An Interview with Patrik Mata of Kommunity FK

 Sorry things have been so quiet around here of late, but I've been terribly busy with other things. Life and stuff you know... Hopefully things will calm down in the new year, when I plan on completely re-booting the site to take on a much wider scope to accommodate the many exciting newer bands who have emerged in the last few years.

In the meanwhile, Plunder the Tombs is proud to bring you an in depth interview with Patrik Mata where he talks about Kommunity FK's past, side projects and their forthcoming album "Thee Image and Thee Myth".

JVS: Congratulations on 35 years Patrik! It’s a very long career and must easily make Kommunity FK one of the longest lived Deathrock / Goth bands on the planet. You must be very excited?

PATRIK: I am but also it’s not that I’m excited about still being here &

now composing & producing music which has become the KFK signature sound, it’s really just ‘business as usual’. I am not doing ‘it’, ‘it’ is doing me. This has been ongoing ever since I founded KFK back in 1978. It all began during a very melancholy period ov my life. & as many others have fallen to the wayside, I’m still here…..We will not fall.

"We Will Not Fall" from The Vision and The Voice (Independent Project Records, 1983) These music files take a few seconds to load, be patient my pretties...

JVS: Of course, the band was originally called Kommunity Fuck, and was a reflection on how the whole live music industry in LA was rigged at the time. The early days of the band with getting gigs and an album deal can’t have been easy?

PATRIK: I named my band “Kommunity Fuck” due to the oppression received for becoming scapegoated for being different in so many aspects in comparison to what was happening in Hollywood at that time. “Punk” was still a trend in the clubs & I had other ideas as to how I wanted my own band to sound & as to how I fashioned myself as well. Bowie was my main man & I was majorly influenced by his method ov reinvention & experimentation. I was very inspired by The DaDaists, William S. Burroughs, Throbbing Gristle, & many other obscure UK bands while a lot ov the L.A. musicians were stuck into what they considered ‘punk rock’. I was so bored with that. I knew that what I wanted to create was on point. But by the time I had formed a three piece experimental band & we were ready to attack the local clubs, the venue bookers refused to book us. Rumors, lies, & stories they made up began circulating throughout Hollywood about us & we began to become slagged off in local fanzines & by local punks & scenesters. So I became more confrontational in live performances in an aggressive way. The L.A. Weekly named us “L.A.’s most loved & hated band” in their “Best Of L.A.” issue. I then realized & knew that KFK had indeed had an effect & had left an impression on those adversaries trying to stop us from continuing as a new band. So I named the band The Kommunity Fuck. Their beautiful dark little scapegoat. We were never looking to score any kind ov ‘record deal’. That happened strictly by accident. 

After having become considered a somewhat controversial band, probably due to the fact that we refused to take any shite from anyone whom threw it at us, & for becoming better at our instruments as time progressed, plus being a band with its own identity & unique sound. A person named Bruce Licher came up to us saying that he wanted to release our music on his label, Independent Project Records. We liked his approach coming from an understanding towards our ‘anti-art method’ so we agreed. We pressed our debut lp, “The Vision & The Voice’ in a limited edition ov only 1000 copies on vinyl. What a beautiful packaging job he allowed us, too. I designed the lp cover anti-art with our own usage ov a very original memorable font which I still apply to our official work to this day. When you see our original logo, you see our antiquated font leftover from the OG days ov KFK. Record was released in 1983.

Portrait of the artist as a young man:

 Patrik onstage in 1980

JVS: Your debut album Vision and the Voice is of course one of the seminal albums of the LA Deathrock scene. I understand the re-issue through Cleopatra Records was unauthorized. I would think that as an artist, having an unauthorized version of your album in circulation with the track listing changed around and your own cover art removed must be very irritating. What was going on there and how did you feel about that?

PATRIK: I was stunned at first. The label had asked me to reissue the classic lp on CD which would be for it’s very first time but I did not expect it to be rearranged in such a fashion. I created the original anti-art cover for “The Vision & The Voice” as a collage applying my favorite format; scissors, paper, & glue. I named that piece, “Kommunity Fuck”. It has never ever been featured in any book about album covers in any manner. It has never been shared with the rest ov this world in any form. So the only way that anybody would ever even see it would be if you bought the vinyl lp. The lp was pressed in a limited edition ov 1000 copies by a label called Independent Project Records in 1983. When Cleopatra approached me to reissue it for it’s very first time on CD format, I expected the original cover anti-art work plus reproductions ov it’s inner sleeve pix, et al but I realized that they were afraid ov being sued for its risqué prurient beauty or something as such so they had some hack create that very shite cover. Their idea ov changing the original tracking order had nothing to do with me.

Before and after: Patrik's original cover art for 

"Vision and the Voice" and the Cleopatra reissue.

JVS:  After the second album Close One Sad Eye in 1985, KFK seemed to go very quiet. What happened?

PATRIK: I was becoming very frustrated with everything & everybody

around me within the KFK kamp which I had created. I had formed that band & I chose the band members to continue forward with my Destiny, the continuation ov KFK. By “Close One Sad Eye” I had discovered cocaine as well as a driving creative force but real pure cocaine & by experimenting with its attributes towards creating new music & new anti-art I became very enamoured with its effects. I felt as if I could do anything that I dreamt but as every fable told about its seduction, I, too, went beyond its wondrous demimonde therefore became stuck. I never ever smoked it, though, being a vocalist who prizes his Gift but I finally got sick ov using it as it began using me. I met The Ugly Spirit, too. After being face-to-face with it, I became disgusted & decided to reflect as to who I really am. So I left my own band & left everything, everybody behind who still desired to remain ‘stuck’. I needed to reinvent my Self all over again in order to survive as an Artiste & as a composer/musician but this would take some time. I had other dreams within me inspiring me, my Muse became another Being & I needed to go with it. So I did. I then roamed another part ov Hollywood searching for unknown musicians to throw my new ideas against. This would be the only way. I had always found unknowns to begin new projects which brings fresh ideas especially unknowns whom aren’t infatuated with being ‘trendy twats’ imitating their favourite rock stars or Goth stars as many still do. So I did exactly that & formed another more diverse band that I called, “Sativa Luvbox”.

JVS:  Close One Sad Eye has been out of print for a while now. I notice there’s a CD version on for sale on Amazon.com today for something silly like $830. Are you planning on re-releasing it?

PATRIK: NO.

JVS: Then maybe tell us more about Sativa Luvbox?

PATRIK: That band was entirely & completely different than KFK in every way. I wanted to swerve away from what I had done before, what I was renowned for, what I was becoming categorized with & what I was becoming ‘stuck inside’ ov. You see, if you don’t remain in a State ov Becoming, you die. I needed to change. “The present day composer refuses to die”-Edgar Varese

It, too, was a 3 piece as when I founded KFK. I played guitar & sang lead vocals with a bassist & a very unique drummer/percussonist added new spices to the new sound. This time there were no synthesizers. I was becoming influenced by psychedelia, 60s biker films & their soundtracks, & even the way the movie bikers fashioned themselves. This band went onward into the early 90s & even accidentally became signed to a shite major label, MCA. But before that unforeseen occurrence the band produced a DIY lp which I entitled, “The Bad Sleep Well”. It has never ever been officially released & is a collector’s item to this precise moment. I like that lp for its originality & I was composing songs from a new wilderness, a desperate wilderness, searching for a New Way. I disbanded that band when it became stale & pointless, losing its Magick.

Cover art for "The Bad Sleep Well", once again designed by Patrik

JVS: That brings us to 2010 and Kommunity FK suddenly roars back to life after years of silence with the spectacular La Santisima Muerte album. What brought that about after so long?

PATRIK: You must realize that I have never been in a state ov Silence. I have always created my own music constantly. I just have never had the opportunity to release any ov this music like many other fortunate lucky bastards. I find this a sin.

I will share with you something that I experienced which almost made me take my own Life a few years back. I had just returned from another DIY West Coast tour in 2006 when I was listening to my messages on my phone machine. It was from a personage whom many consider a ‘musical icon’ who had his own record label & he wanted to sign me to it. I was also under his charming influence thinking that because ov his certain accomplishments that maybe it would be a great opportunity for me to further my musical career by entrusting in him, & by indeed signing with him. But he wanted me for 5 years while I only wanted to sign to a one off, a one year deal to see where we would be at that time then see where we both wanted to go from there.

But then he insisted on a 7 year contract in order to “be able to really push you, Patrik”. So, being charmed & under his spell, I went ahead & signed with him & his label. After the first 3 years ov nothing even being considered recorded for any type ov official label release, I began to become agitated & anxious as to what the fk was going on. Would we ever make records? I was being led on & on being told all sorts ov promises that I later realized was just him putting me off & after believing lie after lie, I had become terribly depressed. For the last 7 years he never recorded, released, nor put me on tour. I had to find an attorney to get me out ov this horrid terrible lie to continue producing my own music already having lost so much momentum from touring back in 2006. I lost my band members as three years went by & we were waiting to actually record, release, & tour together. Which never happened. It was just recently a few months ago that I was freed from that shite corrupted contract & now we see ourselves with an incredible new band line up ready to begin full force producing new music & to tour the world. If everything had occurred as promised, who knows where KFK would be at this precise moment?

For the first 3 years, though, without anything being done as contractually promised, I had to search for an endorsement to produce any ov my own music & to go back on another DIY tour to survive as an artist keeping the KFK band name out there. I was finally graciously granted an endorsement from a company who sent me everything that I would need to record, mix, & produce as many lps as I so desired. So I built my very own in-house recording studio that I have named, “Vision & The Voice Studios”, named in tribute to my debut KFK lp ov the same name. That’s where “La Santisima Muerte” was created. At the time I was ’signed’, I did have a full band awaiting to record & to tour with me. But after the first 3 years ov Nothingness, they became fed up & left me. Thank the gods that Sherry Rubber has been by my side to be my only other band member since 1996 as well as also being another multi-instrumentalist in her own write, as myself, & we both performed all ov the instruments & voices while I programmed the drums for that lp. We made that lp together & both are very proud ov it. That lp had us headline the WGT Festival in Leipzig, Germany in 2010. We produced our own backing trax as well in full bang on stereo as we had only ourselves to perform live with & so we did, which was very brave. I’ll never ever forget the experience. I owe Sherry as well for her assistance, patience, & professionalism as she is an amazing musician, composer, & performer.

JVS:  For a band heavily reliant on keyboards, three decades is a long time in terms of technology. How have advances in synthesisers, sequencers and what have you changed the way Kommunity FK approaches creating music?

PATRIK: I have been blessed with endorsements from both MOOG & Dave Smith Instruments (DSI) whom have both given me 1 synthesizer a piece. I now am the proud owner ov MOOG’s Little Phatty Stage & DSI’s MoPho 4 synth. I use them constantly on as many compositions as deemed necessary. I have not used them in a sequencer application yet, though. I love applying them as being played in which they were designed, like a keyboard. When I recorded KFK’s debut lp, “The Vision & The Voice” we had a Prophet 5 synthesizer which hardly anyone had at that time except funk bands like Parliament, Funkedelic & Wall Of Voodoo. But the way that we applied the Prophet 5 was to just dial in any noise that fits by blindly turning knobs & creating soundscapes on which the band performed over. We would stick match books between the keys to let the synth drone underneath. Nobody was doing this in 1978-1984. Not until they saw KFK perform live, at least. I love synthesizers to this precise moment & create compositions using them all the time. 

Patrik on keyboards, 2014

I have composed a brand new lp entitled, “The Image & The Myth” which is not released as ov yet & it features a few electronic songs on it. But maybe not what you would most probably expect as ‘electronic’ music. But one song is entirely electronic entitled “Dumb FK” & I love this song to death. When composing, it depends on how I am inspired to create a song in its naked form. For instance, on the 2010 lp, “La Santisima Muerte” there’s a song entitled, “Let The Right One In’ inspired after watching that incredible Swedish vampire film ov the same name. I was so inspired that I went into the studio, picked up my bass, & composed the bass line in one take. Then the film’s title began to expand into a more meditative flow ov consciousness inspiration where it starts to be very philosophical advice to myself. Think about it. I then added drums & guitars then sang over the basic track. I added the synth line after I had finished the vocal. The chorus came to me the next day where I overdubbed it in one take. I then asked Sherry to react without ever hearing the track. Ever. Her guitars are reacting in a ‘question/answer’ sort ov way & I put one ov her guitars through a Leslie to differentiate it from her first guitar line. I luv what she played so much. She hates not knowing or not rehearsing her guitar parts before she lays them down but I coerced her to

try it anyway & it came out amazingly. Magickal.

"Let the Right One in" from La Santisima Muerte (Kommunity PM, 2010)

JVS:  Some KFK songs like “Restrictions” seem to be based in social commentary, while other material like Vision and the Voice is clearly a reference to Aleister Crowley, and La Santisima Muerte a reference to a Latino death cult. What is the underlying philosophy to KFK’s material?

PATRIK: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole ov the Law. Be your True Self. I read a lot. Therefore a lot ov what I find inspiration from comes also from a very literary sensibility, one ov my many frames ov references. Sometimes I read at least 6 books at once. When I become bored with one I pick up another book then become bored with it & pick up another one. & so on. So these inspirations seep into my subconscious mind ending up in song lyrics & lp titles. I adore Crowley’s work which is fathomless. His being so intimidating to his era’s society & intellectuals ov his time it is no wonder why he was considered an shocking evil bastard but when you really submerge yourself into his work there are so many positive ideas & his use ov yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, drug experimentation, infatuation with the Other World, etc. simply fascinates me. I have so many ov his books & refer to them periodically on a daily basis. I am also fascinated with the idea ov death cults, witch cults, religious cults, cults, cults, cults. Those ov whom like to lead others sometimes have other hidden agendas. What we do is secret. Fascinating. William S. Burroughs is one ov my other literary gangster heroes.

JVS: What has been your best, worst, and funniest experiences on the road?

PATRIK: I recently have had some terrible experiences that had to deal with a certain personage that I allowed into both ov Sherry & my bands. Both bands tour together where Texylvania opens for KFK. Since both bands consist ov the same band members we are blessed to be able to perform twice every night performing 2 types ov genres ov music which we all luv. Now think about this; there are four personages within these bands therefore four million reasons why it should not work. But it does until one person becomes a complete asshole for no reason. A person who does not appreciate the fact that he has not had to pay for a fking thing as our contractual demands are met respectively. All he has to do is love what he is doing & love the experiences & be cool with everybody. Have fun, for fucks sake. We are living a Dream but this person turns it into a fking nightmare when you least expect it & sometimes before you have to hit the stage as a headliner. Backstage is supposed to be one ov the most exciting times ov your life as you prepare to walk onstage to perform for your awaiting fans who have paid to see you. But sometimes someone has to be a total cunt which you try to hold back your emotions from dealing with, the emotions which you have been holding back until the moment the very first song needs from you when its first notes are struck. Fortunately, now, this has been dealt with sparingly & now everything is as it should be. I can’t wait to begin touring again over in Europe in 2015 with this more professional line up. 

There have been many great amazing experiences, though, in my Past. If you go to the official KFK website (http://www.kommunityfk.com/) there’s a long list ov bands that I have had the honour & blessing to perform second billing to. Opening for Killing Joke on their very first USA tour in Hollywood, California at The Whiskey A Go-Go on August 28th, 1981 was my first ‘big gig’. Apparently, I’ve been told, that KJ never allow any sound checks for their support bands but during this time we did have our sound check. They stood upstairs looking down at us & Big Paul Ferguson, their original drummer, was the first to come up to us & tell us how much he loved the band. After our 2 sets, as in those days bands had to perform twice on the night, KJ invited us over to their hotel rooms at the famous Tropicana hotel to hang out & chat. So, ov course, we did. They had all ov their hotel room doors open for us so we could saunter in to chat with each ov them. They were all wearing Freemason pins on their lapels, I remember. I was

impressed. They spoke about Crowley as well. Anyway, Big Paul handed me a huge 16th ov red Nepalese hashish as a sign ov respect! I’ll never forget that show. They were outstanding people.


"Dreamz For a Better World" from the forthcoming album Thee Image and Thee Myth

Every Batcave band that came over touring through Los Angeles on their first wave asked for Kommunity FK to second to them. No shite. Fact. This was how we became well known Internationally as well. Word ov mouth. When touring with Sex Gang Children twice, we shared our own back line with them.  When we hit San Fransisco I personally took Andi Sexgang on a tour ov North Beach as we were playing together at The Mabuhay Gardens. A band called Faith No More was on bottom support.

I took Andi to the famous beat poet book store called City Lights Bookstore. He was fascinated with it’s rich history. When supporting PIL in San Diego at the California Opera House we had 2 backstage dressing rooms & a coke dealer in each one. When I saw John Lydon walking around searching for his dressing room I invited him in for a sniff but he declined with, “Never before a gig, mate!”. He had 2 bottles ov Heineken in each hand & seemed happy. When we were doing our sound check, he came up onstage to become introduced to us. He was a lovely guy. Probably still is. 

We also supported The Jesus & Mary Chain on their very first USA tour. In San Diego at UCSD, we were all shocked to find out that it was a ‘dry campus’ which meant that there was no alcohol whatsoever allowed, even backstage! So all being decent drinkers I had to think ov something so I sent our road crew whom were all dressed as droogys from ‘A Clockwork Orange” out with our tour van to go buy some booze for everyone. I also didn’t know until after the show that they were all on LSD but soon realized this when I witnessed the one driving, who went by the moniker as Big Ed, was driving backwards very fast across the campus lawn area near our building where we had our concert being held. He did return with some Guinnesses which saved the night until I was being led to the sold out concert arena holding a can in one hand & a joint in the other as a campus security guard approached me to possibly arrest me. Thank the gods that my road manager was also with me & took the vices from my hand & told me to run onstage immediately. As I entered the concert hall I saw so many happy crazed fans in front ov me & the night was a total success for all involved. So many experiences to share, so little time!

You should hear the one about when we almost supported Bauhaus on their last tour in 1983 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood. But perhaps another time….

JVS: In the meanwhile, I notice yourself and Sherry have started up a side project in the psychobilly vein called Texylvania. I can’t claim to have heard any material, but it does sound like fun. What inspired this?

PATRIK: Here’s the condensed version…We both love punk rock, especially bands like The Sex Pistols, Discharge, Cockney Rejects, besides more darker music. When I first ever set eyes on Sherry Rubber she was rehearsing at a studio which I managed in Hollywood as she & her band called RUBBER were headlining The Whiskey A Go-Go. Her band was an all grrl 3 piece ferocious hardcore punk rock outfit tight as fk from Seattle, Washington. When I saw them perform I was so blown away that I was a huge fan immediately. Time passed then I saw her again as she came back to Hollywood just to visit me. I was soon piggy backed to Seattle to hang out with her. I saw her perform in her own environment & her gigs were explosive. Later we fell in love & we have been together now for 20 years. As KFK was a delicate concept we both desired to play punk rock as well just for fun, just to get our punk rock fix. So we first founded a band that we named, The Legendary Wrong People. It was a sort ov ‘first stage’ version ov what Texylvania has become to this day. We recorded several demos with that band but we wanted to take it further. So we decided to add blood play onstage while living in Seattle as there weren’t any bands doing this sort ov performance anti-art up there. We found some other sickos whom wanted to dance onstage with us, very sick crazy looking grrls, & they were The Texettes. We had to cover our stages with plastic tarps so as not to fk up venue stages & we kicked total ass. We headlined every gig that we were booked. We began to create a huge following wherever we performed. But we then had to leave Seattle due to Microsoft kicking off bringing mass price hikes to property taxes & the like so we reorganized to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we find ourselves today. But KFK can’t perform here as there isn’t any kind ov Deathrock or Goth scene here so Texylvania was reformed with some local talent as our rhythm section in order to be able to play live & have some fun. We auditioned almost every fking drummer here but none can handle our song arrangements as they have many dynamics & some are at a very fast tempo. So Texylvania has become what we call, “Rocket-fueled PsychGaragePunkRock Hexxabilly”. The term, ‘Hexxabilly’ pertains to magical elements placed inside our music to emote & provoke everyone whom experiences Texylvania live. There’s more to this band’s story in detail but perhaps you can interview Sherry Rubber sometime to hear more about it.

Texylvania, live in California, 2014

JVS:  After a long period when the Goth/Deathrock scene was dominated by dance music in recent years, there seems to have been a big resurgence in the Deathrock scene all up the west coast of America, while in the UK a lot of old Goth bands seem to be reuniting. Why do you think this is happening now, and what are some of the new bands you like?

PATRIK: I can only imagine that the reason or many reasons why many ov the original UK Goth bands have reunited is because most ov today’s bands & music plainly just sucks hard. A lot ov these bands were brilliant which is why we are even discussing it right now. We need the originals such as KFK & the UK OG goth bands as there are so many weak imitations out there & out here regurgitating what has come before them without any sense ov originality to their sound or image & without any respect towards bands like us. Some ov our genre’s music is so fking incredible & as I’ve mentioned, so original sounding that it is timeless. It is evocative. Beautiful. Passionate.

This is what is missing from a lot ov today’s version. As far as bands that are releasing music today, I like Frozen Autumn, for their use ov synthesizers & appropriately so, coldness. But I really don’t have much time for listening to many ov the new bands in our genre as I am so fking swamped with the new KFK lp & it’s remix companion lp. I am also in the midst ov breaking in our new drummer, Christian Izzo, who is having to learn the entire catalog ov both KFK & Texylvania for upcoming European, Scandinavian, & Germany tours being scheduled for 2015. I am always in my studio creating new trax or remixes for both bands. When I hear a new band that almost stops my Heart, I’ll let you know….

JVS: All of KFK’s releases to date have had very different and unique flavours. Now that we’re on the cusp of your fourth full length release what should fans expect and when is it going to happen?

PATRIK: Sherry Rubber & I are still polishing up several new trax for the upcoming new lp, “Thee Image & Thee Myth”. It will also have its remix companion, “Derangements Ov…”. There is a remix companion to “La Santisima Muerte” as well released in its original form at CD Baby just to get it out there. I am looking for a very good understanding record label to license this new lp & the previously mentioned lp for 2015 to coincide with our upcoming tours. When creating new music I can’t help but to move forward searching for new horizons, new directions, following my Muse into Thee Unknown. I luv it there. When producing our new music we mix the trax for listening through headphones for our fans to discover subliminal production techniques, among other delicacies. Besides, having grown up with the ground breaking producers ov the 60s & 70s, I love discovering that when listening to a record that such Magick resides insides the grooves.

"FKing Death Dealerz" from the forthcoming album Thee Image and The Myth

Sherry Rubber in full flight on stage in Los Angeles, 2014

JVS:  What lies in the future for KFK?

PATRIK: We have signed with a management & booking company in the UK, something that I’ve never ever had before where I had to do all ov the booking myself, so they are booking KFK for 2015 where we will be touring throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Germany, & other lovely regions that KFK have never had the pleasure to. But I would really like to license our new lps to a very great professional label in order to release our new music on vinyl. KFK has not released nothing on vinyl since 1983 & 1985! It’s about time that we joined the new vinyl revival resurgence.

We have also a new drummer, Christian Izzo who we are breaking in for our upcoming live performances. He is a seasoned drummer with much touring experience. So far, so good. It feels good to have another professional on our level ov experienced musicianship joining both bands as he will be performing double duty. Stay tuned by visiting our official website.

"Dumb FK" from the forthcoming album Thee Image and the Myth

Thank you for your ongoing support. I hope that one day we can tour throughout Australia. It would be Magickal.

Live in Texas 2013, photograph by Adriana Caligari

Kommunity FK Official

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