¤ These are the interviews and articles I have collected from the net.  The complete interview series from www.rammstein.de can also be found here.  More interviews will be added as they come out. Anatomy Of A Set List Article - October '98 Halloween in Washington NAZIS? HEIL NO! EXCLUSIVE MTV INTERVIEW MTV interview - November '98 NYROCK INTERVIEW INTERVIEW 1 THE INTERVIEW - Part II THE INTERVIEW RESULTS - PART 2 INTERVIEW: RESULTS PART 3 THE INTERVIEW - PART 4 INTERVIEW 5

Anatomy Of A Set List Taken from Spin October 1998 Anatomy Of A Set List by Tim Kenneally >>>>> Rammstein: Silly German pyromaniacs...on tour! Think Kiss. Think Big Black's "Kerosene." Add German vocals that sound like they're being sung by The Simpsons' McBain and you've got Rammstein, a Teutonic metal-industrial sextet that's always set for burning down the haus. With their second album, Sehnsucht, climbing the U.S. charts, the band is packing up their whips and flamethrowers and planning a full Stateside putsch for this fall. "Rammstein is not very fond of the normal rock concert," guitarist Richard Kruspe says with atypical understatement. "When you look at our show, it's very visual." Indeed-especially compared to when you don't look at it. The Set List: "Rammstein" (mantel) 1 "Bestrafe Mich" (peitsche) 2 "Weisses Fleisch" (fusse) 3 "Seemann" (boot) 4 "Heirate Mich" 5 "Riecher" (bogen) 6 "Du Hast" (telefon/knall) 7 "Engel" (lycotoepfe/sticks) 8 "Bringer" (flammi/knall/haende)9 Translation: 1 "Ramming Stone" (coat). With typical German efficiency, vocalist Till Lindemann emerges from the wings with his chain-mail jacket already ablaze.a Makes Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat look like a wuss. a But Beavis, don't try this at home: After a few mishaps involving gasoline, a match, and severe burns, Rammstein dumped the D.I.Y. approach. They now employ trained pyrotechnics professionals. 2 "Punish Me" (whip). The strapping singer a begs for humiliation as he whips himself, then proceeds to flog the bare heiney of skinny keyboardist Flake. b a Swam in the 1988 Olympics. b A man. 3 "White Meat" (feet). Enter the flaming shoe. This song has been cited as proof of a neo-Nazi agenda. It might also be interpreted as an endorsement of pork or poultry. Significance of blazing footwear unclear; possible variation on the old "hotfoot" gag. 4 "Sailor" (boat). Flake crowd-surfs aboard an inflatable raft. An existential acknowledgement that we are all adrift, even in a sea of humanity? Ja, right. 5 "Marry Me." Uncharacteristic moment of sentimentality, hence lack of fire. 6 idiomatically, "Good Sense" (bow). Flaming arrows are shot across the stage from a crossbow. Ted Nugent also favored this stage antic. He, too, has been accused of harboring right-wing views. 7 "You Have" (telephone explosion). Lindemann gets a call on his cell phone, which blows up and bursts into flames. Gives new meaning to the phrase "crank call." 8 "Angel" (gunpowder/sticks). Flaming drumsticks. Once in a while, you gotta give the drummer some. A decided improvement over the traditional solo. 9 "Messenger" (flames/exploding hands). Effect in which Lindemann seems to fire blanks out of his fingertips.a As an encore,b Lindemann wheels out a military flamethrower and shoots balls of fire into the sky. a Puffy used same effect on his "Puff Daddy & the Family" tour. b Contingent on local fire codes. According to Kruspe, the Chicago fire marshal banned any pyro effects, citing the Great Fire of 1871.

ARTICLE - OCTOBER '98 During their travel through the middle - west of the United States Rammstein were constantly in danger of being arrested and put into prison. This situation was caused by several cities' (including Salt Lake City, Lafayette, Kansas City, Kalamazoo etc.) authorities statement. They considered showing genitals (even as dildos) as an offence and serious crime. Rammstein members were also every day exposing themselves to danger of losing their work permission and thus finishing their concert career in this country. New Orleans was the hitherto existing climax of the tour. This city's authorities sent 73 policemen and 6 witnesses in plain clothes to the concert hall in order to imprison the band for showing the song "Bueck dich" ("Bend Down") - the so-called "dildo act". It hadn't been cleared up till now if it was MTV who saved the band from being arrested (they were ready to film this use of undue authority), or the sheriff ("Don't come in, good show") became the real fan of the performance. The kids' satisfaction and joy atendant upon such gigs in cities ruled by mormons, baptists and orthodox protestants was so big that we can only imagine how huge demand for gadgets available at the band's stall was. In the evening of 2nd November, 1998 in N.Y. the band received the Golden Plate for having sold over 750.000 copies of their "Sehnsucht" ("Yearning") album in the US. Gentlemen from Rammstein were especially pleased with this event, which was a very good crowning of their "Family Values" tour (the longest in band's career). Judging from American record company's and their German manager Peter Koeppke's promises, this joy is absolutely justifiable, because one can feast such events only in the United States. The only thing that is left is to wait with curiosity for what happens. On the 10th November, 1998 the six musicians set out to Milan to rehearse before their performance at the MTV European Music Awards show (which is supposed to be broadcasted on November 12, 1998). Who knows - maybe they will meet there Madonna, who had announced during the American MTV Music Awards on the cover of "Billboard": "I would like to invite the German band Rammstein. I would take them to studio anytime and anywhere". In New Orleans the band also decided to consider offers of taking part in the Big Day Out tour in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the proposition of the performances in Japan in Jan/Feb 1999. This idea was then relegated to the band's management for discussion. As matters stood, the management ordered to cross Christmas out og the calendar. Rammstein members say: "We're looking forward to our homes, our German fans, our own beds and "Der Spiegel" under the cushion".

Halloween in Washington Berlin, 11-NOV-1998 a statement from Paul (guitar left) All of the Family Value bands were dressed up for Halloween (Limp Bizkit were dressed as fat Elvis, KoRn as eighties rockers) and we had no costumes for the occasion. So we decided to go on stage in Adam's costume - naked as God created us (we had taped the private parts with Gaffer tape). As we started the show, the cops threatened the promoter to interrupt the show unless Rammstein was going to put on clothes. Anyway, during the fourth song, we realized that the pyro technicians were no longer in place. At the same time, somebody tried to capture Till's microphone and yelled "The show is over!". (At that time, we were standing in the back because Flake was doing his dance solo...) Then Till and I were prevented from returning on stage while the others still didn't realize what was going on and kept on playing until the song was over. One of our roadies (Dave) tried to announce what had happened but was prevented because it was feared that the fans would start a riot. Well, if we are coming back to play in the States, we will make sure that we are guaranteed freedom of expression in our shows. . . ... until then, all the best from Paul (guitar left)

NAZIS? HEIL NO! Rammstein, the German industrial band at the centre of a spat with London Records labelmates Goldie and Asian Dub Foundation over Nazi imagery in their video, have contacted NME to deny any link with the extreme right. Rammstein whipped up a storm of controversy after they used footage from Olympia, Leni Riefenstahl's infamous film of the 1936 Berlin Olympics for the promo clip for 'Stripped', their contribution to the Depeche Mode tribute album 'Various Artists For The Masses'. In a statement they declared: "We are not Nazis, Neo-Nazis, or any other kind of Nazi. We are against racism, bigotry or any other type of discrimination." They added that they had used the film simply as an example of a visionary work of art, rather than to endorse Nazism or fascism. A spokeswoman for the Anti-Nazi League applauded the band's strenuous denial of any Nazi links, but added: "I still think they are misguided on the Leni Riefenstahl front. They really should have been a bit more upfront about what they are trying to say. You have to be very clear in your message when you use those kind of images." A statement issued by their record company defended Rammstein's video: "The band are humanists... They eschew any connection to the Neo-Nazi movement or the philosophy of the Third Reich. "Furthermore, Rammstein believe that good art knows no political allegiances, thus, the Leni Riefenstahl footage they used for 'Stripped' is an expression of good art rather than an endorsement of Nazism. By using these images outside of their original context and in combination with other media (the Russian newsreel footage, the music of Depeche Mode sung in English) the band hopes to create a collage that conveys a broad range of emotions." London are now set to go ahead with the release of their debut UK single 'Du Hast' on November 16. 'Stripped', which features on the Depeche Mode tribute album 'Various Artists For The Masses', out now, could be released at a later date as a single, London records said.

EXCLUSIVE MTV INTERVIEW KURT LODER: Could you explain the group philosophy, as well as what "Rammstein" means? TILL LINDEMANN (VOCALIST) : The name came from the big catastrophe that happened in Ramstein, which is a place in Germany, where the American airforce had a flight show. They crashed and over 80 people got hurt and killed. So the first song, actually, was about that accident. And then there was always like a cause when they'd say: "Ramstein, Ramstein!" So it came into our head and it stayed there. We just changed the spelling slightly because Ramstein is actually spelt with one "m". It also became somewhat of a provocation, by just repeating it, it kind of became like a symbol for us, an anthem. KURT: Could you explain the whole story of how you got on "The Lost Highway" soundtrack and how you got involved with David Lynch? TILL: We sent him a CD because we wanted him to direct our first video. And we sent tapes to other directors as well. He was in the process of doing "The Lost Highway" soundtrack, so he really didn't have time to do it, but at some point, his wife put the CD in the player while they were driving to the set, and during that drive, he fell in love with the music, and that's how he decided to put it on the soundtrack. KURT: The "Du Hast" video seems very similar to "Reservoir Dogs," the film by Quentin Tarantino. Was that an influence on the video, or just coincidental? TILL: All six of us are great fans of Tarantino, so we wanted to follow-up on that with our second video. Now we are really big Tarantino fans. KURT: Could you explain your live act -- the fire in it? TILL: Basically, we just wanted to provide some visuals, not just sounds, because the sounds you can here at home on the CD. So we added it into our show because we wanted to make a big impression, a visual impression as well as a musical one. But it's hard because we encounter a lot of trouble with fire marshals and authorities, and it just takes a lot of effort and time to get through a show. KURT: Does it become dangerous and fearful at times? TILL: We once had an accident in front of a large audience, at a festival where a burning beam fell down. But before that accident happened, we did it all ourselves -- all the pyro effects. And after that accident, we hired professional people to take care of that. As far as we go, we have gotten hurt -- like minor burns on your ear, or your hair kind of catches fire. But nothing really dangerous has happened to us. KURT: Is that what those burns on top of your head are from? TILL: It was from something going on on-stage between the band members. I always make sure the audience is never in any kind of danger -- that's a very high priority. KURT: Is there pressure to translate songs into English when going on tour in America? CHRISTOPH DOOM SCHNEIDER (DRUMS): It just makes me wonder why people sing along if they don't understand the German lyrics. But we sing in German and we don't want to translate it into English. KURT: As far as playing live, what do guys think you do differently than other bands, bands for instance, that use a lot of stage theatrics within their shows -- like industrial bands have? And what do you think they do differently than you? CHRISTOPH: We make good music, that's the difference. KURT: Can you tell me about any other East German bands that we don't know about? CHRISTOPH: : There are a few German bands that make a similar kind of music, especially one called "Oomph!". KURT: Are you into American pop music? PAUL LANDERS (GUITAR): We don't necessarily distinguish between English, American or Spanish pop. We are not necessarily into only American pop... Madonna's last single I liked a lot. KURT: Living and growing up in East Germany, were you able to hear a lot of American and British music? CHRISTOPH: A lot of people think that we didn't hear different kinds of music behind the wall, but that's not really the case. We heard a lot through radio and we also heard about Depeche Mode, which was very popular in Germany. KURT: What are your feelings on Celine Dion? PAUL: "Titanic"! I like her. KURT: And what do you think about the Spice Girls? CHRISTOPH:I admire the Spice Girls' marketing. They never had to play live. KURT: : Would you ever let Puff Daddy do a remix of one of your songs? CHRISTOPH: I am not necessarily a fan of Puff Daddy, but I thought the last song he did was kind of good, so I wouldn't really mind if he did a remix.

MTV interview - November '98 JULIA:Are you excited at being here at the EMAs in Milan '98 ? OLIVER: I'm excited but I don't like playing at awards because you can only play one song. JULIA: But don't you get a rush putting your all into one song or do you prefer playing to your fans? OLIVER: But I don't need rush. JULIA: Are you nervous ? PAUL: Yes, but we aren't your average "Popstar" and we are not into miming to playback. We are only playing here on condition that we play live, we think that playback is cheap. But I am happy to be here. JULIA: Who would you like to meet at the after show party at the EMAs ? PAUL: We won't tell you. JULIA: Who is your dream woman ? Jenny McCarthy ? Madonna ? Is there anyone that you are dying to meet ? PAUL: Meeting someone isn't something you can plan. JULIA: You have just toured the U.S. Did the Americans have problems pronouncing your name ? PAUL: Yes, we spent half the time teaching them. They had problems rolling their "r's". I got them to make a sound like a cat and then for the "stein" part think of Einstein I don't think they were that interested but it kept us enertained. JULIA: But did they try to sing along at the concert ? OLIVER: : They did sing along, without understanding I guess, so long as it sounded German and fun it was o.k. JULIA: : What are your chances of winning ? PAUL: First time round we never win but the 2nd time we will. JULIA: You never know. PAUL: We are not that keen on awards, we never put them up. Oliver always gives his away. JULIA: Who do you give your awards to ? OLIVER: : To fan clubs or whoever wants them really.

NYROCK INTERVIEW by Gabriella, November 1998 Former Olympic swimmer, Till Lindemann, now lead vocalist of Rammstein, sings romantic lyrics on stage while engulfed in flames from head to toe, as keyboardist Flake breaks fluorescent lighting tubes over his bare chest. Why, you ask? Because "we think the idea of pure rock music tends to be a little bit boring" says founder and guitarist Richard Kruspe. "We use visual elements such as pyrotechnics to enrich the music and enrich the show. So it becomes more theatrical" Throw in some whipping, flame-throwing, not to mention music, and you have Rammstein's recipe for international stardom. Formed in 1993 in East Berlin, Rammstein sailed to great heights in their native Germany within a couple of years and have since taken the rest of the world by storm. Having just finished up performing throughout the US, supporting Korn in their 'Family Values tour', the members of Rammstein - which in addition to Till, Flake and Richard, include Paul Landers on guitar, Oliver Riedel on bass, and Christoph Schneider on drums - took a few moments of respite from their firestorm to chat with NY Rock. NYROCK: Let's get the unpleasant part out of the way first. The German press has repeatedly accused you of having a fascistic leaning RICHARD: I think it would have been fair if the press would have asked us about it instead of spreading rumors that we are fascists, Nazis and God knows what. I think that is a terrible way of abusing the power of the media. Blackballing somebody, spreading vicious and unfounded rumors and then wondering why the band reacts less than pleased. Sometimes it really makes me wonder if the journalists ever realize what they're doing with accusations like this. Accusing a band of having fascistic tendencies attracts a fascistic audience even if the band is not fascistic at all. It was never an issue in the States, the audience took our show for what it is: entertainment, a great show. And they're not trying to find a political meaning in everything. Germany can be really uptight about things. You know, I think most of them just weren't smart enough to realize that a show with a lot of pyrotechnics is simply that - a good show. Not everything is political, but it is a very German thing to try and find the proverbial fly in the soup. Plus we're German. So, of course, they can't like us. TILL: There is a perfect explanation for this: Narrow mindedness. NYROCK: You had a hard time getting airplay in Germany. You sold out stadiums and headlined festivals, but airplay was something else... FLAKE: The political aspect, they tried to make us political and it's really strange if they're trying to find something political just for the sake of it, just for the sake of being able to ban us. It's media hysteria. It's OK if one of the DJs or VJs doesn't like our music. Fine. You can't please everybody, but in order to do his job he should do it right and not try to label us and put the lid on us. OLIVER: That's exactly the point. All we ask for is that they're open minded, but they abuse their positions. I think a DJ or VJ is working in customer service. If he only wants to play the music he really likes, he should stay at home and listen to his albums. That's like journalists dissing bands just because it's not their personal taste. I consider that highly unprofessional. RICHARD: That didn't happen in the States at all. The people there are far less uptight about things. They take it easier. They see a great show and they come to enjoy the show and that's that. They don't try to read anything into it. NYROCK: I heard some rumors about how you treat critics. You handcuffed one editor to a chair and put some pyrotechnical stuff around him and let him be found by his colleagues while you were busy performing as the headliners of the festival... FLAKE: Ha ha ha ha! That's right, but he deserved it. He didn't treat us fair in any way. He abused his position to dis us. He dissed and slandered us all the time and we were just biding our time, you know. We knew we could wait that out. But the funniest part about it was that it was the festival of the channel where he's an editor - and we were the headliners. RICHARD: He certainly got what he deserved. It didn't hurt him in any way. We were not violent but he was the laughingstock for a while. Maybe it will help him to think about things. Maybe it will help some other band. NYROCK: What happened between Ozzy Osbourne and Rammstein? The grapevine had it that Ozzy was angry because you played a joke on him and had a bigger light show than the master himself... RICHARD: He was under the misconception that we were his support. It was a festival and we were the co-headliner not the support, but obviously nobody had dared to tell Ozzy and he was slightly pissed off that our show was bigger than his. NYROCK: That was all? RICHARD: Not really, but the rest is even more ridiculous. It's simply a joke. NYROCK: That sounds intriguing... RICHARD: Basically it was a mistake, a simple mistake. And Ozzy didn't kick a big fuzz. It was his wife, Sharon. NYROCK: So what happened? RICHARD: One of our crew members, a roadie, forgot a wire. Our pyro-show needs a lot of preparation and equipment and he simply missed a wire. During Ozzy's show it fell down. Basically, nothing happened. You know, just a wire fell down. Till and I were standing around on the side of the stage, watching the show and all of a sudden Sharon showed up and started yelling. She accused us that we tried to ruin his show. It was crazy. I really did like his show. I think their guitarist is one of the best. NYROCK: Your fan base in America didn't just grow; it seemed to explode. How did that happen? RICHARD: I don't know, but the same thing happened in Europe. Fans appeared from out of nowhere. You know, it just goes even faster in the US. The States are simply more fast paced and not as laid back as Europe. NYROCK: I'm a bit surprised that you didn't release an album with English lyrics for the US... FLAKE: We toyed with the idea and Till tried to sing some lyrics in English but it just didn't sound right. I remember that I used to go to see Bob Dylan concerts when I was young. I didn't understand a word but I still went to see him. I think it's the music and not the lyrics. OLIVER: You know it didn't matter where we went, what language the people spoke. The reaction we got was the same almost everywhere. I think the songs we did for the Lost Highway soundtrack helped a lot, "Rammstein" and "Heirate Mich" (Marry Me). [The inclusion of these two songs came about when the band asked David Lynch to direct their first video. Lynch was too busy making Lost Highway at the time, but became so enamored with their debut album Herzeleid (translated as "Heartache") that he included two of the songs in the film.] Sweden was particularly funny, they tried to sing along with a Swedish accent.  I'm from Sweden ;) NYROCK: So, the German lyrics don't seem to be a problem... RICHARD: Not at all! You know, I'm really surprised how many people could sing along. But, you know, most of us grew up behind the iron curtain. When we started to listen to music, and especially American music, we didn't understand the lyrics and it wasn't really important. I think the feeling they get from the songs is what is really important. Maybe hearing them in another language helps to add some mystery. NYROCK: You almost seem to have a cult following... RICHARD: I wouldn't call it a cult following and I don't see Rammstein as a cult. We're a band with six musicians and nobody is a leader or a cult figure. Of course, Till is the singer so he get's more of the spotlight, but that's normal. Every singer is in the spotlight. NYROCK: You've toured America once [in late 1997], so your current slot on the Family Values tour wasn't completely new. What was your impression the first time? RICHARD: I think the most important thing for all of us was that we had a connection with the audience, that we didn't need the pyrotechniques and all that to win the audience over. It made me very happy to realize that it was our music that the people liked. There's nothing wrong with pyro effects, as long as the music is still good and strong, but I guess there's always the danger to neglect one for the other, it's pretty hard to keep a good balance between giving a good show, a great spectacle and just good music. NYROCK: It's hard to imagine you without all of the special effects: fire, bombs, lights, the works. Why did you leave it out? RICHARD: We were touring, going from state to state and every state has different laws and the people take their jobs very seriously, even worse than in Germany if you can imagine. NYROCK: Was it an issue that you're German? RICHARD: Well, I think it was more an issue that we were foreigners. They were really careful - in Santa Ana they confiscated our equipment, not the musical equipment but everything we needed for the fireworks, the whole pyro show. It really sucked, but we learned that it's impossible to organize it from Europe. So we're better prepared for this tour. TILL: This time our audience got music and fireworks on top of it. NYROCK: You've begun to work more with keyboards and samples in your music, than with heavy guitars... FLAKE: That's right and that's how we've planned it. I think it is less stressful, less strenuous to listen to our songs. You know, if you listen to five or six songs with heavy guitars it can be annoying. So, samples sound definitely better. RICHARD: I think it's important to keep a certain balance, and I think our development as a band definitely points in the right direction. We tried something new and if we don't like it anymore we'll try something else. It's always easy to go back, but it's a lot harder to go forward. OLIVER: There aren't many guitar-focused albums people listen to - I mean listen to them from the first to the last song. After a while guitars can become annoying and you switch them off, but we didn't really say goodbye to the guitar sound. NYROCK: Do you think your success in America will alienate your German audience? RICHARD: Why should it? We toured a lot in Germany and Europe. We were always present and now America is a new challenge for us, but that's again a very typical German thing, the jealousy. I don't think our audience, our fans, will mind it but our critics will, of course. They can't say, "Cool, a successful German band, they made it international!" They're too jealous to do that. About a year ago most Americans couldn't name a German band - except maybe Nina [Hagen], Kraftwerk and probably the Scorpions. I'm really proud of our success in America, but I'm sure some people in Germany will claim that we were pushed. NYROCK: Doesn't the touring wear you out? RICHARD: Yes, it does. I think it's time for us to take a break. If you're playing too much, too often, if you're always on tour, then you can't be really creative and you lose a lot of time. Your life seems to rush by. You have to take time off to write new songs. You need to relax and kick back. You need to be able to grow bored, at least that's how it works for me. NYROCK: But isn't a gig something creative? RICHARD: Yes, it is and at the same time it isn't. At a gig you just repeat what you did. You're playing the songs again, but writing the songs, putting them together is the real creative action. NYROCK: So how do you feel about America? What's the big difference between Europe and America? OLIVER: America is a great goal for me. It is high on our priority list - as opposed to Japan. Japan would be too much hassle for me. And the big difference... RICHARD: The women! American women are far more outgoing and open than European or German women. They come up and talk to you and they don't make a big deal about it.

INTERVIEW 1 From: www.rammstein.com You just bombarded us with interview questions for Rammstein in September. We received more than 1000 questions. Thank you very much! We're overwhelmed. As you can probably imagine, Rammstein can't answer all the questions at once. There were a number of personal and a lot of very personal questions (!) ! There were great questions like: 'If you were ice cream which flavour would you be?' Noemi Paris from Barcelona sent us a mail with 38 very serious questions. A nice girl from states wrote: 'I noticed in Detroit, when I got my first autograph from you, that you are into drawing on yourself. What inspired you to do that??? Boredom?? Since I mentioned things that you do to yourself, I find your use of tape (and other things) on stage very erotic! After the show in Cleveland, where I got my autograph on paper, I noticed that you weren't wearing any shoes. (My girlfriend noticed this too so I know that it wasn't my vivid imagination) I have two comments..actually three. First, you have simply adorable feet. Second, in the event that you would need to make a quick escape, shoes would be good!! Third, I don't know if you noticed ( I hope you didn't find this out by accident) there was a lot of broken glass on the ground. I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to your next US tour. I can't wait to see what sort of stimulation you boys come up with next!!!' Rammstein: Hang on in there, we'll be back soon - thank you for your concern. Rammstein will absorb your questions and answer them via the Special. We will also go into more detail on individual questions. Here are a few answers for the time being. You want to know: The name of the new album and its direction. Answer: We're not revealing that yet. You want to know: I know that Rammstein are involved with the Rammstein website. (Richard mentioned this during an interview that I read). How directly are you involved with the website?? When are they going to put updated pictures back on the site?? Answer: Yes, we are involved with the site! Friends help to keep you up to date with information about us. You want to know: Guitar chords to our songs. Answer: If you want to know exactly then look in the Rammstein song book. Exclusive distributors: Music sales Limited, 8/9 Frith Street, London, W1V 5TZ, England. Music Sales Pty Limited; 120 Rothschild Avenue, Roseberry, NSW 2018, Australia; Order No. AM954130, ISBN O-7119-7220-6, Wise publications, London e. a., 1999 You want to know (a small taster): What are you afraid of? What cars do you drive? What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time? In which towns/countries would you like to live? Which of you are married? Do you have children? Where did you grow up? What did you look like as teenagers? What music did you use to listen to then? What music do you prefer today? When is your birthday? (each of you) How do you cope with being famous? Does being recognised on the street bother you? How do you families deal with it? Where do you go out in the evenings in Berlin? Which films do you like? Do you go to the fitness studio? What does 'Flake' mean? Where does this nickname come from? What is 'Dr' Christian Lorenz supposed to mean? Is Richard getting married? (frequent question) Are you really moving to New York? Is Till having a knee operation soon? What do you think of Latin America? What is your favourite town in USA? What do you think of 'moshing'? What are your favourite video games? Schneider: Is it true that the story with your ears resulted in slight deafness? Olli: Do you really give your prizes and awards away? Could they possibly be auctioned for a good cause? What do you think of rap? Are you gay? What is your favourite food? What are you doing for New Year 2000? Answer: Wow!

THE INTERVIEW - Part II From: www.rammstein.com Flake, Paul and Schneider give their opinions. In this part Flake and Paul answer your questions about the band. The next part will be about music, song writing and equipment. What are the origins of the band name Rammstein and what does it mean? Paul: The name refers to place called Rammstein, where 76 people died in an aeroplane accident. We also like the sound of the word Rammstein (the two ms etc.). When I¹m asked in America I always say it¹s a brand of beer. Schneider: From an airport with the same name. Why do you think Rammstein is the only popular German band in the USA? Flake: We know we are very successful in America at the moment. A reason could be that we are not copying American music. Schneider: To cut it short: We are great, original and outstanding!!! Where and when are you touring next? Flake: When the album has been released we are going on a long tour. Apart from Germany and big european countries we will also visit Asia, Australia, North and South America. It'll be a real worldtour. Are you going to record an album in English? Flake: We are not planning to record an album in English. Schneider: No. How did it come about that Emu became your manager? Flake: We asked him and after he had seen us in concert he agreed. Schneider: It was love at second sight. What do you answer to the accusations against you and other musicians like Marilyn Manson regarding the Columbine Highschool Shootings? Schneider: We don't feel responsible for this psychopathic act of cruelty. People can be influenced by nearly everything, why should music be a special case? Do you consider the way you are treated in the USA bad? Flake: We were treated appropriately well in the USA. Schneider: No. Have you ever thought of splitting up? Flake: No we haven¹t and we would be rather stupid if we did. Schneider: No. Are you planning a film project with Tarantino? Flake: We don¹t have any contact with Tarantino. Schneider: No. What music did you use to listen to and what do you listen to today? Flake: I used to be a Stones fan, used to like John Lee Hooker, Lou Reed, Pixies, Dead Kennedy¹s etc. Nowadays I¹m into peace and quiet. Except sometimes I listen to some Leonard Cohen or Johnny Cash. Do you like Depeche Mode? Schneider: Yes. Why are you on the Matrix soundtrack, but not heard in the movie? Schneider: this is quite common in the music business. The soundtrack is not always identical with what you hear in the movie. With whom would you like to record a song? Schneider: With David Bowie! Which member of Rammstein has got a musical education? Schneider: No one. What does Rammstein dream of? Schneider: Big tits. How do you deal with stardom? Does being recognised on the street bother you? How do your families deal with it? Flake: No one ever recognises me in Berlin because I look different to how I look on stage. Anyway we¹re not that popular in Berlin. My parents like Rammstein. My other relatives have no idea what I do. If you had to start from scratch again what would you do differently? Paul: Not release "Model" and "Du riechst so gut" as singles.

THE INTERVIEW RESULTS - PART 2 From: www.rammstein.com Paul, Flake and Schneider give their opinions In this part Flake, Paul and Schneider answer your questions about music, song writing and equipment. The next subjects are politics and religion. Did Kraftwerk make a statement about the cover version of "Das Modell"? Flake:Check out the Kraftwerk book "Kraftwerk ich war ein Roboter". Schneider: They think its a terrible version. The worst they've ever heard. What do you think of Mambo Kurt's Engel Remix? Flake: I think the Mambo Kurt version is good. The video too. Schneider: It's good. Who sings the female part in Engel? Flake:Bobo, the former singer from "Bobo in white wooden houses". Is it true that you wanted to record a song with Helge Schneider? Flake: We would love to sing with Helge Schneider but we haven't asked him yet. Schneider: Yes. (Smiles) Does Richard do the whistling himself on Engel? Flake:When we play live Richard and Paul whistle together. What are your influences? The song "Klavier" in particular: who is it by and which idea is it based on? Paul:We like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Pantera, Metallica, Prodigy and the Sex Pistols. "Klavier" tells the story of a man who murders his piano teacher, leaves her sitting at the piano and locks the room. In the song the her death is discovered years later. Do you use D-tuning or power chords? Paul: Both, that's why we often have to change guitars when we play live. Where do you get your inspiration for the songs and the show? Paul: We keep asking ourselves the same question Schneider: We often sit down together and think up new show elements and one surpasses the other. It's different with the songs. Usually the guitarists come up with ideas at home or in the studio. The ideas are converted into songs in the studio and Till then tries to fit them to a text and the actual work of making a Rammstein song begins. Would you say that Laibach have influenced you? Paul:A few of us like the sound on the "Live is Live" record. We're not so convinced about their concerts. How do you develop your songs? Paul: There are songs which are written at home which everybody agrees to immediately. There are songs which are written at home and are ruined together. There are songs which are written at home and are destroyed. There are songs which are written while jamming in the studio. How do you write your songs and texts? Is music built around a text or is it the other way round? Paul: Music and text are usually written parallel and then have to be welded together, which is actually the most difficult part. Which type of strings do you use? Paul: Dean Markley Which equipment do you use? Paul: Logic, AKAI, ESP, Musicman, Mesa Boogie, Protools, MAC-Computer, SANSMAP, Ensonic Do you think your music would be different if you had grown up in the west? Paul: Yes. More cowardly. What do you think of MP3? Do you think it will damage the music industry very much in the future? Paul: It's a child's dream: listening to music that doesn't come from something that revolves. Where did the idea for the cover to "Live aus Berlin" come from? Schneider: : From a photo session with Olaf Heine. After that we had tons of good and serious pictures. We particularly liked this amusing scene. We're listening to the transmission of an event, we are amazed by the technically impossible, it is funny and not very pushy. The most important thing for us here was to try to avoid the obligatory live photo on the live album.

INTERVIEW: RESULTS PART 3 From: www.rammstein.com Paul, Flake and Schneider give their opinions. The questions in March are about politics and religion. In the next part Paul, Flake and Schneider will answer your questions about the Rammstein show. What do you think of the USA? Schneider: There are lots of reasons why I like America. Everything is bigger, you feel like there's space. People are talkative and things are less complicated. Life in general appears to be more relaxed over there. I like touring in the US a lot. It's great that our German music is so successful in America, people even try to understand our lyrics. We've travelled the whole country with the band, it's better than being on holiday. I've met lots of people there and we were able to play together with other good bands (Korn, Limp Bizkit and KMFDM). The US is most definitely a completely controlled a police state however, contrary to all talk of freedom. I really don't know what to make of American morality. I could imagine living there for a while, but would never apply for American citizenship. Flake: It's a sick and decadent country with no culture. What do you think of the east German/west German conflict? Paul: The story is similar to that of the Native American Indians and the whites. The whites brought glass beads and the Indians forfeited their country. The whites classed the Indians as stupid and dirty and think themselves better. The Indians lived a simple but happy life etc. What do you miss about the GDR? Paul:: Naturalness, helpfulness; getting annoyed but not worrying. Flake: : It was pleasant not always having to choose between so many different makes of a product. My life was more natural, for example, you only had strawberries in summer. Are you religious? Flake: : I disapprove of religions which are made into rigid institutions. I also think that religious fanaticism and missionary work are dangerous. What do you think of orthodox religion? Paul: I am not really concerned with religion and believe more in ourselves. What do you think of Hitler? Flake:I think Hitler was mentally ill. Paul: He should of stayed in Austria. Seid Ihr faschistoid? Paul: No. Are you proud to be German? Paul: Paul: Not really, but in contrast to the majority of Germans we do not have a problem with the fact that we come from Germany. When you travel a lot your relationship to your home country becomes more relaxed. The Germans have lots of endearing characteristics and of course lousy ones as well and are therefore no different to the other nations of this planet.

THE INTERVIEW - PART 4 Paul, Flake and Schneider comment on the Rammstein show The final part of the interview in which Rammstein answer your questions personally will be online in April. Have you ever had the feeling on stage of playing really badly? Paul: Yes, definitely. Flake: Every now and then there are days when we play badly (after big parties etc.). The feeling disappears throughout the course of the concert however. When Till hits himself on the head with the microphone during ²Sehnsucht² does he use artificial blood or is he genuinely injured? Flake: The blood is real because Till hits himself on the very same place every evening. I don¹t understand it either. He can take a lot it seems. Why don¹t you play ²The Meister² at concerts? Schneider: We can¹t play all our songs. There is no particular reason for not playing ²The Meister² at concerts. Flake: The choice of songs is based on decisions about the dramatic affect we want to create. How does the American audience differ from the German audience? Schneider: Our audience in America is younger, the German audience has been behind us a lot longer. Flake: It¹s easier to arouse the enthusiasm of our American audience. Which concert in the USA/Germany have you enjoyed the most? Schneider: Berlin Wuhlheide Flake: Each member of the band perceives the concerts differently. I enjoyed Seattle myself. Where do you prefer playing? USA or Germany? Schneider: We play where we are in demand and where we can afford to perform. Flake: I prefer playing in the USA because the attitude to music is more relaxed. Richard: The American audience has a more openminded attitude to music, they also get enthusiatic about instrumental parts and a good riff is always appreciated. As a guitarrist this is of course an incredibly good feeling. In contrast to, let´s say Flake, I enjoy being in the USA also in my spare time. Maybe Flake´s attitude to the US is quite literally connected to his stomach, he always longs for dark bread when he is in the States! For me the USA is the country where I met my wife, we got married there and I can certainly imagine moving to the States one day. Where do you buy your drugs on tour? Do you take drugs? Schneider: It was a long time ago that I tried drugs. I¹m not interested in drugs as a rule. Flake: I drink alcohol. Where do you get your silver hair colour? Paul: It¹s white cream. Who designs your clothes and where are they on sale? Paul: They are a combination of our own ideas and the work of tailor friends of ours. How many people work on a show? What is the approximate cost of a show? Paul: Around 30 people. Costs and profit balance themselves everywhere except in Germany. As a rule we use profits to finance performances in countries where we haven¹t played yet. That was how we got to America. Why do you show so little emotion during your shows? Paul: Because we are enjoying excactly that.

INTERVIEW 5 In the last part of our interview series Paul and Flake comment on personal questions. Which make of car do you drive? Flake: At the moment we're rarely at home. That's why owning a car actually doesn't make sense. How do you spend your leisure time? Do you have any hobbies? Flake: Eating, drinking, sleeping.... In which cities/countries would you prefer to live? Flake: I would like to live some place at the ocean nearby hills. Do you have children? Flake: I have a daughter. Where did you grow up? Flake: I grew up in the Prenzlauer Berg area in Berlin. That's the district I still live in. And when I go to our rehearsals for instance I always pass my old school building. How did you look like when you were teenaged? Flake: First I was a longhaired bluesfan. Then I became sort of a punk wearing colored pants and stuff from the west I got in exchange like Doc Marten's and Shell-Parkas. Which movies do you like? Paul: It's changing all the time. At the moment I like best "King Ping" und "Pulp Fiction". Do you do work out? Paul: Only rarely. Do you have pets? Paul: Till has fish. Richard's wife owns a dog. Did you ever taste vodka? Paul: Yes. Are you gay? Paul: No. Which are your favourite video games? Paul: Doom, Half Live, Team Fortress, Golden Eye. What do you think of Latin America? Paul: I love Mexico. What's your favourite city in the USA? Paul: New York, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans. Are your children allowed to listen to your music and watch your shows? Paul: Yes.