Just a week before their first ever show in Bulgaria, we talk about life...

One of our all time favorite bands will be playing the first gig at Tangra Mega Rock's FIFTH ANNIVERSARY BASH on 15 March in Sofia.В 

WeВ catch D.R.I. frontmanВ KURT BRECHT on the phone, somewhere in Spain.

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

JUST A WEEKВ TO YOUR FIRST EVER CONCERT IN BULGARIA, WHAT IS THE VIBE INSIDE THE BAND AND HOW HAS THE TOUR BEEN SO FAR?
It’s been very very good so far. Great shows, packed every night. We are really looking forward to Bulgaria, because we’ve never played there before. We’d heard also a lot of people will come to the show.

I’M SURE THE QUESTION YOU FACE EVERY DAY FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS IS WHEN YOUR NEXT STUDIO ALBUM WILL BE READY, BUT LET’S CHANGE IT A BIT THIS TIME – YOU ARE NOT RECORDING THE NEW ALBUM, BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE ANY NEW MATERIAL OR BECAUSE PEOPLE AT YOUR GIGS ARE THERE TO HEAR MAINLY YOUR CLASSICAL STUFF ANYWAY?
We are very busy right now just touring. And we would like to come out with another album, but..once we, you know, have time to do that, we would try to come up with another record.

I HEARD THAT SPIKE, ROB, HAROLD AND YOURSELF, YOU ALL LIVE IN FOUR DIFFERENT STATES, IS IT TRUE?
Yes, this is true.

WELL, GETTING THE BAND TOGETHER AND SPENDING SO MUCH TIME TOGETHER ON THE ROAD…IS THIS JUST ANOTHER GOOD EXCUSE TO BE AWAY OF YOUR FAMILIES?
Ha ha ha ha, naaaah, it’s not an excuse to be away from the family. Just, ummm, this is what we do, you know, we are a touring band.

HAVING IN MIND THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE SOME VERY SHORT SONGS WITHIN YOUR DISCOGRAPHY, PLEASE TELL US – HOW MANY SONGS IS THE AVERAGE SETLIST OF D.R.I. NOWADAYS?
Around thirty five.

ARE YOU SOMEHOW RELATED TO THE FAMOUS BERTOLT BRECHT?В 
Huh, as far as I know, no, I don’t!

OK, BUT YOU STILL HAVE SOME GERMAN ROOTS, RIGHT?
Yes, my grand parents, or my grand grand parents were from Germany.

DO YOU FEEL ANY PARTICULAR TOUCH IN YOUR HEART WHEN PLAYING IN GERMANY, OR IT’S ALL THE SAME?
It’s pretty much all the same! But there is a town in Belgium called Brecht. We played nearby there. I talked to a guy the other day who was at our show and his name was Kurt and he lived in the town of Brecht. So he came up and told me that at the show, just kind of funny...

THREE YEARS AND A HALF AGO, YOUR GUITARIST SPIKE CASSIDY WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER AND LATER IT WAS REPORTED HE WAS ALL OK. HOW IS HE TODAY?
Yea he’s good now and we are touring again more. Started out just few days at a time and now we are playing more and more and more and longer and longer tours. Just to make sure he’s OK. 

GREAT!
So he’s been doing really well.

THAT WAS THE SAME SHIT THAT KILLED RONNIE JAMES DIO?
Different type.

BEING SUCH AN INTENSIVELY TOURING ACT, IS THERE A BAND ON EARTH YOU WOULD NEVER SHARE THE BILL WITH?
I don’t know, some Nazi, skinhead bands. But who would really want to play a show with them? But I don’t even know the names of those bands, only heard of them.

SO, WHAT IS THE BAND YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLAY THE MOST WITH? I MEAN, I’M SURE THERE ARE TONS OF, BUT WHAT IS THE ONE THAT IS CLOSEST TO YOUR HEART?
I’m looking forward to playing some more shows with SLAYER, that should be really good. We are supposed to play some shows with them in South America. And we played with them before, but it was a long time ago, so we are looking forward to play with them again. Should be really good.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME?
Probably 2004, we played with them on a large festival in Europe.

D.R.I. 1984

WHAT IS THE D.R.I. SONG YOU MOST LIKE PERFORMING LIVE?
Probably ‘Thrashard’!

WHERE DO YOU PLACE IT IN THE SETLIST, IN THE BEGINNING OR AT THE END?
It changes. Right now, the last time we played it in the beginning, but usually it’s kinda in the middle.

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED ANY COVERS AT YOUR LIVE SHOWS?
Not for a long long long time. Only at the very very beginning when we didn’t have very many songs, so we needed extra songs so to beef up our set, you know, to make a full set. 

SO, WHAT WERE YOU PLAYING BACK THEN?
Umm, ‘Louie Louie’ and ‘Johnny B. Good’. That’s about it, I think.

ALRIGHT, THAT WAS A BRIEF ONE, I’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK IN TOWN, CHEERS.
Alright. I’d like to say to all our fans there, that we are really looking forward to come in and sorry it took so long, but we promise we’ll comeback more often this time. 

rights Tangra Mega Rock