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If you walk up to someone on the street and ask them what FGDBY means, they probably will have a confused or indifferent response.  Naturally, this is because FGDBY means nothing.  To the best of my knowledge, no such thing exists.

Of course, unlike FGBDY, some five-letter acronyms can speak volumes. The greatest example of this type of acronym is KMFDM.  These letters stand for Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid and represent a band that has been pushing the limits of modern music with each new release.  Their themes range from the absurd to the strictly political and each album is a totally different landscape.  Thrashing guitars, hard beats, and electronics fuse to give KMFDM their own distinct style, described by frontman Sascha Konietzko as the "ultra heavy beat."  KMFDM is a band that's gone through it all- ridiculous touring, a shifting roster of band members, you name it.  So why should you be interested in them?  Because you're tired of listening to crappy music.  Look to the following content and experience a review of their new live release, new DVD, and an interview with Sascha K:

The WWIII Live 2003 CD: 

If you've never heard of KMFDM, then I'm fairly sure you've spent most of your life thus far listening to crappy music.  Their recent release, a live recording of a Chicago concert on the WWIII tour, is a powerhouse.  The CD is hard, in-your-face, and just damn awesome.  It bites with an edge that is not unlike a rabid bulldog on a large amount of PCP(note: Brad Podray does not endorse giving drugs to animals).  Where most live releases strike me as poorly recorded and generally boring to listen to, the quality production of this CD cannot be ignored.  The vocals are comprehensible and no layer of the mix is drowned by the others.  Furthermore, there are a great number of refreshing things to listen to on this CD.  From Raymond's chanting of "The revelation" at the closing of Juke Joint Jezebel to drumming subtleties throughout the album, every part of the music and mix contributes to a well-rounded and solid live recording.  For the uninitiated, allow me to describe the nature of the music and what you should prepare for on this CD: An amalgamation of hard rock and technology that makes for an incredible sound.  KMFDM is essentially the world's only true "Ultra Heavy Beat" band.  

You'll find enough metal to satisfy the metalhead.  You'll find enough keyboards to satisfy the techno and industrial fan.  You'll find enough country to satisfy maybe...one person(as the intro to the song, "WWIII" has a nice little bluegrass edge that is artfully shattered at close to the one minute mark).  Plenty of fantastic lyrics, ranging from the political to the narcissistic: KMFDM proudly "declares war on every government," is a "drug against war," and notes that guitar player Jules Hodgson "breeds new life forms inside his shoes.  KMFDM fans will find great joy in the live Juke Joint Jezebel, Light, and Drug Against War.  Unfortunately, there are no kickbacks to the older-school material here.  As much as I love hearing nearly the entire WWIII album again in a live version, I wouldn't complain hearing a "Godlike" or a "Money" every now and then.  

Anyhow- the bottom line and take-home message of this review is "Listen to KMFDM to improve yourself as a person.  Their WWIII live recording is excellent."

Sure to please: Me.  Metal fans.  Hard rock fans.  Industrial fans.  KMFDM fans.  Some goth fans.  Pop Will Eat Itself fans....the list can go on and on.

Sure to disappoint: Hip-hop fans, George Bush, camels(they hate everything).

Rating: 

The WWIII Tour 2003 DVD:

With most live music DVDs, you get inside the band's head.  You see how they live on the road.  You see a couple of interviews.  Maybe you might get to see them joking around and being more "themselves" than you're used to thinking was possible.  The KMFDM WWIII live DVD does these things, but booted up a notch.  The live show footage is done well.  The cuts keep the action exciting and it will hold your interest- yet it's the extras that really make this DVD stand a head above the rest.  The DVD displays the serious, complex live show and the extra footage shows some more...well...casual events.  There's something about one you conceive as a musical genius struggle at one point to break a plastic spoon and fail.  The bearer of the DVD gets to see Lucia quack at the camera and a birthday party for Jules.  Loads of footage of fans with the band are present, and if you were in the KMFDM horde(specialized KMFDM fan club), there's a damn good chance you're somewhere on this DVD.  

The interviews are compelling and cover a great number of people who were involved.  Not only are all the band members interviewed, but you also get to hear words from the crew who KMFDM worked with on the tour.  What makes this DVD extremely interesting in that one minute you're watching live, in-your-face band footage and the next minute you're on more of a family home movie, watching the exact same band as they go whale-watching.  Bottom line- If you like KMFDM, buy this DVD. It covers KMFDM from a wide array of perspectives and images.  If you don't like KMFDM, then buy the DVD anyhow, because you'd probably waste your money on something stupid otherwise.

The Interview:

The following is a transcript of an interview with Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM.  Being a KMFDM fan myself. I felt honored for the opportunity.  Here it is(slight grammatical corrections may have been made on my part so I don't sound like a total idiot):

1.  Could you please describe the differences between the first ever KMFDM show and the most recent KMFDM show played?

Sascha K: the first show was my (only ever) one-man noise performance with bass guitar, amps, fuzzpedals and vacuum-cleaners. It was on February 29, 1984 in Paris, France at the Grand Palais, a structure of steel and glass, almost like a giant greenhouse. Panes of glass began falling from above and the performance was forcefully and prematurely ended. The event that this acoustic accompaniment was made for was the opening of an exhibition of young modern art with various installations of an art-group named ERSTE HILFE (first aid), who I was friends with. 

The last show was 10 days ago at the Dour-festival in Belgium. We played at 2 am in the morning in front of approx. 4000 people that began to stream into the huge tent all of a sudden once the first sound was made by us. This show was the finale of our European and Russian tour that began at the end of June in Moscow. 

KMFDM was a 5-piece on this recent tour.

2.  If you could identify one single step in KMFDM's career that put you in a position to headline and jam-pack venues, what would it be?

SK: Coming to the US in late 1989.

3.  You've recently completed a European tour as I write this.  Is there a noted difference between the European KMFDM fans as opposed to the American ones?

SK: The European fans want to be "won" over, that may take as long as 15-20 minutes, then they're warmed up and going for it. They are a bit less "star-struck" than the Americans and hang out forever after the show, if one let's them, then they drink all the beer and booze and roll fatties..... industrial, metal and goth are "one scene", we saw people of all varieties and flavours at these shows. There are many cultural differences in European audiences, America is a bit more homogenous.

I enjoyed speaking a bit of French and German to the respective audiences and it was very well appreciated. Didn't see the usual hot topic uniforms over there much either...

4.  As a band that is absolutely notorious for hard touring, you've probably developed a well-rehearsed lifestyle for the road.  What are some touring preferences you've developed as your career has progressed?(favorite on-tour restaurants, preferred movies/video games on the tour bus, etc.)

SK:  We like to tour as quick as possible, dragging it out is unbearable. We are always a full bus, lotsa crap traveling in the back lounge and therefore we drink and smoke and stay up all night and talk. 

There are no gamers in the band or crew, so no videogames, the occasional fawlty towers video or other English crap... that's it. 

As far as food we're pretty picky, in a sense that we'd rather not eat at all than eat s***, but of course Chef Boyardee is big on the bus for those late night emergencies.

5.  This has probably been asked before, but I'll ask anyways:  Do you read reviews of your albums in magazines and on the web?

SK:  Not usually looking for them but when I see one yes... I like the really bad ones the best, ones that get it all wrong or the ones that hate the band actually....

6.  Unfortunately, due to the straightforward question/answer scheme of an email interview, we don't have much room to end up going off on tangents.  To make up for this, I'll ask an unrelated question: What do you like on your pizza? 

SK:  Orange juice. Not today, but some other day.

7.  You're on Sanctuary records now.  What are the differences between being signed onto Sanctuary as opposed to being on Metropolis/Wax Trax/etc.? (ed note. KMFDM moved over to Koch for this new CD and DVD release)

SK: We're (fortunately) no longer with sanctuary. It was a nightmare whereas our time with the original, real Waxtrax was fantastic and Metropolis is also a very cool label.

8.  On a note kind of related to #7, what are your future plans with KMFDM records?

SK:  We'll see what happens and how the schedule will look over the next few months, eventually we'll release our own stuff on it.

9.  Did you ever have any formal musical training?

SK: I was instructed in classical guitar but never liked it.

11. What's your take on the whole indie/emo rock phase that's exploded to abhorrent levels?(Personally I think that this phase is a sick joke that God or Zeus or whoever is playing on me because he loves watching my blood pressure rise, not that I enjoy expressing my opinion about it or anything).  I'm referring to the immense success of bands like Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Story of the Year, any of the many light rock bands with time references in their names.

SK: Never heard of them, not sure what you're talking about

12.  What is the average time for completion of a KMFDM song(from scratch to final recorded product)?

SK: 1 month, it usually takes about 8-9 months to make a record...

13.  Give us a one-sentence idea of what the next album is going to sound like, if possible.

SK: The sound of baby-nappies ground in your face while 15 screeching squirrels storm the local 7-11

14.  Lots of people ask "who inspired you?" and the like in interviews.  I'd like to instead ask: which band/artist would you say had no influence on you whatsoever and what band would you never want to end up like?

SK:  Any band/artist that makes music for any other than themselves, for reasons other than personal.

15.  For our readers who haven't yet heard of KMFDM, how would you describe what they're in for when they go out and purchase WWIII?

SK:  see also #13, imagine 9 squirrels instead.

And that's all she wrote.  Bottom line- listen to KMFDM.

-brad-

Visit the official website for KMFDM

Purchase the new Live CD & DVD and other official KMFDM merch at the KMFDM Store
 

About the author: Brad Podray is an underground film actor, screenwriter and producer, musician (member of Psychaesthetic) and a regular antiMUSIC contributing writer and critic.