Some Folk Clubbers moseyed down to the regular Open Mic second Saturday of the month sessions in Bonn in the Mausefalle (see the link on the right hand side of the blog.) which is now like the folk club, purely acoustic and totaly unplugged, and is run by two people who have often played and sung at the folk club, Mario Dompke and Richard Limbert, and have introduced the same conditions at the Open Mic, which should perhaps be now more correctly entitled „Open Mouth“ as there are no longer any mics there. Gerd Schinkel, the singer songwriter from Cologne was there and regaled us with a grand set of his own songs accompanied on the guitar. Gerd graciously accepted, all other things being equal, to come down to the Bonn Folk Club in September and play some hiw own self composed weather songs in September, so that's something for you to look forward to at the next folk club. It's good to get out and about sometimes and if Gerd can bring music from Cologne to Bonn so easily, then perhps some Bonners should reciprocate?
Paolo Pacifico, the blues harmonica player par excellence, walked in though the door of the Open Mic unexpectedly, and as you can see from the photos below, we all had a great time. So much so in fact that the two “Trentonians“, that’s John Harrison from Burton-upon-Trent in England and Paolo Pacifico from Trento in Italy, decided spontaneously to do a live concert alfresco and unplugged along the Rhine Promenade in Cologne this Sunday, to the south of the railway bridge which leads into the main railway station, but before the Deutzer Brücke. Just walk from the Dom cathederal down to the river Rhine and turn right and we’ll be along there somewhere along the promenade down towards where the Köln-Düsseldorfer boats dock.
The weather forcast is 28-29 o C and sunny, so bring your shades, and a hat, because we’ll be playing some very old Delta and Country Blues tunes. So if that floats your boat, we’ll see you on Sunday afternoon.
!!! T O M O R R O W !!!
Sunday 21.07.2013 from 13:00 hrs on the Rhine Promenade Cologne -
"The Two Trentonians"
- a little bit of Blues from Paolo Pacifico & John Harrison
Samstag, 20. Juli 2013
Donnerstag, 18. Juli 2013
Detlefs Bilder vom Folk Club 39
Vielen Dank an den Zeichner Günther Peters |
John Harrison - Nobody Knows You, When You're Down and Out |
Franz Kalina - Bad Moon Rising |
Elena Fricke - Crying time |
Steve Perry - Something Stupid |
Ain't no sunshine |
Steffi Röben - Ich bin da mal so vorbeigekommen |
Lothar Heinrich - That Lucky Old Sun |
Simon Wahl - Auf geht's |
Simon Wahl - A Language Called Music |
Emily und Barry - I am a Zombie |
Cup Song - When I'm Gone |
Emily und Barry - gut gemacht! |
Richard Limbert - Hang me, oh Hang me |
Theo Meh |
Sonderapplaus für Simon Wahl |
Sonntag, 14. Juli 2013
Detlefs Bericht vom Folk Club 39 im Juli 2013
Folk
Club Nr. 39 im Juli – Zauber der Gitarre
Perfektes Biergartenwetter und Katie Melua als
Konkurrenz bei KunstRasen – bleibt da überhaupt noch Publikum übrig für den
Folk Club? Obwohl der Chronist sich diese bange Frage schon so oft gestellt und
darauf immer wieder eine äußerst positive Antwort erhalten hat, staunt er doch
stets angesichts des großen Zuspruchs trotz der vielen anderen Attraktionen. Es
ist halt für Viele Platz.
Traditionell eröffnete John Harrison die Session diesmal mit dem Blues Klassiker „Alberta“
von LeadBelly. Selbst begleitet auf seiner famosen Resonator Gitarre und mit
der Mundharmonika hatte er das Publikum wie immer sofort bei sich. Das witzige
Lied über die beiden verliebten Nilpferde, bei dem das Publikum eingeladen war,
den Refrain mit den Worten „Mud, mud glorious mud, Nothing quite like it for
cooling the blood“, mitzusingen, ging danach schon recht locker über die Bühne.
John hatte das Lied als kleine Erinnerung an seine gerade ausgestandene
Kellerüberschwemmung mit anschließender Schlammschlacht ausgewählt. British humour at its best! Bei
“Nobody Knows You”, einem der ganz großen Klassiker des Blues glänzte John
dann mit eindringlichem Gesang und einem schönen Gitarrenriff.
Als Neuling im Folk Club trat Franz Kalina aus Berlin auf, der bei
einem Freund in Bonn zu Besuch war und die Gunst der Stunde für einen Auftritt
nutzte. Noch ein wenig schüchtern spielte und sang er recht schön das Credence
Clearwater Revival Stück von 1969 „Bad Moon Rising“. Die „reifere Jugend“ reibt
sich verwundert die Augen, auf welche Stücke die „wahre Jugend“ zurückgreift.
Aber die Dinger von CCR waren und bleiben nun mal Knüller und werden immer
wieder gern genommen. Im Unterschied dazu wäre es der Jugend damals nicht in
den Sinn gekommen, sich an den musikalischen Lieblingsstücken aus der Jugend
ihrer Eltern zu ergötzen. Die Zeiten ändern sich, denn auch diese Musik erlebt
ja eine Renaissance. Die beiden Lieder von Oasis „The Importance of Being Idle“
und „Whatever“ sind da schon etwas – aber auch nur etwas – näher am aktuellen
Zeitgeschehen.
Unser „Programmdirektor“ Steve Perry wurde von seiner musikalischen Mitstreiterin bei der
famosen „Rock ‘n’ Rollator Show Elena
Fricke für den heutigen Abend als Begleiter „dienstverpflichtet“. Elena
bringt als Sängerin fast Profiniveau mit und hatte bereits bei ihrem Auftritt
im Oktober 2012 zusammen mit ihren Mitsängerinnen Jennifer und Ulrike
Begeisterungsstürme hervorgerufen. Steve hielt sich wacker und er und Elena
bewiesen musikalisches und komödiantisches Talent. „Crying Time“ ist ein
wunderbar schmalziges Country Lied von Buck Owens aus den Vierzigern, das
seither Generationen von Sängern inspiriert hat. Elena und Steve machten damit
jedenfalls eine super Figur und Appetit auf mehr. Mit „These Boots Are Made for
Walking“ von Nancy Sinatra feuerten sie gleich einen weiteren Schuss ins
Schwarze. Elena glänzte mit ihrer voluminösen und intonationssicheren Stimme.
Der Schmalztopf war noch nicht leer und so holten sie schnell einen weiteren
Ohrwurm hervor: „Something Stupid“, das unsterbliche Lied mit Vater und Tochter
Sinatra, war wie gemacht für die beiden, die natürlich nicht ohne Zugabe von
der Bühne durften. Mit „Ain’t no Sunshine“ von Bill Withers bemühten sie ein
weiteres Mal mit Bravour das Thema unglückliche Liebe – süüüß!
Unser treuer Gefolgsmann Lothar Heinrich präsentierte mit „That Lucky Old Sun“ eine
gefühlvolle Südstaaten-Ballade über das harte Leben eines einfachen Arbeiters,
die ebenso wie z.B. „Crying Time“ bereits zahlreiche bekannte Musiker in die
Aufnahmestudios gelockt hat. Anders als bei vielen etwas süßlichen
Interpretationen aus den US Studios schaffte Lothar es, dem Lied die eigentlich
authentischere herbe Note zu geben. Immerhin spricht der Text davon, dass der
geschundene Arbeiter den Herrgott anruft, ihn aus dem elenden Leben in den
Himmel zu holen.
Lothar hatte offenbar erfolgreich die
Werbetrommel für den Folk Club gerührt und mit Steffi Röben ein neues Gesicht und eine neue Stimme angeheuert.
Steffi sang mit ihrer schönen intonationssicheren Stimme ein russisches Lied
von Wladimir Nikolajew, dessen Titel übersetzt lautet „Ich bin da mal so
vorbeigekommen“ – wie bezeichnend für ihren Auftritt.
Lothar
setzte dann den Auftritt fort mit dem Klassiker in spanischer Sprache „Que
Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir“ (Dass niemand von meinem Leid erfahre!). Lothar spielte
und sang das schöne Lied in der ursprünglichen Fassung im peruanischen
Walzertakt. Das Lied aus dem Jahre 1936 wurde später vielfach verändert und in
anderen Taktformen z.B. als Rumba präsentiert.
Nur mit seiner Gitarre bewaffnet betrat dann
ein bescheidener junger Mann die Bühne, den einige der Gäste bereits aus seiner
Schulzeit von Schülerkonzerten der Bonner Musikschule kannten. Simon Wahl wohnt und studiert aber
mittlerweile in Linz in Österreich. Gleich mit den ersten Tönen aus seinem
Instrument ging der Geräuschpegel im Publikum schlagartig fast auf Null. Was
dann aus dem Instrument herausgezaubert kam, verschlug den Meisten den Atem.
„Haben wir zufällig gerade die Ehre, einem Genie zuhören zu dürfen?“ raunte mir
einer meiner Tischnachbarn beim tosenden Applaus nach dem ersten Stück „Auf
geht’s“ zu. Simon bringt es fertig, die Gitarre so zu spielen, dass gleich
mehrere Instrumente gleichzeitig ertönen. Die rechte Hand zupft und schlägt die
Saiten und erzeugt zugleich noch kunstvolle Perkussionselemente auf dem
Gitarrenkörper, mit der linken Greifhand zupft und schlägt er ebenfalls die
Saiten und greift nur fast nebenbei in die Bünde – ein verwirrendes
Klangerlebnis, bei dem man nicht glauben möchte, nur einen einzigen Musiker vor
sich zu haben. „Hoffnung“ lautet das leicht melancholische Stück, das wie fast
alle anderen aus Simons eigener Feder stammen. Leicht eingesprenkelte
Flageoletttöne geben dem Stück etwas Luftiges. Das in Moll gesetzte Stück endet
in Dur – die Hoffnung war nicht vergebens. Bei „Fernweh“ sorgt Simon mit Rechts
vor allem für die Percussion und erzeugt die kunstvolle Melodie mit der linken
Greifhand. Ähnlich kunstvolle und virtuose Momente bescherte er dem atemlosen Publikum
bei den Stücken „Am Rhein“ und „A Language Called Music“. Am Ende des Abends
komplettierte Simon seinen furiosen Auftritt u.a. mit den Stücken „Take it
Easy“ (schier unglaubliches Fingerpicking), einem Arrangement von
Eminem-Stücken mit gelöster und für Percussionszwecke gelöster E-Saite, dem
lyrischen und zum Weinen schönen Stück „September“ und einem in Italien
komponierten Sommerlied. Natürlich durfte Simon nicht ohne Zugabe gehen und
beglückte seine neuen Fans mit dem Lied „Rastlos“, das er erst vor Kurzem
pomponiert hat. Riesen Applaus, der fast nicht enden wollte. Wir hoffen, Simon
bei einem Heimatbesuch wieder im Folk Club bewundern zu dürfen.
Auch diesmal setzte unser alter Freund Günther Peters seine vor einiger Zeit
begonnene Serie fort und lud das Publikum zu einem gemeinsamen Lied ein. Zur
bekannten Melodie von „Komm lieber Mai und mache“ – wer es nicht weiß: die
Melodie stammt von W. A. Mozart, und das Lied hat den Originaltitel „Sehnsucht
nach dem Frühling“, KV 596 – hatte Günter ein witziges Lied über den Folk Club
gedichtet und zudem auf einem Liedblatt mit einem hübschen selbstgezeichneten
Bild verteilt, ein großer Spaß für alle und ein prima Einstieg in die zweite
Hälfte der Session.
Hier setzten wieder Barry Roshto und seine Tochter Emily
die Maßstäbe mit einigen wundervoll arrangierten und vorgetragenen Stücken: Bei
„I am a Zombie“ von The „Pretty Reckless“ konnte Emily ihre zarte und doch
kraftvolle Stimme sehr schön zur Geltung bringen. Barry ist dabei ein herrlich
einfühlsamer Begleiter mit seiner schönen melodischen Tenorstimme und natürlich
seinen Klavierarrangements. Göttlicher Schmalz ist das Lied „We’re Gonna Find
it“ aus dem Animationsfilm „Barbie & The Diamond Castle“. Nachdenklicher
ging’s zu beim Lied „People, Help The People“ von „Birdy“, bei dem das Duo mit
seinen wundervollen Stimmen dem Publikum direkt ins Herz sang. Ihren Auftritt
beendeten die Beiden mit dem witzigen Cup Song „When I’m Gone“ von „Pitch
Perfect“. Bei dem Lied, das a capella vorgetragen wird, muss zum Gesang ein
Becher in rhythmischer Folge als Perkussionselement auf einem Tisch gedreht
werden und zwischendrin in die Hände geklatscht wird. Ihr könnt euch das ja mal
auf Youtube anschauen (Beispiel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqLBYgmG16s).
Die beiden meisterten die Akrobatikübung jeder mit seinem Becher mit Bravour,
ohne dabei einen Knoten im Gehirn zu kriegen.
Erstmals seit einiger Zeit gab Richard Limbert wieder eine Kostprobe
seines Könnens. Mit „Tangled up in Blue“ von Bob Dylan tauchte er nach seinen
Worten in die Teenagephase ab, um danach die „kriminelle Phase“ anzusteuern:
Das Lied „Hang me o Hang me“ von Dave van Ronk handelt von einem Landstreicher,
der immer hungrig ist und dem es fast lieber ist, hingerichtet zu werden.
Irgendwie hat Richard ein Faible für morbide Themen, denn sein letztes, diesmal
selbstgeschriebenes, Lied hatte den Titel „Hang me Higher“. Der Aufforderung
ist das Publikum dann doch nicht nachgekommen. Stattdessen gab es Applaus für
seinen schönen Beitrag und seinen kraftvollen Gesang.
Ebenfalls stimmlich glänzen konnte Theo Meh, der auch nicht das Erste Mal
im Folk Club auftrat, der sich aber diesmal mit einer selbstgeschriebenen
Hommage an den Folk Club nach Berlin verabschiedete, wo er in Kürze eine neue
Arbeit aufnimmt. Viel Glück für deine Zukunft Theo, vielleicht kannst du ja in
Berlin einen Folk Club aufmachen.
Der Abend ging wie üblich mit der „Hymne“ „Jock
Stuart“ zuende und entließ das Publikum mit der Vorfreude auf die nächste
Session am 6. September (im August sind Folk Club-Ferien). Dann gibt es einen
Themenabend unter dem Motto „Wetterlieder“. Wer einen Beitrag zum oder über das
Wetter machen möchte, ist herzlich willkommen.
Simon Wahl -
Finger Style Guitarist -
as if choice was an option?
It was certainly quite a humbling experience for all the guitarists in the room (and to my knowledge there were at least a couple of dozen of them present, if not more), but as one much wiser than myself once profoundly said,
“If you go out with your guitar on a Friday or a Saturday night, then you should go out to learn, not to teach.“
“Your Man“, which is Irish for “Simon Wahl“ this evening, certainly taught us a thing or two on this musical night to well remember. A guitar is usually composed of several pieces of wood, expertly glued and honed together with six strings placed and tautly strung across it and fretted by a luthier. That is a given. The possibilities of what one can do with this “given“ is something else. In the case of Simon Wahl it is, completely something else.
Simon played it in standard tuning, and dropped D, double dropped D and open D minor tuning, moreover he played it well, very, very well indeed. So well in fact that many of the audience were suffering from “dropped J“ (dropped jaw) after trying in vain to reconcile what their eyes were seeing and their ears were hearing.
There are literally many millions of guitarists and really so few different notes to play. Some, one can recognise after just a few bars, and one can put an immediate finger on them. B B King, Carlos Santana, and to a lesser extent (not because he is worse, but because so many others play in his exact same genre) Eric Clapton.
Both Jeff Beck and the guy from Dire Straits (Mark Buttons) pick fingerstyle on an electric guitar without a plectrum, either with their nails or their finger tips.
Simon Wahl touches his guitar strings on his acoustic guitar with his fingers, without a plectrum. He touches so finely that harmonics are extracted from almost impossible places. I think his composition “Always“ will always be my favoutite tune of his and my favourite “ear worm“ of the year. It is aflush with bristling harmonies and glistening harmonics. In fact he seems to spirit harmonics forth from where they seemingly shouldn’t be. My second favourite was “Take It Easy“ which, swings with percussive interludes and makes such a wonderful double pack with “Always“. The two French entitled numbers “Maintenant“ with its delicate melodies interspersed with powerful chords and “Deja Vu“ are notewothy, as is “Lovely Day In Cologne“ which somehow conjours up images of sheer delightful vibrant pleasure. His Eminem medley was so convincing, dropping the lower E string so low that it sounded like a snare drum, it even had Theo threatening to trade in his Roy Orbison dark glasses and become a hip hop fan! The slower more soulful number, “I can’t see till I see you“ is one tune of Simon’s which, more than any other, seems to be literally crying out for lyrics though.
Simon confided that he is actually currently having tuition for his voice, so that in future he may also sing as well as “just playing the guitar“. If he sets the same standards on his voice as he does his guitar playing then it may be a few years hence before we hear it, but if it is only half as good as his guitar playing, it will be bliss indeed. So some news of Simon's voice and "work in progress". All I would ask Simon is that when you do feel it is time to bring out the voice and make a debut as a singer, that you do it on a first Friday of the month and that you do it in your old home town, just a few hundred meters from the river Rhine. It would be both an honour and a pleasure for us to have you back with us again.
It is rare indeed that we have a special guest at the folk club so young, (he’s still not yet notched up a quarter of a century) so talented, and yet in himself so equally as humble as he can be humbling. It was the first time that a special guest performed completely instrumental sets since Reiner Weiss from Cologne musically regaled us on the piano in 2010, but all the pieces Simon played for us were of his own composition. So scarcely any one in the room had heard any of his music before, but everyone was left in awe and wonderment of his guitar finesse and his composition skills and were totally enthralled from start to finish. He also does much physical percussion, knocking, banging and scratching on his guitar and smiles, a lot. Simon Wahl lets music thrive in a most modern and refreshing cross-genre sense. Simon was a little sceptical at first as to whether a “finger style“ acoustic guitarist like himself would be able to play to so many people without any amplification whatsoever, but the quieter the audience became the louder and clearer Simon seemed to become. Yes, it can be done, in fact people have been doing it for many hundreds, indeed many, many thousands of years and we sometimes forget to remember today that electrical amplification is not yet one hundred years old. Throughout the course of time, as Barry often points out, if there was something playing or some one singing that you wanted to hear, you simply huddled in closer to listen better. Not a problem.
At the folk club we like to both respect tradition and equally encourage creativity and in this respect we couldn’t have wished for a better special guest in July.
“Tradition“ will one day also say,
“Thank you Simon Wahl“
Until that day let us simply enjoy his wonderful love of harmony and harmonics and dynamic, progressive, envelope-pushing guitar playing, and music in general, that most universal of all the human languages. His latest CD “Deja Vu“ would make a wonderful gift for anybody with a future birthday, it left me very much with one of those “Joie de la vie“ smiles. You’ll find a link to his web site on the right of this page. He certainly deserves as much encouragement as he can get, and you will certainly enjoy his music.
Before the last folk club meet we questioned all of the musicians who had ever played at the Bonn folk club, and also those who had shown an interest in doing so, about their opinion on being videoed in general, but particuarly about being "rogue videoed" whilst performing, by an unknown third party, without being asked, without a possibility of them ever seeing this video themselves, and potentially with the possibility of this video also being placed in the internet for all and sundry to see without their permission. If a performer asks a friend or relative to video their performance this is perfectly OK, but when one performer is being videoed simultaneously by six different people, one thinks, is this something which we should condone, or even encourage, or simply just ignore, or perhaps think about a potential solution about how we could possibly manage it in a better way in the future?
The musicians who answered the questionaire were overwhelmingly in favour of a test and so we did one at the July folk club. Even Martin Donnelly from Northern Ireland who has written the song about the "Green Man" told us we should "go for it". His most famous song "The Green Man" is still available on YouTube as background music to Stonehenge as you can see and hear here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLDoj4fqb-g
but he has sinced ceased to show himself performing it live on YouTube on his own video channel. It is a very wonderful song, and what ever his reasons for this are, they are his reasons, it is his song and one should respect the writer's decision.
The performers who answered the questionnaire have obviously thought about the proposition and weighed up the pros and cons in their own minds, and have at the same time confronted themselves with the very idea of being videod and considered the potential positive aspects of being able to use this video document in future to be able to perhaps further their musical careers by presenting this as a guide to potential bookers, of their actual live musical ability. The videos will certainly not be of MTV quality, but hopefully by being static, will be better than an impromptu video made with a hand held device.
There was very many heated discussions amongst ourselves on this issue and we don't yet know if we have found "a" let alone "the" solution. Better people than us have tried and failed. The folk club is in one sense like coming and performing in someone's living room, one just gets up and plays, on the other hand the longer it exists, the higher the quality becomes. Videoing does, however, push an amateur dramatic forgiving live moment aspect, with all its charm, into an unforgiving moment, possibly damning, captured eternally as a film documentary. So our discussions could never be anything other than heated on a matter so fundamental.
So if we do eventually decide to video everything, it is mainly in order to discourage "rogue videoers" who have not asked permission from the performers. The house videos made in the folk club, will only be made with the individual performers' consent, will not be put on YouTube for all to see, but will simply be "given" (back) to the performers, to whom they really, if we all think about it, actually belong.
If you come to the folk club you are offered an amazing and diverse variety of music performed by an equally diverse variety of performers, not only from many different countries but also from many different continents. It doesn't cost you anything to experience this, and it's probably, depending on the night, one of the best free live musical events in Bonn.
So in July we did a video trial.
The results are still open, it's our "work in progress" and the jury's still out.
It seems like Martin Donnelly not only replied to the musicians' questionnaire, but that he actually sent the Green Man over to check out the best guitarist in the room, and probably far beyond the room. This is a picture of Simon Wahl playing just a guitar, a wooden instrument made from the trees of the forest, and it looks like the Green Man wanted to check out not just Simon's guitar and original music but also the modern technology perched on a forty year old tripod, as the first video trial in the Bonn folk club was being conducted. Have a look at the picture down below. It's one thing having the "Green Man" played and performed in the folk club, but it's a different thing entirely when he actually pays us a visit during a concert.
It was a little bit quirky and a wee bit spooky, but luckily dear Martin Donnelly, probably a bit of a closet internet video sceptic himself, had given us the OK, so we felt kind of comfortable about it!
We are still not sure if we are doing the right thing,
but we are trying.
What is your opinion as the audience? The musicians have already had their say and being more often the objects being videoed rather than the videoers they probably have perhaps given the matter more consideration but will certainly have a different opinion than you the audience. The idea is that the folk club produces a video and presents it as a service or small "Danke schön" to the performing artists, with their permission. If any performer does not wish to be videoed whatsoever, we turn the camera off. If a member of the audience wishes to view a video of any performance at the folk club, they can ask the individual performer or group who can grant or deny permission as they see fit, according to how they view the quality of the film as a video document.
This is certainly not a new rule or regulation, but it will hopefully reduce the need for so many simultaneous videos to be made, which can be annoying to the people adjacent to the filmer on the same table, who may be unwittingly prominently visible or audible on any video made there, and at the same it will also be less daunting for some of our less experienced performers who may, or may not, on their stage premiere, (and we actually had two in July, Franz Kalina and Steffie Ruben - though most of you would probably not have been aware of it from the fine quality of their performances) be ready to deal with staring straight into the lenses of maybe half a dozen unknown amateur documentary film makers, whilst trying to keep calm and sort their thoughts and remember their words and chords.
This has nothing to do with live streaming the folk club direct into the internet, or increasing folk club postings on the internet. It is about making the folk club a more pleasant environment for performers to perform, and for the audience to listen to and enjoy the music, live.
That's what the folk club has always been about and what it will continue to always be about. If it works, and we still don't know whether it will, it will be about empowerment of the performers. The decision about the video document produced will be in future entirely with the performers, and they can decide if they wish to keep it for themselves, distribute it to family and friends, use it for their own promotional purposes or even, if they think it merits it, post it on the internet themselves, for which they will then assume any potential copyright considerations or responsibilities.
If any of you reading this wish to comment, agree, disagree or make suggestions, either in English or in German, please feel free to do so, either directly here on the blog, where a public comment can be added at the bottom of the page, or via e-mail to FolkClubBonn@gmail.com
Don't forget NOT to come in August when there is no folk club meet, do enjoy your holidays and return refreshed in September when we have a Singers' Night, where the theme is the weather, which means anyone able to perform a song pertinent to the weather can come forward to do an "Annette" - a one song floor spot - without having to go through the now normal unfortunate rigmarole of applying for a floor spot several months in advance.
Keep your eyes wide open and your ears well peeled and if you do happen to see the Green Man, greet him well from all of us and tell him, like Simon Wahl, he's very welcome back with us again, any time he wishes.
John Harrison.
“Your Man“, which is Irish for “Simon Wahl“ this evening, certainly taught us a thing or two on this musical night to well remember. A guitar is usually composed of several pieces of wood, expertly glued and honed together with six strings placed and tautly strung across it and fretted by a luthier. That is a given. The possibilities of what one can do with this “given“ is something else. In the case of Simon Wahl it is, completely something else.
Simon played it in standard tuning, and dropped D, double dropped D and open D minor tuning, moreover he played it well, very, very well indeed. So well in fact that many of the audience were suffering from “dropped J“ (dropped jaw) after trying in vain to reconcile what their eyes were seeing and their ears were hearing.
There are literally many millions of guitarists and really so few different notes to play. Some, one can recognise after just a few bars, and one can put an immediate finger on them. B B King, Carlos Santana, and to a lesser extent (not because he is worse, but because so many others play in his exact same genre) Eric Clapton.
Both Jeff Beck and the guy from Dire Straits (Mark Buttons) pick fingerstyle on an electric guitar without a plectrum, either with their nails or their finger tips.
Simon Wahl touches his guitar strings on his acoustic guitar with his fingers, without a plectrum. He touches so finely that harmonics are extracted from almost impossible places. I think his composition “Always“ will always be my favoutite tune of his and my favourite “ear worm“ of the year. It is aflush with bristling harmonies and glistening harmonics. In fact he seems to spirit harmonics forth from where they seemingly shouldn’t be. My second favourite was “Take It Easy“ which, swings with percussive interludes and makes such a wonderful double pack with “Always“. The two French entitled numbers “Maintenant“ with its delicate melodies interspersed with powerful chords and “Deja Vu“ are notewothy, as is “Lovely Day In Cologne“ which somehow conjours up images of sheer delightful vibrant pleasure. His Eminem medley was so convincing, dropping the lower E string so low that it sounded like a snare drum, it even had Theo threatening to trade in his Roy Orbison dark glasses and become a hip hop fan! The slower more soulful number, “I can’t see till I see you“ is one tune of Simon’s which, more than any other, seems to be literally crying out for lyrics though.
Simon confided that he is actually currently having tuition for his voice, so that in future he may also sing as well as “just playing the guitar“. If he sets the same standards on his voice as he does his guitar playing then it may be a few years hence before we hear it, but if it is only half as good as his guitar playing, it will be bliss indeed. So some news of Simon's voice and "work in progress". All I would ask Simon is that when you do feel it is time to bring out the voice and make a debut as a singer, that you do it on a first Friday of the month and that you do it in your old home town, just a few hundred meters from the river Rhine. It would be both an honour and a pleasure for us to have you back with us again.
It is rare indeed that we have a special guest at the folk club so young, (he’s still not yet notched up a quarter of a century) so talented, and yet in himself so equally as humble as he can be humbling. It was the first time that a special guest performed completely instrumental sets since Reiner Weiss from Cologne musically regaled us on the piano in 2010, but all the pieces Simon played for us were of his own composition. So scarcely any one in the room had heard any of his music before, but everyone was left in awe and wonderment of his guitar finesse and his composition skills and were totally enthralled from start to finish. He also does much physical percussion, knocking, banging and scratching on his guitar and smiles, a lot. Simon Wahl lets music thrive in a most modern and refreshing cross-genre sense. Simon was a little sceptical at first as to whether a “finger style“ acoustic guitarist like himself would be able to play to so many people without any amplification whatsoever, but the quieter the audience became the louder and clearer Simon seemed to become. Yes, it can be done, in fact people have been doing it for many hundreds, indeed many, many thousands of years and we sometimes forget to remember today that electrical amplification is not yet one hundred years old. Throughout the course of time, as Barry often points out, if there was something playing or some one singing that you wanted to hear, you simply huddled in closer to listen better. Not a problem.
At the folk club we like to both respect tradition and equally encourage creativity and in this respect we couldn’t have wished for a better special guest in July.
“Tradition“ will one day also say,
“Thank you Simon Wahl“
Until that day let us simply enjoy his wonderful love of harmony and harmonics and dynamic, progressive, envelope-pushing guitar playing, and music in general, that most universal of all the human languages. His latest CD “Deja Vu“ would make a wonderful gift for anybody with a future birthday, it left me very much with one of those “Joie de la vie“ smiles. You’ll find a link to his web site on the right of this page. He certainly deserves as much encouragement as he can get, and you will certainly enjoy his music.
Before the last folk club meet we questioned all of the musicians who had ever played at the Bonn folk club, and also those who had shown an interest in doing so, about their opinion on being videoed in general, but particuarly about being "rogue videoed" whilst performing, by an unknown third party, without being asked, without a possibility of them ever seeing this video themselves, and potentially with the possibility of this video also being placed in the internet for all and sundry to see without their permission. If a performer asks a friend or relative to video their performance this is perfectly OK, but when one performer is being videoed simultaneously by six different people, one thinks, is this something which we should condone, or even encourage, or simply just ignore, or perhaps think about a potential solution about how we could possibly manage it in a better way in the future?
The musicians who answered the questionaire were overwhelmingly in favour of a test and so we did one at the July folk club. Even Martin Donnelly from Northern Ireland who has written the song about the "Green Man" told us we should "go for it". His most famous song "The Green Man" is still available on YouTube as background music to Stonehenge as you can see and hear here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLDoj4fqb-g
but he has sinced ceased to show himself performing it live on YouTube on his own video channel. It is a very wonderful song, and what ever his reasons for this are, they are his reasons, it is his song and one should respect the writer's decision.
The performers who answered the questionnaire have obviously thought about the proposition and weighed up the pros and cons in their own minds, and have at the same time confronted themselves with the very idea of being videod and considered the potential positive aspects of being able to use this video document in future to be able to perhaps further their musical careers by presenting this as a guide to potential bookers, of their actual live musical ability. The videos will certainly not be of MTV quality, but hopefully by being static, will be better than an impromptu video made with a hand held device.
There was very many heated discussions amongst ourselves on this issue and we don't yet know if we have found "a" let alone "the" solution. Better people than us have tried and failed. The folk club is in one sense like coming and performing in someone's living room, one just gets up and plays, on the other hand the longer it exists, the higher the quality becomes. Videoing does, however, push an amateur dramatic forgiving live moment aspect, with all its charm, into an unforgiving moment, possibly damning, captured eternally as a film documentary. So our discussions could never be anything other than heated on a matter so fundamental.
So if we do eventually decide to video everything, it is mainly in order to discourage "rogue videoers" who have not asked permission from the performers. The house videos made in the folk club, will only be made with the individual performers' consent, will not be put on YouTube for all to see, but will simply be "given" (back) to the performers, to whom they really, if we all think about it, actually belong.
If you come to the folk club you are offered an amazing and diverse variety of music performed by an equally diverse variety of performers, not only from many different countries but also from many different continents. It doesn't cost you anything to experience this, and it's probably, depending on the night, one of the best free live musical events in Bonn.
So in July we did a video trial.
The results are still open, it's our "work in progress" and the jury's still out.
It seems like Martin Donnelly not only replied to the musicians' questionnaire, but that he actually sent the Green Man over to check out the best guitarist in the room, and probably far beyond the room. This is a picture of Simon Wahl playing just a guitar, a wooden instrument made from the trees of the forest, and it looks like the Green Man wanted to check out not just Simon's guitar and original music but also the modern technology perched on a forty year old tripod, as the first video trial in the Bonn folk club was being conducted. Have a look at the picture down below. It's one thing having the "Green Man" played and performed in the folk club, but it's a different thing entirely when he actually pays us a visit during a concert.
It was a little bit quirky and a wee bit spooky, but luckily dear Martin Donnelly, probably a bit of a closet internet video sceptic himself, had given us the OK, so we felt kind of comfortable about it!
We are still not sure if we are doing the right thing,
but we are trying.
What is your opinion as the audience? The musicians have already had their say and being more often the objects being videoed rather than the videoers they probably have perhaps given the matter more consideration but will certainly have a different opinion than you the audience. The idea is that the folk club produces a video and presents it as a service or small "Danke schön" to the performing artists, with their permission. If any performer does not wish to be videoed whatsoever, we turn the camera off. If a member of the audience wishes to view a video of any performance at the folk club, they can ask the individual performer or group who can grant or deny permission as they see fit, according to how they view the quality of the film as a video document.
This is certainly not a new rule or regulation, but it will hopefully reduce the need for so many simultaneous videos to be made, which can be annoying to the people adjacent to the filmer on the same table, who may be unwittingly prominently visible or audible on any video made there, and at the same it will also be less daunting for some of our less experienced performers who may, or may not, on their stage premiere, (and we actually had two in July, Franz Kalina and Steffie Ruben - though most of you would probably not have been aware of it from the fine quality of their performances) be ready to deal with staring straight into the lenses of maybe half a dozen unknown amateur documentary film makers, whilst trying to keep calm and sort their thoughts and remember their words and chords.
This has nothing to do with live streaming the folk club direct into the internet, or increasing folk club postings on the internet. It is about making the folk club a more pleasant environment for performers to perform, and for the audience to listen to and enjoy the music, live.
That's what the folk club has always been about and what it will continue to always be about. If it works, and we still don't know whether it will, it will be about empowerment of the performers. The decision about the video document produced will be in future entirely with the performers, and they can decide if they wish to keep it for themselves, distribute it to family and friends, use it for their own promotional purposes or even, if they think it merits it, post it on the internet themselves, for which they will then assume any potential copyright considerations or responsibilities.
If any of you reading this wish to comment, agree, disagree or make suggestions, either in English or in German, please feel free to do so, either directly here on the blog, where a public comment can be added at the bottom of the page, or via e-mail to FolkClubBonn@gmail.com
Don't forget NOT to come in August when there is no folk club meet, do enjoy your holidays and return refreshed in September when we have a Singers' Night, where the theme is the weather, which means anyone able to perform a song pertinent to the weather can come forward to do an "Annette" - a one song floor spot - without having to go through the now normal unfortunate rigmarole of applying for a floor spot several months in advance.
Keep your eyes wide open and your ears well peeled and if you do happen to see the Green Man, greet him well from all of us and tell him, like Simon Wahl, he's very welcome back with us again, any time he wishes.
John Harrison.
Donnerstag, 4. Juli 2013
FC 39 - 5th July 2013
Special Guest Simon Wahl
Simon Wahl - Fingerstyle Gitarrist
Simon Wahl wurde 1989 in Bonn geboren.
Mit 13 Jahren begann er Klassikgitarre zu lernen, spielte bald E-Gitarre in diversen Rockbands und kam als 18 Jähriger schließlich zur akustischen Fingerstyle Gitarre, mit der er sich musikalisch am besten ausdrücken kann. Es folgten 2 Demo CDs und 2 professionelle Studioalben. Schon im Alter von 22 Jahren spielte er mit Gitarrengrößen wie Adam Rafferty oder Thomas Leeb auf internationalen Gitarrenfestivals und leitete als Dozent erste Gitarrenworkshops für Fingerstyle.
Bei seinen Eigenkompositionen imitiert er eine ganze Band auf nur einer Akustikgitarre, so spielt er Percussion, Bass-Slapping und Fingerpicking gleichzeitig! Von Balladen bis rockigen Grooves ist alles dabei.
Neben einem Klassik- und Fingerstyle- Gitarrenstudium bei Prof. Michael Langer in Linz (Österreich), spielt Simon regelmäßig Konzerte von Wien bis Hamburg und versteht es sein Publikum immer wieder auf's neue zu begeistern.
www.simonwahl.com
Simon Wahl auf FaceBook
Don't miss it!!!
Simon Wahl - Fingerstyle Gitarrist
Simon Wahl wurde 1989 in Bonn geboren.
Mit 13 Jahren begann er Klassikgitarre zu lernen, spielte bald E-Gitarre in diversen Rockbands und kam als 18 Jähriger schließlich zur akustischen Fingerstyle Gitarre, mit der er sich musikalisch am besten ausdrücken kann. Es folgten 2 Demo CDs und 2 professionelle Studioalben. Schon im Alter von 22 Jahren spielte er mit Gitarrengrößen wie Adam Rafferty oder Thomas Leeb auf internationalen Gitarrenfestivals und leitete als Dozent erste Gitarrenworkshops für Fingerstyle.
Bei seinen Eigenkompositionen imitiert er eine ganze Band auf nur einer Akustikgitarre, so spielt er Percussion, Bass-Slapping und Fingerpicking gleichzeitig! Von Balladen bis rockigen Grooves ist alles dabei.
Neben einem Klassik- und Fingerstyle- Gitarrenstudium bei Prof. Michael Langer in Linz (Österreich), spielt Simon regelmäßig Konzerte von Wien bis Hamburg und versteht es sein Publikum immer wieder auf's neue zu begeistern.
www.simonwahl.com
Simon Wahl auf FaceBook
Don't miss it!!!
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)