Tom Kaulitz

Tom Kaulitz

Tom Kaulitz , (born 1 September 1989 in Leipzig, Germany), two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, is a German musician, currently guitarist-composer-pianist of the band Tokio Hotel. He is the twin brother of Bill Kaulitz, singer-songwriter of the group.

Biography

At the age of 6 years, Tom Kaulitz received his first guitar from his stepfather. He had to save for 4 years to buy his own guitar. He began to play seriously at age 7. He was encouraged by his brother and his stepfather, who himself played in a rock band.

Between ages 9 and 12, Tom and his brother Bill adopted a look and appearance that was considered rebellious. Tom first got dreadlocks at age 11. At the age of 10, Bill created the song "Leb die Sekunde" ("Live the Second") that appeared on the first album Schrei in 2007, and is still on the setlist of the band's shows.

In 2001, Tom and Bill met Gustav Schäfer and Georg Listing. They became the drummer and bassist of the group. Together they formed the band Devilish, and released a CD. They renamed their band in 2005 to become Tokio Hotel, and signed a contract with record label Universal Music.

From late 2008 until August 2009 Tom drew back from public life to concentrate on producing a new album. He worked on the composition of music around lyrics written by his brother Bill Kaulitz. He continued this work in 2009 with a team of four German producers including David Jost, their manager. They will collaborate with The Matrix for four songs and Guy Chambers for two. The Matrix is the trio of U.S. producers (including Lauren Christy), who produced albums for Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera and Korn). Guy Chambers is a British producer, known for his long partnership with Robbie Williams. Of the 25 songs originally produced, 16 were selected for the Humanoid album, 14 of which were produced in English and German (totaling 28 songs). Tom is also on the piano during the break. It is a duet with his brother (voice and piano) on the song of the album Zoom from Humanoid (Zoom into me is the English version). The twins Bill Kaulitz and Tom Kaulitz are co-producers of the album Humanoid. Tom reappeared late August 2009 with the band Tokio Hotel in Cologne, Germany, where they gave a private concert during which they sang their first single from the album (Automatisch in German and Automatic in English), which was released in September 2009.

Humanoid was released in early October 2009 around the world in two versions (English and German). Their European tour Welcome to Humanoid City tour followed, which ran from 22 February, 2010 to April 14, 2010.

Style

Tom is the guitarist but also a composer. He also sings in "Wo sind eure Hände" and "Durch den Monsun". He also wrote the song "Schwarz" the band's first album Schrei. This song is about a world scale, "behind us everything is black, for the darkness". The adventure he supposedly had with a fan would have inspired the song "Reden" the second album Zimmer 483. These are Tom's own words. However, Tom treats interviews as a joke, and often comes back with sarcastic, but humourous answers. He remains serious about his passion for music and the band Tokio Hotel.

Tom Kaulitz has a piercing in the left lower lip, as well as Stretchers in both ears. He is recognisable due to his dreadlocks and his hip-hop style (his characteristic baggy shirts and XXL jeans). Tom is very different from his twin brother Bill, whose style is rather dark. But since mid-2009, he has dyed his hair black and had it styled in braids.

Tom has evolved as a guitarist and composer in a German rock band, yet has musical tastes very different to the genre he plays. His favorite artists are Samy Deluxe (German rapper) and Snoop Dogg. His musical tastes are very different from those of his brother. But he likes rock bands like Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Oasis. Aerosmith is still an influence for him. His favorite song is Let's Go by Samy Deluxe.

External links

• Tom Kaulitz at IMDb