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AN AUSLANDER'S JOURNEY                                                                                          The German Citizen • September-October 2024 • 5

                                                                  at Clemo Hall in Kaisertown, and  and during Covid, Chuck retired
                                                                  started playing, no practice, no  from playing.
                                                                  rehearsals. We were a perfect fit!  I enlisted Mark Kasprzak, a life
                                                                     Later that year, Bill's friend,  long friend for guitar and drummer
                                                                  Bob Matuczak , joined us on guitar,  Rich Kiegler. They have their own
                                                                  and the Auslanders were on their  band ( Slim Pickins) a great cover
                                                                  way.                           band, but would play as Auslanders
                                                                     As the years went by, Bob had  when they were available.
                                                                  to leave due to shoulder surgery. He  Logistics got too difficult, so
                                                                  was replaces by a number of local  after  50  years  of  playing
                                                                  guitar players from the German  (1974-2024), I also retired.
                                                                  community:  Russ Freund, Dave    I will miss all the wonderful
                                                                  Freund, Chuck Stock.           people that supported us all these
                                                                     Then tragedy struck, Bill was  years and hope to live in their
                                                                  stricken with cancer and died ( after  memories forever.
                                                                  48 years of being an Auslander),






       by Frank Wailand            with   "Schneewalzer", couples
            his is a comprehensive  paired off and were waltzing!
            story  of   how   the  Huh?! The evening was a smooth
       TAuslanders began:          transition from rock to traditional
       In the early ‘70s , I lived near  German! This was my epiphany to
     Stuttgart,  Germany.  On  a   someday have a band that would
     weekend, my friends and it would  blend these two genres.
     go to a dance club in a nearby   I returned to the USA in 1973,
     village. As we entered the club, the  started working in the Tops
     DJ was playing the Rolling Stones'  engineering office,where I met Bill
     "Brown sugar" to the packed   Kuczmanski, my future drummer.
     dance floor. This was followed  We landed a 25th anniversary gig
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