Stephan Weidner
Encyclopedia
Stephan Weidner often called "Der W," is a musician and music producer. From 25 November 1980 until 18 June 2005 he was the bassist, songwriter and leader of the German hard-rock band Böhse Onkelz
. Weidner was also a singer with Nordend Antistars, a collaboration with Sub7even singer Daniel Wirtz. In April 2008 Weidner's first solo album Schneller, Höher, Weidner was released.
near Aschaffenburg
in Bavaria
. There Weidner first met the musicians (Kevin Russell
and Peter "Pe" Schorowsky
) who would later become the first line-up for Weidner's band, Böhse Onkelz
. Weidner failed to graduate and subsequently did not pursue a career, instead taking a variety of odd-jobs including working as a bartender in a tavern connected to a brothel owned by Weidner's father.
Weidner was married and has one son. He currently lives in Dublin and Ibiza
.
("bahd unclez") with Kevin Russell
and Peter "Pe" Schorowsky
. Weidner initially played electric guitar in the band. After Matthias "Gonzo" Röhr
joined the band, Weidner moved to the bass. The band modeled itself as a punk band in the tradition of Slime
or Abwärts
. Stephan particularly felt a connection to the Oi!
-Punk movement, but also to the original, non-political Skinhead
- and Hooligan-movements that had come to Germany from England early in the 80s. This inspiration expressed itself in Weidner's songs with lyrics that often glorified violence and the use of force. Conflicts with local Turkish residents and the increasing right-wing shift of the Skinhead movement were reflected in the band's music, leading to xenophobic lyrics and the band's subsequent popularity with those movements.
In 1983 Weidner married and struggled to find work. The first commercial releases of Böhse Onkelz earned little money. Their first Album "Der nette Mann
" was embargoed. For the album "Böse Menschen - Böse Lieder
" the band never received any money. Meanwhile, the band continued to break way from the Skinhead movement due to the increasingly restrictive dress codes and regulations associated with those movements, particularly as those trends conflicted with the sense of freedom embraced by the punk movement.
Weidner's lyrics continued to grow musically. In the song "Erinnerung" he expressed his feelings about his earlier life. Nonetheless, his reputation as a "right-wing skinhead rocker" remained. Weidner remained faithful to his influences both musically and in his lifestyle, as expressed in his writings and interviews with the press. This attitude often led to conflicts with the press. Weidner's refusal to rename the band was seen as a sign that Böhse Onkelz
had not done enough to clearly distance itself enough from the Skinhead movement. This conflict with the media culminated in songs such as "Meister der Lügen" (Master of lies) or "Danke für nichts" (Thanks for nothing). Weidner's refusal to give interviews outside of the music press at that time is part of the "mythos Onkelz".
In 1993 at MTV
's "Free your mind" event, Weidner and Campino (of the band Die Toten Hosen
) discussed the influence of xenophobia on their music and their fans. Though the public was skeptical of Weidner's reform, his success continued to increase. After a gig with the Rolling Stones at Hanover
in 2003 Weidner stated that he wouldn't spend his old age on the stage. In 2005 Böhse Onkelz
split up.
. From March 2009 until April 2009, Weidner toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland to promote this album.
Opening acts included the Danish rock band DAD
, the American metal band Pro-Pain
, and the German hard rock band Skew Siskin
.
For his live performance, Weidner's band consisted of Rupert Keplinger, Dirk Czuya, Henning Menke and JC Dwyer.
), Weidner also produced for:
Böhse Onkelz
The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...
. Weidner was also a singer with Nordend Antistars, a collaboration with Sub7even singer Daniel Wirtz. In April 2008 Weidner's first solo album Schneller, Höher, Weidner was released.
Biography
Weidner was raised by his father Tex Weidner with two half brothers and two sisters in an impoverished family. Conflicts with a school principal resulted in Weidner being banned from school. His father then moved the family to HösbachHösbach
Hösbach is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Location:...
near Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. There Weidner first met the musicians (Kevin Russell
Kevin Russell
Kevin Richard Russell is one of the three founding members of the German rock band Böhse Onkelz...
and Peter "Pe" Schorowsky
Peter Schorowsky
Peter "Pe" Schorowsky was a founding member of the Böhse Onkelz. He played drums until the band's split in 2005.- Life :...
) who would later become the first line-up for Weidner's band, Böhse Onkelz
Böhse Onkelz
The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...
. Weidner failed to graduate and subsequently did not pursue a career, instead taking a variety of odd-jobs including working as a bartender in a tavern connected to a brothel owned by Weidner's father.
Weidner was married and has one son. He currently lives in Dublin and Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
.
Böhse Onkelz
In 1980 the 17 year old Weidner founded the band Böhse OnkelzBöhse Onkelz
The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...
("bahd unclez") with Kevin Russell
Kevin Russell
Kevin Richard Russell is one of the three founding members of the German rock band Böhse Onkelz...
and Peter "Pe" Schorowsky
Peter Schorowsky
Peter "Pe" Schorowsky was a founding member of the Böhse Onkelz. He played drums until the band's split in 2005.- Life :...
. Weidner initially played electric guitar in the band. After Matthias "Gonzo" Röhr
Matthias Röhr
Matthias "Gonzo" Röhr was the guitarist of the rock-band Böhse Onkelz from 1981 to 2005. His stage name Gonzo derives from Double live Gonzo, an album of Ted Nugent. Since the split of the Böhse Onkelz he is known as Matt Roehr.- Youth :Röhr grew up in the area of Frankfurt in a strictly Catholic...
joined the band, Weidner moved to the bass. The band modeled itself as a punk band in the tradition of Slime
Slime (band)
Slime is a German punk rock band, founded in 1979 and disbanded in 1994. The pre-Slime band was called Screamer, and the post-Slime band is – contrary to the occasional rumors – not Emils , but Rubberslime, with the member Elf...
or Abwärts
Abwärts
Abwärts is a West German post-punk group from Hamburg. Members Mark Chung and FM Einheit would leave the group in the early 1980s to join the Berlin-based band Einstürzende Neubauten....
. Stephan particularly felt a connection to the Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
-Punk movement, but also to the original, non-political Skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
- and Hooligan-movements that had come to Germany from England early in the 80s. This inspiration expressed itself in Weidner's songs with lyrics that often glorified violence and the use of force. Conflicts with local Turkish residents and the increasing right-wing shift of the Skinhead movement were reflected in the band's music, leading to xenophobic lyrics and the band's subsequent popularity with those movements.
In 1983 Weidner married and struggled to find work. The first commercial releases of Böhse Onkelz earned little money. Their first Album "Der nette Mann
Der nette Mann
Der nette Mann is the debut album of German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz. It was released in 1984. "Der nette Mann" is considered the first album of the German skinhead subculture....
" was embargoed. For the album "Böse Menschen - Böse Lieder
Böse Menschen - Böse Lieder
Böse Menschen - Böse Lieder is the second album by the German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz. It was released in 1985.-Track listing:#Heute trinken wir richtig ...
" the band never received any money. Meanwhile, the band continued to break way from the Skinhead movement due to the increasingly restrictive dress codes and regulations associated with those movements, particularly as those trends conflicted with the sense of freedom embraced by the punk movement.
Weidner's lyrics continued to grow musically. In the song "Erinnerung" he expressed his feelings about his earlier life. Nonetheless, his reputation as a "right-wing skinhead rocker" remained. Weidner remained faithful to his influences both musically and in his lifestyle, as expressed in his writings and interviews with the press. This attitude often led to conflicts with the press. Weidner's refusal to rename the band was seen as a sign that Böhse Onkelz
Böhse Onkelz
The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...
had not done enough to clearly distance itself enough from the Skinhead movement. This conflict with the media culminated in songs such as "Meister der Lügen" (Master of lies) or "Danke für nichts" (Thanks for nothing). Weidner's refusal to give interviews outside of the music press at that time is part of the "mythos Onkelz".
In 1993 at MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's "Free your mind" event, Weidner and Campino (of the band Die Toten Hosen
Die Toten Hosen
Die Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. They have enjoyed decades-long mass appeal in Germany.The band's name literally means "The Dead Pants" in English, although the phrase "tote Hose" is a German expression meaning "nothing going on" or "boring"...
) discussed the influence of xenophobia on their music and their fans. Though the public was skeptical of Weidner's reform, his success continued to increase. After a gig with the Rolling Stones at Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
in 2003 Weidner stated that he wouldn't spend his old age on the stage. In 2005 Böhse Onkelz
Böhse Onkelz
The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...
split up.
Nordend Antistars
On 15 May 2006, Weidner (along with Daniel Wirtz of Sub7even) released the songs Unser Stadion - Unsere Regeln ("Our Stadium - Our Rules") and Gewinnen Kann Jeder ("Anyone Can Win") under the band-name Nordend Antistars as arena anthems for the 2006 World Cup.Guest musician
Weidner has been a guest artist on a number of tracks from other bands:- He played bass on Dance 2 TranceDance 2 TranceDance 2 Trance was a German trance duo composed of Rolf Ellmer and DJ Dag Lerner. They had a small number of hit singles in the mid 1990s and were associated with Jam & Spoon.-Musical career:...
's "Remember Exxon Valdez" from the album Moon Spirits (1992) - He provides background vocals on Pro-PainPro-PainPro-Pain is a New York-based hardcore band formed in 1991 by vocalist and bass guitarist Gary Meskil and drummer Dan Richardson, both former members of Crumbsuckers. Debut album Foul Taste of Freedom was released in 1992, displaying hardcore punk and rap metal influences, after which the band...
's "Godspeed" from the album Fistful of Hate (2004) - He provides background vocals on Sub7even's "F *** About" on the album LOVECHAINSNROCKETS (2006)
- He sings the refrain on Pro-PainPro-PainPro-Pain is a New York-based hardcore band formed in 1991 by vocalist and bass guitarist Gary Meskil and drummer Dan Richardson, both former members of Crumbsuckers. Debut album Foul Taste of Freedom was released in 1992, displaying hardcore punk and rap metal influences, after which the band...
's "Hour of the Time" from the album No End in SightNo End in SightNo End in Sight is a 2007 documentary film about the American occupation of Iraq. The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award winning documentary film producer Charles H. Ferguson. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film opened in limited release...
(2008)
Solo Career as "Der W"
On 25 April 2008 Weidner released his first solo album Schneller, Höher, Weidner (Faster, Higher, Weidner), for which he recorded some songs with Pro-PainPro-Pain
Pro-Pain is a New York-based hardcore band formed in 1991 by vocalist and bass guitarist Gary Meskil and drummer Dan Richardson, both former members of Crumbsuckers. Debut album Foul Taste of Freedom was released in 1992, displaying hardcore punk and rap metal influences, after which the band...
. From March 2009 until April 2009, Weidner toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland to promote this album.
Opening acts included the Danish rock band DAD
D-A-D
D-A-D is a Danish rock band previously known as "Disneyland After Dark", a name that had to be changed after a threatening lawsuit from The Walt Disney Company. Their style of music is often categorized as melodic heavy rock...
, the American metal band Pro-Pain
Pro-Pain
Pro-Pain is a New York-based hardcore band formed in 1991 by vocalist and bass guitarist Gary Meskil and drummer Dan Richardson, both former members of Crumbsuckers. Debut album Foul Taste of Freedom was released in 1992, displaying hardcore punk and rap metal influences, after which the band...
, and the German hard rock band Skew Siskin
Skew Siskin
Skew Siskin are a German hard rock band best known for their 1992 song If The Walls Could Talk, which was a minor hit on MTV.Fronted by Nina C. Alice, Siskin have been through many lineup changes over their career with Jim Voxx being the only other consistent member...
.
For his live performance, Weidner's band consisted of Rupert Keplinger, Dirk Czuya, Henning Menke and JC Dwyer.
Producer
In addition to producing for his own band (Böhse OnkelzBöhse Onkelz
The Böhse Onkelz were a German rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Although being ignored by the mass media for their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every album reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources...
), Weidner also produced for:
- 2000: Suprasod: Suprasod
- 2006: Nordend Antistars: Unser Stadion, unsere Regeln (Single)
- 2006: Sub7even: LOVECHAINSNROCKETS
- 2009: ESCHENBACHEschenbach- People :* Wolfram von Eschenbach , German knight, poet and Minnesinger* Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach , Austrian writer* Christoph Eschenbach , German pianist and conductor...
: ESCHENBACHEschenbach- People :* Wolfram von Eschenbach , German knight, poet and Minnesinger* Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach , Austrian writer* Christoph Eschenbach , German pianist and conductor...
Albums
- 2008 - Schneller, höher, Weidner (Faster, Higher, Weidner)
- 2010 - Autonomie! (Autonomy!)
Awards
- 2009: Echo-nomination: Artist / Artist / Group of the Year Rock / Alternative (National)
- 2011: Gold Certification for "Schneller, Höher, Weidner"