Tag: music

Brief Bout of Self-Promotion

Don’t worry, it’ll pass.

You all probably know this: I’m a singer. And I’m in a lovely group in Munich with a choir, orchestra and Big Band, English Speaking Music Ensembles e.V. (ESME). We do two big concerts a year and our winter concert is quickly approaching.

Do you need a big blast of Christmas cheer, right in the face? Wanna support live music made by your fellow expats? Just looking for a way to spend a Sunday evening in Munich? There are still tickets left through München Ticket, but they’re going fast!

Snowflakes and Sleigh Bells
19:00 on Sunday, December 1
Festsaal – Künstlerhaus am Lenbachplatz
Munich

Snowflakes and Sleigh Bells
Snowflakes and Sleigh Bells

Le Jour du Grand Prix…

Or the Eurovision final approacheth!

We’re in a particular, perennial pile-up of post-easter holidays right now. It starts with Good Friday (Karfreitag), which careens into Easter Sunday and Monday, then in the middle is International Labor Day (Tag der Arbeit – always May 1). We’re in the bad patch now, with Ascension last week (Christihimmelfahrt), then Pentecost on the 28th (Pfingsten, another Sunday-Monday combo) and finally, Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam, or ‘happy cadaver’ as the direct translation would suggest) on June 7th. All days when everything is closed and, often, when your whole doctor’s office or Kindergarten takes two weeks off. Continue reading Le Jour du Grand Prix…

Choir Concert in Munich, December 4, 2011

I’ve never put this on the blog before, but I thought it might be fun to give it a try. Once.

I’m in a choir and we’re having a Christmas concert in Munich. It’s a pretty good group with a variety of musical abilities and an eclectic program of songs. There’s also an orchestra and Big Band doing instrumental pieces.

Wanna come?

If you’re going to be in Munich that day and have a couple of hours to kill, check out the details at the TT Orchestra & Singers website. The venue is somewhat small (fewer than 300 seats), so buying tickets ahead of time is probably a good idea. Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me directly through the ‘Contact’ link above.

What’s not to Like?

So there’s this music blog the Heidelbergerin turned me on to. That blog is now more or less defunct, but one of the last gems I learned about through it was The Like.

I took a listen to some of their earlier stuff after falling out of my chair sampling their album Release Me, and it didn’t appeal to me as much. It would seem Mark Ronson's and Dap-Kings' influence on their sound is a really, really good thing.

I like the sound of bands like The Cyrkle and early Who. The Rubber Souly, mid-60s, not-quite-Strawberry-Alarm-Clock sound is a good fit for a retro girl-group act like theirs.

Here’s the first track which attracted me to them:

But how did those people in the video steal all my dance moves?

And an acoustic double-header:

Fun a cappella takes on songs you’ve probably heard

Is there anyone with access to any sort of electronics who hasn’t heard the original version of this song?

Compare to Christopher Walken’s rendition:

The original Knights of Cydonia by Muse (this song rocks):

…and this outstanding one-man a cappella cover of it:

For this last one, be sure check out the original first, if you don’t already know it (and everyone in Germany, if not Europe, already does, since it’s the Eurovision 2010 contest winner):

I like this guy’s version so much better! Also, he’s got better moves than she does.

Attention local Friends of the Funk

funky_good_time_anthology.jpgThis just in (though I think Sarah told me about it some time ago and today I was reminded of it again): Funk legend Fred Wesley and the New JB’s are playing at Alte Mälzerei in Regensburg on Friday, April 16th. Do you know who this guy is? He was James Brown’s band leader, composer, arranger, etc., and later went on to collaborate with Parliament / Funkadelic and Bootsy Collins. He is working on some neat Klezmer-Funk fusion stuff under the moniker Abraham Inc.

This show promises to be one not to miss. Who’s with me on this one?

Here’s a sampler:
[audio:http://www.regensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/fred.mp3]

Bürgerfest 2009’s Best Bandnames

Now that the Bürgerfest 2009 has come and gone, I want to share with you my favorite band names and genre descriptions from the actual, official Bürgerfest 2009 program. These are all real. Even the typos, if there are any.

Band Name Genre Description
Hongkong Tits Bavarian Rock’n Roll
Midlife Crisis Rock
pet us to deeth noise pop
sullen silence Indie
Röckl Pop, Jazz und Rock mit bayerischen Texten
Senna Hoy Anarcho Deutschrock
Fanfara Kalaschnikov Balkan-Speed-Brass-Rock aus Rumänien
Chicken Shakers Rock’n Roll
Brittipoppers Britpop von Oasis bis Beatles
Coffin Factory Rock & Pop
Michael Sings for Papa Joe Joe Cocker Coverband
Motherfunkers 100 prozent Funk
VierUndOane Ü30/Oldienight, Rock, Pop, Oldies
Rockomotive Breath
Robn Roll 2 Gitarren – unzählige Hits
The All Migthy Guys Rock, Pop, Lehrerband vs. Schüler
Jearsy Bon Jovi Coverband
Sunny Bottom Boys Hilly-Billy, Bluegrass, Rockabilly

Who could resist a weekend of that? Can’t wait to see what they roll out next year.

Amazon.de: MP3-Downloads: Musik in riesiger Auswahl

Amazon.de: MP3-Downloads: Musik in riesiger Auswahl: “”

Hey, when did this happen? I’ve been waiting around for this for like a YEAR! I already bought a bunch of albums at less than five euros a pop…stand by for some recommendations after I’ve had a solid listen.