In 2006 Sahan Jayasuriya was working at the beloved (and now gone) Atomic Records. There, Jayasuriya’s boss suggested he check out a record titled Cows and Beer (1982) by Die Kreuzen, (dee CROI-zen, German for “the crosses”), a Milwaukee band active from 1981-1992 that mixed punk and metal sounds into a blistering hardcore. The band wasn’t a household name, but their unique sound paved the way for a wide range of musicians – Neko Case, as well as members of Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fugazi, and Garbage all spoke to Jayasuriya about Die Kruezen’s influence.
After meeting members of the band at the record store, Jayasuriya began work on Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen (published by Feral House), about ten years ago. The book focuses on the band in the years they were active, up until 1992, “a span of time when the band is in their early to late 20s,” Jayasuriya says. He spoke to Milwaukee Magazine in advance of his appearance at Boswell Books on Aug. 14.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Tell us more about your introduction to Die Kreuzen.
When I heard that record (Cows and Beer) I was totally blindsided. I say it in the book, but I might as well have said out loud, “why did it take me so long to hear this band?” Those guys were and still are around Milwaukee and they would come into the store sometimes and I would ask them random questions about the band because I wanted to know. They were always super nice and would answer my questions.
After about 6 years of always being fascinated by this band, they did a brief string of partial reunion shows, and when those were announced I decided to do a short form article about their history. When that went up, the reception to it was really positive. The band really liked it and one of the members mentioned to me, “have you ever thought about doing a book? It’s something we’ve thought about but never pursued.” I was like, “well, I can try.” That was ten years ago and I just started interviewing the band a lot and reaching out to people I knew were fans.
You had a chance to speak to several well-known musicians while working on this book. What has Die Kreuzen’s music meant to them?
The biggest thing I noticed is there’s an emotional connection, there’s just so much fondness. I think part of that is the band broke up so long ago, this is the era before tons of merch and music videos, so other than the press at the time for all intents and purposes all you have is the music and when that’s all you have, you tend to cherish it. A lot of people said they hadn’t heard anything like it at the time and it made them want to approach their instrument or the way they write music differently.
Neko Case said “listening to Die Kreuzen helped me find my own voice.” What a wonderful compliment to pay to an artist, right?
BUY A COPY OF DON’T SAY PLEASE: THE ORAL HISTORY OF DIE KREUZEN HERE!
Any interesting or surprising revelations while working on this book?
Without a doubt the most rewarding experience for me about this entire book was reuniting the band with an old friend of theirs that they had lost touch with named Richard Kohl. He’s amazingly talented, ridiculously funny, super sharp—he’s the best. Richard started off as a friend of the band, kind of unofficially managed them, and once they started putting out records, he was the one who designed everything of theirs, the art. Then they split in ’92, over time they just lost touch with him. They didn’t know where he was, so in that moment, I was like I gotta fucking find this guy. I have to, he’s part of the puzzle and I want to see if I can help these guys find their friend.
There were a lot of dead ends. With help from a friend and a huge Die Kreuzen fan, Karl Paloucek, we talked to a couple people and lo and behold, we found Richard Kohl. Turns out he had been living in the Bay Area the whole time. He’s just someone who isn’t online, kind of an off-the-grid dude. I got in touch with him and he and he sent a bunch of photos, really cool stuff. I got to be in the room when he visited Milwaukee and saw (Die Kreuzen members Keith Brammer and Dan Kubinski) again for the first time, he hadn’t seen them since the ’90s. That was super rewarding for me.
When people read this book, what do you hope people take away from it?
If nothing else, I want them to understand the influence and importance that this band from Milwaukee has had. They’re kind of a proto-grunge band and laid the foundation for that music. I want people to give them the credit they deserve. There are tons of people who would love those records who haven’t heard them yet.
Jayasuriya will make an in-store appearance at Boswell Books on Aug. 14, 6:30 p.m. with some members of Die Kreuzen. You can register here.
