**Schacht X – a nostalgic look back.** Four old white men come to a groundbreaking realization.
> **"Back then, things were crap too."**
## Didi
The highlight of **Didi's** career came at the tender age of 14, when he played his very first public gig as a drummer. At least as far as his admittedly somewhat romanticized memories are concerned, he instantly felt like a fully-fledged rock star.
Woodstock? Wacken?
Nope.
Even better: a school festival in Bochum, playing to a crowd of 500 with his very first band, **Light**.
They say you should quit while you're ahead.
But the applause proved far too addictive.
Throughout the 1980s, **Didi** worked his way through a string of local bands, including **Light** and **Icy Creek**. He played drums in the rock opera **Momo** and even found himself behind the timpani for performances of **Carmina Burana**.
Then came **Steeler**—one of Germany's leading heavy metal bands at the time. Unfortunately, the band was falling apart, torn apart by internal conflicts and on the verge of splitting up. **Didi** made what would turn out to be the smartest decision of his musical life:
He quit.
And went off to learn a "proper" profession instead.
Six years later, however, fate intervened.
He met a fun-punk band called **Zaitgeist**, who had been playing live with a drum machine. Introducing himself to the singer, **Didi** delivered the immortal line:
I'm just about bad enough for you guys."
He got the gig.
What came next?
Fifteen years with **Legal Eagles**, including countless performances at the always sold-out Harpener Oldie Night. Along the way he talked drums with the likes of **Bertram Engel**, **Jojo Mayer**, **Jost Nickel,** and **Carmine Appice**, and under the nickname **Stockfisch** became a permanent member of the band **Seasick Fish**, joining them on many musical adventures.
Other bands: **Those Days** · **Blues Days** · **F.B.B.** · **Scones 'n' Bones**
## Schacht X
**Schacht X** are **Holger Auer**, **Juergen "Fred" Becker**, **Andreas "Androsch" Keuntje**, and **Dietmar "Didi" Teermann**.
When you're four rock 'n' rollers on the wrong side of fifty, people are quick to file you under "old white men." Apparently, that's about as bad as it gets these days.
Clearly, we needed therapy.
So we started a support group.
Name: **SCHACHT X**
Mission: Let's get the band back together!
That old Blues Brothers motto is the fuel that keeps this band going.
Just like back then: half a crate of beer, a pouch of rolling tobacco, a couple of amps, a microphone, and a drum kit.
Therapy is now officially in session.
Where did all that time go, **Ruhrgebiet**
Between the four of us, we've played in dozens of bands over the years. We've shared stages with all kinds of musicians—although, thanks to age-related memory loss, we now have to rely on faded old photos to remember exactly who they were.
One thing hasn't changed: we still love loud guitars, honest songs, and the feeling that only happens when a band locks in and the music takes over.
**SCHACHT X** isn't about reliving the past.
It's about proving that rock 'n' roll never really gets old.
## Fred
The early photos don't lie: young **Fred** was pure glam rock—a shameless stage animal. Looking at those outfits today is absolutely hilarious, but they helped his bands land support slots for **Magnum**, **Rosy Vista**, **H-Blocks**, **Katrina and the Waves**, and **Geier Sturzflug**.
Sex sells.
In show business, you're a prostitute.
We knew that long before #MeToo.
His greatest musical achievement? Probably winning a regional battle-of-the-bands competition...
...at the age of 35.
The show was called "Lampenfieber" ("Stage Fright"), the band was **Bar-Fly**, and alongside him was his longtime partner in crime, **Androsch**, plus without a doubt the finest singer either of them has ever had the privilege to play with: **Aino Laos**.
This major cultural event was broadcast live on the radio. The winner wasn't chosen by a panel of judges—oh no. Instead, victory was decided by an Applause-O-Meter: a microphone in the audience measured the volume of the cheering in decibels.
Perfectly fair.
First prize?
A cruise.
Seriously.
Somehow, that led to a record deal with the legendary German producer **Ralph Siegel**. It didn't take long to realise we weren't destined to become friends. One of the band members made the fatal mistake of beating **Ralph** at pool. The atmosphere in his Munich villa instantly dropped below freezing—and with that, our dream of representing Germany at the **Eurovision Song Contest** quietly disappeared.
Bands: **Savage** · **Fallen Angel** · **Darling** · **Bornchild** · **Bar-Fly** · **PastMD**
## Holger
If nobody wants to hear your own songs, try singing someone else's.
Sounds like something Frank Sinatra might have said.
It wasn't.
It was **Holger's** artistic awakening.
You don't have to look like **Jon Bon Jovi**—but if you can sing like him... that's a different story.
For almost twenty years, Holger became the **Jon Bon Jovi** of the Ruhr Valley, fronting the tribute band **These Days** and bringing sing-alongs, fist-pumping anthems, and big hair energy to festivals, town fairs, and beer tents across the region.
Since 2003, he's also been a member of the **Classic Night Band**. From 2007 to 2019, they became the defining live act of the legendary Zeche 40 parties at Bochum's famous **Zeche** venue. Today, they continue to headline acclaimed festivals and, as the local press likes to put it, have achieved cult status alongside the **Bochum Symphony Orchestra**.
Not bad at all.
Along the way, **Holger** has shared stages with a colourful cast of rock legends and legendary characters alike, including **Doro Pesch**, **John McLaughlin**, **Jeff Brown**, and **Steve Whalley**.
Who? Google them.
For the past decade, **Holger** has also fronted **The Dangerous Kitchen**, adding a completely different chapter to a career otherwise devoted to crowd-pleasing rock classics.
**Frank Zappa.**
Every serious artist needs an intellectual alibi.
That's his.
## Androsch
Why does someone become a bass player?
Because six strings are just too much to handle.
Truth be told, **Androsch** doesn't always get along with four, either.
But that's hardly the point.
Looking like you know exactly what you're doing while cheerfully guessing the right notes is an art in itself—and he's mastered it. Somehow, that has carried him onto stages all over Germany, popping up alongside **Matthias Jabs** of the **Scorpions**, jamming with **Dan McCafferty** of **Nazareth**, and even sharing the stage with **Nicko McBrain** of **Iron Maiden**.
Along the way he released several albums with **Sign**, **Mona Liza Overdrive** (featuring **Stefan Kleinkrieg** of **Extrabreit**), and **Bar-Fly** (together with his old partner in crime, **Fred**).
Unfortunately, record sales never quite reached the level required to support a carefree rock-star lifestyle.
Then came the 1990s, when everyone suddenly seemed to be doing something in the media.
So Androsch continued making music—but this time on the radio.
Eventually, spinning records and talking nonsense between songs wasn't enough anymore, so he moved into television.
Still, something was missing.
The creative spark.
Then one day the phone rang.
**Fred**.
One sentence was all it took:
„Let's get the band back together!“
The rest is **SCHACHT X**.
Bands. **Fallen Angel** · **Sign** · **Mona Liza Overdrive** · **Bar-Fly** · **Billie Ray**
· **Past MD**
Sessions & guest appearances: **Nicko McBrain** (**Iron Maiden**), **Stefan Kleinkrieg** (**Extrabreit**), **Dan McCafferty** (**Nazareth**), **Matthias Jabs** (**Scorpions**), and a memorable 24-hour "secret mission" through Hamburg's St. Pauli with **Udo Lindenberg**.
We're Looking for a New Voice!
Since Holger has left the band, SCHACHT X is looking for a new lead singer—male or female.
Think you've got what it takes?
Love classic rock, enjoy being on stage, and don't mind rehearsing with four slightly over-aged rock 'n' rollers who refuse to grow up?
Then we'd love to hear from you!
Get in touch with Fred at:
fred@schachtx.de
