Having interviewed lead singer Bernard just prior to the tour commencing with Helloween and Gamma Ray, we thought we'd snatch the opportunity to chat with new boy Marco Wriedt after the bands performance in London to see how things were going with the tour and the band.    

MM - Hi Marco, how are you doing tonight?
Marco - I'm doing great thanks.  It's amazing to be finally in London.  It's my first time playing here so it's a great opportunity.   

MM – How did the show go tonight?
Marco – I was surprised actually because we did not really have any big expectations because this is only the second time for Axxis in the UK.  The first time was in 1989 with Black Sabbath and I was only 5 years old at that time so unfortunately I could not join that tour! (laughs) 

Tonight the fans all sang along and they knew the lyrics of the songs.  I was surprised because when we were finished they were all screaming and yelling for more and it felt great.  I didn't expect that to be honest but it was great, really cool.  

MM - How has the tour in general gone so far?
Marco – It's my first real big tour and so this is just a big dream coming true.  The whole atmosphere between all three bands and between the other Axxis guys is just like one big family.  Plus to be here with Ana and Bodan, they are almost a part of the family now and I really appreciate their help and support.  Bodan the guitar player for Magica is doing my guitars and he is acting as my guitar tech for the tour.  He helps me a lot and I really appreciate this support.  Ana is also doing an absolutely amazing job every day.  I am always very proud of her and how she sings the songs because I worked with Lakonia also.  It's all been great.  Also no strings have broken so far! (laughs). 

Bodan - It's amazing Marco has done 30 shows now and he hasn't broken one string so far! 

Marco - You know at the rehearsals it was always the string would go "ping", so I am very happy about this that none have broken so far on tour.  I hope it stays this way.  Of course it must be that I play with Pyramid Strings because they are the best.  (Marco is endorsed by Pyramid Strings and swears they are the best he has ever used).

MM - I believe you wrote one of the songs on the new album as well?
Marco - Yes 'Devilish Belle'.  I did some riffs here and there on some of the other songs plus all the solo's are written by me, but 'Devilish Belle' is written completely by me.  Some people have said they like that song very much so that is a very big compliment for me. 

MM – What were your influences band wise when you were growing up?
Marco – Well I think the most important bands for me were bands from the UK.  Really I love the UK and I hope some day that I can live in London because I think it's one of the most amazing cities in the world.  I was influenced by Cream, that is still my favourite band.  Also Genesis, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest. 

Then of course there were other bands like Megadeth, Marty Friedman is one of my major influences.  I even like some of the new bands like Coldplay, I like them very much.  Other newer bands I like are of course Nightwish, who I think are a great band, Symphony X and Kamelot, they are also great bands.  But the main influences are the classic rock bands from the 70's, The Doors and Tangerine Dream, another band from Germany, UFO. 

Guitar player wise my favourites would be Michael Schenker, Brian May, Randy Rhoads, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimmy Paige, he is one of my most important influences.  They are all musicians who have a very charismatic stage presence.  That is very important to me.  Freddie Mercury, although he is a singer is one of my favourites.  I also like the Electric Light Orchestra and Meatloaf, in fact I could go on for ever! (laughs).  Most of the bands that really mean something to me I would say are from the UK though, so I hope some day I can live in London and have a good life here.   

MM - I believe you teach at one of the music schools back home?
Marco – Yes besides Axxis I am also a guitar teacher in a local school.  This is mainly to get more money besides from Axxis.  Most of my pupils are students who are only 15 or 16 years old and are all girls.  They want to learn Green Day and all this punk stuff, when I say ... hey why don't you listen to some Stevie Ray Vaughn or some Black Sabbath or Deep Purple? ... they say oh no, that's old and boring!  They don't want to learn solo's they just want to be able to play two or three chords and then they think they are rock stars you know!  (laughs).  So it's funny but these 15 year old girls just want to rock out.

MM - How long have you been teaching?
Marco - Well as I said earlier I was working in a guitar store and then I did this for fun, but then when I joined Axxis I did it so I could earn some more money.  As Axxis have grown again in popularity, I have now got more new pupils.

MM – If Axxis could tour with anybody, who would you like to tour with?
Marco – OK, three answers for this one.  I think Gamma Ray again because I found Henjo (Richter - guitarist with Gamma Ray).  He is really like the soul brother I have never had.  We just have such a great combination together.  Beside that if it was possible I would say Whitesnake and Led Zeppelin.  Led Zeppelin would be my number one wish though. 

MM – What was the first concert you ever played as a musician and what can you remember about it?
Marco – Ah the school party in Elementary school when I was 10 years old!  When I left the school we had this big school party and there were all these parents in the audience.  We couldn't play our instruments but we were just playing and trying hard to be like Aerosmith and Cream.  I had only just started to learn to play back then.  All the parents were saying that they must stop us because it sounded so bad, (laughs) but my parents were still clapping along and enjoying it.  I was just 10 years old then so it's been a long road.     

MM - Can you remember what your first guitar was?
Marco – My first guitar was a Jackson Flying V, a performance series one that I was given as a Christmas present when I was 11.  It was around 600 German marks at the time.  I'd always been a big fan of Randy Rhoads and so I really wanted this guitar.  

MM – What guitars do you use now?
Marco – Well I'm officially endorsed by Dean Guitars and I think they are the best, I would not want to play anything else!  You know when I first joined Axxis I wrote to every guitar company and nobody was interested because I was this new guitar player and nobody knew me.  But then about half a year later I sent the promo for the new album I was playing on and all of a sudden they were like ... OK let's talk now!  So Dean said OK!  They are the best and they've given me guitars for the tour and everything.    

MM - Can you play any other instruments apart from the guitar?
Marco – I used to be able to play the piano when I was at music school at around 12 years old, but then when the guitar took over I forgot it all, which is a shame because I enjoyed playing the piano.  I find especially girls who play the piano a really big turn on!  When they have those nice cocktail dresses on, especially in a bar in New York or Los Angeles ... That's just one of my things.  The piano is a great instrument though. 

MM - Finally thanks again for taking the time out to chat with us, we really appreciate it and can I ask do you have any final messages for our readers out there?
Marco - Well thanks for the interview to you first and thanks to the great review of our new album, we really appreciate it.  I hope that there is still many people coming along to concerts and buying the new album and not downloading it because it is hurting the artists a lot you know.  I know that the true fans are still buying the records though and I thank them for that.  Keep rocking!

MM - With that we bid our goodbyes to Marco and would like to thank him again for taking the time out to chat with us today and we look forward to seeing the band when they visit these shores again soon.

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