What more could one want than the ultimate rockstar flair and a down-to-earth attitude?
Not much for sure and that is exactly how to describe The Generation, a Vienna based rock band currently on their “Road to Gasometer.” Their mixture of 80s rock sounds and a modern touch has been drawing in crowds from the very beginning; even though they did not expect it themselves.
We were lucky enough to invite them to an interview, a first for all of us, and talk to them about their beginnings in music, their writing process, and their plans for the future.
Their beginnings have all been different though. Some, like Moritz, the guitarist, have been drawn to rock since childhood, while others discovered their passion for this type of music later in life. Simon, the lead singer, only found his way to this genre through the discovery of a record player and an extensive record collection in his parents’ basement. For bassist Tobi it was his love for Marvel that led him to the soundtrack of Ironman 2 and therefore to hard rock bands like AC/DC. Luki, the drummer, who described himself as quite an active child, wanted to get rid of excess energy and started playing the drums at a young age.
Even though you can feel the boundless energy and strong connection of the band at their gigs now, it was a long and winding road for them to get to this point.
Every member had gained some musical experience in their own way before joining the band. Simon and Tobi have already played in a band together before, while Moritz was part of another group prior to joining The Generation, where he initially started as the bassist before switching to guitar. Luki, played a few gigs with his brother at house parties but started playing more frequently once he joined the band.
As Simon’s and Tobi’s first band decided to break up, both of them still wanted to make music and agreed to continue doing so together. Along with former The Generation member Chris, they became a trio. After a few different band formations, they found Moritz and Luki. Suddenly there was a change in the band’s dynamic and way of playing that turned out to be the beginning of their current path in Vienna’s music scene. Despite that, the distribution of roles was not fully developed yet, and they were still inexperienced with playing gigs and writing songs as a group. After Chris left the group for private reasons the rest of the band quickly learned how to work together better, incorporating each member’s personal styles and skills into fresh original songs. They particularly noticed their improved teamwork in their writing process.
Each band member integrates themself in the process of writing a song in a different way. Tobi is often the one approaching the band with a cool new idea, which leads to a lot of jamming and recording of their first tries. It’s mostly Simon who writes the lyrics. In the end it’s Moritz and Luki’s part to take care of the fine-tuning. Extremely important to all of them was that each band member be able to work with their own style and favourite type of music. This worked out perfectly for them. Even though their influences vary, they found a way to cohesively incorporate them all into their own kind of sound.
Their latest release “Runaways” shows off perfectly what kind of music The Generation strives for and accurately represents the tremendous energy and teamwork of the band. They worked really hard on the song and were lucky enough to find a new producer, Lukas Roth, who understands their vision in a way that they couldn’t be happier with. And just by listening to the track, one can immediately tell that they put in countless hours of hard work to achieve their desired sound. When they perform “Runaways” live on stage the crowd can feel the bands astonishing stage presence. And for everyone that isn’t able to go see them live there is a music video for “Runaways” available to watch on Youtube.
More motivated than ever, they have started working on something big, and while it is not the album, they initially planned to do, we can all be excited for the EP into which they are putting all their blood, sweat, and tears. But that’s not the only thing we have to look forward to! After their phenomenal and well-deserved win in the fifth qualifying round of the “Planet Festival Tour Band Contest” at the “Szene Wien” in September, we can be very excited for the next round in early 2024 where all their fans will be present once again to support them on their “Road to Gasometer.”
And now that you are for sure going to check out The Generation and their work, it’s our turn to tell you our thoughts. It is obvious that we ourselves are fans of them and enjoy their music like we do the original 80s rockers. Because of this and their individuality, we are sure that they will be doing great things in the future. Who knows? Maybe someday people all over the world will flock to their concerts in the hopes of seeing them live at least once. We, for sure, are excited for what’s to come!
We love you guys, keep up the rad work!
written by Vanessa
copy edited by Heather Awen