Interviews

Waterdown

Interview with Ingo on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

Please list the members of the bands and your different musical backgrounds (previous bands, etc....)
Waterdown is: Christian (bass), Claus (guitar), Holger (guitar), Jörg (drums), Marcel (vocals), Ingo (vocals) and Stefanie (driving the band around). We all played in different local bands before. Only one of these, Pendikel, had a deal (with german label BluNoise Records) and recorded two full-length albums. They made some kind of noisecore, you could say, and our other previos bands ranged from emotional rock to oldschool HC with metal influences.

How did you guys get signed to victory records and how are you expecting it to help you.... as a band?
We had the chance to play some shows with Grade here in germany. They liked us and promised to give a copy of our "Draw A Smiling Face" EP to the people at Victory after returning to the US. We did not really expect Victory Records to be interested in us and were very excited when they e-mailed us. We think it is a great opportunity to have our record released worldwide, and that will make touring throughout the world easier. Victory gives us every support we could ask for at the moment, so we're very satisfied with them. 

After listening to your debut victory album "never kill the boy on the first date" I came away from it thinking your music is very emotionally charged. What's behind your music and are there any points you try to get across.
Our songs are about things that are important in our lives. That can be good or bad relationships, and that can be things you would consider "political". We try not to separate the "personal" from the "political". Political things have a direct impact on how we live in this society, many kids don't seem to realize that and think that politics are "boring". We think hardcore and punk rock are political by nature. The songs on "Never Kill The Boy On The First Date" are mostly about things that we feel bitter about or would like to see changed.

As you probably know we have britney spears in the united states..... do you guys have an equivalent in germany or do you just settle for britney?
Ok, I'd guess we'd settle for Britney, then ...

From reading about you I have found out that you guys have achieved more credibility in the past year, than other bands that have been around a lot longer. What drives you guys and what are your musical goals?
We had a lot of luck in the past year, for sure. There are many bands here in germany that would deserve as much attention as we get right now. "Never Kill The Boy On The First Date" is just our first album, so it is hard to define our "musical goals". We started this band for the same reasons most other hardcore/punk bands are formed for: we have things we want to say, we love music, playing shows and meeting people. We did not really expect to have the opportunity to meet the bands we played with and tour the US and europe - as we will be doing later this year - so soon. We're very excited about that! Right now, we just hope that some kids throughout the world will like the things we do, that's it.

When listening to you newest release i hear influences of metal, rap, rock, punk, and hardcore. Who influenced you guys as a band both musically and as a person?
Err - Rap? That is about the only thing we don't feel influenced by, except for maybe Pink Floyd ... We all have some kind of Heavy-Metal-background, and we're definitely influenced by all kinds of hardcore, independent, noisecore and punkrock. The music we listen to ranges from Elliott Smith to At The Gates, and we love bands like the Dillinger Escape Plan or Fantomas. Some of our influences are obvious, others are not that obvious but not less important ...

When do you guys planning on hitting the United States, where are you planning on going, and with whom?
We'll be touring the US this year for several weeks, here are the dates that we know at the moment, we'll definitely play a lot more shows:
07/26 Norwood NJ @ Club Krome
07/27 State College PA @ The Co Op
07/29 Cleveland OH @ Derek Hess Fest w/ Clutch, Grade etc.
07/31 Memphis TN @ The Tree Of Woe
08/02 Birmingham AL @ Furnace Fest w/ Snapcase, Haste, Not Waving But Drowning etc.
08/03 Norfolk VA @ Taj Mahal
08/04 Lancaster PA @ Club Liquid
08/05 Springfield MA @ Fat Cat's
(all shows w/ Drowningman & Thursday)

Do you guys have a record for wanting girls to "kill you on the first date"? What's the significance behind the name of the new album?
Yes, we have a record of failed relationships, like probably everybody else has. The title "Never Kill The Boy On The First Date" is not to be taken that serious - usually, girls wait a couple of weeks before killing you! :-) "Never Kill ..." is just something that came to our minds talking about some of our more "emotional" lyrics. And we're not saying that boys are any better in relationships than girls, of course! :-)

Obviously, the scene in the United States and Germany differ in many ways but also may be similar.... I'm not sure. Can you explain your feelings about that?
We - as a band - have never been to the US, so that is hard to answer. Maybe europeans have a better insight on the scene in the US than kids from the US have on the european scene, because many of the popular bands and publications around here are from the US. There are many bands in germany and europe that would deserve more attention worldwide, for sure. We'll find out about the scene in the US on our summer tour and are looking forward to that!!

The band's sound is anything but "watered down" how did the name come about and how do you think it represents the music you make?
It was hard to find a name for the band that every band member would feel comfortable with, and when a friend of the band came up with "waterdown", we all liked the sound of that. And we thought it was a good name for us because we try to "water down" the barriers between different styles of hardcore, punk rock or "hard music" generally. We don't want to limit ourselves to just one genre or musical style!

On track 7 "June" of the new album you sing of the "perfect tragedy". What would you consider to be the perfect tragedy?
In this song, the "perfect tragedy" is something that you will probably laugh about soon. If your girlfriend drops you or something like that happens, it always seems like the end of the world. But of course, there are many tragic things happening in the world that we as white middle-class boys will hardly ever experience, so it's hard to define what the "perfect tragedy" is. We think it is a part of being "hardcore" to care about those things even if they don't directly affect you personally.

You guys sing of smoking cigarettes down to the filter in the song "lessons I can't learn". Do you guys really do that, and what kind of cigarettes do they have in Germany.
Some of us smoke, some don't. We probably have the same cigarettes in germany as you have in the US - there are some cigarette brands that I think are exclusively produced for germany, but you would not want to smoke them! And hey, you did it: you asked something nobody ever asked in an interview before! :-)

For those people who have never heard Waterdown..... when you come to the states why should they come and see you? What does your live show have to offer?
If you have seen waterdown live, you can tell all your friends that you've seen a german band and it was not freakin' Rammstein, ha! And our bassist Christian knows someone who was in Acme before!! Seriously, playing shows was - and still is - basically what we started this band for. We try to involve the audience in what is happening, we want everybody to have a good time, sing along and dance. We always try our best ...

How do you say emo sucks in german?
Hey, you did it again! Another one of those questions ... "emo sucks" probably translates to "oh Mann, schon wieder so eine Platte, die mich Jahre meines Lebens kostet!". Actually, "emo" does not suck. Sometimes you're just fed up of all that whining and need some more aggressive songs, maybe. Some of our favourite bands are typical "emo" bands, like Jimmy Eat World or Sunny Day Real Estate or the great Texas Is The Reason ...

Lastly, if there were any bands in the united states you would love to play a show with who you haven't already who would they be and why?
There are many bands we'd love to play with. If we could choose, at the moment that would be Weezer. They are just incredible. We only heard one of their new songs ("Photograph") yet, and it's impossible to get that song out of your head!

Thanks for your interest in waterdown, feel free to contact us at ingo@waterdown.de!