One of the best parts of being a music journalist is that occasionally, very occasionally you actually get to meet or speak to one of your heroes or someone who's music has had a profound influence on you.  One such person over recent years has been vocalist and founding member of Evidence One Carsten Schulz.  One of the hardest working vocalists currently on the rock scene. 

Today we catch up with Carsten to find out more about the bands latest release 'The Sky Is The Limit', their third and strongest release to date. 
 

MM - You're also re-releasing their debut album as well on AFM Records?
Carsten – Yes we are re-releasing ‘Criticize The Truth’ on July 6^th, containing one bonus track which is a live version of 'Frozen In Time' that we recorded live at the 2003 Earthshaker Festival.  I’m happy that we are finally able to re-release that album because over the years I have received so many emails from people eagerly searching for that album.  Once I found it on Ebay for about $30!  That was just crazy!  So when AFM came up with the idea I said YES! Of course!  Please get this album out there again. 

It’s a great album and it’s quite hard to find in stores or online now.  So when AFM asked what about our back catalogue and said maybe they could re-release our first record.  Obviously our second album ‘Tattooed Heart’ is still selling well on Nuclear Blast, but there was this problem with the first one.  We went through our archives and decided to have this done but with this bonus live version added on to the CD because it’s a good song.

MM - You once described the sound of Evidence One as being similar to the classic US sounds that you grew up with.  With the new album you’ve gone for a much heavier sound this time around, was this the intention from the off or did it simply develop along the way?
Carsten – The songs on ‘Criticize The Truth’ and ‘Tattooed Heart’ were from a hard rock band who were perhaps a more metal act with their live concerts.  When we released ‘Criticize The Truth’ that was basically a heavier version of what Robby did with Frontline.  We went out on the road and we didn’t take a keyboard player with us, we chose another guitar player who instantly became a member of the band.

With ‘Tattooed Heart’ we wanted to capture that live sound, the fact that we are more a metal band when we play live.  With this new album it was time for us to establish what is our own unique sound.  Most people say that it is a heavier album than before, but in my opinion it is just heavier because of the production.  Production wise it is more in your face and it’s more powerful than ‘Tattooed Heart’ is, so I don’t think the songs themselves are heavier, but the production is of a higher standard.  A more modern production than the one before. 

The songs themselves in my opinion, except for maybe ‘Mindmines’ which is a pretty heavy track, are not really heavier tracks.  That’s just my personnel opinion and I know some people may think differently about that one, but I don’t think the songs themselves are heavier tracks.  The live shows that we have had now for the past two or three years in Germany have been basically with metal bands and that has had an impact on this album.  We’re basically an 80’s band, it’s just we’re not stuck in the 80’s.  I’m very happy with the production of the album though, it’s very good. 

MM – When we saw you back in 2003 at The Gods Of AOR Festival here in England which was obviously right at the very beginning of it all, the band then had a much more powerful and passionate sound live than on CD, although the CD is very good. 
Carsten – Yes that is the point, when we wrote and released ‘Criticize The Truth’ we never intended to actually play live.  The whole band was just a project.  At first it was just going to be called ‘Robby Boebel’, there was no such thing as the Evidence One band.  It was just a harder and heavier sound than the Frontline sound and with a different singer.  Live we just found ourselves, our true identity.  In my opinion we have given a rebirth to the old songs, we went through the songs and we tried to live them instead of just writing and recording them. 

With the second and the third album, right from the very beginning that was part of the writing process.  We know now that we will play live, we know that we will be doing live shows and probably go out on the road, so we had it in mind that we had to play them live.  With this new record we hoped that we could also capture that live passion on the CD.  If people listen to the album and think … “hey these guys sound exactly like a melodic metal band did in the 80’s, like The Scorpions or Accept or whoever, but still have an up-to-date passion and don’t sound like they’re tired or fed up with everything, then we’ve succeeded in our mission.
 

MM - How does the song writing and music composition work in the band, is it music first then lyrics or the other way around?  Which is your preferred method of working?
Carsten – I tell you it is not a romantic thing! (laughs)  It is not like this band is rehearsing 3 times a week and someone comes in with a guitar riff and says … “Ok guys, I got this riff, I think it’s cool” … It’s not a romantic thing at all.  Robby still writes all the songs instrumentally and sends them over to me.  I record my lyrics in either a demo or finished version and send them back to Robby.  He sometimes plays around with them if he’s had a new idea and then the other guys come in to record it.  It’s still me and Robby who are writing all the time. 

MM - How did it feel when Robby decided to bow out from the band? 
Carsten – Well it was a relief.  Like I said earlier we had just never ever intended to perform live, this was meant as a studio project.  Suddenly we found ourselves being on the European tour in support of Saxon.  The very first show on the first night of that tour was the very first Evidence One show ever!  We’d never played live before!  But we all stuck to it as we were all members of performing bands back then and we all loved to play live, all except for Robby, Frontline don’t do any live shows.  

To cut a long story short he never really felt comfortable being on stage or standing in the limelight.  Of course he loves giving out autographs and stuff like that, but he’s not one of those guys who loves to be on the front page.  He’s like a wizard, he loves being in his studio trying out new sounds and production work.  You know for every song we do on an album he’ll do about 5 – 10 different mixes and versions!  That's his thing, that’s just the way he is. 

So at first we had Jorg Wartmann our new guitar player as a live replacement only,  but after we’d done the Rock Of Ages Festival in 2006 together with the likes of Gotthard and Glenn Hughes, it became pretty obvious that we would decide to have Jorg as a steady member.  Robby said … “Ok, you want to have him, that’s fine with me” … so we all decided to have a talk.  Within the first 5 minutes everything was clear, for me the situation with Robby is like Gotthard in their early days, he is like the wizard behind everything pulling the strings.  He writes all the songs and produces everything.  He’s like our sixth member but he’s not on the pay check.  To us it feels quite natural, it doesn’t feel like a strange production, he is still a part of the band. 

MM – Well at least you haven’t lost him so that’s good. 
Carsten – You know when I had this talk I said  ... Robby you can see this band needs to get out there ... because we all enjoy playing live shows.  The band is very passionate on stage and we all love to play live.  Robby in my opinion is a one of a kind song writer in this particular genre.  A guy who is such an incredibly talented guitar player and song writer and producer all rolled into one person.  This is really hard to find over here in Europe, especially these days because the way he writes songs is very traditional.  I said to him that I wouldn't give up having his songs, so it’s still like he’s just the sixth member.  Even with all the contracts it’s Robby and me signing all the contracts still.  I know when folks look at it it’s like this weird construction thing, but it feels natural to us and everybody’s happy. 

MM – He’s like the invisible Beatle. 
Carsten – Yes, he is like the invisible Beatle! (laughs) When we first came up with this idea we said remember Gotthard in their early days Chris Von Rohr always wrote all the songs on the records, he played as a guest musician on the albums, but he was just never on the pictures.  This is exactly the way it is with Robby.  Or he’s like a Jon Olivia from Savatage, who decided to take a step back and not be on stage any longer.  In fact Robby is still mixing us live every once and a while so the situation is actually quite similar to that one.  We are all absolutely happy with it, especially now when we listen to the album and hear how well everything came together. 
 

What we wanted this time was a simple in your face fast rock video and that was exactly what we got.  It was my idea to have this whole concept in the album, like you see us in the video playing cards, then you have the cards on the album cover as well.  We shot the promo shoot for the photo’s on the CD the same day we shot the video, so everything could be one unity, everything fits together.  MM – It sure looked fun to do.  Carsten – Yeh it was!

MM – I know the theme has also been carried through to the website as well. 
Carsten – Yes that’s the thing, if you come to the website you will instantly recognise everything, it’s all just one theme.  I have a good friend of mine who is our webmistress and she’s the one that did the website before for ‘Tattooed Heart’ and ‘Criticise The Truth’.  With each new record that’s coming out she gets all the artwork and data files and she rearranges the whole website to have it style wise exactly like the album and well I love that!  (laughs). 

She also does the Domain website and she does that website the same way.  She has been a good friend of mine for years and I contacted her once and asked if she’s like to do our website.  I explained that I wanted a structure in the background on to which you can build up different layouts with each new record, without having a problem having to completely re-programme a whole new website.  She does a wonderful job. 

MM - The band are already booked to play at the Cat Rock Festival next month, how are you feeling about that? 
Carsten – We are really looking forward to the festival because it’s the first time we are going to be able to play mostly the new material.  Doro Pesch is also on the bill and I love to see Doro live.  It’s up North in Germany in Emlichheim and it’s a fun festival to do.  When you think the last show we did was on 30^th December last year, so we haven’t done a live show in over half a year!  There will be some tension because it will give us the opportunity to warm up and try out this and that and hopefully it will work.  It will be good to see how the other people react as well. 
MM – You mentioned there may be a tour later in the year, any chance of a UK date on that tour? 
Carsten – Well you know the point is there are negotiations going on and I know of our warm up tour already but I’m not allowed to tell, and I won’t tell because there’s no contracts signed yet, but we will be out on tour and AFM Records are eagerly searching for suitable supporting slots for us.  Hopefully there will be some time around September / October this year.

MM - This is the 3^rd album for the band and also their 3^rd label!
Carsten – Yes, yes it is! (laughs).  Well stepping from Point Music to Nuclear Blast was a chance that you don’t refuse.  When we had the chance to go over to Nuclear Blast, once we had actually moved across to that label, some of the people who had supported us in the early years and were into our music left. 

So when we went in to talk to the guys (at Nuclear Blast) about this new record they said we could have stayed.  Everything was going great and everything had been fine, but then they said they had to tell us that now they were focusing more on the death metal, the heavier things, the more brutal stuff.  They said if we wanted to leave we could, but if we didn’t want to leave they would definitely release the new record. 

Then I got a phone call from my buddy Markus Wosgien who had been our promoter at Nuclear Blast and was now the A&R at AFM Records and he said if we wanted to come over, we'd be more than welcome.  We took one look at AFM’s rooster and we knew we would fit perfectly to that label.  So there was nothing we had to think about, it was just a natural progression. 

We went from a rather small label to one that was probably the biggest European metal label and then to a label who are mainly focusing on exactly our style of music.  We spoke to our close friends, our friends from Shakra and from Silent Force and they said … hey they’re doing a great job and everything’s fine …

When you look at it we’ve had three albums on three different labels and that looks weird, but it doesn’t feel weird for us.  Finally I think we’ve found a place to stay, the contract is signed for more than just one album and it feels wonderful.  They’re doing a brilliant job of promoting the new album, everybody’s happy with the record and so now I guess we’ve finally found a place to stay now. 

MM - You’ve always been involved in more than one band at any given time, what else can we expect release wise from you in the near future?
Carsten – Well one album that I will be singing on as the main singer for the band will be Roger Staffelbach the Swiss guitar player for his first solo release.  He is the guitar player for the technical progressive shred band called Artension.  That project’s name will be Roger Staffelback/Angel Of Eden.  Very much Yngwie Malmsteen type of music, which is a long kept wish of mine because I’m a huge Yngwie fan, I love shred guitars.  That album will be out in early August but in Japan only at first. 
 

Also something that I am very honoured to be a part of is an English band by the name of Eden’s Curse.  They’ve now been signed to AFM Records as well. Eden’s Curse are a band consisting of a wonderful Scottish bass player by the name of Paul Logue (ex. Cry Havoc) and singer Michael Eden.  They have my buddy Thorsten Koehne (Code Of Perfection) as the guitarist who I worked with two years ago on an album.  They have Ferdy Doernberg on the keyboards and a guy who instantly became a good friend of mine called Pete Newdeck (ex. Paul Dianno's Killers/ Steve Grimmett Band) on the drums. 

The album ‘Eden’s Curse’ is coming out in August.  As it happened I co-wrote five songs with the guys and they even recorded a full left-over track from the ‘Tattooed Heart’ sessions that I wrote together with Robby.  It’s a song called ‘The Eyes Of The World’.  It didn’t make it on that album but the guys have re-recorded it and done one hell of a version of it.  They also have Doogie White and David Readman doing background vocals.  As well as all these great vocalists, the album was also produced by the great Dennis Ward from Pink Cream 69!  It’s a wonderful piece of music, perfect melodic metal. 

I did some guest spots for my good friends S.I.N. from Germany.  They’ve done their first concept record.  It’s the story of Jesus Christ but told slightly different with a little twist, with different roles, and the funny thing is … guess who’s the Christ?!? (laughs).  So I did my parts on that one, I also did background vocals for Mr Steve Grimmett from Grim Reaper.  That was cool, also playing in the band doing the drumming was Pete Newdeck. 

I’ve also finished the new Midnite Club album, the second one.  MM – Excellent!
Carsten – Even better than the first one of course! (laughs).  I hope to get it out some time this year and we’re currently negotiating with labels. 

I’m currently working with a huge guitarist Iain Ashley Hersey again.  I’d already sung on his first record.  I’m doing all the songs on this new album and this time Iain found it a lot easier doing the whole record over here in Germany at my buddy Stephen Seeger's studio.  Stephen's also the guitarist for Midnite Club.  We have a brilliant line-up, along with my buddy Jocken Mayer (ex. Domain/Casanova) on bass, we have Frank Kraus (Code Of Perfection/ ex. Demon Drive) on drums.  Who for me is one of the best drummers in Germany, absolutely fabulous drummer boy.  We also have Stephen’s brother on the organ and Iain plans to bring in a couple of guests who I don’t know about ... yet.  That will be a wonderful record as well. 

It’s a cool situation in my career right now that I can do so many different styles at once.  The Staffelback ‘Angel Of Eden’ record is a pretty heavy album and it’s probably the heaviest Carsten Schulz you will ever hear on that album.  With Iain’s new record it’s classic rock, it might be slightly more melodic this time, a bit funky and way more bluesy, but if you liked the ‘Holy Grail’ record then you’ll definitely like this one.  It’s wonderful to me to not just stick to one vocal style. 

MM - You've been involved in a number of bands over the years but what would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?
Carsten – Well the first thing that comes into my mind is definitely the Busan Festival in Korea with Domain.  There was in front of thirty thousand people and was a really neat thing.  That was definitely one of those once in a lifetime experiences.  We did not expect anything when we went over to play, we didn’t think anybody would know of us at all.  The Busan show was the first show we did on the Korean tour and we went on stage and we just couldn’t believe it, it was like … somebody slapped me in the face! … it was the same for all the other guys too. 
Another once in a lifetime experience was I was very fortunate to be in the supporting act and could go out on the road with a rock n’ roll icon.  I did a five week tour with Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner.  I remember one night when we played in Finland the backstage bathroom shower was pretty close to the stage.  I remember I was standing under that shower feeling pretty hot after the show and there was Glenn Hughes singing ‘Mistreated’ about 7 or 8 metres away from me!  That was one of those situations you will never forget in your whole life. 
 

When we played over here in Germany in support of The Scorpions, the band were one of those bands that had influenced us quite heavily and finally having the opportunity to play shows with these guys was really a high point of our career.  Also like when I did Iain’s album, Iain told me that Graham Bonnet would also be doing a couple of tracks on that album and I was like … Oh My God! I’m going to be on an album with a guy from Rainbow! …

What can I say, I’m just such a lucky bastard! (laughs).  Up to this point I have lived a fulfilled life and everything that is coming up is just an extra.  There have been some painful decisions that I have had to make, like when I had to make the decision to leave Domain.  That was probably the most painful and political decision I ever had to make in my entire career, and painful personally as well because these guys had been my family for 7 years.  Axel was the one guy that always believed in me and he picked me the friggin' nobody to be in Domain and to help reunite the band.  I had to move on from there so I guess I have had my high points, but I’ve also had my low points for sure, but hey … I’m a lucky bastard! (laughs).

THE high point of my career is being able to release albums that I actually want to do and do actually dig.  You know many of my colleagues after they’ve done the production they release the album and they won’t listen to it for more than a year, because they’ve put so much into that album and seen it through so many phases and stuff.  However for me it’s the opposite.  When I’ve finished a new album I’m listening to it constantly, every friggin' day!  The whole point of the music for me is that I would only release an album that I myself would buy.  So this is probably the main goal in my whole musical work is to release stuff that I myself would buy ... and I buy loads of cd’s believe me! (laughs).

MM – Keeping with the theme of heroes, here’s a fun question now - if one day you were involved in a freak accident and became a new breed of superhero, what would your name be, what would be your special power and what would your costume look like?
Carsten – Well when I was a kid I was very much into all that super-hero stuff, I wasn’t much into Superman but I did like Batman.  I guess probably ... ‘The Lizard Man’ ... (suddenly we both burst into mass hysterics as Carsten tries to decide on his special power and we both realise what Lizard's are perhaps most famous for, finally Carsten decides on an alternate superhero special power ...) Probably from a kids point of view I’d want to be able to do something like be invisible, because I think that might be really interesting.  I’d like to be invisible but also be able to walk on walls.  Being able to watch and listen to people speaking about you and find out what they really think about you.  Yes that would probably be my superhero thing, being 'The 'Invisible Lizard Man'! 

MM – Ok, What about your costume? Carsten – Hey I’d be invisible, I wouldn’t need one. MM – Yes but when you reappeared it might be a bit … Carsten – Ah yes! Well it must be something green of course and I think some little wings behind my ears would look quite cute.  (laughs).

MM - Finally are there any words you’d like to pass on to all our readers out there? 
Carsten – Power to the music! 

MM - I'd like to thank Carsten for agreeing to take time out of his hectic schedule to chat with us this evening and for being such entertaining and enthusiastic company.  We wish him and the rest of the band the very best of luck with the new Evidence One album.  We'd also like to wish him every success with the other releases he's involved with. 

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