PASCAL's KEVIN COYNE HOME PAGE


AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT STEINHART (August 2007)

How did you meet Kevin Coyne ?

It was in1986, he came to Nuremberg because of a woman. Peter Harasim of the Concertbuero Franken was looking for musicians, at this time Hans Pukke was a well-known guitarist here. I played with Pukke in a band called "Avec moi", and he submittted me as bass-player.

How long have you been playing with him ?

From 1986 until 1989 in the Paradise Band, in the local theater in the musicals "Linie 1" and "Lysistrate" until 1991, I think...

Who were the other musicians ?

Hans Pukke (guitar), Falk Steffen (drums) and later Henry Beck (keyboards).

Your favorite Coyne album ? Song ?

I don`t know, I like most of the stuff, Saviour and House upon the Hill were my favorite songs...

Any particular memory, favorite show or anecdote ?

When we met Kevin, he was a hard alcohol addict, it was really heavy stuff. A friend of mine, Guenther Liebergesell, was working for the U.S.Army as a aide for drug and alcohol abuse. I made the contact, and Kevin started getting clear...

About Kevin’s ability to improvise live or in the studio ?

Live it was fantastic ( if he wasn`t too drunk, in the beginning..), I never played in a band with so much freedom to improvise, we never had a set list, most of the songs had no fixed arrangement, everytime anything could happen - it was the most importand influence in my life as a musician....

Can you tell us about studio sessions with Coyne ?

Not too much, Hans Pukke pulled the strings, I just had to play my part...

Would you say he is an « easy person » to work with ?

When he was drunk it was horrifying, he was very agressive... When he was sober it was easy and nice, most of the time...

When and how did you stop playing with Kevin ?

There was a lot of stress in the band, because Hans Pukke wanted to be the only songwriter beneath Kevin and he was afraid of competition, but Falk Steffen and me are also creative people... the stress got more and more, and the mood in the band became worse - Kevin threw me and Falk out in1989.

Did you still see him after that?

Yes, he lived near to me, sometimes I saw him in the street, we talked a bit, last time I saw him a few months before his death.

PASCAL's KEVIN COYNE HOME PAGE