A spotlight interview with Sabine Zoellner of Hamburg band Bullshit Boy, ahead of their appearance at LOUD WOMEN Fest Hamburg on 28 February.
How did you choose your band name?
In 2019 I wrote a song called ‘Bullshit Boy’ basically describing a certain type of male behavior…not truly evil but annoying, unreliable, useless, entitled, mildly disrespectful and sometimes charming, funny and cute at the same time. The others liked so much they suggested to call the band Bullshit Boy.
Who’s in the band, and what do you all play/do?
Silvie – very accomplished on bass but also a fantastic human saving lives as a ICU nurse, being the director of F*MZ – a safe space for women and non-binary people – and also a talented DJ. Carsten – a local legend and trailblazer of the Hamburg punk scene since the early 80ies, regularly labelled as the fastest drummer in town, loves flamingos and is responsible for the Bullshit Boy stage decoration. Sabine – (re-)discovered her inner punk at the tender age of forty two, took part in a camp at Girls Rock London in 2016, learned how to write songs and how to scream and play guitar at the same time (hell) and lives happily ever after since.
Describe your sound in three words.
Happy, energetic, loud
Tell us about your music
Our next release will be about my brain and potentially the first punk song in a 7/8 time signature (we are practicing a lot, haha). Til then our all time classic ‘The World is on Fire’ keeps being relevant – even more so since the world was way less on fire when we released it compared to now!
This song is about an island in the North Sea called Helgoland. People go by boat during the day to buy tax free booze. I once stayed there over night and was craving cake after all the boat had left but ALL the shops were closed at 4 in the afternoon! I worked through this trauma by writing a song about the situation.
What’s your local scene like — and how do you fit in, or stir it up?
The Hamburg punk scene is a little limited to white guys in their 60ies…but as soon as you get out of the city it gets more diverse in terms of age, gender and background and I absolutely love playing in this environment. We get a lot of positive feedback – often from women of all age who love to see two girls in the front row of a band. We mostly stir things up by doing what we love including lots of noise, color and glitter.
If you could rip up the rulebook of the music industry, what’s the first thing you’d rewrite?
Groupie culture and the power imbalance that comes with it on so many levels.
What’s the wildest/strangest thing that’s ever happened at one of your gigs?
At one gig a guy repeatedly tried to open the velcro strips of my shoes while I was performing (and kicking…)! Oh and someone threw a barbie doll at me once…
What’s the proudest moment you’ve had so far as a band/artist?
We played at the Hamburg Club Awards at Markthalle last year and made it on TV!
What’s the strangest gig you’ve ever played?
We played 6 gigs in Cambodia last year and they were all really special but strange! One was in a brothel in Phnom Penh (had I known before I would have NEVER agreed to this!), one was on an Island at a very mystic place with giant wooden tarantulas sprayed in neon colors. It was surrounded by jungle and had a private beach with a rusty ship wreck.. It was run by a German expat who played in a then well known punk band in the 80ies. At one gig, Silvie, our bassist, nearly got electrocuted when she wanted to play barefoot once in her life (fortunately she is still with us). It turned out a lot of people had never seen female guitar players live on a stage and especially the reaction of the ladies was heartwarming.
What’s a dream gig or collaboration you must make happen before you die?
Playing Rebellion Festival Blackpool and Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas would be tres chic (preferably not at 11am on the first day…)! Also playing with Amyl and the Sniffers and performing a song together
Dream lineup: you + three other acts (alive, dead, or imaginary). Who’s on the bill?
Blondie, Amyl and the Sniffers and the Sex Pistols
What’s next for you?
Being part of LOUD WOMEN Fest Hamburg is definitely a highlight! We are planning to play in Iceland this summer and will play in Blackpool while Rebellion Festival is on. We are also doing a documentary about our Cambodia tour in 2025 and the music scene there. We have songs in the making and planning to release something towards autumn this year.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We’ve been following LOUD WOMEN and your amazing work for a long time (we got a gig partner in Wolverhampton through you last year) and we love, love, LOVE to be part of LOUD WOMEN Fest Hamburg – thank you so much!!!
