Little adventures

Tonight I play in in a pub in Homburg and am excited to switch rolls again and become the performer. I stay with Michel and his family all week and am glad that my mom gave me her old VW Golf so I have some wheels and am independent.


During the day we do some overdubs in the studio. I really love the clean sound with a Strat and an Vox amp!!!


Later we drive to Homburg where I play. Here is my old buddy Rüdiger, a wonderful guitarist with Michel smiling:)


My aunt Brigitte comes too and I see her for the first time since 4 years:)


It’s a nice show and it’s packed. A lot of folks came due to the newspaper article.


For sure I jam with my bro:)


My second family, Gaby & Michel!


No question that it got late! Once everybody left I’m still chatting with Chris, the owner of the Pub. Then I leave and realize that I gave Michel my car key and he didn’t return it - Dang!!!! It’s 1:30 AM, cold, and foggy and I’m lucky that my phone works. I call my friends and Gaby drives back to bring me the keys - thers a;ways a little adventure:) The drive home to Neunkirchen is very challenging because it’s fricking foggy like hell and I have no clue which way to go. It’s only 10 miles but...

Blueshimmel

Time to visit my old friend Michel and start producing his band “Blueshimmel” It’ll be their 5th album and I’m looking forward to it. I drive out to Zweibrücken past familiar signs...


That’s Michel in his VW bus...


Drummer Benny - what a funny and sweet guy!


Here is the Italian bassist Andrea with his collection


The Band Blueshimmel (Andrea, Vince, Michel, and Benny)


Looking out...


My workspace - like the sixties:)


Impressions










Got to love Pro Tools:)


The studio is in Michel’s Drum School (TamTam). Here we’re starting to jam some new ideas, first acoustically to see if they have make sense:)


After a long days work there is only one more thing to do!


Michel and me are the last ones and have certainly too much booze to drive so we walk home (it’s so nice that one can actually do that here!). I was fascinated by the old street lamp and the light it threw onto the tree.

Another day back home

That’s how I envision my mom when she calls me in Seattle. I’m so glad she’s still around and so lively. It’s a blessing and I’m really grateful for that!


Let’s go for walk...I’m ready...


I grew up with a little stoney backyard, not a lot of green. Maybe that’s why we always went out to the woods and the mountains of Austria southern Germany.




My mom and me visit the little lake where I learned to walk. I always said “Adda Entscha, Audo” which means something like “let’s drive out and walk around where that ducks are”


That tree sure saw me and my attempts to stay balanced more than four decades ago...


No ducks but a lovely swan:)


One last look.


In the evening I make a little tour around the taverns I used to go when I was still living here. It was mostly depressing but at the last one I got lucky met old friends:)

The ones that are already gone

Ralf left for Frankfurt and so I take my mom out to the graveyard to visit the ones that are already gone. It’s a nice and quiet walk and we stop first at my dad’s grave. He passed away in ‘84.


My thoughts are with the ones that are already gone.


Here lies my brother Wolfgang who passed away in ‘03. I was already in theUS just getting started and unable to fly back to grieve with my family. In those moments I realize how far I am away from my old home...


Here is my mom sitting close to here parents Otto and Lina, her brother Walter, and her niece Nicole, my cousin that left us all way too early.


After visiting the lost ones my mom and me drive around aimlessly and quietly enjoy the company of each other.




The countryside brings back old memories and mom is inspired:)
So good to listen to her stories!


Here is the the tower and entrance to the Bexbacher Rosengarten. My dad used to bring me out here as a little child and I have very fond memories.


Here is the little airport where we used to fly kites on Sundays when there was no air traffic. We had a 100 yard line on the kite and send up little paper messages:)

Villa Medici

This evening Me, my mom and Ralf went for a unbelievable dinner at “Villa Medici” I never thought there would be anything like that in Neunkirchen!
Here is my mom looking over the menu - I really thought there is no way to decide:)


Ralf is in heaven.


That’s after - just happy faces:)

Walking old familiar ground

Here I’m walking with my old friend Ralf on familiar ground up Hüttenberg Street towards the my grandma’s house.


Here it is #60:) The whole family used to go there every Sunday to play games all day long, eat and chat until late...


On the way back to the house I spend the first 18 years of my live. I walked this way so many times...




Here it is - We used to have an old chestnut tree right in from of the house but the roots were in the neighbors garden and one day they cut it down - I was living in Frankfurt at the time and can’t say how I felt when I came back and saw what happened!