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Translation
„I always tell people that I’m a czech pornstar“
You might have heard it. Tokio Hotel released a new album on the German day of unity. It’s called Kings of Suburbia and – you can calm down now – it did not turn into the “defining record” of our generation. But it did have the potential to be. The requirements for a unexpected comeback are picture perfect: Four years ago Bill and Tom Kaulitz moved to L.A. and, with that, away from the craziness that has been following them around the globe since the release of their single “Durch den Monsun”. Tokio Hotel performed in front of the eiffel tower and filled stadiums in Japan, they even got israeli teenagers to learn German. Imagine half the world watching you while you grow up and you having to explain your sexual orientation over and over again.
That’s what has been going through my mind, while I’ve been waiting in the foyer of the Ritz Calrton like a little boy, to be escorted to the interview with Tokio Hotel. While I wait I watch Russian girls in Prada shoes, Indian “styler” with Dolce and Gabana belts and Americans in Givenchy-Shirts, pass by. This situation already feals surreals. The moment I see a basketball player of my favorite team, the San Antonio Spurs, walk by, I know that this interview is going to be magical. (A little tip: Just sit in the foyer of the Ritz and watch people. Maybe you shouldn’t wear a Thug Life t-shirt when you decide to do that…)
A few minutes later I get escorted into a double suite. Soon the four popstars are going to come out of the other room, partly shuffling and partly on heels – because Bill is wearing pumps with french fries on them. All four grin at me.
Noisey: Bill, at the press conference on thursday you said that you’ve never been to the “Berghain”. I have something over you. I went there for the first time two weeks ago.
Bill: And? How was it?
Well, it was seven in the morning and I was sober…
I also heard that people go there at nine. Didn’t they just get up at that time? Do you already start drinking then?
I think a lot of people go there, get a stamp, go home and come back in the afternoon just to stay until Tuesday or something.
Okay, and you went there at seven in the morning and stayed until tuesday?
God no. I went home after three hours. But why exactly is the “Berghain” so fascinating for you?
I just heard that it’s the most awesome club and that people from all over Europe come to Germany to party there. In the US, especially in L.A, there is no such thing that you can party at a club for 24 hours straight.
When is the “curfew”?
1:45 in the morning is the last call.
Tom: At 2 – on the dot – they take your drink out of your hand.
Bill: And then the lights come on. They don’t make any exceptions. It’s really boring. But is it hard to get in?
When I was there, there was no line. But I also already heard of people who stood in line for three hours and didn’t get in. But did you know that they also have darkrooms?
Bill: There are darkrooms at the “Berghain”? Then I want to go there all the more! (laughs)
Georg and Gustav, would the “Berghain” also be something for you?
Georg: I’d check it out.
Gustav: The darkrooms, definitely. That was the convincing argument.
Bill: I think the darkrooms would totally be your thing.
Tom: Then they would finally get some.
Enough talk about the “Berghain”. Five years ago you moved to L.A.. Did you want to flee the “Tokio Hotel craziness”?
Tom: It wasn’t primarily about L.A. as a city. The situation always felt unbearable to us. The tipping point was when people broke into our home.
Fans?
About 50 people were standing in front of our house every day. It was probably one of them. When they broke in and took our last 600 m² of private life with them, we just said that we have to leave. We knew a few people in L.A. – we just packed our stuff and moved.
Bill: We also didn’t see the house we would be living in before that, we just up and moved.
Tom: That glamorous hollywood-image you have of L.A. would have actually been the exact wrong reason to move there. We wanted to disappear for a while. That’s what we did when we moved into a house that was located a little outside of L.A., because we weren’t in the mood to walk the red carpet or to attend some celebrity party. We simply didn’t do anything for a while and tried to hide.
How did it feel, being anonymous for the first time?
Tom: It was incredible!
Bill: It was like a dream. In the beginning it took us a little to get used to it. You look around, to see if there’s someone waiting for you in front of your house. In L.A. we can go placed and reserve tables under our own name. When we check into a place here, in Germany, we have aliases to make sure no one knows about that. When we stay in a place for too long, there’s nothing good waiting for us. That’s why we’re actually constantly on the move.
Georg: We can reveal his alias here: It’s Vivian Schmitt (they all laugh)
When you want to be left alone it’s probably not the best alias.
Bill: True, then other people are going to be standing in front of the door.
Tom: With a strap-on.
You said that you caught up on life in L.A. – what does that exactly mean?
Bill: Exactly, we went out and partied a lot. I also had to learn that at first: going to a club at night without security. Here, it’s like that: You call someone, they reserve a table in the VIP-corner for you which is separated by a red barrier tape. Then you sit there, pretty much like animals in a zoo, and people stand around you and take pictures. That’s not fun at all. You can’t really sit there with friends and have fun.
Tom: We also choose the clubs by their smokers’ corner. I love hanging out and talking to people there.
When you sit in those corners and talk to people that don’t know you, how do you explain to them that you’re Germany’s most successful rockband of all time?
Bill: In L.A. people immediately tell you what they do for a living and how great they are. Tom and I usually keep our mouths shut, which is why they usually think that we’re really weird. When I’m somewhere alone, I simply lie – I tell them that I’m a student. Just recently someone asked me what I do and I told him that I’m a photography student and he said: “No way! I’m a photographer!” I just thought: “Shit!”. Then he started asking me what my favorite camera and camera lense was.
Tom: Did you tell him that your favorite camera is iPhone camera?
Bill: (laughs) I always asked myself what’s realistic, what they would believe when I told them.
Tom: I always tell them that I’m a czech pornstar.
Can you imitate the czech accent as well?
Tom: No, I just show them my “thing”. That’s enough evidence.
I think the next time you think of a job, you should do more research.
Bill: We should. Next time we should really say something we have experience with. We also sometimes said that we have rich parents, but they never believed us.
You’re back with new music after five years. Which insights did you gain in that time for your future?
Bill: I think it’s important to find a balance between the Tokio Hotel hype and our private life. In the past we were basically living in this bubble. After a while you just get depressed and can’t enjoy it anymore. Then you simply don’t care about which city you’re in now or which award you win. At some point you also don’t know how the TV show is called you’re performing on. To be able to relish and appreciate it again you need a safe haven. The goal, for us, is to keep the one in L.A., just because we have it right now.
Did you listen to music more consciously?
Tom: Of course – we attented a few festivals and in the beginning of producing the album you listen to a lot of music. At the moment I listen a lot to stuff from Chet Faker. I also really like his new music video, even though it’s simple. How did they do that? They never ever drove through the streets while shooting it – the camera work is way to smooth for that. It’s ingenious.
How do you want the people to take the new Tokio Hotel up?
Tom: We want the people to take to our new album neutrally and to simply listen to the music. I just like well made music. As soon as I hear a song where I think “That’s good songwriting paired with good production”, I like it. I don’t care who it is from or where it comes from. That’s what you wish for yourself as an arist too. That’s why we took a break, because we wanted to come back with music that people can talk about, and not just about our private life.
Can you even rate it (your music) neutrally? “Durch den Monsun” has already been etched into my mind, and I – honestly – didn’t like it much then.
It’s the same for us. When we were 15 and recorded “Durch den Monsun” I genuinely thought the song was awesome. Today we probably wouldn’t write the song like that anymore.
Bill: It always depends on how open the people are. When I like a song, I always listen to only the song first – only afterwards I know who sings it. Just because a specific person is this singer I didn’t like that much in the past, doesn’t mean that I can’t listen to it. That’s why we released 3 songs from our album. People should listen to the music first and then look at how we look.
We just rant out of time, but when will we go to “Berghain” together?
Bill: I would love to go now. There’s just this problem that we’re flying to France the day after tomorrow. But we’re currently working on building-up a studio in Berlin. We want to move our base from Hamburg to Berlin. I hope we’ll have an opportunity to go there soon though.
Georg: It’s still open. Theoretically we could still go there now.
Bill: Right. Let’s just cancel all appointments and we’ll see each other again on tuesday evening.
Translation by Icey @ loveth-music.com
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