 |
|||
|
December 31st, 2005 New CD reviews in "Sticks" and 21stcenturymetal.net There are two fantastic CD reviews about "Bass Invader". The first one is ono Germany's biggest drum magazine "Sticks", the other one on the webzine 21stcenturymetal.net which is released in three languages. That's my first review in Japanese! Check it out in the Press section. "Bass Invader" released in the U.S. You can get "Bass Invader" now on several online stores. Here are the Links: Soon you can buy separate songs or the complete album on the biggest download stores all over the world, e.g. iTunes and more. Equipment update
CD review at The International Institute of Bassists The U.S. American web site of The International Institute of Bassists reviewed "Bass Invader". Thanks a lot to Cliff Engel for his review! Click here or check out the Press section to read it.
Massive homepage update I had some time to update my web site, and so added some sub pages to make this site more interesting. First of all my link list gets longer and longer, and so I split the link site from the contact site to clear things up a bit. Second of all, I was asked several times for transcriptions of my songs. I usually don't write my songs down, but I had the time to make a transcription of "Delayed" and added it to the new page "Transcriptions". By the way, if anybody is interested in writing a transcription of one of my songs, I'd be happy to put the score online on my web site! Last not least I programmed a new web site about my bass lessons which you can reach by going to www.bassunterricht-muenchen.de where I describe all details of my bass lessons. On this site, I added the sub page "Bass lessons" which tells you a little bit about my concept. CD review at German magazine "BASS PROFESSOR" Germany's leading magazine for bass guitars only has a very positive review about "Bass Invader" in their current issue. Thank you very much to editor and publisher of the BASS PROFESSOR, Roland Kaschube! Here's the scan of the review with an awkward translation made by myself... I hope you get the point.
Thanks a lot to Charly from the bassic.ch-Forum for the scan!! Check out the web site of the magazine: www.bassprofessor.de. Gregg and Martin live on stage at the Mapex workshop Right now Gregg Bissonette is finishing his clinic tour for drum manufacturers Mapex that lead him around the whole world, and last Friday he presented their great drums at the Galerie Gonzales in Ravensburg, a very beautiful town in the south of Germany. Gregg showed the advantages of Mapex drums to the audience and presented his extraordinary drumming abilities. After a couple of drum solos and playalongs, Gregg called me on stage for a jam session, where we played different grooves and traded some solo spots. A very special event for Gregg was the visit of his uncle and aunt who came all the way from Switzerland, together with their daughters Stephanie and Sarah, to see him. The four of us played a spontaneous version of Badfinger's legendary "No matter what" together, with Stephanie on drums, Sarah on guitar and me on bass, while Gregg grabbed the microphone and sang the lead vocals! It was a very extraordinary evening and Gregg called it the best workshop of his whole tour. Check out some pictures:
Click on the pictures for a larger version (open in a new window). Thank you very much to the Musikhaus Lange for the pictures! "Bass Invader" available on eBay and in the web shop - special deal for BASSIC.ch members "Bass Invader" is released and now available to order! For German speaking customers, you can check out the Kintom Music Webshop to order the CD. International customers please click here to order from the Ebay-Store. It will also be soon available on several online CD stores in the U.S. like CDBaby, guitar9.com etc. CD review and CD order at the European Bassday web site
"Bass Invader" was presented on the European Bassday (EBD) in Viersen. Meanwhile you can read a review on the official EBD web site, and you can order the CD on their web shop. Check it out at www.european-bassday.com. Upcoming project: Ralf Jung featuring Jennifer Batten, Brett Garsed, Gregg Bissonette and Martin Motnik I am very proud that Ralf Jung, studio guitarist and world wide clinician for Digitech effects, Parker guitars and Randall amps asked me to play the bass on his solo CD he is currently working on. Ralf's worldwide respect as a guitarist brought him guest appearances of Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson's platinum blonde super guitarist), Brett Garsed (Australia's No.1 guitarist, played on all John Farnham-CDs) and Gregg Bissonette (I think there's no comment necessary...). I'm very honored and I'm looking forward to the recordings. Check out his web site www.rj-guitar.de and listen to samples of his upcoming CD called "Otis Shredding"! Endorsement deal with Line 6 Famous amp modeling and FX processor manufacturers Line 6 added my name to their endorser list! Line 6 is the pioneer in amp modelling technology and solved with its kidney bean-shaped desktop device "POD" a critical problem that had plagued guitar players: recording great guitar tone. I am already using the Bass PODxt Pro, and you can hear it on my CD "Bass Invader". All FX during my live performances come out of the Bass PODxt Pro! I am very proud to be a member of the Line 6 artist list! Martin meets Billy Sheehan! Yesterday I had the opportunity to experience a very special event: For the first time in my life, I met Billy Sheehan personally and had the opportunity to talk to him face to face. Billy is on tour with Steve Vai right now, and I had to chance for a little chat before the concert in Munich. I gave him a copy of "Bass Invader" with a personal dedication, and I told him that he is my biggest influence which you can hear on the CD. He is a very nice guy and he seemed to be pleased that I called him my role model. After talking a couple of minutes, a nice stage hand took a picture of the two of us, and then Billy had to leave for sound check. Here's the pic of our meeting (click on the picture for a larger version):
June 28th, 2005:
JThe recordings for "Bass Invader" are finished! Last week I was in in Frankfurt at the framspotting:mediaport studio to mix my solo CD "Bass Invader", together with my brother Frank. Certainly we chose the right time for that, since it was around 90 degrees outside which made us sweat pretty bad. But it didn't avoid us from banging our heads, and now I have the honor to announce that "Bass Invader" is finally mixed! I am very happy with the sound, and I hope that Gregg and Mattias will be satisfied too when they hear it! The results are 14 tracks, which I think are quite varying and hopefully fun to listen to - since I had a lot of fun recording the songs. I hope that some people will get a total new impression of the bass guitar, which is able to do more than just produce basic notes - which itself is already very important and a high art! The style of the songs differs between rock (my roots!) over funk up to classical solo and duet pieces and even a latin song with acoustic bass as the melody instrument. You can already check out samples of all songs on the audio page - and you can order copies of the CD soon! Gregg Bissonette on drums On "Bass Invader" the bass should certainly be in focus. But what's a bassist without a drummer? In every band bass and drums should be a team and the basis for groovy and punchy songs, and I could win one of the best rock drummers in the world for playing on my CD: Gregg Bissonette! His drumming is phenomenal, and he added much spirit and his personal note to the tracks, so you can say "Bass Invader" is his solo CD as well. Drum fans will get their money's worth! I still can't believe that I played together with a real drummer legend on my own CD, and I'm very proud and honored! Mattias IA Eklundh on guitar A special feature for guitar fans - and a further honor for me - is the appearance of another star on my CD: Swedish guitar player extraordinaire Mattias IA Eklundh! Mattias can be heard on "Bass Invader" on the song "Bee on speed". Furthermore he takes part on a highlight of the CD, a new version of the Rush hit "YYZ", which is now played by the trio Eklundh/Motnik/Bissonette. Mattias goes far over the edge of usual guitar playing and creates total new sounds, especially through his own high pitch harmonics technique. Plus he has a great sense of humor and he is a very nice and reliable guy. To have him on "Bass Invader" is a very big enrichment!
June 6th, 2005:
Gregg Bissonettes' drums are recorded Yesterday evening I got a phone call from Los Angeles. It was Gregg Bissonette, telling me that the drum tracks for my solo CD are finally recorded! I'll get the tracks within this week and I will add the tracks into my arrangements immediately afterwards. Unfortunately I couldn't hear anything from the drums yet, but I'm convinced they will sound fantastic! I will add sound samples here as soon as I could make some rough mixes. The drums were recorded by Greggs' brother Matt Bissonette, who's a bass player himself. Matt played together with David Lee Roth and is a fantastic bassist, and so I was a bit nervous about his opinion about my songs. But yesterday evening I could talk to him as well and he told me that he liked the songs and my playing, which was a big honor for me! Anyway, both guys are terribly nice and absolutely down-to-earth! Their long work in the musical champions league didn't lead them to any arrogance at all. Special guest on guitar: Mattias IA Eklundh As you can see on the Photos page, I met one of the hottest guitar players at this years' Musikmesse in Frankfurt: outstanding Swedish guitarist Mattias IA Eklundh. I was so ballsy to ask him if he might want to take part on my CD, and he immediately agreed! Now you will be able to hear him on some tracks of my CD as well! One highlight will definitely be a new version of Rushs' classic song "YYZ", played be the trio Eklundh/Motnik/Bissonette. Mattias started recording his parts last week, and I think I will get his tracks this week as well. New songs under "Audio" I added two more songs to the audio section. One of them you can hear right now in the embedded player (above the navigation buttons). They're pure bass pieces, and they'll also be on my CD. Check them out on the Audio page. And as usual: write me a comment into my guestbook! May 19th, 2005:
"Bass in progress" is finished! It is done! After almost one year of building, my Ritter Roya 5 string bass is finally finished! And the waiting was worth it! Look, sound and playability are unique, and meanwhile we are getting used to each other now that we already have played some shows together. Furthermore there are the first sound samples for my new solo CD available on which you can hear my new bass (see below). Check out the last chapter of "Bass in progress" and watch the hand-over with Jens Ritter and some detailed pictures. Pictures from the Musikmesse Frankfurt This years' Musikmesse in Frankfurt was again full of impressions and interesting products. And I could talk to a lot of interesting personalities in the music business. Check out the photos page for some pictures of it. Demos for my solo CD with Gregg Bissonette Like I wrote some time ago, I am working on a solo CD on which almost everything is played with bass guitar. The goal is to show what you can do on a bass. Some people might be afraid that they could get bored from listening to only bass, and so there will be also drums on some songs, since bass and drums have to be a unity in a band. Nobody less than Gregg Bissonette will play the drums, one of the hottest L.A. studio drummers who played together with Billy Sheehan and Steve Vai on David Lee Roths CDs "Eat 'em and smile" and "Skyscraper". Gregg is right now on his Ringo Starr promotion tour, and afterwards he'll record the drums for my CD. On my audio page you can check out demo versions of some songs I recorded by now. The drums you'll hear are coming from a drum computer, and Gregg will give the whole thing more life. Give me your comments in my guest book ! Gear page updated My gear has developed in the last time, thanks to my new Ritter bass, but I also got a new and very flexible Gallien-Krueger stack. Check out the gear page for my current setup. Billy Sheehan in my guestbook! In the first moment it appeared to me as an April Fool's joke. When I opened my guest book a few weeks ago, I did not believe my eyes when I read an entry of Billy Sheehan! Certainly I thought somebody knows that Billy is my big role model and wants to fool me, since the day of the entry was April 1st. But now it turned out that Billy and me have a same very nice friend, and she suggested Billy my web site. And Billy honored me with his entry in my guestbook. I am very happy and proud about that! March 30, 2005:
New chapter in "Bass in progress"
The completion of my new bass is getting nearer. Read the newest chapter in "Bass in progress" and watch Jens Ritter working on some details. "Bass in progress" at the Frankfurt Musikmesse! My new bass is almost finished, and the grand handing over will take place at this years' Frankfurt Musikmesse, the worlds biggest fair for musical instruments. But before I get my new baby, Jens Ritter will exhibit the bass in Hall 4.0, booth K43. If you're near, watch the finished instrument at the Ritter booth; open from April 6th to 9th, 2005! February 7, 2005: Interview with Martin online
German online magazine POWERMETAL.de has interviewed me about the new Darkseed CD interviewed. Read the interview here: Darkseed - Martin Motnik. Another feature has been added to my web site. Since a musicians' homepage should represent the music of the player, I have embedded a media player to my site. I will change the music from time to time, and I hope you like this new feature. If not, you can push "Stop" anytime. The picture gallery was a little bit unattended the whole time. But now I have added a lot pictures to it, and I hope you'll like them. If you have some pictures from gigs or somewhere else, I'd be very happy if you would mail me! Darkseed and What4 have received some very positive CD reviews which I added to the press page. Some of them are in German, but if you need a translation, pease ask me! First solo song online for download Some time ago I have announced that I am planning to record a solo CD. As always, other projects get in the way which prevents my working on such "fun projects". But now, since the new Darkseed CD is finished (take a look below), I have finally started to write and record some solo pieces. The first song is even available and you can check it out on the audio page. It's a pure bass song with delay FX. It is a song that I already played live in December 2004 on the What4 CD release party. May some of you recognize it? (how about you, Heidi ;-) ? ). Certainly I'd be glad to hear your opinion! New pictures of the "Bass in progress" During the last timing when I was visiting Jens Ritter - which, as is known, ended with a impuls buying of a Ritter Roya 5-String fretless... - I took some pictures which are now available in the new chapter of "Bass in progress". This time you can see one of the most eye-catching features of the fretted Roya. Get in the spotlight! Darkseed CD "Ultimate Darkness" available Today is the official release date of the new CD "Ultimate Darkness" of Darkseed. Several CD reviews attest the CD big potential, and so we have great expectations! Anyhow we are pretty proud of the CD, and now we are looking forward on promoting it on as many stages as possible! If you want to check out some songs, go to the official homepage www.darkseed.com and download some samples. Right now there is a special offer for all fans: "Ultimate Darkness" as a limited edition in a 2 CD box, including 13 previously unreleased tracks! Check out the Darkseed-Fanshop and get a copy with original autographs by the band members! A Ritter arrived! During my last visit to Jens Ritters' workshop, I noticed a fretless bass haning in Jens' show room - a beautiful Roya 5 string with piano black finish and gold hardware. Almost a bit too noble for me , but exactly the right instrument fo solid ballads! Jens unselfishly lent me the instrument for checking it out, knowing that I would fall in love instantly. That's exactly what happened! The sound of the bass is extremely smooth and the handling is perfect. Well, the end was that I decided to buy that noble piece, and so I have my first Ritter bass now! Check out the gear page for a picture of it. I am giving bass lessons again! I am offering a related-to-practice instruction to the bass for beginners and advanced players. You can learn: all different playing techniques (finger, pick, slapping, tapping), all styles (Pop, Rock, Metal, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Reggae etc.), consolidated knowledge about harmony, rhythm, improvisation and solo playing.in the relaxed atmosphere of my own sound studio – recordings and workshops are possible! Good proximity in the south of Munich – 5 minutes to the subway. The first lesson is for FREE, and all lessons are TAPED for you! Call or mail me for a trial lesson. The design of my homepage has been slightly changed and I'll continue working on it, so check back often! November 1st 2004: Overdue update Sorry for the long time without any web site updates! I was touring through the United States for a couple of time, and after that there's been a lot of things to do at home. But now I hope that I can take care of my homepage more often again. Ok, let's go to the news:
Playing in the Country Music Hall of Fame During my journey through the United States, I had the pleasure to meet David Andersen. David is a famous jazz guitarist in Nashville, TN who played together with legends like Chet Atkins, Mark O'Connor, David Grisman, Harry Connick Jr., k.d. lang and lots more. I met David in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville where we had a very nice conversation. After entering his guest book, we played a little one-chord co-production! ;-) You can see some pictures of it on the photos page! Martin gives bass lessons I am giving bass lessons again! I am offering a related-to-practice instruction to the bass for beginners and advanced players. You can learn: all different playing techniques (finger, pick, slapping, tapping), all styles (Pop, Rock, Metal, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Reggae etc.), consolidated knowledge about harmony, rhythm, improvisation, solo playing. Relaxed atmosphere in my own sound studio – recordings and workshops are possible! Good obtainable in the south of Munich – 5 minutes to the subway. The first lesson is for FREE! Call or mail me for a trial lesson. New chapter in "Bass in progress" There has not been a large development to my new Ritter bass during the last time. The reason is that Jens Ritter gets more and more orders for his beautiful basses! Last week I visited him in his workshop where he was totally occupied with work. Now there are some new improvements, and even the completion in sight! Read the new chapter in bass in progress! Bass for Darkseed CD in the can Right now we are in the studio with Darkseed again working on the new and sixth CD with the promising title "Ultimate Darkness". Besides the news that founder and mastermind Stefan Hertrich is back to the band, it will certainly go down well that the new CD will be faster and harder again. You can see some photos from the recordings on the photos page. The release of the new CD is planned for January 2005. CD release party of What4 We already finished the recordings with What4 some time ago, and now we are preparing for the presentation of the new and second CD "Fourward". Release date is December 6th 2004. On Friday, December 3rd, there will be a CD release party at the Session Kulturwerk No. 1 in Walldorf near Heidelberg. More info about the new CD and the party are available on www.whatfour.com. Everybody's welcome! New gear I already wrote in the last news that I am changing my gear due to my new endorsement deals with Ritter Basses and Gallien-Krueger. Check out my current setup on the gear page - as long as it will stay that way... Orphaned guest book!!! I am very happy about the large number of visitors who have already visited my web site! Unfortunately I am not so happy about the few folks who have entered my guest book yet. So come on guys, bite the bullet and scribble a phrase! And I won't feel that lonely anymore! ;-)
July 27, 2004: Endorsement deal
with
World famous bass
gear manufacturers
Gallien
Krueger offered me an endorsement deal. Since I am already very
convinced about their very flexible and handy amps and cabinets, it's
a great honor to become another proud member of the GK family - just
like RHCP's Flea, Tom Hamilton or Leland Sklar. I just ordered my
first stack, so stay tuned until I can update the gear page. July, 14, 2004: Gregg Bissonette on Drums I'm currently preparing a demo DVD, on which I will present some songs mainly interpreted with bass and drums. It shall be clear, who will play the bass... ;-) But for the drums I am in contact with noone less than Gregg Bissonette, who was already playing together with Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan in David Lee Roths band. More news pretty soon here! Promo pictures online Check out my new official Promo pictures at the Photos page for booking agencies and advertising partners. Record label "Kintom Music" registered at GVL The record label Kintom Music is now officially registered at the GVL. The GVL is the collecting body that upholds the copyright interests of performing artists and record manufacturers. It represents the secondary exploitation rights of artists and manufacturers and collects the fees set out in its tariff scales and agreed in properly concluded contracts and distributes them to those entitled to them. Under the label code number LC 13532 all productions of Kintom Music can now be broadcasted world wide on radio and TV. June 29, 2004: It is done! After a couple of years of working we finally finished the new CD of What4! Now we four are heading forward, which is why we gave the CD the title "Fourward". The official release is planned in september when you arrived well back from your holidays. But don't be afraid, we won't let you wait any longer! You can order the CD right now in our CD shop. Before that, you can sneak into every single track of the CD. Well - or is it probably not EVERY track...? We are convinced the the time and the work were worth the result and we are very proud on our baby. The CD is a appropriate follower on our first CD, and we hope htat we could bannish the power and energy of What4's live performances on the CD. All information are available at the official homepage www.whatfour.com. What else There is a new chapter on the Bass in progres page. I was once again at the worksjop of Jens Ritter and I was able to document the next steps in the building of my bass. The bass already got some shape! Look for yourself! May, 21, 2004: Bass in progress As I announced in my last news, I will document the building of my new instrument of Ritter Basses on my homepage. And here it is: once again, I was in the holy halls of Jens Ritter, and I had the opportunity to admire the almost untreated wood. A truely impressing moment when you imagine this piece will become a high class instrument. Furthermore Jens and me talked about further details and features which will flow into the builing process. So I adapted a new category which you can see blinking on the left side: "Bass in progress". I will show there the current status quo of the building process with pictures and words. I think it is also very interesting for some people to observe the way of an instrument, from the wood to the finished bass guitar. I hope you'll have fun! What else The new What4 CD is in the pressing plant now, and we are waiting impatiently for its completion. But more haste, less speed, quality takes its time. April, 18, 2004: A love story This year at the Musikmesse Frankfurt I was walking through the crowded exhibition halls when I suddenly found myself in front of the booth of a very noble bass manufacture - Ritter Basses! I fell in lôve instantly! Not in Jens Ritter, the creator of these wonderful instruments, but in his works! After a small check and an even longer conversation I recognized that these were the basses I was searching for a long time! Very esthetic, tonally very flexible and made with big love for details. Now after visiting the Ritter workhops, Jens Ritter and me decided to collaborate, and for the future I will act as an endorser for Ritter Basses. Sadly I can not present the new masterpiece yet, because every single instrument is handworked, and my new bass is still to be built. But I will observe the
building and document the stages here on my homepage. Presumably from May
to July I will present those pictures here on these sites! But if you want
to check out those great instruments, simply go to
www.ritter-basses.com. What else The new
What4 CD is
finally mixed and is just getting mastered. We think the result was worth
the hard work. Stay tuned!
Song writing for Darkseed is also in good progress. Furthermore we could win one of Germanys' biggest booking agencies, Extratours. We might enter the stage more often now!
|
|||
