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Interview with Wolf Hoffmann- August 29, 2004


I don't think this interview needs much introduction.... do you? This interview was also done by e-mail and I was very appreciative of the fact that he took the time to do this and replied back to me so fast! Thanks Wolf!



Joe: How is everything going with you and life in Nashville these days?
 
Wolf: I am doing great. Nashville is a great place to live. Gaby and I have a  farm with horses , cats and dogs on 10 acres. We also have a recording studio here, it's Michael Wagener's place, he works there every day. So we always have bands and artists here. It's just 30 minutes outside of Nashville.

Joe: Have you become a sports fan there and following the Titans or Predators any?

Wolf: Heck- no... :-) I have never been a sports fan and probably never will be.  Sorry- but it bores me to death.

Joe: How is the photography business going?

Wolf: Really well, actually. I shoot mainly portraits for magazines and advertising agencies. I LOVE doing it.

Joe: Can you give a brief history between the songs Take It Easy and Starlight?

Wolf: Man you picked some EARLY stuff which I hardly remember... I do remember Starlight- we used to play that one live quite a bit. It's actually a fun song to play on the guitar. But "Take it Easy"?  Is that actually a song of ours? :-)  I would need to go look on a record and hear it to tell you anything about it.  Sorry... :-)

(Note: 8/31- I am making Take It Easy available on the downloads page today and will let Wolf know it's up. If he let's me know what he thinks of it, I'll add the reply here.)

Joe: At any of the points in Accept's history when there was a need for a second guitarist, was Alex Parche ever a consideration?

Wolf: Alex Parche was never a consideration as a second guitar player. Not sure why not. He never had any intentions and we never asked I guess. I don't really know his style of playing that well so I can't say much about him as a player. I know him as a person for many years though. He's a fun guy!

Joe: Do you have a favorite "toughest line" from an Accept song? A line that just twists and turns your stomach! For instance, mine are "We control the city roads" from Street Fighter and "There's a place for all of you" from All or Nothing.

Wolf: How about: "plug a bomb in everyone's ass" from Balls to the Wall?  That's pretty tough, eh? :-)

Joe: Other than the movie "Demons", was an Accept song ever featured in a major movie? Or were Accept songs ever considered but not used that you know of?

Wolf: There was talk about a movie called "Teacher" and we wrote "Teach Us To Survive" for it. But they didn't like it I guess.  I never saw that movie later by the way... IF it was ever filmed.

Joe: What is the strangest or most outrageous thing you've heard a fan say or do at a show?

Wolf: At the Castle Donnington Festival in the UK it was (and probably is) customary to throw disgusting stuff on stage. Like beer cans full of urine and animal intestines. My guitar tech told me about it AFTER the show. I never saw any of it though- I was too much into the music I guess. But believe me, I took a shower after the show...

Joe:  The Blast From the Past dvd contained Staying A Life- already the most widely available Accept video out there. Were other professionally filmed choices considered? Such as Kalamazoo, MI 1984 or the first reunion show in Germany 1993?

Wolf: I wasn't involved in the making of that dvd. But I know we never had much film material to choose from.

Joe: A band from any era that you never toured with, but would have loved to do a tour with them?

Wolf: Aerosmith and AC/DC

Joe: What do you think of the online companies offering the pay-per-song downloads? Are Accept songs available at these sites? And if so, have you seen royalties from this?

Wolf: I haven't checked to see whether Accept songs are available. But now I will. I LOVE the idea of pay-per-song downloading though. I use iTunes quite a bit and LOVE it.

Joe: Can you tell us more about this Michael White character who supposedly was Accept's singer briefly in 1987? Can you comment on his remarks on the following page?
http://www.thewhite.net/audio.htm It looks as though some Accept fans got after him for that!!

Wolf: Gosh, he must have been another singer we tried out in search of a replacement for Udo before we recorded Eat the Heat. I can't remember the guy at all- not even the name. But he has the tape to prove it so I am sure he was there... :-) Can't have been THAT great of a guy or else I might remember him. Actually he sounds a bit like a dick in his statement. (Too bad I can't open the sound file on my mac- I'd like to hear it) It couldn't have been for "Staying A Life"- that's a live recording with Udo.

(Follow up e-mail the next day) Hey Joe, I was able to listen to the sound file today. I'm on a better connection and it worked. Still don't have a clue who that guy is, really... It sounds to me like he was singing on a studio backing track. Anyhow, just wanted to add that...

Joe: Are you listening to very much music nowadays? If so, what kinds?

Wolf: My iTunes is loaded with Gigs and Gigs of songs, a lot of classic stuff like old AC/DC with Bon Scott and Led Zepplin, Stevie Ray Vaughn. Also in there are 'Americana' type stuff like Lucinda Williams,  John Hiatt, Patty Griffin.  When I am working on photography or on my computer I like listening to an iTunes station called "Groove Salad". They play electronic dance beat type music which I find very energetic and great as a background music. Then, when I am at home relaxing, I put on mostly classical CDs. Right now I have "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi on. So you see I like a lot of different styles- all for their own reasons. One thing I NEVER listen to is Accept. Not sure why. I just don't. Stange, eh?

Joe: Your opinions on the USA metal scene. People say it is still strong???? Yet it seems when bands tour here, they are still playing in the small clubs... with the vast majority of the crowd only there to drink and socialize.

Wolf: I don't really keep up with the Metal Scene. Partly because there are so few bands that excites me. I LOVE Evanescence though- I guess you call them Metal, right?

Joe: Can you give us any further details or hints of things to come at acceptarchive.com?

Wolf: I am going to forward this question to Ed Aborn- the webmaster for this site. He's just added another chapter or two.

(These last two questions were personal questions I HAD to ask!)

Joe: My favorite song, Tired Of Me. Any recollections, background information... etc. that you can say about this song?

Wolf: To this day I have NO idea what the song is about? A person who is tired of himself maybe? I like the guitar riff though. It's a bit like Lenny Kravitz's "Are you gonna go my way". Well- a little bit. Maybe Lenny ripped us off? :-)

Joe: Same question for my two favorite guitar solos: 1) Take Him In My Heart and 2) Russian Roulette

Wolf: I am not sure what one can ever say about a guitar solo other than maybe this in general: I always try as much as possible to let the solo 'help' the song rather than just showing off and noodling away. It always depends on the song, sometimes the song needs a melodic solo, sometimes you just want a fast shredding type solo. So that's mostly what I think about when I am working on a solo.

Hope this all helps...

Good luck with the site!

best,
Wolf



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