[Article net] Tokio Hotel au Gothic Theater

International superstars Tokio Hotel are taking the music world by
storm. After scoring four number one singles, two number one albums,
and selling nearly 3 million CDs and DVDs in their homeland, they’ve
become the biggest act to come out of Germany in 20 years. And to think
their first CD was recorded when the members were only 13 to
15-years-old. Breaking down cultural walls, the Tokio Hotel phenomenon
has crossed language barriers, causing a tornado-like frenzy in Spain,
Italy, Scandinavia, Russia and Israel. In Austria and Switzerland,
Tokio Hotel have gone four times Platinum and in France, they’ve had a
crowd of 500,000 chanting along to their songs in front of the Eiffel
Tower. One by one, European territories have seen the band graduating
from theaters to arenas in a matter of months. They sold out 43 venues
with more than 400,000 fans in their home country, having the most
successful debut tour ever in Germany.


Teenagers overseas
cry at the mere glimpse of Bill Kaulitz, 18 (vocals), Bill’s twin
brother Tom Kaulitz, 18 (guitar), Gustav Schäfer, 19, (drums) and Georg
Listing, 20 (bass). Now with Tokio Hotel ready to rock America, it’s
only a matter of time before the hysteria follows them stateside.


“It’s
always been a dream of ours to make it in the States,” says vocalist
Bill Kaulitz, who sings in English for the first time on Scream, the
band’s U.S. debut. “We grew up listening to American bands like
Metallica, Green Day and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. We wanted to get a
chance to do what they do.”


When the band formed in
Magdeburg, Germany, in 2001 (originally under the name Devilish), they
say they had no idea they’d go on to win every prestigious German music
award. “But there was never a plan B,” explains Bill, “music is all we
know.” Guitarist Tom added “Playing live means everything to us. That’s
how we started three years ago…performing our songs in small clubs and
bars – sometimes with only five people in the audience. These days have
changed completely. We have sold out stadiums and the biggest venues
you can get. This unbelievable success is hard to grasp and every
single day we are grateful for it.”


With their US debut
ready for release, listeners will get a chance to hear how Tokio
Hotel’s melodic brand of rock easily navigates between headbanging
guitars and power-packed anthems to mid-tempo pop tracks and more
introspective ballads. The one thing their diverse songs all have in
common? There’s always a message.


“Don’t Jump” is an
anti-suicide song, telling the listener not to give up on himself,
while the guitar-heavy album-opener, “Scream,” is about “saying what
you want – or better yet, shouting it – to get your point across,”
explains Bill. The quiet but powerful “Rescue Me” is about the
helplessness you feel when a relationship crumbles before your eyes,
while the sweetly, slowed-down “Monsoon” is about going through
hardships with a best friend or soul-mate – withstanding anything life
can throw at you – and by facing adversity, overcoming it to find a
positive end.


“The lyrics are very important to us,” says
Bill. “They help our fans know where we’re coming from. The best part
of being a musician is being onstage and seeing a sea of people sing
your lyrics-it’s a rush.” Now, for the first time, they’ll be able to
hear the songs sung back to them in English. “It’s going to be a little
crazy,” Bill admits. Though the group learned to speak English in
school, they still write songs in their native German and then
translate them into English.


Their first U.S. album is
actually a combination of hits from their two German albums – “Schrei
(Scream),” and “Zimmer 483 (Room 483),” – translated into English and
re-recorded. Their first single in Germany, “Durch den Monsun”
(“Through the Monsoon”), went to number one in August 2005 and “Rette
Mich (Rescue Me)” also peaked at number one soon after.


Their
first single off their second album “Zimmer 483 (Room 483),” called
“Übers Ende der Welt (Ready Set Go),” was released in January 2007, and
quickly reached number one as well. They now look to to keep the streak
alive in America.


“We think our music speaks for itself,”
says Bill. “Of course, we want to succeed, we want to prove it to
ourselves, and to be honest, to everyone else.”
Source http://www.gothictheatre.com/artists/detail/tokio-hotel