In 1997 i got the satelitte tv system which received the great German Music Station "Viva2". With this i got to see many music video that i'd never seen on UK terrestrial tv. i saw the video "Open Your Eyes" by a band called Guano Apes who i had never heard of before. Man, did they make me Open my eyes!lol
They Had Their own individual sound, nice & Heavy, & The Best female vocalist i'd heard since Skin from Skunk Anansie(One of my fave bands).
I Thought to myself: "this Band Guano Apes sound so professional & unique.
They Must have been around for some time". So i kept checking "Viva2" to try find out more about the band. At this time i didn't have a pc, so no acess to the internet( didnt get a PC till '99).
i Got a copy of the album "Proud Like a God" specially imported for me, as it wasn't released here in th UK. Totally loved EVERY track on the CD(rare in itself as even my fave bands i find 1 or 2 track i'm not keen on)& was addicted to Guano Apes for sure.

I saw a few concerts on satelitte tv, namely "Nightclub" studio concert on viva2 & Cologne E-Werk on WDR in '97, Rock im park & Taubertal Festival in '98. Seeing these made me want to see the band live FOR REAL even more, but of course, with the album not released here, there wasn't much chance of them touring the UK. In 1999 i meet some people whilst following the Garbage UK tour. We Kept in touch & later travelled to a few shows abroad. After realising how easy it was to got to concerts in different countries i made a decision : Guano Apes wont come to the UK, so i will go abroad to see them!
By This time i had a PC so kept checking for a concert i thought close/cheap enough to get to. Finally a show was announced in Utrecht & i made plans to go.
Then i had some luck : They announced a one-off gif in London! so decided not to go to Utrecht As London would be a lot cheaper & easier :-)
Finally after waiting nearly 3 years, i was gonna see Guano Apes LIVE!

Guano Apes at the Borderline Club in London was a very special day for me.
I Got there early as i wanted to try meet the band before the show. I Could never imagine that day would be so special & would be the start of a great friendship with Henning & The Band.
I Ended up in the Venue with the band whilst they waited to soundcheck.
Chatting to Henning i asked if they would play "Innocent Greed". To Which he gave me an amazed look & asked "how do you know of this song?"(at the time, it was unreleased...They Had only played it at concerts). I told him i had a few live bootlegs & he seemed even more surprised! Strangely enough, he didnt have these recordings himself & asked if i could send him copies!!
After The Soundcheck, the Band & crew decided to go to a nearby bar for some beers 6 Henning invite me to go with them. This Was so cool :-)

Anyway, after this show we kept in touch & i hoped there would be another UK show. Then a show was announced in Amsterdam & i thought "i'm Going to see them there!" This was one of the first shows to promote the new album "Don't Give Me Names"(it was also filmed for release the DVD). i had a great day/night in Amsterdam but in also left me wanting more! i just HAD TO see Guano Apes play in their home crowd in Germany!
So Then i made plans to see a few shows on the germany Tour!
My Guano Apes "Rollercoaster ride" still continues...

I think in some ways i like "Don't Give me Names" more than "PLAG". Its a great progression. i know its a cliche, but they've certainly matured with this album. Theres different Styles & sounds to the songs, yet there still the distinctive Guano Apes Sound There.
I Remember when "DGMN" was released there was some fans who thought it wasnt good as "PLAG" because it wasn't was heavy. But What Would Have been the point in releasing PLAG part 2? Surely its better to progress & diversifu?
Also, by doing so, it keeps the band interested/hungry...this has got to be a good thing because they will be around longer !!
The 3rd album is gonna be real interesting. Will there be any "old" songs on it like on "DGMN"?What Direction they will go in?I'm Looking Forward to this more than any album by any band....

Finally another thing that really appeals to me about Guanos is (as anyone whos meet them will agree)that all the band are "down to earth" people & dont have stupid "rock star" attitudes. They Will always( time permitting) sign autographs & chat with the fans....They are Genuine & that goes a long way.

Personally, i've been very lucky & man of my " dreams" have been achieved thanks to Guano Apes. Sometimes is hard to believe whats happened over the last few years. I just Hope they stay around for many more years & achieved the WORLD WIDE wide recognition they rightly deserve. To Guano Apes : Thank You for the good times, the friendship & of course, THE MUSIC. Keep Rocking,
Simon

3/7/2001