Martin Motnik - Bass Player

21 December 2007

Resolutions for 2008

The new year seems to hold some great opportunities:

L.A. is calling again! I'll be at the NAMM show that takes place from Jan 17 until Jan 20. Its always a great place to meet and greet fantastic people from the music scene, so I'm looking forward to being there.

After the NAMM show, I'll be staying some time in California and play some jams. Meet you at the Potato!

A great tour awaits me in spring that leads me back to Europe. With The Roxx, we'll be touring with Graham Bonnet, the former voice of Rainbow or The Michael Schenker Group! The tour starts on April 4th. I'll keep you updated about the routing!

The new Eisbrecher CD will be released next spring. Stay tuned for news about it and for upcoming gig dates.

I think this coming year will be a great one! Hope it will be the same for all of you!

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year 2008!

I'm sure you get a lot of Christmas emails these days, so I want to keep this short, but coming from my heart. I wish you a Merry Christmas with calm and relaxing holidays that you can spend together with your loved ones, and a happy, healthy and successful New Year 2008! May all your wishes come true and all your plans succeed!

Last live dates for 2007

Here are the final gig dates for 2007 with Eisbrecher:

26 December 2007, 20:00 - Nuremberg/Germany, Hirsch, RockXmasl
30 December 2007, 20:00 - Munich/Germany, Kleine Elserhalle

Hope to meet you there!

11 October 2007

Update: one more workshop coming up - Micky Moody

I just got informed that another great musician will appear in the Music Shop in Munich/Germany. Micky Moody, former guitarist of Whitesnake, will present his new album "Acoustic Journeyman". I'm looking forward to mixing this gig!

24 September 2007

Workshops with Marco Minnemann, Akira Jimbo & Thomas Blug

I have the chance to develop my live mixing capabilities during a couple of workshops that take place in the Music Shop in Munich/Germany. I already worked there for Deep Purple's drummer Ian Paice (check out pictures in the Photos section on my web site), and recently I mixed Japan's greatest drummer, fantastic Akira Jimbo, on his Yamaha clinic show. Now there are two shows coming that you don't want to miss if you're in the area:

Marco Minnemann, drummer for Paul Gilbert, H-Blockx, Freaky Fukin' Weirdoz, Wolfgang Schmid, Nena and many more will play a clinic show for DW and Zildjian on Saturday, Oct. 13th 2007 at 6:00 p.m.

Thomas Blug, "Fender Stratking of Europe", one of Europe's hottest studio guitarists and the man behind Steinberg's famous plug-in "Virtual Guitarist" will be playing a solo show and present Hughes & Kettner amps on Tuesday, Oct. 16th at 7 p.m.

Check out the Music Shop web site for more info and ticket reservations.

Upcoming CD releases

The last months I was quite busy working in different studios. Now there are already a few CDs that are released or will be in the soon future, that feature me and my bass:

- The Roxx - "Unleash Your Demon"
- Q-Ten Peck - "Prestige"
- Beyond the void - "Gloom Is A Trip For Two"

Besides that, Eisbrecher will be entering the studio soon for their third album. As soon as I get more info about details I'll sure let you know.

By the way, I own a professional, bass-optimized recording studio in which I can record bass tracks for your songs. So if you need a groovy and punchy bass track with a state-of-the-art sound, please email me. I offer you fair rates and fast delivery.

25 July 2007

New Ritter bass!

Well, I thought it was about time for another toy! After fooling around with 5 strings for almost 3 years, I thought another string added wouldn't be a bad idea. So I asked Jens Ritter to build me a new bass guitar with 6 strings, but with the neck width of a 5 string. That means the string spacing is much narrower than they are usually on his instruments. Now I got this new instrument, and Jens did again a fantastic job! The look and the sound are amazing, and the playability is fantastic. I'm very happy that the idea (putting six strings on the space of 5) worked out that great! Here's a picture of the bass - doesn't it look great?

More pictures are available on the 0709 page on the Ritter Basses website.

3 July 2007

URGENT! Vote for Springfield, Oregon as the home of The Simpsons!

Short version:

Click here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/simpsons-contest.htm?csp=34 and vote for "OREGON"!
(Because they use my version of the "Simpsons theme" in their film!)

DEADLINE: 9 July 2007!

Long version:

"The Simpsons Movie", the first wide-screen movie of my favourite yellow family, will be in cinemas soon! Everybody knows that the Simpsons live in Springfield - but nobody knows where this Springfield is. It is only known that there are several cities with this name.

So FOX Television and USA Today have called out a voting which Springfield is the real home of the Simpsons. 14 cites were invited to present themselves with a short film and to explain, why they think they are the hometown of the Simpsons.

Some weeks ago, the city fathers of Springfield in Oregon asked me if they might use my version of the "Simpsons Theme" as the background music for their film, since they called it [quote:] "the coolest version of the Simpsons theme" they have ever heard! I certainly accepted, and now Springfield, Oregon has produced a very funny, interesting and comprehensible short film that clearly describes why they are the home of "The Simpsons".

Now there is an uphill struggle between the 14 Springfields, because the winning city will host the hometown premiere of "The Simpsons Movie"! But everybody knows that the "real Springfield" is Springfield in the state of Oregon. You want a proof? Portland, capital of Oregon, is the hometown of Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and there is only one Springfield between Portland and Hollywood: Springfield, Oregon! Any more questions?

So please, click here to get to the voting web site, and vote for "OREGON" as the home of the Simpsons! Send this link to all of your friends, family members, colleagues and all chain letter senders and recipients. Send them this link:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/simpsons-contest.htm?csp=34

and tell them to vote for "OREGON"! And tell them it's urgent, since dealine is July 9th, 2007!

SPRINGFIELD, OREGON IS THE REAL SPRINGFIELD!!!

Go vote!

2 June 2007

WORLD RECORD HOLDER!

Yesterday, over 1,800 guitarists of all ages and skill gathered in Stuttgart/Germany for the largest ensemble performance of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” in history. Representatives from Guinness were on hand to verify the record of previsouly 1683 guitarists, established in Kansas/USA, has been broken.

Andreas Vockrodt, head of the organisation, invited me to play a solo bass performance including a "Smoke on the water" workshop during the "Celebrity Workshop Festival" that was part of the event. After my performance, I switched to the thinner strings and played together with more than 1800 fellow guitarists Deep Purple's most famous song, followed by a big party!

I may now proudly call myself "World Record Holder", certificied by the Guiness World Records association! Isn't that a cool reason to have a drink?

2 June 2007

Bass Workshop at the Thomann summer fest - powered by

Once again I was asked to perform a bass workshop at the summer fest of Europe's biggest music store Thomann, which is also the German distributor of Gallien-Krueger. I'm very happy to play there, and I am especially looking forward to playing a jam session with fantastic guitar player Ralf Jung, clinician for Digitech! If you have the time and like cool BBQ parties with good music, go and get there! Date: June 10, 2007 in Treppendorf/Germany. More info here.

The "Eisbrecher" enters Moscow

After touring through Western Europe for a bunch of weeks, the "Eisbrecher" (which is German for "Ice breaker") is headed for Russia! On June 20th, 2007 "Eisbrecher" will be playing in the legendary Tochka Club in Moscow. There's already a TV spot running on Russian television which you can check out here on YouTube. To all Russian fans: it's my first time to play in Russia, so I'd be happy to meet many of you there!

Meeting Paul Gilbert

After seeing him a couple of time with Mr. Big, I had the joy of seeing Paul Gilbert for the first time performing his solo program. I have to admit that I was overwhelmed by his playing, but even more I have been impressed by his naturalness! He really loves his job! After playing 2 hours of songs from his solo albums, Racer X songs (unfortunately not "King of the monsters") and Mr. Big classics, Paul took the time to come out and write autographs to all the fans who waited for him. Certainly I waited for him too, and after he has finished signing a stack of CD's, DVD's, photos and fan's guitars, I finally had the chance to talk to him.

The cool thing was that he remembered my email when I asked him to double the solo part of "King of the monsters" so that we had a guitar/bass solo in unison. Did I already tell you that he replied "I'm sorry, but I'm busy preparing my tour so I can't do any recordings right now. But I checked out your demo, and you don't need me. It sounds good as it is!"...? Anyway, on my next CD, there will definitely be at least one track featuring PG! So here's a pic of me and Paul, trading his instructional DVD for a copy of "Bass Invader" - cool deal for me, I would say...!

7 May 2007

On tour with "Eisbrecher"

The icebreaker sets sail again! "Eisbrecher" hits the road and tours through Europe, starting next Thursday in Munich/Germany. Check out my Live Dates for details. I hope to see many of you there!

Endorsement deal with Gator Cases

Right on time, I have been offered an endorsement deal by Gator Cases. Gator is the leading manufacturer of case solutions for the music and pro audio industries, and they developed a collection of molded ATA cases made of a very rugged synthetic material. That makes them much lighter but similar strong as wooden cases. That's cool for the stage hands and saves on the overweight bill! My Ritter babies and my effect gear are now safe and prepared for the road! Thanks a lot and see you later, Gator!

3 April 2007

Video of my Musikmesse concert

If you weren't able to come to the Musikmesse in Frankfurt/Germany, you may still check out my solo performance. I recorded the show on video tape and uploaded a 10 minute excerpt which you can watch in the video section - or simply click here to watch the video.

25 March 2007

New video on YouTube

Ralf Jung, world-wide touring clinician Digitech, et moi have recorded a song in Frankfurt's FMO Studios - in sights and sound. The song "Avalon" will soon be available on Ralf's solo CD, on which we are working on right now. Click here to check out the video.

5 March 2007

New category: "Live dates"

My schedule contains more and more concert dates, that's why I have started a new category called "Live dates". That gives me the ability to look up when I play the next gig and don't forget one. And if you don't know where what to do on an evening, maybe this gives you some inspiration..?!

27 February 2007

Martin mixes for Ian Paice

Last Saturday I had a very special honor: legendary "Deep Purple" drummer Ian Paice was giving an one-hour drum workshop, and I was asked to mix him live. It was very interesting to set up the mics on Ian's drum kit and give his sound to the 200 listeners. Ian is a super nice guy and a fantastic drummer, which ended up in a great evening for everybody. Check out some pics of that event.

24 February 2007

Live at the Musikmesse Frankfurt

The world's largest trade fair for musical instruments is approaching again, and this year I'm looking forward to it very much. I will play a 30 minute solo show at the Agora Stage, the main stage of the Musikmesse. Show time is on Wednesday, 07/3/28 at 10.30 am, where I will play songs from my solo CD and some new tracks. My show will be presented by Gallien-Krueger, so you'll have the chance to check out their great gear!

7. January 2007

Jason Sadites' song "Brute" finalist in the International Songwriting Competition - Vote for it!

Florida-based guitarist Jason Sadites is a fantastic musician and a great composer. No surprise that he was selected as one of the finalists of the 2006 International Songwriting Competition with his song "Brute".

It's a fast instrumental tune with some tricky measure changes but also a great melody and is fun to listen to. Plus it features world-class drummer Chad Wackerman on drums and my humble self on bass - click here to listen to an excerpt of the song.

The best thing is: you can be part of the jury and vote here for the song. Just register quickly, go to the list of songs and scroll down to "Brute" and click on the check box. You may do that once every day. Thanks already for your support!

Sorry for the lack of news

I have been asked several times why there are only such a few news online. I apologize for that, but I'm very busy at the moment, so I can't keep track with all the things I would like to put online. I have a stack of pictures from the last tour with Eisbrecher I would like to upload, new songs, videos and a bunch of other stuff. I'm working on several new projects and will be in the studio a couple of times during the next weeks, and I have rebuilt and re-equipped my own studio which now has even better gear and is much more fun to work in. During my next flight to overseas I will grab my laptop and hopefully update all missing news and info, and then hopefully stay up-to-date ... uh oh, sorry, gotta run, the next thing is waiting. Talk to you soon!

1. January 2007

A Happy, Healthy And Successful New Year 2007!

2006 has been a very turbulent but successful year, and so I am excited and curious what's coming up next in 2007. Thanks a lot once again to all of you who made this fantastic last year possible. I wish you a fantastic new year 2007. May all your wishes come true!

Martin officially joins Eisbrecher

After a very successful tour (all gigs were sold out - what more can you ask for?), I am very happy that I am now officially the bass player of "Eisbrecher". I am now very much looking forward to playing a lot of live shows with the band. I will post the gig dates here.

News archive:

If you are interested in reading the elder news, I adapted a news archive. Just scroll down this page to the bottom and click on "To the news archive of ...". I will keep this site updated, so come on over pretty often and check out what's new! If you have any comments, feel free to leave a feedback in my guest book or write me an email. I promise to answer as soon as possible!

Hope to see you soon!

Martin Motnik

To the news archive of 2006
To the news archive of 2005