{"id":8141,"date":"2021-09-12T20:35:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-12T18:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=8141"},"modified":"2021-09-17T20:19:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T18:19:31","slug":"the-picturebooks-daredevils-biker-freaks-but-above-all-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/interview\/the-picturebooks-daredevils-biker-freaks-but-above-all-musicians\/","title":{"rendered":"The Picturebooks: daredevils, biker freaks but above all musicians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Als je deze recensie liever in het Nederlands leest, kun je hier klikken<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Singer\/guitarist Fynn Claus Grabke and drummer Philipp Mirtschink do wild things like skateboarding and motorcycling. Their music may sometimes be a bit rough, but these men from G\u00fctersloh (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) have a gentle soul and a passion for music. They have tons of energy and are always busy with something. Napping, no, that is nothing for this dynamic duo. Fynn explains that skating, motorcycling and tinkering are, as it were, their breeding ground to keep improving themselves as professional musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fynn and Philipp are daredevils and like to do extreme tricks with their skateboarding.
“Skateboarding is a great way to clear your mind, so you can’t and shouldn’t be afraid. If you are afraid, you cannot let yourself go. Because when you cramp up, you are being at risk of falling. Of course, we have had some injuries, but we have never broken anything. That’s a miracle,” says Fynn. “Or we are really good at skateboarding,” Philipp adds, laughing. In a serious tone, Fynn explains that they have learned to fall well. That was training, which they not only benefit from while skating. But also, on the bike, even when cycling or walking. “It’s like an instinct,” Fynn explains. “That you know what to do at an unexpected moment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We accept each other’s f*ck ups<\/strong>
Fynn and Philipp see each other almost every day, yet they never argue. That’s because they accept each other’s differences. And those differences are there: Fynn is more of an extroverted motormouth, while Philipp is introverted and even appears shy. “On stage, I let myself go”, says Philipp, “but otherwise I prefer to be in the background. I enjoy interviews but Fynn is more talkative. Most of the time I don’t have anything to add to what he says, but if I do, I will definitely do so. ” They not only accept each other’s differences but also each other’s faults. Fynn says: “We are open to accepting each other\u2019s f*ck ups.”
The sufferings and misfortunes they have shared together have strengthened their mutual bond, they have become a solid unit. “This is never going to break” says Fynn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the ‘Los Angeles Strip’, the tour of Volbeat with the support of The Picturebooks was announced on a mega screen. The dream of standing on the LA Strip had come true. But just before their departure to America, everything was cancelled by Covid, so they could unpack everything again.
They didn’t want that all this misery would influence their thoughts negatively. “In misfortune, you have two choices,” says Fynn, “either you get down, or you keep shining. You can see hard lines as fuel to keep on going, and to keep on enjoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Major Minor Collective<\/strong>
When all their last years gigs were postponed to 2022, the men realized that this Covid situation was going to last a very long time. The drive to write was even greater now. After everything was written, they felt they needed something different. “My vocals weren’t enough for these songs,” Fynn told me. “But even together it wasn’t enough to make these songs fully bloom. So, we decided to post these songs on our secret home page. We had a realistic wish list of singers that we hoped would join us. Many of these musicians we met while touring, and everyone on the wish list actually joined in. It was great fun and insightful to be able to do this, it was an important experience in our lives.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September the 3rd is the release of the album ‘The major minor collective’. There are already a few singles out, including ‘Catch Me If You Can’, featuring Chris Robertson (Black Stone Cherry). There are many positive comments from the fans. But Fynn also received the feedback that fans miss his voice, which flattered him. He had never expected that of himself and of his voice. Because he feels that he is primarily a guitarist, who uses his voice to express his abilities on the guitar in a better way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Holy Ghost with Jon Harvey<\/strong>
These guys are punctual, but not control freaks. Still, it took some getting used to give the songs and thus the control out of hands. The men definitely believe that this is the most interesting part of the project. Fynn says: “I already had lyrics for ‘Corrina Corrina’, but we threw them away. Neil Fallon (Clutch) came up with a completely different lyric. Yet there were also similarities. My text was: “Will you remember me?” and Neil came up with: “Would you please, please come home?”
Of course, it was thrilling to send a song. The vocalists had chosen their song themselves and were allowed to write their own lyrics. After a few days, they got a demo back. Jon Harvey (Monstertruck) had chosen ‘Holy Ghost’. Via a video call, Fynn and Philipp heard their music in the background. Jon improvised, at that time “Hallelujah” was already there. Philipp and Fynn had goose bumps then, but they also had goose bumps during the first demos of the other songs. “That was fantastic to experience” says Fynn enthusiastically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The superb grunts of Erlend Hjelvik (ex-Kvelertak) fit perfectly with ‘Multi-dimensional Violence’. Both Erlend’s solo work and that of his band are very different from The Picturebooks, yet it was nice to work with him. This is partly because they have a number of personal similarities. They have a similar way of life, are all three vegan, open minded and have a mindful life style.
Erlend’s voice is perhaps the biggest contrast to the other guest singers and to Fynn’s singing. I asked if they were worried about what the fans would think.
Fynn’s answer was: “On the one hand, you have to worry about what the fans will like or not like. On the other hand, you shouldn’t worry about whether the fans will like it or not. Because we are the artists, so there should be no rules or fears. We never release things we don’t like, we always give 110%. Even if you find some things a bit too rough, we’ve spent days thinking about it and fine-tuning it. We can really nit-pick, everything you hear is what we really meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Trojan Horse<\/strong>
At one point, Philipp decided to make his drum kit much more solid. “It was necessary, because after every show my drum kit almost fell apart”.
The drumsticks he uses now are so big that they look more like baseball bats than drumsticks, so to speak. This resulted in creating his own drumming style. The Picturebooks want to try constantly new things, they don’t want to get stuck in a particular structure. Fynn explains: “We’re a good variant of the Trojan Horse, where something new comes out every time. This has become a part of us, and we enjoy it. Every album is totally different from the last one”.
And it’s the same with ‘The major minor collective’, and not just because of the guest vocalists. The Picturebooks continue to surprise! I was allowed to review their album for Maxazine, you can find my review here<\/a>: ***
As mentioned before, all gigs have been rescheduled for next year. We’ll have to wait a while, but we can see them on 20 March 2022 in Hedon (Zwolle). They are eager to tour again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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