'Nothing can stop the power of Manowar in the Bulgarian fans.'

MANOWAR recorded the songВ 'Father' fromВ the new album in 15 (and counting) different languages. A goodВ reason for us to talk to their bass player.

and interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

WE ARE LIVE ON THE RADIO WITH JOEY DEMAIO, WHO IS IN SPAIN RIGHT NOW. HELLO, JOEY, HOW ARE YOU? I AM NOT SO MUCH DEPRESSED BY THE DOUBLE ECHO. AND I HOPE IT DOESN’T BOTHER YOU EITHER.
Nothing can stop the power of Manowar in the Bulgarian fans.

OK, OBVIOUSLY THE MAIN REASON TO HAVE YOU HERE IS THIS BRAND NEW SONG ‘FATHER’, WHICH HAS BEEN RECORDED, AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, IN 15 DIFFERENT LANGUAGE VERSIONS, AM I RIGHT?
That’s 16 with the English version.

SO… WHY?
Well, because most bands are mostly concerned with only taking money from the fans and they don’t want to give anything back. You have to give back and you have to show your fans how important they are. And obviously we are the only ones to feel that way. It is a way to say ‘thank you’ to the fans for believing in us and making us the Kings of Metal.

YOU HAVE BEEN TO BULGARIA ON TWO OCCASIONS NOW. DO YOU PLAN A THIRD COMING?
Yes, we are talking about it now. And it looks like it will be some time in 2010. We will try to bring the Magic Circle festival to Bulgaria.

HAVING SUCH A STRONG LINK WITH YOUR FANS HERE IN BULGARIA, RECORDING A SONG IN BULGARIAN, AND THINKING OF COMING BACK AGAIN, YOU YOURSELF, JOEY, DID YOU GET A CHANCE TO LEARN SOME KEY PHRASES IN OUR LANGUAGE?
Yes, but nothing you can say on the radio.

OK. REPEAT AFTER ME. ‘DOBAR DEN’ IS HELLO, ‘NAZDRAVE’ IS CHEERS…
‘Nazdrave’ – I know that one. I say that whenever I drink rakia.

‘SHTE SI LEGNESH LI S MEN’ - VOULEZ-VOUS COUCHER AVEC MOI CE SOIR…
I know that one… but it’s French.

OK, SO YOU HAVE SIX MONTHS TO PRACTICE THIS THING… PLEASE GIVE US MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS OF RECORDING THIS SONG, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT IS NOT THE WHOLE BAND PLAYING, IS IT?
No, it is very difficult to do this, trying to translate one line at a time as I did. We recorded all of the music first and then we began working on the translation. And we used Skype, so Eric could see the translator and the translator could see Eric as well. We had a translator who lives in Bulgaria, a very nice girl named Nelly Stefanova and she did a wonderful translation. She is a real Manowar fan and we are proud that a fan translated a song for other fans.

OK, THIS IS WITH THE VOICE RECORDING, BUT IS THE WHOLE BAND PLAYING HERE?
Oh yes, this is the Manowar band playing the songs.

NO DRUMS?
No drums. There is a drum version on the new Manowar EP that is for sale for download at www.Manowar.com.

WE TALKED TO THE TURKISH BAND MANGA YESTERDAY, THESE GUYS ARE COMING TO PLAY A FESTIVAL HERE – WELL, THIS IS A DIFFERENT STORY BUT WE PLAYED THEM THE TURKISH VERSION AS WELL, CALLED ‘BABA’, AND THE GUY SAID, HE’S A MANOWAR FAN OBVIOUSLY, THAT HE COULDN’T EXACTLY UNDERSTAND ALL THE LYRICS ERIC WAS SINGING IN TURKISH. DID YOU HAVE A GOOD TRANSLATOR IN TURKISH AS WELL?
I think we had. We had the best translators in all languages because they are Manowar fans and they did from the heart, not for money.

COULD YOU ACTUALLY SAY THAT ‘FATHER’ IS A RELIGIOUS SONG?
No, I don’t think you could say it is a religious song. I think that there could only be people who interpret it as being a God-father or a normal father in a family – it can have a different interpretation for every person.

DO YOU HAVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OUTSIDE THE SO CALLED MANOWAR BROTHERHOOD?
Yes, I have a brother.

IS HE DOING MUSIC AS WELL?
He is an art director and a photographer.

SO WHAT IS HIS NAME?
Mark.

IS HE YOUNGER OR ELDER?
He’s younger. My mother and father always wanted a lawyer and a doctor but they got a musician and a painter.

I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE SONG SO FAR IS ON POSITION NUMBER FOUR IN OUR WEEKLY TUBOURG TOP 40 CHART. THAT’S THE FANS THAT ARE VOTING FOR YOU HERE…
I thank the station on the behalf of the band and myself and I thank the fans so much for voting for the song and please – tell everybody in the world about it. We think the song has a special message and it proves that heavy metal is not stupid music that our fans are the best and the strongest in Bulgaria and everyone knows it.

rights Tangra Mega Rock