Richard Z. Kruspe
| Richard Z. Kruspe | |
|---|---|
Kruspe with Rammstein in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Zven Kruspe |
| Born |
24 June 1967 Wittenberge, East Germany |
| Genres | Neue Deutsche Härte, industrial metal, alternative metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass guitar, vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 1985 – present |
| Associated acts |
Rammstein Emigrate Orgasm Death Gimmick First Arsch Marilyn Manson |
| Notable instruments | |
|
ESP RZK Series ESP KH-2 Various ESP Electric Guitars Takamine EF341SC Acoustic Guitar |
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Richard Zven Kruspe (born Sven Kruspe; 24 June 1967 in Wittenberge) is a German musician and guitarist of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, as well as the frontman of the band Emigrate.
Richard Zven Kruspe was born in Wittenberge, East Germany. He was originally given the name Zven Kruspe, but changed his name to Richard under the belief that everyone should be able to change their name. He has two older sisters and an older brother (Gordon Kruspe). His parents divorced when he was young. His mother remarried, but he did not get along with his stepfather. They moved to the village of Weisen when he was young. Because of the poor relationship with his step-father, Kruspe often ran away from home in his early teens and slept on park benches. He later got into wrestling as a way to channel his anger.
At the age of sixteen, Kruspe and some friends visited Czechoslovakia, where he bought a guitar. He had originally planned to sell it, because they were very expensive and thought he could make a nice profit. However, once he returned to East Germany, a girl at a campground he was staying at asked him to play. He told her that he couldn't play, but she kept insisting, and Kruspe got mad and started strumming the strings. "The harder I played," Richard said, "the more excited she got. Something clicked in my head and I realized girls like guys who play guitars." This got him interested in playing the guitar, and as a result, he began playing every day and night for the next two years.
In 1985, bored with the apathetic music scene in his hometown, he moved to East Berlin and lived on Lychener Straße and "made music all day". For two years, Richard lived in an apartment with a drum kit and a guitar, and he made music by himself because he did not know anybody there. "It was a lonely time" according to Kruspe, but he used it to explore music.
On 10 October 1989, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was riding through the subway. When he came above ground, he found himself in the middle of a political demonstration. He was hit on the head and arrested just for being there, and thrown in jail for six days. Once out of jail, he decided to leave East Germany. Because of the Eastern Bloc, he entered West Germany through Hungary. When the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back east of Berlin, Germany.
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Wikipedia