Once upon a time, 4 guys met in Germany. There were two Stefans and the other two were named Markus and Thomas. They decided to start a synthpop band called De/Vision. The four released a single on their own and soon managed to get signed with a label. Over the next two decades, the lineup of their little band evolved and they became more and more popular within their home country, and soon in far away lands around the world. Now, the time has come for De/Vision to visit their fans in some of those foreign countries, namely the United States, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. They’ll be sure to bring their music along for a good show, too.

Listen to some of De/Vision’s songs on their MySpace page. If you like it their music, I’m sure you would love to see them live in concert. This is your chance!

De/Vision on tour in the USA
Feb 6 2008 - Shampoo in Philadelphia, PA
Feb 7 2008 - The Loop Lounge in Passiac, NJ
Feb 9 2008 - Elysium in Austin, TX
Feb 10 2008 - Asylum in Tucson, AZ
Feb 13 2008 - Safari Sam’s in Los Angeles/Hollywood, CA
Feb 14 2008 - DNA Lounge in San Francisco, CA
Feb 16 2008 - El Corazon in Seattle, WA
Feb 17 2008 - Sabala’s at Mt. Tabor in Portland, OR
Feb 19 2008 - Club Vegas in Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 21 2008 - Ground Zero in Minneapolis, MN

De/Vision on tour in South America
Feb 27 2008 - La Trastienda Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Feb 29 2008 - Blondie Discoteque in Santiago, Chile
Mar 2 2008 - Discoteca Voce in Lima, Peru

As you know, And One is coming to the USA to tour in February, but there has been a lot of confusion about the New York show on February 17th. It was originally supposed to be at Avalon but was later moved to the famous Webster Hall. That would have been a fantastic setting for And One to play, but apparently the concert has been moved yet again, this time to The Madison. I think (read: I hope) this is indeed the real location now because Synth-Tec.com has tickets now for the show available. They are $26 a piece, which is a bit high compared to tickets for bands of similar caliber, but And One is well worth it. Plus you get to see 2 openers: Life Cried, which is a great electro-industrial band, and Cervello Elettronico. I’ve never heard of the second one, but the samples on their site sound pretty good.

I’ll keep you up to date if there are any future changes. Be sure to check out the rest of the tourdates around the country for a concert near you.

Coachella, the famous 3-day music festival held annually in Indio, California, just announced their 2008 band lineup. Among the 125 bands in total are the German pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk. I didn’t see any other German names that I recognized on the list, but at least they picked a good one. Kraftwerk will be playing on the second day of Coachella which is Saturday, April 26. And while they are not the headlining band (Portishead is headlining), they are in the next tier down making them one of the three biggest bands that night. Not bad at all.

If you’re anywhere near southern California, this should be a great show. I might just have to fly clear across the country and check it out myself. Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 25th on Coachella.com.

“Lied vom Scheitern” is the second song on Die Ärzte’s current album Jazz Ist Anders, and it will also be their second single for that album. The single will be released at the end of next week on January 18th as both a CD and a 7″ vinyl record. Aside from the title track (and its video on the CD version), the single features a B-side called “Nichts Gesehen” which does not appear on Jazz Ist Anders, plus 2 alternate versions of songs taken from the “Economy Version” of Jazz Ist Anders.

What is the Jazz Ist Anders Economy Version? Basically, it is an alternative version of the album that Die Ärzte sold at concerts during their Es Wird Eng tour. It has all the same songs as the regular Jazz Ist Anders album, but they are recorded differently. The artwork has also been changed to look kind of like a child drew it. Despite being sold exclusively during their concerts, it looks like they had some vinyls left over which are now being sold at some online retailers.

One more thing, Die Ärzte is going on a second tour in Europe beginning in May, called the Jazzfäst Tour. Check out their tour page for the complete list of dates.

“Lied vom Scheitern” maxi single tracklist
01. Lied Vom Scheitern
02. Nichts Gesehen
03. Das Schönste Lied Der Welt (Economy Version)
04. Wir Sind Die Besten (Economy Version)
05. Lied Vom Scheitern (video)

Best price on the “Lied vom Scheitern” maxi single
AlphaMusic.de has the CD version of the single for 5.49 Euros

Best price on the Jazz Ist Anders Economy version 12″ vinyl
Abella.de and AlphaMusic.de both have it for 12.99 Euros

The German Invasion has begun. One of the next German bands that will be coming to tour across the USA is And One. They had actually started out on tour last year with VNV Nation, but pulled out of the tour part-way through. Luckily for us, the band didn’t give up on the idea of playing some concerts over here. We’ll get to see them after all.

And One was created in 1989 by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz in Berlin. Another famous early member of the band was Joke Jay. The band’s current lineup includes the 2 founding members plus Gio van Oli. Over the years, And One has become very well known both in Germany and around the world for their catchy EBM (early) and synthpop (later) styles of music. They have released 9 studio albums so far, with their most recent being Bodypop from 2006. Personally, I like their older songs a bit better because of the classic old school EBM sound you hear in songs like “Metalhammer” or “Deutschmaschine” but their newer more synth-oriented music is great as well.

A few other bits of interesting information: Steve Naghavi is known for remixing songs for other bands including remixes of “Fieber” and “Gekreuzigt” for Oomph! Atrocity covered And One’s song “Deutschmaschine” in 1997 on their first Werk 80 album (only as a bonus track on the limited edition, probably because “Deutschmaschine” was originally released in 1994, not in the ’80s). And One also released a special online-only single called “Amerika Brennt” for free in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks as a sign of their support for the country. Currently, And One distributed in North America on Metropolis Records.

You can watch the video for And One’s 2006 single “So Klingt Liebe” on this post.

And One’s 2008 tour dates in North America
Feb 14 - Washington D.C. at Club Five
Feb 16 - Philadelphia, PA at Shampoo (Dracula’s Ball #40)
Feb 17 - New York, NY at Avalon (see updates below!)
Feb 19 - San Francisco, CA at DNA Lounge
Feb 21 - Seattle, WA at El Corazon
Feb 24 - Los Angeles, CA at Crash Mansion
Feb 26 - Denver, CO at Oriental Theatre
Feb 28 - San Antonio, TX at White Rabbit

Let me know if you will be going to the New York show. I’ll be there along with several others I know.

Update 1 - The New York show has been moved to Webster Hall.

Update 2 - The NYC show has been moved again, this time to The Madison. Life Cried will be one of the opening bands, and you can now order tickets here.

Remember the British Invasion of the mid-60s when (metric) tons of British bands gained huge popularity in the United States? Me neither because I wasn’t around back then, but I have definitely heard plenty about it. This year, it looks like the next platoon of bands to invade America will be from Germany. And the first wave has already landed, straight out of Berlin.

The electronic group Jeans Team has already started their sonic assault a few days ago in San Francisco and will be advancing towards the East coast over the next few weeks. Next to reach America will be De/Vision, one of the most famous synthpop bands around, which will start their first ever tour this side of the Atlantic on February 6th starting in Philadelphia. Shortly after, in an aggressive move, And One will infiltrate Washington D.C. and begin their tour from the nation’s capital. Finally, Canada will be the target of several German industrial and EBM acts in May during the Festival Kinetik in Montreal.

In all seriousness, the sudden influx of German bands playing concerts in the USA and Canada is purely coincidental. While there does seem to be a lot of interest in German music as the internet introduces people to obscure bands from around the world, I really don’t think this “invasion” is going to be nearly as popular as the famed British Invasion. We probably aren’t going to see a German band become as popular as The Beatles in the next few years, but it’s still definitely worth paying attention to.

These first few months of 2008 present American fans of German music with a unique opportunity to see some of our favorite bands. Take advantage of this opportunity. Even if you don’t know who these bands are, I would still urge you to support them for taking the (very expensive) risk of coming over here to America. If they are received with large, enthusiastic crowds, it will send the message to other bands and their labels that touring in America could be a good idea for them, too.

First up, tour dates for Jeans Team. I will post the dates for De/Vision and And One in the next few days.

Jan 04 - San Francisco, California at Loaded
Jan 05 - Los Angeles, California at The COG
Jan 10 - New York, New York at The Grasslands Gallery
Jan 11 - Montreal, Canada at Zoo Bizarre
Jan 13 - Toronto, Canada at Drake Hotel
Jan 15 - Detroit, Michigan at Scrummage
Jan 16 - Chicago, Illinois at Empty Bottle
Jan 18 - New York, New York at Ruff Club

Listen to Jeans Team
You can visit the Jeans Team MySpace page to listen to some of their older, more experimental music, but I would recommend downloading the special interview that Radio Goethe just did with the band a few days ago. Not only will you learn a lot about the band and their history, but this interview is also filled with lots of their more current electronica music. You can download this interview here.

The German Invasion has begun. Prepare yourselves.

Updates
And One tourdates have been updated here

There are lots of German bands touring North America in 2008. Most of them are just coming to the United States, but a few are heading further North to Canada as well.

We made this page so it’s easy for you to find all the bands, their dates and venues in one place. The list is in chronological order according to the band’s first concert date. It’s easier to see them this way than in a normal calendar or alphabetical order.

Jeans Team

Read the article here for details and links

January 04 - San Francisco, CA - Loaded
January 05 - Los Angeles, CA - The COG
January 10 - New York, NY - Grasslands
January 11 - Montreal, QBC - Zoo Bizarre
January 13 - Toronto, ONT - Drake Hotel
January 15 - Detroit, MI - Scrummage
January 16 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
January 18 - New York, NY - Ruff Club

De/Vision

Read the article here for details and links

February 06 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo
February 07 - Passiac, NJ - The Loop Lounge
February 09 - Austin, TX - Elysium
February 10 - Tucson, AZ - Asylum
February 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Safari Sam’s
February 14 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
February 16 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
February 17 - Portland, OR - Sabala’s at Mt. Tabor
February 19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas
February 21 - Minneapolis, MN - Ground Zero

And One

Read the article here for details and links
Read our concert review here

February 14 - Washington, DC - Club Five
February 16 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo (Dracula’s Ball)
February 17 - New York, NY - The Madison
February 19 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
February 21 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
February 24 - Los Angeles, CA - Crash Mansion
February 26 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theatre
February 28 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit

Seabound - Alliance Tour

Read the article here for details and links

March 12 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo
March 13 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
March 14 - New Haven, CT - Blacksun Festival
March 15 - New York, NY - The Madison
March 16 - Rochester, NY - Water Street
March 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Pegasus
March 19 - Detroit, MI - Lune
March 20 - Chicago, IL - Darkroom
March 22 - Austin, TX - Elysium
March 24 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
March 26 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
March 27 - Portland, OR - Mt. Tabor
March 29 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
March 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Safari Sam’s

Doro Pesch

Read the article here for details and links

March 21 - West Springfield, VA - Jaxx
March 22 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
March 23 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
March 25 - Toronto, ON - The Funhaus
March 26 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody’s
March 28 - Detroit, MI - I-Rock
March 29 - Mokena, IL - The Pearl Room
March 30 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4
April 01 - Milwaukee, WI - Vnuk’s Lounge
April 04 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
April 05 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
April 07 - San Marcos, CA - Jumping Turtle
April 08 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky a Go-Go
April 09 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
April 11 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
April 12 - Ft. Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater
April 13 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
April 15 - St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theater
April 16 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
April 18 - Nashville, TN - The Muse

Accessory - More Than Machinery US Tour

Read the article here for details and links

March 26 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo
March 27 - Washington, DC - Chief Ikes
March 29 - Newark, NJ - QXTs
March 30 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
April 02 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
April 03 - Chicago, IL - The Kinetic Playground
April 04 - Phoenix, AZ - Jug Heads
(see below for Accessory’s West Coast tour in June/July)

Kraftwerk

Read the article here for details and links
Here’s an older article about the Coachella Festival

April 19 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth
April 20 - Milwaukee, WI - The Eagles Ballroom
April 23 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
April 26 - Indio, CA - Coachella Festival

Ellen Allien - Boogy Bytes Tour

May 01 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
May 02 - San Francisco, CA - Mighty
May 03 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
May 04 - Portland, OR - Holocene
May 05 - Toronto, ONT - The Social
May 08 - Montreal, QBC - Parking
May 09 - Quebec, QBC - Le Cercle
May 10 - New York, NY - Studio B

Feindflug, Funker Vogt, Kiew, Noisuf-X, Xotox

Read the article here for details and links

May 15-17 - Montreal, QBC - Festival Kinetik

Destroid

Read the article here for details and links

May 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
May 23 - Austin, TX - Elysium
May 25 - Columbus, OH - Hi-5
May 28 - New York, NY - Sapony
May 29 - Washington, DC - Liv
May 30 - West Palm Beach, FL - Respectable Street
May 31 - Orlando, FL - AKA Lounge
June 03 - San Francisco, CA - Fat City
June 05 - Portland, OR - Mt. Tabor Legacy
June 06 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
June 07 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 08 - Portland, OR - The Fez Ballroom - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 09 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
June 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 14 - Phonix, AZ - Sadisco

King’s Tonic

Read the article here for details and links

May 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Doll Hut
May 24 - Anaheim, CA - Ceros
May 28 - Los Angeles, CA - Di Piazzas
May 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Fullerton Back Alley
June 06 - Las Vegas, NV - Double Down Saloon

Accessory - More Than Machinery US Tour - West Coast

Read the article here for details and links

June 22 - San Francisco, CA - Fat City
June 23 - Portland, OR - The Fez Ballroom
June 24 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
June 26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas
June 28 - Las Vegas, NV - Vector
June 30 - Tucson, AZ - I.C.E.
July 04 - Los Angeles, CA - Das Bunker

The Scorpions

August 01 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor
August 02 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater
August 03 - Costa Mesa, CA - Pacific Amphitheater
August 05 - Tucson, AZ - AVA Amphitheater
August 08 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth
August 09 - Sparta, WI - Fort McCoy Army Base

Soman

Read the article here for details and links

August 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Das Bunker
August 23 - Madison, WI - Reverence Festival

[:SITD:]

Read the article here for details and links

20 Sep 08 - USA – Hollywood, California - Safari Sam’s
21 Sep 08 - USA - San Francisco, California - DNA Lounge
24 Sep 08 - USA - Portland, Oregon - Bossanova
25 Sep 08 - CAN - Vancouver, British Columbia - Red Room
27 Sep 08 - CAN - Calgary, Alberta - The Underground
28 Sep 08 - CAN - Edmonton, Alberta - New City Suburbs
30 Sep 08 - USA - Seattle, Washington - El Corazon
02 Oct 08 - USA - Salt Lake City, Utah - Murray Theater
03 Oct 08 - USA - Denver, Colorado - Hi-Dive - Vendetta Festival
04 Oct 08 - USA - Lawrence, Kansas - The Jackpot Music Hall
05 Oct 08 - USA - St. Louis, Missouri - The Bluebird
06 Oct 08 - USA - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The Miramar Theater
07 Oct 08 - USA - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Ground Zero
08 Oct 08 - USA - Chicago, Illinois - The Abbey
09 Oct 08 - USA - Cincinatti, Ohio - TBA
10 Oct 08 - USA - Hamtramck, Michigan - Smalls
12 Oct 08 - CAN - Toronto, Ontario - The Reverb (The Big Bop Nightclub)
13 Oct 08 - CAN - Montreal, Quebec - Cafe Campus
14 Oct 08 - USA - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The New Alhambra Arena
15 Oct 08 - USA - Boston, Massachusetts - TBA
16 Oct 08 - USA - Washington DC, Washington DC - Club Liv
17 Oct 08 - USA - New York City, New York - The Knitting Factory
18 Oct 08 - USA - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Pegasus
19 Oct 08 - USA - Nashville, Tennessee - Salvation @ Hollywood Disco
20 Oct 08 - USA - Louisville, Kentucky - TBA
22 Oct 08 - USA - Atlanta, Georgia - TBA
23 Oct 08 - USA - Jacksonville, Florida - TBA
24 Oct 08 - USA - West Palm Beach, Florida - Respectable Street
25 Oct 08 - USA - Orlando, Florida - TBA
27 Oct 08 - USA - Baton Rouge, Louisiana - TBA
29 Oct 08 - USA – Tulsa, Oklahoma - The Marquee
30 Oct 08 - USA - Dallas, Texas - The Church @ Lizard Lounge Dallas
01 Nov 08 - USA - San Antonio, Texas - Atomix
02 Nov 08 - USA - El Paso, Texas - Chic’s
03 Nov 08 - USA - Albuquerque, New Mexico - TBA
05 Nov 08 - USA - Garden Grove, California - Club Xile @ The Can Nightclub
06 Nov 08 - USA - Sacramento, California - Sky Room @ The Country Club
07 Nov 08 - USA - San Diego, California - Brick By Brick
08 Nov 08 - USA - Scottsdale, Arizona – Sadisco @ Chaser’s

Mark your calendars! Xotox is scheduled to play at the Kinetik Festival which takes place on May 15th through the 17th in Montreal, Canada. Xotox’s performance is on the 17th, and it will be their first (and only, so far) concert appearance this side of the Atlantic. If you like their music and you’re in the area, heading to the festival would be a great way to show your support. You’re sure to see some other cool industrial bands playing there, too.

For those of you not familiar with Xotox, I would suggest downloading some MP3 samples from their site or listening to some music on their MySpace page. Xotox plays a really cool combination of electro-industrial bordering on noise. If you’re into that kind of style, I think you’ll like it.

Ulrich Schnauss just finished up the final scheduled date on his tour across North America last night, but I guess that simply wasn’t enough. Schnauss has just announced he will be doing yet another gig in Costa Mesa, California, only this time it’s a free show! The concert is scheduled for tonight at 11 PM, so you still have a few hours if you’re in the area. Just head to the World Gallery at 1980 Placentia Ave. in Costa Mesa, CA, 92627. Hurry!

Qntal is coming to America to play 3 concerts, their only U.S. shows in 2007. Sorry to anyone on the West coast, but the concerts are limited to New York City and Philadelphia. The first two are on October 12th and 13th where Qntal will be a featured band at FaerieCon in Philadelphia. The medieval and fantasy themes of FaerieCon should be perfect for a band like Qntal. If you like Qntal’s music but could do without all of the fantasy nonsense, then you will prefer the New York City concert on October 15th. This is a more traditional concert which will be held during Nectromantic at the Knitting Factory which goes from 11 PM until 3. Tickets are $20 and you have to be at least 18 to get in.