Interview with MYRNA LOY (2/2): “It was lived rock ‘n roll with lots of alcohol, little sleep and pretty wild …”

Myrna Loy released her debut album “I Press My Lips in Your Inner Temple” 35 years ago. Now it is entering the digital world with its expanded, remastered version. After decades of silence surrounding the band, which doesn’t fit into any genre boundaries – but is somewhere between (dark) wave, ambient and pop rock – we now have an exclusive interview with singer Victor. In the first part, we talked about the meaning of the title and how the album came about. Today we reminisce a little and take a look into the future.

Rock’n’Roll

Orkus: What memories come to mind when you think of the live recordings from 1988/89, which are now being released for the first time?
Victor D: We toured Germany for the first time in 1989. We were young, full of energy, real adrenaline junkies. It was real rock ‘n roll with lots of alcohol, little sleep and pretty wild, although as a singer I didn’t drink much alcohol, otherwise my voice would have given out after the third gig at the latest with the demanding repertoire. Decamerone” in particular was crucial for me to discipline myself.

Memories

O: You were also support for Anne Clark and And Also the Trees. What are your favorite memories from that time?
VD: And Also the Trees taught the band to mix “Radpido” (tequila with bitter lemon, shaken and drunk on ex). We always used it to give us courage (similar to team sports, we shouted “strong”) and energy for the gigs. As I couldn’t drink alcohol, I always went into another room to prepare myself mentally. We gave Anne Clark access to our rehearsal room the evening before her performance so that she could rehearse with her band. That was a very nice encounter.

Fall of the Wall

O: What generally comes to mind when you think back to “back then”?
VD: The late eighties were very exciting, as music suddenly changed very quickly due to techno and grunge. The fall of the Berlin Wall gave us the opportunity to play a few gigs in the new federal states. It was a lot of fun, because although we spoke the same language, we interpreted many things completely differently due to our different socialization. The dialects were also sometimes bizarre: when we played in Dresden, for example, the audience joined forces after the concert to shout in the deepest Saxon: “Zugabää… Zugabää.”

Nostalgia

O: In what way was the (music?) world at the end of the eighties/beginning of the nineties a completely different one than it is today?
VD: The fact of producing a large record cover, employing an artwork department and then finding and touching your own record in the store was quite special. At WOM (a chain of record stores in Germany at the time), for example, there was elaborate decoration when you had a release.

Choking on smoke?

O: What don’t you miss at all from the past?
VD: The fact that a band project costs a lot of nerves and you meet a lot of shady people who are often looking out for their own advantage. Some of the styles were also terrible. I don’t miss the cigarette smoke at all! In most clubs, people smoked until they sank into a fog. Singing in these rooms was often no fun at all.

Without a net and double bottom

O: Even if you haven’t officially confirmed it, Myrna Loy disbanded in 1994. Or was shut down. How did this come about?
VD: There was no specific cause or reason why the band broke up. It was more a process that was caused by many changes that took place at the same time: shifting life priorities such as graduation, exams, different life perspectives, etc. After the third album, which none of us really liked, everyone had to answer the following questions for themselves: Do I have the self-image of an artist? Am I ready to see music as my purpose in life after my studies? Am I prepared to take the risk of not getting a record deal after the fourth album? I think we all realized step by step that we wouldn’t be able to make a living from music and none of us wanted to take the final, perhaps decisive step of entering the artist’s ring without a safety net. It was a very exciting time in our youth with lots of adrenaline, recognition, defeats, debauchery, unique experiences (playing in front of 30,000 people) and I don’t think any of us would want to miss that intense time; but for life, I don’t think it would have been enough!

O: Have you ever regretted this decision?
VD: No, we are all convinced that we stopped at the right time.

Present

O: What has happened to you in the meantime? Are you still in contact with each other? Has one of you stayed true to the music, or has everyone taken a completely different path in life?
VD: We took very different career paths and only had sporadic contact with each other. Friendships that actually existed before the band was founded have remained. I’m still close friends with Mikele, we’ve never lost touch and visit each other regularly. Cord and Alex are still close friends and see each other more often. However, due to the anniversary of “I Put My Lips in Your Inner Temple”, contact is closer again at the moment. There’s another good thing about the release: we’ve decided to meet up once a year in the summer at Mikele’s house and listen to the old tapes and chat by the fire in the evening with a good glass of wine. Incidentally, Mikele is the only one who is still actively making music and has released records after his time with Myrna Loy.

O: But a kind of re-union is probably not planned, is it? Is there a future for Myrna Loy?
VD: I don’t think our story is finished yet. We will still hear from each other.

Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg

Line-up:
Victor D. – vocals
Mikele – guitar
Cord D. – bass
Alex – keyboards, sampler
Lothar Loy – drums

Listen to “I Press My Lips in Your Inner Temple” on Spotify. You can read a review here .