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Baach
Photos by @mart.schneider from a couple of weeks ago in the countryside around Baach, Germany where I’ve been recording recently.
Back to the countryside.
Has been a full and fun weekend in Hannover and last night in Bonn. Not enough sleep but nice concerts and very enjoyable evenings both of them. I’ll probably write more in the next couple of days but mostly big thanks to Ceven and to Timo for the invitations and the good company.
Tomorrow I’ll drive back up the hill to this beautiful little spot and hopefully spend a couple of days finishing the album I started last week. I’ve had a few days to listen to everything and decided to leave the songs as they were written but perhaps just play some more guitar and sing a little on some of them. Wanted to do everything in the same lovely place. Nothing feels in any way clever or too considered, which I like, but I do feel that some of the things could use a little more meat on the bones. Perhaps I pile it on and then take it all off and it comes out as just the recording I made in a day. Let’s see. In any rate, I’ll be here if you need me but the internet is off.
I hope you’ve had a fun weekend too, more soon.
S
St Klara CDr now available
The recording of the St Klara church concert is now available as a simple, hand stamped CDr through my Bandcamp page here. Nothing fancy, but for those of you that don’t do the download thing or would rather just have a physical disc this is for you. All Bandcamp sales include an immediate download anyway and I’ll be posting any of these orders out right after the weekend.
Also - 50% of all online sales of this album will go to the Strassenkreuzer charity, for whom this concert was a benefit. For more information about them and how to help please visit https://www.strassenkreuzer.info/foerdern-und-spenden
Also, also - I’ll be at Radio Z for an interview this afternoon. They have this release as their album of the week so I think we’ll be talking about it and who knows what else. You can listen live here from about 15:00 CET.
I’m heading to Hannover tomorrow for an acoustic concert at Dreiunddreißig. The Facebook event is here. I tend to have nice concerts in town so I’m looking forward to that. Saturday I’m in Bonn for a house concert - very rarely there so if you’d like to join that please drop me a line and I’ll send you the details.
Otherwise, have a lovely weekend and more later!
Stephen
Two songs from Ulm two nights ago (free download)
Here be two songs from Sunday night’s concert at the Sauschdall (also Wikipedia) in Ulm, Germany. I like this venue a lot - a super solid old fort building with massive walls and rather crazy acoustics inside. Jazz venue since the 1960’s. The resident sound technician Andreas, a very friendly and capable guy, is nice to work with but it has to be said has a taste for the reverb, the delay and the chorus. The colour, let’s say. At soundcheck, and again in the interval, I asked that we cut the delay and the chorus and keep things simple but I think he felt it necessary to stay busy throughout my set. It sounded a bit random and distracting on the night and going though my recording of this show this morning most of it is pretty unlistenable to my ears at least. Chorus appears out of nowhere on my guitar, some words I sang are repeated, clipped and randomly delayed. Sometimes it’s fine on the night in the room at least, but doesn’t stand up at all when listened later. So it is here.
It’s a funny thing with this simple acoustic setup sometimes - I have the feeling that sound technicians often feel like they have to do something throughout the concert, to stay busy. I get that it’s not the most exciting thing to manage my sound and perhaps some people love the use of ‘colour’ for dramatic effect at different times in different songs. To add dynamics or whatever, but for me personally when playing I like to get an idea of the sound and stick with it. Have a picture to rely on where it is, what the shape of it is and how things are going to come out.
Blah, blah. I’m rambling so anyway, here’s the first song of the night:
And here’s the second to last one an hour or so later. Played as a request, poorly but distracted as I said.
Bit of a shame as it really was a pleasure to play there, like I say the whole crew are super friendly and helpful and the place is great. The Diamond Family Archive will play there in October so if you’re about please make it down and have a listen. There’s opportunities for some really crazy shit going on with their sound for sure, wowee.
Halfway through the evening the thunder and the lightning and the downpour had started on. We left the place in a rainstorm, walked down the hill and a short while later I drove off onto a flooded motorway and all the uneasy feelings there upon.
New album recorded yesterday.
Photo: @mart.schnieder
I’ve spent the last two days living in this delightful little place on a hill in Esslingen, in the south of Germany. No internet but electricity, a wood oven and fierce running icy cold water. Power socket for the recorder. Surprisingly noisy from local farmers and flight path but a productive time nonetheless. Listen, I just got back to a warm shower and all that goes with it an hour ago so will write more later, but suffice to say I recorded the album of ten songs I wrote last week and will work on putting it together and seeing if I can live with it tomorrow. It might not come out, right now it sounds very intimate and I don’t know who the person singing is.
Oh, I’m playing in Thun this Friday with a drummer, in Ulm this Sunday night and next week in Erlangen at E-Werk. More on those things later, but for now good evening warm, fuzzy glow of the internet.
St Klara now on Spotify, iTunes, etc
The recent live concert I played in the St Klara church in Nuremberg, Germany is now up on most digital services. I trimmed it a little to cut some chatting (me, not the audience) and I think the big echo sound is rather tasty. I would always rather people listen (or better yet, download) through my Bandcamp page but for here it is on the big two and everywhere else soon enough.
iTunes:
St Klara
St Klara is a recording from my recent concert at St Klara church in Nuremberg, Germany available to stream and download on my Bandcamp page now.
Recorded on the 23rd of March 2019, this evening was a benefit concert for Strassenkreuzer magazine and featured The Air We Breathe and nobutthefrog also playing earlier.
Soundcheck was a fairly stressful affair, or at least the sound in the big old room was something we had to work with in a particular way. I love me a bit of echo but I think anything amplified in there struggles a bit. Steffen at the desk did a fine job though, but in fact I ended up playing the start and the end of the concert acoustic in the room, without the microphones, When it came to the recording these were just a weird boomy mess, with people finding their seats or shuffling prayer books about who knows. Suffice to say those songs didn’t make this release. The same has to be said for the two quicker, or at least more rhythmic songs I played - both of these just bounced around on the recording and you’re really not missing anything by not hearing them either.
Setlist with missing songs.
Stefanie from Vivian Void joined me for a beer on stage and a couple of songs. Playing in this space with the audience so far away can make the whole thing feel a bit dry so that certainly helped.
Selina sat in the audience and took some photos and that’s the cover and there it is. I got to play in another church in another country a few weeks later but this is the St Klara recording and go listen to that big mess of echo.
Photos and two songs from Werkstatt in Baden, Switzerland (free download)
Photo: https://seltsam.ch
Mike at selstam.ch sent me the photos he made from the concert at Werkstatt in Baden a week ago so I wanted to share them with you along with a few more songs from the night.
This was the last night of a two week tour I made in April and the only night where Sophia was able to join me with her violin. We didn’t get a chance to rehearse, instead just working out some basic arrangements in the other room right before we started. This level of preparation is fine for me but it does mean that the pair of us are kind of winging it on the songs we choose to do together. Keeps it interesting and wonderful for me to have some rare support (and surprises) whilst playing.
Anyway, these two I rarely play without Sophia so I thought they would be good to upload and share. Sophia wrote the original string parts for ‘If You Build It They Will Come’ when we made the ‘Turn Your Back On The Crown’ album together, but the music for ‘I Was In The North Before The Fall’ (from ‘The Good Men’) is new. We jump in and hang on, it is what it is.
I recorded almost every concert last month and plan to release an EP of things played in a week or so. Will be back with news on that if I can manage to make something listenable. Otherwise I’m finishing new songs and plan to record those as soon as the weather allows. I’ve my eye on a hut on a hill in which to record but I’m fearful of the cold there within. It was summer for a week but now it’s autumn in the south of Germany.
More soon then!
Photo: seltsam.ch
Landau and Baden (free download)
Sunday: Landau. Friends from Hamburg pick me up at the station and we walk through the redeveloped landscape of Landau to the RIVA bar where they plan an evening concert combined with Ben’s birthday drinks. A wonderful meal of home cooked comfort food and then a rather less than ideal concert experience. We tried it with me inside and the audience outside in the sunshine - bit weird and I could just hear the people at the bar - then we tried it inside but by then apparently the RIVA was the only bar open in town so everyone suddenly had to wear baseball hats on backwards and it was spring break. Anyhow sooner than planned done with and afterwards brilliant company and Lea plays songs and everyone drinks gin and tequila and it’s a fun visit just the same. Late to bed, early enough to rise and jump on the train back to Switzerland and the final night of this tour in Baden.
The journey down to Switzerland was a little fraught as I had opted for regional trains all the way and it was Easter Monday so many people were travelling. I sat with my guitar between my legs to Karlsruhe and then plonked myself in a dark corner most of the drop to Zürich. No matter, Severin picked me up at the familiar station in Baden and always a joy to see his friendly face. We drove the short way to the venue, Werkstatt - a reclaimed metal factory with a bar, studio space and a budget looking but long running nightclub called ‘Moonlight’.
We ate delicious vegan burgers prepared by Severin and Aicha (which you can find as Assa here) and then Sophia arrived and she and I worked out what we might play together. Sophia has been joining me on violin whenever we get the opportunity for a few years now and she also wrote and played the parts on the ‘Turn Your Back On The Crown’ album, for example:
I don’t enjoy rehearsing so much so we just decided on some keys and then the ramshackle room was full and we stood and played some sloppy songs for everyone. I don’t know if we played so good but it was certainly one of the most enjoyable concerts of the last weeks for me so here’s ‘Boys, I Am Worried’ as a free download from the thing:
Baden.
After the concert I got to spend time with some friends I hadn’t seen in years and then was driven back out of town to Severin’s place and straight to bed and the sleep therein.
Next morning not enough time but some coffee and a mouthful of delicious breakfast and then sent on my way. I took a train to Zürich and another to Stuttgart, looked out the window all the way and that’s how it should go.
My next concert is in a couple of weeks would you believe it back in Switzerland - Thun on the 17th of May - then I’ll be in Ulm on the 19th, Erlangen on the 21st and Bonn around the 25th. I have much more to share from these last days coming later this week before that though. It’s so nice that you follow, thank you.
Thun, Basel and Freiburg (free download)
At Carmen’s apartment in Freiburg with an hour to go before I take a couple of trains and also a bus up and across to Landau for a concert at RIVA tonight. Quick update on the last couple of days and a free download from Thun.
Thun.
Thursday: Thun. Back at the Mundwerk with all the good friends there and usually a fun, lovely night and this time no exception. A brilliantly clear afternoon and a walk with Reto up the hill to look upon the mountains for some time before a simple soundcheck and a delicious burger at the venue. Some concerns that the weather would keep everyone outside were pretty unfounded and the room had enough of a great audience to play to. Super quiet crowd and I tried a couple of requests but also played fair enough. I don’t do this song, from the ‘Woe’ album very often and it’s usually when I feel that it will work ok as it’s kind of long and quiet. ‘Make Each Other Anew’:
After the concert we sat upstairs and shared stories and gins and then I dragged the guitar up the tiny stairs of the most excellent Schwert hotel that Reto always puts me in and slept for England.
Next morning breakfast good as ever and then easy but very crowded train up to Basel and a day off with Joelle. Much needed washing and recuperation but also a couple of sunburnt hours by the wide Rhine, a sweet ferry across and back to her apartment and finally a random choice of brilliant Groundhog Day on the couch. Day off indeed.
Yesterday I took a short regional train up to Freiburg for a return to the KISS cellar for the third time. Micha sitting outside catching some rays and greeting everyone so we sat for an hour with a cold beer and caught up.
Soon enough the little cellar room was pretty full, surprisingly enough for such a warm, sunny evening and I played all the songs and took my sweet time about it.
Babeuf.
Micha, Carmen and I went for a couple of drinks at the Babeuf until we all got too tired and I flopped into sleep and a lovely breakfast on the terrace and here we are.
St Gallen, Luzern and Wienacht-Tobel (free download)
Luzern.
Half an hour in Winterthur sunshine before the direct connection I found to Thun. A slow drive across country over a thousand roundabouts getting beeped at by half a dozen impatient Swiss (?) drivers. A stop in Romanshorn for ice creams after a leisurely morning and a crazy good breakfast overlooking the Bodensee.
Romanshorn.
Where was I with this? Monday: St Gallen. Easy ride from Bern after a day of emails and some walks around the neighbourhood and across the bridge. I sat in the St Gallen cathedral grounds and then dragged the suitcase and guitar up to Sandro’s place for a house concert there that evening. He’s been to about 8 of my gigs all over the place so it seemed only fair that I play in his front room sometime.
We grabbed pizza from Mamma Assunta down the hill and then sat on his roof and watched the city with a beer. It’s times like this that help explain why I enjoy touring down here so much - the time there can be. The closeness of the towns provides ample hours between concerts. I appreciate the not having to rush every day.
St Gallen from Sandro’s roof.
But I saw images and film of Notre Dame burning apart just before I sat down to play and then sang songs with ‘I kept my calm as the chapel collapsed but left there as quick as I could’ and so on. It had put me in a low mood but I played all the songs and people seemed to sit and follow me along.
The next morning I walked up to the three lakes of course, took some clean air and then took a brilliant train route across the country.
I would be playing right near St Gallen the next day but for now I had a concert in Luzern at the lovely Phrontistery. This would be my fourth visit there and it’s always brilliant to sit with Neda and talk and laugh some. This evening Claude had asked if he could make some portraits with me so when he arrived we walked around to the Löwendenkmal and took photos there, whilst all around us a hundred Japanese tourists did the same. Seemed fitting.
I enjoyed the concert that night a lot. From where I sat there was a fun echo in the room so it was a pleasure to sing. I did a pretty straight set of songs, here’s the traditional ‘Pretty Peggy-O’ and I think the rest will follow.
Foto: @thephrontisteryluzern
So an early walk the next morning around the misty lake and then back east to St Gallen area for a concert at the Treichli restaurant. Martina picked me up in Winterthur in her giant german auto and we drove up the hills to most brilliant countryside. An afternoon of walking, talking, cat rubbing and generally just living the life of leisure before time for work. I was a little anxious about the restaurant concert to be honest as in my experience food and my songs don’t mix so good. I can’t really do the background music whilst people chat and eat but I think that was kind of the idea. In the end we compromised a bit and I played a few songs in-between courses but also got to eat some brilliant food and sleep in a super comfortable, tiny bungalow right next door. Obviously the view was nuts, we had a lovely visit and do go there for some fine food if you get the chance.
Treichli.
What is it now? Thursday and Thun and the train’s disappeared into a tunnel under Zürich airport and an hour and a half to go and that’s what it is.
Karlsruhe and Bern (free download)
Have most of the day free in Bern so I’m spending it catching up with booking shows for the next months, writing some verses for new songs and getting a little distracted by this new website I’ve found called the Youtube. Also listening to concerts recorded recently and pledging to speak less between songs, my word.
Last night I played at La Cappella so this is where I am now. A beautiful wooden church converted into a theatre and music venue 20 years ago and run by Christoph and his team. Honestly, the concert was pretty empty last night but I had a lovely evening and I think the people who came had a nice enough time too. We got it dark and lit the candles and played the songs without mics or electricity distracting and making things louder than they need to be. I hope to come back someday and urge you to visit this place as well.
The night before was a concert at the NUN café in Karlsruhe. A perfect bunch of volunteers running the venue wonderfully and helping out to no end. Nice friendly audience and I played so-so ok and these are pictures from the lovely evening by Simon Beha.
Perhaps I will upload the complete recording of the concert soon, as it was kind of solid and sounded grand. I just need to cut out some of the talking for I did go on and on and on and on. Here’s something in the meantime, download and share and what you will.
Tonight I’m heading across to St Gallen for a concert at Sandro’s house. I think it might be pretty full already but if you are in the area and would like to join by all means email me and I’ll stand up so you can have my seat.
Otherwise, it’s Luzern tomorrow, Wienacht-Tobel on Wednesday, Thun on Thursday, Freiburg, Landau and Baden after that. Full dates here.
Between Wiesbaden and Karlsruhe (free download)
I left town mid-morning rode west and up across towards Köln and a couple of small local trains to Grevenbroich. Nicole picked me and up and took her to her house - it was her birthday and I had been asked to play a little concert at her place for her, her friends and family.
We walked down the lane, by fields and the river. Warm, spring evening.
Everyone sat around and I sat around too and played a bunch of things, actually quite a lot of things. Loads. Half an hour after I finally stopped Achim said he wanted to go home right away to get his saxophone and play some with me, so that happened as well. Maybe you’ll get to hear that but someone has to ask because it’s kind of a mess. The best kind.
The next morning he kindly drove me back to the station and I rode down to Stuttgart for a day off, completely not on the route but really exactly the right place to be for a brilliant evening of delicious Swabian food at Vetter, lovely company and the next day the Seilbahn and a graveyard and all the good things to be found down there.
Yesterday I took a train back up along the Rhine, around the Loreley corner and to Wiesbaden where I was back at the lovely little Wakker room. I’ve played here a few times before and it’s always been very cosy and fun. Last night was no exception and the room filled up and people squeezed in and sat down the front and I played some new songs, plenty old songs.
From the back of the tiny room here’s a free download the last song of the evening. It does go on a bit.
I’m in Karlsruhe tonight to play a long overdue concert at NUN. I was last here back in 2009 or so with Liz Green and her band and it was the first the first time I stood up to play a gig. We were all barefoot that week and super pretentious and sloppy. Was a grand time.
In Stuttgart
Day off in Stuttgart with Martina, who took this photo of me next to my spaceship for the afterlife.
Tonight I’m playing in Wiesbaden at Wakker and then tomorrow in Karlsruhe at NUN. Sunday I head down to Bern and then will be in Switzerland for the rest of the week. All dates here.
A few nights ago I played a 10 minute version of the folk standard ‘Delia’ with Achim on saxophone. I might have a recording of this and I might post it later. Let’s see.
'SUPER GOOD ADVICE' from the Tafelhalle in Nürnberg.
From January this year at ‘Die große Sing-In Neujahrsgala’ in the big Tafelhalle room. I got to play a couple of songs and had a fair bit of nervous energy after waiting for hours. Song originally on the album 'The Good Men' available at https://thegreatpark.bandcamp.com/album/the-good-men and a wee bit more together there.
Originally filmed by Franken Fernsehen - their full video from the evening is here: https://youtu.be/H3phjBvzXOM
April 2019 dates
I’m booking for May onwards now but here’s where I plan to be this month:
10/04/19 House Concert, Gruissem, Germany
12/04/19 Walker, Wiesbaden, Germany
13/04/19 Café NUN, Karlsruhe, Germany
14/04/19 La Capella, Bern, Switzerland
15/04/19 House Concert, St Gallen
16/04/19 The Phrontistery, Luzern, Switzerland
17/04/19 Restaurant Treichli, Wienacht-Tobel, Switzerland
18/04/19 Mundwerk, Thun, Switzerland
20/04/19 KISS, Freiburg, Germany
21/04/19 Riva, Landau, Germany
22/04/19 Werkstatt, Baden, Switzerland
Everyone is welcome at these concerts - please just email me if you’d like more details. As ever, all concerts will appear here first as soon as I confirm them.
April concerts
I’m playing a bunch of concerts in the in the south of Germany and Switzerland next month. I’ll be visiting some old friends at places I’ve been before, as well as arriving in towns and at venues that are new to me. It’s safe to say I’m looking forward.
I think I’ve done an ok job of filling my days but I still have one pesky free date on the 11th of April that I can’t seem to fix anywhere. If anyone has any ideas please drop me a line - I’m happy to play a little house concert or a simple gig in a bar somewhere on this night.
Anyhow, goes like this:
10/04/19 House Concert, Gruissem, Germany
11/04/19 Free - please get in touch with any offers, or ideas
12/04/19 Walker, Wiesbaden, Germany
13/04/19 Café NUN, Karlsruhe, Germany
14/04/19 La Capella, Bern, Switzerland
15/04/19 House Concert, St Gallen
16/04/19 The Phrontistery, Luzern, Switzerland
17/04/19 Restaurant Treichli, Wienacht-Tobel, Switzerland
18/04/19 Mundwerk, Thun, Switzerland
20/04/19 KISS, Freiburg, Germany
21/04/19 Riva, Landau, Germany
22/04/19 Werkstatt, Baden, Switzerland
Hope to see some people along the way, please don’t be shy.
'We Could Have, We Should Have, We Didn't' from the Klarakirche (free download)
Photo: Pater Ansgar Wiedenhaus
Here’s a free download of ‘We Could Have, We Should Have, We Didn't' from the church concert in Nürnberg last Saturday. My dear friend Stefanie from the most fantastic band Vivian Void was at the show and sang a couple of songs with me.
Another download of a song from this night is here, and perhaps I’ll upload the whole thing later. Some of the faster songs sound a bit like a storm hitting, but it is what it is.
Free download from last night at the Klarakirche.
Photo by @selinabeckett
Here’s a song from last night’s fairly heavy and echo drenched evening at the Klarakirche in Nürnberg.
I recorded the whole concert and, whilst it’s certainly not the easiest of things to listen to it might be worth sharing if anyone is interested. Please let me know if you’re into this stuff!
Anyhow, more later - it’s Sunday and let’s take it easy.