Interviewers: Emilia van Bonn, Dominique Dümmer

 

 

[0:00]

Bo: Do you have a question?

Emilia: Um...what do you like to cook most?

Bo: What I like to cook most? Oh..no idea. Um...

 

(intro)

 

Bo: Everything. One big 'everything', well, cooking leftovers. I like that a lot. Just look into the fridge when you're not in the mood to cook something special, when you have no ideas. Just cut everything up, throw it in together. Couscous for example is not even cooking. It's just putting warm water on couscous and then it's already finished. And spice. Tada! I am quite pragmatic.

Dominique: Okay. And when it comes to more elaborate things, you do that too? Or rather not?

Bo: Well, I'm not a cook. I never heard of anyone complaining much when I cooked. Either cause they don't dare or cause it does in fact taste kinda good. But it's just...no, I'm not a cook. My Mother for example can cook really good. She makes little things..then she adds a little sugar into the food, and I always think "Why sugar?" Sure, okay, there are various reasons why. But I just cook anything. Or I order. Or I eat out.

Dominique: What do you order?

Bo: It varies. Most of the time pizza, in fact. Quite classically pizza. Or sushi.

 

[1:39]

Dominique: Your guitar, the new one.

Bo: Yeah

Dominique: Is that a real skull on it?

Bo: It's real

Dominique: Yeah?

Bo: It's the lower jaw of a reindeer, in fact. Yoa...yeah..period.

Dominique: Did you know the reindeer. Where did you get it from? Or was it..

Bo: No, it was in fact a surprise from our guitar builder. Our guitar builder was supposed to...last year we considered the idea that he builds me a new guitar. Then he didn't manage it due to lack of time until a certain date where we wanted to do something. So instead he built this one for me secretly, and gave it to me as a "compensation" for not managing the deadline of the guitar. Which is total nonsense, cause there was no deadline. It was rather on an extremely friendly basis. Instead Chris' E-guitar is finished. And my "special" special guitar will only come towards the end of the year. If I'm not mistaken.

Dominique: Do you know anything about it yet?

Bo: No

Dominique: Nothing at all?

Bo: Nothing at all. It will be better than Chris' guitar.

Dominique: Okay that's not difficult.

Bo: That's not difficult?

Dominique: No. I think the LEDs are great, but when you look at it from the front it looks like...

Bo: Like?

Dominique: Like a honey comb..hive..nest...

 

[3:04]

Bo: But it actually is the first guitar that...uhm...that is triggered. Which means as much as when he plays the light turns on. The first model world wide!

Dominique: Yeah, it's cool made, but...

Bo: ...but optically absolutely ....

Dominique: ..let's skip that...

Bo: bollocks...I totally agree with you...

Dominique: Oh well, it's a matter of taste. I just think it looks a bit half-baked. Well, it's celebrated immensely that's true, but otherwise...

 

[3:35]

Bo: She is not impressed... But that doesn't matter, as long as Chris is excited! Right?

Dominique: Yes, yes, best guitar I've ever seen on stage. I was mesmerized yesterday, blown away when Chris used it and thought "Whoa, neat!" I couldn't breath for a second...

Bo: uhu...next question!

 

[4:00]

Bo: I want it from you!

Emilia: ...

Bo: She's totally shy! Come a bit closer with the camera! Yes, look, do you see the lense? Did you see that he zoomed in!

Dominique: Look there!

 

[4:15]

Emilia: If you could switch bodies with one person for a day, who would that be?

Bo: If I could switch bodies with one person for a day...whew...uhm...no idea!...Monica Bellucci, she looks so good naked! The whole time I would....

Dominique: You don't?

Bo: I would... Yes, but one sees oneself naked all too often. But for one day I probably would run around naked the whole day in a big hall of mirrors.

 

[4:45]

Dominique: Yeah...So you'd prefer a woman not a man?

Bo: Naturally...

Dominique: Not just a different personality but a different body?

Bo: Yeas, she asked what body! If it really would be the life of someone...then there would be...the answer would be, I wouldn't switch! I like my life as it is. That's why I wouldn't switch! I would like to be invisible once and sneak around the backstage area of some people, just to..uhm..be a fly on the wall for a bit. But...uhm... switch lifes with someone I really wouldn't. The life I chose is the one i want...

 

[5:23]

Dominique: Is there something where you would say that was total bullshit, real crap. But in retrospect it was right, something you did?

Bo: Uhm...yes!...

Dominique: Ok.

Bo: You want have that elucidated? Or not at all?

Dominique: No, no need to.

Bo: Logically, there are many things in life that uhm I personally did wrong, sure, logically,...whew...no idea, I was ten doing a test of courage...that one one can tell... I did a test of courage with some boys and we stole I think it was Pullmoll candies from a Budnikoswski in the Schulterblatt (streetname)...greetings!...uhm...and security caught me so the police drove me home and I got into big trouble. On one side I would think if i could go back in time 

I would smack myself and say "don't participate in every shit just because others say you are totally cool if you steal Pulmoll candy" what is absolute nonsense, but..

Dominique: Standards...

 

[6:29]

Bo: Next question.

<pedestrians talking>

 

[6:35]

Dominique: Yeah, it's a bit about... you already talked a bit about that...uhm...I originally wanted to expose you a bit...I was asked on the site. But sadly I didn't win so I had to sneak my way in. Tell something really embarassing that we maybe haven't heard yet.

 

[6:52]

Bo: Something really embarassing?

Dominique: Not the Pulmoll story, that's already embarassing, but...

Bo: Something really embarassing.... As a little child I once shat on the beach! Yes... As a little child...I was around, I don't know, I could somewhat walk on my own, how old was I then, around three...said my, oh well I have an older sister and my sister and my mother said something like that...well, little children like to be naked and so I ran around naked at the beach. I also have family in croatia and so we were at the Adria and my mother let me run around. I was on the promenade and apparantly had to take a dump and just did that. I took a dump, continued running, took another dump and continued running again. And that's how I shat all over the promenade. And my sister pointed her finger there and shouted really loudly "Mom, Bo's pooping all over the beach!"...yeah..I don't remember that, but I think it was embarassing. It was mainly embarassing for my mother, because she then ran after me like nowadays the elderly ladies with their small dogs and such a bag in her hand and then she had to pick up her child's poop from the beach.

 

[8:10]

Dominique: Oh shit!

Bo: Yes, that's...

Dominique: No, I just hit my head!

Bo: Yes, that isn't good either...yeah...other questions?

 

[8:22]

Dominique: Emilia surely has some more questions, right?

Emilia: What can cheer you up in every situation?

Bo: Whew...What can cheer me up in every situation?...My girlfriend, my friends, my family, yes... The people that are important to me can cheer me up in every situation! There are always moments you come home and feel shitty and then ...I don't know...uhm... my better half cooks something incredibly tasty or bothers to prepare something...yeah, that surely cheers one up! Just such a little thoughtfulness can already count for a lot!...yep...But otherwise I'm always in a good mood!

Dominique: That's true.

Bo: No it isn't.

Dominique: Yes, but from what one sees you're always smiling.

 

[9:26]

Bo: I think yeah. There is no reason to really be sad, in my opinion. At the moment my life is quite good, quite nice, and we're alive and...without wanting to get too philosophical: there are a lot of people who are a lot worse off...

(cut)

Bo: People who are a lot worse off and...Just to explain: our camera just gave up the ghost, so...Samsung...therefore we'll now continue with the mobile phone, with the smartphone from the Samsung company...

Dominique: Shh!

Bo: --Covered advertising? What, it's not covered advertising. It's obvious advertising-- ...continuing with Class' phone.

 

[10:14]

Dominique: Yeah, speaking of that. This wasn't quite so funny just now. We already went in the direction of philosophy. This is a question...how do you imagine getting old? Do you want to get old, how do you imagine it, are you in the mood or not at all?

Bo: My mother is Italian, so I'm half Italian therefore. My grandfather is an opera singer. One of the most vital, happiest people I know. He's 84 and I think every day he goes for a 12km walk. He's completely convinced he'll live to 100. He is full of life, happy, and enjoys every day anew. Gives every day the chance to be a good one. And that's sort of my idol, on the subject of aging. Aging is also a physical thing. Here (points at his tattoo) Peter Pan. I also quite suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome. I don't really want to grow up. Sure, you can't completely avoid it. Everyone has to grow up. But I hold onto my childlike side as long as it's possible at all. And that's what makes me personally happy. So I'll stick with it.

Dominique: And how does that work alongside the job? After all it's, when you look at it that way..you can see it two ways.

Bo: Sure, you do have to grow up. If you need to do something disciplined, concentrated, I can switch. But nevertheless I try to do everything with a certain form of ease. A certain form of finding fun in seriousness. A fucking tax declaration isn't fun to anyone. But I just think "Hey, I'll do my tax declaration now, cause it's just part of it, fuck it. I take this and that much time to cram together my papers, and after that I treat myself to...I don't know...watching Star Wars Episode 4 for the several thousandth time, and a glass of whisky." I don't know, I just try to get the best out of everything.

 

[12:36]

Dominique: I have a question...I have to back up a bit. In Giessen...

Bo: Yeah...

Dominique: During the "Darkness over X-mas" (??? can't hear the small side-comment) Chris held a beautiful little speech about "From Venus To Mars". Would you like to go into what that was about? It was totally sentimental. We stood in the audience, Chris talked, and we thought: "Okay..." it was a good mood.

Bo: Yeah, I wasn't born in Germany. I um...that's why it was very funny, here right around the corner there's a right-wing demo. Hello you dipshits! Um, I'm from Ex-Yugoslavia. 1992, or more specifically at the end of 1992, I came to Germany. And back then there was the war in Sarajevo, or rather in all of Yugoslavia. I am a war refugee. We experienced things back then which weren't quite so nice. Well that's war for you. I guess war is never nice. And then I think in fifth or sixth grade I wrote a text about it. That is more or less From Venus to Mars, cause Chris and I mixed texts together and Chris turned it into a final text which actually works, which adds up, cause I'm not so good at that. That text was about the fact that back then, I still didn't feel completely at home. Cause I...or we as a family...were ripped from our homes, like many others. You didn't have a choice. You had to die or leave. Leave everything behind, or leave your life. So he meant that. And especially this whole topic with the regfugees. Sure, there are always black sheep among the refugees who arrive. But it was the same back then. During the Yugoslav Wars. We were chased from Rostock for example, because the rightwing crowd is quite big there. But what you always have to remember: Is this person here by his own choice? No one voluntarily leaves his home. You're always forced, somehow, when you have to leave everything behind, your whole past which you've built up. 

 

[15:14]

Bo: And yeah. If someone doesn't like refugees, but likes Lord of the Lost, he has to remember that Lord of the Lost wouldn't be complete without me. So you DO like refugees! You idiots, you didn't even notice! (Puts on fake accent) Just cause I speak without an accent. Pinhead!

 

[15:29]

Dominique: I don't feel like calculating. How old were you? 

Bo: I was seven.

Dominique: So you remember the whole story

Bo: You suppress a lot of course, but I remember quite a few things. But yeah, sure.

Dominique: Incredible story

Bo: Things you of course don't forget. It's quite an early confrontation between life and death. Okay, that's also something where, if I could turn life back, I...that sounds really macabre now. But I would not go to my parents as my future self and say "Hey, leave now already." Cause what we experienced back then as a family has welded us together and showed us how great it is to be here, how great it is to be alive. There are many people who think "Oh man, I can't afford the new Playstation. Life sucks so much." That's such a crappy nothingness. It's just nice to be here, that's all that matters.

 

[16:30]

Dominique: So it also has the... buah... influenced your whole way of thinking, no?

Bo: Yes, definitely!

Dominique: The way of thinking in general.

Bo: Logically!..uhm..I...I believe I can say that I am a more modest than other people in many ways...I think...or at least I try to be.

 

[16:54]

Bo: That now has been probably cut out, but Class just made us aware that we have to go back in soon. So the two of us (pointing at camera) have to go back in. You two go in later. On that note...Bye.

Dominique and Emilia: Bye!

Bo: Is that a "bye"?

Dominique: Yep!

Bo: Yep.

Dominique: I think so.

Bo Thank you a lot!

Dominique: We are the ones to thank you!

Bo (to Emilia): Say something really loud!

Emilia: Like what?

Bo: Say "Like what" as loudly as you can.

Emilia: Like what!

Bo: Yes!!! One could hear her! Very good, thank you two a lot!

Dominique: Thank you!

All: Bye!

Bo: Oh god, my knees!!

 

 

Translation: Manuela Lütolf, Jennifer Rudolph