TOXIC
VIRGIN
Toxic Virgin is one of the
best bands I’ve heard recently. A great, great band bearing an element
that most of the bands nowadays lack. Which is this? Enjoying their music
without taking things too seriously. Such factors in the hard ‘n’ heavy
scene, along with inspiration of course, guarantee an interesting album.
Well, “Circle Of Power” is not just interesting. It’s excellent! So, here
we are…
1.FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS
FOR THIS INCREDIBLE ALBUM! COULD YOU POINT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS
OF THE BAND'S HISTORY AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE READERS...
As almost every rock band Toxic
Virgin started making music in a garage, rather concentrating on beer than
on composing music. In 1993, however, things got more serious with their
first live gig in a small pub in Krefeld, and as the audience had to buy
tickets for this gig, they now started concentrating on music rather than
beer. In 1995, singer Markus Litsch joined the band. Following some more
live gigs in the Krefeld area, the first EP (‘Love Rocket’) was released
in 1996. As this EP was presented in local radio programmes and reviewed
in rock magazines in Germany, the number of fans grew. In 1999, the first
CD ‘Toxic Virgin’ with 13 songs was released, again receiving excellent
reviews. Accordingly, the band became better known and several concerts
all over Germany followed as well as shady offers by dubious pseudo-managers
and distributors. Considering these experiences the band preferred going
their own way and released the next CD ‘Circle of Power’ on their own account
in 2001. Thanks to the Internet, this album reached and won fans all over
the world. A memorable concert for the band was their gig at the Polo Rock
Festival in 2001 with Doro and Bonfire – until then, they had never performed
in front of 5000 fans. (What a contrast to the living-room concert the
band once gave at a private party, where the drummer had to play in the
adjacent dining-room because the living-room turned out to be too small
for the five of them!). Last year the band had its first gig abroad in
the Netherlands, which was a lot of fun. Moreover, their next CD will be
released in February this year.
2.TOXIC VIRGIN? WELL THAT'S A WEIRD
NAME FOR SURE!!!! HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THIS AND WHY? IS THIS DRAGON YOU HAVE
ON THE CD COVER SOMETHING LIKE YOUR MASCOT?
The band’s name “Toxic Virgin”
doesn’t have a deeper meaning, but was created after a couple of beers
in a pub… We thought it sounded good. The dragon is our mascot – we call
him Doc Tune?
3.TELL ME SOME THINGS ABOUT "CIRCLE
OF POWER". WHERE WAS IT RECORDED? ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FINAL RESULT?
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE? THIS ALBUM IS SELF FINANCED RIGHT? HOW DIFFICULT
IS IT FOR A BAND TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY SINGLE DETAIL?
“Circle of Power” was recorded
at Spacelab Studios, Oedt, Germany. We are very satisfied with the result,
even though it was a lot of work.
4.WHICH ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
ARE YOU IN TOUCH WITH ANY LABELS? DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW SONGS READY? WHAT
SHOULD WE EXPECT FROM TOXIC VIRGIN IN THE FUTURE?
We are not in contact with any
label, because nowadays it seems very difficult to get realized without
those TV shows looking for “Superstars”. Anyway, our new album “Sulphur”
will be released in February this year.
5.WHERE ARE YOUR LYRICS REFERRING TO
AND HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY FOR YOU? WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE LYRICS?
The songs don’t follow a particular
concept; we rather randomly come up with any topic and express our feelings
and attitudes towards life, as for example in the song “Restless Hearts”.
6.YOU GOT TO THE FINAL OF A ROCK CONTEST
TWICE. WHAT DID YOU GAIN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
DO YOU THINK THAT WHAT YOU EARN FROM ALL THIS WORTH THE EFFORT AND HARD
TIMES?
It was fun participating on those
contests even though they didn’t help us on in any way.
7.DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS?
WHAT DO TOXIC VIRGIN HAVE TO OFFER AND OFFER TO THE FANS DURING ONE OF
THEIR LIVE SHOWS?
Fans can expect us to “rock our
asses off” to present a good show and have a good time.
8.WHICH IS ACCORDING TO YOU YOUR BEST
AND WHICH YOUR WORST ELEMENT AS A BAND? WHICH IS YOUR TRADEMARK?
Our biggest asset is that we stick
together no matter what may come. Our worst element is that we tend to
be a bit chaotic sometimes… Our trademark is not taking ourselves too seriously
and having fun.
9.IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
Emotion: love for life, painting:
a blank page?
10.IF YOU HAD A PROPOSAL TO DO A VIDEO
CLIP, WHICH SONG OF YOURS WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO
BE?
We’d most certainly choose “Sailor”
because it’s the song which makes audiences party and we would shoot it
that sort of dives you may find in a harbour.
11.ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FEEDBACK
YOU GOT? IS THERE A COMMON STATEMENT YOU SEE REPEATED IN ALMOST ALL THE
REVIEWS?
Considering that we are just an
amateur band, we are very satisfied with the feedback we get, especially
abroad. To our great satisfaction (to boost our egos?), those writing the
reviews often wonder why we don’t have a label.
12.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET AN
IMPORTANT PERSONALITY, WHICH WOULD THAT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK
HIM?
Freddy Mercury, because I never
had the chance to see him live which I`m still upset about.
13.WHICH WORDS WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO
DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
14.LET'S SUPPOSE THAT WE LIVE IN A
WORLD WITHOUT MUSIC. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN SUCH A CASE?
Oh no, I can`t live without music,
sorry!!
15.YOU PARTICIPATED IN ATLANTIDA COMPILATION
VOLUME 22. WHY? DO YOU THINK PEOPLE STILL BUY AND LISTEN TO COMPILATIONS?
HOW DID YOU SELECT THE SONG "SAILOR" TO BE INCLUDED? WHAT HAVE YOU EARNED
HTIS FAR?
This is a chance for us to reach
people who normally wouldn’t listen to our music. Therefore we chose the
song “Sailor” – it`s different from all the other songs on the compilation.
16.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
Christine Parastatidou
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