Interview with Vlad in Tears

“I'm a real live cliche!”

Fans of dark music may recognize the band «Vlad in Tears» by the fun vampire vibe image and confident rock sound of their albums. Some music critics have characterized the band as heavy metal band based in Berlin that was founded by the three brothers Kris (vocals & piano), Lex (guitar) and Dario (bass) and their friend since preschool, Alex (drums). The band, originally based in Italy, started out by playing cover songs but soon created their own dark sound.

The band's lead singer, Kris, kindly took the time to answer some of our questions regarding the new album, interacting with people, and how hard it is to be a freak in Berlin.

I've been doing interviews for a few years, and you know, sometimes I get that feeling, like, “Oh, why am I doing this? I want to sleep; why am I torturing myself every time with all these projects?" And I'm curious to know if you get those states when you're writing an album or performing.

Yes, of course! I very often doubt what I'm doing. And honestly, I don't even know how you can be 100% sure of what you're doing,beinge sure that the audience will like it. I was just thinking this morning that there's no certain recipe for success. Nothing guaranteesit,t and no matter what youdo—sometimess luck means alot, and, sometimes people actually recognize that you're doing a good job. But speaking for myself, I'm always hesitant and a bitwary; something I do might upset someone or someone might not like it, but that doesn't stop me from trying.Because, there's that rule that if you don't try, you'll never know. Sometimes it's like jumping into the dark and trying to get the best out ofit.

Yeah, I totally get it! So what led you to become a musician? As far as I know, you moved from Italy to Germany, and I guess it wasn't an easy path.

Yes, my older brother and I decided to move from Italy to Germany because there were no opportunities there to do what we do now. In Italy it's pretty bad with music. If you're not a big star, I mean, when you're not a big pop star, you can't create your own genre. You're always going to be kind of underground in the scene because Italian listeners won't give you much support. In my case it all seemed very depressing, so we decided to move to Germany. And I thought it was a good idea because our manager is from Germany and lives in Berlin, and that helped a lot. And I've never regretted it. Even though nothing in Germany is perfect. I don't believe that there is any perfection or that there are any perfect places. I believe that you have to create your own environment. And here, of course, we have more opportunities than we had in Italy.

And I'd be interested to know where you got all this love of vampire style.

You know, I was born that way! I've always been a big fan of vampires and novels and horror movies and anything gothic. Ever since I was a little boy. And for that reason, I used to scare my parents, by the way. When I was a little kid, my parents had some thoughts about me, that maybe I was a little weird. But then I grew up, and before I started making music, I was a fan of horror movies, all those comic books, and gothic novels. I could even say I'm a big nerd.

Oh, I'm a nerd too!

Oh, really? Nerds are the best! We're definitely the best! And then I started making music, and a lot of inspiration came to me from movies and books, and especially Dracula. I read the book, then I saw the movie from Francis Ford Coppola and just really loved the whole thing. It's kind of like a curse that changes the way you look at the world. And I was very interested in the line between love and hate. And I was fascinated by the moment when Dracula, at that moment such a handsome man, started crying for his lost love and started melting and started turning into the monster that he really was. And all of that literally stuck in my head and gave me the name for the band Vlad in Tears. Because this is a man who becomes a demon with eternal tears because he lost the love of his life. 

That's a really good story about the band name!

Yeah, I never get tired of telling it!

How much does your stage persona overlap with your real persona and real life?

If you had asked me 10 years ago, I would have answered differently than I do now. I would have said I try to keep them separate from each other. Because sometimes the two personalities overlap, and I feel overwhelmed emotionally. When I perform on stage, I kind of pull these images from deep inside me.

I try to focus on lyrics and music, and I try to interact with people. The inspiration for my songs is very real, and real stories and some themes for creativity I take from real-life stories. Some are based on my personal life, and I would say that these stories are even too personal. But that's just my way of interacting with people. But it's still acting when I'm on stage. I'm doing the work. It's like a movie. I, as a character, present my dark sides on stage, but it's still a stage. And I would never bring my real personality to the stage. When I'm off the show, I would say I'm an introvert, a bit shy, and even an antisocial person. I like to be at home, watching movies and reading alone. I'm really not a party person. Sometimes after a show, when I do get to talk to someone, I'll say that I'm shy and that's quite possibly not what people expect. I hope I play my part well enough on stage and people don't notice all that. But deep down, I don't really care how well I live up to other people's expectations of my personality and image. It's my job after all, and I just try to do it well and deliver messages through my songs. I try to live in peace with all my personalities, and all those parts of me being real is what I enjoy the most. Being nerdy and surviving in this world is not easy.

As someone with such a colorful personality and as someone who attracts so much attention, have you gotten into any crazy stories with your fans?

Oh my god, there are so many stories; I don't even know where to start! Of course, because of our work, we meet a huge number of people all over the world. And in the early days we were able to be close to them; we could socialize after the show and stuff like that. But as time went on, it became clear that some people could be a bit dangerous. Of course, we've met so many wonderful people, which I'm thrilled about! But some personalities sometimes try to know a bit more than they should know and invade privacy, trying to communicate with the technical team or management, not out of good faith. And we can't always control all that. But I'm the kind of person that I try to hide in the backstage and be there as long as I can.

But some people still try to sneak in there and chat about all sorts of pretty important topics to me. Of course I try to be quite open, but talking about some personal topics with people I'm seeing for the first time in my life is sometimes a bit too much. I can admit that a couple of times I was quite scared, and I didn't want to leave the backstage. But still, we try to be as polite to people as possible, even when they cross some boundaries. You know, a couple of times fans actually asked me to bite them in the neck. And I was in a stupor because I'm really shy. I had to say, “Hey, I'm sorry, but I'm really not the kind of person that goes around everywhere and bites people in the neck.” It was so weird!

Yeah, I guess that's too personal a request.

Oh yes! Sometimes fans write to me on social media asking if I can turn them into vampires. Because they're pretty sure I'm one. And I should just bite them. You see, they write this to me in private messages completely seriously. And every time I sit there and I wonder what I'm supposed to say. “Sorry, I'm really busy today; I can't make it” - is it a normal response?

“Sorry, I can't make it today. Maybe we can do it Friday!”

Yeah, exactly! “Hey, Friday works for me.” We love people; we love building that interaction through music. But sometimes it's so weird that some people choose to cross some personal boundaries. I still love that crazy world. And I'm glad I've learned over the years to stay out of a lot of things when I'm done with my work and not bite anyone.

Have there been situations in your life when people just didn't take you seriously because of your style or appearance? And if the answer is yes, how did you prove to society otherwise?

It happens a lot. It even happened more often in the past when I was in Italy. In Italy, people still live with a closed mind even in big cities. If you look dark or gothic, it's perceived by them as something wrong. Anything that is not casual and formal is not taken as something serious. So when I was younger and living in Italy, those were difficult times for me. I had a hard time making friends because there was no one like me around. I was called a little vampire and a little Marilyn Manson or just a freak. This sometimes made me mad. I just wanted to mind my own business and take care of myself. But picture this: you're walking down the street, and people are talking about you behind your back and laughing. And sometimes you can be that crazy person who turns around and asks, “What are you laughing at?”...good thing I know how to laugh at myself! So I just let them talk and went about my business. I've always been busy focusing on the beautiful things I love. And I also focused on the beauty of the moment when you're alone. I grew up embracing solitude. When you spend a lot of time alone, you have to recognize and learn about yourself. You have to learn to live even with your uncomfortable thoughts, your habits, and sometimes bad habits. I believe that there is no better way to grow as a person. And it happened to me, and I'm grateful for it. I even want to say thank you to the people who pushed me away. “Thank you, motherfuckers!” I've had plenty of time to get to know myself. And I've noticed that other people like me who are labeled freaks are just as adept at enjoying the company of myself. And it seems to be better than the company of random people. Of course you can find people who accept you for who you are. Just don't run after it; don't make it happen.

A few years ago, I was listening to all these stories people were telling about me. There was one story about a guy who was my driving instructor. I had already gotten my license at that point. But I heard from other people that he was making up stories about me. Like I'm a Satanist, and I purposely lure girls by pretending to be a gentleman. And then sacrificing them to my gods because I need more power and influence. It was so funny! And a buddy of mine told me that this instructor tells this to the young men he still teaches to drive. Stories like “Stay away from that guy! He looks so nice, and you might have a good time, but you have a good chance of dying!”

But when I moved to Germany, to Berlin, things became different. I felt very free. Your personality can be whatever you want, and people won't judge you. Most accept my personality and style, and that's very cool! Of course sometimes not everyone understands you, but they still don't judge. But of course there are strange stories in Berlin too. Here, in the house I've lived in for 7 years now, some of my neighbors don't like me very much. And they started to say things about me again, about me being a Satanist, a dangerous person, and that children should stay away from me. There are some signs in front of my door like “We're all crazy here” or “BooHoo!” just because I like it. And it looks like kids like it, so I'm not so intimidating. I have a song I wrote about it called “Hallo.” So I really took inspiration from that whole situation. A song based on a real situation, “Hello, I'm your neighbor, but I'm not a demon.”

Yeah, well, you're not really a demon.

Who knows... maybe not.

Also, the fact that you maintain a Patreon account caught my attention. Some fans, or maybe haters, say that you're just trying to sell your naked pics because you can't get attention with cool music. So tell us how you find the time and inspiration to make content for Patreon as well.

The first thing I want to say is that my Patreon channel is full of different things. There are covers from me on different songs, my diaries. Most of the stuff I put out there is stuff that I do on request. A lot of people write to me and ask me to do stuff. Sometimes I find some ideas cool enough to make them. Some things I don't like and reject them. I just try to make it all fun as much as I can. You know, life is pretty short, so it makes sense to make it fun. Sometimes people ask me to do sexy content. And, you know, I've been doing photo shoots for a lifetime; it's part of my job. I also work on my look, on my body, and if people want to see a little bit of what's behind the scenes, I can give them that, but exclusively.

But still, I'm going to do it by my rules. No really naked content or things like that. I definitely don't do porn. That's a little too much for me. But being sexy is cool and normal. And I'm not the first or the last to do it. It's kind of part of the rock world. People can like a nice body, but it doesn't have to be vulgar. I'm not going to show everything and the world my genitals. It doesn't matter if I'm shooting reels or taking pictures; it's all fun and for fun. I want the public to realize that I'm a guy who doesn't take himself too seriously. Everything I do isn't about “Hey, look everybody, look how hot I am; here I'm pouring oil on myself"—that” would be wild. And it makes me happy that I always have good comments out there, that people support my style and who I am. Of course, all those selfies, videos, and photos don't require as much effort as making music. Music is my main job. I just might additionally wow people with some pics of myself or a video from the shower while I'm getting ready for a show or doing my makeup—it's not that hard.

I think my visuals complement my music. People who don't like all that can just stay away from that part of myart; they, can ignore it. I don't need the money, seriously. And it's not that expensive, to be honest. True, I've been called “that porn guy” acouple ofe times, even though I've never done porn. And if I did do porn, I'd do it privately. Anyway, I'm too busy doing my job to be distracted by all this talk and rumors aboutme,e like, “Oh, Krisy does this, Kris does that...” Yes! Kris does and other people talk—that's our difference!

Can you name 5 things you hate about the music industry?

The first one is music labels. I don't like this need to divide music into genres at all. It happens to me a lot when they ask, “What type of music do you play?” All I can say is music! You just play music! To me, it's just having music that people enjoy. And that's not a good part of the industry, that people need names and types to guide them. I can say, “Hey, this is rock and roll,” and then people will say, “Oh, I don't want rock and roll,” and then they'll turn down the opportunity to listen to that music and draw their own conclusions. How many good songs have you not listened to because they were labeled Black Metal and you don't listen to Black Metal? That's what pisses me off. And no matter how much time passes, this conversation doesn't end. 

The second thing is all these digital platforms that are killing everything. We still make almost nothing from all these platforms. The real money that a musician gets is money from physical things. When you go on tour, when you sell merch, you get money. When people use streaming platforms or download music, you get such a small percentage of the proceeds that you could never live off of it. That's a thing I hate. But I'm also thankful for the fact that social media and media platforms exist. Because they make your job of promoting yourself so much easier. But again, there's so much competition for attention right now that it's still a challenge. There will always be someone who has more money to invest in advertising. So I have a love-hate relationship with social media.

The fourth thing I hate is the specificity here in Germany related to some festivals. The dark scene here sometimes resembles a mafia, which has strict rules about genres and trends. And if you don't fit into those genres, they just won't put you in the festival program. They don't care who you are or how talented you are. Of course, there are exceptions for superstars. That's what really pisses me off. We suffer from that when they just tell us, “No, you don't fit here because of the genre; you don't sound like a typical German band.” So some festivals just kill any possibility for us to play there, even though there is an audience there that wants to see us. And also the thing I hate is that the same bands always play there, every year. The same lineup every time! It seems like an endless loop of insanity. But almost no one complains. Maybe there are a couple of people who complain about this state of affairs.

I can say that we've been here for 10 years, and we've traveled a lot around Europe and played with a lot of different cool bands and some really famous bands. I think we deserve this place; we earned it! And I sometimes want to ask, “Okay, what am I supposed to do in a situation like this when our manager says that some festivals are always booked?” There's never a window in the schedule for us to try. It's crazy. And I can tell you that there are festivals where we are actually welcome. Last year at one of our Meet&Greets, there was a line of people, and we spent over an hour signing autographs and taking pictures with them. People bought out all of our merch. It was just beautiful! Is it interesting to listen to the same German bands year after year that sound like Rammstein all the time and not give people a chance to learn something new?

And the last thing I hate about the music industry is probably the money behind it all. Most of the time people forget that. For labels and clubs, and the industry as a whole, it's the numbers that are interesting. How much merch and albums you've sold, how many gigs you've been able to play, what places you've been on the charts, and how many club gigs you've had in a year. I think that an artist should be given a chance to do everything that is possible, everything that he can do, regardless of the numbers. Without money, you can't do anything; you can't make your personal video clip because you need so many things. And still that video clip can go in the trash, just because people won't be interested and they'd rather watch TikTok because there's a 10-second video, and they don't care that you spent tons of money to produce it.

Which of your albums would you say is the most important for you?

It's not so easy to answer that question. Let me say it's “Welkome to Vladyland” because it shows a big change. I can say it's a concept album where I put together all my favorite vibes. I'm a big Tim Burton fan, and I also really love the composer Danny Elfman, who creates music for Tim Burton's movies. And I've always wanted to add those vibes to some of my recordings. And so I was also involved in the whole process of making the record from start to finish, mastering, mixing—I did everything myself in my studio in Italy. I have so many memories from that time. Every time I hear this record, it's like the gothic magic of a dark fairy tale that always captures me. It's not as easy as it seems to combine this kind of music with all the vibes of rock music.

You could say that I have created a separate world called “Vladyland,” which is full of stories. One of the songs I wrote is dedicated to my black cat, who, unfortunately, has already died. My cat was always with me—sleeping with me, sitting on my lap while I was making music. And then one day I heard noises from the balcony, and I went to see what was wrong. And my cat was sitting there holding a bat! But it didn't look like they were fighting, or my cat was biting the bat.

And I loved the story so much that I wrote a song about my cat falling in love with a bat. I also made a video with motion pictures and had to take hundreds and hundreds of shots. And it's definitely one of the best and most sentimental memories that is associated with this record and my cat.

In your opinion, are clich?s good or bad for music?

Well, it depends on what kind of clich? it is. I often say that I myself am a living clich? and stereotype, the kind of dark guy who plays video games, reads a lot of books, and likes long walks in the graveyard. I love rainy days, and I'm not shy about it. I accept it in myself that I'm a bit of a freak. Even my own brother says, “Why do you love those rainy days? The sun is so much nicer!” I think if you take clich?s not too seriously, it's fun.

If we're talking about clich?s that are enforced by a label, it's not good. If a person is not as internally strong as I am, that pressure and those clich?s from a label can be too much for them. I often talk to my fans from different parts of the world, and they say that sometimes it's very hard to fight stereotypes, and it makes you suffer. And it's a terrible thing.

In some cases when I take photos with people, they expect me to be more serious and I say there's no need for that! You don't need to pose as anyone for people to take you seriously. And yes, I hate posturing. I see a lot of people who dress up in certain clothes, play certain roles and like ceremonies. Yes, you can play a role that way, but there's no need to take it too seriously. That's why I thought of Tim Burton - he's a real freak, but he's also not too serious. But he's insanely cool. So less ceremony and more relaxed vibe. 

 Do you remember the weirdest gift you received from fans?

That's a tough question because I get a lot of really nice and good gifts. All these beautiful books, personal jewelry, so many letters. Probably the best gift is the letters. A lot of them are quite personal and evoke a lot of emotion in me. To read such profound things from people you've never met or saw once at a concert helps you see things from a different perspective. I think it's really a gift that people feel safe enough to open up to me. I think it's the best gift from my fans that they can be so honest with me about their fears and suffering. And yes, I know a lot about those things too.

Is there any news about a new release or some secret material you're going to release soon?

Just now we are working on a new record that will be released next September. And it will be our 10th album. I can't tell you the name of the album yet because it's a surprise. Of course, there will be a couple of singles, and there will be a surprise for Christmas. One song that I wrote with another guy, and that song is about Christmas—“Black “Christmas”—and” we're going to spread it everywhere until Christmas Day. It's a story about Christmas and horror at the same time and a dark Santa. But that record is just going to stay a single and not be part of the record. I know I say every year that this record is going to be completely different, but this time it's really true! I hope this record will help open people's minds more and can appeal to people from different parts of the world who like different music. And yes, we are planning a big tour for the new record and some special merch. Also, we would like to do a couple of Meet&Greet for our fans.

And maybe you can bite someone at last! A special gift for special fans.

Oh yeah, let's rename Meet&Greet to Bite&Greet.

If you only had the opportunity to sing one final song, which song would it be?

If I had to choose, it would depend on my mood, which is changeable. I would probably say, “Never fear the pain” right now, which is about battling with different things and pain and accepting the fact that pain is part of life too. While I don't forget all the good things that happen in life, I also accept the pain that happens in life. I would also call Cure's song “The Blood” or something from HIM like “The Funeral of Hearts” because I love that story of love that kills; such a beautiful contrast.

Jenet Bonishi