Current lineup:
Holzfeuer, vocals
Vielmehr Klampfe, guitar
Inzo der Barrakuda, guitar
Gellend Adler, drums
Karl Dichtschnur, bass
Toten Adler, bass (on hiatus)
LittleBook: Why did you start a band??
ArnoCorps: ArnoCorps was formed with the ballsy goal of restoring integrity to the ancient heroic tales of the Austrian mountain communities. Many of these tales were bastardized and exploited in Hollywood blockbuster movies. Let me tell you, my great grandmother must be spinning in her alpine grave every time somebody watches these movies like Terminator, Total Recall and Commando. These stories were meant to be told through word of mouth and music! Come on! With this heroic lore, hearing it through ArnoCorps music, we enable people to feel the Pump, for crowds to unite in ballsy defiance and to become goddamn heroes and sheroes out there, it's goddamn fantastic, let me tell you! Alright!
LB: How did you find each other??
AC: Shortly before being exiled from Austria, my last lineup were all thought to be killed in a plane crash, so I came to the Bay Area and held auditions for a new, even more heroic ArnoCorps. Barrakuda our guitarist, that goddamn stud showed up with a miniature amp strapped across his chest, guitar in his hands and a dirty shovel on his back, along with a bag of skulls. Fantastic. We met Vielmehr Klampfe, our other ballsy guitarist, when he showed up naked at ArnoHQ later in 2003 and said he was from the future and was here now to protect us. What's going on? He played for us all these fantastic songs we hadn't even written yet, so we had to believe him, right? Exactly. We met our ballsy and heroic drummer Gellend Adler when he escaped from the slave-driving strudel makers in Austria who were forcing him to push the gigantic Wheel of Pain around and around to grind the finest grains and wheats to make award-winning strudels. His older brother, Toten, has played with us from 2000 until this year and now he is on hiatus to begin raising his new daughter. He's living with her up in seclusion in a log cabin, feeding wild deer and all this kinds of things. We were recently reunited with my old bass player from Austria, Karl Dichtschnur, who this whole time we thought was dead from that plane crash! Now he's back after 11 years being imprisoned in a basement and it's fantastic! This is huge, right there.
LB: What's your most memorable moment as a band??
AC: How do you pick just one? Let me tell you, one of my personal favorite moments was 4th of July last summer. It was the first night of our second UK Tour. We had a rowdy crowd in London, England at the legendary Dublin Castle venue, many couldn't even get in, it was over-sold and had so much crazy energy. We got an encore after our set, so we came back out and did a cover of the Hulk Hogan entrance theme, "Real American". Can you imagine what it's like to convince a sold out crowd of Brits to sing along in unison to the chorus "I am a real American, fight for the rights of every man!", on the 4th of July, American Independence Day, in London, England? Ha ha! I challenge any other band in the world to try that one without getting killed! We have respect for our crowds and we unite with them in ballsy defiance, so we can get away with these kinds of shenanigans, right there. The UK is like our home away from home.
LB: Where do you practice? What do you drink at practice? What do you do at practice when you’re not practicing?
AC: We practice at Soundwave Studios in Oakland, right there. Of course, we're drinking beer and other fantastic beverages, just like we do when we work out. We rock in a very disciplined way, though. No screwing around. We're paying by the hour, so if we're not rocking, we're using the facilities to get a pump in other ways, just doing exercises and lifting heavy things, doing repetitions, all this.
LB: What's the hardest thing about being a band in 2009?
AC: For ArnoCorps specifically, it's been dealing with Toten's leave of absence this year, but Karl coming back has made that a much easier transition. Karl is the guy who first inspired Toten to rock the way he does, so it will be a special treat for the crowd to see this legend in person.
LB: What's the best thing about being a band in San Francisco??
AC: Let me tell you, for ArnoCorps, the best thing has been getting voted the Best Local Band last year in the SF Weekly Reader's Poll! ALRIGHT!! Thank you San Frantastic!!! That was a huge honor and a big surprise because we didn't even know we were in the running! Let me tell you, this is a great place for bands to pursue their craft. The venues here are fantastic and the people here love live music. The City is very supportive of bands that strive to do something original. If you aren't just repeating things that have been done already and show a lot of sincerity in your approach, it doesn't take long to earn respect. We love San Frantastic and are proud to represent the Bay Area when we tour other countries. Despite our Austrian roots, this is our home, right here.
LB: What do you want people to know about your band, what are you doing next??
AC: We've just released The Ballsy EP and it is without a doubt the most fantastic, ballsiest recording we've ever put out. Listen to The Ballsy EP and you cannot help but feel good about yourself, it really helps motivate people to take on the world, to accomplish their goals, to get out there and take some names. We're getting out there to support this release by doing a Ballsy West Coast Tour, kicking it off at Gilman Street in Berkeley on August 14, then heading to Hollywood, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle and all the way up to Victoria, BC and then back home to San Frantastic for a crazy party at Thee Parkside.
LB: What’s up with your CD where can I get it, where did you record it??
AC: Right now The Ballsy EP is available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon, but the physical release will be available in any record shops this August. We've just signed with Vulcan Sky Records, which is run by Thor the legendary rock warrior and former bodybuilding champion. We recorded at Popsmear Studios in San Rafael with the Scott Llamas, the great. Our previous CD, "The Greatest Band Of All Time" is available at interpunk.com or iTunes.
LB: Favorite local Band or a memorable show??
AC: We've probably performed more with Count Dante & The Black Dragon Fighting Society than any other band, but there are too many fantastic local bands to even begin to mention. Most memorable show was our first time headlining Slim's, last summer. It was a sold out crowd, playing with Thor, Stone Vengeance and The Gun & Doll Show. People are still talking about that show. We had fans that came long distances to be there, from LA, Portland, and even Texas!
LB: Favorite venue to Play??
AC: That's a tough one. We love a wide range of venues. From the Stork Club to Great American Music Hall and everything in between. Bottom of the Hill, Annie's Social Club, Gilman Street. Any venue in Belfast, Northern Ireland is a guaranteed party for ArnoCorps. We can't wait to go back there.
LB: Have you played Thee Parkside before? What do you like about it?
AC: Exactly, we have played Thee Parkside a few times before, but it's been a few years, now. We chose Thee Parkside for our end-of-tour party coming up Sunday August 23rd because of the heroic atmosphere, there. It's going to be the most fun at any show this year, in San Frantastic, we guarantee!
LB: Do any of the members ever take their shirts off at a show or at practice??
AC: I think only Gellend Adler, our fantastic drummer does takes his shirt off at shows or practice. For a long time he was the Undisputed Inter-gender Wet T-shirt Champion of the World, so he had a lot to be proud of, right there. Any chance to show his pectoral symmetry, he's there. Guitarist Barrakuda goes sleeveless a lot of times to show off his ballsy ArnoCorps tattoo emblazoned on his arm, too. The rest of us are good about leavign the uniform on, we don't want to distract from our message with our fantastic physiques, right?
LB: Who's the smelliest member after a sweaty gig??
AC: Come on, none of are smelly, we all smell like roses! Big, sweaty, muscular, testosterone-driven ballsy Austro-Californian roses, right there.
LB: Favorite pre / post show; food, indulgence or ritual??
AC: Exactly, let me tell you. Before each show, we enjoy smoking fantastic stogies out front of the venue, out there with the goddamn heroes and sheroes who came to see us rock. We also drink Red Heat, which is a mix of a Russion drink with an Austrian drink, vodka with Red Bull. We also like to drink many kinds of beers and sometimes a fantastic protein shake to enhance the muscle-building properties of our music and performances. As many know, every morning before an audio assault we start the day right by eating green berets for breakfast.
LB: Where do you think live music is heading??
AC: When ArnoCorps first came to California in 2000, we were seen as very strange for having uniforms, having the smoke machine, the chopper sound over the PA, the jungle trees, interacting with the audience and all this focus on our stage performance being something people would remember. But now, lots more bands are putting more thought into presentation and thinking about how to best show the audience a good time and I think that's fantastic. If people just wanted to hear the songs, they could stay home and listen to a CD, right? Live music is about escapism, leaving the worries of the world behind and immersing yourself in the music and experience of the live performance. That has always been important to ArnoCorps even when it was not considered "cool" by other bands, so we think it's great that this approach is gaining acceptance even in the underground. ArnoCorps is always ahead of the curve, right there.
LB: How do you feel about people downloading your songs for free , do you offer free downloads??
AC: Before we got signed to any labels, we offered all of our songs for free download, for many years. We think it's fantastic! But when a label puts money into the band and they aren't getting the rewards we are, you know, of feeling the pump backstage, in the crowd, up on stage, come on, it's like an orgasm for us! But the label, they don't get that, so I don't blame them for not wanting to give away free downloads. They put money into getting the CDs manufactured and promoting the band and all this, so they need to make sure they can sell downloads along with CDs and all this. We still have a couple of free download available on arnocorps.com, though. I know there are torrent sites that have our album for illegal download and one of them had over 35,000 downloads of our last album, but we just see that and think, hey, people are feeling the pump from our music, how can we complain? I think in terms of illegal downloads ArnoCorps has gone platinum! Hey, as long as they come out to the live action adventure audio assaults, right? GO!!!
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