Hanz Openschut
the lost alley tapes!Genre Punk Band Created 4/26/2009 Fan Base 7 Total Sales 8
Due to his tragic early demise the true genius of Hanz Openschut was never realized. Born in Hamburg Germany to parents who were both employed by the Universitat Hamburg (his mother a Nazi History professor, his father the Chancellor.) Restless from an early age, Hanz ran away from home and hit the streets by the time he was 14. Running with a highly anarchistic crowd of hooligans, Hanz taught himself the bass guitar and quickly became a much sought after commodity in the local punk scene. He hooked up with a young Greta von Schluchtaagen (later to be known as Stalker Channing) and the two of them left the streets of Hamburg for Canada, settling in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Hanz was a bass for hire in numerous local bands before finding a steady gig with "Pout".
But soon after is when tragedy struck.
Hanz and Greta took a road trip to clear their heads and get out of the city for a while. They stopped near a field of barley to eat some lunch and Hanz, never one to shy away from experimentation, noticed some mold growing on the crops. He had heard the story of the synthesis of LSD from ergot (a fungus growing on wheat and barley) and decided to pick and ingest some of the tainted barley. Unfortunately for him this was not ergot, but some toxic mutation that is nearly instantly fatal.
Thus, the end for Hanz Openschut.
Fortunately, Greta (now Stalker) was recently going through some of her stuff and came across some cassettes that were labeled "Me in the alley"
Hanz liked to practice in the alley behind their apartment (for the acoustics of the closed in quarters of all the surrounding brick buildings) and Stalker realized these must be recordings of some of his sessions back there.
Bringing the tapes to Zandergriff Miggs (her new lover and musical collaborator) she begged him to release them as is, to show the world the raw energy that was Hanz.
The world should feel lucky!
News
UncleDuffRecords announced this morning that additional Hanz Openschut recordings have recently surfaced. These, stemming from a 2-nite stand at the 'Shoe (the Horseshoe Tavern) in Toronto, Ontario on the 19th & 20th of November 2004. Hanz was then playing bass and singing in the Thunder Bay band Pout, who who were touring Canada in support of the Dyk Van Dykes. Having a rare off weekend while in Toronto, Hanz wowed the locals with 2 nights of in your face punk w/Lanny from Pout on drums.
Albums / EPs
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Live at the 'Shoe!
Date Released: 11/20/2009
Tracks: 17 On Nov 19, 2004, while patrons were still grubbin' their poutine and slammin' Labatt's, Hanz cranked out an impromptu set. The crowd reaction was such that the owner of the Horseshoe Tavern asked him to come back & do it again the next night. Widely considered 2 of his best performances, these legendary shows were captured on DAT straight from the soundboard and the best tracks are presented here as-is. Hanz-Bass & Vocals Lanny-Drums & Backing Vocals (courtesy of Pout) |
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The Lost Alley Tapes
Date Released: 4/26/2009
Tracks: 13 Posthumous release of tapes he recorded in the back alley behind his apartment, "The Lost Alley Tapes" thrusts it's fist right into your eardrums! Lo-Fi, Lo-Tech and no external effects, these songs are just Hanz. Hanz screaming into his pawnshop mic. Hanz cutting apart his fingers on the rusty strings of his trusty bass. Just Hanz...raw...open...angry...and at his anarchistic best. Though Hanz is gone, long will these songs live on in our memories. |
