Interview @rockpages
http://www.rockpages.gr/detailspage.aspx?id=3279&type=1&lang=EN

It was one of the best interviews that we have ever done in all these years of Rockpages’ presence on line. Kip Winger and Reb Beach were in high spirits (as you will read below…) and all our scheduled questions…well, we didn’t get to ask them! After all, who needs questions when the conversation lead you astray and all you can do is watch it flow! Surely, we cannot portray everything that took place in those 40 minutes with Winger but here’s something of the atmosphere of that conversation that…seemed like a dream!

Interview: Sakis Nikas, Yiannis Dolas

Rockpages.gr: How do you feel after last night’s show?

Kip Winger: That was the best audience ever!

Reb Beach: Amazing!

Kip Winger: It was nearly as exciting as that (ed.note: Kip points outside the window where a tow truck lifts up in the air a cab)! Is that normal?

Rockpages.gr: Not really!

Kip Winger: Good. Look…the audience in Athens has always been awesome. I remember the Greek crowd since our first show with The Scorpions here in Athens.

Reb Beach: You guys go wild! You sing every word to every song. And not only the old guys but also the young girls!

Kip Winger: I like young girls better that the young guys…we are in Greece, after all! We tried to go to the Parthenon today and it started raining cats and dogs…it was like Zeus came down and said: (ed.note: Kip is mimicking an announcement made through a microphone or a speaker) “Attention! It seems like Winger is trying to enter the Parthenon zone…let’s bring out the lightning and the thunders” (laughs)! So, we went to the museum and waited until the sun comes out and when that happens and we go once again up to the hill, we found out that the visiting hours had just ended! The area was closed! The Gods didn’t want us up there.

Rockpages.gr: I guess not. How is the response towards Winger in the States in comparison with Europe?

Kip Winger: We really don’t know. We haven’t played in USA since 2006. But, the crowd is always receptive. Listen, the problem is that you don’t know the band, unti you see it's live. And when you see it live then you get it. it gets over funny. But, lots of people think that Winger is a wimpy band or something…but when they see us in concert, we instantly win them over. It’s better, though, in Europe because the fans are so loyal and stick with you through thick and thin. From my point of view, Europe has a better understanding for music than America.

Rockpages.gr: How about Japan?

Reb Beach: When you are cool in Japan, you are cool forever!

Rockpages.gr: You have a new album called “Karma”…

Kip Winger: Do you like it?

Rockpages.gr: Yeah.

Kip Winger: What’s your favorite Winger album?

Rockpages.gr: “Pull”.

Kip Winger: Well, “Karma” is a cross between the first record and “Pull”.

Rockpages.gr:…and you left aside all the elements of the fourth record.

Kip Winger: I did! That was an intentional move. Everybody seemed unhappy with the songs on the fourth album except for the musicians. The fans didn’t get it. It was really a…dramatic, intense record. When we sat down with Reb and talked about the direction of “karma”, we said that we should just rock out! Let’s just try to capture the atmosphere of the first album and “Pull”…we didn’t want any of the progressive stuff that was all over the fourth record. By the way, did you like “Winger IV”?

Rockpages.gr: No.

Kip Winger: Are you a musician?

Rockpages.gr: Again, no.

Kip Winger: I thought so…only the musicians love this album. To be honest with you, one can find in “Winger IV” some of the best stuff that we have ever done as a band.

Rockpages.gr: But, from my perspective, it’s not a song-oriented record…

Kip Winger: It is, but the songs are really complex. You should try and listen to the record with a joint!

Rockpages.gr: You think? How about “Karma”?

Kip Winger: Probably with a beer.

Rockpages.gr:…and how about the first three Winger records…which would be the ideal aid?

Reb Beach: (ed.note: Reb has joined us once again, after a small phone call interval) Are you talking about joints?

Kip Winger: Well…not really. He asked with “what” we should listen to a Winger record…I said: “Karma” with a beer and “Winger IV” with a joint. Now, the first record with a chick, “In The Heart Of The Young” with two chicks and “Pull” with a hammer! That’s a funny interview! Take it over, Reb!

Rockpages.gr: Alright. A question for Reb…  

Reb Beach: There is actually a question for me (laughs)?

Rockpages.gr: There is always a question for you…well, now that I think about it, it’s actually for both of you…

Reb Beach: (laughs) I knew it!

Rockpages.gr: Do you think that the fact that you took the gig with Whitesnake, has brought additional fans to the Winger camp?

Reb Beach: Maybe some…

Kip Winger: Oh yeah…definitely! He’s been in the band for 6 years and he is the second longest guitarist in the Whitesnake history.

Reb Beach: The truth is that I see a lot of Whitesnake shirts in our shows. Especially in Greece…Whitesnake is huge in Greece! Probably the biggest band in Greece…

Kip Winger: No…U2 and…Tom Jones (laughs)!

Rockpages.gr: Where does the title of the album refer to?

Kip Winger: You don’t wanna know…no, really…Winger as a band…we had a lot of ups and downs, but still we are standing strong…we are still together and one word that instantly comes to my mind is that we must have something like a Karma. We’ve been very successful and very unsuccessful…we have a really interesting history.

Reb Beach: People say that this was our Karma…I mean, the comeback of Winger with a record that everyone seems to be really fond of. In a way, we wrote this record for our fans. It is my Karma to be with this guy (pointing at Kip) who always gives the opposite answer than I do (laughs)!

Kip Winger: That’s why we are so good together all these years!

Reb Beach: We are like Lennon and McCartney…

Rockpages.gr: Kip must be McCartney because he is, after all, the bassist in the band…

Kip Winger: No no no…I wouldn’t make that comparison at all…we are probably like Laurel and Hardy…not!

Reb Beach: Now seriously, if you think about it, we got trashed more than anybody from the 80s hard rock scene and we see “Karma” as our true comeback, as our answer to all non-believers.

Kip Winger: But, it’s not as if we are trying to make our comeback. It was so natural to us…

Rockpages.gr: You said that you were successful and unsuccessful. What’s the definition of success for you?

Kip Winger: Good music! Just writing good songs and performing well. My musical horizon goes well outside this band. I have other projects, too…but, musically, Winger has always been successful.

Rockpages.gr: It’s evident in “Headed For A Heartbreak”…you have lots of progressive elements in there…

Kip Winger: You are right…also, in “Rainbow In The Rose”…that’s why I tried to go all the way with “Winger IV”…but, you hated it (laughs)!

Reb Beach: We felt it that Greece wouldn’t like that kind of record and we went heavier with “Karma”!

Kip Winger: That’s the shittiest cappuccino, I’ve ever drunk in my life!

Reb Beach: (laughs) You see? I am sitting here drinking beer…you know, the rocker guy and here we have Kip Winger, the classical, sophisticated, intelligent musician!

Kip Winger: Get out of here (laughs)!

Reb Beach: He is a genius and I am just the dumb guitarist.

Kip Winger: Ladies and gentlemen, Reb Beach…my publicist! Don’t listen to him!

Rockpages.gr: Is it true that Alice Cooper suggested the name “Winger” for the band?

Kip Winger: Yes. We wanted to call the group Sahara but somebody owned the name, so Alice said: “why don’t you call the band Winger”? I hated the name to tell you the truth…

Reb Beach: Me, too! We thought of the name Winger Beach but it sounded like a gay resort (laughs).

Rockpages.gr: What’s the one thing that you learned from Alice Cooper?

Kip Winger: How to deal with the press…the guy gives absolutely fantastic interviews.

Reb Beach: I learned a lot about performing.

Kip Winger: Alice is a persona, a celebrity. He is not just another rock star. He is like a movie star. After all, he had sex with Raquel Welsh!

Rockpages.gr: What about Kane Roberts. What kind of person he is?

Kip Winger: Well, Kane is very funny and very smart…he is the smartest and funniest motherfucker on earth! 

Reb Beach: He also tells great stories.

Kip Winger: Damn, we should have been to the Acropolis today…

Reb Beach: Now, you see why the record is called “Karma” (laughs)?