Astronuts from Germany sings in english and I
usually thinks that german punkgroups is better
in german but Astronuts convince me that it is
okay to sing in english. April-2022
Please tell me a little bit about the history of
the group?
You have been in Barbecuties too (how can I get
those two records?)
Sid: We’ve known each other for almost 2 and a
half decades now, and I feel honored to be
surrounded by such lovely, creative and
passionate guys that I do not just call my
bandmates, but my friends. After sharing the
stage with each other’s bands so often, we
decided to start something new together in 2018.
And that was the best decision ever!
Albums by the BBQTs can still be purchased
directly from us -so if anyone needs some old
school Pop Punk, just drop us a line!
Leo: I have never been a member of Barbecuties,
but I know all members quite well I would say
;-) !
I'm so grateful that Sid once wrote me an Email
to ask if I wanted to join a Punkrock band as a
drummer. Thank you for that, Sid, and everything
else, from the bottom of my heart!
Please tell me a little about every member in
the group right now, age, family, work,
interests and something bad about everyone?
Earlier bands? Other bands on the side?
Leo: 42, married, 3 children. Former member of a
punk rock band named Spyhole.
Music is my main interest. If you wanna know
something bad about me ask my band members or
even better, my wife.
Chris: guitars/vocals, 36, married, 2 children,
main profession: English/Geography teacher,
interested in vinyl records, retro games, lego,
but mainly music. I also play in a Ska Punk band
called Tequila Terminators that I founded almost
20 years ago.
Coli: Guitar, 38, not married, no kids. I’m a
freelance full stack web developer with passion
for music, software engineering, tech stuff and
video games.
Sid: vocals/bass, science manager, hobby writer,
gardener and chef and total music aficionado.
Without music, I wouldn’t be around any more I
guess. Writing songs, playing live, practicing
with my dudes - all that keeps me sane. I played
in THE WHISPER COLLECTIVE, which I consider kind
of a precursor to ASTRONUTS (stylistically),
BBQTs, founded a new Pop Punk Band called
LOOKIT, MARTIANS! that also dropped a new album
recently, and - since I write way too many
songs and seem to annoy my friends with
shitloads of new ideas - I started my own solo
project called THE RIESLINGER (Pop Punk that
thematically only focuses on wine and my love
for Rock n Roll and Oldies). Bad habits? Sheesh,
I have too many to tell. Glad the others didn’t
mention any of ‘em, ha!
I can hear many different influences but mostly
punk and some USHC? Favorites from the past?
Leo: There are too many, so I will let the
other’s tell …
Coli: Okay, So I will start with Nofx, Good
Riddance, Strike Anywhere, Millencolin,
Propagandhi…
Sid: Indeed, we all love Melodic Hardcore and
Punkrock, so the above-mentioned are defo among
all of our favorites. Still, when listening to
our new album DARK MATTERS, you might notice
that there is a wide spectrum of influences and
not just upbeat ones. As to favorites from the
past, I must name ANOTHER BREATH, JAWBREAKER, MY
CHEMICAL ROMANCE, JIMMY EAT WORLD and so on,
that have a major impact on our songwriting,
too.
Sid: We love puns and also find astronomical
stuff very thrilling, so one thing simply led to
another… However, we did some research on the
name after we had chosen it and I must
explicitly warn everyone not to look it up via
urban dictionary, haha. It’s kinda gross… Best
bandname ever? RAMONES f.t.w.!
Leo: I knew that we weren't the only ones, but I
love it! Coli: There are only four true
Astronuts on this planet :D
What's the best thing about playing live? Have
you done any since the covid came?
Leo: We only played one big festival during the
pandemic, which of course sucks as a musician.
Playing live is the best thing about making
music. When you play in front of an audience
that likes your music, you can feel that magical
connection.
Sid: I’d even play the shittiest squat on earth,
because nothing competes with playing live. How
could spending time with your friends and doing
the thing you love suck anyway?! Only thing we’d
never do: Play venues with odd political or
societal views or share the stage with any
racist or sexist artists!
Chris: One of my favorite venues is Colos-Saal
in Aschaffenburg. Great location and a lot of
nice dudes!
Leo: For me, Café Central in Weinheim and Alter
stattbahnhof in Schweinfurt are two of the best
places. Both clubs are known for their legendary
Punkrock and Hardcore shows over the last 30
years. But of course there are many more awesome
places all over Germany.
How is it to play this sort of music in Germany
right now? Which types of bands do you
have concerts together with?
Sid: Well, I guess the situation is not any
different from other places, for Punkrock was
and still is an underground thing. There are
still some brilliant bands around, but in my
opinion the last bigger wave of Punkrock over
here was a couple of years ago, with all these
anthemic, mid-tempo bands, that you sang along
while standing arm in arm in the pit with all
your friends. You know, those Fest-style bands.
Chris: Melodic, progressive, emotional.
Sid: Word!
Leo: The music and the lyrics of so many punk
rock bands and artists have influenced me since
decades. I absolutely love punk rock drumming.
And back in the days I did a lot of things
people would probably define as living the punk
rock lifestyle. Today, I would just say that a
big part of my heart is beating for my band and
the music itself.
Chris: I totally agree!
Sid: Punk equals responsibility. And the older I
get, the more I dive into the political sphere
and the very keystones that make our scene so
great: The will to help, the need to stand up
and speak up - even if it is unpopular at times,
the raw energy paired with a message. I consider
punk as a mindset and a positive mental
attitude. That’s also one thing I learned from
listening to hardcore: Don’t just destroy, but
create! And that’s also what I try to teach my
kids.
Leo: The first contact with punk rock was “No
Control” from Bad Religion and that was very
consistent.
Chris: I started with a lot of stuff by Bad
Religion and The Offspring and then dove into
more underground punk bands, added by loads of
ska flavoured punk rock. Coli: My parents gave
me 2 records on my 11th Birthday together with
my first stereo: The first was from a band
called “East 17” and the second was “Smash” by
the Offspring. You can imagine how this played
out ^^
Sid: Let me be the odd one out and pick a song
instead: “We’re only gonna die” by Bad Religion.
It’s melody, pace, and lyrics melted into the
best f*****g rager ever. From the moment I first
heard it back in 1993, I was baptized and found
what I had sought after.
Sid: The most shocking thing to do would be to
show some love to your parents! Plus help them
understand why you do things differently and why
you love what you do. That’s Punkrock, because
it’s smart!
Leo: I´m grateful, cause I can live my life
quite peacefully. Politically I look at the
so-called populist parties in Germany and across
Europe and realize how many people are
influenced by them, which makes me scared in a
way. Fuck fascism!
Sid: Still the best place to live in my opinion.
I feel very privileged to grow up here in a
democratic state with a well-working health and
welfare system, good education and free
expression. And I can still point my finger
openly at things that don’t work out nicely, by
standing on stage with my friends. That’s why I
am very thankful.
Is there any good bands from Germany right now?
Is the punkscene/metalscene/hardcorescene big?
How is it in your hometown?
Sid: As already mentioned above, the scene is
vibrant and there are always new acts coming up.
However, and this is not very different from
other places, Punk and Hardcore are still
underground. In our hometown Mannheim, we have
lots of bands from all kinds of genres, there is
a youth centre that hosts lots of cool Punk and
Hardcore shows and also some small clubs and
bars that promote live music. So, no need to
complain.
Leo: Not much I have to admit, I only was there
once and only for one day in Stockholm.
Chris: I’ve been to Sweden once and stayed in
Uppsala and Stockholm for one week. I really
enjoyed it and stayed on a hostel ship. I love
Kanelbullar, yum!
Leo: Satanic Surfers, Randy and Adhesive are my
all time favorites from sweden so far! And there
are many more. The swedish punkrock/hardcore/melodycore
scene was essential and important since the mid
nineties.
Chris: I like Millencolin quite a lot,
especially ‘Pennybridge Pioneers’, and some of
the metal stuff, like In Flames.
Coli: Millencolin and Adhesive!
Sid: In my opinion, Sweden has one of the
greatest music scenes ever. Apart from those 90s
Skatepunk artists that all of us adore, I have
to name e.g. FINAL EXIT, AC4, THE
SENSITIVES, YUM YUMS, MANDO DIAO, AT THE GATES,
ENTOMBED, WOLFPACK, ISOLATION YEARS. Holy
guacamole, I could ramble on for hours, but I’ll
better stop here.
Sid: I usually write all the lyrics and I feel
more comfortable singing in English than in
German, since the German language is very
harsh-sounding at times, plus I can address a
wider audience that way. To me personally, it
makes more sense to write in English and I have
done so for more than 25 years by now. It just
feels pretty natural. As for inspiration, I try
to keep a wary eye on what is going on in the
world and in my personal life.
-Elegy for Tony, the Hockey Mascot
A song about a boy who tries so hard to become a
better person and find some love in this cold
world, but gets bullied permanently and
ultimately dies of a broken heart without anyone
noticing. He simply fades away and disappears.
It is supposed to be a reminder to watch out for
your social environment and offer help, whenever
it is desperately needed. Looking away from the
helpless can kill.
-Escapologies
Funny you picked this one, too! It is also about
being an outcast within our society, but this
time the protagonist, who is transgender,
finally manages to come out and raise his
middlefinger towards the ignorant. It’s a
metaphor for each one of us to stop suffering
for others’ beliefs and just start doing what is
good for ourselves. Be kind to each other and
try to accept people’s individuality.
-Hello Trouble
A friend of mine suddenly died last year and it
totally crushed me. He was more punk than anyone
else and he was the nicest, most kind-hearted
and altruistic dude ever. Even though he had no
interest in music at all, his attitude was very
inspiring and he always did what he believed in.
Even though it was quite obvious that he would
fail from time to time. So I wrote this song
about deliberately taking a risk in life, a song
about knowing the odds of making mistakes.
Sid: There will never be a stupid/funny
ASTRONUTS song, because we consider the band as
a vehicle to show what’s wrong with this world -
both personally and politically. But this
doesn’t mean we are unfunny grouches. We simply
use the other bands we play in for such issues.
Plus, ASTRONUTS’ music wouldn’t match very well
with lyrics about partying I suppose.
Leo: We have several political songs that make
absolutely clear where we stand. And I think
that is a big and important part of punk rock
music and the whole concept of its art. It has
to be controversial and hurt at times, because
that is the reality we face each and every
single day.
Sid: Of course, it is legitimate to play
unpolitical songs and we also do listen to such
bands and we do love them. However, it was quite
clear from the day we started, that we’d rather
focus on some dark matters ;). I think that
heavy music is simply the best way to rub salt
into the wounds of society. Our most political
song “Leviathan” is on our latest album and
deals with rabble-rousers that agitate and try
to gaslight the people by telling lies. We
actually wrote it as to the current situation in
Germany with all those stupid right-wing morons
that just complain and poison people’s minds,
but in turn have nothing to offer and just think
about their own grip on power. And this song
became even more relevant in February 2022 with
the Russian attack on Ukraine. It is a dark
prediction of what happens when psychopaths try
to propagate their own reality. We wanted to
offer an insight into those bad people’s minds
and show their real motivation.
Leo: Propagandhi
Chris: Yes, Propagandhi
Coli: Propagandhi
Sid: I totally agree.
Chris: Definitely yes in an emotional way. I
think that there have been some records that
help you going through hard times. One record
that immediately comes to my mind is ‘The Black
Parade’ by My Chemical Romance.
Sid: I am into graphic design and I only
consider an album as completed, when artwork,
music and lyrics form a whole. I can’t stand
records with shitty covers. When listening to an
album, I’d like to look at the artwork and get a
further level of imagination that the musician
has of his/her own piece of art. It is an
integral part. That’s why aesthetics are
iomportant to us as a band.
Good record stores? Hell yes, there is COMEBACK
in Mannheim, HEAVEN RECORDS in Worms and
ECHOBEAT in Aschaffenburg that sell the coolest
vinyl etc. You can even buy our music there. So
drop by if you are around!
Sid: I love all of them. Besides spending most
of my money on Viny, I still love and purchase
CDs and Cassettes. With regard to the recent
vinyl crisis, one can even observe a rise in CD
sales and within the underground scene, this
medium will never go out of style. At least I
hope so.
Leo: Five is too much, just one, I try, so…
record (only punk rock genre) (hardest question
ever): I go for “How to clean everything” . Is
this my “Decline”? or just my “Suburban teenage
wasteland blues” or do I just swing “From left
to right” ? (oh Sid, thanks a bunch for that
vinyl!!) No..it´s: “Longest line EP” I could
continue with so many… Best Concert: No use for
a name, Making friends tour 1997. Best things in
life: …just two…my family and this band…
Sid: Adding anything to Leo’s answer would be
mere blasphemy! We all agree!
Sid: First was Guns n’ Roses (Appetite for
destruction), cheapest was Badtown Boys
(Epidemic) for 50cts at a flea market, and
expensive were all of the rest. Vinyl is so
stupidly overpriced right now. That sucks!
Sid: Nope. It’s a privilege!
Sid: Being a reviewer for a German fanzine
myself, I can’t but stress how important this is
for a band to acquire renown. The weirdest one I
have gotten for one of my former bands was from
an American Zine, which claimed to refuse to
review our record due to our quirky sense of
humor. But then they ended up writing a lengthy
one anyway instead of just throwing the record
straight into the trash. I consider this as a
total success ;)
If you could choose five bands from the past and
the history and nowadays and both dead and
living bands to have a concert together with
your band. Which would you chose?
Sid: I want to see the RAMONES, GREEN DAY, THE
WEAKERTHANS, NOFX and SICK OF IT ALL open up for
us, do a common cover of “I can’t help
falling in love with you” by ELVIS and
then get seriously wasted with us backstage. As
I am a bona-fide, positive-minded believer, I
know this is gonna happen someday. And once it
does, I will band it on tape and have it played
at my funeral. This is gonna rock!
Chris: I am pretty sure that for all of us music
is a way of fleeing from everyday life into a
brotherly, comforting and mighty project that
often helps to overcome certain struggles and to
deal with those. It definitely helps to lighten
up and feel better, pretty much like a shrink
appointment.
Leo: music is the way, it helped so many people
to overcome frustration, stay strong or even
live a better life!
Leo: Playing live as much as possible and also
record another album! We already have some hot
tunes in the making!
Leo: Become a better drummer.
Leo: it´s never too late to become a better
drummer!
Leo: Thanks a lot for the interview!
Coli: Eichbaum Export
Leo: Faust Pils from our hometown and
Pfungstädter Pils
Chris: I likeFaust beer as well. I prefer the
dark one called ‘Schwarzviertler’. There is also
a dark one from Schwind Brewery in Aschaffenburg
that I dig. Sid: Free beer is the best, I can’t believe you guys didn't mention it! You barbarians! |