Many masons

Many masons

Many Maurer (born April 1, 1964 ) is a Swiss guitarist , bassist , songwriter and producer . Among other things, he was the guitarist and songwriter of the Swiss hard rock band Killer , guitarist and later bassist for Krokus, and founder and lead guitarist of the metal band Ain't Dead Yet . For Krokus and Ain't Dead Yet he was not only active as a songwriter, but also as a producer.

biography

The career as a musician

Many Maurer began playing guitar as a teenager, at the age of 13 . His breakthrough came at the age of 17 as the guitarist of the hard rock band Killer when their album Ladykiller was released in 1978 . This was followed by a European tour as Motörhead's opener . After the two following albums Thriller and Stronger Than Ever and the following European tours, the entire line-up of the band went their separate ways in 1984.

As a result, Maurer and Killer's bassist Beat Kofmehl, together with the future Krokus frontman Peter Tanner and drummer Greg Bleuel, were on the self-titled album Headhunter by the band Headhunter - also active under the name Netz - in 1985 Listen. The album, which remained the only release of this band, was produced by Chris von Rohr , who was already jointly responsible for Maurer's entry into Killer. Chris von Rohr then hired Maurer as lead guitarist and songwriter for his solo album Hammer and Tongue in 1987 , which was re-released in 1993 under the name The Good, the Bad and the Dög . Afterwards, however, von Rohr returned to Krokus to release the album Heart Attack with the band in 1988 . But since Krokus fell apart completely for the first time a year later, bassist von Rohr formed the band Grand Slam. In addition to Peter Tanner, rhythm guitarist Tony Castell and drummer Peter Haas, this formation also included Many Maurer as lead guitarist. Mainly playing song material from von Rohr's solo album, Grand Slam subsequently toured through Germany, Austria and Hungary. a. also as the opening act for Bonfire .

Afterwards, however, the band and Chris von Rohr went their separate ways, whereupon Fernando von Arb, the longtime guitarist of Krokus, filled the void of the divorced bassist. Thus, at the beginning of 1990, after some considerations as to which name to operate under in the future, the new formation of Krokus was born. In the same year they released the album Stampede , which at the time fell short of the earlier successes of Krokus, but is now an insider tip. But when von Arb was diagnosed with cancer in 1992, the newly formed band was history again after just two years.

In the meantime, Many Maurer had founded the cover metal band Ain't Dead Yet in 1991 together with singer David Leach, rhythm guitarist Marcel Infanger, bassist Tony Castell and drummer Dani Crivelli, who was already swinging the drumsticks for both Killer and Krokus Debut album Alive MCMXCII - a live album based on the concept of the band consisting of cover songs - was released in 1992. The band toured the clubs with this line-up until 1994. After that, however, the concept of the band was changed and Ain't Dead Yet began to write their own songs.

The work and recording of the new songs for Ain't Dead Yet took place parallel to the reunion of Krokus, which began with the Living Legend Tour in 1994 after Fernando von Arb had fully recovered. Von Arb had meanwhile returned to the lead guitar, but this time Maurer played the bass. Marc Storace on mic, Mark Kohler on rhythm guitar and drummer Freddy Steady completed the line-up. In the same year, the revival of Krokus received further promotion with the release of the EP You Ain't Seen Nothin 'Yet . In 1995 Krokus finally released the album To Rock or Not to Be with the bassist and producer Maurer , which at least in Switzerland could build on the band's earlier successes before the line-up completely broke up again.

Meanwhile, Maurer pushed the concept change of Ain't Dead Yet, which brought serious line-up changes with it. Front man David Leach was replaced by Andy Portmann and Dani Crivelli handed over the drums to the then former and future crocus drummer Peter Haas. Since rhythm guitarist Marcel Infanger also left the band, but this position was no longer filled, from then on Ain't Dead Yet consisted only of a musician quartet. In 1995, Read Your Mind , the band's first studio album, which Maurer also produced, and the single "You Know What Love Is" were released. This was followed by a headlining tour through Switzerland and Germany as well as appearances at various festivals all over Europe. In addition, the EP Read Your Mind: Unplugged was released in 1996 . However, after the presentation of the new rhythm guitarist Igor Gianola in 1997, the band finally broke up in 1998.

In 1999 another assignment as a bass player with Krokus followed. Similar to the times of Stampede , Fernando von Arb gathered completely new comrades in addition to Maurer in order to record the new work Round 13 : This time singer Carl Sentance , rhythm guitarist Chris Lauper and initially drummer Cliff Rodgers completed the band, the latter still during the Studio recordings of the album was replaced by Peter Haas. Round 13 even lagged behind the success of Stampede , but Krokus learned about the following festival dates, among others. a. 2000 at the Bang Your Head in Balingen and the Wacken Open Air , both from the fans and the press almost entirely positive reviews. In the year 2000, however, bricklayer and Krokus finally parted ways. Looking back, Maurer was, alongside Fernando von Arb, the only constant in the line-up of the most successful rock band from Switzerland in the 90s.

His life today

Today Maurer is involved in various projects as a studio musician and live guest musician, for example as a guest bassist with the metal band China . Maurer has been running the Soundtraxx studios since 2003, where he works as a sound engineer and producer. The focus is still on rock and metal music productions, for example by bands such as Felskinn, Excelsis or Megaforce. Maurer also does film scorings. Furthermore, Maurer offers lessons and workshops as a teacher for guitar and bass.

New project with Andy Portmann

Maurer is currently working with Andy Portmann and drummer Danny Zimmermann under the band name "Download the Band" on the debut album "Eleven Stages of Life". This album should be released in early 2012. The music style should go in the direction of Ain't Dead Yet.

Discography

With the band Killer (guitarist)

• 1981: Ladykiller
• 1982: Thriller
• 1983: Stronger Than Ever

With the band Headhunter (lead guitarist)

• 1985: Headhunter

With Chris von Rohr (lead guitarist)

• 1987: Hammer and Tongue (re-released in 1993 under the title The Good, the Bad and the Dög )

With the band Krokus

• 1990: Stampede (lead guitarist)
• 1995: To Rock or Not to Be (bass player)
• 1999: Round 13 (bass player)

With the band Ain't Dead Yet (lead guitarist)

• 1992: Alive MCMXCII (Live)
• 1996: Read Your Mind

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Solo Switzerland Magazine: Interview with Many Maurer and Andy Portmann. (No longer available online.) 1996, formerly in the original ; accessed on July 31, 2011 (German).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
2. ↑ tintin.ch: Interview with Many Maurer and Crown facilities. March 2010, accessed on June 3, 2011 (German). 
3. ↑ Rock of Ages: Blog entry or photo from the Rock of Ages Festival. July 29, 2011, accessed on July 31, 2011 (German). 
4. ↑ Martin from Metalworld: Review Felskinn album "Felskinn". (No longer available online.) 2006, formerly in the original ; accessed on July 31, 2011 (German).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
5. ↑ Excelsis: Studio Diary Excelsis. (No longer available online.) November 12, 2006, archived from the original on April 22, 2008 ; accessed on July 31, 2011 (German). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Maiya from Metalfactory: Interview with Excelsis. August 10, 2008, accessed on July 31, 2011 (German). 
7. ^ AOR FM: Band Database AOR FM. Retrieved July 31, 2011 . 
8. ↑ Soundtraxx website: Film scoring. Retrieved July 31, 2011 (German). 
9. ↑ GuitArosa workshop: GuitArosa overview of course instructors. Retrieved July 31, 2011 (German). 
10. ↑ Download (The Band): Download (The Band) website. (No longer available online.) Downloadtheband.ch, archived from the original on May 4, 2013 ; accessed on July 31, 2011 (German). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.