Interview and Text: Madeleine Chong
Chart-topping singles, platinum-selling albums, electrifying gigs, and a slew of awards – these are the hallmarks of the Tokio Hotel empire. Waking in different hotels every few weeks and being surrounded by hordes of devoted fans showing up at every turn have become staples for the Tokio Hotel boys, and the Kaulitz twins haven’t even turned 21 yet.
читать дальшеWith their irresistibly catchy glam rock sound, the band certainly knows how to “human connect to human,” captivating not just Europe, but the rest of the world as well. And now, they’re in Malaysia for MTV World Stage Live In Malaysia 2010.
The boys were relaxed as they lounged around on a plush sofa, dressed casually for the tropical weather. Bill was striking as usual, his slender frame clad in a red and black striped top with layered chains adorning his neck and his hair swept up into a perfectly coiffed quiff.
Throughout the interview, Bill was the chatty one, Tom was the cheeky one, Gustav was the attentive one and well, Georg was the sweet one –he smiled a lot. We find out more about what Tokio Hotel have up their sleeve for tonight’s performance, Bill’s septum piercing and the much-missed Jumbie before the boys had to be whisked away for rehearsals.
What can the fans expect from your MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2010 appearance?
Tom: The main thing is that we will have the burning piano and something new for “World Behind My Wall.” We also have a great opening for “Noise” and all our intros.
Bill: What we did on this record is that we tried some new instruments, the guys are playing keyboards, and they are playing piano for the first time, because in general, Tom is only playing the guitar, but he’s also really talented when it comes to the piano, so we went with a new record to try new stuff on stage as well.
Do you guys still get nervous when you’re up on stage?
Bill: Yes, we do. But when you play a tour for like 3 months or something…with the large shows when it’s the same every night, it’s not that bad, you get used to it. We are always nervous when it’s just the one show, just the one possibility, and it’s always exciting. I think it’s a normal thing to be nervous.
Tokio Hotel has recenty released a ‘Humanoid City’ Live DVD and album. I understand that the stage setting was created by the team behind the blockbuster movie “The Fifth Element.” Tell us more about the creative process behind bringing this tour video to life.
Bill: You know when it comes to the tour, you always have so many ideas and things you want to do, and for us it was important to do something new. We really wanted to create a ‘Humanoid City,’ so we had a great stage designer, her name is Misty Buckley, she did a fantastic job and we worked really close together.
Tom: We all sat down and said we wanted a big opening, we want something movable, we want the set to flow on stage, and all the ideas kept coming.
Bill: So putting a show together like this means a lot of time, we started half a year before we got on the road, and we had some rehearsals in London for like a week. We then did the costumes together, it was Dean and Dan (Caten) from DSquared2, and they also did a fantastic job. It was really a process, so I think the most important thing is to get together and to talk about what you want to have. I really wanted to do something ‘Humanoid,’ something which is not from the planet, and that was the whole theme for the tour. Everything worked really well and we put on quite the show in Milan.
Speaking of the tour and also your album ‘Humanoid,’ there’s this whole science fiction aspect going on, so do you guys have any favorite science fiction movies, books etc?
Bill: I think I love most sci-fi movies in general.
Tom: Sci-fi movies are great, my favorite sci-fi movie is… do we have a favorite? I mean Fifth Element is great…
Georg: District 9.
(All agree)
Bill: 2012 was also a great movie.
Tom: It’s not really sci-fi but…
Bill: I like a lot of different things, I like everything with aliens so yeah. It was not planned to have the record like this, it comes just with the process and we were sitting in the studio thinking and talking about things like that and we came up with the idea of calling this album ‘Humanoid’ and to have all the sci-fi influences.
Bill, you’ve recently got yourself some new piercings-including a septum one that is slightly more unusual. Was it planned or something done on impulse?
Bill: No, it’s always really spontaneous. I was sitting in the car and I had this idea and I said ok, I wanna do it. The great thing about piercings is that you can pull it out any time so that’s really great.
But I’m really into piercings and tattoos and stuff like that so I already planned some new tattoos I wanna have. When you do this, it hurts so bad, and you say ok, I never want to do this again, but when everything is fine and you’re feeling good again then you go directly to the next piercer and it’s a cycle.
I’m kinda addicted to stuff like that.
So is there any part of your body that you will never pierce?
Bill: Yes, my “downstairs” area. (gestures to lower body)
(everyone chuckles)
What’s the most interesting thing that you guys have had to autograph so far?
Tom: We’ve had some good things – used underwear, cars…
Georg: Naked boobs…
Bill: Yep, things like that…
Tom: I prefer naked boobs (smiles widely)
Is Jumbie ever going to make an appearance again?
Bill: Ah!
(everyone laughs)
Tom: He does look really great on film.
Bill: We always have new toys on tour, and this time we have snake boards (skate boards with pivot points). It’s really hard to learn this but once you get it, it’s really fun, but maybe we’ll bring Jumbie on the next tour, or maybe to Asia. I think he definitely wants to see it.
***
So ladies and gentlemen, when the lights come on for Tokio Hotel tonight at MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2010, prepare to scream.
http://blog.mtvasia.com/2010/07/31/tokio-hotel-at-mtv-world-stage-live-in-malaysia-2010%E2%80%93-ready-set-scream/