As of: February 1, 2024, 9:06 a.m
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The band “Falschgeld” is releasing its first album in the summer (from left): Max Müller (bass and vocals), Jakob Brendel (vocals and drums), Benno Beck (vocals and keyboard) and Jona Volkmann (songwriter, lead vocals and guitar).
© michèle kirner
They have already played as the opening act for their favorite band “Jamaram”, and also in front of 40,000 people at a demo: In the summer, the band “Falschgeld” will release their first album.
Weßling
– At the age of ten, Jona Volkmann and Jakob Brendel rocked the stage as punks.
Keyboardist Benno Beck later joined the band, followed by bassist Max Müller.
Together, the four of them are now the band “Falschgeld”, which has already won several awards at music events - and recently toured through Germany as the opening act for the reggae and Latin pop band “Jamaram”.
The debut album is almost finished.
“You have to be quiet at ten” and “We don’t care what you say” are played by Weßlingen’s Jona Volkmann (19) on Saturday in the basement of the old school in Weßling.
The young guys have set up their rehearsal room there.
The drums of Hechendorfer Jakob Brendel (18) stand in front of windows covered with cloths.
Benno Beck (18) from Hechendorf plays a few bars on the keyboard, while Max Müller (19) from Weßlingen plugs in his bass.
Then it starts - and the rehearsal song rushes straight into your blood, the musicians' energy pulsates almost visibly through their veins.
An energy that musician and actor Florian Volkmann, Jona's father, recognized early on in the band members.
Without him and Lia Volkmann, who got the gigs for the young people, “we would never have gotten this far,” the four emphasize.
The adventure “We are a band” began in fourth grade.
When Florian Volkmann took the lively Montessori students under his wing and “carried them through the ups and downs of childhood and puberty,” it says on the band’s homepage.
Their musical journey started modestly: With just two chords, E minor and G major, father Volkmann built the melody, while his son provided the lyrics.
“The Seven Flashing Dwarves,” as they called themselves, conquered hearts at school parties with the punk piece “Football Fever.”
Over time, the band not only matured musically, they became the “Wooden Heroes” and played in front of more and more people.
They have been “counterfeit money” for a few years now.
Her musical horizons range between rock and pop, indie and reggae.
Inspired by their role model, the Weßlinger band Jamaram, the four developed their very own style.
As the opening act for the professionals, they performed in Frankfurt, Dortmund, Erlangen, Cologne and Schweinfurt in front of up to 400 spectators each.
Stage Fright?
The boys shake their heads in sync.
Not even during the live performance in front of a crowd of 40,000 people at a “Fridays for Future” demo in 2022.
Jona Volkmann is now the creative mind behind the repertoire.
“Sometimes he sits at the piano for hours and writes songs,” says his father.
The singles “Steh aufm Dach” and “Ein Blatt Fall” have been on Spotify since December 2023 – and have already generated 7,000 clicks.
The songs are odes to young people's lives, stories from everyday life and thoughts of young people.
Some of these are based on titles from the first year.
With “Schüttel Dich” the four won over the audience of the “Newcomer Contest” in July – and emerged as winners.
They also won Herrsching's youth band sponsorship award in 2019 and Utting's band competition in 2022.
And when she wanted to sign a contract with a well-known label in 2022, the young musicians decided against it with a heavy heart.
“We wanted to preserve our musical freedom,” explains Jona Volkmann.
So “Falschgeld” decided to work with Jamaram’s sub-label, under which the debut album will be released in the summer.
More information at www.band-falschgeld.de.
Michele Kirner