M3 Classic Whitesnake is
a band that is playing the classic Whitesnake songs with their classic
sound. The band consists of three founding members of Whitesnake: Bernie
Marsden, Micky Moody and Neal Murray.
During their current Christmas tour I've had the chance to see this
amazing band in concert, afterwards I've talked to their singer, Stefan
Berggren.
Nadja: You've been on tour for a while now ...
Stefan: Yeah, this Christmas tour was started on Tuesday, I think
it was the 29th of November, so this is the fifth show on the road, so
we all are a bit knackered; we have now a couple of days of, than we
start again on Thursday. It's been really good, it's been very well
received, it's been crazy.
Nadja: Two years
ago David Coverdale started a Whitesnake reunion for the 25th birthday.
He's done this with a completely different line-up, except for Tommy
Aldrigde nobody has ever played with Whitesnake before.
Stefan: So he said it was a reunion ...
Nadja: Did you ever expected a call from him, so maybe he would
do this with the original members?
Stefan: From what I understand, it's so many things going on, you
know, I think the best time of Whitesnake was with these guys. They came
from the same area from London, you know, where Rock actually was born
... it's good for me, I get work, but it would be cool to see the
old line-up perform together with David, but I don't think this is gonna
happen.
Nadja: If he would've called, would they've agreed?
Stefan: Yes of course!
Nadja: So it's just up to David?
Stefan: I think it's up to David and the guys in the band. This
was a very big band when those guys were together.
Nadja: When Coverdale reunited Whitesnake two years ago, he
played a sold out tour in the USA, he's been to Europe last year and
played a good selling tour with larger venues than this one. You guys
have been doing this for years, with Company of Snakes, now with M3,
it's only small venues ... You've been always there and it's just a
small part of the success, he is coming back and he is hugh.
Stefan: The music scene is hard! The thing is we are going by
ourselves, he is usually going with another band, he usually goes with
Uriah Heep or another band. I'm glad for his sake, I haven't seen him in
ages! But if he goes out with Scorpions or Alice Cooper, it's a
guarantee for a lot of people.
Nadja: But he's been alone here in Germany last year, just a
support band.
Stefan: Okay, that's good for him. I mean, we're doing what we
do. We're not Whitesnake, we are just the guys who wrote the songs!
Nadja: Ironically he is playing all the classic songs ...
Stefan: That's good for us, for the guys who wrote the songs! And
that is actually a message that he can't write any new songs that are as
strong as the old ones! Actually the only No.1 song in America was "Here
I go again", and that's a song he wrote with Bernie Marsden in his band.
Nadja: Let's get back to M3. Moody, Murray and Marsden have
played with Whitesnake in the late 70s, early 80s, then they've been
away. They've been in different other bands. You've been with Bad
Company; but somehow everything comes back to Whitesnake, it was Company
of Snakes and now it's M3, what is so special about Whitesnake?
Stefan: I think actually it is about the songs, and you can't
deny it's all about the money, of course. People come to see and hear
those songs being played as they are supposed to be played, the original
sound of Whitesnake.
Nadja: This year Queen was back on tour with Paul Rodgers, but I
know lot of people are saying Queen without Freddy Mercury isn't Queen.
What about Whitesnake? Whitesnake without David Coverdale, is this
Whitesnake? Or David Coverdale without his original band members, is
this still Whitesnake?
Stefan: My personal opinion, I can't speak for the other guys in
the band, I think for David, it's only a flag, it's only his name. I
don't think David is entitled to be called Whitesnake, because he is the
only guy in the band who is an original member. And he is playing the
old stuff as well. It's a very tough question to answer. But I think
none of them should actually call themselves Whitesnake. They have to
promote the name, as they were part of Whitesnake, they were Whitesnake!
That's for people to actually know that they were in the band and make
people come to the show, so it's all about promotion. I think both of
them are entitled to use the name, in the adds.
Nadja: Company of Snakes did a CD, Burst The Bubble, with
completely new songs, will there be a CD like this with M3?
Stefan: Yeah I think so, it's a really good band now, the line up
is fantastic. The material is already written.
Nadja: What is the material like, it is like the old Whitesnake
or is it a more modern sound?
Stefan: It's gonna be a bit more modern, but you're gonna here
that it is Whitesnake, because that is Whitesnake who is playing the
songs. With my vocals, so it's gonna be a mixture.
Nadja: That sounds good! Thanks a lot for your time!
Stefan: Thank you.
www.classicwhitesnake.com
www.stefanberggren.com
Interview: Nadja
Notzke |
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