KURT PEINKE – Q & A

Kurt Peinke is one of Durban’s most iconic and prolific musicians and producers. Since he was very much a part of Marques Mkhize’s growth as an artist (click here for the full story), we decided to ask him a few questions to bulk up the Marques Mkhize article. Kurt’s interview came out so well, we decided to make it a stand-alone Q & A.

Kurt is a person who has achieved a fair amount of success with his pop/rock/rockabilly outfit, City Bowl Mizers. After their breakup a few years ago, Kurt has been living in both Cape Town and Mexico City respectfully and has written and fronted for bands such as Young Hands (Cape Town), Enter The Mirror (Mexico City) and Dead Lizards (Mexico City).

A teacher by trade, he has decided to carry on pursuing music for the passion. However, this hasn’t stopped the man from rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in central American music, as well as opening for bands such as Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah.

We caught up with Kurt over email, and asked him questions that sent him down memory lane. Giving Aweh.Online readers a clear path to his introduction into the pop/hip hop/rock ‘n roll music scenes of both Durban and Mexico City.

1. Firstly can you give me your name, age and what you do for a living?

Kurt, 34 years. I am a geography teacher.

2. So you played in City Bowl Mizers and a couple of other successful bands how did you get into music?

I’ve always been listening to music since I can remember. My dad was in some pretty cool bands before I was born and we had it everywhere! The house, the car and the garage where he worked on his motorcycles. I got into playing music after seeing my close friends ripping it up in a clubs and societies meeting, it was called the “pit club”. I lost my shit and knew that I wanted to be in a band right there and then.

3. How did you get into hip hop music?

Man, I can remember it clearly, I was 14 and knew the run of the mill; 2Pac, Biggy and Snoop, still love all that but it was when I heard Wu-Tang Clan during a show and tell in English class. This dude played the song “Tearz” and I was so into the sample of Wendy Rene’s “After laughter (comes tears)”. It was discovering old and new music at the same time. I later learned that RZA used all sorts of samples, even one where he took a bite of an old Peter Pan record.  

4. How did you first meet Marques?

Marques was hanging out at a studio/ rap boutique called “Gangster Culture” up the road from my parent’s house. I was walking past to get a loose (South African slang for a single cigarette) from the Engen garage and he was standing in the driveway of the place with his crew. I was a little intimidated by their presence, guys with chains, tattoos and gold in the teeth. They were really nice and so was Marcus!  They invited me inside to check the place out and Marcus was kind of like their ambassador showing me the music they were making there. The music was sick! Tough beats and chorus’s which was Marques’s specialty. He could rap and sing which was impressive. They were still putting his voice on auto-tune though which was the sound back then, and still is I guess.

5. How did D’urban Knights and the K-Bomb form?

Marques and I hung out more frequently and between University and gigging with the Mizers he would come over to my bedroom studio which was pretty basic at the time. The first song we recorded was Banana Clip, He started with the lines “What you know about rap? my Rhymes are laced with crack, so strong you get a fucking heart attack!” He wanted two other guys on the song, Viv AKA Breezy V and Genie, they were all killing it. The K- Bomb was something that transpired from D’urban Knights down the line.

6. Tell us a little bit about Marques his character and what was it like working with him?

Marques was hungry, he had the attitude and anyone he could call out as being fake or arrogant he would fucking cut them down to size real fast. There was this other rapper on the scene getting a lot of attention his name was Princeton and Marques asked him if he was named after the cigarette, getting clever with the owe. He could also take it though, some kid he was burning turned around and tuned him “Oh ja! Where’s your tooth bra?” We knew what he was up to. On the microphone he was like a dog barking at the gate, it would be soaked in spit and bad breath, but the takes were great and had power.

7. What is the difference between being in a band like the K-Bomb or D’urban Knights compared to being in a band like City Bowl Mizers?

They were completely different,  I was experiencing a lot of success with the Mizers and we were playing some big gigs. D’urban Knights and the K- Bomb were much smaller outfits and the shows were happening in the cracks of the scene. It was much easier to hold a band together like the Mizers, we were family and close. But with D’K shit was always spiraling out of control. Marques was excessive with the jol, showed up to gigs fucked and sometimes didn’t show up at all, the guys were mega pissed about that. Genie left and found God after being arrested and I never heard a word from the guy again, not a word. Viv liked the jol but he was also focused in a LL Cool J kind of way, we both had the same drive and wanted to be a little more serious so that’s how the K-Bomb happened. We were all still tight but that just all fizzled out, unfortunately.

8. How is Mexico City treating you? What projects are you involved in there?

Mexico City is big, and like LA there’s something for everyone. It’s heavily populated and so is the music scene. Nonetheless well established, Mexico City gets all the bands that tour the States and most the bands here are heavily influenced by music from England. There is a crazy Elvis like obsession with Morrisey; people cry, people faint and he acts like a dick. He recorded at a studio where a good friend of mine worked at and he didn’t want to see any of the staff, a last minute request. They all had to cram in the basement while he went upstairs to lay down some vocals. Apparently, his manager yelled at everybody. Told the producer and the engineer to take off their leather gear and shit. Crazy! Anyway, I’ve had the pleasure of recording at that very same studio with my band ‘Dead Lizards”. it was fucking expensive and it’s going to take a long time to release everything but I also have another three-piece band called Enter the Mirror which has taken a more affordable route in home recordings etc. I’ve been teaching at an international school here to stay financially sound so that I can enjoy my music. Music hasn’t paid in a while but I do it for fun you know. The fun runs out when you make your passion your primary focus in life and your financial dips make you hate what you love.

9. Tell us a bit about Durban, the scene there, the negatives and positives and general vibe of the city?

Durban is fucking sick, it’s a paradise and the variety of cultures make it one of a kind. The only problem it’s an old age home and a gym at the same time. The live gig scene has been put on its knees over and over by the cops or conservative property owners who want no part of it. But we will always have The Winston! Long live that place and the friends that have kept it going through the ups and downs.

10. What attracted you to someone like Marques in the first place?

He was really funny and was great at impersonating people, he could give Trevor Noah a run for his money!  

11. Any interesting stories about the Durban hip hop/punk/rock scene?

Yeah, for a while the hip hop scene and the punk scene worked well together, everybody liked to get pissed and have a good time.

There was this one time where we did a show with D’K  at an Irish pub called The Jackie Horner and mid-gig, a gnarly fight breaks out! A friend of ours smashes a beer draught in this dudes face and that was that. Our first or second gig, great start.

It was really naturally integrated, supportive and complimentary at the same time. There were some pretty cool Dj’s like Bob Perfect, Fuego Heat, Ballie Mike, Rocco and the Nut-Scratchers to name a few. they all played really good music of all genres and people could be dancing to Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”  and the next thing “Still Dre” is going down nicely with a cold black label!

12. Any interesting stories about Marques?

We all went to a festival called “Spogweni Fest”, with a fucked up name like that you would already know that it was a proper flop. Anyway, it was a gig in support of raising funds to help combat rhino poaching. Marques went up there and shouted out at the crowd “Fuck the Chinese for using rhino horn to make their dicks hard!” Right in front of families and kids. It was like a movie, absolute silence until someone shouted: “Yeah, Fuck that shit!” Then we went on to play a song called “We gonna fuck shit up”. You can imagine how the chorus went.