J.M.K.E.

J.M.K.E.
J.M.K.E. in Tikkurila (2006).
Background information
Origin	Tallinn
Genres	Punk
Years active	1986–present
Associated acts	Vürst Trubetsky & J.M.K.E.
Website	J.M.K.E.
Members	Villu Tamme Reimo Va Andres Aru Livia Kurik (Tirts) Promille Promille
Past members	Mati Pors Tarvo Hanno Varres Venno Vanamölder Tõnu Trubetsky Lembit Krull Ardo Põder Sten Šeripov

J.M.K.E. is an Estonian punk rock band, which formed in Tallinn on January 18, 1986.

The original singer, Mati, left the band soon afterwards, leaving Venno on drums, on bass, and Villu Tamme on vocals and guitar, sometimes working together with guest singers (with Tõnu Trubetsky from Vennaskond playing under the name "Vürst Trubetsky & J.M.K.E."). For the first three years they mainly played concerts in Estonia, with a few also in Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Later the band has toured Europe several times.

They became one of the more popular rock outfits in Estonia. In 1987 Villu wrote "Tere Perestroika", initially singing it alone with guitar. Later the band made numerous different versions of the song. It became a big hit because of its humorous topicality (Perestroika) and in 1988 won a song contest on a popular Estonian TV show. In 1988 came the first line-up change – Tarvo Hanno Varres left the band, later to join Estonian indie rock group Röövel Ööbik and a new bass player, Lembit, joined the band.

In 1989 the newly created Finnish record label Stupido Twins, with the aim of publishing some Estonian bands. J.M.K.E.'s "Tere Perestroika" was release # 001. The winds of change in the Soviet Union had already blown some chains away, and so J.M.K.E. were able to travel abroad for the first time in April 1989, playing their first concert in Finland to middle-aged communists at the Leftist Forum in Helsinki. Later that autumn they recorded for Stupido Twins their first LP, "Külmale Maale" (To the Cold Country), which was the first Estonian rock record made abroad. Maximum Rock'n'Roll called it "absolutely excellent". At the end of 1989 Venno left the band declaring that J.M.K.E. had “Become too commercial for me”, and Ardo took his place.

The band toured Estonia, the Nordic countries, and Germany, made a couple of EPs, and only by 1993 started to record a new album, "Gringode Kultuur" (Culture of Gringos). Meanwhile Estonia had regained its independence and J.M.K.E. couldn't continue with their anti-Soviet songs (what was the point?), so they found their new "enemy" in the invading "burger-culture", increasing poverty, and other early-capitalistic distresses. Lembit left the band in 1994 and was replaced by Sten. J.M.K.E. got also a new drummer, Andres.