Tacheless: The music we play belongs to the underground and should stay there forever!

And now it's time to visit Germany and to meet Tacheless, really good band, which gives strong portion of old school grindcore. About last years album and daily band's life we've talked with guitarist Schlimm. So read the outcome...

Hello, Schlimm! Thanks for doing this interview! How are you, man? How do you survive in this frosty winter?

Hey, Serge! Thanx, I’m fine! Hope, you’re doing well too! This winter is a pain in the ass indeed, but spring is almost here, and I can’t wait to have some cold beers in the sun!

Please, tell about Tacheless. When it was formed and a several words about each band member. And what means “Tacheless”?

Well, “tacheles” is a common word in Germany, but has its origin in the jewish word “tachles”. It means to speak the plain, unglorified truth! In Germany you say “let’s speak tacheles”, if you want to clear some things up, without any blahblah. It means to come to the point directly, no lies, no phatic speech, only true words!!! We found the name very fitting for a band like ours, because plain talking is what we do musically and lyrically. We just come to the point! We only write the name with two “s” in the end to avoid that there’s another band with the same name.
We found together as TACHELESS in 2006, if I remember correctly. I think, there’s nothing special to tell about each member. We’re all friends since years and do music together in different bands since a very long time. Our average age is 37, so you see we’re doing this stuff for life, haha!!!

So all of you are not beginners in music. Tell about bands you’ve played in before Tacheless. And do you have side projects now?

Every one of us played in several bands before, reaching back to the late '80s. We played differend styles of music like death and thrash metal, punk, grindcore and so on. But forming TACHELESS was the best thing, that could happen to us, because it’s the essence of what we all love to do! Our singer “Mandrax” and I are doing music together since '91. We played in a grindcore band called PROVOCATION in the '90s and toured with EXTREME NOISE TERROR in '95. Later on, we played in a technical thrash/death metal band called HYSTERIA. Our bassplayer “Itak” and our drummer “Zyn” were in HYSTERIA too. We were just fed up with this kind of music after all this years and wanted to go back to the roots and start from scratch. We knew our other singer “Pedda” back from the '90s, when he sang in a death metal band called DISGUST. We asked him to join TACHELESS to complete the line up and he was excited from the first second! We have no projects beside TACHELESS and I think it's better to focus on one band, than giving only 25% by playing in four bands! But never say never!

Some words about your latest album "The World Keeps Burning". How do you rate this work? Tell about record studio and label. Is it expensive in Germany to record and produce CD?

It's always hard to rate your own work and I’d like to let other people decide, if they like it or not. But for ourselves, we’re very pleased with the result. Every bandmember had a big influence on how the album sounds. We really worked as a “band”, which made the album much more diversified than our previous album “Freiheit”. The new album is full of crust and grind riffs, but it also has a gloomy oldschool death metal feeling.
Our label GRINDATTACK is a very small label (yet) and the owner is a very dedicated guy!! I think, it’s the best choice for a band like ours to get supported from a small label that really loves what you do and still has this D.I.Y. mindset, than being one among a hundred on a big major label. The music we play belongs to the underground and should stay there forever!
It’s still very expensive to produce an album in Germany. But we have the opportunity to be friends with the guy from SOUNDSETTER Studio. It’s a very small studio with a more D.I.Y. character, but “Sebi”, the soundman, always does a very good job for low budget! We can’t afford producing in a big high class studio and I think there’s no need to, as we don’t want this plastic sound a lot of bands have nowadays. Most expensive part is the pressing plant. We’d also love to release our records on vinyl, but its still too expensive.

You have already two full-lengths and EP, but any splits. How can you explain this? Did you have proposals for doing splits and what is your requirement to split-mate?

Oh, we’d love to do a split EP, but we’ve just never been asked to do a split!! That’s it! If there’s any label or band, who wants to do a split with us, just get in touch with us! As long as the participating band is into the kind of music/ideology we are, there’d be no problem.

On the band photos most of you have true underground image: long hair, black clothes and so on. What do you think about musicians’ image in hard music? Is it really important? And what is your attitude to modern grindcore bands, which often break these rules?

The way we look is not an image, it’s just the way we like to dress. I can’t imagine to wear a pink polo shirt, haha! Of course, you can think of a “dress code”, when you look at us, but we would look like this, even if we were not in a band. It’s just us! I don’t have a problem, if you like to dress different, there are no rules!! But I admit, that it’s hard to me to trust a grindcore band, that looks like a “boys band”, haha! The main point is, that grindcore has nothing to do with fashion!!

And what can you say about humor in grindcore? When musicians have funny clothes, but play good old school grind, like German Attack of the Mad Axeman. By the way, do you in friends with them?

I know the band by name, but never met them and never heard their music. Maybe, I should. I must admit, that they didn’t draw interest to me as I saw their pictures. That’s because most of the bands, who emphasize on an image, cover up the bad music they play. Maybe, I do wrong in this case and their music blows me away, haha! I’ll take a listen! I don’t have a problem with humor in music. We’re also doing fun, when we hang out at the practice room and laugh our asses off. We’re funny guys! But I don’t share these childish kind of humor, that’s all.

What can you tell about concert life of Tacheless? How often do you play live shows? Did you participate in international fests or have some foreign tours?

We play about 15 shows a year. That’s far too little, but we only play if we’re invited to play. From this viewpoint, 15 shows is a good deal. We’d love to play more shows, but we hate to canvass to play a show! Maybe, it sounds idle to you, but its just honest. We had the opportunity to play some festivals with bands from all around the globe, such as Brutal Truth, Magrudergrind, Mesrine, Captain Cleanoff, Alehammer and so on! And we’re proud to got invited to play!
We’d love to go on tour but either we can’t afford the traveling costs or we go to work and don’t have the time to.

As I understand from the cover art of your new CD, you interested in social themes. What do you consider the worst social phenomenon in modern world? Is it possible to struggle against political evil just with revolution art (music, poems, films etc.)

I can’t pick only one problem as there are a lot of social wrongs! I think ignorance, decadence and hedonism are the biggest problems in the so called modern world. But you can put it all together under the term “stupidity”!
I don’t think that you can really make a change only by music or any other kind of art. But it helps to remind people to use their brain. Constant dripping wears the stone!

How much costs “one month of life” of common man in German? That is to say, how much common Germans spend in a month for food, for residential space. And is it possible to have music band without enough money?

This question is not easily answered, because everyone has his own living standard. I really can’t tell you more, because my opinion is not representative. A guy like me needs much less money to make a living than a family man.
It’s not easy to have a band with no money, as you have to pay rent for a practice room and buy instruments. But there’s always a chance. When we started to make music, we bought used instruments or borrowed stuff from friends or other bands. In part we still do, haha! Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

One my mate from Germany once said: “If I want live good, I have to work hard”. And what is about free time for playing grindcore? How do you manage to live non-music life, to play in the band, to answer interview questions?

Your friend was right! But it also depends on what you think is a good life, as I mentioned before.
We spend a lot of our free time to run the band. Some people play chess, collect stamps, play soccer or whatever… We play in a band! But it’s not only a hobby, it’s a lifestyle, passion and life task! To be honest, I spend the most of my spare time to do something related to the band like doing artworks, writing songs/lyrics, networking and answering interviews like this. But I can’t imagine a life without this!

Most of Ukrainian hard music fans can’t visit European fests every year. Reason is simple: if you have enough money, you have no spare time because of work and if you have spare time – you have no money) And what is about common fans in Germany? Is it real for them at least one time in a year go to another country, for example to Czech Obscene Extreme?

I think, it’s the same for us as for you. Beyond doubt, Germany is a country with high economic status, but that doesn’t mean that we can go to a big festival or visit another country once a year! That’s unrealistic! As for myself, I’ve never been to a festival that was further afar than 300km! I never had the money to go to the OEF and never had the money to pay 100€ for a festival ticket in Germany! Who has???

What ultimate goals you have in musical activity? To visit more countries with concerts, to produce more disks, to sign a major or something else?

I just answered the same question for a German magazine, so I’ll give the same answer to you. We have no other goal than just making music together till we drop!! Of course, we feel damn happy, if people like what we do, but we don’t have any ambitions to become mega sellers! We give our best to write good songs/lyrics and everything else has to happen by itself.
If everything leads to the opportunity to go on tour, visit a lot of countries, make fans/friends all over the world and release more albums - that’s all we could ever have dreamed of.

What are your hobbies besides grindcore? Maybe, you engaged in other genres of art?

As for myself, I’m interested in any kind of art. I do all the artwork for TACHELESS and did some artwork for bands, we’re friends with, since the '90s. I also did weight lifting for a while, but I had to stop since my shoulder joints are corrupt.
Our drummer Zyn was an active hockey player back then in Poland (he’s from Katowice). He’s still into sports, specially hockey and socker! We’re all into movies! Not only that typical horror stuff. All of us are big movie fans!

What last three CDs were in you player? What styles do you prefer except grindcore? And did you ever disappoint in favorite old bands?

Ok, there you have me! While answering your questions I heard: “Audio Kollaps – Ultima Ratio”, “Dropdead - Dropdead”, “Disharmonic Orchestra – split with Pungent Stench”.
I don’t prefer a special style of music, as long it has a heart and soul. That’s it! Of course I’m into grind/crustcore/thrash/death metal at the most, but there’s a lot more to discover beside metal and punk.
Of course I was disappointed by a lot of my favourite bands, when I was younger. By now I’m much more relaxed about these things. When your favourite band disappoints you, there will always be another band to fill in for. It’s better to give a chance to a new band than sticking to an old band because they had a good album once. I try to keep myself open minded, but still love the classics!

Is Tacheless like a second family for you? And is it important that all band members in a band are good friends? Do you spend free time together except rehearsals?

TACHELESS is a second family indeed! You’re nothing without friends! It was my dream since I started playing in a band, that the band consists of friends, even if this goal is hard to reach. You always start a band with at least one friend. Then you fill it up with more friends, or at least, with musicians you become friends with in time. I can’t imagine to make something such emotional/personal like musik, with people I don’t like/respect.
When we rehearse, we’re not only doing music. We always talk about everything like personal problems, work, politics but also music, relationship, fun and everything good friends talk about! It’s like a party with friends where you get drunk and creative too. That’s always a blast!
So the rehearsals are our free time, but we also visit each other at home or go to concerts together if we find time to.

What is the most evil in the world: computers, Internet, mobile phones or “Counter Strike”?)

If I have to choose from this four things only, then I’d say mobile phones! The kids here in Germany (maybe everywhere) use their phone to annoy people with their disgusting private bullshit and abhorrent chart music! When I take the bus, its always a crucial test to me. I always feel the urge to slap those kids in the face, haha!

Imagine that you have an opportunity to ask god some questions. What would you ask him? And what is attitude to religion? Do you consider religious wars the real threat for peace in the world?

Probably, I’d ask god the typical question: Where do we come from and where will we go? I don’t take our little lives too serious. From cosmic view, our personal life is just too short and minuscule. On the other hand, man is the only (known) being who thinks about his own life – that makes us special (by now).
I’m not a religious guy at all, but I think about life in general, like (hopefully) everyone else. When people say they hate all religions, they don’t mean the religious faith inherently, but what people do in the name of religion! We don’t hate the belief, we hate the believer!! As always, man is most evil. So I do respect all religions as long as the believers treat every one else like they want to be treated. That’s it!
I would not consider religious wars the real threat for peace in the world. The main threat is, was, and will always be the stupidity, greed and blindness of man. Religion has always been a pretense.

Traditional question: what do you know about Ukraine and our bands?

I’ll answer these questions as honest as possibly – so I must admit that I only know a little about Ukraine and nearly nothing about Ukrainian bands! I really hope you can make a change and give me some hints about the Ukrainian scene and bands, I’m deeply interested!
The east is (or seems to be) still isolated as everyone here is looking for bands from USA or Sweden. That’s a pity, because I know that there are a lot of awesome bands in the east that would blow my mind, if I would only know them!! Instead we’re swumped by shitty bands that fit in the sales strategy. If you can suggest some bands, please let me know!

Thanks a lot for your answers! Some words in final?

Thanx a lot for this interview and your interest, we apreciate it!
All the best to all the hard working, dedicated bands in Ukraine and worldwide. We drink a toast to you!!!
Schlimm (TACHELESS)