Just one more day before my Kickstarter campaign and the official release of "Heard or Herded" STAY TUNED

:)

August News

Currently I'm writing you from Twin Falls, Idaho. I'm on a 1800 miles drive to Amarillo, TX where I play next Friday. Last week we tracked about 20 songs at David Lange Studio in Tacoma, WA with my longtime German friend Ralf Goeldner on percussion and me on acoustic guitar and vocals. After that we went to Avast Studio in Seattle where we recorded 9 songs with Keith Lowe on bass, Mike Stone on drums, and me this time on my Gibson 335 through a 1965 Fender Deluxe Amp. I'm so thrilled to have producer Evan Brubaker on board and just finished additional parts in his studio in Tacoma. Next week he's recording the horns and Hammond in Seattle with engineer Mell Dettmer. Mell and I worked on my last two albums and several other productions and I hardly can wait until I hear the final versions...All I can say is Rock'n Roll:)

had an intense July in California playing with my friend Ralf and a few shows with Lyquid Amber. For the first time since years I spent two weeks at a music camp in the Sierras without phone and internet, what a change of focus! It was two weeks of heaven and then last day in Camp I learned that my mon had passed away in Germany. After the initial shock I was glad to be in the mountains and amongst friends. It was the most comforting place to be in that moment, but I also wished I could have said goodbye in person, even though I know we don't get to choose those moments. I have fond memories of my last visit in 2009 and always will have her with me close to my heart. Around the time she died I was dancing for the first time in years and my body felt almost weightless, playing with gravity and motion. The Maracatu Rhythms of Northwest Brazil grabbed me and a large Percussion Ensemble filled my heart and soul to the max. I almost had an out of body experience and totally lost myself in moments of intense joy and tears wanting to climb into a bass drums. I could not get enough and was still full of energy after and hour of bliss and dance ecstasy. Now I know that she was dancing with me all the time:) I'm very sad but also know that she's well.

In September I will mostly play in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Nevada and then fly to Germany for a long due family visit and some shows. Really looking forward to seeing my siblings and friends again!

6000 miles and feeling like the Lord of the Rings:)

I was pretty busy and drove about 6000 miles from Pennsylvania to the entrance of Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, then down to Denver, CO for the weekend. After that to San Jose via Reno. Part of that stretch is probably the most scenic I've seen so far. It is on US 50, which is also called the loneliest Highway in the States. I can second that and was for hours the only car on the road! Have you've ever seen "Lord of the Rings"? Well, at one time I entered a huge valley and had 4 snow covered peaks in every direction. What a sight! After an overnight in Reno I took a scenic route past Lake Tahoe - It was my first time there - beautiful!!! In San Jose I attended my friends wedding and was the grooms man - it was my first "American Wedding" and very impressive if I might say so, especially seeing myself in a Tuxedo:)

After the weeding I started driving East again to Phoenix and then via Las Cruces to Fort Stockton in midst of the West Texan desert. Never thought I would ever play there but...Then on to Austin and finally to Kerrville where I attended this years Festival. Currently I have a few days off and spend it in Austin trying to catch up with booking and various mailings. Live on the road is good and I'm still smiling though I had weird dreams tonight and woke up quite in distress. Luckily I had a chance to talk it through with my buddy James Hurley while driving him to the Austin Airport. After some deep laughs I surely felt way better! This weekend I play in San Antonio and then go back to Kerrville for a show at the Festival. Already looking forward to sleeping in the tent again - well, not really:)

Next Wednesday I'll be driving North to Lubbock for a few days and then via Albuquerque, NM and Prescott, AZ to Anaheim, CA. I'll stay at the California for a while and am looking forward to picking up my friend Ralf from LAX. He's visiting again for 6 weeks playing shows and recording the new HANS YORK album - yes, it finally happens beginning of August. I can't tell you how excited I am - but more of that later. For now I say goodbye and am sending my best wishes from the never ending road:)

Promises of Armadillo and Longhorn hide

11/5/10 – Fort Stockton, TX

It sure has been a while since I sat down and started writing. Don't know exactly why I do it right now but it just feels good.
This morning it started in Las Cruces, NM, After a very comfortable bed I woke up rested and eager to start the day...,
My friend Lee made a wonderful breakfast while his three, warm shower, bicyclist guests and me watched him while setting the table. Then we talked about the world and enjoyed Cinnamon French Toast topped with a Butter simmered Apple-Banana mix and, last not least, the classic maple syrup. It was quite a breakfast for me...
Right before I wanted to leave the morning party, my CA friends Bev & Greg messaged that they were only 90 miles South along I-10. We set up a PEC (Path Crossing Event) in a Starbucks downtown El Paso, So off I went...
40 minutes later we were chatting and feeling familiar bonds in unknown grounds. They told me about a coffee and tea place in Van Horn called Crossroads Coffee with two couches and friendly owners. I decided that I'm going to visit them too and make a stop on my way to Fort Stockton. Now this particular stretch of I-10 can sometimes be a little disturbing because of all the border control, and the subsequent stop at a Check Point, followed by the questioning of your Citizenship and destination... Though it shouldn’t, it always stresses me a little, but then I'm tempted to ask them where they come from and if they still have family or a sibling oversea...but then...after all it is only a short moment out of hours passing wonderful landscape, endless horizons, white feathered water blue sky, and the shear endless yellow dotted line that I follow.
Just enough time to let my mind play, let it follow its own way, and be the observer in meditation, concentrated and yet loose, obligated to choose one or the other, and then bouncing of the far peaks of the grey mountain range that spans on my right. Segments of “Lord of the Rings” could have been filmed in the Big Bend National Park, the Southwestern corner of Texas along the banks of the Rio Grande bordering Eastern Mexico. Even in bright sunlight the Mountains almost refuse to reflect the light and keep most of it trapped under their barren, colorless, rocky skin.
To my left runs an endless low horizon, two feet long grass that follows ferocious wind, and dark green bushes that roam as far as I’ve ever been. Then behind me the sun keeps falling down and blinds me throwing pure white rays against my mirrors. The light turns quickly red and the last bit bravely bleeds over the fields and finally fades into a starry blue night, loyal, filled with promises of armadillo and longhorn hide, horses and fires, tents, drums and dances under a moonless sky.

Six months and going...

I'm now six months into my tour and spend the last weeks in bliss driving and visiting the most beautiful places I can imagine - on top of the mountains (Rocky Mountain National Park), in-midst the wonders of the earth (Arches National Park), within sacred grounds (Monument Valley),along humbling vistas (Grand Canyon), and at one of my favorite places in the world (Yosemite) . I took a few days off (well, I was still driving 1500 miles) and just explored and emerged into being an observer, comparing the outer world with the inside and matching my emotions with the weather, the clouds, the rain, the burning sun, and the twilight between the days. What a continent - and I'm part of it - I know it better than my homeland and so the highways float into each other, leaving stripes along their shoulders where hitchhikers entangle themselves in looking for one thumb to expose to the world. Oh my, I'm glad the wheels are spinning and I'm moving. From FL via AL, LA, TX, NM, to CO, and then back through UT and AZ to California - California, oh I missed you!
I picked up my old friend Ralf from the SF airport and he'll be on the road with me for two months. I wasn't sure if we fit everything in my car but I'm a packing monster and did it! Currently we're in Fresno with my family and enjoy the heat and the pool. After this weekends CD release party we're going up to the mountains and spend some time at the Sweetsmill camp. After that we're off to the Bay Area and then the NW.
I have written a few new songs and already tested them on the audience. The reaction was over the top and I'm very pleased with the outcome. I really am looking forward to going into the studio sometime early 2011. By now I have material for almost three new CDs with each song happening - no idea how to select! I want T-Bone as the producer and likely record in New Orleans for sound and groove issues. Let's see, it looks like it is a possibility and with my mind focusing everything is possible!

Fresno, CA, July 9th 2010

Where the heck am I???

This morning I woke up with a headache and had no clue where I was - I mean no clue for at least a minute! The room looked like any other motel room I've seen in the last six months. Finally I got it, I'm in Connecticut on my way to Philadelphia. This time I google it before I put it into my GPS and decide to drive about 100 miles out of the way to miss out on the main traffic close to New York. On top of that I experience various Work Zones. I'm still alright with time but spending it in a car going 15 miles tops is certainly not my idea of fun. I'm still looking forward to the web TV interview with Ray Naylor tonight. He's doing this Grassroots undertaking from his basement in a Philadelphia suburb - you've got to love it. For the first time Ray is doing two interviews in a row, first Christine Havrilla at 8pm then me at 9pm. It's great despite the technical snafu's that keep coming:) I planned on staying but also want to be in Brooklyn tomorrow morning to rehearse with Chris for the evening show in Manhattan. So I drive off into the night towards NYC. Unfortunately it starts pouring down after only 10 minutes and I almost crash the car when a truck passes me and splashes water on my windshield which blinds me for a few seconds even with the wipers on full speed. Hell! now I'm awake - I feel like throwing up and get rid of all the adrenalin that entered my system a second ago. I got to find a Motel soon! Oh, and some food. Dang, it's late and so I'm stuck with Wendy's. Too bad it's on the other side of the street with a divider in between. I have to drive in circles and the rain doesn't make it easier. This is really hard!!! Finally I get there - but now I have to drive back to the Motel. I can't believe that it takes so long for such a short distance!!!. After a long day I finally sit on the bed eating a burger and drinking a coke infused with some Evan Williams and an HBO movie that plays in one of my favorite US Cities - New Orleans:)

Philadelphia, PA, 5/11/2010

Life is Plenty!

What a week!!! From the clear view peaks of the emotional mountains in WV to the deep down grind in the City of the Cities. It takes a long time through the windy roads of West Virginia to drive down into the valley. I'm playing at the Fredericksburg Songwriter Showcase. It is in the same building as an old music store where I'm invited to play a 1936 Gibson amongst other treasures. Before I have to split to get to the sound check I'm invited into the back room to enjoy a cold Micro Brew IPA after a 6h drive - Welcome in Virginia! Nice folks and a great evening that spills over to Bob's house. He hosts the showcase since decades and has developed wonderful listening room. We sit talk, and play music until about 2am.
Early morning rise to drive 9h to Western Massachusetts. My GPS, I trust it since it became very stressful to constantly question its integrity, leads me straight through NYC - over the Brooklyn bridge into Manhatten!!! Oh boy - after some deep breaths I start to laugh - stand up against the beast! I already paid toll and learned my lesson - when on the East Coast have cash in your pocket! After three hours of crawling through Brooklyn, over the bridge into Manhatten and past the East river upstate NY, I finally arrive in Sheffield I was 12h in the car - nonstop, well, a gas Station doesn't count, right?. The concert that night I won't mention, just that it kicked me into the ground and brought me close to tears. Wow, I haven't been so low for a long time - glad I have friends out there and cell reception! The same night I drove another two hours and brought the count to 14h total - a new record! A few hours in a motel before I play at the Unity of Central Massachusetts. Then Chinese take out, Sam Adams Imperial White, and watching Master and Commander:)

Life is Plenty

Worchester, MA, 5/2/2010