Refuge

For many fans it was the band’s classic lineup. Peavy is still a member of Rage, but the three friends came back together in 2014 to play in the side project Refuge. It went so well that they have kept the project going, much to the delight of fans. Peavy spoke to KS about Refuge and the upcoming gigs in Japan.

Refuge is made of previous Rage members and the name comes from a Rage song. Does it feel like Refuge is in fact Rage, and if not, what would you say sets the two apart?

It’s definitely not the same as Rage. Refuge is a part of my Rage history – it’s my old buddies and it’s a lot of fun for us to again perform the songs we created together long ago. But we decided from the beginning, as it was clear that we were going to be a band again, that this would be a side project, not like Rage. The reason is that both Manni and Chris have a family and regular jobs that they don’t want to give up for the rock biz again. So Refuge is our fun little side band. Rage is my life and I have always lived and will live from this band and its music. That’s why Rage continues under a different lineup with Lucky and Marcos.

The three of you came back together with a gig playing under the name Tres Hombres last year. Is Refuge a longer-term project?

Yes, it was a lucky coincidence that brought us back together again in 2014. We simply wanted to perform one little gig for our hometown friends and we had no name, so Manni suggested to use the name “Tres Hombres.” It was so much fun for us to play together again and it was so well accepted from the scene that we decided to do more shows, so we picked a proper name for us. Refuge was our choice, as it is one of our classic songs. We also started to write new songs, but I can’t say when we will be able to record or release new stuff, as we all have a lot of other things to do and only find time here and then to continue working on it.

You wrote five albums together between 1988 and 1994, which is a lot of material. Does the Refuge setlist showcase this Rage era?

Oh yeah! We will perform a long set with all the nice songs from that era. We picked all kinds of songs that we haven’t done for so long, not together and also not with Rage. It’s going to be a fantastic travel through time. We can’t wait to come over to Japan and play for all our friends and fans!

German metal trio and classic Rage lineup reunion in side project • Club Quattro, Osaka • Mar 1 • 7pm • ¥7,500 • Tel: 06-6311-8111