Richard Kruspe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Richard Kruspe |
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Kruspe with Rammstein in 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sven Kruspe |
| Also known as | Richard Z. Kruspe Richard Zven Kruspe |
| Born | 24 June 1967 Wittenberge, East Germany |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
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Richard Kruspe (born Sven Kruspe on 24 June 1967) is a German musician. He is famous for being a founder and the lead guitarist of the band Rammstein. This band plays a style of music called Neue Deutsche Härte. Richard is also the main singer for the industrial metal band Emigrate. He has released eight studio albums with Rammstein and four albums with Emigrate.
Contents
Early Life and First Guitar
Richard Kruspe was born Sven Kruspe in Wittenberge, which was then part of East Germany. He later changed his first name to Richard. He believed that everyone should be able to choose their own name. Richard has two older sisters and an older brother.
His parents divorced when he was young. His mother remarried, but Richard did not get along well with his stepfather. His family moved to the village of Weisen when he was a child. Because of his difficult relationship with his stepfather, Richard often left home in his early teenage years. Sometimes, he would sleep on park benches.
In an interview in 2014, Richard talked about growing up in East Germany. He said it was great until he was about 12 years old. He felt there was an idea of a perfect society, but it only worked if you didn't ask questions. Most kids don't start asking big questions until they are older.
When he was 16, Richard and some friends visited Czechoslovakia. There, he bought a guitar. He first planned to sell it to make some money. But then, he started playing it himself and discovered his love for music.
Starting His Music Career
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In the late 1980s, Richard Kruspe moved to East Berlin. For two years, he lived in an apartment with a drum kit and a guitar. He made music by himself because he didn't know many musicians there yet.
On 10 October 1989, Richard was leaving a subway station. He found himself in the middle of a large public protest. Police hit him on the head, and he was arrested. Richard spent six days in jail. During this time, he was questioned by the authorities. After he was released, he decided to leave East Germany. He traveled through Hungary to get to West Germany. When the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back to Schwerin in East Germany.
Early Bands
Richard Kruspe's first band was called Das Elegante Chaos. They formed in 1987. They recorded some music in 1989, which was later released on an album called Lyrik in 2011. After Das Elegante Chaos broke up in 1989, Richard started another band called ... Death Gimmick in 1991. This band released three demo tapes before they stopped playing together in 1993.
Richard was also a member of a band called First Arsch. In this band, he played with Till Lindemann, who was the singer and drummer, and Paul Landers, who was another guitarist. First Arsch released their first album, Saddle Up, in 1992.
Forming Rammstein
In 1992, Richard traveled to the southwestern United States with Till Lindemann and bassist Oliver Riedel. When he returned to Germany, he wanted to create a new kind of music. He wanted to mix machine-like sounds with heavy guitar music.
In 1993, Richard started a new project. He lived with Oliver Riedel and drummer Christoph Schneider, and they called their project Tempelprayers. With Till Lindemann as their singer, they entered a music contest in Berlin in 1994. They won a chance to record their music in a professional studio. Later that year, guitarist Paul Landers and keyboard player Christian Lorenz joined the band. They then changed their name to Rammstein.
Personal Life
Richard Kruspe has three children: two daughters and one son. He married South African actress Caron Bernstein on 29 October 1999. Their wedding was a Jewish ceremony, and Richard even wrote the music for it. During their marriage, he used the last name Kruspe-Bernstein.
In 2001, Richard moved from Berlin to New York. He wanted to be closer to Caron and work on his side project, Emigrate. They separated in 2004, and he went back to using his original last name. Richard moved back to Berlin in 2011.
Music Gear
Richard Kruspe has used ESP Guitars since 1996. He bought his first ESP guitar in 1990. For many years, he used ESP 901 models and guitars similar to those used by Kirk Hammett. Later, ESP made special guitars just for him, called the ESP RZK-I and RZK-II. He also uses other ESP guitars, like Eclipse models, for recording music.
Richard used to use EMG 81 pickups in his guitars. These are parts that help turn the guitar's string vibrations into sound. In 2018, he switched to Fishman pickups. He even has his own special set of Fishman Fluence pickups.
For his sound, Richard mainly uses Mesa/Boogie amplifiers and cabinets. He also uses amps from Friedman and Soldano. In the studio and when playing live, he uses a Kemper Profiler, which can copy the sound of many different amplifiers. Richard also has his own special guitar pick and string set made by Dunlop and SIT Strings.
Discography
Richard Kruspe has released many albums with his bands.
- 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 Arsch
- Saddle Up (1992)
- Das Elegante Chaos
- Lyrik (2011)
See also
In Spanish: Richard Z. Kruspe para niños
