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.