Intro

(VERSION FRANÇAISE PLUS BAS)

The Scorpions tribute band project was born around 1986, for a time under the name "Hannoveraner" but it officially came into being, in the form it is known today as IN TRANCE, in 1996.

Guitarists and super Scorpions fans Paul Gagné and Joe Giancioppi met backstage after a Scorpions concert (“Face The Heat” Tour) at the Montréal Forum in 1994, when they have been introduced to each other by Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs. They became friends, began to jam Scorpions songs together and soon realized they had the same rhythm guitar/lead guitar partnership than the one shared by Rudolf and Matthias. Both thrilled by the fact they had the key elements to recreate the Scorpions on their own, they joined forces and launched what became IN TRANCE.

IN TRANCE was first created by its founders for their own pleasure, but soon, they felt there was a need to give Scorpions and rock music fans the chance to get back to the thrill of the unforgettable shows that made the Scorpions famous, at the time when hard rock and heavy metal ruled.

Now, the fans are not only going back in time: although IN TRANCE plays mostly Scorpions songs from the 80's, they still have the opportunity to hear the different musical styles experimented by the Scorpions over the years, from their humble beginnings, in 1965, until now.

Once the bases of the band were laid out, veteran bass player Jeff Carrier joined with drummer Stéphane Hamel. The next task was to find a singer who could match the voice, tonal range and personality of Klaus Meine. Who else than classically trained singer Stéphane Dorval? He was the one and only match. The IN TRANCE line-up was complete.

IN TRANCE, which is the title of a landmark Scorpions album from 1975 and also the title of a very nice song, worked hard to reproduce the songs as they were originally created and performed by the Scorpions. IN TRANCE also paid special attention to technical details like stage props and the drum riser typical of the 80's, and choreographies and stage moves of the Scorpions. You got to see IN TRANCE onstage to believe how these musicians impersonate their respective Scorpions character to recreate hits like Rock You Like A Hurricane, No One Like You, In Trance, Big City Nights, The Zoo, Holiday, Alien Nation, Still Loving You, Blackout, Dynamite, and the forever classic Wind Of Change and dozens of others and the unique stage charisma of Scorpions members.

To get the right sound and look of the Scorpions, IN TRANCE acquired, over the years, a selection of instruments that the fans naturally associate with the Scorpions, and even real pieces of equipment and gear formerly owned by them.

Since the band formed, the line-up changed a bit. Since 1999, the drum throne is occupied by the skilled and dynamic drummer Steeve Chiasson, Steeve brought with him his huge technical skills and upgraded the band with his knowledge of music sequencing and sound engineering. In 2001, the talented Marc-André Gingras (MAG) stepped in to take the lead guitar position which he held until spring 2006. As a member of IN TRANCE, Marc-André brought the band to a level never reached before. With a very busy schedule and his promising solo carreer taking off, MAG left his place to the very optimistic Marcel Dufour for some time, but was back with IN TRANCE by November 2007.

Recently, Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine, of Scorpions, pointed out that IN TRANCE played a significant role for them as an important promotional tool in Canada. IN TRANCE particularly specializes in Scorpions back catalog of songs, as well as constantly updating people in its area about Scorpions current activities and future projects. Scorpions members know that for sure, officially endorse IN TRANCE and some of them have a friendly relationships with members of IN TRANCE since the late 80's.

That's why Rudolf Schenker, knowing the musical and stage potential of IN TRANCE, decided to invite them to join Scorpions onstage July 8th, 2006 at the Quebec Int'l Summer Festival. In awe, a crowd estimated 80,000 to 100,000, got to see IN TRANCE replace Scorpions for the song Blackout, then the Scorpions came back onstage. joining IN TRANCE for a grande finale. A great experience for both bands. This what Scorpions singer Klaus Meine said to the crowd about IN TRANCE:

''Friends, oh yeah, I guess, I guess that's the moment the dreams, the dreams come true, for these guys here, you know, they’re the one, our favorite Scorpions tribute band, the best one in the world, all the way from Quebec, your boys, here onstage with us, this is IN TRANCE!!!"

- Klaus Meine, July 8th, 2006

Then, IN TRANCE credibility went a notch higher when Klaus Meine, Scorpions singer, and the band's management,contacted IN TRANCE to hire them as "musical gift" for the 59^th anniversary of Scorpions guitarist and founder Rudolf Schenker, Aug. 31st, 2007. Just as Klaus asked them, IN TRANCE set up in a Quebec City restaurant, an acoustic concert that became fast a big acoustic jam between the ten members of IN TRANCE and Scorpions combined, with their friends and relatives.

After this, IN TRANCE carried on doing his promotional job performing with energy Scorpions music in fiery concert in front of thousands, notably for a couple of sold-out shows at Quebec City's Théatre Petit Champlain, Impérial Theater, during Canada Day ‘08 in front of 4 000 people in Ville-Marie (Témiscamingue), in Rivière-du-Loup for the Budrockfest, and during an unforgetable performance at Lac-au-Saumon (Témiscouata) Guitarfest for 3 000 people in August 2008.

IN TRANCE reputation was again re-approved by Scorpions a couple of times lately on the airwaves of some US rock radios, during the shows of hosts Eddie Trunk (Boneyard-XMRadio/ Q104.3-NYC), Bob Coburn (KLOS-L.A.) and Bob Hedlund (WATD-Boston). IN TRANCE is also often praised on local radio stations like RadioX (Dupont Le Midi) et FM93 (Berni On The Rocks). Scorpions appreciation for IN TRANCE was recently featured again when in June 2010 in the ‘’Hannoversche Allegemeine Zeitung’’, Scorpions hometown, Hannover (Germany), biggest and most important newspaper. This article about IN TRANCE was a suggestion of Rudolf Schenker himself to the newspaper.

IN 2012, longtime lead guitar player MAG was replaced by the super enthusiastic Marco Lavoie.

Since then, IN TRANCE carried on promoting Scorpions music by playing energic and fiery shows before thousands of people in the Province of Québec, notably for 1,200 people at «St-Zac-en- Beauce» 2011, 4,000 at «Traversée Internationale du Lac St-Jean» 2012 in Roberval and approximately 10,000 at « Festival Promutuel de la Relève » in Thetford Mines, August 2012.

2013 was equally exciting for IN TRANCE. After a couple of special shows for the Canadian Armed Forces in June, the band triumphed before a frenzied crowd of 5,000 at « St.Emile’s Family Festival » and closed its summer in the Persian Gulf by travelling 26,000km / 35 hours (back-and-forth) to play two jam-packed shows in Al-Manamah, capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain. As Scorpions say, « The Best Is Yet To Come ».

IN TRANCE est né du besoin de faire revivre aux amateurs de hard-rock les spectacles inou-bliables des Scorpions à l'époque de la suprémacie du hardrock et du heavy metal dans les années 70, 80 et 90. IN TRANCE s’est aussi donné la mission de faire la promotion de l’héritage musical et l’histoire des Scorpions. Non seulement les amateurs y revivent de bons moments, mais aussi IN TRANCE leur fait connaître les divers styles de musique auxquels les Scorpions ont touché depuis leurs débuts en 1965, en mettant l'accent sur leur période ‘’classique’’ des années '80, jusqu'à maintenant, où les Scorpions ont décidé de progressivement se retirer pour prendre un retraite bien méritée.

Le projet d’hommage aux Scorpions a commencé à germer vers 1986, oeuvrant sous différentes formes, dont le groupe Hannoveraner, mais ce n’est qu’en 1996 que la formation IN TRANCE s’est vraiment mise en action.

IN TRANCE s'est appliqué à reproduire le matériel musical le plus fidèlement possible avec ses musiciens uniques, qui "entrent" dans leur personnage, pour reprendre des incontournables comme Rock You Like A Hurricane, No One Like You, In Trance, Big City Nights, The Zoo, Holiday, Alien Nation, Still Loving You, Blackout, Dynamite, le désormais classique Wind Of Change et des dizaines d’autres. IN TRANCE n’offre pas seulement que le meilleur de la musique des Scorpions mais aussi recréé aussi son incomparable interaction avec le public.

IN TRANCE s'est aussi arrêté aux détails techniques tels que la présentation scénique, l'estrade de batterie caractéristique aux années '80, et les chorégraphies et mouvements typiques des Scorpions. Pour obtenir le son et le "look" authentique des Scorpions, IN TRANCE s'est entouré d'une sélection d'instruments que les fans et connaisseurs associent depuis longtemps aux Scorpions et en y incorporant des pièces d'équipement leur ayant appartenu.

Récemment, Rudolf Schenker et Klaus Meine, des Scorpions, ont reconnu qu'IN TRANCE a joué un rôle significatif dans la documentation de leur passé et qu'IN TRANCE avait été un important outil promotionel au Canada, et ailleurs, pour la continuation de leur succès ces dernières années et que les fans se sont souvenu d'eux et on continué à acheter leurs albums à cause d'IN TRANCE. D'ailleurs, les Scorpions, qui entretiennent un relation personnelle avec certains membres d’IN TRANCE depuis 1988, endôssent officiellement le projet.

C’est pour cette raison que Rudolf Schenker, connaissant le potentiel musical et scénique d’IN TRANCE, a décidé d’inviter les membres d’IN TRANCE à rejoindre les Scorpions sur scène, le 8 juillet 2006, au Festival d’Été International de Québec. Avec étonnement, une foule estimée entre 80 000 et 100 000 personnes, a pu voir IN TRANCE remplacer les Scorpions pour la pièce Blackout, puis jouer ensuite avec eux, pour une finale grandiose. Une expérience positive et enrichissante pour les deux groupes. Voici ce que le chanteur Klaus Meine avait à dire au public,à propos d’IN TRANCE:

- Klaus Meine, 8 juillet 2006

Puis, IN TRANCE a pris encore du galon alors que Klaus Meine, chanteur des Scorpions, ainsi que la gérance du groupe, ont contacté IN TRANCE pour que le groupe soit présenté en cadeau spécial pour le 59^e anniversaire de Rudolf Schenker, guitariste et fondateur des Scorpions, le 31 août 2007. IN TRANCE a organisé à la demande de Klaus, dans un restaurant de Québec, un petit concert acoustique qui est vite devenu un immense « jam » entre les dix musiciens des deux formations et les membres de leurs familles respectives, et s’est poursuivi tard dans la nuit du 31 août au 1^er septembre 2007.

Depuis, IN TRANCE a poursuivi son rôle promotionel en performant énergiquement la musique des Scorpions lors de concerts flamboyants devant des milliers de personnes, notamment deux

fois au Théatre Petit Champlain à guichets fermés, à l’Impérial de Québec, lors des Fêtes du Canada ‘08 devant 4 000 personnes à Ville-Marie (Témiscamingue), à Rivière-du-Loup, et lors d’une performance inoubliable à Lac-au-Saumon (Témiscouata) devant 2 500 personnes ébahies à la Fête des Guitares en août 2008.

La réputation d’IN TRANCE a été dernièrement ré-approuvée à plusieurs reprises par Scorpions sur les ondes de radios rock américaines dans les émissions des fameux Eddie Trunk (Boneyard-XMRadio/ Q104.3-NYC), Bob Coburn (KLOS-L.A.) et Bob Hedlund (WATD-Boston). IN TRANCE a aussi été le sujet de conversation et l’invité de plusieurs entrevues à Québec sur les ondes de RadioX (Dupont Le Midi) et FM93 (Berni On The Rocks). L’importance d’IN TRANCE pour Scorpions a aussi été le sujet d’un article en juin 2010 dans le ‘’Hannoversche Allegemeine Zeitung’’, le plus important quotidien d’Hannover, ville d’Allemagne d’où originent les Scorpions. La parution de cet article sur la légitimité et la qualité des spectacles d’IN TRANCE fut une suggestion de Rudolf Schenker lui-même aux rédacteurs du journal.