Kissin’ Dynamite are on a quest to bring back stadium rock.
“It’s not simply about the location,” clarifies the band’s singer, Hannes Braun. “Stadium rock can be performed in a club or a theatre – it’s a lifestyle. We love huge anthems and hooks that stick in the brain. Our mission is to take that sound to a younger crowd.”
Braun, who co-formed the group’s forerunners the Blues Kids as a schoolboy 20 years ago, certainly has enthusiasm on his side. Preparing to release Kissin’ Dynamite’s seventh album, Not The End Of The Road – the follow-up to 2018’s Ecstasy, which reached No.7 in the German chart – the vocalist now has his sights set on selling out major venues beyond the band’s homeland.
“Our ambition is to become just as popular in every market,” Braun announces with determination. “We love to put on a big show; the set-up for our next tour will remind people of how things were in 1986. We want to play on the same stages as our heroes. I’d love to think that in five years we could be playing stadiums. Hey, I believe in miracles.”
Kissin’ Dynamite, named after a track on AC/DC’s Blow Up Your Video, will no doubt be aided in their mission by their fluency in English – something that comes from the band’s upbringing and music listening.
"With rare exceptions such as the Scorpions and Accept, and of course AC/DC, the bands that we love are British or American,” Braun points out. “Each of us grew up on classic rock. My dad had records by Skid Row, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Bon Jovi and all the rest. They sunk their hooks into me just like passive smoking.”
Not The End Of The Road includes some unusual titles, but No One Dies A Virgin is “sarcastic”, the singer says with a grin. “We cannot stand the snobby culture of those that think they are better than the rest.”
Yes, Kissin’ Dynamite believe in humour and having a good time. “We are not a parody band like Steel Panther,” Braun insists. “We love a laugh but we take our music very seriously. We don’t criticise politicians. Mostly we’re about the fun things in life.”
In 2019 they headlined London’s Camden Underworld, where a grand piano was wheeled on stage for Heart Of Stone, and Braun donned royal robes to sing I Will Be King. They even formed a Scorpions-style human pyramid. “
We are all about entertainment,” Braun enthuses. “Until it’s certain that we can do so without postponements we’re not rushing into getting back out there, but I can’t wait to be on the road again.”
