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An Interview with Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM
Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
By: Zak Vaudo
Musician, Promoter, PR Rep, Radio DJ

It's not easy being one of the hardest-hitting bands out there...but it sure is fun. With more than a solid month of North American touring coming to a close, KMFDM's "Kein Mitleid 2009" tour has certainly been one to remember. From Washington, DC going counter-clockwise around the continental USA and Canada to the southeast, KMFDM has brought the Ultra Heavy Beat to over 30 cities. Band founder Sascha Konietzko took the time to sit down with ReGen Magazine to discuss the tour and his thoughts on how KMFDM has progressed through time.

Now that the tour is coming to a close, what are your thoughts on how it all went? Are you pleased with the outcome?

Konietzko: Oh yeah, it went really excellent. We had 26 shows so far; unfortunately we missed the Salt Lake City show due to a snow storm, but that was really the only drawback.

How did this tour compare to previous tours?

Konietzko: Knock on wood, previous tours have gone pretty well, come and gone, but this one so far has gone really good. The elements that you have on a tour are many. For instance, what type of opening act you have, how everyone gets along, if there's a weak link in the tour that could really upset the balance...but this time, everything worked really great. Excellent tour, excellent opening act, the atmosphere's good, nobody's been too sick or too injured. It's all good.

Are there any cities that stood out among the rest?

Konietzko: I remember Toronto in particular was one of those evenings where everything came together in a more or less perfect way. New York was excellent, Chicago was definitely a highlight. Seattle, too, possibly due to the fact that I lived there for 12 years and I saw some friends at the show.

With such a large array of fan favorites along with two albums' worth of new material never before played live, how did you choose what gets stage play and what sits out?

Konietzko: Typically we try a lot of songs during rehearsals, and some gel more than others. We have to narrow it down to the ones that play the best. Some songs come together really organically, and some are more crafted. Generally speaking, the crafted ones don't go over so easily live. There's a lot vocal layering and other trickery that may not translate into a live performance so well.

What drew you towards Angelspit as a tour partner for this run?

Konietzko: We met Angelspit in 2004 when we played a few shows in Australia. They were chosen by whoever chose the opening act for those shows. Afterwards there was an arranged cruise of the Sydney Harbor. They were on board, we were on board, we hit it off and have been in contact ever since. It was rather natural to choose them because they were recently signed to Metropolis Records, and they're just great guys.

Do you have any strange or memorable moments from the tour you'd be willing to share?

Konietzko: Actually, about three days ago in Austin, a ranger showed up and took our lighting guy from us in handcuffs, arrested him. There was some mistake; let's just call it a judicial error. He came back later that day, but it was relatively unpleasant.

How did everyone take that?

Konietzko: Well, it just ruined the day for everyone. Fortunately, the venue had maybe four lights, so the light show would still have been the same.

KMFDM has been a driving force in this genre for a quarter-century now.

Konietzko: Well, so they say, yeah?

If you had to start KMFDM up right now with the knowledge you've gained thus far, how do you think things would go? Would you do anything differently?

Konietzko: No. I mean, it's hard to say. In 25 years, there are points reached at times and decisions made that at the time seem right, and in hindsight you always go 'Had I done this differently, it would have been different,' but I think KMFDM is at a very good point in its life. I'm very confident that I can say 'Yeah, I made the right calls.' I mean, I kept it away from the mainstream, and maybe thus prevented crash and burn. Longevity comes from staying underground and willingly doing so.

As KMFDM has changed, so has industrial music. What do you think about this change?

Konietzko: I wouldn't really be the one to know all that stuff; I don't feel that I'm part of the scene. It's sort of a protective mechanism to keep my head free from foreign influences. Especially at times when I'm beginning to record or am in the middle of the recording cycle, I want to have as little foreign influence in my head as possible, for obvious reasons.

How do you feel the music you're making now reflects on the original spirit of KMFDM 25 years ago?

Konietzko: One hundred percent. All the elements that were present in early KMFDM are present today; perhaps they've developed a life of their own in what Frank Zappa would have called 'conceptual continuity.' Things that work in a certain way maybe get picked up again and become trademarks for a time, like our five-letter album titles and stuff like that. As with all things, if it's never bright, it's never dark. If it's never loud, it's never quiet. These things, these traditions have to be broken every once in a while in order to make them be appreciated when they reappear.

What's the most important thing you've learned from your touring career?

Konietzko: Patience. When you're on tour, the whole day is waiting. Nothing goes fast; everything takes time. Whether it's wanting to take a shower or trying to move from point A to point B, you always have to wait for something to happen or someone to arrive or someone to be ready. You just have to be patient. If you're impatient, you're going to have a heart attack.

What's next on the horizon for KMFDM?

Konietzko: There's a bit more touring to happen for this set. In early 2010, there's a trip to Australia and Japan in the making. There's a couple of festivals coming up in the springtime in Europe. There's a lot of recording I have to do to keep up the pace with my buddy Tim Skold, who's been working on new material for us. I'll basically jump right back into the studio and intersperse it with a bit of touring.

If you had to sum up the tour in a few words, how would you?

Konietzko: It lives up to its title: 'Kein Mitleid.' No pity. 26 shows in 28 days. We just fucking bulldozed America.