http://www.rocksound.tv/news/article...160-is-out-now
Rammstein - Guitarist Paul Landers reflects on the bliss of wreaking ultimate havoc with his pyrotechnic German associates!
A merciful soul wrote the transcription. Thanks to her. Source: Paul Landers in Rock Sound transcription
Welcome to my World: Paul Landers (Rammstein)
From his beginnings in East Germany to the Arena-baiting showman he is today, Rammstein’s guitarist tells Rock Sound his story…
Interview: Giles Moorhouse
Transcription: Katie White
When did music first come into your life?
"When I was a child I would have piano lessons once a week. It was rather boring so I had a friend that would always come with me, but when he stopped coming along it gave me an excuse to stop attending. The name of the teacher was Erna Giese Schröder, which is a fairly odd name".
What were the first bands you listened to?
"Shit. The first bands? Shit. They were East German rock bands that no one has ever heard of and it’s not really that important. They were terrible as I recall. I actually took my father’s acoustic guitar and took the receiver out of a telephone to use as a pickup, so I could hook it up to a radio to play through that. I didn’t know any chords so when I went to see bands play, then I’d watch what the guitarists were playing and I would go home and try and copy what I’d seen them doing".
Is that what inspired you to start a band then?
"I never really thought about that".
So there was no attempt to escape the nine-to-five, no Mcjob or promising career as a tennis player?
"To be honest, I am a bit of a bragger and I love it when people adore me. That’s your basic ingredient for any musician".
Your first bands were all punk bands. Were you the archetypal angry young man?
"I always wanted to wreak havoc, and in Rammstein I get the chance to wreak the ultimate havoc. I really could not be in any other band after this".
How do you view now what you were playing back then?
"I don’t regret anything. I view it much like an old girlfriend and you don’t really think about her when you are with the new one. Contrary to what’s commonly perceived about living in East Germany, we actually had a really good time. We were able to exist within the holes in the system".
What effect did the fall of the Berlin Wall have?
"Suddenly the system broke down. Suddenly, those that were in power were gone, so effectively the enemy was gone for us. There was nothing really left to rebel against, so a lot of the punk bands just came to a halt. The year that followed was absolutely incredible, it was like a dream. Things were very anarchic and there was a sense of a lack of identity. We didn’t know if we were in the East or the West, and it was like living in a bubble in time. The best way to describe it is the excitement of the first 10 minutes following New Year’s Eve, but stretched over a whole year. If we ever got into trouble with police in the West then we’d get out of it by telling them we were from the East and that we didn’t know, whereas if we were stopped by Police in the East then it was: “Hey, what are you talking about? We’re in the West now…”, so in that way we could get away with almost anything".
How did the collapse of the Wall affect you artistically?
"We realised that in the West that there is a line of good taste that should be transgressed. As soon as we felt that line, we tried to step over it".
How much of the Paul Landers of Rammstein is evident in the Paul Landers that your friends and family know?
"It’s true that there is a private persona and a public persona – the working persona – but when I’m on stage I am still 100 per cent myself. I do enjoy both worlds but I try to separate the two. It may sound arrogant, but it is like being an actor and having to play a character like Mephisto or a serial killer in a film. You need a sense of that inside of you to be convincing and I hope that comes across".
Do you feel obliged to push the more controversial aspect of the band as far as you can in order to bait the moral majority?
"It’s just our identity. We’re from Germany and we sing in German, which has the added advantage that the language sounds quite fierce and incisive. But in Germany the authorities are really breaking our balls for some of that stuff".
What ambitions do you still hold?
"Everything I wanted to achieve in this band I achieved 10 years ago, and I’m in the bonus phase now. My goal was always to just step on an airplane with my guitar case and here we are. It would be great to have another song with Rammstein that could be a worldwide success, but I really don’t know if we can achieve that again".
Rammstein - Guitarist Paul Landers reflects on the bliss of wreaking ultimate havoc with his pyrotechnic German associates!
A merciful soul wrote the transcription. Thanks to her. Source: Paul Landers in Rock Sound transcription
Welcome to my World: Paul Landers (Rammstein)
From his beginnings in East Germany to the Arena-baiting showman he is today, Rammstein’s guitarist tells Rock Sound his story…
Interview: Giles Moorhouse
Transcription: Katie White
When did music first come into your life?
"When I was a child I would have piano lessons once a week. It was rather boring so I had a friend that would always come with me, but when he stopped coming along it gave me an excuse to stop attending. The name of the teacher was Erna Giese Schröder, which is a fairly odd name".
What were the first bands you listened to?
"Shit. The first bands? Shit. They were East German rock bands that no one has ever heard of and it’s not really that important. They were terrible as I recall. I actually took my father’s acoustic guitar and took the receiver out of a telephone to use as a pickup, so I could hook it up to a radio to play through that. I didn’t know any chords so when I went to see bands play, then I’d watch what the guitarists were playing and I would go home and try and copy what I’d seen them doing".
Is that what inspired you to start a band then?
"I never really thought about that".
So there was no attempt to escape the nine-to-five, no Mcjob or promising career as a tennis player?
"To be honest, I am a bit of a bragger and I love it when people adore me. That’s your basic ingredient for any musician".
Your first bands were all punk bands. Were you the archetypal angry young man?
"I always wanted to wreak havoc, and in Rammstein I get the chance to wreak the ultimate havoc. I really could not be in any other band after this".
How do you view now what you were playing back then?
"I don’t regret anything. I view it much like an old girlfriend and you don’t really think about her when you are with the new one. Contrary to what’s commonly perceived about living in East Germany, we actually had a really good time. We were able to exist within the holes in the system".
What effect did the fall of the Berlin Wall have?
"Suddenly the system broke down. Suddenly, those that were in power were gone, so effectively the enemy was gone for us. There was nothing really left to rebel against, so a lot of the punk bands just came to a halt. The year that followed was absolutely incredible, it was like a dream. Things were very anarchic and there was a sense of a lack of identity. We didn’t know if we were in the East or the West, and it was like living in a bubble in time. The best way to describe it is the excitement of the first 10 minutes following New Year’s Eve, but stretched over a whole year. If we ever got into trouble with police in the West then we’d get out of it by telling them we were from the East and that we didn’t know, whereas if we were stopped by Police in the East then it was: “Hey, what are you talking about? We’re in the West now…”, so in that way we could get away with almost anything".
How did the collapse of the Wall affect you artistically?
"We realised that in the West that there is a line of good taste that should be transgressed. As soon as we felt that line, we tried to step over it".
How much of the Paul Landers of Rammstein is evident in the Paul Landers that your friends and family know?
"It’s true that there is a private persona and a public persona – the working persona – but when I’m on stage I am still 100 per cent myself. I do enjoy both worlds but I try to separate the two. It may sound arrogant, but it is like being an actor and having to play a character like Mephisto or a serial killer in a film. You need a sense of that inside of you to be convincing and I hope that comes across".
Do you feel obliged to push the more controversial aspect of the band as far as you can in order to bait the moral majority?
"It’s just our identity. We’re from Germany and we sing in German, which has the added advantage that the language sounds quite fierce and incisive. But in Germany the authorities are really breaking our balls for some of that stuff".
What ambitions do you still hold?
"Everything I wanted to achieve in this band I achieved 10 years ago, and I’m in the bonus phase now. My goal was always to just step on an airplane with my guitar case and here we are. It would be great to have another song with Rammstein that could be a worldwide success, but I really don’t know if we can achieve that again".
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