Pa|ra|sit, noun; Latin parasitus < Greek parásitos = table companion. With which companions, or should I say companions, am I dealing here and today?
rAff: Oh, that's very kind of you: You've picked the nicest of all definitions! ;) I assume you'd like us to introduce ourselves now. So, I'm rAff and have been the singer of DIE PARASITEN since April 1, 1996.
That sounds like this date wasn't the actual birth of the band. When and under what conditions did it all begin?
rAff: Yes, that is the birthday! :)
Then I would like to know a bit more about the circumstances of the birth. Who was involved, why, and especially how exactly?
rAff: Back then, Laura, Britta, Mone, and I decided to form a band - without really knowing how to do it, as it often is... ;) Bands like Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärzte set a great example for us. So, Mone and Britta bought electric guitars and small combos, we got an old drum kit, and I bought a cheap microphone and a bass amplifier that I sang through. (We didn't even know what a proper PA system was for many years!) April 1, '96 was a Saturday, I believe; we dressed "cool," ate at the fries stand, and then rode our bikes armed with a few cans of beer to the old, converted barn where we initially rehearsed. There's even a photo from that historic day! [see attachment] That was in our hometown Grefrath (near Viersen, close to the Dutch border). At that time, Laura was behind the drums. We didn't have a bass yet. That changed when Isi joined a year later (1997), who was a few years younger than us and boldly claimed during the "casting" that she could play the drums, even though she had never held a stick in her hand before. After she complimented us on our clattering rehearsal recordings that we played for her on cassette (!), she was hired without having played anything for us! :) Laura then took over the bass, which she actually wanted to do from the start. Yes, and then first world hits like "Samstagabend" or "Spießerschweine" were written... :) Whether DIE PARASITEN have existed for 13 or 14 years is a matter of perspective. Since we had the complete, classic lineup (drums, two guitars, bass, vocals) from 1997, we consider that our official start.
Ah yes, the good old days. We were young, rebellious, and wanted to break free from the bourgeois constraints. Or why wasn't a cover band with electronic keyboards formed to play at Grandma's 80th birthday and supplement our too small pocket money?
rAff: We sang in the youth choir. That was enough to impress our grandmas... ;)
Can you today underline it as the right decision to stand in stuffy vaults in front of a sweating crowd instead of singing a few cheerful hymns with Uncle Pater? Which events would you like to erase from memory immediately?
rAff: There are some unpleasant and even disgusting experiences, but we don't want to erase them from our memory, as they are part of the Parasiten story and, in hindsight, are rather amusing...
If these experiences are still so present, surely some of them would be perfect to tell.
rAff: Many overnight stays and the inevitably related people definitely count among them. Oh, and animals, as I just remembered: We had a concert in Linz, and I suddenly woke up at night because I was dreaming of a very realistic kiss and woke my whole band with a loud scream when I realized that a Persian cat named Garfield was licking my face... (the creature was really named that!)
People who undressed in front of the stage are also among the experiences I would rather erase from my memory. Or how a band found it incredibly funny to secretly photograph their genitals with our camera - back when there was no digital photography, the surprise effect was incredibly high when you picked up the developed pictures! ;)
An experience that the locals would surely like to erase from their memory, but we and the accompanying bands found incredibly funny, was my minced meat massacre in a well-known Berlin shop, where we have since been banned... And I could continue writing pages here...
Regarding the macho behavior of pubescent boys who have dyed their hair to be different from others. What makes one try to do it in this environment with an all-girls band? Was that planned from the start, should it stay that way forever, were there no suitable male musicians, or are you just strict feminists?
rAff: No interview in the 14 years has gone by without a similarly phrased question being asked... I still want to answer it one last time. When we founded the band, we didn't really think about the fact that we were all girls. We just gathered our best friends, and what was more important at that time was this DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA DO feeling! We only gradually became aware that we were presenting something exotic with an all-girls band... Nowadays, it's not so extraordinary anymore. Over the years, we've met a lot of girl bands. And in the 21st century, it shouldn't even be a topic in interviews anymore... ;)
I completely agree with you regarding pop bands. However, the punk and hardcore scene is still very much male-dominated. Moreover, some bands have disbanded due to the maternity leave of female members. On May 1, 2010, the last Parasiten concert is supposed to take place. Are there similar reasons for that?
rAff: No, for us, tinnitus, liver cirrhosis, and increasingly longer recovery phases after nights of partying are the reasons for the band's dissolution.
So, no successor bands are planned, solo projects, or any other active connections to music? At least one should keep a door open for a reunion nowadays?
rAff: I almost completely rule out a reunion. There have been people who thought our breakup was just a promotional tactic. I can deny those rumors. Of course, it may happen that we play a few songs for good friends at a party or something similar, but DIE PARASITEN in its current form as an active band will no longer exist. We consciously decided to stop because we don't want the story to gradually fizzle out, with less and less rehearsal and live performances, and then end quietly and without a sound. The matter is simply too important to me. 14 years is no small feat, and it should be honored with a proper exit! The mind says, "It's better this way," and the heart weeps...
Regarding other projects: Nora is already playing in two other bands: PREGNANT (ska punk) and RAGING MANTIS (progressive rock-metal). And I sing in the fairground band A NUCLEAR WAR ON THE DANCEFLOOR (cover songs from Turbonegro to Distillers to the Ramones). Other things are not planned yet. Right now, everything is focused on May 1 and what comes after that - we will surprise ourselves...
You mention Labor Day itself. The big farewell party is taking place at Kulturfabrik Krefeld. What highlights do you have planned, and how does the thought of this last performance feel?
rAff: I have to honestly say, now that the date is approaching, it feels very strange... I mean, we had the band for half our lives! This is my baby!! But as mentioned, we consciously decided on the end, and luckily we knew the definitive date six months in advance, so we could gradually get used to the thought...
Highlights, if you want to call them that, are the many old songs that we are currently trying to get together. Some of them are so dusty that Nora & Jens don't even know them, and we can't play them for them because there are no recordings. And for Laura, Britta, and me, the memories are also coming back only gradually... We sometimes laugh until we cry about our lyrics from back then and about the song structures...
It is of course a special joy and honor for us that SFH, BETONTOD, and PLANLOS are accompanying us on our last journey - all bands with which we have a lot in common! The evening will also be moderated by a former member of a fourth band. More will not be revealed yet... A bittersweet moment for all of us is certainly that we will not be complete that evening, meaning: we cannot bury the band together with all the original PARAS. Of course, Mone will be there and will certainly be roped into a song or two, but unfortunately, Isi cannot be there as she lives in Australia.
My personal wish for that evening is that it doesn't just pass me by and that I manage to consciously absorb every second...
I wish you much success with that endeavor, have a lot of fun that evening, and thank you very much for your patience in answering my questions. Finally, I would like to give you the opportunity to say the last words that have urgently needed to be said for 14 years, but which you have not yet dared to express.
rAff: Thank you for asking the questions and for the good wishes. My last words: I am proud of DIE PARASITEN!!!
