KMFDM's Relentless Beat Due in Ventura

The band, whose latest album is called 'Angst,' is led by a couple of Germans who reveal the real meaning of the group's name.

This is what happens when children grow up and most of their friends are machines. The powerful yet meticulous programming on KMFDM songs is sufficient to get the kitchen appliances dancing across the counter, so relentless is the beat. Which means that local toaster ovens will be hopping Friday when KMFDM comes to the Ventura Theatre.

Not surprisingly, KMFDM is not your typical barrel of laughs unless you think that all Martin Scorsese movies are comedies. KMFDM's latest album--entitled "Angst"--pretty much says it all.

Here are some sample lyrics from "Sucks," a single off "Angst."

Our music is simple, totally fake/It's done by machines 'cause they don't make mistakes/We don't have no lyrics; our message is nil/We hate all DJs--they're making us ill/Whatever we tell you is meant to be crap/We hate all music, especially rap/We don't like Michael Jackson; we hate Depeche Mode/We don't care for Madonna or Kylie Minogue/You must think we're stupid; but we're way above it/We don't give a (bleep) and the kids just love it . . . ."

A couple of Germans who now live in the United States are mostly to blame for all of this. Sascha Konietzko is the programmer supreme and also a vocalist and percussionist. En Esch is the one who learned to sing by watching every Tasmanian Devil cartoon too many times. He also is a guitarist and percussionist. Mark Durante and Svet Am play more guitars, real loud.

Rumors abound about the meaning of their name. The usual explanation is an unprintable one that concerns the demise of techno popsters Depeche Mode.

A year ago, a Florida radio station sponsored a contest to name the band. Some of the entries included Kiss My Friendly Delicious Mom, Koresh Made Fifty Die Miserably, Kick Me for Doing Math, Kill Me for Drug Money, Kennels Make Friendly Dogs Mean, Kevorkian Makes Feeble Dorks Mighty or Killing Madonna Frees Desperate Minds.

Actually, the answer is more prosaic than any of those. Esch and Konietzko were doing performance art in Paris in 1983. The French cultural affairs minster criticized the act, saying the Germans ". . . had no pity for the majority of the visitors to the exhibition." In German, "no pity for the majority" is "Kleine Mitlied fur das Mehrheit." KMFDM.

Now that you know what you're in for, Konietzko talked it all over from his Seattle home.