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Hello Lizal! We are Martin on guitar/main vocals, Heiko on bass/backing vocals, and Ron on drums/background!
You have been around since 2005, which is quite a long time. How often do you play live, and where did I go wrong that you somehow completely passed me by until now?
Yes, that's right – 8 years is quite a long time, during which one might think that people from the scene must have heard of us at least once. However, since we unfortunately haven't played that many concerts in the last 2–3 years, that's somewhat understandable. We hope to play a lot live next year after our album release, so that everyone will have heard or read the name Ostbrut at least once!
You describe your style as somewhat melancholic, which I can now confirm. What is important for you to convey in your lyrics?
Above all, it is important for us that we have actually lived and felt our lyrics. Of course, sometimes you come up with some nonsense where you think, "Oh, of course Ostbrut, it must have happened this way and not otherwise." But basically, our lyrics reflect our lives... just as it should be.
Was there a direction from the beginning in the band that you wanted to go in terms of lyrics and music?
Of course! What else would be in question but punk rock? ;)
Where do you see your musical influences for the album "Blut geleckt"?
This time, there were plenty of musical influences. Our taste in music has broadened and also diverged more and more over the last few years, so that each of us three wanted to bring something different to the table, which has brought a lot of variety.
In the beginning, there were of course bands like Loikaemie, Zaunpfahl, etc., that influenced us. But it was never the case that we said we wanted to sound like this or that band.
What were the reasons for making your album completely available as a free download online? I think it's really cool, but I mean a good studio production is unfortunately very expensive for a punk rock band. Was there never a desire to look for and find a label all these years?
The reasons are simple. We want to reach as many people as possible with this album. We have found that selling CDs reaches relatively few people as an unknown band nowadays.
For the album, we were already in contact with a Berlin label, but we couldn't really come to an agreement. In hindsight, we are very satisfied with our self-made work. We will see what the future holds.
How is the punk rock scene in Magdeburg? Is it currently easy to make a name for yourselves as a band there, or is the "hipster scene" already taking over?
In general, it is currently quite difficult to even get to concerts, etc., around here, as punk rock seems to be not in demand at the moment. "Hipsters" haven't really caught our attention here yet, but what is definitely successful here right now is metalcore and everything that has emerged from it.
Why have you, as a local band, never played at the "Spirit from the Streets Festival" and what has been your biggest gig so far?
In 2009, we participated in a band battle where the top three places were awarded a performance at the Spirit. Unfortunately, we were not among them.
Otherwise, for the three of us, the annual Xmas meeting in Burg is personally a big event, as it has a very family-like character and is more like a big class reunion.
Do you do a lot of the booking yourselves, or do you just let the gigs come to you?
We try to take care of gigs as much as possible ourselves and hope that as many promoters as possible will discover and want to book us! :D In the last few years, we have let ourselves go a bit in terms of booking gigs, which is why there has been so little going on for us. But that should change with the new album!
Do you have any other musical projects besides Ostbrut?
Yes, we have an irregularly occurring rock'n'roll/country project in a similar lineup, which is still completely secret and in its infancy!
What do you do when you're not on stage somewhere?
...then we stand together in front of the stage!
Otherwise, Heiko is very engaged in the area of veganism and animal protection. Ron and I often tinker with old mopeds. We spend the remaining precious time with family and work!
Thank you for your time, I wish you many gigs in the near future with Ostbrut and keep the punk rock flag flying high in Burg. I hope to see you at a joint gig someday!
And for the readers of Ramtatta, check out the review of the album "Blut geleckt" here:
http://www.ramtatta.de/s/reviews/f/details/id/6086/
