Submitted by:
Dana
Hades vocalist Alan Tecchio spoke with current Accept singer Mark Tornillo. The interview is posted below.
Alan Tecchio: At this point, how long have you been the singer for Accept?
Mark Tornillo: I guess it’s been since May of last year.
AT: If I had told you back in April of 2009 that you would soon be the singer of Accept, what would you have said?
MT: I would have laughed. I never would have believed it. It’s very strange now looking back after all the things we’ve already done... Peter [Baltes, Accept’s bass player] and I were on Eddie Trunk’s show the other night and we were talking about everything we’ve done this past year. With all the things we’ve done in one year, it’s just incredible. I mean, I was sitting home just minding my own business, ya know? (laughs)
AT: For those who did not catch your appearance with Wolf Hoffmann on Eddie Trunk’s “That Metal Show” on VH1, it’s very interesting to know that back in your days singing with TT Quick you were very instrumental in turning on N.Y. area crowds to Accept’s music before they had established themselves. I think it’s so cool to see things come full circle with you now fronting the very band you helped gain local notoriety all those years ago.
MT: Yeah, well I remember the first time I heard Accept. I was really into AC/DC and always liked those kinds of vocals. When I heard them I was just like, “Wow! What is this?!” Obviously it was in a different vein than AC/DC ‘cause it was straight European metal, but we started covering their stuff straight away. People would come up to us and be like, “What was that song you just played?” And we were doing stuff like “Son of a Bitch”and stuff like that. So, yeah, we actually turned a lot of people onto Accept.
AT: Is it safe to say that with all the shows you have already done with Accept, that this year is the most touring you have ever done?
MT: Pretty much. I mean, for TT Quick’s Metal of Honor tour, we were out for like eight months off and on. But this is the most touring I have done in a long, damn time.
AT: How have you gotten on so far, going back on the road so extensively?
MT: I am having a blast. The only downfall with the tour we just did was that we did an awful lot of flying. We were going city to city pretty much every day. We were covering so much territory that we could not even use a bus in a lot of cases. You know, with airport security and everything’s just insane these days. So, that’s the bad part, but other than that, I am having a friggin’ blast!
AT: You are going out on the road next with some old label mates of yours—Kings X. Were you tight with those guys back in the day?
MT: Well, I’ve always been a fan of theirs and we were acquaintances back then. I guess we will get to know each other a little better now! (laughs) We actually played with them about two years ago with TT Quick at The Starland Ballroom. That was with them and Skid Row. That was a good show.
AT: How long will you be out on the road with them?
MT: Wow, I am really not sure. We start next Thursday in Atlanta and I’m not coming home again till Christmas. We’re going back out after that and probably going right through next year. You know, they are planning on going back to Europe in the spring and doing all the festivals. We did the tail end of them this year, but that stuff is getting booked right now. So, we were lucky to jump on some cancellations this summer. We headlined the Sonisphere Festival in Istanbul and Romania. One day it was the Big Four and then we would play the following day. So, we have been in good company! Just killer shows...
AT: I guess you are getting along fine with all the other guys in the band?
MT: We get along unbelievably well. They are just so happy ‘cause there’s no turmoil now. They have always had internal problems and now there aren’t any. It’s a very nice working atmosphere especially when everybody gets along and we’re all friends. There’s no hidden agendas or drug and alcohol abuse. You know what I’m saying... that stuff gets really tired. So, it’s all on the up and up and we’re just having a blast out there.
AT: Maybe that’s where years of experience come into play? I mean, you’ve seen it all and are not just some newbie coming into a high profile gig... I could see someone like that being ripe for self-destruction.
MT: Yeah, we’ve all been around the block quite a few times and I know from experience too, ya know... “Don’t quit your day job!” (laughs)
AT: I saw your sold-out gig at The Grammercy Theater. The smile on Wolf’s face was just so real and telling.
MT: It was. They were beaming! It was so nice for them to be back on stage and able to play that catalogue of music of theirs. They have so many good songs and Peter, Wolf and Gaby [Wolf’s wife] wrote most all of them. And they have not been able to play them in years.
AT: Many people may not know that Peter has a great voice as well. Is there any plan for him to sing in the future?
MT: Yeah, he sang all the ballads back in the early days. Listen, he is just a great all-around musician too. He is definitely hands-down the best bass player I have ever worked with. He’s incredible. He plays guitar and a lot of stuff. He’s one of those guys that has a new riff every day.
AT: Tell me about working with Andy Sneap as producer on your new CD, “Blood of the Nations.”
MT: Well, Andy Sneap was a Godsend for this project. He is an Accept fan first and foremost so he really wanted to do this project and see the band succeed. We’re all used to working with producer situations where you never really get comfortable with them. At the end of the day, they are producers and they are there to make money. In Andy’s case, he was there to make a great Accept record. He got his hands dirty and it was a labor of love for him more than anything. He really put us all on the right track. We had already written like three or four tracks when he came in and when he listened to them, he really was not thrilled with where we were going with them, to be perfectly honest. He made Peter and Wolf sit down and listen to the old Accept records and they went through all the old stuff... every track. Andy would point out on certain parts of songs, “This is what makes you recognizable, this is what makes you Accept... and this isn’t.” It really set them back on track, I think. Personally, I was so busy learning the back catalogue to play live that I was already in that vein. It was easy once I figured out where to go lyrically and had a direction. But I kind of had to keep myself on a leash ‘cause I was so used to TT Quick where I could pretty much do any damn thing I wanted to... and I really wanted to make this an Accept album.
AT: So, they were totally cool with you writing all the lyrics?
MT: Yeah, I think Gaby was actually thrilled ‘cause they have never had a singer who could write lyrics. She wrote most of the lyrics ‘cause she spoke the best English... ya know, back in the day. She did it under her pseudonym Deaffy. Nobody ever even knew it was her!
AT: I know I didn’t. I thought Deaffy was just some dude who was friends with the band!
MT: Right. So, she had quite a few other hats to wear already, so it really cleared her up to do other things.
AT: Guitar solo-wise on the CD, is it all Wolf?
MT: Pretty much, but Herman and I wrote “Rolling Thunder” together, so that is pretty much his song to wail on. Herman plays his fair share on the CD but Wolf plays most all of the guitar work.
AT: Your new CD is already out in Europe but when can your American fans get a copy?
MT: It will be in the stores on Sept. 14th.
AT: Great luck to you and mad congratulations on being in Accept, your new CD and the upcoming tour.
MT: Thanks so much, man. Like I said, I am having the time of my life!
AT: Yeah, a bunch of the TT Quick faithful are guys that I went to high school with so I can tell you that they are also huge Accept fans. For folks like them, this is truly the best of both worlds. What has the feedback been from your former bandmates in TT Quick?
MT: When I told them I was thinking about doing it, they were just like, 'Do it! Just do it. Don’t even think about it. Just do it!' And you know TT Quick never really dies, so there very well may be a reunion show when I am home.
Accept will be playing the Starland Ballroom on Saturday, Sept. 25th with special guests Kings X and Circle of Insanity. The show is an all-ages to enter, 21 to drink event. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of the show.
