Horsefly Rocket

Emerging Psychedelic Rock Ensemble

Genre Classic Rock Band Members Michael Fassl, Kevin Holloway, Jonas Wickenhauser, Patrick Vetter, Mario Brodeßer Home Town Mannheim Record Label Bug Valley Records It all began in early 2012 at a large rehearsal complex as Kevin Holloway – then the singer of a band comprised mainly of US military contractors stationed in Mannheim – was recommended to a group next door. The contracts were close to over and most of his current band was preparing to move back home, leaving the 20-year-old singer anxious for a new project. His skills as a vocalist and his uncompromising „Rock n Roll“ lifestyle impressed the band one door down and so he moved in. He fit well within the then nameless group which focused primarily on covering rock hits from the last decade. Together with guitarist Michael Fassl and drummer Oliver Cors the foundation for Horsefly Rocket was set. Despite this, conflicting schedules with other members forced them to suspend the project. During the next 6 months as Fassl began composing several songs and as Holloway accompanied them with lyrics it became clear that playing original music was much more intellectually satisfying than simply parroting Top 40 tunes. This led to the two of them recording Horsefly’s first demo, with vocals being recorded in Fassl’s broom closet. A band was put together – bassist Florian Mueller and guitarist Kai Bronner came on board – and soon after local gigs were booked. This momentum was short-lived, though, as Holloway had already made a commitment to leave in early 2013 and study music on the West Coast of the US. This left the band once again unable to move forward: the quest for a new singer was harder than they first imagined. It took nearly another 6 months until Andreas Deigner, a long-time friend and former band mate of both Cors and Fassl, agreed to join them after a gig. Now with a new singer the band was eager to play again and started booking gigs in the Mannheim/Heidelberg region. After a while the priorities of individual band members began to veer in different directions, knowing that the next step for the band would require a lot of time and energy. After their first professional recording at Liner Studios in mid 2015 the band broke up. Late 2015 Holloway had finished with his studies in the US, returned to Mannheim, and stepped back into his old role as singer for Horsefly. Fassl and Mueller began looking for a producer and studio musicians for a new album. Both worked in a large music store and through the years had made several contacts within the industry. They enlisted the talent of Tobias Nessel as drummer who after just three rehearsals recorded the entire album in two days. The album was recorded and produced by Marc Bennhausen at Blue-Screen studios in Mannheim. In 2017 the band was completed with drummer Jonas Wickenhauser and guitarist Patrick Vetter. In the second half of 2018 Mario Brodeßer joined the crew as the new bass player of the band.