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In Words: Willie Tanner



- Kate - May 2009 - Claudia Ehrhardt -


www.kaputtrocken.de








Willie Tanner
© Willie Tanner


Kate - May 5th 2009 (by email)




Willie Tanner is a new band and so there are a few questions to ask to learn more about the newcomers. Thanks to Kate for taking time!


Please tell us a bit about the beginning of the band and how you got the band named Willie Tanner!

  The story of Willie Tanner is a story full of misunderstandings... *laughs* Well, it's not that bad. We had the idea at a bar in Nuremberg in a drunken state of mind. At that time we all were still involved in other bands, but after years of playing with the same people we wanted to start something new. So we made an appointment for a jam session - and at the end we had a song written. The song sounded great and it was real fun! But after we had written the first smash hits, we needed a name! We all grew up in the 80's and we remembered our childhood days, talked about the TV program and which stuff we watched.... All the different stuff like Michael Knight and Saber Rider to Chuck Norris – but somehow we all got hooked up by Willie... So there was the idea to use this name... After 20 min. of laughter we had a new Tanner family!

Have the C64 sound been part of your music right from the start? Or was this sound element added later on?

Not in the beginning, at least the first sessions were pure rock'n'roll. But we didn't want to do the same as in our former bands and Andi and Nikos worked with samples in the past. Andi is great with all this electronic sounds - and we like all the bells and whistles. We wanted to break free from known patterns.

You describe your sound as C64 Porno Metal... That make me think of Rockbitch with C64-sounds... Isn't this description misleading?

  No, absolutely not! We had the initial idea at the time of the band name. We just tried to get away from this overly serious way we were pursuing with our former bands. We focus on the music and didn't want a name of more then a dozen words or something like 'they can't be labelled' in the biography. Nobody wants to read or hear this anymore. And so we took the most absurd description of our sound which we could think of. Music is an art and like every art its subjective - and so a description isn't important. Everybody who reads C64 Porno Metal and thinks of tits and ass' might discover that 'porn' can be much more than that! ;)

Which bands have influenced you musically? Lyrically?

  You get influenced by all and everything around you. Everybody in the band has a different background, so there are many different influences. But I can tell you that we aren't influenced by Guano Apes! They are from the 90's and have been great at a time, but they have no relevance for us. Life is influencing us - musically and lyrically. There is no better way to let steam off then writing. No need to see a shrink, I can save that money! =)

Your debut is called How To Be A Complete Bastard, why this title?

It's the name of an awesome C64 game. =) And it could also be connected with the musical definition... ;)

Beside the title track, which song shows the Willie Tanner sound the best? And is there a song which has a special meaning for you?

  Every song has a meaning, one way or the other... Even if it's just annoying, coz it's an old one and we just want to do something new. Every song has its story... sometimes its the nerve-wrecking recording session or its the lyrics. At the end it's the wholeness which creates the Tanner sound. We are quite sure that the next album will sound different - somehow!

There are a few shows scheduled... Would it be possible to tour? Any talks about that?

  Tour sounds great to me! Sure, a tour is what we are working for - and we are working on realizing it. But it's quite difficult to do, coz we all have jobs. Coordination is the key! So, this fall we want to do a small tour... A world tour with Metallica and AC/DC opening for us in 2010 is in the works! ;)

What else is on your schedule for 2009?

  We want to play many shows and we will write new songs. We are hungry for something new! I can tell you that it will be a wild ride! At the moment we can hope to play at 'Rock im Park 09', if everybody is voting for us at www.becks.de !! ;)


So, if you want to help them, then vote at Becks.de for Willie Tanner!



Claudia Ehrhardt

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