KGB, column not yet published

Here's the next column waiting to be published as soon as the zine is back on its feet:

Hello again from the middle of the Bavarian nowhere...I am still sitting in Germany, enjoying the quiet life. My son is getting bigger and more handsome every day and he already is super-clever.

I believe he will grow up to save the world. Or at least rule it with firm hand…

I’ll support whichever.

 But before that we will have to return to Tokyo… can’t let him spend his childhood here.

Today I would like to introduce one band that was more important to my becoming Punk than any other. 

I guess everyone is infected with the Punk virus in a similar way: after years of listening to whatever your parents listen  to or what you hear on the radio/TV you eventually come across a band that has the energy to pull you along with them. Then you start looking for other stuff like that and before you know it you spend all your money on your record collection (I am talking 80s here…).  

For me the bands that started everything was German Punkrock overlords Die Ärzte and, just as big, Die Toten Hosen. Probably 90% of all young Punks back in the late 80s in Germany started like that before they moved on to the old British and American heroes or the more hardcore stuff from Germany.

But for me there was one more band equally influential: KGB

I spent my Punkrock youth in a German university town called Tübingen, which I still think is one of the nicest places to live in Germany. Despite being rather small, it has always had a very vibrant nightlife since nearly half the population are students and it has also always been a haven for free thinkers, leftists and alternative lifestyles. No wonder that the list of public figures who have lived there is probably longer than in any other German city. From poets and writers, the likes of Hegel, Hauff, Hölderlin, Bebel, Mörike  to RAF activists like Gudrun Ensslin and Eva Haule. I should probably leave out the fact that even the last pope has studied there, too keep up the good image…

And Tübingen has also always had a nice little Punk scene whose most successful band till date was KGB. Before they split in 1991, I probably saw them in every bar/pub/club that had enough space for a drum set and a few amps. Hell, I’m getting all sentimental just writing about it…

They have toured most of Europe, as well as the States in ’86 and played and toured  with bands like Circle Jerks, Zero Boys, Rhythm Pigs, Bad Brains, D.O.A, Greg Sage, T.S.O.L., Bad Religion, Bollock Brothers, Stiff Little Fingers or The Toy Dolls.

Musically they are basically a German version of old US Punkrock. Not too hardcore but neither too slow and with nice melodies. Most comparable to The Freeze, Toxic Reasons  or the Zero Boys.

Contrary to many other bands of the time they managed to write clever lyrics too. In a former column I already complained about German bands from the era not being able to come up with lyrics that wouldn’t make you blush when you played it loud. KGB was one of the few exceptions.

In the late 80s, KGB was the centre of the Tübingen Punk scene and when they split, they left a hole that hasn’t been filled till today.

All members tried out different projects after the split, most mentionable would be Church of Confidence by former guitar Player Uli, who now owns the most famous Rock’n’Roll venue in Berlin, the Wild at Heart. Church of Confidence are ok, but nothing more. Obviously very Social Distortion influenced.

In 1992 KGB was revived by singer Hannes, two years after the split, with a completely different line-up and it never felt the same. In addition, Hannes felt like he had to expand the musical bandwidth, which resulted in a horrible funk-rock crossover thingy. At least that was my impression back then. If I listened to it now it might sound different… might…

Anyway, before their first split, KGB put out numerous singles and three great albums:

-          - Letzte Bestellung

-          - Kein Grund zur Beruhigung

-          - Einmal rund um die Sonne

So check these out if you can get a hold of them. 

Also, I can’t talk about Tübingen without mentioning its most famous location for live-shows and alternative culture: the Epple-Haus. This former squat has been a self-governing community centre for over 40 years now and is still doing shows and events.

So if you happen to be in Tübingen, places to go to are:

-          - Epple-Haus  (Karlstrasse 13)

-          - Blauer Salon (Münzgasse 13)

-          - Last Resort (Mühlstrasse 20)

Here's KGB's homepage:

http://www.kgbgermany.de/

I believe they still play sporadically.

Kotzreiz, column not yet published

Alright, since the fanzine in Japan is being delayed, I will post two unpublished columns here first.
It seems there is a bit of financial trouble and I hope they get it together again.
If you are reading this in Japan and you want to publish an ad (helping them finance the zine), here's the link:

http://old-fashion.net/advertisers.html
 

Ok... column...here we go:



Warm greetings from cold Germany. The leafs have fallen off the trees and temperatures are dropping towards zero already... I’m looking forward to a white winter. Not like in Tokyo, where it’s chaos as soon as one centimetre of snow falls – we are talking about half a meter over here.

However, if Germans know how to do one thing well, apart from making sausages and beer, then it is building houses! Perfectly isolated, it is warm and cosy inside, even at minus 20 degrees outside.

I have been over here two months now and I am already starting to miss Tokyo! I want to ride my scooter through Tokyo, eat some decent Ramen, go drinking with my crew, get hammered at a Punk show in Koenji or Shimokita, go to Karaoke and then sleep on the train home! That’s my perfect day!
Anyway, no time for whining – time to get down to business, which is introducing German bands.

And today I actually chose a band that is still playing! So no obscure 80s stuff but young and fresh!
I am talking about Berliners “Kotzreiz”. When I first listened to them, there was this feeling of not knowing whether they were being serious or making fun of themselves but I instantly liked it.
 One of the things I hate most is when people take themselves too seriously. I believe everything and everyone should be allowed to be made fun of, Hitler just as well as Ghandi...

That’s why I like Kotzreiz. Every cliché of Punk in Germany is being made fun of in lyrical genius. Exactly the type of lyrics that leaves a huge percentage of listeners behind, but those who know how to take it with a grin on their faces. The last time I had that feeling was with early 90s Hamburg band “Human Punx”. Their irony was pretty obvious but they were still subtle enough to be taken seriously by some.
If you get the chance you should check out their album "Nietzsches Schreibmaschine". Epic title, by the way.

What Kotzreiz are within the German Punkrock scene, Hardskin would be for English Oi and Steel Panther and Spinal Tap for Metal.
All those bands (except Spinal Tap maybe) have in common that they make fun of what they are actually part of.
Kotzreiz are Punks and they are rooted in the Punkrock scene. But especially within the Punk scene there is so much stupidity that is worth being ridiculed. However, they never lose respect for the Punk thing itself.
So different from some silly comedian who puts a safety pin in his ear and a fake Mohawk on his head in order to make jokes about punks, those guys actually know what they are talking about.
Their latest record is called “Punk bleibt Punk” (Punk will be Punk) and lyrically they deal with anything punk-related, like riding on public transportation without paying for a ticket (Fahrschein), collecting empty bottles for money (Pfandflaschenmessi), hating Mondays (Montagscheisstag), loving alcohol (Pfeffi Graf, der Klügere kippt nach), hating Emos (Emosau),  loving Berlin (Berlin), hating work (Punk bleibt Punk) and so on.
However, all their comedy wouldn’t work if their music sucked. Fortunately it doesn’t. Within their Punkrock minimalism they have a feel for good melodies and choruses. The band they reminded me most of musically is Turbonegro during their Ass Cobra / Apocalypse Dudes phase. Especially the “Ohohoh” choruses sound a lot like them. But they also know their Deutschpunk back-catalogue and Vorkriegsjugend are no strangers to them.
All in all it is straight and simple Punkrock with catchy melodies. Raw enough not to sound over-produced but not too lo-fi. Anyway the perfect vessel to transport their overdrawn lyrics.

Go get their records:

“Du machst die Stadt kaputt”
“Punk bleibt Punk”

Both released on AGP (Aggressive Punk Produktionen), label of Rejected Youth singer Matze.

Oh, and the best thing last: I will be a dad soon. Long I have pondered but too precious is my DNA to let it go to waste...