2010 is just round the corner so i wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a great new year!
may the year 2010 bring you peace, health, joy and happiness
best
Al
ps:
On a personal level 2009 was an eventful year ...
My new album „Trust“ was released,
been to Australia & Europe and am now in Los Angeles where i already met some great and talented people
the journey continues ....
Winter 2008/2009 - April 9, 2009
Back in Vienna for Christmas...and it was straight back to work in the studio.
I still had to sing a few songs and more overdubs where added too...
While in Oz i had a little break from the album and it felt great to continue working on „Trust“ with a new and fresh approach.
Once again Mats Jakisic assisted me,this time to get all tracks ready for mixing.
Italy
It was time to mix the album so i flew to Milano where my friend Fabio Balestrieri picked us up.(Robert Altmann came along too;-)
In the next two weeks we spent long hours in Fabio´s studio.
Like always Fabio was a joy to work with, such a great guy...and he definately knows how to get great results.
Apart from mixing the songs i also added backing vocals.
Sorry to keep this note so short but its so hard to put all the details and feelings into words...The whole process was very intense so every night we were completely drained and fell into our beds...
But iam sure the music will speak for itself ...
I´d like to thank Fabio and Kika for their incredible hospitality and friendship...its overwhelming to know such special people...Thanks for everything !!!
ohh,nearly forgot...i simply have to mention Indiana,the housedog, too ...bellissima ;-)
all the best
&
take care
Al
Recap "Adelaide Guitar Festival"(Dec 2008) - April 6, 2009
So i´ve been invited to play at the festival.. i had the pleasure playing at the „Phat Bottom End“ event.apart from performing with my long time buddy Slava Grigoryan and also introduced The Chapman Stick along in an „artist talk“ amongst other things...
Before i flew to Adelaide however i played a couple of Melbourne „duo shows“ with drummer Davey Porter.
I started playing in the „duo“ setting a while back.
Its a step up (or down,depends how you look at it;-)to the typical drums,bass,guitar- 3 piece band ...making those songs work only with drums (and me on vocals,bass,Stick) is a challenge i find very exciting.With drummers like Davey providing such a solid groove i can only blame myself if things go pear shaped;-)
Having arrived in Adelaide (2nd of December) i went straight to the Festival site where i set up my gear for the Chapman Stick talk in the Space Theater.
Fellow Stick player Andy Salvanos and i talked about what we´re gonna talk about ;-) and off we went...People had a lot of questions about the Stick so time flew by... but Andy and i still managed to have little jam on stage... nice one!
Next day Slava Grigoryan and i played our concert featuring songs from our album „Continental Shift“.
It´s been a while since Slava and i played together but we´ve got that chemistry and playing with him feels so natural every single time.
Its been always that way from the very first time we started working together all those years back...
The hangout joint ,like every year, was the Wah Bar where jams were happening every night...great gigs by Derek Trucks Band,Matt Walker and Band of Brothers which i joined for a song...It was great fun to play with them (Slava&Lenny;Grigoryan (guitars)and Joe& James Tawadros (oud&req;).We also opened up the AC/DC Tribute Open Air in Elder Park on sunday .
Pretty unusual to play the AC/DC classic „A Whole Lotta Rosie“ with this line up...but somehow it worked out nicely and the crowd dug it (video clip coming soon(ish))
And there was yet another AC/DC moment on the festival:
i had to get up at 6 am to do an early morning „live to air“ TV call on the open air stage in Elder park (all in the name of promotion)...A great ,if a little sureal, experience to play „A Long Way To The Top“ with another twenty or so musicians at sunrise ...(thanks for the much needed coffee and breakfast ;-)
On friday night @ the Wah bar i bumped into Guy Pratt and Steve Hunter,both also featuring on the Bass Special „Phat Bottom End“ the next day...
What a laugh....so easy with Guy who,with his wit, really cracked me (and others) up all night...
In the end we decided to keep the night short (perhaps shortish is a better word) bedtime 3am...
Next day...soundcheck for my „Bass/Stick Duo show“ ,Davey flew in from Melbourne this morning,perfect timing...quick and easy soundcheck (after all..only two players ;-)
The gig went really well (you can listen to the live versions in the music section of the website !!) and i also enjoyed watching Steve and Guy perform...so interesting to hear the same instrument sounding so differently in the hands of others...
Afterwards..well,you guessed it,...we all hit the Wah bar again.
Needless to say that this time round it got late..real late ;-)
Many reasons for this really...of course there´s always the adrenaline after playing a show, Derek Trucks and his band were kickin but, this being a festival, i bumped into old friends and made new ones...(...so nice to see the charming Adrian Belew again...)
It wasn´t easy to get up the next morning but i promised to join the „Bass guitar Panel“ round midday.
To my relief Guy Pratt,Steve Hunter and Mark Evans were in a similar state so Steve Brown,the moderator, had a hard time to get the ball rolling... once on track though it turned out to be an informative and fun discussion were all of us shared some stories,jokes, and ,would i dare to say,a bit of wisdom too...
I had a fantastic time in Adelaide and would like to thank all those who made it such a well organised event....
Recap Autumn 2008 - April 3, 2009
Recap: Autumn 2008
After the recording sessions on the Austrian country side in summer 08(check out the videos below) i took a little break to reload my batteries again.
The recordings went really well ,with Robert Altmann playing some great guitarparts and me playing bass and Stick.
So nice to spend two weeks in nature to focus on the music only.
Nothing interrupts the flow and if you have an idea at 3am you simply record it straight away...“The flow“ is such a great state of mind ..you just let go and don´t even think what you´re doing...you´re simply „in the zone“!
In autumn 08 i started focusing on the lyrics;some of them were almost finished but others needed more attention.
Writing lyrics is pretty laboursome (at least for me) so iam very thankful that my good friend Phil Gould lent me a helping hand.
Phil and i cowrote four tracks on the upcoming album „TRUST“ and i also would like to thank him for his generous support throughout the whole process.
He´s one of a kind!
I also hooked up with Mats Jakisic to start editing,programming and weeding trough the tracks..oh,by the way...Mats also arranged and played all the string parts on „TRUST“...talking of a multi talent;-)
We had a great time together and things really took shape the next weeks...
Then it was time to record the vocals which i did on my own in my musicroom in Vienna...
Quick Update - March 22, 2009
well,its been a while again...
whats new?
ok,iam in Melbourne right now,spent the winter in good old Vienna.
But the real news is that i finished my new album "Trust" !
so much more to tell and i promise i will do just that very soon;of course in more detail !
in the meanwhile:
why don´t you get in touch on facebook (click on "Contact")
also, please make sure you subscribe to my email list !
who knows...there might be a special treat ;-)
hey hey..
another update would you believe...
Been pretty busy (I know..thats what they al say ;-)
Having a great time in Europe right now ..
Right now iam on the Austrian countryside to record more for my upcoming album yet untitled...
here´s the first video from day one..
enjoy
best
Al
Here is a link to a radio interview i did in Austria (WARNING!! its in German (actually its more "Vienniese" ;-)
Because we (my hosts Gunkl,Thomas Niessner and I) had such a great time you can listen to two shows (one hour each)
In these interviews we talked bout how it all began ...my roots,first gigs,etc..I also brought my Stick along and tried to explain how it works...
Funny for those who understand german and even funnier for those who don´t ;-)
So iam sitting in front of my computer in Vienna and its midnight...been a long day,meetings,phoneconversations etc..and when i got back to what i really should do more often iam just too confused to actually do something which will bring a bit more clarity into my life..no no,its all fine..its just those darmn computers...
lots of impressions of my hometown Vienna where iam staying at the moment..great to hear the familar birds singing, great to walk down the streets i´ve known since my childhood...
at the same time iam getting to know my new software ....always a treat for those who know;-)
over time we as creative minds are supposed to do it all (and i try;-)...thats what all those audioprograms offer...you can be your engineer,producer,editor,mixer,teaboy (no problem)...a one man operation...hmm.. hang on for a second...isnt it way more fun making music with likeminded souls?
you can bounce off each other..you get something back ..a smile,a swearword..weird facial expressions .. even a fart..SOMETHING ...but with those machines its all a mirror...what you put in ..you get!!
.as long as it doesnt crash of course...
maybe i wasnt born to work on computers..my mind is way too messy,i jump around a bit...as soon as i work on a song those creative juices start coming and all of a sudden one idea brings me to the next...ohh...another song...so where should i go now??
work on the one i started with..? (and remember...programming isnt my favourite past time ) or play around with the new idea..(...you bet!)
and thats why creative chaos is just round the corner,too many songideas,not enough patience to sit and edit my behind off ;-)
as some of us might know:
we´re definately not machines,we have feelings and moods..everyday is different..but why am i telling you this?..maybe i just needed to let off some steam..
anyway..just listened to some recordings that are in the pipeline and right now i wish i could put some of them out into the open...
the time will come,
oh well,
enough ranting for now...
tommorrow is another day
best
Al
ps:
and as it is a moment of madness i listened to a song called Madness (..makes sense,doesnt it ;-)
I wanna leave you with a little clip of "Madness" recorded in Brisbane (written and performed by a dear and ohhh sooo talented friend of mine)
enjoy
"Freestyle Bass" - February 21, 2008
Yep,its another video update...this time a little treat for Bass lovers...
"Freestyle Bass" shows another side of me.... I love to write and perform songs but everynow and then something hits me and I start playing something on my Bass (if the others on stage are cool with it :-)....To me its like letting yourself fall and see what happens...
Thanks to Paul Breier for recording this video!
Interview - February 16, 2008
Listen to an interview i gave back in September 2007.
please go to the "Press " section
Two shows in Sydney - February 5, 2008
Australian band Matt Finish invited me to be a special guest at a Fundraiser concert for the Jimmy Little Foundation & Kidney Foundation on the 9th of February.
8:30-9:30pm 'TIZZA'S BIG THING' @ MANLY RUGBY CLUB
with GANGgajang, Jimmy Little and more...
after this show we will play another show the same night:
10:45-12:15pm BIZZO"S @ Caringbah RSL
This video shows me playing a TV show with German Pop band Alphaville back in 96...i was touring with them for a while just after i moved to London...
you might have heard of the song "Forever Young "..its been a hit back then and only one year ago an Australian band called Youth group had a No 1 hit with the same song on the Australian charts...
thanks for that Tina ;-)
"Unchain St Kilda.org " - January 3, 2008
Slava Grigoryan and i joined Hollywood actress Rachel Griffiths for a "Unchain St Kilda .org" media event.
Since i live in St Kilda and dont want to see a massive developement destroy the charm of this beautiful seaside area it was a nobrainer to support the good cause.
you can find pictures of this event which was covered by all TV stations around Australia on the photopage...
for more information you can go to: http://www.unchainstkilda.org/
"Desperation" LIVE VIDEO - January 2, 2008
Another titel for this video would be:"How to tune your bass while playing..."
After a few Sticksongs i picked up my bass but forgot that the E string was still tuned to low D from the song before ;-)
This Live Video was recorded on July 28th 2007 in Melbourne...
Davey Porter on drums and Steve McKay on guitar...
Many thanks to Paul Breier who recorded and edited this Video...