeah (laughs). The song is about our upbringing and how things have changed since we were younger and how things are nowadays, and Michael basically wanted to write a song about how most of his young life was spent on that very road, where he learnt how to ride a bicycle and played… There were no video games those days, when we were that young. And that\u2019s what he packed in it, and what he said was, \u201cEvery time I come home, I see this road and I know this is home, this is where I belong.\u201d And he already had the idea of a video where we show some pictures of when we were younger \u2013 well, in fact he wanted to show way more pictures than we did, but I was against that. I told him, \u201cI would like to have more video elements just to keep it more vivid and not too static.\u201d With just pictures, it would be more boring probably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: More like a slideshow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Yes, exactly! To me, it felt like the old \u201cThis is a picture from my last holidays,\u201d \u201cThis is me with my cousin\u201d and blah, blah, blah… And I didn\u2019t want that (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So maybe the final idea was better after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I think yes. I love the final result and I love the picture idea as well, and I think now it\u2019s not boring but still it shows a little bit of truth about our past, and also it captures the song very nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: It definitely does. And before the new album was released, you guys took part in a release night stream and actually encouraged your fans to offer you some challenges for exchange of them buying the copy of the album…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: (laughs) Well, if you saw the release show…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: I did! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: (laughs) …then you could see we don\u2019t take ourselves too seriously. We handpicked the challenges we would do and we didn\u2019t want to go for the easy ones. We wanted the whole thing to be entertaining and also the idea of just playing a streaming live show was not really our idea. We thought, if you stream a live show it\u2019s just like a videoclip \u2013 it has no feeling and it has no vibes, so we wanted to do something special. And I think the challenges were the most crucial part of the show. We made ourselves look goofy, but on the other hand we were entertaining and I think that\u2019s what people want at the moment. They want somebody to make them smile because when it comes to boring stuff, they have it in the news 24\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely. Now, Black Diamonds was put together as early as in 2004. Do you think the situation in the music market improved for the Rock bands at least a little bit through all the years that passed, especially when it comes to the \u201880s-influenced bands?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I think the music industry has not changed that much since 2004, but a lot in the years before that. Maybe if you take a look at [the period from] the \u201890s to 2000s, that\u2019s where the biggest changes were… There is still a Rock scene around, but it\u2019s not mainstream anymore. A lot of music is still played, there\u2019s a lot of festivals still going on and probably [its] numbers are even growing. And surely there\u2019s a lot of great musicians around. But it\u2019s just there\u2019s no platform anymore to broadcast them. I don\u2019t know how other countries are like, but in Switzerland there\u2019s Pop music in the radio and that\u2019s it. There\u2019s no place for Rock bands unless it\u2019s, for example, AC\/DC or Bryan Adams with songs that were written like thirty years ago. But there\u2019s not a lot of current music [there]… Still, I think there\u2019s an interesting scene around here and I\u2019m not sure, but I have a feeling that the music of nowadays, which is not hand-made at all and can\u2019t be really played live, maybe that\u2019s a trend that\u2019s gonna change again. I hope that the hand-made music is coming back and people will start to like this kind of music again. But there\u2019s also other changes coming on with Spotify, with all the streaming platforms… maybe that\u2019s what changed since 2004. Album sales are gonna drop more and more, I expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Speaking of the \u201880s, what do you find so fascinating about that era?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: It\u2019s not the question that I\u2019d ask myself. Maybe I\u2019d rather rephrase it \u2013 why I\u2019m playing this \u201880s kind of Rock music…? That is an easy one, because that\u2019s the music we grew up through. I was a Guns N\u2019Roses fan since I was twelve, and I shared this passion with Michael, our singer. I\u2019ve been listening to the same kind of music for, let\u2019s say, past ten plus years \u2013 we\u2019re all getting older, right…? I still love the same music, and when I write a song, I don\u2019t go and think I would or should play a song like this or that. I just play something and if I like it, this is gonna become a song; if I don\u2019t, maybe I\u2019ll like it the next time. But I don\u2019t really think about writing a song \u2013 it just happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: But would you say your music is an \u201880s Rock with a modern twist…? I mean, are there any contemporary influences as well, alongside classic bands like Guns N\u2019Roses…?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Yeah, definitely. I think the biggest change that happened to the band was probably when we went out on tour with H.E.A.T. in 2017. I think that matured us as a band and also changed our way of writing music. And they were the major influence on us even before we went on tour with them. I mean, I loved their music and I still do. There\u2019s bands like Crazy Lixx and Eclipse that play also the kind of music I really like \u2013 to me it has a modern touch, it sounds fresh and is different. So people might declare it \u201880s Rock, but for me it\u2019s also something current, something fresh. I listen to a lot of Nickelback, which is also a band I really, really like \u2013 not just because of the hit singles. It\u2019s even more about the songs that are not featured on the radio. They have a lot of great ideas and a lot of great tracks as well. I think they\u2019re also a big influence on us. And yet, there\u2019s bands like Def Leppard, KISS, M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce \u2013 we still listen to them and yeah, maybe sometimes you play something and you think, \u201cYeah, that could sound like something like that. I like it, let\u2019s keep it like that.\u201d So, you\u2019re right \u2013 it is a mix of a different sort and a variety of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. And speaking of influences, having already covered such classics as Chuck Berry\u2019s \u201cRock And Roll Music\u201d or The Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201cJumpin Jack Flash\u201d, what other song can you imagine the band doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: We\u2019re used to play cover songs during our shows, one or two per set maybe \u2013 just to have something for people that don\u2019t know us yet, something they can relate to. And I think it\u2019s pretty difficult to find a song that sounds good, but also fits the band\u2019s sound. You know, I love a lot of songs out there, but not a lot of them would fit Black Diamonds well, so it\u2019s not too easy to find a cover song that you\u2019re playing well. And if you play a cover song and you don\u2019t get it and you don\u2019t play it right, I think you\u2019re losing. So you need to find something that fits the image and also the sound of the band. We have decided on some new songs that we want to try for the next shows \u2013 if there\u2019s gonna be any next shows! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Let\u2019s hope so…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Absolutely! I don\u2019t want to reveal any titles yet, but we have selected some and when you\u2019re looking for cover songs, I wouldn\u2019t take anything recent. For example, if we played a song by H.E.A.T., that wouldn\u2019t turn out too well \u2018cause the time between their version and ours is just too small. You\u2019d compare it to the original. With something older, like Chuck Berry, you can reinvent the song in your own style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: That\u2019s right. We\u2019ve already talked about the lack of a platform for exposure for bands like Black Diamonds. But observing your social media, you seem to get quite good a coverage from the German-speaking media and, I suppose, Swiss media as well. But do you think there\u2019s enough support from media worldwide?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I think we also saw a lot of media coverage from the UK, which \u2013 to be honest \u2013 came as a total surprise to us. We also did a few interviews for the Australian magazines and two or three more with the American magazines. I think it takes longer to get known in other places all around the world. Because also, we\u2019re coming from close to Germany, so it\u2019s clear we\u2019ve played some shows there and they already know our name and probably saw us playing live. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re working on \u2013 we want to be known in other countries as well, and we\u2019ve been working hard especially for this album to make it known as much as possible. I think we\u2019re not done with it yet and I hope we can support it with live music to get our name out on the streets again. But like I said, there\u2019s basically no market anymore for Rock music, so it\u2019s not easy to get people to hear about you. There\u2019s millions of new songs of Spotify all the time, so how can you stand out…? Well, I think you have to work hard to do that. And once you appeal to people, I think media are also gonna cover it. They don\u2019t have a chance to find every good band out there, because there is a lot. They\u2019re also finishing with a big tank with a lot of fish just hoping to catch something, and we hope one day it\u2019s gonna be us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And speaking of recognition \u2013 years ago, the band took part in a soap documentary Pimp It Or Kick It<\/em>. Do you think such TV appearances are a good way to give an up-and-coming band some exposure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: (laughs) I do think so, yes. I mean, I cannot speak for bands in general, but I have the feeling that like with our music, we like to have fun, we like to play and make people laugh. So in a way, I think, you could call us entertaining. And the TV show was good for that fact \u2013 we made a lot of people smile. A lot of people saw us previously just in the photos, and because we had black clothes and eyeliner, we were thought of as a Metal band. I don\u2019t understand why they had such an image of us \u2013 they\u2019ve never heard a single song! And when they saw us on TV and we didn\u2019t appear to be devil-worshipping freaks, I think they started to actually give us a chance and listen to the music as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Right. And try as we might, we can\u2019t avoid talking about the current situation worldwide, so we kind of revolve around this topic \u2013 so in the light of all that, what are the band\u2019s plans for the next months? Is there any hope for Black Diamonds touring again soon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: I\u2019m a hopeless optimist. I cannot live in the world where I think everything\u2019s bad, nothing [good] is gonna happen and we will never be able to play again. That\u2019s how I\u2019m working. We\u2019re loosely planning a tour \u2013 our label [Metalapolis Records] is working on it \u2013 and hopefully we\u2019re able to go out and play a few dates in September. I also hope that things are going back to normal and probably bands like us… you know, we\u2019re not exactly filling stadiums (laughs). So the chance for us to play is probably higher than for a big band where a lot of people would come to the concert. I think things will be possible again, and right now we\u2019re working very hard in the rehearsal room to be ready. Once the gate\u2019s open, we want to be out there and we want to play. And we want to be ready and not like, \u201cOh, we haven\u2019t been doing anything until now.\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So we\u2019re all looking forward to it! Is there anything you\u2019d like to add in the end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi Barrels: Now that you\u2019ve just asked me, you know… it\u2019s kind of weird that we had Chris for a little bit more than a year in the band now and we haven\u2019t played live one single time with him. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how it works onstage, \u2018cause we have no idea! (laughs) But for the moment, I think we\u2019re totally overwhelmed by the feedback we received on the new album. We\u2019ve recorded an album with songs that we\u2019re proud of, it\u2019s music we like and it\u2019s massive \u2013 it\u2019s huge \u2013 to get that much positive feedback and to see the people like it as well. And I can only tell you, it comes from the bottom of our hearts. This is really honest music and it\u2019s super cool to see people like it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit Black Diamonds online<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014 Nostalgia is a very powerful tool these days, also in music. But is it possible for a contemporary band inspired with the past to actually replicate the retro vibe […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":69323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[15348,15349,203],"class_list":{"0":"post-69321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews-recent","8":"tag-andi-barrels","9":"tag-black-diamonds","10":"tag-interview"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}