Broilers Interview - Ramtata May 23, 2011
Questions for the Broilers
Andy: Wonderful, the recording device is working, we want to introduce you first...
Broilers: Oh no, ohhh and aaahhhs...
Andy: Alright, we'll skip the introduction. You are the Broilers, and that should suffice at this point. You probably know that you have a name by now, right?
Broilers: Of course, we haven't missed that, that's clear. However, the negative voices are surfacing again, which is really annoying. We've been making music together for a long time, and we thought we had really come into our own since the last album "Vanitas". Pretty much everyone should know by now that our roots are clearly in punk rock and not in any other areas. The people out there have only heard one track from the new album and are making comparisons to Tokio Hotel! Seriously, what an absurd comparison! What do we have to do with TH?
Andy: I wouldn't even see that as criticism. I think it's more envy. And with the current success, that won't be absent either. But honestly, why do you get upset about it? As long as you stand behind your thing, it shouldn't be a hindrance.
Broilers: That's true, you have a point, but it's just frustrating. Because it's almost always done anonymously. Mostly over the internet and in various guestbooks. You can read about 50,000 positive things, and you take those in. But when there are insults or abuse in the postings, we have a problem with that.
If someone were to criticize the music, that's one thing, but when you're accused of not being authentic anymore or of aiming for sellout and commercialism, that's really annoying. The people who let such things out are all those who have never spoken a word with us. If they knew us and realized what we stand for, they wouldn't say such things at all. Every tone and every note we play is absolutely authentic.
It's now clear that we also have success with it, but it's not like we've been aiming for that, after all, we've been doing this for 17 years. And then to be accused of selling out or commercializing is just outrageous!.
Andy: Every musician, really every one who can hold a guitar, dreams of earning a few euros with their music, or having some kind of "commercial" success. I don't see what's wrong with that.
Broilers: "Commercialism" is often used as a curse word, but anyone who does something with passion dreams of being able to live from it. Whether it's a painter painting a picture, or you're a musician... or God knows what. What we do is truly pure passion. The people standing in front of the stage and celebrating us often have the more pleasant life. They have their jobs, come to the concerts, and celebrate. In contrast, we still have our regular jobs and then the band, which is a lot of work too. And just from that, one should notice that we are not looking to sell out... but we also don't want to see everything negatively, somehow we're just whining here... we're not the Broilers, we're the Whiners.
Andy: So we have clarified the stylistic question, you are not a punk rock band, you are an EMO band? Joking aside. Let's get back to the current single, which is called "Harter Weg". And personally, I was quite surprised that it made it into the charts relatively quickly. So here’s my question: Was there a targeted effort towards that? Not in the sense that one consciously aims to get into the charts. A lot of time and money has been invested.
Broilers: Seriously, basically the single is considered an appetizer for the upcoming album, and to make a chart entry today, you don't need to sell that many units anymore, because everyone knows that the music industry is still doing anything but well, as people are pulling almost everything from the internet anyway. But it would be great if people would support us and buy the album "Santa Muerte". And the pre-release single "Harter Weg" was not conceived as a single; we already had all the tracks ready and collectively decided to release this piece because it describes our upcoming album very well.
Andy: I have to say, I really like the single, and it's great that we are rehearsal room neighbors, which gives me the privilege of catching some things from time to time. But what can fans expect once they have the album in hand? Monotony or rather a genre mix? Or maybe something completely new?
Broilers: It's just logical that the record sounds the way it does. I would really prefer if you already knew the record, and I think you will also get a promo of it, which would simplify things. Just so much, anyone who likes the album "Vanitas" will love the new album.
It's even such that it’s incredibly fun to listen to the album, which is not something you encounter every day. But it has 4 years of work in it, just the lyrics and arrangements alone. Right after the studio stay, that wasn't possible at first, but now it’s our favorite album, and when you read what kind of crap is sometimes written in the guestbooks, it makes it even more fun to listen back, because we are all completely convinced of what we have done.
Andy: So as a form of self-motivation?
Broilers: Definitely. To come back to that, it really sucks that you get torn apart before anyone even knows the album, but on the other hand, you have to polarize, otherwise it gets boring...
Andy: Let's talk about the work in the studio, which was probably very intense. How was it? Were there any frictions among each other or was it more harmonious?
Broilers: No, not at all. As a band, we worked harmoniously and well together, except with the producers, who could drive you up the wall with their stoic calm. During the studio time itself, we were together in a studio in Münsterland for a month in close quarters and really finished the album in peace. It was simply a concentrated and harmonious collaboration, and you will be able to hear that on the new album.
Andy: Did you have a pre-production for the album, or did you just go into the studio and start there?
Broilers: No, no, we had already done a pre-production, just to see how the producer and the band fit together. Fortunately, it worked out, even though the good man was very calm... disgustingly calm even, which can really drive me up the wall (Sammy)
Andy: Another topic that interests me. How did the label contract with JKP (the label of Die Toten Hosen) come about?
Broilers: We have always been fans of Hosen, and they are very important to us regarding our musical development. Basically, the Hosen are to blame for us even forming a band. This happened after the release of "Learning English". The contact itself only came years later, after I (Sammy) sent the Hosen my design portfolio to design the band shirts. And as luck would have it, they were just in need of a designer. So I first worked as a designer for them for 1.5 - 2 years. That was the starting shot for the Hosen contact.
They really took notice of us through a Stahlwerk concert that we completely sold out. That made them sit up and take notice.
Andy: Very cool, so one thing leads to another. Now about the tour. You have a headliner tour coming up, several festival appearances, and you had a show a few weeks ago at the Düsseldorf Tube (200 people), which sold out within minutes. What type of concerts do you prefer? The big gigs where you are miles apart, or rather the smaller ones?
Broilers: We consciously position ourselves relatively close together on larger stages, so we are not far apart. And both are somehow cool. The small club gigs, just because of the closeness to the audience and that authenticity, but it’s also great to stand on festival stages and see the wall of people going wild. It's simply indescribable.
Andy: But it would definitely be in your interest to repeat something like the Tube. That would also be very suitable as a fan club meeting?
Broilers: Definitely. It’s important for us to maintain that closeness, just to have a beer or two with the people, but understand that at large concerts where you play in front of 3000 people, that’s unfortunately not possible. You’re already exhausted before you even play a show. We used to sell our merch ourselves, or we would stand at the booth after the show to maintain contact. That’s no longer possible today. Everyone wants something from you, which is absolutely understandable.
Andy: And that's probably also what the so-called fans, who don’t know you at all, accuse you of. Arrogance and aloofness. One should not forget how exhausting that can be?
Broilers: Yes, exactly, that's what we meant. It's the same with the backstage area. When we are on the road continuously for three weeks, you are grateful for every square meter you have. You’re glad when you don’t have to share it with other bands, which has nothing to do with arrogance.
Andy: I can totally understand that, because one must not forget that it is really hard work. And that you need a bit of privacy should be clear to everyone. And I have also noticed that you are anything but shy of the audience; you still hang out at the smaller club concerts, which I personally think is great.
Broilers: Definitely, that’s always fun. But somehow we also have a bit of fear that it might not be like that anymore. And that would really be a shame. A Campino, for example, certainly doesn’t have only nice moments in life, because one should not forget that we are also just humans who want to have fun. But fortunately, we are not at that point yet!
Andy: Not yet, what is not can still become. We are slowly coming to the end, and I have something on my mind. The city of Düsseldorf recently hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and suddenly there was a lot of media coverage about promoting young Düsseldorf bands. After the ESC, of course, everything has faded again. Now you as a band have a completely different name than God knows who. If you were to be promoted as a flagship band of the city of Düsseldorf to help or support the local scene, what would you do for that?
Broilers (Iris): Rehearsal rooms... clearly. Much more needs to be done, it’s outrageous what is sometimes offered, and too little is being done about it. We would also like to actively participate in that.
Andy: That’s great. There’s an initiative, I would like to send you a link, and it would be awesome if you could support that.
Broilers: Yes, sure, please do that, we will see how we can get involved.
Andy: Yes, super cool.... Okay, that’s it... Thank you very much for the interview. We will definitely see each other a few more times...
Broilers: Thank you for that!!!!!!!
