FAIR WARNING - Ule W Ritgen interview (2009)
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Deux ans et demi après „Brother’s Keeper“ (l’album retour après un long break), la formation allemande FAIR WARNING remet le couvert avec AURA. Ule W Ritgen, bassiste et membre fondateur du groupe dévoile après un court récapitulatif de sa carrière musicale
ce nouvel album de Hard Rock mélodique. Micro !
At first, can you introduce yourself and tell us in few words your own career ?
Ule: Hi, I am Ule W. Ritgen and I´m the bassplayer of Fair Warning. I was in my late teens when Uli Jon Roth, who had just left Scorpions asked me to join his new band ´Electric Sun`. After 3 albums and many gigs, together with my friend and Uli´s brother Zeno Roth I formed the band ´Zeno´. We worked together for a few years and in 1991, Tommy Heart, CC our drummer and myself founded Fair Warning .
What are your own favorite styles and influences ?
Ule:
keep growing as time goes by...
Which artist you work with or you worked with impress(ed) you the most ?
Ule: Of course I would have to mention Uli Jon Roth, who´s always been a kind of artistic mentor to me ever since our friendship started. The same applies, more on equal terms, to my friend Zeno. I´m also again and again impressed with the musical skills of Tommy, Helge and CC in ´Fair Warning´, which is one of the driving factors behind our longterm success as ´Fair Warning´. On a more reminiscent term I would mention Don Airey, Rod Morgenstein, Paul Gilbert and Clive Bunker, to name but a few...
What about your promotion work and your relation with press at the moment ? Do you get a good feed back about your new album ?
Ule:
What’s the mood of it ? What would you say to make people listen to it and purchase it ?
Ule: As on all FW albums, there´s quite a variety of moods on ´Aura´ which we all take pride in. There´s nothing more boring than being only ´one dimensionable´. I´m not a marketing person, so I let the music do the talking, because I know, it has a lot to say ...
Where do you find your inspiration for music and lyrics ?
Ule: When I am writing, many influences can spark of a song or an idea for a song. Obviously it can be some melody or groove Ì´ve heard, however long ago, which suddenly creeps up in my mind, taking it´sown shape. But it also can be a film or a book, that I´ve read.
Most of the time though, it is some personal experience, that creates a mood or athmosphere within, which then - step by step - takes the shape of an ´inner movie´, that consists of images, sounds and words, that finally emerge into a whole... a song.
What’s your favorite new track ? Why ?
Ule: I guess, it´s a little too early to ask that question - the recordings are still too close for me, to be a good judge. I maybe could name ´Here comes the Heartache´ or ´Hey Girl´, but then immediately the feeling creeps up to be treating most of the other songs unfair.. So, at the moment it´s the mixture and flow of all of the songs on ´Aura´, that I´m very pleased with, because they form a whole.
Do you think you will bring something new in music with your new cd ?
Ule: `Fair Warning´at a brief glance don´t appear to be very innovative - but when you dig a little deeper, you´ll find a unique mixture of very playful performances and a lot of artistic discipline and focus, sparked off by much respect for each song and the story it is telling. I feel, there´s a sincerity and honesty behind this, which is rather rare these days. Lately, many people seem to discover and
appreachiate this...
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Will you be touring soon and what can the audience expect from you on stage ?
Ule: Yes, right now our management are negotiating various options for touring this album. What can the audience expect? - A lot of fun and power...
Message to HEAVY SOUNDERS :
Ule: Check out ´Aura´ - we hope you´ll like it as much as we do....
FAIR WARNING -Ule W Ritgen interview, juillet 2009
Website : www.fair-warning.de
MySpace : www.myspace.com/therealfairwarning
Photos promo :
