A cheap apartment with mold on the walls, a tight household budget, pasta and soup, door-to-door cleaning every day in search of young talent and studios who want to work with him – this is what Gad describes in his autobiography “All of Me”, which was published on Tuesday ( 25.1.) appears in Germany.
In any case, the son of a Dane and a German mother brought musical ability with him. At an early age he played in a band with his older brother and learned to play the piano and guitar. By the time he was 20, he was working for hit producer Frank Farian and writing songs for a Milli Vanilli album.
With the then unknown Fergie, Gad wrote the song “Big Girls Don’t Cry” in New York in 2002, but the song was only released five years later – and became a hit. It takes perseverance and patience in the industry, says Gad. “The music business is almost always a disappointment, 99 percent rejections, but something always worked out,” he says with a wink.
Gad moved to Los Angeles in 2009 with his wife, who was born in China, and their two daughters. It was there that his career finally took off. Of course, Gad admits that one is nervous about encounters with big stars for recording. “It’s a bit like speed dating, because you don’t know them beforehand and then you have a few hours together.” He always prepared well, learned a lot about the artists, what is happening in their lives. “The goal is actually that you can improvise together and have fun together and just let the music flow out of you.”
Battle of words with Madonna
Things didn’t go so well with superstar Madonna at first. “It took a while and also needed some arguments,” says Gad about a longer recording in 2014. There was a veritable war of words when he urged Madonna to repeat a song with the comment “You can do it better”. record, Gad describes in his book.
“Madonna began to respect me. From then on she was also interested in my opinion, appreciated my honesty […] From then on I was, jokingly called, something like your German Dictator.” He experienced Madonna as a “warm-hearted” person, writes Gad. He and his wife were also invited by the singer to her birthday party at a castle in France.
Gad has many success stories, but also talks about missed opportunities when he failed to recognize and turned away young talent. “Taylor Swift, 13, was in the studio with me and Katy Perry, after she lost her second record deal and was so devastated, I could have started with him,” says the producer.
music as a drug
He is also critical of himself. At times, the job completely determined his life, music was like a drug. His family often had to hold back, he writes in “All of Me”. A few years ago, Gad pulled the brakes. Now he produces significantly fewer songs, but devotes himself to other hobbies and projects. He lives with his family on the edge of the Hollywood Hills, close to nature. He goes hiking and surfing and is active in environmental protection with his wife.
His heart project is the protection of endangered orangutans on the island of Borneo. Gad is currently making a film about Canadian primatologist Biruté Galdikas and her organization Orangutan Foundation International.
Gad describes his new role as a DSDS judge as a “beautiful experience” that he would like to continue for many years. In principle, it’s like him in the record studio, where artists introduce themselves with their songs – “except that “DSDS” is in German,” laughs Gad. He would love to inspire others to believe and work on their dreams. “It’s worth fighting for and trying,” says Gad – from experience.
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