Love Unleashed—Happy Birthday Tom and Bill Kaulitz!

Today, we feature a unique project -- Love Unleashed -- where it only took one person to take the lead to ignite a dream. With no strings attached; no selfish intentions; no expectation that this project will guarantee a reaction from the Tokio Hotel, fans from around the world have donated time and hard cash for a worthy cause.

Lynn: On a personal note, I so appreciate you personal support and "cheerleading"! I do wish to say upfront that, although I organized this fan action, I prefer that the focus be about the fans worldwide, and not me. I feel fortunate to have had the ability to conceptualize something like this, but the joy I will receive is three-fold: being a part of fans of Tokio Hotel worldwide coming together to make a difference in our world on a very important matter; the help we will give to the animals currently living at Valley Animal Center that are awaiting adoption into a loving home and lastly; giving the Twins a gift that is meaningful to them and speaks to the type of people their fans are, and also to the inspiration they have given to us!

NTO: Would you please tell the readers a little bit about yourself and how you became a fan of Tokio Hotel?
Lynn: While I may fall into the category of "older" TH fan, my enthusiasm for the band is pretty much boundless. I joke that, when I am 82 years old, I'll be the pink-haired lady in the convalescent home with posters of Bill covering my walls, still rockin' out to Tokio Hotel, wandering the halls in my wheelchair singing Ich Bin Da at the top of my lungs. But, for now, I am a single mom with a teenage son that introduced me to TH in early 2007. "Hey mom, check out this band, a lot of the girls at my school really like them." I bought the Scream CD, I never looked back! Those that know me, understand and tolerate my fascination with Bill's hair. And, I am proud of my car license plate: ZIMR483. The non-Tokio Hotel part of my life is that I am a USC grad with a degree in marketing communications and currently own a small insurance business. But, back to Tokio Hotel and Love Unleashed ....

NTO: When did you start this project? Was it difficult to plan?
Lynn: Love Unleashed was born December 2009. I'd posed this question on a THN forum: "FANS HAVE GIVEN TH A STAR AND A PIECE OF FOREST SO FAR...WHAT'S NEXT?" After many posts and ideas back and forth with TH friends from the US and abroad, we collectively decided that the coolest fan gift we could give Bill and Tom would be something that matched their love of dogs and included a way for fans to do something meaningful to further the twin's ideals in this area. Having four of their own dogs rescued from shelters, and knowing of their devotion to them, this was the perfect idea. It just fit; as if it was meant to be.
Although the twin's 21st birthday at that point was months away, I knew it would take a while to put all the pieces together. Luckily during the ensuing months, I was able to rely on some wonderful friends that provided me a place to bounce ideas off of. However, Love Unleashed was not difficult to plan per se, as I'd worked before with United Way organizing community events and fundraisers, so I had an idea of how to put something like this together. The 'hardest' part of creating Love Unleashed was, once I'd identified Valley Animal Center as a good partner for our project, connecting with their development staff and explaining to them why they should partner with us! I have to admit I was a little nervous walking into the meeting with my presentation tucked under my arm. Considering their staff had never even heard of the band, I knew I had only one chance to convince them why they should work with us. I was thrilled when they called me back the next day and said they would be excited to work with us, and that they had never seen a donor event like this before but wanted to be a part of it. And now, we even have made a few new Tokio Hotel fans at the shelter!

NTO: How did you choose this particular shelter? What is the history of the shelter?
Lynn: Having worked with non-profit entities before, I knew that there is a wide range of quality in non-profits. The decision-making process reflected five non-negotiable points:
a) The shelter had to have a top Charity Navigator rating, meaning that they are exceptionally well-run in general business terms.
b) The shelter had to be near enough to my home that I could see it in person - I would not partner with a shelter that I did not personally feel met the highest qualifications if we were going to associate our name (as Tokio Hotel fans) with it. Also, I knew that I would need to be going back to the shelter a few times as the project progressed, so it needed to be within a few hours' drive.
c) Knowing there are legalities involved in a project like this, I wanted to work with a shelter in California so I could understand this aspect of it, since I live here. It would have been difficult to work with an 'international' entity or one that had laws that I am not familiar with.
d) California, and in particular, the greater Los Angeles area are fortunate to have many exceptional no-kill shelters, so I was able to choose from several top shelters.
e) I purposely avoided choosing an international entity (even thought this is a worldwide fan action) because most of them are so large that they primarily engage in lobbying and legislation activities and are multi-million-dollar-funded entities; working with a local shelter allows us the opportunity to really make a big impact on their activities and donations at a local level.

Valley Animal Center was founded in 1992 and in 2000 broke ground on their current, state-of-the-art 18,000 square foot facility. VAC is a progressive, no-kill shelter that provides shelter, food, medical care and love to all animals in their care until they find a forever home. VAC is a privately funded organization and receives NO aid from the government. The shelter is beautiful, sunny and airy and provides comfortable and sanitary conditions for all the animals in their care. They also provide low-cost spay and neuter programs, a dog grooming facility and public education classes. Their next phase of growth will be the construction of a Canine Training and Exercise Yard, a Perpetual Care Sanctuary for Cats and a Pet Memorial Garden.

NTO: Why choose the twins' (Bill and Tom) birthday?
Edit note: The twins were born on September 1, 1989. Tom (with baseball cap) was born 10 minutes earlier than Bill.
Lynn: Everyone who has turned '21' knows what a really special birthday that is and the timing of creating Love Unleashed just fit so perfectly. So, it seemed like a great opportunity for fans to give a lasting and meaningful "gift" to the twins that will forever mark this important day in their lives!

NTO: What excites you the most about your project? Do you have any special/memorable moments to share?
Lynn: It is hard to choose just one thing, and I can't! The most exciting part of Love Unleashed currently is watching TH fans from all over the world join in. Love Unleashed is for all of us: TH fans everywhere, and for the Twins, of course. I hope that fans really are excited to do something like this for the twins and also are personally encouraged to get involved in the matter of pet overpopulation, regardless of where they live. If just a small fraction of fans become involved and donate, we will easily reach our goal.

It is also exciting to work every day to spread the word about Love Unleashed to the many TH fan sites/forums/blogs/twitters etc., and hopefully get us closer to meeting our goal of raising $25,000 for the shelter. If we meet that goal, in honor of our donation, the shelter will grant us naming rights to the new Dog Adoption Center. However, any amount we ultimately raise will go toward helping the animals, every penny, which is a good thing!

As far as special moments to share, I must say I am continually amazed by the wonderful friends I have met through becoming a TH fan. TH fans are some of the nicest people ever, and I am grateful to those awesome souls everywhere that have stepped forward and offered me their help to make this gift for Bill and Tom the best ever!

Memorable in my mind is the night of June 18th. That is the day that Love Unleashed went "live". I remember thinking, "Well, now what?" I fell asleep with my face on my computer keyboard. I had been on the website, Facebook and Twitter all day promoting the project, hoping and praying that people would want to be a part of Love Unleashed and all the while worrying, 'What if no one wants to be a part of this?' I am very glad that Love Unleashed seems to have connected with fans, and I will continue to hope and pray we are more successful than we ever imagined. Bill & Tom's reaction to their birthday gift will be priceless, I am sure of that!

Many, many thanks!

NTO: Lynn, it's been our pleasure.  Good luck with Love Unleashed. Folks, to get more information and to donate, visit Love Unleashed.

Personal Reflection: Autographing Session with Tokio Hotel

Over the course of the NTO’s blog postings, you will get glimpses of our world and that magical connection to Tokio Hotel. Patricia will talk about her first autographing session with Tokio Hotel at Hot Topic in California.

Patricia’s Intro:

I am the mother of four children, ages 5 to 21. I am happily married to the last true prince of a man. In my life of 46 years I have done many things, from flipping burgers to Alpaca ranching. I am currently a real estate investor and Realtor. My 21 year old daughter is my partner. My hobbies include crochet, spinning, swing dancing, reading, sewing, jewelry making, and exercise walks with my dog.

I discovered Tokio Hotel from YouTube. Their video for Scream popped up on my recommended list for some reason, and I was blown away by the lyrics and presence of this band. From there it snowballed into an all-out love for their music and showmanship. My admiration for this band is now a constant for me. They get better and better with each new song.

Shortly after my introduction to the band, they released Automatic, their first single from their new album Humanoid. I was singing this song over and over after downloading it from Amazon.com! I bought an MP3 player just so I could listen to their previous album and this new song on my walks with my dog. Automatic never fails to put a bounce in my stride and a smile on my face!




Signing at Hot Topic, October 2009:

My son and I arrived at 2 p.m. and saw the line had started, but opted to get shrimp first. I had no idea that some of the fan club could get into the VIP! Oh, well. We still had a great time! Nicholas & I even got one of the fan club flyers!

They took people 10 at a time, so no screaming groups of girls all in one place, but it was still very loud outside as we waited to have our wrist bands cut off. Nicholas was number 5 and I was number 6. The lovely young girl behind us who had been fine the whole day suddenly started breathing too heavily, hyperventilating. I turned around and tried to distract her, told her to relax and take one breath, don't worry, it will be fine. Poor thing! The lady cutting the wristbands couldn't get Nicholas' off because his was wrapped around his wrist 2X. I thought she was going to gouge him!!! We get into the store and Nicholas starts losing his nerve and doesn't want to give Gustav the bracelet I made for Gustav's mom. So...we are T-minus 5 sec's and Nicholas is pushing the box at me, the fan behind me is still hyperventilating, and I am now completely distracted!

Nicholas gets up to Bill, who has a big smile and 'hi' for Nicholas. I'm juggling my 30th anniversary Vogue and the box, trying to open the magazine to the page which is marked with a piece of yarn I hand-spun from one of our alpaca's fleece (it was the only thing handy when I marked the place). Bill flashes another big smile at me when it's my turn and says, 'hi'. I manage a 'hi' back in the middle of listening to some alarm go off and the heavy breathing behind me because fan number 7 is still about to lose it.

Then, catastrophe (well, not really)! Only Bill was supposed to sign the Vogue. After all, it's a picture of him. I guess they are so used to 'signing and passing to the next person'. I tried to get out a 'wait!', but it was too late. Tom paused after he signed, I guess he looked up at my exclamation, but I have no idea because I was staring at the picture being passed to Georg. I just said, 'that's fine', because really, who can get upset, right?

I have absolutely no recollection of Georg. I had seen him before we got to the front and he was smiling very sweetly, so I assume he still was. I got to Gustav. He was saying 'you're welcome' to my son after he said thank you. I collected my magazine after he signed it, told him thank you, and then I put the bracelet in front of him and told him, 'Gustav, this is for your mom'. He looked me right in the eye and said, 'Thank you, I appreciate it', with the merest HINT of a smile. (He has an extremely deep voice. Can he sing, because his voice would be amazing if he can sing!) Note: after seeing them in concert, YES!  Gustav can sing!

As we leave, I realize my yarn marker is missing. I look back and Bill has it, so at this point I figure whatever Bill wants, he can have.

Someone was filming people on their way out of line and they got Nicholas and his shirt and a close-up of my magazine.

Whew! Short, but memorable because of all the wonderful fans around us. Thank you if we talked to you! I would do it all over again because my son and I had a wonderful day together with all the fans!

Edit Note: Gustav sang as a filler with Bill because his voice was the closest to Bill’s when he was having vocal issues from the cysts on his vocal chords. Bill eventually had to cancel the tour and have surgery.

A Rocking Good Time -- Torino, Italy Final Review

Turin/Torino


This city was the first of four Italian cities hosting Tokio Hotel’s performances. Each of us will share our perspective of the concert. Annette has the platform for the final part of review:

Concert, cont'd

Before the acoustic set begins, Bill starts talking and his voice is all husky and low kinda like the World Behind My Wall video intro. It is AWESOMELY sexy and I faint a little bit. He clears his throat and his normal speaking voice returns. This man is BEYOND amazing. Even him clearing his throat is sexy. Tom says Grazie mille, crowd goes wild, and then Georg says something. I have no clue what he says, but Bill chuckles. It was beyond cute. I faint several times in a row during Shadow as Bill sits on the steps and spreads his legs open. GOOD GOD!!!!! This song is accompanied by split screen pictures of Bill and Tom on the side screens. It is so beautiful to see these images while Bill is singing. My heart is full of love for KSquared as I watch this.

Throughout the entire show Tom is seriously on fire. He is rocking out as hard as I am girlie dancing, if not harder. He doesn’t stop for a second. He jams on his guitar as if his life were on the line. It is truly impressive and results in me spending a large amount of time watching him. His face contorts into a variety of expressions that make him look as if he were in immense pain. He is not wearing blue tape so I assume that is just him feeling the music. The Italian crowd really loves him because they burst into screams whenever he talks or does something special.

Monsoon and then Forever Now and the show is over. Confetti comes down and I watch as the boys disappear from my view. All that I have waited for and pined over for the past month is complete. But I get to do it all over again tomorrow at Padova, so I am happy.

After Concert

We hit the official merchandise stand which is CROWDED and make our purchases. I run back inside to try to get some confetti off the floor, but the stage is already being torn down and the black gates are up so I can’t get my hands on any. We make our way thru the gypsy non-official merchandise, which is crappy quality by the way, and out to the front.

Hope you enjoyed a touch of what we'd experienced!

A Rocking Good Time -- Torino, Italy (#3)

Turin/Torino

This city was the first of four Italian cities hosting Tokio Hotel’s performances. Each of us will share our perspective of the concert. Annette has the platform for Part 3 of her 4 Part review:

Concert (cont’d)
By the time the guys get to Pain of Love there is a fangirl who has wedged her way between myself and Patricia. The pit at a Tokio Hotel concert is like being a soldier on the battlefield. You have to take control of your space in order to secure your area. I obviously FAILED at that endeavor. Anyway, fangirl was fist pumping to Pain of Love like she was a rejected Jersey Shore candidate. She was also jumping all around her secure area and seriously impinging on mine. I quickly decided I was way too old for this and didn’t want to spend the entire concert moving around her to get back to my spot next to Patricia. Plus, I was missing the rest of my crew. So I tapped Patricia on the shoulder, told her I was done with the pit and was going to the 2nd level. Pain of Love was over and the sexy Bill voice-over intro to World Behind My Wall was playing. I had 2-3 minutes to haul ass from the pit to where I needed to be.

I turn around and proceed thru the crowd. The hyped fans won’t let me out. PEOPLE, if somebody is trying to remove themselves from the pit, you let them go because that means YOU GET CLOSER. Hello??? I get frustrated and rely on my college day abilities to lead a crowd of girls from the front door of a frat hour to the beer, and just start pushing people aside. Once I clear the crowd, I seriously book it thru the venue, up the stairs to the 2nd level where I put my arms around Michelle and Maria and completely freaked them out because they weren’t expecting me. We keep the group hug going thru the 1st few notes of World Behind My Wall.

The rest of the concert goes by quickly. I felt like if I blinked I would miss something. The view from the 2nd level is a lot different. I can’t see anything up close. I end up focusing on the two side screens a lot to see the facial expressions of the guys. I do have an awesome view of the span of the stage, with the open egg, which is impressive. The show started with the egg open, forgot to mention that earlier. I can also clearly see the background screen with the cool graphics. These change as the songs change and are AMAZING.

My eyes take in the whole scene and my ears the songs. I focus on each of the guys. Bill’s singing is BEAUTIFUL and I love his dancing. He flails his long arms and insanely long legs. His legs are seriously 5 miles long and skinny. So sexy hexy. He moves with the beat and I move along with him. Where we are standing is only one fan deep. The rest of the fans are sitting in seats behind us and hardly move. Odd??? A couple of girls dance, but the rest of the people, possibly parents, sit there. How could this be when I am jumping up and down and dancing like a freakin’ maniac?? I was just way into the whole show. I sang at the absolute top of my lungs with my mouth open as wide as it could get. I girlie danced, moving my arms and legs as wildly as I could. I jump up and down to several songs as the music takes over my soul.

Come back for the final episode of Rocking in Tornio with Tokio Hotel.


Feel free to ask questions about the concert or the Torino leg of the trip.

A Rocking Good Time -- Torino, Italy (#2)

Turin/Torino

This city was the first of four Italian cities hosting Tokio Hotel’s performances. Each of us will share our perspective of the concert. Annette has the platform for Part 2 of her 4 Part review:

Concert
A lot of the concert is a blur. I remember hearing a robotic voice and the first notes of "Noise" and all of a sudden there was Tom standing in front of me. I have no recollection of the curtain dropping at all. I recall just being frozen in time, standing in the middle of a pack of screaming fans, staring at Tom. He was HUGE. Much bigger in real life than I had imagined. I'm used to tall guys, but for some reason the angle at which I was looking up at him made me feel like he was super tall. And much bulkier than I had thought. Not sure if this is really him or his oversized pants and puffy vest that made me feel this way.

As I try to take this all in, I am struck by the fact that all I can see between my eyes and the stage are fan arms with cameras. I don't want to date myself here, but my past concert experiences are way before all this technology came to be commonplace. I tried moving my head around and standing on my tippy toes to get a better view. I am 5' 7" so I had a slight advantage over shorter fans, but at the time I wished I could have been 5' 10" or something. As I am thinking this, all of a sudden I see Bill.

The sight of Bill makes my heart beat much faster. I swear to God he is 8' tall and not 6' 3" as the fan data indicates. I am BLOWN AWAY by how lean and tall he is. Like Godzilla knocking over big buildings tall. And his hair is HUGE. That combed back pompadour part is much bigger in person than from my computer screen. And the eye makeup is PEFECTION and super dark. Natalie must have used some kind of crazy liquid black over or under black shadow because it was the blackest jet black I have ever laid my eyes on.

After these initial impressions I just try to meld with the music and dance as much as I can. It is hard to see what is going on because all I can see is fan cameras. I feel as if I am watching the show thru their camera screens. Did I really just fly over 4,000 miles to see Tokio Hotel thru a camera lens? NOT. I try to adjust to this by constantly moving my head to get a better view as I sing along with the music.

Come back for Part 3 of the 4 Part review.

Feel free to ask questions about the concert or the Torino leg of the trip.

A Rocking Good Time -- Torino, Italy (#1)

Turin/Torino
This city was the first of four Italian cities hosting Tokio Hotel’s performances. Each of us will share our perspective of the concert. Annette has the platform for Part 1 of her 4 Part review:

Pre-Show In The Line
The NTO posse got to PalaTorino about 5:30pm. This is after a HARROWING drive from Milan and all over Turin. As soon as we arrived at the venue, we understood why the Italian Fanclub had advised a warning. It wasn't really in the best area and the gypsies selling non-official Tokio Hotel merchandise have commandeered the entryway up to the back of the line. Fans were already lined up all the way from the front of the venue to the back of the wall where the gypsies were stationed. We found the end of the line and stood and waited for 2 hours in the rain. Not just spritzing rain, constant coming down rain.

Luckily I had purchased ponchos for us all to wear. Other fans had umbrellas, which due to the sardine-like quality of the line, a couple of us got caught under the cover. This was both good and bad. Good because you got some extra rain protection. Bad because if you weren't standing in the right place, you found yourself a runoff deposit for the rain coming down the umbrella, so in essence you got double the rain. Great, huh? It was cold and we only had on shirts and sweaters, so we got drenched. We did the Tokio Hotel line dance, as we now call it. Fans screamed as the group in front of them gets let it; and then you shuffle shuffle forward a few feet, jammed up to the person next to, in front of, and in back of you; and then you stop. This occurred until we got towards the front of the venue, climbed over heaps of garbage, and finally got in.

Pre-Show Inside Venue
The venue is larger than it appears from the outside. A big floor with seats at the back and then a 2nd level with a ton more seats. We had seated tickets which put us in this 2nd level. We were on the floor on Tom’s side pretty close to the barrier but decided to go to the seats, since at Padova we had just general admission tickets. BAD, BAD, BAD idea. This is what an agonizing drive from Milan on concert day will do to your brain. Result is stupid decision making. We should have just stayed where we were and seated ourselves on the floor like other fans were doing.

Instead we made our way to the 2nd level and got seats in the 1st row so we could grab hold of the barrier at our level. We got some food, water, one beer to share, tons of free makeup and some flashing Tokio Hotel light thingy, waited, and tried to find the official Italian Fanclub booth. After about 1 hour and seeing the venue not really fill up, Patricia and I decided to go for the floor. We went downstairs and got 11 heads from the barrier on Tom’s side about 1/2 way between center stage and the stands. The fans around us were nice. Some Italian girls had a "we love Georg" poster. Other fans had backpacks which they used in a defensive way to jockey for position. The fans were mostly college age girls, not very many young teenagers or boys, and a couple of other Italian NTO's.

Every time anything remotely indicating that the show was about to start happened, the crowd screamed. Curtain moved, equipment testing, light guys (4 of them) take their places, etc. Pre-show music played and there was some singing. World Behind My Wall Remix was INCREDIBLE. Why hadn't I heard this before? I had World Behind My Wall German, English, video, acoustic. Patricia and I sang along to the music and bopped as much as we could in the sea of squished together fans.

Come back for Part 2 of the 4 Part review.

Feel free to ask questions about the concert or the Torino leg of the trip.

Oil Spill - Alpacas To The Rescue!

The twins -- Bill and Tom Kaulitz -- from Tokio Hotel are known for their humane attitude toward animals. They are also vegetarians like two of our NTO group members. However, we are all concerned about the humane and ethical treatment of animals.

Here's Patricia to talk about the horrendous oil spill and unique clean up efforts for the Gulf coast.

While many point fingers at others, trying to place the blame, others are working towards a solution. The spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an environmental disaster that will take many years of recovery. To aid in the clean-up, alpaca owners across the nation are donating their valuable crop of fleece from this year’s clip. The AFCNA (Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America) has organized a drive to get the fleece down to the spill and made into booms to absorb the oil.

Here’s how the booms work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj_mna5lckg

I own just 6 alpacas, but from their fleece I can have a couple of hundred skeins of yarn made. This yarn is so soft and light because of the hollow hair of an alpaca’s fleece. The special quality of this fleece is what makes it ideal for absorbing oil. Politicians and bureaucrats are still trying to find a solution. Yet some of the people who can least afford to give up their profits are doing just that by releasing their crop for the clean-up efforts.

Please view the video and get involved in whatever way you can to assist with the clean up efforts. This is too monumental to feel that it's not YOUR problem to solve.

Welcome To Humanoid City Tour

What is Humanoid?
Humanoid is the most recent album released by Tokio Hotel. The title was chosen due to the same spelling in German and English, a marketer’s dream. The album was produced in German, the groups’ native language, and in English for greater distribution, on various dates in October 2009. The album has a standard track of 12 songs; meanwhile various extended and bonus CDs featured different tracks based on where they were purchased (such as Amazon, Hot Topic, Best Buy).

So far, three songs have been released: Automatic, World Behind My Wall, and Dark Side Of The Sun (June 18). Each song has a video that can be viewed at Tokio Hotel site and purchased at iTunes.

Humanoid received Gold certification in seven countries and one Platinum. In our estimation, the album reflects the growing maturity of Tokio Hotel. The techno rhythms provide a great dance sound with strong beats and great vocals. Lyrics continue to reflect the myriad of emotions that Bill shares with the world. Bill and Tom Kaulitz were producers on the album making sure to keep creative control of their work. Kudos to the twin team!

Our personal favorites from the album (and this was hard to nail down):
Tricia – Human Connect To Human
Annette – Forever Now (1st favorite) and Zoom (all time; personal connection)
Maria – Zoom and Down On You (extended track)
Michelle – In Your Shadow (only on the Hot Topic CD) and Screaming (extended track)

When and where was the tour launched?
A European tour was created to promote Humanoid album – Humanoid City Tour. The tour began on February 22, 2010 in Luxemborg, was scheduled for 32 cities (three cancelled), and ended on April 14, 2010 in Paris, France.

Details of the tour?
Rehearsal – Rehearsal took place in a secret location in London, England.
Stage – Designed by Misty Buckley - Visit her site (see Portfolio for photos)
Costumes – Designed by Dean and Dan Caten, twin fashion designers – Visit their site

BTW, Bill Kaulitz opened DSquared’s Fashion Show in Milan with a prototype of the costume.

Reviews of the tour?
Since we specifically went to Italy to see Tokio Hotel live at two concerts, each of us will give our review of the tour in upcoming blogs. We don’t really care what the so-called experts have to say – good or bad. The good thing about being “never too old” for Tokio Hotel is that we have lived life, know what we like and dislike, and not afraid to walk against the mainstream for what we want. So you’ll never see us fawn over someone’s opinion – great if they are like-minded, but really, we don’t care. And you’ll never see us use our platform to make derogatory remarks for a reviewer who doesn’t get it. Again, we don’t care.
We love Tokio Hotel.

Giveaway:
One person will be randomly selected on July 4 for posting the answer to:
If you could choose that perfect European city for Tokio Hotel to perform, which city would it be? Why?

The winner will receive a copy of Bill Kaulitz photo spread and German language interview Stern Magazine February 24, 2010

Tokio Hotel 101 – Class In Session

Before we get going down the road of all things Tokio Hotel, a little orientation is in order. After all, you’ll be hearing us chat about this rock group, reminiscing about our experience at the tour, and highlighting some of the individual quirky details about the guys. We don’t want you to feel hopelessly lost, so here’s a quick tutorial.

Gallery of Photos

Tokio Hotel or TH

Singer Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage. Under the name Devilish, the band soon began playing in talent shows and small concerts. After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen, he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish then changed their name to Tokio Hotel.

"Tokio", the German spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, due to a love of the city, and "Hotel" due to their constant touring and living in hotels. Soon after Sony BMG took them under contract, Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors, and had them give the teens instruction on songwriting and instrument playing. However, shortly before release of their first album, Sony terminated their contract. In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed a marketing plan.

The iconic results are only the tip of the iceberg for Tokio Hotel. For their full list of awards since 2005 and current nominations, click here:

Tokio Hotel site

Bill Kaulitz
Born September 1, 1989. He now stands at 6’ 2” with a slender frame. Bill has mentioned David Bowie and Nena as his favorite musicians. His fashion style has a wide range with deconstructed pieces of clothing to tight leather to old Hollywood sleek fashion. He’s graced many magazine covers because of his unique look and photogenic features.

Tom Kaulitz
Born September 1, 1989 (10 mins. earlier than Bill). Tom likes his hip hop style and likes to listen to rap music. He often mentions Sammy Deluxe and Jay Z as his favorites. He learned to play the guitar when he was 7 yrs. old and moved on to the piano and keyboard. He wore his trademark dreadlocks for several years, until 2009 when he switched to cornrows. Tom has a playful personality that can be snarky and teasing, especially toward Georg and his “little” brother, Bill.

Georg Listing
Georg (pronounced Geh-org) is the eldest, born on March 31, 1987, and plays the bass and more recently, the keyboards. Georg’s trademark is his hair worn straight and his muscular physique. One of his favorite bands is Fall Out Boy.

Gustav Schäfer
Gustav has some fun nicknames from the fans like Gusti or the Black Ninja. Born September 8, 1988, he is the drummer for Tokio Hotel.

The Twins or KSquared (as in Kaulitz Squared) – refers to the twin brothers, Tom and Bill.

“I can't - we can't - live without each other. We are always together. We are like one person and like soul mates. We don't have to talk.” – Bill in regard to his twin brother, Tom.

The G’s – referring to Georg and Gustav.

If you have additional TH words to add to the glossary, chime in. Study hard, you never know when there may be a pop quiz.