2019 - David Hollestelle (guitarrist for Herman Brood)

David Hollestelle (guitarrist for Herman Brood)

For about 35 years I've been carrying around a sense of guilt about something that happened to me with David. Through Carl Carlton I had gotten his email address and wrote him this message:

Dear David,

I am writing this mail to you in German, because I still remember that you speak German quite well.

First of all I hope that you are doing well. Especially because you had heart surgery, as I heard. But the real reason that I am writing to you is different.

You will certainly remember "our story with the switch tip". It has now been about 35 years since then and remains, at least for me, a very embarrassing memory.

Probably there are events in everyone's life, experiences with other people, which have happened in an embarrassing way and have dug themselves deeply into memory. For me, "our story with the toggle switch" is the one that won't let me go, because I'm sure I hurt you very much back then.

You probably remember, you had a gig in Hannover in the evening, at the Leine Domizil and at noon you were visiting our Rockinger company in the Hildesheimerstraße. At that time we had a collection of P-90 guitars and I also showed you the 58 Goldtop Les Paul of my partner Michael Zülsdorff. When you left, Michael claimed that the small cream-colored button of the toggle switch tip on his Les Paul had disappeared.   At that time he and I still were on good terms, so I had no real reason to doubt his words. I believed him. So I drove to your gig at the Leine Domizil and accused you of stealing this switch tip: "Gimme the tip!

I remember you were close to tears. I think I apologized to you because the only possibility was that one person, you or Michael, was lying. It was only a little later that I realized that I was wrongly accusing you. The initiator, the liar, was my business partner Michael Zülsdorf!  He was angry that I showed his "holy" guitar to a stranger (you) without asking him (Michael) first. Okay, maybe this is still understandable, but it is absolutely unforgivable that he didn't tell me the truth in the last moment before I went to the Leine Domizil.   All the more embarrassing to me because you are a Gitano, a member of the ethnic group who is often said to be not so particular about the property of their fellow men.

This is how hurtful and highly embarrassing things happen in life, and I still blame myself today for accusing you in such a way back then. By the way, I was able to kick Zülsdorff out a few years later, shortly before our almost bankruptcy at Rockinger, because of constant lies, deceit and arguments. A friend of mine then continued Rockinger and I founded the new company Göldo Music and started to develop the Duesenberg guitars. For this reason, I have been living in Madrid for eleven years now and take care of new designs and technical developments here. One of my best friends here, Raimundo Amador - also a Gitano - also plays some Duesenberg guitars, just to mention that.

In short: You have always been one of my favorite guitarists and I would therefore - and of course also considering "our history with the switch tip" - very much like to give you a Duesenberg guitar as a present. Have a look at our website to see what you might like. I would be very happy about a phone call (or email)! +49-511-855226

Greetings from Madrid,

Dieter "Atze" G.

David was very happy and ordered a Johnny Depp unlimited shortly after. Yes, my peace of mind is restored.