[X] My Assistant

[Earthnix]

I should probably say this so an admin an/or mod doesn't burn me, but please keep swearing to a minimum/non-existant.Also, for cnsideration as well as personal reasons, pleas don'tuse the "gay" comment. I know you mean it in terms of "stupid," but since it meant "homosexual" first, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't use it. Yes, even if you're calling a band member gay. The only gay one was Luminor from Cinem Bizarre, and he's no longer in the band. Thank you.

Two bands from Germany, Tokio Hotel (yes, it is spelled this way; this is the German spelling) and Cinema Bizarre, are becoming more and more popular in America. More people are hearing about Tokio Hotel daily, while Cinema Bizarre is gaining fans through their label company. Both bands are under Cherrytree Records, who are churning out new bands like a bad habit-- And they're all good! Or, most of them are... I haven't had a chance to listen to all of them. This post will deal with Tokio Hotel.

Tokio Hotel is composed of members Bill and Tom Kaulitz (19), Georg Moritz Hagen Listing (22), and Gustav Schäfer (20). Bill is vocals and is commonly mistaken for a girl because he is very androgynous. Tom plays the guitar and is identified by his dreadlocks, hats, Escalade, and womanizing tendencies. Georg plays bass and he and Tom occasionally do back-up vocals for Bill. Gustav plays drums and is the quiet one in interviews but is called the clown of the band. The band has 3 different CDs with several singles, but officially only have 2 albums. The two albums are Schrei, which is German for "scream," and Zimmer 483, meaning "room 483." Schrei was their debut CD as Tokio Hotel. THey were previously known as "Devilish" under Universal Records, but met with little success until they signed on with Cherrytree. (Disclaimer- I am unsure whether or not Devilish was under universal or not, but that's what I've heard. Plese correct me if I'm wrong) Schrei was produced when Bill and Tom were 13-14 (I'm unsure of the exact date) and was a huge hit in Germany. Their top song was Durch Den Monsun, meaning "through the Monsoon." Zimmer 483 was produced a few years later when Bill's voice had time to mature. The album provided a drastic difference from Schrei's rebellious nature and went for a more caring (in more ways than loving) approach to life. Song titles (when translated) included "Don't Jump," "Forgotten Children," and "By Your Side (I am Here)." All three of these were translated onto their third CD, Scream. Scream was their American debut album and was a huge hit once people started to listen to them. Every song on Scream had been produced before in German, including the bonus tracks. Bill's voice had not changed much from this album than it was in Zimmer. Scream can be found without special order at Wal*Mart, Hot Topic, Best Buy, amazon.com, and iTunes. Schrei and Zimmer 483 are easily obtainable through order. Tokio Hotel is currently working on their third album, which will be produced in English and German. It is expected to come out this year, with a single preceeding it as a rumor. The date hasn't been confirmed yet, but we (at their official fansite) know there will be a single. Cherrytree records recently aired a message from Bill greeting fans, thanking them for their patience, and saying that they are working very hard on their album.

Schrei


Schrei so laut du kannst (Scream as loud as you can)(1st single)


Zimmer 483


Scream

^^ In this one, band members are as follows from left to right: Georg, Tom, Bill, Gustav.

[kenguro]

Bill and Tom took that androgynous style from the visual kei scene from japan musicians
Their music also had influences about this style .. I Listen Visual kei music (and a lot of bands) so
i can identify the styles and the riffs, beats, bass, etc. I think Tokio Hotel also recognized this influence on their music .. i don't remember clearly... :/

But .. I really think they are a good band.. but Japanese Bands are much Better!!

[Earthnix]

Tokio Hotel isn't trying to be Japanese. Their manager made the name, actually. They used to be Devilish, as I believe I said. When they changed management, though, the manager changed the name. "Tokio" because that's his favorite city (and the German spelling) and "Hotel" because they'd be spending a lot of their time in a hotel. It's "symbolic" is how Bill described it. I don't hear much Japanese influence at all in TH's style- nne of their influences are Japanese. Nena, Fall Out Boy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, METALLICA (ROCK ON!), Samy Deluxe (German rapper), the list goes on. Cinema Bizarre, however (which I will post in a second), is VERY heavy on Japanese influences.

[Earthnix]

Anyway, Cinema Bizarre. Now that I have time, I'll post about them.

Cinema Bizarre is also a band from Germany. Unlike Tokio Hotel, whose music is alternative rock, Cinema Bizarre has more of a techno style to them. They just finished their tour for Toyz and are back in Germany.

When the band started out, the original members had never met before. The members real names are not known- they have named themselves according to their own likes. The original members names were Strify (vocals), Shin (drums), Kiro (bass), Yu (guitar), and Luminor (keyboard and backup vocals). Strify's name comes from Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII. Shin named himself after the drummer from Dir en Grey, Shinya. Kiro's name is a combination of his supposed real name Kristian and Strify's stuffed monkey Siro. Yu's name was originally Yukito, then was shortened to Yuki, then finally to Yu. Luminor's name is Latin for "moonlight."

Cinema Bizarre's first album is Final Attraction (art below). Final Attraction is not available in America yet, with the exception of amazon.com, ebay, and iTunes; to buy it from a retail store, it must be ordered from Germany. Song titles include "Lovesongs (They Kill Me)," "Escape to the Stars," and "Forever or Never." They are currently working on their new album, Toyz. The single for this album will be released officially on iTunes on May 1st of this year.

Before the release of Final Attraction, keyboarder Luminor left the band for personal reasons, refusing to accept the awards that were given to him for the album. To fill the void left by (in my mind) this wonderful artist, the band recruited one of Yu's friends named Romeo. Like Luminor, Romeo plays keyboard, but does not do backup vocals. For songs like "Get Off," which Luminor had primary vocals, Strify has taken over singing them. However, Strify's voice cannot match the distinctiveness and effect that Luminor had. Since Cinema Bizarre is so new, there isn't much information on them now.

Band picture with Luminor:

Left to right: Yu, Kiro, Luminor, Shin, Strify.

Band Picture with Romeo:

Left to right: Yu, Romeo, Strify, Kiro, Shin

Final Attraction album cover:


Full tack listing:
Lovesongs (They Kill Me)
How Does It Feel
Silent Scream
Get Off
Forever or Never
Escape to the Stars
After the Rain
She Waits For Me
I Don't Believe
The Way We Are
Dysfunctional Family
Heavensent
Angel in Disguise
The Silent Place

The Song listing for Toyz will come when I get it.

This post has been edited by Adrian Phnx: Apr 28 2009, 10:14 AM

[kenguro]

i was trying to say that tokio hotel had some influences about the visual kei scene.. not that they were trying to be so
well.. i think my english isn't good enough xD!

about cinema bizarre, i has some singles and it sounds good, for anyone who are interested
but for me... is kindda poor, i'm a little excentric...

[Earthnix]

There's nothing wrong with that! I understand what you mean now, though. Yes, Bill definitely has the Visual-Kei scene going on. Final Attraction used to be on iTunes, but it was taken off for some spastic reason. :shrug:

OT: who is that in you avatar?

[damoiseau]

for accuracy, 'gay' meant happy before it meant stupid or homosexual.

[Silverwing]

Im not the biggest fan of Cinema Bizarre but I am a HUGE Tokio Hotel fan. I must say, for a band not native to America, they are really popular here. I call them the modern day Beatles (even though I dislike the beatles)

[petrus]

these kind of bands are a regurgitation of a regurgitation of a regurgitation, and wont last.

[Earthnix]

@medic Thank you for that. I knew the original definition, I was using it in reference to a negative modern meaning.

@Silverwing Tokio Hotel:Beatles? That, my friend, is EPIC!

@petrus COuld you explain what you meant by a regurgitation of a regurgitation of a regurgitation? And They might not last in America, Cinema Bizarre especially. Yes, they traveled to several places with Lady GaGa on her "The Fame Ball Tour," but on their own "Toyz" tour, they only went to LA and NYC. Not very good publicity in just doing that.

[petrus]

what i mean is, artistically, their music is just a copy of something that's been done before that was also taken from somewhere else etc etc. and i'm not sure why they get so much credit for what they do.

[Wolfshade]

eh okay, so here writes the german girl who knows EVERYTHING about 'em
(no, I don't like them and I never did! But they were in all magazines years ago and you couldn't ignore it ... *)

They're called Tokio Hotel because they want to play in Tokyo someday (I don't know if they've already done it, but who cares?).
I hate 'em! Their music is just crap "

[Earthnix]

Actually, they're called "Tokio" because it's their manager's favorite city. "Hotel" is symbolic because they're going to have to stay in hotels a lot in their touring, which they have.

[Lady Stray]

I love Tokio Hotel. <.< >.> It's rather a guilty pleasure of mine. Bill is quite a cutie and he has a great voice. My favorite songs are Rette Mich, Spring Nicht and By Your Side. I don't think I've heard anything from Cinema Bazaar.

[Earthnix]

Cinema Bizarre videos (Youtube)
Official "Love Songs (They Kill Me)" video
official "Forever or Never" video
Official "Escape to the Stars" video

Personally, escape to the stars is my favorite. As of right now, I don't have any music videos with Romeo- all of the above have Luminor. However, there is a video with Romeo in it.
Cinema Bizarre at Venice Beach, LA

And, for my own indulgence, here's an adorable clip of Kiro. This is his message on cinemabizarre-kiro.de, which is under construction right now.
Kiro's message

All I get out of this is, "Hallo!," "meine page," and "ungh!"

[Lady Stray]

You caught more of his message than I did. The music is too loud. All I heard was "Hi". Lol. ^^

OO! I'm seriously surprised I'd never heard anything from Cinema Bizarre. Their music is great! I've added them to my listen list. I curse the day the International Music Feed went off the air. I think I like the song Love Songs (They Kill Me) the best so far. But like the video for Escape to the Star the most. I dug the whole futuristic vibe they had in it.

[TMG]

I might check out Cinema Bizzarre, but I really can't stand Tokio Hotel.