Berlin cowboys The BossHoss are having a great time in Switzerland. Alec Völkel (46) tells event. what should never be missing in his suitcase on tour and why heavy metal yoga is not for the band.
event
.: The BossHoss tour is coming up. What should never be missing in your suitcase - apart from your cell phone?
Alec Völkel: Lots of black clothes, at least 80 percent of our clothes will be black, because "Black Is Beautiful". Hair pomade is a must for our style, as well as cowboy boots and at least a kilo of silver jewelry.
Hair gel? Interesting. On a scale of 1 to 10, how vain are you?
Mhhh, a healthy eight (laughs).
"Black Is Beautiful" is the title of the new album. How did you come
up with such an idea?
The song of the same name was there first, but originally it was called "I Like the
Night". The song is about the fact that we're nocturnal, we play at night, we're on the road at night. Rock 'n' roll takes place at night, the night is our day. When the world stops and sleeps, you can work creatively in peace. That's how "Black Is Beautiful" came about, we thought it was a great title for the album.
What adjectives would you use to describe the "Black Is Beautiful" style?
Ah, difficult question. It's a rock album, but it's our most multi-faceted. We tried to allow a lot of new influences this time. We opened ourselves up and tried out everything we liked. We mixed that into the BossHoss sound, which is already very unique.
Is there a genre of music that makes you feel like experimenting?
A lot is possible in our musical cosmos. Never say never. We sometimes help ourselves a little to hip-hop, soul or RnB. Blues, rock and country anyway. Schlager doesn't fit BossHoss at all - that's not possible!
"We play at night, we're on the road at night. Rock 'n' roll happens at night, the night is our day."
Speaking of hits, you were confronted with that as coaches on the new TV show "The Voice Senior". Were your expectations higher than on "The Voice", as over-60s have more experience than young talent?
We didn't know what to expect either. You have a few clichés in your head, like a pensioner thing with pushing a walking frame. But you know that the quality of "The Voice" is very high.
Voice Seniors", the blind auditions were even more impressive. You can't tell how old someone is from their voice. You think: Wow, she's full of juice, and then you turn around, the lady is in her late 70s and looks incredibly good. The show has a great message that music is not just for the young. Music keeps you young at heart and young in general.
You can soon be seen live in Zurich. How do you find touring life?
You have a lot of time and are often on the road in the tour bus. The bus is like a UFO that lands in front of the venue, you play and then you take off again at night. Too bad, there's no time.
We've recently started offering metal yoga, i.e. yoga with heavy metal music. Would that be something?
Really? That exists? (laughs) Sounds fun, that would be the only thing that could get me into yoga, the right music. But otherwise it's not really my thing. I'd rather watch something, like Netflix.
Do you have a favorite series?
Yes, "Fargo" has inspired me. I devoured the three seasons, I think that's my favorite!
You'll be back in Switzerland at the end of March. Do you like the country?
It's great, Switzerland is always part of it. We've been going to Switzerland ever since the first tour. It's a good place, people like us, people like BossHoss, which makes us happy! And Switzerland has incredibly beautiful festivals, such as Gurten, St. Gallen and Heitere. The festivals stand out from the German ones, you can tell that Switzerland is doing well. The catering, the whole ambience, everything is very lovingly and tastefully done.
The BossHoss
30.03.2019, Samsung Hall Zurich
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