Ostmugge at its finest
DIE OSSIS are five musicians who themselves actively experienced the era of GDR rock music in the late 70s and especially the 80s and played in various GDR rock bands. Admittedly, the band name DIE OSSIS and the stage outfit of the time with FDJ shirts, pioneer blouses, police and army uniforms seemed provocative, but that was exactly our aim. We wanted to cause a stir and we did it! Later, the fantastic singer Carie van Heden joined us, with whom we were able to expand the program musically extremely!
From September 2004 to the end of 2023, we played around 600 concerts. And when you consider that we were only active between May and October from the start and still are, that's quite remarkable. There were many highlights. For example, three concerts at the Brandenburg Gate on "German Unity Day" in front of several 100,000 people! A gigantic backdrop. But the big R-SA summer festivals on the Hutberg stage in Kamenz with around 10,000 spectators each time are also unforgettable. We have also enjoyed playing as support acts for well-known bands such as Karat, City, Münchner Freiheit and Purple Schulz and, of course, on countless large city and community festival stages, in theaters, cultural venues and clubs throughout Germany.
Since 2008 we call our program Ostrock Deluxe !
Since then, we have also been actively collaborating with well-known singers and musicians from the old Ostrock scene. The list ranges from Michael Barakowski (rest in peace) to IC Falkenberg, Dirk Zöllner & Andrè Gensicke, Tino Eisbrenner, Günther Fischer, Werther Lohse, Dieter "Quaster" Hertrampf, Andre Herzberg, Veronika Fischer, Claudius Dreilich, Muck, Mike Kilian and Wolfgang Ziegler.
Another highlight has been the Ostrock Deluxe Klassik program with the Berlin String Ensemble for about 10 years. The guest experiences a small but fine version of <rock meets classical music>, in any case a great homage to many great hits of the East from Veronika Fischer to Dirk Michaelis in a special guise. The string arrangements were all penned by our long-time band member and friend Carsten "beathoven" Mohren, the former Rockhaus keyboardist and music producer, who sadly passed away far too early.
Many say: " ... nowhere else can the audience experience the well-known cult hits from 30 years of GDR music history in such a concentrated form as with the OSSIS". In our concerts, we play and celebrate exclusively the hits of Stern Meißen, Karat, Puhdys, Silly, Rockhaus, City and the many, many other East German rock bands - live, of course. They are wonderful songs... strong in content, timeless, well-known and loved - cult hits.
Ost- Rock was much more than just light music, because many songs spoke of space, earth and mankind and sometimes conveyed hidden messages. Others described everyday life together and have lost none of their content to this day. "Mich zu lieben" by Rockhaus, for example, is more relevant than ever and is just one of many songs.
Musically shaped by the zeitgeist of the time, East German rock was not only unique, but has remained a cosmos of its own to this day. It not only connects the most diverse musical styles, but generations! To underline this, we offer 4 different shows. More about this under Programs...
An OSSIS concert is always an experience! If you like or even love Eastern rock and want to listen to it while reminiscing or sing along at the top of your voice and shake a leg now and then, then you've come to the right place!
