Health or Wealth
Last Tuesday we went to Zurich to see Macy Gray. But the concert was cancelled because she had to go to the hospital and that made me think about all the health scares musicians have to conquer.
Disclaimer: I took the liberty to put some of you on my newsletter list because we know each other or we collaborated before or I had the privilege of performing at an event for you. I hope you enjoy my updates - thank you!
What’s up:
Saturday, November 25th 2023 - Schwyzerhof Bar in Küssnacht a. R. SZ / Switzerland (duo)
Thursday, November 30th 2023 - Restaurant Europa in Zurich / Switzerland (trio)
Sunday, December 3rd 2023 - Adventsbrunch at Seven Heavens - Skylounge in Eschen / Liechtenstein (solo)
Sunday, December 10th 2023 - Adventsbrunch at Seven Heavens - Skylounge in Eschen / Liechtenstein (solo)
Sunday, December 17th 2023 - Adventsbrunch at Seven Heavens - Skylounge in Eschen / Liechtenstein (solo) - S O L D O U T !!!
Monday, December 25th 2023 - Christmas Aperitivo at the Hotel Schloss Ragaz in Bad Ragaz / Switzerland (solo)
Wednesday, December 27th 2023 - Hotel Schloss Ragaz in Bad Ragaz / Switzerland (trio)
Sunday, December 31st 2023 - New Year’s Eve Party at the Art Deco Hotel Montana in Lucerne / Switzerland (band)
Monday, January 1st 2024 - New Year’s Aperitivo at the Hotel Schloss Ragaz in Bad Ragaz / Switzerland (solo)
There’s more #livemusic to come, so check frequently for further details here.
2 Albums & 3 Singles
Health Or Wealth
Nothing’s worse than waking up from last night’s extra long and smoky club band gig finding out that your throat is not up to the task of singing another long night. I experienced this more than once. But there are different ways to tackle this problem. The best way to do this: first - don’t panic! Most of the times a long hot shower can kickstart your vocal cords and with a smooth warm up singing with ‘relaxed notes’ always helped me the most - and drinking plenty of water.
When I started out as a working musician my keys in which I sang the songs in my repertoire were generally too high. Maybe it was my twenty-something hormone level or simply deafness regarding my vocal cords. Yeah, you could say what a jackass because I was frequently hoarse (no pun intended).
With this problem I felt bad having a paid gig and not being able to deliver, so I started to shift keys to areas where I had much more headroom. And bingo, my voice started to sound better and my vocal problems were mostly gone.
Surely, there are always busy times like at the end of June or August where I have to manage my voice even better, because with almost daily gigs you have to take extra care of your voice and stop talking in-between sets in a loud environment.
Therefor it’s not the singing, but that forced talking that’s killing my voice.
I began to transcribe my repertoire songs in many different keys, so I could sing them with the band but also solo in a hotel lobby. A welcomed side effect was that I got much better with keys and transposing. On guitar it was not much of a challenge thanks to moving a few frets up or down, but on the piano it was whole different ballgame. I still get brain crashes looking at the black and white keys - Ahh, them damn guitarists!
Here’s a recent short story:
About ten days ago I was getting ready to play a band gig, when the piano man fell ill, the drummer messaged a few hours later that his throat was shot and then a day before the gig my nose started to reenact the Niagara Falls. I was already organising a sub for me to save the evening. But with some professional help from my wife - thank you darling! - and some of my experience - never blow your nose! - the next morning my nose was dry, no fever, no headache, no chassis problems and best of all, my voice was pristine and unaffected from yesterday’s flooding. Let’s get this show on the road!
We wish Macy Gray a quick recovery and we are looking forward to see her on that stage at Kaufleuten!
My Substack Starters
In this section I exclusively release sounds and tales on Substack from my artistic life. I hope it will grow organically and improve with every new edition.
Today’s video is one of my songs from the ‘Tell Me’ album - Blue Door.
When I first performed it live at concerts, people came up to me afterwards to ask if this song is about the Notting Hill movie. No, it’s not! Even if there’s a famous blue door featured in that film. It’s about a personal experience with some poetic licensing added, if you know what I mean. IMHO, lyrics should never be explained. Create your own little clip in your mind. And yes, you can rearrange the furniture - again, if you know what I mean. Enjoy!
My YouTube Channel Views
Here are the songs from my repertoire released on my YouTube channel playlist ‘Start Your Day With A Song’
On my Youtube channel you can also view ‘shorts’ videos, where I post raw clips of daily encounters and old concert footage that are quite hilarious when you see them again after a long time
ClickASnap Picture Book
In this section I feature a picture from my ClickASnap photo gallery and the corresponding story
Camden Town in London through the window of the Camden Market. A great place to visit when you're in London, even though in my opinion years ago it was better. Nowadays the big chains push out the little shops more and more.
It’s kind of a tradition to make a stop here when you’re in London. But nowadays I kind of prefer Brick Lane with all the new places popping up and that delicious bagel shop as a finale grande.
Spotify Song Section
Songs from my Spotify playlist ‘My Songs & Stories’
What I like the most about Macy Gray’s song I Try is weirdly enough the bridge. When she starts singing ‘here’s my confession…’ she stays pretty much on the same note and when you hear the song for the first time you think how long can she stay on that note without breaking the tension or getting boring. With every chord change you think - yes, good one, keep it going.
I usually perform this song on guitar, but for my daily morning challenge I tried it on piano including all the rough edges and imperfections. Enjoy!