Nevada Tan (band) - The Band

The Band

Panik unites rap elements with hard rock - this genre is called nu metal. Their style is often compared to the style of Linkin Park, although they don't like being compared to them. The band members have stated that anger moves them and that they can express all their emotions properly only in their maternal language.

The band had its first official performance at The Dome 41 in Mannheim, on 2 March 2007.

Nevada Tan performed at the biggest open air concert of the summer of 2007, the Schau nicht weg! (Don't look away!) concert, organized by BRAVO and VIVA, against school violence. The concert was held on 25 August 2007, in front of the Brandenburger Tor. More than 50 stars came to support this event. There were 119 000 people in the audience. Nevada Tan were one of the eight main performing acts, the other seven being LaFee, Sarah Connor, Bushido, Monrose, Gentleman, MIA. and US5.

During the summer of 2007 they had a concert in Paris, France, and due to an unexpected number of fans, they went back for few more concerts in October.

Franky, the former singer of the band, is the only one who was born in South Germany, in Heidelberg. He met Linke through the internet. In order to meet the others, he went to Neumünster and, after being accepted as a band member, took up permanent residence there. He said that it was a bit difficult to get used to the fame, as he was raised in a small town; he has also said that he misses his home town and family. Next to the music he likes to cook and is often called "Bandmum" by his friends.

Timo is the rapper of Panik. His father was the bass player of the German band Illegal 2001, so he had made his first music experiences very early in life. His hobbies include making films and music videos. The song Neustart is his personal showdown with the enemies he had in high school. He is also known just like David to resent his dad, Fred Sonnenschein, for having divorced his mother when he was 1. He often talks about all the hardships he had to face as a teen because he and his mother never got any support or money from his dad, even saying that at 15 he was working, and living as a really poor child in a one room apartment with his mom.

David is the band's guitarist and piano player. He and T:mo have been best friends since David's first day in kindergarten(Timo was 4, David 3). Even though they went to different schools, they remained very close. The other band members meet in David's house to do brainstorming, and they play music in his garage. Also, in his house in the basement there is known that David has a studio which his mother and step-dad built and allowed David to continue his musical pursuits and are glad to allow him to. The song So Wie Du is based on his dad and how he left his family without a word and cheated on his wife. He is also the producer of the band's new album Was Würdest Du Tun? after some of the music was recorded at his house. On May 28, 2008 David was rushed to the hospital, the reasons remain unknown, only was it revealed that is doing better, on Panik's KYTE channel it shows the ambulance taking David away. It is rumored that he had some type of reaction. David has recently made claims during a Rock One Magazine interview to having composed the majority of the Panik album:

"Timo wrote 90% of the texts and sung more than half of the chorus on the last album, of which I almost composed the totality of the music."

The discography states otherwise, with Linke's name appearing on a good half of the songs.

Jan is the band's former DJ. The band said they are proud that their band has a DJ, on top of all the other instruments. Jan was the biggest mystery of the band, because in the beginning he wore a black mask that covered all of his face except for the eyes. Later, in an exclusive photo shoot for the BRAVO magazine, he took off his mask for the first time. Jan said that he was too shy to show his face as the band rose to fame, and he will remain masked at their concerts since it has become his trademark. He stopped wearing it after the band changed from Nevada Tan to Panik. He is now always seen with his mask off, having overcome his shyness. Jan spent time at a chemical lab before Nevada Tan emerged on the scene and has said previously that, should anything happen to the band, he would likely return to chemistry.

Linke, the former bassist, was also born in Neumünster. He is known to be fluent in English and an avid book reader. He has a tattoo on his forearm that reads Edmond Dantès (the main character from The Count of Monte Cristo) as well as a tattoo along the left side of his neck that reads "Licentia Poetica". Linke has said that the former tattoo should always remind him about how self-destructive revenge really is. He writes his own songs and covers songs from bands like "30 Seconds To Mars" or "Incubus". His full name is Christian Linke and he often is known to go by Chris, Linke, and Lefti (link- meaning left in German). He was the first member to leave the band after their German tour in December 2009 . He has since moved to the US to pursue a solo career. He released an album containing six of his songs.

Juri is the former drummer of the band. The other band members describe him as the most hard-working of them all. He also finished high school with the highest average. He is the "boss" of the band: he talks to their label about important decisions, and takes care of financial and legal matters. In Juri's words, "David's domain is internet, Timo makes films and documents everything. Jan is our driver, Franky is the cook, and Linke is the one who always makes up something fun to do". He is also known to be very smart when it was revealed some of his grades were of the grade point 1,5 when in Germany the highest is 1,0. His full name is known to be Juri Ibo Kaya Schewe. He is the only one from the band who has had little trouble from fans and is more low key than the rest of the band. He also is known to be an active swimmer and to especially like pudding.

Max was the drummer before the band name changed to Nevada Tan. Very, very little is known of Max or why he left the band. It is likely he was a fellow schoolmate of Timo and Jan's due to the time frame of his leaving and his amicable presence on stage on the rare occasions when he has appeared at Nevada Tan/Panik concerts. He has never been publicly discussed by any of the members of Panik.