Rolf Klein (musician)
Rolf "Rocco" Klein (born February 19, 1951 in Troisdorf - Sieglar ; † January 2, 2015 in Bad Breisig ), also known under the artist name Rocco Zodiak , was a German guitarist , composer and producer . He had his most successful period as a guitarist in the band of Klaus Lage .
Life
Coming from a Catholic family, Rolf sang “Rocco” as a child in the school choir and played the recorder. At the age of 11 he got an accordion and received lessons from the church sexton, he was an altar boy and boy scout. He completed an apprenticeship as a telecommunications mechanic at the post office. He got his first electric guitar when he was 14 years old. It cost 213 DM, which he paid off with his mother at 20 DM per month. He lived with his mother in Switzerland from 1967 to 1969.
Rolf “Rocco” received some lessons when he bought his first guitar and was already playing in his first band “Starkings” about six months later. They played at beat festivals and competitions. During his time in Switzerland he played in a blues band.
Rock Mac
When he returned to the Bonn region in 1969 , he founded the band "Rock Mac". She played a style that was unusual for the time and characterized by improvisation , and "Rocco" began to attract increasing attention as a guitarist. "Rock Mac" was a pure live band with no studio productions or official releases. It was dissolved in 1973, but had impressed the local music scene with numerous concerts.
"Rocco was extremely important for the Bonn music scene and a role model for many up-and-coming guitarists, " says Dieter Roesberg, editor-in-chief of the guitar & bass music magazine .
"Rocco was extremely virtuoso , certainly the first in the Bonn music scene to incorporate these flowing lines into his playing and set the bar pretty high for all other musicians," said Volkmar Kramarz, lecturer in the department for musicology / sound studies at Rheinische Friedrich -Wilhelms University of Bonn .
He was unable to realize his wish to start studying music. Klein then worked, among other things, in a Cologne music store, for which he worked as a branch manager in Duisburg and Düsseldorf.
Crumbling machine
During this time he got to know Peter Bursch and in 1979 he became guitarist in the band Bröselmaschine . The band members lived together in a municipality in Duisburg and toured Germany. The system used for this was purchased from Procol Harum . Helge Schneider was on a tour, but he got out again during the tour. The collaboration ended in 1983.
Klaus Lage Band
At the end of 1983, "Rocco" joined Klaus Lage through the mediation of Martin Engelien . Contrary to his preference for long improvisations, his guitar solos here had to be composed and limited in 8 or 16 bars. Nevertheless, he played a few gold records commercially until 1988. He was significantly involved in successful productions and hits such as Monopoli , 1001 Nights or Faust on Faust for the Schimanski production Tooth Around Tooth with Götz George .
In the meantime he had set up a recording studio in his home town of Niederkassel , in which he experimented with his own material and produced local bands, for example “Stallion”. He also lectured at the Remscheid Academy under the direction of Peter Bursch and went on promotional tours with Detlef Kessler (ex- Herbert Grönemeyer , now AMA Verlag ) and Andreas Lonardoni ( Anne Haigis ). He has endorsed agreements with Mesa / Boogie , Gibson and Lexicon . In 1986 he produced the later Lindenberg musicians and co-producers Kieran and Lukas Hilbert for Teldec . At the age of 14, she won the NDR Hörfest with her title Isabell in 1985 and her first record deal as “Germany's youngest rock band”.
Birth control
Despite an illness, the collaboration with Birth Control began in 1993 . The first concert of the rebirth of Birth Control after ten years with founding member Bernd Noske († 2014) took place on August 21, 1993. Klein played his favorite improvisations live again. “Music that is created while playing is my favorite.” The formation existed until 1995 before the collaboration was ended.
In 1997 Rolf “Rocco” Klein produced the CD “Cancer & Aquarius” with and for Dennis Hormes . To this end, he played alongside Martin Engelien and even electric bass , drums played Dieter Steinmann.
Due to illness, Rocco limited himself to experimental music in the home studio and on the computer.
He was also very interested in astrology and healing diseases through minerals . He was no longer able to realize his growing desire for more live concerts.
Rolf "Rocco" Klein died on January 2nd, 2015 after a long illness in his last place of residence Bad Breisig, where he was buried on January 15th, 2015 in the forest cemetery "RheinRuhe".
Discography
With Klaus Lage:
- 1984 beads of sweat , EMI
- 1985 Hot Tracks , EMI
- 1986 With my eyes (live), EMI
- 1987 Official , EMI
With birth control:
- 1993 Condomium , Affengeil Records
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ / General-Anzeiger Bonn
- ↑ Feel so blue. Retrieved February 1, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Klein, Rolf |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Klein, Rocco (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German guitarist, composer and producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 19th February 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Troisdorf - Sieglar |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd January 2015 |
| Place of death | Bad Breisig |