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Interview title:
Catching Up With Kaptn'K

GR: How has touring & the music business changed over the years?

Sasha K (SK): Well, back in '97 I was first made aware of MP3 technology & all that stuff. I was writing an article for the KMFDM web site, making some predictions & at the time it was speculation. But, it's turned out to all be true. I was saying then that if piracy becomes the thing, then record labels will not spend money anymore they will not develop bands any more, bands will not be able to tour anymore, bands will not have any income anymore because record sales are going down. That’s exactly what has happened. The industry has ruined itself by not reacting quick to it and by [not adapting to it] and not making it part of their methods.

GR: There are lots of great unsigned bands out there, but the major labels don't seem to pay much attention to anything outside the mainstream they've created. Do you think they're afraid to take a chance on anything new?

SK: The record labels don't have any money anymore, to do that, the way they used to. Record sales are much lower for everyone than they used to be. Taking our own record sales as an example; in the mid 90's they used to be 150K to 200K copies of an album sold (in the first 2 years of its life). Nowadays, it's 60 thousand copies even though we have more people knowing about KMFDM than ever before. We have more people coming to the shows than ever before. So, the conclusion is, everybody has, knows, and loves KMFDM, but nobody buys it anymore. So there you go.

GR: Does that force you to put more of a priority on touring as far as revenue and keeping things going?

SK: Well, touring only makes so much money in & by itself. Say, 900 people come & pay $20 a head, that's $18 grand. If you play a House of Blues, they say their overhead cost is $13 grand, fixed. That leaves $5K for us. It's expensive to tour. The venue has to make money, they take their cut, then there's all our cost. There's 2 bands, 2 buses, drivers, gas, food, & a butt-load of crew. I just checked my payroll, it's $17 thousand per week [just to be on the road]. Fortunately, we're good at negotiating [with venues] so maybe we'll get a little more out of them for some nights. It's gotten really hard. And, the better of an accountant you are the more successful you can be. It's kind of funny that way.

GR: What else has changed over the years?

SK: think the whole thing has really driven this DIY mentality much more than I would have ever expected really. And, what used to be a sort of pampered spoiled kind of band on a strong indy label [TVT Records] has now become a total cottage industry, DIY machine, in and by itself. We have our own KMFDM store, our own KMFDM record label. We're doing everything. There's 8 people working full time on KMFDM. We don't have management per se (so nobody has their hands in that pot). We control all our publishing, we own our entire catalog. You know, DIY from A to Z.

GR: Would that be advice for bands starting out these days?

SK: Yeah, don't look for a big deal because the big deals come with [someone else] owning all your stuff... all your rights, your publishing, your merchandise. All that stuff. Do it yourself.

GR: What else have you been working on?

SK: Lucia, myself & Dean Garcia from Curve have done this little thing called "KGC". (As a side project). We put a few songs on MySpace & sent out a KMFDM bulletin. In the first 12 hours we had 23,000 listens on MySpace (the counter was going crazy). MySpace is a really powerful tool to get the word around, but then what... [you have to follow through]. The full CD will be coming out on KMFDM records [ed. out now]. It was something Lucia was dreaming of doing. I got involved because I was the guy with the techie know-how. And it was good fun.

GR: With KMFDM Records are you planning to sign other artists?

SK: No, it's entirely KMFDM related. It takes so much time to work our own stuff that we don't have the spare time or manpower to responsibly work other people's projects, at this point. We do have other bands in the KMFDM store but that's a different situation.

GR: What do you get more satisfaction from, writing & recording or playing live?

SK: Both really. [I like them both equally really]. After being in the studio for months I'm just totally itching to go out on the road. Then, after a while on the road I'm thinking, man when is this gonna be done with, and I'm looking forward to being back in the studio. I can say that I'm giving it my all. When I'm on tour I belong to KMFDM's audience; I'm gonna be out there before the show, after the show, shaking a lot of hands, taking a lot of pictures with fans, signing a lot of stuff, talking to a lot of people, speaking many many words, and giving a lot of compliments. And, being on the road means coping with a lot of BS too.

GR: The amount of time you spend offstage personally interacting with fans is very admirable.

SK: Well, it's stupid to not recognize and validate the symbiotic nature of this relationship. What would we do without KMFDM's fans? And, what would they listen to without us? So, I believe in giving back to them for what they give to me - helping me pay my rent, my bills, they're keeping me alive.

GR: Has your approach to songwriting changed over the years?

SK: No, not really. Not at all actually.

GR: What usually comes first, a concept?

SK: No, it's usually a sound. It starts with a sound. Well, not quite true. The writing in the studio starts usually with a sound. The idea for songs start like maybe tonight on a tour bus, having one too many to drink and coming up with a line of sorts. And, I write that down and then usually by the time I go into the studio I have a lot of lines & I try to remember what was the idea behind that (what the f**k is it? [laughs]). But, you know, it makes sense. I mean, I sort of then pair the sound with the idea & something will come of it.

GR: Is there any particular source of inspiration for you?

SK: Just everyday stuff. You know, someone says something, maybe trips over their own words or something & it sounds interesting. A good example, guitarist Mark Darrante in 1993 was just talking on the tour bus & tripped over the war against drugs, he said "the drug against war" and that boom!, that was the idea. Sh*t like that, that's typically like the inspiration for something.

GR: So, you're always harvesting ideas from your surroundings?

SK: Yeah, I'm kind of constantly sort of regurgitating what goes around & trying to see the humor in tragedy & that kind of stuff.

GR: What are the first 3 things you'd do if you ruled the world?

SK: If I ruled the world... 1) I would take all the money away from everybody. I would completely do away with money, it would not exist anymore. 2) I would take all the weapons away from everybody, that includes all nuclear materials. 3) And then, I would sit them down & teach them a lesson on alternative ways to run the place -- no money, no weapons -- takes all the fun away for all the fascists & capitalists.

GR: What's your favorite snack food?

SK: Honestly, I don't snack. I eat usually one meal a day, sometimes two. But, I don't eat in between because it spoils my appetite. And, I like eating a lot, so, I eat good food & don't snack much. I guess like a bag of Tim's Cascade Potato Chips will get my interest, their Johnny's Seasoning flavor was good.

GR: Do you have any pets?

SK: Nope. No, I'm traveling too much to have pets. I'm a cat lover, but I get so attached to a cat if I have one that I can't travel anymore. That would screw me up. I've had many cats and some of them get kind of screwed up because I was away so much. It's kind of sad you know.

GR: Thanks very much for chatting with us!

SK:No sweat man, my pleasure!