2.25.2007
FEEL LIKE MAAAAKIN’ LOVE…TOO L’OUSE! It was a festive week, one that included Mardi Gras (we made a mess with confetti and silly string, much to Aden’s trepidatious delight) and Chinese New Year (all of which landed on my personal favorite holiday, Justine Bateman’s birthday! Quelle “Satisfaction”, indeed!). This week the bar Motel opened very near to my place—an indie rock bar par excellence. The previous establishment at that address, the bar Amadeus, was a place shrouded in mystery—not once did I see anyone enter or exit the place, and the windows were obscured by heavy curtains and outward facing mirrors. Whorehouse? Hardcore S&M? The name ‘Amadeus’ conjures little more than images of Tom Hulce. Whatever it was, it’s gone. Welcome to the neighborhood Bar Motel! TOULOUSE 2/24 I was the guest this weekend of the Baldini family, who celebrated 20 years of marriage with a fine party, held in the Espace Congrès where Mr. (Eric) Baldini works. In other words, they had a ready-made venue, and being a technician, Eric could supply absolutely pro sound and lights (there was a breathless moment where a loosely seated cable was preventing the reverb on the Fender Twin from functioning, but other than that, smooth sailing). Plus lots of local wine and for the most part he let my Itunes run rampant over the sound system. Later in the night I had to keep people dancing—so Francis Hime singing ‘Ave Maria’ was shelved…but I mostly got it right. I knew that the folks were getting drunk when they told me that “Can I Touch You There” by Leon Ware was hard to dance to—that was your legs getting less than solid, not the groove! But, no harm done. The Baldinis were extremely kind, and I wish them lots of joy. Preceding that in the week was the closing on my purchase of a flat in Paris—which will be rented in the coming months (please, no enquiries here, no “dude, can I stay there, for like, a month?”). Dom & I celebrated the occasion with a dinner at Lasserre, a fantastically old school Parisian restaurant in the 8eme. I paid the most I have ever paid for a salad, to be sure—but it was generously overlaid with slices of truffle, coating a bed of lightly oiled baby lettuce. I often thought of truffle as a “fifth flavor” like that created by chefs in Japan—it’s not bitter, salty, sour or sweet. It is truffle—and in fact is a taste in two parts, the after taste being a delightful experience altogether different from the initial munch.  Some releases of note: my remix (under the nom de guerre “Klay Kortz”) of Ian McGlynn’s song “You Might Understand” from his excellent album Tomorrow's Taken is up on his myspace. Also via myspace you can hear some songs I produced for Parisians Cheap Star. They made a couple of the songs I did plus a couple done with Jon Auer available as a CD that they sold on a recent tour of Spain…I bet you could get them to sell you one…but you might want to wait for the full length which is comprised of songs produced by either Jon or myself! As soon as Jon’s tracks are mixed it will be available…again, watch their myspace for developments. And, Devilduck Records in Germany has released a compilation called About Songs – volume 2 featuring tracks by Rogue Wave, Grandaddy, Calla, Jon Auer, Archive and more, and with liner notes (soon to be a thing of the past?) by yours truly. Volume 1 of the series had “Known Diamond” on it. Other than that, I had the great pleasure to see the Decemberists in Paris this week, Thursday being the last stop on their European tour. The band are great and do a fine switch-fu on the various instruments—and the night was concluded with a cover (full band duet with support band Lavender Diamond) of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” so put that in your bagpipe and blow on it. I caught up with drummer John Moen after the show, whom I have known for frighteningly close to 20 years—he was the drummer with the Dharma Bums, labelmates and friends and touring mates of the Posies. Our first show together was an outdoor show on the riverfront in their native Portland on September 11…1988. Believe it or not I wrote this in the back of Parisian taxi on my way home from Orly. I’ll be announcing a bunch of European tour dates this time next week! Love KS Paris
2.18.2007
 ORDER MY NEW 7” – OUT NOW. This week saw the release of a new vinyl single, a split with French songwriter Luis Francesco Arena. I cover his song “Waterlilies and Creatures” and he covers my song “The Lovers Hymn”. You can order it here. Mind you--this is in French, and they don't have a link for shipping to the US, but you can drop them an email also via the link above, and get it sorted. The single is limited to 500 copies. The week started with me up to my bloody elbows in the birthing process of the Cosmopolitants record. The last night, I started mixing the last song at about 2.30am, and finished it at 8. It was sounding pretty amazing at that hour…who knows what condition my perception was in at that point, but the studio people were all rocking out with me…also delirious and prob. hoping I would be satisfied enough to leave! They told us that Carlos Ann, an artist who co-owns the studio, was starting a session that morning at 8 and we had to be finished by then. In my state I grimly accepted the challenge…and then thought, what kind of musician, especially Spanish, is starting work at 8am? There’s no way this guy has even left the last bar he was in at that hour. But, I was in no position to argue. Surreally, in the last night, I was photographed and interviewed for a feature in the very slick and hip H magazine. I can’t imagine what state I was in. I came out of the studio onto Gran Via at 8.15 or so on Tuesday morning. It was a gorgeous morning—amplified by the psychedelia of sleeplessness. It was already becoming light, with black trees making a pattern of cracks in the blue sky. I cabbed back to Natxo’s flat and crashed for a couple of hours, and then Jonat from the band picked me up—I gave him the hard drive and he gave me a ride to the airport. The day became as hot and sunny as any summer day. I spent the few days at home recuperating, and reconnecting with my family. Last week we had Valentine’s Day, and Dom surprised me with our destination—it was Dans Le Noir, in which the patrons dine in total darkness. Hilarity ensues. Actually, what ensued, once the initial panic subsided, was a renewed appreciation for the gift of sight, and a reevaluation of our connection with our senses, with food, with the person across from me (Dom and I touched noses and hands throughout the evening). ESSEN 2/16 I was up at 5am. Or so. The night before was unusual in that Dom was out of town, so it was me, Dom’s mom, and Aden. Dom’s mom is very kind and made my favorite of her recipes, lapin moutarde. I went to the cinema, to see the excellent film The Last King of Scotland. I played (and played pretty well, considering the considerable rust) tennis with Remi (Cheap Star). And went to bed, but not sleep, at about midnight. So, 5 came up pretty quick-like. I tiptoed around the flat getting ready. A cab had been ordered the night before so I dragged my stuff downstairs at 6.15 and headed to Orly. Still completely dark outside. The flight from Paris to Düsseldorf is under an hour—by 9.30 Carsten and I were having coffee at the airport waiting for his friend Stephanie to arrive and drive us and all my crap to Essen. Upon arrival we went to a fine little café in the former town hall of Carsten’s borough. On the way, we passed Henscheid, a remarkable store that advertises itself as selling “alles fur den Sport”. Evidently, to effectively cater to the sporting needs of that region one must stock crappy thrift store paintings, old tobacco pipes, kitschy statuettes, and tropical fish. And in no particular scheme of organization. At one point, a bulky man came out of the back carrying an old rifle, and I realized how French I had become—before I knew it, my hands were in the air! I took a long nap in the afternoon and in the evening we headed for the site of Carsten’s party—the house where he grew up. His parents still live there, and upstairs, in a separate apartment, lives his brother, who donated the site to host the party. There was no PA, just a guitar amp. I rocked a seriously delicious DJ set from my Itunes over Andrew’s thumping stereo. At about 9.30 it was showtime. The 30-40 guests, incredibly on cue, all immediately sat down in one movement when I switched the music off. And no one made any noise during my set—they barely peeped up when I asked for requests (“ummm…no, I can’t say that I know anything by Dashboard Confessional”). I played my own stuff comme d’habitude, the odd Posies/Big Star songs, the usual Long Winters nod, and the special cover I had worked up for the night—knowing a Dylan cover would be too obvious, I pulled out “Communication” by the Cardigans from their best album (IMHO) Long Gone Before Daylight. How pleased was I that Carsten was wearing a Cardigans T-shirt that day! I played for just shy of two hours I think? And then sold some CDs and my new single etc. and cranked another scorching set from my Itunes. It all ended peacefully, Carsten making sure he was the last man standing, at 4. I wasn’t standing, but resting my eyes nearby…  MUNSTER 2/17 I slept in and in the morning Carsten and I were back at the café by his place. We went back to clean up things up at his brother’s place and then got the train to Munster. It’s a short walk from the station to the Gleis 22, as it should be—the name translates as “Track 22”. This place has been the scene of an excellent Posies show (last year), the only German stop of the Posies acoustic tour (2000) and a White Flag/KS show as well (2002). The sound is excellent there, and the people are always cool, and they get great, musical crowds there. This evening I was the support for Goldrush, from Oxford UK. Their set up is quite elaborate, 5-6 people onstage (sometimes their merch guy gets up onstage—and he’s often the support act as well!) playing guitars, horns, percussion, violin, keyboards, etc etc. Some of the songs are really good—I haven’t digested the records yet to get the titles from songs I remember but there were many great moments onstage. Really good stage sound, too—many times the sound was very much like a record (in a good way). But, I also played—my guitar, and a lovely Kawai digital piano provided a local band called the Donots (thanks Donots). A typically great G22 audience, who had no problem giving me a whoop whoop. There was a kind of old drinky punk guy, who was standing by me, mumbling along while I played in the crowd sans mic, and even he was cool. He gave me quiet, drunken assurance of a sort. At the end of Goldrush’s set, I hopped up and we did a slightly truncated version of ‘the Ballad of El Goodo’…after we sold boatloads of merch, and at 2am Carsten and I were sober and on the train back to Essen. I slept in til 12.30! Carsten and I had lunch at an Italian place in his hood, where I had pan-fried rabbit livers on a bed of rocket. Stephanie returned to take me to the airport, and by about 10 I was having dinner at home…now all is quiet and the blog is be-blogged. Good night. Love KS Paris
2.11.2007
This is a very quick post to say that I am working *very* long hours in the studio mixing the Cosmopolitants record...I walk about 25 min. to the studio each day, which affords me different perspectives on Barcelona's beauty (I particularly enjoyed the gardens of the University, which is right by the studio on Gran Via). I've enjoyed a lovely dinner each night (my favorite so far was the restaurant Bilbao, in Gracia, where I enjoyed callos, a kind of rich tripe stew--the waiter was very enthused that a gringo like me ordered that) and more than my share of cafe cortados. I got my hair cut and colored at the end of last month. As it turns out, Patrick, who runs the Toni & Guy salon near our flat in Paris, and has been cutting my hair for 4 years now (starting around the time the cover photo for "Soft Commands" was shot), was voted France's coiffeur of the year, by a board of his peers. Felicitations! Listening to: Flaming Lips "At War with the Mystics"; Lydia Lunch "Smoke in the Shadows"--a collaboration with, among others, Nels Cline--resulting in a noir-fest of decadence, lust and more; King Diamond "A Dangerous Meeting"--a comp. of KD and Mercyful Fate tunes...you gotta love "No Presents For Christmas"...Best. Evil. Laugh. Ever. Love KS Barcelona
2.05.2007
New Photos are up in the photos section...also, check out my friend Adan Snyder in a great feature about his new album and its subject matter--his hometown of Kingston NY--in this article http://www.chronogram.com it's in the "music" section Love KS Oslo
2.04.2007
FJORD DENT Wow, I am well rested--when does that happen? I am in Oslo, rehearsing, writing and demo-ing with the Disciplines, and we have been productive enough that we knocked off around 8 last night. After this weekend we will have 2 great new songs demo'd and maybe a third as well. I arrived on Thursday and we had our first real photo shoot, but even after that we went to work in the rehearsal space. Friday night there was a big party at the National Radio/TV broadcast house. There was a crap band playing, and free champagne (for awhile). I met many Posies fans, including many of the local music scene, receiving respectful honors from journalists, members of Turbonegro, etc etc. I was home at the beginning of the week, and although we *didn't* make it in to the Syd Matter show at La Fleche D'or--we saw the crowds out front, and couldn't be bothered to be in a venue that full, so we went to dinner around the corner instead--we had plenty to do. I saw the excellent, and rather eerie film "Little Children", which chronicles the disfunction, conformity, and ennui of suburban American life, with an unnerving effect. I listened to my friends the Loud Famnily, who have a collaborative album with Anton Barbeau called "What If It Works?" on 125 Records (www.125records.com). It opens with a cover of the Stones' song "Rocks Off" and then, in Scott Miller's inimitable deadpan, comes track 2, "Song About 'Rocks Off'". Also recommended: Adam Snyder "This Town Will Get Its Due" (www.adamsnyder.com) I met Adam when he was playing with Mercury Rev, on tour with REM. I *didn't* meet him when he lived in Seattle in the early 90s, but now he lives in Kingston NY, and writes intelligent celebrations and critiques of the common man. Lydia Lunch: "Deviations On A Theme" A two disc retrospective of Lydia's musical and spoken word explorations. The diversity of this collection is really impressive, and Lydia's observations are always dead on, and uncompromisingly delivered. (www.lydialunch.com) Poet In Process: "Free Way" This isn't released yet, but it's their upcoming debut album, check them out on myspace. The Decemberists: "The Crane Wife" Sometimes they remind me of Jethro Tull--especially the medieval organ arpeggios...my long time colleague, John Moen, is now the drummer--I first new John in the 1980s when he played in the Dharma Bums...The Decemberists will play the Maroquinerie in Paris on the 22nd. And the 3 "E"s--Ella Fitzgerald, Explosions in the Sky, and Elton John. I don't recommend listening to Explosions on headphones, or in your car. But--as something heard in the background, it works. And on that note...I will get some new photos up in the photos section this week when I'm back in Paris. Or maybe tonight...or tomorrow...we'll see! Love KS Oslo NORWAY
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