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Transcript of a Channel Z radio interview with Flake and Schneider - January 2001

James: Welcome to Aoteoroa which means Land of the Long White Cloud
Christoph: That's New Zealand?

James: New Zealand that's right, um, when did you arrive here?
Flake: Yesterday morning (Wednesday)

James: Well, welcome to NZ. Any trouble through Customs?
Christoph: I never experienced any thing like it! it took over an hour, but they were friendly

James: Right...
Christoph: They looked through every little thing. They opened up our suitcases, they looked at everything.
James: Was anything taken away from you?
Christoph: No
James: Sorry John what?
John: Um, the cheese, ah, the fake horsehair, the human skull and the large horns.

James: Ok, well that's not what we heard through Sabina, right. How much of your music is tongue in cheek? it's very hard for NZ to know how to take it, um, are you taking the piss?
Christoph: Do you understand anything?
James: Ah, what I see in your music is a tongue in cheek sort of approach.Um, Ah, taking the piss sort of way.
Christoph: If you like it then yeah. We make fun of NZ, that's what we did with our record. (laughs)

James: Do you make fun of Germans?
Christoph: No
John: I have to say that's not what they said, um they wouldn't be able to write a whole album and bring the whole act over to hassle Kiwis. I suspect it really is serious music melody. But I didn't really want to say that.

James: I understand you use a lot of pyrotechnics on stage. Has any of this gotten out of control?
Flake: Yes, the singer likes to burn a little stuff and have a few pains in the acts.
James: Right
Christoph: Once there was a problem, once something happened
John: Notice the lack of body hair
James: Thanks John
Christoph: A piece of burning backdrop fell onto the crowd and there were five people injured...
James: I read somewhere...
Christoph:... But only lightly.

James: I read somewhere that the early days of Rammstein that you set the audience on fire. Can you confirm that?
Christoph: Yes, we can confirm that it was during the time when we didn't have a pyrotechnic crew so we thought, this is easy, we can do it ourselves no problem. (laughing in the background) so we spread a little petrol around the hall and when the audience came in we set it on fire. (Ok, Sabina said that and Christoph says no,no and then tells the story right)
Christoph: We played the first song, the singer had two sparks in his hands. One went up and one went down to the floor where the petrol was and it just spread across the floor and people started dancing on the floor.
Flake: To stamp out the fire!
Christoph: And that's it. This is when no-one knew us and a way of getting known.

James: Sorry John, was that an accurate translation?
John: Yeah
James: Right

James is in the studio: Right, we will get back to the interview with Rammstein and their own translator, a middle aged woman named sabina and my own called John Bruff. We talk more about their own stage acts next.
(Plays Du Hast)
James in the studio: Alright. Back we go into the hotel earlier today, where we met the boys from German band Rammstein.

James: Some of your descriptions of your stage acts in your bio make for good reading. For instance. this is Lauren, she has something here, what did we read here?
Lauren: Hi, um
Christoph: What would you like to know?
Lauren: Well, Buch Dich or bend down, in which Lindemann bends down, Flake lies prostrate on the floor with a ball gag in his mouth. Lindemann has a foot long dildo that squirts sticky fluid over the both of them.
Sabina: Do you want me to translate?
James: Yes please
Sabina: So it's a description of the keyboard player and the dildo and the...
Christoph interrupts: He can explain
Sabina: Yeah, he can explain. Explain yourself!

Flake: We play often where some people don't understand our lyrics. That's why we present it visually so they know what we are singing about.
James: Johnny was that accurate?
John: Yeah, something about the physicality of it, um, coming across to an international audience.
James: I see you seem to miss that Sabina.
Sabina: No, I didn't miss anything
James: John is very universal
Christoph: She is translating perfectly

James: I see my translator has picked up a couple of things I don't want to argue but anyway. The German language seems to lend itself to a large angry sound. Are there many bands like you back home?
Christoph: Yeah, but they are not as good as we are
John: And most bands that were as good have been taken out or been injured.
James: Is that what they said?
John: Yeah
Christoph: I want to correct this. There are some that are good but are not well known.
James: Do you bring your families on tour with you?
Flake: For heavens sakes
James: (laughs) For heavens sake
Flake: I mean no.
James: Do you have children or wives back home in Germany?
Flake: We all have children. Mostly our wives have taken off
John: Due to the large sticky stuff on the stage
(Christoph or Flake or both breathe or cough like they have been insulted)
John: Not very attractive you know
James: That's what they said right?
Sabina: That's NOT what they said. Can we stop for a minute?
James: Sorry, we did bring our own translator on it
Sabina: Then I would like to withdraw. I am saying what these two guys are saying and he is creating his own story.
James: John?
John: Um, Um
James: Well?
John: What?
James: You HAVE been saying what these guys are saying?
John: Um, well,yeah
Christoph: She has been interpreting what we are saying
James: Right. What can..
. Christoph: The radio needs some shit and stuff on it. What?
James: What can we expect on stage at the B.D.O. with some of the pyro, the fire and jet engines on stage?
Christoph: First of all German lyrics and music
James: German lyrics yes, some fire maybe you can confirm that?
Christoph: Perhaps
James: (Laughs) Depending on how you feel?
Christoph: Exactly. It's too warm here

James: (Laughs) Yeah it is. Also in the notes I have been reading about you guys, you surfing on an inflatable raft over the crowd. Will you be doing that in NZ?
Flake: First of all I will look at the crowd. If I like them I will get into my boat.
James: Might I say you'll probably?
Flake: It depends on the New Zealanders not me.
James: Oh, you'll love the New Zealanders

James: Has the raft gone down in the past?
Flake: I have had several accidents. I've fallen out of the boat, but that was out of excitement. But sometimes, when the boat is passed down by the audience and there are no more hands to catch me, I fall out and I have to go to hospital for treatment.(Laughing in the background)
James: To a medical hospital?
Flake: Yeah
James: Thank you very much for your time
Flake: We have only been here for 2 days and we can say that we already love New Zealand and when we are old we will emigrate to NZ.
Christoph: Yeah
James: Is that what they said John?
John: Yes that is exactly right
James: (Laughs) Thanks very much
End of the Du Hast Song.

© 2005 Sue Lindemann