Fast Starter

By the end of February it was clear: The best-selling German rock band came neither from Dusseldorf, nor from Frankfurt, and not from Berlin either (West or East). The heart of the black-red-gold scene beats these days in the college town of Göttingen, home of GUANO APES and the most frequently-kissed woman in the Lower Saxony region.

By the way, Guano Apes singer Sandra Nasic is not meant in the last comment, but rather the statue named 'Gänseliesel', which is traditionally kissed out of superstition by college graduates in the Göttingen pedestrian zone. The band Guano Apes on the other hand, who make their home there, were kissed by the Muse, and apparently so passionately that their debut album PROUD LIKE A GOD was scratching at the Top 20 by this story's deadline (March 98). There are thousands of similar models ("three guys with a screaming girl") that are not as successful. So what's so special about this band? First, of course, there's the music. A colorful mixture of hard crossover and soft ballads, spiced with reggae, punk, and folk elements, that allowed the Guano Apes to rise to the position of the best Newcomer of 1997, in your opinion (see poll in the last issue). But their biggest trump card is 5´ 4", wears a size 6 shoe, has dyed-red hair, and responds to the name, Sandra, and the German press is ceremoniously over the moon about this singer: "Sweeter than Gwen Stefanie", "more powerful than Skin", "the scene's greatest hope" - the list goes on and on. Sandra Nasic illustrates the point that the issue is not THAT a woman is the front person, but rather HOW she does the job. The male members of the band greet the attention focused on their singer, also outside of the concerts, professionally. Henning Rümenapp (9), Stefan Ude (b), and Dennis Poschwatta (d) are well aware of Sandra's worth for the band, but equate it with the same for every frontMAN. Sandra responds, "It's apparently still something special when the audience sees a woman on the stage. That's unusual and erotic." The "Storm on the Stage" is self-confident ("I have a very wide vocal range"), lively, and susceptible to handing over a little something to street beggars ("although at his age he could still work"): A woman in her early twenties who knows what she wants - and what she doesn't. As her drummer, for example, was considering a sponsorship deal with Lucky Strike, Sandra put her foot down; "No no, you can do that in another band. Drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes - stuff like that wouldn't be good."

Guano Apes have existed in their current form for four years. Before that the guys were a trio, with drummer Dennis assuming singing duties in Phil Collins-style. Sandra, for her part, sang in a "very embarrassing combo, reminiscent of Guns N'Roses". The guys looked for a 'real' singer, Sandra for a real band. A mutual friend finally provided the contact. "It sparked immediately", reports Dennis enthusiastically; "I'd never heard anything like Sandra before." The audience and jury of Germany's most prestigious newcomer Battle of the Bands Competition ('Local Heroes')' seem to have shared this opinion when they picked Guano Apes as the winner from over 1,000 hopefuls - the initial spark for their career. The prize money (incl. a so-called 'Rock Scholarship' plus a video production for around $70,000) was invested in the debut, an investment that's paying dividends today. With producer Wolfgang Stach, they recorded the material for PROUD LIKE A GOD in July '97, with Rammstein producer Ronald Prent lending his Midas-touch to the final mix. The result entered the German album charts at the beginning of 1998 first, equally pulling with it the first single from PROUD LIKE A GOD, 'Open Your Eyes' into the Top 30. With this, unflattering adaptations of the band name like Guarana Apes, Guano Babes, or Ghana Herpes should soon be relegated to the past.

From "Party Band" to one of Germany's up-and-coming best hopes: SANDRA and DENNIS talk about success, the family home, and the characteristics of man and woman.

What degree of your success can you attribute to the fact that you have an attractive woman standing at the mike?

Sandra: "Of course more people watch than if a man were singing. Women are simply still unusual in the rock scene - and of course erotic. We don't give a shit, though. If the music was bad, it wouldn't help either to have a woman."

In light of your previous history (winner of the 'Local Heroes' competition, celebrities at the mixing desk, etc.), did the chart success come as a surprise for you, or did you expected it?

Dennis: "A little bit, maybe. Before Christmas the record company told us that our record was flying out of the stores. Naturally, you sweat along with it week for week. It became practically a kind of game, and the thrill grew. At the point where everyone thought it was over, it suddenly took off. First to 66, then 62, 33, and now even higher. Really, it was a logical result of the hard work we did in the studio. For three days the producer, Wolfgang Stach, suffered our childishness before he chewed our asses out. He compared us to an unruly class. From there on we pushed our physical and mental capacities to the limit."

Sandra: "Stach had to show us first what it means to work hard and professionally. I'm only registering the chart placement now. For me, at the beginning those were just numbers that made no sense to me. Recently I was at Media-Markt (German electronics & CD chain), and then I did have a look. It was really nice to see this stupid little name of this small-town band in the charts."

It is often said that, based on your voice, it's hard to tell if a man or a woman is singing. Do statements like that bother you?

Dennis: "There's only one way to prove it: Drop your pants!"

Sandra: "Mostly I laugh about things like that, although it is stupid. I take it basically as a compliment. I'm happy that I can sing in different ways; softly whisper or scream like a banshee. That's just a certain vocal range that not every woman is capable of - except of course Nina Hagen. Comparisons with her are an honor."

Where does this voice come from in your opinion?

Sandra: "I think I inherited my vocal talent from my Croatian father. He was a singer and guitarist in a band as a young man. I think they were called Kroata Apes (laughs)."

But you grew up without your father. In retrospect, have you missed anything?

Sandra: "Yeah, I think so. He did go with my mother, sister, and me to the sea during the summer holidays, but you're right; he could've been there more often. But I'm not mad at my father, and I don't have any complexes (laughs). Basically my parents were able to manage this situation well. If two people don't want to live together anymore, then they should separate and not just stay together for the children. In a situation like that it was important for me to have someone like my sister who I can unload my worries on. Right from the start I lived in a three-woman-house, and it worked. It can definitely work with just one parent."

Dennis: "Except for our bassist Stefan, we all come from broken homes - that's probably why we became musicians."

How do the male fans behave during your concerts?

Sandra: "Naturally, there are the occasional 'take it off, take it off' shouts. Statements like that are immediately punished by us and the audience. I don't hold myself back then. I deal directly with those types and challenge them over the P.A. to come up onstage and take off their own clothes. The audience then does the rest."

Dennis: "We've got that under control meanwhile. The last guy like that was standing there afterwards with his T-shirt in shreds."

Sandra: "That's not something I'm indifferent about - it's just silly. If he needs something like that, then he should go to a brothel. You can tell that a couple of people there take me for a woman, but not a singer. They can go to Rock Bitch gigs."

What do you think of Rock Bitch? Do they embody, as they proclaim, a type of 'Girl-Power'?

Dennis: "Ah, that's a rocking whore-house. In any case, I wouldn't like to play with any monitors that they've pissed on."

Sandra: "They should do what they want. For my part, I find it completely disgusting. If they think they're really moving something that way... the audience has absolutely zero interest in the music, and is mostly made up of Peeping-Toms."

Dennis: "I see the whole thing as one big horny scam. It's getting attention as a band without really making music. Actually, they're fucking the people in two ways."

Are there male groupies at your concerts?

Sandra: "Sometimes, yeah."

Dennis: "We test 'em out first, but the final decisive blow belongs to Sandra (laughs). No, we actually seldom have groupies - the guys at least."

Sandra: "Oh yeah?... I seem to remember the two 16 year-old girls who wanted autographs on their T-shirts. You guys picked the best spots. That's why they heard a shitstorm from me too, because I didn't think that was cool. A lot of guys just don't have the nerve to talk to me, although I can see that they want to. But they aren't real groupies in the sense of the word. At least there hasn't been anyone yet who really came on to me."

Does your confidence on stage knock men off balance?

Sandra: "Yes, naturally! I pinch 'em on the ass sometimes too and take advantage of my position at that moment. I play with my femininity, just like the guys do with their masculinity. It would be stupid to deny my sex. I know that I'm a woman and I stand behind it. Outsiders make a problem out of it, but I've never had one myself."

Dennis: "When we're in the rehearsal room or on stage, we're basically sex-less. Then we're just musicians."

Do the typical characteristics of men and women still exist at all today?

Sandra: "I have the feeling that that's constantly melting together more. You can see that in sports that were strictly male domains earlier, like for example, skateboarding. People are realizing that things like that are just more fun together. I think it's absolutely positive that the demarcation line between men and women is consistently getting softer."

No Doubt had their biggest hit with a song about a failed relationship within the band. Will there be a Guano Apes 'Don't Speak'?

Dennis: "Sure! We have a completely open relationship. I sleep with Stefan and Henning too - just like Rock Bitch."

Sandra: "No, all jokes aside: There won't be any relationships within the band, because the one thing doesn't have anything to do with the other. I wouldn't do it myself, even if I had my eye on someone in the band. Something like that can't work, but it can destroy a lot."

How has your private life changed as a result of the success?

Sandra: "We all have relationships, and logically we all see our partners now less than before. What effect that has in the end depends on the partner. With me personally, it's working very well. But we're apparently very lucky: Our partners take it very easy with us. They don't throw a noose around our necks, they understand us and the job that we do. That's very important and rare. Although they're happy for us, they're afraid that the relationship could break up because of this."

Dennis: "If I had to make the choice: Music or girlfriend?, the decision would clearly be for music."

Sandra: "With me too. This thing is too important for us."

How far would you go to push your band? Would you, like Pete Steele - metaphorically speaking - show your dick?

Sandra: "Maybe... why shouldn't I take off my clothes? I could imagine that, in Playboy for example. But there would have to be boundaries, I wouldn't do anything slutty. You should tackle something like that when the body is still young. When you're old I bet you would enjoy looking at it again. You can show it to your grandchildren (laughs). At this point in time I don't have the courage, but it's possible."

Dennis: "If I had the body for it, I'd do it too. But not because of the money."

Sandra: "Pete Steele is a complete animal. I really wanted to get a hold of that issue. Does he really have a tool as big as a thermos?"

Roughly. A large part of your success must be due to your extensive touring. How do you get along together?

Dennis: "It works like it does in a family: They beat each other, they love each other. Before the first tour I was shitting my pants - afraid of the conditional as well as the inter-personal problems. But it went really well."

Sandra: "When you're constantly stacked on top of each other during a tour, at some point you get on each others nerves and you scream at each other. But these disagreements are straightened out efficiently, not angrily."

What's the story with stimulants on tour?

Sandra: "Once in a while I'll drink a beer, but I've really never been drunk before. One time in my life I smoked a joint, but never again. I have no idea what the appeal is for people. I hung over the toilet for two hours puking french fries. Really awful."

For the first time in your careers you're starting to see money. Do you already know what you're going to do with it?

Sandra: "Yeah, slowly but surely I'm getting an idea. But I'm very frugal and I only use the money to pay for my daily life. It would be nonsense for me to blow it all right away. This kind of thing can be over pretty quickly."

from:
HAMMER April 1998
Interviewer & Text: Matthias Weckmann Photos: R. Brenner/X. Kreuzeder