Interview with Blues – Folk – Rock guitarist Ralli Rock, whose photo cannot even be found on the Internet. An interview by email in writing. 

JazzBluesNews.com: – First, let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music. How exactly did your adventure take off? When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living out of?

Ralli Rock: – I grew up in modest circumstances in Germany, more precisely in Saarland, near the French border. Music was a companion, good friend and teacher for me from a very early age. However, I started making music professionally late and I never thought about whether I could finance myself with it.

OUR US/EU Jazz and Blues Festivals 2023

I never make music for financial reasons. It’s what’s inside me and the only thing I know how to do. Music brings my innermost out and it’s like a healing.

JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound? What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?

RR: – In the beginning, I used all kinds of sounds, amps, effects, etc. However, at some point I realised that the real sound comes from the soul and the fingers, so it doesn’t really matter which equipment I use. The same applies to my singing, of course, which is (hopefully) always evolving.

JBN: – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

RR: – As in life in general, everything is a balance. Emotions, intelligence, heart or soul. All of these are equal parts of life and therefore also of music.

JBN: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people the emotion they long for?

RR: – In fact, I don’t think of an audience. But I have found that I reach people with my music and that they combine their very own experiences with my lyrics and my music. It was the same for me when I discovered music for myself in childhood. You mix what you hear with your own experiences. And that is a good thing!

JBN: – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of standard tunes are half a century old?

RR: – Since I tend to play blues, folk and rock, but love jazz as a listener, I can say with a clear conscience that it doesn’t matter how old the standards are. They are timeless and timelessness means a departure from the zeitgeist with an everlasting relevance.

There could be talk or advertising about your CD

JBN: – If you could change one single thing in the musical world and that would become reality, what would that be?

RR: – Justice for the many good, lesser-known musicians and fair remuneration, especially thinking of Spotify and other streaming services..

JBN: – Whom do you find yourself listening to these days?

RR: – I listen to so much different music that the list would be endless. What is important to me in music is that I perceive real emotions and feelings and a rather reduced production. Recordings that require an infinite number of tracks are quickly unmasked by the ear and, in essence, it is precisely the overproduced albums that lack depth and soul.

OUR US/EU Jazz and Blues Association 2023

JBN: – Do You like our questions? So far, it’s been me asking you questions, now may I have a question from yourself…

RR: – Yes, I find your questions interesting and balanced. They give me a good opportunity to share myself. What do you like about my music? Does it touch you in some way?

JBN: – Nothing!

Interview by Simon Sarg

Note: https://jazzbluesnews.com/2023/03/19/useu-jazz-blues-association-festivals/ You can express your consent and join our association, which will give you the opportunity to perform at our Jazz and Blues festivals, naturally receiving an appropriate royalty. We cover all expenses. The objectives of the interview are: How to introduce yourself, your activities, thoughts and intellect, and make new discoveries for our US/EU Jazz & Blues Association, which organizes festivals, concerts and meetings in Boston and various European countries, why not for you too!! You can read more about the association here. https://jazzbluesnews.com/2022/11/19/useujba/