Interview with
Tasha
(Natascha Koch)
"English
Version"
Translated by Marie-Kristin Kannler, proofread by Miranda van Dam, Hugues Timmermans & Natasche Koch
Find the German version here: German version
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| Photo: Serenity - Promo |
SGOF: Hallo Natascha, thank you very much for making time for this interview. You are currently on tour with Serenity, as the band’s official guest singer, but what some fans might not know, is that you have your own band called "Tasha". When did that band start?
Tasha: My band "Tasha" was formed in 2013. Back then my producer and keyboarder Thommy Tschuggnall had asked me if I wanted to record an album with him. He owns a sound studio in Telfs and actually wanted to make an album. He had finished writing a couple of songs and was looking for performers, with whom he could put it out on the market and so he asked me. We immediately recorded the first song "Can’t rewind", for which we shot our first video. The collaboration was awesome right away, so we started to write songs together. And that’s how an entire album by the name of "Tasha" was released in 2013. And we had our first live performance as a band in 2014.
SGOF: Did you have some songwriting experience before the idea came up to have your own band?
Tasha: Yes, exactly. I have started composing quite early, even before I started singing. I composed my first "songs" on my piano when I was about 9 years old. About one or two years later I really wanted to learn to play the guitar and I started singing at the same time. And that’s how my first own songs came to life.
SGOF: Did you have the opportunity to perform your songs in front of an audience back then or did you write songs just for yourself at that time?
Tasha: At first I was writing just for me but in the course of my piano education, we used to have recital evenings from time to time, where I performed my own songs. Also, my parents owned a tavern, there was always live music there and I played for our guests every now and then.
SGOF: Tasha the band started in 2013, how did the name "Tasha" come up? It must have something to do with your first name, mustn’t it?
Tasha: "Tasha" is of course derived from my name "Natascha". An event manager who is also a good friend of mine, thought I really had to perform with my own band. That was in 2004 and I didn’t have a band yet. Back then I used to play solo, accompanying myself with the guitar or on the piano. He was planning a big festival and he booked me for it, but with a band. When I told him that I didn’t have a band, he just said: "Then get one". So that’s how I founded my first cover band. As the festival came closer, I indeed managed to have a band, but I hadn’t thought about a name yet. Before I could find one, I read the announcement "Special guest: Tasha and friends" in a newspaper and I thought that "Tasha" sounded cool. So I just kept it as my stage name.
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| Photo: Bernhard Schösser |
Tasha: No, like I said, someone on the event team just derived it from my first name Natascha.
SGOF: So simple and yet really cool.
Tasha: Yes indeed.
SGOF: You said that it all started with Thommy Tschuggnall but how did the others join you?
Tasha: There are so unbelievably many great musicians in Tirol and most of them know each other. Both my guitar players, Stefan Neuner and Peter Greier, had already worked with Thommy in the studio back then, that’s why they recorded stuff for my album. Both of them are really great and that’s why I wanted them to play live as well. We had some changes on the bass and the drums in the band. The original musicians back then had left the band due to lack of time. So we brought Thomas ("Fischi") in for the bass, with whom I have played for years in cover bands. I don’t have a fix drum player at the moment, but rather two/three at hand, so I can ask when I need them and whoever has the time and wants to play, has the job!
SGOF: Handy, when one of them can’t play, you always have a replacement at hand.
Tasha: Exactly, they are all very good …
SGOF: Would it be more difficult for you to find someone who could fill in on short notice?
Tasha: It is always difficult to replace someone from the band and I try to avoid it as much as I can. If someone really can’t come on short notice, we have a lot of great musician amongst our acquaintances luckily. We could probably manage to find someone to play with us, but it isn’t that simple and chances are that we would rather cancel a gig.
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| Photo: Bernhard Schösser |
Tasha: We are working on the next one, but we unexpectedly got an invitation to go on tour in Indonesia. In order to do so, we still have a lot of hard work to do and there are preparations to be made. This means that the creating process for the album has been put on hold for a while, especially the songwriting. Simply because I have to concentrate on the Indonesia tour - but I hope it will be out in 2016, otherwise as soon as possible in 2017.
SGOF: Will it be like the last one or do you have other ideas by now?
Tasha: The album will sound a bit different, because I have advanced in the last years. Thommy and I will write everything together and we will involve our musicians as well. Our first album "A LONG WAY" was very versatile style-wise. Back then, we had taken songs that I had written when I was 14 years old. Sure we modernized them, but I didn’t have a precise idea where I wanted to go and that’s why we had some kind of clashing of style on that album. We had e.g. a reggae song on it, even though I’m absolutely not into reggae anymore. The album was partially very trendy and I think that won’t be the case with the second one, so it definitely will be more on the rock side and sound harder. I think it won’t be metal, like real metal, but it definitely will be going towards a harder direction.
SGOF: Are you planning to do "real" metal in the future?
Tasha: No, I’m not planning that. It works like this: I’m writing most of the songs myself and I can’t force anything, just because I want it. Thus I can’t say, well I am with Serenity now and that’s why I want to write a metal album now. It’s not that easy. But I’m continuing to write and we’ll see what’s coming out of it. In the end the producer is the one defining in which direction it will be going. Because once the song is ready, then we work on the arrangements and they can go in different directions. I will see to it that the album stays quite homogenous, meaning that there won’t be different styles like on the first album, that it will be hard-edged, and maybe, who knows, there will be a couple of metal songs on it.
SGOF: As you already mentioned it, you will be going on tour through Indonesia this year - how did that happen? I mean Indonesia isn’t a country that’s right around the corner. So why of all places are you touring there, in places that normally never would come to mind? Are Indonesian people great fans of that kind of music style?
Tasha: I had the pleasure to tour as a special guest for Hermann Delago (a very successful Austrian musician and conductor, who has been playing Indonesian music for many years and he is really famous there) in Indonesia in 2014. The performances were really well attended and rather well received. That’s why the promoter of the tour wanted to do it over again, but just with the Tasha band this time. We are really looking forward to it, the people there are unbelievably kind and above all very enthusiastic when it comes to music. I will be singing Indonesian songs as well, which isn’t that easy. So it’s going be very exciting.
SGOG: Sounds like it is going to be a great and interesting tour.
Tasha: I hope so. But I’m very optimistic.
SGOF: I wish you and your band good luck and a lot of fun, then.
Tasha: Thanks!
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| Photo: Bernhard Schösser |
Tasha: We have just sporadic concerts planned for now. The organization and preparation for the Indonesia tour is very time consuming because we do all the booking and managing by ourselves (without the label). I’m also working on and writing for the next album and that has priority. After that, we will have new stuff to share on stage…
SGOF: Where do you get your ideas for the songwriting? Is there something that inspires you?
Tasha: I don’t have a special recipe… most ideas/texts are autobiographical and sometimes there are topics that occupy me at the moment and that everyone can relate to… The way I write songs is always different: sometimes it starts with a few words I have in mind and then I write lyrics on that basis, sometimes I get a melody first and then I write lyrics for it… But when the guys from the band have ideas, melodies or riffs that I like, we use them in the structure of the song.
SGOF: Would you like to write a song for Serenity, would you feel confident enough? Maybe something like that is already planned?
Tasha: Of course I would like to do that! But I don’t think that I could write a fully-fledged Serenity song on my own, because of the arrangements. The fact is that, in that particular genre, you have to work with a lot of bombastic orchestrations and I don’t have any experience in that area. But lyrics, melodies maybe even song framework, I would feel confident enough to do and I would love to do it! We’ll see what the guys have planned for the next album. I don’t rule anything out. I will help them any way they want me to!
SGOF: So we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds. You have been the official guest singer of Serenity for a while now and I would like to go back to how it all started for you. Can you tell us how you came in touch with Serenity?
Tasha: Georg Neuhauser and I have known each other for almost 7 years. We had worked together in a relatively big cover band and Georg already had guest singers for Serenity in the past, to perform the duets you can find on a few of the albums. One day he asked me if I wouldn’t want to join them on stage. I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical at first, because Serenity was actually not my style of music and I didn’t even know if I was even able to sing symphonic metal. But I said yes and wanted to see the whole thing for the fun of it. Then one day it was time for my first performance together with Serenity at the ProgPower Europe 2010 in Baarlo, Netherlands. The first impression of the entire scene was overwhelming for me. I was incredible proud of Georg and the guys, when I saw how successful they already were and how they really dug into it. It was so much fun to be on stage with them. After that I was at the concerts from time to time, as a replacement for Clementine when she was not available. And that’s how a friendship developed between me and the guys and even aside the stage I got involved in all kinds of Serenity-related activities like video and photo shootings, etc.
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| Photos: Serenity - Promo |
Tasha: Yes and I’m very happy about that. Of course there are also fans who don’t know how they feel about me because I’m totally new on the metal scene. But most of the fans have warm-heartedly included me in the "Serenity-family". And I really appreciate it and that’s why it’s so natural for me to keep in touch with the fans!
SGOF: The fact that you all are willing to spend a lot of time with the fans is a huge positive factor. When I talk to other fans about you, then I always get to hear: "Gee, she’s such a lovely person; when you get to the merch and talk to her, she’s always nice and she always shows warmth, you just gotta love her."
Tasha: That’s nice to hear. And it really means a lot to me that I got such a warm welcome from the fans.
SGOF: Yes … and many fans hope of course, that you will be present during a lot of concerts and tours.
Tasha: I hope that too. At the beginning of the year, we had many overlapping dates with the cover band, where Georg and I used to sing together. That’s why I could not be there that often at that point of time. But we both left the band in 2016. I wanted to concentrate more on Tasha and make some room for Serenity. Since January 2016 things have become easier and I can be on tour with the guys more often. Of course, I have to find a balance because I make a living out of singing at cover gigs and I still have commitments with these bands, but I will be on tour with Serenity as often as possible.
SGOF: Not so easy and very understandable. When you are on tour with Serenity, which songs do you like the most to sing with Georg?
Tasha: Ahhh … there are so many songs that I would like to sing with him, but sadly Serenity don’t have them on their current setlist …
SGOF: Which one?
Tasha: Well, my absolutely favorite song is "Changing Fate" from the album Death & Legacy. The female vocals were recorded by Amanda Somerville, that’s really my favorite song by Serenity. I would so love to perform this magnificent song live with them…
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| Photo: Oliver Haremsa (Kaiserslautern 20-02-2016) |
Tahsa: I will suggest it. But of course the songs of the latest album always have priority, as you want to introduce and promote them. And on the other hand hits like "Velatum" or "Serenade of Flames" shouldn’t be missing as well. We often have such short play time that we can’t play our personal favorites.
SGOG: That’s understandable - yet, we fans do hope that we get to hear a very rare song from time to time, like a live bonus. As you mentioned previously, you are a professional singer, unlike the guys of Serenity. How do you know when the time is ripe for you to say "Yes, THAT’S exactly why I want to be on stage! That’s what makes it worthwhile!"
Tasha: That’s a very good question. Tasha is way behind where Serenity stands right now. Of course there are goals that you set for yourself. I know where I want to go with Tasha. It’s just not that easy to make progress when you don’t have a record contract, because you are all alone to carry the entire financial burden on your shoulders. And I eventually got to the point that I no longer knew if it is profitable to put everything into it – all the time, energy and especially money – when you don’t see a chance? I was that close to giving up and that’s when Serenity helped me regain some confidence. Not just as music colleagues, but as friends and they reminded me again why I’m doing all this. We understand each other without words and then you get to the first venue, where there are already fans whom you know and who welcome you in a very lovely and warm-hearted way. Then you go on stage and you see all the happy faces down there, who you reach with your songs … and then it all becomes very clear again and you know why you doing it. You are standing up there and you are respected for what you do. That was totally different in the cover band area. The only thing that matters was cheap beer and that you were singing Helene Fischer with people dancing on the tables. When you get on stage and people have come to see you and not just to attend some kind of festival, it energizes you. And that’s what kept me going with Serenity and with the Tasha band as well. It motivated me to keep going because I could see a glimmer of hope. And that’s why I’m very grateful to the guys and I wish them all the best from the bottom of my heart, because they deserve it in every way.
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| Photo: Stages - by Che Photography (Bochum 12-02-2016) |
Tasha: That’s right. It’s difficult to say for the Powerwolf concerts as I wasn’t there, but the sure thing is that the band has definitely reached a new level and with the new album, Serenity has succeeded in pleasing existing fans and recruiting new ones. People are coming to the shows and want to hear the new songs. They had toured a very long time with "War of Ages" and there must have been fans thinking "Okay, I’ve seen this. I know this. I’m only going next time, when there is new material." And now the new record has been released. Of course, the band has grown, the success is bigger and the bands they are supporting are also different. We were a great package with Xandria e.g., we had everything there, with Jaded Star, from a bit rock-like, to Serenity and then the real symphonic with classical vocals, a great combination and something for everyone. So that’s why more people were coming to the shows. And Powerwolf is very big anyway and fills venues accordingly, same as Kamelot right now and I hope there is more in store like this for the guys.
SGOF: What I noticed on the Xandria Tour, especially in Linz, your home town in Austria, there was only a scarcely crowded audience, unlike in other venues. How come? Was it due to a bad choice of the other supporting acts or to the lack of promotion?
Tasha: The crowd there was a spectacular scarcely crowd, that’s correct, but it is very difficult in Austria and it is a big problem for most Austrians. Because we are so dependent on tourism, the people are so sated with everything, even with Austrian artists. Especially in Tirol, there are artists performing every day somewhere and the tourists who are there on vacation, they don’t really want to listen to Serenity, but something more like après-ski stuff, to which they can drink and have a party.
SGOF: Okay … but Linz!!! You would expect a nice crowd there. Was it due to insufficient promotion? As a fan, it often strikes me to notice that there is no significant promotion in the city and at the venue where you are playing.
Tasha: It was funny in Linz, when we got there, there was this poster on the glass entry door - only they have put it up upside down, so it was standing on the top. It had a DIN A4 format and was inconspicuous enough, but nevertheless they thought, let’s make it even crazier and hang it upside down on the door.
SGOF: I have to admit, I haven’t seen it … but one more question Tasha - what dream would you like to see come true as a musician? Apart from goals you set for yourself, what would be a musical dream for you that you would ask your fairy godmother to make come true?
Tasha: For Serenity, I hope they will have the success that they earn because they’re working their asses off. They really deserve it and I would be extremely happy to be a small part of it. Not to reap the benefits; just because I love doing it and because it’s a lot of fun. I would like to get a record deal for "Tasha", to sell more and of course to have a booking management that could fix us bigger gigs. That would be great.
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| Photo: Oliver Haremsa (Kaiserslautern 20-02-2016) |
Tasha: Well, I really dig Evanescence, I think they’re cool, I love Amy’s voice, because it’s not a typical classical voice. Oh yes, it would be really great to go on tour with them.
SGOF: You have told us, why this profession is the right one for you - but if you wouldn’t be a singer, what would have been your dream job?
Tasha: Now you’re going to laugh about me …. veterinarian. I wanted to become a veterinarian during my entire childhood and I have half of a zoo at home. I am a total animal-lover. The guys are making fun of me all the time during the tour. Allegedly, I have typical hand gesture, it’s hard to prescribe, but apparently I always cross my hands in front of my chest and say: „OHHHHHHH“ and because of that Andy mucks me all the time and imitates me. I love animals, I always have. It just would have been difficult, because in Austria you can only study veterinarian medicine in Vienna. That’s a bit too far away from Tirol and that wouldn’t have worked out.
SGOF: Half a zoo - what kind of animals do you have?
Tasha: I have two tremendous white shepherds, a cat and seven rabbits.
SGOF: Oohhhhhh…
Tasha: Yes, exactly. But one thing is missing - I would love to have a monkey. I love monkeys.
SGOF: A monkey? But only a very tiny and cute one, right?
Tasha: Yes, of course. A pygmy marmoset or something small like that. That’s another big dream of mine.
SGOF: Do you have a lucky charm or a mascot that accompanies you on tour and on stage?
Tasha: I don’t have a mascot. And the biggest luck on tour are the people you are working with, and that’s where I have the biggest lucky charm at my side, with the "Tasha Band" and "Serenity".
SGOF: I think there’s nothing to add to that, that’s so lovely said. But it brings me to another question: When you’re on tour with Serenity, not on stage, but when you’re on the road, how is it - do the boys spoil you, as you are the only representative of the "weak sex"? Or do you take the part of the "housewife" and take care of their well-being? Or does the famous gender equality rule apply?
Tasha: I feel comfortable around the guys, especially since we’re good friends in the real life and I’m absolutely not that kind of singer who can’t or won’t tackle something. I believe the guys would be rather shocked if I suddenly start to play the princess and let them spoil me :D. If we understand each other that well, it’s because I’m not that kind of girl and that’s what makes us a great team. We have a well working system by now, where everyone have their jobs and where everyone keep to it. But of course there are those moments when I spoil them by playing the housewife and bring them their breakfast or cleaning the caravan. ;-) But we have a well-balanced „give and take“ on all accounts, which makes us an absolute dream team.
SGOF: Sounds really great! Would you like to say something as a conclusion?
Tasha: Yes, I would really like to thank all the fans and I would be really happy if the Serenity-fans would keep an eye on "Tasha", listen to my music and maybe come to concerts!
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| Photo: Holger Bär (Bochum 12-02-2016) |
SGOF: I wish you that with all my heart, Tasha! Okay, I thank you very much for your time and your substantial and very interesting answers. I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Tasha: Yes, of course and I also would like to thank you very much and I hope that the fans will have a lot of fun reading it!
