01) 10 years of KRAWALLBRÜDER, what highlights, what low points, and what unique experiences have you had during this time?
To name highlights and low points here would probably exceed the scope, although there have definitely been exponentially more high points than low points. All in all, it can be said that the band KrawallBrüder has come a long way since its founding in 1993, with everything that entails, but it is definitely always moving forward, much to the chagrin of a few and to the great joy of many.
02) You have now released a Best Of CD. How did you select the songs that are on the Best Of CD?
The Best Of was already available exclusively at EMP for half a year prior; we selected the songs based on our best knowledge regarding the audience, as well as our personal favorite tracks, and we believe the end product speaks for itself.
03) To what extent do you benefit from the current German rock boom?
We cannot deny that we are currently regarded as one of the hottest bands in this genre and we have no problem with that, even if we still prefer to call ourselves a street rock/street punk band. Nevertheless, the boom around music with German lyrics and a hard sound is currently benefiting many bands, including Dritte Wahl, Frei.Wild, Betontod, Toxpack, Berliner Weisse, and many others, and should generally be seen as positive. We are fully aware of the danger that some nationalists might try to latch onto this movement, and this is not tolerated by us or the organizers. Therefore, we always have a crew at “normal” KB gigs that sorts out and confronts people at the entrance who seem right-wing to us. Even at large events, our guys have already been deployed. Of course, this does not guarantee absolute abstinence from right-wing audiences at our concerts, as we cannot look into people, but we are making a statement that has evidently been understood lately. Unfortunately, there are always a few misguided individuals; you don’t have to go to KrawallBrüder for that, you can also visit a “Loikaemie” or “Kassierer” concert, without wanting to question the political stance of these bands, as there are always a few idiots who don’t get it.
04) How do you view bands like Frei.Wild, Marten’s Army, Toxpack, and Betontod?
We have a working/professional to friendly relationship with all these bands, which I would translate to about 50:50 for the aforementioned. Yes, we are also aware of the mistakes made by members of three-quarters of the bands mentioned above in their (recent) past, but in our impression, they have learned from it and now position themselves clearly against political extremism, which is enough of a basis for us to work with them.
05) How (locally) patriotic would you consider yourselves?
First of all, as an explanation: I see myself as socially critical and NOT as a politically educated person, simply because I am not really interested in political events. Ultimately, I do not have the energy to go into politics and change anything, so I prefer not to talk about politics, simply because I do not engage with it and can only criticize grievances from a subjective perspective without much background. This serves as an introduction, as I had to consult the dictionary more than once for the upcoming questions to understand what the terms mean/define: I think everyone in the band feels comfortable in their hometown: I simply cannot get out of the nest Saarlouis and believe me, I have tried and moved away, but only briefly. Not that Saarlouis is the revelation city No. 1. No, it is just as much a dump as Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, etc., but I feel comfortable here because I grew up here and associate something with almost every corner. If that is local patriotism, then I guess I am that. Patriotism regarding Germany, I am probably not. I appreciate how good we all have it here, that overall, poverty is not as pronounced in Germany as, for example, in Spain or neighboring Eastern Bloc countries. Nevertheless, that does not drive me to praise this country. To be honest, I hardly think about it. I just feel comfortable, but I would probably feel comfortable elsewhere too; ultimately, KrawallBrüder has already toured in countries like Spain, France, Turkey, and the Czech Republic, alongside Switzerland and Austria, and we were received warmly and kindly everywhere, and those were not vacation spots, so why not completely emigrate in the future if it gets too stupid for us here and one can break away from their birthplace…!?
06) Where do you draw the line between (local) patriotism and nationalism?
To be honest, we have nothing to do with exaggerated patriotism as mentioned above, nor with nationalism, let alone that I could draw a well-founded line for you because I simply do not engage with these topics. Somehow, this question is more suitable for political scientists than for the band KrawallBrüder.
07) What do you think should change in Germany?
Hmm, to be honest, I think it would be nice if a higher tax rate would apply from a certain income level to relieve those who earn less. Ultimately, high earners would still have enough left. State debts could be reduced, or the social system could be expanded. Also, the voluntary social year is a mess because it has become a no-go for too many. I myself completed civil service with the German Red Cross in emergency services, but also temporarily in the disabled transport service, and it does not help those in need of care that the voluntary commitment to these positions is drastically declining. Well, otherwise, the old story again; I could only bring in what I am marginally interested in, what I occasionally notice, the rest is open. One thing is certain: A country needs a government without extremist backgrounds, and I think the government of the last decades, whether CDU or SPD, is anyway a constant change, is currently doing relatively well for 95% of the population in Germany. As I said, regarding a high life expectancy, social legislation should be reconsidered, but that is about it!
08) What is your stance on the EU?
EU or Oi!?
Hehe, good topic, since almost all borders are open, we no longer have to declare our merchandise when we travel abroad. There will also certainly be no hate tirades from my side against Greece, etc., because they do not meet the convergence criteria (by the way, I just had to look that up on Wikipedia), and Germany is not far from that either, so I don’t care. Whether our government sends tax money to another country for subsidies in the name of EU or world unity or invests it in other meaningful or meaningless projects. Once I have paid my taxes, the money is gone. Period. As mentioned, I think the tax system needs to be changed. I believe I have noticed that some other countries had to rotate so much for EU membership that in the end, the population suffered again. That would be a shame, but factually the same path that every population must take due to the established rules of their form of government. Ultimately, I welcome the EU itself because many things have become easier and everyone is coming a little closer together. Since we live in a tri-national area and thus have had a lot of contact with our neighboring countries from birth, I do not welcome the currency reform.
09) There are always accusations and hostilities against the fans who attend your concerts. Chants like "A tree, a rope, an Antifa neck" I have personally heard from attendees at your concerts just before your performance. You once said you cannot influence your fans. Why do you see it that way?
That means you were at the Force Attack!?
To my knowledge, that was the only concert where this phrase was shouted, but not by us, rather by the audience. And that stopped as soon as we pointed out at the beginning of the concert that we were not on stage for any political reasons, but to (united) throw a good party. Unfortunately, “Screw the Antifa” chants have repeated occasionally, most recently at this year’s Spirit Festival, which we always immediately addressed and stopped. I do not believe that the Antifa has a problem with us per se. I think they cannot really categorize us because we ultimately present ourselves as apolitical as a band, the only exception in our appearance: exclusion of obviously recognizable right-wing audiences at our shows.
It all started with the Force Attack in 2007 when someone posted a treatise about me, my presumed actions, and my presumed living spaces online. The fact is that 90% of this still circulating hate speech on the internet was fabricated and false.
It is true that I was involved with Dim Records until 2007 and also temporarily with Pure Impact and Adler Versand (the latter at a time when it was not yet obvious where the journey was heading). However, that business is long over.
Unfortunately, the complete rest, that I would also attend various concerts like Endstufe, Kampfzone, etc., or that I was a regular at De Kastelein, is not true but rather fabricated. Likewise, our alleged right-wing openness is simply nonsense that we completely negate through our actions.
To revisit the Spirit Festival: We stated right at the beginning on stage that we do not wish for these chants, especially since they are completely unfounded; there are reasonable people in the Antifa just like everywhere else, as well as idiots, but those who hide under the guise of the Antifa or pretend to be part of it have only one thing in mind: to make themselves interesting by stepping on the toes of one of the currently most well-known bands of this subculture. It works at times, otherwise, some of these bands would not have 50 people at their shows but only 15. I find it very dangerous what is currently happening indiscriminately on the internet. A site like Oireszene (www.oireszene.blogsport.de), which may have good intentions, has become a playground for amusement-seekers and neo-Nazis alongside the actual addressees who can still pick up their concert tips here, or suddenly a scene emerges alongside the real gray area of actually right-wing skins and punks where it is fashionable or funny to be gray area, even if one has nothing to do with it, and others, especially us, are being pigeonholed after over 15 years of factual political innocence regarding our external impact into a drawer where we simply do not belong.
As already said at the Spirit: This here, even if it reads that way, is my opinion and conviction and not an attempt to curry favor with the Antifa, who, along with right and left extremists, I also completely do not care about. The band KrawallBrüder is taking a straight path, beyond political extremes, with common sense that fundamentally excludes the prejudgment of people from other cultures, and this has been the case since they became musically active.
But that does not mean that anything will change in the perception of the readers of ramtatta.de towards us.
10) I think as a band you can definitely influence your fans. Do you have concerns about positioning yourselves politically/societally?
Yes, you can certainly do that to a certain extent. An announcement or the exclusion of right-wing audiences at our shows must damn well be enough because I clearly state what I think. The band KrawallBrüder is not Dritte Wahl, not Fahnenflucht on one side and not Endstufe and not Landser on the other side (which I do not want to equate here), but a band that started making music for the fun of it and not to transport political content, which you will not find in any of our songs, even if some phrases are intentionally provocative and striking.
We have no concerns but position ourselves through our actions, not through the lyrics.
If you look at the last 10 years of shows, you will not find a venue or organizer for whom we have played that is politically questionable; most happened through self-managed youth centers whose political orientation was clearly more left or at large events with definitely politically unproblematic backgrounds.
The only venue we played that comes into question was “Menfis” in Neustadt, where we performed once with “Prolligans” and once with “Riot Company,” but that was BEFORE shows like “Endstufe” took place there, which was also not foreseeable AFTERWARDS, I believe that was in 2005!
11) What is your attitude towards the Antifa?
To be honest, what the gentlemen want to implement is commendable, as racism is simply wrong, but the means and ways that are often taken, mostly by smaller groups or splinter groups, are unfortunately just as wrong. I still miss that before condemning various groups and bands, an open conversation is sought, as this has never happened in our case. Instead, the Antifa tolerates that under their guise, denunciation occurs and bands are put on trial. That must not be.
12) How should, in your opinion, the work against fascism, sexism, and anti-Semitism be carried out?
Just as we do it, although the topic of sexism does not really bother me; rather, it is anti-speciesism, which is why two of the Krawallbrüder do not eat meat. If the population, regardless of culture, sticks together, political extremes, whether left or right, have no chance. A balance emerges overall, aside from smaller disputes that are based on interpersonal reasons. I think everyone in Germany is aware of where the country would stand without immigrants, not to mention the birth rate. France is a good example that a society of various cultural forms can function. Both our private friendships and the Krawallbrüder fan base, as well as our tours, extend far beyond the borders of the German-speaking / German-descended area. That is simply the case, and anyone who attends a concert can see that.
13) Is subculture not always political, simply due to its otherness?
Subculture is rebellion against existing rules, which at the very least root in the parental home and at most come from the government. Here, everyone decides for themselves how far they want to go. Our path does not go against the system, but rather against a numbed society that has forgotten that it belongs together as a unit and should live. The political factor is a side issue for us as long as it does not go to extremes. Sorry if I am repeating myself.
14) Through your label KB-Records, you also release bands like Marten’s Army. What is your stance on the lyrics of Marten’s Army?
Marten’s Army is the band of Stöbi, a very good old acquaintance of mine, who has also made a lot of mistakes in his career but has learned from them today, which does not mean that he would not like to provoke. Stöbi, as the target person No. 1 regarding Marten’s Army and Gerbenok, is by the way one of the crew members at Krawallbrüder who ensures orderly conditions at a Krawallbrüder concert at the entrance.
The lyrics of Marten’s Army may upset some in terms of sexism, and I think “Pull them up” will also cause some to cringe because this topic is often propagated by the right. Nevertheless, I do not see them as more dramatic in terms of sexism than, for example, the Kassierer or Lokalmatadore, and in terms of condemnation, not worse than, for example, “Bullenschweine” or Polizei, SA, SS by Slime, sorry! I myself experienced Chaostage, where the cops were fair to our bunch of punks and skins, so much for that, and they certainly did not have fun there. Marten’s Army is also currently positioning itself clearly regarding their organizers, as no one comes from a brown corner. The opposite is the case, and it is sad when a band is excluded from an event because there was also something with Gerbenok! Speaking of Gerbenok, this band also positions itself against a line in a song that could just as well have come from OHL or Cotzbrocken in the song “The New Hippies.” This song is often quoted, gig-wise only at politically unproblematic organizers up to self-managed clubs. Both bands do not want anything to do with political extremes and ultimately accept an extreme, namely the left, to avoid being pushed into the right corner. An interview with these people would also clarify things.
Whether I agree with every word that appears in a text is another matter, as I am not the godfather who decides which topics are sung about, as long as it stays within normal bounds.
Please do not ask a counter-question about the text “The New Hippies” at this point.
Whether it was a mistake back then, both from the band to sing that line and from me to publish it - possible to very likely. Yes, it was wrong. But it is not hypocritical to look at the bum at the fries stand with disdain and disgust and then in the next moment to raise a finger in a teaching manner and proclaim solidarity!
Surely no one regrets it as much as the band itself. No one gives the guys the opportunity to explain or justify themselves; they are all painted with the same brush and stamped, and that is wrong. Ultimately, this way of doing things drives less stable people to actually stay in a gray area or drift to the right.
15) How fair do you see the German legal system?
To be honest, the individual organs (even the same ones, e.g., court/judge X versus court/judge Y) and the interpretation of the law vary so much that one cannot say that in general. For rapists and child molesters, for example, I also find the sentences too lenient, although I would be cautious to impose the death penalty for this; life imprisonment would suffice, which is practically 15 years, after which it’s supervised living, right? I only mentioned this so blatantly because of your previous question, not because I want to throw out any seemingly right-rooted dumb statements. As I said, every legal system, including the German one, has flaws and loopholes, but I am also not informed enough to make a universally valid statement.
16) If you could change something in Germany, what would you change and why?
I would not change much because I feel comfortable and can live with what the government imposes on us. I believe (almost) no one is really doing poorly in this system; too many people have simply forgotten or never seen what real problems in life are, namely when it comes to the existential basis like hygiene, water, food, war, which is a problem in many countries of this world. Instead, today in Germany, one goes well-fed and in acceptable living conditions either on self-earned or state-funded internet and first informs oneself half-heartedly and then the rest of the world with a thousand times chewed half-truths instead of starting with oneself and one’s problems. This way, one loses focus on the essentials as a world improver.
17) What are your plans for the end of 2011 and the year 2012?
Well, we will continue to consistently follow our path and not shy away from familiar provocation here and there. From September 23, 2011, to December 15, 2011, we will be in the studio to record our new album, which will then be released on April 1, 2012, and will be featured in the Ramtatta review. Afterwards, or at the release, we will go on tour in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and in the summer on festival tour!
Thank you very much for your interest in our combo. Perhaps we were able to clarify a few open points.
