Rorschach Testing, the Waters are Fine!

Wow, I haven't been here for some time, guys. Seems blogs are more something for the winter, yknow, put another blog on the fire and tell us a story... There's quite a few to tell from the trip to old Europe where the lakes are blue, the sails shine in the sun, the forests welcome the hiker with cool green shadow. Enuff. The international Supergroup of Rorschach SG chanced upon each other and discussed the record they didnt make in '82 and split with vague plans of beaming down to planet Bodensee in a near future and music is always possible and life just a little bit less hectic.

Mind you, there's riot. A voice to wake the Swiss up from the pacifying harmonizer that mother nature has lulled them into is Göldin, on his third full length CD "Fantasy is Fucked", again aided by trusty Bit-Tuner and his infallible ear. The Eastern Swiss poet rapper Göldin is rough, is mean, is british-understated in swiss german. His stories tell of everday swiss life, political divides, binges, crazy ideas and little joys like the upcoming local soccer game, furnished with an eternally bittersweet melancholy. Brooklyn rapper Sensational adds some of his flavor. Check out "Up in smoke" on Goeldins MySpace.

Meanwhile, one of my early idols, Stephan Eicher released a new record, Eldorado, which shows him at his very best, at ease with himself and the world, tender, authentic, and, especially in the title track, mighty - no one touches the king of Swiss pop, not any Adis or Baschis. For those mean bastards of you who always put an 'S' in front of his last name, listen to "I cry at commercials" - one of the first truly great fusions of Indie and Jazz. Chapeau, M. Eicher!

Respect also to Die Aeronauten whom we went to see on a float in Basel. Despite a rainy day, hundreds of people showed up at the shores of the river Rhine and danced the rain away to the vivid sounds of these old friends, who rolled out a series of hits with fat, big band sound. Go figure, Green Day.

What else? greetings to all the lovely people we met over the three weeks, good luck to all the new kids on the block, and especially to their parents, it doesnt always have to be rock'n'roll, does it? A nice sunset on a mountain top. Picking rasperries in a garden and eating plum pie. Shoving the ball over the wall into the right upper corner of the goal. Enuff again.

Back in New York, the heat seems on the way back to hell, but just to make sure, we'll all go to musical camp at Anton Fine's summerhouse in the Catskills, guitars and all. Most people seem to have been lying low during August. Went to Chico's for welcome drinks, he said he's retiring - well'see! Anyway, it was hear what was going in musically in the meantime: Melomane, according to Pierre, were in the south of friends, excuse me, France, and recorded five new tracks besides playing holiday resorts and enjoying good food. Heather and Jay's new project Peng! has banged out three songs already, says Alfred. Watch out, Europe! Overlordis playing Monkeytown on reservation only next Wednesday, come sing the Gospel according to George. Oh and yeah, Damien photographed David Beckham and therefore started a blog about the Superleague, you find it here. Bongers the bass man meanwhile played with Maroon 5 (ask him about it!) and met Beckham backstage at the Box. He was impressed, he says. More soon. Off to the Catskills now! I leave you with a picture of my beautiful hometown of Rorschach, ach.

Swiss National Day at the Beach in Queens: Wed Aug 1st

The 1st of August is Swiss National Day and this year, we Swissies in NY celebrate it on the Water Taxi Beach in Queens! There are going to be Livebands, DJs and Beach Games, it's all for free and you are invited. There are Watertaxis leaving at 34th Street and 1st Avenue free of charge (That's worth the trip already.) Spectacular views of the Skyline with the UN headquarters right across the river.

Jan, Mike and me are going to play some Mani Matter chansons. Mani Matter was a unique storyteller and songwriter, who died on the way to a show in 1974. Kind of our Hank Williams or George Brassens. Then again, he was a politician and a lawyer. Kids in Switzerland still know all the words to the songs. I hope I will. We
are playing at 7.15 pm. Maybe Kerry will join us and we'll play some more. Catcha start at 6pm, Chin Chin will blow you away at 8pm.

Here's a picture of the amazing view from the Water Taxi Beach. For more go to The Water Taxi Beach Website.

Summer in da City and Sirens Calling

We heard the call of the Sirens on Saturday and descended on Coney Island just like all the fellow hipsters, but soon discovered that the sound has not improved from earlier years and quite a few bands seemed to have problems adjusting to the weird conditions, with music blaring from the stands and MCs alluring customers thru cheap blasters. So we opted for the healing power of salt water on the near beach, took a swim and then a ride on the still impressing Wonder Wheel. Wandering around we almost bumped into David Johansen and he flashed his Mick Jagger smile at my girl. Back to the music: We Are Scientists were good, powerful nerd punk. Cursive was a strange version of the Cure with bad sound. The highly praised M.I.A totally disappointed. The New York Dolls did a good job, nothing dead exciting, but they got the stadium sound down and seemed to enjoy their second coming. Btw,now, that everybody says Coney Island will be developed, it's certainly a good idea to go down there and see for yourself that there is indeed some stuff that could be nicely developped. Urban planning doesn't necessarily have to be bad. But I'm digressing. Saw Falcon with The Great Northern and The Comas yesterday at the Mercury Lounge and honestly, that was more interesting music than the whole Siren Festival. We just hope them village voice bookers haven't lost the touch - and that the Siren festival is still around come July 2008.

Full Tank on The Moon!

It's Friday and hot in Williamsburg, so take a cool RnR trip to the Luna Lounge to see the all female Full Tank. Rock n Roll is full of drama anyway, but even more so if the whole band consists of a bunch of fabulous women who all hold their own sway... I guess what I'm trying to say is: Every outing of the Tank can bring new surprises, be there four, five or six of them pwrr grrls. We'll dearly miss Eveline tonite, though, and strongly hold on to the belief that things will and people can change. Horns!

Bastille Day with Gainsbourg and Kennedy

Almost missed this: Today is Bastille Day and quite a few friends of ours are honoring the French in them with a tribute to Serge Gainsbourg - it's the Loser's Lounge at Joe’s Pub! Kerry Kennedy will make her LL debut as part of this fantastic Bastille Day show. She’ll be singing “Soixante-Neuf Anne Erotique” with the fabulous Pierre de Gaillande. The rest of the killer line-up: Michael Cerveris, Ed Rogers & Amanda Thorpe (Bedsit Poets), Pierre De Gaillande (Melomane), Kerry Kennedy, Sean Altman & Sue K, Patti Rothberg, Boshra Alsaanti (Looker), Nick Danger, Joanna Choy, Lianne Smith (7 PM only), Joe Hurley, Stan Harrison, Mike Fornatale, Flaming Fire, Adira Amram (9:30 PM only). The Kustard Kings: Joe McGinty, David Terhune, Julian Maile, Jeremy Chatzky, Eddie Zweiback, Konrad Meissner And: Connie Petruk & Katia Floreska (backing vocals) With: Claudia Chopek (violin) and Eleanor Norton (cello). Joe's Pub is at 425 Lafayette Street, just below Astor Place.

There are two shows, one at 7 pm, the second (most probably sold out) at 9.30pm. They are $25, but worth it...

Heatwave! Coney Island! Room Acoustic!

Yes - it's broken! As I write this, I see dark clouds coming up and a cool wind picking up, cool enough to finally blog again. It was just too damn hot. And to jump into the pool in Williamsburg means McCurrin Park in Greenpoint where you have Built to Spill and Sonic Youth and whatnot. Or take the train to Coney Island on the 21st of July and cruise through the attractions and bands such as the New York Dolls...all for free, mhm.

But first, come down to Bar on A again next Wednesday. We have two more shows before we take a summer break. The first one is acoustic at Bar on A, featuring on three guitars Beautiful Burnt, Jaunty Jan and Roaming Rome. Bar on A is at the south eastern corner of Avenue A and 11th Street in the East Village. The show is free and Michael is bar tending.
Starters at 9pm.

The second on, on July 27th at East River Bar is electric and features also our trusted rhythm section Marvelous Martial and Jingle Jangle Jean-Cosme. That night, the Blissful Martin Bisi and the crafty Hot Iron Swallos with rock you, too. Hope to see you here, there and everywhere.

My Good Old Camera

How lucky is Roman that I have a good old digital camera.
Here's Anton Sword:

Here are the Headquarters:

And as a little extra, Manu Chao at Prospect Park:

No I-phone, no Treo, but Television live

Without waiting in line, I got my own little iphone story, too. My treo broke down the day the iphone came out - and I have always told people how much I wanted an iphone, as soon as it was available - sometimes even in the presence of my treo. Now I suspect my 650 just told me to go eff myself and stopped working. Maybe its just sulking. Anyway, why is that of any importance to you? - You don't get to see pictures of Anton Sword's Record Release Party, no pictures of Diako Diakoff's booty moving show at Grasslands amazing futuristic 80's retro party, not a single shot of Charles and the HeadQuarters at their furious Annex show and you will even miss the beautiful photo I took of Pierre and Hillary at the snow show at the Living Room on Saturday. I got one little consolation goody for you, though, an excerpt of Television's great last show at Summer Stage in Central Park. Now about that iphone, is it any good, Pete?

HeadQuarters With New EP at the Annex

King Charles of HeadQuarters is back in town and somehow he manages to bring a new EP, "O and O" with him. And, of course, a very special show at the Annex tonite. Head Quarters has been one of the most consistent, tightest and passionate outfits in the New York scene for years and it's about time they you hipsters give the credits - they've been doing the '68 thing long before most of the Williamsburg males got any facial hair at all. So come and watch them go apeshit at the Annex, they sounded great there in the past and promise to break into another a whole other sphere now.
Charles says we should get there early "cuz 1. they usually have drink specials or an open bar at this place early. 2. Be sure to catch the whole set cuz we are doing a bunch of new material. 3. You get in for $5 until 11pm. They'll have EP's on sale for the first time, so bring some extra bucks for that too! The private after-after party will be announced at the show for attendees...

HeadQuarters HomepageHeadQuarters MySpace

The Fine Art of the Sword: CD Release this Thurs!

His weapons of choice are his voice and his keyboards, which he used in recent years to help out on different projects in NYC, most notably his extremly sophisticated collaboration with British Obercrooner JC as JC & Anphibius. But now, Anton Sword comes out of hiding and releases his solo record "A Sentimental Education (see more in the CD reviews column to the right). He promises free give-aways and a short showcase for the record release party this Thursday at 9pm at Bar on A, 11th Street and Avenue A. It's your only chance to see him now, before he travels and tours Europe again... Ever elusive and on the move, just like his etheral songs.

KK Stands for Kreative Knack...

...or, of course, Kerry Kennedy, who showcased some new songs for the first time at Bar on A last Thursday, and oh what diamonds. Accompained by Mike Fornatale Kerry played two of her new songs, which easily stood next to two excellent covers. We've had rumors of Kerry's upcoming solo album for two years on this blog now, and believe me, we've been pushing as hard as possible... but if the rest of the material is as good as these quiet, almost vulnerable songs, it is definitely worth the wait. Plus, I've seen the CD cover (great - think Patti Smith or P.J. Harvey), so there's movement. Next time you see KK, tell her to hurry up, fame won't wait around the corner forever!

Sorry for the late notice: We have a very nice acoustic bill at Bar on A for you tonight, Thursday, starting at 9pm. The talented KERRY KENNEDY (Ex-Blue Sparks, Overlord, Morex Optimo) is going to reveal some of her new songs, with a little help from MIKE FORNATALE (Shaw 'Nuff, Monks, Mooney Suzuki,...).
After Kerry, the ROOMINATORS will take the stage. As the name suggests, they consist of members of Room (Jan, Roman, possibly Jean-Cosme) with the help of the fine Mr. ANTON SWORD (JC & Anpihibius, collaborations with half of NYCs music scene) on piano, adding special flavor to the downstripped acoustic songs. Bar on A is at the corner of 11th Street and Avenue A in Manhattan. The show is free, the people friendly.
Let me also thank to the many of you who came to my birthday bash last week - there were more than 40 people on stage and more than forty songs presented! I enjoyed it so much! Leane and Denise shot great video of at least one song of everybody who played. I will cut the footage and post it on YouTube. Let me know if you want a copy of the whole thing.

Hipster Invasion on Roosevelt Island

Katie Eastburn from 'Young People'

The other night I met a hipster in a bar downtown. He was in Manhattan that night, but of course he lives in Williamsburg. He told me some interesting things about being a hipster. First thing apparently is that a hipster doesn't think of himself as a hipster. But this particular hipster does, and that makes him a super-hipster in my mind. Anyway, when he learned that I live on Roosevelt Island he told me that there was going to be a big hipster BBQ party on that island the very next Sunday! So on that day I packed a bag with some sunscreen and my camera and strolled down to the southern tip of the island. And indeed, there were tons of hipsters down there, having a great hippie style party with a huge line-up of musicians playing acoustic sets. I didn't know anybody and because I had a hang-over once again I didn't have the energy to talk to anybody. Still, I had a great time just listening to music, sunbathing and taking a couple of pictures and videos. Here is one of the 'Aa aka BIG A little a':

This is a annual event called 'Todd P's springtime unamplified acoustic BBQ'. So I think next year we should all prepare BBQ food, put a lot of drinks in a cooler box, pack our instruments and go down there to party along. Oh, and check out Todd P's page , he organizes a lot of shows in Brooklyn and it all sounds like pretty sweet stuff to me.

One more movie on my youtube account and more pics in my photodiary...

The Proposal

Last night at 12:14 am Roman proposed marriage to his girlfriend of 15 years Denise! Everybody had expected a big bash for Roman's 40th birthday party at the East River Bar, but that there would also be a proposal was a big surprise. After already dozens of performances in Roman's honor, his band Room started playing 'Room - the song' with modified lyrics and Jan impersonating the lead singer. Then suddenly Roman himself got on stage and this happened:



And just so you know, she said 'yes'! We are all excited to hear when the big wedding party is going to be. And I think I speak on everbody's behalf saying that this is the most wonderful thing, especially because they are both so wonderful people and may their love prevail for ever.

Daria's Rock Night

How many bands does Christian Gibbs have? Apparently at least one more than I thought until I looked up the band The Droves that was sharing the bill with Melomane last Thursday night at Hank's Saloon. As it turned out, this is the band in which Christian can be his true self, a rocker:

Hank's Saloon is a great dive bar in Brooklyn and it was packed with friends of the bands and a couple of very special regulars. And it sports a beautiful American flag behind the stage, I wish Melomane had played 'The Ballot is The Bullet'!

The lady of the night, however, was definitely Daria Grace, who works at this bar and acted as a host and sound master and of course the coolest bassist in town. She can also sing and play the bass at the same time, a task that I was told requires very special skills. Check it out in this video:

There is one more video of Melomane on my youtube account in which I captured the double-guitar-solo of Quentin and Pierre and as usual, more pics can be found in my photodiary.