I know almost nothing about this band. All I know is that Marek Weber was Czech and that a lot of his musicians and singers were Jewish, so I presume they went out of business when You Know Who with the funny little mustache got voted into power in 1932.
Marek Weber and Siegried Arno call to my mind Christian Schad's paintings of the rooftop Bohemia of 1920s Berlin, all the ne'er-do-well fallen aristocrats, underworld figures, artists, actors, musicians, and glamorous transgenders of that time and place.
Count Saint Genois d'Anneaucourt, 1927
Sonja, 1927
Christian Schad's self-portrait, 1928For us looking back in hindsight, it all has the pathos of a doomed culture, a last fling before the lights go out. We look at them and wonder whatever happened to all these people.
See ya on the Ku'dam!
At least Siegfried got out. I checked: The man once known as the German "Charlie Chaplin" died in L.A. in 1975. I'd be interested in hearing more about gay life in Berlin during the Weimar years. I've heard it was very tolerant, but I don't know much more about it.
ReplyDeleteWow. Very good, Counterlight. I've never heard of this artist. This is going in Nomadsartblog.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteBarry Manilow, of all people, wrote a musical about a group of musicians in similar circumstances, based on a true story.
ReplyDeleteIt was surprisingly good.
Thanks for this glimps of the recent past!
ReplyDeleteThey joined the SA with a lot of other gays.
ReplyDeleteWho else would enjoy all that leather, machismo and choreography so much?
No, 99% of the social libertarians I know aren't even close to Fascist/Authoritarian personalities.
ReplyDeleteHeck, most of us hate asking for money people owe us twice!
Nice attempt at a smear, though.
"I don't like you; you must be Hitler. So there!"