there_a_a_crowd_1984
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— | there_a_a_crowd_1984 [2016/10/23 22:32] (aktuell) – angelegt - Externe Bearbeitung 127.0.0.1 | ||
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+ | ======There' | ||
+ | Ah, the old country. In a German pub with Gemütlichkeit brimming, is giving the old-time house band much merriment. A slightly thuggish-looking patron slaps the waitress' | ||
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+ | This sequence, from a video you won't see on MTV, is set to "Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha" by Germany' | ||
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+ | He sure looks like a punk. Stefan Remmler, Trio's singer/ | ||
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+ | Such eccentricity and flirting with extremes fit right in with Trio. The band had an international million-seller last year with "Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha." (Most people stop after "Da Da Da.") The song didn't sweep the US the way it did Europe and Canada, but no one who's heard it can deny its irritating appeal: How much more basic can you get than elementary electronic rhythm, simple lyrics (see title) and the guitar chords from "Louie Louie"? | ||
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+ | Mercury Records obviously hopes Trio can add this country to its list of conquered nations. To that end Remmler is in New York and bound for Los Angeles to talk up his group' | ||
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+ | Remmler, of serious mien, speaks virtually accent-free English; only occasionally obtuse syntax betrays his origins. He learned the language in school at Bremerhaven, | ||
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+ | At first Remmler and Krawinkel had a conventional rock band instrumentation in mind. But after enlisting sad-eyed drummer Peter Behrens, a former circus clown, they found the three of them worked fine without a bassist or anyone else. Enter Trio. After rehearsing in a basement, the band made its live debut on Christmas, 1980. They also sent put demo tapes to record companies. One went to German Phonogram; Voorman, a freelance producer working as a Phonogram artist consultant, heard it and fell in love with the band. | ||
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+ | "I thought it was great," | ||
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+ | Voorman went to see Trio perform and was even more convinced. "They go onstage and Stefan says, 'You know how awful it is when a guitar player takes a solo and the band stands around with nothing to do? We've solved this problem.' | ||
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+ | The band disappeared to Grossenkneten, | ||
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+ | Trio had formerly " | ||
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+ | The easily comprehended "Da Da Da" entranced Europe, made it to #2 in the English record charts, and went gold in Canada. The US, where "Da Da Da" never made it beyond dance-club cult popularity, poses more of a problem. The stateside mini-LP, not wanting to alienate monolingual Amerikaners, | ||
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+ | "We dare to be different!" | ||
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+ | Remmler says his choice of language wasn't dictated by commercial concerns. Anyone who's heard Trio can bear that out. But the band shunned the other end of the hip spectrum as well. | ||
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+ | "It took some cut in the head that we three said, hey, we do what we want to here, and we don't give a damn what's happening in Hamburg or Berlin. We were not trendies; we didn't read avant-garde magazines or were selective record buyers." | ||
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+ | "Me neither," | ||
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+ | Remmler claims his musical taste encompasses Waylon Jennings, Bing Crosby, Foreigner, reggae and punk. Only the last of these influences makes it to Trio's minimal music, although Remmler and Krawinkel' | ||
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+ | "I think my music is very German," | ||
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+ | On the other hand, any band professing to play rock or rock-derived music can't escape certain influences. "All musicians who picked up a guitar 10 years ago have been influenced by Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, by Americans and funk," Remmler states, possibly indicating Krawinkel' | ||
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+ | That, and Remmler' | ||
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+ | " | ||
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+ | "I would not bring out a totally private song. Who cares whether my foot is broken or not? When I write about relationships I think in a way that people can say, the same thing happened to me or to a friend." | ||
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+ | Does he think his lyrics are funny? | ||
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+ | " | ||
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+ | Intentionally or not, Trio has been propelled into star status in their native land. Voorman mentions that on the Lufthansa flight to the US, the steward, recognizing Remmler, greeted him with "Aha aha aha!" Trio's Grossenkneten residence has turned into a business office, forcing the band to rent a house in Switzerland to plan the next album. | ||
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+ | "It sounds luxurious," | ||
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+ | At least Trio's rapid ascent - from tiny clubs in tiny villages to an open-air concert in front of 30,000 people - hasn't affected their dry, self-mocking wit. They ingenuously printed their Grossenkneten address and phone number on the front cover of their German LP; a subsequent live cassette adds their bank account number. | ||
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+ | "We were playjng small places even on our last tour," Kemmler says. "We could have gone big but we said, no, this is all too normal." | ||
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+ | Voorman' | ||
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+ | "They didn't have anybody who had connections. I'm not the perfect manager - I'm not the manager," | ||
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+ | Whatever Voorman' | ||
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+ | "Maybe they' | ||
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+ | For his part, Remmler has doubts about a second Trio album. "Maybe we have five, six, seven songs we record. So what? I don't care. We have a new single ["Anna - Let Me In Let Me Out," also on the US mini-LP] which everybody thinks has potential." | ||
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+ | "We realize we don't have to follow rules," | ||
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+ | This unconventional attitude may explain Trio's loyal German following - and Remmler' | ||
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+ | "In Germany we are very close to the audience. When I talk [between songs], little gags reflect what people experience as well as what we experience 'cause we live in the same time. If we would succeed in the States, we gotta know more about the American audience. I'm very scared of what most bands do, which is just fly over to New York, do one media gig and fly away again. It's like a zoo: You watch, but it's not like on Monday you've seen the same television show which on Tuesday you talk about with people. | ||
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+ | "Of course, I cannot pretend I don't think about getting a foot on the American audience. But I don't think too much about it. I remember our success was not that we had a concept, and did much thinking trying to be clever. Success came from our being ourselves." | ||
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+ | And their music proves Trio's not like everybody else. |
there_a_a_crowd_1984.txt · Zuletzt geändert: 2016/10/23 22:32 von 127.0.0.1