Today, I cashed in my one and only Groupon purchase; an hour-long facial at a Beauty Lounge. I was really looking forward to this. I'd had one before at another place and it was just divine. So relaxing and it did my skin good.
This one was different.
First of all, the woman talked for one solid hour. I don't think I could do that if you paid me. She was immersed in telling me exactly what she was doing and why and with what and why not.
It started off badly: She removed my make-up and used some sort of motor-powered rotating brush to foam up the facial cleanser on my skin. She rotated the foam right into my nose, and because I was on my back, it immediately ran down my nose, burning like fire, and down the back of my throat. Have you ever accidently gotten soap in your nose? Well, that's what we're talking about here.
My eyes started tearing up at the pain and I asked her to stop so that I could blow my nose. It didn't help. There was a burning pathway of pain leading through my nose and down the back of my throat. But I told her to continue. I just kept swallowing and coughing.
Did I quit? NO!

When I left the place an hour later, my nasal passage still burned.

Then she did an acid peeling (or something like that) She put some wet stuff on my skin which started making sizzling sounds as if my face was cooking in a skillet. And then it started to burn. She informed me that it MIGHT burn a bit, so she turned on a fan to cool my face while the top layer of skin was basically burned off.
Did I quit? NO!

Several minutes later that came off and then she used some sort of razor blade to beat my eyebrows into submission. She also used it to shave off irregularities on the surface of my skin. That caused quite a bit of bleeding. So, she had to stop.
Did I quit? NO!

Then she informed me that she would now massage my face with some kind of good moisturizing stuff, and to make it go deep down into my skin, she would massage it using an electric current.
She put one end of the electric charge on my chest, and one end on her leg and then put on gloves and started massaging my face. It tingled and vibrated a little bit, but was really quite pleasant. Until she got close to my eye which was still tearing a lot from the nasal passage damage earlier. When her fingers touched that path of tears, the electricity passed right up and right into my eyeball. My eye burned and is still quite red from those shocks.
When she finally finished with that massage, she took her gloves off explaining to me that the gloves disperse the electric current. Otherwise, if she touched me I would get a shock. She accidently demonstrated this by reaching for the end of the electric charge on my chest and touching my skin instead of the metal disc. Yep, I did get a shock. I have a little red burn spot now where she touched me.
Did I quit? NO!

After this hour of tension and pain, the lady tried to put some make-up on me, which was kind of hard because my nose and eyes were still dripping.

But as I left and was walking to my car, I ran into a girlfriend I hadn't seen in a while and she commented on how young I looked. (Considering how old I really am- I guess)
And when I got home, Eddie touched my face and commented on how soft and un-wrinkly my skin looked and even Luke said I had a "glow".

So, will I do it again- you betcha!

In Another Country
A German, looking for directions in Paris, pulls up to a bus stop where two Americans are waiting.

"Entschuldigung, sprechen Sie Deutsch?" he asks. The two Americans just stare at him.

"Parlez-vous franais?" he says.

The two continue to stare, so the German tries again "Parlate italiano?"

No response. "Hablan ustedes espaol?" Still nothing. Frustrated, the German guy drives off.

The first American says, "You know, we should learn a foreign language."

"Why?" asks the other. "He knew four languages, and it didn't do him any good."

Music happens not just in the notes, but in the spaces in between.

from left to right, Thomas Mark, Tommy Baldu, Jörg Dudys, Willi Wagner, Florian Sitzmann, Vilko Zanki (studio father), and Michael Koschorrek. The guys are watching a youtube video of Keith Richards arguing with Chuck Berry.


I just wound up 4 days in the studio recording the basic tracks of my new album, LIFELINES. Being in the studio with outrageously talented and creative musicians is definitely one of my most favorite things to do! A big bravo goes out to Florian Sitzmann (keyboards, piano and producer) Michael Koschorrek (guitars) Jörg Dudys ( guitars) Willi Wagner ( bass) and Tommy Baldu ( drums and all things percussive). And of course, Thomas Mark, the Obi-Wan of the sound board.
For those of you who don't know, I'm recording an album of mostly songs that I recorded over 20 years ago! Songs from the first 3 albums, C.A.E., Oh, Cae, and The Circle of Love. I'm talking about the 80's here! And the sounds on those old albums are the perfect snapshot of what was "in" at that time. Madonna, Michael Jackson, .... you know! Those 3 first albums were all produced by Dieter Falk and needless to say, he did an excellent job.
But times change.
And it was time to revisit some of those songs again and help them to move into the 21st century. I then polled you folks who read this blog and/or are friends with me on Facebook and the top 8 songs of YOUR voting are the songs we are recording. In addition, Florian and I have written 3 new songs because honestly, we just can't help ourselves! :))
These last few days have been a trip down memory lane remembering the recording techniques of 20 years ago. Reel to reel tape machines, people! And if you make a mistake, the sound engineer had to cut that out with a knife. I am not kidding!
Things are much more relaxed now in a recording studio. Mistakes don't require knives to fix them. There's more space for experimenting and relaxing with each take.
Our motto for this studio session: Less is more. There is a certain maturity in a band that has been playing and recording for a long long time. They know that music happens not just in the notes, but also in the spaces in between. The word that has been used often in the last few days to describe the arrangements and style of this album has been "ausgeschlafen", which means well-rested. Even though we were definitely NOT well-rested, the music sounds like it. I LOVE it!
There's no panic, no chaos. Just well-loved songs and texts getting the attention they deserve.
I hope you like the results....

Teen Binge-Drinking

Last night while I was making Lifelines I watched a documentary on TV about teen alcohol abuse. It's one thing to see images of 20-somethings wasted on alcohol, but quite another to see precious young 13 and 14-year olds binge- drinking with their only goal to get spewing drunk!

Am I so old-fashioned that I just don't get it? Where is the temptation in trying to reach the point that you: can't stand up, don't know who you are or where you are, have vomited and pissed (or worse) all over yourself, and are incapable of defending yourself if you needed to?
The documentary camera team followed ambulances on a typical weekend as they collected HUNDREDS of teens who were passed out and injured or involved in road accidents because of a voluntary action on their part.

I don't get it!
Don't get me wrong. I drink alcohol. Usually in the winter when our heating isn't working. Aside from that, I just don't seem to need it to find life fascinating and entertaining.
Do I sound holier-than-thou?
Now let's get practical. Who's paying for all of those ambulance trips to pick up these kids? They certainly aren't! I am. And you are!
I have an idea: I think that everytime somebody has to be picked up by an ambulance because they haven't controlled their drinking, they should be fined. Maybe 100 euros per trip. That's not a lot, but for a teen it's not a little. I wonder if it might make someone reconsider taking that "one more drink" that puts them over the edge.
And I think that if they have to be picked up twice, they must attend mandatory alcohol abuse prevention classes. How will those classes be paid for? With the fines that they have paid!
What do you think?

Pilgerreise

Yesterday I was in Kangaroo Studio working with Florian on my new album. I was really pleased to find that Johannes Falk was there putting the finishing touches on his new album, "Pilgerreise". Of course I asked to sit in and listen for a while. What a treat that was!
I heard bits and pieces of several songs from the album. All of them composed and texted by Joe. The sound is very dense but Joe's super interesting voice is well in the foreground of the mix. The texts are not complicated, but they are rich. The pictures are strong. And the melodies are such that just when you think you know where it's going to go, it takes a turn that grabs your curiosity again.
The story line of the songs is based on John Bunyon's classic christian tale, "The Pilgrim's Progress", first published in 1678! I used the same book as the basis for my album, "Welt von 1000 Wegen". I am so pleased that this young, cool singer has digested this beautiful metaphorical story for a new generation of readers.
Sitting in there for this short listening session was kind of like smelling somebody cooking a wonderful meal. It makes your mouth water and you can't wait to sink your teeth into it!

Sometimes it seems like there are so many thoughts and ideas whirring around in my befuddled brain, that I can't sort through them to find out what is important and what isn't. Do you know what I mean? Maybe a weekend at a Kloster where no one is allowed to talk would clear my head.
Or writing stuff down. That always helps!!!!
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First and foremost, I'm busy working on a new solo album. At the suggestion of Markus Bonnert, the A&R from Gerth Medien (record company) it will include new recordings of old favorites. After polling the public for some time, we now have the tracklist set. The album will also include 3 new songs that Florian and I are writing /have written together.
I've decided on a title and a photographer and the musicians who will play on the album. Each of those is a big hurdle in the decision-making process. But, oh how I love this whole creative phase of album-making!
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You may have been aware of the RTL "Das Supertalent 2010" casting show which ended last December with Freddy Sahin-Scholl winning by a landslide voting margin. What you may not know is that the songs that Freddy sang for the TV show, and on his new album, almost all have lyrics written by me! The album has moved from #4 to #3 in the German album charts and is #4 in Austria and #12 in Switzerland.
I'm amazed by Freddy's courage and belief in this album. And I'm so proud to have a part in it. He called me last week, between TV appearances, to ask me to work with him on his second album. It will be released this year by Sony Music.
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After completely selling out of Lifelines (my line of necklaces) during the Christmas tour in December, I'm super busy making new ones - A) to sell at our/my concerts and -B) to finally put some new Lifelines on my web shop. The shop has been empty for a month now, but it seems like as soon as I get a few Lifelines made, we have a concert and they're sold out again! This is such a nice predicament to be in!
Someone suggested that I "farm out" the making of the Lifelines but I just can't do that. I make each one by myself, by hand, and pray for the person who will eventually buy and wear this particular Lifeline. I can't ask somebody else to do that !!
I just want you to know that I'm making new Lifelines as fast as I can. BUT I have another concert on Saturday. Whatever is not sold there, I will photograph and put on the webshop. OK?
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So, that's the big stuff. There's lots of little stuff that I could write about, but I'll save that for later!

Business Meeting.

An interesting thing is going on in my living room right now. The ladies who sell Thermomix in this region are having a business meeting at my dining room table. The team leader had a really cool idea last summer: as a motivational tool for sales, her ladies earned tokens that they could use to pay for.... wait for it...... LIFELINES ! So, the ladies have been working really hard selling their products and collecting tokens.
Today, I decorated the living room and dining room with Lifelines, Memories, rings, spoons, book marks and lots of candles and snacks. After the business part of the evening the ladies can look, touch and try everything on. And then pick out what they want and pay for them with their tokens.
Then I redeem the tokens with the team leader for cash.
I think it's a great idea and I had a lot of fun decorating for the ladies, even though I am pretty tired from singing a concert last night. Of course, the ladies in the living room don't even know that I sing. In fact, the only thing they know about me is that I make jewelry, speak German with an American accent and that I live in a little village on a tiny street that is awfully hard to find. I kind of like "being" that person.