Greetings from April’s wild-weathered Berlin!

The long Covid crisis has more or less suspended all live performances, so I decided to try to see this as an opportunity to completely update my home studio, and to figure out how improve my internet presence in this new world.

I’m learning that internet consumers are quite a different audience to what I am used to. They are seeking different content than I was prepared to offer, because I didn’t quite “get” the culture. I am still just beginning to see the shape of the task.

Part of what I have learned is the essence of the content is not a product - the song - but a relationship, or offering a new context for the song. In “Screen World” listening to songs isn’t done the way I am used to doing it, there are really billions of songs available at the touch of a finger now, so what is it that differentiates one from another? The Song, alone, reads as cold and hollow to the internet consumer, but having an experience with a song offers something warmer and more engaging. The most successful YouTube artists take a step back and use music or a song, as a medium of relationship with the screen consumer, and they offer to provide context for the viewer. How was the song made? What was interesting about it for the singer? What is it’s context, are there stories around it? How can you play this song? What strange harmonies are in it?

This is what I am working to develop in my House Concert Series. I play the songs, and then use that performance and the song itself to offer it with a new context for you. and what creates a distinction from all the other songs and singers out there, or at best helps you to hear the song in a new way.

So: here is my newest release and I hope you enjoy! This is Pilate’s Dream from Jesus Christ Superstar. The Rock Opera that brought me into the world of theater, musicals and opera.

This is why I’ve decided to play cover songs on YouTube. I’m hoping it will help me find my audience. People who search for the artists who were my inspirations may someday become interested in my own original works , if they have a some relationship with me. Relationship must come first. Besides, I love to playing these songs anyway, and those who know me, know I can talk forever about anything… so I share my relationship to the song, with a bit of context, and then, hopefully, viewers will have something which “warms up” our relationship and the great songs which were and still are inspirationed me. I’m happy to hear your thoughts on all this so feel invited to share what you think. I’m just an old dog trying to learn some new tricks here! 😉

House Concert Series #1

I began this series very low-tech - singing in front of a camera, with no other microphones at all. This was my first House Concert Series. This was one set of some songs which I always loved to play. One set of guitar and voice which you can enjoy where ever you are. It includes songs from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Jorma Kaukonen.

House Concert Series # 2 “Goaling Coals”

Now I’ve begun my second series. My production goals here were to improve the sound quality and generally the production flow of doing such a videos. I open this set with “Tangled Up in Blue” by Bob Dylan, and “Pilate’s Dream” is the second..

After “Tangled Up In Blue” I also invested some energy into the lighting, since I can’t always wait for a sunny day to film these things here in Berlin. You see the results of that in “Pilate’s Dream” above.

I have some great friends who have asked how they can support me in my work. We live in interesting times where it is not alway easy to find a way to directly support an artist. Physical CD’s barely make any sense to produce, because they are expensive to make and so few people still listen to them. So if you wanted to, how can you support me?

In the old world, composers had patrons who would financially support the artist directly. This has been created in our world by a company called Patreon. Patreon offers a simple way for people to directly support of artists with a small monthly donation. It’s a well designed platform which also offers you, the supporters, some extra benefits. Click the icon to see how it works, and thanks for even considering it!

Besides that you can buy CD’s or directly download my music directly from my website, at my shop. Or you could throw a “Coin into the Hat” (a direct one time donation) if you are most comfortable with that.

And of course, it is great support to me simply to follow me on whatever streaming platform you use and to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you like to keep up with my journey there.

I appreciate you spending your time with me very much, I know your choices are endless. But do be in touch when I do something you enjoy! You can find my profiles on streaming services below.

(Btw, Amazon lost me this month… 😒 I’ll let you know when they find me again… 🤷🏻‍♂️)

Take care of yourselves, and those around you. We are living in a complicated time! Be well.