Interview with Tokio Hotel - InRock Vol.333, Japan [2011]

"Now, this is the first time that I have my life, not being Tokio Hotel." (Bill)

Having mini live at Audi Forum Tokyo. From left to right: Georg Listing, Tom Kaulitz, Bill Kaulitz, Gustav Schäfer.

Tokio Hotel visit Japan for MTV's VIDEO AID JAPAN (hereafter referred to VMAJ). In our last issue, we published our close coverage and photos of Tokio Hotel, this time, we will publish their interview. We haven't met Kaulitz brothers for three months, they are still handsome, but Tom has wear a thin beard. Though they are twins, you can distinguish them from their image. Bill has shown up with beard in an award, it seems that fans are shocked. And, this time, apart from VMAJ, Tokio Hotel has also done mini live in Audi's Showroom. There're a lot of fans saying that they can't wait to enjoy a normal concert. "It doesn't matter how much money you can spend, only those, who have won the tickets, can attend this live. It's hard." said the fans. According to Germany's staff, Japan's promoter has contacted them for a few times, the band's also full of drive. It may not be a long way to fulfill fans' wish...?

Japan's summer is humid, right?

Bill: Yap, it's really hard that you have to work under such weather. I don't care if we are in vacation, and relax for the whole day.

Tom: But it's better than cold!

Bill: Surely, it's better than winter.

By the way, Tom, what's happening to your beard? Fans are talking about it!

Tom: You don't like it? *laugh*

...well, what can I say... *grin*

Bill & Tom: *laugh*

Tom: I'm as beautiful as usual, right *grin*? Well...I think that beard can hide my rough skin. Should I continue to expose my rough skin, as Bill does so, or should I grow a beard to cover it? I chose the later one.

Gustav: Even you do so, you are as beautiful as usual! *grin*

Tom: Right? *grins*

Bill: But, for Tom and I, it's not a big deal. I'm a bit lazy in the morning, I also grow beard, the same as everyone. If it is okay for me not to shave off my beard, of course, this way is always easier.

Tom: Gustav got sternal seta! *laugh*

Bill: Yeah, sternalia! *laugh*

"In the morning, when I saw Bill's face with beard, I was shocked, even I am the twin brother..." (Tom)

*laugh* Right. But the look of you guys is part of the image of Tokio Hotel, to fans, it's a great deal.

Bill: You're right. For us, it's completely normal, but for fans, it's big problem, it's strange.

Don't say something like that, don't you care about your look and styling all the time?

Bill: You're right, but I'm also human being, the same as everyone! *grin*

Okay, but I just can't imagine that Bill has such side.

Bill: *laugh* No, no, I am the same as everyone, I grow beard.

Tom: Even I am the twin brother, I am shocked! In the morning, when I saw this guy's face, I was just like "What's happening to this face!? This is not Bill!". I'm really openmouthed. *laugh*

Bill: *laugh* But the worst thing is that I'm bored by myself, so I always change my look.

Tom: Just go out with your natural beauty. *grin* Hey, do I look old?

Bill: You are just 21, so it's okay, isn't it?

Tom: Yes, it's okay. If I wear a beard, I look like 21, right? I'm no longer 16, 17 years old.

*laugh* Let's back to our subject. First, I would like to thank you guys for supporting victims in Tohoku and Fukushima. You guys have done a lot of work in helping them?

Bill: Yes. When we heard of the earthquake, we were really shocked, since we just came back from Japan a few weeks before the earthquake.

It's graceful that you guys could go back safely.

Bill: Yes, of course, but we really love this country, we like Tokyo the best, so we treat Tokyo's matter as our matter. As the earthquake is really shocking, we think that, we will do anything if they need us, we want to show our support to Japan! So we are really happy that we can raise money for Japanese Red Cross Society with MTV.

Your fans have also done something, right?

Bill: Yes, in order to raise money for Japanese Red Cross Society, we have designed some buttons, and many fans bought these buttons. I'm really happy to see fans helping us.

Also, you guys will have a collaboration with Germany's football team player Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund's MF Shinji Kagawa), right?

Bill: Yes, we met him a lot recently. He always says "I'm not that familiar with football...", but he's really a nice guy. 

What will you guys do?

Bill: If there's any chance, we will grasp it with joy. For this time's MTV, there're really a lot of artists gathered together to show their support. I think that's really great. The scene of many people holding together for the same purpose is nice.

After the earthquake disaster, many Japanese start thinking about their lives and destinies. Do you have anything that you think that you must do in your life? What's in your mind when disaster comes?

Tom: Yes, I think that when something like that happens, a great impact will be made on everyone, all over the world. It happens so quickly, just in an instant, you can actually feel the terror of Nature.

Bill: Life is really fragile... I'm really scared.

Tom: The earthquake has changed the life of people all over the world. We all reflect on our life. There're so many people being killed, people all feel heartbreaking, so people is affected, for no reason.

You guys are stars, there are many people admire your music and existence, right? Do you guys think that it's destiny.

Bill: Yeah, it can only be destiny. We have talked about this in many interview, that we are saved by music, in many ways. We, not only immerse ourselves in our music, but also in many other music. When we are sad, we will go to party, we listen to different music according to the atmosphere. Also, we create our own music, we are inspired by a lot of stories, and write our songs, this is the way which can solve our problem best. Everything around us is our inspiration. For us, music is a therapy, it works in different way. We will be happy if we can play such role. Though we are amazed that fans value us, we are really happy that they need our band.

I see. So, you guys are working on your new album?

Bill & Tom: Yes!

Where do you guys get inspiration from for your songs recently?

Bill: Tom and I get all the inspiration from our life. Now, this is the first time that I have my life, not being Tokio Hotel. We are always touring, and grew up in the eye of public, it might be the first time that we can live and keep our privacy. So we try to challenge everything that we couldn't do in the past, this way of life is new to us, not touring. So, now, we get our inspiration from whom we met and our life. And movie. We like watching movie.

Tom: Also, time is important. Having enough time inspires us a lot. We live with our own lifestyle, have few weeks doing nothing. I think is really great. Songs that we bring to our fans is certainly great.

Bill: The most important thing is that we don't have pressure. The date of release of our next album is not decided, to us, this is important. We are not a band that will release an album annually. We are kind of free. As we think that ideas come to our mind spontaneously, we may have to spend 2, 3 or 4 years for an album, so we don't know when will our new album be finished. We will spend as much time as we like on it, this is important.

"If we are not 100% satisfied with our work, we will absolutely not make it public." (Tom)

You're right. So far, how many songs have you guys written?

Tom: If you are talking about the number of songs, the number is enough for us to go to the studio. But we don't want this. We will keep on writing songs and write down our ideas, production keeps on...

Bill: We can't tell you exactly how many songs we have written. In our laptop, there are a lot of songs we wrote since 2000. We have taken some songs from there and made some modifications. It's difficult to say exactly how many songs we have written. Anyway, we have written many songs, a mountain of songs.

Tom: One day, inside this mountain, we will think that "Ok, we are ready!". At that time, there're songs that can be combined into an album.

Bill: There are some songs that I don't like after recording.

Could you guys upload the first 20 seconds of one of the song on Internet?

Tom: *grin* There are too many songs for free nowadays.

Okay...*grin*

Bill: But if we are 100% satisfied with our work, we will share with our fans. Tom: Yap, conversely, if we are not 100% satisfied with our work, we will absolutely not make it public.

You guys are all perfectionists. *grin*

Bill: Yap, as we are perfectionists, we want to write music with high quality. In the recent music industry, there are many people treat quality as minor, we want some bands creating music of high quality.

I see. By the way, your ring is really marvelous! Can you introduce to us? (there are a few rings, they nearly hide Bill's finger. It seems that the rings have gimmicks)

Bill: This one? I brought this from Los Angeles' secondhand clotheses store, it seems that it was originally an old watch.

From Melrose Avenue, right? (editor: Los Angeles' most fashionable street, with lots of secondhand clotheses store and characteristic fashion stores.)

Bill: Yes, from Melrose Avenue! You know it.

Cause we had asked from Tom that you bought lots of things there. *grin* (6: From InRock #326)

Bill: Yap, that's my favourite place in Los Angeles.

But, isn't it inconvenient to carry such big ring?

Bill: No, I love accessories. I have lots of accessories, a crazy number of accessories. There are chains, rings and other accessories. I have lots of accessories in my closet, a few thousands of them.

*grin* By the way, your next single for radio is the great hit song "Monsoon". It's a new song here, in Japan. Can you tell us some stories about this song?

Bill: Yes. This is one of our first recording song by Tokio Hotel. It's in our first album, our first single in Germany, and the start of everything, so it's an important song, full of our memories. It fulfill our dreams, fans love this song. And "Monsoon" is also the most viewed video... We have brought this song to many countries. We have lots of memories in this song. We have also made a really beautiful video! Of course, it's an old song now...

You guys has shot another video?

Bill: Yeah, shot in Cape Town that one. Don't watch the German version, I really don't like it!

Really?

Bill: Yes, though it's part of our history, I don't think we had made a good video, so I'm not that like it. But it's our starting point.

You were so cute in that video! I have watched it for a few times.

Tom: *laugh* You have watched the whole?

Bill: Yap, we had his video, then a few years later, we shot the English version in Cape Town. It's a love song!

Tom: We were on an helicopter in the English version, after the shoot of the video, the helicopter was broken down.

Bill: It seems that it can no longer be manned.

Tom: We didn't know this, and we got on it. The shot goes well, but it's broken down a few days later.

Bill: It's too old, that there's even no license saying that it can be manned.

It's great that you guys are safe!!

Bill & Tom: Yeah..*laugh* There's such story.

And, there's one more important thing. A few months ago, you guys had beaten of a lot of big artists and win the MTV O Music Award? It's great, can you talk about this?

Tom: Yes. Now, we're about to compose our mind and stay in the studio, we were not interviewed often, we are surprised! Even in such period, fans vote for us.

Bill: We didn't expect to it!

Tom: We even didn't know that we were nominated, after knowing that, we just thought that "it's great, but this is O Award, we won't win it".

Bill: It's really unexpected. In the past, when we won Headliner (6: EMA in 2008), and many other awards, we didn't feel the sense of reality... These all are achieved by our fans, for us. We are really proud of our fans, they support us greatly. Now, we don't have tour, just have our production in the studio, but still we won the award, we are really happy! It's really cool!

It's an award for fans, right? It means that your fans are the best?

Bill & Tom: Yes!

Bill: It's an award for fans! Our fans are from foreign countries (Outside America), still we won the award, it's cool!!

It's really marvelous!

Small photos #1:

In German chain of electronics stores, Saturn's commercial, Bill acted together with Alice Cooper.

Small photos #2:

left: Q&A section after live. "Do you like Japanese girl?" such normal question was asked. Though fans all know the boys' answer, still they want to ask.
right: In Q&A section after live, the boys were asked about their plan for coming to Japan in the future. They answered that it was in progress, however, due to the popularity gap between different countries, it's very difficult carry out the plan... Though the boys are full of drive.
P45 (Bill): In the party, people were speechless with Bill's mystic beauty, no matter boys or girls.

Translation by 619 @ THCN

Interview with Tokio Hotel - Sakigake! Music Ranking Eight - Tokyo, Japan [21.07.2011]

Next up, the band that won the Best Rock Video award! It is said that Lady Gaga is keeping an eye on the German band's unique fashion sense, and we have decided to interview them!

Here's Tokio Hotel!!

Bill: Konnichiwa. (hello in Japanese)

Tom: Konnichiwa.

Gustav: Konnichiwa.

Today's outfit is, as usual, very stylish, so can you tell us what your image of today's outfit is?

Bill: I don't know, it's like really spontaneous, you know, I just always have a lot of bags with me, and I like to combine different stuff, so it's like I have different designers and then I have like this hat which is a second hand hat I just bought in Los Angeles, and yeah, I like to play around a little bit every day.

Why is your band name Tokio Hotel?

Bill: We were searching for a name which just keeps us going, and Tokyo was just so far away, and we thought okay, its something unreachable, something so far away, and we don't know nothing about the city. And hotel was a symbol, you know, for a life, that we just wanted to live. Yeah, that's what Tokio Hotel is.

Actually coming to Tokyo, how is it? 

Bill: We love it.

Tom: We love it, yeah!

So, how different was your image of Tokyo, and the actual city, was it the same?

Tom: Oh, we had no picture in mind.

Bill: No, I just thought it's huge, colorful and it's like that.

Georg: And see more of the country maybe. That would be great.

Bill: Yeah.

Gustav: We never have time for this,  so just interviews, so...

Tom: But we have a vacation next week!

Gustav: Yeah.

Lastly, we asked them what they would like the audience to say when cheering

for them!

Bill: Ich liebe dich. Ich... Liebe... Dich. It means "I love you".

I see

Translation by mo3nsoon

Interview with Tokio Hotel - ElleGirl - Tokyo, Japan [24.06.2011] Parts 1 - 5

PART 1

For all GIRLS who are fans of TH, sorry to have kept you waiting. I will now post the interview of TH, which is done when thay came to Japan for the VMAJ show last month. Due to the limited 10-minute time, I could not ask all the questions collected from Blog and Twitter, but the 4 lovely boys tried their best to answer the questions.

On June 24th, although I was preparing the ELLEgirl Night, I decided to interview TH anyway. Here I would like to thank the staff for your concern.

Here are Gustav, Bill, Tom, Georg from the left. I thought they got jet lag, but actually they looked very fresh when they entered the interview room.

The interviews you guys took before have made a stir all around the world. The interview was translated into, of course, English, and also French, Thai, Russian and other languages, and put on web. There are also comments written in English, French and German in my blog.

Bill: (very glad) Yeah, that's so amazing, right? It's unbelievable.

This time I told fans I would interview TH, so in recent days I received a large number of questions from Uruguay, Russia, Italy, China and etc. Fans all over the earth want to ask you questions. They wrote something like this: if you would come to Japan, we hope you come to Kyusyu; or we hope you can come to Uruguay or Moscow. They all hope TH can come to their local place.

Bill: I see. We'd love to. All the fans keep eyes on your blog, right?

Yeah, I think that network between TH fans is great.

Well, let's get started. Let's see how many questions you can answer.

Did you search for your favourite place or store in Tokyo? (From KANA)

Bill: To be honest, we don't have opportunities to look around or even free time. Especially this time we just stay for 2 nights. [*actually, they stay for 4 days 3 nights] We spend all our time on interviews or shows (rehearsal and activities included), so we don't have any chance to ramble around. But in the first visit to Japan, we had 30 minutes of free time, so I checked some beautiful and fashionable people.

Where is it? Harajuku or Shibuya?

Bill: Yeah, it's great. I had gone to some fashion stores. So, I would like to come to Japan and go around leisurely when I have a holiday next time.

PART 2

Here's a question form a girl, who wears Yukata in today's event: Do you like Kimono and Yukata? (From Sindy)

Bill: Really? We like it. (Eyes shining) Last time we received Kimono as presents. Every morning we woke up in Kimono. [*actually, I think that what Bill received is Yukata, instead of Kimono. Firstly, it is very difficult to wear Kimono, and it is not confortable to wear Kimono and sleep. Secondly, Kimono is kind of expensive. But the original text is written as Kimono, so here I translated as Kimono.]

Tom: Last time I took a picture with two girls in Kimono.

Bill: Yeah, yeah.

But if you wear Kimono in the show, it must be different style with your songs.

Bill: Hahaha. That's right. Maybe we have to prepare some black Kimono with rivets.

Tom: (Laugh) Georg may wear Kimono tomorrow in VMAJ.

Georg looks like to say no with a cool smile.

Please tell us what kind of feeling you guys want to express in the performance of tommorow's VMAJ. As this time, the event is in the form of an aid, which is going to support victims in the Great East Japan Earthquake. (From yukari, TH55 and KANA)

Bill: The meaning of 'aid' is of couse important. We really appreciate the opportunity of taking part in this activity. I think that It is really cool for MTV to take the lead in this aspect. The successive aids are quite important. People unite and donate for the victims is also important. We really want to be one part of them and support them, so it's our honor to perform in VMAJ tomorrow. 

PART 3

In the previous interview, we had talked about your favourite movies and the background of your music, there were lots of fans echoed about it, and I personally also would like to know, that have you ever been saved by music?

When you are depressed, you feel like you are saved by one song, something like this. 

Tom: I think we are saved by composing. Otherwise, Bill has nowhere to go.

All the band members: Absolutely and all the time. (All Laugh)

Bill: Music saves people anytime in no matter what kind of situation or emotion, as many staff and Tom are always writing the best song at that time.

When you write songs, do you have "bringing the hope to everybody" in mind?

Bill: Firstly, I always think about everyone's idea and write them down. I like to tour best, because I can share my emotion and feeling with others. Then I can also know how they react (to me). I received letters from fans written "your songs save me". We don't know what's going on, but we are very happy about it. So, music can really helps people. When fans told us that our songs can help them, we are so proud of ourselves.

Gustav and Georg, have you ever been saved by music?

Georg: For us, especially for Gustav and me, we always think that we don't have other things to do, except music. If I was not in the rehearsal room, I should have been idling in the streets all day along.

Tom: Doing some stupid things.

Gustav: Working in post office.

(Tom & Bill Laugh)

Georg: It may be because we got in touch with music when we were teenagers. That was very important. (Georg often made collusion.)

PART 4

Fan's question: Would you mind telling us your secret of skin care? (From DESI)

(All Laugh.)

Tom: Isn't it the opposite? (Laugh) Do the girls really want to know about our skin?

Georg: Mine is... (Touching his face and hair)

Bill: Proactiv? (Looking at Georg)

Tom: Your hair is nice. (Everyone is looking at Georg.)

(Maybe Georg really has the best skin and the most beautiful, and longest hair)

Bill: I do not do any skincare.

Tom: I use the soap provided by hotel all the time.

Bill: To me, it's the sun. I think that bathing in the sunshine a little bit is good to skin. At least, it works on me. People always say that sunburn makes you look older, but I don't really care. Even if something is wrong in the skin, sunburn can hide it. (Laugh)

PART 5

Tom, some fans want to ask why you wear a beard. (From bk89. At that moment, Bill is not wearing a beard, so I just ask Tom.)

Bill: It's much easier, isn't it? Comparing to shaving the beard everyday...

Tom: If I shave my beard everyday, my skin will be rough like Bill's.

Bill: The good thing is that the freckles can be hidden.

Georg: It took half a year to grow the beard like this long. (Laugh)

(Gustav is touching his own face, but nobody notices that. Or does eveyone try to ignore his action? Laugh)

We notice that Bill developed his muscles. Did you do any training?

Bill: As Tom goes to gym for training, we go to gym together sometimes.

Do you guys have twitter account? (From Jasminev)

Translation by theresa @ THCN

Interview with Bill & Tom - InRock Vol.329, Japan [2011] + Report

“We are inspired by things like movies, our surroundings, everyday life or just waking up each morning.”

Tokio Hotel show their concern for Japan. Representing the band are the brothers, Bill & Tom Kaulitz who kindly agreed to give a telephone interview from Los Angeles at short notice.

Q: How have you guys been?

Bill: We’ve been writing songs in the studio, launching new projects, stuff like that.

Q: Are you writing new songs for the next album?

Tom: It may or may not be for the next album, we’re just writing songs at this stage. We still don’t have a defined plan for releasing the new album and we don’t know when we will release it. We’re just being creative , writing music.

Q: What kind of songs are you writing? Are you singing it in English? Or are they being written in German?

Bill: Right now, the songs are more or less written in English. I don’t really know why myself. Just that it comes naturally to me. Besides, we’re living in LA now so somehow things tend to get done in English. However we’re not sure how we are eventually going to compile the album because we definitely will do songs in German. Since nothing has been decided and we’re still at the experimental stage, we’re just trying out different things while we put a demo of the songs together.

Q: Does your recording company and management not pressure you to complete the album by a certain date, or are they fairly relaxed about it?

Tom: (laughs) They are not relaxed about it. But we’re just staying cool and calm.

Bill: Yup, technically we don’t have a deadline. I mean, for me, deadlines are like nightmares. .In the creative line, you’re trying very hard to produce good work but having to deal with a deadline just messes things up and make its even more complicated. What’s more important is the freedom to enjoy doing what you love to do. Even if it seems like making an album is about completing the songs and making detailed preparations, its actually something which need sot come from inside of us. That is why right now we want to take it easy so that we can enjoy new challenges*.

* probably referring to the challenge of creating a new album.

Q: So, what kind of challenges are you taking on, what sound are you trying to create?

Tom: That’s a surprise we’re keeping for the release of the next album. In the first place, we are creating something different everyday. We listen to various kinds of music, and are inspired by different things so it really depends on the mood at each point in time. We’re doing this everyday and everyday is a new day.

Bill: That’s right. That’s why we don’t have a definitive sound for the next album.

Q: What kind of music inspires you?

Tom: Its not just music actually. For now I really like the older works by Anthony Hamilton.

Bill: We are also inspired by movies and what’s happening around us. Everyday life in a place like LA is very refreshing and therefore inspiring. Just being able to wake up each morning is also an inspiration. But I would say movies play a bigger part. We really like movies. We do go to the theatres or we watch one from our 1000+ dvd collection in our home theater.

Q: Any good films so far?

Bill: The Town was good. I also think The Fighter was really good.

Q: About your life in LA, do you think you are somewhat able to live a more normal life? After all you’re kind of “unknown” compared to Germany.

Bill: Well, the both of us came to LA because we wanted some privacy in our lives. Up to this point we’ve not been able to enjoy much privacy, and it’s a bit difficult to achieve that in Europe due to certain circumstances. Therefore, we were looking for a place where we can be free to be creative and at the same time enjoy some privacy. Up till now, we’ve been on tour and haven’t had the time for any kind of life outside of Tokio Hotel. In that sense, LA is quite suitable because things are quite different. The * paparazzi don’t know where we live so we’ve been able to enjoy some privacy and take things a bit easier.

Tom: It doesn’t mean that we get to play and party every day. Most of the time, we’re cooped up in the studio.

Bill: Yes, ** we do need to be cautious at all times.

*(Japanese word is unclear, so I’m guessing he’s referring to paparazzi)

**(Bill is probably saying this to mean that if they were out and about and careless, their location would be found out. It took me a while to understand.)

Q: SO is there some kind of everyday routine in your life?

Bill: We’re really bad when it comes to routines. That’s why we do different things everyday. Other than checking our emails, we’re currently busy with several of this year’s projects. Its still in the planning phase and we havent got the details down yet. There are various things we’d like to do this year. The best part of our job is having the freedom to do what we want. We really hate routines because when we were young we had to go to school everyday like a routine, and we just hated it but we had no choice.

Q: Finally, do you have any words for the people in Japan?

Bill: Of course. We’ve been checking the news everyday and staying up-to-date on the latest developments in Japan. I think it’s not just us but the whole world knows what’s going on and that has deeply moved everybody. I think everyone wants to help in one way or another. Especially in this day and age, I think it’s important for the world to unite and help each other out. It’s really wonderful to actually see the world giving a helping hand to Japan.

Tom: I was really shocked when I first heard about what happened in Japan. After all it is a country that is special to us. And we were so saddened by the news. So we’ve been looking out for information about whether the people are alright. On our official website we are selling a button set and the proceeds from the sales will be donated to Japan. I also think our fans would like to play a part in helping out.

Q: Is there a song you would like to dedicate to those who are still feeling down?

Bill: Because everybody is different, it’s quite hard to find one thing to say to everybody but if I were to choose from our songs, I would choose “By Your Side” and “Zoom Into Me”. Both songs give the assurance that you’re not alone and it’s a message I would like to emphasize. After all, it makes you feel happy if you know that people around the world feel for you.

REPORT

10 Feb (Thursday)

Bill, what's that on your head...!

On this day, TH had an interview in the hotel, and also an autograph session organized by WWW(Shibuya).

Tokio Hotel who are rarely late for appointments, arrived in the interview room a little after 11. All who were in the room including me, couldn't help staring at Bill…Was it a new variation of the Mohican? Is that a light bulb? What?! (Bill later explained that they are vacuum tube amplifiers used with guitar amplifiers) It's kind of difficult to describe in words so check out the photos for yourself! I also had the opportunity to go to lunch with the security officers. I think its probably Bill who ordered the pasta in tomato cream sauce. As it wasn't on the menu, I figured they actually have it specially made for him.

In order for us (writer and the German staff) to secure the area (where the signing session is held), we have to come up with a plan to ensure that the cars carrying the Tokio Hotel members could reach the location. Just as they got out of their car, a whole bunch of what looked like Tokio Hotel fans gathered around. There was some panic and chaos as the 3 Audi cars carrying Tokio Hotel arrived on site. The security personnel escorted Bill and Tom into the signing area first. Georg and Gustav who had arrived earlier were completely surrounded by fans, so we had to find a way through to the crowd to get inside.

In the waiting room/green room at the signing location, a bar like those you see at launch parties was prepared for them. The head of the German staff had to order a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato in time for their arrival.

At 6 pm, the winners¹ who had gathered at the signing location were making their way inside. In half an hour, the whole place was packed with fans. The signing session started 10 minutes after schedule. The atmosphere further intensified as Tokio Hotel came on stage to the screams of many fans, especially when they saw Bill with his new "Mohican"². Despite the short time allotted for this signing session, they were able to receive several presents and greetings directly from their fans. As for the total tally of the presents, there were some very interesting results. In first place with the most number of presents is Bill, which goes without saying. Somehow Georg came in at 2nd place, followed by Gustav in 3rd place (who is quite popular in this country) and lastly, Tom. With this second visit to Japan, it is becoming clear that the GG combination³ has a strong and passionate following.

¹ Only winners of some contest (unspecified) were allowed entry in the autograph session.

² For clarity, it does not mean that the fans reacted that way because of his hairstyle, but rather the fact that he finally appeared on stage.

³ Refers to Georg and Gustav.

The situation when making their way back to the hotel is the same as when they were arriving at the signing location. They were escorted by security to their cars and the cars took off right away. The huge crowd that gathered around the Spain-zaka street¹ probably included those who didn’t get a chance to participate in the signing session. (Some portion unreadable) With cameras flashing, they screamed out their names "Bill! Tom! Geo! Gu san!²".

¹ There is a street in Shibuya called Spain-zaka. Probably near where the signing session took place.

² They seem to have come up with shortened names for Georg and Gustav.

Back at the hotel, there was a meet and greet and some photo-taking with some VIPs, marking the end of a long, long day. All that’s left is just one more day!

11 Feb (Friday) 

Ice-skating Challenge

Finally, we've come to the last day of promotions from Tokio Hotel. Although the company was closed today as it's a national holiday, we used the Artiste Room from noon for interviews. (Unreadable portion, something about sitting in the Audi on the way to the office), we received a phone call. I wonder if everyone has noticed? It's a request for Starbucks. It's necessary to enable one to work happily.

I now begin to tackle the assignment that I received from the head of German staff. That is fulfilling Tokio Hotel's dream of ice-skating after work today. After confirmation with the sales department of the local skating rink, I found out that they close at 6pm today because of the national holiday. However, as their work schedule stretches to 8pm, it looks like this is out of the question. I don't care how much it costs, is there a rink that would accommodate us? Is there a rink that would stay open for Tokio Hotel? As my search was futile, I made a suggestion to the head of German staff to ask the hotel concierge to look into this matter. So we did, and in a short while, they found us a skating rink in the vicinity that would specially accommodate Tokio Hotel and let them use the rink for 30 mins. It seems this (30 mins) is all they can handle due to the weather conditions that affect the surface of the ice. As the head of German staff was also looking for a skating rink, it was only after he/she said "it's alright" and informed Tokio Hotel that I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

At 6.45pm, we headed out to the location of the last promotional activity. It's a live broadcast at the Nico Nico studio. This is a first time a Western music artiste is making an appearance in this studio. At 7.30pm, the live broadcast from the studio started. It was obvious that the Japanese Tokio Hotel fans were watching but lots of fans from around the world also had access and it was so interesting to see their messages in different languages popping up on the monitor. For the 50 very lucky fans, it was a very precious experience. Especially with Tom’s mischievous behaviour and Bill’s silver outfit which was very stylish and cool. Interacting with their fans on the telephone and internet, the Tokio Hotel members seemed to enjoy themselves very much.

After this, Tokio Hotel and their staff got into the Audis and headed for the skating rink. In fact, it is actually located at the place where they held their December showcase, and from what I understand, the very same rink that Tom spoke of when he saw it from their hotel window. There was a look of surprise on my face as I guessed that the rink must be at the top of the building. I was also invited to skate with them, but I politely declined to participate in what would have been a visual feast. I’m sure all you fans are wondering who's the best skater among them. Aren't you? The best was Georg, second is Tom, in third place is Bill. And the last to come from the rink*, trailing behind by a few minutes is Gustav. Bill was holding the hands of one of the staff as he skated and all of them (excluding Gustav) played a game of tag on ice (some unreadable portion). Although we had exclusive use of the rink for 30 mins, it seems 10 mins was more than enough to satisfy them.

*No idea what the writer is referring to. They might be having a speed contest?

With this, my work schedule for the day with Tokio Hotel comes to an end. This time I was invited by Tokio Hotel for a meal, so I was able to find out for the first time what kind of food they have been eating. Georg and Gustav who are meat-eaters like me had beef steaks with mashed potatoes, Tom had a vegetarian sandwich and fries, Bill wanted "seafood mix" and he was presented with what looked like the tomato cream pasta that was frequently requested for lunch. For drinks, Bill had white wine, Georg and Gustav had a diet Cola, and Tom had a Cola. I came to the realization that even after work, Tom loves to bully/tease Georg, and that all four of them are on very good terms with each other.

It seems that towards the end of the meal, to quote the words of the head of German staff, Georg said that he would like to come to Japan again in April*. It seems that up to this point Tokio Hotel had never said things like that, and this seems to convey how much they love Japan. (Note: There is no plan to come to Japan in April.)

*Please note that they said this before the earthquake and tsunami happened.

At the bar, we had a toast to celebrate the successful promotion campaign. After which, GG combi who were scheduled for an early return the following day went back to their rooms. Bill and Tom went back to their rooms at the same time that we were about to leave.

12 Feb (Saturday)

Thanking the fans

The GG team left Japan on the morning flight for Germany without any disruptions. At 3pm, the head of German staff and I left the hotel for the airport to arrange for their check-in beforehand. We arrived at the airport shortly after 4pm. We saw many fans who had lined up in 2 rows in a very impressive manner¹, so I had to determine with the airport staff on how to arrange for their check in. As I spoke with the fans and the security officers, I decided that to give Bill and Tom a beautiful send off that would cause the least trouble to the airport and the guys. Just before Bill and Tom arrived, the fans were lined up in one line from the airport's entrance (inside the building). It was a miraculous sight to behold as the fans expressed their gratitude to Bill and Tom while they made their way to the check-in counter which was some distance away. I think it is because the fans want to maintain their special connection with Tokio Hotel². I too, would like to say my thanks to the fans.

¹ Impressive in the sense that there were probably lots of them and it would have made it very difficult for Bill and Tom to get to their flight.

² The director felt that because they wanted this special connection with Tokio Hotel, they agreed to follow his exit plan to line up in one row.

Translation by Tina @ THCanada