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SCREAMER MAGAZINE

(Sceamer, 8/89, p.43, )

by Kathy Pellizzi

The last decade has witnessed an incredible resurgence of the entertainment industry. Rock n' roll has gone from being a fun pastime to a booming business and singers like David Reece are business men.

As the front man for Accept, he leads the type of band that has made music such a lucrative business.

The Colorado-born blonde is not only talented and sexy, but he's also intelligent, professional and dedicated- all the qualities needed to be successful at anything.

"We're like Epic's new baby!" He laughs with a little-boy smile that belies the fact that he's 28 and a 12-year veteran of the business.

To see him now, it's hard to believe that just 18 months ago this easy-going, confident man was pretty much down-and-out. He was living in parked cars and making five dollars an hour painting houses.

In fact, he'd taken nine months off and was on the verge of giving up a music career altogether. He wasn't completely ready to give it all up, though, and signed up with a Los Angeles musicians' placement agency.

Suddenly, Lady Luck paid him a visit. In February of 1988, Reece found himself in Germany auditioning for Accept. The band was looking for replacements for vocalist Udo Dirkschneider and guitarist Jorg Fischer, who had left Accept to pursue solo careers.

Scorpion's producer Dieter Dierks, who'd been working with the band, liked what he heard and gave Reece a shot.

"It was unbelievable," Reece says. "I had to audition 12 hours a day for four weeks. Then we tried it live in March, under a false name, and it worked. I was in."

But, the hard work was just beginning. After the dismal reception their last album, Russian Roulette, recieved, Accept went gone into the studio wanting to broaden their horizons.

"The split with Udo was very amicable," says Reece. "He even did some background vocals on the new album. But Udo never could've sang a ballad like Mistreated. After 10 years it was just time for a change."

Change indeed. Accept now had a new feel with new concepts.

"The old Accept had a lot of death and destruction concepts," explains Reece carefully. "The new music has a more blues and street edge to it The old songs are history."

He's quick to add, though, that they intend to maintain the old sound because that's the standard of Accept, yet they want to gear away from concept songs in general.

They did make a few exceptions in songs like Generation Clash and -Train, which talks about suicide.

"Suicide is a problem and it really bothers me," Reece's dancing light eyes suddenly narrow. "I can't understand all these well-achieving people blowing their brains out.

"It's scary because this society creates the image that you have to do this, and you must do it this way. I think there's a lot of people out there, especially kids, who want to be left alone and wind up really frustrated. Believe me, I would know. When I was a kid, I had to try everything."

Don't misunderstand him him, though. Accept is still a bunch of hard-core, fun loving, rock 'n' rollers. They smoke cigarettes and drink too much sometimes, but they are a very regimented band.

Reece tries to sleep 10 hours a night and also works out everyday. Founding member and lead guitarist Wolf Hoffmann rehearses an hour and a half everyday. And the whole band believes strongly in serious musicianship.

"There's a million 15-year-olds out there with nothing better to do than sit in a garage and practice all day," says Reece.

That's not to say they're insecure, though. The new line-up including Reece, original bass player Peter Baltes, original drummer Stefan Kaufmann, and newcomer Jim Stacey on rythm guitar, feel their energy level is unbeatable.

They're ready to attack the U.S. on tour this summer with WASP and Metal Church. Their mainly underground following doesn't bother them in the least.

"We don't have to play in front of 15,000 people every night," Reece says, speaking in a serious tone for the second time. "We believe we're going to make it and the kids in those clubs that still bang their heads to Balls To The Wall are just as important as headlining, packed arena fans."

Accept will get their chance to headline during the European and Japanese legs of their tour and they say they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves as far as the live show goes.

"It's hard to be visual on a three-band ticket," Reece sighs. "There's just never enough room. Our goal this summer is to target the new music."

Joining Accept has done more than change Reece's financial status. It's also changed him personally.

"Living in Germany really changed the way I look at things," he explains. "people there are more serious. It made me both a better person and a better singer. In fact, I still keep a place there in Cologne."

Respect is apparently something else that's important to Reece. He mentions that the band gets along great because of it.

"Fifty percent of touring is having mutual respect for each other," he says emphatically. "Imagine spending so much time in a small place with a bunch of people you can't bear to be around? Of course, it's different these days on tour buses with twelve bunk beds, VCRs and all that..."

Accept, already playing small club dates in support of the new album, Eat The Heat, doesn't foresee any problems. The record company has been very supportive with all the changes and the band doesn't intend to let anyone down.

"Accept is back with a fucking vengeance and we're going all the way!"




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