Claus Lessmann from Bonfire

Interview by Avril Savoie

Exclusive to Rockstar Weekly

Whether in Germany, Europe or in the States, Bonfire are, and will remain, rock giants. Without their influence on the melodic rock scene, an important chapter in international rock music history would have remained unwritten. Whatever the future brings, one thing is clear the tours are running, the gigs are booked and the guitars are red hot the Bonfire is still burning!

Vocalist Claus Lessmann and guitarist Hans Ziller gathered the hard Rock quintet "Cacumen" around them at the beginning of the 1980s in Ingolstadt, whose incedntly have recently been re-released on CD. The quintet first released two albums Cacumen (in 1981) and Bad Widow (in 1983) through different Indie labels. Cacumen took the fans of hard & heavy sounds by storm, but it took three more years before the absolute break-through for the songwriting duo Ziller/Ziller, when they changed the name of their project to "Bonfire". Bonfire's debut album Don't Touch the Light (1986) became one of the most successful first releases by a German band of this genre thanks to its perfect mixture of haunting melodies and chilling crystal-clear rock music.

The follow-up album Fireworks, released one year later, stayed in the German album charts for thirty weeks and is considered to be the "Made in Germany" Hard Rock classic to this day. Furthermore, Bonfire have confirmed their reputation as exceptionally good live musicians during their extensive tours around Europe -- with ZZ Top and Judas Priest, among others. When put to the test, BONFIRE can sweep away a more mainstream-oriented audience as well as die-hard heavy metal fans with their thrilling performances.

But in the middle of working on their third album Point Blank -- which, like the earlier albums, was produced by master producer Michael Wagener -- guitarist Hans Ziller left Bonfire because of insurmountable differences with the management and began a project of his own called "EZ Livin'". In the meantime, singer Claus Lessmann and Co. reinforced their status, which they had worked so hard for over the years, with the release of Point Blank. Their tour through Europe at the end of 1989 was completely sold-out and left a lot of deliriously happy fans with unforgettable memories of their concerts.

In 1991, Bonfire recorded its fourth album Knockout, under the direction of veteran producer Mack (Queen and others). Knockout is more melodious, more easy going than its predecessors, but the album still sold more than 60,000 copies to fans, who stayed loyal to earthy, genuine Rock in spite of the then-rising boom in Grunge music.

After a two year rest, vocalist Claus Lessmann and his old songwriting partner Hans Ziller came back together to try their hand at German language Rock -- the result was the maxi single "Glaub' dran" -- only to come to the conclusion in the end: "This experiment proved to us that we should stick to what we do best -- riff-centered melodic Hard Rock that goes straight to your ear!"

Still in1997, a limited edition of the German language album "Freudenfeuer" was released. Since Bonfire were back together again, 10,000 copies of the album were sold in no time and the album is now considered a collector's item.

Thus, the 1996 release of Feels Like Coming Home, an album which also includes Glaub dran material, now completely re-arranged and equipped with English lyrics, can be considered as a return to old strengths and as a final rehearsal for the comeback, which Bonfire had one year later with Rebel Soul, an album recorded with the same line-up which they have at present.

Rebel Soul turned out to be a highly stimulating Rock opus, with which the duo Ziller/Ziller and their band members made clear that "Hard Rock from Germany" is more alive than ever, even though there are some harsh winds blowing in this particular field of the music business.

In 1999, the quintet succeeded in reviving the "good old days" vibes with their album Fuel to the Flames and they brought back to life the spirit of albums such as Don't Touch the Light and Fireworks. Even though the business atmosphere for traditional Rock sounds was hardly optimistic at the time, Fuel to the Flames entered the German album charts right off at No. 32 and stayed in the charts for a respectable seven weeks.

Strike X, recorded at Munich's Sator Sound Studio and released on April 2, 2001, continues uncompromisingly with the "back to the roots" motto of the four musicians from Ingolstadt. The opening track Under Blue Skies fascinates the listener with its symbiosis of dark and heavy beats, reminiscent of Black Sabbath, and its epic-monumental nuances on the one hand, while following a haunting melody in the vocal part on the other hand. A successful European tour followed the release of this album.

2002 saw the release of the long-awaited double-album and DVD 29 Golden Bullets The Very Best of Bonfire, to the delight of old and new fans alike. Bonfire are with this album once again number one in the rock scene and wee seen playing continuously throughout Europe on the Golden Bullets tour. Despite numerous successes and a clearly promising future, Chris Lausmann decides to part from the band after twelve years due to personal reasons. A growing fan-request for a new live album grew to a peak in this year and as a result the album, Live over Europe was released in November together with the publication of the bands new award-winning website The-Flame.com.

Few realized it, but the band followed their creative drive and were already making plans for the future in shape of a partnership with Swedish song-writer and hit-maker Marcus Black. Following a successful European Tour as support for Whitesnake, the studio-album Free was released. A highly professional and well produced album that entered into news realms of experimentation for the band and nevertheless managed to enter the official German album charts.

Continuing with their creativity and underlining their talent to never fail to surprise, Bonfire went on to release One Acoustic Night Live at the Music Club a clear statement and a chance to draw breath before going into the studio once more and commencing work on a new studio album.

Bonfire, whose songs have sold over 6 million copies worldwide, remain ambitious and are always eager to strive for new goals. Towards the end of One Acoustic Night tour came the South-East Asian tsunami catastrophe for which Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller brought the Rock for Asia into being a benefit concert of mammoth proportions involving numerous renown names from the world of rock. Over 100 000 euros were collected through this gala concert in Ingolstadt alone, which included a surprise make-over of one of the bands most well-known hits Rock n Roll Cowboy 2005. The release of the One Acoustic Night DVD with the Spanish version of Rock n Roll Cowboy followed together with numerous gigs in Greece and Spain.

In 2006, Bonfire celebrates their 20th anniversary and now Chris Limburg from Vice, Wet Paint and Lustfinger has taken the reigns as the band's co-guitarist. In 2008, The Rauber was released, a rock opera. A special DVD of the opera performance as well as a regular concert was released soon afterwards which included a remixed version of the classic song, You Make Me Feel, as a music video, their first new music video since the song "Under Blue Skies" in 2001. The new version of the song is featured on the Playstation game "Sing Star".

Bonfire recently announced on their web site that Jürgen Wiehler has been replaced by Dominik Huelshorst as of January 15, 2009.

You guys are doing some festivals this year, including Rocklahoma. Itll be good to have you back in North America. How long are you here for?

What I really like is your acoustic release "One Acoustic Night. Will BONFIRE play any acoustic songs at Rocklahoma.

Do you play any acoustics songs in concert at all?

Bonfire does have a unique history as it really began as a different band and then became two separate bands in the early 90s. Could you explain that and how it all works?

More than 20 years is a long time to keep any band going. What is the secret to keeping Bonfire alive and well?

Did you guys have a great party to celebrate 20th anniversary of the band a couple years ago?

For about the last 10 years or so, youve released nearly one album a year. Not many bands or artists can do that.

What keeps your music and writing so fresh?

The last CD was a rock opera, what is it about?

That must have been a unique process to create?

Was it nice to record a couple tracks in German?

Tell us a little about the latest Bonfire DVD.

The bands website is absolutely amazing. Is having an innovative website important for you guys?

BONFIRE has a song on the Playstation game "Sing Star". How did that come about?

Have you played the game?

With all these albums and concerts that youve played. There has to be a great story that comes to mind.