Kunst Empire

Take 3 Art majors interested in music, add coffee, finish with Guiness. Repeat.

Band Line-up

* The band is no longer together, remember us well ;)

• Mike “Blue” Schwobe — Guitar, Vocals
• Chuck “Wendy” Brunelli — Bass
• Sean “Dash” Manning — Drums, Vocals

Alternate Line-up

• Bobby Youngs — Bass (after JD)
• JD Arnold — Bass (after Chuck)

1. Taste Life (2:32)
   taste life, adrenaline / could we refresh / outside and within / undead, like zombie skin / consider the itch / we’d be scratching again / yeah its been long (way too long) / long overdue / tear it down (no rip it down!) / and push on through / been leaving hungers, one by one / cardinal feedings, left undone / we are starving / love or lust, what we need / draining us, like a bleed / its time to start… / eating! / taste life, adrenaline / could we refresh / outside and within / undead, like zombie skin / consider the itch / we’d be scratching again / worth repeating! / stop the bleeding / start the eating / stop the bleeding / clots beginning
2. Desaturate (3:34)
   she drinks her wine / as if she’s running out of time / to purge her mind / her thoughts get lost blackouts nowhere to find / and i don’t know what’s wrong / for sure / but i know who is not / stronger / twenty-nine years young / going on / twenty-one / twenty-one / she’ll toast to you any day / it’s not the drink that matters / that’s only half of it / as a matter of fact the latter / is what makes me sick / she went then earned a degree long ago / yet to this day she’s got nothing to show / twenty-nine years young / going on / twenty-one / twenty-one / she’ll toast to you any day / it’s time for some tough love / binge drinking alcoholic / get your shit together / before its too late / placate your self-love / self-hate desaturate

1. Potential (3:09)
   take your time / restraighten your mind / has it gone from bad to worse / this curse can be undone / it can break / and then some / come winter / hints of gray / will you be too cold or numb to say / i need you / more today / i’ll never let you fade away / trust / in simplicity / don’t rush / eventually / you’ll begin to notice / when slightly out of focus / how clear it may come / and where its from
2. Shutdown (3:40)
   its been a while since i had so much fun with anyone illicit someone / thought i knew my type well / i did alright until / oh hell i fell illicit someone / our reason this season’s irrational / you told us not to think / my warm wind come to blow me away or blow me off / you floated me up high / then let me down slow / you begged me not to again i have to resound / take root on broken ground / i have to ask you one last chance to shutdown / now you not around / you’re a hard to find girl / you redefine my world / all that i am / you seem to understand / when i search your eyes true / maybe i’m feeling blue / although i can handle that / you can have regret / with the breeze i fall / leaves colorful / hope you recall / how much you care / burning yellow sun / are you having fun / next to no one / remember i am here
3. Fine Art (3:21)
   contoured your sketch / unperfected style / drop a few lines / idle nude for a while / the permanence / gestured face profile / not quite as guile / as my painted smile / rendering / a creative / respected two point perspective / our canvas / innovative / i have so much more to give / let me ask you this / where’s your free time spent / when your overstressed / where do you vent / i’m a bachelor / who’s mastering / the fine art / of listening / i’m listening to you
4. Pillar (2:19)
   returned to salt / its difficult to stand / unbalanced / the ’self’ they exalt / indulged in cults they stand / unchallenged / ah today / is there no room / for superstitious men like me / is there no tomb for cautious men like you
5. Bitter End (3:16)
   let’s pretend all good things come to an end suspend my friend / waiting in line through time out of line suspend my friend / in the bitter end / i’ve got some insight in light of spite / fight after fight / you know i don’t care who is right / what i made clear / went in your ear / but you couldn’t hear / though / try as i might
6. Sway (4:02)
   are you short of breath yet / heavy words left here to sway / sway the way you stand / comprehend my friend with benefits / we can’t risk do any of this / unless you promise / swear to me / if you start to fall for me at all / don’t hesitate to reciprocate / straight in my direction hurry / don’t be the girl who got away / come to my house / lay on my couch comfortable / show me again / give in / no control / when i ask you to stay the night / smile once more say i delight / break your plans / take my hands / become reachable
7. Clouded (3:07)
   look at the skies today notice the darker grey / i implore the rains to wash away / regrets so complex yearn to soak dry sands / hey understand we should’ve just stayed friends / forecasted in my mind / fought though i couldn’t find / an answer drawing near / i say hey i’m unclear / if we could talk face to face / drop the uncertainty and cut to the chase / without a doubt you would believe / i’m here to care and not to deceive / no more songs of sorrow and despair / no more loneliness disbelief or fear / you must know now that i care / when you listen to my music in your ear / cloudy day / misplaced my shine / you’ve lost your blue / no stars in sight / no wish come true / its trial and error now / forgive me somehow / clouded / in my head
8. Exhaust (3:38)
   distressed the following / perception is everything / and i shouldered not the worst / i recollect two days after the first / ah we can’t sleep / what’s worth to keep / devotion overlooked / trying too hard to go by the book / forfeit yet refuse to quit / this dead end dies slow / and we’ll keep running until we trip / crawl-exit the long road
9. Hint Hint (1:55)
   (instrumental)
10. Priests And Children (3:52)
    thoughts come to mind / what did we see / the blind leading the blind / sworn into secrecy / bold catholics / old politics / masking a vile connection / amid priests and children / facts come to light / as dark as night / in the church / are they safe / your children are / being raped by the fallen star / we fall from light / into the dark now / we fall from grace / into the dark / a stained glass window / with cold veins of lead / describes pictorially / the living the dead / cast your long shadows / blue and violet hues / deep assorted colors / settling across the pews
11. Pollen Day’s Sauce (2:52)
    watch out for bees / all the sticky gifts they hide / zeal stung you by surprise / sweets aren’t all that’s on their mind / pollenday’s sauce irritates the skies / pollenday’s sauce in my three eyes

1. Intro (0:12)
   my thoughts on suckers / mike’s a sucker
2. Trapdoor (3:26)
   quitting the rat race / put up a good chase / better when i’m poor / slip through the trapdoor / you can’t whore me / somehow i’ve boxed myself in / didn’t know my left from right or where to begin — or where to end / all of this / isn’t mine / witness / to my crime / dismiss / all of my kind / (because) forgiveness is divine / i see a door in the floor and i / don’t seem to sleep so deep anymore i’m / dug down in this spot thinking / well what do i have (hmmpf) what do i not / for what i’m worth / in regard to debt / i hope they sleep well / and what about my right / to an education / not on sale / put those books back on the shelf / stop quoting others just listen to yourself / on and on about why you hurt / who invoked the pain back in the start / don’t believe its great to pull your own weight then you took for granted and learned to hate / got no respect for anyone / just a little kid with a big taste for fun saying i want out / you scream and shout
3. Too Late Past (3:12)
   situations passed along the way / i’ll let bygones be bygones / i tell myself oh just about each and every day / let bygones be bygones / my sadness turned to anger / no answers from my psychic gut / stood by and watched my approach to danger and how quick you became a stranger / i just don’t know when to give up / well should i burn all bridges and cut all ties / or could i see it through your eyes / or maybe you’d save me from this frustrating decision making so we could compromise / did you question why it all came down / how dare we mention when we’re not so safe and sound / are you afraid to hurt or just afraid / sorta scared you might be played / so you just walked away / well should i burn all bridges and cut all ties / or could i see it through your eyes / or maybe you’d save me from this frustrating decision making so we could compromise / past / past / past / too late past / people make the place and it seemed like a crime / when i turned my back i left it all behind / made my escape from all that i knew / knew i had to do it — run away real soon / when you forget how good you have it / what you’ve got becomes old / can’t take it anymore like a headache or a cold / this place is getting stuffy / its hard to breath / now i have to get out / now i’ve gotta leave / my move to colorado was so hard to swallow / without my friends i felt so hollow / 6th floor whores are back in the way / and we don’t care / fuck you / what’d you fuckin say
4. Cry Wolf (2:44)
   irresponsible claimed intellectual / a child and a fucking fraud / a toast to first impressions and well-received intentions / defiled / several disguises that are flawed / sympathy case / poly-faced drama queen / wannabe activist / riot girl with no dream / image conscious attention seeking whore / houdini’s come to spread her legs once more / since when has this bad company become an authority to my pain / she can’t help herself or better anyone else / amid her hedonistic reign / cry wolf / don’t cry wolf to me no / she’s too concerned about herself / sad thing is that there is no one else / normal couldn’t be the word that i’d use / if i spent the day / walking in her shoes / nightmare dream just turned eighteen / she wonders why / the world’s so mean / actions speak louder than words / and when the truth comes loud / it fucking hurts / and i wonder if she’ll ever learn / not to lie / and i wonder to whom she will turn / asking why
5. Alright (3:07)
   its alright what you said to me / its alright that we disagree / its alright but not entirely / its alright / through an avalanche of hope / and a full tank of / faith / i discovered an excuse / an antidote for hatred / if repetition leads unity / contrast bears variety / then variance paired off / creating an open minded equality / its alright to relax and breath / its alright to turn and leave / its alright oh my pet-peeve / its alright / like punched holes in a wall / or kicked-in closet door / i see through your theories / and past your home decor / pseudo hippy pseudo punk / post modernist or modern junk / getting high or getting drunk / finally shot the brain you shrunk / it’s alright with me / and its okay / to take it day by day / yes its alright / to lose a fight
6. Anxious (3:33)
   i’ve become so apocalyptic / i can hear the clock tick / watch the rise and fall / what some would call as pessimistic / deemed unrealistic / is in truth / fictional / straight down that road towards fearing the unknown / until i changed my mind and shifted into park / left my gears turning / soul searching / can’t turn back i gotta keep going / it’s better to light a candle than curse the dark / ongoing preparations for impending tribulations / there’s high regard between the lines / therefore i keep my progress steady / set the quick pace hope i’m ready / am i ready to see the signs / oh i can’t wait a minute / just take a minute any longer / i’m anxious now for you
7. Texan Bastard (1:46)
   grew up in texas living big city pressures / second child born hand-me-downs religious lectures / forget school attention deficit disorder / fuck cops what is the law when the world is without order / friends got mixed up in white supremacy / big eyes wide endless curiosity / innocent though figuring it wasn’t right / realizing all to soon when he pulled a knife / threatened his family they set him straight / concluded to move before it was too late / now your up north what do you want to do / why do you ask when you already knew / problem child your too wild / why can’t you be like your brother / blah blah blah la la la / why can’t i be a punk rocker / what’s wrong with you its your life’s own limit its your life live it / skate uptown at the local spot / loiter here to there but don’t get caught / play some punk music on your turntable / practice hard for that future record label / head to burger king for a bite to eat / cash twelve hours from your job that week / now you’re broke and your friends are too / at least you spent your day doing what you wanted to do
8. Trio (2:16)
   aspirations of where i want to be / i have eyes through which only you could see / every two weeks tears dry to my cheeks and damnit i tried to keep it inside / salty streams of hopes and dreams my wishes cried still pushed aside / and no one other than you believes that i try / when i’m an angry man i’m an accidental lie - hypocrisy / oh i ran into i delight with the blue hair / well when he shook his head and walked away he’d say take good care / still provoked and always aggravated i’m underappreciated and fully frustrated / i’m crushed by the rush of the calvary then torched by the heat inside of me / and no one aside from you understands why / when i’m an angry man i’m an accidental lie - hypocrisy / do you take time / to enjoy the things in life / oh these words of yours and mine / yeah they cut like a knife / so i’m back on the road to being myself / welcoming risks endangering my health / i want to smell the roses and then come clean yeah this is my dream
9. Aberzombie Crombie (3:16)
   abercrombie zombies coming to brainwash / and they’ll leave you with nothing but some fresh brain mush / watch out / i’m the / boogie man / you better run / run / run as fast as you can / you see i care what you wear / i don’t like your hair / check out my style / look at my flair / you’re under arrest
   from the fashion police / you’d better run
10. Wrong (2:42)
    can’t have my cake and eat it too / i’ve held my breath last lone months passed out blue / not dead and gone / how strong am i to do / approach hereafter with echoes of laughter / a simplicity often difficult to master / is it more than this; to hold and kiss / we’re better off then to shoot than miss / what’s wrong / determined into fate voided free choice / so long we’ve disliked the hate confusion and noise / well you could’ve stopped to take that risk / witnessed a good shot in aim towards bliss / who knew all the hardship and consequence said nevertheless we must persist and stay strong / what’s wrong with determining fate / you voided our free choice / my choice
11. Immunity (3:18)
    we’re not immune to his extent / try to follow close to my example when you sample / don’t bite off more / more then you can chew / still i picked up the phone / i didn’t know what to say / closed my eyes and called anyway / its so annoying / it doesn’t go away / its been a year / yet i called / anyway just to say hey / tragedy strikes twenty four seven / its hard to kill the will of evil men / slave to sin or born again / you choose to lose or begin to win / your freedom of choice / right or wrong there’s weak or strong / some find it harder and harder just to hold on / to their voice
12. V.H.M.D. (Vampire Hunter M.D.) (2:40)
    she’s a person not a number deep deep down in her slumber / i’m the hunted not the hunter rest assured punkis cunter / you’re scared to death of them and their needles / bad medicine kills people / its no wonder why my slain angel / considers herself nonessential / some days insignificant / often nonexistent / i hide her life / asleep yet still alive / and i don’t know if we’re going to make it in time / dying slow not sure if she can shake it resign / until your angst faces / more teary eyes / go on wasted / by shouts and cries / within the background music heard from any work of art / herein lies the rhythm of an empathetic heart / hoping

1. Hardcore Shite Mein (3:01)
   everything you do you do it all wrong / a simple phrase to set the stage the anger of my song / you’re always fuckin right / believe in what you think / well don’t turn your back and never fuckin blink / you arrogant dick / you’re so full of shit / put words in my mouth blow on the fuse you lit / don’t even try to justify apologize or quit / cuz in the end you can’t pretend that you hadn’t started it / oh you make me sick / makin me sick suck my dick bitch / hardcore shite mein / in a room full of violence and built up aggression / raged nothing but silence served mental detention / you live in denial now feel a liar’s guilt / when the walls come down all around of the world you built / you’re so fake you just take take up space / yeah you had your time feeling fine what do you gotta say well i say / hardcore shite mein
2. UW Zero (2:23)
   big jock / small cock / dumb luck / stupid fuck / all chumps / blow chunks / spit junk / rotten punk / gotta wake up / outta bed / go to school / fill my head / be smart everyday / feel (like) a fool anyway / tommy hill / drink your fill / don’t spill / but you will / take your pill / steroid thrill / kill kill kill / till your ill / mainstream me / part of we / don’t you see / it hurts to pee / mtv / puff daddy / could you be unhappy
3. Family Advocate (3:03)
   i’m not sleeping on the job or killing time / i’m making a complete mess with the perfect crime / dressed up today in black and white / and i knew what to say to make it sound right / now if i forked my tongue into your moral ear / you would hear my good intentions and now my time is near / facts and certainty / stories of conformity / convenience and leisure / happiness and pleasure / now this is what you want / and this is what you need / to make right your behavior / to justify your greed / lo and behold i’m immanuel kant / an advocate of modern thought / i won’t bother you if you don’t bother me and we’ll all be one big / hippy happy oh so crappy not to mention sometimes anti-family / when the crowd becomes restless and they need something new / i’ll pick one of my faces and i’ll tell you what to do / so guess who i am now / i’m power and opinion / if you don’t want to be bullied / then don’t be the victim / lo and behold i’m karl marx / an advocate of modern hearts / i will conquer you if you don’t conquer me and we’ll all be one big / hippy happy oh so crappy not to mention sometimes anti-family
4. Present Day (2:29)
   you’ve heard it all before / and i try not to go there at all anymore / in fact for the first time / i pushed it out of my mind / some people would say here in the present day / you have to live your life a certain way / i would pray and repent / to stay different / win fight never give up / be like us please join us we’re counting on you 1234 / so you also feel like this / and i am i am just as pissed / with independence / liberty / these all matter more to me / live normally fuck conformity / win fight never give up / be like us please join us we’re counting on you 1234 / conform with us
5. Eyelids Of Disguise (3:13)
   within the comfort of someone honest / why does it feel like i’m the con-artist / they say the truth speaks from a person’s eyes / and to hide myself; eyelids of disguise / i turn from your eyes yet i don’t know why / i feel out of place / continue to try / am i afraid of my feelings or do i fear yours / maybe a little bit of both yeah i’m fighting two wars / they say the truth
6. Not Enuff (3:00)
   reached out my hand / ignorance slapped it away / i feel hurt inside / everything outside is grey / now its not as bad as the time it happened before / cuz this is the time when i don’t care anymore / it’s a broken record / vicious cycle of torture / somehow we hold on / don’t allow it to be over / i’m a professional boxer trapped in one corner / and you’re just a drunk trying to talk sober / i don’t care anymore / now can you blame me for giving up / i tried my best but its still not enough
7. Away (3:17)
   i’m waiting for a spell still relatively well / have gained emotional wealth / half for her and the other half for myself / hitting two birds with one stone / ironically shown the conquered now heads home all alone trying to comprehend a righteous means to an end / distraction floods in and i forget how to swim / every now and then i sink down under / where to begin again / thing start to change always makes me grin / i always stay the same / now i’m not blind cuz i found understanding / it never died cuz you kept on writing / the best part of the day is when you speak your mind / let me know about your time away / bend reality transform it — oh surreal / in it to win it come on now state the ideal / it found us quick now we’re left with time to kill / oh waiting reflecting you know its half the thrill / found someone who thinks like me but completely different in every way / i put her first unselfishly now i can touch ground / now i can see / now i’m not blind cuz i found understanding / it never died cuz you kept on writing / the best part of the day is when you speak your mind / let me know about your time away
8. Take It Back (4:21)
   drink up my friend / it’ll happen again / you have not sinned / its not the end / never taken / you for granted / always given / what you wanted / no i wasn’t wrong / you strung me along / green light move ahead — stopped in the red / for not that long have we known each other / for not that long again says another / for not that long will we be together / for not that long why even bother with me / to take it back / no you can’t do that / for not that long have girls kept their promise / for not that long have you stayed very honest / for not that long should i’ve taken a risk / could i keep a goddess with me no / to take it back / no you can’t do that
9. Change (2:57)
   i remember when it was fight or flight / stay out real late yeah we’d party all night / happiness was sure to come always knew it would / didn’t know where it’d be from but i thought it should / i just gotta keep trying / trying to change / goodbye long ago / hello here and now / oh way back then back in the day / i started to do it do it all my way / and since that time i haven’t been the same / i guess i happened to change / goodbye / long ago / hello / here and now / i remember / long ago / oh watch me now / cuz here i go / and you can follow
10. Up Yours (2:20)
    now that my fuse is lit / wanna trash the place / wanna smash your face / wanna feed you dirt / wanna make you hurt / wanna ego trip / just because i’m in a band / up yours / doesn’t mean i’m a bigger man / up yours / don’t degrade me or my struggle / up yours / when you haven’t lived outside your own bubble / up yours / now that you look like shit / wanna trash the place / wanna smash your face / wanna feed you dirt / wanna make you hurt / wanna ego trip / just because i’m in a band / up yours / doesn’t mean i’m a bigger man / up yours / don’t degrade me or my struggle / up yours / when you haven’t lived outside your own bubble / up yours
11. Rezident Evil (3:38)
    knew too much about him / read his narrow mind / my roommates a nazi / i’m doing time / forced to tolerate coexist with hate / don’t tell me to relax / i might be high strung but i haven’t even begun / i’ll present the facts / we all try / walk on by / bear with it / i smell bullshit / he talks behind all backs / malicious names to call all blacks / and every other race / says we should destroy / the homeless little boy / to increase economy’s pace / (nazi)
12. I delight… (1:59)
    i like to fight / i delight / i like to skate hard / i like to fight / and i just might / swing my board / kicked your ass when i swung my skateboard / had to talk shit you fuckin retard / didn’t you know when you fucked with me / i hate rednecks i hate hippies / all in my face like the red and blue / harassing me just like they do / can’t even skate down the street / without being confronted by a meat’ / i like to fight / i delight / i like to skate hard / i like to fight / and i just might / swing my board / don’t push me bitch cuz i’ll push you back / did you hear the sound of you jaw go crack / of course you didn’t cuz you got knocked out / aw you fell to the ground and broke you mouth / if i told you once i’ve told you twice / told you a third time to be fuckin nice / bloody on the ground lookin all dead / now how’s it feel to be a meathead / i like to fight / i delight / i like to skate hard / i like to fight / and i just might / swing my board / and its all all all your fault