For 20 years, Gölä has been more successful than any other Swiss rock musician, and in June he celebrates his 50th birthday. In the big event. interview, the star talks candidly about the dark side of success - and getting older.
event.: Gölä, on June 7th you will be 50. How do you feel?
Gölä: 50 years old! I could never have imagined getting that old. And now that I'm so old, I think: I want another 50 years! Because life is so short. They say "midlife crisis" - I must have had one when I was 16: When you get old, time goes by faster, in terms of feeling. If the next 20 years go by that quickly again, I'll be 70 the day after tomorrow.
Do you feel like you've missed out on anything in your life?
No, I would do everything exactly the same again. But I would like to experience the world as it will be in 100 years' time. I would be interested to see what mankind has achieved by then. Will it have advanced into space, or will we have bombed ourselves back into the Stone Age before then?
You can freeze yourself.
That's stupid. That's what you do with chicken or meat. It's not about prolonging your life. It's more important to make the most of the time you have.
Gölä celebrates his fiftieth birthday on June 7.
You've done that so far, haven't you?
Sometimes I think, where is the enjoyment?
Can't you enjoy your success?
I enjoy the freedom to decide where I want my life to go. For being self-employed and earning enough money, I have a freedom that I didn't used to have as an employee. I think that's actually the value of success. That I have more time for the children, that I'm together with my wife 80% of the time. That I'm at home a lot. If you look at some people who are managers or something like that. They have small children, a family. And they're just away all the time and running around. It's an expensive price to pay to have a Maserati in the garage - or a villa on the Zürichberg.
But what I have with my family, my chalet at the top of the "Hoger", that's something I can't describe. For me, that is wealth.
You were never interested in the Maserati and the Zurichberg villa?
I am interested in a certain amount of property, my own land, my chalet on it. Then you are somehow independent. That's what people are actually looking for, freedom and independence.
You lead a self-determined life, even though you work in show business?
Yes, but I never wanted to live like a Hollywood star. Because that would cost a fortune: having servants, drivers, bodyguards and all that crap every day. To maintain that, you'd have to be constantly successful, constantly on the road, doing and doing. And that doesn't have to be the case, life is over at some point. You can also live more simply and make better use of the money you have instead of spending it on luxury nonsense.
Gölä at a very young age: "My mother tells me that I always listened very carefully when Elvis was on the radio."
What was the trigger for you to make music back then?
My mother told me that whenever Elvis was on the radio in our block apartment in Thun, I listened very attentively. The first record I bought myself was also by Elvis. I also listened to a lot of black music, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner and also hard rock. Those were phases. Today I like to listen to anything that is music to some extent. Not exactly rap. I can't stand rap.
But you never had any musical training?
At some point, neighbors gave me a guitar with nylon strings. I learned my first fingerings on it. Just like that. Before that, I had written poems. The poems then became songs.
What were your poems about?
Even as a goof, I had trouble with the injustice in the world, envy and hunger, poverty and so on. When you're in puberty, you're more or less radical; you have nothing yourself. You think all rich people are assholes, which isn't true. I used to be much more radical. Today I write more about what's on my mind at the moment.
You touch people with it.
I don't know why that is. It's a mystery to me.
A talent?
A gift? Someone wanted me to sing this stuff.
"I believe that good always wins. Even if our planet blows up."
Are you a believer?
No. Well, I am a believer, because I believe in good. I believe that good will always win - in the end. Even if our planet blows up, it will ultimately be good for the universe. I don't know why, though. Maybe everything will start all over again.
Did you expect success 20 years ago?
I only remember that I wanted to be world-famous back then. It's a good thing that didn't happen.
Did you never want a global career? You sang in English from time to time.
I've always had ambitions in between. But my destiny already knows why that never happened - and never will.
Why not?
I don't think I would be happy at all if I had global success.
Why did you want to become world famous?
Because I didn't even know what success was back then.
Is there a negative aspect to success?
An awful lot of negative things! The publicity, superfluous junk that you have to do. But when you have a new record, you have to say it and do promo.
Last year, your interviews triggered controversial reactions. Did you expect that?
I like to talk straight from the horse's mouth. "Fake news" is a nice term that has come up. Journalists can portray anyone as good or bad. Some people think I'm a bit of a foreign body in the Swiss scene, in terms of my thinking or my political views. You can pick out individual things from my statements that I haven't said at all. I don't like it when people try to make me into someone I'm not. I have nothing against minorities and I'm certainly not a racist - as anyone who knows me knows. I grew up with black people, foreigners, gays, lesbians and others and count many of them among my circle of acquaintances. But these people aren't all poor and good either - it's like everyone else: there are good and bad people everywhere.
Gölä, 1998, at the beginning of his career: he sold 250,000 copies of his first album "Uf u dervo", went five times platinum straight away and remained in the charts for two years.
Do you sometimes not feel like being in public and making music?
I love music. But I'd prefer to just go into the studio and then go back to the building site. In the end, I'm happy when it comes out well. But if I'm honest, I have to say that I still enjoy making music alongside my normal life. But I don't like the trappings of it and never will.
What's the best or most important song you've written so far
I've never really thought about that. It's probably the one that people like the most. It's probably "The Swan". Which I can't stand, by the way.
You can't stand the "swan"?
Yes, how can I put it? I grew up with music that was quite male-oriented, be it James Brown or something. But the "Swan" could also have been written by a woman. Maybe it also bothers me that everyone always talks about the "Swan". I have the feeling that I haven't even written my favorite song yet. If you're reasonably healthy in the head, you probably find the stuff that others do more awesome than your own stuff.
Gölä in the Hallenstadion: In December, Gölä gives three anniversary concerts in Zurich. We know: Some surprise guests will be there.
You're playing three times at the Hallenstadion in December - but there are no other concerts planned this year. Won't you be doing anything musically this year until December?
That's already the plan. But it could be that I say the opposite tomorrow or that I want to go back into the studio next week. It's more exciting to just let it happen instead of planning everything in advance. You can't determine anything in life anyway. I might make plans for June - and if I go home now, I'll be dead. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." I think that's a good saying.
Is family very important to you?
I think it's the meaning of life. You can attend long psychology courses and do yoga, but in the end the goal is simply to multiply and die happy. It's as simple as that! People often take themselves too seriously. I believe that you first have to make yourself happy and content in order to be able to make others happy too.
You obviously do that well.
At least I hope so with music. Many people expect their partner or someone else to make them happy. That's totally wrong. I don't think you should demand, but give first, then it will come back by itself, like an echo. You always have to give first.
Do you feel that something comes back to you on stage?
Yes of course, on stage we are working, not chatting. We do our best to get the song just as concentrated as we practiced it. We want to give 110 percent.
Do you prefer playing in large halls, such as the Hallenstadion, or in smaller venues?
Because I'm more of a practical person, the Hallenstadion is much more convenient for me, as there are many more fans and I can reach a larger crowd and make them happy. In smaller clubs, I'd have to play twenty times before I've served that many people - and I don't want that. I don't like going on stage. I'd rather be in a stadium.
Why is that?
I've been trying to find out for 20 years. I can concentrate better on a big stage because it seems so unreal, like a dream. But if I were to play in a bar in front of 20 people, it would somehow seem much more real to me. It's difficult to describe.
Surprise guest at Peter Maffay's - Gölä visited his German friend at his concert in Zurich in March.
How and where do you create your songs? In the studio or beforehand?
Most of the time they accumulate. In between, I feel like playing guitar. Then I take them out. Some are bad and some are good. We meet in the studio, then I play the songs - and off we go. They just know - one, two, three - then they have to be able to do it. That's just awesome! Then it keeps the kick. That's better than discussing it forever.
Your songs have a freshness and seem genuine.
I would say that 90 percent of my songs are probably true. They come from my life. I can't just sit down and write an album or make up songs. That would be too artificial. But when the room upstairs calls me, then it's usually the case that something comes of its own accord. I've kept it that way so that I don't become an artist.
"I have the feeling that I haven't even written my favorite song yet."
Don't you see yourself as an artist? Is that a negative term for you?
I don't think much of artists. Most of the ones I've met are a bit complicated. Strange, unworldly people. There's the saying "Art comes from skill, and if you can do it, it's no longer art". That's the craft, if you can do it. I like craftsmanship better than art. There are also many things where you don't know what they are supposed to be. I find that funny too - and there are also people who spend several million on some painting for a few brushstrokes of color on a sheet of paper. I don't really care about that. I don't condemn these people either, let them do what they want. It's fine if it's art for them and they can make a good living from it.
Are you more of a craftsman than an artist?
That's right. What we do is more of a craft. My guys don't just bang on the instruments and then hit a note by chance. They know exactly what fits.
What can we look forward to when you play at the Hallenstadion in December?
As with my last five concerts in the Hallenstadion, there will definitely be some top-class guests for the 20th anniversary. Over the years, I've worked with almost every well-known musician in Switzerland on stage or in the studio. I've even been able to realize duets or albums and tours with some of my musical "heroes" from abroad, such as Jimmie Barnes, the Bellamy Brothers or Peter Maffay.
And what are you looking forward to?
Most of all my fans, who sing along loudly to every song - we're going to have a party together!
