SCANS: Tu magazine Honduras

Fall in love Automatically with Tokio Hotel

Still smiling, the handsome Bill, Tom, Gustav and Georg talked to us exclusively about everything with their new production "Humanoid", their third album, and personal details.

From a hotel in Mexico City, Tu magazine was the only media with the opportunity to be in private with the coolest rock band of the moment. Check it out.

TU: You are back in Mexico. How are the fans in Latin America treating you?
Bill: Amazing, as soon as we come to these countries we receive tokens of affection. When we had our first performance at a radio festival in Mexico we were already eager to be with the fans.

TU: Tell us about "Humanoid", your new album...
Bill: It's the best album of Tokio Hotel thus far, we spent a year to produce it, put all our energy and love in it, in fact, we had no live performances in order to devote all our time on writing and producing this new record. We recorded it in Germany, Miami and Los Angeles. This time it sounds much more electronic than before, do not miss it!

TU: What inspires you to write?
Bill: Definitely the experiences, personal stories, though it’s not always something that has happened to us or we've seen, but they are situations that affect us closely or we are going through. Although we take ideas from everywhere, we simply just go through life with our eyes and ears open and very attentive to what happens, that's what inspires us.
Tom: Topics will never run out, any day I have thousands of ideas, what I need is time to translate them, to convert into reality the songs I have in my head.

TU: Bill, the look you sport is innovative and even as a band you all are, are you advised [to dress that way] or look to create controversy?
Bill: Everyone dresses as they want, not for rebellion, but for fun, we don’t try to comply with a certain image, so I think sometimes we appear strange, for we are perceived differently on stage. Visually we don’t fit and yet we share similar musical taste. Each one is natural and reflect the look that please each one of us.

TU: Are you up to date with the tour?
Bill: Absolutely! We are always fixed on details, from the artwork, photos, design, musical details, and with a tour even more.

"The songs are a result of team work. Like one big family, each one gives ideas" - Bill

Talented since Birth
The exotic makeup, the perfect features, and voice quality have made Bill the group's image. According to him, the fame and fortune does not come from nowhere, it took time to be a celebrity. His artistic vein was developed since age seven: "After my parents divorced I started writing songs”. Luckily for him and Tom, the separation led to the music, because his mother married Gordon Trumper, owner of music shop Rock's Cool. Their stepfather motivated them to play instruments, "Tom liked the guitar, but I was too lazy, so I took a keyboard that with only pushing buttons would play drums and bass," he confessed.

TU: Are you coming to Latin America with the "Humanoid" tour?
Bill: There are no dates as such but we would love to. All 2010 will be dedicated to the tour, we must first finish with the 32 dates in Europe, but will return to Mexico and other countries to perform live and please the fans.
Tom: We would like to go with the show, but we have to plan it, since we’d have to move the stage, the staff, production, which is complicated, it’s a question of organization.

TU: What does a fan mean to you?
Bill: Without a doubt we're happy with the followers and really surprised for the success we have in different countries, so we must always seek to give them the best, outdo ourselves, and fulfill their expectations. We love them.

TU: How’s your love life going? Do you have girlfriends?
Georg: The truth is that only I have a formal relationship, the other three are single.

"A fan is the most important thing for us, for they buy the album or a ticket to hear us, they make us."-Bill


Curious Facts
-Tom is 10 minutes older than Bill.
-The twins' favorite food is pasta.
-They both speak English, French, and German.
-Tom also sings, in fact he commented that if his brother Bill is the lead singer it’s for safety, he said: "I have a much more sensual voice and with Bill everything is calmer".
-Bill's favorite band is Coldplay, Gustav’s is Metallica, Georg’s is Oasis, and Tom’s is Samy Deluxe, a German hip hop band.
-As a group, they recognize that they not always agree, but get over all misunderstandings with the strong friendship that they’ve had for eight years.

Normal Boys
The guys still claim to be ordinary, because they love having fun with simple things, but recognize that their fame leads them to do outrageous things, like renting a theme park to celebrate the birthday of Bill and Tom. "We can not do everyday things. We had to rent it to invite friends and family, so they could have fun without being bothered by photographers and fans,'' said Bill.

"I have come to miss simple things like going out on the street. Now to take any step I have to tell the people that are with me, what it is I want to do. ... For example, 'I want to go for ice cream' and so the outing will be planned", explained Tom. "I wish to take my dog for a walk, but can’t, because now even our dogs are famous."

Total Connection
It was in 2001 when the band was fully integrated. Gustav and Georg saw the Kaulitz twins perform at a club and they realized they had no drummer nor bassist, so they decided to join them under the name Devilish, which they changed two years later for Tokio Hotel, by insistence of their first record label Sony: "We determined to go by this name because we like big cities and Tokyo was everyone’s favorite (even though we’ve never been), and the option of Hotel came up because we are always traveling."

Something more about Love
Except for Georg, the other three group members are seeking the ideal woman and, like typical teenagers, die to meet Megan Fox in person, whom they described as impressive. "I also like Jessica Alba, and the Olsen twins are very beautiful," said Bill, who describes himself as a young dreamer and cautious in love: "So far I have never taken a girl to my hotel room for a one night stand. It is not ideal for me; I'm really looking for a soul mate," how cute!

TU: You’ve been together eight years, since before Tokio Hotel and played clubs, how do you manage not getting tired of always being together?
Bill: First we are united by our passion for music and that we do what we like, but there comes a point where it is not easy to interact all the time and play the same songs every day, so we take a break and we press pause from one album to another. This is why we also took time in launching a new production, because we needed to change the dynamics, breathe in new things, so we came back with the batteries recharged and recorded "Humanoid" which is very fresh.

TU: Was it easy to realize your musical dream?
Bill: The important thing is to do what you want, be yourself and forget what others want you to do. You should have fun. Being ourselves has led us to success. We have been very lucky.

TU: You were very young 20 years ago when the Berlin Wall fell, what do you think of the anniversary of this event?
Bill: It was something important for everyone, not just for us but also undoubtedly influenced us musically, the fall of the wall, the projection of freedom, for we would not be here singing our music, dressing like we do, we could not have developed if that step had not been taken. Due to our age we only know this Germany, which is one country, the rest is told by our parents.

TU: They say there is a rivalry between the fans of the Jonas Brothers and Tokio Hotel, is this true?
Bill: Of course not, I don’t believe it! To begin with, the bands have different musical styles, so there is room for everyone.
Tom: I think it's more of a fan war the media created rather than the fans of both bands themselves.

TU: What message would you send to the readers of TU from around the world?
Bill: Thank you! We are really grateful that they like our work and love the album as much as we do.