Door opener to the Chemnitz club scene

Randy Fischer, Henry Rettig & Jörg Walther

It's noon, a typically wet and rainy autumn day, and yet Randy Fischer, Henry Rettig and Jörg Walther are in a good mood and eagerly awaiting the start of the first Chemnitz WEEKENDER. Over the course of four days, Chemnitz residents will have the opportunity to get to know eight different cafés and clubs in Chemnitz - a club show. From 22 to 25 October, two venues will present themselves each day and present live music at its best. They include Aaltra, Emmas Onkel and Arthur on Kaßberg, Odradek on Leipziger Straße, Weltecho and Atomino in the city centre, as well as Lokomov and Nikola Tesla at the foot of Sonnenberg. We met up with the three co-organisers and talked about the WEEKENDER, subculture in Chemnitz and the city.

The WEEKENDER festival is taking place for the first time, how did you come up with the idea?
Jörg Walther : Together with Fine from Lokomov, I thought about doing something together between Lokomov and Aaltra. We then took the idea further. Who else can we ask? Who would like to take part? And then we asked the relevant clubs and received a very positive response.

When did the idea come about?
Jörg Walther: I think it was in the winter of 2014.

What happens at the WEEKENDER?
Jörg Walther : We want to use the festival to show people where the spots are in Chemnitz. We don't have the situation here where everything is gathered in one place. So we present our clubs and show where you can hear and see good live music in Chemnitz.
Randy Fischer: The Weekender is basically about live music - from solo artists to bands, we offer a wide range of concerts over the four days.
Henry Rettig: The musical genres also vary from club to club. There's everything from post-punk to singer/songwriter to electro. And the acts also perform in the specific clubs where they fit in.

In four days, guests have the chance to see eight different acts - two each day. Firstly, this is much more relaxed than listening to eight bands in one evening and you get to know the routes from A to B at the same time. A good introduction for anyone new to the city.

Eight different Chemnitz venues are involved - I assume you all know each other?
Randy Fischer: Yes, we know each other. Chemnitz isn't a huge city and everyone knows everyone else. The nice thing is that there's no competition here. And so it makes sense to do something together. What everyone usually does on their own, we do together on the four days.

Are there any other clubs in Chemnitz that might be able to take part next year if the WEEKENDER is organised again?
Henry Rettig: First of all, we have to see how it goes this year before we can even say that we will continue it next year. In any case, there are clubs in Chemnitz that can take part if they want to. Definitely! We thought about including more clubs, but everything should be relatively close together so that you can walk from one club to another in one day. It's five minutes from Atomino to Weltecho, maybe ten from Aaltra to Odradek, and from Lokomov to Nikola Tesla it's just across the road.
Randy Fischer: The problem is that you are limited by the four days.

Why are you starting this festival in October of all months?
Jörg Walther : October is a great month for bands to tour, so it's a good fit for them.
Randy Fischer: Well, it's just that after the summer break, the season slowly starts everywhere. October is simply the best month to try out something new. Of course, the new students in the city are a target group that we want to appeal to. We offer them the opportunity to check out clubs and see what's going on in Chemnitz. And the WEEKENDER is a very simple way to do this for four days on a budget.

If you decide to go on all four days, we recommend the festival wristband for 25 euros. With this wristband you can get into all the clubs and enjoy the programme. However, if you decide to indulge in WEEKENDER on just one or two days, you can also pay at the box office.

Which audience do you cater for?
Randy Fischer: In principle, we cater for different genres. But nowadays, someone who likes to listen to electro can also be enthusiastic about a singer/songwriter evening. Live music reaches both the 18-year-old student and the 40-year-old live music lover, I think. And that is also the target group of WEEKENDERS - friends of good live music.
Henry Rettig: Well, in the end you could say that we serve the subculture. We want to show that there is something in Chemnitz that is far removed from the big discos. We show a different world that is present in Chemnitz.
Randy Fischer: The programme is nevertheless so broadly based that different people will have fun. The problem is actually that we don't have many tourists in Chemnitz. That's different to other big cities. That's why our audience is primarily made up of people who live here.
Henry Rettig: We are already trying to show the new residents of Chemnitz that something is happening in the city. You can do something here. We offer something for every taste. When I look back ten years ago, many people said that nothing was happening in Chemnitz and that nothing was going on.

And what do people say today? Has anything changed?
Randy Fischer: At the Atomino, we've noticed that more young students are coming to Chemnitz at the start of term to see where they can go. They are more open-minded, more interested. And the WEEKENDER is a great door opener. You go in a group of, say, five people, buy a wristband and you have a colourful programme to look at for four days in a row. Ten years ago it was different. We thought about it: can we get the number of guests we need? And we asked ourselves where the students actually were.
Henry Rettig: The university has just got bigger and you can tell. However, it has to be said that the city centre is not overrun by students. Unlike in other cities, the pubs and cafés are not just full of university students. That's just the way it is. And for many, the city centre is just a stopover.

But you three are all natives of Chemnitz?
Randy Fischer: I come from the village, so I've come a long way. From the village to the big city.
Jörg Walther: Henry and I were both born in Karl-Marx-Stadt.

Have you ever been somewhere else and left the city?
Henry Rettig: I once lived in Dresden for a year for work. Dresden is not my city, but that's a matter of taste. At the end of the day, you have to say that other cities only boil with water. When there's a concert there, no more people come than in Chemnitz.
Randy Fischer: I was completely socialised in Chemnitz and became the person I am today here; it would have been much more difficult to work as a cultural producer the way I do now in larger cities. It just works well here.

Do you have a favourite place here?
Jörg Walther : Oh, there's not just one favourite...
Henry Rettig: The whole area around Chemnitz is beautiful. Especially when we're cycling, you can't pin it down to one place or one bench. The surroundings of Chemnitz are amazing. Even people from out of town say that. You cycle ten minutes out of the street somewhere and you're in the countryside. Not so many cities have that. But I don't have one particular place where you go once a week.

Is there anything missing in Chemnitz?
Randy Fischer: An art college!
Jörg Walther: A city centre campus.
Henry Rettig: More young people doing something. From a café to a bicycle repair shop. Ultimately, that's the reason why we all know each other. Because it's always the same people who lend a hand. But there could be more. Personally, I don't see enough happening because we have so many students. You can tell that something is changing. The "Chemnitz feeling" is changing. When I left school, everyone actually left. There was nobody who stayed here. Anyone who could study left. In the meantime, that has changed. Chemnitz is beautiful and you hear that young people can imagine staying here.
Randy Fischer: Chemnitz has a family feel to it. And if you like that, then it's ideal here. You can take your time here, and yet the cultural offer is very good, especially in comparison to cities of the same size. You can go to concerts, we have two very good cinemas, far away from the mainstream cinemas. You can go to a very good theatre. It's all there!

Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
Randy Fischer: Well, I don't want to have to encourage anyone! Maybe myself...
Henry Rettig: I would also say no to that. People know for themselves what they want and if they want to lock themselves in their flat, then they should do it.