Waterdown Bio

Punktuation-First off, what do you guys call yourselves and who plays in the band, and who plays what instrument?
Waterdown consists of Ingo (screaming), Marcel (singing), Holger and Claus (guitars), Christian (bass) and Jörg (drums).
P-How did you guys come together as a band?
W-We startet Waterdown in January 2000 after all our former bands split up nearly at the same time. Me and Jörg played together for more than 6 years and just asked some friends if they wanted to join our new band. They all said yes, so we started rehearsing and played our first show in April 2000.
P-Where do you guys call home? what is it like in Germany and how does it compare to the rest of the world (this question can be applied to the music scene and life in general)
W-We all live in or near Osnabrück, a small town in the northwestern part of Germany. It’s quite boring here, and the weather sucks. I can’t really compare it to the rest of the world, but being in Waterdown may change that. Ask me again later...
P-Have any of you played in any projects prior to Waterdown? How did they compare?
W-As said before, we all had bands before we started Waterdown. Jörg and me played in Pendikel, a Noise/HC band (not unlike Jawbox, Fugazi, Quicksand, but mixed with weird influences like Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Cardiacs) that released two albums and a bunch of 10-Inches and 7-Inches here in Germany on a great label called "BluNoise Records". Ingo was in Fallow before, they played moshy HC with strong metal influences and released a demo. Marcel sang in Crackage, an emo/postcore outfit that released two mini albums. Claus played in the biggest German moshcore band Caliban (this band still exists, he left because he moved away from where they rehearse). Caliban just released their third album on "Impression Records". And we played in bands before that. I‘m in bands for 11 years now.
P-What is it that you feel is unique about your guys sound and why is it that Waterdown has gained so much spotlight in the last year?
W-I think we were just lucky enough to have the opportunity to tour with Grade and make friends with these guys. They told Victory about us and forced them to sign us. There are many great bands in Germany that would deserve to release their records worldwide (Tupamaros, Lockjaw, Force Of Change, Three Minute Poetry, Yage, Donots, Beatsteaks, Monochrome, Muff Potter...I could go on for hours). I don’t really know what is unique about Waterdown – except for the music, because it is a natural product that comes out when exactly these six people try to find a way to get along. Another reason why we gained so much spotlight in such a short period of time might be the fact that we are in this game for quite a long time and just know what to do. That’s a normal thing, I believe.
P-Describe your sound and give a history of the band?
W-I’d always define us as a hardcore band, because that is where we come from and what we feel connected to. We don’t really want to take part in a seperation in different scenes. Emo, New School, Postcore, whatever. It would be better to listen to great bands instead of listening to bands because they are Emo or New School. We feel connected to Hardcore and Punkrock, and that’s about it. We don’t want to limit ourselves. With Marcel and Ingo in the band we have the possibility to create a quite unique but diverse sound. So far, we released a CD EP called "Draw A Smiling Face" on the small German HC label Two Friends Recordings (www.twofriendsrec.de) and played numerous shows, i.e. with Grade, Avail, Snapcase, New Model Army, Jimmy Eat World, Terrorgruppe, As Friends Rust, Donots, Midtown, Beatsteaks and Boysetsfire, to name some you might know.
P-Is it true that you guys were 'discovered' by Grade?
W-As said before, yes. They told us that they wanted to make Victory sign us, but we didn’t really believe it would happen. But just one week after they went back to Canada, Tony Brummel got in contact with us. We couldn’t believe it. We are so thankful for Grade, we love those guys and can’t wait to meet them again. They are awesome.
P-Out of all your time together, what do you feel are some of the highlights along the way?
W-Playing with Grade and Avail and - what is more - making friends with them. We will play some European Deconstruction Tour dates this summer and meet Avail and Boysetsfire again, and we will probably meet Grade when we tour the US in July. Besides that, we are all having a really exciting time at the moment and can’t really believe what is happening. Being in this band is definitely a highlight in my life.
P-Have there been any weird occurances, embarrassing, or disastrous moments while playing a show, practicing, or being on tour?
W-We have not been on tour that much (as we exist only for a year and a half), so I don’t really know. I think touring the US this summer in a small van with way too many way too weird people in it will be disastrous to our psyche. We’ll see if we all need holidays after this trip...
P-How does the European punk/hardcore scene differ in comparison to other places in the world?
W-I can’t tell. We just played shows in Germany so far, and the German scene is quite vital and big at the moment. Many people are involved and do zines, organize shows or just show up. It’s good. You should ask me again in a year.
P-What is one of the funniest places to play a show?
W-It’s always fun to play a show. Funny places? No idea...
P-What WOULD BE one of the funniest places to play a show if it was possible?
W-Mars.
P-If you guys had the chance to tour with any band which band would that be?
W-Deftones.
P-If you could be on any movie soundtrack, what movie would that be, and what song would you put on it?
W-A good movie. I’d prefer to write a song for a movie, not to have one of the album used. Oh, Sarah Michelle Gellar should take part in the movie.
P-Who are some of your influences?
W-From Iggy & The Stooges, Black Sabbath, Dead Kennedys to Fugazi, Quicksand to At The Gates, Slayer to Sick Of It All, Avail to Elliott Smith, Nick Drake.
P-On a more personal level, what are some of your guys fears?
W-To be forced to waste my life on things I have to do but don’t enjoy. Lose my hearing.
P-How do you feel those fears may be overcome?
W-I have to keep moving, physically and psychically. I have to take my life in my own hands and do something productive. That is the reason why I started Waterdown.
P-How has being in Waterdown affected your personal lives? Is it tough playing in the band and being in relationships?
W-Yes. We all have to work to gain enough money to pay our rent, and being in a band makes our "working time" double. The more time we spend on the band, the more time we lose to keep our relationships going. But we are not complaining, because that’s the way it is. In my opinion having a relationship means respecting the other persons life, his dreams and what he lives for.
P-How do you guys feel about your recent signing to Victory Records and what do you think the future will bring?
W-We are very happy. Victory give us the opportunity to tour the whole world. Many great German bands would love to have that opportunity. And that’s excactly what we are about to do in the future: go on tour and play.
P-What are your guys' sentiments about your latest album "Never Kill The Boy On The First Date"?
W-We are very proud of it. We think it came out great for a debut. We can’t wait to play the songs live.
P-Is there a story about the name of the album?
W-It shouldn’t be taken too seriously. But on the other hand, many songs on the album are about relationships and what went really wrong...
P-Who writes the lyrics and what do you guys sing about?
W-Ingo and Marcel write all the lyrics. They sing about everything that is of any importance in their (and our) lives, and handle both personal and political things without making too much of a difference. Some of them are quite vague and just a statement of not knowing what to do, others are really precise. It’s not about what others should do, it’s about what matters to us. If people can relate to these lyrics, that’s even better.
P-What strange traditions do you guys do when playing or preparing for a show?
W-Holger collects little plastic animals that make a sound. Need I say more?
P-If someone was to see you for the first time what should they expect?
W-We rock. Simply as that.
P-Do you have any comments, questions, concerns, queries, or quotes to end off with?
W-We always like to get reactions from people and would love to get letters or mails. If anybody is interested, just write to Waterdown c/o Christian Kruse, Lotter Str. 105, 49078 Osnabrück, Germany or mail to christian@waterdown.de. We hope to come on tour soon. See you in the pit.