Lost Lyrics interview: These interview questions were answered by Lost Lyrics's singer, Holger Schacht & sent to me by bassist, Matze Noll. Thanx alot for the interview, it came out GREAT! :) -Mikki 9/02

Holger: We are from the very middle of Germany, the Kassel area. That used to be a border region before the reunification of the two parts of the country. Basti and I have been playing together in bands for 15 years now. We went to the same school and I joined the band he already played in, I joined them as the bass player originally. In 1991, we started the Lost Lyrics, and Matze became a member in 1996/97. But we knew him from gigs where we had met and talked to each other. He is only a few years younger than we are.

DML: How did you decide on the name "Lost Lyrics"?

Holger: That was my suggestion because I tend to forget the lyrics, even today. The English ones were even harder to memorize then.

DML: What bands were you in previously & do any of you have any side projects?

Holger: Basti`s band I joined was called "Faderlant", that was a kind of HC punk band. After that, it was called "No Lessons No Talent" (we took the name from a Dead Kennedys booklet). But we don`t have any side projects at the moment; Matze grounded Bands like "Waldmeister" and "R2D2" and played with the "Granpatomics" and "Bradleys" for some time, but he stopped that because it was too much. The "Bradleys" are the only one, who still exist though. Side projects are an ambivalent matter - you practise more, but you often don`t know which idea to use for which band.

DML: What made you want to become musicains? What music has had the most influence on your musical style?

Holger: Well, of course it was the old notion of having a lot of fun with other great guys who like the same music. It wasn`t just the music. Meeting people, making trips to other cities, some Rock and Roll stereotypes etc. - all these ideas contributed to the artistic motivation of being creative and writing own songs, not just listening to the others. Music expresses attitudes and lifestyles, that has always been important for us. So we wanted to do exactly this kind of thing.

Consequently, it was bands who had the same idea which influenced us. But of course, things develop and change throughout the years, and so do your influences. We started when e.g. Bad Religion became very popular at that time, and we liked them very much. There is no special band being our main influence, but I guess you can say that it is melodic punkrock that has always inspired us and what we do, and there are plenty of excellent bands. But there are also rock bands which are important to us. We are not a plain "punk"band and don`t want to be that. The word "punk" has become misleading and too one-dimensional. We only write it on the posters so that the people get a clearer idea about what they should expect when they decide to come to our shows. Unfortunately, as an unknown band, you must be "labelled" to give some kind of first information to the people who don`t know you. But we don`t consider ourselves being a common, traditional punk band, just as we are no "punks" as individual human beings. It`s a shame that many bands are reduced to just a word. I personally reject this expression though it`s necessary.

DML: How are your songs usually written?

Holger: I usually have the music for the song, and then I add the lyrics, because the language must also have a certain rhythm to fit. Later, we might change a bit, but not the basic principle of the song. When Matze writes the music, I add the lyrics, too. Basti has only written one song. That might sound as if we don`t work together, but there are still many details whichmake a song, and they are decided on in our "lab" together. Sometimes, we even drop a song.

DML: How did you first start releasing music & what have you changed since the beginning?

Holger: With "No Lessons No Talent", we both produced and distributed our LP ourselves (no wonder it was a complete failure...). Then we realized that you need a label which is independent but well organized. Hulk is just perfect for us, they have a distribution company, and we can trust them and concentrate on what is real fun - playing.

DML: Your first releases were basically just in English, why was that & what made you decide to record in German instead?

Holger: At the beginning, we thought English lyrics sound cooler; and I didn`t thought I could write in my own language without sounding either too serious or too funny. But then we realized that you can express and convey the meaning of the songs more directly to the German audience. Everyone can write, as a German, English lyrics that mean absolutely nothing - and some bands even do. Nobody had ever taken any interest in our lyrics. But then, the songs suddenly meant something to the people, because of the lyrics. We had underestimated their purpose and effect. And it was possible to do it. As a simple matter of fact, 99,9% of our audience lives in German- speaking countries, and we are not foolish enough to believe in the illusion that this will ever change (it wouldn`t even if we had English lyrics again). However, it is exacly this which makes it such an honour for us that you are interested in what we do.

DML: There was something on punk.de about your "Seniorenresidenz" album but I'm not sure I understood it exactly... was there some sort of theme to this album? Why the title "Seniorenresidenz"?

Holger: That was only a funny idea - not any album theme at all. It was just about our music being the right thing to turn sour, old seniors into partying youngsters (a "fountain of youth"-gag).

DML: Speaking of "Seniorenresidenz", I noticed that a song from there, "Rückspultaste" was also on your newest album, "Vor Allem", though a slightly different version... why do you have that particular song on both albums?

Holger: It`s about the time ticking the minutes and seconds of your life, and between these two CD`s there has been a lot of ticking. But there is no reason except for the fact that it`s a different version, and there is also another version for the live-performance. And that we like the song. It`s one of the most serious songs we`ve ever made.

DML: I also have a question about "Skibbereen" from the album, "Man Spricht Deutsch". The CD booklet says it's from an Irish traditional song. Holger does a great Irish accent :) Why an Irish traditional, Celtic roots or something?

Holger: No, we don`t have Celtic roots or influences though Irish folk has ever been quite popular in Germany. We simply like Irish folk songs a lot, especially Basti and me, and especially the ballads. "Skibbereen" was one of the easiest to be transformed into a trashy punk rock song.

DML: I'm interested in your guests on "Seniorenresidenz", Abel Gebhardt, Anne Hilliger, etc... could you tell us more about them & how you know each other?

Holger: They are all friends of us although we only seldom meet them. Abel for instance lives in Hamburg, and we don`t visit each other often, but we know each other because he writes articles for fanzines and used to run one. He was the only one who just dropped in at the sessions and joined us; I practised "Außer dir" with Anne, for example, so we had a kind of a plan for that. Frank from "Bash" even came over from Krefeld, which is 250 km away.

DML: Another question about "Seniorenresidenz"... I think your cover of Joachim Witt's "Goldener Reiter" is quite a bit better than the original! Are you old enough to have been into the NDW "thing"? Why did you cover that song?

Holger: Oh, thanks very much. Witt won`t be amused to hear that, he always was an egocentric artist, even in 1982. Yes, in fact the NDW was the first kind of German pop music we experienced. I was 14 and loved all the new and thrilling bands like Trio, Ideal etc. Both the Witt song and the Ideal cover "Erschießen" are respectful salutes to these bands which created an independent style for the first time in this country instead of copying British or American groups. The NDW was splendid, and it was an exciting time: For music because everything could be done then, and for us because we were young. It was the soundtrack of our youth, so we love it.

DML: There was mention on your bio page about an incident in Dresden with Nazi's or something? Could you explain that further?

Holger: That was in 1993 in a town near Dresden. There were only a few people, and then some nazi skinheads came and it seemed that all of them were good friends. So we left both stage and club, but there was no fighting or something.

DML: Care to tell us a bit about the punk scene there? What do you like? Anything you don't like?

Holger: We are not menbers of the core of the scene, we just know some of the persons involved. 10 years ago it was bigger, but it has been deteriorating and is waiting for a new generation to take care. Many zines, clubs and bands don`t exist anymore. In general, there are not as many possibilities for punk rock bands any more, the "scene" has shrunk. Of course we like some of the people, but we don`t like these p.c. attitudes and many skinheads who pretend to be "unpolitical" but who are just fascists in disguise sometimes.

DML: I thought I read that you'd played in the US... is this true & if so when & with whom? Where did you play & will you come back sometime soon?

Holger: No, that`s not true - somebody must have made a joke.

DML: What do you guys do when not making music?

Holger: Basti works for a parcel service, shifts. Matze is writing his dissertation in biology and is doing some research for this, and I am a teacher for English and politics and society at a grammar school / high school. We don`t live on the music, and that saves us from having to make many compromises. Actually, I think we don`t make any compromises at all with the music, because it is a hobby and is supposed to be fun, nothing else.

DML: Do you guys do the family thing, such as wives & children? If so how does that affect the band?

Holger: No, not yet. But Basti`s girlfriend is pregnant at the moment. Only Matze helps raising the child of his girlfriend, which is a "family thing". I guess it influences the band in a positive way because you realize that there are more important things in life than rock music. And even fathers need a hobby...

DML: Do you have any live videos you might upload to your site? I'd LOVE to see you guys live & figure that might be the only way...

Holger: No, we have never managed to produce a video. Neither we nor the label have had the money to do this, unfortunately. After all, videos must meet some kind of standard. It`s no use making a rotten clip just to be able to brag "Look, our fantastic band has even made a video".

DML: What do you think was your greatest professional experience?

Holger: The recording of "Monday Morning`s..." was our greatest professional experience as it was the first time we were able to work in a professional studio. What is now routine was a thrilling new challenge then in 1993.

DML: What are your plans for the future? Anything cool coming up?

Holger: We are planning to play some more shows this winter and next spring, and to write some more new songs. We have made new posters and shirts. We are not as active as other bands, but you must take into consideration that it`s only a hobby. But we are quite diligent and are working on new material permanently.

DML: Who is your favorite band to play with?

Holger: Well, I guess that every member of Lost Lyrics would answer this question very differently as we all have different favourites. For me, there are plenty of possible bands. Maybe the Descendents, because then I would be able to see them live, which I have never done, unfortunalely.

DML: What was your favorite show & why?

Holger: There have been many favourite shows. The gig with Nine Pound Hammer was good, and with the Bates in a big hall. Mostly you remember the gigs when you supported a good band. But we enjoy almost every gig in a way - mostly we play in small clubs, and it`s nice to see people who already know some songs and whistle the tune.

DML: I have to ask this of everyone, what is your favorite band & album?

Holger: My favourite bands are the Beatles and the Who. Matze would probably say "Die Ärzte", Basti "Elvis". There are many great albums; for me, if I had to choose one, I would choose the red Beatles compilation "1962-66" with the best songs of the best band ever.

DML: Anything else you'd like to add?

Holger: Thank you very much for your interest!

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