Artist interviews: Nils Finkeisen
Artist:
Nils Finkeisen "Die Krupps"
Define you and your music in just a sentence:
Testosterone.
Who inspired you to make music?
If there was no black album by "Metallica", I probably would not play electric guitar at all. So they are my initial inspiration, but surely many other bands like "A Perfect Circle", "Porcupine Tree", "Tool", "Pink Floyd", "Katatonia", "Mutemath", "Lamb of God", "Karnivool", "Gojira", "Opeth", "The Mars Volta" and many more, are bigger influences on my playing nowadays.
Do you believe in practice or innate talent?
In my opinion there is nothing like "talent". It is all about your dedication - the time you spend with the instrument.
If you're learning to play the guitar when you are still young, it makes things easier, as you learn faster and have more time to practice a proper eight hours a day.
How has Covid-19 affected to you directly and how do you think it will affect to the music industry in the near future?
Well, "Die Krupps" had to cancel several festival shows, a pretty big US tour, a co-headliner tour with some friends here in Europe. Covid 19 is changing the whole industry right now. We will have to wait and see, what happens during 2021 and 2022, I guess. Many small booking agencies and small venues are bankrupt already, but we still only see the top of the iceberg.
What are you working in right now?
I just finished some tracks for a pretty cool international cooperation with Sonny Vincent from "The Testors" - a pretty well known CBGBs seventies proto-punk band. There are really big names playing on the album, but that release is still a secret and I may not talk too much about it yet.
Right now I am doing some re-mixes for other artists and I am testing new stuff like crazy good guitar pickups from Andreas Kloppmann and new products from ENGL amplification.
What would your perfect rig be like?
There is no perfect rig and I like to try out new gear every single show. That's why I use Aclam Smart Track boards!
I is so nice and easy, as you can change your pedals every night on tour if you like, if you have one of these boards. A fantastic product!
Which songs do you sing in the shower?
I am not a shower singer at all.
Your best creation vs your worst creation?
That's always up to the listener. I still really love "Marula" by "Eden Circus" as much as I loved it, when we recorded the album in 2013. "Vision 2020 Vision" - the latest "Die Krupps" release is very cool too.
There is no such thing as a "worst" creation, but I admit, I contributed to some stuff I am not proud of during the early 2000s.
Have you ever been jailed in a Turkish prison?
That one is still on top of my bucket list. I heared they have great sucuk in Turkish prisons!
Which are the first, the last, and the next concert you will attend?
The last concert I attended was the last one I played in December 2019 in in the A38 Hajo in Budepest with "Die Krupps". There is even a recording of that show from the Hungarian TV somewhere in their media centre on https://mediaklikk.hu/.
Who would you share stage with if you had the chance? Why?
I am not picky at all, but one can dream... Mike Portnoy would be great. I'd love to play a song with him or two.
What would you have liked to be if you hadn’t become a musician?
As a kid, I always wanted to become a pilot for the German Lufthansa.
What’s the most awkward situation you have experienced during a performance?
Naked boobs in the first row in front of the stage, drunk people entering the stage and try to sing along, well, there have been many strange, funny and awkward situations during the years with some guys and girls in the audience.
Name a musician you would have loved to meet and haven’t
I still need to talk about some really irrelevant nonsense with James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett and did not have the chance to meet them in person altough I was playing guitar in "Kingdom Come" and still play guitar in "Die Krupps". Both bands have a certain history with Metallica, but it still did not lead to a meeting with them yet.
You have to choose a record to take to a desert island. Which one would you choose?
That's a tough question. Probably Mutemath's self titled album "Mutemath" or "The Wall" by Pink Floyd".
Which was the first record you purchased with your own money?
"Load" by Metallica on the day it was released. A big mistake. *laughs*
Talk us about your upcoming projects and what are your next plans!
During the next weeks I am preparing some stuff for the "Reeperbahn Festival 2020" in Hamburg. This event might be the only trade show or music fair in Germany during the whole year and I am planning to do some clinics for Charvel, BluGuitar, Klotz etc. Also I will be demoing Aclam boards for Sonic Sales (the German distribution for Aclam guitar products) as well and talk about old vintage guitars at the No.1 Guitar Center booth in the musical instruments area during the whole festival.
Know more about Nils at the Aclam artists page!
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