On June 28, I’m sitting with friends at Schokoladen on Ackerstrasse in Berlin. I took them to the Rickolus concert in Florida. He was actually supposed to be on the road with Tocotronic for a month. But Corona put a spoke in our wheel. After all, he can now accompany us for two times four concerts. But unfortunately not in Berlin. scheduling difficulties. At least he plays his own concert between our two tour blocks in that same chocolate. It’s actually a miracle that this wonderful shop still exists. In the middle of spruced up Berlin-Mitte. And it’s even nicer that we’re sitting here together and listening to Rickolus.
I’m happy that my friends are just as excited as I was that day in 2019 when my friend Rasmus asked me if I would accompany him to a concert by his friend Rickolus and I accepted without much expectation. When I was there, I was immediately smitten. Somehow appropriate that the word “friends” appears repeatedly in this text. Because Rickolus’ lyrics are also about friendship. And of course love and family. He sings about his son deciding he’s not a woman anymore (“Jasper”) and he sings about his grandfather’s first love that didn’t come true (“Mary Manhattan”). The barriers between the various Christian denominations prevented them. Nevertheless, Rickolus does not make an accusatory protest song out of it. He told me: It’s exciting to imagine how my grandfather felt as a young man. And if this love hadn’t failed: I wouldn’t be here now.
Beautiful and sublime
Also this restraint in judgment is something that makes Rickolus’ songs really beautiful and sublime. “Yeah man, it’s clear, I sing about what I encounter and what’s happening around me.” All of this can be heard on his albums and EPs. With BONES, a record has now been released on a German label for the first time (Buback Tonträger). However, besides this album, I also recommend the great “Archways” EP. Rickolus is one of those charming and unassuming people that are so common in US musical circles. You can learn so much from them. They are professional but always full of passion. Cool in every situation, but never arrogant.
This is perhaps also due to the fact that before they appear in Europe, they have usually already played countless concerts in their home country. I remember when we toured the US in 1998 for a dozen shows with Tocotronic. Our friends from the band Fuck invited us. On this incredibly wonderful and unspeakably arduous tour, we got to know the USA from a side that remains closed to tourists. We played in laundromats, billiard halls, places that weren’t licensed to serve drinks so patrons brought their own drinks.
We were already happy about no-name cola syrup dissolved in chlorine water
We were treated to some quirky American local laws. In one club, for example, it was forbidden to leave beer and other alcoholic beverages on stage. But it wasn’t a problem to put a bar table on the stage to put down the beer tankard and drink from it. We understood that unlike in Germany, catering and free drinks are not standard in the USA. We were already happy about no-name cola syrup dissolved in chlorine water. Nevertheless: The hospitality of the Americans impressed us. There was almost always someone in whose house or apartment we could sleep. However, sometimes only a hard kitchen floor was available. And today I wonder why none of us didn’t have at least one insulating mat with us.
In Cleveland we slept in the club. It was Dirk’s birthday. Fuck made him a crown out of golden aluminum foil and he was allowed to sleep on the drum carpet. In addition to Fuck and us, there were always two other bands playing. One mostly tried to sound like Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the other like Tortoise. So these are the bands that don’t make it across the pond. Also nice to experience this time, I thought. We only skipped a few thrift stores because Fuck’s Tim, Geoff, Kyle and Ted loved thrift stores; probably because you can learn so much about American culture from them. Plus, it was lovely to walk around Chicago with huge dingy stuffed animals on your shoulders. Now when I see Rickolus on stage I think back to our friends from Fuck and see a lot of what made them a band in him too.
Regarding Jan Müller’s “Reflector” podcast: www.viertausendhertz.de/reflektor
This column first appeared in the Musikexpress issue 09/2022.