Richard Kruspe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Kruspe
Kruspe performing with Rammstein in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Sven Kruspe
Also known as	Richard Z. Kruspe Richard Zven Kruspe
Born	(1967-06-24) 24 June 1967 (age 58) Wittenberge, East Germany
Genres	Neue Deutsche Härte industrial metal alternative metal
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Guitar vocals keyboards
Years active	1985–present

Richard Kruspe (born Sven Kruspe on June 24, 1967) is a German musician. He is famous for being a founder and the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein. He is also the lead singer and guitarist for another band called Emigrate.

Rammstein is known for a style of music called Neue Deutsche Härte, which mixes industrial metal and rock music. With Rammstein, Kruspe has released eight albums. He has also released four albums with his band Emigrate.

A Musical Journey Begins

Richard Kruspe was born in Wittenberge, which was then part of a country called East Germany. His birth name was Sven, but he later changed it to Richard. He believes everyone should be able to change their name if they want to.

When Kruspe was a child, his parents divorced, and his mother remarried. The family moved to the city of Schwerin. He had a difficult relationship with his stepfather and sometimes ran away from home as a teenager. For seven years during his youth, Kruspe was also a talented wrestler.

Growing up in East Germany was different from other places. Kruspe once said that it seemed like a great place to live until you were about 12 years old. After that, you started to notice problems with the way things were run.

Finding a Passion for Guitar

When he was 16, Kruspe visited Czechoslovakia with some friends and bought a guitar. He planned to sell it for a profit back home. However, a girl at a campground saw the guitar and asked him to play.

Kruspe didn't know how, so he just strummed the strings. The girl told him it sounded beautiful. That moment inspired him to learn how to play the guitar properly. He later studied jazz guitar for four years at a music school.

Building a Career in Music

Kruspe on stage during a performance of the Rammstein song "Feuer frei!"

In the late 1980s, Kruspe moved to East Berlin. He lived in a small apartment where he practiced guitar and drums, making music all by himself.

One day in 1989, he accidentally got caught in the middle of a political protest. He was arrested by the police and held in jail for six days. This experience made him decide to leave East Germany. He traveled through Hungary to get to West Germany. After the Berlin Wall fell, he moved back to Schwerin.

Early Bands

Kruspe's first band was called Das Elegante Chaos, which he started in 1987. After that band ended, he formed another one in 1991 called ... Death Gimmick.

He also played in a band called First ... with Till Lindemann, who would later become the singer of Rammstein. This band released an album called Saddle Up in 1992.

The Start of Rammstein

In 1992, Kruspe took a trip to the United States with his friends Till Lindemann and Oliver Riedel. When he returned to Germany, he had a new idea for music. He wanted to mix heavy guitar sounds with electronic, machine-like noises.

In 1993, Kruspe, Riedel, and drummer Christoph Schneider started a new music project. They entered a music contest in Berlin with Lindemann as their singer and won. The prize was a recording session in a professional studio.

Soon after, guitarist Paul Landers and keyboardist Christian Lorenz joined them. In 1994, the group officially became the band Rammstein.

Personal Life

Kruspe has three children: two daughters and one son.

In 1999, he married South African actress Caron Bernstein. Kruspe even wrote the music for their wedding ceremony. For a while, he used the last name Kruspe-Bernstein. In 2001, he moved to New York City to be closer to her and to work on his other band, Emigrate. They separated in 2004, and he went back to using his original last name. He moved back to Berlin in 2011.

Musical Equipment

Kruspe is known for playing ESP Guitars. He has used them since the 1990s. The company even created special guitars just for him, called the ESP RZK-I and RZK-II. These are his "signature models."

For his powerful guitar sound, he often uses amplifiers made by Mesa/Boogie. He also uses special guitar picks and strings that are made for him by the companies Dunlop and SIT Strings.

Discography

Rammstein

• Herzeleid (1995)
• Sehnsucht (1997)
• Mutter (2001)
• Reise, Reise (2004)
• Rosenrot (2005)
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009)
• Untitled Rammstein album (2019)
• Zeit (2022)

Emigrate

• Emigrate (2007)
• Silent So Long (2014)
• A Million Degrees (2018)
• The Persistence of Memory (2021)

First ...

• Saddle Up (1992)

Das Elegante Chaos

• Lyrik (2011)

Other appearances

• Apocalyptica – "Helden" from Worlds Collide (2007)
• Hotei – "Move It" from Strangers (2015)
• VAMPS – "Rise or Die" from Underworld (2017)
• Aesthetic Perfection – "Gods & Gold" from Into The Black (2019)
• Lifeline International – "Come Together" (2022)