Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
Encyclopedia
The EAV is an Austrian band that got together in 1977.
Nino Holm first established a band called "Anti-Pasta", but it was not successful and it dissolved after three years. Holm then decided together with his friend Thomas Spitzer to create a new band. While they were undecided on a name, they saw a bus stop in a branch of "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung", abbreviated EAV, and so they came to the name "Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung-EAV".
They initially faced legal difficulty in Austria due to the (obviously intended) similarity of their band name to that of the corporation "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung" ("First Public Insurance"). This was later dropped and the insurance company was even known to sponsor them of a few occasions.
The EAV often changed their members. Their members as of today are Klaus Eberhartinger (Vocals), Thomas Spitzer (Guitar, backing vocals), Kurt Keinrath (Guitar, bass guitar), Leo Bei (Bass guitar), Franz Kreimer (Keyboard) and Robert Baumgartner (Drums).
Despite the band's failed attempt to gain international fame, they still remain quite popular in Germany and Austria.
in a funny way: "Sie schlief im Kohlenkeller, trotzdem war sie bettelarm, weil sie von der vielen Kohle, die da lag, zu wenig nahm" ("She slept in the coal cellar, but she was dirt-poor, because she didn't take much of the plentiful coal that lay there"). The word "Kohle" ("coal") is a colloquial word for money in German
.
More critical lyrics can be seen in the song "Burli
" (1987), which tells the story of a boy born shortly after the Chernobyl accident in an exaggerated and humorous way: "Herr Anton hat ein Häuschen mit einem Gartenzwerg und davor, da steht ein Kernkraftwerk. Da gab es eines Tages eine kleine Havarie, die Tomaten war'n so groß wie nie…" ("Mr. Anton has a small house with a garden gnome, and nearby there's a nuclear power plant. One day there was a small accident - the tomatoes were bigger than ever before…"). Both "Burli
" and the song "Afrika" led radio stations to boycott the band.
The band is known for open statements against political extremism especially on the right ("bacillus nationalis") and was sued by prominent politicians of the political right like Kurt Waldheim
for drawing attention to his past in the 3rd Reich and Jörg Haider
then head of the right-leaning FPÖ
. Songs on this topic include e.g. "Eierkopf-Rudi" or "Wir marschieren".
The stage shows are known for lavishness in both backdrop and costumes, the latter often selected and changed for specific songs that are then acted out by either the vocalist or other members.
In February 1981, group member Walter Hammerl committed suicide
after attempting once before. He was a close friend of Klaus Eberhartinger, who took over his duties. Band-mate Thomas Spitzer commented that it was worrying how the band got on and felt so close to Walter Hammerl, but without actually knowing him. Hammerl had mainly done managing and stage directing work for the band, however he did sing on a few tracks.
Nino Holm first established a band called "Anti-Pasta", but it was not successful and it dissolved after three years. Holm then decided together with his friend Thomas Spitzer to create a new band. While they were undecided on a name, they saw a bus stop in a branch of "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung", abbreviated EAV, and so they came to the name "Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung-EAV".
They initially faced legal difficulty in Austria due to the (obviously intended) similarity of their band name to that of the corporation "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung" ("First Public Insurance"). This was later dropped and the insurance company was even known to sponsor them of a few occasions.
The EAV often changed their members. Their members as of today are Klaus Eberhartinger (Vocals), Thomas Spitzer (Guitar, backing vocals), Kurt Keinrath (Guitar, bass guitar), Leo Bei (Bass guitar), Franz Kreimer (Keyboard) and Robert Baumgartner (Drums).
Despite the band's failed attempt to gain international fame, they still remain quite popular in Germany and Austria.
Style
Their songs are mostly jovial in nature, but the lyrics contain hints of social criticism as well. For example, "Cinderella" (1994) is one of their "fun" songs, in which they tell the tale of CinderellaCinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
in a funny way: "Sie schlief im Kohlenkeller, trotzdem war sie bettelarm, weil sie von der vielen Kohle, die da lag, zu wenig nahm" ("She slept in the coal cellar, but she was dirt-poor, because she didn't take much of the plentiful coal that lay there"). The word "Kohle" ("coal") is a colloquial word for money in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
More critical lyrics can be seen in the song "Burli
Burli (song)
Burli is the name of a controversial song in German by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It is the eighth track of their album entitled Liebe, Tod & Teufel ....
" (1987), which tells the story of a boy born shortly after the Chernobyl accident in an exaggerated and humorous way: "Herr Anton hat ein Häuschen mit einem Gartenzwerg und davor, da steht ein Kernkraftwerk. Da gab es eines Tages eine kleine Havarie, die Tomaten war'n so groß wie nie…" ("Mr. Anton has a small house with a garden gnome, and nearby there's a nuclear power plant. One day there was a small accident - the tomatoes were bigger than ever before…"). Both "Burli
Burli (song)
Burli is the name of a controversial song in German by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It is the eighth track of their album entitled Liebe, Tod & Teufel ....
" and the song "Afrika" led radio stations to boycott the band.
The band is known for open statements against political extremism especially on the right ("bacillus nationalis") and was sued by prominent politicians of the political right like Kurt Waldheim
Kurt Waldheim
Kurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and the ninth President of Austria, from 1986 to 1992...
for drawing attention to his past in the 3rd Reich and Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
then head of the right-leaning FPÖ
FPO
FPO may refer to:*Fleet Post Office, a "city" designation in military mail *Field post office, a term for military post offices in military mail systems *For position only, a designation for placeholder graphics...
. Songs on this topic include e.g. "Eierkopf-Rudi" or "Wir marschieren".
The stage shows are known for lavishness in both backdrop and costumes, the latter often selected and changed for specific songs that are then acted out by either the vocalist or other members.
Members
The original founding members were: -- Thomas SpitzerThomas SpitzerThomas Spitzer is a lyricist, composer, singer, guitarist and graphic designer. He is a founding member and head of the band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung , whose lyrics, album artwork and illustrations come almost exclusively from him.-Early life:Spitzer was born in 1953 in Graz, Austria...
on electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Eik Breit on electric bassElectric BassElectric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
(left in 1996) - Anders Stenmo on drums (left in 1998)
- Nino Holm on keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(left in 1995) - Walter Hammerl who worked on management and stage show organising (until his death in 1981)
- Marina Tatic who worked on costumes (until 1979)
In February 1981, group member Walter Hammerl committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
after attempting once before. He was a close friend of Klaus Eberhartinger, who took over his duties. Band-mate Thomas Spitzer commented that it was worrying how the band got on and felt so close to Walter Hammerl, but without actually knowing him. Hammerl had mainly done managing and stage directing work for the band, however he did sing on a few tracks.
Discography
- 1978: 1. Allgemeine Verunsicherung1. Allgemeine Verunsicherung1. Allgemeine Verunsicherung is the first album from the Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It is actually self titled as in written German, cardinal numbers with a full stop after them are converted to being ordinal numbers, therefore 1...
(1st General Uncertainty) - 1981: Café PasséCafé PasséCafé Passé is the second album to be released by the Austrian group Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung .This album was released in Germany on vinyl, cassette and CD....
(Café Passé) - 1983: Spitalo FataloSpitalo FataloSpitalo Fatalo was the third album to be released by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It was released in 1983 in Germany and reissued a few times for a few other countries and formats....
(Hospitalo Fatalo) - 1984: À la CarteA la Carte (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung album)A la Carte is the fourth album to be released by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung in 1984.A la Carte is quite a well known French expression which is used worldwide...
(À la Carte) - 1985: Geld oder Leben! (Your Money or Your Life!)
- 1987: Liebe, Tod & Teufel (Love, Death & Devil)
- 1990: Neppomuk's Rache (Neppomuk's Revenge)
- 1991: Watumba!Watumba!Watumba! is an album by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It was published in 1991.-Track listing:#"Neandertal"#"Jambo"#"Wer riecht so streng ..."#"Die Ufos kommen"#"Würger"#"Neppo-Nepp"#"Hildegard"#"Hip-Hop"#"Inspektor Tatü"...
(Watumba!) - 1994: Nie wieder Kunst (Never Art Again)
- 1997: Im Himmel ist die Hölle los! (In Heaven, All Hell Has Broken Loose!)
- 1998: Himbeerland (Raspberryland)
- 2000: Austropop in Tot-Weiß-Tot (AustropopAustropopAustropop is a musical movement, which started in Austria in the middle of the 1970s. However, Austropop is not much of a specific style, it is more a trademark of origin, because musicians of various styles, such as rock, Neue Deutsche Welle, New Folk and more recently perhaps Pop, are counted as...
in Dead-White-Dead; ['Dead-White-Dead' is a pun on the colours of the Austrian national flag: Red-White-Red, German: Rot-Weiß-Rot]) - 2003: Frauenluder (Woman Slut)
- 2007: Amore XL (Love XL)
- 2010: Neue Helden braucht das Land (The Country Is in Need of New Heroes)
External links
- www.eav.at: Official Homepage of Erste Allgemeinen Verunsicherung and the EAV-Fanclub (in German)
- EAV-Fanpage about the early years of the band (in German)
- Unofficial fan site (in German)