The name, originally "James Blast Orchester", was meant as a parody of a German easy listening act named "James Last Orchestra".
They had their first concert in October '89 on a newcomer festival in their hometown Erlangen, Franconia. From the start meant as a comedy rock act, the setlist consisted mostly of cover versions of evergreens with new funny lyrics.
The line-up:
Hannes 'G.Laber' Holzmann, guitar/vocals
Vito C., guitar/vocals
Schmitti, bass
Holmer 'a Bier' Graap, drums
The first five years the band was only a side project. All members tried to be successful with other bands. At least they were able to earn their money with playing music.
1994 one Song of J.B.O. Ein guter Tag zum Sterben (a perfect day to die) was on rotation on the local radio station. As it was only a demo-tape but more and more people asked for a CD, J.B.O. decided to get this done. They recorded their first CD in one day and two nights. It was the EP Eine gute CD zum Kaufen (a perfect CD to buy) which sold pretty good for a local act. The next EP Blastphemie was just an Xmas present for the fans.
The real strike came in 1995 with their first longplayer Explizite Lyrik. The title is a word by word translation of the "parental advisory" sticker which can be translated as "bold poetry". There were 20 Tracks with all the hits of the first five years of J.B.O. As they were still on the independent label "Musical Tragedies", there was no great marketing for this CD. But within three months there were 10.000 copies sold and it became more and more (over 300.000 until present). In summer 1996, J.B.O. entered the German LP charts and stayed there for months.
Their first major release Laut! (loud) was published in 1997. It climbed up to number 13 in the German LP charts.
Besides their CDs J.B.O. were always known as a great live act. So they started touring all over Germany in 1996. In 1997 they played 100 concerts in front of all together 100.000 people.
In 1998 they published Meister der Musik (masters of music) which remained two weeks in the top ten of German LP charts. The album stated that J.B.O.'s original songs did not stand back behind their cover versions.
One year later, J.B.O. celebrated their 10th anniversary with a big festival with many bands they call their friends.
The year 2000 brought many changes for the band: Schmitti and Holmer "a Bier" Graap – the complete rhythm section – decided to quit the band, due to further plans in their lives. Hannes and Vito decided to continue J.B.O. as all lyrics and music was written by both of them. The album SexSexSex was recorded by the "old" members, but published by the "new" members:
The new drummer - an old school friend of Vito - is Wolfram Kellner (Ex-Fiddler's Green). The new bassplayer is Ralph Bach. In 2001 they played 94 concerts with the new line-up which can be heard on J.B.O.'s first live album Live-Sex.
In 2002 the first studio record in the new line-up was produced in a house on an island in Croatia. Released in September, Rosa Armee Fraktion (pink army fraction) went into the charts up to number 13, like the one before. The music was now written by all four members of J.B.O. together with producer Christoph Beyerlein. The release tour presented J.B.O. grown together as a rock force dressed in pink camouflage army clothes. The co-headliner status on the big metal-festivals in Germany (Wacken Open Air, With Full Force Festival) in 2002 and 2003 showed that J.B.O. had manifested their position in the German rock scene.
2004 was J.B.O.'s 15th anniversary. They arranged a festival in their hometown with their buddy bands from all over Europe called the "30/2-Festival". About 2.500 people celebrated the party on July the 31st. Two days later on August the 2nd they released their 6th studio-album, called United States of Blöedsinn that hit the charts on number 6 a week later.
As J.B.O. don't like to translate the term "Blödsinn" - which is a central idea in their lyrics - simply by "nonsense", they want to establish the German word internationally as a loan word, like "Kindergarten" or "Autobahn". So they invented the new spelling "Blöedsinn" - if you don't have the "ö" on your keyboard, just take the "o" - and it still stays "Bloedsinn".
On October the 1st 2004 J.B.O. started their big anniversary tour all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. One concert of this tour was their 500th gig. Another concert on November 2 was recorded audio and video for a planned DVD.
The DVD was a well kept secret until summer 2005. When announced there was an outcry of joy among J.B.O. fans. The parts of three live shows (the 30/2-Festival, Wacken 2004 and Mannheim tour-concert 2004) only completed a treasury of TV parodies this DVD contained. It came out on October 21st 2005 and was followed by J.B.O.'s first best of compilation named Für Anfänger (for beginners) that was released only two weeks later. Best of compilations are due to record label politics in most cases. This one is no exception regarding this, but J.B.O. selected the songs themselves, re-recorded a classic from "Explizite Lyrik" named Könige (Kings) and provided previously unknown background information to all tracks.
Lieber Fieber
J.B.O. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Manchmal regst du mich so auf
Manchmal ziehst du mich echt runter
Aber manchmal ziehst du dich auch aus
Das is’ mir lieber...
Nich’ mehr zicken
Ständig meckerst Du mich an
Weil man dabei nich’ reden kann
John Lennon hatte Yoko Ono
Und ich hab’ heute Stress mit dir
Bevor ich mir ‘nen Herzschlag hole
Hol’ ich mir lieber noch’n Bier
Das is’ mir lieber...
Mit dei’m Generve
Komm ich nüchtern echt nicht klar
Wieder treibst du mich in den Wahnsinn
Oder in die nächste Bar
Jedem ist doch lieb sein lieber
Und es wurde immer gern geschmust
Denn Schmusen macht im Herzen Fieber
Drum versteh ich nich’ was du da tust
Als Jane den Tarzan so genervt hat
Gab’s Ehekrach im Regenwald
Als sie wieder an Lianen hingen
Spielte er Naturgewalt
Da fiel sie nieder
Muss man verstehen
Tarzan tat es im Affekt
Wieder - zu viel gequasselt
Das Urteil wurde gleich vollstreckt
Stell dir vor, wie wär’s gewesen
Hätte Julia ‘rumgezickt
Romeo wär’ noch am Leben
Und hätte Julia heimgeschickt
Mein lieber Schieber!
So gesehen
Kann es auch von Vorteil sein
Lieber - deine Launen
Als für immer tot zu sein
Warum ich immer noch bei Dir bin
Dafür gibt es einen guten Grund
Ich liebe es, Dich lang zu küssen
Denn beim Küssen hältst Du Deinen Mund
Das is’ mir lieber
Da krieg ich Fieber
Immer wieder
So wie ein Tiger
Sogar im Flieger
Zur Bundesliga.......
The lyrics of J.B.O.'s song "Lieber Fieber" describe a love-hate relationship. The singer admits that the other person's constantly nagging and criticizing is driving them crazy, but at the same time, there are moments when they feel a strong attraction and desire to be close to that person. The chorus repeats the phrase "Das is' mir lieber," meaning "I prefer it this way," alternating between the frustrating and the pleasurable aspects of the relationship.
The song references famous romantic couples like John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Romeo and Juliet, and Tarzan and Jane, pointing out how their conflicts could have been avoided if they had just gotten along better. J.B.O. adds a humorous twist to these age-old stories by suggesting alternative outcomes where one person either kills the other or leaves the relationship.
Overall, the lyrics of "Lieber Fieber" capture the ups and downs of a complicated relationship, recognizing that sometimes the things that irk us about a person can also be the things we love about them.
Line by Line Meaning
Manchmal treibst du mich zur Weißglut
Sometimes you make me extremely angry
Manchmal regst du mich so auf
Sometimes you provoke me so much
Manchmal ziehst du mich echt runter
Sometimes you really bring me down
Aber manchmal ziehst du dich auch aus
But sometimes you undress yourself
Das is’ mir lieber...
I prefer...
Nich’ mehr zicken
Not to nag anymore
Ständig meckerst Du mich an
You constantly complain about me
Lieber würd’ ich küssen
I would rather kiss
Weil man dabei nich’ reden kann
Because you can't talk while doing it
John Lennon hatte Yoko Ono
John Lennon had Yoko Ono
Und ich hab’ heute Stress mit dir
And today I have stress with you
Bevor ich mir ‘nen Herzschlag hole
Before I have a heart attack
Hol’ ich mir lieber noch’n Bier
I'd rather have another beer
Mit dei’m Generve
With your nagging
Komm ich nüchtern echt nicht klar
I really can't handle it sober
Wieder treibst du mich in den Wahnsinn
You're driving me insane again
Oder in die nächste Bar
Or to the next bar
Jedem ist doch lieb sein lieber
Everyone prefers to be loved
Und es wurde immer gern geschmust
And people have always enjoyed cuddling
Denn Schmusen macht im Herzen Fieber
Because cuddling gives you a fever in your heart
Drum versteh ich nich’ was du da tust
That's why I don't understand what you're doing
Als Jane den Tarzan so genervt hat
When Jane annoyed Tarzan so much
Gab’s Ehekrach im Regenwald
There was marital strife in the jungle
Als sie wieder an Lianen hingen
When they hung on vines again
Spielte er Naturgewalt
He played with nature's power
Da fiel sie nieder
Then she fell down
Muss man verstehen
You have to understand
Tarzan tat es im Affekt
Tarzan did it in the heat of the moment
Wieder - zu viel gequasselt
Again - talked too much
Das Urteil wurde gleich vollstreckt
The verdict was immediately executed
Stell dir vor, wie wär’s gewesen
Imagine how it would have been
Hätte Julia ‘rumgezickt
If Juliet had nagged
Romeo wär’ noch am Leben
Romeo would still be alive
Und hätte Julia heimgeschickt
And if Juliet had sent him home
Mein lieber Schieber!
My dear slider!
So gesehen
Seen in this way
Kann es auch von Vorteil sein
It can also be advantageous
Lieber - deine Launen
I'd rather have your moods
Als für immer tot zu sein
Than to be dead forever
Warum ich immer noch bei Dir bin
Why I'm still with you
Dafür gibt es einen guten Grund
There's a good reason for that
Ich liebe es, Dich lang zu küssen
I love to kiss you for a long time
Denn beim Küssen hältst Du Deinen Mund
Because you keep your mouth shut while kissing
Da krieg ich Fieber
That gives me a fever
Immer wieder
Again and again
So wie ein Tiger
Like a tiger
Sogar im Flieger
Even on a plane
Zur Bundesliga.......
To the soccer league.......
Contributed by Connor F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.