There are many things I love about Berlin.  The public transport is brilliant.  Considering I had been awake all night, as I had to leave at 4am to get my 6am flight, I didn’t think I’d have much bother traveling to my friends flat in Kopenick.  I was wrong. Unfortunately there were works being done on the S Bahn rain lines between the main circle line and my destination Kopenick.  I had to get replacement buses.  By the time I got to my friends flat I was exhausted.  I had 2 hours of sleep before leaving for the WABE in the centre of Berlin; the venue for the 2010 Troubadour final.

I got to the WABE without too much difficulty.  It was great to see the host of the Troubadour competition, Mckinley Black, and her team.  As always they were very welcoming and friendly.  Mckinley asked me if I’d be interested in singing with her during her opening performance.  I was honoured!  Unfortunately, my sleep deprived brain couldn’t remember the words, the chords, or work out a harmony part.  It wasn’t going to work out.  I did play some guitar in a higher  postition which worked really well.  Our performance was great fun and well received by the audience.

I really enjoyed the competition as I was under no pressure this year.  All the acts were great and, I must admit, there was very little between them.  It took the judges over an hour to decide.  You can see the results here.  I played a couple of tracks; Caught in the river (premier performance) and EMI.  I went down really well and managed to sell all my CDs bar a few EPs.

I had posted a small box of albums in the hope they would arrive in Berlin and save me extra baggage on the flight.  They hadn’t arrived and I only managed to take 10 albums and a handful of EPs.  I was very encouraged though by the sales.

I must have drunk my weight in Red Bull in order to stay awake.  I was soooooo tired!  I wanted to stay out and party but, alas, my age and my state of mind had caught up with me.  I returned home to bed and slept until noon the next day.

The Saturday consisted of laziness and ice-cream.  I did a bit of window shopping in Kopenick’s shopping centre.  I then went to see a friend play at the Friei University of Berlin.  It was an open day at the University in honour of Science.  My friend Nika did really well and even played a couple of tracks with her friends band.  Unfortunately, because of the transport problems it took 2 and a half hours to get there and the same time to get home.  I was exhausted by the evening.

The next morning I once again traveled across Berlin city centre as I attended the International Baptist Church of Berlin for their midday English service.  What a wonderful and welcoming church.  The Pastor asked any guests to lift their hands and we were presented with a New Testament and a prayer card which I filled in.  After the Service I enjoyed some great food and fellowship with other members of the congregation.

I had just enough time to get home, shower, practice for 30 minutes, before heading out to Art Gerecht where I was to play an evening concert.  I had played Art Gerecht the previous year.  Unfortunately it the venue address had changed and I got lost on the way.  I did get there in the end with 15 minutes to spare.   My friends who were putting me up for a couple of days came to the gig, as did friends from the Troubadour final. My friend Nika and her sister were also in attendance.

Art Gerecht is a lovely venue with an acoustic stage.  I didn’t use an amp or mic.  It was an interesting experience .  My voice was really tired after a few songs.  Mckinley black was also in attendance which was super!  They passed the hat and I made a few bob.  It was the perfect end to a great weekend.

Tiredness had caught up with me on the way back to Kopenick with my hosts.  I had a good sleep before returning to Scotland on the 9am flight.  I am already looking forward to returning to Berlin later in the year.

It’s a strange one.  When I drank I had no problem accepting cash or  could have been quite comfortable taking payment of some kind.  Now?  While I know I need to eat and support my family I still feel very uncomfortable accepting money for telling people the truth.  Bizarre!  I don’t have a problem asking to sell my CDs.  I think because it an actual product, if you get my meaning.

The other strange, yet wonderful, thing is that word is starting to spread by word of mouth and recommendation.  Gigs have been flying in to the point that I’m mixing up months and forgetting various bits and bobs.  I have remedied this by use of a Google Calendar between my wife, manager, and friends.  I’m really looking forward to the summer.  I’ve got some great gigs booked.  There’s even talk of a road-trip down to sunny Wales for a week to do some gigs.

More Recently I played at Barley Viewforth church last Sunday.  It’s a huge church here in Edinburgh.  It’s the kind of building that left me feeling awestruck when I stood on the stage.  It was an incredible night.  Although I was quite nervous, which seems to happen more when I’m talking, and full of mistakes, I was very well received.  The Minister, Rev. Sam Torrens, thanked me after I’d given my testimony and played some songs.  Then he read a Psalm for me; Psalm 40.  Now I’ll be honest.  I don’t know my Bible cover to cover so what I was about to here blew me out my socks!  I nearly broke down!  It was my life, or indeed my testimony, described back to me!  He read as follows:

Psalm 40: 1-3 (NIV)

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

³ He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

I can’t find the words to describe what this meant to me.   I will say that I am going to put it to my own music.  Hallelujah!

S.

It was at Carrubers Christian Centre in Edinburgh; a beautiful church on the Royal Mile. It was set out like a cafe with dimmed lights and a warm homely feeling which was really nice and ambient. The quality of the sound in the venue was brilliant and the staff there were absolutely fantastic.

I was supporting American guitarist, and all round nice guy, Trace Bundy aka the Acoustic Ninja. Now I’ve supported a few good folk in the past but what did it for me was Trace’s wonderful personality as well as his abilities as a musician. He really was pretty cool bashing out some Metallica classics using a guitar app on his iPhone to playing tracks with 5 capos, a loop machine, and some quality percussion on his Macpherson guitar.

I got some great feedback from both Trace and the crowd so I was really pleased the way the gig went.

I also enjoyed the fact my wife and son were there, as were my friends. I’m glad I get to take James, my son, to various gigs and let him hear music other than the weekly dose of the x-factor. I’m not allowed to watch it in my house anymore as I get very upset about the whole thing.

Getting back to the point, it was a great start to promoting the album which will be out in January.

I have attached a youTube video of Trace. He’s a clever bloke so he is.

Once again I crossed the water to mainland Europe to compete in the Troubadour competition in Berlin.  This time it was the final and boy was it a night to remember!  Berlin never ceases to amaze me.  The people here are simply wonderful.  I had to stop and ask directions to get to the Troubadour venue a few times and everyone I met was kind and courteous. The other great thing about Germany (as I mentioned in previous posts) is the transport system.  It’s brilliant!  Having been to Germany 5 times in the last year I know my way around Berlin pretty well now.  This time I don’t have a trusty pocket map for the train but there are maps at every station and they display the stops on the train anyway.

After dragging my poor pregnant wife out of the comfort of our bed yesterday morning at 4am, we got to Edinburgh airport in great time for our journey.  My wife is fantastic at sorting stuff out.  She booked my ticket and made sure my guitar was going in the cargo hold.  There was another band getting on the flight, and their drummer must have planned on taking his snare drum on board as hand luggage.  the case was too big for the hand luggage measure only by an inch or smaller so he had to pay for it.  It turned out that it was £15 per Kg.  The total came to something like £165.  the look on his face was not good at all!!I felt really bad when I walked passed and handed my guitar into the baggage place.

The one bad thing about flying to Berlin from Edinburgh is that the departure gate is one of the last two in the airport.  After being searched to within an inch of your human rights by airport security (although I must admin I do like the feeling of latex) you have to walk 15 minutes to the gate.  This is when you see all the obese suffering Scottish exercise as if their life depended on it.  Think stampede with walruses.  Albeit a tad flustered I was on the plain and on the way to Berlin.

There was a few crowds of 30 something gentlemen on the flight who were away for what must have been a stagg doo or a pissup.  I hate that their sense of common decency and manner escapes them fresh after a few pre-flight pints in the airport. It reminds me of the irish coffees I used to have which would hide the fact I’d been drinking, but I was never as loud mouthed.  I was a secret drunk by day.

I made good use of my ipod and Handel’s Dixit Dominus and eventually fell asleep.  Upon arrival in Germany and the very prompt pickup of my guitar I hit the S Bahn (Trains to you and me).  I arrived in Köpenick and found my way to Kim Nixon and her husband Matthais’s flat but not before stopping at a little kebab stall on the main high street.  This place makes the greatest kebab I have ever had!  If you ever go to Köpenick it’s just across the street from McDonalds.  after a delicious Doner I went to Kim and Matthais’s flat.  Once again they offered to put me up for my stay in Berlin.  They have made e very welcome and I’ve had great fun visiting them.

So I had a wee nap to catch up on my sleep and then I headed out in the early evening to get to the WABE; the venue where the final was being hosted. After getting there a wee bit late I did my soundcheck and met up with the other finalists and Mckinley Black; the host of the Troubadour.  Once again the Troubadour team made me feel right at home with their witty banter and friendly nature.  They were all geat fun and very accommodating.

Upstairs in the back, where the artists were fed and watered, we had food provided by one of the event sponsors.  I was delighted to see an Indian Banquet of vegetable and chicken curry.  It was Heaven!!  Not only that, at the back of the room where the drinks stood were two bowls of mini chupa chup lollie pops.  Indian and chupa chups are my biggest vices after ice-cream so I didn’t think there was anything wrong with eating about 40.

It wasn’t long before the place started to fill up with local music lovers.  Mckinley made it aware that the WABE was a stage  for performers who don’t really get the chance to perform and it was kindly offered for us to use for the final.  You can find out more info here.  The place was packed and most probably in excess of 400, the maximum capacity.

I was on 5th of 6th.  I was happy about this as I could spend most of the time worrying about the performance and not the result.  I had no expectations of winning the final.  I had been runner-up in the semi-final and I was up against some great performers, native musicians, and full bands.  So, I had made up my mind not to play in competition mode and enjoy it for the great privilege it was.

I was to play 2 songs, as everyone was, for the audience to vote on.  The audience voted on their ballot papers who they thought was the best act ordered 1 – 6.  That was only 1 third of the decision as there were also 2 judges from Radio 1, Berlin (NOT THE BBC).  I played alone in the dark to start with as I wanted to show my songwriting ability to not only the judges but aclaimed singer/songwriter Brett Perkins, who was listening in the audience.  For my second track I played Grace as I thought it was more of a song than EMI.  EMI is great for rocking out but I wanted to share the music I spent a long time on.  It went down brilliantly and I was blown away by the responce from the crowd.

After all the acts there was a good break while everyone voted and had a drink.  I met up with some of the audience who were very complimentary, kind, and encouraging.  It was very overwhelming.  If nothing else, regardless of the result, I was so happy that I got to experience my performance.  It was a dream come true.   I even met people who had befriended me on myspace and come to the gig especially to see me.  It was a wonderful feeling.

Mckinley gathered us all up and anounced the winners upstairs.  As before, 3rd place got to play 1 more song on stage, 2nd place got 2, and the winner got to play 3.  It was very exciting.  In thrird place was local lad Dagalexus Dux, in second was another local talent Am OK.  Mckinley then turned and said, “…and in first place is Steph!!”  This took me aback big time.  When everyone started clapping I had to hide my face in my hat.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was so overwhelmed that I had to go in the next room and chill.  I texted my wife and mates with, “I WON!!” and they promtly called me back.  It was fantastic.

With a few other things and performances it was time for me to go on stage and play my 3 songs.  I played Soul Searching, 2112, and Human condition.  After I played I got a standing ovation.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!  I had to do everything not to start crying but I couldn’t help it.  I was so overwhelmed.

Mckinley came on and gave me my prizes:

1. 1000 Euro
2. 1 week at a Brett Perkins Songwriting retreat
3. A E900 Sennheiser Mic
4. 1 year subscription to Song Quarters

This really was generous.  Mckinley asked me to play an encore.  So I finished with Goodbye EMI.  It was the perfect end to a perfect gig.  The crowd were grateful as was I for them, and the compliments and thanks I got outside really meant a lot to me.

Even though I was invited to go out celebrating I coudn’t as It had been a long long day.   I got a taxi back to Kim and Mathias’s flat and crashed.

Saturday came and I spent a bit of time in the morning with Matthais moving some furniture for someone, then I had a quiet day to myself shopping, getting my ear peirced twice, eating ice-cream, kebabs, and all things indulgent.

I got back early the next day to my loving wife.  It had been a greatweekend and an experience I will treasure forever.

This is a little later than I wanted to write.  I’ve been oober busy with recording, designing, college, weddings, and rehearsals.  But now that  I have some free time at 01:56am in the morning, I thought I should update my blog.  The Troubadour gig was fantastic.  The venue was the very cool Schlotts Jazz Bar in Berlin.  It’s a proper underground, through back streets venue with a classy look, great staff, and a great soundman.  We arrived, after a great day doing touristy things in Berlin, and the the very cool Mckinley Black.  It was straight to work with the sound check.  I asked for my customary chair as bar stools restrict my foot stamping.  It turned out it wasn’t a problem though.  Mckinley and her team made it very clear they wanted us to be as comfortable as possible and they certainly did.

We met the other musicians that were performing that night.  All of them were very cool and had their own style that, in my opinion, really made the night what it was.

We went for a bite to eat at the ever reliable Subway and came back for our ‘briefing’.  The show was split to let each performer play 2 songs.  After that the audience would vote and place in order who they thought were best from 1-6.  Third place would get to play 1 more song, second 2, and third 3.  When it was my turn to play I was very well introduced and then I played Disco in the Sky and Goodbye EMI.  It went really well and I won the evening.  It was a very flattering experience.  To have an audience like your music is great.

I normally have a thing about competitions as I think they drive a wedge between performers.  But on this occasion, and this really isn’t because I won, everybody was very congratulatory and supportive.  I’m just glad we could get together and enjoy live music.

So Joaquin came 3rd, Kim Nixon Second, and I got to play 3 songs, actually 4 as I got an encore.  We had a great night and are looking forward to visiting Germany for the 4rth time in less than a year.  I’m hoping to do a few more gigs while I’m there and really enjoy the wonderful country that Germany is.

For More information on the Troubadour click here.

There were some great Jamming moments and some cracking performances from the likes of Carleko, Brown, and Lew Bear, and despite a few guitar issues (Which were my fault from the attempt at setting up my guitar earlier in the day…Sorry Rick!), the gig went really well.  Hopefully we’ve generated a bit of a buzz for the Spratton Folk Festival this summer.

It really was a great experience to have my nearest and dearest and my mates singing along to my songs in full voice.  The crowd were very receptive and grateful for the music.  It was a gratifying experience.  I felt especially good when Lew said, “You know, I think we’re starting to create a music scene here and the locals are enjoying it!” 

That’s what it’s all about people!  It’s all about the music and the enjoyment and participation of the gig from both the artist and the audience!  Brilliant. 

Roll on Spratton Folk Festival 2009!