Marco Mendoza spoke about participation in the new composition of the Gorky Park group

Rocker black outfit, snow-white American smile, headphones instead of a headdress. Marco Mendoza is not at all like a man who just a day ago had a hopeless cold. The musician is cheerful, energetic (apparently, freshly squeezed orange juice, chosen from a large menu, helps) and clearly enjoys his Russian voyage.

In the rock and roll world, Mr. Mendoza is a big deal. In various ratings, he is among the top ten bass players, so he has a lot of work. Marco has been on stage with world famous bands like The Dead Daisies, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and is promoting his own project. The latter is not exactly lacking a star from the sky, but it confidently exists at the club level, and the local rock community could more than once be convinced that Marco and his gang are just a hurricane on stage.

Many years ago, Mendoza met Stas Namin, and friendly relations often develop into joint projects. Marco played with the Tsvety group at their anniversary shows, and recently accepted Namin’s offers to become part of the new Gorky Park line-up.

The festival in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Stas Namin Center became a kind of baptism of fire for the musicians gathered under a well-known brand. At two big shows, Marco Mendoza performed both with his group and with Gorky Park. When the festival passions subsided, Marco agreed to share his impressions with ZD.

— Everything was great. Of course, we could have been on stage for more than an hour, playing a variety of music, but a festival is a festival. Actually, I’m very happy to be here. For a musician from America, this is not so easy now.

– You are probably now the only American rock musician in Russia …

– Most likely. I was in Moscow in May, and it all looked like some kind of madness. I then traveled around Europe with my group. And after the performance in Paris, it was necessary to fly first to Istanbul, and then to Moscow. Immediately to the rehearsal – I was invited to perform as part of the orchestra, then a concert, and again to Paris, because a concert is also scheduled there the next day. After this, you can say that you are ready for anything. And if the doors are open, I will perform in Russia with pleasure.

– In the new composition of Gorky Park, you are, of course, the most experienced musician. And you were already playing rock when this band broke through to the West…

“I remember the first time I heard them on the radio in California back in the nineties. I had no idea who it was, but the sound was just wow, how cool. And then I realized why it turned out that way. These guys had their own approach to performing and producing songs. In fact, they were playing traditional Russian music that suddenly became rock. Of course, it’s great to touch the legend, to become a part of it. Therefore, when my friend Stas Namin invited me to the new Gorky Park, I immediately agreed.

It’s amazing that you took the time. Judging by your touring schedule, you are a busy person…

– I’m a very busy person! Even too busy! Probably, in my place, someone would definitely complain about fatigue. But I’m not complaining. And why should I be tired? From music? She burst into my life when I was fifteen or sixteen years old and made me who I am today. I enjoy my life every day.

Of course, another musical project will take time. But everything can be arranged so that both work and rest. Of course, it’s hard to constantly fly across the ocean to my family (the musician and his wife have five children. – “MK”). But I hope they can live in Europe for a while and we will see each other often. Now Gorky Park and I are writing in the studio and will be doing this almost all the time while I am here.

— You played several new songs at the festival. This is the same glam rock with which the group became popular in the last century. There’s a lot of talk these days about how rock is dead, that hip-hop rules the world, stuff like that. In your opinion, how much truth is there in this?

I don’t believe in speculation, I believe in numbers. My longtime friends Kiss are selling more tickets to their shows than in their entire history. My schedule is booked ahead. Recently, the traditional record industry as a business of big labels has come to naught, and the artist’s popularity is visible primarily in concerts. Of course, rock has changed over the years, but it’s still there.

– Probably, it is not easy to play rock in the sixth decade?

– It’s very easy for me. Not sure about the seventh decade. I’m sixty next year, so I’ll let you know how it is (laughs). But for now I’m happy. Traveling, performing, recording, what more could you want?

– You were born in Mexico, where its own musical culture is strong. How did you get “infected” with rock and roll?

— My father had the album Abbey Road The Beatles, and you can say that he influenced me a lot. And, of course, the radio, where I first heard Creedence Clearwater Revival, Doors and other cool music that just turned my life around.

— The music is always with you in the sense that you do not take off your headphones. What do you usually listen to?

— Now mostly what he recently recorded. We have a new album ready, and I guess I can’t get enough of it yet. There is a new track from “Gorky Park” and sketches for my next album. And if not their own, then something from the icons of rock, Santana, for example. There is also silence on my setlist. Sometimes I just need it. In silence come the words for new songs.