A song that made you want to make music?
I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers
Best rider you’ve had?
We played at a small festival in a rural part of Germany a few years ago. I remember that the only vegan option they had was dry flatbread, while the main dinner option was steak, and the only side dish choices were a cheese salad and an egg salad, which was pretty wild.
A couple of days later, the promoter sent me a Google form asking for feedback and ratings of different aspects of the festival so they could learn from the first event. I gave everything a 10/10 rating because the festival was really great, but I added a small note suggesting that vegan options would be fantastic in the future. The promoter suddenly became very salty and got pissed at me. Haha!
Craziest moment you’ve experienced in the band?
I believe that breaking it down is impossible, but at this very moment, we are genuinely and in the best way possible, in the process of releasing our new EP, ‘Forever Outsider‘. This process has made us feel like a completely new band, and we are the best version we have ever been as The Deadnotes.
Deepest lyric one of your songs features?
“Live fast, die young” (from “A Glade Inside The Vines”)is not a very deep set of lyrics, but they are some cheap words that I can really relate to. During the writing process, I realized that these lyrics had so much more to them, relating to my actions and the lifestyle I’m always after and trying to keep in control. They turned out to be much more meaningful than I initially thought.
Easiest song you wrote?
I feel like pretty much any of our songs are hard to write, and they take us a lot of time. We’re not only total freaks, nerds, and perfectionists but we also love being experimental. I always try out different versions and styles of our own songs, most of the time only to prove that I was already on the right track with the first draft.
However, I remember that “Forever Outsider,” the title track of our upcoming EP, was a song that felt right from the very first moment when we started writing it. It came together very quickly compared to other Deadnotes songs.
Favourite song in your set?
Playing the new EP songs live is something that I love, especially ‘Dog Years.’ It’s a real show-off song that features wild bass licks and some crazy drum and percussion parts.
Guest you’d most like to feature on your record?
We wanted to have the amazing German Indie artist and our friend Maxi aka Shitney Beers do a feature on one of our songs for a long time and it finally worked out with our new single ‘A Glade Inside The Vines’. I can finally die in peace.
Hardest thing about being in a band?
Playing in a band is a daily struggle, but it is also incredibly rewarding. However, the financial struggle has reached a completely new level since all our gear got stolen during a tour last year. It’s been tough, but we’re doing our best to get through it.
Interesting fact about one of your members?
Our live drummer, Felix, played his first DIY show in a squatted German autonomous center when he was 12 years old. That guy is a real rockstar..
Jokes you have in the band?
Seriously, I’m not funny at all, but Jakob does an insane impression of this one German indie artist. However, I don’t think anyone in the UK knows them, so I’ll save myself the name-dropping.
Key to writing a song?
For Jakob and me, that’s sitting in front of a screen going completely nuts. As time passes, we notice that we’ve spent another 5 hours working on a 10-second part. There’s nothing I love more, but I also know we tend to drive everyone else insane with our approach.
Longest distance you’ve traveled to play a song?
The first thing that comes to my mind is the 19-hour overnight drive and almost 1200 km we drove between a show in Nuremberg, Germany and Wydminy in Poland the next day. It was quite a distance, and Wydminy is already located quite close to the Lithuanian border.
Most inspiring musician you’ve experienced?
Our friend Paul, who played sax and piano on our current release, is one of those guys who still surprises me, inspires me, and makes me love music the way I do, even after years of knowing each other.
New band you’d recommend?
I was recently introduced to Piss Kitti from Liverpool, and I really dig their music. Also, please check out our friend Shitney Beers from Germany.
Opening for this band would be ideal?
I would LOVE to open up for The Strokes. Their latest record “The New Abnormal” from 2020 is one of those albums I keep coming back to every 2-3 months because it is so sick and never gets old.
Place you’d most like to tour?
We have a very good relationship with the UK and always love coming back. I know that’s only my very subjective experience, but I feel like music and genres are much less restricted, and there’s so much less pigeonhole thinking than in Germany.
Quote you’d like to pass on to our readers?
I genuinely find it so hard to give any advice. I don’t even know what I’m doing here at times, but seriously: Do your thing!
Reason for the title of your recent/forthcoming release?
Our ‘Forever Outsider’ EP is named after the song with the same title. It not only sums up our feelings towards the band’s progress trying to break out of genre stigmas and create a bit of a more experimental yet poppy experience. We also find it very empowering to be outsiders and create our space that everyone who feels the same way is welcome to join and design it together.
See us live at?
Pretty much everywhere all over Europe in August and September. We’re gonna play shows in the UK, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic and I literally can’t wait to play these new songs live.
The old days of music were better than the current, do you agree?
Everything was better in the good old days and if you ask me I think we should go back to listening and mixing in mono only.
Unusual merchandise?
More of an unusual concept, but we used to sell everything at ‘pay what you want’ for a short amount of time to help people with low income profit off of that and people with more income to be able to give more, but it turned out to be an absolute disaster, and in the end, we lost loads of money ourselves. A concept not yet ready for our latest stage capitalist society (unfortunately).
Variations you’d like to do on any of your songs?
We actually released a French version of our 2021 single ‘Deer in The Headlights,’ which if you ask me is really sick.
What do your fans mean to you?
EVERYTHING! <3 Seriously, everyone who takes on the extra effort to deal with and try to understand our music, development, and ways as a band is so much appreciated, and it means so much more than you could ever imagine.
X-rays or any treatments needed for band-related injuries?
Therapy!
You’re late for a show, whose fault is it?
I AM THE TOUR MANAGER! We’re never late for a show. Haha.
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band?
We’re donkeys. Endurable, can carry a lot, very resilient to tough times but most of all just very cute.