KROKUS fanclub manager Peter Waelti has issued the following report on the the April 11th award ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland that saw him present the band with a Gold record for their latest album, Hellraiser:

"Who needs the Easter Bunny when the other option is to meet up with Krokus in Switzerland! So I left with great anticipation Denver via New York on Easter Sunday to arrive in Zurich the following day (Easter Monday is a holiday over there and shops are closed in observation of the holiday – which suited me fine, since I slept off the jet-lag from this 5,426 miles/8,732 kilometers journey).

Tuesday I met up with my childhood friend Roland (Krokus European Coordination and Accounting) and Francisco, European booking agent for Krokus to give and get an update on the band (the team surrounding Krokus is equally important as the band to move positively forward and have a common goal for career directive).

I swear there was a buzz in the air as I woke up Wednesday morning, April 11th. And the buzz got louder in my head as it drew closer to sound-check time and the first time I would see crew and band again since Malta. The Krokus Family is a happy family and everyone associated with the band gets along with each other. Unlike regular families, there is no 'black sheep' in this family and I believe it shows with the fans.

The Alpenrock House nearby the Zurich airport was the perfect place for this golden moment. Although a larger club, the inside is decorated Swiss style with chalets, cowbells and the walls painted with Swiss mountain motives as a backdrop. Truly fitting for a Swiss band! A cozy surrounding to celebrate their Gold Record Award in their native country with fans and Krokus team together. This is unusual, since industry standard is for some record executives taking a picture with the band backstage after a concert for trade magazines or daily newspapers and giving the band the awards at that time in a very small circle. Krokus wanted to celebrate this special moment with the fans. Because without the continuos support of our fan base there would not have been a Gold Record Award celebration. And the band recognizes that.

As the doors opened for the public, Krokus made themselves available for local press (since they have journalistic dead lines), staging the event with the Gold Record Awards at the Jungfrau Galerie with real rocks as backdrop, fitting for a Swiss Rock Band. For those of you that consult their dictionary or think they can translate 'Jungfrau' from German into English, please note that this sign referred to one of the mountain peeks named as such and not to be confused with the translation meaning "virgin". That’s almost impossible in association with the image of a rock band!

In between set change of supporting act and Krokus, I took the opportunity to introduce myself and that this evening will be special for all of us (keep in mind that only newsletter subscribers knew that we were presenting the awards on stage). Actually I was humbled how many people knew me from the past and the web site and it was great to reacquaint with GLOBE CLUB members. And then the band took the stage under rousing applause. Unlike in the past, where the 'Night Wolf' instrumental intro was leading into the first song 'Hellraiser', the band left the intro out and the show began with one member at a time to take the stage and start playing. Beginning with drummer Stefan, it continued seamlessly with bassist Tony, rhythm guitarist Dominique, lead guitarist Mandy and finally the voice that we all are so familiar with on all hit recordings of the band spanning from the early 80’s, the mighty Marc Storace. The set list that evening (and the rest of the week) was 'Hellraiser', 'Too Wired To Sleep', 'Hangman', 'Long Stick Goes Boom', 'Bad Boys', 'Midnite Fantasy', 'Heatstrokes', 'Screaming In The Night', 'Mad World', 'Angel Of My Dreams', 'Easy Rocker', 'Rock City' and 'RNR Tonight'. That concluded the regular set.

As the crowd cheered for an encore, I had the honor of taking the stage with five of our most loyal fans (some of them coming to every concert the band plays in Switzerland or southern Germany. And also Malta). We together represented the GLOBE CLUB on behalf of fans worldwide, presenting the band with their Gold Record Awards. Dressed in KROKUS T-shirts, our fan 'angels' Carmen, Marina, Sylvia, Conny and Simone handed one by one the awards to Marc, Mandy, Dominique, Tony and Stefan. The crowd cheered again and the band rewarded them with two encores (Celebration and Headhunter).

Then the band did a classy thing. Band members took turns to introduce the Krokus Team to the fans by bringing them up on stage, giving them their Gold Awards and telling fans their function (Roland Eggli – European Coordination and Career Direction as well as Accounting, Reto Lazzarotto – Record Company Gadget and Manager during the Hellraiser project, Francisco Maganto – European Booking Agent, Dennis Ward – Producer of Hellraiser album, Charly Preissel – music composer of 'Justice' on Hellraiser album, Carlo Tscholl – Tour Manager and last but not least yours truly (Globe Club and US Management). Thierry Mas, live sound engineer for years will also receive an award. The band also acknowledged and thanked their well oiled crew, merchandise staff and drivers. Although I initially was concerned with the time consumption this would take, I was told by fans after the concert and by mail once I returned back to the States, that they really appreciated this and that not too many fans ever get to know the people that support the product (KROKUS). The band in return thanked the fans with another two encores, 'Bedside Radio' and 'Eat The Rich'. The evening was all together fun for fans and band alike.

I had the good fortune to spend the rest of the week each day with Krokus at concerts throughout Switzerland. People in general do not realize how hard a band works for those 90 minutes plus encores at showtime. As headliner you play last, therefore go to bed last. You also get up early in the morning to get to the next venue (thanks to Ralph, our faithful driver), since you have to set-up and do sound-check first, before supporting acts can put their equipment in front of the main act’s equipment. A lot of waiting and driving, and yet crew and band make it look so easy. And always have a nice word for fans at gas stations or after the concert at the meet and greet merchandise stand. Whereas Marc is the front man, Mandy the ultimate and absorbed musician, Dom and Stefan the jokers, Tony is the chick magnet (girls just flock to him after a concert and it’s hard to get his attention when girls are standing in line to meet him).

Lucerne (the following day) was a super concert as well with great sound. Kerzers (in the Bernese part of Switzerland) followed thereafter. Just to show you how nice the band is not only with fans but also supporting acts on the bill, check out Robert’s comments from the Kerzers concert in our GUESTBOOK on April 16th, 2007. Also, KROKUS’s first official cover band Midnite Maniac from Varese/Italy came to the show and met with us backstage a little later. We were done with the concert and backstage activities at around 2:30 AM and ready to depart that morning at 7:00 AM, heading for the part of Switzerland that features the Matterhorn, the most famous mountain in Switzerland. Also the place where cheese fondue and raclette originated! This concert started at 2:00 PM already and we had to load the band vans on railroad carriers to go through a tunnel "to the other side", the canton (state) of Wallis. The village of Fiesch was about 1600 meters above sea level, the equivalent of Denver’s "Mile High City". But that’s not where the show was. Crew, band and equipment had to be loaded on to a huge gondola to be brought to the mountain top, where the air is thinner and the drunks more drunk (if you know what I mean). Now we’re playing at 2926 meters above sea level, almost double of where the village (and our hotel) was. This marked the end of the ski season and to celebrate this event the organizer brought us all the way up the Swiss mountains. This being their last weekend of keeping the gondola going and the restaurant open, food was running out (however we enjoyed the best cheese fondue I ever had after the concert on the mountain top). While hotels and restaurants on the mountaintop and for that matter in the valley would be closed for over a month before "summer season" starts, the locals were convinced that not only food would spoil but also all the booze would evaporate during this time. So they sacrificed their bodies and soul and emptied the restaurant’s entire booze supply before heading for the valley. You can just imagine how the last gondola of the season going down to the valley smelled and sounded. Chanting very loudly football cheer songs out of tune and jumping up and down inside the gondola making it swing slightly back and forth. And the band had no choice but to take that last gondola as well and I think I speak for all when I say we were mighty happy to be on solid ground again.

Our webmaster Tom will put very soon pictures from the Gold Record Award event and some from this last gig way up in the mountains on our GALLERY page. Please check back in a week or two. The person taped like a mummy (in one of the pictures) is Mandy, who decided it would be safer to ski down the mountain rather than stepping foot into that last gondola heading for the valley :)

One last funny tidbit: On my way back to the States while attempting to clear customs in New York, I was questioned by the customs agent what the "gold content" of the award is. I guess they wanted to make some extra revenue. I told him I gave all my money already to the IRS (for those of you outside the USA, that’s the "taxman" George Harrison sings about in a song)."

Until we meet again,

Rock On,

Peter

GLOBE CLUB FOR CLAN AND FAN