USCHIS MUTTI - Raw, gut-driven independent punk... (Germany - DIY Punk - Interview with Päpsy Schmidt mit DT, BumBum Schorni & Arne Konkarne).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music?
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: Hallöchen, I sing and play guitar in USCHIS MUTTI. I can’t quite remember my first encounter with punk. My fondest memories of this music go back to a small-town bar where we all used to hang out —punks, metalheads, goths and hippies. Back then, I wasn’t making that kind of music myself, apart from occasionally strumming some Metallica and the usual suspects on an acoustic guitar. I mostly just played existing songs because, to be honest, I wasn’t good enough to improvise, and was never motivated enough to become good enough at it. Some years ago, my dad let me try one of his electric guitars, and I was immediately hooked. Musically, it made such a huge difference to me. On the electric guitar, it’s relatively easy to produce a “good” sound even with limited skills. I was so fascinated that I bought my own electric guitar shortly afterward, and finally became actively involved with USCHIS MUTTI.
BumBum Schorni: Hi, I play the bass guitar. Already as a kid, I was totally fascinated by punks—especially because of how they looked. I thought colorful hair, mohawks, and piercings were totally awsome, and I wanted some too. Haha, that really worried my father a lot… Later, as a teenager, punk, metal, and hardcore music reflected the anger, frustration and confusion I felt. In this “universe” it wasn’t just okay to feel like an outsider—it was practically a prerequisite. And I really loved the DIY concept: if something you would like to exist doesn’t exist, make it yourself. Ultimately, I was really lucky to be “punk-socialized” at the alternative youth centers DRUGSTORE and POTSE in Berlin-Schöneberg. Those were very important places… and still are!
Arne Konkarne: Huhu, I play drums in MUTTI. What got me into music was a bucket and a piece of wood. I’d sit around with those for hours, drumming away; later, I added the violin, guitar, and bass, and I experimented with lots of different styles and settings. It wasn’t until USCHIS MUTTI that I actually started drumming again. Since I come from a small town, the DIY mindset was essential for me back then. Nothing was handed to us on a silver platter. If we wanted to experience something, we had to do it ourselves. So: we organized concerts and festivals, recorded music, booked tours, and had the best times with and through music, which has always had many different facets for me.

Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: I’d known Schorni for quite a while when I raved to him about my awesome new electric guitar. Since I love making plans, I immediately suggested starting a band when Schorni mentioned that he used to play music too. It went much the same way with our first drummer, a friend I’d met shortly before and convinced to join us. And then everything happened really fast: After we secured a spot in a rehearsal space in Bremen in November 2020, we started rehearsing and dove right into writing our own songs, which at first consisted only of riffs and beats, without any lyrics. I had to start from scratch because I couldn’t handle power chords at all and kept playing notes that weren’t supposed to be played. Music-wise, it was a terrible but friendship-wise an incredibly wonderful time. After Konkarne joined the band, we started writing our first lyrics. Two years later, we played our first concert. It was actually supposed to be a hello-farewell show because I was leaving the city, and we thought the band wouldn’t survive it. But as you can see, we’re more alive than ever, even though we’re a long-distance band. Why did I need the band? It was nice, in a way, to get together with friends every week—not just to make and talk about music, but also to discuss personal struggles and the good things we wanted to share with others.
BumBum Schorni: In my youth I played in a few crappy bands. Later on, I was involved in Berlin’s DIY punk scene mostly behind the scenes. After a few moves, jobs, and so on, that all kind of fizzled out. When – totally out of the blue – Päpsy asked me if we wanted to start a punk band, I thought “Why not?!”. At first, we had a female drummer who eventually didn’t have time for the band anymore. Then Konkarne moved to Bremen. When he answered “A little” to the question of whether he could play drums in addition to guitar and bass, we invited him to a rehearsal and haven’t let him go since. And why all this? Sure, during the pandemic it helped keep us from going crazy. But above all, it’s just a blast! And there simply can’t be enough weird, rumbling bands!
Arne Konkarne: As Schorni says, it was all a series of happy coincidences, and I’m really glad about that! By that point, I’d already played in a lot of bands. Starting with a classic Deutschpunk band in my teens, I was on the road a lot in my twenties with a Hamburger Schule band. Along the way, other projects kept popping up—like playing bass in a hip-hop combo or adding extra instruments to a stoner rock band. The last serious project before USCHIS MUTTI was finest emo. What was—and still is—completely new to me: With USCHIS MUTTI, everything happens completely uncontrived and from the gut; I’ve never made music like that before. The music comes from the gut and isn’t picked apart, overthought, or diminished afterward. Rocks!

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: You shouldn't do anything at all cost. But you should definitely listen to us. ;- )
BumBum Schorni: To me, punk has to be raw, edgy, unpolished, and not take itself too seriously. USCHIS MUTTI definitely has plenty of that: fat riffs, weird lyrics with quirky vocals, passages that descend into chaos—all recorded with a totally raw sound. So if you’re tired of polished productions with perfect musicians, give this a listen. MRR just wrote that our music is “leaving you with a cratered feeling and wanting to fill the hole with more USCHIS MUTTI”. Haha, I couldn't have put it any better. Thanx to Tony Party for that!
Arne Konkarne: Clatter-clatter-clatter! Rumble-rumble-rumble! Squeak-squeak-squeak! Boom-boom-boom! That’s pretty much what it sounds like, and, well, where else can you find something like that these days?

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
BumBum Schorni: One of USCHIS MUTTI’s influences is definitely the debut album by the Hamburg band HEIMATGLÜCK– both lyrically and musically. We even thought about releasing “urlieb.” as a double-7", too, but because of the length of the songs that didn't work out. The lyrics are very important to us. Usually, Päpsy comes up with the idea for a theme and some initial fragments, and then we put it all together, which is often a lot of fun. Generally, the songs are about everyday stories and observations in a capitalist, patriarchal, fascistoid world: powerlessness and empowerment, narcissism, privilege blindness, toxic relationships, etc.
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: I want to make noise and sing about things that annoy me without turning it into some grand theory about the world. But sure, we’re political people, and what annoys us is often political. And even though it might not seem that way, since our lyrics are so absurd and weird, we actually spend a lot of time discussing the implications of our texts. We want to push boundaries, but of course not hurt people we don’t want to hurt.

About your latest release ?
ALL THREE: Last year we released our debut album, “urlieb.,” which is now available online as well as on cassette and vinyl (e.g., on Bandcamp and Sabotage Records). We did as much of it as possible DIY—recording and mixing the tracks in our rehearsal space, designing the lettering and artwork, founding a small label with KONKARNE RECORDS, negotiating with the cassette manufacturer and vinyl pressing plant, and handling the paperwork (namely deregistration) with GEMA. It worked out well for us that Konkarne enjoys working with recording and sound, and Schorni with graphic design. The whole process was a lot of fun, but it also took a lot of time. Whenever we had to outsource something, we made sure to work with cool small businesses that offer fair production conditions. We have no interest in participating in the race to the bottom, which also explains the slightly higher prices. In this context, we’d also like to thank our screen-printing buddies o…i and Sunay, who printed the covers! We all learned a ton during the production of our first album, and that’s awesome! Everyone did something for the first time—and we’re already looking forward to the next time! 

Future plans ?
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: I just want to have fun with my friends and play at nice locations with nice people. I'd also like to learn the names of the chords I'm playing.
BumBum Schorni: Play lots of nice little concerts at cool venues and write new songs. We also plan to produce a split EP with DIE BEHÖRDE and MARDERSCHADEN, where we’ll cover each other’s songs.
Arne Konkarne: Play in places where no one else plays. Visit not just small towns, but villages too. Bring people together and keep approaching things with a simple, unpretentious, and relaxed attitude!

Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Arne Konkarne: That all of this could go on for a really long time.
BumBum Schorni: Go on world tour with TEAM SCHEISSE? Perform on Mars with Elon Musk? Haha, no, not really. I’d like to keep the whole thing small, nice, and DIY. No rock star attitude.
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: I already have a rock star attitude. But my most insane dream would be to live in the same city as my bandmates again. I miss them

Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ?
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: My favorite concerts are the ones where the crowd goes completely wild. As for the worst ones: If I complain, I do it the right way: politely behind people’s backs, not in a fanzine ;-)
BumBum Schorni: We’ve had a lot of great shows, but the best one was probably that at PUNKERSPA in Rostock last year. It was a really nice venue with a really great crowd—people who didn’t know us beforehand but still went wild. BTW, PUNKERSPA was the target of an arson attack by Nazis last November. Unfortunately, it’s not the only one in these times. As for the worst concert, I’ll just say that the vibe wasn’t quite right. During our set, most people went outside to smoke and stuff, and we ourselves were a bit off our game too.
Arne Konkarne: In addition to the PUNKERSPA concert, I also found our last weekender in Kassel and Zierau incredibly fulfilling. On both days, the air was thick with a love of music, DIY, and resistance—that’s punk!

Next live-appearance(s) ?
ALL THREE: We're currently planning a small village punk tour for late August and a weekender with concerts in Hesse, Franconia, and Saxony for October. We'll see what else comes up.

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
ALL THREE: None of the three of us are originally from Bremen, and we're just starting to get to know the local (DIY) scene, which is pretty active and impressive. There are good scenes in other cities too, but here punk is still really alive. There are quite a few bands and a whole bunch of cool venues, though that doesn’t necessarily make things any easier. It’s also great to see that some very small bands are slowly making a name for themselves without signing deals with major labels. DIE BEHÖRDE is definitely going to be the hottest thing this year; we’re also looking forward to new material from SCHEITERN.DREITAUSEND, and TEDDIES KNEIPE will surely find a lot of new listeners as well. In their interview, DIE BEHÖRDE has already mentioned our common friendship with MARDERSCHADEN. In April, Claude from TNS Booking (also WAX MINDS, SKEITHAN, CHOIR BOYS, TRUST FANZINE, etc.) organized our concert in Bremen. Franz from SABOTAGE RECORDS (also NERVOUS ASSISTANT) has added our tapes to his online shop, and you can get our LP at the BLACK PLASTIC record store in Bremen. The concerts with FAT AND ANGRY and NEONEON were fantastic. Great energy, politically rock-solid, and pure human warmth. Things are definitely moving forward.

Last word is yours..
Päpsy Schmidt mit DT: Our band has three members, but we always get a ton of support from our friends. Thank you so much <3 Bussi!
BumBum Schorni: Don't let these rough times get you down: resist, support your local DIY scene, start bands, organise concerts. BTW: We’re always happy to receive gig enquiries from nice venues, also outside Bremen ; )
Arne Konkarne: We’re easy-going and don’t need much. We also play in barns and on trucks!

Credits : 
BAND Photo by Trixi
LIVE Photos by Thorben T.