Bexx: How did you all 'find' each other back then? Summarize the formation of Non Conform from your perspective or how did you join, Sven?
Manu: Karsten, Albert and I felt like starting a punk band. Since I was always more of a writer, it was clear to me to write lyrics and take care of management. At the beginning, Terror Köttel and Manuel Z. were still there too. Albert also dragged drummer Marius Heinemann along, and finally we could make music. At the start, we properly wore ourselves out rehearsing. First Terror Köttel dropped out, then Manuel quit. The subsequent gigs were played as a trio without a bass guitar :-) Punk rock!! Then there was the Christmas concert at the Gym Rinteln and from then on, the kids had discovered Non Conform for themselves. Because the teachers broke up the concert because the students weren't supposed to mosh, NC suddenly had cult status. At some point, Marius Heinemann didn't feel like punk anymore and recommended me Chick Sven Niemeier. Short conversation and off we went!!
Chick: Yeah, that's how it was, a nice story. Back then I must have been a tender 15 years old when suddenly I got a call from Non Conform's manager Manu. He said the band wanted to part ways with their current drummer Marius Heinemann, who was my drum teacher at the time. Would I possibly be interested in taking over the role? Apparently, he'd received several recommendations that I was really good at it. (Thanks to everyone who lied for me back then! ;-) ) I was totally scared, because I already knew Non Conform as a spectator and thought they were totally cool, even though I was still a full-on punk back then. Of course, I squeaked out a yes. And whoosh, the MANAGER of NON CONFORM was at my house, wanting ME as the new drummer. The conversation went great until he said he still wanted to hear me play briefly so he could report back to the guys. I thought I'd shit myself when I nervously hobbled through a fast punk beat. It was ghastly, but Manu just said: "Yeah, cool!" And that's how I joined.
Albert: Yeah, Manu asked me one day in his stairwell if I knew a good guitarist. I was friends with his sister at the time. After the collapse of Brainstorming, his previous project, he wanted to start a new punk band. Since I'd been playing electric guitar for two years and was into punk, and apart from my neighbor who taught me the first notes on 6 strings, I didn't know any other guitarists – I suggested myself. That was the starting signal for Non Conform. I still knew Marius Heinemann back then, with whom I'd already dreamed of a shared band in 5th/6th grade. And to my surprise, he was there at the first jam session in Manu's legendary party cellar. Ex-Brainstorming guitarist Manuel Z. was supposed to play bass. Karsten and Kölling were old friends of Manu and initially shared the vocal duties. I'd only recently gotten to know Karsten at a Father's Day concert by Die Toten Hosen, where we, still unknown, were shaking up the edge of the crowd with acrobatic-drunk pogo moves. I liked him right away.
Karsten: Ah yes, that Father's Day Hosen concert in Bielefeld, I was totally wasted that day…. And in the evening Manu still came by and picked us all up, heading for Bielefeld… Yeah and there I pogoed for the first time with Albert and Manu, although I must have seen Manu for the first time at a Molotow Soda gig in 1989 (?) in Bösingfeld, at least we were both there. And at some point we started calling each other and writing letters (you still remember that? Letters???) and then I drove over to him and we chatted about the Hosen and Ärzte until we were speechless ;-) That happened more often and one night between the 8th and 20th beer he asked me if I didn't want to make music myself. Since I couldn't play an instrument and knowingly can't hit a single note, I spontaneously said: "yeah sure I'm in" and off we went!
Bexx: With the time that has passed since then, what from the Non Conform chapter still sticks in your mind?
Manu: You think about it occasionally! And now I'm considering putting all the songs online on download portals so future generations can enjoy these musical outpourings too!! I think the songs are worth it and also the history that Non Conform wrote back then. It was already pretty wild back then and occasionally things really exploded! What remains? A friendship with Karsten, who is also the godfather to my daughter Kira. Very loose contact with Albert and even less with Chick.
Karsten: It was just a great time that I like to think back on. A lyric from the Scherben just came to mind: "when I was still young and handsome, fresh and juicy looking, never sparing my body….." that fits like a glove, that's how it was back then, we were young and carefree, nothing could stop us and I won't forget that in the next 15 years either…
Albert: For me, it was the punk ethos lived back then. Rebellion against injustice and constraints in society. Standing up for a higher goal that goes beyond one's own well-being. The band meant camaraderie, a lot of fun, new experiences and the good feeling of presenting something of your own to like-minded people. Non Conform was an important part of my life back then. Basically, it was the perfect balance and for a young guy like me at the time, a real affirmation.
Chick: In my earliest youth, I used to hang out a lot with my older brother and his friends. With my first day joining Non Conform, everything changed. A new era of my life began, and I learned a lot that was formative for my life. No matter if I listen to the CDs today, talk or write about them, or just remember, it's always with a smile and a certain melancholy.
Bexx: What do you think about the tracks when you listen to the albums again today? What would you do differently in retrospect, what still excites you as much as it did?
Chick: Well, by today's standards, the albums are simply no longer contemporary. By that I don't mean the meaning of the lyrics, there were some that had a powerful message, and unfortunately will probably always stay relevant. Like with songs like "Vergangenheit", "Alles genommen", "Wehrlos", "Gummistiefel" (HUH???)...Also musically, I wouldn't change a thing, because back then it was just cool. I'd only have liked to have cut the song "OMA". Although I've wondered what the songs would sound like if we were to get back together TODAY in the old lineup and make NEW songs. Probably a mix of Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, NoFX and System of a down. But I think we've all outgrown the original Non Conform sound.
Albert: Okay, the tracks were simple, but that doesn't mean they were bad for me. They exactly matched what we wanted to do back then. That's also why we didn't demand that people take it all so seriously. It was about fun and being creative. I wouldn't change anything about the songs in retrospect, which doesn't mean I'd write the same things today.
Karsten: The songs just fit the time and I believe they'd still fit today, we've just gotten older. And I agree with Chick, such a mix is probably what we'd play nowadays, I'll also add Blink 182 and Disturbed.
Manu: And I wouldn't do anything differently!! It was just punk rock! Cheap and a bit shaky. The tracks are still good and with the punk kiddies here, they have cult status. Of course, I have a different writing style today, but it's good the way it is. We were cheeky, frivolous and convinced of ourselves. We didn't like any other bands and they didn't like us! The punks loved us, everyone else hated us. You can see from me what Non Conform accomplished. No interview with me without a question about Non Conform.
Bexx: In the mid-90s, Non Conform had a really good reputation and quite a large following of fans around here. Why did you never really make it beyond the area?
Manu: I see that completely differently! The level of recognition was already very decent nationwide. And companies like Am Music and Impact Records started pushing NC properly. There were then also the important gigs like in Ratingen and….uh.....where else was it??? Oh, no idea anymore. Of course, the enthusiasm was greatest here at home and the fan base was huge afterwards. The little girls started swooning over the guys and we were already little rock stars. Also regarding alcohol and drugs! Nah, we were big rock stars!!!
Albert: Yeah, we played gigs all over Germany. Maybe they were too spread out and it would have been better to focus more intensively on individual regions. Then the recognition value among people would probably have been higher. We distributed recordings quite well through various labels like Rabautz, Plastic Bomb and Scum Fuck, among others. Funny how old acquaintances from back then still write to me asking for CDs and can still remember the songs. About seven years after the band broke up, two teenage fans (around seventeen!) approached me at the bus stop. They asked if I was really Albert Scheiper from Non Conform and begged me for an autograph. That was somehow astonishing.
Chick: We already had gigs nationwide, but it's hard to build up a proper fan base across regions. Around here, people know us, here we could play a lot. For example in Eschwege, you play once, and you inevitably fade from people's memory. To get beyond the area, you have to be constantly on tour to stay constantly present for fans. That's hard alongside a job.
Karsten: And we also played in Holland…. Although we hardly played in the new federal states and not at all in Bavaria. They thought we were too radical, although I also don't like to think back on Frankfurt. The gig there was already intense.
Bexx: How did the first album come about? Who wrote most of the songs? Who contributed most of the music? We all know Karsten can't hold a tune, how hard was it to teach the boy something?
Karsten: I just tried to compensate for my inability to sing with a good show. Sometimes it even worked, at least we were booked repeatedly by some concert organizers. Düsseldorf was practically a second stronghold for us, alongside the Lippe region.
Chick: The first album came about before my time. Not the recordings, but the songs. Most of the lyrics came from Manu, some were also written by Albert. Most of the music also came from Albert, the fine-tuning from everyone, the drumming from Heinemann and later from me. You really couldn't teach Karsten anything, it was hopeless. We others always tried to compensate for his vocal deficits with our good looks. J Seriously though, there's a story about the vocal recordings for Caramba, where Albert fled into the nearest pub and drowned his annoyance and frustration with some zombie piss.
Albert: We recorded the first album in Donop with Harry, here in the area, right next to the aforementioned pub ;-). Apart from a few exceptions, the lyrics grew out of Manu's mischief and
