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Waterdown Interview

Flying out of Germany, Waterdown has quickly left their mark on the punk/ hardcore world over the past year. Their ascension has culminated in their new release "Never Kill the Boy on the First Date" on Victory Records. Waterdown has played in Europe with a number of notable bands in their short tenure including Grade, Avail and Snapcase. These shows have proved to the audience and bands alike that Waterdown belongs at the forefront of the industry. Look for Waterdown attacking the U.S. with Thursday this summer. Visit them at www.waterdown.de

Professor (P) : *Who is responding to this?
Waterdown (W) : Ingo (vocals)

P: Could you give a quick history of the band?

W: We started Waterdown in early 2000 after the demise of our former bands. We
all knew each other before and some of us played in bands together before,
so we decided to do something together. Some month later, we recorded the
"Draw A Smiling Face" EP (on Two Friends Recordings from Germany) and got
the chance to play some shows with (amongst others) Grade. Grade really
liked us and took one of our EPs to the Victory office after returning to
the US and actually told the people there they had to sign us. And they did.
We're very happy about that as we did not expect to be signed to such a huge
label that soon. In February 2001, we recorded our first full-length album
for Victory Records, "Never Kill The Boy On The First Date".

P: What have been your guys' musical influences?

W: We all grew up with metal and punkrock/hardcore, and we all have very
diverse musical tastes. We listen to bands like Jimmy Eat World or Sunny Day
Real Estate as well as to bands like Yuppicide or Sick Of It All. We love a
lot of metal bands like At The Gates or The Haunted, as well as "exreme"
stuff like Fantomas. It's actually hard to say what our musical influences
are.

P: Has it felt like an avalanche with quickly gaining worldwide notoriety
and subsequently signing with Victory?

W: We were very surprised that Victory showed interest in signing us, and we're
very happy that we'll get the chance to tour the US this summer. It is a
cool thing to have our record released worldwide, and we're very excited
about all that is happening right now!

P: Talk a bit about the new album. For instance, where it was recorded? By
who? How did it go? How much it rocks?

W: "NKTBOTFD" was recorded in February 2001 at the bluBox studios in Cologne,
Germany. It is produced by Guido Lucas, the owner of the BluNoise Records
label. He produced bands like Harmful, Lockjaw or Tupamaros before, and a
lot of german noisebands, including Pendikel, Christian and Jörg's former
band. He's a nice guy and recording with him was very convenient. We changed
and rearranged many songs in the studio and there was a very productive
atmosphere. And we had a lot of fun, too. And yes, we think it rocks!

P: How difficult do you think it will be to break into the American market?
Do you feel there are obstacles coming from Europe?

W: It won't be easy to break into the American market, as there are so many
really fantastic bands over there. We just hope kids in America will like
what we do and show some interest in hardcore music from Europe. I don't
really think there are obstacles coming from Europe. By now our record is
released in the US, and we'll see how what the kids in the US think about
Waterdown.

P: Talk a bit about the upcoming tour.

W: We'll be touring the US for about seven weeks, which is quite a long time
for a young band like us. We'll be touring with Thursday, the other new
Victory signing, plus a headliner that we don't know yet. Thursday are a
fantastic band, and we're looking forward for that. We'll probably play some
shows with Grade and some with Drowningman, and the tour will be in
July/August.

P: Where is your favorite place to play?

W: We don't have a favourite place to play yet. So far, we always had fun.

P: How has been opening for such well-known bands such as Snapcase and
Avail?

W: We loved those bands for a long time before, and supporting their shows was
really cool. Avail invited us to support them on their US tour this year,
that unfortunately did not happen, because we did not have the opportunity
to go to the US when they were touring ... we'll be playing a show with
them here in Germany next month, and we can't wait to see them again,
they're really nice!

P: Who would you love to tour with that you haven't yet?

W: At the moment, that would probably be Weezer. Their new record is amazing.
And we would love to tour with Hot Water Music!

P: How has your past groups affected and developed the musical style of
Waterdown's sound?

W: We all played in very different sounding bands before, and Waterdown is a
mixture of all those bands plus a lot of other influences. It helped us as a
band that we all had some experiences before, of course.

P: How did you come up with the cool cover for the new record?

W: Our singer Marcel had e-mail contact with Limbert Fabian for some time, who
did artwork for Snapcase, Hankshaw etc, and sent him a copy of our EP. He
liked it and offered to do artwork for us if we were ever recording an
album. We are very happy that this did happen now, and we think he did a
great job!

P: Do you guys have day jobs?

W: Most of us are working or studying at the moment. We will have to give up
those jobs soon for Waterdown, and we don't know who's going to pay our rent
then ... :-)

P: Do you think that there have been serious residual effects from the
German reunification in terms of the economy, society, etc.?

W: The reunification of Germany did not have that serious effects on how people
in West-Germany (like us) live. The effects on the people in East-Germany
have not been all positive. Many people lost their jobs, and many young
people never got one. It's not easy to say something about the effects of
the unification on society, as we live in this unified Germany for ten years
now and probably don't notice all subtle changes over such a long time. It
is obvious that the unified Germany is more powerful and willing to use that
power than at any time after world war II. It did not take the unified
Germany long to be actively involved in war again, for example in former
yugoslavia. We don't feel comfortable with such a powerful Germany for many
reasons.

P: Do you think the European Union has provided a positive stimulus to the
economy in Europe, specifically Germany? Do you have any thoughts on how it
may fair in the future?

W: The European Union and what the EU will become in the future has a big
impact on economy, in Europe and worldwide. The EU is probably designed to
become a counterpart to the economical power of the US. But the positive
effects will be positive effects for the big multinational corporations, and
that does not necessarily mean it will be positive for the people!

P: Do you think that nature always tries to be in a state of equilibrium?

W: Mmh, yes. Probably. Err, why not? Ok, I'd settle for answer a: "yes", then.

P: What feelings and emotions do you attempt to invoke from your audience
during shows?

W: We want people to move, to dance, to singalong and to have fun. We want the
kids to feel better after seeing a Waterdown show.

P: How much of society and culture is simply an attempt to make people
forget they are merely physical beings who will eventually die like any
another animal?

W: Most of society and culture is an attempt to make people forget that they
are human beings, I think. People are told what they need to live happily,
what is "normal" and what is not, and are basically taught not to think for
themselves. So, most of society and culture is an attempt to make people
forget how unhappy they are in fact.

P: What life lessons have affected how you live today?

W: I think all things you go through affect how you live your life, not only
the outstanding experiences, so that is hard to answer!

P: Do you have a website for people to check out beyond Victory's?

W: Our diy website is www.Waterdown.de

P: What is on tap for Waterdown in the near and far future?

W: In the near future, we will (probably) be doing split-releases with two
great bands, By A Thread from Canada and Tupamaros from Germany. We'll be
touring, touring and touring and playing some shows in between. We have no
idea about the far future of Waterdown, we'll see what happens ...
Thanks for your interest in Waterdown,