André Schmechta (born May 13, 1969) formed Scarecrow together with his school-mate Jörg Böhme. After a first single ([m=548356]), they were offered a contract by [l3768] and subsequently changed their name to X-Marks The Pedwalk. In 1992 André built his own [l308893] (Thank God It’s Friday). Jörg left XMTP and was replaced by André’s younger brother Thorsten Schmechta (a.k.a. Raive Yarx, born June 14, 1971). In 1998 he decided to leave the music business to concentrate on his family (he is married to Stefanie Eckmann, a.k.a. Estefania) and his carreer as managing director of the online marketing agency die zeitspringer. Only ten years later André made a return to music.