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I post updates and new music every few days.
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.
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.
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.
St. Klara church in Nürnberg this weekend.
I’m very excited to be headlining the benefit concert for Straßenkreuzer in the centre of Nürnberg this Saturday evening. St. Klara is a beautiful and modest 13th century building with a naturally crazy reverb. I listened to Vincent von Flieger and Aldous Harding play a concert here a few years ago, was a bit weird and kind of tense but very special indeed and I hope to not be so wide eyed on Saturday. Probably will be.
Nobutthefrog and The Air We Breathe are playing too, it starts at 20.30, I’m on last and all tickets naturally go to the charity. More info at their site here: https://www.strassenkreuzer.info/aktuell/benefizkonzert-st-klara-rockt
New limited CDr releases
I just made a simple, stamped CDr edition of a recent live recording and it’s available now over at my Bandcamp page here. It’s the complete concert from Aalborg in January with a nice sound and some special guests on a couple of songs.
As with all physical orders on Bandcamp it also comes with an immediate download in a choice of formats so it’s a pretty good deal. I know that some people would like to listen to these recordings but are not that into digital downloads so here it is. I’ll most likely follow with more in the next weeks.
Free download - ‘The Woods Were Full Of Them’ from Leipzig two nights ago
From my concert at the Horns Erben here’s an old song played as a request.
Was a very quiet, lovely audience in the old room in Leipzig and I played a few things I don’t often touch. Will have more from this concert to come, just wanted to pop this up here.
Horns Erben, Leipzig
I’m back in Leipzig today, playing at the wonderful Horns Erben in Connewitz. I’ve been having concerts in town since 2008 and it’s usually an absolute pleasure to visit there so I’m looking forward to this.
Horns Erben is a tasty bar with a brilliant wooden theatre type room upstairs. Old place, beautiful big window and original stuff everywhere. Little stage, raised seats, a very nice place to play.
Last time was my first time there and I recorded the concert, played ‘The Hills Are Alive’ which I hardly ever do and then only ever in Leipzig. The whole show is available as a free download here:
Tomorrow I’m in Halle, playing at Lila Drache - never visited the town before so have little idea what to expect. They seem like super nice people running the place at least. Anyone nearby please come and help me out, otherwise I’ll report back later for sure.
Lichtensteig and Basel but now home.
Friday night I got to return to Lichtensteig, a small town about half an hour from St Gallen in the east of Switzerland. I’d previously played a house concert down the line at Watwil and also at Behind The Bush in Lichtensteig so I think that was the connection. FeinerFreitag is organised by Thomas and his friends - it’s a monthly evening of food and music at his wonderful house. A carpenter and a painter, his place was full of stocky furniture and figurative paintings on each wall. I rode seven hours down to the stop and he picked me up, drove the 5 minutes home and made me as welcome as could be.
Much earlier on the first train I met Malena who was visiting her mother in Austria and was in possession of some of the most handsome Italian shoes I’ve seen. We chatted at the end of our shared journey, too briefly, and then she took me to a café in Munich for ridiculous donuts and cakes. She asked the name of my music thing but I changed the subject, I’m often ashamed or embarrassed or something I don’t know. It was daft not to at least exchange contact details as I’d enjoyed the conversation, her shoes and the donut, but so it is sometimes.
Anyhow, sat on some more trains, grew alarmed at the amount of thick snow the further south I got and realised an old suit and no jacket were probably insufficient for Switzerland in March. Trains and music venues are warm went the thinking.
So, the concert in Lichtensteig. Two big tables with local friends and strangers, delicious winter salad and lasagne and many cold bottles of wine and beer. I played three sets, I think - kind of in between the courses and after the food. Got to sing some songs I rarely do because it was a super sit down and be quiet kind of deal. Also a lovely bunch of people knew some of my things so they asked for a song and that set me to thinking of others. I played a new song ‘There Is Joy Yet Between The Pages’ that has been finished once but will change a little more and seems to be fairly liquid and malleable at the moment, which is a fun state to be in.
Anyhow, was nice and pleasant and perhaps I missed out a little on the wonderful meal everyone was enjoying but a lovely evening nonetheless.
Next day, after a lazy morning and a delicious breakfast and twenty minutes playing with the cat I walked down the hill and across the bridge to the small train station and a ride across country to Basel.
We were taken to eat at Hirscheneck and had a brilliant meal there. Great atmosphere, very loose and friendly and delicious food. Spitting sausage. I suppose everyone in town knows the place but it was somehow new to me and I liked it there a whole lot.
That evening’s concert was downstairs in the Irrsinn Bar, in the Loch - super smoky, tiny, dark and lots of fun. Lukas stood up and sang and had new things and then I sat down and played for what seemed like ages and ages. Some people in the audience knew a few of my songs which is always surprising so I tried to play those. I did ‘Brighton Gallows’ for Chrigel, ‘When I Was Away’ for someone and ‘We Could Have’ for someone else.
Later and away from the smoke the conversation turned to Ireland, Flat Earth Theory and the Sussex Panther. I dragged myself home late and then realised I had forgotten my scarf and hat so dragged myself right on back.
I’m home now, watching the wind blow the pigeons every which way. It’s Monday afternoon and I’ve more concerts this week. You alright?
In Basel
I’m at Joelle’s place in Basel, listening to this Talk Talk tape and getting ready to leave for the concert I’m playing in town tonight. I’m at Irrsinn Bar, which is where we met last year at a night her brother arranged. He makes music as The Cause Acoustic and often they play concerts together, brother and sister combo. Truth be told I should probably leave for soundcheck, drinks and a quick bite to eat. I don’t have all the time in the world. Post this and run, splash and dash. More later.
New live recording - 31/01/19 1000Fryd, Aalborg, Denmark
A new live recording from the north of Jutland is available as mp3 files on my site here and to stream and download on my Bandcamp page. This concert was a whole bunch of fun, with a nice and chunky guitar sound, shit loads of echo and some friends joining me on stage towards the end:
Lichtensteig and Basel this weekend
I’ll unpack my guitar this weekend when I get to play two concerts in Switzerland. The first is in Lichtensteig at FeinerFreitag and seems to be a special sit down and eat brilliant food and at some point music is served too. I’ve been to this part of the country for concerts before and they’re a good crowd there so I’m looking forward to this. Information is on their site here, but be quick as it seems you have until Wednesday to reserve a place.
https://www.feinerfreitag.li
The next night I’ll travel across to Basel for a concert at Irrsinn Bar with my friend Lukas and his The Cause Acoustic project:
Irrsinn Bar is underground, dark and sometimes smoky and last time was just great. Starts at 21:00 and it’s at Rebgasse 43, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
So that’s my plans for the weekend. Out of town, always good.
Moving
I’m moving house this weekend - not leaving the town I’ve been living in for the past couple of years and only relocating a little further up the street - but moving my camp and my sleeping place just the same. It seems I have somehow accumulated a lot of objects which I’ve spent the past few days trying to pack into weak, tired boxes. I was advised not to move them, but the time it would take to sort through everything is so much more than the minutes it takes to simply pack them into the boxes. It’s books, leaves of paper, boxes from valuable phones and audio devices - non specific stuff for the most part. I thought I was simpler than this.
Aside from this physical move I’ve also been moving digital materials from one place to another - building a basic site here that I hope to be able to manage and call my home on the web. I’ve done this before a few times but in recent weeks, and for reasons unknown to me, Facebook has flagged my web site as being against their community guidelines and simply erased hundreds of posts, photos, videos and messages from their Facebook and Instagram platforms. I am bewildered by this and am trying to get the flag removed, but in the meantime I think I would rather spend my efforts keeping anyone that’s interested in my music updated through other channels. Simpler channels. Things like a mailing list and this blog. So here we are.
I appreciate it doesn’t have the bells and whistles or the sheen of social engagement that we’re used to - it’s less public and perhaps less sexy to some people. But I’ve never been so comfortable with the constant twice a day posting habits that I’m told is essential for ‘putting your music out there’. I like to write these songs, I like even more to go and play them to people. I’m not educated in social media marketing but in recent years, and in weird flashes of delusion, I’ve often believed that I could be. It’s not true and it doesn’t come easy to me.
Like everyone I used to keep a blog. Over on my Tumblr there’s dozens of posts I wrote when I first started playing concerts in Europe. I’m going to transfer them over here soon, people have told me they used to enjoy reading them. That means the world to me as they were fun to write and even more fun to live.
Anyhow, I’m rambling. I had some clever idea about how I was moving and this is a new home and all that, but it’s not really. It’s just the stuff that’s necessary to making work but I hope it can be a bit quieter and more personal.
So, hard sell - please join my mailing list . I will send emails every month or so, it will include music just for you, news about shows and the such and I like it very much when people write back to me.
Otherwise, please check back here every now and then. I’ll post as often as I have half a thought or a scrap of something I’d like to share.
Be well,
Stephen