Tuesday 7 February 2012

Kommando Skin Interview

 Interview  conducted for  Russian National Resistance web site , December 2011




1) Hello German comrades from KOMMANDO SKIN band! First, typical question…Tell a bit about the history of your band. When was it formed? Has the line-up changed a lot during your band's existence?

Hello and thanks for your interest in our band.

The story actually begins in the early 90ies when the three of us were about 14 or 15 years old, we already played together a little bit just for fun. The band eventually was formed in 1996, but back then we used a different name and we had another bass player. In 1999 we changed the name to Kommando Skin, the first album "Bootboys" was released and Andy joined on bass. The line-up stayed the same ever since.

2) What was the motivation behind forming KS and what did you planned to achieve as a band?

When we started we were young skinheads and just wanted to make music and have fun. There was no plan or anything. The first songs are very much about the skinhead way of life, about drinking, fun, violence and hatred – there is only very little politics in them. Later on, as we became more political ourselves, our lyrics turned more political, too. Today first of all we still play because it's fun. But also we have the possibility to spread a message and we get people together on our shows.

3) Could you tell us something about KS discography?

The first album "Bootboys" was released in 1999 by Dim Records. Our second album "Die Ruhe vor dem Sturm" (The calm before the storm) was released in 2002. The album was "indexed", which means banned from public selling, in 2004. Our third album "Alldeutsch voran" (All-German forth) was released in 2005 by Streetfight Records. The label is defunct now. Two years ago, in 2009, our latest album called "Trotz allem heiter" (Cheerful in spite of everything) was released by Panzerbär Records.

Also we had some songs released on compilations like "Skin Conquest" in 2002 and "The Skinheads Come Back" in 2005.


4) We know you are from Stuttgart, what can you tell about your native city and your local right –wing / NS Skinhead scene?

Stuttgart is the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg and is in the south-western part of Germany. It has quite a long history. People first settled here in the first century and its name was first mentioned in 1160. It was also the residence for the monarchs of Württemberg.

Today Stuttgart, like many large cities in Germany and Europe, has become a residence for legal and illegal immigrants from all over the world but mostly for Turks. The official statistics say we have about 23 % foreigners living in the city, but that doesn't cover all the foreigners who got German passports. A piece of paper doesn't make someone German. So the rate is probably up to 40 % or even more.

The right-wing movement in the city itself isn't very big. There's hardly a skinhead scene anymore. It used to be strong in the 80ies and early 90ies. However if you see the the whole region, with the surrounding cities, it is ok.

5) Please, tell us details about your last to date full length CD “Trotz allem heiter”!

I wish this question would be a little more specific, hehe. Hmm, where do we start? As we liked the sound of "Alldeutsch voran" a lot, we tried to keep that style. There are only fast, rocking songs and no ballads. Five of the twelve songs are in English, seven are in German. The lyrics are e.g. about the problems of a multi-cultural society, about the plutocracy in Europe and about all the bans and prohibitons. Also there are some personal lyrics and one song is only about having a good time.

For "Nie wieder Knecht" (Servant no more) we invited Nogge of Faustrecht to sing with us on the album. Michi, their bassist, also joined for the chorus. The artwork was created mostly by ourselves and the album was released as a digipak.

6) KS is the classical Skinhead OI/R.A.C. band musically. We always address this question to Western European NS Skinhead bands, cause the realities in Russia are so hard and different to Western Europe that there are almost no Skinheads within NS Movement: do you think that Skinhead cult is still so important today? What does being a Skinhead mean to you personally? What do you think about the future of the Skinhead RAC scene in Germany and in other European countries?

What really is important, is what's on your mind – not the clothes you wear or your haircut. However to be a skinhead in your youth is a good school. It's a school of hard knocks. It sorts out the ones that are only in it for the fun time from the ones that stand firm for their beliefs in spite of federal repression and hatred from society. What really counts at the end of the day is if you are willing to stand up for your people and your nation.

In the 80ies and 90ies skinheads were closely associated with nationalism in Germany, but not so much anymore today. There will be and there already are new groups within the movement e.g. autonomous nationalists. But this is ok – you don't have to be a skinhead to be a nationalist. Yet skinheads won't fade away. They will keep existing along with other groups. You don't have to be part of a special suculture to be a nationalist and to dedicate yourself to the cause. That means on the other hand that you can be part of (almost) every subculture and still be a nationalist. And why not try to influence a subculture to become nationalistically active?


7) You had very good and big Oi! / RAC Skinhead scene in Germany in the past. Now you have a strong NSHC scene as well. Could you please represent German right-wing musical scene of today to us! How it looks nowadays? What is the difference between the times in the early 90’s and today?

Like you said, in the 90ies there were a lot of skinheads and therefore skinhead music, classic skinhead rock. There were very few other musical styles. But already in the late 90ies it started to change. A lot of nationalist hardcore music came from the United States to Europe, like Blue Eyed Devils, Nordic Thunder etc. Today we have a huge diversity of musical styles. Hardcore, Metalcore, Heavy Metal, Black Metal, RAC, Punk, Folk and many more. It is a good development.

8) In your opinion, what is the main difference between RAC and NS Hardcore (or like some people like call it - "Hatecore scene") scenes, not in music, meaning between people at these scenes?

I wouldn't try to seperate the two. I guess the two are not clearly seperated. A lot of people that primarily like hardcore also like some classic RAC music, and the other way round. Sure there are e.g. some who are straight edge and they dislike the drinking. But as long as the nobody fights over what is better or what anyone must to do or not, it's ok.

9) As we know KS formed in 1996. We can say that you are veterans on the German right-wing scene. Tell us about the glorious days of German RAC? What are your most favorite German RAC bands?

Haha, there are bands that are longer existing than our band. We still feel as a young band. To name a few examples... in the old days we used to listen a lot to Störkraft, Endstufe, Oithanasie, Landser, Stahlgewitter, Tonstörung, Kraftschlag, Freikorps, Strumtrupp... and we still listen to some of them. And there are many good bands today like Faustrecht, Division Germania, Carpe Diem, Rotte Charlotte, Heiliger Krieg or Die Lunikoff Verschwörung.


10) Unlike the majority of German RAC bands You have an excellent web-page (www.kommandoskin.com). How important do you think is Internet in promotion of right - wing music and its ideological propaganda message?

Thank you, we appreciate it. It's a good opportunity to present our band and give people the chance to read news about us. For the use of propaganda the internet is perfect. With hardly any costs and with little effort you're able to reach millions of people. But there's always a disadvantage to everything: for everybody else it is as easy, too. Thus it's easy to spread rumours, gossip and lies. Also sometimes I wish people would use the possibilites of the internet more efficiently.

11) Several questions regarding your concert activities. There are a lot of good and quite big official fests of right – wing music in Germany like GERA, PRESSEFEST, FEST DER VÖLKER, etc. What is your personal opinion about these musical actions and have you ever played at these shows?

No, we haven't played any of those big official festivals yet. As many small nationalist concerts get banned those festivals are a good chance to play legally. But we're more of a underground band and we don't feel we really fit in with them, hehe. We like the small shows.

12) We heard that your band played in different countries of the Western and Southern Europe like England, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, etc. Have you ever been in the Eastern Europe for a gig?

We should play in Hungary in August if this counts as Eastern Europe. But that's about it. There were some invitations from Slovenia, Russia and Ukraine before but we couldn't make it yet.


13) Could you recall where have you played your best gigs? Tell us about your last to date concert!

Some of the best gigs were the ones in the Skinhouse Trikala in Greece. It is a small place and compared to other concerts only a few people were there. However everybody was very nice and there was a great mood. It was really fun to play there. Of course there were a lot of other great shows. For example our latest gig was in our area, only about 100 km from our hometown. It's also a small place where they used to have shows every month over a few years. But they had to close down the place so we played the final show there together with Faustrecht, Sturmtrupp and Devil's Project. It was our third gig there and it was great. Everything was perfect – except for the extreme heat. The crew that organised it is really a good bunch.

14) Legendary German "Ian Stuart Donaldson Memorial" festivals with best domestic and also with top international RAC bands took a place in Germany at regular level during glorious 90s. Those musically - political events were organized by the comrades from then absolutely legal "Blood and Honour Deutschland" organization as a rule. Later, after the ban of German "28" division those somewhen massive "ISD Memorial" fests became more or less small "private parties" (which was unavoidable, because of repressions) for the rather small circle of comrades and friends. Could you please tell us what about "ISD Memorial" gigs in Germany now? How many comrades attend at these fests and what bands play at these actions nowadays? Did your band played at some of these memorial concerts?

We only played ISD Memorial Concerts in England and Belgium, none in Germany. I don't really know if there still are any in Germany. So I can't tell what they are like or how many people attend.


15) You wrote a very nice song – “The Skinheads Come Back”. We can say that this song is one of the hymns of European NS Skinheads. Tell us about the main idea of this song.

We wrote that song for the compilation "The Skinheads Come Back". When the label told us about the idea and the title of the compilation our singer came up with the idea for the song.

I think it was written in a time when autonomous nationalists and hardcore became very present and we felt to tell everybody that the skinheads are still alive and back. And of course the song is about being a skinhead and being proud of it.


16) We heard that one of your CD was "indiziert". Why? Do you have problems with police? Are you persecuted for your convictions? Could you please tell us about the repressive system in Germany?

Our second album is "indiziert", which translates "indexed". It was put on a list of media that the state thinks is "harmful to minors". It is banned from public selling and of course from selling it to minors. It becomes almost impossible to sell it anymore, even to adults. Basically it's their way of censorship even if it's not called censorship. There is no censorship according to their laws.

There weren't any problems with the police. The album was just indexed and that was it. It happens to a lot of nationalist albums and they always come up with new ideas for banning them.

In Germany there is a law against the "incitement of hatred against a segment of the population". They use this law to criminalise your opinion on immigration and such. It is one of their most effective tools for repression against nationalists. On the other hand the media works hard on discrediting our opinions and beliefs. Things are getting worse.

17) Let’s speak about politic. How is the political situation in Germany at the moment?

The tendency is that all parties become the same. There are no differences anymore. The parties that were "a little bit" left- or right wing parties in the past have merged to the same unsubstantial middle. All of them are very much influenced by economy and everything they do is orientated on money, not on the needs of the people. "Panis et circenses" – Bread and games. That's what you need to keep the people silent. It still works today. And as long as they have food and entertainment they will not stand up. Most of the people don't really care anymore. They just complain every now and then but will never learn.


18) Please tell us about the German right – wing political Movement (organizations, actions etc.) of today in general!

There is the NPD, basically the only nationalist party that is left. In some German states they are part of the parliament every now and then but have only little power or influence. And then there are mostly small, regional and loose organisations that put up demonstrations, spread flyers, organise festivals and so on. After many organisations have been outlawed in the past, this has become one of the very few ways to be active.

19) Do you support any political right-wing organizations or political partys? What is your opinion on NPD, which is the most popular nationalistic political party in Germany? As far as we know a lot of the biggest festivals of right - wing music in Germany was organized by NPD?

We're not part and never have been part of any organisation or party. The NPD is a party that you can vote for in lack of alternatives but it seems the government lets the NPD exist so that they can control a large part of the right-wing movement. Even though there are a lot of good people in the NPD I think there are also a lot of snitches and rats in it. They will probably never succeed. And if they would become more powerful, they would be banned.

20) As far as we know AN (autonomous nationalists) is the main and most numerous fraction within German Movement of these days. What is your personal attitude towards the methods of resistance, which practise autonomous nationalists?

I'm not sure if they are the largest part, but sure they have become quite large. It's strange how they copy so much from the autonomous left wing. Sometimes it's really ridiculous. I'm sure they could be more creative. But basically they also have good ideas and many activities are good. They sure have their right to exist.

21) Your personal view on Islam in Europe and especially in Germany where you have millions of Turks?

Islam, like Christianity, is a foreign religion which doesn't fit with our people. But religion in general isn't a good thing. It makes people lose sight for the real problems. Your nation, your history, your culture must become your religion. This is the higher power that will really help you, if you help it to become strong. It's your family. Sadly it has become worthless to most in Germany today.

Muslims and especially the Turks in Germany are so different from our culture that there is no possibility of getting along with each other. Actually they seperate themselves from Germans, which is positive. Integration won't work. People have to realise that.

22) Your last to date CD “Trotz allem heiter” was released in 2009. Do you guys prepare something new and when? What are your plans for the future in general? New recording (s), gigs?

We are currently working on songs for a new album. We already played some of them live and I guess most people liked them. We don't know yet how long it will take until we release the new album but it will still take some months.

We will play live every now and then but we don't have time for many gigs.

23) What do you think about Russia, about our right - wing Movement and musical scene? Do you have contacts with Russian comrades and what's your attitude towards Russians in general? What's your opinion on chauvinism and German ultra - nationalism with anti - Russian (and anti - Slavonic) attitude?

We don't really have any contacts to Russian comrades and we don't know too much about the Russian movement. As far as I know there's a broad musical variety in Russia – RAC, Metal, Hardcore and there are many good bands like Коловрат и Русский Стяг. The movement seems to be very strong and sometimes it seems very extreme. Maybe sometimes a little bit over the top.

The anti-Russian/Slavonic issue is a very difficult topic with German nationalists and there can be discussions for hours and hours.

As I see it: on one hand there once were very strong ties between Russia and Germany in the past, on the other hand there were also a lot of conflicts. We shouldn't forget about the conflicts but as we both face the same problems today, we should try to remember the positive sides of history as well and fight together, not each other.

24) You're one of the most known German RAC bands, also you're involved with the Movement for the quite long time. Sure you remember that story, when "ISD Memorial" festival and political demonstration ("Antikriegstag") were organized at the same date and some conflicts happened because of that. The organizers of "Antikriegstag" even were calling for the boycott of "ISD Memorial" under "Politics are more important" than music". What is your attitude towards this motto? Is politics more important than the music for you?

In general organisers should check a date before they are putting up a concert. But it's also possible to have both on the same date if the concert is not too far from the demonstration. Demonstrations are usually during the day while concerts are usually in the evening. So it could work together perfectly. Sure there are justifiable reasons for boycotts, however we shouldn't try to boycott each other, but rather try to work together whenever possible.

In our (nationalist) case music is not just entertainment, but politics as well. It may seem not too significant at first, but I think it's quite important to meet other comrades at a concert and see that they're still there, still a part of the movement. Also you have the chance to exchange ideas and talk about activities. It's good for the morale.

25) Thank you for the interview. Your final message to the readers of this interview in Russia and your wishes to the editorial staff of our web-page (www.national-resistance.com)?

Thank you very much for your interesting questions and keep up the good work.

Stick to your ideals and beliefs! "Hold your head up high for all the scum to see!"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great interview!
Kommando Skin rules!

Greetings from Brazil!

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