Rocco Chamonix: “Writing sorts out my thoughts”

Did you reach Heino Jaeger through Wolfgang “Wolli” Köhler, the former protagonist of “Große Freiheit”?

Yes really. Thanks to Wolli and my growing world knowledge about Heino Jaeger in the ’70s, I was able to get close to him. By the way, it should be a trilogy, the so-called “trilogy of freaks”, so this is the second part.

Have you known Hino Jaeger personally?

No, when I was young he was at home and no longer spoke.

Geiger’s last years were marked by psychological problems. Who is responsible for its downfall?

He had exhausted his mental influence, and could hardly keep the impressions of the world away from him. When he began working with the intoxicant to calm himself, he was pronounced doomed.

Is it true that a feature film about Jaeger’s life is being planned and that you are going to submit a screenplay for it?

Yes really. But I wrote the book to make the movie possible from there. Let’s see how we get there now.

You also write about the painter Geiger. How would you describe his picture? Do you own any?

A unique Hino Jaeger board. He was an idealist painter, like Horst Jansen, but he was very strange. Cracks and joints take place in his work. I own some sketches myself and in the spring of 2022 there will be a large exhibition at the Stade Museum with his entire work. It will be very exciting.

You studied at the University of the Arts yourself. Is it true that you met Jonathan Mays on the subway on your way to college?

Yes, this is where we met and he showed us our investment portfolios. I laughed at him a lot because he was so special.

How was the entrance exam at that time?

My teacher flipped a coin when I was accepted, apparently to insult me. I chose the eagle. Little did the professor know that I had a magical psychological effect on the coin falling. The eagle ascended.

Would you have liked to have grown up in Hamburg in the 1960s?

No, but I would like to spend a few months at this time now, and be there when the first clubs opened. That was an important moment in popular culture.