http://www.myspace.com/frommyhands
First off i want to thank Norman and From My Hands for taking the time out to do this interview with Worldwidetakeoverzine
How did the band come to be named From My Hands
That actually was an idea of our ex-guitarist Patrick Temme. He came up with that name at a rehearsal back in the days and we decided „Okay, that fits!“.
what is the meaning behind the song Myspace Famebitch
Well that's quite simple. A few months ago I've been sitting here at my computer, was checking my myspace and saw so many different profiles from girls showing their tits to the internet, people talking shit about others on public profiles, posers who don't even know what hardcore is but acting like they had it given since their birth. I was totally fucked up of that shit. I took a paper and wrote the lyrics. We want to tell the Internet-Shittalking-Posershit-World with this song, that they can fuck off and die! Haha
who are some of the bands main musical influences
I think that's one of the hardest questions you can ask. All of us listen to different kinds of music. We meet at the same point, and that is hardcore in general. But there are different influences. I prefer bands like Crawlspace, Copykill, Drift, Shattered Realm, Irate ... and many more. But I wouldn't say that we use them as a main influence. We just play what we want to and what we think that sounds good. The influences are quite different in the band. Our other singer for example likes Iron Maiden and bands like that... Our drummer is listening to Black- and Deathmetal a lot. So our influences are really different from person to person.
for some of the readers who are not sure could you explain to them what DRM is and what it stands for
Actually the DRM is the crew of our drummer and me. It's a foundation based on friendship and loyalty. We know each other for a long time and we know that we can count on our guys. So that's the main thing in this crew. We're just friends, hangin around together and stand under one flag if you know what I mean.
are any members in side projects other than FMH
Yeah! Our drummer plays the drums for Gunned Down, too. Our guitarist Jens and me are playing guitar for Reduction. I played in Fallbrawl for a short time on drums, as their old drummer suddenly left them, too. But they found a good drummer now, so they can handle their stuff without me.
how long has the band been together
We've been together for five years now. But not in the current lineup. There are only 2 members of the first lineup left. Our other singer Thomas and myself.
how many cds eps 7 inches split cds and demos has the band currently released
We released one full lentgh, From Hatred To Justice. The new Split-CD with Gunned Down on Massive Bloodshed Records. And in 2003 we had a 3-Song-Demo, maybe you still can find the songs at the internet, but we never sold them really, was just for download cause the quality was crap.
for someone who has never seen FMH live before and is going to be attending a show in Ruhrport what can they expect to see?
A band who loves to party on stage, an energetic live-performance, some crazy people goin' ill in front of the stage and some funny and stupid shittalking by two singers haha
what do you base your lyrics on when writing new material
We base our lyrics on personal experiences. Things that we saw, that we had to live with, or simply things that we might think about. In fact all lyrics are different. We don't write lyrics one like the other... Theres not really a concept. Just writing what goes on in our mind.
is there a large and thriving scene in the Ruhrport area as well as throughout Germany
Yeah, for sure! The german scene (especially in the Ruhr-Area) has got so many different and cool bands. So many people who go to all the shows and support all that stuff. And there is no end in sight yet. I like that, because the scene is growing more and more. You can see this process every year at Pressure Fest here in Germany. There are more and more people from year to year who hang around there and enjoy all the great bands. But unfortunately there are some bands who only play 2-chord Beatdown because they think it's kinda cool. But it's not! Haha And a new one of those bands is coming out of the ashes nearly every day. Thats the other side. But I think you can live with that when you know so many great people and bands!
what are your views on fighting at shows
For me thats quite simple... when there is a reason to fight: fight! But I think I can speak for my whole band when I say that 20 on 1 fights in front of the stage when the band plays, are not really cool. It's way better to let the aggressions out in the pit and go crazy there as punching your hate into someones face. If it's necessary, ok! But there are a lot of completely unnecessary fights on shows. But that got better the last few months I think. Not so much fighting anymore.
how did the band come to doing a split cd with Gunned Down and is FMH now also on Massive Bloodshed Records as well
First: Yeah, we are on Massive Bloodshed Records now. And they do their job really good in my opinion. It's a young label but they go their way. Everything's fine!
And the other point: We decided to make a split because our drummer plays at Gunned Down too and we thought about recording a new MCD, but we had only 6 tracks. We wanted to give a good thing for their money to the people. So we decided to make the split. We're good friends with Gunned Down and share the rehearsal room with them, so that idea wasn't really far away.
is this the original lineup and if not what is the current lineup
No, it's not! Actually most of the original lineup left the band over the years because of work or to go study or they got kicked out because of personal differences. Our current lineup is Thomas Clemens and me, Norman Menz singing (we are the last 2 of the original lineup), Jens Lucaßen and Patrick Lerche playing guitar and Johannes Wegener playing drums. We search for a fix bassist at the moment cause Mirko left the band to concentrate on his other band „Aschera“, we don't know yet if he might come back.
if you could have anyone do guest vocals on your next recording who would it be and why
I can only talk about myself now. I'ld love to do a song with Stephane Kickback because of his fuckin aggressive voice, when we talk about the european scene. International musicians I'd say a feature from Freddy Madball or James Ismean from Fury of V would be cool. Our other vocalist Thomas wants to sing with Ice-T as well haha. But it's a hard question. There are too many really good singers.
How can the readers from around the world contact you about ordering merchandise
They can contact us via Myspace www.myspace.com/frommyhands http://www.myspace.com/frommyhands or via E-Mail info@frommyhands.de mailto:info@frommyhands.de There will be an online shop at www.massivebloodshed.com http://www.massivebloodshed.com too in a few weeks I think.
in only one sentence describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before
A huge explosive punch in the middle of your face, mixed with a swimming pool full of beer and some BBQ in the middle of the highway! HAHAHA
when the band is on tour in the van what is usually playing in the cd player
I don't think that you really want to know that! Haha It depends on who's driving. Most of the time we listen to hardcore or metal. But when worst comes to worst and we got a few beers ready we listen to German partymusic or techno too haha
how were you first exposed to the scene and what made you say i want to be in an band
Good question... I was exposed to the music in the age of 12 or 13 I think from a neighbour. Everything started with Biohazard, Agnostic Front or even bands like Cannibal Corpse etc. That was the time I started to love extreme music. My first show was a Biohazard show with 13 I think. I had to be back home at 10 and I came back at 12. My mom nearly punched me in the face haha That was where everything started. I loved live music, I loved playing guitar and the sum of all that was an own band. So with 14 or 15 I started to play in different bands and it has been fun till today.
when on tour and driving from city to city what is some of the weirdest shit you have seen happen or pass by
haha there are two cool stories I think about directly... Once we were on our way to play a show in Austria. We made a short stop at a parking lot near the German border to get something to eat. The girl at the cashpoint asked if we want to have a bag for the food. But we didn't understand a fuckin word! She talked German, but with such a huge accent (Austrian accent!!! It's the same as Bavarian, not understandable) that we understood a shit. It took a few minutes for us to know what she wanted to say.
And another weird story happened not really on tour but when our other singer and me were on our way home from the studio. We made a break at a parking lot. It was a parking lot, where gay men meet to fuck in the car. But we didn't care and stopped at it... As we stood there and smoked a cigarette a guy came out of his car with a trenchcoat on. Underneath that coat he was completely naked. He went to a thrashcan and threw a condom in there, went back to his car and drove away like nothing happened. We were completely shocked haha
where do you see the band in 3 years from now
Hopefully on a world tour. Haha But that's just dreaming... I'm satisfied when we play a few shows per month all over Europe and maybe a few tours with some cool bands!
who are some of the up and coming bands from the Ruhrport area as well as throughout Germany that we should be on the lookout for
Quite a lot... Gunned Down, Reduction, Brothers in Crime, Fallbrawl, Panzerhölle, Blood by Dayz, THE ICE(!!!), Cheap Thrills... many more. Just check out our friendlist at myspace. There are many cool bands we met all over the years! And they're all great personally!
the term hardcore has become so overused that any band putting a breakdown into a song is considered hardcore but explain to the readers what hardcore means to you
For me, hardcore is more than just music. It's a lifestyle. Hardcore kids got a whole different sight of many things I think. Fashion and Brassknuckles in your myspace profile don't make you hardcore, folks! It's about friendship, havin fun together, be loyal to your friends and family... all these things...
What is your most memorable show and why
Oh we played some real cool shows in the last few months. There was a show in the „Proberäume Duisburg“ where everything and everybody went crazy, moshed us off the stage in some songs and everybody had a lot of fun. That was quite cool! Hamburg in November last year was cool too. They were such a great audience and it was fun to play and hang around there.
And last but not least 2006's show in Austria. We were completely drunk and our show was fucked up as hell. But it was a lot of fun anyways.
where else besides myspace can the readers go to to findout about upcoming shows and other band related information
At the moment our homepage unfortunately is offline. We don't have the time to make a new one... But I think that will come. In a few weeks you can find out more information on www.massivebloodshed.com http://www.massivebloodshed.com I think.
Who are some of the bands that you enjoy touring with
We've never been on tour really with another band. But it was fun to play shows with Gunned Down of course, or with our friends in Fallbrawl, Brothers in Crime, Clobberin Time etc. It's always cool to hang around with all these guys!
What advice can you give to some of the newer bands starting out that maybe having a tough time and thinking about giving up
Go your own way... Fuck shittalking and be yourself. Every band has a tough time in their career. We played shows in front of 10 people who didn't give a single fuck about us playing.... But it doesn't matter. The main aspect of playing in a band should be to have fun with your friends in my opinion. And when you play a show that fuckin sucks, try to get the best out of it. Like I said, every band has a tough time in their career and that shouldn't be a reason to give up what you love to do! Otherwise, when that's a reason for a band to give up, and not to try their best to get out of that mess, they might stop making music in general.
where do you think you would be right now had you not been exposed to the hxc metal scene
I think I would drink way less then now! haha But I'd actually not even made half of the funny experiences that I've made so far now. And we as a band might hang around in our rehearsal room for the rest of our lives, trying to reach anything. I think this „Unity“ in the HxC and Metal scene is a good opportunity for bands to make themselves popular and play in front of many cool people!
why do you think that people always associate violence with hardcore shows and it always gives hxc scenes and shows a bad reputation
I think the people misunderstand the hard way of dancing in some areas. They think it's everything about hurting each other and punch your neighbour in the face. But that's not the deal. That's simply our way of having fun. On the other hand there are some people who turn the hardcore scene into a fuckin fashion show. With all that Poser-Brassnuckle-Wannabe-Gangster shit in the internet etc. Some people don't understand that we're not people walking around with brassknuckles around our fists 24/7, because of those screwheads.
In my opinion it's better to get rid off your aggressions at shows and not to hit people on the street without any reason, cause you don't like their faces or whatever.
And in fact I hurt myself more on shows than any other one I might hit during a show when I dance hard. haha
Do you have any upcoming shows that you would like to tell the readers about
We play a show in Viersen at 2nd May 2008 and another show in Bochum at 16th May 2008. You can find more infos about upcoming shows at our myspace page!
http://www.myspace.com/frommyhands
Is there anything else that you would like to add that i may have forgotten to ask that the readers should know about
Not really. But I want to thank you and the Worldwide Takeover Family for the interview and for your support! We appreciate that very much guys! Thanks a lot!
