CRIPPER

// Falber Teles

SOURCEWEBZINE - Hello Britta. First off before going any deeper I would like to know that how is it going for you and CRIPPER at the moment? Where are you answering into my questions?
BRITTA (V) - Hi Falber, hi SOURCEWEBZINE-team ;-)

At the moment everything is going pretty well with our band. So far 2007 has been a successful year - the most eventful, too. but we started Cripper only in 2005, so perhaps that's why ;-)

We released our first full-lenghth-album (called "Freak Inside"), did a self-organised tour with Spectre Dragon and Hatred through Germany and played a few big festivals, too. Such as Metalcamp Festival in Slovenia, Battle of Metal and Queens of Metal.

I am using my lunch break at work to answer your questions.

SOURCEWEBZINE - I would like to know a little bit about your musical background. When did you start playing and how did you end up into a hrash/hardcore band like CRIPPER ? What bands did you look up when you were young?
BRITTA - Well, I had very late first experiences. Apart from projects I did during school I played Keys and sang backing vocals in a gothic side project of Das Ich (called "Kramm") - and that's basically it. So to say it in a positive way: I am an exclusive Cripper member ;-)

In 2004 I finally decided I wanted to join a band in 2004, I went through the small ads "band-looking-for-whoever" and visited a band called "Headshell". It was cool but it neither wasn't what I was looking for nor what they were looking for... but two long-haired guitarists - CRIPPER's guitarists - shared the rehearsing room with them. So we got to know each other - they weren't explicitly looking for a female fronter, but it fitted pretty well from the beginning.

My first favourite band I can remember was Boney M - I was about four f or five I think. Then my elder brother took over the reins, his musical favourites influenced me a lot. So I spent my childhood listening to AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Metallica. I remember trying to sing a long with "Dirty Deeds" by AC/DC when my brother entered the room. He had to start laughing hardly because I had absolutely no idea of the lyrics, they weren't even real english...

Later when I was about 13/14 I spend a very short time listening to those girlish boybands before I discovered Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Faith No More and that kind of stuff.

SOURCEWEBZINE - How was the recording process of the album? Did you do something differently this time? What´s your typical way to write a new song?
BRITTA - Do you mean comparing our Demo "Killer Escort Service" with the album "Freak Inside"? Yeah, the demo we recorded on digital tape, the album on harddisk. That saves a lot of time and your nerves - you can compare it to writing a letter with a typewriter or with a computer.

Using a computer enables you to erase, start, drop in, etc. wherever you want to.

Another thing is, that the demo was mixed and mastered by our producer, the demo just mixed. The mastering was done by Andy Classen. There are indeed different ways to bring a song to life. The typical way is: our guitarists Jonathan and Christian come up with a few stunning riffs, we arrange it for the first time, Dennis adds his drums and Sören his bass-guitar, we rearrange it for the second time and then I come up with my lyrics and do the vocal stuff. But it is y far not that part-by-part-thing it sounds like. Each one of us adds his/her ideas to any instrument at any point of the process, and a lot of those steps happen at the same time.

SOURCEWEBZINE - What kind of feedback have you received from the record so far?
BRITTA - Across the board positive. Of course there were/are points of criticism.

SOURCEWEBZINE - I have some questions about your vocals. When did you start to do extreme vocals?
BRITTA - With Cripper. But I've always been one of the loud and noisy kids since I can remember and had a strong affinity with what you call extreme vocals. E.g. singing along with my favourite bands in my home/on the dancefloor/during concerts. Hm - for I used to think I'm not good enough I never thought of joining or founding a band with these kind of vocals before. Well, better late than never ;-)

SOURCEWEBZINE - Who is you're single biggest vocal influence (female)?
BRITTA - To be honest I have no real influences in particular when it comes to vocals. My influences are more like "hm, I like the phrasing on this album" or "I like that vocal rhythm of this singer". I do not orient myself by female vocalists in specific, that would limit myself because there are not so many... My favourite female extreme vocalist is Michele Madden of Tourettes Syndrom, she is just awesome!!

SOURCEWEBZINE -You were a nasty girl in your puberty?
BRITTA - Yeah! And some might say I still am ;-)

SOURCEWEBZINE - What is the best part about being a female in the metal scene?
BRITTA - *lol* You get to know all these charismatic rockstars... and most of them are male ;-)

SOURCEWEBZINE - What is the worst part?
BRITTA - I sometimes feel like I am not viewed as a full-valued artist when people tend to give me some sort of extra points just because I am a girl. I know it's not meant to, but it makes me feel stupid.

SOURCEWEBZINE - How are you treated by your male fans? Have you had any run-ins or stalkers or anything like that over the years?
BRITTA - No. People sometimes recognize me, talk to me, that's it. By the way we are not that big at all that something like that is about to be expected I guess. We are an underground band.

SOURCEWEBZINE - What´s the most craziest thing that has happened to you while being on road? Tell us something about it.
BRITTA - We had a slo-mo car crash because of a camel. It was when we got stuck in a traffic jam on the way to Hamburg. We looked out of the window and saw that we just were overtaken by a horse carrier... with a camel in it! The next thing we saw was a woman looking not very amused for we had "crashed" with about 2km/h into her brand new car.

Unfortunately she was a bigbug of a German bank and we were just a bunch of metalheads - so no chance to clear the situation (and a goddam 2mm scratch) easily. The worst thing about it was, that Dennis' parents, who own the car, did not tell us the insurance won't pay if someone apart from Dennis' family members had a crash...

Well, to close with a happy ending: the insurance did pay
nevertheless, we may not use Dennis' parents' car any longer. The camel is alive and well after the hospital stay, so is the bank- lady ;-))

SOURCEWEBZINE - What kind of music are you guys currently listening to? Name us your top 5 records from 2007.
BRITTA - Difficult... here are 6 ;-)

Gorefest - Rise to Ruin
Drone - Head on Collision
Dew-Scented - Incinerate
Legion Of The Damned - Sons Of The Jackal
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny

SOURCEWEBZINE - OK, well is there anything else you want to say?
BRITTA - Thanx a lot for your support, Falber! Cheers to all Brazilian metalheads out there - take care.

CRIPPER

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