{"id":69666,"date":"2021-11-07T04:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T09:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=69666"},"modified":"2021-11-07T04:00:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T09:00:13","slug":"interview-with-david-reece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2021\/interview-with-david-reece\/","title":{"rendered":"David Reece"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

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We live in an era when every coffee mug and every photo frame insert encourages us to \u201cfollow our dreams\u201d and \u201cfulfill our passions,\u201d and yet \u2013 not everyone has found their true calling. And even if they did, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s getting any easier from now on. There\u2019s still a fine line between having a passion in life and being able to focus solely on it, the matter of financial security getting into the way. But the truth is that once you find something you\u2019re truly about, there\u2019s no way you can leave it once and for all. You can contemplate it and even give it up for a while, but \u2013 health permits \u2013 it will be nothing but just a temporary decision. The story of David Reece\u2019s career is a clear example of that. He considered leaving the music business quite a few times throughout the ups and downs of the last three decades, but with his new solo album Blacklist Utopia <\/em>out now and a string of other projects to follow, it seems passion has won again. \u201cI\u2019d have to be insane to do what I do, but it\u2019s in my DNA, it\u2019s in my bones…,\u201d David says in yet another interview for Hardrock Haven where we talk his new music endeavors, songwriting, politics and pandemic. But most of all \u2013 we discuss whatever it is that keeps him, and everyone of us for that matter, still coming back over and over again to our respective true callings in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: In the last of quite a few interviews we\u2019ve done over the years, you were promoting Sainted Sinners\u2019 album Back with a Vengeance<\/em>. Last year the band regrouped, but without you on board. What happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I just was no longer interested in working with them. I felt like my time was up and Frank [Pan\u00e9, Sainted Sinners\u2019 founder and also, a member of Bonfire] and I decided that I wanna step down. [And I said] \u201cIf you wish, carry on.\u201d We had some business dealings to deal with, and then I wished him luck \u2013 and I still do. And I was really happy with the first album that we did together [Sainted Sinners<\/em>, 2017]. I wasn\u2019t [that happy] with the last one, Back with a Vengeance<\/em>. I know Malte [Frederik Burkert \u2013 Sainted Sinners\u2019 bass player] produced it, but I just felt musically it wasn\u2019t as strong as it could\u2019ve been… and I really, really wanted to start working on my solo career. You know what I mean \u2013 I was tired, the band wasn\u2019t really getting a lot of gigs and he [Frank] was playing in Bonfire which took a lot of his time… So I said, \u201cYou know what? I think it\u2019s time I stepped away,\u201d and I wished him luck and stepped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: All right. So, before we get to your solo career and the new album Blacklist Utopia<\/em>, there\u2019s also a couple of new projects coming on including Iron Allies put together with a former Accept guitarist Herman Frank…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: It\u2019s just strange \u2018cause I\u2019ve just told you that I wanted to pursue my solo career. But over the COVID lockdown, many things happened and of course, nobody could do anything. But I was really lucky to be asked to sing [in various projects]. I didn\u2019t wanna do any, but of course, I had to survive. So there\u2019s a few things I can tell you about before I get to Herman. Can I tell you that first?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely, go on \u2013 I\u2019m all ears!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Okay, great. So, Jimmy Waldo of Alcatrazz is on Blacklist Utopia<\/em> \u2013 he co-wrote a few songs with me. And while we were talking, I was actually offered an Alcatrazz job [of replacing a lead singer] and I turned it down. When Graham [Bonnet] left the band, the management asked me, \u201cYou know, you\u2019d be perfect for Alctrazz\u201d and I said, \u201cYou know what? I don\u2019t wanna be a replacement singer. You know… Doogie [White] is a better choice. Call Doogie.\u201d It\u2019s because he knew the band with the Michael Schenker tours and all that stuff and knowing Doogie, it\u2019s more his style of music anyways. So, Jimmy said to me then, \u201cI\u2019ve got this guy called Steve Rosen\u201d and if anybody\u2019s familiar with Steve Rosen or not, you can go to YouTube. He was writer for Rolling Stone <\/em>magazine and Guitar World<\/em>, I believe, and he\u2019s interviewed everybody \u2013 [Ritchie] Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, you name it. All of them. And his dream his whole life was to make an album and he made all those guitar players that he could promise \u201cIf I ever do an album, would you play on the record?\u201d And they were like, \u201cSure.\u201d So, Jimmy calls me and says, \u201cHey man, I\u2019ve got this project with Steve Rosen \u2013 would you be interested in singing on it?\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah. I need to work, I\u2019m going crazy, I\u2019m stuck at home \u2013 what is it?\u201d So I started listening to the songs and they were great! But I didn\u2019t know that Steve Rosen has made a deal with all these other guitar players (laughs). So I\u2019m writing the songs \u2013 I wrote nine with Steve and Jimmy and we did two songs by Blackthorne \u2018cause as you know, Bob Kulick has died not that long ago. So I\u2019ll be singing a couple of classics that Graham had done [in Blackthorne]. And while this was going on, I started getting messages, like \u201cOh, Joe Satriani\u2019s playing on this song.\u201d \u201cPaul Gilbert\u2019s playing on this song.\u201d \u201cKane Roberts is on this song.\u201d And I said, \u201cHey, let\u2019s get Herman Frank on the song\u201d and okay, we\u2019ve got Herman on the song. And Bumblefoot\u2019s on one song… So I\u2019m literally singing my songs and I\u2019ve got the royalty playing the guitar around me. So it was really cool. And I said, \u201cWell, we need a band name for this thing. A project name. How about the Highway Sentinels?\u201d And they went, \u201cHey, that\u2019s great!\u201d But that\u2019s what it\u2019s called and I\u2019m not exactly sure when that\u2019s coming out, but I\u2019m really proud of it. I mean, it\u2019s amazing, and all those great guitar players… to hear the way they interpreted the songs that I wrote with those guys around my voice… it\u2019s amazing. So I\u2019m excited about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the next thing I did, obviously you know I did gigs with John Steel. And that kind of brings us back to Doogie, because Doogie had sang an album with them [Everything or Nothing<\/em>, 2017] and I do a lot of gigs with them in Bulgaria. And they asked me, after we opened for HammerFall, \u201cWould you be interested in doing a record with us?\u201d and I said, \u201cYeah.\u201d So I did that album \u2013 the new one \u2013 and it\u2019s called Distorted Reality<\/em>. It\u2019s not released yet, but I understand they\u2019re getting close to releasing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did some few other projects \u2013 some demo work, which keeps my voice in shape and puts food in the house… I work with Taz Taylor, Christian Baltendorf, Christian Tolle and a bunch of other German guys I know… And \u2013 on top of all that \u2013 Michael Klein from Wicked Sensation calls me out of the blue… As you know, I did an album Adrenaline Rush <\/em>with them in 2014, and that\u2019s a great album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yes, those guys… they can really write songs. They\u2019re master songwriters, and they have Dennis Ward producing them, so it\u2019s a perfect combination. So they sent me a couple of tracks and I said, \u201cThis is really good\u201d. They asked if I wanted to do an album, and I said, \u201cYeah.\u201d So I finished the whole album, which is scheduled for December 17th<\/sup>, 2021 \u2013 as well this year… (laughs) I wrote all the lyrics and the melodies with Michael and Sang [Vong] \u2013 I mean, they brought some ideas and said, \u201cWhat do you think of this?\u201d and I would change it in my way, and then I just shot three videos with these guys in Germany about a month ago for the album, and it\u2019s amazing record… it\u2019s fantastic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I did that, and then out of the blue I got an e-mail from Herman Frank. And he said, \u201cI\u2019ve been a fan of your voice my whole life, and we\u2019ve been in the same band at different times and we\u2019ve never actually physically met one another.\u201d I said, \u201cYeah, isn\u2019t that strange?\u201d I mean, we played the same festivals, but we missed each other every time. And he said, \u201cYou wanna try to write some songs?\u201d and I said, \u201cYeah, you know what \u2013 I think that\u2019s a good idea.\u201d I think I\u2019ll maintain my solo career, but I wanna be in a real class Metal band. So we wrote two or three songs together, and he goes, \u201cWow, Dave, this is really good.\u201d And I go, \u201cYeah, this is pretty special.\u201d He said we need a drummer and we need a bass player, so I said, \u201cOkay, let me contact Donnie Van Stavern from Riot.\u201d And he was like, \u201cAbsolutely, I\u2019m in!\u201d So that\u2019s bass, and then Francesco Jovino of course, who played on my album Blacklist Utopia<\/em>. I\u2019ve always loved his drumming. So, right now we have twenty two written and recorded songs, and we\u2019re shopping to all the labels for \u2013 hopefully \u2013 early 2022 release. So, I\u2019ve been a very busy guy… What I\u2019ll probably do is some shows with Wicked Sensation, if possible and I\u2019ll definitely do Iron Allies with Herman Frank and the guys… John Steel, if they call me and there\u2019s a couple of shows. I did a show with them last May in Bulgaria, when things opened up… It\u2019s kind of odd, you know, \u2018cause nobody was wearing masks and I was nervous to go, but it was fine. Anyway, I\u2019ve been a busy guy \u2013 a really busy guy. And I\u2019m blessed \u2013 I\u2019ve been really blessed to survive the COVID lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely, and with so many new releases on the way! But what was the reason for this huge gap between the two Wicked Sensation albums?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: It was 2014 and at the same time, Hans Ziller had called me. I was actually going to retire from music in that year, 2014. I said, \u201cNothing happens even though I\u2019ve done a bunch of records since, like, 2004, so I\u2019m gonna quit. I\u2019m done.\u201d And out of the blue, Ziller said, \u201cWell, I need you to sing with EZ Livin. I\u2019ve got ten shows confirmed, can you come over?\u201d And I said, \u201cOkay\u201d and then I went home, and they called me again \u2013 I did thirty shows with them in two months and then, I ended up in Bonfire. But what happened with Wicked Sensation was, there was some kind of a legal battle going on, when they couldn\u2019t use my photo. And it wasn\u2019t true as I didn\u2019t sign any contracts, so with Michael [Klein], we were basically shot down \u2018cause he was told by other people that they won\u2019t allow to have me involved. And I\u2019ve never had any contract or anything, so I would have loved to do some shows with Michael. He\u2019s just recently told me that story… I was totally unaware. So they actually put the old singer\u2019s photo on that record, which is very confusing (laughs). And it\u2019s funny, because on the U.D.O. tour Steel Factory <\/em>I autographed that album at many shows! People said, \u201cThis is a great album, man! Are you going to do another one?\u201d And I said, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d And then, out of the blue, Michael Klein sent me a message and said, \u201cHey brother!\u201d So I said, \u201cHey, how are you?\u201d And he went, \u201cWe wanna do another album, would you be interested?\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, I need to work!\u201d And of course, I wanted to hear the songs first, but they\u2019re such class songwriters that they really know how to write songs. They\u2019re great. That\u2019s how it happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And looking back at your career and various bands and projects you’ve been a part of, would you make some different decisions now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Oh yeah. I have regrets. I\u2019ve actually stopped drinking now \u2013 it\u2019s over three years. I\u2019ve had an alcohol problem for many years that I\u2019m not ashamed to admit. That was holding me back with relationships [and influenced] my behavior… I regret that, but it\u2019s in the past. You know, I\u2019m healthy now and I\u2019m sober. One thing I\u2019ve had to learn the hard way is… well, [in] rock\u2019n\u2019roll band everyone says they want a democracy, but it\u2019s not possible. Not in a band. There\u2019s always one or two or three strong members and two followers. There\u2019s never really a true democracy in a rock\u2019n\u2019roll band. And I always thought, \u201cHey, we\u2019re the brotherhood, blah, blah, blah…,\u201d but it\u2019s never really that way. It\u2019s kind of a fantasy that I\u2019ve had. But I\u2019ve finally come to terms with every band being like being married to five different people. And it\u2019s a difficult thing to keep focused and keep working… I mean, I\u2019ve made a lot of mistakes, but I\u2019ve made a lot of great choices at the same time. One thing I admitted in an interview just recently \u2013 I don\u2019t know what site it was \u2013 but I\u2019ve spent a few years trying to emulate David Coverdale and Paul Rodgers, and I kind of lost my identity vocally. And I took a look at myself and said, \u201cWhat am I doing? Am I singing the way I wanna sing?\u201d And that\u2019s why I was really kind of going, you know, \u201cI wanna be solo, I wanna do something heavy and modern and go back to kind of [Accept\u2019s] Eat the Heat <\/em>thing with \u201cX-T-C\u201d and \u201cD-Train\u201d… heavier, more aggressive songs. \u2018Cause I\u2019m kind of known for that. So I\u2019ve decided to go in that direction and you hear that on [my solo albums]. You know, Resilient Heart <\/em>[2018] was a little bluesy, but you can see that I was getting heavier with \u201cA Perfect Apocalypse\u201d and other songs like that, and then on Cacophony <\/em>[of Souls<\/em>, 2020], it kind of opened up right away with Andy Susemihl… again, I told him what I wanted and Melte [Frederik Burkert] started writing a little bit with us on that record and now with Blacklist <\/em>[Utopia<\/em>] I think you get a full scope of what I am as a singer and my identity. I really thing I\u2019ve nailed who I am and I kind of put that also into these other projects I\u2019ve told you about. So I\u2019m singing pretty good for my age and I\u2019m healthy. But yeah, I have regrets and I think any person in the world who says they don\u2019t have regrets, they\u2019re lying (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely! You\u2019re absolutely right. So, it\u2019s still your solo career that remains your main focus at the moment, as you\u2019ve already mentioned a couple of times, and we\u2019re finally getting to it now. There\u2019s only been a year between Cacophony of Souls <\/em>and Blacklist Utopia<\/em>. Can we treat the latter as the continuation of the former because of this short time span between the two releases?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, I\u2019m getting a lot of compliments about Blacklist <\/em>and they say, \u201cHow are you gonna follow up Cacophony<\/em>?\u201d, \u2018cause it was so many people who loved it… And the thing about Blacklist Utopia <\/em>is, Andy [Susemihl] was doing a solo album at the time that I decided to start working again. \u2018Cause you know, I\u2019ve lost so many shows \u2018cause the release day [of Cacophony of Souls <\/em>album] was March the 13th<\/sup> 2020… And literally, [the place] where this whole thing blew up in Italy is about thirty minutes from my house. The following week was the record release party, everything was booked and I had… I don\u2019t know, but I think thirty-eight shows planned. I didn\u2019t wanna wake up and turn on my Internet \u2018cause it was cancellation after cancellation. I went into a black hole for about a month. But then Malte, our bassist, he wrote me and said, \u201cMan, what are we gonna do. This is horrible,\u201d and he goes, \u201cHey Dave, I\u2019ve got a bunch of songs that I had written, but nobody ever really takes an interest in my songwriting.\u201d And I said, \u201cI\u2019m interested! What do you got?\u201d He goes, \u201cAh, I\u2019m kind of nervous to play it for you…\u201d and I say, \u201cLet me here what you have, let\u2019s work!\u201d And he sent me, I think, \u201cSave Me,\u201d \u201cDown to the Core,\u201d \u201cHindsight\u201d [In 2020] and a couple of others and I went, \u201cOh my God, Malte can write a rock\u2019n\u2019roll song. This guy is great!\u201d I mean, he played guitar on everything, he programmed drums on the demos, he played the bass, he had some vocal lines… And I\u2019m like, \u201cHey, where have you been all my life…? This is great!\u201d (laughs) So I would write the lyrics and sing to my phone and he would e-mail it back to me, saying (imitating Malte\u2019s voice) \u201cAhh, this is great!\u201d And then, when we kind of opened up around Italy, I was able to go back to the studio and I started demoing real vocals to this stuff. And of course, Andy said (imitating Andy\u2019s voice): \u201cHey, what are you guys doing? Why didn\u2019t you call me?\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, you\u2019ve been doing solo album\u201d and he says, \u201cI\u2019ve got some ideas\u201d and I\u2019m like, \u201cOkay, send them.\u201d Andy sent \u201cAmerican Dream,\u201d \u201cRed Blooded Hell Raiser\u201d and \u201cI Can\u2019t Breathe\u201d… the riffs for these songs. So Andy put into it. And then I got Roland Grapow and we\u2019ve been actually talking for a while \u2018cause Herman [Frank] and I were talking with him about Iron Allies and Roland Grapow was like, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m interested.\u201d So I said, \u201cLet\u2019s try to write together\u201d and so we wrote \u201cCivil War\u201d together and then Roland decided to do something else and he just kind of disappeared. But I said, \u201cI wanna use this track\u201d and he was like, \u201cNo problem.\u201d So I got Jimmy from Alcatrazz, I got Roland on a track, playing solos and writing and then I got Malte who\u2019s a really great, talented songwriter. I mean, I\u2019m really lucky. I\u2019m surrounded by really talented people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So, what we get out of these collaborations is Blacklist Utopia <\/em>\u2013 and as your album titles never seem to be accidental, so why did you choose this particular one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: (laughs) Okay, obviously there\u2019s political references all over my record. Like I told you before, I\u2019m a person who doesn\u2019t write \u201cbaby-baby-woah-woah\u201d love songs very much. I wanna write the stories with meaning and watching my country \u2013 the United States \u2013 and Europe, it\u2019s really strange. It\u2019s like one side that wants you to believe what they believe in, and then there\u2019s another side saying you should believe what they believe in. And if you agree with somebody, the other side hates your guts and there\u2019s no middle. And they\u2019re all seeking some type of utopia, and to me it\u2019s like a blacklist. It\u2019s like, \u201cAre you really gonna be satisfied\/If you get what you\u2019re talking about. That utopia that you\u2019re seeking. Will you even be satisfied then?\u201d And my answer is, I don\u2019t think so. \u2018Cause I really don\u2019t believe people know what they want anymore. Everybody\u2019s so confused \u2013 including me. I don\u2019t know which media and what to believe anymore. I quite stopped watching television… it was driving me insane, to be honest. News and all that… I remember last summer, when I was doing Cacophony of Souls<\/em>, I actually was accused of being a racist and I was attacked in some chat rooms. And believe it or not, one of the guys that started it was doing it with some major magazine, and this writer from this other magazine was African-American, while the guy that started it was actually booking me. So of course, no clubs wanted to book me because of the cancel culture and of course they said, \u201cDavid Reece is a racist.\u201d It got ridiculous!… So we fired this booker when we found out, because we had a friend saying, \u201cHey man, I know who it is.\u201d But what it caused, it completely flipped me out. I couldn\u2019t believe, \u2018cause half of my family is mixed race. Not many people know that. Native American, Mexican American, African American… We\u2019re all mixed in my family. And I\u2019m not racist. But it really angered me that people would sit at home and write these fake stories to attack me while they don\u2019t even know me. It\u2019s just because I said, \u201cOh, I agree with this politician\u2019s viewpoint or that group\u2019s viewpoint.\u201d They automatically put me in the box that I\u2019m a racist and I\u2019m a blah, blah, blah… It was horrible. So that kind of started my thinking… But then you\u2019ve got tracks like \u201cHighway Child\u201d and \u201cRed Blooded Hell Raiser\u201d \u2013 those are straight-ahead rock\u2019n\u2019roll songs on Utopia<\/em>, so it\u2019s not all politically activist music. But there are messages in my lyrics that are subjective for interpretation. It doesn\u2019t mean I believe what I\u2019m saying, I\u2019m just speaking about it, okay…? And the video, \u201cI Can\u2019t Breathe\u201d… my brother Bob did the video and he did his best, and the song is great. And that neighborhood where George Floyd was killed by the policeman, it was the neighborhood where I spent the first years of my musical career in Minneapolis. So I was watching my city burnt to the ground, and I was really angry that the police were standing there watching this guy die, and all this stuff happening… I have a family there, I was worried about their homes being burnt and all the stuff… And basically, this lyric is not in support of George Floyd. What it means is, I can\u2019t breathe anymore with all the negativity that I\u2019m reading in social media. You\u2019re choking me. So I used \u201cI can\u2019t breathe\u201d because that was a slogan for George Floyd, but it\u2019s basically my spin on how out of control everything\u2019s gotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So it\u2019s a double entendre kind of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And speaking about political messages in songs, some people\u2019s stance is that musicians should stick only to making music and not get too political whatsoever. So with your need to speak out and express your mind, what would you tell them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I\u2019d say, \u201cBullshit.\u201d (laughs) I\u2019ll give you an example \u2013 go to the 1960s in the United States. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Buffalo Springfield, Janis Joplin, The Doors… then we can go into the \u201870s, when things got a little bit glam and different with Alice Cooper and the Bowie movement… he [Bowie] was talking about outer space kind of stuff… Then you got into the \u201880s, which was like Pop Rock \u2013 the endless parties, cocaine, girls, blah, blah, blah… naked girls in the videos… big rides, big videos… Then you got into Grunge, which was about societal change with heroine and all the bad problems in the Generation X-ers… and then you got bands like Rage Against the Machine. Now, if anybody out there doesn\u2019t think they\u2019re political, they\u2019re not listening to what they\u2019re talking about. They can express themselves through their art and I think it\u2019s perfectly good channel as long as I\u2019m not shoving my political point of view down everybody\u2019s throat and expect my fans to agree with me. That\u2019s not my intention. I wanna use a paintbrush and open up the concept that [goes], \u201cCan you look at it from this side?\u201d \u201cCan you look at it from that side?\u201d Because if we\u2019re just gonna bury our heads, we\u2019re never gonna change what\u2019s happening. And I think music is a great outlet for that. I mean, there are records that I have and that I can listen to from the \u201870s, or if I go back to Tom Petty songs… Every time I hear those songs, it brings me back in time. And I think what happened with music is, it kind of got generic and it\u2019s disposable. And there\u2019s not a lot of meaning and sustenance behind it. And maybe you have albums in your life that you listen to that are very special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I miss that. I think what\u2019s happened with that craziness is that music is no longer special, you know. It\u2019s weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And why do you think it happened? I agree of course, but what are the reasons? From all your experience, not only as a musician but also as a person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I think that Grunge was a necessary cancer that needed to come about for rock\u2019n\u2019roll. Because \u2013 including myself \u2013 we all dyed our hair blonde and followed David Lee Roth and all that stuff. In L.A., we went that route. And it was about time to kill itself off, \u2018cause it was just sugarcoated, oversaturated Pop songs that all sounded the same. But I knew that Grunge was kind of a flash and it wasn\u2019t gonna last. And then what happened was these weird television talent shows that are huge now around the world. You know, you get an artist who goes into a contest and performs and works their way up as the country\u2019s voting for them. And then, they get the record deal, they have a hit single and you\u2019ll never hear their name again. But for three months they\u2019re the best thing that\u2019s ever happened and everybody\u2019s glued to their television set. It\u2019s kind of taken away… well, music seems to have lost its heartbeat. And rock\u2019n\u2019roll is all about four and if you can\u2019t count to four, you can\u2019t play rock\u2019n\u2019roll, right? So when you put all these dancers and all this stuff in there, and activists with cats and [other] animals and climate, and… Well, you get away from the songs. I mean, you can say what you wanna say, but at least write a good song (laughs). You know what I mean? I think we\u2019re missing really good songs. Steve Lukather made a great point about it once. I\u2019ve read an interview from him and obviously, he\u2019s played on over five thousand albums. He\u2019s played on some of the biggest records in the world with hit songs. And he said it\u2019s turned into McDonald\u2019s, and it\u2019s kind of like when a song comes out, it\u2019s like you go to the drive-through, you get your bag of food and before you leave the driveway, you\u2019ve already eaten the half of your French fries… by the time you get to the first roundabout, they\u2019re gone… and the second roundabout, you\u2019ve already inhaled your hamburger and you\u2019ve forgotten what you had for lunch two hours before. It\u2019s kind of what happened with rock\u2019n\u2019roll. There\u2019s no meat and potatoes. Seems nobody\u2019s writing great songs. Now, there are some exceptions. I think Rival Sons are fabulous, I think Foo Fighters are a great band. Sammy Hagar\u2019s still kickin\u2019 ass. There are newer bands, like Shinedown \u2013 well, they\u2019re not really new \u2013 but there are bands out there that are great and they are getting our attention the right way, like Foo Fighters and stuff. I think people have lost their hunger because of the social media… the concentration of looking for those bands. I mean, there\u2019s a lot of great bands out there. But I think it\u2019s like you see a band that you like, and the next day, you forgot what you even saw on YouTube. It\u2019s so fast, so quick… there\u2019s no long-term. It\u2019s a very sad thing to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And do you think also streaming contributed to it, with almost unlimited access to so much music but not having the time to really get familiar with it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Streaming is one of the biggest criminal acts of the music industry. I mean, the music business has always been criminal, but for the streaming platform to license from a record company and to keep on a digital machine millions of songs and own catalogs… You know, the record companies are still getting paid for it. They license it, so… But to say, \u201cOkay, I\u2019ve got your album and I\u2019m only gonna pay you 0,000007 cents per song. And you need one million or two million plays to see a thousand Euros. Peter Frampton for instance, I know he had five million streams on one of his hit songs from the \u201870s. He received one thousand five hundred dollars for five million streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Oh God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: So he went to Congress and said, \u201cWho allowed this to happen? I think the big bear snuck up behind everybody with digital platforms and streaming and just kind of planted it in our life and then we\u2019ve been like, \u201cOh, now we\u2019ve got streaming!\u201d Nobody questioned the real monster behind it. And it\u2019s really unfortunate. It\u2019s like, you gotta have a million streams to get people to pay attention to your band. On YouTube, you gotta have million or more views \u2013 but the thing about YouTube is, bands can buy their own views. And so, you can see a band you\u2019ve never heard of, and people don\u2019t know that they\u2019re actually paying a company to put up fake names and fake viewers. So it looks like this band is really huge and you\u2019ve never heard about them, but you go, \u201cWow, they\u2019ve got five million views!\u201d There are companies out there soliciting it \u2013 like, \u201cif you want to pay for views, we can do it for you!\u201d (laughs) So it\u2019s like you pay for your views and you\u2019re not making any money out of it, but you\u2019re trying to make your band look relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: That\u2019s insane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, we\u2019re in a very weird time. I think the only thing that really makes music real \u2013 like when you write a record… Well, I was telling my wife this the other day \u2013 I said, it\u2019s like you had a baby, right? And the only time the baby really gets a chance to walk, is when you put it on stage. Let it get its legs; it starts standing up and running around and getting stronger… You have to go out and tour your record. And in the old days, we wrote the songs in the van or the bus and we played them live to see if they worked… you kind of squeezed them in, right? And if they really worked live, then you played them for a few months and then you got booked studio time and you had this natural, organic feeling. And now you record at home or in the studio and you send the files to another guy and you don\u2019t see the band for three months and you go and play these songs live. You rehearse maybe at soundcheck… And another disaster is, you know, COVID destroyed a lot of venues. So for touring bands, next year is going to be just so full of all the bands that were waiting to tour for the last two years. Unfortunately, a lot of bands aren\u2019t even gonna get the opportunity to work and be paid for their work, because all these heavy-hitters have been waiting around and people have been waiting for them, so promoters will go where the money is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Sounds like another disaster indeed as there will be no dates, especially for the smaller acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah \u2013 like me. I\u2019m what I\u2019d consider honestly a B- artist. I\u2019m not gonna put twenty thousand people in the room. It\u2019s sad \u2013 and I used to do it \u2013 but promoters will go where the cash is. And promoters themselves have all the issues now, the COVID insurances, insurance with damage \u2013 all that stuff that they\u2019ve gotta consider. And when you got the band that\u2019s bringing fifty thousand people, you can cover these costs. I get it \u2013 that\u2019s economics one on one \u2013 but there\u2019s a lot of great young bands out there that deserve a crack on it, and they\u2019re not gonna put those bands on stage… unless these bands are willing to reach into their own pocket and pay thousands for week just to open for the [bigger acts]. And that\u2019s another sad tragedy… the buy-on tours. Because of what is happening in the music business, a lot of bands can\u2019t go out and headline unless they have paying opening acts to cover their expenses, you know…? It\u2019s a lot of bad news, huh? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: It\u2019s the reality \u2013 it\u2019s just how it is… So in the light of all we\u2019ve discussed, the seventh song on Blacklist Utopia<\/em> is called \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d \u2013 so what is the American Dream to you and would you say you\u2019ve indeed been a part of it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: That\u2019s a very good question. Andy Susemihl, I gotta say, he mixed and produced the record and he\u2019s probably one of the most criminally underrated guitar players I\u2019ve ever met. He\u2019s so great, and he\u2019s especially gifted with acoustics on ballads. And after the song we released last year \u2013 \u201cAnother Life, Another Time\u201d… actually, with that video, a lot of people my brother had died \u2013 it wasn\u2019t [the case], it was just my brother and I trying to reconnect and be brothers again, and we used all that old footage… Anyways, [back to] American Dream. When I was young, I was told by my father \u2013 who was a very successful chemist and engineer with multiple PhDs, a highly intelligent guy… I\u2019m just a dumb farm boy, but my father put himself through college and worked full time, and he always told me that \u201cthe American Dream is if you work hard enough at something and you try and you keep pushing and you make an honest living. And no matter what you do, you\u2019re gonna do the best you can, David. If you\u2019re gonna dig holes in the ground and build fences, you\u2019ll be the best fence builder in the county.\u201d And he always instilled in me this work ethic that if you do good and you apply yourself, the dream comes true… right? So, over the last decade or so, I\u2019ve seen that kind of mentality dissolve. And I think there\u2019s an experiment called America, and it\u2019s a great experiment. You know, in Europe there\u2019s been wars happening for thousands of years, for these countries to carve out their little space on the planet. And I don\u2019t know how many times I\u2019ve heard people say, \u201cAhh, America is two hundred and fifty years old, three hundred years old \u2013 you guys are in for a really big problem.\u201d It happens in every nation. We had the Revolutionary War, then the Civil War \u2013 and now we\u2019re heading towards the societal war. I mean, I\u2019ve heard talking about secession and [making] the United States of California or the United States of Texas… and if that happens, it\u2019s not a united country. Because we\u2019re divided and I had seen a photo of the Statue of Liberty with the Twin Towers in front of her from behind \u2013 one was collapsing and one was burning… That photo really messed up my head, so I wrote \u201cThe lady on the island, I used to know her name\/Now she\u2019s just a puppet on a string\u201d and that I\u2019m \u201calone in my American Dream.\u201d It almost seems that [when it comes to] a socialist way of Europe \u2013 the European Union \u2013 the American politics want to join in and be like a non-capitalist country and actually be even more socialist then, say, Germany or other EU [countries]. They wanna go even further to where you don\u2019t have to worry about getting up and going to the work \u2013 we\u2019re gonna send you free money. But the problem is, we have a lot of hard-working people, like you and me. We have to pay taxes to support that. So automatically you divide the people and sooner or later, you\u2019re gonna run out of people that are willing to work all day long for nothing. And then you have a government-run country which will kill itself off. So that what is [\u201cAmerican Dream\u201d] is about. That\u2019s a political song. It\u2019s a sad kind of thing. In the video, there\u2019s a lot of things from America, things that I remember \u2013 Andy actually did the video… But yeah, that\u2019s a song about a huge change I see. Even friends of mine, you know, they\u2019re like, \u201cAhh, why should I work seven days a week? The government should take care of me.\u201d Nobody should take care of anybody. You should take care of yourself. I mean, if you\u2019re sick and you can\u2019t work, then yeah, you need help. I get it. But when I joined in rock\u2019n\u2019roll, I\u2019ve been kicked in the balls so many times. It\u2019s a foul contact sport \u2013 and if you\u2019re not willing to play hardball, you\u2019re in the wrong game, baby… (laughs) Nobody is gonna come to my door and say, \u201cHere\u2019s a gold record, Dave.\u201d I have to work for it. And that\u2019s who I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So beyond \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d that we\u2019ve just covered, can you take us through the rest of Blacklist Utopia<\/em> track-by-track?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: First is \u201cUtopia\u201d \u2013 the music was written by Malte. That was one of the first riffs and I went, \u201cOh my God.\u201d That\u2019s basically a joke about the utopian dream that the world seems to have and like I said, I really don\u2019t think once they achieve it, it\u2019s gonna be what they wanted (laughs). I mean, look at the back of the album, it\u2019s got the Ferris wheel from Chernobyl when that [the 1986 nuclear accident] happened, and it\u2019s got an interracial couple sitting around, drinking and relaxing with all this chaos going on… It\u2019s just kind of what goes through my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Song number two is a \u201cRed Blooded Hell Raiser\u201d. That\u2019s a standard rock\u2019n\u2019roll tune, and that\u2019s cool, because I believe you gotta raise a little hell to get to heaven, right? So it\u2019s kind of like your initial \u201880s kick-it-up-go-fast song and it\u2019s kind of like… You know, Andy and I wrote a lot of songs together and that\u2019s a traditional Andy-Susemihl-kind-of-riff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDown to the Core\u201d is about an evil guy. You know, \u201cI\u2019m wicked down to the core…\u201d It\u2019s about that dark side that we all have in our spirit. We\u2019ve all got it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCivil War\u201d \u2013 that kind of goes along with what we said about the United States of California, the United States of New York… (laughs) People are at each other\u2019s throat and I don\u2019t know why and how it\u2019s gotten this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We talked about \u201cI Can\u2019t Breathe\u201d already \u2013 and \u201cMost of the Time\u201d, it goes, \u201cTime is my best friend\/Helping bad memories fade to an end\/The cruel things I\u2019ve said\/Don\u2019t always come from the clearest of heads\/I\u2019ve got a good heart\/But that\u2019s not where my words are coming from\/I\u2019ve got a strong mind\/But it ain\u2019t my friend\/Most of the time…\u201d So it\u2019s kind of like I\u2019m saying I\u2019m doing my best, but I don\u2019t always complete what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m human. I make mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next song is \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d and we already discussed that \u2013 so now, \u201cBefore We Fade Away.\u201d That was written by myself and Jimmy Waldo. It\u2019s about the blurred lines, you know. Everybody living in denial\/Does it fit your style\/Fight, defend your rights\/Believe in what you\u2019re fighting for\/Before it\u2019s too late\/Before we fade away…\u201d That\u2019s kind of a political song about standing up to the bad guy and believing what you believe in, and no matter what people say, you kick me and I\u2019m still gonna get up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHindsight Is 2020\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s me looking back on last year. That was a nightmare \u2013 for you too, I\u2019m sure…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: For everyone, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I think it left a scar in us all. \u201cReminiscing about the past\/Different worlds of mice and men\/No desire to suffer twice\/Retrospect what might have been\/So many years ago\/I\u2019ve got to let it go…\u201d It seems like 2020 was like ten years ago to me. It\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yeah, it\u2019s like time was standing still for a while, and then it\u2019s like it\u2019s been a decade since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: And now we\u2019re back, but it feels like, \u201cAre we really back?\u201d and nobody really knows, because today [the interview was being done on the 27th<\/sup> of October] I\u2019m booking flights and I\u2019m doing an in-store record release party on Friday in Stuhr, Germany, at MediaMarkt. And I\u2019m going through all the [safety] protocol \u2013 like my green pass and all… I\u2019m gonna take a nasal test just to be sure [I can] get on the plane… It\u2019s just like, \u201cWhat is this? What is going on?\u201d Three years ago, everything was so cool. It was so much better. And now \u2013 it\u2019s like a blur (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: It is. It\u2019s still not normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, not normal \u2013 and nobody knows what the normal is. Maybe that goes back to …Utopia<\/em>, \u2018cause \u2013 to be honest with the readers \u2013 I really thought I was going to get crucified for writing some of these lyrics. \u2018Cause there\u2019s so many politically correct people out there \u2013 and I was like, \u201cYou know what \u2013 I don\u2019t care.\u201d But it seems like the timing has struck a nerve with my words and my melodies, so it actually has kind of worked in my favor. It\u2019s got people thinking. \u2018Cause a lot of interviews I do, like with you, you know… we\u2019re talking about it. It\u2019s not you just allowing me to say this and this and next and next and blah, blah, blah… and \u201cOkay, great talking to you, Dave! Hope to see you on tour! God bless, goodbye.\u201d (laughs) But now we can talk about something, right? So, back to the track-by-track thing…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next song on the album will be \u201cDevil at My Doorstep\u201d \u2013 a temptation, obviously… You know, fighting back and pushing back the demons and trying to do the right thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSave Me\u201d is number eleven at it will be… well, I don\u2019t know. Just save me \u2013 save me from myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHighway Child\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s like, let\u2019s just break the monotony. Let\u2019s just get free, get on a Harley, let\u2019s go flying down the highway… It\u2019s a woman on a motorcycle, just living her life on her own terms. \u201cHighway child\/Light the sky\/Let the bridges that you\u2019ve burnt guide your way\/Highway child\/Flying high\/Out the stones they throw at you\/For the castle walls that you re-built.\u201d Yeah, go out there and build your own life, man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Do you think there\u2019s a link between the pandemic and this thirst for freedom in the song?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, I do. I\u2019ve heard the riff and I went, \u201cYou know what? I gotta get positive with it. We need an upbeat rocker here and let\u2019s get freedom involved.\u201d \u2018Cause really, when you look at a lot of the content of the album, it really is about freedom. It can be in different keys of songs, it can be darker keys and stuff… but this [one] is upbeat, positive message. \u201cYou thought your only place was up there on the moon\/Watching through your hollow eyes\/Your spirit filled with gloom\/Dead and gone, way beyond\/The feeling\u2019s gone […] You\u2019ve been reborn.\u201d It\u2019s positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then the last one is \u201cBook of Lies.\u201d It kind of came because we used an itinerary on some tours I\u2019ve done and we always called it \u201cthe book of lies\u201d (laughs). Because you\u2019re in a bus or in a van and you open it and you\u2019ve got a schedule, right? And it\u2019s like nothing ever [works out]. It\u2019s always like, \u201cAhh, open up the book of lies \u2013 what\u2019s happening today?\u201d It\u2019s an adventure, right? It\u2019s kind of a joke \u2013 all lies! \u2018Cause you hit a traffic jam. Or you\u2019ve got to meet this guy for the interview \u2013 \u201cOh, he\u2019s not here. Another lie!\u201d (laughs) It\u2019s just a book of lies. But my take on it was, \u201cOpen up the book\/So everyone can see\/Show the world the crimes\/Where everyone\u2019s guilty.\u201d So we\u2019re all guilty at something, I think. \u201cYou\u2019re fool in no man\u2019s land\/You search for truth in the promised land.\u201d Maybe it\u2019s a little bit biblical? I don\u2019t know… There\u2019s a good book and there\u2019s a bad book, right? You gotta have faith. I really just want to tell everybody \u2013 and I hope people will listen \u2013 you\u2019ve got to have faith. We\u2019re human beings. And I\u2019m not a preacher, I\u2019m not a minister, I\u2019m just a rock\u2019n\u2019roll singer. I grew up in the countryside with a hard-working family and I miss the great outdoors in Montana actually… I got a feeling that \u2013 somehow \u2013 this will come around. And maybe live shows will come back in the next few years and before I get too old, I really would love to do another big tour. I see [other] guys being up there and kicking ass \u2013 these guys still got it. Like Mick Jagger, come on. Look at the guy. And we\u2019re losing a lot of artists, and that\u2019s another sad thing. It\u2019s like every week somebody\u2019s gone, you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Unfortunately yes… It\u2019s a nightmare really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, but you know what? You gotta remember \u2013 a lot of us came from the \u201880s and we\u2019re not young spring chickens. And back in the \u201880s, we did a lot of bad things to ourselves (laughs). It\u2019s pretty normal that when you get up in your sixties or seventies, your body\u2019s… you know (laughs). You\u2019ve been around the world a few times… (laughs). You didn\u2019t eat so well, you drank too much… it takes a toll on the old ticker and the body. But anyway, are you still based in Poland?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: So being a Polish person, you know \u2013 if anyone knows \u2013 about freedom, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yeah, my country\u2019s history is basically one huge struggle for freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: And look at Poland now… I was in Warsaw and I had the Polish musicians explaining it to me \u2013 the war, all of that… the whole thing… and then the Communism. Beaten so many times, now it\u2019s thriving economy. That is a successful story \u2013 that your country has struggled, but Polish people persevered. They\u2019re wonderful people \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of Polish people in America, after all, in Polish neighborhoods like Chicago or New York… They escaped, often before the war got out of control, and thank God they got out and started a new life with no money in their pocket and build a life for themselves. That\u2019s the American Dream, like that. And the Polish dream. You\u2019ve had Lech Walesa \u2013 I mean, was he a good man? I\u2019m not sure. But it seemed like he was trying to change something for the people of Poland. Was he a good man?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Well, it\u2019s hard to say \u2013 as you\u2019ve said, we have good and bad thing about us, all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah. I\u2019ve watched something that terrified me the other day \u2013 it was the deep state and the deep Church. That really scared me (laughs). I was like, \u201cOkay, in my country there was supposed to be this thing called the separation of the Church and the state, where the Church can do what they wanna do with worship, whatever your religion is, and the state cannot tell them what to do. But there\u2019s also this dark side of the deep Church which I never really thought about. It\u2019s very political and that\u2019s another thing. It\u2019s like John Lennon said, \u201cImagine there\u2019s no country […] Nothing to kill or die for.\u201d When there\u2019s wars around, it\u2019s religion or some fanatical belief. So that stuff… Well, I love history. I went to the war museum in Warsaw and I was just looking at the holograms and they gave us a little tour of everything and I was like, \u201cOh my God…\u201d Poland, what you endured, the resistance… It\u2019s crazy. And then you got Stalin coming in and saying, \u201cOkay. You\u2019re mine.\u201d You go there and you fight off the Germans and then they come and crush you and put you under their boot. And in 1989, that all changed… So how\u2019s the economy in Poland now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Well, not that different from what you\u2019ve said about the current situation in the US…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: So it\u2019s kind of like the music business \u2013 I mean, it\u2019s always been criminal. But I do Rock\u2019n\u2019roll because I love it. I love Blues, R&B… I\u2019d have to be insane to do what I do, but it\u2019s in my DNA, it\u2019s in my bones… It\u2019s like, I wake up and, like today, I\u2019ve got a wealth statement of forty-nine Euros (laughs). I\u2019ve got a passion at my work and when you\u2019ve got a deposit for that, for a bunch of work you\u2019ve done for something, after they taxed it and after everybody puts their greasy fingers on your work… you end up with forty-nine Euros and you go, \u201cWhat…? Really…?\u201d Then I say, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m gonna go and write a song about it.\u201d I must be crazy (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Well, you don\u2019t have to tell me \u2013 I mean, journalism isn\u2019t a day job for most of us out there doing it anyway, but we do it because of the passion for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: And that\u2019s a great thing, isn\u2019t it? I mean, can money really make that better…? Think about it. Are you enjoying yourself right now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Well, I\u2019m talking with one of my favorite singers of all time…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Thank you very much! And look \u2013 you\u2019re talking to me and you let me grumble… you\u2019ve always been so kind to me and so professional. But like I said earlier \u2013 forty-nine Euros. But you know what? I must love what I\u2019m doing and be half-crazy, because I know a lot of journalists like you and that\u2019s a lot of preparation. You\u2019ve got to listen to the album, you\u2019ve got to deal with the record company, you gotta talk to the media guy, you\u2019ve got to spend time after you\u2019ve got your full-time job, and then you go, \u201cWow, I\u2019ve got this record and now I\u2019m really delving in. I wonder what he\u2019s talking about or she\u2019s talking about. Then you talk to the person, you make a bond… Hopefully we meet each other on tour sometime!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yeah, it\u2019s a pity it didn\u2019t work out for me when you were in Warsaw [in 2019, invited as a special guest for \u201cKing of Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll \u2013 the Ronnie James Dio tribute concert organized by the Warsaw-based band Scream Maker].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Well, actually that was also the night when I met Dino Jelusick and I was like \u201cUh-oh, look at this guy! Who is this kid…?\u201d And I stayed in the apartment with him and his father Dario and I didn\u2019t know who he was. He opened his mouth and it was like the angels from heaven came down and I said, \u201cOh my God. Who is this kid?\u201d I mean, I was jealous! He\u2019s a young me \u2013 hungry, just beautiful to look at and so nice… And his father struggled a lot during a war in Croatia. He was telling me stories about Serbia and all the struggles that Croatia went through and I\u2019m like, \u201cOh my God, you survived that?\u201d And he said, \u201cYeah \u2013 barely. But my life is dedicated to my son, because he\u2019s got a gift.\u201d And now Dino\u2019s making some moves. I mean, the Whitesnake thing… I\u2019m very happy for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely, I was stoked to hear the news too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, Dino\u2019s the<\/em> new guy. And it wouldn\u2019t surprise me, well… I mean, it\u2019s kind of like KISS. You can hire anybody to put on Paul Stanley\u2019s and Gene [Simmons]\u2019 make-up and you can make KISS last another fifty years. What if [David] Coverdale\u2019s thinking, \u201cThis kid\u2019s got it \u2013 I can still call it Whitesnake, still be the boss and let Dino take over. Make a few guest appearances… I\u2019m getting up there when my voice isn\u2019t tired…\u201d That would work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Probably… Then Whitesnake would be more like an idea than a band. It might have been our fantasy, fans\u2019 fantasy, more than anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, there was a time when David Coverdale was a lion king on stage, right? I mean, he was the guy<\/em>. But we all get old. And when Dino popped out of the rock\u2019n\u2019roll womb (laughs) with those Badlands\u2019 YouTube covers… \u2018Cause I\u2019ve worked with these guys in Badlands and I knew Ray [Gillen] and I\u2019m like, \u201cListen to this young kid. Who is he?\u201d And I met him [in Warsaw] and he sang some really great Dio songs, and the audience was just mesmerized. I was actually afraid to go out after him (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Let\u2019s just say the guys from Scream Maker were just lucky to have both of you on stage with them that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: What a bunch of great people… The whole Scream Maker organization \u2013 there\u2019s like so many people that were working together… It\u2019s almost as if they grew up together as they know each other so well. And Sebastian [Stodolak, Scream Maker\u2019s lead singer], that guy can sing too \u2013 they all can!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely! They\u2019re all dear friends of mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Tell them I send my love! They were so nice to me. And one thing was weird \u2013 every singer that walked on stage was actually brilliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yeah, that\u2019s very specific about these gigs actually, that each performance there is pretty special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: And they have love for Ronnie James Dio \u2013 you can really feel it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Everyone of us does, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: (laughs) Yeah, I used to rehearse next door to Ronnie in North Hollywood. He would actually just sit down on a road case and have really intelligent conversation with you. His band would be blasting next door to us and we\u2019d be playing and then take a break, and he\u2019d open the door, come in and sit down on a road case and kicking his legs, and watching us… He was just so<\/em> normal and kind. And what a voice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely… And what a loss, when he passed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, we\u2019ve lost some great ones in the last few years…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Right, sometimes to retirement \u2013 but when it comes to the Grim Reaper, that\u2019s a whole different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, even in my case… You know, I\u2019m grateful I wake up every day. I\u2019m a heart attack survivor \u2013 I had a heart attack in 2010. That came out of nowhere… I was in New York, onstage, singing with this band and I felt like I was catching the flu all day. It was August. And the next morning I woke up and said, \u201cNo, that\u2019s not the flu. Call the ambulance\u201d and I survived that. But when it\u2019s your time, it\u2019s your time and when I see a lot of my old friends \u2013 and when somebody passes on, I go, \u201cI knew that dude. I remember drinking with that guy at the Rainbow or we played a gig here or I remember hanging out with him…\u201d And it turns out somebody else dies the next day, and it\u2019s like, \u201cWow, when is this gonna stop?\u201d But that\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: That\u2019s even more frightening for my generation. I mean, I\u2019m thirty now. We\u2019ll be the generation to bid the final farewell to all the greats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, I know… People I worshiped when I was a kid \u2013 some of them are around, but a lot of them aren\u2019t… There are ones that are really strong, like Alice Cooper who\u2019s still doing great, but he eventually took care of himself. Ian Gillan is still kicking it, and Ozzy of course, he\u2019ll probably come out again… Steven Tyler of course, still jumping around like a maniac. But they\u2019ve all got their limits and I\u2019m doing five shows with one day off and they\u2019re doing one show, day off, one show, day off… Then you get into Udo Dirkschneider and the guy\u2019s indestructible and he\u2019ll play every day \u2013 and Doro… I mean, they\u2019re all legends in their own right too. I love all of them and I grew up with many of them. And I love what Doro did not long ago \u2013 I saw a video of her without make-up and getting ready for a show and letting her be seen as an aging person. I thought that was really brave of her, I thought, \u201cYou know what, that was cool.\u201d She\u2019s not joking anybody, but she\u2019s like, \u201cHey, I\u2019m in my late fifties now \u2013 I can\u2019t hide it!\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve also been open about various moments in your career when you considered leaving the music business, and one you actually did walk away from it back in the \u201890s. So with more and more musicians announcing their retirement, do you think there\u2019s life beyond the music for a musician, or maybe the decision is harder than we think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: I\u2019ve accepted that I\u2019m not gonna have the glory days and the gold albums \u2013 I\u2019ve got one… I have a day job and I was in Denmark for the summer, roofing buildings. I work construction and thank God, my legs are still strong and my arms [too]. I can go out and put in a hard day\u2019s work and I\u2019m able to do that. And if it came to me struggling to sing my songs or physically do, I think I would be honest with myself because I owe that to myself and to the fans. You know, I see a lot of bands out there where the singers can\u2019t sing anymore. And it\u2019s just a pain for a name and it\u2019s an aging thing and I\u2019m sure it\u2019s pride… But I\u2019m just gonna say that I think my spirit will tell me it\u2019s time to walk away. But if I walk away, I\u2019m still gonna have to work because you don\u2019t make any money in this business so you put yourself in a situation when you probably work \u2018till you fall over dead. Like for instance, if I don\u2019t tour next year, I\u2019ll probably go to Montana and work the whole nine-month season in construction. And that\u2019s hard on the body. But I have to think beyond my nose. You gotta pay your bills and I\u2019m not gonna have somebody pay my bills for me. I\u2019m not gonna sit in some shitty place and think the world owes me something. \u2018Cause I chose my destiny. I chose my trail… The trail that I walk, I picked it. And I think, if it was that easy to be famous, everybody would be famous. Sure, some people get a better break, because they\u2019ve got a big power money machine behind them and they can make it all as they want to, but it\u2019s the working musicians that I respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely. And why do you think it\u2019s particularly difficult to get a break in your homeland and make it big in the American scene?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: One thing about Americans, we have a saying \u201cHere today, gone later today.\u201d It\u2019s a very fickle mentality. In Europe, what I noticed a long time ago was, if a fan loves you, they love you for life. They wear their vests, they wear your patches, they buy all your records \u2013 they might not like some of them, but they don\u2019t quit you. Things have to be fashionable in America. Actually, speaking about it, I forgot one project that I\u2019m working on. There\u2019s this guy named Mike Onesko and the Blindside Blues Band. And Mike\u2019s a great guitar player, and it\u2019s really back-to-the-roots thing, Humble-Pie-Bad-Company stuff that I\u2019ve started doing and I\u2019ve written seven great songs so far, I think. We\u2019re gonna do an album together. And it\u2019s cool, because it\u2019s just like me singing live in the studio and not doing multiple takes. I\u2019m performing to the tracks. And I get to go back to get to that part of America, if you know what I mean. But my fanbase… Obviously, with Accept was where my kick-off started. I played every honky-tonk in America you can imagine, and in Canada… I\u2019ve been everywhere… In those days, we played six-seven days a week, four or five sets a night, we did all the covers you can imagine \u2013 whatever was popular \u2013 and were trying to write our own songs. That\u2019s a hard life. You\u2019re making a hundred and fifty dollars to two hundred dollars a week and you\u2019re thinking you\u2019re making a living and you hate it. You despise it at a time. But you know what? I would give my right arm to go back and do that for another year, right now. I mean, I hated it when I was doing it, but I miss it so bad. It was joy. It was freedom. In those days, there was so much happening in the music business. You could play everywhere and it was great. From 1977 to 1988, when I went over to Germany, it was non-stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Best years for music, at least from my perspective…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, we got invaded with the English Invasion again \u2013 you know, [Iron] Maiden and UFO… I actually got to see Michael Schenker with UFO at a theater with Rick Derringer opening and we didn\u2019t know who UFO was. But we knew Rick Derringer and he just blew the roof off that night \u2013 and then this great band called UFO walked out with this beautiful blonde guitar player with a white Flying V and I could not take my eyes off him or that singer [Phil Mogg]. I said, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d And I went out and next thing was that I bought every UFO album I could find. And I just absorbed Phil Mogg and Michael Schenker\u2019s songs \u2013 I was actually listening to a bunch of them yesterday and going, \u201cGod, the memories! What great songs!\u201d And then Iron Maiden with Killers<\/em> \u2013 and then, when they got Bruce. That wave was intense… And the first Def Leppard album, On Through the Night<\/em>. We played a lot of those songs, \u2018cause they were cool. We saw them open for a Blackfoot in a huge hall \u2013 they were like little kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yeah, right at the beginning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah! (laughs) It was like, \u201cWow, these guys are amazing!\u201d And we thought, \u201cWe can do that to.\u201d We should have left Minneapolis and gone to LA, \u2018cause I knew we would have gotten signed easily these days… but it was a safe place to be, a lot of work, and the band had family and all that stuff… So I said, \u201cWell, screw you, I\u2019m going to California!\u201d So I\u2019d go there and go back and join my band again (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So that was the past \u2013 and what does the future hold in store for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: You know, I\u2019ve been thinking about it and I\u2019ve got a great writing streak going on right now. I think it\u2019s like you as a journalist \u2013 you\u2019ve got to work at your craft every day… I\u2019m not afraid of running into writer\u2019s block. I think people that talk about it, they create their own writer\u2019s block… They stop and then they try to jump in. I\u2019m a big Steely Dan fan as well, and Donald Fagen, who\u2019s a genius musician, once said he eventually can\u2019t write songs anymore because everything he writes, he says, \u201cHey, I\u2019ve already written that.\u201d That kind of scared me, \u2018cause he writes Jazz, Rock, R&B, Metal… And he\u2019s written all that stuff already because he comes up with a cool lick on the piano and he goes, \u201cWait a minute, that\u2019s a song from 1976.\u201d Still, he\u2019s got such a vast back catalog that he can play until he falls over dead. But I don\u2019t really worry about it \u2013 I think it\u2019d be just fine topics… I mean, I listen to you talk tonight and some things inspired me that I\u2019ll probably write down, and my family will be around doing some type of business and I\u2019d turn on the television for five minutes and somebody would say something on an American TV show… and I\u2019d say it\u2019s cool… And then I\u2019ll wake up in the middle of the night and I\u2019ll write it down \u2018cause I\u2019ll forget otherwise. And I\u2019d sing it into my phone too, because if I don\u2019t write it down or sing it, I wake up the next day and I\u2019m so mad \u2018cause I can\u2019t remember it. But I think [plans are to] stay busy and stay focused. I was in the studio last night doing some Synth Metal stuff for an Australian artist and it\u2019s really cool \u2018cause I\u2019ve never done Synth Metal and it\u2019s a challenge. It\u2019s a whole different game without the guitar bashing my skull in the headphones. I\u2019ve done a couple songs for him and I\u2019m gonna do a few more next week. Actually, he did \u201cRock\u2019n\u2019Roll Children\u201d by DIO with a synthesizer. He wants me to sing that. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s gonna happen with it, but I\u2019m really excited about Iron Allies \u2013 it\u2019s kind of like the second Accept album I wasn\u2019t able to do in a way, mentally and musically and personally… I love Herman as a guitar player and I think he\u2019s highly underrated… You know, he\u2019s always been kind of second to Wolf [Hoffmann], but he\u2019s so great. And he\u2019s a great guy, and I like being around him. And then, Donnie on bass \u2013 he\u2019s the wild American bassist \u2013 and he\u2019s been fighting with Riot for over thirty years, with all the tragedies that happened to Riot and they still keep going…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Yeah, that\u2019s admirable after all the band has been through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, I mean Rhett [Forrester] was murdered, Mark [Reale] died… actually, four guys died in the band [including the former singer Guy Speranza, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2003, and guitarist Louie \u201cL.A.\u201d Kouvaris, who passed away reportedly of complications from COVID-19 in 2020]. They\u2019ve been through hell. But Donnie carries on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Let\u2019s hope it will stay this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David: We\u2019ve got too much invested in this project. Herman and I have been working on this since, I think… June this year. We started really concentrating and writing and it was like, \u201cLet\u2019s write songs\u201d and I think there\u2019s twenty-two songs finished right now and he\u2019s like, \u201cThat\u2019s enough. Let\u2019s shop a record deal.\u201d And I don\u2019t think we\u2019re gonna have a hard time getting signed. And actually there was a post last night and two promoters called us and wanted us to headline some big festivals in the summer, and it\u2019s like, \u201cWow, all those guys on one stage together!\u201d We wouldn\u2019t even have to do a record. Can you imagine…? We could do Accept songs, we could do Victory songs, we could do Riot songs… we could do the ninety minutes of all of our history… (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: …and the audience would be ecstatic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah. We decided that on the shows, we\u2019re going to do a mash-up or a medley… \u201cSwords and Tequila\u201d by Riot and then we\u2019ll do a heavy Accept song, then a Victory song, a David Reece song and put them all together like a five- or six-song-medley and then play 7-8 of our new songs. And then, as a closer, just go out there and break their heads in with a song that everybody knows from all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: That sounds like a plan \u2013 like a finished setlist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: Yeah, that\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking. Promoters are already calling us, it\u2019s just the matter of getting the right recording deal and the budget and getting into the studio and putting the little shiny pieces on the songs that are missing there… and go from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So I\u2019m keeping my fingers crossed for all your plans to work out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: It\u2019s a progressive Iron-Maiden-kind of thing with John Steel, then you\u2019ve got Wicked Sensation which is really great \u2013 you\u2019ve got Deep Purple riffs, you\u2019ve got big choruses, you\u2019ve got Dennis Ward\u2019s production and melodies… he\u2019s a great producers. That album deserves a lot of attention and ROAR! Rock of Angels Records are doing a great job promoting it. And I also gotta say that my label, El Puerto Records, they\u2019ve been so good to me. I hope El Puerto grows into something really big, \u2018cause they just keep fighting. I\u2019m pretty lucky and I never take it for granted \u2013 I\u2019m thankful every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So before we wrap it up, is there anything you\u2019d like to add in the end? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Reece: All I can say is thanks everyone at Hardrock Haven and thank you. I\u2019ve got a lot of Polish friends now, and I\u2019ve got you as a friend \u2013 I thank you for that and I thank you for an interview. And God willing, I\u2019ll see you next year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visit David Reece online: Official Site<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out new videos and singles from David Reece:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I Can’t Breathe”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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