The amazing and wonderful has happened: Last night Stephanie performed in the finals of the Troubadour Acoustic Song Contest in the Maxim Gorki Theater… and won first place! Both of the members of the professional jury as well as the audience placed Stephanie as the winner. This announcement is a huge Danke to everyone who supported us, but especially to Mckinley Black, who brought this whole event to life.
Now that our studio is completed, our main goal is to work on production for our new album which is due to be released in 2007. We hope to soon be able to relieve our demo from 2003, which represents a very different Stephanie. For all of the fans who have so lovingly supported us by buying the demo in spite of this remarkable contrast, we would like to say thank you - and we'll do that by offering a five dollar discount on our new CD. So don't throw out that old demo, bring it along as a coupon. J Thank you so much for being a part of our oldest and most loyal fan club!
ChrisWay back in November of last year we took part in an acoustic song competition called Troubadour. The rules: only homemade songs, only acoustic instruments. The motto: Keep music real. Every month for seven months twelve artists competed in two of Berlin's hottest venues to make it into the semi-finals. Thanks to a wonderful audience and two jury members from the music business we won first place and with that, we made it to the next round. The semi-finals took place at the beginning of May. Fourteen artists made their way into the second round and only six of us could make it into the Finals. Stephanie's competition date was May 2 in the Quasimodo. In spite of the talented competition, the audience and professional Jury members voted her number one, securing her ticket to the Finals. The Finals will be held in the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin on June 8th. We would love to have your support there in the audience. Tickets can be reserved now, and if you reserve your tickets before May 14th you can save twenty percent on your seats. If you'd like more information on the competition or on the other great musicians taking part, you can find it at www.troubadour.de.com. If you'd like to see some pictures, check out our photos page.
Songwriters in the Round:Tom Cunningham's Songwriters-In-The-Round has been a show bringing musicians from all over the world together, creating one massive family, and one incredible musical experience after another for the audience. The huge impact of his work and music was seen and heard on April 28th and 29th during his benefit concert. Artists from all over the world came together to say thank you and give him positive energy to keep on healing. Despite his stroke in summer of last year, his show goes on. Stephanie has been invited as a Featured Artist for Songwriters-In-The-Round on Tour on June 4th in Joachimsthal. The other amazing Featured Artists will be Anna (Hamburg) and Christina Lux (Kassel). Uwe Kolberg will be filling in for Tom as host. For more information or to send Tom get-well-wishes, check out www.tom-cunningham.de.
Girl Attack:There was once an artist named CARO who decided to put together a showcase for female artists. She called it Girl Attack. On a cool night at the beginning of November 2005 the Club SO 36 filled up with fans and Girl Attack Volume One began. Stephanie performed her set along with support from Pamela Bethke (from S.A.M.T.), Jeanette Hubert and Catrien Stremme. (You can see some picturess on our Photo page.)
Studio Work:You may have noticed that our concerts have been coming fewer and far between and that our website isn't updated as often as it used to be. That's because we have been working so hard on everything behind the scenes. The studio is up and running, we have finally learned how to use the various thingamajigs that blink and beep, we found the direction we want to take our music in, and we're collecting the last microphones we need to make it all happen. So this "pause" is nothing but the calm before the storm. Thank you for your patience and for your support, it means the world to us. We hope to see you all soon. *smile*
Dream Festival:For all our fans in the good ole USA who have been asking us when we would finally be giving concerts in the homeland… we have good news. A songwriter-friend of ours named Rebecca Correia (www.rebeccacorreia.com) hosts a festival every summer called The Dream. It's in Rochester Massachusetts on a beautiful farm. It's the perfect place to bring the family, a blanket and a picnic basket and listen to real, handmade music. Stephanie and Christof just happen to be in the US during July, preparing for their recording sessions, and Rebecca was kind enough to invite us to play. The festival will happen on July 1st from noon to 10pm and we would absolutely love to see you there. When we know what time our set is we'll be posting that on our shows page. If you want more information you can e-mail us or Rebecca at rebecca@rebeccacorreia.com.
Stephanie has been working on understanding her new studio and computer for a
while now, and the pieces are finally starting to fit together. The current
project in the works is to get the next CD with Stephanie's new songs out and
published next year. But Stephanie has been doing more than just recording her
acoustic guitar and vocals: she and her handy dandy production partner, Christof,
have been adding a little bit of flavor and energy through percussion, electric
guitar, bass, and some other exotic sounds. The core of the music remains the same,
with Stephanie's acoustic guitar and vocals in the foreground, but new instruments
and harmonies will fill out the sound.
Here's a brief run-thru of what we've done so far. Once you read the description of
what we've been up to it might be fun to check out the songs yourself under our MUSIC
page. The first song that we experimented with was Angry and Irrational. We took an
older song to see if we could learn to use our studio. The result was drums and bass,
and although they add some energy to the production, they still sounded a little bit
too "drum machine" for our liking. So we moved onto the next piece, Outside In.
During the production of Outside In we had a little bit more knowledge as to how to use
our resources and the result was clearly something stronger than Angry and Irrational.
We added more vocals to the arrangement, flavored it with a little electric guitar,
experimented a tad with effects and tried to find a little bit more of a natural
percussion sound. We made some significant progress, but we know we can do better.
Our current production is of Porcelain, and we are really excited about the way the
sound is shaping up. Stephanie's guitar and vocal arrangement are still the same as
she performs them live, but we've found some nifty ways to accent that with some more
exotic sounds. This is our first production for the album and it's moving along much
more smoothly and efficiently than the other two did -- and we also feel that we've made
another huge jump in reaching the sound we'd like to achieve.
You can follow our progress yourself on our MUSIC page: there we have Angry and
Irrational and Outside In available to hear and to download. We will also have an
acoustic version of Porcelain on our MUSIC page soon... but you'll have to wait for
the album to hear the next jump in production.
You can also feel free to tell us what you think of the music. We do what we like,
but we are also open to constructive criticism and we like to learn. You can e-mail
Stephanie at stephanie@stephaniesongs.com
Last but not least to the topic of new music: Stephanie is stretching her electronic
music wings and trying her hand at what some have heard and called "trip hop."
The first musical attempt in this direction is called July and will also be available
on the MUSIC page soon. Have no fear that Stephanie is leaving the acoustic world,
but this side project will continue on in the background.
Stephanie has been invited to several of the Songwriting Circles that have been popping up in Berlin. (For those of you who may be wondering what a Songwriting Circle is, it's a performance where a bunch of singer-songwriters share a show, taking turns playing their own music. It's kind of like a live sampler. If you're interested in this genre, or just new or underground music in general, it's one of the best places to find out who your new favorite artist will be.) It all began for Stephanie with an invitation to play the 5th chair at Tom Cunninghams's Songwriters-In-The-Round and since then Stephanie has been a guest as well as a featured artist at the following circles:
- Uwe Felski's Sunday Song Ping Pong. For details check out www.uwe-felski.deThere are many talented women wandering the streets of Berlin, and some of the musically talented females of the city will now be included together on one album, and will be seen on one stage. Bluebird Cafe Berlin Records has chosen 15 lady singer-songwriters and is currently working on putting an album and show together to present them. Once this project is further, we'll let you know.
Love, Peace and Rock 'n RollThe Vote 44 initiative is slowly coming to an end as September comes to a close: the mission to get absentee ballots to Americans living abroad has been relatively successful. (And if you know an American citizen living abroad, tell them to get their absentee ballot (they can find info at www.fvap.gov). They have until the end of September to register. Stephanie was involved through her music with this project, performing at demonstrations and free concerts where Americans could find out how to register for an absentee ballot in their state. If you would like more information on this initiative check out: www.vote44.net
First and most important: The Music. Stephanie has been working hard in the studio adding some new instruments to old and new songs. If you've been waiting to hear her work with a band, this new project is for you. If you'd like a preview of what is to come, check out the samples on the Music page. Every couple of weeks there should be a new sample to listen to. We'll be posting them as soon as they're finished. The first song, ANGRY AND IRRATIONAL, is due to be posted no later than Sunday, April 11. Stephanie has also been working hard on the songwriting side. We will be including some acoustic samples of the new songs on the music page within the next couple of weeks.
Second: Live Performances. We've got a slow but steady start on the performing front. Stephanie's performance dates are posted on the Shows page. Although the list of concert dates seems short at the moment, that doesn't mean that she's not playing out. The open stage at Zimmer 16 in Berlin is a melting pot of diverse artists, and Stephanie has joined the ranks. If you are looking for entertainment at no cover charge, this is a great venue to discover new musicians, writers and comedians. The open stage is the first and third Monday of every month, and their songwriter's open stage takes place on the fourth Monday of every month. Stephanie has also recently been included in Tom Cunningham's Songwriters-in-the-Round as a player in the fifth chair. These evenings are also an incredible opportunity to hear a plethera of songwriters.
Third: The Guestbook. We recently added a guestbook to our page. We hope you'll check it out, and maybe write something in it. English, German... write whatever your heart desires, as long as it's not dirty or especially nasty. We'd love to hear what you've got to say.
Last, but not least: The Website. We are still psyched about this new website and will be updating it whenever we have new information, music and photos. If you have a probem accessing anything on our webpage please contact webmaster@stephaniesongs.com.
Until next time...
Wir sind wieder zurück aus den USA. Mitgebracht haben wir ein Live-Video mit
'Monster' vom 'The Dream' Festival. Das Video findet ihr hier: Monster.
Es gibt leider auch eine schlechte Nachricht: Das Konzert im Tränenpalast, das für
den 20. Oktober angesetzt war, muss ausfallen, da der Berliner Senat den Veranstaltungsort schliesst.
Wir haben aber für würdigen Ersatz gesorgt. Zu finden unter Shows.
Chris
Das Unglaubliche ist passiert: Stephanie hat gestern Abend im Maxim-Gorki Theater beim ersten Berliner Troubadour Wettbewerb den ersten Platz gemacht. Sowohl das Publikum als auch die Jury hat Stephanie als ihren Liebling auserkoren. Vielen Dank an alle, die uns unterstützt haben - vor allem aber an Mckinley Black, die Troubadour ins Leben gerufen hat. An dieser Stelle wollen wir auch noch einmal an all die vielen anderen Teilnehmer von Troubadour erinnern, die diesen Wettbewerb so einzigartig gemacht haben. Unter folgendem Link sind alle Namen der Künstlern zu finden: Troubadour Teilnehmer. Besonders möchten wir den anderen Finalisten für diesen tollen Abend im Maxim-Gorki gratulieren! Kat Garden, Timon Hoffmann, Son Doro, Salt, Rüdiger Bierhorst. Alle waren fantastisch und hätten den Sieg ebenso verdient gehabt!
Unser Hauptaugenmerk wird nun auf der Produktion unserer neuen CD liegen, die in 2007 veröffentlicht werden soll. Unser eigens dafür eingerichtetes Studio ist jetzt komplett und wir beginnen mit den Aufnahmen. Wir hoffen, möglichst bald damit unsere erste Demo CD von 2003 ablösen zu können, die noch eine ganz andere Stephanie represäntiert. Bei allen, die uns trotzdem mit dem Kauf dieses Demos auf unserem Weg unterstützt haben, möchten wir uns bedanken, indem wir eine Vergünstigung von 5 Euro auf die neue CD geben. Außerdem - was noch viel wichtiger ist: Ihr seid Mitglied im ersten und treuesten Fanclub!
ChrisNoch im November letzten Jahres nahmen wir hier in Berlin an einem Wettbewerb für akustische Musik teil, der sich Troubadour nennt. Die Regeln: nur selbstgemachte Songs, nur akustische Instrumente. Das Motto: Keep music real. Über sieben Monate hinweg kämpften jeweils 12 Musiker/Bands in zwei der angesagtesten Clubs Berlins (dem Quasimodo und der Kunstfabrik Schlot) um den Einzug ins Halbfinale. Dank eines wunderbaren Publikums und der gewogenen Jury gewann Stephanie den ersten Platz und damit das Ticket in die nächste Runde. Am 2. Mai im Quasimodo räumte Stephanie dann auch da den ersten Platz ab J Wir freuen uns jetzt auf das große Finale im Maxim-Gorki Theater am 8. Juni. Bis zum 14. Mai gibt es Karten noch mit 20% Ermäßigung. Wir hoffen auf Eure Unterstützung. Hier geht's zur offiziellen Webseite: www.troubadour.de.com.
Songwriters in the Round:Tom Cunningham's Songwriters in the Round war immer eine Show, die Musiker aus aller Welt zusammenführte, und damit eine riesige Familie aus Künstlern und Fans entstehen ließ. Show für Show war ein musikalisches Erlebnis nicht nur für das Publikum, sondern auch für die ‚Featured Writers'. Der große Einfluß, den Tom mit seiner Arbeit auf die Musikszene hatte, wurde während der Benefizkonzerte am 28. und 29. April spürbar. Musiker aus aller Herren Länder kamen zusammen, um danke zu sagen und Genesungswünsche zu überbringen. Trotz Toms Schlaganfall letzten Sommer - seine Show geht weiter! Stephanie wird am 4. Juni bei Songwriters in the Round on Tour in Joachimsthal dabei sein. Uwe Kolberg übernimmt Toms Part als Gastgeber. Die beiden anderen Musiker in der Runde sind Christina Lux aus Kassel und Anna aus Hamburg. Wer mehr über Songwriters in the Round erfahren möchte geht hierhin: www.tom-cunningham.de
Girl Attack:Eine Musikerin namens Caró (die übrigens auch auf der Kompilation ‚Sirens of Berlin' zu finden ist), hatte letzten Herbst die Idee eine Konzertreihe, bei der ausschließlich Musikerinnen bzw. Bands mit Frontfrauen auftreten, ins Leben zu rufen. Die erste Show im November war ein voller Erfolg. Sie fand im ehrwürdigen wie übervollen Club SO 36 (wo einst unter anderem die Sex Pistols spielten) statt. Stephanie wurde in ihrem Set von Pam Bethke (von S.A.M.T.), Jeanette Hubert und Catrien Stremme musikalisch unterstützt. Fotos vom Auftritt gibt es auf unserer ‚Photos'- Seite.
Dream Festival:Für alle, die nicht nach Deutschland zu einem Konzert kommen können: Es wird endlich auch wieder ein Konzert in den USA geben. Rebecca - eine Songwriterin, mit der wir befreundet sind - veranstaltet alljährlich ein Festival, das sich ‚The Dream' nennt. Es ist eine wunderbare Veranstaltung auf einer kleinen Farm in Rochester Massachusetts, bei der zahlreiche bekannte Musiker aus ganz Neuengland auftreten.1.Juli von Mittag von 10 Uhr abends. (www.rebeccacorreia.com)
Studio Arbeit:Ihr habt bestimmt bemerkt, dass unsere Konzerte in letzter Zeit immer weniger wurden und auch die Webseite nicht immer auf dem neuesten Stand war. Das liegt daran, dass wir verstärkt hinter den Kulissen gearbeitet haben. Unser Studio ist inzwischen soweit aufgebaut, dass wir damit brauchbare Ergebnisse erzielen können. Wir brauchen noch ein paar Mikros, dann wird die eigentliche Produktion für unsere erste ‚richtige' CD starten. Diese scheinbare Pause ist also nur die Ruhe vor dem Sturm. Danke für Eure Geduld und Eure Unterstützung! Hoffentlich sehen wir Euch alle bald wieder!
Stephanie und Chris
Juli 2005
Ja, ja, wir wissen schon: es ist lange her, seit dem letzten News-Update.
Wir waren sehr beschäftigt in den letzten Monaten. Hier eine kurze
Zusammenfassung dessen, was wir so getrieben haben:
Die meiste Zeit verbringen wir immer noch damit, unser kleines (feines)
Studio aufzubauen und uns durch die zahlreichen Handbücher zu kämpfen.
Kleine Aus-schnitte aus unseren Eigenproduktionen könnt Ihr auf der ‚Music'-Seite anhören.
Aus diesem Grund hat unsere ‚Öffentlichkeitsarbeit' auch etwas gelitten.
Aber habt ein bisschen Geduld: Sobald wir mit unseren Produktionen weit genug fortgeschritten sind, werden wir wieder nach belieben zu hören und zu sehen sein.
Trotz der ganzen Studioarbeit gibt es noch ein paar andere Dinge, von denen wir berichten können:
Das Konzert im Tränenpalast letzten November zur Wahlparty in den USA war ein voller Erfolg. Nur war leider der Ausgang des Abends sehr traurig ...
Immer mal wieder fanden kleinere Konzerte in und um Berlin statt - oft mit Pam Bethke von Samt an den Percussioninstrumenten.
Stephanie war zweimal ‚featured writer' bei Tom Cunninghams ‚Songwriters in the Round'. Im Januar hat sie an einem Benefizkonzert für die Flutopfer in Asien im ‚Zimmer 16' teilgenommen.
Im Frühjahr diesen Jahres wurde das Projekt ‚Sirens of Berlin', mit 17 Singer-Songwriterinnen aus Berlin, die alle zusammen auf einer Kompilation vertreten sind und auch bei zwei Record-Release-Parties (im ausverkauften Quasimodo und in der vollen Wabe) zu hören waren, vorgestellt.
Stephanie bekam dadurch sehr viel Medien-aufmerksamkeit. Ihr Beitrag zur CD, ‚Monster' (ein Song, den wir Ende letzten Jahres mit Tom Cunningham produziert hatten), wurde mehrfach im Radio vorgestellt und auch auf FAB gespielt.
Vielen Dank an dieser Stelle an Maik und Doreen Wolter, die die Idee zu dieser Kompilation hatten.
Und zu guter letzt: Am 3. November nimmt Stephanie am Musiker-Wettbewerb ‚Modern Troubadours' in der Kunstfabrik Schlot teil. Es wäre schön, wenn Ihr kommen und sie dabei mit Eurer Stimme unterstützen könntet. Mehr Infos dazu werden wir noch bekannt geben.
So, ich denke das war vorerst alles! Falls Ihr Fragen habt, schreibt uns einfach.
Chris und Stephanie
