Guano Apes

The band's history began in Göttingen in 1994, when Henning Rümenapp, Stefan Ude, and Dennis Poschwatta formed a band together. Later, a friend of Dennis introduced them to Sandra, who eventually joined the group.

The breakthrough came in 1996, when they won the "Local Hero" talent contest organised by VIVA and Radio ffn. The prize was the chance to make a music video and a record deal with a small label. The song "Open Your Eyes", which was also performed at the talent contest and was soon to be released as the band's first single, quickly entered the German charts. In fact, the single stayed in the Top 100 for 30 weeks.

Following this success, the Guano Apes signed a deal with Gun Records, which led to the release of their debut album Proud Like A God in 1997. In support of the album, they re-released their first single, which once again charted on the German charts. The final breakthrough for the band came with the song Lords of the Boards, which became the official song of the 1998 World Snowboard Championships in Austria. Both singles went gold in 1999, while the first album went platinum in Germany. In addition, the video for Lords of the Boards won the ECHO Award for Best Music Video in 1999.

From the very beginning, the band's style was characterised by an uncompromising, self-expressive performance based on hard guitar riffs, with elements of alternative rock, punk and rap. At the same time, in the male-dominated rock business of the time, it was refreshing to have a charismatic woman, Sandra Nasic, behind the microphone.