Interview with German Error Message
With today being Valentines Day and everyone’s mind being on love, I couldn’t decide what to post because, honestly, it’s not really my thing, so I decided to interview my favorite indie rocker, Paul Kintzing of the band German Error Message and see what he’s been up to lately, plus, if anyone would know about love songs, it’d be an indie rocker. You can check out German Error Message here.
This week marks the one year anniversary of “After The Warmth”. What plans do you have for the future of German Error Message? Have you began working on a new album yet?
-Over the past few weeks I’ve been working a lot on the songs that will be the next album or EP. I’ve been mixing, recording and writing pretty much every day and getting really into it. Three songs are nearing completion, and there are about four more that are still in the writing stage. A release is slowly taking shape. It’s exciting.
Have you been playing shows with German Error Message? If so, who else has been in the lineup? Will there be any tours in the future?
-We’ve played a couple of shows over the past three months as a full 6 person band. I’m enjoying that aspect of the music, and it’s a lot of fun playing with other people. I would love to tour some point in the next year or so, as soon as it’s possible with scheduling, and financially.
The lineup is:
Joe Ford – banjo/clarinet/guitar
Ben Ford – bass
Cody Munholland – mandolin/guitar/glockenspiel
Spencer Wingate – drums
Kate Neff – glockenspiel/keyboard/violin
We all sing live, except for Spencer, who is busy drumming. And I play guitar and baritone ukulele.
If you were in a huge touring band playing arenas every night, what would be on your tour rider?
- PIZZA! And fresh coffee beans, a grinder, and a french press.
With today being Valentines Day and you being a person that writes very emotional songs, does the holiday have any meaning to you?
- Not particularly. There’s chocolate!
I don’t think it’s that meaningful of a day, really. If you’re in a relationship it’s a nice reason to celebrate, but if it’s a good relationship then every day should be about sharing love and celebrating that in some way.
Speaking of emotional songs, i’ve noticed that almost all indie/folk songs are either about girls, love, or loving girls; are most of your songs about girls also? Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics?
-They’re mostly about feelings and attempting to express those genuinely or figure them out in some way. I don’t think I’ve ever written the traditional kind of love song about a girl. Inspiration comes from relationships, people, nature. Big life questions and trying to get the answers. Feelings, man.
What is your favorite (pro or anti) love song of all time?
- Yikes, I don’t know about all time. My favorite songs change often. Right now, it’s “Metaphors” by Keaton Henson. I’m pretty sure it’s the only happy song he’s ever released. If I had to choose one to stick with forever and ever it would be “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys.
If you could have written any song ever, what would it be and why?
- Any of the songs that I’ve written so far.
Also, “My Love” by Justin Timberlake.
Since all I write about primarily is metal, I have to ask this question…who would you say is your favorite metal or pseudo-metal band?
-My favorite pseudo-metal bands are System of a Down (S/T) and Deftones (White Pony). Middle school represent!
