.::: Official Home Page Of Marcel Jacob :::.

Some questions from an Italian Magazine

Marcel Jacob: I don’t spend time thinking about people’s reactions, I accept them as they come…there never is any real planning involved, just a lot of doing …so yes, it did just “come out this way”…

MJ: Well, I wouldn’t do anything I felt forced to, but in this instance I chose to listen to Serafino (Frontiers Records) and tried to accommodate his points of view in a Talisman way…something I ‘ve never done before, I thought I’d try this approach…at the same time JSS and I had an agreement to tone down the “metal” and turn up the lighter side…

MJ: Ooooh, you’d have to ask JSS if there is any link except the obvious one…musically speaking there is no link at all, Color is the funk of the 90’s, succumb is the 60’s James Brown filtered through TTD, Abba, and Prince !

04.- "Back 2 the Feeling" is one incredibly intense song, with loads of emotion shining through: is there some particular happening behind that song?

MJ: If there is, I wouldn’t know, JSS wrote all the lyrics this time, my take on what they’re about is apparently not even close to his, I suppose every book is different to every reader…

MJ: I love Bob Marley, I love the Police, and I never played reggae, I don’t know how to, but I wanted to try to do something like it to expand musically…it’s one of my favourite tracks…

MJ: I love it – you’re asking me a lot of questions better asked of other people – I agree with you, I would like to have seen a few of the songs over Talisman's career get the exposure of radio to see what if anything might happen – unfortunately, the labels we’ve worked with have yet to do anything in this line of promotion…Polydor, Germany 1994, released “Doing time with my baby” as a single, but that song was a complementary track for the album and not the best choice for single as it wasn’t representative for either the album or the band…we’ve got a long history of labels doing too little or the wrong thing.

MJ: You know, the world has changed, and the labels haven’t followed suit accordingly.
The digital revolution brings it’s benefits but also it’s ills and it hurts music (and other arts) production in major ways. I’m thinking of course about filesharing, but also about how easy and cheap it is to record music – too many do it. The market for the types of music we do has shrunk, the labels and their power has shrunk, and at the same time the labels are undermining the market by signing too many bands.

MJ: If there are – I haven’t heard them. The only band I’ve heard in the past 10 years I really like is the spanish band the Unfinished sympathy. The “scene” today is not interesting to me, I can’t say it was too interesting in the 80’s or 90’s either, for different reasons…the 90’s because it was too blown up, all surface and little substance, too american, and in the 90’s the great movement was too be “alternative” which quickly and ironically became the opposite of alternative, and the aftermath of that was a lot of bands that just churned out chords in nonmelodic progressions…

MJ: My generation was raised on the Beatles as kids, the whole 60’s thing, as teens there was Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Queen etc. Those who are in their teens now are rasied on crap !

MJ: I was “drafted” J…I was about 13 when I was watching some friends from my old school rehearse, and they had an argument with the bass player who left …the drummer took a look in the room who was there, pointed at me with his drums sticks and said “let’s take that guy, he looks cool”…and so they had me sit down and learn the songs they were doing, and after two days I was hooked.

MJ: Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Absolutely not. Well, there is in Stockholm 2 radio stations that focus on rock, and we do have the Sweden Rock magazine + Red Hot Rock…but media in general, TV and major newspapers, ignore everything except maybe Iron Maiden or maybe Hammerfall…it’s pretty abysmal really.

Some questions from an Italian Magazine		Menu Interviews Gigs Reviews CDs Reviews Tours Dates
by Fabio Marazzi from Heavy Metal Magazine Italia (2006)

	01.- "7" doesn't sound as heavy as "Cats and Dogs", and on the other hand its melodies sound a bit more immediate. How do you think the fans will welcome this slight change? Was it planned or did it just "come out this way"?
	Marcel Jacob: I don’t spend time thinking about people’s reactions, I accept them as they come…there never is any real planning involved, just a lot of doing …so yes, it did just “come out this way”…

02.- Record labels often try to "force" bands to take one direction or another, suffice to think about what happened during the "grunge" explosion. How would you react if that happened to you
MJ: Well, I wouldn’t do anything I felt forced to, but in this instance I chose to listen to Serafino (Frontiers Records) and tried to accommodate his points of view in a Talisman way…something I ‘ve never done before, I thought I’d try this approach…at the same time JSS and I had an agreement to tone down the “metal” and turn up the lighter side…

03.- "Succumb 2 My Desire" totally kicks ass, it's impossible to remain still. In the break (around 2:00) the first verse of "Colour My XTC" is quoted...what kind of link is there between the two songs?
MJ: Ooooh, you’d have to ask JSS if there is any link except the obvious one…musically speaking there is no link at all, Color is the funk of the 90’s, succumb is the 60’s James Brown filtered through TTD, Abba, and Prince !

04.- "Back 2 the Feeling" is one incredibly intense song, with loads of emotion shining through: is there some particular happening behind that song?
MJ: If there is, I wouldn’t know, JSS wrote all the lyrics this time, my take on what they’re about is apparently not even close to his, I suppose every book is different to every reader…

05.- We get some cool yet unusual, almost "caribbean" beats on "Troubled Water"... where did the idea come from?
MJ: I love Bob Marley, I love the Police, and I never played reggae, I don’t know how to, but I wanted to try to do something like it to expand musically…it’s one of my favourite tracks…

06.- I think many songs of yours ("Nowhere Fast" from the new album, but also the fantastic "Sorry" from "Cats..."...just examples), if appropriately promoted through the major channels, could hands down score really high in the pop charts and become HUGE hits. They've got everything, energy, production and most of all great, catchy melodies: still, it has been years since your last single was released...what is this due to?
MJ: I love it – you’re asking me a lot of questions better asked of other people – I agree with you, I would like to have seen a few of the songs over Talisman's career get the exposure of radio to see what if anything might happen – unfortunately, the labels we’ve worked with have yet to do anything in this line of promotion…Polydor, Germany 1994, released “Doing time with my baby” as a single, but that song was a complementary track for the album and not the best choice for single as it wasn’t representative for either the album or the band…we’ve got a long history of labels doing too little or the wrong thing.

07.- Seven albums is a quite long career: do you guys write and live music the same way you used to do back in the day?
MJ: JSS certainly does…I don’t. I got my hands full studying at the university at the moment.

08.- Common opinion is, the record industry has deeply changed in the last years. You've been in the scene for quite some time, so which is your experience regarding this subject? How do you feel about today's record labels' policies, and how do they differ from those of ten or more years ago?
MJ: You know, the world has changed, and the labels haven’t followed suit accordingly. The digital revolution brings it’s benefits but also it’s ills and it hurts music (and other arts) production in major ways. I’m thinking of course about filesharing, but also about how easy and cheap it is to record music – too many do it. The market for the types of music we do has shrunk, the labels and their power has shrunk, and at the same time the labels are undermining the market by signing too many bands.

09.- You are often (righteously so) regarded as one of melodic hard rock's finest and important active bands: what do you think about today's scene as a whole? "Experienced" bands still keep putting out some really great music, but are there really any interesting new bands able to keep up to the (high) standard of the previous generation?
MJ: If there are – I haven’t heard them. The only band I’ve heard in the past 10 years I really like is the spanish band the Unfinished sympathy. The “scene” today is not interesting to me, I can’t say it was too interesting in the 80’s or 90’s either, for different reasons…the 90’s because it was too blown up, all surface and little substance, too american, and in the 90’s the great movement was too be “alternative” which quickly and ironically became the opposite of alternative, and the aftermath of that was a lot of bands that just churned out chords in nonmelodic progressions…

10.- Talking about new bands, I frequently have the impression that there is less blues, funk and soul in today's hard&heavy music. Only few young bands have those gorgeous funky rhythms and charming soulful vocals, and let's not even mention horns and stuff... I mean, "extreme", rough music is fine with me, but what is happening to good ol' rock'n'roll?
MJ: My generation was raised on the Beatles as kids, the whole 60’s thing, as teens there was Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Queen etc. Those who are in their teens now are rasied on crap !

11.- Some time ago I (positively) reviewed the new Speedy Gonzales album, "Electric Stalker": can you briefly tell us a bit more about that project?
MJ: It’s basically all about Tommy Denander and Thomas Vikstrom, I’m just a hired gun that happened to be involved in the writing as well as playing…but it seems that there is a followup being planned for next year.

12.- Almost every musician starts playing his instrument because someone or something inspired him... which was the "spark" that made it for you?
MJ: I was “drafted” J…I was about 13 when I was watching some friends from my old school rehearse, and they had an argument with the bass player who left …the drummer took a look in the room who was there, pointed at me with his drums sticks and said “let’s take that guy, he looks cool”…and so they had me sit down and learn the songs they were doing, and after two days I was hooked.

13.- Us Italians think of Sweden as a country whose media (magazines, radio, tv) do offer some coverage and support for rock music and hard'n'heavy as well, totally unlike here. Is it really that way?
MJ: Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Absolutely not. Well, there is in Stockholm 2 radio stations that focus on rock, and we do have the Sweden Rock magazine + Red Hot Rock…but media in general, TV and major newspapers, ignore everything except maybe Iron Maiden or maybe Hammerfall…it’s pretty abysmal really.

14.- I greatly enjoyed watching the "World's Best Kept Secret" DVD , but it also made me even more eager to see Talisman live in first person: any chance of an italian gig someday, obviously following Jeff's tour with Journey?
MJ: Yes, we are working to do a tour in April 2007, and Italy is on our map !