Interview: CORNERSTONE
We caught up with Alina Peter (Vocals/Guitars) and Michael Wachelhofer (Bass/Keyboards/Vocals) of Cornerstone to see what they have planned for this year and beyond, plus how their latest album ‘Reflection’ has been doing…
Have you been pleased with the response to the ‘Reflections’ album from both fans and reviewers?
Alina: Yes, totally. The feedback was great! It’s the best thing that can happen, when the fans AND the media really like or even love your work. Of course, there is always someone, who does not love it, but that‘s okay. Everyone has a different taste, but we are pleased with the responses!
How did you get Harem Scarem’s Harry Hess involved in the album?
Alina: There has already been some talking about a collaboration with him for the “Somewhere in America“ album, but due to time issues, it was not possible. This time we planed everything for a year or so, and so it was no problem, to find a timeslot. Harry is a wonderful, courteous man, he took his time to make the best out of the album, and he did a great job on that!
Michael: Harry is quite well-known for his work with Harem Scarem, but he was also involved in productions of Billy Talent, Muse and Simple Plan, so he worked with some quite well-known names. Originally the production was planned for three months, but in fact it took us five, to finish everything.
You released a single ‘Northern Light’ a couple of months ago. How important is it for a band like Cornerstone to have a video on YouTube? Have you been pleased with the reactions so far to the video?
Michael: “Northern Light” is the second single from our longplayer “Reflections” and it has an interesting history: I was in England and drove to Scarborough for a holiday trip – a very beautiful city with an old harbour. When I drove there on the motorway, I looked into the sunset, and there was a BBC show on the car radio about Northern Lights. So this pretty much inspired me to wrote that song, and I guess, “Northern Light” has pretty much a “driving feeling” in it. It’s a pretty straight forward AOR-tune, I’ve read, that is has been compared to the soundtrack of Miami Vice. Not particular a bad thing for a AOR-band, I guess *laughing* Having a video on YouTube and on television is quite important for a band today… people always want a visual imagination of an artist.
What have been the live highlights for Cornerstone to date and why? In an ideal world, who would the band like to go out and support live?
Alina: We’re heavily influenced by bands like Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Quarterflash, … so it would be awesome to perform with them. On the other hand, if Bryan Adams asks us to go on tour we won’t say no either!
Michael: I pretty much agree with this artists.. *laughing* One highlight was deffo our first gig in New York back in 2009. We’ve played in a club, Kenny’s Castaways, where a quite unknown singer named Bruce Springsteen had his very first NY-gig back in the Seventies,,,*laughing*. This was kinda holy ground, unfortunately the venue doesn’t exist anymore. Another highlight was the Cambridge Rock Fest in the UK: we shared stage with the likes of The Animals, Magnum, Hazel O’Connor… we nearly sold out of CD’s after that gig, people waited in line for 25 minutes after the gig to get CD’s, shirts and autographs, so this was deffo a fantastic event and for sure one of the highlights of Cornerstone’s career so far.
Is there much of a live rock scene in Austria and how have the band gone about getting gigs?
Michael: Being completely honest, it’s more difficult for an Austrian Band in Austria, then abroad. People here tend to bully their own bands, so we have decided to concentrate on the markets, that are more open-minded, musically. Especially in the UK music is part of the culture, and our tunes were always well received. As an Austrian artist you have to become successfully abroad first, before you’ll get any acceptance or respect in your own country. Also Falco and Opus made it abroad first, so I guess this is also our way – building up a fanbase in Europe and the states.
What have you got planned for the rest of the year and beyond?
Alina: This year is more relaxing than the last one for us because of the album production and the last tour. We needed to reload our batteries so we can give 110% next year again. This year we play a few concerts in Austria and Germany but that’s it. Next year we will definately make a bigger tour again, but we haven’t decided where to go by now.
Michael: In 2016 we did an European Tour in five countries with 33 concerts, so we were quite busy. It was a nightmare, workingwise, and all of us need a rest to care about our private lifes, families, friends, etc. From April 2017 on we’ve started playing gigs again, and slowly starting to write new tunes, but no stress: for the moment we have enough about studios, recordings and so on, but I guess the hunger will appear again *laughing*.
Message for your fans…
Alina: Thank you to all readers of the GET READY TO ROCK for reading! Check out our new album “Reflections” on iTunes and Amazon and in case you want to find out more about the band, our website is www.cornerstone.co.at
We are also on Facebook, just click in and subscribe www.facebook.com/cornerstoneaustria
You can watch our music videos on youtube: www.youtube.com/cornerstone
Stay tuned!
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024
THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)
Featured Albums w/c 28 October 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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