Music
Polt, Well brothers and Tote Hosen on tour
“Tote Hosen” singer Campino (r.) and cabaret artist and actor Gerhard Polt in July 2017 in Munich. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
Gerhard Polt, the Well brothers from Bavaria and the Toten Hosen from the Rhineland have had a common stage culture for decades. Cultural Appropriation? Answer: It’s possible – but above all it’s an impertinence.
Punk rock, cabaret and folk music of a different kind – the weird triad will be back on stage in July. After a six-year break, the satirist Gerhard Polt and the Well brothers from the Bavarian family of musicians of the same name are starting a joint tour with the Toten Hosen, as the artists’ management announced on Monday.
The month-long tour entitled “Forever” begins in Schliersee on July 14 – home game for 81-year-old Polt, who lives in Schliersee. Other stations include Freiburg, Jena, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Hanover and Stuttgart. It is said that the majority of these are open-air events for the first time. A new dimension, at least for Wells.
Bavarians and Rhinelanders, Bavarian dialect and punk: “You respect each other, even if you don’t always get along,” explain the unequal partners. And: “It was discussed internally whether all of this is actually about cultural appropriation. The result: it can be, but above all it’s an impertinence.”
Unequal friendship since the 1980s
The supposed opposites of both sides were a topic at early performances, but over the years what belongs together grows together more and more. “Polt and the Well brothers open up to rock music, but the pants are limited to acoustic instruments and go along with every Bavarian dialect madness.”
The unequal friendship arose in the 1980s in Wackersdorf. When the Hosen first encountered the Well brothers – then Biermösl Blosn – at the legendary anti-WAAhnsinns festival in 1986, it was clear to them: These are punks with other means. Both groups formed an alliance. Well’s brother by choice, Gerhard Polt, soon joined them. Since then there have been numerous joint performances, tours and studio recordings. Michael Well: “We celebrate friendship with joy.”