Farin Urlaub
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Jan Vetter, better known as Farin Urlaub (like German "Fahr in Urlaub!" ("Go on vacation!"), after his love of travelling) was born on October 27, 1963 in what was then West Berlin, Germany. He is best known as the guitarist/vocalist for the German band Die Ärzte.
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[edit] Youth
Vetter lived with his mother in a flat in the Moabit district of Berlin up to the age of seven, and in Frohnau up to the age of 18. His parents were low-paid civil servants, and he has a younger half-sister called Julia. His mother often played records by The Beatles, and as such he was introduced to music at a young age.
At nine years he decided to take guitar lessons with an elderly woman who taught him classical standards. He played guitar at the holiday camps which he visited. Ironically, his later music teacher advised him: "Whatever you do when you grow up, don't do anything with music!" At the age of 16, Vetter went on a school trip to London, and returned home as a punk with dyed blonde hair.
In 1980 he met Dirk Felsenheimer (later known as Bela B.) in the punk club Ballhaus Spandau and joined his band Soilent Grün, replacing the previous guitar player whose guitar had been stolen. When they came to making up stage names, Vetter decided to use his favourite hobby of travelling, contracting the phrase "Fahr in Urlaub" ("Go on vacation") to Farin Urlaub. After completing his Abitur (high school exams) in 1983, he took up a course in archaeology at the Free University of Berlin, but gave it up for the benefit of his music career on the first day.
[edit] Musical career
When the band broke up in 1982 Urlaub, Felsenheimer and Hans Runge (Sahnie) formed Die Ärzte. He told the youth magazine BRAVO that his surname was Vetter-Marciniak to find out who really knew him and who only pretended to. When he received fan mail he would throw away, unread, letters addressed to "Jan Vetter-Marciniak". Even today his legal surname is often erroneously cited as "Vetter-Merciniak". In 1988, at the height of their popularity, Urlaub left Die Ärzte, and soon afterwards the group disbanded.
Urlaub then (1989) formed King Køng with, among others, drummer Uwe Hoffmen, who had been Die Ärzte's producer. Urlaub called himself "Jan" once more during this time, as he wanted to distance himself from his time with Die Ärzte. The group was never successful, and Urlaub declared it defunct much later (1999).
Die Ärzte reunited in 1993. In 1998 they decided to stop working with BRAVO as the magazine had been requesting stories from the members' private lives more and more frequently. The magazine subsequently launched a smear campaign against Urlaub, claiming that he had rammed the car of a BRAVO reporter, beaten fans, and generally driven his car "to incapacitate the enemy". Urlaub reacted with reports to the contrary on Die Ärzte's website.
In 2001, Urlaub started his solo career with the album "Endlich Urlaub!" ("Vacation at Last!", which can also be read as pun on his pseudonym, "Urlaub" meaning "vacation", as in, "Urlaub at Last!"). "Am Ende der Sonne" ("At the End of the Sun") was released in 2005 and his latest album, Livealbum Of Death, was released on February 3rd, 2006.
[edit] Musical style
Since his childhood Urlaub was influenced by The Beatles. In addition he listens in particular to Johnny Cash, Depeche Mode and "more or less everything except free jazz and techno". However, he admits openly that he does not consider himself to be a particularly good guitarist. He says that he often plays "unclean" chords and that even today he has only a very limited ability to read music, though this has not hindered him in making music.
According to some reports, the difference between his solo songs and those he has written for Die Ärzte is that his solo pieces are more personal and topical. He tried to make his songs for Die Ärzte as "timeless" and funny as possible; in this he was further influenced by the Comedian Harmonists. Many of his songs are about being left by one's partner (Zu spät (Too Late), Wegen dir (Because of You), Wie am ersten Tag (Like on the First Day), Komm zurück (Come Back), Nie gesagt (Never Said), OK, 1000 Jahre schlechten Sex (1000 Years of Bad Sex), Nichts in der Welt (Nothing in the World)) or are just nonsense (Buddy Holly's Brille (Buddy Holly's Glasses), Wenn es Abend wird (When the Evening Comes), Außerirdische (Extraterrestrial), WAMMW). Since the reunion of Die Ärzte he has also written socially critical and political songs (Kopfüber in die Hölle (Headfirst into Hell), Schrei nach Liebe (Cry for Love), Schunder-Song (Trash Song), Der Misanthrop, Rebell, Deine Schuld (Your Fault), Nicht allein (Not Alone)).
Whereas his first solo album contained several very satirical texts, Am Ende der Sonne handles more serious themes such as politics, social criticism and personal subjects. In some solo pieces Urlaub also shows some tendency towards ska punk (Dermitder (Him with Her), 1000 Jahre schlechten Sex).
[edit] Personality
Urlaub is in many ways unusual for a punk, in that he is teetotal, a non-smoker, pacifist and pescetarianist. His hobbies include extensive travelling, reading, listening to music, riding motorcycles, playing minigolf, collecting records and sunglasses, cutting his own hair and designing T-shirts and electric guitars. He speaks seven languages: German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Japanese; and he often works for Greenpeace, Attac and Menschen gegen Minen (People against landmines). He is also opposed to all forms of right-wing radicalism. For the last few years he has been living in a village near Hamburg, where he has his own recording studio.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Endlich Urlaub! (2001)
- Am Ende der Sonne (2005)
- Livealbum of Death (2006) (1 CD, 22 Songs / 6 x 7"EP, 22 Songs)
[edit] Singles
- Glücklich (2001)
- Sumisu (2001)
- OK (2002)
- Phänomenal Egal (2002)
- Dusche (2005)
- Porzellan (2005)
- Sonne (2005)
- Zehn (2006)
[edit] Die Ärzte
[edit] King Køng
[edit] Soilent Grün
[edit] Collaborations
- Liebe macht blind (The Busters feat. Farin Urlaub, 2000)
- Backing singer on Hey Du by the Beatsteaks on the EP Wohnzimmer (2002)
