Um, but was your, y- I guess, was your peer group as you started to, you know, get into this music in a real deep way, uh, were, you know, your parents looking at you like you were strange? You know, how, how did you, you know, kind of interact with people who didn't have exposure to what you were getting into?

My parents were super supportive.

My dad, uh, drove me and my friends to gigs when I was 14 and 15, and in Germany you can't have a driver's license until you're 18.

Um, I actually spent a year in Florida when I was 16 or 17, so that was also quite important in terms of music for me.

But, and I came home with a driver's license, which allowed me to drive before I was 18.

So that was really important because I grew up in a very shitty small town, um, 5,000 people and, like, just no scene whatsoever.

Like, not e- not even hardcore, like nothing alternative.

Um, and did you like it, or did you have to, uh, I guess, grow accustomed to the fact that there's business attached to the music side?

Do you feel like kind of like owning your music, owning your masters and kind of being in charge of your distribution yourself? Do you feel like that's the future of music?

Well, as a record, wearing my record label hat, I have to vehemently object and tell you that no, as a band, you need a record label.

As an artist, of course, it's attractive to be in control of as much as you can be.

And I think you just have to... find the right balance there and also know your capacities realistically.

If you are the type of band that is very business savvy and is actively working on continuously improving their setup and not just their music, then maybe it makes sense for you to self-release and to work on your own distribution network.

But this is something that takes a lot of time and is just simply impossible as a small band to have access to.

The distribution network we have with Pelegic now is the result of 15 years of working on it.

been three years but it feels like a lifetime it does it really