Once Upon A Time...
Founded in late summer 1995 by guitarist Hartmut Kreckel & singer Jürgen
Weißig, Yellowhouse was heading towards a melodic guitar-oriented sound
with meaningful lyrics and straight ahead beats. Both Kreckel and Weißig
had played in Blame, a Berlin-based band that had enjoyed some notoriety in
Hungary. Soon a drummer was found: Lars Thomas, who later played in East
Germany´s well-known punk-rock band Die Skeptiker. A bass player was found
at the last minute: Ulrike Steinbart. This was the time songs such as "For
Ever", "Silver Shadow" and "Burn, Learn & Turn"
were written. With three weeks of rehearsals, Yellowhouse (Mark 1) went into
Masterix Studios in northeastern Berlin to record their first demo "Living
In The Light" in the week of 4 December 1995. This demo contained four
songs: "Diana", "For Ever", "Burn, Learn &
Turn" and "Ain´t No Cure (For A Messed Up Youth)". It was
very well received by the press, promoters and fans. Eventually Lars Thomas was
replaced by Björn Timmermann and Yellowhouse played several shows, most
notably at the Franz Club in Berlin (now unfortunately closed), where a video
named "Live...Welcome To The Club", was produced. However, some
internal conflicts led to the departure of Jürgen Weißig and Ulrike
Steinbart, which meant the end of Yellowhouse Mark 1 in late 1996. Hartmut
Kreckel: "It wasn´t fun anymore, they had the wrong attitude and it
probably showed at some gigs..."
So it was left up to Hartmut Kreckel to renew the yellow building. At a
party in late 1996, Hartmut Kreckel met bass-player Toralf Kaiser, who was the
founding member of the well known East German band "Infamis".
Yellowhouse Mark 2 was born. With Toralf Kaiser, Lars Thomas' return to the
house, and singer Dominic. O. S., who was previously with Berlin-based hard
rockers "Bad Dam", the band started to rehearse new songs like
"Now You´re Gone", "Mrs. Gentle", "Ahead Of Out
Time", "Damnation" and "Return To The Sky" and old
songs from the "Living In The Light" demo, in addition to
"Between The Wheels", "What´s Shining Through" and
"Fair Share Of Nothing" in August 1997. Yellowhouse hit the road and
their gigs helped them to gain a loyal following in Berlin, very good press
reviews and interest from promoters wanting to book the band back. Toralf Kaiser
remembers, "I felt great playing these gigs and it was really worth having
only four hours of sleep afterwards, it was a great time. When we got to play at
Non Tox and the bass went down during my intro spot in Ahead Of Our Time, I felt
scared and thought it was the end..." A live-video from these shows,
entitled "Through A Private Eye", was produced. But that success
couldn´t heal the rift between Dominic O. S. and the rest of the band.
Hartmut Kreckel remembers: "It started to become routine and while the band
progressed very well and was getting more attention, it became hard work for me,
as opposed to a labor of love, which it had been previously. The situation with
the singer was terrible, we just seemed to become good actors to perform a show
and that was it. We weren't a team anymore, we just pretended to be one and I
didn´t feel honest going on anymore. It didn´t yet shine through to
the audience, but it was unbearable." Eventually Yellowhouse fired their
singer in February 1998, and Lars Thomas also left the band. A new episode
began, the exhausting search for new capable
members...
Yellowhouse (Mark 1), Aug. 1995 - Sept. 1996: Ulrike Steinbart, Hartmut Kreckel, Björn Timmermann, Jürgen
Weißig
Photo: Uta Kreibig
Yellowhouse (Mark 2), July 1997 - Feb. 1998: Dominic O.S., Lars Thomas,
Hartmut Kreckel, Toralf Kaiser
Photo: Locke
The yellow building was renewed again, but the birth of Yellowhouse Mark 3 was slow, much slower than expected: the number of people applying and auditioning for both vacant positions must have reached 100. Hartmut Kreckel and Toralf Kaiser remember: "It was awful, really awful, so many people, who could not play drums or sing, it was a waste of time. We had an agency, that did nothing for us, and eventually we had two good drummers who auditioned the same day. We also tried out some singers, who didn´t make the cut at all; one guy turned up to the audition so drunk that he couldn´t read the words on the lyric sheet." Eventually Yellowhouse found two new members in November 1998: drummer Mike Koch from Milwaukee and a this time a lady to sing: the 24 year old Alexa Weber .
Yellowhouse (Mark 3), Nov. 1998 - June 1999: Alexa Weber, Toralf Kaiser, Mike Koch, Hartmut Kreckel
Photo: Uta Kreibig
However, both
candidates proved to be short-run and were subsequently replaced by vocalist
Jensen P. and Drummer Detlev Bruckhoff in September 1999. This
version of Yellowhouse (Mark 4) recorded the CD "What´s Shining
Through".
Yellowhouse (Mark 4), Sept. 1999 - May 2000: Jensen P., Toralf Kaiser,
Hartmut Kreckel, Detlev Bruckhoff
Photo: Diana Weigt
Eventually
Yellowhouse found a permanent drummer with a more professional attitude and musical
fit: Florian Dufour-Feronce.
Yellowhouse (Mark 5), Aug. - Oct. 2000: Jensen P., Toralf Kaiser,
Hartmut Kreckel, Florian Dufour-Feronce
Photo: Peter Prätorius
What came as a
surprise to many people, was long overdue: Toralf Kaiser called it a day... and
was replaced by Nick Behr.
Yellowhouse (Mark 6), Oct. 2000 - Feb. 2001: Florian Dufour-Feronce, Nick Behr, Hartmut Kreckel & Jensen P.
Photo: Unknown
However, Nick Behr
proved as not fitting to the band and was replaced by former
"Bordstein" bass-player Matze Pfund. This line-up of Yellowhouse recorded the CD "Illusions Of Everyday" in Summer 2001.
Yellowhouse (Mark 7) Feb. - Sept. 2001: Hartmut Kreckel, Jensen P., Florian Dufour-Feronce & Matze Pfund.
Photo: MMN Records
The bass player was changed once again...
Yellowhouse (Mark 8) Sept. 2001- June 2002 : Stefan Weihe, Hartmut Kreckel, Florian Dufour-Feronce & Jensen P.
Photo: Gesa & Andi