For many old school metalheads Jurgen Gruf is the guy who played on two extremely cool U.D.O. albums "Solid" and "No Limit" in the late 90's. This alone casted his name in the history of metal music. But his musical journey has began way before that and he made some noise with, a-hem, The Noise, Bullet and Sign. Unfortunatelly, after quitting U.D.O. disappered from the metal scene but he keeps on playing music with various bands and project. Some of them are/were quite unexpected for an ex-U.D.O. but Jurgen has always been more that just a rocker. Let's join him on his adventirous musical ride!
You have very long career in music, but how did it start? When did you pick up the guitar and do your first steps in music?
My musical career started when I was 4 years old. I played the recorder and then, a little later, the accordion in the school orchestra. When I was 12 I bought an acoustic guitar at the flea market and learned my first chords.
What were the first pieces of music you had reaction to?
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple and all the rock bands of the 60s
Your father played an accordion. Did you consider playing this instrument, too?
Yes I started to play accordeon when I was 7.
When you were 16, you played in your first band. Do you remember the name of it? Who else was with you? Did you play only covers or were there original songs in your set list, too?
My first band was called The Noise. My companions were school friends and we only played covers.
Your parents didn’t want you to be a full-time musician, so you had to quit your home. How old were you? How did you manage to survive during that tough period?
I ran away from home for the first time when I was 16 and for the second time when I was 17. I kept myself afloat with odd jobs.
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| Bullet |
I had just returned to Germany from a long stay abroad and a friend at the time made the connection to Bullet. I had never heard of them before.
Klaus Thiel and Paul Psilias are credited for the songwriting on “No Mercy”. Why was that? Did you contribute anything to that album?
No, the album was already finished when I joined.
Could you tell me some stories about working with Dieter Dierks in his studio on the “No Mercy” album? Different musicians have different opinions about Dieter, so what was it like to work under his guidance?
As I said, I wasn't there for the recording of "No Mercy", only for the recording of the third album, which was never released. All I know is that Dieter was the producer of Scorpions and he pulled the strings. Anyone who wasn't in the studio on time at 10 a.m. was banned from the studio for one day. Otherwise he was a pretty sociable guy who you could really have a good time with.
Paul Psilias was also credited as a guitarist on the album. Could you comment on that?
Paul Psilias played the guitar on “No Mercy”.
Later reissues of “No Mercy” include two demo songs: “City” and “Wild Thing” (Wild Ones cover). Do you remember why you dropped them off the album?
I don`t know about that.
The band filmed two videos in support of the album: “I Sold My Soul To Rock’n’Roll” and “Look Out”. Could you tell me about them, please? Do you remember anything special or funny about the making of these videos? Is it Dieter Dierks in the video for “I Sold My Soul To Rock’n’Roll”? Were the videos played on some German TV channels?
I only remember the recordings of "I sold my Soul to Rock'n Roll". We did it in a castle near London. In the castle hall there was a large stage with a catwalk on which we performed. We shot the scene with the devil and the demons in the catacombs under the hall. All in all it was a huge effort with catering and dancers. I think around 300 people were involved in the production. As far as I remember, Dieter wasn't in the video. I don't remember the video for "Look Out" at all. That was 40 years ago and I don't know which TV channel it was on.
Why did Klaus Thiele quit the band in 1984?
Klaus had serious drug problems.
There were a talk about a tour in America but that never happened. Why was that?
It was simply a change of A&R manager at our American record company. The new one simply didn't want us.
In one interview you mentioned that everything went wrong with Bullet. What else beside the never happened American tour?
Internal band problems, we were all very frustrated and on top of that there were Klaus Thiele's drug problems.
Bullet managed to last until 1986. What were you doing after the release of “No Mercy”? Did you tour constantly Did you try to write and record new songs as Bullet?
We toured Europe for a bit and then recorded the 3rd LP with a new singer. But the 3rd LP was never released.
Are you in touch with anyone from Bullet? Is it true that Mike Lichtenberg died?
I'm no longer in touch with the Bullet people. Unfortunately I can't say anything about Mike, I don't know if he's still alive or deceased.
Would you say that the band Sign was a continuation of Bullet? Or was it completely new band with new musical direction?
Sign was a completely new project and musically had nothing to do with Bullet.
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| Sign |
I just found "Little Sun" funny. As far as I know there were no contractual problems because Bullet disbanded.
The history of Sign is quite foggy. Could you tell me more about the formation of the band, please? What kind of musicians did you look for this band?
Sign was planned as a trio from the start. I got Bullet's drummer at the time and he knew a bass player. That's how we started.
Sign had a deal with the Energy label. How did you find them? Were you satisfied with the level of promotion and financial help from the company?
We made a demo and immediately got a deal with Rockport Records. It was a very small company and unfortunately there wasn't a lot of money for promotion.
What are your best memories about the making of both Sign’s albums? Which one was easier to record?
I would say that we work on both albums with the same intensity and joy of playing.
In my opinion, the second album was more accessible for listeners in terms of music and had some Alice Cooper vibes. How do YOU see the difference between “Sign” and “Sign II”?
The second album was mixed in a better studio hence the better sound quality. That's the only difference between "Sign” and “Sign II".
Both albums of Sign had an almost similar looking Indian man on the covers. I guess that had some special meaning for you. So could you explain this idea, please?
When it came to choosing the first cover for "Sign" we all sat down together and looked through different pictures and I immediately noticed the Old Indian because I personally had a deep connection to the Indians. I immediately said I wanted that as the cover. The others agreed. It later turned out that it was not the old Indian from North America but an old Indian woman from India. With "Sign 2" we wanted to create a connection to the first album and had the same thing drawn again.
Sign managed to play in Rio de Janeiro which is quite an achievement for any band. When was it? How did you get this opportunity? And how did that travel and the show go?
That was in April 1989. At the time I was responsible for various guitar labels such as “Hohner”, “Steinberg” and “Claim”, which were distributed by "Sonor". “Sonor organized an in-house exhibition every year and hired Sign as a band. After the concert a guy came up to us and said he wanted to book us for Rio. We were supposed to play at the first music fair in South America. Of course we were really excited and said yes. After a long and difficult back and forth, we finally got on the plane to Rio. The music fair took place in the Copa Cobana Hotel, right next to the Copa Cobana. We had to play four sets of 20 minutes each day. We had an hour break between each set and then went to the beach to watch the girls at the Copa. We were really the attraction. Three white gringos from Germany and musicians too. In the evening we had an interview on Brazilian television and the next day we were known everywhere like a sore thumb. All in all, it was a very adventurous trip that I can't go into too much detail about because that would fill a whole book.
What about other live activities with Sign? Did you tour Germany or other countries?
We toured in Germany and some neighboring countries and had a few interviews on German radio and television stations.
As far as I know, Sign fell apart in 1988, I believe. So what did you do musically before moving to Ibiza in 1994? What about your participation to Original Buam, for example?
Sign broke up in 1991 after we recorded the third LP, which was never released because our record company couldn't reach financial agreement with a larger company. During that time I gave guitar lessons and worked on an Indian project. I don't know anything about working with Original Buam.
Could you tell me about your connection to Nico McBrain of Iron Maiden? How and when did you get in touch with him? Is it true that you did some shows with him and John Entwistle?
I met Nico McBrain when I was in charge of the guitar department at “Sonor” and Nico was an endorser at “Sonor” at the time. We did several workshops at the Frankfurt Music Fair back then. One day Nico came to my booth and told me that John Entwistle was there and he could arrange a session with him. Of course I was immediately excited because John had been an idol of mine since I was a teenager. The Who were one of my favorite bands. And so we did the session with John, Nico and me. What a sublime feeling to be on a stage with John Entwistle and Nico McBrain.
How did you get this idea to move to the island of Ibiza? What is the best thing about living there?
So in 1993 I was a bit burnt out and disappointed with the whole development with Bullet and Sign and desperately needed a change of scenery. I wanted to leave Germany and go to another country and so I came to Ibiza. Everything was completely different here, the people, the climate and the magic of the island totally thrilled me. I played in different clubs every evening and opened a guitar school in a holiday club where I later met Udo Dirkschneider.
Ibiza is known for the festival of techno/dance music. Did it influence you to start a project called Dreamers Ibiza?
In a way, yes. I wanted to mix the techno beat with rock elements to create a more modern sound and brought in a DJ who brought in all the effects.
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| U.D.O. |
It was Udo who brought Fitty and me on board for his project at the same time. We met him at the holiday club where I had my guitar school. Udo spends his summer holidays there every year with his family. At first the music was a bit heavy for me because I wasn't used to pure heavy metal. But he made me a financial offer that I couldn't refuse.
You are credited as a songwriter of the intro “The Gate” and “Rated X” from the “No Limits” album. Why didn’t you contribute more to the songs of U.D.O.? Did you offer your ideas to Udo and Stefan Kaufmann?
Udo and Stefan were the main characters in U.D.O. because both had previously played with Accept and set the style. I had very little influence on the compositions.
How was it to work with Udo Dirckschneider and his band in the studio? How did you share guitar duties with Stefan Kaufmann?
Working in the studio was very relaxed and I got along very well with Stefan because we both had different playing styles on the guitar. We practically learned from each other.
With Udo you toured a lot. I guess one of the extreme challenges was touring across Russia. Could you share some stories or anecdotes from that journey? I guess despite some troubles you were treated like heroes and real celebrities!
The tour of Russia was very adventurous. We had the first gig in Kazakhstan and then wanted to continue to Moscow. We were then recorded all day at the border because our visa was no longer valid. We then flirted with the female customs officials, they looked really great. I still remember a gig, I think it was in Chelyabinsk, where we felt like the Rolling Stones. The hall was fully seated like in a theater. The gig was terrific and in the end all the seats were made to the era. In the end, the organizer had tears in his eyes. The tour was totally sold out, we played in large ice stadiums and at the end of the tour in Vladi Vostock we were even honored by the mayor with a book about Vladivostok. For me, Russia was a great experience because my ancestors emigrated to Russia at the time of Katharina the Great to work for them. They have lived in Ukraine for two or three centuries since then and were then driven out in World War II.
In various interviews Udo stated that you had to leave U.D.O. because of the problems with drugs. Was it really like that?
I had a violent accident shortly before the Russia tour, although I almost lost my life. An iron barrier bored across our car roof when we wanted to drive from the airport to Ibiza for an interview. I was able to duck in time otherwise my head would have been smashed. Since then I have had to take strong pain relievers that influenced my concentration in connection with alcohol. That's why we decided that I could no longer continue at U.D.O.
After quitting U.D.O. you kinda disappeared from the radars. What did you do in 2000’s?
After the separation of U.D.O, I founded a rock trio "My Generation" and we played all over the island. I also devoted myself to other music styles, such as Indian or classical music.
Jay Rockers is a solo project that I did all by myself. I don't have any band members. At the moment I don't really feel like doing a record deal, I've had enough deals in my past. I publish my songs myself on an online platform. I was with DAYL RECORDS for a while but they weren't a serious record company. I'm working on making a full album but that will take a while.
You also released a couple of albums under the name of Sitaram. I know you played sitar on it. Could you tell me more about it? So how did that all happen? What or who turned you on Indian music?
I have always been fascinated by Indian music and the sitar in particular. I listened to Ravi Shankar a lot in the 70s and was amazed at how he played the sitar. In 2000 I met my partner at the time. She was half Indian and half English. Coincidentally, our neighbors were also enthusiastic India fans and had a sitar for sale. I bought it and took a few lessons to learn the basics. After experimenting with the sitar for a while, I tackled the first album "In the Garden of Shiva". This was followed by 2 albums under the name “Sitaram”. With my partner, who also played tambura, we had many gigs on the island. Unfortunately, after we were together for 15 years, she died and so did my enthusiasm for the sitar.
Uh, so sorry to hear about your partner! My condolences! Are/were you involved in other bands and projects that I forgot to mention?
No, I'm not involved in any other projects except occasional jam sessions and of course "My Generation"
Are there any goals or challenges in music (or music business) which you’d like to achieve?
Music constantly presents you with new challenges and my end goal is to give everything to give people a good and carefree time. In the small and large. I still dream and believe in the music, because the music is the harmony of the universe and penetrates our soul to the deepest. Rock 'n’ roll!
Bullet and Sign albums haven’t been reissued for quite a long time. Any plans to do so? Are you in touch with members of these bands?
Bullet and Sign are the past and I have almost no contact with my band members from this time. There is also no new publication of the albums.
Feel free to add anything you want to share with the readers and fans!
To be honest, I am pleasantly surprised that people still remember me. After all, I am not Nico McBrain from Iron Maiden or John Entwistle from The Who. I am just a traveler on this planet who brings a little light into the dark with his music. Thank you! I love you all.
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