Everybody might know their songs "Dream On"
or "Love Hurts". But Nazareth is much more than this. At their current
tour I've had the chance to drop them some questions:
Nadja: Throughout your career you've
played in many different countries, recently in Canada, in Russia; is
there a place you still haven't played but would like to?
Dan McCafferty: Australia!
Nadja: And which is your favourite place to play?
Dan: Wherever we are tonight! No I mean it really doesn't matter,
you know, the band is what matters, we travel as a family, as a unit.
Nadja: And you haven't been to Australia before?
Dan: No, never, but I want to go. First time we were supposed to go
the promoter got arrested for drug abuse and went to jail and we thought "Maybe
we shouldn't go there", and the same time it was worse to go, as we've
been with a record in America, and the record company was going demand,
demand, you must deliver; and so I've never been there yet, but I'm sure
we will.
Nadja: Out of all your memories, what was the most outstanding
concert?
Dan: Sunderland, because we just had the first time ever "Broken
Down Angel", and the audience sang along, but that's just a place, you
know.
Nadja: Besides Dunfermline which city or place influenced you most,
like it was for example the Starclub for the Beatles?
Dan: Maybe Edinburgh and Glasgow, because we became popular there.
Nadja: For a couple of years now Nazareth has two younger members.
Can you introduce the both musicians for those who are not so familiar
with your history?
Dan: Jimmy Murrison on guitar, I would say he is the longest
serving guitar player in Nazareth, around 13 years.
Lee Agnew, who is Pete's son obviously, came in to play drums, when Darrel
Sweet, our drummer, had died. They bring new ideas to the band, they're
good players. It's the happiest Nazareth we ever had, I think.
Nadja: The last studio CD was released in 1994, can the fans expect
a new CD soon?
Dan: We're going to London in October and record a new album, it
will be out next year, and it's our 40th anniversary. Some songs are
already written.
Nadja: What will it sound like? More like the older Nazareth or
will there be something new?
Dan: Rock 'n' Roll, like the boys in the band feel it today. And we
hope others like it. That's what we always did, sometimes we were right
and sometimes we were way wrong.
Nadja: You've written so many songs, how do you decide which ones
to play at the concerts?
Dan: That's difficult! We have a bunch of fans all over the world,
you know, we have a great fan base, but we can't play everyone's
favourites all the time, but some songs you can never drop; we try to
change them over to keep the people up and to keep us up, cause we don't
want to go on like auto pilot!
The first gig this year, we've played for 2 hours and fifteen minutes, but
we can't do this, everybody was backing to the exits, no way, we can't do
that!
Nadja: Is there a song that you would like to play but think they
don't fit into a live set?
Dan: No, really, obviously I don't. I think everything has to be
done in it's time.
Nadja: "Love Hurts" and "This Flight Tonight", two of your most
known songs, are cover songs. Would you consider covering other songs in
future?
Dan: Always! I mean we've covered a bunch of songs in our lives! As
long it is a good quality song!
Nadja: You are playing a lot of festivals this year, like the "Bang
Your Head" in Germany, or festivals in Norway and Canada, what is it like
to play festivals?
Dan: It's good fun! Nowadays it's so well organized, the PA is
good, the lights are good, that's no problem, and it's fun to do and
possibly you'll meet some friends you haven't seen for five years, because
they're in a band and are usually up on the road themselves. When they are
playing in Glasgow I am possibly playing in Kazakhstan, so to meet each
other, festivals are a good place to.
Nadja: Do you prefer festivals or a headlining tour?
Dan: I don't really care. I don't mind if I'm the first, the last
or in the middle, that doesn't matter to me.
Nadja: In almost 40 years of your band history, what were the most
beautiful memories?
Dan: All! No means of them. All and every day has beautiful
memories, I don't know any favourite.
Nadja: People make wrong decisions in their lives, have you made
wrong decisions, and if you would have the chance to change it, what would
you do the other way round?
Dan: Nothing! (laughs)... No, nothing.
Nadja: Would you like to let our readers know anything else?
Dan: Just be nice to eachother.
www.nazarethdirect.co.uk
Interview: Nadja Notzke |
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