….and that he also has a “dark side”. Because, when the sales manager grabs his guitar, he some­times feels the urge to play heavy metal. His aptly named band, “The End” is an alter­na­tive rock cover band whose reper­toire includes classic rock and punk, and, of course, heavy metal. But they also play unplugged with just a double bass, guitar and ukulele. “We simply what to stand out from other cover bands who only play chart hits”, Rotter explains.

Every note, no matter how hard or soft, has to be spot on – that’s impor­tant to the six-piece band and the reason why they try to rehearse every week, although their busy sched­ules permit no more than ten gigs a year: “We want to rock the stage!”, says the guitarist with a laugh. And that can be in a pub, at a motor­cycle rally, or any other event that can accom­mo­date a crowd of about 100 to 2,500 in the greater Allgäu area – so just about “anywhere people come to enjoy pure rock music and have a good time” he adds.

You can find us anywhere people come to enjoy pure rock music and have a good time.

Chris­tian Rotter

He can still clearly recall his very first gig. “The first time you stand in front of an audi­ence, it can be quite mind-blowing”. After a few songs, though, the whole band starts to notice­ably relax and today, he only feels “pure elation”. Mean­while, THE END has been together for more than 17 years.

For Rotter, performing to an audi­ence is good training for his job. As a sales repre­sen­ta­tive in the field, his work involves a lot of trav­eling and meeting people: “You get a feel for who is standing in front of you. Today, when I discuss things with customers or hold a presen­ta­tion, I feel at least as confi­dent as I do when I’m playing my guitar on stage.”

It was a long journey to the stage, and began when he started playing the guitar at the age of six. The young Chris­tian Rotter first takes clas­sical lessons and plays rock in various school bands. In 2005, he co-founds the “THE END” with his best friend from child­hood days. Today, the band is still going strong and is a perma­nent fixture in the Allgäu music scene. The guitar is Rotter’s constant companion.

But THE END – just like the big players in the scene – also had its ups and downs. Band members came and went, and the coro­n­avirus pandemic also took its toll, forcing them to cancel not only gigs, but also weekly rehearsals: “Rehearsals are vital; not only to ensure high-quality music, but also because they give you a great sense of compan­ion­ship and personal balance.” Rotter also misses engaging with the audi­ence: “The audi­ence gives you so much back, and that’s why not being able to perform was so frus­trating.” And as if that wasn’t enough, after ten years, the band also had to abandon their rehearsal room after it had been irreparably damaged by water.

Mean­while, a new rehearsal room has been set up and new gigs have been fixed. Is there anything Chris­tian Rotter is still missing to achieve perfect musical bliss? His answer’s nothing like you ‘d expect from a rock star. In fact, he sounds rather modest: “I just want to keep making music as long as I can.” So it looks like THE END is still a long way off …

“The END” live on stage in Bad Grönen­bach: