1. What are your influences? I would say groups like the Beatles, ELP, Yes, Toto and strong individuals like Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Al DI Meola, Michael Schenker and Alan Holdsworth.
2. Guitar played? (model) ESP Stratocaster, Godin.
3. Amp used? (model)I use a brand called “Mesa-Boogie”.
4. Speakers used? (model)
Marshall’s 1960 models.
5. You played guitar in KROKUS for the whole World Tour of 1981. Why did you leave and what did you do in between? I left because of stupid little silly things. Thank God we all grow up eventually and time heals many wounds. Today my philosophy is: Don’t sweat over the small stuff since it all is just small stuff! Within this last 25-year span I formed a band called “Cobra” with Jimi Jamieson, joined theBrit band Asia, followed by Ashton, Stealing Horses, Katmandu, Patric Moraz’s band (Swiss keyboard player that played with the Moody Blues for years and later joined Yes) and before joining KROKUS again I was a fully fledged member of the Swiss chart-toppers, Gotthard.
6. You re-joined KROKUS immediately after Fernando Von Arb left early in 2005. How did that come to be? Marc, with whom I had still shared a more or less close human relationship over the years, called me up that same night when Fern left. For me personally, it was musically very interesting to take over the lead guitar and sink my teeth into real hard rock again. I believe it also was a logical move to re-instate me back in the band, since I had been a member of Krokus during a very productive an decisive time in the band’s rising International career. Another added bonus was also the fact that I had played in a locally huge Swiss band called Gotthard fo 10 years, and a great number of fans followed me to Krokus.
7. What else do you do besides music? I have a teenage daughter that I love to spend quality time with. I also keep myself physically fit so that worldwide touring with Krokus will not affect my stamina or me a bit!
8. Any favorite hobbies? As mentioned in the previous question, I enjoy a lot of sport activities like skiing, mountain biking and of course soccer, all of which keep me physically fit as a balance to my rock musician life.
9. You came back to KROKUS in time for the 2005 US Tour, the first US visit since the band’s "Heart Attack" Tour in 1988. How did the US Tour feel?
Different. And that was to be expected. Last time I toured with Krokus in the States, the band’s career was already at a very high peak. But then, for various reasons. I.e. grunge, the American market grew less lucrative for us and was neglected. Although we knew that there was a great following, and we saw this in 2005 when we re-connected with the US fans, we had to start fresh again, one venue at a time, and mostly on the East coast. Since we traveled by tour bus, it was great to visit places that most tourists or even Americans never will see.
10. The band also played some big festivals in Europe. Can you tell us about a couple? Balingen/Germany is worth mentioning. And then there was the Sweden Rock Festival in June where over 30,000 hard rock fans went absolutely nuts. If you missed it, log on to www.krokusonline.com, where pictures of that festival are posted for you. For most parts, the fans in Sweden and Switzerland behave very similar. I mean, they really like hard rock, if it is played with heart and soul! We have a very loyal and solid fan base in Europe. And we are confident that we can “raise hell” in the Americas with our new release “Hellraiser” and the concurrent tour next year.
11. Do you write songs?
Absolutely! In my lifetime it must have been just around 100 songs. Not just for bands I was part of, but also bands like Van Zant and House Of Lords. One day I have to sit down and count them!
12. What songs did you contribute to the new "Hellraiser" CD? I contributed musically for a total of 4 songs. Listen to “Fight on”, “So long”, “Spirit in the night” and “Turnin’ inside out” when you get your very own copy of “Hellraiser”. Feel free to send me your thoughts through our KROKUS Globe Club For Clan & Fan page. And come see us live when we come and rock your town!
13. Do you play other instruments? (which ones) Keyboards, marching band drums (as in the City of Basel/Switzerland) and almost anything with strings, including but not limited to g-strings (laughs).
14. What's your dream vacation? Somewhere by the ocean, or skiing in the mountains with my loved ones.
15. How did you end up playing with ASIA for a while?Through John Kalodner of Geffen Records, who saw me play with Krokus and other bands before and thought I might be the perfect match.
16. Where can fans find out more about Mandy Meyer?
Feel free to visit my personal web site
www.mandymeyer.ch 16. Anything else you would like to share with your fans? Make my day and get the new CD “Hellraiser”. In return I will play my ass off for you on our next tour.