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 Tiptoe Vier  Tiptoe Vier is a four-piece post-modern music band, founded in 2011 on the banks of the River Spree, Berlin. The original live lineup consisted of co-lead singer James 'Jambon' White, fellow co-lead singer Peter 'Pedro' Wright, backing singer and didgery-do player Jasmine 'The Didge' Fredericks, and lead dancer Jessica 'Oh No' Rowell.

The timing of when the band was originally was formed vary, but it is generally acknowledged that the group was formed between 2pm and 5pm, German time, on the banks of the River Spree, Berlin.

River Spree

In a recent interview, Jambon described how the band was formed "Ja, the four of us were just chilling & jamming by the banks of the River Spree on a beautiful afternoon in mid September. We were discussing the Irish rock band U2's Achtung Baby album which was created over 20 years ago in this very city. As we sang the songs by the riverbank, we began to adapt the songs to our environment by putting a German twist on them. We were fortunate to have just enough of a German vocabulary to do this. I think the first song we created was the post-modern classic, "Mit Oder Mit-Out You. As more and more people joined us by the riverside, and with only a few people leaving from around us, we instantly realised that we had created a classic.

Berlin

Pedro explains "ja so Berlin changed everything, there was such a creative vibe in the city, it felt like there was just something special in the water or in the barrels of beer we were drinking. We felt we had really got it, ja it was awesome. I had long dreamed that there would be a niche market for partially translated rock music, and now it was happening". In the early beginnings of the band, the quantity of the songs the team was producing was phenomenal. In 3 hours, they created 47 original songs, which included the realpolitik classic "Wo die straße haben kiene nam", the edgy "Was ist Liebe", and the retro avant-garde anthem "was ist ein other jahre". But the song that really caught the public's imagination was the beautifully intelligent "Es ist ein Schöne Tag", and Rowell believes this was the song that brought Tiptoe Vier to another level "the song is unreal, but it's actual real.. its a progressive song that as roots in the psychedelic music of the 1970's blended with euro-pop and country western. We weren't sure if Berlin was ready for it and you do need to listen to it a few times, but after you're in, you can't get out. You're trapped. You can scream & shout but nobody will help you"

Die Hit Factory

That area of the river spree would later become known as "Die Hit Factory", as it was clearly the time when the band were at their creative peak.

Pedro describes the feeling "the feedback we get from each other was instant, and very positive. Nobody else knew who we were when we got to the river bank, but that soon changed. Even when myself and Jambon cycled home, we felt people recognised who we were. Almost everyone stopped & starred at us as we cycled back on the roads and on the footpath. Cars would stop in surprise, as we cycled all over the roads and we could already hear people humming along to the more famous songs." Everything was falling into place, Jambon wouldn't need to start working in Microsoft, Pedro would quit his job in the bank and move over to Berlin and Jasmine and Jess would finally be permanently reunited.

Bus Stop W*nkers

With their counter-culture outlook, the band set about making a post-modern album cover for their new album. Creative director Jess believes the Bus Stop W*nkers photoshoot helped add further advance their burgeoning post-modern credentials. Jess states that "initially the Berliners were scepical, but I think they now see the funny side".

Global stardom

Global stardom came almost instantly to the band, but it was clear to all the effect this was having on some of the members. The drug-induced lifestyle of Jasmine Frederick was creating tensions within the band, and it was only a matter of time before things would come to a head. Her behaviour became and more eratic as the success of the band grew. She would frequently forget the name of the band, or call the band Techno Vier. She would bring band members, such as Pedro, to Berghaim Nightclub put him to sleep and then go off to dance for hours on end. Her addiction to narcotic substances such as MGMT and MBNA were a bone of contention for some members, and these issues reappeared at a dramatic climax on Sunday morning with a water fight between 'Jambon & the Didge'. The Didge was forced to leave the band, with the remaining members deciding to continue, but renaming the band Tiptoe Drei. Tiptoe Drei never released an album, but merchandise from around this era is very valuable, with a poster entitled "Wir sind Tiptoe Drei" believed to have fetched $479.50 in a recent eBay auction. Tiptoe Drei was short-lived, and is viewed as the band's purple moment.

Solo career

Following the Didge's exit from the band, and collapse of Tiptoe Drei, Pedro decided to make a solo album. Although critically acclaimed, the album was not commercially successful, with Pedro reported to have lost an estimated $90 on the project. Speaking with his broken german to someone in 2011, Pedro explains "ja die solo-album war critically acclaimed by die media, aber ich habe night sold ganz Cds. Die volk want Tiptoe Vier, it hast nicht worked mit just me on meine solo kareer". Pedro went back to his roots for that album, and a particular hightlight on the album is the melancholic "Sonntag, bloody Sonntag"

Reunion

Financial considerations meant that reuniting Tiptoe Vier was always going to make sense. Jasmine had detoxed and vowed never to touch MBNA again, Pedro needed money to repay his debts from his failed solo career, and Jess was smiling again. After a renion dinner, the band vowed never to split again. Finding new material was difficult, but a chance encounter at a kebab shop led to a collaboration and duet with Antonio Eres, who will aid to band in breaking into the competitive Potsdam market.

The Future

Speaking in an interview in 2011 in a german nightclub, Pedro muses "Ja ich weiss that we will haben ein grosse grosse future. Ich believe in die future, always have. Tiptoe vier is more than ein band. First wir haben classic music, den folk music, und den rock music, den 80s music, den house music, techno music. Now we have post-modern music. Its cool, why not? They haben locked Andrew Warhol up fur painting cans of tomaten suppe on picture frames. Now es ist cool to do that. Not everyone understands Tiptoe Vier. Aber ein tag everyone will. Es ist ein grosse neu phenomenon.

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