Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung

Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
Singer Klaus Eberhartinger
Background information
Origin	Austria
Genres	Pop music/Pop rap/Austropop
Years active	1977–present
Labels	EMI Austria 1978, 1983-2003 Mood Records 1981 UN-Platte 1982 Sony BMG Ariola since 2005
Website	eav.at

Members	Thomas Spitzer Klaus Eberhartinger (since 1981) Kurt Keinrath (since 1996) Franz Kreimer (since 2001) Alvis Reid (since 2014) Aaron Thier (since 2014)

Past members	Nino Holm (1977-1994) Eik Breit (1977-1996) Anders Stenmo (1977-1998) Wilfried Schheutz (1978-1979) Walter Hammerl (1978-†1981) Günter Schönberger (1978-1996) Gert Steinbäcker (1979-1983) Mario Bottazzi (1983-1990) Andy Töfferl (1990-2001, †2012) Alex Deutsch (1998) Leo Bei (1998-2014) Franz Zettl (1998-2001) Robert Baumgartner (1998-2014)

The EAV (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung, German for "First General Uncertainty/Uninsurance") is an Austrian band that was formed in 1977.

Nino Holm first established a band called "Anti-Pasta", but it was not successful and it dissolved after three years. Holm then decided together with his friend Thomas Spitzer to create a new band. While they were undecided on a name, they saw a bus stop in a branch of "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung" ("First General Insurance"), abbreviated EAV, and so they came to the name "Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung-EAV".

They initially faced legal difficulty in Austria due to the (obviously intended) similarity of their band name to that of the corporation "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung". This was later dropped and the insurance company was even known to sponsor them on a few occasions.

The EAV often changed their members. Their members as of today are Klaus Eberhartinger (Vocals), Thomas Spitzer (Guitar, Vocals), Kurt Keinrath (Guitar, Keyboard, bass guitar), Franz Kreimer (Keyboard), Alvis Reid (Bass guitar) and Aaron Thier (Drums).

Despite the band's failed attempt to gain international fame, they still remain quite popular in Germany and Austria.

Style

Their songs are mostly anti social and weird in nature, but the lyrics contain hints of social criticism as well. For example, "Cinderella" (1994) is one of their "fun" songs, in which they tell the tale of Cinderella in a funny way: "Sie schlief im Kohlenkeller, trotzdem war sie bettelarm, weil sie von der vielen Kohle, die da lag, zu wenig nahm" ("She slept in the coal cellar, but she was dirt-poor, because she didn't take much of the plentiful coal that lay there"). The word "Kohle" ("coal") is a colloquial word for money in German.

More critical lyrics can be seen in the song "Burli" (1987), which tells the story of a boy born shortly after the Chernobyl accident in an exaggerated and humorous way: "Herr Anton hat ein Häuschen mit einem Gartenzwerg und davor, da steht ein Kernkraftwerk. Da gab es eines Tages eine kleine Havarie, die Tomaten war'n so groß wie nie…" ("Mr. Anton has a small house with a garden gnome, and nearby there's a nuclear power plant. One day there was a small accident - the tomatoes were bigger than ever before…"). Both "Burli" and the song "Afrika" led radio stations to boycott the band.

The band is known for open statements against political extremism especially on the right ("bacillus nationalis") and was sued by prominent politicians of the political right like Kurt Waldheim for drawing attention to his past in the 3rd Reich and Jörg Haider, then-head of the right-leaning FPÖ. Songs on this topic include e.g. "Eierkopf-Rudi" or "Wir marschieren".

The stage shows are known for lavishness in both backdrop and costumes, the latter often selected and changed for specific songs that are then acted out by either the vocalist or other members.

Members

Suicide of Walter Hammerl

In February 1981, group member Walter Hammerl committed suicide after attempting once before. He was a close friend of Klaus Eberhartinger, who took over his duties. Band-mate Thomas Spitzer commented that it was worrying how the band got on and felt so close to Walter Hammerl, but without actually knowing him. Hammerl had mainly done managing and stage directing work for the band, however he did sing on a few tracks.

Heart attack of Andy Töfferl

In May 2012, former group member Andy Töfferl died of a heart attack at the age of 56 years.

Timeline of members

Line-ups

1977-1978	Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Nino Holm – keyboards, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums
1978-1979	Wilfried Scheutz – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Nino Holm – keyboards, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums Walter Hammerl – stage direction, management
1979-1981	Gert Steinbäcker – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Nino Holm – keyboards, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums Walter Hammerl – stage direction, vocals, management Günther Schönberger – stage direction, sax
1981-1983	Gert Steinbäcker – vocals Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Nino Holm – keyboards, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums Günther Schönberger – stage direction, sax, management
1983-1990	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Nino Holm – keyboards, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Mario Bottazzi – keyboards, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums Günther Schönberger – stage direction, sax, management
1990-1994	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Nino Holm – keyboards, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Andy Töfferl – keyboards, accordeon, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums Günther Schönberger – stage direction, sax, management
1994-1996	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Eik Breit – bass guitar, vocals Andy Töfferl – keyboards, accordeon, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums Günther Schönberger – stage direction, sax, management
1996-1998	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Andy Töfferl – keyboards, accordeon, vocals Kurt Keinrath – guitar, keyboards, vocals Anders Stenmo – drums
1998-1999	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Andy Töfferl – keyboards, accordeon, vocals Kurt Keinrath – guitar, keyboards, vocals Leo Bei – bass, vocals Franz Zettl – keyboards, vocals Alex Deutsch – drums
1999-2001	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Andy Töfferl – keyboards, accordeon, vocals Kurt Keinrath – guitar, keyboards, vocals Leo Bei – bass, vocals Franz Zettl – keyboards, sax, vocals Robert Baumgartner – drums
2001-2014	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Kurt Keinrath – guitar, keyboards, vocals Leo Bei – bass, vocals Franz Kreimer – keyboards, sax, accordeon, vocals Robert Baumgartner – drums
2014-present	Klaus Eberhartinger – vocals Thomas Spitzer – guitar, vocals Kurt Keinrath – guitar, keyboards, vocals Franz Kreimer – keyboards, sax, accordeon, vocals Alvis Reid – bass Aaron Thier – drums
guest musicians	Günther Schönberger – sax (1978-1979) Günter Timischl – stage direction (1979-1983) Schiffkowitz – stage direction (1979-1981) Kurt Keinrath – keyboards (1994-1996) David Bronner – keyboards (1994-1996) Leo Bei – bass (1997-1998) Franz Zettl – keyboards (1997-1998) Reinhard Stranzinger - guitar, vocals (currently since 2010)

Discography

Main article: Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung discography

1978: 1. Allgemeine Verunsicherung (1st General Uncertainty)
1981: Café Passé (Café Passé)
1983: Spitalo Fatalo (Hospitalo Fatalo)
1984: À la Carte (À la Carte)
1985: Geld oder Leben! (Your Money or Your Life!)
1987: Liebe, Tod & Teufel (Love, Death & Devil)
1990: Neppomuk's Rache (Neppomuk's Revenge)
1991: Watumba! (Watumba!)
1994: Nie wieder Kunst (Never Again Art)
1997: Im Himmel ist die Hölle los! (All Hell Has Broken Loose in Heaven!)
1998: Himbeerland (Raspberryland)
2000: Austropop in Tot-Weiß-Tot (Austropop in Dead-White-Dead; ['Dead-White-Dead' is a pun on the colours of the Austrian national flag: Red-White-Red, German: Rot-Weiß-Rot])
2003: Frauenluder (Woman Slut)
2007: Amore XL (Love XL)
2010: Neue Helden braucht das Land (The Country Needs New Heroes)
2015: Werwolf-Attacke! (Attack of the Werewolves)

External links

www.eav.at: Official Homepage of Erste Allgemeinen Verunsicherung and the EAV-Fanclub (in German)
EAV-Fanpage about the early years of the band (in German)
Unofficial fan site (in German)
EAV discography at MusicBrainz

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 127611601 LCCN: n90675852 GND: 407283-2 MusicBrainz: c1a0178b-830c-4d4f-9ce4-89f5e56672dd

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