Interview
"Our music is like a river flowing with notes with a lot of dancing fish in it."
- Tye Grunner, SDFM
From an interview on the Television show "Hooray Western Europe".
Electrified by the Dance Machine
An interview with SDFM lead vocalist Tye Grunner by musical columnist Lynda Lynch (from Details Magazine, 1998)

Tye Grunner in action in Munich, 1997.
Tye Grunner is wearing snakeskin pants and a chain mail shirt, but he somehow manages to blend in with the surroundings. It doesn't hurt that he picked the place where we are sitting down for lunch; a caf� in midtown with a leather/vinyl fetish theme. Needless to say his shaved head and one bright-blue contact are rather low-key compared to some of the people eating in here. Our waitress looks like a zombie version of Betty Paige, snapping Black Jack licorice gum loudly as she drops our "Beaten Burgers" in front of us.

Details: Come here often?

Tye: This is big chain in Munich, one on every corner, like Star Bucks only they admit they piss in the coffee.

Details: Nice to have a slice of home when you're abroad I suppose.

Tye: Definitely. When I was a boy and my mother would get mad at my brothers for doing troublesome things little boys are doing, she would make them stand against the wall and watch me. I pay two little boys to stand against a wall whenever we are getting ready to go on stage. It is very relaxing and nostalgic. I think the boys we have now are actors, they were in commercials. Oh ja, James was in a Robitussin commercial and Marcus was in an advertisement for a shoe store.

Details: I think the question I've been most wanting to ask you, is how did you convince Ulli to return for you latest album? [Ed: Hyrdaulic 5 Alive]

Tye: Things did not go to good on "South by South West". I know we had very good music even without Ulli, but Ulli is the master of making things friendly for the radio and the fans. Anja is all about the politics and I sometimes am getting lost in just making the music. When we arrive on the scene in the editing room it's hard for me to say 'okay, cut this' and 'no I think that is needed to be taken out'. I just went to Ulli and I said to him "Ulli, we need you in this band to be a successful band at all." It was very humbling but he did not hold it in my face. He knew I needed his help and he agreed pretty quickly.

Details: Leaving behind Whistling Murder Brigade?

Tye: Yes that is correct. He left that band and returned to SDFM. He knew it was not going anywhere with the Murder Brigade, he had creative control, yes, but he was not on the fast jet plane for super stardom.

Details: Your album seems to be doing quite well and you are about to launch a tour in support of it. Can you tell me a little about that?

Tye Grunner and Ulli Rydochko, pictured here in a promo photo taken in 1992.
Tye: Oh yes, it is very exciting. This is the biggest tour we are ever doing in the past. We have a giant robot on the stage that comes out during Ulli's solo and shoots hog's blood on the crowd. We have a lot of fire too. Fire shoots out of the stage, it comes out of the drums, I have a rocket that shoots out of my guitar and explodes above the audience. We think it is important to the message of the album. It is scary but also celebrating that we have returned to the big time with our good friend Ulli Rydochko.

Details: Sounds pretty dangerous, are you concerned for safety?

Tye: (laughs) It is very safe indeed I am told. The rockets know just when to explode and the flamethrowers only go 'so high' to keep from burning our hair off. The robot had some malfunctions and the blood vat has to be cleaned a lot, but it is not a safety concern, more just technical type things.

Details: Much has been said in the tabloids about your relationship with Anja [Mueller] and how it may have caused a rift to form between you and Ulli. What do you say to those who accuse you of favoring your sex life over your career?

Tye: (laughs) I say to those who have never had the sex with fine young Anja that they would understand this a lot better. Truth is being told though, I think she is very talented and Ulli did too, as a musician, and I think I just came to favor her style over Ulli's naturally. It fit better with mine, you know? Like electricity outlet and a three-pronged cord for the music machine. I cannot emphasize Ulli's importance enough though, he is the soul of the band as much as any of us and even a brutal hate machine is not doing the music well without a soul.

Details: You and the other members of SDFM are not known for being silent about what music and musicians you don't like. Has this caused any problems for you in the past?

Tye: Definitely, but these are the sort of problems that I enjoy dealing with. SDFM is a musical revolution. We are always with the changing times and our music is growing like a great oak tree up into the clouds. Some bands always make the same music. Like Pearl Jam. This guy, this Eddie character, is one fellow I would like to kick hard. Then there are these new pop and roll musics like "Back Street Boys" and I don't get along with them at all. Sure, that may keep us out of the top ten on the Billboard, but we are all about integrity. And image, image is very important. We have to project who we are by wearing these interesting clothes. Like my hat. I wear it at every concert. It isn't lucky or anything it is just people say that and they say "hey, it is Tye Grunner, hooray!" Maybe I can use this one day if I am sick, find someone to put on a fake beard and wear my hat and go out and do the singing and the dancing.