VIDEO BLOGS
Scroll left or right to see all the latest crazy video blogs... Enjoy!
Gospel Festival in Stockholm
Friday, August 22, 2008
Last week I was supporting the Swiss Gospel Choir at the 20th International Gospel Festival in Stockholm. It was an intense, but very exciting week, full of rehearsals, performances, and occasional visits to Stockholm's beautiful old town. We had performances as the Swiss Gospel Choir, but were also part of the Mass Choir. Singing gospel songs with 1500 other singers was quite an experience! And there's something about Black Gospel music that touches my heart and soul, time and time again. Black Gospel attracted me from my early youth onwards, I sang in and was the musical director of a gospel choir for over 10 years. I guess it's not surprising that you can hear some gospel elements in my music as well :))
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 9: Stockholm Gospel Festival
Last week I was supporting the Swiss Gospel Choir at the 20th International Gospel Festival in Stockholm. It was an intense, but very exciting week, full of rehearsals, performances, and occasional visits to Stockholm's beautiful old town. We had performances as the Swiss Gospel Choir, but were also part of the Mass Choir. Singing gospel songs with 1500 other singers was quite an experience! And there's something about Black Gospel music that touches my heart and soul, time and time again. Black Gospel attracted me from my early youth onwards, I sang in and was the musical director of a gospel choir for over 10 years. I guess it's not surprising that you can hear some gospel elements in my music as well :))
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 9: Stockholm Gospel Festival
Serbian Food / Belgrade
Monday, August 4, 2008
I have just come back from another trip to Southeastern Europe. I loved being back in Serbia, the country of my ancestors. My parents had left Yugoslavia (at the time) in the late 1960s, I was born and raised in Switzerland, but we visited Serbia regularly as we have all our family there. So after all these years, I'm still connected with Serbia, which is something I am grateful for. The country has suffered severely in the past two decades (for obvious reasons), but it seems to me after my last visit that there's some hope coming up that the dire conditions might change after all. I am confident I will talk about this in another blog some time... The vlogs below are a short introduction to the beautiful Sumadija region, to Serbian Food (albeit incomplete) and to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 7: Hiking in Serbia
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 8: Serbian Food / Belgrade
I have just come back from another trip to Southeastern Europe. I loved being back in Serbia, the country of my ancestors. My parents had left Yugoslavia (at the time) in the late 1960s, I was born and raised in Switzerland, but we visited Serbia regularly as we have all our family there. So after all these years, I'm still connected with Serbia, which is something I am grateful for. The country has suffered severely in the past two decades (for obvious reasons), but it seems to me after my last visit that there's some hope coming up that the dire conditions might change after all. I am confident I will talk about this in another blog some time... The vlogs below are a short introduction to the beautiful Sumadija region, to Serbian Food (albeit incomplete) and to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 7: Hiking in Serbia
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 8: Serbian Food / Belgrade
Montreux Jazz Festival
Friday, July 18, 2008
I was blessed to go to Montreux (Switzerland) this week and spend a couple of days at the famous Jazz Festival. Montreux during the Festival is a fascinating place! The location is simply beautiful, there are hundreds of world-class shows (at ridiculous prices at times) and you’ll meet musos & fans from all over. You never know who might come around the corner or which cat might end up playing a jam session at the Jazz Café. This year, I saw Herbie Hancock with his All-Star Band (feat. Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Louis Loueke), Chaka Khan with Rahsaan Patterson and Quincy Jones’ 75th Anniversary Celebration with so many Special Guests that I won’t even start… I would just make you jealous. In my quest to meet some stars or be recognized as one myself, I failed miserably (but WHY?). Anyway, check out the video, and you will see for yourself…
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 6: Montreux Jazz Festival
I was blessed to go to Montreux (Switzerland) this week and spend a couple of days at the famous Jazz Festival. Montreux during the Festival is a fascinating place! The location is simply beautiful, there are hundreds of world-class shows (at ridiculous prices at times) and you’ll meet musos & fans from all over. You never know who might come around the corner or which cat might end up playing a jam session at the Jazz Café. This year, I saw Herbie Hancock with his All-Star Band (feat. Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Louis Loueke), Chaka Khan with Rahsaan Patterson and Quincy Jones’ 75th Anniversary Celebration with so many Special Guests that I won’t even start… I would just make you jealous. In my quest to meet some stars or be recognized as one myself, I failed miserably (but WHY?). Anyway, check out the video, and you will see for yourself…
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 6: Montreux Jazz Festival
EURO Football 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
I’ve been playing football (US friends: I’m talking about soccer) since I was little kid. After 15 years of playing as a striker in a club, I stopped playing due to injuries and lack of time. I couldn’t invest that much time into music AND sports. Music won in the end, but I still love playing football whenever I have the chance. I don’t watch football that much any more, but with the EURO Football Cup (arguably the world’s best football tournament) being held in Switzerland (ok, and Austria…), I coudn’t resist watching a few games, some of which I watched in Nashville with my football-loving friends (a Swiss couple, a Dutch friend and an Australian mate) and some I ended up watching in Switzerland after my return back home, usually with my Dad. The difference in attention this sport gets on these continents could not be vaster. The Vlog will show you what I mean…
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 5: EURO Football 2008
I’ve been playing football (US friends: I’m talking about soccer) since I was little kid. After 15 years of playing as a striker in a club, I stopped playing due to injuries and lack of time. I couldn’t invest that much time into music AND sports. Music won in the end, but I still love playing football whenever I have the chance. I don’t watch football that much any more, but with the EURO Football Cup (arguably the world’s best football tournament) being held in Switzerland (ok, and Austria…), I coudn’t resist watching a few games, some of which I watched in Nashville with my football-loving friends (a Swiss couple, a Dutch friend and an Australian mate) and some I ended up watching in Switzerland after my return back home, usually with my Dad. The difference in attention this sport gets on these continents could not be vaster. The Vlog will show you what I mean…
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 5: EURO Football 2008
Recording My Debut with My Heroes
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
It’s exactly five years ago that we recorded the basic tracks for my debut album. I can hardly believe it’s that long ago! On June 23-25, 2003, I had the chance to record 13 songs with an all-star band featuring some of the world’s finest players (no name-dropping, for once :)). It was nothing short of a miracle. Imagine you’re a basketball fan and player (unknown and averagely talented), and suddenly an all-star team featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and Kobe Bryant comes to your small village to support you in a local tournament (ok, sorry, I couldn’t resist). That’s crazy, right? Well, by God’s grace alone, that happened to me in musical terms. It turned out to change my life completely. Later that year, we recorded the 14th song acappella with Take 6, my biggest heroes of all, which surpassed my wildest dreams. Through them, I ended up finishing the album in Nashville. After going back and forth between Switzerland and the US, I’m now on the verge of relocating to Nashville. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since the album has not been finished, let alone released yet, due to many reasons. But I’ve learnt countless valuable lessons along the way, and looking back I simply know that there was reason for all the detours. I hesitate saying this, but this time I am confident that my debut will actually be released in early 2009. It will be the beginning of a new season that I am truly looking forward to!
It’s exactly five years ago that we recorded the basic tracks for my debut album. I can hardly believe it’s that long ago! On June 23-25, 2003, I had the chance to record 13 songs with an all-star band featuring some of the world’s finest players (no name-dropping, for once :)). It was nothing short of a miracle. Imagine you’re a basketball fan and player (unknown and averagely talented), and suddenly an all-star team featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and Kobe Bryant comes to your small village to support you in a local tournament (ok, sorry, I couldn’t resist). That’s crazy, right? Well, by God’s grace alone, that happened to me in musical terms. It turned out to change my life completely. Later that year, we recorded the 14th song acappella with Take 6, my biggest heroes of all, which surpassed my wildest dreams. Through them, I ended up finishing the album in Nashville. After going back and forth between Switzerland and the US, I’m now on the verge of relocating to Nashville. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since the album has not been finished, let alone released yet, due to many reasons. But I’ve learnt countless valuable lessons along the way, and looking back I simply know that there was reason for all the detours. I hesitate saying this, but this time I am confident that my debut will actually be released in early 2009. It will be the beginning of a new season that I am truly looking forward to!
Album Photo Shooting
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wow, what a day! This was my first real photo session (with studio, make-up, styling and all that) and I have to say, it was quite an experience. Again, I was blessed to work with the best! Legendary photographer Jimmy Abegg and amazing stylist Tony Armani went out of their way to make me look good and capture the magic moments. We had decided beforehand to explore two different angles: a snappy, classy European suit one (see pic below) as well as a crazy-funky, 70s, over-the-top one (I reveal which one we chose soon!). Somehow, I felt more relaxed and at ease in the second, probably because was so ironic that I didn’t worry about looking good any longer… And as always, I learnt a few lessons along the way. It was again a matter of letting go - of my own image of myself, my perceptions, my expectations – and trusting these pro’s that they will actually make me look great or even better than I do in reality! That’s a hard thing to do for someone as vain as me… I haven’t seen much yet, but from what I have seen, I’m convinced that we will have loads of phenomenal material to choose from! One thing we all agreed on was that the album artwork should support and capture the energy of the music, more so than just my face or my looks, which, as a matter of fact, might remain something enigmatic and mysterious. It’s an adventurous journey and the session today was certainly another big step towards finishing the album. I can’t wait to see those pics…
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 4: Prêt-à-Porter
Wow, what a day! This was my first real photo session (with studio, make-up, styling and all that) and I have to say, it was quite an experience. Again, I was blessed to work with the best! Legendary photographer Jimmy Abegg and amazing stylist Tony Armani went out of their way to make me look good and capture the magic moments. We had decided beforehand to explore two different angles: a snappy, classy European suit one (see pic below) as well as a crazy-funky, 70s, over-the-top one (I reveal which one we chose soon!). Somehow, I felt more relaxed and at ease in the second, probably because was so ironic that I didn’t worry about looking good any longer… And as always, I learnt a few lessons along the way. It was again a matter of letting go - of my own image of myself, my perceptions, my expectations – and trusting these pro’s that they will actually make me look great or even better than I do in reality! That’s a hard thing to do for someone as vain as me… I haven’t seen much yet, but from what I have seen, I’m convinced that we will have loads of phenomenal material to choose from! One thing we all agreed on was that the album artwork should support and capture the energy of the music, more so than just my face or my looks, which, as a matter of fact, might remain something enigmatic and mysterious. It’s an adventurous journey and the session today was certainly another big step towards finishing the album. I can’t wait to see those pics…
>> click here for VLADA VLOG No. 4: Prêt-à-Porter