Current projects

Since time is flying by like crazy, I was thinking it was about time for a little update about how I spend my time. Kai Brant and I are currently in the studio, recording our first full-length CD of Beauty and the Bass. Although the main focus will still be on vocals and upright bass, we will have a couple of guest musicians on our album, and we are also experimenting with sounds and loops, to make the whole CD more interesting and diverse.

Besides that I am writing on my first instructional book for bass guitar, based on my CD "Bass Invader". It will be a book for advanced bass players, and I will explain the different techniques I was using on my CD, including 3 and 4 finger tapping, hammered and pinch harmonics (natural and artificial), playing with chords, and more. It will also include a full transcription of my version of the "Simpsons Theme", showing all 26 bass tracks I was recording. D'oh!

Also quite time consuming was the preparation of my Green Card paperwork. I understand that the U.S. government wants to protect their country, however I feel like I made a crash course in immigration law. In the end, the stack of papers was about 3 inches thick, and I am very thankful for all the forums and websites that give comprehensive information about which forms have to be to filed. So if the musical career doesn't continue, maybe I can become an immigration lawyer. But aren't there too many lawyers in the world already...?

Ok, so much for a quick update. More to come soon.

Live dates with Uli Jon Roth

After neglecting my Live Dates page for waaaay too long, I updated at least the latest dates of the upcoming tour with Uli Jon Roth (Ex-The Scorpions). The dates are:

06/16/2009 TEMPE, AZ -  Clubhouse Music Venue
06/18/2009 SANTA ANA, CA - Galaxy Theatre
06/20/2009 REDONDO BEACH, CA - Brixton
06/21/2009 CONCORD, CA - Vinnie's
06/22/2009 MODESTO, CA - Fat Cat Music House
06/23/2009 EXETER, CA - Orange Blossom Junction
06/24/2009 TARZANA, CA - Paladino's
06/25/2009 SAN DIEGO, CA - Brick by Brick

Hope to see many of you there!

14. January 2009

Hello everybody,

I know it's already a few days old, but I still want to wish all of you a happy, healthy and successful new year 2009! May all your dreams come true and all your wishes be fulfilled!

Here's a quick news update about what's going on (a little new year's resolution of mine...).

Preparing for the NAMM show

The most important trade fair for musical instruments, the NAMM show, starts again tomorrow. I will certainly be there, and I am sure it's going to be four very interesting and intense days and nights. I will take lots of pictures, and I hope I will be able to write a report about it next week.

CD release Eleanor Academia/The Black Swan - "When you live" on January 18, 2009

Some of you might remember my concert last summer with Eleanor Academia at the Gibson Center in Beverly Hills, CA, where we presented Eleanor's new CD "When you live" (with Ray Parker Jr. as a guest musician, since Eleanor is her keyboarder; we even played his biggest hit "Ghostbusters"). The CD is going to be officially available on January 18th, 2009. Read Eleanors MySpace blog for all details about the CD, the contributing A-list musicians and where to get the CD.

GrabAxe secures your instrument against crashing

Just recently did I get an interesting new invention into my hands. It is GrabAxe, a very compact guitar holding system that protects your instrument against falling on the ground. A piece of nylon strap is hooked up to a grip on your amp or box, and when you put the other end around the neck of your guitar and secure it with the attached Velcro tape, you can lean your instrument against your amp without having the fear of seeing your precious instrument sliding along the amp and crashing down. Not even a kick against the guitar can make it drop (but please do not try it out!). A very handy and inexpensive protection against expensive damages!