Reach: Priorities where they are supposed to be
The new Hard Rock sensation is ready to take off. Swedish Rockers Reach, all in their early 20s, used the last 3 years to deliver an awesome debut. With their Rock Cover of Avicii’s „Wake me up“ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g94yK3JFVd8) they got their first public attention. With their debut album “Reach out to Rock”, released on 4. March, they have gathered already some great reviews in the Rock/Metal Scene. Now the guys of Reach go on their first tour in Sweden and England with Gus G. and Eclipse. Stalker talked to Drummer Marcus Johansson and singer Alex Waghorn about their tour preparations and their goals.
Hey guys, how are you doing? Thanks for your time. You will start touring with Gus G. and Eclipse in just a few days. How do the preparations look like? Are you rehearsing every day for the first big tour?
Marcus: Hey, we´re great thanks! Yeah, the preparations has started for sure, we´ve been rehearsing a lot the last couple of weeks. Last weekend we had our first show in Alex´s hometown a bit outside of Stockholm, which went fantastic!
What do you expect from the Tour with Gus & Eclipse?
Marcus: We expect to make a lot of new fans and friends of course! It will be a really awesome couple of weeks and shows, I can tell you that.
Let’s first talk about how Reach was found. Marcus, you and Ludvig have started the band in 2012 – how did you got to know each other and how did you meet Alex & David?
Marcus: We got to know each other when I joined Ludvig’s former band for a couple of shows and demo recordings. I have had this idea about a new project/band for quite some time. And when I heard him play and got to know him, I knew instantly that he was the perfect guy and player to start this new band with! We started to look for a singer through ads on the internet and tried out a lot of singers, when we found the fantastic Alex Waghorn. I thought he sounded a bit like a young Jon Bon Jovi, so he was perfect. David Jones on bass guitar is one of my absolute oldest friends. And I heard that band he was in at the time was quitting, so I just gave him a call and he was in.
You and Ludvig have already played in Adrenaline Rush together, which started at about the same time, so why did you want to form another band next to this?
Marcus: Actually we had already started Reach before we joined Adrenaline Rush. Adrenaline Rush is a band around singer Tåve Wanning. We we´re not included in the songwriting part in that band. We are more like live and stand in players in AR. We always wanted to write our own songs, so that’s why we started out with Reach.
Can you guys maybe tell us a bit more about your musical background? What have you been doing before Reach? What other bands have you been in, when did you start to play etc.
Marcus: All of the guys in the band have been in different bands and projects and doing stand in shows and so on. To mention a few: Nubian Rose, Crittikkal Solution, Titan and Panama. And we all have been playing for quite some time.
What are you guys doing beside Reach? Are you just concentrating on music or are you working, studying?
Marcus: We are working, and as I told you before, we sometimes do stand in shows for other bands and projects, when we got the time for it.
If you are working, how do you handle it then with going on tour? Are your bosses open for what you are doing with the band, or is it hard to get a job where you have the possibility to go on tour as well?
Marcus: I think we´re really lucky to have super nice bosses that let us go on tour like this.
Your first album was released 4th March 2015; as Marcus and Ludvig are the founding members, I heard they are doing most of the music &lyrics, is that right? Being a singer myself, I know that it can be tricky and difficult sometimes to put enough feeling in a song you haven’t written yourself. How do you handle that, Alex? Wouldn’t you prefer to write the lyrics completely by yourself?
Alex: Well we’re actually do most of the songwriting together and I have my inputs when it comes to the lyrics.
“You called my Name” was the first single that was released from your album “Reach out to Rock” why did you choose this song to represent the whole record?
Marcus: We choose this song, because it sums up our sound really good. Great guitar riff, pounding drums and with a real in your face kind of chorus!
Ludvig was a participant in Swedish Idols show and made it to the Top 4. One would have thought that he then would be the singer of Reach, but that’s not the case, why not?
Alex: Because I sing better than he does haha ! No but seriously, I do understand why people would question why he’s not the singer, but I was the singer before he was a participant in Swedish Idol, and that’s just the way we want it to be.
I guess Ludvig’s appearance on TV also brought you a couple of fans, are they not arguing with you, because Ludvig is not the singer in Reach?
Alex: There’s actually no one who has been arguing with me/us about that. Not yet anyway!
Are you not afraid that Ludvig’s solo career and Reach get in some kind of a conflict with each other? Maybe not right at the moment, but where is the priority when Reach becomes bigger and his solo career runs smoothly too?
Alex: No not at all, because we all have our priorities were it’s supposed to be
So with Ludvig being a singer too, is he annoying you sometimes by telling you how you are supposed to sing? 😉
Alex: Haha, well, Ludvig and I get along very well and help each other when it comes to the singing
You guys are all from Stockholm except you, Alex, you come from a smaller town about 70 km north of Stockholm. So how do you handle the rehearsals with the distance? And do you recognize any difference between the big city boys and you as a country bumpkin? (Don’t get me wrong, I live in a 1000 people town, I am a real culchie 😉 )
Alex: Haha, country bumpkin! Well it sure is annoying to be driving an hour to the rehearsals, but when you get there it’s nothing but a good time! The last years I’ve almost spent more time in Stockholm than in my hometown, so it feels like home now !
Alex: You have been in studio with another band called Foghorn Lonesome for their upcoming record, what have you been doing there?
Alex: I was doing some backing vocals on one of Foghorns songs called “ watership down”. We had a great time and it’s a really cool song!
Alex, I read that you haven’t been so sure about your singing talent for quite a long time, is that right? What made you doubt it and when did you start to see your talent?
Alex: Well I’ve never doubted my singing talent, but the first time I got the feedback that I had a good voice was when I was with a dear friend of mine and I started to sing when he was playing the guitar, and he told me that “man you really do have a great voice, you should be in a band! “. And then I was like, sure I’ll try it out, and here we are today!
Do you guys already have plans for touring other countries than Sweden & UK? And are there any summer festivals planned?
Alex: Right now we’re focusing on this tour but things always come up and we have a great management (sun hill) so I think we’ll be very busy this year!
So last but not least: is there a question you always wanted be asked in an interview but nobody asked so far and if so what would it be?
Alex: Hmm.. Haha that’s a good question!
Thank you very much for your time and I wish you all the best for the band!
More Infos:
https://www.facebook.com/reachofficialsweden photos: Band