Steve Kmak

Steve "Fuzz" Kmak (born September 5, 1970) is an American bass guitar player, best known for his work with the heavy metal band Disturbed.^[1]

Disturbed

Kmak founded the band Brawl in 1994 with guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren. They played small clubs in the Chicago area before singer David Draiman answered their ad, after which they changed the band name to Disturbed. They then produced their first studio album The Sickness, released in 2000.

Before joining Marilyn Manson's 2001 European tour, Kmak was unable to play with the band due to a shattered ankle, caused by falling out of a fire escape outside Disturbed's rehearsal hall in Chicago.^[2] He took the fire escape to exit the building while the elevator was being used to move their equipment downstairs. After a successful operation, doctors highly recommended that Kmak skip the tour to avoid more severe damage to his foot. But he did perform with the band on January 11 and 12, 2001 at Disturbed's show in Chicago. During the European tour Marty O'Brien replaced Kmak until he was able to tour again.^[2]

In 2002, the band released Believe, which would prove to be the last album with Kmak.

In 2003, after finishing the Music as a Weapon II Tour, Kmak was fired due to "personal differences" between him and David. He was replaced with John Moyer.

In December 2011 David Draiman was asked via Twitter why Kmak was fired from the band. According to Draiman, Fuzz was fired because of his "jealousy" and being "willing to sink the ship we were all sailing on, for spite".^[3]

Personal life

Fuzz currently lives in Chicago, with his wife (Adrianna) and two children, Gianna and Alexander.

Equipment

Kmak used Music Man Sting Ray basses, usually 5-string.

Discography

Brawl

• Demo Tape (1994)

Disturbed

• The Sickness (2000)
• Believe (2002)
• The Lost Children (2011)

References