De Randfichten
De Randfichten are a German Volksmusik band from Johanngeorgenstadt, Saxony.
Founded in 1992 as Original Arzgebirgische Randfichten by Thomas "Rups" Unger and Michael "Michl" Rostig, they were renamed to De Randfichten in 1997. In that year Thomas "Lauti" Lauterbach became a band member, and they released their first album Do pfeift dr Fuchs. The name of the album, which means "That's where the fox whistles", became the motto of the band. Mainly singing in the dialect of the Erzgebirge they gained local popularity in the next years.
With their song Lebt denn der alte Holzmichl noch? they reached #3 of the German single charts in July, 2004, and became the most successful folk band in Germany for years. It was the best selling German single in that year. The song is based on a traditional folk song "Der Hausmichl" which is known in many variants. Holzmichl was Michael Rostig's nickname when he attended university in Chemnitz.
In contrast to most other German folk bands they also partly appeal to a younger audience, including an appearance on Top of the Pops. They were in the German Top 100 for 56 weeks. After the Holzmichl song they had two other singles in the German charts up to now, De lustigen Holzhackerleit and Jetzt geht die Party richtig los.