Articles and Stories

Boston Rock by Mike Gitter ('October File')

   A thick tower of billowing white vapors permeates the room as mesmerizing lights flicker, enshrouding the surroundings with an eerily hypnotic glare. Four figures appear from within. Wraithlike, they begin generating a rhythmically relentless maelstrom of powerfully abrasive rock mixing speed, discordance and a feverish overdrive. This is Die Kreuzen.
   With the release of their second LP, October File, Milwaukee's Die Kreuzen find their current sound in the no man's land between hardcore, Killing Joke and Aerosmith with a bit of Einsturzende Neubaten thrown in for good measure. According to guitarist Brian Egeness, "The only way there is ever going to be anything that could be called new music is if the kids out there attempt new ideas and don't rely on the formulas of other bands."
   "We're not really turning our noses up at people who label us 'hardcore'," says bass player Keith Brammer, "but that word is associated with something that we're not about. We all listen to different types of music and I think that really comes across in our music. There are a lot of bands who sound a lot alike and that's because they listen to the same types of music. We tend to get a bit more diverse."
   Die Kreuzen serves as an excellent example of a band growing on its own terms rather than directly playing into the whims of the audience. "People who believe that they're going to alienate the crowd," says vocalist Dan Kubinski, "are wrong not to change and develop their style. After all, who wants the kind of crowd that isn't open minded enough to accept change anyway?"
   The band's debut LP and earlier singles focused on a more typical hardcore punk sound of unchanneled anger. October File is a much more mature effort with styles ranging from the anxiousness of "Uncontrolled Passion" to the subdued melodies of "Cool Breeze." Nonetheless the band's distinctive musical whirlpool, not to forget Kubinski's unnervingly high-pitched vocals, remain throughout. According to Egeness, "Our music's changed a lot since the first album. It's no way as fast and where the early stuff was musically pretty simple, the new stuff's a lot more complex. For better or for worse, there's a lot more content to the music.
   Live, Die Kreuzen care about presentation to the point of integrating smoke and lights into the show in a moody, thought unpretentious manner. "A lot of the time," explains Keith, "any idea of presentation is neglected. Personally, I hate to watch a band that just stands there. It makes a bad band much less boring if they seem to be really into what they're doing."
   Die Kreuzen, German for "the cross" is an original. They play by few rules or conventions, blending a variety of styles into an effective and original whole. Simply, they know how to kick you where it counts.

   Amid the trash that tunnels through the circuits of the underground, Die Kreuzen rises above them all as just an outrageous heavy rock 'n' roll band. Singer Dan Kubinski's do-or-die microphone-mangling vocals prove that rock was meant to be aggressive and mean. Guitarist Brian Egeness, bassist Keith Brammer, and drummer Erik Tunison each drive the audience through a killer set that comes perilously close to being illegally wild.
   Formed in mid-'81 in Milwaukee, Die Kreuzen (pronounce it right: Dee Kroytzen. The band claims it doesn't mean anything, but if you have your German-English dictionary handy, you'll find out what it really does mean) quickly departed from the slam-and-speed syndrome that they had begun with. "We're just a heavy rock band." they say. They are rightfully exhausted after their New Orleans show, and we sit beneath the humidity in their equally-tired van.
   They are disappointed with their lack of major success. "We've been paying dues for five years," Keith says. This is because "we've been stuck in this one circuit." The problem lies within being incorrectly labeled as a hardcore band, and even being labeled at all. They are not a hardcore band, a speed-metal band, a thrash band nor a pop band. They don't believe in labels. "Music is music," Keith says philosophically. "If you don't like it, you leave. It's not intelligent to put bands down."
   They're a rock band. They leave it to you to decide. Hey, I'm still clueless, and I know better.
   "We've always done what we wanted to do." They don't want to cater to the subculture, because to do so would mean being "stagnant," something that distresses Die Kreuzen. They're not about having an attitude, wearing black clothes, or anarchy. They're about music, being open-minded, and change.
   Change is imperative for the band, but change on their own terms. They were offered a contract with Profile Records, but only if Profile could remix, rearrange, redress, re-everything. Record company as Big Brother. No way. Die Kreuzen stuck with Touch And Go, and their no-hassle verbal contract. "We couldn't get a better deal," Dan says. Their Michigan-based label has released their two LPs: their self-titled debut, and their second and latest, October File. "We'll work as hard as we can, but on our own terms."
   They all write and contribute, but Dan writes the lyrics. If you listen to their latest, which is an excellent idea by the way, they don't sound like anybody or any trend. They like discordant melody lines, and they use the famed "light/heavy" concept within and between songs. They've been musicians in their own right for years before Die Kreuzen was formed. They're good driving music. Play them while your hot-rodding down the freeway.
   And people are playing them, though your not likely to hear them on your favorite radio station. They're selling in the thousands in the U.S. and also in the U.K. and Germany. "We're praying to go to Europe," Dan says. Europe will have to wait (impatiently) until they've finished their upcoming East coast tour.
   Let's get on with the biographical information that's so groovy to hear. The median age of the band is 22. They all have long hair, except Brian, who used to. They like to read ("Comic books are great for the road.") Some of them attended the University of Wisconsin (don't drag out your yearbooks, they weren't there that long). They work in bars and restaurants back in Milwaukee, and they all share the same apartment, along with their road manager. They are apolitical, but like Clint Eastwood. They drink American beer and drive an American van. And they have frighteningly good taste.
   I ask them the dreaded influences question, and get the answer the question deserves. "Everything." Since I don't get paid by the word, I'll only list a few: Aerosmith, the Dream Syndicate, Led Zeppelin, the Cure, Madonna ("She writes good pop songs"). Well, at least they're not narrowminded.
   Would commercial success force them to sell out?
   "We don't pander to anybody. We just want to be heard." Keith says. He then adds, "Hopefully all bands believe in what they're doing."
   Like Die Kreuzen. "We'd rather do this than anything else." Dan says emphatically. "We're going to stay in it."
   So how is the next album going to be different than the last?
   "Different instruments, maybe keyboards, horns, strings. You can definitely tell the difference between this album and the one before, so we're going to keep changing." Keith says.
   OK, but why should people spend their money to see Die Kreuzen instead of a Generic Heavy Rock Band?
   "We're not mainstream, we're something different."
   There's an understatement for you.
   Now that Die Kreuzen are safely off to check out the French Quarter, with a case of Bud and Led Zeppelin, let's be blunt. These guys are absolutely wild. It's time we get the underground aboveground, and they deserve it. When you think of all the arrogant dumb bands that are crawling throughout the circuit (fill in your favorite) and the arrogant dumb bands that have made it out of the circuit and into the Garden, and then you think about Die Kreuzen, who belong in the stadium nearest you because they're not arrogant and they're not dumb, well, it's enough to make you hang up your leather jacket. Look, if you believe that rock was meant to be everything that's cool, then believe in Die Kreuzen.