“We’ve known each other for ages.”
Germany has had a long history of producing amazing punk bands, from the hard hitting but often humorous Die Ärzte to the more political Die Toten Hosen. These great acts never really made it overseas however and today most alternative bands would probably find it hard to escape the shadow of the colossal Rammstein. Yet with so many drastic changes in the EU maybe it’s only natural that punk is resurfacing as the go to genre for artists who want to express their distaste at a shallow society.
Earl Grey are a group of friends From Mönchengladbach in Germany who mix abrasive pop-punk and hardcore with dark and personal lyrics. Conveyed with genuine aggression these punks are preparing to release their third EP called The Times You Cross My Mind.
The title, adapted from the lyrics in the second track off the new EP Never Sleep, is a nomenclature for a collection of songs. All based on personal subjects without any congruent theme. “We chose the EP name after a line from it’s second song Never Sleep and changed it a bit because we thought it […] described what we were trying to say.”
We asked the band how they came together. “We’ve known each other for ages.
Moritz and Lukas have been playing in various bands together since they were fifteen.
Lukas asked Pedro if he wanted to sing in the new band. He had known him for a year or so and they worked well together. Even though it was his first real band!
Tristan has been friends with Lukas since they were sixteen although they didn’t really hang out together. He replied to a post Lukas made on Facebook about looking for a guitarist to play in the new band. When they got together everything came along easily.
Eugen is the newest addition to Earl Grey. He and Lukas have been friends since 3rd grade. He was hanging out with us at band practice after we lost our old drummer when we were playing as a four-piece, Moritz had switched from guitar to drums, and Moritz noticed that Eugen was a talented guitarist and so he asked him to join the band.”
The band has certainly had their fair share of experiences together. Last year they were involved in a car chase after refusing to play for a crowd of neo-fascists in the Ukraine. Which left their vehicle severely damaged after hitting a public bus. Luckily no one was hurt in the incident.
The Times You Cross My Mind is available 21st July on Midsummer Records.
You can also find more from Earl Grey on Facebook, Bandcamp and Spotify. The latest single Nothing is also available for streaming on Soundcloud.
