Quotes

I was very shy. I didn't even dare to talk to a dog!

We've always been a band with a sense of humour. We don't really know how people see us, but we don't take it that seriously...

[But you did learn something (at school)?] Not much. My mother thought it was ridiculous that I had such terrible teachers and she knew I hated school. I didn't need to do my homework for her, isn't that great! Instead of that I played sports.

[Did you have a lot of problems with your parents?] Not a lot at all. My parents are quite young, which is good. Because the age difference isn't that big, we had it good with each other. My father and mother also liked the same music as me. We were almost more like friends the family. [But of course you did tease your brothers and sisters...] No, because I don't have any, too bad. But if I would have had them, I would definitely have teased them!

The situation was quite wild [in the 90s]. A large part of the people and the media did not understand us either. Of course, we provoked as best we could. Till emphasised the letter R in his song and so on... But still, all kinds of far-right accusations seemed incomprehensible. After all, we are clearly on the left, even though we stay out of politics per se.

It is our calling for all cultures to look after their own identities. There is no need to look to USA so much and try to copycat them. The world would be even more colourful if there was more international music, in different languages. It would be prettier.

There are always people who misunderstand something. That's just the way it is in art. When the audience reaches a certain size, there are always a few idiots. You can't always choose your fans.

I see it as rather sick if you only talk about nice topics all the time. We do the opposite, we also highlight the filthy sides. How you then interpret that is up to you.

We were recording [the "Sonne" music video] in a real dwarf house with dwarf beds and all the rest. Filming took a long time, and one day we were all painted black from head to toe - and it didn't look like we'd be able to go home, shower, sleep, and come back for make-up the next morning. So we took a case of beer, had a little party, and then slept in the dwarf beds which was quirky and fun - we woke up in the middle of an adventure, literally.

I constantly bump into people who recognise me on the city streets. The feedback is invariably very positive. People seem to be proud of us. On the other hand, it's rare that someone tells you to your face that you suck.

["Mein Teil" came about after] one of our members brought a newspaper to rehearsal and it had a story about the cannibal guy in it. We were fascinated, shocked and amused at the same time.

Starting a band was not encouraged in the GDR, because public performances could be done only if you had the permit for it. Acquiring one was not due to the band's or the musician's talents, the officials in charge of the permits were just ordinary clerks. The most important thing was, that the music did not question the communist party.