Interview with Heather Shockley

At Wacken Open Air I had an interview with Heather Shockley. Frontwoman of Germany's Rockband Rock Ignition! Heather is born in Spain. She sung in different musicals like 'Kiss me Kate' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and she was also a guest singer with Kamelot. Heather married Juergen Steinmetz and together the founded Rock Ignition in the beginning of 2006.

First of all, our readers want to know more about you and Rock Ignition. Can you introduce the members of Rock Ignition?
Yes of course. Rock Ignition started the beginning of 2006. The founders of Rock Ignition are me Heather Shockley on vocals and Juergen Steinmetz on bass, who is also the bass player of the power metal band Silent Force.As soon as songwriting started and our very first song was finished ,we decided to put it directly on myspace and I have to say that the result was absolutely overwhelming! So, it was time to finish forming this band. The auditioning process took a long time, but we've finally found the right musicians.

Rock Ignition is now busy with recording an EP if I am right?
Yes, we've just finished an EP called: "I Can’t Resist".The mini cd has five songs and the titletrack I Can’t Resist was actually the first title we uploaded on myspace and the one that represents best our sound.


When will be the EP released?
We just signed an distribution deal with Rock Inc. Benelux. It will be available in September/October in the stores in the Benelux. For the rest of the world, the dealers will be able to order and sell our EP’s through Rock Inc in their stores, by just contacting them. So it will be available everywhere and of course also on our myspace page on the internet!

And live shows, can we expect some in the near future?
Yes of course, we have some plans for promotion shows. September/October in the Benelux and some in Germany. We'll try to get as many people as possible to know the name Rock Ignition!

I know that you're also a professional dancer?
Yes,I started when I was eight years old with classical dance and I've been dancing for 11 years professionally. In musicals like: "We Will Rock You" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", and various television shows. About seven years ago I started singing, and started with classical singing. But I always had a passion for Hard Rock and I wanted to do more in that direction so I finally decided to follow my dream and sing rock.It is a big passion of mine and I hope to do it as much and as long as I can!

Now we are at Wacken Open Air, you are here for fun or for business?
We are definitely looking for a record deal, and here are lots of personalities, a lot of important people to talk too, but of course also for fun because there are so many good bandsI wanted to see, so for everything. It is a mix between fun and business.

Do you have also plans to play here in The Netherlands?
Yes, deffinately. I mean we are at the moment trying to distribute our EP through Rock Inc and we are planning some acoustic shows in stores to promote our music and organizing some other shows, It is not defined yet, but if you keep checking our myspace page which is: www.myspace.com/rockignition , you'll find there all the updates.

I saw some pictures from you with a guitar. Do you play an instrument yourself?
No, actually I don’t. That was Jürgen's bass, It just looks good on the pictures :-) I unfortunately can't play any instrument. I keep myself busy with the vocals and that is enough.

Which vocalist are your inspiration or your faves?
I do have lots of favourites singers, but I have to say mostly man. I really love Jeff Scott Soto, I like Russel Allan from Symphony X, David Readman and Eric Martin from Mister Big, I do have also some female singers that I like a lot and admire like, Doro Pesh, Lita Ford and Tina Turner.

Is it not though to work with all the guys in the rehearsel room of in the studio?
No, not at all, the mood is actually preety relaxed. But in any case I can defend myself, I am a though girl!

When you record the EP was it in the studio or at home and who was the producer?
We recorded with Dennis Ward from Pink Cream 69. He is a great producer and did a great job for many bands like: Silent Force, Angra and Axxis.. It was a pleasure to work with him.

Do you want to say something to our readers?
I want to remind everybody that our CD will be soon available in the Benelux so keep checking our page for more news. On our myspace there is already a link to our shop where you can buy our merchandise and our cd’s. What else...yeah! Everybody come to our gigs! We are really really excited to rock on stage and show everybody what Rock Ignition is all about!





Interview and Photos: Silvana Breur