Article Source:
ECLIPSED Magazine
August 2005
Author:
Michael Fuchs-Gambock and Walter Sehrer
Contributed by:
Gudrun Friederich and Peter Hoscheidt
Images:
The Weimar Project - new pictures of a well-known exhibition.
Once again he will appear on the German concert scene... Greg Lake will come to Germany during September/October for some shows. Even before his time with ELP, this charismatic musician/singer has written progressive music history with King Crimson. After two solo LP's and the last ELP disc in 1998, there have been no new releases from Greg Lake since then. Instead, he jammed live in the USA with, for example, Gary Moore or toured with former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. Next year he will re-enter the music business with "The Weimar Experience", the first Greg Lake production for a few years. Weimar means Goethe and Schiller, two of Germany's most famous poets, but although for a short time it was the "Weimar Republic", directly after World War I.
Interview
Q.: Mr. Lake, in the last years nothing was heard of you in the way of being a rock star. Therefore your latest project has been a cooperation with the well known "Thomaner Choir" from Leipzig. You did this at the Franz Liszt University for Music in Weimar. You're 57 now; do you think you're too old to be a rock star any longer?
A.: (Laughs) No, but I'm only doing music when I feel inspired to do so, and not because I'm expected to do so. But regarding this workshop: mainly I wanted to impress my wife, to whom I've been married for 30 years now. She was born in Leipzig. Leipzig, and especially Weimar, are very inspiring places for me. They combine everything that Germany stands for: beauty and culture, and at the same time, tragedy and misery. I can revel in all of this, wonderfully. Right now I'm producing a CD with the Thomaner Choir which will be entitled, "The Weimar Experience". It's a piece of concept work and I do hope that it will fit my own expectations to capture this magical place into tunes.
Q.: What can we expect from "The Weimar Experience" from a musical standpoint?
A.: There will be a lot of references to my work with King Crimson and ELP. My music has always been inspired by this genre and much less by blues or R & B. The rock elements have always been for me just a nice way to experiment. And this will continue with my new releases.
Q.: What can we expect from your new tour?
A.: People will be very impressed by the brilliant band that is appearing with me. Our gigs will take place in clubs and not in big stadiums. The gigs in Germany are very important for me. We're going to perform a lot of old material from KC and ELP as well as new songs. But I don't want to speak too much about that just yet. I'm very much looking forward to these gigs.
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