Monday, October 22, 2007
Jetzt gilt's ernst: Alle Tracks ausser meiner Stimme sind aufgenommen worden. Es gibt keine Ausreden mehr! In den letzten Wochen überkam mich das Gefühl, dass ich das schwächste Glied in der Kette bin. Ich bin zwar gesegnet worden, mein Debutalbum mit Weltklasse-Musikern aufzunehmen, doch kann ich ihnen mit meinen Fähigkeiten nur annähernd das Wasser reichen? Nein, ich glaube nicht. Inzwischen habe ich jedoch realisiert, dass es nicht um meine Fähigkeiten geht. Diese 14 Songs sind Gottesgeschenke, und meine Aufgabe ist es, sie fertig zu produzieren, so gut ich eben kann, ohne mich dabei zu überfordern. Und doch ertappe ich mich immer wieder wie ich versuche, zu viel zu tun und vor Menschen möglichst gut zu klingen bzw. dazustehen. Ich weiss, dass dies unsinnig ist, und doch passiert’s. Heute hatten wir z.B. ein Mic Shootout, da ich herausfinden wollte, welches Mic wohl am besten zu meiner Stimme passt. Wir hatten einige phänomenale Pre-Amps und Vintage Mics am Start (im Bild: die 60-jährige Legende, Neumann U-47). Doch war dies nötig? Wird es einen Unterschied machen? Es ist eine sehr feine Linie zwischen echtem Streben nach Exzellenz und selbstsüchtigem Perfektionismus. Ich bin immer noch am Lernen... und das gibt mir wieder Hoffnung!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
This is just a short, nostalgic, but hopefully very effective commercial for my home country Switzerland :)) I’m off for the States in two weeks, I had a lot on my plate lately, so I had to get away to the mountains and just soak in the beauty, grandeur and majesty of "our" Alps. I spent two days hiking on my own in the Lauterbrunnen Valley (Unesco World Heritage). No words can describe the breathtaking variety that I’ve seen, from mountains to waterfalls to brooks to forests to animals to plants. I just stood in awe of so much beauty in one place. And the ironic thing is: it’s just 2-3 hours from where I live, and I hardly ever go! I challenge us all to get away more often, leave work and worry behind, slow down and rest our souls for a while.

Monday, August 27, 2007
Last Friday, I played my last concert with my Swiss band before moving for Nashville for a while. The setting was beautiful since we had a gig at a cosy open air festival in the Bernese Alps. We all enjoyed playing and praising together one more time, not knowing when we will have the chance to perform together next. It was one of our best performances, and trust me, I will sure miss these guys. They're my family. However, I know it's the right step at the right time, letting go of this wonderful band, leaving my home and moving to the US in order to finish my debut album and then hopefully play, play, play over there. Pursuing your dreams often means that you have to let go of truly good things - so as to be able to receive the best things! But whatever happens, I know I have an awesome band at home and I’m confident we will come together one day and have even more fun than before!

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Even though I was only six years old, I still remember that day when Elvis died - exactly 30 years ago. I was watching the German early evening news on TV with my Mom when they announced the King’s death. I remember being sad, because I had been listening and singing to many Elvis songs (especially the early stuff: Hound Dog, That's Alright Mama, Blue Suede Shoes, etc.) from a very early age on, even using a microphone and imitating his moves in front of a mirror! My Mom had bought the records and played them at home, and so I guess Elvis was my first big musical influence. His talent was unique and exceptional. What a shame and what a waste that such a wonderful gift got ruined through fame, money and success. I will remember the young and lively Elvis, the one whose music inspired me and who made me sing and dance, even when I was only 4...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
After having skipped it in the last few years, I attended the Montreux Jazz Festival again last week. With its unique setting, the lake, the mountains and the international and relaxed audience, Montreux has lost nothing of its charm. I combined a visit of my dear Nashville friends & hosts Jeni & Rory Partin (it's a small world!), who performed at the promenade every day together with my guitarist Steve, with a concert given by AL JARREAU & GEORGE BENSON. Benson, above all, impressed me with his incredible unison guitar-vox scat parts, which are still as fresh and compelling as ever!
Three days later, it got even better: Blind guitarist and singer RAUL MIDON (see above) blew us all away with his moving and simply phantastic performance: a wonderful, soulful voice, great songs and highly impressive guitarplaying. It's an experience! If have the chance, go and see Raul live! And get his new album, coming out in September (EMI)! Midon was followed by another mindblowing gig: guitar legend JEFF BECK played - with his excellent friends VINNIE COLAIUTA (drums), JASON REBELLO (keys) and TAL WILKENFELD (bass) - such powerful and first-class Fusion-Blues-Funk that it knocked us off our feet. WOW! Vinnie Colaiuta in particular showed with his super-precise, energetic and yet sensitive playing that he's one of, if not THE finest drummer in the world. I can hardly grasp the fact that Vinnie played 13 songs on my forthcoming album! I was also highly impressed by young bass player Tal Wilkenfield: that girl rocks! I had some beautiful and inspiring days in Montreux, which encouraged me to be creative again myself and to further work on my gifts.

Friday, June 29, 2007
Yesterday night, I saw the incredible US band MUTEMATH perform live in Zurich. I was blown away by their energy, musicianship and unconventional performance. I've hardly ever seen such a vibrant and dynamic performance on stage! Phantastic! I predict that MUTEMATH, with their unique sound and infectious melodies and grooves, will become a hugely popular act. Such musical quality paired with awesome performance skills will make its way. Check the guys out here:
www.mutemath.com
www.myspace.com/mutemath

Tuesday, May 29, 2007
After five awesome years with concert promoter All Blues, I have decided to quit my dream job as a music promotion manager in order to fully concentrate my efforts on finishing the debut album. In addition, I have to give up my great Swiss band for a while, which is hard but the right thing to do. Thus, I’ll be able to rehearse and prepare more for my next trip Nashville. In fall, I’ll go back there for three months in order to record my lead vocals, have the album mixed and mastered and then network, look for distribution and play as much as I can. And then we’ll see... I'm truly excited about the months ahead!

Monday, May 7, 2007
I'm back from my third trip to Nashville, and I can say that I had two phenomenal weeks in Tennessee! GMA week, where the gospel industry's artists, labels, and agencies from all over the world meet, was truly inspiring. I had so many Godly appointments with old & new friends, producers, industry people as well as artists (e.g. Kirk Franklin in the pic above) that it was simply overwhelming. It seemed as if all my steps and decisions had been guided (and I know they were). And what’s more, I was surprised that my music got such a great response - from pro's in the US! God has opened many doors during this stay, and I'm confident I'll be back here soon...

Monday, December 4, 2006
It was a great joy to be back on stage again as a band, after we hadn't played in front of an audience for a whole year! As you can see: we had lots of fun during our live gigs at the Trattoria & Soul Club (Zurich), which was packed on both evenings. The audience obviously liked our sound and the atmosphere was phenomenal! Both gigs were a confirmation for us to continue in the direction we have chosen. For me personally, concerts are always an opportunity to risk something and learn from mistakes – over and over again. And the challenge and question remain: whose acclamation am I seeking while I'm singing? That of the audience or that of the Father and Creator, who provided me with all my gifts?

Monday, November 6, 2006
As soon as I had come back from Nashville, I dove into daily business: promoting concerts, and this time in particular, the Zurich International jazznojazz Festival (1-4 Nov), with acts like Brad Mehldau, Manu Katché, Bugge Wesseltoft and MeShell Ndegeocello. I simply loved the performance by the Joe Lovano Nonet as their balance between improvisation and arrangement was just breathtaking! Unfortunately, I missed blind singer/guitarist Raul Midón’s (right) phenomenal gig, due to a band rehearsal. But hey, I want to be ready for the upcoming gigs, and it takes sacrifice whenever you pursue excellence. We'll book Raul Midón again, anyway...

Thursday, October 26, 2006
Last night, before our last mixing session, Marcelo Pennell and his wife took me out to this fascinating place in Franklin called Monell's: This old 1905 jail has just recently been turned into a country-home-style restaurant. You cannot choose from a menu, but you will be served plenty, plenty of delicious food that is passed around the table. Moreover, you will invariably share your table with complete strangers and have intriguing conversations. I loved it!
And I'm glad I did not end up here 100 years earlier! Absolutely stuffed, Marcelo and I went on finishing the mixes of songs 5 & 6. I think I heard some birds singing when I finally went to bed ...

Monday, October 9, 2006
I have arrived in Nashville the other day and it's truly great and refreshing to be here again! I will start recording my lead vocals soon and then have the first finished songs mixed. Today, we recorded the last missing instrument on the album: the percussion. Darrell Tibbs did a phantastic job; he's truly a creative rhythm genious! And I have never seen so many different (and sometimes rather weird :)) percussion instruments in my life (check out the picture!). Darrell's ideas and playing add a very tasteful flavour to the tracks and I am glad that he could contribute his part on my project.

Sunday, September 24, 2006
Today, after a long, long time, I have listened to Aretha Franklin's epic Amazing Grace Album (Atlantic Records, 1972). As always, I was blown away! Already the first track, "Mary, Don't You Weep", will touch EVERY listener's heart, whether you are a believer or not. Aretha's unique voice, the energy, the build-up, the anointing! Goosebumps guaranteed! If you don't have it yet, go and get it, you won't regret it.