Ota Hereš: The guitar behind my back simply has to be heard!

Ota Hereš is one of the distinctive figures of the Czech rock and metal scene. A musician, guitarist, composer, technical enthusiast, and a man whose name is firmly connected not only with the dark history of Törr, but also with the relaxed energy of Alkehol. Over decades on stage, he has gone through several essential chapters of heavy music, witnessed the transformation of the scene, the arrival of new technologies, and moments when a band was held together mainly by experience, perspective, and an honest approach.

In an interview for Rebel Sound, Ota returns to the very beginnings, to his first fascination with music, to the turning points of his career, and to why he still swears by classic tube amps. He speaks openly, with humor and without unnecessary posturing, exactly as fans know him. The conversation touches on Törr, Alkehol, old lyrics, songwriting, concert improvisation, and the energy of the people below the stage, which still drives him forward after all these years.

This is not just an interview about the past. It is the view of a musician who was present at crucial moments in Czech metal, yet still keeps his feet firmly on the ground and sees music above all as joy that he can pass on to others.

Ota, next year it will be an unbelievable 50 years since the first seeds of what later became Törr began to take shape. When you look back to 1977, would it ever have occurred to you as a teenager that you would stick with heavy music for practically your whole life?

That certainly would never have occurred to me. When I was founding Törr, there were two of us at first: me and drummer Pavel Kadeřábek. Then I got together with bassist Filip Moldan and drummer Michael Jakubův and at first we started playing cover songs by Olympic and Katapult so we could learn to play together, and after that we began creating our own songs.

You have experienced several decades of the Czech metal and rock scene. Which moment do you now see as the real turning point in your musical journey, and why that one in particular?

The biggest turning point in my life came right at the beginning, when I saw the film ABBA: The Movie that was in 1977 and decided I would become a famous musician. As for the other stages, definitely winning certain music competitions back then it was called amateur artistic activity already with guitarist Mira Mach, when Törr started to become a well-known band; then, of course, Vlasta Henych joining Törr and the shift toward black metal; afterwards my joining Kryptor, where it was thrash metal; and, of course, founding Alkehol, as well as my involvement in founding Harlej.

You are connected with two very different worlds: the darker, blasphemous Törr and the more relaxed pub-rock world of Alkehol. How difficult is it for you to switch between these moods in your head when you go from one concert to another?

Not at all. I like both styles, and I write for both bands. It is incredibly fun.

The Czech metal scene has changed a lot since the eighties and nineties. In your opinion, what do today's bands lack the most, and where do they have a much greater advantage than you had at the beginning?

What newer bands lack is something I do not dare to judge. I am not a music critic. I see it simply like this: if someone wants to make music, makes it, and finds their listeners, then it makes sense. Compared with us, they obviously have a huge advantage simply through unlimited access to information, music, musical instruments, the prices of musical instruments, and so on. Just to give an example: for the guitar I used in the black-metal Törr, I paid six monthly salaries back in the eighties...

How do you write music today? Are you still the type of musician who sits down at home with a guitar and records a riff on a voice recorder, or do you now fully use a home studio, software, and modern technology?

Music comes to me in different ways and in different places. Either I remember it, or I record it by singing into my phone. Quite often it happens when I am playing guitar. The same goes for lyrics. I do not use any auxiliary technology for composing.

Your guitar sound is very recognizable and specific on the Czech scene. Which guitars, amps, or sound tricks are currently closest to your heart?

For many long decades I have been using Fender Stratocasters in various modifications. For Alkehol, I currently use an Engl Savage 120 + Engl 4 x 12 cabinet, and for Törr a Peavey 6505 + Engl 4 x 12 cabinet. I run both bands in a purely tube setup. I do not use digital machines for live playing at all. The guitar behind my back simply has to be heard!

Many guitarists today are switching to digital amps such as Kemper or Quad Cortex because they are convenient for travel. How do you see it? Do you still swear by classic tubes and a proper cabinet, or does the modern digital world also tempt you in some way?

As I wrote in the previous answer - I swear by classic tube amps. The digital world certainly has its own charm, but not for me.

Looking back after all these years, how does it feel to sing lyrics that were created in a completely different time and often in a different state of mind? Do you see them as preserved history, or has there ever been a line you can no longer bring yourself to sing today?

Completely fine. Often it is actually a reflection of that time, and we lived through it, so I have no problem with it. What I would not want to sing today - there is very little of that, and I do not sing it.

Is there any song from the Törr or Alkehol repertoire that you now play with completely different emotions than when it was created? What has changed for you in that song over the years?

I do not think there are songs like that, or at least I do not perceive them that way. Of course, I have memories connected with some of them, of how they were written, but the emotions are not particularly different.

In Alkehol, you and Petr 'Kuna' Bunes have been pulling the cart together since 1992. In your opinion, what is the recipe for two people lasting together in a band, on the road, and in the pub for so long without killing each other?

I do not even know, we have somehow just been okay the whole time. We already know what to expect from each other, we make fun of each other, and of course we sometimes get pissed off at each other, but that is life.

Fans know you not only as a musician, but also as someone who can handle technical problems. In Hořice, during a power outage, you helped get the electricity working again and the concert could continue. Where did this technical skill come from? Is it a lifelong hobby, or did you ever do it professionally?

I have been interested in technical things, especially anything connected with electricity, since I was a child. In fact, I started making my first guitar distortion pedals myself. It is my lifelong hobby. I studied electrical engineering at secondary school and then at university. But what teaches a person the most is their own interest in the subject. Professionally, I never took a job in this field.

Can you recall a situation when you had to rely on pure improvisation during a concert and, in the end, it saved the whole performance?

It is clear that during all the long time I have been playing, it has happened that I forgot a riff or a solo, but the band always keeps going, so you just have to jump back in at the right moment. As for musical improvisation, probably not; but improvising in terms of how to keep a concert under control when one of the musicians is already considerably socially exhausted - that is another story.

Today, three generations of fans often come to Törr and Alkehol concerts. What does it feel like to see a fifteen-year-old boy in a Törr shirt jumping in the front row next to long-time fans?

Beautiful. And it is just as beautiful to see a married couple there who came to see you, for example, in 1986, when they were thirty...

After so many years, what still drives you onto the stage and makes you play a concert at full power, even when you have sleepless nights, long drives, and a demanding weekend behind you?

That incredible energy of the people who come to see you and listen to you.

One day, the history of Czech metal will be written. How would you like people to remember Ota Hereš: as a guitarist, composer, frontman, technical enthusiast, or simply as a guy who never stopped believing in it?

I would like people to remember me as a person who made music that brought people joy.

Ota Hereš shows in this interview that behind a long musical journey there is not only talent and experience, but above all a huge desire to play, create, and remain himself. Whether it is the darker side of Törr, the pub-rock directness of Alkehol, honest tube sound, or memories of essential moments in the Czech scene, his answers reveal the perspective of someone who has truly experienced a lot, yet still sees music as joy.

That is exactly where his strength lies. He does not play at being a legend, even though for many fans he undoubtedly is one. He speaks openly, with humor and with respect for music and for the people standing below the stage. And if Ota Hereš is one day to be written into the history of Czech metal, then not only as a guitarist, composer, or frontman, but above all as a person who devoted his whole life to heavy music and never stopped believing that it makes sense to bring joy to others.

Denča