Q: You have been touring in Europe for four weeks now. How has the tour been so far?
B: So far, the tour has been going very well. We also had a few really good concerts in Spain. There weren't that many people there, but the shows were very good.
C: We played ten concerts with Pipes & Pints. That was a lot of fun
and today is the last concert with Heartbreak Stereo from Finland, with whom we also played a total of six concerts together.
B: In a good week, we will play with Hudson Falcons.
Q: Is it difficult for you to share the stage with different bands?
B: It’s wonderful to play with the mentioned bands. Usually, we play a few gigs together, and we know most of the bands, so it’s very pleasant. We’ve known Heartbreak Stereo, for example, for five years. We did our first European tour with them.
C: Most of the bands are friends of ours, so it’s a lot of fun to see each other again and spend a good time together.
B: They are good bands we play with. Heartbreak Stereo is great, Pipes & Pints are fantastic.
Q: Through your tours in Europe, you have gotten to know many countries and many clubs. Do you have a favorite country or a favorite club?
B: I really like the Czech Republic. Nothing against the beer in Germany, but I like Czech beer even more.
We landed in Europe a week before the tour started and were then in the Czech Republic. Two days before the tour began, we were in Budweis and did a brewery tour there. We drank so much fresh beer. It was insane! But that can only happen before the tour; after the tour, you’re just too exhausted for that.
You also asked about our favorite clubs. Wild at Heart is right at the top of the list.
C: Yes, absolutely. Wild at Heart is awesome.
B: We play at Wild at Heart on every tour! That’s a given. The Tiki Heart, right next door, is also wonderful. The people here are fantastic. There’s no club where you have a shorter soundcheck. You go on stage, turn on the guitar, and bam, you can already leave, and the sound is perfect.
Sometimes you’re in clubs where someone is at the controls who has no idea. The drum soundcheck takes forever. They check the bass drum for over 10 minutes. You really think you should just sit down at the controls yourself.
Here at Wild at Heart, it’s very professional. Everyone knows what they have to do.
Q: That must also be more relaxing for the bands.
B: An hour of soundcheck means an hour of not drinking and an hour of not eating.
I sometimes have problems if I eat something shortly before our performance. When your stomach is full and you have to sing, you just lack the strength and the breath to do it the way you normally do.
It’s very pleasant when it goes like it does here. Short soundcheck, then food, and then you have two hours of break.
Q: Sometimes you have very long drives to the next gig. I think you must sometimes be very tired and worn out. How do you motivate yourselves to put on a good show?
B: Red Bull and coffee and a few beers.
This is our seventh tour through Europe. By now, we know a lot of people here and many clubs. When you arrive tired somewhere and meet your friends again, whom you haven’t seen for at least half a year, that quickly wakes you up again. It’s great to meet old friends every night and spend the evening with them.
C: Besides, it’s our job to put on a good performance.
Q: As far as I know, unemployment in the USA has risen sharply in recent years. What is the situation like now?
B: That’s true, unemployment has risen. However, we are now experienced enough with arranging jobs and the band and long tours that we know which jobs are good for us and which are not. We need at least two months off for our tour in Europe.
C: I have been without a job since last year.
B: But there are enough jobs you can do to get by.
C: That’s true. I’ve been with BORN TO LOSE long enough and I arrange myself with my employers. This way, you also have different jobs, making you more flexible regarding job offers after the tour.
B: We’ve done almost everything, carpentry, graphic design, construction work.
I work for a small company as a graphic designer. The work is very seasonal. Most of it is to be done in the summer. When we come back, I will work 40 hours a week. There are maybe ten of us. The company is so flexible that they can tell me when they will need me and when not. That usually fits very well with our tour planning.
Q: Is the situation in your hometown Austin different from the rest of the USA?
B: Maybe a little, but not very different.
C: Things are worse for people in all areas of the USA now than they were a few years ago. Unemployment is generally high, and the cuts that the government has enforced hit many people very hard.
We all just get by.
B: I can pay my rent and my bills, but I won’t get rich.
In Austin, we have big companies like Dell or AMD. They have also laid off many people. There is a lot of supplier industry in Austin. But it works in Austin; if you are flexible and can do a few things, you can get by.
Of course, if you only want to do exactly what you dreamed of or what you were trained for, then it’s hard to find a job.
Q: Your current album is called “The dreams of the kids“. Why should someone buy the album?
B: It’s our best album! But of course, the others aren’t bad either.
C: It’s our best album because it shows our development.
B: Another reason is that we have two new band members who can be heard for the first time on these recordings. When they joined us, we didn’t rehearse any old songs but immediately started writing new songs for the album. This brought new energy into our band. We are very happy about that.
C: On the very first evening we met to write new songs, we managed to create two songs. We owe that to our two new members.
B: They fit perfectly into our band.
Q: I think that’s extremely important, on such long tours as you play, that you understand each other and fit perfectly together.
B: When you’re on tour for a long time, you have hardly any personal space.
C: If it doesn’t fit, you have to leave the band; otherwise, it won’t work.
Q: When I read your lyrics, you also describe the political and social conditions. Do you see yourselves as a political band?
C: I wouldn’t say we are a political band. Our lyrics are more to be seen as comments on social conditions.
B: Of course, we also make statements with our lyrics, but not as blatantly as Bad Religion. We like Bad Religion, but we wouldn’t use their blatant wording.
C: We would rather have the people who come to our concerts have fun and enjoy a nice evening rather than because we are denouncing something.
B: I love what I do, and I want people to enjoy our music and the atmosphere. I want people to have as much fun in front of the stage as we do on stage.
Q: Has your fan base in Europe grown in recent years?
B: With every tour, more people come to our concerts.
Q: I’m glad to hear that. There are so many bad bands playing in big halls, and when only 50 people come to a band like yours, I find that frustrating.
C: If those 50 people have fun with us, they tell their friends and acquaintances. Next time, maybe more people will come. Many people have little money and have to look closely at what they spend their money on. When those people come to our shows, we are very happy about that. We want to play in front of as many people as possible. We give everything every night.
B: We do what we do because we love what we do more than anything.
Q: I heard that you want to take a break after this tour to write new songs.
B: Chris, our singer, wants to take a break. He has a girlfriend and will marry her. When he returns to Austin from the tour, they will go straight to Arizona. He will take a four-month break.
The rest of us have a new band called “Threes Away,” and we will play some concerts in Europe after this tour.
Chris can take this break, and I fully respect that, but I don’t want to take a break, so we will continue right after.
Q: But BORN TO LOSE will continue to exist?
B: Of course. Chris will take a four-month break, and then BORN TO LOSE will continue.
C: When he returns, we will write new songs, and then we will go on tour again. BORN TO LOSE will definitely continue!
B: Every day brings inspiration, and we will surely have many new ideas when we meet to write songs after the break with Chris.
So keep your eyes open for the new album from BORN TO LOSE and also for the album from Threes Away!
