Music - How it sounded, sounds and why.

It was american Rock´n Roll and Rockabilly that got me addicted to music, when i was a four or five year old boy. You can hear the influences from that days in my Song: "Who killed Alex?". Over the years, i went from there to Blues and Bluesrock. Then i discovered 60´s Soul Music and people like Steve Cropper, Sam and Dave, Ottis Redding, Wilson Pickett and much more.

In my early twenties i fell in love with Reggae, played Hardrock und climbed to become the fastest an most crazy guitarplayer, the world had ever seen. My journey stopped in my middle twenties: After i had used tons of effect-pedals over the years, i went to buy a guitar and plugged it into a simple ampliefier. What shoud i say? It sounded like shit. I gave the guitar back to the owner and told him, that this guitar was sounding bad. All he said was: "I don´t know, what you´re talking about". He played on this guitar and it sounded so amazing. I understood, that something was going wrong with myself....

In the next days i gave all my soundmaschines away and started practicing with a simple telecaster and an 15W tube amp. I sat in my room and played the most simple lines on the guitar, trying to make it sound good. I made the decision to not leave my until and go back to a stage until i was able to sound great (again), just by myself and with my fingers, without all the electronic helpers.

Finally it worked and a little later i discovered american country music. It was the beginning of a new journey that never really stopped. Especially when i came to Nashville, TN and had the chance to listen to and learn from the "big dogs". It was also there, where i discovered the music of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. I went from "I can never play like that" to "i can make it to play that style" (thanks a lot to Don McNatt). Years later, when i played the "Canonball Rag", i knew, that i can learn and master everything (as long as i can hold the discipline, haha). 

The journey will never end but my small train took a lot of speed, since i was in Nashville. I am very happy about that and i really enjoy each step on the journey.

These are my releases until today:

"Like an eagle" - 1997, Single, sold out

In 1997, i started to build my first recording studio. I bought some recording equipment in second-hand stores and after i had everything plugged in, i had such a blast by realizing, that i now had the real freedom to do whatever i want. In this mood, i wrote and recorded the whole song in one day. My good friend, Jürgen Kaderka did the lead vocals. I call it classic Hardrock. The guitar solo reminds on Eddie Van Halen on the first Van Halen Recordings.

"Journey through Visions" - Album, 1998, sold out

I did some instrumental tracks. Very uncomercial stuff. Some people listened to it and said things like: "I can see a picture of...", which brought me to do more of it: Music, that would create pictures and emotions. The album started with a Digderidoo and drums and took the listener into a journey, from Australia, to the Rainwood Forest to the heartbeat of a big city at night. The recordings were done with the most simple equipment you can imagine. I don´t think, that any of todays beginners would touch that stuff, haha but i am still proud of that album.

"Dance the night away" - Single, 1998, sold out

After everybody and their brothers told me to do "something comerical", i took a jump on the dancefloor and did that song. It contained a Rapper and a female singer in combination with music, that mixed some elements of 1980´s pop music with some "visionary" stuff, that was left from "Journey through Visions". I think, it was a good thing but it brought me no deal. I must say, that the 80´s were over and it sounded retro. Not a good idea in those days. 

The funny thing is, that the same guys, that told me, that they would not sign me, because of "sounding to 80´s" signed some artists years later and did a hell of promotion for their "amazing 80´s sound". So you can say: Right place, wrong time and it is true. At the other hand: I really never was the big "Dancefloor Master". There´s a lot of people that are doing a much better job than me when it comes to "Shake your hips, Babe!!". So, no reason to cry :-)

"Let me in" - Album, 2007, sold out

At "Let me in" i went back to my roots. I did a wild mix of Rockabilly, Hardrock, Country and some more. Somehow i found a way to put all that styles together and the result found a lot of friends in different countries. "Who killed Alex?" became No1 at the Rockcharts at Broadjam.com and suddenly my songs became airplay in the USA, GB, Scottland, France and Luxembourg. Album critics were really positive and some people wrote, that "this guy sounds like..." Tom Petty, Gary Moore, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and finally "The german Johnny Cash". A title that came back to me again and again since that days. "Let me in" got listed at 2400 record stores  worldwide, shot me back to making a living with music and brought me to stages in the USA. It was the best time in my life!

The Record-Industry liked my album but they all agreed, that i was sounding "too america" for an bavarian artist and "this is music for old people... the guys over 20..". As they did that big benefit for Lorna Flowers in Nashville, i offered my music for a free downloand and told the people to send the money to the benefit-account in Nashville, to help Lorna.

"Michigan Avenue" - Album, 2008, sold out

My first trip to Nashville had changed me in many ways and started a process, that ended up in "Michigan Avenue". While i was flying back to Germany, i started to write new songs in the plane. A few months later, the album was out. Musically there was a lot of different styles on the record. It started with a dramatically orchestra tune, followed by "30 years of tears", country/talking-blues song. Then "Girl from the northeast", which showed my influences from 60´s soul music. "Angel of Nashville" was written for a friend in Nashville, "Bring me some water" was latin, "Crazy Country Hopper" was Bluegrass and.. and.. and.. The last song: "In the highlands" was a scottish sounding melody, played on the Mandolin. 

The funny thing about that album is, that everybody was unhappy with the diversity of musical styles on the album, while the single songs found a lot of friends. "Bring me some water", got played in an US cooking-show and on Nashville Radio, "Crazy Country Hopper" brought me into the Bluegrass Top5 at Broadjam, "Angel of Nashville" into the finalists of a songwriting competition in Nashville and "Blue Water" made me one of the composers, that got booked for a musical about the Blues legend Robert Johnson. Sadly "the crisis" killed the musical. If not, i would have no place to sleep now, because of all the guitars, i would have bought from the royalties. :-)

Going down for one last time, Album, 2009, never released.

It was planed to release it in 2009, but it never saw the light of day. I tried to find one sound for the whole album and finally i had a combination of all the most dark and bitter songs, i ever wrote. It was about failing, losing and people that got stuck in their personal hell. Finally i stopped it.

I think, i never found such a depth in my own music but it was too much. As i played a show with a friend from the states, she looked at me shocked and said: "Oh my god, that was sad!". The songs were hurting, me and the listeners. Maybe i will release it later but especially in 2010 i lost good people that died in car-accidents and it is just too much to go on and sing about death and losing.

Finally:

You can say, i found my home in the american music culture and it means a lot to me to receive so much honest and respect from people in that country. "The german Johnny Cash" is not about the fact, that i am wearing black clothes, but about being true in what i am doing and what i am singing about. I know, there will never be a another Johnny Cash. I am happy to be Fred Guggenberger (i was not always happy with it..). And after all, Fred is still there...