And the legend tells how it all began in a barn: And above the crib stood the name like a comet streaking across the musical heavens...
This is a barrel of monkeys. No, more like jumping apes. We're talking about Guano Apes, who can hardly be described anymore as Shooting Stars, as they have already firmly secured their place in the German Pop-Rock-Olympics with three hits ("Open Your Eyes", "Rain", "Lords Of The Boards" from the debut album Proud Like A God). Stefan Ude, the Quiet One, plays bass; Dennis Poschwatta, the Clown, pounds mercilessly on the drums; Henning Ruemenapp, the Thinker, plays the guitar, and frontwoman Sandra Nasic, the Loose Talker, sings and writes the lyrics.
Altogether they're just 88 years old. The episode that provided them with their slightly obtuse name is common knowledge now among the younger of us. For improved understanding: Drunken roommate evening leads to confusing and effective word play. Guano stands for birdshit, and Apes, well, for monkeys.
In and around Goettingen, that's where they're from; in the early morning they arrive in Hennings' dark-green Citroen at the Convention Center in Hanover. Fit for the GQ fashion feature? Not exactly. Underslept, a little grumpy, rather quiet - as is perhaps understandable after weeks of touring through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Aside from that, it's raining, and that doesn't necessarily make early morning in Hanover more appealing. The breakfast buffet is viewed with wide-open, gleaming childlike eyes; the clothes rack, dangling with the Expensive and the Good, is appraised more with suspicion and the deepest mistrust. Stefan expresses immediate interest in not changing his clothes; he decisively prefers what he's already wearing. Luckily, Dennis falls in love with a gray Dolce & Gabbana jacket, Henning is O.K. with everything, and Sandra has no idea what to think of the playfully purple short jacket. Croissants, coffee, and breakfast rolls start to take effect - the Guano Apes awake slowly from their coma, and the studio becomes a gilded monkey cage. The rich assortment of the studio's own CD's, however, is afforded no inkling of mercy in the eyes of the infamous music makers. What's left? Proud Like A God. Of course.
Since their glittering ascent into the Hit Parade, people have designated the Guano Apes as close relatives of No Doubt and Garbage. Whether the momentarily hotly discussed Sandra Nasic really is on a par with Gwen Stefanie and Shirley Manson could be revealed with the next album. Charismatic she certainly is, not quite as pretty as Gwen or Shirley, but definitely blessed with strong pipes.
He who sows with Guano shall reap fame. And so the band history - not just the legend - has its source in a barn-converted-to-rehearsal-room at Stefan's parental home in Berensen. How idyllic. Didn't other, completely different stories, of earthly and heavenly significance in a barn already have their run? Does the reason for the title of their debut album lie herein? "I converted the stall myself with my father. I've always had their support, but up until a couple of months age they still thought that the band was just a hobby of mine", says Stefan. Meanwhile, the parents are so proud that they bought their own VCR so as to keep up with their son's appearances.
None of the Apes started as toddlers with their instruments or played in a thousand bands before. Instead, Dennis was training to be a bank clerk, Stefan a cabinet maker, Henning finished school and whisked through a variety of jobs, and Sandra had plans to go to art school. But as band destiny so dictated, they found each other and won the Local Hero Competition '96, signed a recording contract with BMG, and in 1997, released the chart stormer, "Open Your Eyes" (Gold), and the album, Proud Like A God (Platinum). Are the Guano Apes good musicians then? "That's like art really. You can't really say whether a picture is beautiful or not - you can't pin that down", says Sandra. Huh?
Goettingen, it is justifiably suspected, is bursting with pride - the city otherwise not really making its claim to fame as a music metropolis. "When we're at home we try not to talk about music. Nothing much has changed", offers Dennis, "except that now we have friends that we didn't even know before - you just have to be careful with that." And Stefan adds: "The best thing about my friends is that they don't even really like my music; they're more into HipHop."
Are young bands today not just toys of the big music companies? "We have statements that we want to make, things that we want to do, and that we don't want to do - for example, never doing lip-sync. We watch out that we do things that are good for us", says Dennis. The four also turn a cold shoulder to another music phenomenon of our time meanwhile: "We make music, but we don't serve a 'hero' function. We're definitely no Teeny-Idols." How so? "You get really pissed off at the shit they write in the Teeny press. For example, that 'Rain' was written because Sandra was sitting alone in her hotel room and thinking about her boyfriend. Why do they have to bullshit the kids like that? We also don't spend our every free minute on a snowboard somewhere. We just tried it out once. The song, 'Lords Of The Boards', was actually commissioned to be written", sighs the quartet.
Is Dennis maybe together with Sandra, or Stefan with ... who's actually with who here? "We all have relationships, and during a tour those are mobile phone relationships", explains Henning. But are we to assume that four young people with such diverse personalities crammed together in a tour bus get along like Pain and Panic? "On tour is where you really learn to pull together as a unit, to respect each other. Everybody has to give and take", says Henning. "You learn from the others, too. We're not necessarily more grown-up now, but we're more experienced", says Sandra.
And with every gig - first came the little clubs, and shortly thereafter already the big Open-Air-Festivals like Rock am Ring, Hurricane, and Bizarre - the self-confidence has grown: "There was a nice quote: 'Even if Courtney Love sang with Primus or Patti Smith with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the GUANO APES style could never be completely captured.'", says Dennis, and a little amazement is hard to repress. "From the beginning we've tried to stay diversified - we don't let ourselves get pushed into a musical corner."
One really does already note the effect of the band's experience with fame and the irritating rat's tail that trails along behind it. And woe to he who dares to even approach the subject of Sandra's role as the only woman in the band.
"On the Harald Schmidt Show (Letterman-format German talk show) for example, we all wanted to appear, but we weren't allowed", says Sandra. Stefan adds, "At least we were sitting in the first row, and the camera team was instructed to blend us in so that people would realize that we're a band". And you can't escape the impression that it stills bothers him a little bit. But a woman sticks out, or not? "That has more to do with the singer than the woman", shoots the almost dangerous reply out of the female Guano corner. "That's just how you look at it. I could have been a man too, and I would still be the focal point. The guys picked their instruments, just like I picked mine - we're okay with the situation. I think they do what they do better than anybody else."
It is rumored that the three guys have simply been left standing in interviews before. Now who would do such a thing? "But then we just jump in on purpose. You have to rebel against that", and with that, Henning clears up any remaining doubts that absolutely everything is done to maintain the democracy in Guano Village. "We are a band, and apparently you just have to constantly prove that to the people", says Dennis, "that's pretty much a pain."
All for one, one for all? "We all have to watch out for each other, have a certain level of responsibility - but Sandra's no cuddly little bunny. We all have the problem of being stuck together on tour and having to put up with each other day after day", Dennis stresses. Which Sandra at least counters with, "Ah, don't say that". You can just imagine how the four spring out of the tour bus, shooting off into the direction of the four winds. And who collects them later? "Meanwhile, we're trying to leave that up to the tour manager for the most part."
"It's no picnic anymore", corrects Stefan, "maybe before you could blow off a gig, but today there's so much involved - to not go on stage because of an argument, that would just be silly." A crisis management technique is offered by Dennis: "A couple of punches in the mouth."
It really isn't so simple to assemble the wild Apes onto one spot - and then to get them to be still. The idea of wrapping the band in an exquisite Gucci towel and then posing them for photos at a not so exquisite location is not bad. The realization, however, is a question of iron will and a large quantity of animal trainer qualities.
The battle seems lost already from the beginning: Sandra, initially cocooned and confused in a blue-violet mountain of tulle and silk chiffon, recognizes the consequences of a low neckline. No, not every female singer carries her lung power out in front like Montserrat Caballe. A solution must be found - that which is not to be exposed above a low cutaway must be covered. The distance between the studio and the garbage dump becomes progressively smaller. And not completely without reason, the production staff begins to fear that the tulle may have gotten caught where not even Gucci himself might suspect. "Gimme the Gukki", the boys ape - and the discarded trailer proves a playground, with Gucci as the topic of discussion. Whether Sandra really popped out of her tulle dream cocoon as threatened remains a mystery. At least we know now that the rain over Hanover has let up in the meantime, and Sandra, freezing in her down jacket, can stride like a true Diva.
Future music? It's raining gold for 250,000 album copies sold of 'Proud Like A God'. The Apes enter the studio again this month, not least to process all their newly won experiences for their second album. We'll have to wait patiently until the beginning of next year to see if the right dose of Guano will prove sufficient for a renewed golden harvest along the broad horizon of the musical field. The Guano Apes themselves view their future relatively relaxed and are not necessarily anticipating filling the footprints of the Rolling Stones, whose retirement from the stage, walking stick in tow, is hardly to be held off for much longer. "We have the privilege of not having to worry too much about how we're going to get through things", says Henning, "and because of that, we have time to think about our future and discover our talents." And as for dreams: "If Tarantino would make a couple of decent films again, I could imagine us doing a great soundtrack", reckons drummer Dennis. Well then, good luck!from: GQ (German edition) September/98
Text: Sophia-Therese Fielhauer
Photos: Neil Wilder
