Lucia Cifarelli


Lucia Cifarelli Konietzko is an American musician, best known for her work with industrial band KMFDM. She was formerly the vocalist for the band Drill and also performed in KMFDM offshoots MDFMK, KGC, and Schwein.

Career

Cifarelli got her start recording in studios in New York, eventually forming her own band, Drill, along with future Black Label Society bass guitarist John DeServio. Drill released one self-titled album, spawning two music videos and getting a third song featured in the movie Empire Records. Later in 1995, Drill opened for Stabbing Westward's Wither, Blister, Burn, and Peel Tour. The band broke up shortly after the end of the tour.
Cifarelli joined the KMFDM-hiatus band MDFMK in 2000. The project lasted for one self-titled album. In 2001, Cifarelli and Sascha Konietzko worked on the supergroup Schwein and its albums Schweinstein and the subsequent remix album Son of Schweinstein. After the MDFMK project was discontinued, Cifarelli was asked to return as a member of KMFDM. She has been a member of the band since 2002's Attak. She recorded one solo album, From the Land of Volcanos. One single off the album, "I Will", appeared on the American Pie 2 soundtrack. Cifarelli performed on the band KGC's 2006 album Dirty Bomb.

Personal life

Lucia Cifarelli was raised in Long Island. Her father, Albert V. Cifarelli was a dentist, born in 1937 and raised near Corona, NY and from an Italian-American family. With his late first wife, Barbara, Albert had four children - one son and three daughters. Paternal grandparents of Lucia are Emily Schiavo and Charles Cifarelli. The eldest sister, Leslie Cifarelli, who was an aspiring actress died in the early nineties from complications related to HIV. This was unexpected and had a big impact on Lucia’s life, as she was very close to her big sister. They used to listen to Kate Bush, Stevie Wonder, Roxy Music and David Bowie together when they were children. When Leslie graduated, Lucia was visiting her on weekends and they often danced the night away in Xenon, Danceteria, The Tunnel, The Nile or Palladium.
According to herself, Cifarelli was an ordinary child and her parents knew she wouldn't pursue a career in science, like her father or uncles. Her only passion was singing. At first she showed no big talent, but determination big enough to overcome it. Leslie encouraged her to keep singing and in her early teens Cifarelli got a job to pay for her singing lessons with vocal coaches like Tania Travers.
When her sister was diagnosed with terminal illness, Cifarelli started expressing her inner anger and sorrow in her music, which led her to include various "primary growls" and screams in her songs. This singing technique was later associated with her, but Lucia never stopped experimenting.
In July 2005, she married KMFDM founder and producer Sascha Konietzko. They live in Hamburg, Germany, her husband's hometown. The couple has one daughter.