BW&BK Exclusive: EMIGRATE Frontman Richard Kruspe - "JIMMY PAGE Came To One Of Our (RAMMSTEIN) Shows And Asked Me ‘How The Fuck Do You Get That Guitar Sound?’"
January 9, 2008, 16 years ago
BW&BK; recently caught up with RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe to discuss his new solo project, EMIGRATE. The following is an excerpt from the interview, in which Kruspe discusses the '70s rock influence that permeates the record:
“I always thought this album would be much darker, so I was surprised to discover that it’s a very rock influenced record," says Kruspe. "It’s interesting that you mention the ‘70s because that’s the music I grew up with. I’m a big believer that your environment influences how music is going to sound, and it doesn’t seem to matter what kind of band comes out of New York City (where Kruspe lives), they all seem to sound a bit rock-ish. I think the song ‘New York City’ on the Emigrate record captures that."The guitar talk continues...
“I never really had any guitar heroes growing up, but Jimmy Page was one guy I admired because he could write good songs. He was a great, soulful player but he was more into the actual songs themselves. That’s what I always liked about him. He came to one of our (Rammstein) shows and asked me ‘How the fuck do you get that guitar sound?’ and I was like a little kid. It was the whole ‘I’m not worthy…’ thing (laughs).”
“I was actually really surprised by how many guitar solos are on the Emigrate record because I never intended to do that many," Kruspe laughs. "I’m not one of those guitar players that needs to have an album full of solos. It just turned out that way, and maybe it’s because there isn’t as much space in Rammstein for those kinds of things. Emigrate gives me the freedom to do whatever I want to do, so maybe that had an effect on me and my playing.”
Watch for the full story in BW&BK; #110
The videos for Emigrate's 'My World' and 'New York City' can be viewed below:
'My World'
'New York City'
Go to this location for more information on Emigrate.
