Wanted to get around to writing something here for a while now but the personal life got kind of busy and there was also a lot to do to get the EP finished so that's the way it goes.  At least now I can say that a lot has been accomplished in the last while and the EP is being mastered as I write and will be ready on time after all.  Quite a relief after all the setbacks and other things I've had to deal with over the past month.  I'll write more about the EP and the songs soon...

Another big priority has been to get the technical problems with the live set sorted out and steps have been taken.  I ordered a ground-loop isolator yesterday which should take care of the buzzing and other disturbance that came from the laptop when it was plugged in and a smaller controller will be attached directly to the keyboard to allow a more compact setup on stage.  The laptop will now be placed on a large size note stand which means no more table necessary for it and the large controller etc.  I have also decided to phase the guitars out of the live set (for the time being) which will mean fewer factors to consider in the overall sound.  I will still play some of the songs that have been recorded with guitar but will adapt them to the keyboard which should be interesting as alternative versions, something which is going to happen with all the songs at some point probably.

All for now...

Had a pretty busy week here putting in the final tracks for the E.P. and starting on the mixing.  As always the first stages of mixing were a little frustrating but once I made some adjustments things started to take shape nicely and a few more sessions should do it.  All in all I am very happy with how the songs have turned out.

I jumped back into the studio work with both feet because I had put it on hold to get ready for the first live show.  I guess I was in a bit of an "onwards and upwards" mode considering that there were only a few people at the show and there had also been some minor technical problems.  Generally a bit of a frustrating night I have to admit but I am optimistic that things will get better and I have already sorted out the technical problems.  Now all I have to do is get a few more people to actually show up!

Other than that just getting prepared for tomorrow, another crazy "May Day" here in Berlin.  Considering that I live in the heart of the riot zone there are always some consideration to be made, e.g. parking the car far enough away so there is no risk of it getting damaged, getting some cash (all of the banks and their cash terminals get borded up) and this year because it is on a Saturday I have to remember to do all my grocery shopping today in order to get through until Monday.  Yes, lots to do here so I better get at it!

And just to give you an idea of what it's like, check out this video...

Atari Teenage Riot - May 1st, 1999

As you can guess by the title, there has been quite a bit going on around here over the past few weeks.  But unfortunately not enough it seems.  I'll start with the bad news (which really isn't such a big deal but I like a bit of drama with my morning coffee).  Due to some setbacks in the studio the EP release will be postponed by two weeks making the new release date June 15, 2010.  So now on to the good stuff...

...and where to start?  I suppose the development that ties in with the release date is that there will be a "CD Release Show" at a local record store here in Berlin.  You can check here for info etc.  But that's not the only show coming up.  On May 29th I'll be part of a double bill at a cool club called Madame Claude.  The other band will be Ben & Béné, a dynamic duo from Paris!  That one should be very interesting indeed...

And last but not least, I am really looking forward to the debut show tomorrow night at Supersonic.  I finally had time this week to set everything up the way it will be on stage and was relieved to find out that it works in practice and not just in theory.  Should be a good night!

Maybe I'll see you there...

You might have already noticed that there is a new page on this site, "Alive!" which basically is what you would think, i.e. a listing of upcoming live performances.  Only one confirmed so far but a few more should be showing up there soon.  It's been a while since I last went through this process of getting gigs and I forgot just how complicated it can be.  Club owners/bookers tend to keep odd hours and getting them to respond to an email is pretty much hopeless.  Not to say I blame them, they are probably bombarded with requests - just have a quick look at Myspace and you will start to think that just about everyone in the world is in a band...that's a lot of people looking for gigs and since it has become almost impossible to sell recordings of music I imagine that many more artists are trying to get "out there" and get their share of the pie.  Whatever, I guess I'll just keep trying and see what happens.

So I will finally be getting out of the studio a bit, very necessary for my own mental health among other things.  But things are going well in the recording department and there will definitely be a release this spring.  It's not 100% decided but it will probably be an E.P. and will be released very early in June.  Exact release date coming soon...

All for now.