"I always give my best, no matter if there are two or millions of people." (Strify)
What do you do in the last five minutes before you go on stage?
Strify: We always thought that it would be cool to do something special before we go on stage. So, we started make it a rule to buoy each other up by hugging and wishing each other good luck. That's how we get the feeling that we're mutually sharing our energy. The most important thing about a show is the energy because we pass all of our energy on to the audience who subsequently gives us its energy back in return.
Kiro (bass): I think it's important to be close to each other on a human basis. We are like a little family and that's what we want to become apparent on stage.
A Life Very Rock'n'Roll
Bands are always being asked what they do before their shows, but I'd like to know what you do afterwards.
Strify: When I come back from the stage, my sole need is to calm down. So, I lay down for half an hour. And later we have a little party before we get on the bus that brings us to the next location – and party on in the bus, having a good time with our crew. To me, this is very important because I don't only want to travel with these people, I want them to be close to me as well. We have an awesome tour manager who we have a great time with. And then we have someone who we call "tour mommy", she's responsible for the merchandising and a very funny and adorable woman. We live a life that's very Rock'n'Roll because we never have a hotel, but it's always pleasant.
Which member of Cinema Bizarre is the most Rock'n'Roll?
Strify: I think that's Luminor!
How's life on tour, do you like travelling and sleeping on the tour bus?
Luminor: Apparently, it seems to be a problem for me only. I'm horrified because there's not enough space and I get the feeling I'm stuck in a coffin. That makes me nervous. Furthermore, you don't have any privacy and that easily leads to feeling constricted.
Strify: The strangest thing is that I mostly get so used to all this that I have a hard time getting to sleep when I'm back home. I always thought "there's something lacking"! And it took me quite a while to realise what it was!
Yu (guitarist): At home, my bed is awful and I didn't get the chance to find another one. So, I prefer the one in the tour bus. I get the impression that I'm in my own little cocoon.
"At the moment, Luminor is taking a rest. He might not be back immediately, but soon. He's feeling better every day." (Strify)
A Contemplation Of The Outside
While accompanying you for a whole day, I noticed that you never have a second for your own. When and how do you relax?
Strify: I do when we're on the tour bus, when it starts running and when I look out the window. You can see all the lights outside, the town that we just left. I don't really know why, but I love this moment. I'm a pensive person and when I want to relax, I lay down and watch [the landscape passing by], it's like a contemplation of the outside.
Kiro: As for me, that's when I go to bed whenever I can, trying to find some rest or listening to music. That's how I detach myself from the others in order to regenerate.
Luminor: People think I'm always calm because I don't show [how I feel], but actually, on the inside, I'm always excited and anxious. Even if I seem at ease, my soul never rests. That's why, when we're on tour, it's impossible for me to find a moment of relaxation. I'm afflicted.
Wherever you go, a crowd of girls follows you around. How do you feel about that?
Strify: It's an honour, but pretty strange at the same time. I cannot really understand what makes a person follow its favourite band around for three weeks, because this means that this person dedicates a part of its life to us. I think there are other things one could do. We all have our own activities, and nobody should neglect his/her life in order to sacrifice himself/herself to somebody else for the only reason that he/she loves us.
Are you able to protect yourself from your success, meaning separate your professional life from your private life?
Strify: To be honest, I don't separate these two. I think that's my job. And, at the same time, it represents a huge part of my personality. You have to show the people your real personality because it's always connected to your private life somehow. Whenever you play concerts or make promotion it's normal to respect the people by giving them what they expect of you. But you must always have the right to lead a completely normal life outside the band.
Getting Destructive
Do you plan to make a DVD from your tour?
Strify: I would love to make a DVD, but I don't think that this is the right moment. When it's only to show a concert the energy of which cannot be captured [on DVD], it's better to watch our clips on YouTube. For me it's essential to at least have a good documentary. I think it's always interesting to see how the bands spend their time while they're on tour.
Luminor: When it comes to me, I don't feel the need to reveal anything private.
Strify: You do know that we can still have it edited during the final cut! (laughs)
Luminor: I don't want to reaveal things that seem too personal for me and by means of which people get to know me. I only want to show the art but not what's hidden behind. I don't think it necessary to explain everything. After all, this can get destructive.
Strify: I want to show part of my personality too because I have the chance to make an experience that the people might never have. I don't want them to do it the way I do but I want to give them food for thought. Of course I don't want to reveal everything, that's why I always keep my distance to the people I meet. Like Luminor said, if you reveal too much, it could be dangerous.
Luminor: When I'm on stage, I put a lot of who I am into it, that's what differs from who I normally am. I think I put too much into it already and I don't want to surrender myself even more.
Do you think you will show yourselves without make-up one day, in this potential documentary for example?
Luminor: No, I won't. Sometimes I even sleep with make-up on! It [the documentary] would be too personal for me that way and the make-up belongs to me. I think I made a choice: I want to be this creation, this personality that is also my reality.
Kiro: As for me, I don't need the make-up. I put it on whenever I want people to pay attention to me.
Strify: As far as I'm concerned, putting make-up on means having a good time and it's a means of expression as well. When I'm at home, I don't need make-up because I still have my personality even without it. I stay who I am. If I put it on every day, it would become superficial, I think, it wouldn't be my reality anymore. To sum it all up, you may see me without make-up.
"Paris is one of my favourite cities and for our first gig at Bataclan we would really like to show what Cinema Bizarre is all about." (Strify)
The Surprise Of October 10...
Today, Luminor is not present and will not play tonight. Can you enlighten us, what happened?
Strify: He posted a blog on his MySpace in order to explain his absence, but nothing more. It's about something very personal and we respect his desire to keep certain things for himself. It's his right to be the only one talking about it. If he feels the need to talk about it one day, he will do so. We don't want to force him. He only needs to straighten out his life and that's the reason why it's unthinkable for him to take part in this tour. That would have been the worst for him. At the moment, he's taking a rest. He might not be back immediately, but soon. He's feeling better every day.
What purpose will filming during tonight's concert at Batclan serve?
Strify: Actually, we're still filming because we put the videos on our YouTube (youtube.com/cinemabizarre). Bataclan is a great club, and we thought that we could still make use of the material later on. For tonight, we hafve something special planned. That's also the reason why it took us so long to come here. Paris is one of my favourite cities and for our first gig at Bataclan we would really like to show what Cinema Bizarre is all about.
The Same Team
For the time being, what are your plans for the months to come?
Strify: I want to release a second album, be at the studio with the producers, record demos, write lyrics, compose songs. This year, we had the chance to tour throughout Europe. We will see what the next year will bring. I wished we could release the next album in every country at the same time, but we're a bit stuck due to the singles that still need to be released in certain countries. It's all a matter of planning.
Did you have time to compose new pieces for the next album in the last few weeks?
Strify: We still have some pieces ready to hand. I cannot tell you exactly how many because I don't count them, but I'd there are about twenty to thirty. We try to have as many as possible collaborating with the composers and then see what becomes of these tracks. We work with the same team we already worked with on the first album. An album needs to be seen as a whole, and we have to create some sort of continuity.
Are you now more involved in composing than you were for your first album?
Kiro: Quite some more in fact because we have more experience in the capacity of composers and we know better what relates best to us.
Strify: We have developed a great deal as singers, musicians, performers and composers. Furthermore, it's an excellent opportunity for us to learn all this together with other people and to be able to create our own sound.
What are your wishes concerning this coming record?
Strify: That's a topic we don't really want to say a lot about because we're concentrating on the tour right now. We will think about this album later since we plan to realease it during spring 2009. But you never know in advance what might happen, that's why we're always cautious.
Ah we've found the first part too, many thanks to Amy for her translation!
For the first gig on the French territory, Cinema Bizarre have seen the things in big, the only shadow : Luminor missed. Interview in 2 times, before and after his absence.
For the first time of your carreer you have done an European Tour. How did you prepare it?
Strify (singer) : We never have really the time even when we are in Berlin and that we have 3 days off, there is always something to do. We train a lot. This last time, that was a big problem because we had a lot of ideas for the Paris gig. So, we have delegated much of things to our tour manager.
How took place your two tours in Germany?
S : It was a little as roller coasters. We begin to have a certain experience of the stage because it does one and a half year that we do it but there is always unexpected events. There were gigs where we left the stage and we were very happy and satisfied and others where we were very angry because the technical problems wasted us our pleasure. Sometimes I didn't hear me anymore, that the sound is completely bad, we had problems of micro, or I sang false. It is really annoying when this kind of things happened because you try always to give the best of yourself. Fortunately, the public loved the concerts and we have learnt a lot.
According to you, what is the biggest difficulty that we can meet when we are on stage?
S : It is funny enough because we haven't choregraphy, nor other expected things, we just do what we feel. Often I must be careful not to take my feet in the guitares' cables because each place is different. Sometimes, we evolve on a big stage. But other times, we play in the small clubs. In the 2 cases, I give the best of myself that there is 2 or 1000 persons. Anyway it's a difficulty too because when you have had a bad day and you don't really feel well, always you must find in yourself the ambition, the courage to give the best of yourself.
When you play your songs in live, do you try to be very close of the album or do you give free rein to your feeling?
Luminor (Keyboard/singer) : I think in the songs played in ive are different of the CD. When you are on stage, everything rests on the muicians. You are carried by the atmosphere and the energy from each, what makes you more agressive. It doesn't matter the bands, you become more rock on stage. And, when you are in studio and you do a mistake, you can begin again whereas on stage, you haven't a second chance. It's why you must be more expressive, even if it means to be more expressive in your way to sing because it's the moment or never to do it.
What do you do during the last 5 minutes before to go on stage?
S : We always thought that it would be cool to do something of particular before to go on stage. So, we have begun to take as habit to encourage ourselves by taking ourselves in the arms and by wishing 'good luck' to the others. In this way we have the feeling to spread our energy. The thing the most important in a show, it's the energy because we pass all our energy to our public who after give it again to us.
Kiro (Bass) : I think it's important to be close humanely. We are like a little family and, on stage, it's the thing which must stand out.
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