After the GRIND HERE RIGHT NOW festival, under the motto “strike while the iron is hot,” I took the opportunity to ask its organizer, Mario, a few questions.
And who better to capture the atmosphere and challenges of organizing such an event than someone who has been living and breathing it for decades?
Hi Mario, how’s it going? Have the impressions from GRIND HERE RIGHT NOW settled, or is the euphoria still there?
Hey my friend!
Damn yes, this years GRIND HERE was again a really epic edition!!! Lot`s of unforgettable moments!!! Great, that so many friends took part in this party! Whenever I see any picture or video … can`t stop smiling! Was great and we feel so much THANK YOU to all bands, visitors and all the helping hands of the venue, the association “MusiknetzwerkTrier” and our closer friends supporting the fest in any way.
And just the weekend after GRIND HERE – RIGHT NOW festival there was something like a special night. The friends of ATTACK OF THE MAD AXEMAN from hamburg created the very first grindcore musical. And they presented that great 2 hours in Trier. Awesome!!!
So yes, all is very good.
As the organizer of GRIND HERE RIGHT NOW, GRIND THE NAZI SCUM, and KRACHFEST, what have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced over the years, or should I say decades, in organizing these events?
Oh well, first thing I have to mention is that it`s not `ME` (alone) doing that festivals. Sure, I am part of that 3 festivals.
But GRIND HERE RIGHT NOW started years ago just as a concert series organized by Daniel and me. Later we thought it was a good idea to have a bigger birthday party – so GRIND HERE RIGHT NOW was formed as a festival, organized by Daniel and me.
Grind The Nazi Scum (GTNS) was born in 2000 by a friend of mine (in that times) with the idea of a local festival with local bands and acts and visitors with good mood. That means a weekend party without bullshit unpolitical/BÖHSE ONKELZ dudes at the camp ground.
Over the years I was asked to book the bands, so until today it grew to a grindcore festival without gore, porn and party `grind`.
Number 3, KRACHFEST is meanwhile a festival of Noelle, my wife. Off course I help her whenever she needs, but this is mainly hers.
But thinking about bigger challenges…. Well, the first times I had to do a festival as an open air was a real game changer.. There were so many details around, I never had to think about. Before it was just contacting bands, promote the event, make sure all feel well.
The new tasks was obtain approval, organizing sanitary facilities, contacts with town, police, ….. a kind of serious organizing. But if you managed this work for one time you know how to handle and not to forget anything.
How do you select bands for the festivals? Is there a specific philosophy behind the selection that helps you maintain the identity of the festivals?
Well … very egoistic.. I (and Daniel has the same view on that) understand myself as the festival visitor, who is allowed to decide who will play. So we do not care whether any band guarantees any number of visitors. We just contact bands we really want to see at our festivals or gigs – same as Grind Here or GTNS. And we prefer bands where we also feel that it fits well on a human level.
Has your approach to organizing changed over the years? What lessons have you learned from past mistakes or unexpected situations?
Well, I think not. Sure, sometimes musical preferences change a bit. But the approach is the same. In the end it should be a great festival in great, friendly atmosphere and affordable for everyone. No commercial ideas behind ANY of our activities.
How do you see the role of underground festivals in promoting extreme music and connecting scenes from different parts of the world?
Would be important to have a definition of UNDERGROUND.
Sure.. some people have problems with for example the evolution of the mighty OBSCENE EXTREME. But hey.. in the end you have a MEGA line up with new, unkown and established and known bands. So off course even OBSCENE EXTREME is a kind of underground festival in my opinion. The extreme music lives at those extreme festivals. The smaller festivals focus on bands around, festivals like OEF offer a stage for unknown bands from all over the globe! And that is so damn great and important. There are so many bands I have seen for first time at OEF or the really fantastic BLOODSHED festival years ago in Eindhoven/NL. (Cheers to the DOOMSTAR gang!) Most important point is to VISIT the festivals and not just sitting at home and moan and complain on social networks, or simply do something yourself!
How important is it for you to maintain the DIY ethic when organizing festivals? Is it still feasible under modern conditions?
Well I love the idea of DIY, as I see and understand doing festivals as a hobby and not a job to earn money with. So in the end you should decide what is possible or what is impossible.
Are there any bands you’ve particularly wanted to bring to your festivals but haven’t had the chance yet?
Well number one and two are PHOBIA and NASUM.. but that won`t happen ever again, I think.. For the rest…. we will see. Is LOCK UP still playing??
How do you balance the roles of organizer and band member? Does one experience help the other?
Oh.. that’s a good question.. As we have played several gigs and festivals with TFB (or bands before) you get an idea, what really helps bands to feel welcomed at parties. Same as a dude visiting festivals since I was 16/17 when the glory !!! E A R L Y !!! FUCK THE COMMERCE festivals opened everything in the extreme music scene. So you see what are the positive points at the events and so I try to make everyone feels welcomed!
As a member of TFB yourself, how does being a musician help you better understand the needs of bands at festivals?
😀 who the hell said I am a musician?
But as said before. When you visit gigs and/or play gigs you see what is necessary to organize a good time. Sure that helps.
How difficult is it to coordinate festival logistics, especially when it comes to international bands?
The main point is COMMUNICATION! When every side exactly explaines all needed things and details everything is possible. No matter where one is coming from, RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION.. that’s the dooropener.. or can close doors forever.
Is there a particular festival in the world that inspires you or serves as a model for your own?
Well in the past we have visited festivals like Arschcholio (north of east ger), Protzen Open Air (near berlin), BloodshedFestival (Eindhoven/NL), Masters Of The Unicorn (middle of ger), FekalParty (prague/CZ), BerlinGrindfest, We`re Not Worthy (north of France) .. and off course OEF for many years just to point some. They are all special in their own way.
I think GRIND HERE RIGHT NOW is a bit as BLOODSHED was years ago. The idea with two stages and two days .. nonstop blastbeats, that may be is a commonality.
For GTNS I have never thought about .. I know that friends in CZ got inspired by GTNS to start a festival called FOR//ALL .. and damn, check their line up.. PRETTY AWESOME!!!!!! I will definitively be there!!
As both a band and an organizer, how do you view the current state of the German grindcore scene or grindcore scene in general?
Oh, I always find it difficult to judge a scene. There is always a new, really cool band, whether here in Germany or somewhere else. It’s great that you can now discover even the smallest bands from the other side of the world so easily. It helps people all over the world to exchange ideas and live together. At least in music.
Were there moments when you thought about stopping festival organization due to difficulties? What motivates you to keep going?
Nope. Very clear, Nope. Never.
The motivation are everytime moments at the festivals.. See people on and in front of stage joining and living the meaning of grindcore, respecting eachother, hugging each other, having a good times together … this is motivation for ongoing.
How does the audience respond to your festivals, and which reactions mean the most to you?
Oh it is so cool that wherever you are visiting a grindcore festival or gig, there are nearly always the same people – the same friends having fun and good times together.
So far, the response has almost always been positive. Of course, not everyone is happy if a band doesn’t fit the concept. But it’s just not possible to please everyone all the time.
It means really still a lot when longtime visitors and new faces are thankful and comment with “we come back”.. That is always a lovely good sign.
GRIND THE NAZI SCUM is approaching. You announced that the night before the official festival, WORMROT will perform, having reunited in their original lineup. Are you preparing any other surprises for the audience?
No, I think the complete line up including this insane preshow is an absolute worth line up for the 25th anniversary of the fest. Including the point, that the preshow will take place in the BRüCKENKOPF, the venue where the fest took place for long years, until covid stopped everything and the building BRüCKENKOPF was under construction.
No more surprises needed to have a perfect weekend.
Let’s talk a bit about your band, TFB. The material for the new album is nearly finished. What can we expect? Has the formula stayed the same, or are there new influences we’ll notice on it?
Oh yes, the 4th album is nearly ready for mix/master. Sure, album number 3 was a split 12” .. but when both bands/sides have material of more than 22 minutes each its even more than THE ARSON PROJECT have had on their first so called full album.. 😀
Thatswhy we say album number 4.
Well, I think TFB has found their blast style. The mix of classic grindcore, some powerviolence/punk parts, mixed with thrashy riffs and double vocals plus backing vocals is what TFB has to offer. And it’s right in your face!
What are the plans for its release? Do you plan to promote it live? I’ve seen that some shows are already booked.
Damn yes, there are some really great gigs to play in 2025 for TFB. It feels so great to get invitations from bands and friends we already have played with. There are no special promotional plans. Just to play all the gigs we got offered and are able to do.
How does TFB handle the pressures of the modern music market, given that you come from the underground scene? How much do you use social media and online music platforms for promotion, if at all?
I do not really know, what kind of pressure you are talking about. In TFB we keep it completely in DIY style. We get some help with recording, but do 90% on our own. We pay for everything on our own – recording and production. Some labels help and support, so we can press some vinyls on top and the costs per unit decrease slightly. But that`s how we handle the band.
Sure, social media are important nowadays. As said before, the people are connected worldwide, that helps a lot. Even if it is possible to listen to music just for free.
But the scene is great, most people support bands and festivals, that keeps the scene alive.
Who will be responsible for the new album cover?
We plan to work with Chess again, who did the artwork for the split 12” with Abjured as well.
But at GRIND HERE.. fest we got contact with Ezra, the guitarist of MOOM from Israel. Is a really great artist as well and offered help if needed. So we will see.
Finally, do you have any message for the fans, bands, and readers of NecroZine?
Well…. The most important word for me is really THANK YOU!!!
First of all to Noelle, my wife, for supporting me living my life.
I am really thankful for anybody supporting the festivals or TFB in any way.
If we need ANYTHING of instruments our friends in TFB always say “SURE, WE HELP YOU” – that is so amazing!
All the girlfriends/wifes of TFB guys .. Katrin, Larissa, HowdyClaudi, Ute and as said Noelle.
It is not a given that everything works so smoothly, without that support nothing would be possible.
To all others: please stay cool, stay respectful, support your local scene, visit gigs, live your life and help each other.
Thank you for your time, for supporting bands and festivals with your zine! Respect!!
See you soon!