The Evolutionary New Album & Interview with Köfte DeVille

By pamela m

A conversation with Köfte DeVille is always interesting. The enigmatic front man of Mad Sin has a lot of stories to tell and a flair for telling them. He has been an ever-present force in the punk and psychobilly scenes in Berlin for over 20 years. Provokator took the opportunity to interview him not just as a chance to discuss the new album, but also to learn about the scene he grew up in, the evolution of the band, and the roll of politics in subculture.

WALL TOWN KIDS

Provokator: I’m interested in hearing about what the Berlin scene that you came up in.

Köfte: We had a very anarchistic scene there, very anarchistic, we had subcultures fighting with each other, a little bit like that Brighton thing. In Berlin, we had the poppers, which were basically new-wavers, they liked really dismal music. They had hair like this (hand motion to indicate big spiky hair) and they were...really clean guys. Then, we had the teddy boys. There was a really huge teddy boy scene. And the punk rockers. It came to a point where the teddy boys and the punks became friends and would fight against the poppa/waver. That's when I started (in the scene), that was in '81.

P: What about the neo-nazi scene?

K: That was much later.

P: Much later?

K: Back then the nazi scene was not important-it was nothing. The subculture scene was very anarchistic and pretty wild- the concerts were really wild. My first concert was a rockabilly concert, it was really wild. A couple years later, I went to see the English Dogs. The whole hall was spitting and going crazy. The same thing as in London, it (the Berlin scene) was very much based on the English punk rock and rock-n-roll culture, but it still had it’s own kind of thing. Sometimes we would go to The Wall and get drunk and we would see the Vo-Po's in the East and throw bottles at them, laughing at them. It was pretty easy for us because we were in the west and had our freedom.

P: So, what happened to the scene when The Wall came down in Berlin?

K: That was kind of crazy, that was in ‘89.

K: Psycho was already a big thing for us. The Wall came down and it was pretty crazy. A couple of years before, we had figured out there were a lot of punk rockers in The East and we went to The East for one party because we were the kind of pychobillies who hung around with the punks. Some psychobillies were really square, only into one band….

P: Yeah…?

K: They were from West Germany and always called us psycho punks, which was cool to us. The same with the London people. Because we were ‘the coloreds’ (reference to hair/clothes), we would hang around with the punks. We had been to The East, so I knew a few people there. When The Wall came down, we just met up with each other. There were a lot of psychobillies there too, which I didn't know. We had no money back then. Everyday we played on the street- making some money, getting drunk. For 5DM in The East, you were like a king and could go into all the fancy restaurants and get drunk. That's what we did the first day, just using the situation, really, and hanging out with the people.

P: So you could go over to The East before the wall came down?

K: You could, but you needed to have a visa. You would get a visa for 25 DM and then you would go over. We did that 2 times, a group of us, but it was not so fun. When The Wall came down, it was much more fun. We used to live in sort of a squat. There were about 10 people living there. Basically, we had parties everyday and we invited them (East German psychobillies) to come over. They wouldn't take drugs because they don't know about it. We were a little more crazy than them, I guess. It shocked them a little bit. So, at this time we had two psychobilly scenes going. We were there first and then they came and made their own scene because they really couldn't… These days it's much better, we hang out- I like them, we are much more together, but for quite a while it was like this- they had their thing we had our thing.

P: So, it was two small scenes with the same or similar music?

K: Yes. But, not these days. I hang out with them, I go to the meetings, and of course they accept me because they know I’ve been doing it since… I was the first one who did that in Berlin, but still there's, they're different than us, you know?

P: Yes.

K: I don't know, it's just a little different, you know? They're not as punkish, if you know what I mean... they don’t have such a punk attitude.

P: Yeah, I see. I’ve met people from Berlin and they define themselves as being East Berliners or West Berliners and it’s 15 years since The Wall came down.

K: They look more, slick.

P: Besides the look, you mentioned that the drug factor was one thing that kept them separate.

K: Back then. I think back then it was (a separating factor). These days it's not an issue anymore. Back then, I think even there was even a political factor.

P: Oh?

K: I think this is very interesting to you because you asked about the nazi thing. Well, I think the nazis were big in the east. It was big in the west too for a while, but it never got that big. You knew they were there, so fucking what? The nazi scene is still really huge in certain subcultures.

P: That's what I’ve heard

K: Maybe it’s a protest… I really don't know. Definitely something to do with the past. Obviously it's not that far away, not to far away from the way they grew up. it's kind of weird. I don't know, I can't explain it. It's just a feeling, just a vibe, which is in the air. It definitely has something to do with communist times and with the fact that their parents don’t have jobs and that the politicians never did enough for The East. You know? They just talked a lot, but basically never did a thing and there's too many people who have nothing now. That’s always a good…what do you call it? earth?

P: Source?

K: Source. It's always a good source for extreme thinking. You blame people who are lower than you. And things like that. In Berlin, we have a lot of problems relating to nationality. The multi-cultural thing is not really working. I wish it would, it's very hard.

P: So, Mad Sin was basically growing up at the same time Berlin was really changing?

K: Yeah, yeah true. I never thought about that.

M: Did MAD SIN evolve with it? The outside culture affects what you're doing.

K: Mad Sin is still in evolution. When I listen to the old stuff and I listen to the stuff that we're doing now, they are worlds apart. I never thought about it like that. We’ve changed a lot, as the things around us have changed a lot. Maybe it’s true, but, we’ve never lost our focus.

P: Your focus is?

K: Psychobilly/punkabilly.

P: Were you guys the first or the main psychobilly band in Berlin? Or, were there others before you who have fallen into history?

K: I think the way we played it, we were the first ones to play it modern. There were other bands before us, but they never played in a modern way- they were always soft and sort of more old school. Back then we were modern. We tried to play a little bit like The Krewmen, like Demented Are Go, or stuff like that because these were the new bands back then. That was what we went for- even some of The Meteors stuff and the Nekromantix. Kim started the Nekromantix half a year after I started Mad Sin. We were friends. Kim and I would always hang out in Berlin.

CHANGING TIMES, CHANGING FACES

P: Now you and stein are the only two original members?

K: Yeah, but you know what, at the end of the day, we were only 3 people.

P: You, Stein, and Holly?

K: Yeah.

P: Did you know Stein before the band? Were you guys childhood friends? Or…

K: No. Stein was on of those guys who came from Western Germany to live in Berlin. I just knew him from the scene, the rockabilly scene, the rockabilly clubs, some shows. I knew he played guitar and we would have a couple of beers together now and then. He was pretty mad. I knew that he was really crazy, a crazy guy. He lived in his car with his rat. That's what I knew and I knew that he was crazy enough to hang out with us and do music with us. The problem back then was that I was really known for being a little mad too.

P: You still are. >;-)

K: Yeah, that's a good thing. But I was like, really mad so it was not easy to find people who wanted to play with me or start a band. Holly was a total kid back then. In the beginning, we had a different bass player and we also had a drummer. I was the original singer. I just played the drums because he was too slow. The other bass player was shitty. One day he came with Holly to practice. Holly saw that I was unhappy with the bass player. He said “Give me the bass, maybe I can do better”. He played like thump, thump, thump. Really, like he plays now, he was that good. I was like “Whoa, you're in!”, but, we have to do something about your clothes.

P: I know Stein. I know you. I know Valle. But, I’ve never met Holly. What happened? It seems like Mad Sin was just starting to take off and this guy who’s been around since the beginning leaves?

K: Yeah. First of all, Holly’s a cool guy and he’s still a good friend. It was hard enough for him to actually go all the way with me and Stein because there was some really fucked up times. Suddenly, we made it. I think it’s because he’s got 2 kids and a proper job. He makes steady money. It’s nothing he can afford to lose and he has a wife and in his heart he is a rockabilly.

P: Is that a problem?

K: No that’s not a problem.

P: I know what you mean, it makes sense.

K: It's not totally his music. He likes the music. He's a big fan of punk rock. He’s got a big record collection. He loves lots of different styles, but in his heart he's a rockabilly. It's like me- in my heart I’m a psychobilly even though I like lots of different things. But I think the main reason he quit was that we played too often, nearly every weekend- it was a personal thing. It was a wise decision. Since Valle has been in the band, we feel more like a gang, even though Holly was totally cool.

P: How has it affected MAD SIN? You've already told us a little bit concerning the band- how do you think it has affected the music? Losing Holly getting Valle?

K: I don't know. I think the music is not really affected. The process is longer now without Holly because Holly was such a great musician. I write almost all the songs. Basically, I would have an idea and the only thing was the translation from me and my ideas to the band and Holly managed that easily. He was great at that, I would make something up and he’d say “this is no good, you do it like this“, after that, it worked. Valle had never been in the studio- this was the reason we took so long for the new record. He was really under a lot of pressure. I was happy that he could play and that it turned out like this. There was no way to put more weight on his shoulders by saying “you better help me write song”. It doesn't work like that, so I did everything on my own- arrangements and everything.

P: I can see that on stage you guys are having fun, you’re like a family.

K: Yeah.

P: Like you said, you're tighter. Your hearts are more in the same place?

K: Yeah. Even if one or two people left the band, we'd still be good friends. If someone would leave the band I would know why- it is because we play too often. You really have to put everything into the fuckin’ band. Which is quite heavy, even for me, these days because you don’t have a private life any more. We want to try to change that and do 2 months touring and one month off, so everybody can keep a little bit more freedom for themselves

FLAME JOB

P: One criticism of Mad Sin is that it's just this huge stage show and you’re covering up the music with a fire show. I disagree with that. It's obviously part of the act.

K: Yeah

P: But, how did that become part of the act? Now it's almost an essential part of the Mad Sin routine.

K: Yeah, when you put it that way. Those people can fuck off and die for saying that because it is not true. When we were in Japan we had no fuckin’ fire. When we were in The States-no fire, well, once we had Hellvis. We had no pyrotechnics, nothing, and the show was always great. We are good musicians, at least the others are. I think I’m a pretty o.k. entertainer, even if I’m not a good singer. My mother is an actress, so i grew up with all that theatric shit around me and what I want to see is a visual impact if I see something live. I liked KISS when was a kid. There are bands who do nothing on stage, like the Ramones or Motorhead, and it's perfect. For them, it's great, for me it wouldn't be... I couldn't do it because I couldn't stand still. I want things happening- we ended up with a fire spitter. We had a show where I shoot Elvis. Elvis is coming onstage and singing “Viva Las Vegas” and I come onstage and shoot him. Later he comes back as Hellvis. It's like a cabaret thing. And now we’ve got pyrotechnics . I don’t think we do much compared to other bands.

P: No, not like arena bands.

K: It's like nothing. It's only 2 or 3 pyro things and a little bit of fire. It's no big deal. Even Nashville Pussy has a fire show, Duane Peters & Die Hunns had a fire show. I like it because it's visual and it makes an impact. I can see that people think ahhhhh maybe they just do it because they want to cover up when all the other bands they just stand there and are boring.

IF THE KIDS ARE UNITED

P: People have always known Mad Sin in the psychobilly scene. With the ”Where the Bad Boys Rock” tour, did you guys reach a different audience than you had before?

K: I think we did that a couple of years ago. We've got a mixed audience. We've worked for that really hard because, especially in Germany, it is like ”you look like that so you are like this, you look like that so you are like this“,... everything's in drawers. We fought to get lots of people into our music and to make them understand that other bands do the same thing, so we've always played with a mix of bands.

P: That's one of the things I respect about you guys. You're not afraid to cross borders, cross genres...

K: There is an element in psychobilly that thinks it sucks. It's the same guys who go-“it's only fire works“, it's the same guys who go- “oh, they're just punks-they're punks with a double bass“. They want to lock the whole scene in that drawer and I don't like that, that's bullshit. I don't like them because they never risked shit in their life. They don't understand that there are bands out there that gotta live on their music. They don't understand that the scene is getting too small and we have to fight against mainstream bullshit. We have to stick together- the punk scene, hardcore, and psychobilly, ska, whatever. It's the final frontier against that mainstream crap. You know?

P: I was going to bring that up...in the psychobilly scene there are internal struggles, it just tears the scene apart.

K: Exactly. If you don't like me, you can fuck off. But really, it's getting to be too much. At the end of the 90’s there were big fights on stage. There was a fight in Nurnberg that was really massive.

P: I saw a video of that.

K: It was really massive. There were loads of people there. And, the scene got smaller after that. After that concert, and that's really stupid. I don't want that happening again.

P: I see a lot of newer bands coming in and bringing other influences, they like blending the sub cultures.

K: Exactly!

FUTURE of PSYCHOBILLY
*interviewer’s note- After the interview, Köfte wasn’t sure he wanted this part in print because he felt there were bands he should have mentioned and he didn’t want anyone to be upset or feel left out. The decision was made to leave it in because the interviewer thinks it is an important point of reference for readers- especially those unfamiliar with bands in the psychobilly scene.

P: You're everywhere. You're all over the world. You're seeing a lot of different bands. You're at all the major festivals. What bands that are gaining popularity are going to be influential in 5 or 10 years?

K: I think it could be bands like Robin from Japan or The Rezurex. I hope they don't steal the rest of the.. (both laugh) Tiger Army takes part of The Rezurex, now Nekromantix takes part, I thought this band could be really big, but now...

P: I think The Rezurex is a great band too. I’d love to see them make it big.

K: They're getting really good. They're getting better and better each time i see them. There is a band that has been around for years that I’ve always liked, Milwaukee Wildmen.

K: They are totally underestimated. They are on a small label- Tombstone Records- so nobody really knows them. I think there's a couple of good bands on there, I don't want to name anymore because other ones could get pissed off

P: Of Course.

K: There's a couple of bands on there- if some major company gets them and makes them sort of stars then I hope that it won't be like with ska- a big thing-poof and then it's over. Now I guess it is really good psychobilly is underground, but it gets noticed by other people. It's somewhere in between, it's good the way it is now.

P: It's accessible, but not too big.

POLITICS AND PSYCHOBILLY???

P: One of the things other psychobillies tell me is that we're not political. Yet, at the same time, there's little bits and pieces in songs that sound political. In your songs, you aren't afraid to make some social commentary, even if people don't know you're making it...

P: Exactly.

P: How do you feel about that? Do you think you're doing something very different in being political or making social commentary? Is it something people are afraid to do and you guys are a little braver? How do you see politics and political issues in the psychobilly scene?

K: I think I just do what I have to do, because I really have to speak my mind. I don't want to do it in the way of the great Dead Kennedys- just being about that, that's not our point. Our point is being about fun, but using the brain a little bit now and then. We’ve always had one or two songs that were social criticisms. This album has more than usual, this one is really about reading between the lines for about 60 or 70% of the lyrics then you can find a lot of social criticisms, consumer criticism’s, religious criticisms, and stuff like that.

P: I can't wait to have the lyrics. When I got the CD, first I surfaced listened, then I was doing deeper listening.

K: That's the point.

P: The sound bite about we don't give a fuck about you or your president?

K: That's like “Escape from New York 1999“. I cut all that stuff together. Anyway, I think that when you read it, if you want to see it and you want to find it, then you can find it. If you're non-political then it's also o.k. I think it is time to think about some things because of the way it's going, it's not going long.

P: And even Demented Are Go had the song “Body Bag“ years ago, the commentary about Vietnam.

K: Yeah.

P: So, I love it when people say psychobilly is not political at all.

P: I think, actually, we are the ones who are doing the most. I know that there are members in other bands who are thinking the same things I do. I wouldn't be part of a political party, but I’m political in the way of what is right and what is wrong, stuff like that.

DEAD MOON’S CALLING

P: On the new album, I can hear so many different musical influences. I was kind of surprised, “Not Invited“ has a very swing sound.

K: Yeah. It's a little bit swingy and it’s got that street punk chorus.

P: It's kind of a Kings of Nuthin type song.

K: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

P: Along those lines, “Houdinis Pool“?

K: That's one of the western songs and we have another one “Run Forever”. We're total Johnny Cash fans and Hank Williams. I like Jimmie Rodgers and stuff like that- the white man's blues sort of thing. It’s something I can relate on. I wish I could do an album, a whole album, like that. Maybe a solo album, whatever.

P: I’m sure eventually you'll be able to.

K: We gotta keep our focus you. You can do 1 or 2 songs like that, but not more, then the album turns in a direction which is not Mad Sin. I don't want that.

LEGACY OF SIN

P: You’ve told us that the running theme of Mad Sin is psychobilly fun, but we're also going to use how brains. Does that relate to your name? What does the phrase Mad Sin mean to you? Where did you come up with it?

K: Well, it's sort of taking a piss on religion, isn't it? I’ve always had my problems with religion since I was a little boy and I was pretty mad then. Back then it didn’t mean much. It sounded good. It made a little bit of a statement against religion. It's like, if you are a sinner then you're already bad, but, if you're a mad sinner then, you know, it's like you're worse. It’s even worse than sinning, but there's not much meaning. Unfortunately.

P: Hey, you’re honest though.

K: Back then we just needed a name. Seriously, that's how easy it was, like Demented Are Go, Frenzy, The Meteors. You needed a cool name and I thought it was pretty good because I really hate religion in a way. Not private religion or a private believing in something, but mass religion. Like sheep, you know?

P: What do you see as the Mad Sin legacy? You guys are a band that has already been around for 20 years. I see you in the future- I don't see it ending anytime soon. So, you’re obviously building something. What are you trying to build? What is it, when you go down in history, and it’s all said and done,- what are you hoping is going to be the final word on Mad Sin?

K: Question mark???!!! I don't know. I don't know. I think at this moment we're still in evolution and I think after the next album comes out then I can answer that question because that album is so much the next step from this album, do you know what I mean? And, with the next album, I want to do something different. I want to make it a little bit different or to try something that you don't expect from us at that moment. Maybe, something totally trashy or simple. I don't know yet. For the moment we're still in evolutions, for me the ball keeps rollin‘. It never has been a question of ending or something like that.

P: I think this album is going to make a lot of people who either didn't really want to or were afraid to take you guys seriously. I think they’re going to have to do it now.

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