Interview with Rainer Neeff of The Pancakes

Jerry Kranitz

I really enjoyed immersing myself in all these albums and The Pancakes are clearly one of the hot bands on the German underground psych scene. Their albums feature a great combination of songs and instrumental workouts. During songs you often have to listen closely to capture and appreciate Rainer's intricate guitar work. And Daniela has such a great voice for this music. Her vocals would be equally at home singing Punk or Blues, and I'd describe her singing with The Pancakes as a combination of both. Wanting to know more about the band I conducted the following interview via email with Rainer Neeff.

The Pancakes (promo photo)

Aural Innovations (AI): I can trace The Pancakes back to the Brainshaker CD from 1998. Tell me about when and how the band was formed.

Rainer Neeff (RN): Well, me (Rainer) and my sister Daniela, we have been making music together since kindergarden. In our children's room we played drums on our self-made drumkit out of cans and bottles, and we sometimes destroyed the strings of our mother's guitar when we made wild tones on it; not real music, just loud trash like children do. I remember the first music I really liked was Elvis Presley and we explored the radio for rock 'n roll stuff from the 50s and 60s.

Then when I was 13, me and my sister Daniela formed a school band, and we learned playing bass and guitar by covering some sixties stuff like The Animals House Of The Rising Sun and The Rolling Stones The Last Time and The Velvet Underground's Run Run Run. Our first band name was The Gorgs in 1992, with me on guitar, Daniela on guitar and vocals, and Cornelia Deike Gantz on drums. At that time I'd written my first song, Tommyknockers, and Daniela the song Crime. The first studio versions can be heard on The Pancakes Brainshaker album from 1998.

So one year later in 1993 the band became a new line up and a new name. We called ourselves The Screaming Silence, with me on guitar, Daniela on guitar and vocals, Flavio all Pepe on guitar, Max Khäni on bass, and Tomek Mrutschkowsky on drums. We played realy freaked out cover versions from Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin and stuff like that, and we created more and more our own style and music, and me and Daniela wrote our own own songs.

At that time I began to hear music from Guru Guru, Amon Düül, Greatful Dead, Neil Young, Sonic Youth, some Grunge music and The Doors, Hawkwind!, Dead Moon, and also surf music from the 50s like The Trashmen, HP LOVECRAFT live in San Francisco!, The 13th Floor Elevators, Paternoster (German Kraut '70), Ragnarök (Swedish Psyche), Hendrix, The Fuzztones, The Gravedigger 5, and I always looked after long songs and experimental stuff. When I went to concerts I always waited for the longest song, when the band begins to freak out.

Long songs became like a drug for me, and my own music got more and more experimental, and my guitar solos and instrumentals became longer and longer. I liked to play Sunshine Of Your Love and stuff like that, where I could really freak out in the experimental middle parts. And the real drug at that time was the first album UFO from the German Krautrock band Guru Guru, the album Goo from Sonic Youth, Dead Moon Night by Dead Moon, and even the first three UFO records! Not the later UFO stuff, but Prince Kajuku, Boogie For George, the old UFO stuff. Also the song When The Music's Over by The Doors (a real magic one).

But the band split up in 1994 and me and my sister created a new one called Shabby Snuggles, which turned into The Pancakes on May 6, 1995 with our first Pancake drummer Mathias Wendorf. We didnt know at that time that another band called The Pancakes existed, but at that time no one had internet and the whole music scene was totaly different from today. It was really hard to find good underground music. Today one click and the band stands in your room.

Brainshaker

AI: In 2002 (issue #19) one of my writers reviewed your first two albums - Brainshaker (1998) and Ugga Dtschagga (2001). He described Brainshaker as "psych/surf/garage", and Ugga Dtschagga as a "more pronounced move into heavy acid rock". Tell me about the music you intended to create in the beginning, and how you feel it has developed/evolved over the years.

RN: Well, I think The Pancakes played over the years always the same (hahaha laugh), but earlier we thought to put shorter, more compact tracks on our albums, because where we lived people didn't like long songs on albums. But as the years went by we put more and more long tracks and experimental stuff on the albums. We played stoner rock in 1996 before the stoner rock wave came over to Germany. In our rehearsals we've play since the beginning our structured shorter tracks and then we always turn in a freak 50 minute session that wipes everything out.

Since the Space Cow period we allowed ourselves to put the session stuff and experimental unstructured stuff that comes out of the universe on an album, because it's realy great great magic. Some tracks also had a process over the years, like the track Elephant from the Ufos Over Ellmendingen Live LP from 2012. That was the first time we played it live, but I had this riff in my head since 1994. It took nearly 20 years to play it with the band live, and its a typical stoner rock riff from 1994, from times where we had never heard about stoner rock on the Schwäbische alb (area in the outback south of Germany). Some people say we are influenced by Colour Haze and stuff like this, but I heard Colour Haze the first time in 2010.

I think the influences come more from the 60s and early 70s and the records I heard from my father from that good old analog technic time. Well, I don t like very much computer overdubbed music. Every tone should be played live and should not be digitally copied and copied. It's ok to put an additional guitar or extra analog ufo track on a song, but not that stuff from the normal radio, where every tone is a lie. We try to keep it as real as it could be, and I prefer first take live recordings like Froggy D or 7 Pleasures from our Volcanic Frog Island album.

AI: Have Rainer and Daniela always been the primary members of the band? I see that from Space Cow through today The Pancakes have been the same trio with Russell McSwan on drums. Was the lineup the same on the Brainshaker and Ugga Dtschagga albums?

RN: Oh yes, me and Daniela are the real primary members of The Pancakes. I think we both would be in the sanatory wuahahahaha if we didn't start to make music. Making music is like a therapy for us, and makes our mind and soul free. On the first album, Brainshaker, we had another new line-up, because me and my sister moved from the Schwäbische alb to Pforzheim. So the line-up in 1998 was me on guitar, Daniela on guitar and Sirkka Hammer on bass, on the drums there was our good old band friend over all these years Johnny Park (Johnny Pfitzenmaier)! Normally a very very very good guitarist, but here very very excellent on the Brainshaker drums! But this formation split up in 2000 and since then we've had the real good good excellent drummer RUSSELL MCSWAN from Scotland! And Daniela started to play bass!

So since Ugga Dtschagga I'm the only guitarist in the band, and I think it works better as 3-piece, with me on guitar, Daniela Neeff on bass/vocals and Russell McSwan on drums. Johnny Park our old drummer recorded the Ugga Dtschagga album! Then Johnny Park moved to Stuttgart and I startet to record all on my own and bring it out on my new record label KERNTONSCHALL RECORDS! (formerly it was "Schwarzmond"!) (even earlier it was "Herpes Klänge"). So everything from The Pancakes since the Ugga Dtschagga period is recorded and mixed and mastered by me and the band. So you get the real "Pancake Tone" as it's thought, without a producer or something from outside the band since the year 2000, including the Ugga Dtschagga album with the real cool recordings of Johnny Park (our old drummer) and the crazy Russell McSwan on drums!!!

AI: Looking at the past reviews we've done in Aural Innovations I see that Daniela had a solo album in 2002 and Rainer has had at least three. Have there been other solo projects or band projects outside The Pancakes you've been involved with?

RN: Daniela played in the German punk band Rhythmus Radikal and makes music projects with children. Russell played in the fantastic band Hugh Reed and The Velvet Underpants and now Sons Of Grunge. I did a lot of sessions, projects and recordings like Krawutje (Krautrock), The Cosmic Poison Eaters (Dada Psychedelic), Die Enzgeheimen (Psychedelic Kraut Rap, König Raginhardt (Surf-Psyche), and played also with Iain from Schroedingers Cat, and I did some crazy sessions with the German Krautkultband "EMBRYO"! I recorded more stuff like the the yellow Rainer Neeff Frisco Howlin LP A side. I hope to bring it some day out on a record. And at the moment I'm a member of Zone Six and "Krautzone", also a new project called Ghosts Of Chapel Hill (Psyche Folk), and still there is a lot going around THE PANCAKES PLANET!

AI: You've been releasing your albums on your own Kerntonschall label. Have you always self-released your music?

RN: Oh Yes!. Except the real delicious fantastic 7" single club single by Swamp Room Records, THE PANCAKES "OVER THE HILL" !!! The Oh Whats That album was also planned on Swamp Room Records, but then Swamp Room did a wipe out, so we decided to put it out ourselves.

AI: Have you experienced changes over the years distributing CDs and vinyl as an independent label in the digital download age?

RN: Yes, people now buy more vinyl. There is a little vinyl scene coming up and underground bands bring out vinyls limited to 300, 500 or 1000 pieces. It's like an oldtimer scene with lots of underground rarities and cool freaks!!! But most people, "the handy people" I say, always want mp3's for free download and all for free in bad quality on YouTube... I dont like this!!! I don't like handy consumed music. I've thrown mine on the wall 5 years ago, we don t need it, I've got no "handy". Ten years ago we sold more CDs but today we sell more vinyl than CDs.

AI: There seems to be an increased interest in vinyl these days. You released Aquanaut, the split with Magi Razzo, and UFOs Over Ellmendingen as vinyl only releases. And Volcanic Frog Island is available as both vinyl and CD. How do you decide if you are going to released one format or the other, or both?

RN: Well, normally I would put out everything strictly on vinyl, but it's a money thing. It would also be cool if a record could be made out of hemp or something rather than out of oil! To produce a CD is much cheaper, and you reach with a CD more people, because many people don t have a turntable, and if you give demos to a club or venue you need a CD. But I hope I can put out also the Brainshaker and the Spacecow albums on a vinyl someday.

AI: Have you considered selling digital download albums too? I've noticed that a lot of bands/labels that release vinyl LPs these days also include a download code.

RN: No, I don t want to do that!!! It's a Sound Thing!... and many more!!! I think it's better to put a CD in a vinyl like we did with the Volcanic Frog Island album, because the sound on a digital CD is much better than a digital mp3, so you get all in one, a good analog sound and an acceptable digital sound. The best is analog sound on a good analog turntable station!!! Digital is not round, it's square formed edgey waves, analog waves are round music waves!!! We use mp3 in the internet only for advertising. But people, if you really want to hear good sound, and if you want to help the artist buy something to eat and be able to live then buy our vinyls and cds!!!

AI: Last year you released a split LP with a band called Magi Razzo. When I first listened to Magi Razzo, whose recordings seem to be from the 1980s, I thought they were an interesting style of music to pair with The Pancakes. But then I saw Werner Neeff was a member. Werner is the one who sent me the package of LPs and CDs. Does he run, or help run, your Kerntonschall label?

RN: Werner is my father, and a member of Magi Razzo. He helps me with the distribution. Today he plays in the band White Sands, and with me in The Cosmic Poison Eaters. I found the Magi Razzo tapes in a box where you put shoes, and saved it over 20 years in my living room to bring it out someday. It was funny to do the singing on it 25 years later, with Michael Wurster and Wolfgang Dürr and Werner on vocals. So Magi Razzo still exists.

AI: You are also now the guitarist in Zone Six. How did that come about? Did you replace Julius K? It looks like you doubled up with both bands for the Ellmendingen show. Have there been other shows where both The Pancakes and Zone Six played?

RN: Well, I don t know if I replaced Julius K. It was on The Pancakes birthday on May 6, 2011 when The Pancakes had a gig together with Zone Six live at Hegel in Tübingen. Sula Bassana and Frau Komet Lulu turned up and said that the drummer left the band, and then they asked me if I can play guitar, and Dave is going to replace the drummer, Frau Komet and Paul Pott will play bass and Modulfix does his magictones! So, crazy as I am, I said yes, and I did, and from that day on I was in Zone Six. That was the first time The Pancakes played together with Zone Six. It was a very great evening and show but I was very exhausted in the end. It was like a marathon walk to play in both high energy bands. Iain from Schroedinger's Cat was in the audience too, that was cool, because I haven't seen him for years.

The next marathon for me was the Alien Rocket Flight Festival Vol.2, where the UFOs Over Ellmendingen LP was recorded. It was planned that The Pancakes, Ax Genrich (from Guru Guru) & Band, and Electric Moon would play at the Festival. Then Sula Bassana and Frau Komet turned up and said that their drummer is ill and he can't play the gig. They asked me if I can play guitar, Sula plays drums and Frau Komet plays bass. So this went out as a Zone Six show in a smaller line-up. But this was very great and really really exhausting for me, because I did two shows that evening, The Pancakes and Zone Six, and I recorded all the stuff including Ax Genrich, with everything miked up. I think I will not do so much in one evening again, so the UFOs OVER ELLMENDINGEN LP is really a thing that happens only once in a life, and it's very great.

AI: I think the UFOs Over Ellmendingen LP is an excellent live document with The Pancakes, Ax Genrich and Zone Six. Was this a single night with just the three bands or more of a festival with others as well?

RN: Yes, this was an evening with those 3 bands! Me and Werner had the idea of making a festival with underground, Kraut and psychedelic bands. We called it Alien Rocket Flight Festival. My idea was to record everything and to bring out a vinyl. On the Alien Rocket Flight Vol. 1 it didn't work with the recording, but did on Vol. 2! I m looking for a place to start an Alien Rocket Flight Vol. 3 this year 2013, with also bringing out a vinyl from the evening. I hope there will be more Alien Rocket Flight festivals in future.

AI: Do The Pancakes play live often? Have you played shows outside of Germany?

RN: No, we don't play so much live. I think its in the average 1 or 2 times in a month you can see us on a stage. I would be happy if we played more, but there are some personal circumstances from each member and the surroundings, and the other thing is that you can get more gigs but around here you mostly have to play for free!, and that's not good when you need money for eating and living. There is a strange mentality around here in Germany. Many people want art and music for free, like free downloads, free entry at concerts and so on. The younger people are very strange, (under 30). They are full on free mp3 shit and want to see concerts from underground bands for free on YouTube while they're full of chemicals, not natural drugs, hanging around lazy on the sofa... that's a little bit sad for the underground scene! Most people here don't see that there is a lot of work behind the music and recording, and they don't understand that an underground artist needs money for eating and living. I don't speak about Phil Collins or someone like that, even Lou Reed. I mean real underground artists! So we are happy about vinyl freaks that understand this! And thanx to all of them! And yes, we played a couple of shows in Scotland, Switzerland and in France.

AI: Germany seems to get some pretty good festivals. I understand Burg Herzburg to be pretty big and includes pioneering psychedelic/krautrock/progressive bands from the 70s, as well as comtemporary bands playing that style of music. This is something we do NOT have in the U.S. With that in mind, do you find German audiences receptive to your music? Are most of your albums/CDs distributed in Germany?

RN: I've been at the Herzberg 3 times, and yes peace to all, good festival!!! I think this was the first time I'd seen Sula Bassana (Dave Schmidt) playing there with Liquid Visions 10 years ago or something. This was really "Pancake Style"!!! And now we play in the same band Zone Six!!! Strange how things come!!!

Yes, most of our albums are distributed in Germany, but we've got a lot of fans in Ukraine and even a few in Israel! German audiences are receptive to our music, but the underground freaks are spread in every corner of Germany. Some drive 500 kilometers to a gig. I think there are a lot more people that like that kind of music, but many don't know that there is such an underground scene. Once we played a gig in Tübingen for the great "Music Maniac Records" (The Fuzztones!, Dead Moon!, Atilla And The Huns!, The Droogs!, The Vietnam Veterans!!!) at Rimpo Record Store. "MUSIC MANIAC RECORDS" is a real real cool underground label! It was 12.00 noon in the middle of the street. There were many people listening and they were really surprised about the handmade psychedelic music by The Pancakes. We sold many records that day, and most of the people thought this wouldn't exist since the seventies in this all overdubbed Pro Tools normal radio world. They were really surprised about German underground psyche!

AI: Any other news or future projects you would like to share with our readers?

RN: We planned a "THE PANCAKES" / "LA IRA DE DIOS" split vinyl and hopefuly soon a giant new THE PANCAKES album on Kerntonschall Records. Maybe a project with The Lombego Surfers (Switzerland). I want to bring out my Rainer Neeff Tones From The Forest album and I think someday there will be a KRAUTZONE LP and a ZONE SIX LP maybe on Sulatron Records and a Cosmic Poison Eaters CD release on Kerntonschall. And maybe a Ghosts Of Chapel Hill release with Onkel Kaktus. But at the moment these are great visions.

Cheers and may all good ghosts be with you!!! THANX/DANKE! Rainer

DISCOGRAPHY

The Pancakes

• "Brainshaker" (Honky Tonk 1998, Cake 001, CD)
• "Ugga Dtschagga" (Schwarzmond/Honky Tonk 2001, Cake 003, CD)
• "Space Cow" (Kerntonschall Klanglabor 2005, CAKE 007, CD)
• "Aquanaut" (Kerntonschall 2007, 2-LP)
• "Volcanic Frog Island" (Kerntonschall 2010, Cake 010, CD/LP)
• "Oh What's That?" split LP with Magi Razzo (Kerntonschall 2011, LP)

Appeared on

• Various Artists - "UFOs Over Ellmendingen" (Kerntonschall 2012, Kerntonschallrakete001, LP)

Rainer Neeff

• "San Francisco Howlin" (Schwarzmond/Honky Tonk 1999, Cake 002, LP) Rainer Neeff - "Music For Flowers Bees And Gnomes" (self-released 2002, CD) Rainer Neeff - "Tango Day On Jupiter" (Kerntonschall 2004, CD)

Daniela Neeff

• "Love It!" (Herpes-Klange 2002, Cake 010, CD)

Rainer Neeff with Zone Six

• Rainer Neeff with Zone Six: Zone Six - "Live at Sulatron Labelnight, Fulda, 2011" (Sulatron Records 2011, CD)
• Zone Six / Vespero – “The Split Thing” (Transubstans Records 2012, CD/LP)
• Zone Six / The Pancakes / Ax Genrich & Band - "Ufos Over Ellmendingen" (Kerntonschall Records 2012 Rackete 001) LP

For more information you can visit The Pancakes at their Kerntonschall Records label Bandcamp site. As of 2025, the band are still active. Check out The Pancakes website.