Nitzer Ebb: "We Push Quite Hard"

​Nitzer Ebb's influence on electronic music can't be overstated, and when the band broke up in the mid-90s, their enormous back catalog became staples for DJs all across the world.

When they reunited in the next decade, the band did what few reunited bands seem to do: They sat down and actually worked! Nitzer Ebb wrote new material, toured like mad bastards, and in short, they lived up to their own legendary hype.

Now Nitzer Ebb is on tour once again, and comes to Numbers Friday alongside Houston's own rising EBM sensation //TENSE//, who is opening the Ebb's entire tour.

Nitzer Ebb's last appearance in town absolutely annihilated, and this time we wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to sit down with them and dish on what's happening in their universe.

Rocks Off: First thing we want to say is thanks for coming back to Houston. What do you think of //TENSE//?

Bon Harris: Love them and cherish them.

RO: Houston used to be an internationally known EBM Mecca. Do you think that the fans of the genre down here are as enthusiastic as ever?

BH: Yes. Our last trip through Texas was as good as ever. Certain places seem to retain the spirit through all the superficial changes over time.

​RO: Once the band split, the electronic music industry acknowledged just how big an influence you'd been. Do you feel the weight of those expectations now that the band is reformed and working so much?

BH: I think the only real weight we might feel is the standards we set for ourselves. We've always has a stamp that we've wanted to maintain, and we push quite hard for that at all times, on stage and in the studio. We've never really paid much attention to external expectations.

RO: Honestly, what's the best part of what you're doing as musicians?

BH: The music!

Check back tomorrow for Part 2, including Nitzer Ebb's thoughts on why so many electronic acts seemed to end up on torture-porn soundtracks.

Jef With One F is the author of The Bible Spelled Backwards Does Not Change the Fact That You Cannot Kill David Arquette and Other Things I Learned In the Black Math Experiment, available now.