Silly bassist Reznicek: You're never a finished musician

A person learns as long as they live: bassist Hans-Jürgen "Jäcki" Reznicek also sees a career as a musician as a lifelong learning process. "In my opinion, the beauty of being a musician is that you are never finished," he told the German Press Agency. Anyone who thinks the opposite is quickly overtaken by young musicians. The 71-year-old described his motivation as being to keep learning new things in music.

Reznicek, who taught for many years as a lecturer at the Dresden Academy of Music and has also written widely acclaimed books on bass playing abroad, is currently touring with the rock band Silly, mainly through East Germany. The electro-acoustic tour features Silly bards Ritchie Barton and Uwe Hassbecker as well as ex-City frontman Toni Krahl and singer Julia Neigel.

Glockenspiel and violin

The current tour has struck a chord with audiences so far. This is evidenced by sold-out venues and enthusiastic reactions. The tour kick-off last November at the Kulturpalast in Dresden was sold out within a short space of time. This also applies to two additional concerts at the same venue. Reznicek also attributes this to the special arrangements of great Silly hits.

"In contrast to a normal rock program, we use different instruments. For example, I play an acoustic fretless bass and double bass. Uwe Hassbecker plays a guitar with nylon strings, western acoustic guitars and also violin. Ritchie Barton doesn't sit at the keyboard, but at the grand piano and also plays a small glockenspiel," said Reznicek.

Silly classics with samba rhythms

In addition, the songs are arranged completely differently in places. "With some songs, most people don't even realize what it's all about at first. It's only clear when the vocals start," emphasized the bassist. There are also samba rhythms in "Schlohweißer Tag". All of this makes the concerts intimate and also suitable for halls such as the Gewandhaus in Leipzig or the Berlin Philharmonie.

Reznicek finds the close connection to the audience in such halls beneficial. "I'm the type of person who likes to look at people's faces during a concert. It's fun to see how happy they are or how attentively they listen." He also likes the fact that the audience is made up of several generations, with grandparents now coming along with their grandchildren. "And we have a fan club that comes from all over Germany."

Some lyrics still relevant today

Reznicek sees this as proof of the freshness of the Silly sound after more than 40 years of band history. Moreover, it was always about the lyrics. "Of course, certain lyrics had a completely different effect in GDR times and people listened differently." In the meantime, however, fans and even critics keep pointing out that songs like "Alles wird besser" or "S.O.S." are still relevant. "They could have been written today."

Reznicek does not see a "shortage of skilled workers" among the next generation of musicians. "Sure, I also make music to earn money, but above all because I enjoy it immensely. Being a musician involves hard work. Nobody forces me to practise, it has to come from within." He has felt this attitude in his 31 years as a lecturer at the Dresden University of Music. "They were passionate about music."

Does AI threaten the industry?

The bassist does not believe that artificial intelligence is a serious threat to the music industry. "It's possible that it will play a role in canned music, but not in live music. A musician standing in a small club, sweating and playing their fingers to the bone - no AI can replace that. People know that too. They want to see us on stage, even if we mess up. That's part of it."

Aside from Silly, Reznicek also wants to stay on the bass. One project connects him with Driftwood Holly. This is the name of a musician who emigrated from Oberwiesenthal to Dawson City in Canada more than 20 years ago and earns his living there as a musical storyteller. Reznicek, who was born in Dresden, has been playing folk and country with him and other colleagues since 2013 - in Canada and also in Germany. "It's a lot of fun."