Music Journey
Beethoven and Blondie
When I was growing up as a child music was always in my house. I suppose that had a lot to do with my mother whose family was musical. Her father played piano and so did she. My mother sang as well. Music was not just something that they did; it bonded them as a family especially after the end of World War II in Germany when there was little in regards to entertainment. Playing music at home with and for others was not an uncommon occurrence. In our house we always had a piano and a quality hi-fi system. If there was a soundtrack to my early childhood it was classical music the likes of Mozart, Beethoven and Dvořák that my mother played. But it was the sixties and so the music of the times emerged in the household as well. The first contemporary record that registered in my memory was a 45 of The Beatles with “Revolution” on one side and “Hey Jude” on the other. The first LP I remember was Janis Joplin’s “Pearl”. And on the radio the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, The Mamas and The Papas, Peter, Paul and Mary and the Jackson Five were ever-present. And then there were the musicals which we not only heard at home but we went to the theatre to see. I know every line of Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair.
Later my older teenage brothers brought a new musical tapestry into our home that included Curtis Mayfield, The O Jays, The Isley Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder and Parliament. But the majority of my childhood was spent growing up in New England where classic rock was the standard; Led Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, David Bowie, Queen, Steely Dan, Steve Miller Band, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, Van Morrison, The Eagles, Rolling Stones, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger and Eric Clapton. And then the Boston bands, Aerosmith, J. Geils, The Cars and Boston put rock music right my doorstep, literally. Greg Hawkes, the keyboardist for The Cars lived in the neighbouring town, Carlisle. I was thrilled to run in to him in Concord center where I lived. When I learned that The Cars had a recording studio, Syncrosound, on Newbury Street in Boston I when through the door one day and saw Benjamin Orr sitting on the sofa in the lobby. I told him I was a fan and asked if I could hang out; I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. I got a no. I was cool with the answer.
My notebook in high school shows where my mind was during class.
My teenage years marked a latchkey kid era. Me and my close friends were all children of divorce which created an otherness that bonded us all. That existence required a certain independence not only in how we spent our day but also how we thought about the politics of the day and our community. That ushered in a distinct musical taste the today would be considered alternative. Prince, The Specials, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Fear, Blondie, The Ramones, The B-52s, Public Image Limited and Talking Heads tapped into my otherness. I was from a small town and privileged but punk minded. My college years New Order, The Cure, The English Beat, U2, The Jam, Depeche Mode, Madonna, The Cramps, Sade and The Smiths made top billing on my playlists. Musically I was armed for the real world.
When I was 16 my best friend Jeff Oliphant began playing the drums. He played in a band with his cousin and his uncle. They were name The Chlordanes. I used to sit in sometimes when they practiced. It was my first experience watching with such close proximity people play rock music. I was hooked, a fan of that band. I had a sense of what drumming took and wanted to play. Sometimes they would let me sit in on a song and give it a try. It didn’t stick for me then. The expense of acquiring a drum set was not in the cards, plus I knew my mother would not be able to stand drumming in the house. I remember gluing egg cartons to the wall of Jeff’s basement which became the practice space of his next band, XS. They played hardcore punk. This early exposure to bands was the closest I thought would ever come to being in a band. I gravitated to the fashion of the music instead. I wore combat boots and camouflage when I was feeling Clash and a porkpie hat and blazer when I was feeling Specials. It was pretty radical for the preppy New England town, Concord. My dress was not a full on rebellion. Once I wore a Polo shirt, collar turned up and a Mohawk. Two hearts trying to beat as one. Ha.
One summer I took a photography class. I took photos of what I saw. This series is Jeff’s band XS putting on a show for friends in his basement.
Over the years I spent time watching Jeff play. He is an incredibly talented musician. When I could I played the roadie setting up and breaking down his equipment. When I began to play myself I modelled my drumming after his.
Herzo Jams
In 2014 Christian, a colleague and friend of mine told me that he was taking guitar lessons. He played when he was younger and decided to pick it up again. I got the idea that I would get a drum kit so that we could play together. We played in the basement of his house in Herzogenaurach which was a few kilometres from the office. We talked another colleague into jamming with us. Hutch played bass in the nationally recognized band, Evidence One. Meanwhile I had been having conversations with yet another colleague who I knew to be a writer and poet and was a member of a local theatre group. Marlene came around to sing. At first we played cover songs which scratched the initial itch. We had zero ambition beyond that. Or did we?
Taking The Stage
We were all hooked and continued to meet in the basement. A garage band was emerging. Correction. Since we were in Germany a keller band is more fitting. Christian’s birthday was coming up and his wish was to play live. This was a level I never imagined for myself. But who was I to say no? We booked the Musik Initiativ Herzogenaurach (MIH) as the venue. Christian, Me, Hutch, Marlene and a guitarist friend of Christian’s were the Mobium Band that night. I rocked a t-shirt from the Portland bar Plan B owned by my friend and Chemicals bassist, Jeff Truhn. The show went off without a hitch. I had a blast.
“We’re a [keller] band”
Hutch dropped out of our basement affair. He had the responsibilities of his own band. Luck would have it that Desi, yet another Puma colleague was down to play bass. She too had played when she was younger but never got beyond what was the teenage pent up expression of the German village in which she grew up. For me Tina Weymouth came to mind and how cool it was to have women in our group.
No-one knows how it happened (likely I am just forgetting) but one day Tracy showed up to jam. He was a designer at Puma. I knew from my past life at Crocs. He was the most experienced musician of us all. Originally from Seattle, he recorded with several bands. He brought his guitar but the truth is he could play most any instrument and better than any of us could ours. It was he who inspired our evolution from friends getting together to play music to a proper band. And he did it in a mild yet confident manner; never overbearing, always encouraging. He gave us the confidence to think that we were good musicians and that we could create our own music. On some level I think we were another musical project for him as he is incredibly prolific in his musical pursuits always having one or another project going on. Regardless, he never made us feel that way. Together, with him, we became a proper band.
The Lasts Debut
We were getting pretty good playing together and Marlene’s poetry background really kicked in when it came to writing our own music. Inside of a year, we had composed about 8 songs. “Sheltered and Bored” was our first. 2015 was my 50th birthday year. As we did the year before for Christian’s birthday I too wanted to play live. I asked the band for a birthday wish. - that we perform as The Lasts. To me it was a fitting name since we all worked for a shoe company. They agreed. We booked MIH again and invited family and friends, some of whom traveled from the United States to be there. All told, about 50 people came. We had a great performance. It was a most memorable birthday party.
FIRST RECORDINGS
Since we now had a collection of songs the next step was to record them. Christian’s basement became Keller Band Studios. Tracy brought recording equipment and mixed the tracks at home. When the demos were done we climbed in my car and took a drive through Herzogenaurach listening to the tracks. Just like playing live, hearing music that I was playing with other people was something I never imagined for myself. It was such an exciting moment. We released our first EP, “Girls Up, Boys Down”. Our Puma colleague and friend, Jan Hippchen designed the cover art using both his skateboard design and the photos he shot at our concert.
Small Revolution
Play Your Part
Make Something
Sheltered & Bored
Gigs
We were inspired creatively and growing our repertoire. That motivated us to share our music by getting more gigs. We were booked at Cafe Pforte which stood on the grounds of the former AEG headquarters in the Northwest section of Nuremberg.
We steadily pursued more gigs at bar venues with pretty good success coordinating performances that coincided with the rigours of our day jobs. After Cafe Pforte we got a gig in Saarbrucken at Kurze Eck. Back in Nuremberg we played the Kofferfabrik (Suitcase Factory), Kunstkeller (Art Cellar) and Freudenpark before we ventured out again to play Tutzinger Keller in Tutzing and Kulturkeller (Culture Cellar) in Munich. Our newcomer status in Nuremberg captured the attention of Radio Z; in particular a show called Lokale Leidenschaften (Local Passions). They did an on-air interview and invited us to do a K-Session in which we played acoustic versions of our songs. We were invited to do a Live II Tape recording at the Rundfunk (Broadcasting) Museum in Fürth.
Busted
The stage at Cafe Pforte was outside the cafe in the parking lot. The police were not ok with the noise and shut us down. But all was not lost. That event inspired the song “Busted By The Cops”.
Standing in our usual spot
Suddenly start feeling hot
We thought it was going rather well
Then I watched as your face fell
Kurze Eck
Saarbrücken
THE VINYL
“Would like to tell you more, but I am too busy”
We released our EP in 2015. With two years passing since new had enough songs to release an LP. That was a crazy development but even more crazy was the idea that we could release a vinyl record. My friend Jeff worked at Cascade Records in Portland, Oregon. They produced hi-quality vinyl records using vintage machines. What could be better. I visited their facility to get acclimated with their process and requirements. Once we were finished in the studio we were off to the presses.
The title song “No Time" was inspired by the installation “Voll beschäftigt”, directly translated as “Fully occupied”. Created by my then girlfriend and artist Julia Frischmann, “Voll beschäftigt” was a multimedia experience that included larger than life photography, sculpture, light and sound.
Julia and I collaborated on the album art concept borrowing from her installation which featured the human body as a canvas for messaging. This moment marked a certain creative nirvana; designing a vinyl record cover of my music was just about all I could take.
Guerilla Retail
When the record was released I made it a habit to travel with copies that somehow made there way onto record shelves.
Monoton Record Shop
Nuremberg
Ace Hotel
London
Berlin
Michelberger Hotel
Bardentreffen Music Festival
Our presence on Radio Z brought us a new opportunity. The DJs there were part of the selection committee that determined the lineup for Bardentreffen, an event staged by the City of Nuremberg’s Culture Bureau. For three days bands would play at various stages throughout the city. We played on the Lorenzer Platz stage.
Live On Radio Z
Local Nuremberg radio station Radio Z made it their business to be on the pulse of local music. They invited The Lasts to play a live acoustic “K Session”.
Live II Tape
at Fürth Rundfunkmuseum
Garage Recording Sessions
MUSIC VIDEOS
I Can Work With That
From the album No Time
Crazy Crazy (Acoustic Version)
From the album You Can Control