THE BASEBALLS AND THE NOSTALGIA OF THE 50’S

Interview by Badische Zeitung on April, 15, 2011

Translation: TBB Fanpage Brasil

Current successes in the Rockabilly style of the 50's: The trio The Baseballs became a surprise of the German musical scene. What would parents probably say about this? Read the interview.

Photo by Mathias Bothor

They were the big surprise of the German musical scene of the last two years: Sam (Sven Budja), Basti (Sebastian Raetzel) and Digger (Rüdiger Brans), are Berlin under 30 years old and together are the trio The Baseballs. They make covers of current hits in the Rockabilly style of the 50s and with their first album "Strike" conquered half of Europe. Today, their new CD "Strings 'n' Stripes" is being released and, for that reason, they will perform in Freiburg in July. Steffen Rüth talked with the three. 

BZ: A few weeks ago, The Baseballs garnered their second Echo, as "Most successful National Band abroad." Are your parents proud of you?

Sam: Sometimes I think they are more proud of everything than ourselves.

Basti: Now that we have won the second Echo, I see a sparkle in my parents' eyes, and that is a very good feeling when so many people, parents, friends, share our joy.

BZ: Are your parents happy, especially, why do you bring back songs from their generation?

Sam: Yes, I think so. Let's recreate the music of your youth, for example, my mom is a big fan of Elvis and thinks it's fantastic what we do now.

BZ: And what does Elvis mean to you?

Basti: For us three discovering Elvis was one of the most decisive moments of our childhood. We were between six and eight years old when we had our first contact with him. And so far, Elvis has never left us.

BZ: Why your new album is called "Strings ’n’ Stripes"?

Digger: It is called by the nickname of the American flag, Stars ’n’ Stripes.

BZ: And the "Strings" is allusive to what?

Digger: Of course, my guitar strings. But, my mother asked me if we do unholy things now. (Everyone laughs). My parents are really very liberal, they even heard the lyrics of

 ‘Candy Shop’...

BZ: ... which is originally performed by 50 Cent. With its Rockabilly versions, The Baseballs was in Germany and in other countries in the top ten, but in Finland, their debut album was the best-selling album in 2009. Why only [happened this] in Finland?

Sam: In Finland, music is generally very somber. Maybe, we found a small niche. And the sun arrived in Finland.

BZ: So we can say that the central theme of "Strings 'n' Stripes" is "Summer and Sun" with songs like Katy Perry's "California Girls"?

Digger: As we were called to play in several new places, we could not get the time, no pause to compose the second album. Eventually, we finally got this time, stopped a few months and decided to add some new elements. That is, [elements of] Beach Boys. We decided that the entire album had to focus on the summer and, stylistically, follow that direction. It's an album where the sixties dominates more than the first, there are more harmonies and more variations on the tone.

BZ: Precisely, Will Smith's "Miami" sounds very different made by The Baseballs.

Digger: Yes, we take some liberties. And we slightly modified some chords. There were songs where we had to make new arrangements and adapt them. We can find songs like 'Miami', 'Ghetto Superstar' or 'Candy Shop' that still won a Baseballs treatment.

BZ: How do you determine if a song can have a version in the Baseballs style?

Digger: We realize the chill in the stomach. If we hear a song on the radio, we soon know if we can make a Baseballs version or not. In addition, many current hits have progressive chords very similar to the songs of the past.

BZ: The Baseballs caused a fever of 50 in Germany?

Digger: I think the mode already existed. We just got on the train. We can not guarantee that the mode industry will say "Now it's Rock 'n' Roll Time". But, I believe that the nostalgia of the 50's was already latent in many people and we can make a contribution to kill this longing. Just as in a moment, many American Diners [credit cards] came out of nowhere.

BZ: Why do people want to go back to this time?

Sam: Earthly paradise. You only have positive feelings with this age. When you watch movies like "Back to the Future", you realize that it must have been fantastic.