I would say this lot still haven't broken through in the UK, however they're absolutely massive on the Continent. Another email questionnaire, because I think it all had to be translated into German and back again.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in August 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
TOKIO HOTEL
So who are Tokio Hotel? Only the freshest lot roaring out of the German music scene for a long while. There are the twins, the spiky-dressing, androgynous Bill (vocals) and hip hop-loving Tom (guitar), joined by bassist Georg and drummer Gustav to play a dark mix of heavy rock with a lick of eyeliner. The band had a number one album in their homeland which has now gone platinum tenfold, and a few awards for best newcomer and best selling German act last year. Due to the fact the UK doesn't generally follow the music trends prevalent on the continent, they're still fairly unknown around here. They tried to hold a webchat last week and the sheer volume of fans logging on crashed the site. And their oldest member is just twenty. It's a hell of a ride for the exultant rockers of Tokio Hotel...
Let’s start with a random one. If you could go to any planet, where would you go?
Tom: I would like to go to Venus.
Bill: I would visit E.T.
Gustav: I would visit Pluto!
Georg: I would stay on Earth ‘cause there’s nothing really going on on the other planets.
Some slightly more sensible questions now. What have you been doing today
Gustav: We’re actually in London, doing promotion.
I don’t know a lot about how Tokio Hotel started… How did you all meet?
Tom: Bill and I used to do music together since we were seven years old. Back then I was already playing the guitar and Bill sang along while playing the keyboard, which delivered bass and drums. However, if you want to have a real rock band you need some more people and pretty much by accident we meet Gustav and Georg at a gig we played in a small club called Gröninger Bad.
Georg: Gustav and I already knew each other from music school and became friends. That night we went together to the club and saw these two guys perform. There is no denying the fact they needed some help and that is when it all started! (Everyone laughs)
Tom (smiling): Strange, I remember it completely different. I recall Georg and Gustav begging to be a part of our cool band back then!
Do you go back to your hometown very often? When you’re there, do you get recognised by fans a lot?
Bill: Whenever we have the time we go home and spent time with friends and families.
Tom: Sure we get recognised. That’s OK, but going home is very important for us – spending some time with your people, a little time out of the band, that’s important for each of us.
In Europe, you’re massively popular, have lots of screaming fans and have won several awards. How do you cope with all the pressure?
Georg: It does not seem to us that there is that much pressure. Everything we achieved so far, everything that has happened is more we ever dreamed of. We’re not expecting anything. We’re just very excited about what is going to happen next.
What have you done with all your awards?!
Bill: It depends. Sometimes you get four awards so everybody can take one home – These ones you’ll find in all our homes. Sometimes you only get one for the whole band. In that case it’s passed to each band member from time to time.
What has been your best gig so far?
Bill: That’s a tough question! Every country, every city and each venue is different and great in its own way, so there is not really one best gig; they all are very special to us. The biggest one though was on July 15th this year when we performed for more than half a million people in Paris – that was unbelievable.
Tom: Just imagine – you are already standing on a magnificent stage and as far as you can look there is only people cheering. It is overwhelming!
Do you have any superstitions or things you have to do before going out on stage?
Tom: We don’t have a ritual but 1.5 hours prior to a show it’s just us in our backstage room. We spend this time together and we’re usually very nervous. We think about everything that could probably go wrong.
Bill: I always say we are the most nervous band in the world. We go crazy.
Georg: Except Gustav. He is more laid back.
Gustav: That’s true! When I am in the backstage room I just put on my earphones and listen to music. If I had to listen to what the others were saying I would have had a heart attack by now!
You played in London last month and sold out Islington Academy. How was it? How do your UK fans compare to elsewhere in Europe?
Bill: That was very exciting. I mean this was the first time we played a whole English show. So I was especially nervous.
Gustav: Our fans always surprise us. No matter where we go, they are already there, waiting for us, cheering and are very excited to see us. That’s true for the English fans as well. They really knew how to rock the house, which makes us want to come back for some more shows.
It sounds like you’re always busy – what do you do to relax?
Bill: Sleep as long as possible, watch some TV, eat, meet friends and family and go to sleep again.
Your album ‘Scream’ is released in the UK in November. Can you tell me a bit about it?
Tom: After seeing how people react to our music in Europe, we started thinking about an English album. Our fans are really amazing – they picked up our music, started to learn German to sing along with us and to translate the songs into their language. Unbelievable. That’s really special, you can’t expect that. And ‘cause our lyrics are very important to us and we want people to understand what we’re singing we decided to translate our songs for an English album. We picked our favourite songs from the first and second German album for the English version and here we are.
Does it feel weird to be singing your familiar songs in a different language?
Bill: It did in the beginning when I recorded the songs in the studio. I always wrote in German, I always sang in German – it’s my mother language. And then, after singing these songs for such a long time in German, it felt like recording brand new songs. Another thing was, that I wanted them to sound really good. I’m a perfectionist and I wanted them to sound like an English singer sang them. So it took me some time and a lot of patience. Now that it is done I’m really happy with the results and all of us are very proud of the English album.
If you had your own hotel (called Tokio Hotel, obviously) where would it be and what cool things would you have in it?
Georg: There would be only gigantic rooms and in each one there would be tons of plugs for all kinds of electrical devices.
Tom: And every room would have its own wellness area.
Gustav: And there would be full wireless lines everywhere.
Bill: The whole hotel would come in a very modern style – a lot of glass, chrome and steal. Very unique and modern.
What are you doing for the rest of today?
Georg: Promotion, having dinner and going to bed.
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Tokio Hotel release 'Ready, Set, Go!' on August 28th. Album 'Scream' follows in November
http://tokiohotel.pop24.de/tokiohotel2/index2_uk.php
http://www.myspace.com/tokiohotel
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