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| Interview by Burt Wolf with vocalist, Fritz T. Fell & drummer, S. Von Ziegler of TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL. Interview done January 22nd, 2005. |
| I'M PRETTY NEW TO YOU GUYS & DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE BAND. COULD YOU GIVE SOME OF THE BANDS HISTORY? ANY PREVIOUS BANDS YOU GUYS WERE IN BEFORE? Fritz: This version of the band has been together since December 2002. It was originally called LIME. in the early ninties. We ended up folding cause people didn't get it back then. Von Ziegler: Fritz & I were in a band called ORANGESEED PARADE together, we were doing that BAUHAUS type of moody shit. We were playing with a lot of hair Metal bands, but we were doing well for the simple fact it was different at that time. Cyrill was in a Punk band called RED DIE #9 which had a huge following & did well on the Baltimore Punk scene. WHY WAS THE NAME TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL CHOSEN FOR THE BAND NAME? Von Ziegler: I hated the name LIME even though I loved the material. I thought we needed a fresh start. Fritz: I think I just wanted something fucked up sounding. I wanted something that had more than one syllable & that was easy to say. Von Ziegler: Yeah, you know it's like "TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL what the fuck is that". It's working well for us. WHO OR WHAT HAS HELPED INFLUENCE YOU IN CREATING YOUR MUSIC & IN LIFE IN GENERAL? Fritz: All of our songs come from really negative shit. Depression, suicide, murder, etc. We thrive on this stuff musically. Von Ziegler: Dealing with these sorts of topics it just comes natural for us. We like the darker side of life. I think a lot of people like their music that way. Fritz: I guess you can say we are influenced by the negative energy in this world. All the really horrible stuff that happens that everyone is a ffraid to talk about we end up writing about. |
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| YOU BLEND A FEW DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC TO CREATE YOUR SOUND. HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE BANDS SOUND? Von Ziegler: It's a hybrid for sure! The influences between each member is so vast. Fritz: We loved the raw Metal guitar mixed with Industrial arrangements. Von Ziegler: YEAH, the toughness of the raw sound complimented with Fritz's lyrical approach. Fritz: I guess the sound is best described as distorted, bizarre, Industrial mayhem. |
| I ONLY HAVE YOUR NEW RELEASE "DAYS FULL OF NIGHT", WHICH CAME OUT LAST YEAR. HOW WELL HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN TO IT SO FAR? Fritz: The response for "DAYS FULL OF NIGHT" has been great. Our following is growing & growing as the result of this release. CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COVER ART? Von Ziegler: That was based on a concept we had with a photographer we were working with. Fritz: We were experimenting with lights & shadows. WHAT IS SOME OF THE LYRICAL CONTENT OF YOUR SONGS? Fritz: A lot of it has to do with death, murder, suicide, religion, a lot of sadistic stuff also. You know, all the fun stuff in life. YOU HAVE TWO PREVIOUS RELEASES OUT. COULD YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE ABOUT THEM & THEIR AVAILABILITY? Fritz: "NEVER ENDING JOY" was actually recorded back in 1993 when we were LIME. The stuff is really fucking weird. It's out there. Von Ziegler: When it was written I think it was ahead of it's time. People can really appreciate it now when they hear it. We remixed it & put it out & people love it. We do a lot of songs off of "NEVER ENDING JOY" when we play live. Fritz: We play "Moutains", "9:59", "Mass Crime", "Spread" & a few others live. People didn't seem to get it back then but now they do. Von Ziegler: ".5 RETURN" is a 5 song EP, it's basically a demo. It's the first couple of songs we wrote when we got together. It does contain the infamous song "Atriptaspahn", which has kind of become a TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL classic. All of these CD's can be purchased off the website or at our live shows. HOW DO YOU FEEL THE BAND HAS PROGRESSED SINCE THESE TWO ALBUMS TO THE NEWEST ONE? Von Ziegler: You can hear the style developing & progressing. The song writing, the production, everything is just moving forward. Fritz: We are now over the edge with everything. We used to hold back a lot with things before "DAY'S..." was released. Now we just do it with out thinking about it. When you hear "DAY'S..." you will hear a more mature & confident band. |
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| THE NEW RECORD SAYS LIME RECORDS ON IT. IS THIS YOUR OWN LABEL? IF SO, ARE THERE ANY OTHER BANDS ON IT? IF NOT, HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH THEM? Fritz: LIME RECORDS was our own creation. Von Ziegler: We thought we would get something going while we wre waiting. Fritz: We had the intentions of helping other bands out with compilations & distribution. Von Ziegler: We just don't have the time right now. It's kind of on the back burner for now. HAVE ANY OTHER LABELS SHOWN INTERESTS IN TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL? Fritz: I just got back from California where I had a meeting with a talent scout who is working with 2 well known labels. We decided to pass on one of them & we are trying to establish ourselves with the other label. Von Ziegler: We have been offered smaller contracts & distribution deals & so fourth, but when we broke it down they weren't worth a shit. DOES TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL PLAY OUT A LOT? WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU'VE PLAYED? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU'VE SHARED THE STAGE WITH? Fritz: We were playing out too much & we actually had to slow down a little. We were putting too much time into playing out & working on live performances & not enough time was being put into writing for our new album in 2005. Von Ziegler: I think we have played every where but not anywhere if that means anything to you. We have played on the same bill with bands like MINISTRY, SKINNY PUPPY, THRILL KILL KULT, HANZEL UND GRETYL & many more. I can't remeber all of the bands & places we have played. COULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT A TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL LIVE SHOW IS LIKE? I'M SURE IT'S SOMETHING WELL WORTH CHECKING OUT! Von Ziegler: We work our asses off! We like to take advantage of the live situation. Live you can use the visual setting to compliment & enhance the music. It seems like a real wast not to utilize the stage setting. Fritz: The show is pure energy & bloddy, well at least I am. It's very visual, we use props & soem rigging. But often enough when we play with nationals they won't let us use stuff. They are a fraid we will upsatge them. ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING LIVE OR ROAD STORIES YOU COULD SHARE WITH US? Von Ziegler: Not really at this point in time, it's all hard work & nothing but bullshit. We try to stay totally focused on the music & our goals. Fritz: We have our stupid little stories of our devoted TRA groupies, but nothing like the Hammer Of The Gods. I'm going to have to agree with S. Von, it's all hard work at this point in time. Check back with us in a few years & we might have some really crazy shit to tell. WHO WOULD YOU LOVE TO TOUR WITH & WHY? Von Ziegler: It doesn't really matter, any band in our genre that has a draw so we can reach their people. Fritz: I wouldn't mind hooking up with MANSON for a few shows. Maybe we will see that happen in the future. To be honest, I wouldn't mind playing with any national as long as their road crew is cool. These road crews can be such assholes, just some of the meanest fucking people you would ever want to meet. It's always that way, the bands are the coolest fucking guys in the world, but the road crews are fuckers & want to shit all over us. |
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| ARE YOU INTO ANY OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOUR CURRENTLY INTO? Fritz: We love all types of music. I just got done listening to John Denver's greatest hits. I can't really say who I'm influenced by because it's a little bit of everything. Von Ziegler: I listen to music all the time. It's my life! I always gravitate towards the dark shit. I'm very open minded musically. I just turned our guitar player onto Buddy Rich & I think he's in love with it. |
| WHAT'S THE BEST & WORST THING ABOUT BEING IN A BAND? Fritz: The band members & the band members (LAUGHING) Von Ziegler: The best thing to me is creating & being able to go into a room with my friends & writing something out of nothing or building on an idea. Music is such a pure art form. It's like sex, it can be so satisfying if you find the right person to make it with. Fritz: WHAT? (looking at S. Von) I hope your not trying to say you want to have sex with me. (laughing) Your getting fucking weird now, your giving me the creeps. The best part about being in a band is hearing hundreds of kids screaming your name & loving what you have created & the worst part is dealing with all the bastards who want to destroy what you have created. WHO ARE SOME OF THE BETTER BANDS, LABELS & ZINES IN MARYLAND? Von Ziegler: AHHHH Baltimore? Baltimore? Next question please. Fritz: All that I can say is check out a local Baltimore band called MISMO. These guys are doing their own thing. Other than that i agree with S. Von. WHAT DO THE MEMBERS OF THE BAND DO WHEN NOT DOING ANY WORK FOR THE BAND? Von Ziegler: Cyril our bass player is a computer geek & he is seriously in love with his woman, so that takes up a lot of his time. Fritz collects serial killer art & signatures. He has a huge collection with a lot of one of a kind pieces. W. Sawczuk (guitar) he's a weird fuck! He's into blood types & philosphy, he's insane. I'm manically depressed, so I don't go out much. I watch TV & drink a lot. Our new keyboard player Rob Rabon, I really don't know what he does. I'll have to ask him. Fritz: I like to drink & get tattoos to take away the pain. WHAT'S SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES & TV SHOWS? Fritz: I love all the classic television shows, CHIPS, THREE'S COMPANY, WHO'S THE BOSS, FANTASY ISLAND, THE LOVE BOAT, HAPPY DAY'S & all horror movies especially the old HAMMER films. Von Ziegler: COLD CASE FILES, all the slasher movies, SOUTH PARK, FAMILY GUY. WHAT'S ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU? Von Ziegler: That we are all pretty itelligent guys & we're very sensitive. Fritz: We're catholic school drop outs. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE NEXT FROM TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL? Fritz: I don't know, but it's going to be great! Von Ziegler: Look for a new album in 2005 & we start touring in March with some NYC dates, Detroit, Chicago, Tampa & we will be hitting the west coast this year also. Keep a lookout for us. I'M AT THE END OF MY QUESTIONS. THANX A LOT FOR DOING THE INTERVIEW. FEEL FREE TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO CLOSE OUT. Fritz: Thanks to all our fans for thier support. If we haven't been around to see you keep checking the site because we will be coming to your town soon. Thanks so much to you Burt & TREATS FROM THE UNDERGROUND! for the attention you have giving to the underground music scene. |
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| TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL P.O. BOX 12294 BALTIMORE, MD. 21281 TWENTYRIPPEDANGEL@COMCAST.NET WWW.TWENTYRIPPEDANGEL.COM ALL PICTURES & GRAPHICS COURTESY OF TWENTY RIPPED ANGEL INTERVIEWS MAIN PAGE |