Some
slightly more sensible questions now. What have you been doing
today?
Gustav: We’re actually in London, doing
promotion.

I don’t know a lot about how Tokio Hotel
started… How did you all meet?
Tom: Bill and I used
to do music together since we were seven years old. Back then I was already
playing the guitar and Bill sang along while playing the keyboard, which
delivered bass and drums. However, if you want to have a real rock band you need
some more people and pretty much by accident we meet Gustav and Georg at a gig
we played in a small club called Gröninger Bad.

Georg: Gustav and I already knew each
other from music school and became friends. That night we went together to the
club and saw these two guys perform. There is no denying the fact they needed
some help and that is when it all started! (Everyone laughs)
Tom
(smiling): Strange, I remember it completely different. I recall Georg and
Gustav begging to be a part of our cool band back then!

Do you go back to your hometown very often? When
you’re there, do you get recognised by fans a
lot?
Bill: Whenever we have the time we go home and
spent time with friends and families.
Tom: Sure we get recognised.
That’s OK, but going home is very important for us – spending some time with
your people, a little time out of the band, that’s important for each of us.In Europe, you’re massively
popular, have lots of screaming fans and have won several awards. How do you
cope with all the pressure?

Georg: It does not seem
to us that there is that much pressure. Everything we achieved so far,
everything that has happened is more we ever dreamed of. We’re not expecting
anything. We’re just very excited about what is going to happen next.

What have you done with all
your awards?!
Bill: It depends. Sometimes you get
four awards so everybody can take one home – These ones you’ll find in all our
homes. Sometimes you only get one for the whole band. In that case it’s passed
to each band member from time to time.

What has been your best gig
so far?
Bill: That’s a tough question! Every
country, every city and each venue is different and great in its own way, so
there is not really one best gig; they all are very special to us. The biggest
one though was on July 15th this year when we performed for more than half a
million people in Paris – that was unbelievable.
Tom: Just imagine –
you are already standing on a magnificent stage and as far as you can look there
is only people cheering. It is overwhelming!

Do you have any
superstitions or things you have to do before going out on
stage?
Tom: We don’t have a ritual but 1.5 hours
prior to a show it’s just us in our backstage room. We spend this time together
and we’re usually very nervous. We think about everything that could probably go
wrong.
Bill: I always say we are the most nervous band in the world.
We go crazy.
Georg: Except Gustav. He is more laid
back.
Gustav: That’s true! When I am in the backstage room I just
put on my earphones and listen to music. If I had to listen to what the others
were saying I would have had a heart attack by now!

You played in London last
month and sold out Islington Academy. How was it? How do your UK fans compare to
elsewhere in Europe?
Bill: That was very exciting. I
mean this was the first time we played a whole English show. So I was especially
nervous.
Gustav: Our fans always surprise us. No matter where we go,
they are already there, waiting for us, cheering and are very excited to see us.
That’s true for the English fans as well. They really knew how to rock the
house, which makes us want to come back for some more shows.

It sounds like you’re
always busy – what do you do to relax?
Bill: Sleep
as long as possible, watch some TV, eat, meet friends and family and go to sleep
again.

Your album ‘Scream’ is
released in the UK in November. Can you tell me a bit about
it?
Tom: After seeing how people react to our music
in Europe, we started thinking about an English album. Our fans are really
amazing – they picked up our music, started to learn German to sing along with
us and to translate the songs into their language. Unbelievable. That’s really
special, you can’t expect that. And ‘cause our lyrics are very important to us
and we want people to understand what we’re singing we decided to translate our
songs for an English album. We picked our favourite songs from the first and
second German album for the English version and here we are.

Does it feel weird to be
singing your familiar songs in a different
language?
Bill: It did in the beginning when I
recorded the songs in the studio. I always wrote in German, I always sang in
German – it’s my mother language. And then, after singing these songs for such a
long time in German, it felt like recording brand new songs. Another thing was,
that I wanted them to sound really good. I’m a perfectionist and I wanted them
to sound like an English singer sang them. So it took me some time and a lot of
patience. Now that it is done I’m really happy with the results and all of us
are very proud of the English album.

If you had your own hotel
(called Tokio Hotel, obviously) where would it be and what cool things would you
have in it?
Georg: There would be only gigantic
rooms and in each one there would be tons of plugs for all kinds of electrical
devices.
Tom: And every room would have its own wellness
area.
Gustav: And there would be full wireless lines
everywhere.
Bill: The whole hotel would come in a very modern style
– a lot of glass, chrome and steal. Very unique and modern.

What are doing for the rest
of today?
Georg: Promotion, having dinner and going
to bed.

What’s German for ”I really
like Tokio Hotel and I will buy their next single. Let’s
rock!”
Tom: Ich liebe Tokio Hotel über alles und
werde mir auf jeden Fall die neue Single „Ready, Set, Go!“ kaufen. Let’s rock!
:-)