The City Never Sleeps

It’s another early morning and I’m quite tired. I was supposed to drive from Boston to Brooklyn, get settled, take the subway to uptown NY, teach a two hour lesson and then go to CBGB’s and play a show. Luckily I cancelled the lesson and rescheduled for tomorrow. Yesterday’s fiasco with my computer, the drive and rain took out some of my energy. So I trake it easy and leave around 10 am instead of 8 am. Steve and Vicky were so nice and I’m glad to have made new friends. They give me a Starbucks card as a goodbye present and I get on my way.

The drive is ok but it starts raining pretty soon.

I have directions but at some point I take Exit 14 in CT rather than in NY which gets be out into the boons. At least it’s pretty here and I take a quick snapshot before I wind my way back to the highway.

New York City, I love it, never drove my car though. When I reach the Bronx the traffic starts picking up.

Around 3:30 pm I reach Brooklyn where I stay with my friend Andy, Sheila and their daughter Calli.

I haven’t seen Andy for more than 7 years and we just pick up where we left as if no time had passed. He’s pretty busy preparing for a job interview as Composition teacher at the Vienna conservatory plus he’s currently recording a new Octet he wrote. Before I leave for the show we take a little stroll around the block and I get to see the street were they filmed a flick with Jack Nicholson and either Helen Hunt or Jodie Foster, I’m not sure (As good as it gets).

When we get back I get ready and leave for the subway.

The CBGBs is downtown Manhattan at Bowery and I meet there with my friends Tom and Robin. Tom is going to play the set with me.

I’m playing at the gallery, next to the downstairs and it’s a nice venue. The only disturbing thing is the rumbling sound of Marshall stacks from the show next door but whatever…

Carol Alban my flute player friend from Oakland is also in NYC and sits in with her friend Karen.

After the show Tom, Robin and me go out for dinner. Somehow I have one glas of wine too many and get a little silly. I’m tired from a full day and around 1 am were sitting in the subway on the way back to Brooklyn. Tom and Robin moved there from Seattle about 6 months ago. Andy is still awake when I come home so we chat another hour before I fall flat into bed.

$1399 later and it's still raining

The day starts with Rachel making a good cup of coffee. I’ll miss my “family” in Portsmouth, they’ve been so good to me. I have to leave early to get to the radio station. I’ll have an interview with Tim Stone and am looking forward to it.

I just love doing radio and it is very satisfying to me. After that I get a recommendation to go to the “Friendly Toast”, a breakfast place her in town.

I’m starving and can’t get enough food into my mouth. It’s really good, scrambled eggs with feta, olives and dried tomatoes. After that I visit the local Record store which a has an incredible selection. I find one of my favorite Cd’s, Teitur’s “Poetry and Airplanes.” I just love that album.

After that I’m looking for a Café to do some email. When I can’t find anything I decide to just drive around and see if there is some wireless. I find some place, park and start working. All over sudden the screen turns all green, then red, then blue, then grey and then it’s gone – that was it. I have an instant feeling of panic. All my database, contacts and tour info is in that machine. I’ve backed up last week but already collected tons of new stuff. Any attempt to turn it on fails and so I call Tim and ask him if he knows a Mac store in town. He gives me three phone # of people who might know. In the meantime it is 1:30 pm and I need to get going – but where? Finally I get an address of a store in the North Shore Mall in Peabody. It’s on the way to my show tonight at the Midway Café in Boston. I drive back to the radio station to print out directions and get going. It starts raining and I’m also close to tears. If my computer is toast I’m in serous trouble – period.
The Mall is a maze and it rains even harder. By the time I find the store I’m all wet. I’m lucky and get somebody to look at it right away. The diagnosis is devastating – no way to repair, it has to be send to TX. I’m searching as hard as I can for an option but the only one is to buy a new computer on the spot and transferring the data so I can continue my tour. That hurts and $1399 later I get a smile from the technician.

Two hours later I walk out of there into pouring rain. If it rained cats before, now it’s Dobermans! When I reach the first row of parked cars I’m completely soaked and still have to find my car which is in row 12, I guess?! I barely find back to the highway and am trying hard to figure out how to get to the club. The rain does not make it easier and my mood does not help.

Finally I’m back on track but run into Boston rush hour – not again!

Oh man, there is the tunnel again and it takes about 90 minutes until I see daylight again. Now I’m really late and kind of disoriented but still determined to get there for the sound check. When I arrive, nobody is there and when I look at the billboard I don’t see my name on it. Oh no! Jess forgot that she booked me – I can’t believe how that day is messing with me. Now it starts to be funny and I can’t help but getting that stupid smile out of no reason – or maybe a really good one. When Jess arrives I introduce myself and she’s slowly getting it. She is a little embarrassed and offers me to open up but I was looking forward to playing a round and either want to do that or just drink a couple of beers and listen. We end up doing the round with Jess Yoakum, Liz Stahler and Kristin Cifelli. My friend Patti DeRosa show up too and we take a picture before we start.

I know Patti from Myspace and am glad that she came to see me with her friend Arnold. Andy, Vicky’s husband comes too and so I have some people there and don’t feel too lost. The show is nice though I miss the friendly support that I know from the Seattle rounds. I guess the others were not quit at ease with me as unexpected 4th wheel. Whatever – I’m enjoying it and the music heals my injured soul. By the end of the evening I’m back on track and have a great conversation with Andy before he guides me back to their house. After all it is only money that I lost.

Hush Hush Sweet Harlot

It’s another wonderful sunny morning and I have to leave pretty much right away to drive North to Kennebunk, ME for a TV Show around noon. It’s a nice drive and I find a nice Cafe and have breakfast on the road. Kennebunk is a sweet little town and the show is at the Unitarian Church. It’s a beautiful building and the spring in New England shows its best smile.

I just love TV production. Shawn Henderson is a great guy who has a radio program as well as a show called “Stay Tuned” in which I’ll play 6 tunes and have a 30 min interview, all of which is aired in late summer.

The Coffeehouse/Church has a great acoustic and some of the rooms look spectacular.

We work until about 2 pm. Shawn is a very good interviewer and it’s a lot of fun talking to him and we both forget that there is a camera running. After that I just hang out a bit and work on some email which is starting to pile up. Then I drive back to Portsmouth where I play the Red Door tonight. It’s a Monday concert series called Hush Hush Sweet Harlot and is organized by Laurel Brauns who is a singer herself.

I start the show with a 40 min set and then there are two other acts. I stay until the end and drive back to Dan’s and Rachel’s house where I can stay another night.
Tomorrow I have an early radio show with Tim Stone here in Portsmouth so I better go to bed now.

Life is full of surprises

Oh my is it early! The sun is already up but it’s still cold. Somehow I like these early hours and enjoy the drive to New Hampshire. I love Portsmouth from the first moment on, what a beauty. I play in an old stone Church all acoustic.

It sounds great depite the early hour and everybody loves it. Terrie, the lead musician is so nice and helpful and everybody comes up to talk. After the first service I sell CDs in the basement where people gather for coffee and snacks. One member of the congregation hands me a drawing he did while I was performing which completely surprised me and made me kind of speechless. That does not happen very often

After the second service I set up the CDs outside the church and stand in the sun. What a wonderful day...(Louis knew!) Tim Stone form the local community radio station is there and invites me to lunch after everybody’s gone. We walk downtown and the streets are full of kids and parents. It’s Children’s Day with a lot of activities and stuff.

After lunch Tim invites me to his sail boat just across the bridge in Maine and the next adventure begins. He’s a great guy and I’m looking forward to the interview on Tuesday.

Earlier at the church I met a family that invited me to stay in their house. Dan, Rachel and their daughter Lauren were enjoying my performance and are excited that I’ll spend the night. What a great community. Dan asks me right away if I need an oil change and does not settle for a no, so after I leave Tim at the boatyard I drive over to their house.

We have a wonderful evening and I’m again blown away by the hospitality that I get to experience. Life is full of surprises.

Acoustic Coffee

After getting up kind of late Steve shows me some of his inventions, a sustainer effect for guitars - pretty cool. Besides this he restores cars and has an old Datsun in the driveway, a sweet little sports car. I need to drive up to Portland again for a show at the Acoustic Coffee and leave around 2 pm. The drive is easy going and I get into Portland around 5 pm and find the place right away.

It’s a little run down but has charm and seems to be the happening place in Portland. There are two acts that open up, Ben Willmott from Boston and Chad Verbeck from Portsmouth. I really thought that there were more people coming but 7 is about the max for the evening. Steven Bacon come right before I get up on stage. He’s a local singer songwriter and offered me to stay with him and his wife Libby for the night.

The show is good despite the poor turnout and I manage to stay positive about it.

After that Steven and Libby guide me to their house and we chat until late. Both are so nice and I’m glad to have made some new friends. Around 2 am I go to bed. I have to get up very early to drive to Portsmouth, NH for a 9 am Church show.

I want to sleep but cannot stop laughing when I hear the cats race through the kitchen knocking down pans and pots.

Radio,TV, Beach & Rush Hour

I did not sleep very well so I wake up at 7 am to the continental alarm of my cell phone not knowing where I am nor how I got here. Luckily it only last for a couple of seconds. I jump out of bed under the shower and get ready.

It takes me a while to find the radio station and luckily I left the motel a little early. Chris, the host at WMPG is a wonderful, resourceful character and asset to the indie community in the North East besides a great interviewer and host, means I have a blast and don’t realize that I have only had about 3 hours of mediocre sleep and no coffee nor breakfast. Here is Chris with Danielle Miraglia, a great singer songwriter from Boston who was his first guest.

After the interview I have to dash out and drive to the WCSH6 (Channel 6, NBC) for an interview and some songs. It’s downtown Portland and I luckily find a parking spot in front of the station. Kathleen Shannon, the anchor is already wait for me and I’m a little late so bang, bang I’m in the middle of a song. They asked me if I can shorten it so I try but have to stop after a minute because I shortened the lyrics and messed up the rest- after all I’m tired with no breakfast yet. It’s no big deal and they let play the song the way it is. I love TV, the adrenalin is always a little higher. Here is a pic with producer Becky Smith and Kathleen Shannon, anchor of 207, the show I will be on this evening.

They are soooo nice and Becky gives me a big hug on the way out and two mugs for the girls. Now I need some caffein and food. There is a sweet place nearby and I get a seat right next to this thing.

Then I leave Portland for a show in Rockland, MA this evening. On the way out I drive by a wonderful park and think about stopping and talking a walk.

I decide to drive for a bit and rather make a stop somewhere along the Maine coast. I find a little village and walk straight to the Beach checking out the Atlantic ocean.




Isn’t it beautiful? Views like that make my day and everything worthwhile. I hang out for about half an hour before I get back on the road. It’s still some ways and I have to drive through Boston on a Friday afternoon. Not good! and from a peaceful quite Maine shore I drive into the hectic Boston Friday rush hour.

I’m nuts! I get stuck for 1.5 hours in on e of the tunnels and almost lose it. It takes forever and it’s hot in my car so I have to keep all windows open but then I get dizzy from the exhausts so I close them again and sweat like a pig. I arrive in Rockland just in time to set up.

Man am I done. Somehow I can’t imagine playing a show tonight and interesting enough my mental suggestion seem to have taken on reality and nobody shows up - I mean nobody, that is my record! I’m not frustrated and know that I took on the whole US, not just part of it, so I enjoy my chat with Bob Alonge the owner, his wife and a friend and play three songs for them before I leave.

Tomorrow I have to be back in Portland so I’m thinking of driving up again but feel that this is not working. I Watertown and give them a call. They are only about 40 min away and happy to have me for the night - lucky me. I bring a bottle of wine and we chat until late. Good to have these little islands of friendship and peace of mind.

Nightdrive to Maine

I awake in an empty house and everybody is gone. Time to do some email and other booking stuff.

Then I got to get ready to drive to Marlboro. It’s not so far but I want to be there early and need to find a music store to get some new guitar chords. The old ones gave up. Vicky comes back around 1pm and after a short chat I leave.

It’s a nice drive out there and I arrive early enough to walk around and enjoy the sunshine. I’ll make a stop in a nice mexican restaurant to have a late lunch. Marlborough has a big Brazilian community and i wonder if I see any of them tonight at Starbucks. I go there around 5pm and have a nice chat with Mike who runs several businesses. He buys a CD and I tell him to get rid of his custom built Jeep that goes about 10 miles a gallon.

Tonight I’m going to have company from Hartford, CT. Marc is a drummer and percussion player that contacted me via myspace. He wanted to play a show with me and I agreed. He’s a nice guy and very good player and we have a lot of fun.

Again there are not many people but they stay until the end and pretty much everybody buys a CD, so it is a successful evening.

It’s about 9:30 and I have to drive tonight all the way to Portland, ME for an early Radio show and right after that a TV show. The drive is not so bad and I chat a little with Abby in Seattle. Once there it takes a bit to find a Motel and so it’s way after 1pm before I hit the hay.

On the road to Boston

It was great having some days off but I’m also looking forward to get back in the groove again. It is raining today my eyes glance over the backyard at Linda’s house in Bedford.

It’s amazing how close we are to the city (Boston) but still it feels absolutely rural.
After a good breakfast I pack everything in the car and start driving again. It’s not far, I’m going to Watertown, MA where I stay the night with my friend Steve’s sister Vicky, her daughter Ella and husband Andy, who is out at work.

Tonight I’m playing in Cambridge at the All Asia. Ella is a sweet kid and instead of talking to me she sings on and on and makes up lyrics on the spot. It is simply hilarious and it feels good having that energy around me. I leave around 6 pm to drive into the city. I’m supposed to be the feature in an open mic night which I like because usually you have all the aspiring songwriters there to listen. Well, when I arrive, I’m pretty much the only one there with about two folks hanging on the bar. I ask the proprietor about the open mic and he says that it starts in an hour and I play before that. I certainly did not expect that but that’s part of being out there in the unknown. Luckily I have my mic and stand (they are not equipped) and set up.

A few people come in but mainly I play for about 6 customers that watch the Red Sox. I hate TVs in Bars! Around my last song the Open mic host Christian arrives. He’s a nice guy and comes to talk with me afterwards. I’ve seen a lot of open mics and give him some suggestions of how to improve it. That one certainly does not cut it yet. I stay for his opening songs and a couple of performers and drive back to Vicky’s house. Her husband is already in bed with a cold and headache so it’s just us two and a bottle of Beaujolais.

I think I need that, I’m a bit frustrated but after the second glass and some real good conversation my mood starts leveling out and I’m back on track again. Tomorrow is another day...

Long awaited off days

The last two days I basically did nothing but hanging in bed or watching some stupid movie. Linda and her mom Charlotte invited me to spend these days in their house after my concert. It was great! I did not realize how exhausted i actually was but as soon as I let go....

Well I did a little email and stuff and came across that...

Brightside Broadcast has released my Podcast, an interview with live music that I did for them about half a year ago. It came out really well and is available for free download on iTunes. Check out




Bright Side Broadcast

or download it directly into your iTunes as

Hans York Podcast - m4a
or as

Hans York Podcast - mp3

So no pics and exciting stories here. Tomorrow it’s going back on the road to downtown Boston where I play a feature at the All Asia. Then it’s just one after another and my next day off will be May 17 in St Louis. Woooooh..