The Southern Rock Junkies - Salute Muchachos - El Diabolo (2012)

The idea for founding SRJ was born in the fall of 2004 during a luncheon between Southern Rock mailing list members Robert Hiemer and "Kalle" Ramming. The Southern Rock Junkies were originally intended to consist solely of members of the German Southern Rock mailing list and perform only once during the list's annual meeting. But, as so often happens, things didn't go as planned:
The SRJ's initial lineup consisted of list members Eberhard Schmidt (guitar + vocals), Robert Hiemer (bass + vocals), Christian Schneider (guitar), Maik Schorrat (as a special guest on harp), and the three musicians from the group Pearly Gates: Christian Haller (vocals), Dieter Dressel (guitar), and Robert Schwarz (drums). Despite the short preparation time, the SRJ's set list consisted of an impressive 11 songs – mostly cover versions of well-known Southern Rock artists.

How it all began...
At the beginning of 1996, the internet and email also made their way to Germany. Through Michael Knippschild, the mastermind of the first German "Southern Rock Mailing List," Rob met a few Southern Rock fans through the "List" in the following years, who were also musicians and well-equipped with instruments.

After Rob had to travel to Kulmbach several times for work in 2004/2005, the idea of ​​forming a Southern Rock band with musicians from the list and members of the Kulmbach band "Pearly Gates" for a one-off band project and a performance at the annual list meeting in the Spreewald region matured over lunch with "Kalle" Ramming. The madness took its course, and it actually worked! The first emails between Torsten and Rob date back to November 2004, and thus THE SOUTHERN ROCK JUNKIES was born!...