| Christoph Schneider | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christoph Schneider |
| Born | May 11, 1966 East Berlin, East Germany |
| Genres | Neue Deutsche Härte |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums, trumpet |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Motor Music, Republic, Slash, Universal Music Group |
| Associated acts | Rammstein, Die Firma (GDR Band), Feeling B |
Christoph "Doom" Schneider (born 11 May 1966) is a German musician. He is the drummer of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.
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Schneider was born on 10 May 1966 in Pankow, East Berlin, East Germany. He has one sister, who is two years younger than he.
Schneider left the 'gynnasium' at age 16 and went on to work as a telecommunications assistant. In 1984, he served his national service with the East German Army; He is the only member of Rammstein to have served in the military.[1]
Schneider's parents wanted him to learn an instrument, so they sent him to a special school connected to a pioneering Socialist orchestra, where he was offered the choice between trumpet, clarinet and trombone, out of which he chose the trumpet first because it was the easiest to play. He describes himself as very talented at playing the trumpet, and after a year he got into the orchestra and played concerts. It was here he became interested in playing the drums: he was impressed by the equipment and kept looking over his shoulder at the drumset while playing. He told his parents he wanted to learn to play the drums, but they weren't supportive of the idea because "they were both from the classical world". He would go home and practice with sticks and built his own drum set with tin cans and buckets. He bought his first drumkit at age 14, after which his parents had to accept it and let him rehearse and take lessons.[2]
In 1985, Schneider quit his telecommunication job to pursue his musical ambitions by studying music at university, but failed to get into university twice,[1] being rejected because he possessed no other musical skills such as playing the piano. He continued to learn to play himself.[2] Schneider tried consistently from 1985 until 1990 to get into bands as a drummer, finally being successful with Die Firma.
In 1994, he joined Richard Kruspe and Oliver Riedel in forming an early version of Rammstein. After Till Lindemann joined the band, they entered the Berlin Senate Metrobeat contest, winning the chance to record a professional demo with four tracks.[3] A previous band of Schneider's, Feeling B, provided two other members of Rammstein, Paul Landers and keyboardist Christian Lorenz.
He currently uses Sabian cymbals and Sonor drumkits.
Schneider values his privacy, so little is known about his private life. He married Regina Gizatulina from Russia. The nickname "Doom" comes from the video game of the same name. Schneider needed a name for the German copyright agency, but found there were too many Christoph Schneiders already. Paul Landers suggested the name "Doom" because they liked the game. Schneider has said that if he knew that name would be on every record he played on he would have chosen a different one.[2]
Schneider has also claimed in an interview he was influenced by the drummer of AC/DC, Phil Rudd. His favourite rock bands are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Motörhead and AC/DC.[2]
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