Doing some renovations wiTHin my Site. If you find someTHing not working, or missing, or jus', not right, feel free to ask me about it

(29.11.2014)

Are Tokio Hotel Ready To Return to The UK?

Here at Rockplaylister.com we’ve always been concerned with all things ROCK, it’s rare we deviate from this position at all, indeed metal, grindcore, screamo and even pop punk are at the core of what we stand for. However, an interesting debate on twitter was fuelled by a low-key tweet that was attempting to discover something, (that in the UK has been debated since the mid-late noughties) are Tokio Hotel a real band?

In 2007 whilst working in UK media I, the RP Editor, found myself faced with the first video release in the UK for Tokio Hotel’s ‘Ready, Set, Go’. This was of course the lead single from their first English language album ‘Scream’. The video for ‘Ready, Set, Go’ was a dark, futuristic and ultimately polished pop-rock video and the band were styled in a such a way that the alternative market would embrace them; in many ways their style was not unlike Black Veil Brides. However, I also remember despite the imagery and rock credentials of the single they were rebuffed by much of the media in the UK, largely because they were difficult to place in the market at that time. Tokio Hotel was not ‘rock enough’ for major magazines like Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, neither were they ‘pop enough’ for commercial radio and TV.

Why did they not receive the airplay that many feel they deserved? Let’s first tackle the rock arena in the UK. Here in the UK we’re very quick to judge artists and perception is everything. At this time in the UK My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy were breaking in to the mainstream from a very ‘organic’ (we’ll come to that later) fanbase built from extensive touring including UK dates at flagship music festivals like Download and Reading. The over riding feeling was that these bands have ‘earned’ their place to be treated as a ‘proper’ rock bands and I must say that’s difficult to argue with. In late 2006 and early 2007 the UK charts were seeing more ‘pop rock’ bands rise to prominence and of course, as in the nature ‘music cycles’, labels were seeking to capitalize on this trend by entering the market with their own bands.

Tokio Hotel are clearly a band… early youtube videos (circa 2005) confirm they were very capable of performing live (and well!) not a huge surprise given they formed in 2001. Perception is everything and when news of a new band coming through a major label, with a big budget video and no track record of touring in the UK, the media were suspicious. Furthermore, when it was revealed that Bill Kaulitz had performed on Starsearch in 2003 (reality shows are a big NO NO for credibility in the UK) the rock media were quick to conclude that Tokio Hotel were nothing more than a manufactured pop band.

In the pop world the charts were teeming with Pop and RnB, the likes of Rihanna and Beyonce were dominating the Top 40 and chart music was in a ‘pop’ phase. Tokio Hotel struggled to get their music played on mainstream TV and Radio for the exact opposite reason from the above, they were considered to be too rock!

Why do I highlight the above two points? Simple, the answer to the question is not, are Tokio Hotel a real band? It’s actually why, when they’ve had so much success across the world did it not translate in the UK? Again the answer is clear, the band fell between two genres and media outlets found them hard to place on their networks.

So what next? Fast forward 7 years and RP hear that Tokio Hotel could be releasing again the in the UK. The latest album ‘Kings Of Suburbia’ is a mixture of Rock, Pop and Electronic music and it’s REALLY good. Ok, I have to be straight, it’s not a rock album, but it is an album that demonstrates, well, how their sound has grown over the last 7 years. RP thinks ‘Love Who Loves You Back’ is a great pop song with huge radio potential and ‘Run, Run, Run’ is a beautiful track but may struggle in the UK market because of the pace of the music. If they do decide to release their music in 2015 they have a much greater chance of success…the music is better, lyrically stronger and infinitely more suited to the UK market.

So, we come back to the first question, are Tokio Hotel a real band? The answer is undoubtedly YES but will they come back to the UK and make an impact? I hope so, the new music has great potential and they will no longer have to contend with the previous stigma that surrounded them, they have earned their right to be reviewed by the media without preconception and judged solely on the music…which is what should happen every time.

original article

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Filed Under: TH-News/Media

(October, 2014)

Tokio Hotel’s Bill Kaulitz behind-the-scenes performing Imagine
for the UNICEF project. #Imagine #EveryVoiceCounts

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Filed Under: Bill-Making Of....

(25.11.2014)

Tokio Hotel’s Bill Kaulitz blogs exclusively for SheKnows
about love, labels and his sexuality

So, here I am. Sitting in my bed and writing about love. Next to me is my English bulldog, Pumba — the big love in my life. When I was asked to write something about love, I said yes right away, but now I’m thinking… what the f*** do I know about love?!

I guess I wanted to do it because ever since I can remember, I have believed in it! I believe in love and nothing but love. The big kind of love, the overwhelming, the completely out of control and over the top, the “I’d do anything for you” kind of love.

Why do I believe in it? I don’t know, I have no idea. All I know is that I do.

From the time I was a little boy sitting in my room in my parents house in a tiny little village with 800 souls called Loitsche in East Germany, where I grew up, I was consumed thinking about big cities, singing, being on stage and finding my big love. My twin bother, Tom, never understood that part. He didn’t give a shit about that.

My friends sometimes make fun of me and almost everyone I know thinks I have a fairy tale idea about love and they always tell me it’s not like how it is in the movies — that I’m way too romantic and that all of this is just my fantasy. They say, “In real life, love works way different!”

People think I’m so naive because I’ve never been hurt and all I think is that they probably got hurt too much. That’s why they say stuff like that. That someone broke their heart or maybe they never really loved someone enough and that’s why they can’t relate to what I’m talking about.

The funny thing is that I’m probably the one who got hurt the most out of all these people put together. Heartbroken, completely destroyed, the worst kind of heartbreak you can imagine. Worse than I ever thought could happen to me. Betrayed, cheated on, taken advantage of. I’m saying this without telling the whole story, of course, but I want people to know that things like this happen to me, too — to the ones who seem to be “covered in gold.”

Although I’m still trying to heal, I feel like I still believe — which is a good thing. I still believe in the magic, in the big once-in-a-lifetime love. Is it gonna happen to me? I don’t know. I thought I had already found it once, so maybe not… but I’m hoping, because hope is what keeps all of us going and I truly believe that love is all we are here for! No other reason. Only love!

People like to categorize and label everything. That’s less dangerous; it feels safer. Especially in the industry that I’m in. I feel like it drives people nuts not to know if there is a woman or a man in my bed. That’s why I’ve been getting the ”gay question” ever since I turned 13, when I started giving interviews. I always wondered… why does that even matter? I thought I was here to sing and perform for people?

I never felt like I owed any answers to anyone about it and it amuses me that they made such a big deal out of it. In my world, it’s not that black and white and I think that the real question should be: Why are we asking this? Why does it matter? Why do we need labels? Can we not just live?

No one knows what’s gonna happen in the next minute, the next second. Who knows who I may run into? Maybe I’m just about to meet someone who changes my life forever and, if that happens, does it really matter what gender they are? What I do know is that love is the one beautiful thing we can’t control. We have no power over it. We don’t know where it comes from and we never know when it’s gonna hit us and that’s the beauty of it.

So, I guess I’ll wait and see… I hope I find the magic, the type that heals what’s been broken and gives me wings.

My only advice is: Love who you want to love and love who loves you back. Life is way too short.

But, then again, what the f*** do I know!

original article

(22.11.2014)

Tokio Hotel Checks In

Tokio Hotel left the chaos surrounding them in Europe for the chaos in Los Angeles nightlife. A fair trade?

The band spent the last five years decompressing from superstardom before releasing their new studio album, “Kings Of Suburbia,” out today in stores in the U.S. (or on iTunes).

We were kind of tired after the last album we put out in 2009,” lead singer Bill Kaulitz tells BreatheHeavy.com over the phone. “After that album, and all the touring, we felt like we needed new inspiration and we didn’t really know what to do music-wise. We felt like we’ve done it all, said it all, and I didn’t know where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. Also personally, we just needed a break. I wanted to step away from the career and live a private life. We couldn’t do that in Europe, so we moved to America to find that privacy.”

He explains they took a year off just to explore the party scene before constructing a recording studio and getting back to work.

I think we just needed to get away from everything. We were running away from the career. That freedom we found… we could actually go out and live life and be outside of that Tokio Hotel bubble.”

The biggest change is the liberating independence a famous, young, rich musician gets when they’re experienced enough to have it. Bill and his twin brother Tom allowed themselves space to figure out where they want to go not only as people, but as musicians. They are responsible for their new album’s direction and growing sound, a welcome development allowed by five years of self-exploration.

We produced for the first time and actually had the time to build our own studio. That’s the first time we’ve produced an album by ourselves. We never had the time before to do that.”

When Bill wasn’t in the studio, he was embracing the club life.

I partied a lot,” he reflects. “I went out so much. The album’s inspired by the nightlife and the DJ scene. It’s way more electronic than the stuff we’ve done before.”

I was intrigued by this, namely because I break out into an anxiety-ridden sweat at the thought of trading in Netflix and petting my cat for a disastrous trip to a club. I asked him for his take on his recent Los Angeles outings.

L.A. is kind of boring to be honest. Everything’s closing at 2a.m., and I can’t get used to it because I am from Germany. Everything in Europe starts super late. If we party we party all night long. I can’t get used to it. I always get super stressed out. I feel like then you have to get super drunk to enjoy the night. You need to find the right people and the right parties to really enjoy it. I think for me, it’s that freedom that I was actually able to go out to a club without having security and someone recognizing me.”

I laugh and mention I’m from Las Vegas, a city where you’re encouraged to drink past 2 a.m. – so long as you tip. You must f-ing tip.

I love Vegas,” Bill continues. “Whenever I can go I’m down. It’s the closest thing to L.A. and you can party like you’re in Europe.”

The very next day after our interview, Bill and his twin brother Tom traveled from L.A. to Vegas for one last hoorah before a promo tour beginning today.

It’s a natural development,” Bill says of “Kings Of Suburbia’s” blossoming sound. “We didn’t force anything or discuss how we wanted to change. It just kind of happened. Our first single and album came out in Germany when I was 15. From that moment on we were just on the road and working and putting out music. I was super young. It just developed naturally. We never sit down and argue about a song or talk about what we want to do. It just happens.”

Their music’s evolved from rock to electronic, adding piano, drums and synthesizers to create original songs like their lead single, “Love Who Loves You Back,” a Rock Mafia-produced track about the craziness of love.

So many people, even my friends, always laugh at me because they say I’m a hopeless romantic – I have that strong opinion about love. I feel like love is that one thing you can’t control. It’s a beautiful thing. You can have your opinion, and you can make choices, but in the end you can never decide who you are going to fall in love with. Love has no boundaries, no religion. You should just love who loves you back and whoever makes you happy.”

The video for the song’s inspired by German movie “Perfume,” however I told him the orgy scene reminded me of Britney Spears’ “I’m A Slave 4 U” music video.

That’s an amazing video, and an amazing vibe. That’s actually what I thought, too. When we were doing it I was like ‘that reminds me so much of the ‘Slave 4 U’ video,’ which is cool because that’s one of the best videos she did.”

Tokio Hotel released three music videos before the album’s release. Bill says they wanted to put out as much music as possible this time around. Here’s an example of their changing style; a hilariously colorful clip for “Girl Got A Gun.”

The band’s past, their growth and experimental life in and out of the club is thanks to their dedicated fans.

Nowadays, it’s even more important to have a real fanbase. That’s the success… to be able to go on tour and play for the people, and have people that want to come and see your show. Charts and selling records changes so fast. One day you have a massive hit, and the next people forget about you… Our fans are super crazy and we love them. We’re grateful we have that super strong fanbase that’s made so much happen for us.”

At the time of posting, Tokio Hotel was trending worldwide on Twitter.

But before they trudge back into the nightlife shadows, Bill has a message for their followers:

Always the best thing is to see the fans. There are so many people that say ‘oh, because of you I style this way or I get inspired.’ I love when I can inspire people and the fans go for their dreams, to achieve whatever they dream of. That’s the beauty of it all… I just want to inspire people with the music.”

original article

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Filed Under: Bill-InterestingInterviews