To follow up my last newsletter in which I mentioned my deepened study of lyrics and melody, I am glad to report that I am still working on that task (and probably will be for the rest of my life). I am going through and reviewing, editing and rewriting a lot of songs. It’s a very time consuming task, but extremely rewarding. I am also going through and recording all of the melodies on keyboard, so that I can hear them outside of the context of words and objectively judge them purely upon their musical merit. One of the great gifts these tasks has given me is to break the spell of seeing my songs as ”sacred”. As if it were a sin to change what’s already been created. This thought reminds me of a great quote of Paul McCartney when asked about Yesterday and the fact that the songs lyrics started out as ”Scrambled eggs” when he first wrote it. It’s a very childlike and healthy approach, Paul says, ”It’s just a song.”

Miami Beach holds a lottery for street performance spots on Lincoln Road (which for those of you who don’t know is a beautiful promenade at the heart of the party and glamour capital, Miami Beach). I won a spot right in front of the Victoria’s Secret. So I’ve got a captive audience of women with bags full of sexy lingerie! Actually the captive audience I’ve got are the men who sit outside and wait for their wife/girlfriend/lover to finish shopping. So there I am to entertain them with a song or two. I perform every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for two hours each day and I have my guitar case out in front of me for contributions.

It’s been a great experience and wonderful training for my voice. I call it my Hamburg period, reminiscent of the period the Beatles spent in Hamburg playing in strip clubs before they became world famous. It was a time when they spent hours and hours on stage developing their musical chops and that’s how this feels to me. I’m not at a strip club, but with the Miami weather and all, sometimes it feels like the Lincoln Road’s catwalk is nothing less.

On Lincoln everyday is different and full of unexpected experiences. I’ll mention a few. The other day three beautiful curly blond girls (ages 2-5 maybe) started dancing to my music and everytime I would finish a song they’d say ”More.” Very cute. Another day there was this big group out having dinner at the Meat Market (which is right next door to Victoria’s Secret). A Puerto Rican from the bunch came over and asked if he could borrow my mike as I was playing and started to improvise a song as I continued playing a selection of chord changes I felt worked with what he was singing. Another day there were three young Colombians who stopped to listen and then came over to talk between songs. One of them (a little tipsy) was saying that he wished he had a million dollars to give me. He later pulled out his credit card and gave it to me. Unfortunatly I don’t take credit cards… YET. I played them my song, ”Da nos la paz” (Give us peace) which brought tears to his eyes and he came up afterwards and told me that it was beautiful and how it had made him feel as if he were suddenly in Colombia, though he’s been away for 3 years. Quite a compliment. Another guy, simple and poor looking (yet not homeless I had a feeling), stopped to listen and was sitting on the ledge of the Victoria’s Secret window display for about 8 songs. He walks up to me afterwards and says, ”All I have is 4 dollars, you get two.” He sits to listen some more and finally after a couple more songs comes over and gives me his remaining two dollars as he goes his way. I am amazed at people’s generosity towards me.

I am beginning to understand where many performers get their diva complex. As I play on Lincoln I am being photographed a lot and people are quite generous with their compliments. There’s one final story I want to tell which relates to this. One night, some friends came to see me and so afterwards I was walking home with my guitar on my back accompanied by Brian and Kathrine. Well this GORGEOUS Latin-American girl walks right up to me and begins telling me how sorry she was that she couldn’t make it and that she hoped that I would understand. I had no idea what she was talking about as I had never seen her before, but I guess she had me mixed up with someone else, someone famous. So as we walk away from that situation, Kathrine (very impressed) says, ”Wow, that beautiful woman really thought you were someone”. And laughing at it all, I said, ”I am someone.” We all are, aren’t we? I guess it’s good for me to face these situations and then go home to my simple little apartment on 16th and remember that I’m just a kid with a guitar.

Some days I’m tired and don’t want to go. Some days I don’t feel inspired. But I see my task with simplicity, which helps me get up and do it regardless. I am simply going out to spread joy through music. I am there to touch hearts, no more, no less. The donations I’m getting are actually so good that I am already 1/4th of the way to reaching my goal of being able to live off my music, which is very encouraging. It’s also already lead to one paid gig. A guy walked up to me as I was playing and said that he had a party on Sunday and wanted me to play. So that Sunday I was doing my first paid gig in Miami. Also the winner of the Miami Film Festival’s Director Award came up to me yesterday while playing to ask if I was interested in recording the theme song to his next film and maybe even play a smaller role in the film. We’ll see what comes of that. I’ve recorded a little video sample of one of these days on Lincoln so you can see:

Andrés Solé on Lincoln Rd. (YouTube)

Since I’ve been so focused on performance I haven’t been recording much, but hope to pick that bit up very soon.

I feel extremely healthy and am exercising regularly (jogging on the beach, tennis and swimming), sleeping well, eating moderately as well as varied and really working on keeping stress out of my life.

I have begun to make some really wonderful friends. I find that a lot of the people I meet here are very sexual in a healthy natural way. South Beach has a large gay population and that is surely part of it, but I feel that there is an openness and acceptance of our sexuality that is very healthy, as I feel we are all sexual beings. It’s quite refreshing not having to surppress something that is natural and important to me.

On that note, I have to gossip and tell that I went on a date recently. I must, because the situation seemed a bit funny to me. I took an opera singer to a rock concert. The following week Amanda invited me to the opera to see Madame Butterfly and even came to Lincoln Road to listen to me play on the street. So I guess that means the date must have gone well.

A big hug,
Andres

Here comes my second newsletter of life in Miami and what is going on with my music. After arriving in Miami last September I have not really spent much time here.The last couple months of last year were spent in California at my father’s side in his last months of life. It was a difficult time but rich in blessings as I got to spend many hours with him and the rest of my wonderful family. I have therefore not really dedicated much time to my music. But everything has its perfect timing.

I do however have a lot to tell.

I have spent a lot of time reading more about the music busniness. Reading always gets my mind asking questions. The main question I have been persuing the last months is ”What are the ingredients of a classic song?” And I feel there are two main ingredients: lyrics and melody. So I am now deepening my study in those two areas.

I’ve always felt a good song is one that can be played on a guitar and sung. That all the extras you can add, like instrumentation, arrangements, effects, ect., are just extras. I still believe that. But now I am desiring to dive deeper. I believe I write good songs. But I want to become a great songwriter, I want to write classics. I want my music to touch chords deep inside of people today, tomorrow and for years to come. I believe the secret lies in those two subjects: lyrics and melody.

The most interesting book I read last year was called ”Music, the brain and extasy: How music captures our imagination” by Robert Jourdain. It is a fantastic treaty in which he breaks down music into it’s major components (sound, tone, melody, harmony, rhythm, composition, performance, listening…) and discusses how our brain processes and relates to each of them. Extremely interesting. Similar in subject to ”Musicophilia” by Oliver Sacks and ” This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession” by Daniel Levitin, but a lot more theoretical, musically. A bit of a heavy read even for me who loves music theory. If your a musician READ IT! If your not, read anyone of the other two. They are all great.

It was really this book that lead me on this search of understanding more about classic tunes. Since then I have been consuming everything I can get my hands on relating to melody and lyrics. I am currently working through four workbooks. For lyrics: ”The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron and ”Writing better lyrics” by Pat Pattison (given to me by a good friend and musician Stefano). For melody: ”Six steps to songwriting success” by Jason Blume and ”Melody: How to write great tunes” by Rikky Rooksby. These are very intense courses, so I feel a bit like a college student again, which is great. In my studies I find that the secret between being a good songwriter and a great songwriter is very simple: Rewriting!

I have always writen songs quite easily, quite quickly. I think there is a strength in that, simplcity, freshness, spontanuity. But I am now learning that I really need to take that good song and go the extra mile, rewriting it, to make it great. Use that good melody but take time to really work it until it is the best melody it can be. Really go through the lyrics and make sure its images are as clear and clever as possible, full of feeling. It’s a hard thing to do, changing habits, meticulously working through my songs to take them to a higher level. But these are just the kind of challenges I know I need to go through to reach my goals and I believe as you see my music develop, you too will notice a significant difference.

I got back to Miami on the 20th of January to an empty apartment which you can see on my latest YouTube video (the link is at the bottom of the newsletter). In the video I recorded a song which has meant a lot to me these days, ”Que bonita es esta vida (This life is beautiful)” written by Jorge Celedón. Accompanying me are three gifts that have rained down on me since my arrival. The first couple days I was in Miami, staying with my best friend Alejandro, I saw his neighbor had put a brand new bike out with the trash. So I knocked on the door and asked if he was throwing it out and if I could have it. He said yes and that the only thing wrong with it was the front brake. All it was missing was a piece I got for 5 dollars at the nearest bike shop. The second and third gifts are things I had in Sweden but could not take with me because of space, and accordion and a manequin. The accordion is a long time loan from my newly found musical soul mate Pete (with whom I spent New Years with on a road trip from LA to Vegas and back, very Rock’n Roll) and the manequin I found lying on the sidewalk on Lincoln and Washington on the way home from the library one day.

I’ve started furnishing my apartment putting up posters and paintings, organizing my cd’s but most importantly building up my home studio to begin recording. When I moved into the apartment there was an IKEA loft bed frame ”Tromsö” which I took apart and rebuilt as a frame to my sound room. My computer, soundcard, mikes, keyboards and guitars are all set up and soon I will begin testing my studio.

The other exciting thing going on, musically, is that I will be out on the street buskying shortly. In order to play in the busy touristy streets of Miami Beach one has to have a permit. These are limited and given out on a lottery basis, which I won! So last week I borrowed my friends car and went to get a battery powered steet amp for performing. I’ll make a video out on the street soon enough so you can see.

I am very proud to say that I have no car (the Swede in me comes out). I won’t really need one for a while as I am living 3 blocks from the beach, 4 from work and 5 from the grocery store. If I ever need one, I’ve already got friends who have offered theirs.

I have a wonderful apartment on 16th and Drexel. A spacious one bedroom apartment on the second floor which I’m sure will see many guests. Hint, hint.

I’m working at an Italian restaurant on Lincoln Road called Quattro. Very fancy, good food. It’s the only Fine Dining restaurant on the strip, so we get a lot of big names stopping by. My first night I waited on Calvin Klein. It’s a job, it pays my bills, leaves me time to do my music.

I am sharing my neighbors internet, so I have to sit out on my balcony to read my e-mails (oh how terrible). I’m out here now, writing my newsletter at 7 pm in my shorts and tank top in January (what a change from Swedish weather).

I’m getting to know people in the area and really like the atmosphere. It’s very international, very liberal, very forward, very latin. People criticize that it can be a bit superficial, to much party, but I find there’s something for everyone. I’m enjoying it much and learning tons about myself as one always does in new places. Still I do miss all my friends in Sweden. =(

A hug,
Andres

Link to my latest YouTube video

If you want to read my first newsletter you’ll find it on
my blog

Here’s my first Miami Newsletter about what is going on in my life and musical career. I plan to send these 4 times a year (March, June, September, December).

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. I’ve posted it on my blog along with a commentary, pictures and a video of the Goodbye Concert.

Blog of concert and list of 10 most important things: http://soleworld.wordpress.com

The first 3 weeks in Miami were mostly spent with Alejandro, my best friend from High School, who is a Music Professor at Florida Atlantic University as well as a wonderful musician. I’ve been enjoying living his family life, getting up at 6 am and helping Mariana (his wonderful wife) get their precious kids (Sebastian and Veronica) ready for school and then having the day to myself to work and then enjoying the evening with them.

The most exciting thing that’s happened this far has been meeting the Artist Developer Candy Tandy. She has worked for many years as a vocal teacher and artist manager and is married to an RnB (Rhythm and Blues) producer. We talked for about 2 hours where I told her about what I have been doing and what I have planned for the future. She asked me a lot of good questions like, ”What makes you unique?” and ”How would you describe your voice?” They are pretty typical questions on the business side of music, but questions I need to have clearly defined in my head as I move forward. She shared a lot of experience and tips with me and at the end of the meeting told me she was confident I would succeed. She said I was very down to earth and realistic about my goals and how to achieve them. She also added that my friendliness and the passion with which I spoke about my music were contagious. She agreed with me that the Latin market is hugely underdeveloped and there is huge potential of growth for many artist. Finally she told me my artist name was excellent and even told me I was ”good looking”. A boost to my ego, something we all need from time to time. But most of all, very inspiring and many good tips about what steps to take from here.

On my flight to Miami, I met a great Brazilian guitarist named Rubens de la Corte who currently plays for Angelique Kidjo (Artist who won a Grammy for Best World Music Album 2007). We hit it off quite well and have talked about the possibility of him playing on my album.

I also met a wonderful Colombian who is working with a French Airline in Paris and said he would love to have the airline sponsor me (they already sponsor french entertainers). Not sure how this would work and what it can mean, but I could tell he was serious, really liked my music, what I do and who I am.

I’ve also got 2 meetings lined up with producers which I will have when I get back to Miami as I am currently in San Francisco visiting my family.

I was unsure when I would return to Miami, as my father has cancer and is going through treatment. But he is doing much better then I expected and so I have decided I will be here one month and then return to Miami and begin set up.

These are the practical things I need to do as I set up:
- Find a place to live
- Buy a car (I was given a great bicycle!)
- Get a half time job

These are the important things I need to do these coming months:
- Record my first album (I would like it to be done by January 2009)
- Continue to train my voice and guitar playing for live performance
- Continue to develop my writing skills (music and texts)
- Continue to work on my branding and marketing
- Get out and play concerts
- Build contacts and find musicians

I am now spending my days enjoying my family, but also playing and singing, laying down the guide tracks for my album, working on marketing (my blog and this newsletter, among other things) as well as reading a lot. I’ve gotten into the bad habit of concurrently reading several books, so right now I am working on 5: The art of practicing, The four-hour workweek, Wikinomics, The Naked Voice and Elvis Costello – God’s Comic

This coming weekend is the famous San Francisco music festival Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. It’s a free festival paid entirely by the local millionaire Warren Hellman, 3 days and five stages filled with the best accoustic music acts. This year I will get to see Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin’s lead singer), Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Asleep at the Wheel, Gogol Bordello, Emmy Lou Harris, Hazel Dickens, Loudon Wainwright III and more all for free at the Golden Gate park. Long live the spirit of the 60’s.

I love the weather in Miami, jogging on the beach and eating tons of fruits. South Beach, which is where I want to live, is very international and feels like a great little community within a bubbling city. I’m really looking forward to building up my new home there. Miss all my friends in Sweden…

A hug,
Andres

Have you seen my Facebook artist profile?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andres-Sole/8426339196

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.

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!

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 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…

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!

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.

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.