Let's see, where do we start this off?
Well, back in the days Cologne was bustling with
activity in the punk and hardcore scene and there
were bands popping up, playing shows and
disbandening again in only a short amount of
time. When one band ended the members
had another project immediately.
And although the big punkrock institution
known as the Rhenania was closed in 1995 there
were a decent number of places where shows
took place, most memorable the rehearsal
room of Cologne's finest, Yage, where small
gigs were set up for small bands. Quite a few
people showed up there to see bands who now
make it to the charts.

Out of this scene amodestproposal emerged
in 1998. Originally rehearsing at a market place
in the south of Cologne we found together while
attending lots of shows. This is where we got the
idea to start our own band. We rehearsed quite
a bit, you could say. It almost took us two years
to play our first set but that was also due to
some line up changes before we actually
hit the big stage.

Originally we were known as

THE S*T*A*R*S ON 45,

a name we stole from some dutch disco project
who had some chart success in the 1980s.
We even recorded a demo CD under that name
entitled „For Friends And Collectors“ in 2000.
But we soon got fed up with stealing a name and
wanted to come up with something more original.
So now we are amodestproposal,
a name we took from english literature and
not from an old Youth Brigade song. Now go figure...

Since then we recorded a CD in 2001 entitled
„...Of Memories And Dreams“ and played some
shows here and there alongside some friends
of ours. For example we were really thankful
when FREE YOURSELF asked us to join in
on a 4 day trip to the south of Germany.
Or we were thrilled when we got to share the
stage with the wonderful WEAKERTHANS in
Aachen. We really loved to play at the KTS in
Freiburg, and we still do.
We even managed to book a one week tour
with ZEIDUN from Barcelona, a
very memorable experience.

In 2004 we figured that it was time to record
another CD but it took us a long time to get
the whole thing done. But, as they say,
good things come to those who wait
(and work, obviously), we finally have the
finished product waiting for us.
„Direct Action Beats Legislation“ is something
we are very proud of since it's something
we did completely by ourselves.
With a little help from some of our friends,
of course, since we are not that good at
painting, drawing or turning knobs and
pushing buttons in a studio.
The songs, the artwork, the producing,
the recording, the manufacturing,
the label, the distribution, it's all in our hands.
It's not like we planned it to turn out this way,
but then again, when in need you still go back
to your old punk ethics and really do it
yourself, don't you. So there we have a circle
to the beginning of our story. Right from
where we started we still do things in the way
we liked it back then. And believe us,
we still like it that way.

So now it's 2007...

...and on July 5th, we played a show with one of our
most favourite bands: AGAINST ME! Not only was
this a nice concert at Cologne's Underground,
in front of a huge crowd, but for us it was more like
a signal to get things started again. The past two
years where packed with non-band-related things,
which we had to do, so now it's
time to concentrate on the music again.

Because three of us share the same first-name
I decided to put up our funny nicknames on
this page, it'll make it a little bit easier not to get
confused. But yes it´s not a promotion-joke, three
of us are actually named "Jan". Funny, isn't it?


Hopefully continued...

Poldi:

songwriter,
weekend-smoker,
teacher, trash-
chic-resident DJ,