Sonic Seducer, March 2023
►His workload is amazing.
His band hit the charts at number 1 with their most recent album, Blood and Glitter, and have been super productive. Now Lord of the Lost want to go to the European Song Contest.
On the couch, Chris Harms answered our questions about navel piercings, cello scholarships and red carpets, among other things.
You are very busy. What do you do when something needs to be done and the procrastination goblin whispers, "Put it off until tomorrow"?
This goblin doesn't live with me. Fortunately, I only put things off with good reason and then schedule them exactly again. If I notice that I can't do it, I delegate it to someone else or tell the relevant contact: "Sorry, but I can't do it" or: "I can't do it by the required time." Otherwise, if I have time , but have no real drive: "Do it now!" This is especially the case with things I don't feel like doing, because then they're done and I don't have to worry anymore. The longer you wait, the worse it gets. I know that, so I'm actively working against it. The logical consequence: everything is more relaxed, even though you have worked a little more.
You started learning the cello when you were five. Did you notice the urge to become creative yourself even then?
I certainly had the first cruel-sounding song ideas when I was 12 or 13, but with a guitar in my hand. Never with the cello. The cello was very rarely a creative instrument for me - it was very beautiful, but only reproductive. When I was 16, I got a scholarship to a conservatory and dropped out of school for a short time in order to study classical cello at a very young age. That's when I realized that this would make me a government-subsidized cover artist of centuries-old works. So I decided against it, went back to school, did my Abitur [exams at the end of high school in Germany, like a high school diploma], studied audio engineering and worked on my music career at the same time.
You are an optically very versatile and change-friendly band. Do you generally enjoy slipping into roles?
That's actually only appealing to me in connection with music or music videos, though music videos certainly extend into the field of film. If I were an actor, it would certainly be the same. It's not something I need privately. Not even dressing up as a woman. It's different for special roles. A lot of people don't understand that I enjoy it without there being a sexual component. It's only fascinating to me in the context of a musical or audiovisual concept. Or just for photos, which somehow also have something to do with the music or me as a musician.
Did you hesitate a long time before you got your first tattoo? Was there a special occasion?
I didn't hesitate at all. However, it was an emergency solution, because I actually wanted a belly button piercing. I was just 18 and I wanted it, simply because it was extremely rare for boys and it was important to me to break through this boundary and to provoke. The piercing could not be done because my skin on my stomach did not have enough fat. So I got a tattoo, really nice 90s: a tribal on the shoulder blade. I wanted to attract attention and provoke. That was important to me at this stage. And that was even possible with a shoulder blade tattoo back then. Today, as an 18-year-old, you would need at least a tattooed face in order to attract attention with even halfway provocative body embellishment.
What was your parents' reaction?
I didn't dare to tell them for a long time. When they saw it - I think I already had several tattoos by then - they were completely relaxed. I unfairly underestimated my parents.
You want to go to the Eurovision Song Contest, once known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson. Is there an outstanding ESC moment for you?
We always watched the Grand Prix at home. That was just what we did. When it became musically more open there in the 90s, that felt very nice. And of course Lordi were a highlight. However, I no longer lived at home by then. But I think we still watched the ESC on TV together this year.
On stage you enjoy glitz and glamor. I can't necessarily picture you on the red carpet. Do you prefer to be a private person apart from the band activities?
Absolutely right. On stage, at a photo- or video shoot: I like it, everything is fine, totally my thing. Apart from that, it's not that easy for me. Even at autograph sessions, I'm not the one who leads the group. I don't want to be the center of attention. That's why I stopped going to after-show parties a long time ago, or to parties in general, with a few exceptions. I once gave myself a red carpet experience. I found it horrible. I then tried it a second time just to be sure and after that decided I wouldn't do it again unless there was no way around it. For whichever reasons. I don't need that feeling of fame. It's not something real anyway.
Author: Christoph Kutzer
Photography: VDPictures
Translation: Margit Güttersberger
Proofreading: Katie Dillon