As of: February 17, 2024, 7:32 a.m
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On Saturday, February 24th, together in the Kupferhaus: Marty Punch (l.) and Fabian Nafziger.
© Marty Punch
Rock concerts are rarely seen on the stages of the Würmtal.
And a performance by such well-known musicians of this genre as they will be able to experience at the double concert by the bands “Marty & The Bad Punch” and “Alex Bender” in the Planegger Kupferhaus is a real rarity.
Both bands come from the Würmtal, but have long since made a name for themselves internationally and are also bringing musicians who are in such well-known bands as the “Scorpions” and “Rock im Kupferhaus” on Saturday, February 24th (8 p.m.). “Whitesnake” played.
The organizer is the Würmtal Cultural Promotion Association, which primarily supports artists with a local connection.
The Münchner Merkur spoke to the musicians Martin “Marty” Punsch (52), who lives in Martinsried, and “Alex Bender” alias Fabian Nafziger (26) from Planegg, son of the incumbent mayor Hermann Nafziger, about their careers and the performance spoken at home.
Fabian, what can visitors expect on Saturday evening?
Fabian Nafziger:
There will be a great show, twice 75 minutes of the best rock music.
My project “Alex Bender” will start with German rock.
Afterwards Marty comes with melodic classic rock.
Who will be on stage with you this time?
Fabian Nafziger:
We're coming with ten people, eight musicians, a background singer and me as the frontman.
Leander Widmoser is there as a drummer.
He plays with many bigger artists at festivals and is also a very good studio musician and used to play with “YouthOK”.
Julian Heller does the percussions and this time plays as a guest.
He is Herman Rarebell's drum tech (prepares the drums for performances, editor's note).
Both are gifted professional musicians.
Herman Rarebell is the ex-drummer of the “Scorpions”. He wrote “Rock You Like a Hurricane” together with singer Klaus Meine. He has his second home in Planegg and you have been friends with him for a long time and have often appeared on stage with him as a guitarist, for example in the “Scorpion's Songs Symphonic”. Will you be playing together again at the gig in Planegg?
Fabian Nafziger:
Herman Rarebell is the patron of the show and will primarily be moderating this time - and then we have a few surprises planned with guest appearances.
But I don't want to reveal what exactly at this point.
Just this much: it will be gigantic!
The patron and the organizer: Herman Rarebell (l.) and Richard Schaurich.
© Marty Punch
Marty, what line-up are you playing live with?
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Marty Punch:
This will be a top-class international group, everyone has already played in more or less prominent bands: singer Dan Byrne in “Revival Black”, guitarist Frank Pané in “Bonfire”, drummer Carsten Enghardt in “Endfield” and with Mick White , bassist Ian Edwards on “If Only” and “Moritz” and keyboardist Michele Luppi on “Whitesnake” – and me on guitar.
Michele Luppi and Herman Rarebell together in one room? Will this be the surprise Fabian hinted at? Would you like to say something more about this?
Marty Punch:
No, we want it to stay exciting.
For you, Marty, your appearance at the Kupferhaus will be the starting signal for a live career with “Marty & The Bad Punch”, it looks like. So far you have been very successful in gathering the “Who’s Who” of the rock scene online for your albums. How did that happen?
Marty Punch:
I started classically taking piano lessons at the age of five, but then discovered my passion for rock and blues.
I taught myself the first guitar chords and later had guitar lessons.
My first band was called “Craven,” which was heavy metal.
Then I went more into the blues and rock direction with the band “Velvet Steel”, learned a lot and started actively writing my own songs.
In 2009 there was a break and I founded my own project.
Actually I only wanted to make one album.
That was a lifelong dream of mine.
That was “Moon over Baskerville”?
Marty Punch:
Yes, it took five years for the album to be finished.
During an interview with Kelly Hansen, the lead singer of Foreigner, he advised me to find the best musicians online.
I put an incredible amount of money into it.
When the album was finished in 2014, it was very well received.
In 2015 I received prizes in four categories at the German Pop and Rock Prize.
What happened then?
Marty Punch:
“I then made another album, but it somehow went under during the Corona year, but it still had very good reviews.
For example, one of the musicians I cast was Bruce Kulick, the guitarist from Kiss.
I then recorded the song “Better be Strong” from the first album again more professionally with the well-known Swedish producer Tommy Denander.
That brought 270,000 streams on Spotify.
And then, as we hear, you fulfilled another dream?
Marty Punch:
Yes!
I went to the original Abba studios in Stockholm with Denander and recorded my ballad “Have Faith”.
My vision was to do something with strings.
Jeremy Rubolino wrote the score for this.
Because he liked the piece so much, he even did it for free.
Will we also hear the piece at “Rock im Kupferhaus”?
Marty Punch:
We will be playing “Have Faith” live for the first time at the Kupferhaus.
What other songs do you have with you?
Marty Punch:
95 percent of the songs we will play are from the third album.
This is still a work in progress.
It won't have a title and no one knows about it yet.
So it will be a great live premiere at the Kupferhaus.
There are only a few teasers of it on Facebook and YouTube.
We also came up with some special effects for the stage show.
What will “Alex Bender’s” setlist look like for the performance at the Kupferhaus?
Fabian Nafziger:
We will mainly play songs from our album “Neue Ikonen”.
We released this album in 2023 and there are a total of twelve songs on it.
One day before our performance at the Kupferhaus, our new single “What's just going on?”, from our next album, will be released hot off the press.
Of course we will present them too.
The song is already available on Spotify, so you can check it out;
and then a few really exquisite snippets.
The whole new album is expected to be released in 2025.
Who does the lyrics for you?
Fabian Nafziger:
I write most of the texts myself.
Most rock musicians write lyrics in English, why do you in German?
Fabian Nafziger:
I write texts in German and English.
But I can convey my messages best in German.
It's about love, but also about courage.
Is there a song that is particularly close to your heart?
Fabian Nafziger:
Two songs actually.
These are “Funky Funky” and “New Icons”.
One is good for dancing and the other is a political statement.
Where does the name “Alex Bender” come from?
Fabian Nafziger:
Alexander is my middle name and Bender is the name of the robot from the animated series “Futurama”.
You tour all over Germany under this name and are present on all the important stages there. You played in front of 3,000 fans at the Saar Spectacle in Saarbrücken. What does the appearance in Planegg mean to you?
Fabian Nafziger:
I was born in Gräfelfing, have lived in Planegg ever since, made my first musical attempts here and my recording studio is currently on Bahnhofstrasse.
Is there anything better than celebrating at home?
We are really looking forward to our audience in the Kupferhaus!
Marty, what connects you with the Würmtal?
Marty Punch:
I live in Martinsried, my wife is from Stockdorf, and my two sons grew up in Würmtal.
I was born in Munich, but spent most of my time in Würmtal.
You managed to bring a few of the really big rock legends to Planegg. What does it mean to you to play on stage at the Kupferhaus?
Marty Punch:
This is going to be really big!
This is family.
German rock meets melodic classic rock.
It doesn't get any better.
Interview: Alexandra Joepen-Schuster