This was a zine done by ‘Gurke’ Michael Kammer (‘Crowd Of Isolated’ singer) & ‘Geizig’ Thomas Klauck (Saarbrücken area). I found #3 (1985) in the Punk Etc. collection. It has a scenereport from Belgium (with ‘Zyklome-A’ presentation), info on ‘Euthanasie’, a column on doing zines & an article on the armaments-race, zine-/concert-/music-reviews, plus interviews with ‘Funeral Oration’, the ‘John Denver Clan’ (punk band from Peine, Ger, with Rüdiger Wöhrle) & ‘Capital Scum’.
Brob
Thomas and I always wanted to be active in the scene, to simply do something and not just consume. We were enthusiastic about this subculture, which seemed to have its own rules and was bursting with activism. We quickly recognised the network of friends, made contacts and, after reading many magazines from Germany, Switzerland, France, the UK and the USA, decided to do our own thing. We simply called the magazine Pläbeu, i.e. Playboy in German pronunciation and incorrect spelling. We were still working with a typewriter, pencil and scissors when the first issue came out in ’83 or ’84. The third and last issue was published in spring 1985. We had actually planned to publish a bigger magazine with friends but unfortunately it never happened: we had to take care of ‘Crowd Of Isolated’ so we had enough to do. The magazine was mostly produced in the youthcentre [Heusweiler], we often made copies illegally in offices to save money. The magazines were then sold to friends in our circle, distributed via small mailorders, sold at concerts or simply swapped with other fanzine makers. The content: bands, concerts, politics, the scene and other fanzines.
I no longer own any magazines from that period, not even my own. I can only remember that there was a lot of personal stuff in the first magazine and things about my own little scene…
‘Gurke’
‘Euthanasie’ was an anarcho-punk band from the Freiburg-area with Holger Schatz (bass), Corinna Weiss (drums/vocals), Robert Jahn (keyboards), Andi Lauk (guitar) & Thomas ‘Tom’ Lauk (vocals/drums). They did a demo in the first half of the 80s, were featured on the compilation-tape Objection! The First and Loony Tunes released an anthology (Prison Pain – Demo & Live 1988/1989) after the turn of the century.
[Translation below]
‘EUTHANASIE’ * Protest And Survive
Some band-info:
Many of you may not be familiar with this band from Kirchzarten near Freiburg, but that’s the point of it all! Besides that, we wanted to talk about bands that not everyone already knows. Because every band has the right to be mentioned. So I’ll start right away. Many thanks to Thomas. Here we go:
‘Euthanasie’ was founded in 1983. The instruments at that time consisted of a a 60 Watt amplifier, an electric guitar and a stupid microphone. The drums were a copymachine and some cooking-pots. Beginning of 1984 the band really started playing. The line-up back then: Thomas (20: vocals), Holger (18; bass), Andreas (17; guitar), ‘Demo’ (18; drums). That lasted until spring 1984. ‘Demo’ left the band because a hot political spring was brewing. Corinna – a female creature – came in his place and started playing the drums. Since she also has a good voice, the vocals and drums are now alternated for 3 songs. Through intensive rehearsals – four times a week – 13 songs were presented in time for the first concert. ‘The Cover Girls’ (Rheinfelden), ‘Jolly Roger’ (Homburg) and ‘Circle Of Sig-Tiu’ (Bingen) were also present at this punk festival. The second gig took place at a squat-party in a newly occupied house in Freiburg. Performances are also planned in May in Homburg, at an anti-animal testing festival, and in Pforzheim. Anyone who wants to let ‘Euthanasie’ play for them should be told that, true to the principles, they only have to pay for food, beers and places to sleep for the night. On the other hand, it’s also a good opportunity to get to know new people and friends. In addition, participation in a German punk sampler is planned (initiator: ‘Circle Of Sig-Tiu’).
Regarding the name: ‘Euthanasie’ was a program during the time of nazi regime, intended to destroy “unworthy” life. In a new fascism, we – punks, freaks, hippies – are going to be the first to light the fires of the crematoria. In the nazi logic we are unworthy lives that should be put out of existence.
About the lyrics: They’re a political band. What they want is total freedom – meaning: anarchy is the only social condition in which peace is alive and is lived.
The will for freedom is suppressed and attempted to be destroyed by the system! Its protectors are the police and army as the force that exerts violence. Politicians as figureheads, doctors in animal-testing laboratories and the “normal citizens” who’re shaped by one-sided reporting by the massmedia. Everything goes the way the driving power, economy and industry, wants it to. They accuse this existing powerstructure, which calls itself a democracy but in which there’s still censorship of political prisoners, psychological torture, oppression of minorities such as punks, freaks, gays, lesbians, foreigners; who have a different lifestyle and do not want to give in, in which there’s furthermore sexism and chauvinism instead of total emancipation of women. They say: all we want is anarchy and peace. Not oppression and war !
About the music: The style is a mixture of the different punk genres that the bandmembers listen to: Andreas has been listening to oi! music since his skin past, Holger & Corinna listen to melodic ‘Crass punk’ and Thomas is into hardcore punk à la ‘Varukers’, ‘Disorder’, ‘M.D.C.’, etc.
Well, that’s it actually, all that remains to be said is the zine that Thomas is doing: AUFRUHR [“revolt”]. And that the band is now going into the studio to record a demo-tape.
Contact: Thomas Lauk
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Zensur (“censorship”)
Cable TV – one-sided programmes, media-power in a few hands. Freedom of choice between Dallas & American mindlessness.
chorus: Censorship – Germany on the way to self-destruction.
Axel Springer’s company of lies, the federal government promotes and once again an example of power – finances. The responsible citizen is destroyed.
I’ve Got A Message
I’ve got a message and you should hear it
I’ve got a message and I want to tell it to you
We’re fighting for a peacful world, without weapons and atomic bombs
We’re fighting for a world without trouble, without primitive violence
We’re fighting for a world without oppression, without governments and leading persons
We’re fighting for a world full of love, without hate and aggression
We’re fighting for anarchy, not disruption
We’re fighting for a grassroot revolution
We’re fighting against fascism
We’re fighting for a real democracy
All we want is no government
We’re fighting against environmental pollution, for a lifeable world
We’re fighting against human torture, against destruction of human psycho-power
We’re fighting against suppression of social groups
We’re fighting against manipulation on TV and other massmedia
We’re fighting against commercialisation of punk
We want no rip-off punk bands
Brob Tilt's zine-world 2 