Due to my schedule with school and personal life, I will no longer have the time to be doing live or online shows anymore. I will, however, write album reviews or do text interviews with bands in the future. Thank you to all the artists who gave me their time for the show. I follow many of your very closely in my personal time, and I am thankful to everyone who contributed to the show and the site in any way.

The site will continue to operate and I shall make updates as time permits.

German Electronic-Metal band Treibhaus have been regulars here on Radio Nietzsche, with an in depth text interview with founder Curt Doernberg as well as a full radio special on the group being featured. Now, months after the release of the groups fourth full length studio album “Alphatier”, Curt finally had the time to stop and breathe after the hard promo work and talk to us about his newest creation.

RN: It’s been over a year since our last interview and since then you have been hard at work on the lyrics and music for the new Treibhaus album, “Alphatier”, which you put out just recently on your new label, Danse Macabre. You worked on the lyrics and songs for over 2 years, when did the idea for the album first come to you and describe the two year period where you composed and wrote the songs. What was going on for you in those two years and how did the album come together from a creative perspective?

Curt: “Alphatier” is the first Treibhaus album where I did not give myself a deadline for the release date. My plan was to do a CD which is ready when it is perfect in my eyes – and it doesn’t matter when. The first songs I had written during the time of the mixing and mastering of the previous Treibhaus album “Alarmstufe Rot”. I also had no idea how the album will be at the end or that it will be named “Alphatier”. I wanted to do an album without any specifications from the beginning. I wrote song after song and lyric after lyrics and only the very best have survived to the end.

RN: You personally composed the music for the songs, wrote the lyrics and played almost all the instruments in the recording studio by yourself for “Alphatier”. You took almost 100% of the responsibility for the music on yourself, is there a reason for doing it almost entirely alone when you have a full band at your disposal?

Curt: “Too many cooks spoil the broth”. From the very beginning Treibhaus was my baby and it still is. I am in the lucky position to do everything on my own. That means 100% fun and 100% what I want. I do have a full band to bring Treibhaus on stage because I have two arms and two legs only, but studio recordings are different. The technical standard allows to do everything by one person and do recordings instrument after instrument. This possibility was made for egos like mine .

I also programmed all the drum parts before I asked Michael Wolpers to do the drum recordings for this album. This is something what he can do much better than me because I haven’t played the drums for nearly 6 years and I was not willing to practice that long to be able to play the drums by myself. Michael did such a good job! He played it exactly in the way I had pictured it in my mind. So my advantage here was to bring Michael’s drumming on the album with out working with any samples or trigger. I reached this target to perfection as Michael drummed it perfectly.

RN: The album was recorded in your own sound studio. Tell us the story of your sound studio, and was Alphatier the first album you recorded there?

Curt: I have called my studio “Schall und Rauch Studios”. What is in English like “smoke and mirrors”. Actually my studio is in my living room and this often make people think that this fact means it is not possible to do professional recordings. Everything except the drum-recordings were made at home. For me technical know how and musical understanding are the keywords for something professional. I would be able to write that the recordings were made elsewhere and nobody would care but I don’t – The result speaks for itself. Turn this album up and it will blow you away!

RN: You have a new label now, Danse Macabre instead of your own personal label, Kneeve Records. Tell us how you decided to get involved with Danse Macabre, and how is that paying off for you now after all these years doing it independently on your own label?

Curt: I used to work together with “Danse Macabre Records” from the very first Treibhaus release “Unsterblich”. This and the second release “Feindbild” was a co-release with my own label “Kneeve Records” and “Danse Macabre”. The reason for this was the distribution channels and some other political things. With the third release “Alarmstufe Rot” I tried another company but this was a big mistake because these fuckers were bullshitting me and the CD never really reached the retail stores. I don’t want to talk more about this because my neck is getting thicker as soon I think about it. The “Live in Hannover” album I have released with my company “Rneeve Records” only. It was a limited fan release and available only on our webpage. To cut a long story short: now I am back together with Danse Macabre and still 100% independent.

RN: World famous drummer Michael Wolpers returns to the Treibhaus lineup for the new album, and this time he did something a bit different in studio. There are ‘purely acoustic’ drum signals on this album. You play drums as well, so please tell us what this means and how it effects the album and recordings?

Curt: As I already wrote above, I am more than satisfied with the drum-recordings. Michael did such a good job with his drumming. We chose a recording studio with an extremely huge recording room and recorded all the drum tracks on analog tape. This analog tape recording makes the cymbals and the room microphones sound much more human and warm. This in combination with the typical technical Treibhaus-Electronics and loops is a killer. The complete sound is much more clear and raw at the same time.

RN: The album art for “Alphatier” is very macabre and unlike any other Treibhaus album to date. Tell us about the photo of the human skull taken by Frederic Bozada from Pol Pot’s camps in Cambodia, and why you chose this image to represent the new album rather than the industrial images you used previously.

Curt: I always wanted, and have gotten a union between music, lyrics, sound and artwork. This union exists with “Alphatier” more then ever before. Maybe because I decided to do the artwork by myself, too. This should not sound arrogant or narcissistic. If every creative part comes out of the same brain, the understanding to the complete is more different than if there were many different people involved. The original plan was to ask Frederic Bozada to do the photos from me for the booklet. He already did the live shots for the “Live in Hannover” CD and I liked his work a lot. As we met to discuss the locations and motives for the photo session he showed me his collection of photos he did during the last years from all around the world. I was so impressed and realized that real pictures are much better than posed for the cover artwork. The photos we finally chose for the “Alphatier” cover artwork were personally made by Frederic at the original locations in the former prison “S-21″ of the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and in Quneitra (Syria). The only picture of me Frederic did during the first session the first time we met. This cover artwork fits perfect to the lyrical and musical mood of “Alphatier”.

RN: When we last spoke, you told us that Treibhaus was your baby, your special project. Since the band and the music is very personal to you, tell us how you mix the personal aspects like the songwriting and music and the business aspects like promotions and fans. How do you view and handle each one?

Curt: That has not changed from the last time we spoke to today. I handle it very humanly and it is unspectacular. Treibhaus is no mega act and I am down to earth enough to know that every single fan is a special gift to me. Even if artists are saying they do the music mostly for themselves – without fans and positive feedback no one would survive in this business. I always try to to be as close as possible to the press and my fans but
I never do things I don’t want to do, and I try always to be myself. This maybe sounds like a flowery phrase but it is the truth.

RN: As I mentioned before, you did a lot of the work for “Alphatier” almost completely by yourself, and to me, this is the most ‘complete’ and well mixed Treibhaus album to date. Do you think this is due to you taking more control and being more hands on in all aspects of the music making? And is this blend of electronics and metal what you had envisioned the band would eventually become?

Curt: First of all I am very happy that you see it like this. It shows me that you took time to understand this CD and you are absolutely right. This again is a big step forward to the perfect crossover mix between all different electronic and metal styles I like to combine in my music. At the same time I am happy that there are still enough musical possibilities on my mind to create the musical future of Treibhaus without stopping on the spot. Finally, I don’t want to do the same album again!

RN: Treibhaus has many fans over here in America and Canada, can you tell us the meanings of the songs on the album? And do you have a personal favourite song from “Alphatier” or any of the past albums? If so, why is that song your personal favourite?

Curt: Same question – same answer: All my songs are in a special way my favorites . But you are right, after time goes by there are just a few songs that become all time favorites. If there is a new release it is hard for me to name a favorite song because it depends on my personal mood. The album “Alphatier” is about honesty, truth and the real life. It is accusatory and motivating at the same time. Sometimes I exaggerate a bit and sometimes I had to defuse my opinion a little to leave enough space for everybody’s thoughts and experiences.

RN: A big part of getting a label is the promotion and getting the bands name out there. What sort of special promotions has Treibhaus done with Danse Macabre for the release of Alphatier, and can we expect any cool promo stuff in the future from you?

Curt: Word of mouth and online promotion are the keywords. I have built up a “Treibhaus network” in the last few years where I can do the promotion very easily and cost effective by myself. I also have a very close relationship to all the non-commercial media like radio stations, print- and online magazines. They give me such a great support and I give them back the same as best I can. This is a win win situation for both sides without depending on the music industry and their questionable rules. I hate this, and I am very proud to do everything absolutely independent.

RN: And what about live shows? You guys did a bit of touring for the release of “Live in Hannover” and “Alarmstuffe Rote”. Will you be touring around Europe for the new album?

Curt: We used to play some shows with Treibhaus in the past but the major priority of Treibhaus is to produce CDs in the studio. This is what I want to do. Writing songs, record and produce them in the way I like to do music. Here I can do everything by my own and that is the most fun. There are no shows planed yet but I will never say never.

As I mentioned before, Treibhaus is not a part of the big industry and the situation in the live-business in Germany for bands the size of Treibhaus is very bad anyway. Treibhaus is too big and especially too loud for club gigs, and too small for the big stages and venues. We have a lot of “pay to play” shit going on here in Germany and this is something what I never will accept. Also the live business is a political thing and ruled by the music industry. They don’t like to work with a one man show like Treibhaus, but I don’t care. In this case it is better I don’t do concerts and just have fun with writing songs.

RN: As the fans of Treibhaus know, you love body art and have some pretty extensive tattooing done by none other than your good friend and Treibhaus guitarist Martin Blankenburg! Have you gotten any new tattoos recently, and any plans for more in the future?

Curt: I would love to get more tattoos in the future but I have to economize a bit with the free space on my body because there is not much left! I’m going to keep the leftover space for special occasions and the ideas that will come for sure. Most of my tattoos have a close connection with good and bad experiences in my life. I am pretty sure that there will come some more good things in my life – all the bad I have already used up!

RN: You are also a big football fan, supporting 1.FC Kaiserslautern and your home team, Hannover 96 to which you have season tickets. When you are at the games or out in public do you ever get recognized as an artist? How is the local exposure and recognition for the band in general?

Curt: I used to have season tickets for Hannover 96 many, many years ago and I got recognized as the front man of Treibhaus sometimes. This year Hannover 96 is playing their best season in history, so in the stadium it is all about football and so nobody cares about a musician in the audience. I love to watch football a lot and hope that Kaiserslautern will stay in the 1. Bundesliga and Hannover will make it to play in the European competition.

RN: And what about your exposure here in North America? I know many fans of the band here in Canada and America. Have you gotten more responses since we last spoke, and how have the international fans of Treibhaus responded to the new album?

Curt: The only place where I get a fan response from the other side of the ocean is the world wide web. It makes me very proud that there are Treibhaus fans all over the world and that they like to listen to the songs I have written, played and recorded here in my world. Also the fact that non Germans like songs with German lyrics is surprising to me again and again. The response regarding “Alphatier” is positive through and through. Because this interview is in English I like to take the chance to say thanks to all of the non Germans all over the world that give me their great support! You let me feel very special and you are the reason for me to keep going year by year.

RN: Now that the band has a label, do you think it will be eventually possible in the next few years to do a North American tour, even just a small one?

Curt: To be honest, I don’t think so – it is so far away . But more important for me is the fact that there are Treibhaus fans already. This makes me feel very special!

RN: And lastly, where do you hope for the band to go from here?

Curt: Straight forward on the path where Treibhaus is already going. I hope that many people all over this planet will have the chance to listen to Treibhaus and that the Treibhaus community will grow constantly. With Treibhaus I have now achieved more than I had ever dare to dream of, so I can look very relaxed into future.

RN: Thank you so much for your time, Curt. It’s always a pleasure!

Curt: I have to say thank you! You are a part of Treibhaus! And this is my pleasure!

Cheers and respect,

Curt

http://www.treibhaus-sound.de
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/treibhaus2

An electronic military march is the introduction to the fourth studio ablum of Electronic-Metal group Treibhaus. They began gaining notice 6 years ago with the release of their first album, Unsterblich, which was quickly followed up by Feinbild in 2006 and Alarmstufe Rot in 2008, all released on front man Curt Doernberg’s own label, Neeve Records. They didn’t stop there, putting out Live in Hannover less than a year later and for a band who releases most of their albums so closely together it’s a strange thing for the quality of the sounds and lyrics to actually go up with every effort, and with Treibhaus that was the case and a promising sign for the future.

Feedback has been good, with reviews of their work from online magazines and zines usually hovering around the 8/10 mark (save for their first album which received a 6.5) and to me that is a mark that is well deserved. The vocals have not changed much from their first effort, Unsterblich, with front man Doernberg’s menacing voice leading the charging guitars, thundering bass and pulsing electronic beats that have been ever present in Treibhaus’ music since their conception. The only question I’ve ever had is: when will the mixing come to fruition? Unsterblich was more of an experiment, raw and untamed. Feinbild was more professional, polished but very electronic in its tones. Alarmstufe Rot was more of a harmony between guitar and electronic beats and for the last 2 years I’ve wondered where this experiment would take their music, and with the arrival of Alphatier on the bands new label Dance Macabre that question has been answered.

Alphatier to me, is the definitive mix of electronic beats and metal guitars as far as Treibhaus is concerned. This is something that has been in the works for a long time and now, with the introduction of a larger label behind them in Danse Macbre the band is finally realizing it’s true potential. The music (as usual all written by Doernberg) is excellent and the beats memorable. From the opening rain washed electronic military beat that is Einführung to the end and Helden von Gestern there is hardly a pause in the tempo save for the one slower, more electronic song on the album: Scheiss Auf Dich, which has an almost poetic elegance to its sound. If you are already a fan of Treibhaus then there is no question you should be picking this one up, and if not, then give it a chance if you like hard, German Electronic-Metal, mixed to near perfection.

Treibhaus have a motto: “If you love Treibhaus, give it your friends – If you hate it, give to your enemies!”

In this case, I wouldn’t give it to my enemies, they would probably love it far too much.

Final rating: 9/10

On November 20th, 2010 Slick Idiot and Mona Mur hit Toronto as part of their Canadian tour and played a fantastic show at Club Neutral. Radio Nietzsche was there at the show and did an audio interview with Mona Mur and En Esch, so stay tuned for that in the coming weeks.

Thanks to Mona Mur and Slick Idiot for the great show and fantastic hospitality; We hope to see you back in Canada very soon!

Feuerengel – Geist
Ameisen – Geist
Mind Over Matter – Slick Idiot
120 Tage – Mona Mur & En Esch
Der Rote Stein – Butzemann
In The Middle of a Kiss – Markus Winter
Eiszeit Im Paradies – Hertzton
Der Hofgang – Infamis
Abendrot (W/Tilo Wolf) – Joachim Witt
Intro – Danse Macabre – Shino
Intermezzo1 – Falling Spring – Shino
My Mistress – Shino
Intermezzo2 – Aspiration – Shino
Outro – Rebirth – Shino

Preach/Pervert – KMFDM
Anarchy (Payola Mix) – KMFDM
Save Me – KMFDM
A Drug Against War – KMFDM
Hau Ruck – KMFDM
Tohuvabohu – KMFDM
Stars and Stripes – KMFDM
Sucks – KMFDM
Bitches – KMFDM
Bait and Switch – KMFDM

Überflüssig – WIZO
Goldene Türme – Slime
Lasse Redn – Die Ärzte
Leben Ist Tödlich – Die Toten Hosen
Crash Test Nazi – Outsiders Joy
Was Ich Mag – Outsiders Joy
Seele Voller Narben – Outsiders Joy
Hoersturz – Outsiders Joy
Yes We Can – Outsiders Joy
Neue Braune Welle – Outsiders Joy
Warnschild – Outsiders Joy
Nelken in Weiss – Outsiders Joy

Hello, Everyone!

Cologne based Punk group Outsiders Joy are getting set to release their third album “Yes We Can” this upcoming Friday, October 15th, and to mark the occasion lead singer and guitarist Party (or Michael Festag as he is known during work hours) has done several interviews for Radio Nietzsche. The text interview is already available in the interviews section, so check that one out! The audio interview will be the focus of the next show, just in time for the release this Friday, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out the interview and visit the band, drop them a line (Party speaks great English, despite what he may claim!) at their official site, Myspace page or find them on Facebook! Until Friday, take care and support German music!

http://www.outsidersjoy.de/

http://www.myspace.com/outsidersjoy

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/OUTSIDERS-JOY/188784537790

http://www.punk.de/

A group of friends fascinated with punk music, standing against extreme right-wing ideals and criticizing the government and unfair social issues with wit, humour and satire – their name is Outsiders Joy and they hail from Köln, Germany. The band made of up of Michael Festag aka Party (vocals, guitar), Örny (bass) and Falte (drums) have come a long way in 15 years. They singed with German label Hulk Räckorz, home to punk giants WIZO and run by WIZO manager Fratz Thum, as well as released 2 albums (“Grosse graue Männe” and “Sonnenbankgebräunter Anabolikamutant”) and are currently preparing for their third studio release “Yes We Can”.

I was able to chat with Michael (also known as Party) about the band, his home town, the German punk scene and their new album. This is a great look into the German punk world and the mind of one of the coolest punk bands out there, so check it out!

Radio Nietzsche: Hi, Party! The first thing I want to talk about is actually the band’s name. Your songs are in German, but your band name is in English! What is the story and meaning behind “Outsider’s Joy”?

Party: First I want so say “Hallo & guten Tag” to all subscribers of Radio Nietzsche. It’s so cool to do an interview for a Canadian radio show as a
German band with mostly German lyrics! Well, the band name. For sure there’s a story and when we chose the name we thought it’s absolutely important for a punk rock band that the band name has a meaning. Today I think it’s much cooler to have a stupid name without any sense, but we were young, motivated and committed and we wanted to change our old name into something special. And it’s really special, because it has a big mistake in it. We wrote “Outsiders Joy” without an apostrophe, which is wrong, but we didn’t know any better with our bad “school English”!

When I started the band in summer of 1995 I named the band “Die Gebrüder Schlimm”, which means “The Brothers Bad”. It’s a parody of “Die Gebrüder Grimm”, in English “The Brothers Grimm”. This name related to our first song “Rafunzel”, which is a parody of the fairy tale “Rapunzel” of the Brothers Grimm. When Örny joined the band in the winter of 1995 we got more serious and changed the band name into “Crawlvirus”, but it sounded to much like “metal”, so Örny had the great idea of “Outsiders Joy”.

Well, some weeks ago we played a show with a band from the USA called Majority Lost and we asked them what they thought about our band name. First they didn’t know what it should mean. But then we told them, that it means something like “it’s fun to be an outsider” and then they said: “Makes sense!” So now everybody may understand the meaning of Outsiders Joy, even though the apostrophe is missing. We grew up in a very small village, there were no punks and punk rock-loving people. So we felt like outsiders. And we loved it. It was good being not the same as everyone and we had our fun in the edge of the society. I don’t know why we chose an English band name. We do not worry about that. Maybe it’s not clever, because most of our songs are in German, but who cares? We are Outsiders Joy for nearly 15 years and everybody who does not like it should go to shit!

Radio Nietzsche: How did you first get into punk music, and were you always musically inclined from a young age? And you have a very interesting nickname: Party. What (if any) is the story behind that?

Party: I came into punk music when I was 14. I met some punks in the neighbouring town, listened their music and liked their style. I became interested more and more in the scene. As I said, we lived in a small village without punks, so it was something new, it was exciting and I was impressed by the device “being against everything”; That was to my fancy!

Well, my musical career started at the age of four. My parents wanted a musical education, so I learned to play the glockenspiel. When I was enrolled in
school I started playing the acoustic guitar for three years. But after changing the teacher I didn’t like it anymore, because he only wanted me to play classical music. Later I tried the keyboards, but it really sucked and after that I didn’t play any instrument until I started the band.

My nickname relates to my last name. Everybody thinks it’s because I’m partying every night and you can start the best parties with me. But far out, I’m
boring, I really suck and it’s only because of my last name, “Festag”, which can be translated into English as “Party”. I’m so sorry for having no thrilling and spectacular story about my nickname, Ätsch!

Radio Nietzsche: Tell us a little bit about the history of punk music in Germany, some of the famous bands and specifically the ones that influenced
you and Outsiders Joy.

Party: Hm, history of punk music in Germany… Well, I think I was not born when punk rock came to Germany. I only know the bands of that time and it’s still unexplained which band was the first German punk band. Bands like Toxoplasma, Slime or Hass could have been one of the first, maybe OHL, I don’t know. I like some of these bands and I think they influenced the German punk scene a lot and created the style which we call today “Deutschpunk”. Punk in Germany was a counter-movement to the majority society, it was against the establishment, against policy, teachers, parents, against everything. Later it became more and more mainstream by bands like Die Toten Hosen or Die Ärtze. Most bands are still in the underground, but some bands got famous and became big rock stars. And punk is not the subculture like it was in the 80s. It’s still the dream of anarchy, but meanwhile it’s a fashion culture, too.

Famous punk bands in Germany are, like I said, Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärtze. But today they are not really punk. They started as punk rock bands, but
by getting bigger and bigger they changed into rock bands. I think it’s ok, especially Die Ärzte are still good, but maybe punk rock and success are a bad match. I don’t know. If you have No. 1 hits and several millions in your banking account, maybe you don’t have the feeling of the protest anymore. Who cares? Do what you want! That’s the meaning of punk, too!

Other famous and great punk bands in Germany are Slime, WIZO or Die Terrorgruppe. They are/were not so commercial like Die Ärtze or Die Toten Hosen, but they sell lots of records, not millions, but several ten thousands, maybe hundred thousands. So they are really big bands in Germany. For example WIZO are well known outside of Germany, too. I think you guys in Canada must know them; they released two records on Fat Wreck Chords. And I think we are most influenced by WIZO. I mean every bit of music I listen to does influence me in a way. And that is why I love music. There are so many different styles and feelings. You can take the best of everything and let it influence in your band. Many people say we sound similar to WIZO, which is really a big compliment! But first of all we do our own thing. We do the music we want to do and we don’t try to imitate someone or something. We are Outsiders Joy! But there could be worse comparisons, so it’s ok.

Radio Nietzsche: And what of the current punk scene? Tell us what it is about, the people, the places, the message of the music and the whole ‘world’ of punk in Germany.

Party: I think 2010 was a good year for punk rock in Germany. There were two great reunions of two important German punk bands, WIZO and Slime. It’s good for the punk scene that these bands are back on stage. Here in Germany we have tons of punk bands. Some are really great and some succeed in business. But by the comeback of Slime and WIZO more people become focused on punk rock again. So I think every punk band in Germany avails oneself of that.

One problem in Germany is that the kids mostly go to festivals and not to small clubs, where unknown punk bands usually play. It’s really hard for these bands to find an audience. I think they deserve more attention for their music. So please come to these shows, please visit the next youth center and support the local punk bands. It’s more personal than a big festival. You can feel and smell the bands, and there are no barriers in front of stage, no security and the beer is much cheaper. Isn’t that an argument? Haha!

What can I say about the message? Hm, it’s not so easy, cause punk rock in Germany is split. Since some time we have the so-called gray area, we call it
Grauzone. There are some bands which do not dissociate themselves unambiguously from the (political) right scene, tolerate “right” audiences at their
concerts and are absolutely unpolitical. We do not accept this; we want a punk rock scene without “right” trends. No tolerance for the gray area! Punk
must remain free of Nazis! Because this was always quite an important message of the punk rock, the fight against right-wing radicalism, fascism and right-wing violence.

Radio Nietzsche: The majority of the population here are English speakers, and while they may like listening to German lyrics, they don’t always get the entire message. Tell us about some of the messages/songs of Outsiders Joy, what are you singing about and is this message important to you?

Party: Well, the lyrics and their messages are the most important thing in our songs. So for me it’s an affair of the heart to tell you about that. You can say the lyrics are the foundation of our music. A good song must have a good text. Our lyrics are cynical and sarcastic, socio-critical and partly polemic, sometimes in-your-face and always with a great deal of irony. One song, for instance, it’s called “Crash Test Nazi”, presents the perfect solution on how to recycle Nazis. Another one, called “Hörsturz” (in English: “Hearing loss”) describes the consequences of the unbearable pop music! “Seele voller Narben” (“Soul full of scars”) is about pedophilia. “Was ich mag” (“What I like”) criticizes the long-time existing and ever-increasing trend within the globalized economy, in which fat managers become even fatter and richer, while the employment rate goes down. We have songs about the characters of Germany’s government, about racism, fascism, and right wing radicalism, which unfortunately never die, about religion, some everyday stories and human tragedies and last but not least some love songs.

And we sing some songs in English. But they do not have any message, cause our English really sucks!

Radio Nietzsche: You come from Köln, a very historical place and neighboured by Düsseldorf and Leverkusen. Tell us about your home city, the music scene, and the culture.

Party: Man, what are you saying? You cannot use Cologne, Düsseldorf and Leverkusen in a sentence!! You can’t be serious! Hehe! Well, Köln is the nicest city in the world and it’s really great to live here. Against it Düsseldorf and Leverkusen are absolutely boring and shit! There is a big rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf, Leverkusen does not really exist! Leverkusen is dirty and ugly; there is the Bayer factory, which is a big concern in Germany. They produce pharmaceutical, for example the headache pills Aspirin. That’s all they have! And a soccer club. But who wants to know about that? Leverkusen is simply unimportant!

The rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf has many facets: The Cologne football club 1. FC Köln against the Düsseldorf football club Fortuna
Düsseldorf. Kölsch, the beer from Cologne against Alt, the beer from Düsseldorf and Alaaf, the battle-cry of Cologne carnival against Helau, the battle-cry of Düsseldorf carnival. A lot is not meant so seriously; However, since the Middle Ages until this day there has been a quarrel over and over again between both towns which the Rhine (the Rhine is the river which flows through these towns) connects and also distinguishes at the same time because they lie on different watersides.

In Köln we also have the dome, which is a very historical building and which was not bombed in the Second World War. The surrounding area of the dome is one of few parts of the town which was not destroyed during the war. The rest of the town was in ruins and had to be rebuilt again after the war. So Köln is not visually the nicest town because most buildings had to be built anew, but Köln has charm, a good character and an open heart. This makes this town so charming and worth living in.

We have many clubs in Cologne and still a punk scene. But most of these clubs deals with “Pay to play”, which means you have to pay money before you can do a show with your band in these clubs. That’s fucking me up, it really sucks! There are some bigger venues where the international acts play. Bands like Bad Religion, NOFX, Anti-Flag, No Use For A Name and so on, but these clubs are much too big for the local punk bands. So they must decide: Either they accept “Pay to play”, or they just play not in Cologne. It’s not fair, but that’s the general situation.

Much better than playing punk shows in Cologne it is to go to the stadium of 1. FC Köln, watch football with the great Lukas Podolski and have some beer and a bratwurst!

Radio Nietzsche: You released your last album “Sonnenbankgebräunter Anabolikamutant” on Hulk Räckorz. Tell us about Hulk Räckorz, Punk.de (where you release your albums and merchandise) and how Outsiders Joy came to be on the label and the benefits so far.

Party: Well, I think Hulk Räckorz is one of the best known punk rock labels in Europe. Fratz Thum is the owner of that company and also the manager of WIZO. He started the label 20 years ago to release the records of WIZO and step by step it succeeded like hell! Beside WIZO he released some other German punk bands, for example The Lost Lyrics or Toxic Walls. He sold their merchandise, records and other stuff. And he was ahead of the times. When the internet reached the populace he saved the domain www.punk.de for his company. Wow, what a clever move! His merchandise-shop grew and I think one secret of the success was the domain punk.de.

The story of how we came on Hulk Räckorz is not as spectacular as you wish, hehe. I mean, I could tell you some sweet lies that we slept weeks in the
rain in front of Fratz’s house, begging for a record deal, but the truth is very simple; When we recorded our album “Sonnenbankgebräunter Anabolikamutant” we didn’t have a label, but we didn’t want to release it by our own like we did with our first record “Grosse graue Männer”. We always wanted to be on Hulk Räckorz. We didn’t know if it could be possible, but we saw not really other options. We wanted Hulk Räckorz and not any other label! So when we finished the record, I called Fratz and told him about it. He seemed not to be very interested but he said I should send him one copy.

After a few weeks I tried to call him again in order to know if he liked the record or not. But Fratz was on holidays and not at office. So I waited more few weeks and then I got him on the phone. He didn’t really know who I was and it seemed that he didn’t even listen to the record! But he promised me he would check it out, and the next few days and after my call he told me that he liked the album. Then he came with his wife Vera to one of our shows and after that he wanted to release the record. Yeah! Great! We really made it on Hulk Räckorz! Awesome!

Man, I don’t talk about the benefits. But be sure, we don’t become rich and big rock stars, haha! Everybody in the band has to work to be able to finance his life, because the income from the music is not sufficient by far. Regrettably!

Radio Nietzsche: The big news for you guys is that you are now releasing a brand new album. Tell us about it.

Party: Yeah, we have a new album! It’s called “Yes we can”, which is a “leitmotif” of our times where so many things turn out to be difficult, unjust, meaningless or just plain stupid. The phrase gives hope, opens our eyes and makes us strong. Yes we can! Like Barack Obama said. We can do something against the government, their policy and the crisis that’s all around us. We can change something; we don’t just have to stand things as they are. We can rule this world and still have fun! We can, if we want to! So get your asses up and stand up for it! That’s a message, isn’t it?

The record has 17 songs, 15 in German and two in English. I already talked about the lyrics, they are vicious and intelligent. Musically we play fast punk rock with beautiful, catchy melodies that just stay in your ear. By no means monotonous, though, as they vary with mid-tempo, funk, good old waltz and even a ballad! And we have some guest instruments on the album: organ, piano, accordion and alto horn. That’s really awesome, I like it very much.

What else can I say? Well, I think you guys must have this one, it’s really good! The release date is October, 15th, 2010, and for sure it comes out on Hulk Räckorz again. Oh yes, I’ve got something more to tell you: The record comes as a CD and as a strictly limited LP with red vinyl! That’s so cool, it’s beautiful! And the artwork is awesome. It has our chancellor Angela Merkel and our foreign minister Guido Westerwelle on the cover, attacked by two punks with a beer bottle and a newspaper in their hands and on the back Mrs. Merkel is cut by a broken piece of glass and Mr. Westerwelle sticks the newspaper in his mouth. It’s really funny. And it’s painted very well! Have a look at www.punk.de; you guys will be stoked!

Radio Nietzsche: Will you be touring this fall to promote it? And if so, tell us about the shows you will be playing and your plans for after the
release.

Party: Fore sure we’re going to promote the new album! We can’t wait to play the new songs and we are so excited if the crowd will like it. It’s always fascinating, cause nobody knows if the new stuff will be well received. So we are looking forward to the next shows and we hope our new record will be a big hit.

Today we celebrate the album release and also the “15 years of Outsiders Joy jubilee”. Yeah, we’re doing this shit for 15 years, it’s unbelievable! On the occasion of our 15 years of existence it can’t be better than to have a new record. The show tonight is in Siegburg near Cologne and beside us there will play two more great Hulk Räckorz Bands: Rockwohl Degowski and The Savants. So don’t miss the opportunity to be part of it. Take the next plane to Cologne and watch a great punk rock show tonight!

We have booked some more shows until the end of the year and we are trying to get more. Booking is not so easy, but I’m sure we will play lots of concerts in the near future to get everybody informed about the new Outsiders Joy album!

Radio Nietzsche: What about a North American tour for you guys? I know you have fans here overseas, but have you ever visited or tried to come over to play before, and do you think it’s realistic to do so in the future?

Party: Oh yeah, that would be awesome! It’s a dream we’ve always had, touring through the USA and Canada and also Japan. Hopefully this dream comes true one day. But for the moment it’s not realistic, because it’s too expensive. I don’t know if we have some fans overseas. The point is, that not enough people would come to our shows. The flights are so expensive; we would have to tour for several month to get the money back, if it would even work out.

Consequently we would have to quit our jobs, and we cannot afford to quit our jobs, it sucks! But who knows, if the new record will be No. 1 in the billboard charts, I think we would come as soon as possible to kick your guys asses!

Radio Nietzsche: Any famous last words for all of us here in North America?

Party: “Et kütt wie et kütt und et hätt noch immer jot jejange!”

That’s the second and third article of the Cologne constitution. You don’t understand? Ok, it’s in Cologne dialect. It means: “don’t be afraid of the future and learn from the past.” Wise words for the end. Think about it!

Well, thank you so much for your support. I hope everybody will like our new album and maybe some will try to get it via punk.de or interpunk or itunes
or whatever! See you all soon and “Auf Wiedersehen” from Cologne!

http://www.outsidersjoy.de/

http://www.myspace.com/outsidersjoy

http://punk.de/index.php

Roter Schnee – Feindflug
Panzerlied – Jesus and the Gurus
The Pride of Switzerland – Jesus and the Gurus
Frya Frisena – Tyske Ludder
Narben – Tyske Ludder
March – Tyske Ludder
Panzer – Tyske Ludder