anderswolleck

Most people would describe Rammsteins music as disturbing but if you really get into them with seeing their videos and their stage shows, its actually quite hysterical and clever. You cant take a band too seriously where the lead singer pretends that a firehose is his cock and sprays water all over the audience.

Their latest album is Reise Reise with the single Amerika on it. I got a chance to talk with Rammsteins founder Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein.

Checkout the official website for Rammstein

Daniel Robert Epstein: I heard you live in New York City now. Hows that treating you?

Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein: New York is always good to me which is one of the reasons I moved here two and a half years ago. Its a pleasure to be here.

DRE: Is the rest of the band still in Europe?

RZK: Yeah all the band members are there. I wanted to get away from the band because I needed a break to figure some things out.

DRE: How has the band changed?

RZK: We had a lot of tension going on and I realized I was too controlling so I had to let go of things. Rammstein is a band of democracy and I wanted them to be comfortable. I had to move away to have a different view of the band. Sometimes its important to make mistakes but I had to let them feel like we can do something wrong sometimes.

DRE: What area of New York City do you live in?

RZK: I have a little apartment in Soho.

DRE: Do you ever get recognized on the street?

RZK: Sometimes I do but obviously we look so different onstage. When we are on tour people are much more into things like that. But its been really cool.

DRE: What was the inspiration for the song Amerika?

RZK: America is a subject we thought we should write about because of whats going on the world. We wanted to make it as ironic as possible and put our humor in there. I think the song is about being balanced. Balance is a big part of our lives. America tries to live without balance and its almost like if you love something so much it could lean the wrong way.

DRE: Are you an actual conspiracy theorist? Do you believe that we didnt fly to the moon?

RZK: I find it interesting that those conspiracy guys exist. Its also interesting to hear all the facts about that but I do believe America put men on the moon. The video is really about how manipulative government can be.

DRE: Your song and video for Mein Teil is very disturbing. What does Mein Teil mean in English?

RZK: Its like my tool.

DRE: [laughs] Thats funny.

RZK: Yeah, its from a true story about this guy Armin Meiwes who was looking for someone he could eat. So he was following a guy named, Bernd Jrgen Brandes. Brandes wanted his penis cut off so they could eat it together. They were both eating the penis and they had a lot of nice dinners afterwards. The interesting part is trying to figure out what makes human beings want to eat someone. I am interested in the psychology behind that. Obviously this guy was aiming for love so he had to eat someone to feel like they would stay with him.

DRE: Is the video going to get on American television?

RZK: It played in Europe but I dont know about America.

DRE: Do you guys like to stir up controversy on purpose?

RZK: Provoking people is part of being a rock musician. Its something you have to do.

DRE: What was the point of the video?

RZK: The video went in a totally different way. Obviously we thought we should shoot the whole story but what we did was totally out there anyway. We let everyone from the band perform whatever they wanted for two hours by themselves without knowing what the other guys would do. Everyone performed their own view of the song.

DRE: Where did you shoot the scene where you all were being led around on all fours wearing leashes?

RZK: In Germany. It was funny because we just did it on the street. There were even two small accidents from people looking at us from their cars.

DRE: Would you guys like to have a song that was as popular as Du Hast was in the United States?

RZK: Why not? [laughs]

DRE: I mean that since you guys are so popular in Europe would you like to have as much fame in the US?

RZK: You cant be desperate about things. If it works out then great and if it doesnt we dont worry. Right now we are in a position to not be as desperate as we used to be. Obviously we had a big thing with Du Hast and then the next record didnt do as well here. As a German band we have to tour a lot here. American bands can go over to Europe play ten dates and go back home. We have to tour for five months or so in America. So right now I feel like we are in a position to do our work and if it works here then great and if it doesnt then thats fine too.

DRE: Since youve been living here for a while do you feel more American?

RZK: First of all you learn the language which helps you understand and communicate with people. There are a lot of things I love about America and there are a lot of things I dont. But thats the way it is when you learn any culture. What Ive tried to do is learn as much as I can about America and other cultures to become a better person.

DRE: You are obviously an intelligent person but the perception of you might be that you are a little scary.

RZK: [laughs] Yeah, but the role I play onstage is part of me. But anyone that knows anything about human beings knows that aspect is just one part of someone. The scariest people are the friendliest ones. You have to watch the ones that are only nice onstage.

DRE: When was the last time you got into a fight?

RZK: Its been a long time. When I was 12 or 13 I was really aggressive and my parents did a smart thing and put me into sports. I ended up wrestling for seven years where I would get out all my aggression. I am a very intense person so my moods change quickly and drastically. If I didnt have music to put my aggression into now I dont know what I would do. Maybe I would go back to wrestling.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck