For a middle-aged person who grew up in the Rhine-Main region, the "good old days" is one of two unofficial Hessian hymns to which he or she may have already lay in the arms of another person like a cider.

For everyone else, especially if they work in the cultural industry, the thought of the good old days is less a memory of a song by the Hessian comedy rock band Flatsch !, but rather of the time before Corona, when cultural life was flourishing and the calendar of events almost overflowed.

Christian Riethmüller

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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    In the meantime, cultural life has started again and numerous funding programs from the federal, state and local governments have been launched for the industry, but many of the people employed in the event industry have none of that. Especially for them, the cloakroom and stage builders, the toilet women and the lighting, a charity project applies to all the artists, which the music manager Andy Ludyk, the photographer Hans Lechner, Gerrit Schleevoigt from Messe Frankfurt and Julia Frank from the concert organizer Wizard Promotions on a voluntary basis Got work done. The four of them know each other not least through the photo campaign Kulturgesichter 069, with which a few months ago attention was drawn to the precarious situation of the culture industry during the pandemic on advertising space in the Rhine-Main area.Because many musicians from the region were also involved in this action, one thing quickly led to the other, and Ludyk asked everyone who was willing to make a song available for a charity compilation, the proceeds of which should go to the needy colleagues .

    In the style of "We are the world"

    Confirmations from artists and bands like the Crackers, Elfmorgen, Revolte Tanzbein, Badesalz, Flames, Aren & Chima or Sven Valenta were not long in coming. "But we still thought of a highlight, an all-star song in the style of 'We are the world'," says Andy Ludyk: "And that's when we thought of 'Good old days'. Olaf Mill, at that time guitarist at Flatsch !, suggested that we should ask Gerd Knebel, who wrote the song, right away. ”Knebel quickly agreed, but stipulated that the original text should not be changed. The “strong guys” are still the banker and the punk and not the conductor and the roadie. Busy with a bath salt production, Knebel did not find the time to take part in the re-recording of the song himself,in which at least two of the old Flatsch! members are involved with Olaf Mill and drummer Sepp'l Niemeyer. There are also plenty of other Hessian rock celebrities under the name Kulturgesichter 069-Allstars, including Crackers frontman Lothar Pohl and Kerstin Pfau, singer of the Rodgau Monotones, whose guitarist Ali Neander donated a nice solo to the song.

    Musicians from bands such as Octopus, Boppin 'B, Revolte Tanzbein and with singer George Liszt even a guest from Vienna also contributed instrumental tracks or choral singing, which sound engineer Tom Stryder had to bring together to a coherent mix in his studio in Nidda, as it was during the lockdown not to think about asking several singers to sing into the studio at the same time. Like many of the sequences for the video, which can now be seen on YouTube, most of the recordings were made at home. The single is available for download at https://lnk.to/Kulturgesichter069-Allstars_GutealteZeit. The compilation will probably go on sale in early July. It can also be pre-ordered at www.facebook.com/kulturgesichter069allstars. The proceeds will go entirely to a fund. Applications for funding can be sent to the address www.Kulturzeiterin.de are provided.