Christian Lorenz

2025-05-02T03:16:14Z

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{{Short description|German keyboardist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Christian {{nobold|"}}Flake{{nobold|"}} Lorenz
| image = RammsteinFlake.jpg
| caption = Lorenz in 2013
| birth_name = Christian Lorenz
| alias = Doktor Lorenz, Flake
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|11|16|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[East Berlin]], [[East Germany]]
| death_date =
| origin =
| instrument = Keyboards
| genre = [[Neue Deutsche Härte]], [[industrial metal]], [[punk rock]] (early)
| occupation = Musician
| years_active = 1983–present
| current_member_of = [[Rammstein]]
| past_member_of = [[Feeling B]]<br />Die Magdalene Keibel Kombo
| website =
}}

'''Christian''' "'''Flake'''" '''Lorenz''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkʁɪsti̯a(ː)n ˈflaːkə ˈloːʁɛnts|lang}}; born 16 November 1966) is a German musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in [[Neue Deutsche Härte]] band [[Rammstein]], as well as the main composer of the band along with guitarist [[Richard Kruspe]]. He was also a member of the [[East German]] [[Punk rock|punk]] band [[Feeling B]].

Lorenz has released a solo album named ''Flake feiert Weihnachten'' ("Flake celebrates Christmas"), which consists of covers of popular Christmas songs.

==Career==

===Feeling B===
{{main|Feeling B}}
In 1983, at age 16, Lorenz began to play in the band [[Feeling B]] with [[Paul Landers]] and [[Aljoscha Rompe]], a [[Swiss people|Swiss]] singer living in [[East Berlin]]. He stayed with the band for about ten years. Feeling B started out firmly grounded in the underground punk scene.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rammstein World - Paul Landers |url=https://www.rammsteinworld.com/en/rammstein/members/paul-landers |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=www.rammsteinworld.com}}</ref>

Lorenz lived in an apartment with Landers during their early years. When they were not playing gigs, they would sell jackets made from cut-up bed sheets and dusters on the [[black market]]. Two jackets a month meant as much money as an average salaried worker.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} "It was quite easy to make a living; not to work and stay out of trouble," said Landers, "You only got problems if you were caught."{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

The group disbanded in the mid-1990s. On special occasions, the band members would get together for concerts at punk festivals, until Rompe died in November 2000 of an asthma attack.

===Rammstein===
{{Main|Rammstein}}
In 1994, [[Till Lindemann]], [[Richard Kruspe]], [[Oliver Riedel]] and [[Christoph Schneider]] entered and won the [[Berlin Senate]] Metro beat contest that allowed them to professionally record a four track demo. [[Paul Landers]] formally joined the band, followed by Lorenz. He was initially reluctant to join his five bandmates and had to be pestered into becoming a member of Rammstein, as he thought they would be too boring.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Eventually, he agreed to join, and the group began work on their first album, ''[[Herzeleid]]'' (''Heartache'').

In early live performances of the song "[[Bück dich]]" ("Bend down" or "Bend over"), Lorenz and vocalist Till Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with a liquor-squirting [[dildo]]. On 23 September 1998, in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] (USA) Lindemann and Lorenz were arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior. A statement from Sergeant Thomas Radula of the Worcester Police Department stated that Lindemann was simulating sex with Lorenz onstage "using a phallic object that shot water over the crowd". They were held and released the following day on US$25 bail. After months of legal debate, they were fined US$100.

Until 2002, Lorenz would "surf" the audience in an inflatable rubber dinghy during the performance of "[[Seemann (Rammstein song)|Seemann]]" ("Seaman"). Riedel took his place in 2002. According to Lorenz, the change occurred because he was injured too often. During a 2001 concert in [[St. Petersburg]], Lorenz was tipped out of the boat by the crowd and almost completely undressed.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Despite this, Lorenz returned to riding the dinghy for Rammstein's 2009 tour during the performance of "Haifisch" ("Shark").
[[File:Flake Lorenz.jpg|thumb|Lorenz in his band costume (2009)]]
During a concert in [[Gothenburg]], Sweden on 30 July 2005, Till Lindemann suffered a knee injury when Lorenz accidentally ran into him with the [[Segway HT|Segway]] he rides during the performance of "[[Amerika (single)|Amerika]]" ("America"). This caused concerts scheduled in Asia to be cancelled.

In 2005, Lorenz suffered from [[mumps]], causing concerts in South America to be cancelled.

In January 2012, Lorenz, along with Lindemann, was interviewed by heavy metal [[anthropologist]] [[Sam Dunn]] for the [[VH1 Classic]] series ''[[Metal Evolution]]'', on the topic of [[shock rock]].<ref>{{cite web|date=2012-01-23 |url=http://www.vh1.com/video/metal-evolution/full-episodes/shock-rock/1677704/playlist.jhtml |title="Shock Rock" (Ep. 109) from Metal Evolution | Full Episode |publisher=VH1.com |accessdate=18 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114081540/http://www.vh1.com/video/metal-evolution/full-episodes/shock-rock/1677704/playlist.jhtml |archivedate=14 November 2012 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Lorenz has been divorced once and has five children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rammwiki.net/index.php?title=Der_mit_den_Tasten_fickt_(interview)|title = Der mit den Tasten fickt (Interview) - RammWiki}}</ref> On 12 September 2008, Lorenz married artist Jenny Rosemeyer, who provided the whistling for Rammstein's song "Roter Sand". He has a brother who is four years older. Lorenz is an amateur painter{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} and likes classic cars. He has a [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] and is involved in the vintage car hire business.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dirk Salomon |url=http://www.classicdepot.de/ |title=Classicdepot.De |publisher=Classicdepot.De |date= |accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref> In November 2011 Lorenz's house was set on fire. The police managed to identify and capture the arsonist, a 28-year-old male with a criminal record who crashed his car nearby while fleeing from the scene.<ref>{{cite web|title=Flake's House on fire this weekend|url=http://en.affenknecht.com/flakes-house-on-fire-this-weekend/|work=Affenknecht.com|accessdate=10 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018102953/http://en.affenknecht.com/flakes-house-on-fire-this-weekend/|archive-date=18 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Nicknames===
Lorenz commonly goes by the nicknames "Flake" (pronounced as "Flak-eh" in German, derived from the Viking village in which the [[Vicke Viking]] series of children's books take place) and "Doktor". "Doktor" came about because at one point he wanted to be a surgeon, but he was unable to study to become one because of his [[Conscientious objection in East Germany|refusal to join]] the [[National People's Army|East German military]]. In a 16 December 2000 interview, he stated that "Flake" is his proper name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://herzeleid.com/en/press/2000-12_flake_chat |title=Press: Rammstein Chat with Flake |publisher=Herzeleid.com |date=|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref>

===Religion and politics===
Lorenz has stated "I disapprove of religions which are made into rigid institutions. I also think that religious fanaticism and missionary work are dangerous."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://en.affenknecht.com/rammstein-members/christian-flake-lorenz/ |title=Christian Flake Lorenz |access-date=23 March 2014 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117215019/http://en.affenknecht.com/rammstein-members/christian-flake-lorenz/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Lorenz has criticized the United States which, in a 2001 interview, he called a "sick and decadent country with no culture". However, in the same interview, he stated: "I prefer playing in the USA [over Germany] because the attitude to music is more relaxed [in America]," and also opined that he favored the American city of [[Seattle]] when touring.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview|url=http://www.rammsteinniccage.com/media/interviews/rammcomjan01en.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629032552/http://www.rammsteinniccage.com/media/interviews/rammcomjan01en.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2007|work=RammsteinNicCage.com|accessdate=10 November 2012|year=2001}}</ref>

On 5 October 2005, Lorenz appeared briefly on [[Deutsche Welle]]. When asked how he felt about the [[German reunification|reunification of Germany]], he said he misses the way things were then. "Even if the [[East Germany|GDR]] survived, I still would've stayed a musician. The increased size of the world also brought the danger of being compared to all of the international acts. The bands which were in the east were the only ones there, and if you were successful there, you were successful. I miss the simplicity. You went into a bar, ordered a beer, and you got a beer!... They didn't ask if you wanted... with a head or without a head, foam top or bottom... It really gets on my nerves having all of these choices I really don't want". In 2014, in an essay titled "I'm missing the [[GDR]]" Flake Lorenz stated "I miss the GDR even today. More so than the bands from that time."<ref>{{cite web |title=I Miss the German Democratic Republic |author=Flake Lorenz |url=https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/ost-punk-a-949107.html |website=www.spiegel.de |date=2014}}</ref>

In a 2014 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Lindemann stated that "Flake is still a citizen of the GDR, and he will die a citizen of the GDR".<ref>{{cite web |title=ROLLING STONE: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TILL LINDEMANN AND FLAKE LORENZ |author=Flake Lorenz |url=https://www.rammsteinpress.com/2014/04/02/rolling-stone-exclusive-interview-with-till-lindemann-and-flake-lorenz/ |website=rammsteinpress.com/ |date=2014 |access-date=25 January 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601213827/https://www.rammsteinpress.com/2014/04/02/rolling-stone-exclusive-interview-with-till-lindemann-and-flake-lorenz/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In a 2019 interview with ''[[Metal Hammer]]'', he recalled life in East Germany as "free of trouble and pressure, we all had enough money to live".<ref name="MHfeature">{{cite web |last1=Everley |first1=Dave |title=Rammstein: The birth of a legend |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/rammstein-the-birth-of-a-legend |website=[[Metal Hammer]] |publisher=[[Future plc]] |access-date=8 January 2021 |date=4 July 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{cc}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0520704|name=Flake Lorenz}}
*[http://www.rammstein.de Official Rammstein site] (German)
*[http://www.rammstein.de/en Official Rammstein site] (English)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091022205927/http://geocities.com/Colosseum/Rink/8664/flake_facts.html Profile on geocities.com]

{{Rammstein}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenz, Christian}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Feeling B members]]
[[Category:German keyboardists]]
[[Category:German industrial musicians]]
[[Category:Heavy metal keyboardists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Berlin]]
[[Category:Rammstein members]]
[[Category:German punk rock musicians]]
[[Category:People from Pankow]]
[[Category:Industrial metal musicians]]

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Christian Lorenz