F3
by Sascha Gill, October 2006
Tell me about the band, for how long have you been playing together, who’s in the band and where are you from?INTERVIEW
F3
by Sascha Gill, October 2006
Tell me about the band, for how long have you been playing together, who’s in the band and where are you from?
Zeki: We started this band in the summer of 2002, and that was also the time when we all started to play our instruments. I already had a guitar and Rob already had a drumkit in his basement but we were not able to play these instruments. However, we had the idea to play some Ramones songs for my ex-girlfriend and it was so much fun, that we decided to keep on playing music together. We persuaded Lueder to get a cheap bass guitar and so our band was complete. We have been together like this for 4 and a half years now and it is still so much fun to play with these two guys. So F3 is Rob - drums, Lueder - bass and Zeki – vocals/guitar. When we started this band we all were living in Bremen. Today, Lueder lives in Kiel and Rob and me live in Berlin.
How would you describe your sound?
Zeki: To describe the sound of your own band is a really hard thing. Actually, I would just say that it is Punkrock. However, to give you a more distinctive idea, it is a melodic blend of streetpunk and a few offbeats. When you really want to know what we are all about, come and see us live. There is no way to describe in a few sentences what we sound like.
Lüder: Yeah, like Zeki said, it is not easy to describe our sound. Some say it is Skapunk (like Operation Ivy), some say it is Streetpunk. I don’t really care about descriptions of music but I would agree that we play a mix of both styles.
What do you write your songs about in general and what are your influences?
Zeki: Most of my songs are about friendship and social and political topics. My influence is everything that touches me, which can be a book, the news, a song, a conversation, a situation that I experienced on the street, whatever. Many of my songs are about this society in general and to find a way to survive in it.
Lüder: Zeki writes all of our songs and I love the lyrics. They reflect the opinion of the whole band. And not only because of the fact that we are the best of friends and talk nearly every day.
I know you play a lot of shows, is there a funny or a worst story you can tell about any of your shows?
Zeki: Firstly, I love to play live. That is why we still have this band. I love to be around these two guys. Everytime I see them we have a great time.
Lüder: Let me think. I cannot remember a most funny or worst story. It is always great and funny to meet Zeki and Rob and to play a show. Especially when you play with bands you are friends with or even the biggest fans of (for example: we played with Leftöver Crack this summer) or both (The Vaders, The Detectors, Tackleberry, Mad Monks…).
One of my favourite songs is SAM, Tell me what is the reason for this song. What does friendship mean to you?
Zeki: As I already mentioned, friendship is a permanent topic of my songs. Friendship is my anchor which helps me to keep my head up and to look forward to better times. There is nothing that helped me through the worst times but my friends. SAM is about the best friend you can have. Actually, when I wrote this song I had my friend Felix in my mind. He lives in Bremen and I live in Berlin, so we are not able to see each other very often but I know he will be there whenever I need him and I will be there for him as well. This is what I consider as friendship and I cannot tell you how much this means to me.
Lüder: The song is called like this because Zeki and me were watching ‘Lord of the Rings’ and Frodo’s friend Sam is the best friend you can imagine. So we decided to call it Sam.
I know you got a lot of songs. Tell me what your favourite song is?
Zeki: Do you mean my favourite song of my songs? I don’t know. It changes every day. But I can tell you that my favourite album of all time is “Street Art Gallery” by Bomshell Rocks.
Lüder: There is no special song I like most. Maybe it is because we have not recorded a lot of songs yet. So I cannot listen to them and say ‘yes, this is my favourite’. And when we rehearse or play live, it changes.
What is the most important thing in your life?
Zeki: I know I have to finish my studies but the music is so much more important to me at the moment. The band is the most important thing in my life. Every day it is in my mind.
Lüder: Well, it might sound pathetic or something, but it is definitely the band and everything that is according to it, and I hope that this will stay for a long time. This is the best time of my life. I am 23 now and I can grow up later, or never.
What is the plan for the future? Any recordings or tours?
Zeki: At the moment we are recording some new songs for our first real full length album. It’s gonna be a d.i.y. album and as we live in different cities it will take some time. We hope it’s gonna be finished early next year and we want to put 12 – 14 songs on that thing. We will have some concerts this year and I hope many more next year. My dream is to make a tour with the Detectors and the Vaders, which are my favourite German punkrock bands.
Lüder: We are still doing this thing for fun, you know. There is no certain master plan for the band. We want to grow, for sure, but if it stays like this, with maybe some more shows, it would also be ok for me. And if a small label would like to put out our new recordings or if Rancid wants us to support them on their world tour, I would not dare to say no, ha ha!
Thank you a lot for this interview. Is there anything else you want to say?
Zeki: There is one thing I would like to say: The decision to start this band 4 ½ years ago was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. I enjoy every second with Rob and Lueder and I also met so many nice people through this band who I would have never met without it. This band and these songs mean so much to me and I hope that the people who listen to can feel that as well. Thank you so much for this interview.
Lüder: Not much to add, just: love music – hate fascism! Thanks for the interview and for putting up this great zine!
Links:
http://www.f-three.de
http://www.myspace.com/f3punkrock