Meet Auf Geht's Musik
Our Journey
A Lifetime with the Beautiful Folk Music of the Alps
Auf Geht’s’ musicians have performed together in various groups since 1986. Bandleader Randy Adams toured the US and Europe for more than 20 years playing this happy music with Mike Barker and Alpenfest Tours. We’ve played all over Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Utah, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, France, Holland and Scotland. Our musicians are classically trained, some with advanced degrees in music, and have many years of experience in the Arts and Entertainment industry. We LOVE what we do, and it shows in every song we play! We invite you to share some good fun and Gemutlichkeit (and maybe a beer or two!) with us. Auf Geht’s und Viel Spaß!! (Let’s go and have lots of fun!!)
Auf Geht's is available in different shapes and sizes to suit your needs and the size of your venue.
Solo Act - "One Man Band"
The Solo Act features “One Man Band” Randy Adams with singing, yodeling, accordion, guitar, trumpet, flugelhorn, alphorn, and musical handsaw. You can catch Randy’s solo act at Rudi Lechner’s German Restaurant in Houston. Visit our Schedule page for details.
Duo or Trio for Smaller Venues
Recommended for smaller venues, the two-piece band includes Randy and Wolf with singing and yodeling, accordion, guitar, trumpet, alphorn, and musical handsaw. Adding the third bandmember gets you our tuba/bass/banjo guy Kerry.
The Whole Band
If you have the room for a four-piece band, we bring out our drummer adding lots of energy, rhythm, and variety for dancing. Our favorite is the full five- or six-piece band with extra accordion, horns and vocal harmonies and yodels. This group is perfect for festivals and large parties.
Meet the Musicians
Randy Adams is a full-time musician and Professor of Trumpet at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He is a member of the Houston Grand Opera orchestra and he also performs with the Houston Ballet. Randy played a vast array of Broadway Musicals for 10 years with Theatre Under the Stars, and he played many years as an extra with the Houston Symphony. But alas, none of those organizations are interested in his yodeling, accordion or musical handsaw!
Wolfgang Kayser (the only person in the band with a real German name!) is a consummate performer who began his professional music career at the tender age of 12. Wolf, who studied accordion with the legendary Lynlee Alley, is equally at home with German, Czech and country music, and he’s also a fine singer, trumpeter and alphorn player. In addition to his musical accomplishments, Wolf was “Schutzenkoenig” two years in a row at the Round Top Rifle Association Marksmanship Competition.
Kerry Jones is a national champion banjo picker, classically trained tuba player with a degree in Music Performance from University of Houston, full-time sound tech at a Houston area mega-church, family man and a heck of a nice guy!! Kerry has performed and recorded with his own bluegrass band “Classical Grass” and is well known as both a bluegrass artist and now a polka artist. Kerry’s red-neck tendencies, amazing good looks and highly civilized charm have earned him the role of “Band Social Etiquette Consultant.”
Long-time friend and partner in crime, percussionist Glen Renfro has traveled and played with Randy and Wolf for over thirty years. Glen Renfro began his performing career in a show band playing USO shows and touring the United States. When Glen “grew up” he decided to settle down and become an elementary school music teacher, raise a family and play music for fun – and boy do we have fun! Glen’s antics on the drums, cowbells, Hölzernes Gelächter (Bavarian folk xylophone) and much more have become legendary! Always fun, always a gentleman, a great musician and a dear friend!
Mild mannered elementary school music teacher by day, powerhouse polka percussionist by night, Russel Mahon keeps the polka groove buzzing from the back of the stage. Russel has a Master’s degree in music from Texas Tech and was voted Teacher of the Year in Cy-Fair ISD in 2013. Now teaching elementary music in Magnolia ISD, Russell is also a family man, percussionist at his church in Houston, part-time kids’ swimming coach and sophisticated polka groove-meister par excellence!
Bill Holt began playing trombone at age 10, and added the tuba at age 11, and bass at age 13. At age 14, Gene Hackemack dubbed Bill “The Tuba Kidd” and put him to work playing tuba at Hackemack’s Hofbrauhaus. Bill has a degree in Tuba Performance from University of Houston and has been a classical performing artist as well as playing with great bands like The Party Crashers, Harry Czarnek and the Texas Dutchmen, Knights of Dixie and The Travelers. Bill, along with Billy Mata and the Texas Tradition, was inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame in 2021. Bill plays a Miraphone 181 F tuba, a 1930’s German kaiser BBb tuba, and is an endorsing artist for NS Design, Samuel Shen Basses, and D’Addario Strings
Blair Kayser, the youngest and by far the best-looking member of the band, represents the second generation of Kayser musical talent in our group. When Blair joins the group, not only do we add some much needed good looks to the band, but we also bring in the great sound of two accordions, the colorful variety of the saxophone, and some really great singing. Blair began playing accordion when he was five years old and played sax all the way through school. Blair was also a member of the Houston Boys Choir and has toured Europe with the group as a chorister, soloist and later as a chaperone.
Musicians Emeritus - Dear Friends To Whom We Owe So Much
We are forever indebted to these great musicians we have performed with over the years who have given us so much and continue to influence every song we play.
Mike Barker (1953-2020) – This page would not be complete without at least a small tribute to the great Mike Barker, our dear friend and brother, mentor, “father confessor” and partner-in-crime. Lynlee and Randy made 20 trips to Europe with Mike and Alpenfest Tours over the years (many of those with our beloved friend Barry Roberts), and we played major festivals together all over the US for more than 30 years laughing and singing and celebrating life and friendship all the way. Mike courageously battled major health issues for over 10 years before finally being forced to slow down a bit, but few people were aware of it, because no matter how bad he felt, he always had a smile, a happy song to sing and that big, beautiful tuba sound to bring us joy and Gemutlichkeit. Mike introduced us to Alpine Musik and the joys of making the people “schmuyle” and we will always and forever be in his debt. You can learn more about Mike and Alpenfest by visiting alpenfest.wixsite.com/website , and while you’re there listen to all the great Alpenfest CDs for free! (Thank you, Monique!) I guarantee they’ll make you “schmuyle” too! God bless our Mike!
Lynlee Alley – Lynlee is not just your average accordion player (as if such a thing even existed). She has degrees in Accordion Performance and Music Education from the University of Houston, and she’s been a soloist with the Houston Symphony. Really!! The “Lovely Lady Lynlee” has toured Europe playing classical music concerts and representing the USA in major accordion competitions, and she has taught some of Texas’ finest accordion players – including our own Wolfgang. Recently retired, Lynlee will always be a dearly loved member of Auf Geht’s. We’ve enjoyed many happy years, laughter and tears (schnapps and beers!), with this beautiful, sweet and talented lady. We love you Lynlee!
Barry Roberts – Reckless and lyrical, brash and romantic, Barry is a one-of-a-kind musician who has had a profound effect on our music. He’s a self-taught guitarist/singer/songwriter and a walking encyclopedia of popular songs from every era, every genre, every culture and every language. Nobody, but nobody knows as many songs as Barry Roberts, and he plays them all by ear and sings all the verses by heart. Barry always amazed us with his musicianship, made us laugh, made us cry, kept us striving for more excellence, and I will always think of him as a dear friend and brother.
Kevin Hatcher – The group that started all of this for us back in the early 1970’s (except for Wolfgang who, at the ripe old age of 12, was already going strong by that time) was the brainchild of a witty and talented young yodeler with a red beard named Kevin Hatcher. The place was Houston, Texas in a popular restaurant called “The Bavarian Gardens”. The band had a name nobody could pronounce – “Die Bergvagabunden” – and Kevin, Mike Barker and Barry Roberts began a German Music tradition that continues to this day. Kevin is living in San Antonio now and working with his band “Eurofest” but we are lucky enough to get him to join us on special occasions. National Champion Master Yodeler with an autoharp, a man of amazing musical talent, inextinguishable wit and humor, a genuine and humble spirit, Kevin Hatcher is someone I’m proud to call a friend and mentor.