Andrés Solé Newsletter # 1

Here’s my first Miami Newsletter about what is going on in my life and musical career. I was asked by many to send the list of ”10 most important things I learned in Sweden” which I read during my last concert…

080829 – Goodbye concert – Andrés Solé – Hagabion, Gothenburg, Sweden

First of all, thank you to everyone who came to the concert. You mean a lot to me, each and everyone of you. It felt like a family gathering to me, it really did. I left so filled with positive energy and love, that I know will carry me long in Miami. Thank you!

Andrés Solé canta en su concierto de despedidad en Gotemburgo, Suecia, 080831.

For those of you who missed the concert here are a couple of the comments that showered in the days following and then a short description of that nights events:

UA-PAN-LEROLEROLEROLEROLERO-SIM-BAM-BEN-TICOTICOTICO-TANTAN-CHEVERE!!!!! – EG

Thanks for a brilliant concert! – HF

Da nos la paz was my personal favorite…you really should get this recorded! Excellent performance, probably your best ever. Thank you! – LE

You were great, so wonderful – your power, goodness, energy, joy and talent spired as never before… – PM

The concert yesterday was wonderful, beautiful, inspiring! You are a rockstar, baby!!! – GS

When I think of the overall feeling that came through in your concert I immediately think love. But think about it again, what we all walked away with was a feeling respect. Keep following your dreams! – ML

It is wonderful to have those words and all the ones said to me personally after the concert with me as I follow my dreams to Miami. I am humbled.

The concert began with me playing and singing 4 of my songs: Sincero, La última llamada, Al verte and La Marcha. After that my great friend Claudio took charge of the guitar as he knows best and I focued entirely on singing 5 more of my songs: Amor de doble filo, Isla de mi corazón, Esperare, La muralla and Da nos la paz. I was wonderfully surprised to receive my first standing ovation. Wow, it felt great! So after that, with some help from the audience we sang a last ditty of mine, Vuelate (thanks to a call the night before from Elin, my saxophonist, saying she was coming and asking if I was going to play it, since it’s her favorite). After the concert I literally stood there getting hugs for 2 hours from dear friends. It was an unforgettable experience for me. Here are links to pictures and a video from the concert. If took a picture of video you know I would like, please send it!

Something I didn’t mention in my previous account is that I did quite a bit of talking too. Between songs I decided I was going to share with my audience the 10 most important things I had learned in my 10 years living in Sweden. I was asked by many to post these or mail them out, so I am doing that now. Here it is:

1. My first responsibility in life is to myself.
I believe the reason we are here on earth is for each other. But one can only truly give when one is strong, healthy, at peace. The world shuns selfishness, but that should not be confused with the responsibility we have to ourselves and our life. It is my responsibility to see that I am happy, healthy at peace. No one else can do this but me and no matter how hard I try, no one can do it for you, but you. I went around a while blaming my sorrows on everyone else, until I realized I had allow them or at least I was the only with the power to change them.

2. Things are not what they appear.
We all go around saying, “Hi how are you? Fine, thanks and you? Oh Fine.” When reality is another. We all have good and bad days. We all struggle with our own cross. I use to envy those who were richer, happier, more beautiful, more successful. But I have realized that one sees only half the picture. We think no one struggles like we do, that people would stop loving me if they knew me as I am. That is not true. We are all equal, with different talents and different weaknesses.

3. Our feelings are our best guide in life.
I have always been a very logical person. Very organized, disciplined, in need of control. I was brought up, as a latino male, to not listen to my feelings, to not show my weaknesses, to prove I can do it on my own. So I was, for the longest time completely out of touch with my feelings. I followed more what my reason told me, because I was taught to do so. WRONG! Feelings are our best guide. Learning to listen to yourself and what your heart is saying is essential. Most people are headed in a direction and have no idea why. Most people are headed in the direction that conveniently fits into their societies norm, because society says so. WRONG! Think for yourself. I am not saying to not listen to reason. Of course. That is why we have it built in to our brain. But if ever in a conflict of interests, where the brain says one thing and the heart another, don’t hesitate a second. Follow your heart!

4. Fears are our biggest hindrance.
This one was so eye opening for me that I actually lived for a year with my motto being: Whatever scares you, go do it. Fears were totally blocking my life and I was terrified. So I made myself face them. And the wonderful thing is that when you finally confront that monster, you realize that what looked like a mountain in your head actually fits in your hand. Don’t let fear stop you from living the life you want, deserve, were destined to live!

5. Everything has a reason for being and things work out for the best if you put your part.
I used to scorn the difficulties in my life. Wondering why this had to happen to me. But I have now learned that it is the difficulties in my life that often lead to my greatest joys, accomplishments, satisfactions. There is no real use in fighting life. Instead if one learns to accept what comes and find what it has to offer, it makes living a lot easier and more enjoyable. We are all going to get our share of breaks, happiness, luck, sorrow and pain. They are all important parts of life, accept them, embrace them, that is what living is all about. But we can’t expect things to fall in our lap. What we don’t like, we have the responsibility to change it. What we desire, we need to actively ask for. All things work out in the end. Worrying is of no avail.

6. If a person is nice to you, but mean to the waiter or anyone else, they are not a nice person.
I don’t go around judging people, no one has that right. I believe all people are good, but because of bad experiences, fear and need, they can be lead to do evil. I have often wondered how to correctly evaluate if a person is a good influence on me or not. If it is a person I should trust, invest my time in, let close into my heart and this phrase put it into such simple terms. This is especially important for me in matters of love, because it is so easy for me to be blinded by infatuation and therefor not really see a person as they are, only see what one wants to see. Of course most people are nice to you. They have a personal interest in being liked by you. But if that same person then turns around and stabs someone else in the back, guess where you’ll be when you fall out of favor with that person? Don’t forget that people can and do change as well. Time is always an important factor in learning about someone.

7. Our biggest resource we have in life is each other.
I can only accomplish so much on my own and my dreams and goals are much bigger then anything I could ever do on my own. Which is great because that forces me to have to work with other, and though it can be challenging, is always a very enriching experience. The number one reason I love music is because it is a tool for me being social. I love playing music with others, playing music for others, listening to others play music. We need others not only in our professional life, but in our personal, emotional, and spiritual life. All aspects of life are enhanced and adorned by the presence of others. Don’t be afraid to ask, give another person the chance to live out the reason they are here, to serve someone else. We all need to learn to give more, but we all need to really practice receiving. It’s a humbling thing.

8. My goal in life is not joy but peace.
I used to think that I wanted to be as happy as possible, all the time. Who fooled me into that silly thought? What happens with all other emotions, are they to be discarded? I was missing out on a bunch of other experiences which are also rich parts of life. Once one learns to embrace and accept all situations in life as they come, then there is true peace. The person who has found that peace is unbreakable. That is where I want to be. I want to be able to cry in sorrow, passionately cry, as I can laugh in joy. I want to be able to feel anger and have the peace to react correctly. Guilt in its right place, humbleness, curiosity, love, shame, pride, honor, weakness, all are welcome, and to find the peace in each and everyone.

9. Time is relative, there is no hurry.
I used to be in a hurry all the time. Trying to do as much at the same time as I could, and still feeling guilty all the time that I wasn’t doing enough. That’s all changed. Last years motto was: Do less, accomplish more. By running around, you end up half doing a million things, which are of no consequence at all, instead of focusing and doing one thing that really counts. I got a beautiful card from a great friend in California where they have different quotes children have said. The one I got, was a quote be Sarah a 12 year old girl who put it plainly to me, “It’s never too late to be a rock star.” My question is what is she doing thinking that at age 12? Well I guess she understands that time is relative, there is no hurry. Children have a talent to see life through such simple eyes. Oh that I could be a child once again… oh I can. Time is relative!

10. The power of thoughts: Thoughts become feelings, feelings become actions, actions become results.
Our mind is an incredible tool, whose only real product are thoughts. These thoughts can dream up giant pyramids, huge metal carcasses that fly and carry hundreds of people, sending pictures and sounds through the air from one place to the other and walking on the moon (four human accomplishments that never cease to amaze me). It is then only a few steps from the dream to its realization. Three small steps to be exact. Thoughts become feelings, feelings become actions, actions become results. But most of us are scared to dream, because we are afraid to have to face our own power and greatness.

I would love to hear your thoughts, leave me a comment! Which was your favorite? Or any words of wisdom you want to share with me…

I am thankful for the people who have been key in helping me grow and learn all this and more in my 10 years in Sweden. I will never forget you. I hope my experiences and this little list can inspire someone else to grow as well. A long, long, long hug to all.

080708 and 080710 – Montreux Jazz Festival

FIJI / SANTOGOLD / MADNESS / DAS POP / THE KILLS / THE GOSSIP

I have had the good fortune to have been invited to day 5 and 7 of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall, to see 6 bands play. Of course being there one gets the itch to go see Al Jarreau, Alicia Keys, Babyshambles, Camille, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Gilberto Gil, Gnarls Barkley, Herbie Hancock, Interpol, Joan Baez, Joao Bosco, Joe Jackson, K. D. Lang, Katie Melua, Leeny Kravitz, Leonard Cohen, Melody Gardot, Milton Nascimento and Trio Jobim, N.E.R.D., Patty Austin, Paul Simon, Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Sheryl Crow, Sylford Walker, The Racounteurs, Tower of Power, Travis, Yael Naim and many more… all who played there this year.

The Kills plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall.

But it is something of an elite festival. Just to get to it’s idyllic location isn’t a peace of cake. Finding a place to stay is probably not only difficult but expensive and tickets are always sold out within an hour of being released. What’s more, for some acts 100 tickets are sold at a time, on location, months before, so just to get tickets you need to be in Montreux, or have a buddy there who is willing to stand in line for hours. Which is o.k. actually in my book. It is an opportunity for the locals to bring who they want to hear play for them in their own private festival. That’s cool, and it’s cool that they are so into culture to the point of putting plenty of their money there 42 years in a row.

Here’s the difference between Montreux and say, Roskilde. Both are great festivals. In Roskilde you pay 300 USD to get in and see all the acts you want, all week. But you have to accept that there may be 60,000 people waiting to see some of the same artist you want to see. But that’s great, it’s those 60,000 paying visitors who make it possible to bring such acts. At Montreux you have to pretty much pay for each act you want to see. So if I go see The Kills, I’m one of 1000 people in the hall and can basically 5 minutes before the start of the show walk right up to the stage and place myself within 2 meters of the artist, so it’s a much more private and exclusive show. After the show you can go down to Henry’s and find Gnarls Barkley sitting at the pub. Prince who played there last year, after his show at the Stravinsky Auditorium showed up at the Jazz Cafe (an open stage) and played an hour and a half for an unpaying, overjoyed audience. Joan Baez this year picked up some street musicians from Kenya she saw playing on her way to the hotel the day of her show and invited them to close her concert, where the stage security was removed and anyone who wanted was invited to go up on stage and join her dancing to inspirational Kenyan percussion. But you have to pay for those luxuries, or in my case, you have to have friends who will pay for those luxuries for you.

Now, the music. I was basically unfamiliar with all of the acts I saw. But that is what I love about Festivals, discovering tons of things you’ve never heard of, getting inspired anew.
Fiji is a disco glam rock trio from Switzerland which uses drum/bass/keyboard tracks on stage which their wonderful singer Simone sings to. It sounded very house to me, more then 70’s disco or 80’s which they make a lot of reference to. I guess because of the sounds and quality of the production. The glam bit was very apparent in the clothing and make-up, which looked very funny on the bassist, but suited Simone wonderfully, who throughout the show took off more and more glittering layers, which the audience reacted to very enthusiastically. They had a mannequin on stage that reminded me very much of Doris, the mannequin I had for the last 3 years. But they unfortunately didn’t really make much use of her in the show. The music was good and Simone’s energy was wonderful.

Fiji plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall.

 

Santogold was a very interesting act. New Wave, Dub, Pshycobility, whatever that adds up to. Basically Dub beats to Rockabily type Brooklinized singing. The concert started with a DJ mixing beats and tunes which was fantastic. That is the kind of organic musicality I love in live performance. But then when Santogold came on it lost that dynamism as she sang to prerecorded tracks. The coolest bit of the show was her two background singers who stood in their dark glasses totally expressionless, except for moments of ecstatic dancing, where they gave 100%. Her attitude and the beats got the crowd dancing and enjoying the cool party atmosphere.

One of Santogold's cool background singers and her DJ.

Madness were the best band of the first night. It’s basically a bunch of (10, I counted) older men dressed in business attire playing great ska, rock, cabaret music. The singer has a very unique voice, though his range is not so amazing, he uses it well. Go to their MySpace and listen to Baggy Trousers and NW5 to get an idea of their music, athough if your from my generation you’ve probably come across them with the 80’s hit “Our house, in the middle of the street…” The song I actually most enjoyed during the show was a song where the singer doesn’t sing at all, but just shouts the line “One Step Beyond” (also on their myspace) from time to time. The crowd loved it and yelled along like mad. I guess it is just their total unexpected craziness and the fact that they are very tight band that makes it all work so well. A great band to see live. I’m not sure I would go out and by a CD, although it could be great music to have for one of Pedram’s wild parties.

Madness plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall.

Night 2…

Das Pop to begin with, has a great band name. I love it. They are from Belgium where I stopped over on my way here and had some wonderful chocolate. Mmm… In any case they are a great Pop/Indie band. Great tunes, simple music, great energy. Very tight, lots of innocent attitude, a youthful spirit and chaos that inspires. They had the drummer right on the edge of the stage with his set turned 45 degrees, so that he was as present as the other 4 band memebers. Great idea. The singer ran back and forth from a keyboard which added a nice dynamic to what otherwise can become a simple soundscape of drums/bass/guitar.
 

The Kills was the best band of the second night. This raw bluesy punk duo are really a sight to see. The concept reminds me of the White Stripes with a simple blues foundation and a greatly varied punk sound scape of songs built over that. But this band distinguishes themselves because their approach and charisma is much more raw and erotic. The tension Alison creates as she comes out in her leopard jacket and struts in circles is very animalistic and VERY attractive I must say. She’s in your face sexual as good rock n’ roll tends to be. Loved Jamie’s hat too, totally Clockwork Orange. The songs are strong but possibly a bit to distorted as by the end, everything blends into a soup of memory, sounding a bit too alike. Great energy, incredible presence, they had me captivated the entire show. Go to their MySpace and check out Last Day of Magic and Love is a Deserter.

I didn’t know if you could bring a camera to the show, so the first night we took pictures on Xavier’s pocket camera. At the entrance was a very clear sign forbidding 35 mm camera’s so the second night I ventured to try their security check and got by them for all three shows. Specially got good pictures of this show so I’ll post a few.
   
  

The Gossip was also very good. Great music to dance to. Beth, the singer reminds me of a blend of Mama Cass and Janis Joplin, an increadible honor, both women with huge voices and incredible presence. Her voice is not of that caliber yet, but getting there. The whole band are excellent musicians and have great attitude. On their festival description they write: “We started a band ’cause we were bored. Our mission is to make you dance, and if you’re not gonna dance, just stay at home and listen to the oldies station.” I very much like bands with a woman at the drums, I find it very sexy, very powerful, very rock n’ roll. Their best stuff is not on their Myspace though, so check out Eyes Open on Youtube or this live version which feels so 60’s, or Jealous Girl. This concert was very popular, so we decided to enjoy it from farther back and I was dancing away as most everyone else.

From a bit farther back Gossip plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall.

Thanks X for this wonderful experience!

Diva Gash – great Electronic/House/Pop from Bogotá

I was very happy to hear that this great group Diva Gash is from my home town. I sometimes feel frustrated that most of what I recommend is from the english speaking world. Diva Gash sings mostly in english, but they are proudly Colombian, as they say comically put on their website “From Colombia, like Shakira…”

The House, Pop, Electronic group from Colombia, like Shakira, but with a twist of humor.

Their music is wonderfully produced and has a humor which is typically Colombian. Great sounds, great rhythm, light hearted music to get your body dancing. Their live shows are supposed to also be great. Would love to see them someday!

Check out their myspace and listen to Galacticock (my favorite) and Starmaster (their latest hit). But also see the video to Galacticock as well to get a feel for their visual imagery. Love their name, anyone know where it came from?

Andrés Solé plays “Better Together” (cover)

Yesterday after I wrote my blog entry about “Better Together” by Jack Johnson I sat down at Xavier’s piano to learn it and so today I decided to try and record a video with his little camera of me playing it. The tough bit for me has always been memorizing lyrics, but it went quite well, I got through it.

Andrés Solé plays Better Together by Jack Johnson in Lausanne.

The surrounding of course makes the inspiration. I am sitting in a lovely living room with great accoustics and looking out the window over Lausanne and Lake Geneva to the French and Italian Alps. The sun is shining, I’m at peace and doing what I most love, music, what could be better?

Once again, life is good, but always better when we’re together! I’d love to hear some comments…

Life is good – Better Together

Life is good to me. I am in Lausanne, Switzerland enjoying the company of one of the greatest friends one could have. Not only that but he’s also the single most influential person in my musical life who doesn’t make a living as a musician. Last night as we watched the Wimbledon final and enjoyed hearing the sound of the rain as we ate a fabulous pizza, Mr. X told me about a singer/songwriter I had not heard of, Jack Johnson.

Jack Johnson plays the song Better Together live and accoustic.

There’s something magical about the simplicity of just a man singing accompanied of his guitar or sitting at his piano. For me the test of a great song is strip it down to its bare essicials and it still being great. Here’s a song that is just that, a great song, in all its magical simplicity.

Life is good, but always better when we’re together!

080705 – Monkey3/Bubble Beatz – Festival de la Cité

It was a beautiful Sunday evening at the heart of Lausanne and thousands of people were out on the streets enjoying the fabulous and free festival that the city puts on every year. At the main stage that night I saw two acts (both Swiss bands), Monkey3 and Bubble Beatz, though I must say there was a confussion of names.

Blue man monkey bubbles could be the name of this group.

First played the bandMonkey three, which Xavier and I had no idea what the monkey reference was in their name, but that the 3 was due to the fact that they were 3 members in the band. When I went to their website I found there are 4. Reading about their style “Stonerrock“, I quickly understood the monkey reference, mainly marijuana. Interestingly enough on myspace they categorize themselves as “Accoustic/Alternative/Psychodelic”, mostly I guess because MySpace doesn’t provide the option Stonerrock.

I guess what most caught me about the performance was that they had no mike and no verbal communication with the audience. The music is very riff based, slow and heavy, with plenty of rhythmic breaks and strong bass. A style very connected with the enjoyment of marijuana, which a couple times I could smell in the air. But I enjoyed it plenty without the drugs. Xavier and I have an easy time getting high on life.

Bubble Beatz reminded us immediately of the Blue Man Group (check out this cool video), except that they were two. When I went to the their website, I realized they want us to make that connection. They define their music as electro percussion, which sounds like a perfect description. Basically they play all kinds of percussion (pots and pans and the whole bit) to electronic music tracks. At the concert I thought they were called Beatz as they had a big barrel with that word on it. They have a cage in the center of the stage with all kinds of hanging stuff they jump around and bang on, so they maybe should consider the name Moneky 2. I didn’t really like Bubble Beatz, as it reminds me of the Swedish pop trio of 8 year olds, Bubbles. Oops, now that I look at their website I realize there are 5 of them, now 19 years old and called Bless. Interesting gap between what a band wants to portray and what the audience remembers.

Band aids or long term solutions – Saving the Amazon rain forest

One of the things that I regret is that while I was living in Colombia I never went to visit the Amazon rain forest. It is one of the world treasures that Colombia has. The problem is no my unfulfilled wish but the fact taht the Amazon is disappearing quickly.

I was reading in a recent article that each year a area the size of Belgium is cut down (12,500 square miles). The total area of the Amazon jungle today is 3 million square miles. So in a matter of 267 years there will be no more Amazon. Doesn’t sound so bad actually. That’s just the problem. That we live in a society that puts band aids on the world problems instead of looking for long term solutions. Even our way of solving problems is merely superficial.

I was eating dinner with my great friend Åse yesterday and she was telling me about when she arrived in Sweden in the 70’s how all political decisions where discussed on the television and radio constantly. And the question politicians always asked themselves was, “How is this going to affect our children?” How wonderful it would be to live in a society that thinks in this way, where the leading factor in making decisions is not money, but the well being of all children. What governmental actions would take place immediately if the leaders of the USA began to think this way? More money to schools, free medical health, economic assistance to families with children, more paid leave for parents after childbirth, homes for all families, more parks and green areas, social assistance for homeless children and those with physical and mental illnesses.

All of these things remind me of Sweden. Schooling is free (even University studies) and all children are fed free lunch everyday (up to High School graduation). Health care is free for everyone. Every family receives about 200 USD per child per month. Parents have the right to 450 days of paid leave (to be split between the mother and father). If a family does not have the means to pay rent, the government provides assistance. All cities are full of parks and green areas and excellent public transportation to minimize the need for cars in the city! It’s to bad that most of this is quickly going down the drain…

What inspires me to mention the Amazon today? Recently Greenpeace celebrated a protest in Brasilia in honor of Sister Dorothy Stang who was assassinated in the area of Anapu, Brasil where 31 illegal lumber industries which, despite working 24 hours around the clock, where unable to quench the thirst both the USA and Europe has for wood. What is the solution? We could put all of the workers and their illegal bosses in jail (just put a band aid on the issue) or we could reevaluate our own lives and the society of consumerism we live in.

For whoever is interested, find out what Greenpeace is currently doing and how we can all be involved in helping stop the deforestation of the Amazon jungle.

The 5 elements of a perfect culinary experience

I have my strange little theories about life. I have a pretty complex one about time and how I perceive it and how I think one can control it, but I still need to work out some details before I put it in writing. Today I want to talk about my theory on the perfect eating experience.

Eating is definitely one of the great pleasures in life. I love eating good food and often when I am out eating I think about the experience and what makes it so magical. So I’ve come up with a theory of what the necessary elements for the perfect culinary experience are. I guess if I were a food or restaurant critic I would grade the following five aspects: Atmosphere, Service, Quality, Quantity and Company, as I consider them to be the five elements necessary to make eating a full pleasure. I will now describe them all in detail (one by one) so you understand the entirety of my theory and how it works. By the way, I would make a terrible critic and my theory doesn’t really work to rate restaurants fairly as there is a variable that the restaurant has no say in, company (who I choose to eat with).

Atmosphere:
It is very important that the place is appealing to the mood and type of food one is eating. So I am not always after exclusive, fancy restaurants. When I am out in nature on a cold and windy day and come to a little nook by a lake that looks like Hansel and Gretel’s home and this cafe provides me with warm tea and pancakes, the atmosphere gets top raitings, even if the windows are old and crocked. That is the way they need to be and the door ways a bit short, so you have to duck to go inside. You need to feel confortable and at peace (no needs unmet). Sometimes candle light is best, sometimes loud music, sometimes a view of the ocean, sometimes sitting on the floor. Like film music is best when it is so well woven into the mood it goes unnoticed, the atmosphere needs to feel so right it goes unnoticed.

Service:
This one is sooooo important. I am going out to spend my hard earned money, I want to be treated right. That doesn’t mean I always need to be treated like a king. Sometimes one wants to be left alone and go unnoticed. In any case, the waiter/waitress needs to be observant and keen to pick up those signals and give me the service I want. I always want to be made to feel welcome, like they are happy to see me again, even if it’s the first time I come. The service needs to always be friendly and quick. Which doesn’t mean I want to be rushed. But when I have a need, I want it to be met quite quickly. I worked as a waiter for some years and know that this is hard work and tricky, but one always has to be available. Not necessarily come by and interrupt the conversation, but at least be constantly looking out for eye contact, which would indicate there is a need to be met. I like it very much when the waiter introduces the food with pride. Even if it is a simple grilled sandwich, it’s still a rye bread and three pepper cheddar grill made just for me. Smiles, eye contact, elegance, pride, patience, friendliness and an awareness of my mood are all essencial elements for good service.

I’m going to tell a short story here to explain how the slightest miss in service can ruin a wonderful meal (a true story). I was out to dinner with my date and another couple. It was Valentine’s and we had chosen a nice restaurant. We had of course high expectation as we were dressed up and the atmosphere was a classy minimalistic Scandinavian design, hip music. The service started out great, friendly, fast. We ordered our meal, the food sounded spectacular. We were chatting and having a great time. After 20 minutes our food came in and I was really looking forward to it. Our waiter had unfortunately just stepped out for a smoke right before our dishes came out. So as he placed the dish in front of me, all of this wonderful experience and the delicate smell of great food was ruined by the stench of his cigarette. What otherwise could have been a great experience was overshadowed by this one miss. All I remember from that restaurant is the smell of our waiter after he had been out smoking, not the cool design, the taste of the food.

Quality:
This one is quite obvious and self explanatory. The quality of the food needs to be great. Not complex, simple is often better. I was out today at a wonderful restaurant which taught me a great secret. We ordered a Pane Parmagiano, which is basically a baguette with Parmesan cheese and garlic butter, but they brushed the bottom of the baguette ever so slightly with fresh lime, which made it unique and unforgettable. A wonderful balance of four simple flavors. All products used need to be fresh and of excellent quality.

Quantity:
This is a difficult one where my thoughts may differ from the main stream. In order for the culinary experience to be perfect, I need to eat not too much, not too little. As the Swedish would say “lagom”. Most people I presume like generous portions. For me, feeling I am so full I need to lie down doesn’t do it. I don’t want to feel heavy as I walk away, or like I need to unbutton my pants to feel comfort. It’s basic health. So my rule is, if the quantity is perfect, you should, after a meal, feel like you want to get up and dance a waltz. The food has given you the nourishment necessary to do an simple athletic activity, but you need to feel light enough to sway weightlessly over the dance floor, as a good waltz should feel. Most elegant restaurants serve small portions on big plates, which can seem deceiving. One should never leave a table feeling hungry or that one didn’t get enough. But one should not feel the need to leave food in order to not feel one has over eaten. So a really excellent restaurant should when serving their guests, take into account the size of a person. A petite man measuring 5 feet does not need the portion of a 6 foot woman weighing 250 pounds. So add an extra slice of of beef for the bigger customer, serve the petite man smaller potatoes (without changing pricing). We are all individuals and an excellent restaurant will treat us that way. I have always had a hard time knowing exactly how much I should eat during a meal. I unfortunately eat too fast, so I easily manage to squeeze in too much, before my body can tell me to stop. But I was told a simple trick which sounds logical to me and has made it easy for me to have a ballpark idea. A doctor told me, a normal portion should be that which would fit in your two hands if you made them into a cup. It seems like very little, but when I use that trick I usually feel very satisfied.

Company:
This is, of course, the most important element in an excellent culinary experience. I could be in a dirty little workers lunch hall in India with someone wonderful and have the most unforgettable meal. Or I could dine at the White House and not enjoy it one bit. This is a factor only you have control over, so don’t leave it up to chance. Whether one or many, at the moment of sitting to break bread, always share the experience with special people. In my opinion there is something very deep and intimate about sharing a meal. An old saying says, “The family that eats together, stays together.” I think there is a lot of truth there, and for heaven’s sake, turn off the TV while eating.

Today I was out with wonderful Sonja and ate at the restaurant Portofino. We ordered a strange combination of things, sharing only a Pane Parmagiano (a starter) and then a strawberry dessert, to a glass of white wine and a cappuccino, but it was exactly what we were after. A definite 10! May I? … I ask to the 1, 2, 3 of a string quartet.

Oh and my favorite restaurant of all time? The Inn Kensington just outside of Berkeley California! A 10 every time! Don’t believe me? Read what others have to say!

Make friends, not customers

I have learned that most people don’t think like me. I am clearly and bluntly reminded of it from time to time in the swedish business world. There is an overall lacking sense of customer service, which I think is the number one reason why the swedish economy (within a global community) could wash down the drain in a matter of seconds. I am not making a moral judgement here, I simply believe that because of the small size of the country and their instantaneous economic success after World War 2 has created an economy where competition has not been a factor. So as long as you produce something of decent standard (by the way Swedes have excellent standards when it comes to quality), it will sell. Almost no advertising necessary, no consideration to competitive pricing and certainly no customer service necessary. In my ten years of living here, there are only two examples which come to mind that live up to the standards I know of business excellence in all areas (quality, pricing, CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!), IKEA and Clas Ohlson.

My example today is of absolutely no significance, but it is just its minuteness that I think illustrates the situation so well.

I am building a box to ship the few belongings I have left to the US. It is a very educational experience, as I have no knowledge about how shipping things around the world works, but am curious to learn. As I know it is a multi billion dollar industry and one of the corner stones of western consumer society (which I have very alternative thoughts about). In any case, merchants have standardized certain things and of course come up with very simple and practical solutions. There is a concept most of us are familiar with, the pallet. Basically a wooden base designed in such a way that it can easily be lifted with a fork lift. What I didn’t know is that these pallets can have collars. Which is exactly how I am building my box. A collar is basically four wooden sides held together by metal hinges. The most common standard for a pallet I have learned is 120 cm x 80 cm and each collar is 20 cm high.

So you can stack one collar on top of another, thanks to small holders which overlap on each of the 4 corners, making it all very stable and simple to do.
 

My box is 160 cm high, giving me almost 2 square meters of packing space. But I am taking a keyboard which, when in its case is exactly 160 cm. I’m not sure how dangerous it will be to have it so exact as the lid you put on top of the box seems to go into the packing area 2 cm. Of course I don’t want to damage my keyboard, so maybe I should add another 20 cm and leave some empty room on top. But maybe it is better for the packing to be tight and if nothing terribly heavy will be put on top of my box it would be fine, I don’t know. So I decided to call the company where I bought the box for some friendly advice.
I called and told him my situation and the two options I was considering. He didn’t really have any advice as he is not sure how things are packed or shipped on the boat. So I asked him if I could buy an extra collar (which costs roughly 8 dollars) to take with me to the harbor the day I will be shipping it. If at the harbor they advise me to add some extra room, then great I will use it be a happy camper. If I don’t use it, I was wondering if I could return it, as I will have no use for it. Logical, I thought. This is were we differ.

He was shocked that I could have the nerve to call and suggest such a thing. To quote him exactly, “I’m sorry Mr. but that is not how I do business. What you are requesting would basically mean I am lending you a pallet collar. You can’t call and ask such a thing.” I thought to myself, “I just did call and ask such a thing.”

Yes, to some extent he is right. If I were to go to the docks with the extra collar and it turned out I didn’t need it, he would have just leant it to me. If I did need it, he would have made a happy customer. As of now, he’s lost a customer and all the other people I was going to recommend to him. Isn’t that the idea with test driving a car? I lend it to you, if you like and need it, buy it, no strings attached. I bet you could crash during your test drive and still walk away without buying it (I’m sure the test car is insured for that, though I would definitely ask, before trying it). I’ve heard of music albums which have been recorded entirely on borrowed studio equipment. A band goes to a pro-audio store. buys everything they need, keeps the receipts and packaging and as long as they keep the stuff in new condition and are done within a month, return it all for a full money back refund. Who cares, why not promote culture, and I’m sure if that band ever makes it big, they will be back to buy everything they used and more. That fits my view of modern consumer society. We all collect to much stuff, don’t buy what you don’t need in the long run. Borrowing is a great idea, even in the business world.

I work primarily to survive and feel fulfilled. Not to make cash. My dad once gave me a sign with 5 steps to success in business and one of them was, “Make friends, not customers.” My work place, in my adult life, is probably one of my main sources for socializing. I want to meet people, make friends! Of course I want to do favors, of course I want to lend out something that someone else maybe or maybe doesn’t need. Am I crazy? Somebody pinch me!

My last 5 cents. Never open an account in a Swedish bank unless you absolutely have to. I still don’t understand how they get away with the concept of “I give you my money for safe keeping, so that you can use it to make more money and charge me for that privilege.” Has nobody here heard of “Free banking”? The only bank I do recommend is JAK Member Owned Bank an interest free banking cooperative, which I am happy to be a member of. Very interesting, check it out!

Oh and finally, free advertising and a recommendation to an excellent business partner during this learning experience of mine. The guy who I am sending the box through is a wonderful, caring, effective and knowledgeable man in the shipping industry, whom I highly recommend if you ever need to ship anything anywhere from Gothenburg, Lorenzo Urquiaga. I’m not surprised to see the first thing you see on his website is his motto: 35 years of service excellence. So I guess I was wrong, there were 3, IKEA, Clas Ohlson and Lorenzo Shipping.

Have any experiences you’d like to share, I would love to hear them (write a comment!). Are there any other examples of business excellence in Sweden I should know about? Hopefully they will catch on soon. Otherwise it is a great place to live and work and I’ve gladly paid a lot of taxes to help sustain a society that cares for the less fortunate. I am very blessed.