[audio:mediterranean.mp3]
Here’s the reason why I felt Mediterranean on a rainy day in June – a different meaning of the word “Mediterranean” than suggested by the clichéd photos on a tourist brochure. From where we live the Italian “mare” is the nearest.
This is the stunning interior of an Italian restaurant where my nephew celebrated his confirmation. The food was delicious, too.
guitar & gear: Epiphone Mandobird, Vox ToneLab, Tube Reverb
Still wondering where all the colors in your dream came from, all of a sudden you got the moon on the phone.
guitar & gear: ’67 Stratocaster, Vox AC 50, BSM treble booster, Gerd Schulte Phaser
Another guitar painted by Ismael Kamara.
And at its side (to the right above) you see the “Shadow of John” watching over us.
The music is a longer piece, showing the qualities of the Vox AC 50 and a special mood I was in on April 29th…
guitar & gear: Gibson Les Paul Special, Vox AC 50, BSM treble booster, Tube Reverb
profundity [audio:profundity.mp3]
fathoming out [audio:fathoming.mp3]
These two forming a twin entity, you are being invited to enter a door or an entrance to see what’s behind. Thereafter feel the deepness, or measure the unmeasurable like I did by bending my guitar strings more than I ever did before…
guitar & gear: Epiphone Les Paul with Haeussel pickups, Vox AC 50, BSM treble booster, Tube Reverb
[audio:in-a-gadda.mp3]
Hi, everybody,
Welcome to my new home!
Here’s a new/old tune most of you will already know. A real hippie head-banger. Who can tell the name, the band, etc? I re-recorded it just for our mutual fun in four layers of first takes (you know, musicians are always proud of getting things done in first takes – in order to be first to the champagne or the buffet).
To further enhance the sixties’ feeling that is a constitutional matter of this blog, I’d like to share some exciting links I only found today. I was astonished to see that all the stuff I had discovered in my intense sixties-research is there in video! For most people watching facilitates the appreciation of the music.
So, please listen to some inhabitants of my Psychedelic Pantheon:
Donovan
If you want to know my favorite out of these, it’s The Electric Prunes. There is an amazing (but kitschy) new artwork video attached to the music, which back then has been recorded without any visuals. Hope you enjoy it!
[audio:stratbend.mp3]
Ismael Kamara is an artist from Kongo living in Germany and a friend of mine. Whenever he comes to see me, he brings little pictures showing guitars which he just painted before. And every time he does so, I feel kind of overwhelmed by it. (It’s hard to accept he has done that just for me – maybe a stupid reaction). But then I proudly expose these works in my studio.
In order to thank and honor him, I’d like to show some of these pictures (in several installments) along with further improvisation. Another Link to Ismael’s pictures.
guitar & gear: ’67 Stratocaster, Vox ToneLab SE, Tube Reverb
[audio:tubetrem.mp3]
I simply love this effects pedal by GP-Lightstone (Germany) that is also a visual attraction. The alternating illumination of yellow and red makes me want to dim the lights when playing or recording, giving me feeling of dwelling in front of a fireplace on a winter evening. It can reinforce your imagination and thus inspire you.
Well, but it bears a superb sound quality, too. I found it gave a more tube-like bias to any sound I had prepared before, and so keep it activated whenever I play. Not only serves it as a tremolo effect (like the one you find in old Fender amplifiers), but also as a tube booster that enhances the guitar signal.
Back in the psychedelic days (1967) guitar players eagerly tried to contort their sounds – but there was hardly anything besides tremolo and reverb… So they turned them up to maximum, and off you go!
guitar & gear: ’67 stratocaster, Vox ToneLab, Tube Trem
If necessary I could actually confine myself to taking photos just around my little studio. There’s a porch, there’s a beautiful garden behind – and there’s the night.
You get some (although vague) insight from two different angles, merged into one picture.
guitar & gear: ’67 stratocaster, Vox ToneLab SE, tube reverb
It’s a bit unusual for this blog to have two posts published the same day. But this time around there are just too many things to tell.
First: Rufus is audible now. One more invitation goes out to you to join in and dance around the trunk with me.
Second: Elspeth has posted a new video yesterday. The second proof of a fruitful collaboration. It’s (about) magic. Oh, and it will take some time to load, maybe. At least it has been so with my computer.
Third: Another collaboration is on the way, including Susanne from creative.mother.thinking.
Forth: In this case, please don’t just look at the last post, as today there is also Volcanology!
[audio:eruption.mp3]
Since I didn’t want to even remotely rival Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” (a famous rock guitar instrumental – check it out!), I approached Charlie Parker by calling this similar to “Anthropology” and “Ornithology”.
Ouch – wrong again. Ahem. I guess this is simply “Volcanology”, and doesn’t rival anything… It’s a fade-in-tune, so please take a few moments for it to reach its full volume.
64$ question: what does the picture below actually show? (hint: it’s just a detail from a photo I posted here before).
guitar & gear: Epiphone Les Paul with Haeussel Pickups, Vox AC 50, DOD wah pedal, BSM treble booster
