Rock Mag Interview

ROCKMAG: Let's start with the present: after Germany, you are now touring Europe…
Bill: Yes, actually, up until 6 months ago, we were mostly present in Germany, and, only from time to time, we gave concerts in East Europe. Whereas now, we're on a tour of the whole continent. Two days ago, we gave our first concert in London, three weeks ago we were in St. Petersburg, and we're coming back from a European tour where we skimmed through Poland, Hungary…and it's not finished yet!

ROCKMAG: But how do your German fans feel about that now?
Tom: We still have a lot of success in Germany. And for us, there's always a particular feeling in coming back to play for the public that brought us to European success. We're very grateful to them. We will always be there in the German [music] scene.

ROCKMAG: Do you have a special link to the region you came from?
Gustav: It's true that the people in our region are proud of the success of the kids from Magdeburg. Plus, we contributed to the reknown of our city. When we think about it, we always wonder how we managed to coming from a town that so few people know. Our first fans our from there. We were followed by a group of about fifty faithful fans who supported us during our first ventures.

ROCKMAG: And with success, you don't feel like you've distanced from them?
Bill: No.The fact is that we stay the same even if everything around us changes. Sometimes, it's overwhelming to find ourselves in the same category as certain international artists. But I think that our fans are just as happy as we are.

ROCKMAG: In October, you're going to Bercy. It's the epitome for you in France (T/N: I'm not too sure about these words since they were a little cut off; also if anyone cares, I think the original word is 'apotheosis')…what's that like?
Bill: It's awesome! We didn't believe it when we found out it was already sold out! It's our biggest concert hall with about 17000 spectators. We can't wait to be there!

ROCKMAG: Are you going to surprise the audience with new decorations, staging, etc?
Tom: We'll have an impressive stage to ensure the show. As for our saps, we're not really paying any particular attention because what interests us before anything else is the performance. With us, everything is real: no playback, only live. And it's our trademark to make the fans happy!

ROCKMAG: Are you going to take advantage of all Bercy's possibilities, for example with special effects like Rammstein?
Bill: Contrary to Rammstein, our objective is not to seduce the public with fireworks. We want to present our music without tricks.
Tom: But obviously, during our European tour, we also had a beautiful stage with room for us to express ourselves, a Hooverizer, and a confetti cannon. It was an improvement in relation to our first tour.
Gustav: There are also lighting effects.

ROCKMAG: We've heard about an eventual live DVD…
Tom: Exactly. In August or September, we'll release a DVD that will combine all the episodes of our European tour - the ends of concerts and 24/7 backstage bonuses. You'll see our life on tour and even some details that we would be better off hiding (laughs)!

ROCKMAG: Do you think you're the beginning of a new German [music] scene, when we've equally seen the emergence of new groups like Nevada Tan and Killerpilze?
Bill: Two and a half years ago, we were the first group of adolescents in Germany in a while. The others were getting older. We were very young, and we wrote our lyrics ourselves. This formula worked and the record companies were surprised. As a result, they supported the release of other groups working under the same principle. For that matter, Nevada Tan and Killerpilze are on the same label as us. It's a normal phenomenon. One exploits the gold mine…

ROCKMAG: Your independence doesn't stop you from collaborating in collective projects, such as the title you recorded to benefit the victims in Darfur. Is this important to you?
Bill: When they told us we could help with our music, we were immediately eager to pitch in. That's why we participated in the project for Amnesty International, Make Some Noise. For us, it was a first, because we'd never done covers before. And we had promised ourselves not to do them. It was really an exception in order to fight for human rights.
Tom: And I have to say that we brought our own personal touch to Instant Karma. It became very rock, with lots of guitars.

ROCKMAG: Let's talk a little about the downsides of your success. What do you regret about not being able to live like before?
Bill: We can't just go out on the street like before any more. We're always being observed, and everything we do is reported by the press. We don't have much of a private life. What's more, we rarely see our families and friends. To be honest, we only live for our music. Apart from that, nothing else is possible. But on the other hand, it's the life that we wanted to lead and we find more advantages than inconveniences to it.

ROCKMAG: Do you ever get scared?
Bill: No, not at all. We're living the most intense period of our lives. They ask us often if it bothers us when fans scream. But not at all! We love it! On the contrary; it encourages us!
Georg: The only fear I have is of playing the wrong notes on stage.
Tom: And I have to say that happens to you a lot (laughs)…

ROCKMAG: To finish things off, do you already have ideas for your next album?
Tom: We're going to catch our breath, first, and even if it's true that we have some songs in store, we can't really talk precisely about the next album yet. (T/N: From here on out I can't really read the words, so I'm kind of guessing at the meaning) It hasn't been that long since our first album, and we've just released our second album and also the English album. In effect, whether in Germany or in other countries, this has stretched itself over two and a half years.