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Rediscovering a band from your youth

Rediscovering bands you used to love in your youth is like meeting an old ex boyfriend you used to be in love with years ago. All the memories come back at a stroke. You remember all the special moments you two shared together. And in case of a band you loved years ago, you remember sitting in your room listening to one song all over again.

When I was 14 I had one video cassette I was watching all over again. It was a concert gig from a Finnish band that became my favorite band for a period of time in my life. This band was called The Rasmus.

I loved them so much. I bought every album they released until 2004. But their record “Dead Letters” which was released in 2003 was one of my all time favourites during this time. I listened to it on repeat and couldn’t stop. Of course I knew all the lyrics by heart and I tried to find all information about each band member. I remember there was a German forum on the internet where I read the first fan fiction of all fan fictions I’ve ever read.

It all started with a German TV show where The Rasmus played their famous song “In The Shadows” - it was in the spring of 2004. I think no one in Europe could get away from this song at that time. It was on heavy rotation on several radio stations.

I fell in love with them very quickly. For at least one year there wasn’t any other band that I liked so much. I loved this emo, melancholically, alternative rock. I think many Finnish bands had this melancholy, these dark lyrics and this gothic attitude in their music – speaking of HIM here.

Now, 13 years later, I rediscovered The Rasmus by accident. I think I was just checking out some music news and found an interview about the release of their new album “Dark Matters”. I was surprised! I didn’t listen to their music for years and didn’t really follow their career after their big international success in 2004. Honestly, I didn’t even focus that much on the following album “Hide From The Sun” (2005) anymore. I think at this age you discover new bands almost every month so I’ve already found a new band that I fell in love with.

But when I read about their new album this year and a following short tour, I felt it again. This special feeling I had when I listened to them as a teenager. I mean, this band meant SO MUCH to me – and yes of course I was in love with singer Lauri, haha. There was something mysterious about him. Not only because he was wearing feathers in his hair. And today I think he’s still an attractive guy and if you ask me he looks a bit like actor Aaron Paul now!  

So I started watching interviews they did to promote their new album. And the way Youtube works….it led me to videos and interviews from 2003 and 2004. I watched their appearance in German TV shows – the time when MTV was still broadcasting music videos and inviting guests into their studio. And after watching a few videos I realized how different it was to be a fan at that time.

Like I already told you, I had this video cassette with this gig and I think some day it got blurred because I watched it too often. Nowadays we can search for a certain gig on Youtube and don’t need to record a concert on a video cassette late at night.

I got all the information about the band from a fan forum on the internet – but since we had very slow internet connection and it wasn’t unlimited we had to pay for every minute we used the internet. So you can guess I wasn’t allowed to be in the internet the whole day. Only thirty minutes a day. Okay sometimes I used it secretly one hour or even more, haha.

Today we don’t care about something like that. We only google a band or a singer, read the article on Wikipedia and know the important facts. When I was 14 I had to buy all these stupid teenage magazines with articles about my favorite band or musician. Do teenagers today still buy something like that?

So I was surprised how different the consumption of music was at that time. And of course I felt old when thinking about that. But watching all these interviews and reading some comments on a fan forum from 13 years ago was much fun. It brought me back to the time when this band was my whole life – at least for my 14 year old self it felt like that.

Of course “Dead Letters” was their most successful record and they never gained more success after that. But they kept making music and released albums. Their current album is their ninth album. They were quite successful in Finland before they became famous all over the world. So they were also much known in their home country and lived a life in the public eye.

Over the years the band members got older. Singer Lauri Ylönen moved to Los Angeles in 2014 while bass player Eero is now living in Australia. Their guitarist Pauli used to live in Singapore for a while. I think it isn’t easy to keep making music when all the members are spread all over the world. Also, they all tried new things and looked for other projects beside the band. Bass player Eero is making movies (he also made a music video for The Rasmus) and singer Lauri is designing homes and has an architecture brand. And of course at least some of them are parents now. Lauri told in an interview how being a father also changed his life and the band.

While I was rediscovering the band I also started listening to the very old records from the 1990s. It’s funny because at that time they were doing rock and funk songs and weren’t dark or melancholy in any way. It was very danceable. But this dark rock music caused them the international success. With their new album they came back to this emotional rock music with influences of electronic and pop music – there are also some references of dubstep on the album – which I don’t like.

But I still think that singer Lauri has a voice with a recall value. Lyrically the songs seem very personal and kind of autobiographical. Lauri tells in an interview that he got divorced last year after 12 years and this was one of the topics for new songs. Also it’s about living at a new place and starting all over again.

For me it was interesting to see how the band is doing now. And I think they’re doing well. Although their new music isn’t my favorite yet, I still like this band, I love their old songs and I’m happy to see that they’re still on the road. They will come to my hometown next year and I will go there. Maybe it’s 14 years too late that I’m going to see this band for the first time – but it’s never too late, isn’t it?

So if you’ve ever had a band like this, a band that accompanied you during a certain period of time (maybe during your youth) then you should go back and listen to their music again – if you didn’t do it yet. It’s a great experience and it brings you all the great memories back you had when you were listening to them.

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Why should I study? (part 1)

First of all thank you for reading this blog and the topics I write about. Of course thank you for liking my blog posts - it’s still interesting to see that so many people like the post about Josh Klinghoffer.

But today I want to share with you some information about studying. Since I’m doing it for a long, long, loooong time now (okay just kidding but I think I’m already a long-term student haha) I think I have gained some experiences I want to share with you.

First of all I want to discuss the differences between the German higher education system towards other countries such as US or UK. I don’t know exactly every difference but I think the most known difference is that studying in Germany is much cheaper than in other countries. I know that studying in the US is much more expensive and many people don’t have the opportunity to attend well-reputed colleges or universities. In Germany the devise is that everyone should have the access to education so everyone with an A level should have the opportunity to attend every state university of the country. Of course there is a selection procedure. Mostly your grades are important for getting a university place at a certain university for a certain subject. In Germany you apply for a specific subject and the admission requirements depends on the number of students who apply for this subject. This also depends on how well-reputed the university is and how many study places there are for a certain subject. So students with the best grades will get the place. There is one interesting example: All universities in Berlin have very high numerus clauses for ALL subjects because so many people want to study in Berlin. But a university in a small town can have studies where there isn’t any numerus clauses because there aren’t as many applicants.

 But still the devise is: there are no differences in costs – at least you could think there aren’t. But since the educational policy is regulated federal there can be differences in each federate state – but you usually don’t pay much more than 700€ each semester. In some federate states you only pay 300€, so it depends. But extrapolated to each months of the semester you usually pay 50-116€ per month for studying. Yes that sounds very cheap compared to other countries. Of course, if you’re attending a private school it can be much more expensive. But if I think about the high college tuitions in the US – even for average colleges – it is cheap in Germany. So that’s why many students in Germany start studying after their school graduation just “to find themselves” because they don’t really know what to do for a living. Honestly, I did the same. I started studying because I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a job. I was totally undecided.

The next thing that is different in Germany than in other countries is the fact that in most cases a Bachelors degree isn’t enough for finding a job. The system was revolutionised and adjusted to the international Bachelor/Master system just a couple of years ago so the companies still don’t really appreciate a Bachelors degree. So comparing to the US most of the students in Germany are doing a Masters degree because they have to. In the US most of the students only need a Bachelors degree to find a job. Only people who want to do a PhD or want to go to Professional schools will continue studying after an undergraduate degree. So I think there is still a huge difference. But as you might guess, I can only speak for Germany here.

But the fact is: students in Germany are way older than students in other countries. When I graduated from school I was 19. Now after a lot of changes in the educational school system I think most of the freshmen are 18, some even 17. Another interesting point is that just a few students graduate after the standard period of study – which is mostly 3 years for a Bachelors degree. I don’t know anyone who did it. I needed 4 years. But before studying History and Political Science in four years I also studied Spanish and had to wait until I could finally change my subject. So I originally needed 5 years for the Bachelor. Now I guess I will have studied 2.5 years in the masters programme instead of 2 years – I really do hope I will make it. Only one semester left after the current semester.

So you see, a lot of differences. In the end you can say that the average age of a Masters graduate in Germany might be 25. Some finish at 23/24, others at 28. Compared to other countries it’s very old.

   So Why should I study?

First of all – studying is great! But not everyone has the opportunity to study or has to study to get the dream job. So people are studying for different reasons. I list a few potential reasons for studying.

You want to     study to be educated for your dream job

You want to     gain more knockledge about a certain topic

You don’t     know what to do with your life

You don’t     want to start work so quickly

I know that some of these reasons sound a bit weird and crazy especially if you think about the high costs of studying. But it is just my perspective because through the years I met different people who were studying for at least one of these reasons. It’s justified by the cheap costs of studying and the fact that even the “elite” universities aren’t more expensive than the “average” universities in Germany. So many students are starting their studies just to find out what they want.  

But if you decide to study, you should definitely be interested in the subject you study. Over the years I met some people who just started studying a subject they don’t really like but I think if you’re not really into it you won’t make it to the Bachelors degree.

So this leads me to the next question….

 What should I study?

There are specific studies that are necessary for specific jobs. If you want to become a doctor you have to study medicine, if you want to be a lawyer, you should study law. But there are many other professions where there isn’t a specific subject you have to study. Especially in the field of humanities and social sciences. Since I studied History and Political Science and graudated with a Bachelors Degree and now I’m doing my Masters Degree in History I know the struggles of people who are studying a subject that belongs to these fields. So I didn’t study a subject that would guarantee a safe job. I want to work in the media, journalisms, PR etc. But I can also imagine working for a NGO, museum or foundation. So I think that I gained some qualifications and skills over the years that qualify me to work in this field.

 But it is also important to be interested in the subject you study. Because you have to deal with it for at least three years which is a very long time, right?

During my Bachelor I had classes that I didn’t finish and just attended because they were interesting. Many professors like it when students attend seminars they don’t have to attend because they’re interested in the topic. But I think it’s mostly possible in humanities or social studies. I never heard that any engineer took a class just because of interest. You have to differ the specific studies. Science is much more organized than humanities. That’s what I like about my subjects. I could always choose classes out of so many different topics. Of course I had to take classes for different modules but I had a lot of options which topics I want to choose. But studying humanities isn’t always fun. Especially when it comes to the question what you can do with your degree afterwards…

 “And what do you want to do after graduation?”

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this question according to your study but I guess nearly every student have heard this question before. I was asked this question many, many, many times. And many people thought I would become the next Angela Merkel because I studied Political Science. But I had to disappoint them. No, not every Politics student will become a politician – although many politicians studied Politics. But you will be asked this question several times during your studies. No matter if at family fests, at Christmas, eastern, birthday parties….wherever. There was a time when I was so annoyed by being asked this question because I was so uncertain about my future. I didn’t do an internship and was totally disillusioned. But now that I have some work experience I can say what I want to do. If I will do it, is still uncertain. But at least I have an answer if my aunt or mother are asking this bothering question again. Especially if you’re the only student in your family it isn’t easy to convince your family members that you’re not only partying and being lazy all day long, but you’re working hard to graduate some day. I don’t know if I’m right but sometimes I have the feeling that the reputation of studying in the US is much higher than in Germany. Since nearly everyone with the qualification has the opportunity to study here there are many prejudices towards students. I have the feeling that parents in the US or UK are more proud of their children for graduating from college than parents in Germany. Many people here think “well, okay he’s studying for too long” or so. That’s because of the fact that if you want you can study for twenty years. I just read an article of a guy who started studying at the age of 20 and graduated at 48. And no, he didn’t find a proper job in between time. He only did student jobs. I think the system in the UK or US is better organized and more like a school. Here in Germany you can get lost in the system because you’re totally on your own. Especially in humanities. You can choose seminars out of a long list of seminars for a specific module. No one cares if you do it. No one asks you. You have to manage and organize yourself. This leads me to the next topic….

  Studying is all about Self-organization

Yes! I think most of the time I spent at university in the last years I spent with questioning which classes I have to take, which modules I have to take, when I can start with Module C or D and question if I have to finish module A first. It’s all about bureaucracy here in Germany. I hate it. I needed two semesters to finally change my subject (I officially studied Spanish for 4 semesters but I never did an exam haha). In the last months of my bachelor study I had to ask the professors for my grades in specific modules because I needed them for the application for a Masters programme. I went to their office hours every fucking week. For two months. Until I finally got my grades. Because another thing you need to know about universities in Germany: at some universities not everything is organized online. Sometimes you still have to get a paper with a grade signed by your professor and if you don’t have it, it won’t be counted to your “transcript of records”. Oh and last but not least: Germany bureaucracy hit me real hard when my bachelors thesis was graded too late so I couldn’t apply for the Masters programme and had to wait one semester. Do you want to know why the note was registered too late at the examination office? Because the lady whose task it was to register the notes of the graded bachelor thesis’ had a day off at the last day of the application deadline. So my professor had already sent the note to the examination office but the concerned advisor had a day off. This took me 6 Fucking months of my life.

But I will tell you later why this had also positive affects…

In the seconds part I will list a few more reasons for studying!

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Freddie Mercury - Still a legend

Since it’s too long ago that I updated this blog I decided to write about a special musician today because on this exact day 26 years ago, a legend died. Freddie Mercury. I was only one year old when one of the best singer in the world left this world and I’m still sad about the fact that I could never enjoy his voice live. He was one of the best singer in the world – and he will always be. He not only was a legend but also an icon. Maybe Queen wouldn’t have become so famous without him as a singer.

Today I bet everyone knows at least one Queen song. Although I was shocked when I was at a concert two weeks ago where “Bohemian Rhapsody” was played as the intro of the concert and the majority of the mainly teenage people in the crowd just looked confused at the few people (including me and my friends) who were singing along to the song. Well, that’s just the only thing you can do when this song is on, right? Singing and dancing along! Everyone should do that! The world would be a better place. I still have hope that even these young people who were so confused because they didn’t know this song will figure out what a masterpiece this song is and how great Queen are!

What would Freddie Mercury and Queen do today?

 Sometimes I wonder what Queen and Freddie would be like today if Freddie wouldn’t have died so long ago. He would be 71 years old now. Would they still tour? Would they still be these legends like the Rolling Stones are? You can ask these questions about every band who lost their singer too soon. Speaking of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana or Chester Bennington and Linkin Park. We’ll see how Linkin Park will be remembered twenty years from now because Chester was an iconic artist as well.

But Brian May and Roger Tayler decided to tour again with changing tour musicians and singer. Recently they toured with Adam Lambert. Of course you can discuss whether Adam Lambert can sing a Freddie Mercury song or not but at least Queen didn’t stop. I love that Brian May and Roger Taylor didn’t stop making music after Freddie’s passing. And of course Brian May even produced the “We Will Rock You”-musical which I saw a few years ago – but I didn’t like it very much.

It���s interesting to see that Queen are still legends for many known musicians. For instance, I saw Sum 41 doing a cover of “We Will Rock You” in a punkrock style. When I was in Berlin and saw my favorite band Beatsteaks they did a cover of “I Want To Break Free”. And I bet Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters is always the happiest guy on earth when he can sing the cover of “Under Pressure” on stage and does this typical interaction of singing exercises with the audience that Freddie always did. So Queen and Freddie are everywhere.

What let Freddie become a legend?

Of course it was his iconic voice. I go out on a limb when I say that no one who covers a Queen song will come near this great voice Freddie had.

At the age of 12 Freddie began singing in front of students in school, when he was still in Zanzibar where he was born in 1946 as Farrokh Bulsara. 1964 he moved to London with his family and attended the Ealing College to study art. Maybe he needed some time until he would become a rock star because first he only painted his favorite music heroes such as Jimi Hendrix or Paul McCartney. But in 1968 he met Brian May and Roger Taylor who were playing in a band called Smile. Freddie became their roadie and started singing in other bands. When Smile broke up 1970, he and the others formed a new band: Queen.

By the way, at that time he still called himself Farrokh Bulsara. But since the 1970s he changed his name to Mercury and later to Freddie Mercury. And in 1975 they released  what I would consider the BEST SONG IN THE WORLD. “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Queen’s first number one hit.

Freddie was an artist who loved his job. He lived for the music and I think the fact that he kept working on new songs although he was already struggling with his disease, shows that he was totally passionate about it. Along the lines of “The Show Must Go On”…

“The Miracle” of 1989 and “Innuendo” of 1991 where the last albums Queen released while Freddie was still alive. In 1990 there were rumors about him having AIDS. In February 1990 was the last public appearance at the Brit Awards with Queen. His last words to the public where “Thank you and good night”.

So today 26 years ago, on November 24, 1991, Freddie Mercury died of AIDS. Only one day prior he released a statement where he informed the press about his disease. He always tried to hide his disease and only his closest friends knew about it.

Freddie Mercury was a humble person. He bequeathed all of his wealth and his house in Kensington to his long time friend Mary Austin so she could live there with her kids. Freddie and Mary dated back in the 1970s and even lived together for seven years. Although they broke up they still stayed very close friends and she even toured with the band in the 1980s. Freddie wrote a lot of songs about her and once said that she was probably the person he should have married. She was also the only person he introduced to his parents at home in London. The most famous song he wrote about her was “Love Of My Life”. What a lovely story! And after Freddie’s death Mary Austin founded the “Mercury Phoenix Trust” to fight against HIV and AIDS.

Today Queen songs are hymns and Freddie Mercury will always be remembered as one of the best and eccentrically singer in the world – although he should have been very shy behind the spotlight.

For me personally Queen are a very special band. Every time I hear a song of Queen I’m happy. There is a TV station that broadcasts a lot of concerts every year on New Years Eve and as the same procedure as every year, they broadcast a Queen concert. So I watched Queen concerts on New Years Eve when I was younger and I still watch Queen concerts on New Years Eve today. I’m so sad that I will never ever see Queen and Freddie Mercury live. But at least we still have the songs to listen to.

“When I’m dead, I want to be remembered as a musician of some worth and substance” (Freddie Mercury)

Well, you are, Freddie. RIP Freddie Mercury. 1946-1991.

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German Music

The Germans don’t know humor and they only listen to folk music that is played on Oktoberfest. Well, not really. Not every German is wearing Leather pants or a Dirndl the whole year. Guess what, not even the Bavarians!

And German music is not always about folk music. Yes, there is this typical tradition of yodelling and Heidi Klum has to yodel every time she’s invited to an American Late Night Show but that’s NOT normality here. In the last decades more and more great bands were formed and the music industry in Germany increased. There are so many festivals for rock, pop, electro, dance, techno, folk, indie or house music.

And there are also some bands from Germany that are internationally successful and known. I guess you may have heard of Rammstein or Scorpions? But there are more!

I want to present you some bands from Germany that are doing great music, playing a lot of festivals in Germany and all over Europe and who charted with their albums in the past. I start with five artists that only sing in German:

 1. Casper

Casper aka Benjamin Griffey is a rapper from Bielefeld but is now based in Berlin. He’s half American because his father was an American soldier who was stationed in Germany when his son was born. But Casper and his family moved back to Augusta, Georgia. He grew up Anglophone so he had to learn German again at the age of eleven when his family moved back to Germany. Although he was a singer in a hardcore/metalcore band for a while he always liked hip hop music. He started rapping as a teenager and never stopped. After releasing some EPs on an underground label he became very successful and famous with his second album “XOXO”. Since then he released two more albums called “Hinterland” and “Lang lebe der Tod” (Long live the death). His trade mark is his rough voice. It’s said that he got this voice after screaming in a hardcore band. After releasing “XOXO” he was always called emo-rapper because of his emotional lyrics and music. It’s not always beats and rapping, his musical style is a mixture of hip hop, indie and rock. While “Hinterland” is more of an indie record, his latest album “Lang lebe der Tod” is deeper, rougher with more beats but also some guitar riffs.

Meanwhile he has features by Lil B on his records, just as Blixa Bargeld who was a forming member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. 

By the way, do you already know the beat? Maybe that’s because Taylor Swift’s new song sounds totally like the beat! Check it out here!

2. Kraftklub

Kraftklub is a band from Chemnitz, East Germany. Five dudes who were all born in the former DDR. They coquet with their home town and always tell people that they’re from Karl Marx Stadt – which was the name of Chemnitz before the German reunification. While all of their friends moved away to Berlin after school the five dudes formed a band and wrote a song about it – at least that’s the narrative they often tell in interviews. With their song “Ich will nicht nach Berlin” (I don’t want to go to Berlin) they became successful quickly. They played as supporting acts for several German bands until they started their own sold out tours. After three records Kraftklub is one of the most famous bands in Germany. Their funny and authentic attitude let people go crazy in the crowd. Jumping, singing, pogo – everything included. Singer Felix Brummer always animates the crowd and he definitely knows how to do his job. This summer they toured together with fans. The lemmings – that’s how the band  called them – were their background dancer which looked quite cool on stage.

Since 2013 they organize their own music festival in Chemnitz called “Kosmonaut Festival”. Usually German bands play there but in the last years they even booked bands such as Editors, Future Islands or Klaxons.

Even Noel Gallagher once said in an interview that he thinks the band is quiet funny since they wrote a song called “Songs for Liam” where they sing “When you kiss me, Noel will write songs for Liam again”.

This song is from their newest record “Keine Nacht für Niemand” (No night for no one).

3. AnnenMayKantereit

AnnenMayKantereit is a band from Cologne that was formed in 2011. The four guys Henning, Christopher, Severin and Malte named their band after their surnames Annen, May and Kantereit. The band started with jam sessions while they were still going to school. First they covered songs but later they also wrote their own music. They started playing on the streets and also uploaded their music on YouTube and were discovered by some German bands who booked them as supporting act. In 2015 the band started its own club tour. Their first label contract was signed at the end of 2015 – at that time the band was already well known as insider tip after playing several German festivals and their music was even played on the radio. Their first single “Oft gefragt” (I often asked) was already known because it was uploaded on Youtube. Their first record “Alles nix Konkretes” (Everything, nothing special) was recorded in the Hansa Studios in Berlin and was released in spring 2016. Since then they were the newcomer band of Germany. Especially the rough voice of singer Henning May is the trade mark of the band. Their unconventional indie sound was very new in the music business when they released their first record. AnnenMayKantereit are one of the fewest bands in Germany that became famous and successful VERY fast – just like Kraftklub. But they still behave like the nice dudes from next door.

4. Jennifer Rostock 

Jennifer Rostock is a band from Berlin. Singer Jennifer Weist and her friend Johannes “Joe” Walter formed the band when they were teenagers. First they played in a school garage band but later they moved to Berlin to start their music career. They met the other band mates and released their first record in 2008 after signing their first label contract in 2007. Since then they released four more records. Their lyrics are often sociocritical with songs about racism, facism, bulling, being an outsider and homophobia.  Singer Jennifer Weist is also hosting a music show on TV and she’s documenting a lot about her life on Social Media. With her stage outfits she provokes and it also happened that she gave some male fans on stage a lap dance. So, she definitely knows how to make a noise in the world.   

By the way with this video they caused a lot of stir. It’s a song about feminism:

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Traveling alone - Would you do that?

Many people are packing their bags and just leave for a journey through Thailand or Australia but even if there were many movies over the last years that broach the issue of travelling alone, it’s still not common to do it. And yes I watched many of these movies, no matter if it was “Eat, Pray, Love”, “Into The Wild” or “Wild ”. And yes, for me it’s something that inspires me.

But travelling alone doesn’t mean you have to pack your bags for a six month journey at the other side of the world. It can also mean you pack your suitcase and catch the next flight or train to an exciting city not that far away from your home town. I did it this summer. I packed my backpack and did a short roadtrip through Germany. First I took a train to a very beautiful German Island called “Rügen”, afterwards I went to Berlin and later visited a friend in Munich. 

Here are 8 things I learned on my solo trip

  1. Being spontaneous is great!

  I didn’t really plan my trip. One day I woke up and realized that I wanted to go on vacation again this summer. I was talking to some friends but everyone was busy. So I decided to travel solo! It wasn’t very far away. Only six hours train ride to the Island and later on I would again travel by train to Berlin and Munich. Since there was a special offer for cheap train tickets during summer I liked the idea of doing this road trip and booked it.  

It was the best idea I had in years!

 2. You will experience things more intensively

 It just took me two days to realize that if you’re travelling on your own you experience the things you see and do more intensively because you only enjoy it with yourself. No matter if it’s a sunrise at the beach or the view at the sea. If you’re not too distracted by your phone you can really enjoy the moment just for yourself.

After my first day of the trip I felt like being there for at least three days already because time doesn’t pass by very fast but not in a negative way. Your day seems longer because you only spend time with yourself so you only focus on yourself and no one else.

3. You can do whatever you want!

  You can plan your day just like you want to. You can change plans however you want to. You don’t have to compromise with anyone else. That’s the good thing about travelling alone!

Maybe it’s a bit awkward on the first day because you realize that you’re completely on your own and you barely talk to other people – at least not on the first day maybe. But you get used to it. Maybe I don’t have a problem with being on my own because I don’t have any siblings and I know how it feels to spend time only with myself since I was a child and my parents were at work.

But you’ll see that it’s great to plan your day just like you want to plan it. Getting up early to watch the sunrise at the beach? Do it! Lying at the beach listening to melancholic indie music? Do it! Spending six hours in a museum? Do it! Doing a short trip to another city? Do it!

  4. Going to a restaurant on your own isn’t that awkward

  If you’re in a hostel you’ll meet new people very quickly because you share a room with them and maybe you cook something or go out to have dinner together. But if you’re only in a hotel on your own without knowing anyone then it can be very weird going to a restaurant alone to have dinner. I was a bit afraid of doing it. So it took me one day to finally do it. On my first day I just ordered a pizza and went to the beach to eat it there. It was great, I never ate pizza at a beach, but I just did it because I was afraid of going to a restaurant alone. On my second day I wanted to try some delicious food in a restaurant and I was starving. So I finally did it and went to have dinner just with myself. And what should I say? There isn’t anything weird about it. Okay, maybe you’ll feel a bit strange at the beginning when you enter the restaurant and you’re looking for a table. And you’ll probably wonder what others are thinking about you. But who cares? If you’re on vacation then no one knows you! You can do whatever you want! And honestly….no one really cares about you being on your own. So why missing the best food in town just because you don’t want to have dinner in a restaurant on your own?

So after having dinner at a restaurant on the island, I drove to Berlin and I wasn’t that afraid anymore. Many tourists or especially people who are living in Berlin are going to have lunch or dinner on their own. It’s totally common there. So I had dinner on my own twice in Berlin and it wasn’t a big deal. I just enjoyed my meal.

 5. It’s NOT boring!

  When it comes to travelling alone many people might wonder if it’s boring to spend time only with yourself and no one else. My short answer: No. It isn’t. At least if you know how to spend time with yourself, then it won’t be boring. Since I know how to spend time with myself I wasn’t afraid of being bored. I planned my days and when I left the hotel room I just came back in the evening after a day full of new experiences, joy and happy quality time with myself. Also the two days at the beach were fantastic. After waking up at 5.30am to watch the sunrise at the beach I did so many activities on just one day. I think if I wouldn’t have been on my own I would have needed three days to do all these activities - speaking of compromising here.

I liked walking through the streets, visiting a museum totally on my own, just sitting in a restaurant or café watching people outside. Especially Berlin is a good place to travel on your own. Many tourists come here on their own to visit the city.

One reason why I came to Berlin was that my favorite German band was playing a record release concert there. So after buying tickets (it was just luck that I got a ticket because it was sold out in 10 minutes) I was looking forward to the concert. Again, I was on my own. I already went to a few concerts without anyone else (I will write about it in another blog article). So, I just had a great night at a wonderful concert and I never felt bored during the whole trip.

 6. You will make the best out of your vacation

  I always have the feeling to make the best of the few days I have on a vacation. So just laying in the hotel bed until noon and then going to the beach, showering and finally having dinner isn’t enough for me – at least not every day. Spending the day in the hotel room or the apartment on a rainy day isn’t my thing either. I have to do something. I have to go out, do some activities, sightseeing, just getting out of the house – but if you’re a person who is totally into chilling and relaxing for a whole day then you can do it! In the end you won’t regret anything because you can always change your plans and don’t have to discuss it with anyone else. Believe me, you WILL make the best out of your trip no matter what you’re doing.

  7. You will handle stressful situations and that will make you more confident

  Honestly, I was a bit afraid that something could happen to me. I think it’s totally common to worry about it but you should also focus on enjoying your trip. But maybe you should inform yourself about the place where you want to stay, especially if you’re going to a foreign country. It’s not a bad idea to look for the next pharmacy or supermarket next to your hotel/hostel/airbnb before starting your trip.  

You will also learn how to handle stressful situations. When my card for the hotel room didn’t work anymore I had to handle it on my own and went back to the hotel reception. First I was afraid I could have destroyed it. In the end they fixed it and everything was fine.

Also I was feeling very stressed out and just overwhelmed by the city after arriving in Berlin. It was so hectic and everyone was busy. Although I visited the city many times before, it felt different this time. I felt very low confident while walking through the streets to look for a place to have dinner. I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I was so tired. Maybe it was the culture shock because coming from a silent and beautiful island and heading to a busy city like Berlin afterwards is a huge culture shock. The many people walking around at the train station in Berlin bothered me. I was almost hit by a cyclist because I couldn’t see him. My backpack was just too big so I didn’t see him coming. But I was used to something like that since I’m studying in one of the most famous bicycle city of Germany, haha. What I want to tell you is, it’s totally okay if you’re having a bad day. But it will go away. You will handle it!

The only thing I tried to avoid was walking through dark streets late at night. Since I visited Berlin a few times before, I knew the places to avoid at night – at least if you’re a woman. So after the concert I didn’t choose the way the subway app told me because I knew I would pass a place which isn’t a good place to pass at night as a woman. So I decided to wait a little bit longer at a crowded street to take the next tram - but then I would be safe. I think this is the only topic of travelling alone that bothers me. I also didn’t go to a bar on my own to have a few drinks because I didn’t fee like doing it. Maybe I’ll do it on my next trip.

 8. You WILL have a great time!

  In the end I can say that it was such a great experience to travel on my own. Even if it only lasted for a few days. What I liked the most was doing what I wanted to do. The funny thing is that many tourists in Berlin thought I was a citizen of the city because I was on my own. So many people asked me for directions. Sorry that I couldn’t really help them.

I don’t know why people still react strange when you tell them that you’re travelling alone. I mean, what is so absurd about it? When no one is there to accompany you – no matter if a boyfriend, girlfriend, family, who else – then why not travelling solo?  Does it mean you’re pitiful? No! you’re  brave! At least you will feel a little bit brave.  I think not everyone has the guts to try it at least once. And that’s totally okay. No one has to do it. But I just don’t get why people react kind of shocked when you tell them, you’ll travel alone? For me I can say that it was definitely the right decision to book this trip and I’m happy that I did it.

If you’re also thinking or even planning on doing a solo trip, I can totally recommend it. Maybe start with a short city trip over the weekend before doing a six months backpack trip in Australia. But I also know some friends of mine who were travelling through the Outback of Australia alone or spending three weeks in Las Vegas and Los Angeles totally on their own. And they told me that it was a great experience! So, just do it!

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Don’t let terror affect your life

Today I want to write about a very serious topic. It’s one week ago since the cruel mass shooting in Las  Vegas. I was very shocked when I heard it in the news. My thoughts go out to all the victims and to all families who lost a loved one.

For me it’s obvious that America needs a new gun law. I think James Corden found some great words in his show. For someone who comes from a country where you need a gun license to buy guns it’s shocking to see that all the guns the offender used for his shooting were legal!

But I don’t want to discuss America’s gun laws. I want to discuss something else. It was the third time that there was an attack at a festival or concert. The first cruel terror attack happened 2015 at Bataclan. I still remember how shocked I was. I was watching the football match between Germany and France that night and suddenly the commentator said that there were explosions outside of the stadium. Later it was reported that many people died at a shooting during a concert of the Eagles Of Death Metal. The attacks of Paris were a very craven, shocking crime. Since then many more terror attacks by ISIS happened, especially in Europe. And the second attack at a concert happened this year in Manchester at Ariana Grande’s concert where so many young innocent teenagers had to die. Again I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t. Who does this? I once read an interview with Aerosmith where they said that they’re afraid of playing in Europe but they still keep playing because of their fans and because they don’t let terror change their lives. Brandon Flowers said something similar the other day. 

Since I love going to concerts, no matter if it’s in an arena, a small club or in a stadium, I questioned how safe it was to attend a concert these days. I know that we shouldn’t be scared by the terror, instead we should be brave and stand up. But it’s not easy when these terror attacks intervene your daily life because the ugly truth is: it causes fear.

Since the terror attack in Manchester happened you aren’t allowed to bring anything to a concert or festival in Germany. The safety standards have been increased since then. No bags allowed (except of a small fanny pack), no drinks (you were allowed to bring a Tetra Pak to a festival). You’re only allowed to bring yourself, the ticket, a phone and some money.

Just a few months after the Paris attacks I went to a concert by The Libertines. While I was standing in the crowd I was watching two guys who didn’t take off their jackets. It was very warm in the club so it didn’t make sense to me. So I caught myself watching these two guys for a while because I wondered why they didn’t take off their clothes. It was conspicuous for me. It didn’t make sense. Maybe they planned something. Maybe they hid guns or something else in their jackets? My mind was going crazy! In the end I saw the guys singing along to the band and nothing happened. Maybe they just didn’t want to waste their money at the checkroom?

Since then I attended a lot of more concerts and I never felt unsafe. No matter if at the Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts in a big arena or in small clubs. I NEVER felt unsafe. Until June this year.

I went to the Rock im Park festival in Germany. It has the same line up as Rock am Ring at the same weekend. It just takes place in Nuremberg, far away from Rock am Ring. So I was there this year. The first day was great. Sunny weather, great bands and atmosphere. Until midnight. We were waiting in line to see the late night headliner Kraftklub, one of my favorite German bands. Suddenly my friend looked at her phone and told me “Okay, so Rock am Ring was evacuated due to a terror threat”. I was shocked. At the same time a guy from the staff entered the stage and told us about the news. But he also told us that nothing happened at Rock am Ring. People stayed peaceful and left the area. Nothing happened. The organizers and the police were still investigating. There was no terror threat for us at Rock im Park, he told us. But I noticed that many people in the crowd were looking around and it was a weird atmosphere. Many people left the area.

My friend and I also discussed whether we should leave or stay. In the end we stayed. We even enjoyed the show and the rest of the weekend. It was a great festival weekend! Even Rock am Ring could proceed at the next day.

But I have to be honest, for one short moment I felt scared and watched every person who passed me. I watched the security guards and the crowd. I watched the exits and forgot to look at the stage. It took some time. I mean, there wasn’t a terror threat for our festival but since it was the same organizer and it was located in the middle of a city, something could have happened.

In the end I’m happy that we stayed. We didn’t let the fear destroy our weekend and I didn’t let it destroy my joy for concerts and live music. I will keep going to concerts. I will be cautious of what is happening around me, but apart from that I will enjoy the show. And I think we should keep enjoying activities in a crowd of people. No matter if at festivals, night clubs, musicals, carnivals or other events. Don’t let the fear stop you from living your life!  

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Lady Gaga’s “Five Foot Two” shows why fame isn’t everything

First of all I want to thank you for all the feedback and likes of my Josh Klinghoffer-Appreciation-Post! I didn’t expect it! Definitely not!!! But it’s great to see that I’m not the only one who likes his musical work! I think I will write a post about the Chili Peppers as well. But now I want to write about another great musician....Lady Gaga!

Who is Lady Gaga? The new documentary “Five Foot Two“ on Netflix portrays the singer as a likable woman with all her struggles and fears just like you and me. In the past Lady Gaga was known as the eccentric singer who always wears the craziest outfits but in this film we see a different side of the singer.

The film was directed by Chris Moukarbel who filmed Gaga while making her new record “Joanne” and preparing for her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance this year. It also shows that the music business isn’t always about glamour and success, it’s also about feeling lonely and sad.

After four number 1 records and a career in the fast lane with many Grammys and an Oscar nomination Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – her real name – is one of the most famous musicians in the USA. But her life isn’t always just rainbows and butterflies. While she was making her new record together with producer Mark Ronson she was love sick. Her relationship with actor Taylor Kinney ended just before the making of the album. There are scenes in the film where Lady Gaga is shown crying and analyzing her success in a negative way: “I sold 10 million records and lost Matt. I sold 30 million and lost Luc. I made a film and lost Taylor”. It’s obvious that the singer isn’t only enjoying the positive sides of her success. It’s also about loneliness and pain. When all her fans outside of the streets, in the concert arenas all over the world, are gone, when Lady Gaga comes home in her apartment, she’s all by herself again. I think it shows that it’s not easy to have a stable relationship while you’re a successful musician who tours around the world.

But that’s not all. The singer suffers from Fibromyalgie, a disease that causes muscle soreness. In some scenes you can see Gaga lying on her sofa almost crying because of the pain while the doctors try to abate the pain. The next scene she’s going outside of her apartment in New York City where her fans are already waiting for her. This is one of the scenes of the film that captures the motto “The show must go on”….

One of the most emotional scenes of the film is the moment when Lady Gaga visits her grandma and let her listen to one of her newest songs for the first time. The song is called “Joanne” and Gaga wrote it about her aunt Joanne who suffered from lupus and died at the age of 19. While her grandma listens very thoughtful, Gaga’s dad is leaving the room with tears in his eyes.

I think Lady Gaga is one of the most creative and talented musicians of our time. When she’s only playing the piano and singing her songs you have to admit that her voice is just stunning! Maybe her new record “Joanne” is one of the most personal records she ever did. She deals with her break up, with her disease, with her past. Gaga not only supported Hillary Clinton, she also supports all the victims of sexual assault. You can tell, she’s a fighter. She was a drug addict, experienced sexual violence and now she has to deal with her disease which is the reason for her touring break of her upcoming tour. I think it’s very empowering to follow Lady Gaga’s work. So I can fully recommend the documentary “Five Foot Two” on Netflix!

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My TOP 5 Festival Moments

Like I already wrote in my first blog post: I love festivals. And I attended a lot of festivals in the last years. Now I want to share my TOP 5 moments at festivals. I guess there are more than only five but these are the ones that totally stuck in my mind and I hope I will never forget them. Once I heard someone say “No photo can describe what you were feeling in this moment. So you keep these memories in the photo book of your heart” – I liked this quote.

So here are my TOP 5 festival moments:

 5. The perfect sound track for a setting sun

So I start with my fifth favorite festival moment. It was 2009, I was 18 years old and it was my second festival I ever attended. It was the “Hurricane Festival” in Germany. I was there with several friends when bands like Faith No More, Arcade Fire and The Hives were playing. But there was one special band that created the perfect festival moment. It was a band you may have heard of if you’ve watched the film “Fight Club”. When my friends and I went to the festival area on Saturday evening the sun was about to go down. We just had barbecue and a beer and were looking forward to the headliner of the night. But before that there was this band playing on the main stage. I only heard the intro and I was like “Oh my god, the Pixies!”. While we were walking to the stage they started playing “Where Is My Mind”. This moment will forever stick in my mind and my heart because it was one of the most beautiful moments I ever had at a festival. I still keep this image in my mind. The setting sun, the great weather and this song.

Thank you Pixies!

4. Feeling like a teenager again

In summer 2016 I attended three festivals. It was quite funny because I only planned to go to one of them. But it turned out that I was working at the second festival and I was accredited as a journalist for the third festival called “Chiemsee Summer”. It was the first time that I attended a festival as a music journalist for my music blog Hailtothebeat (If you know German you can check it out ;) ).

Me and my friend wrote an E-Mail to the festival to ask for an accreditation. Okay, to be honest, we only wanted to go there because two guys from our favorite band were doing a DJ gig at the festival and since we didn’t want to buy the expensive tickets we tried to get a press accrediting.

So we had this idea to write this E-Mail after a night with lots of drinks just for fun and it turned out that we got our accreditation for the festival and could go there for free. Of course we wrote our articles and did photos for our blog and it was just one of the best experiences I had since I started this music blog! We saw a lot of great bands playing and some bands we didn’t like – such as Limp Bizkit and The Prodigy – but there were two bands that let me feel like a teenager again.

When Sum 41 hit the stage I was like “OMG I listened to their music when I was 16 and now I get to see them live. After 10 fucking years!”. I didn’t even know that they did a new record – which is called “13 voices” and I can totally recommend it now that I listened to it! After Deryck Whibley’s total collapse because of alcohol addiction and his rehab they were back and they played all the songs I wanted to hear. They definitely let me feel like being 16 again.

One day later another band played that influenced my teenager years. When I was 17/18 I listened to a lot of hardcore/metalcore and one of these bands I listened to was Parkway Drive from Australia. I saw them one time live when I was 16. And now, 9 years later, I saw them again. Singer Winston McCall is not only a very hot guy but also a very funny guy. They played after a hip hop band and after them a German indie rock band was playing so they didn’t really fit into the running order but they did a great job. People were going crazy in the pogo and Parkway Drive beautified their show with some fireworks. For a short moment we were afraid they would burn the stage down but the firemen were standing next to the stage, so everything was safe.

That was not only a great festival moment but also a great final for one of the best festival summers I ever had!

3. The sound check of my life

In summer 2014 I was at a festival called “Highfield”. Bands like Blink 182 and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were playing. But on the last day there was also one band playing that is my favorite band for years: Beatsteaks (sorry that I mention them so often but I really love this band and I will write about them in another blog post).

On this Sunday which was the last day of the festival we woke up after a night full of rain. But in the morning the sun was shining. We had breakfast – Nutella toast and beer haha – and while we were enjoying our breakfast we suddenly heard some music coming from the festival area. We were confused because the festival started in the afternoon and it was only noon at that time. So we suggested that it was a sound check a band did. First we couldn’t really hear the music but after a few minutes it got louder. Since we were camping very close to the festival area we could hear the sound check very well. And on this Sunday our favourite band  - that wasn’t playing live for two years until this Sunday  - was doing sound check for their gig that night. Suddenly every one at the camping site was turning off their music and it seemed like everyone was listening to the sound check the Beatsteaks did on stage. Although no one could see them, people started singing and dancing along to their music at the camping site. It was just a great moment at a festival and I guess that’s what festivals are for! The Beatsteaks did a whole hour of sound check – I guess they had to rehearse a lot after a break of two years!

In the end the concert that night was just great and I never was so happy to see my favorite band playing live on stage again after they were forced to do a break because of a terrible accident the drummer had. This video was filmed during the concert at the festival:

2. The best after show party ever

It was a festival I attended this year in June. Such a small festival called “Kosmonaut” which is decorated very beautiful and detailed. There were umbrellas hanging in the trees with lights in it! At the last day of the festival me and my friend went to the official (unofficial) after show party at the backstage tent where only people were allowed to go who had the “friends”-pass. Since we had it we thought “Oh we should go there!”. And what should I say? It was the best party I’ve ever been to!

The German band Kraftklub was hosting the festival and the party and they definitely know how to throw a good party.  The DJ was playing such a great party set list. Only songs from the 90s and early 00s. Sometimes some newer German songs were being played but you could tell that the DJ, the hosts and most of the guests at the party were in their mid or late twenties according to the music at the party, haha.

We danced the whole night and had beer and sparkling wine. People were even crowdsurfing in the party tent. What a crazy night! When we left the party in the early morning the sun was already shining. So we went outside and sat down at the lake next to the tent (the whole festival was taking place close to a lake). We were just giggling (not only because we were drunk), it was just a funny and crazy night. Partying with some really funny and likable music fans was just awesome and great. We were just laughing when we passed the empty festival area to go back to the camping site. I don’t know what the security guy must have thought when we passed him tottering.

Maybe the last drink wasn’t a good idea and maybe only four hours of sleep during the whole weekend wasn’t good either – but it was WORTH it! The train ride back home was the worst train ride I’ve ever had because I was so hangover but it was the best weekend ever! <3

This is the official after movie:

1. “There goes my hero….”

It was the summer of 2015. It was so hot outside, like 30 degrees. I was attending the German festival “Rock im Park” with bands like The Prodigy, Slipknot, Bastille, Marilyn Manson and many German bands. The first day was and will ever be the best day of the whole festival! First my favorite band Beatsteaks played – which is always a pleasure as I already mentioned – but second, the headlining band on this first day were the Foo Fighters! I saw them once when I was 17 on my first festival ever. But at that time I didn’t know many songs and the sound was bad so I was looking forward to other bands that played at this festival. But seven years later I was sooooooo nervous and curious to see the Foo Fighters again.

We were already at the festival since noon and because of the weather we were totally fucked up. But when Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters entered the stage I felt totally happy and fit again. They started with “Everlong” and played all the great songs like “Learn To Fly” and “Times like These”. But there was one song that made me totally emotional.

After half of the set (so let’s say after 90 minutes – the Foo Fighters play very long concerts) Dave Grohl went on the stage in the middle of the audience and he was all alone with only a acoustic guitar in his hands. And he started playing this song.

“My Hero”

While he was playing I got goosebumps! And when everyone was singing along to the chorus I just forgot myself. It was THE BEST moment I ever experienced at a festival. 80 000 people singing along to “My Hero” while Dave Fucking Grohl was playing the song only with an acoustic guitar. I will never forget that moment.

I’m actually watching the live stream of the Foo Fighters gig from Lollapalooza Berlin 2017 and I get goosebumps again. If my 17year old me would have known that the best concert I’ve ever been to will be a Foo Fighters concert seven years later, maybe my 17year old me would have appreciated it more.

I hope they will tour soon here in Germany and this time I will definitely attend a concert to finally see them again!

“There goes my hero Watch him as he goes There goes my hero He’s ordinary”

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Let’s talk about Josh Klinghoffer!

Let’s talk about Josh Klinghoffer. You may have heard of him since he’s playing the guitar for the Red Hot Chili Peppers since 2009. But there are still people who don’t like him and don’t  appreciate his work in the band.

When I was at their concert in Cologne last year there were two guys standing next to me who were talking about the band before the show. Their chat was like:

 “Oh they have this new guitarist now, right?” “Yes, he even played in the band on their last tour”. “Oh right, he sounded like a woman, right?” “He did. But sometimes it’s quite interesting” “But his solos suck, right?” “Yes, there is something missing since John left”

Yes we got it. Some people still miss John. Yes it was shocking for fans when the news spread that John Frusciante left the band in 2008. And yes he is definitely a guitar god. But the band moved on. They didn’t want to stop doing music or quitting the band. Instead they took a break and later asked Josh Klinghoffer to join the band. And they didn’t ask a random guy here. They ask a person who was already very close to the band for years.

You know, when your girlfriend or your boyfriend left you some people might tell you “Whatever, there are plenty of other fish in the sea”. See, Josh was one of them for the Chilis.

So let’s take a look at Klinghoffer’s career so far.

At the age of 37 he achieved so much. He’s the youngest member of the Rock’n Hall of Fame. He became a member at the age of 32 and superseded Stevie Wonder! But since he don’t really like to talk about it in interviews we should move on to his musical genius....

What does Josh Klinghoffer do if he doesn’t play with the Chilis?

Well, a lot actually. Maybe he’s the busiest musician in the world. Who knows? According to musician Sophie Hunger who recorded a few songs with him for her record The Danger of Light he told her four days when he has time for recording it and she came to LA because “he would never leave LA” she said. So, such a busy guy.

Klinghoffer left school at the age of 15 to become a musician. Honestly, maybe that’ not the best idea for a teenager but he did it. He became a famous and successful musician. And he had the luck to be in the right place at the right time. He met Bob Forrest when he was still a teenager and started playing with him in the band Bicycle Thief. In 1999/2000 he toured with him as the opening act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But it wasn’t the first time he met the Californian guys. In an interview he revealed that he met Flea and John in 1997. So maybe that was a huge luck he had. He not only became good friends with John Frusciante, he also recorded several records with him together. I mean, did you ever listen to A Sphere In The Heart Of Silence? If not, you should!

So while Josh Klinghoffer already opened for the Chili Peppers and recorded music with John Frusciante he also was a touring musician for Beck, PJ Harvey and Gnarls Barkley. In 2007 he even opened again with Gnarls Barkley for the Chilis. On the stadium tour the same year Josh played with the Chilis as their back-up guitarist. You can say he kind of worked his way up to the top because he ended up as their guitarist.

But even since then he has so many other music projects going on.

In 2008 he formed his own band Dot Hacker together with his former Gnarls Barkley members Eric Gardner and Clint Walsh. Jonathan Hischke completed the quartet. They already recorded three records (Inhibiton, How’s Your Process? and No 3) and you should really listen to it if you didn’t do it yet. It’s totally different than the music the Chili Peppers do. It’s more experimental, melancholic, electronic, and unconventional. And it proves that Josh Klinghoffer is such a good singer and song writer!

But guess what….that’s not all! He also has a band with Cate le Bon called BANANA where he also plays together with Stella Mozgawa from Warpaint. Speaking of Warpaint, Klinghoffer also played the drums and the guitar for a while in 2008/2009 in this band while John Frusciante was producing their first EP. In spring this year he recorded music together with Eric Gardner and Eric Avery and also collaborated with Anna Waronker and her band That Dog. He also played together with the band 1939 Ensemble from Portland. Oh and did you know he also had a band called Blood Flag together with Harmar Superstar where he played the drums? Look here and here.

Josh Klinghoffer is not only a guitarist, he’s a multi instrumentalist. He started as a drummer and since then learned to play the guitar, piano, bass, saxophone and many other instruments. Maybe John Frusciante played the better guitar solos and maybe the Chili Peppers changed their music since Josh joined the band. In my opinion By The Way and Stadium Arcadium will always the best Chili Peppers records but I do love I’m With You and The Getaway, too. I’m excited how their new songs will sound like in a few years. I loved their concerts that I attended last year and I loved Josh’s guitar play. I think I’ve never heard a better cover of David Bowie’s “Hereos” as this one he played in Munich. So...

....maybe we should all appreciate his work a little bit more!

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Dream Destinations

Did you ever sit at home watching the pouring rain outside and wish you would be at a beautiful place instead of your apartment with this ugly weather in the city? I think everyone knows this situation. I hate those moments because most of the time it happens when I know that I won’t do a journey in the next weeks. But that’s just life, huh?

I love travelling. Every time I’m going on a journey I’m totally excited like a child on Christmas. No matter if it’s only a short trip to a city or if it’s a longer journey for a few weeks. No matter if I’m travelling to the mountains or the sea, I’m always excited.

Over the years I did several city trips. I like visiting a city. It also means stress because you want to see as much as you can in a short time of three or four days. Especially if you’re visiting capital cities there are plenty of places you want to go. So before visiting a city I always inform myself which spots I want to visit and then I make a plan or even a map with the several spots I want to see.

Within the last weeks I discovered some blogs and vlogs of people who are travelling the world. I’m always a bit jealous of those people because I wonder how they can afford a journey like this. But I think if you plan and save enough money before you book your flights it’s not that expensive. Especially if you’re travelling to countries like Thailand because it’s quite cheap (at least for Europeans compared to the living standard here).

After graduation some of my friends flew to Australia to do work and travel there. I thought they were very brave because I didn’t have the guts to do it at the age of 19. I think the long flight would have stopped me. I don’t like flying but if you want to see the world, you can’t avoid it, right?

So while reading all these travel blogs I wondered which travel destinations I want to visit some day…

   1. New York City

I’ve never been to the States and I’m jealous of everyone who went there (sorry :D). Although Trump is president it won’t let me stop from visiting this country some day. I always wanted to go to the Big Apple  some day. The city that never sleeps with all the shimmering lights. I want to go to the MoMa and many other great museums. I want to visit the Times Square by night. 

I want to walk through the avenues. I want to pass the Brooklyn Bridge and take a walk through the Central Park. And of course I want to EAT. Every person I talked to who visited NYC told me that there are so many great food trucks, restaurants, cafés….the list goes on. Since I love tasting foreign food I think I would eat as much as I can there. Cronuts, Cheesecakes, Burger….I guess I would come back as a big meatball, haha. Some day, New York!

  2. Los Angeles

  Since I watched The O.C. I wanted to go to California one day. And of course to the City of Angels! The ocean, the beaches, the sun, the heat….I love it. Although I think I wouldn’t like the heat so much because you can’t compared it to the “heat” we have in Germany on a few days during summer. But I think I wouldn’t care. Of course I would love to see the Hollywood Sign, the Walk of Fame, the Sunset Strip, the Griffith Observatory, Downtown (although I’ve heard that it’s not that interesting).

 I would also like to walk through Venice Beach, the Santa Monica Pear and maybe make a short trip to Malibu and do a hike at the Mulholland Drive and the Joshua Tree Nationalpark . But I would also like to visit spots that aren’t that touristic. I would love to have a coffee in a little unknown café and just watch the people and the madding crowd.  

And if I would visit LA I guess it would be a good opportunity to do a road trip through California because I would also like to visit San Francisco, Newport Beach, San Diego, Santa Barbara....

  3. London

  Yes I’m from Germany and it’s not that far away from London (actually only a 2 hours flight). But I’ve never been there! I could even take a train ride to London in 7 hours! But I never did it. It’s definitely on my bucket list.

 I think besides the touristic spots I would visit flea markets in Camden and visit some spots where famous British musicians lived or worked. But I could also spend some days in all these great museums in London. Yes, some day I will visit this city!

  4. Rome

Another city that isn’t that far away from my home town. But I’ve never been there before. I visited Italy several times but never been to Rome. I love the Tuscany with its beautiful beaches and landscape. But Rome is a historic city I definitely have to visit one day - especially as a history student. I would love to visit the Coliseum, the Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum or the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain. 

I read a lot about the old Rome at the times the Romans lived there but I never saw it with my own eyes. So I guess it’s time. And since I love pasta, pizza and gelato, I think I would feel like in heaven. Although I have to admit that the pizza I had in the Tuscany was the worst pizza I’ve ever had! Can you believe that? But hey Rome, you can do it better, right?

  5. Iceland

  I’ve never really think about travelling to Iceland. But after a friend of mine lived there for six months and told me all the great stories about this beautiful land I want to go there, too. The volcanic landscape, the Blue Lagoon, the beautiful houses and of course the nature. Iceland should be one of the safest countries in the world. Many people, especially women, travel through the country on their own. My friend told me that it’s totally common to tramp there. You’re not afraid because the Icelander are so nice and humble. It’s one of the most loyal countries in the world with a great welfare system. The politicians did a great job during the big economy crisis a few years ago. So I think everyone should visit Iceland one day. Get inspired by the landscape and the nature or look for inner happiness and peace with yourself  while relaxing there.

Which destinations do you want to visit some day? 

photo sources:  NYC: 1. cityjournal.org 2. Urlaubsguru.de LA: 1. shutterstuck 2. istockphoto.com London: 1. timeout.com 2. Londonist Rome: 1. rom-ausfluege.de 2. urlaubsguru.de Iceland: 1. urlaubsguru.de 2. express.co.uk

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Why I love festivals

I LOVE festivals! I’m going to festivals since I was 17 years old. At that time it wasn’t easy to convince my parents that I want to sleep at a camping site for three days together with friends just to see my favorite bands. In the end I was allowed to go – but I had to be back home on Sunday so I couldn’t see Radiohead. But I did see the Foo Fighters, Billy Talent, The Chemical Brothers (do they still exist?), Flogging Molly, Kaiser Chiefs and my favorite German band, Beatsteaks.

It was a great weekend and I still remember every minute of it. For the first time I felt totally free. Sleeping in the mud for three days was great. Seeing my favorite bands and discovering other great bands was one of the best experiences in life.

                               After this weekend I wanted more.

This weekend is already nine years ago and since then I attended 15 different festivals. Surely it’s not that expensive but festival season is only once a year and I better spend my money into festivals and concerts than into partying in clubs or buying expensive shoes or bags. I even worked at a festival and was accredited as press so I could see a festival from different perspectives.

Every festival is different. Some are smaller ones with many unknown and local bands, some are big with many international successful bands as headliner. I like every one of them.  As long as I can have some beer, delicious food and great music, I don’t care how big or small the festival is.

                      It’s not like the fashion magazines tell you!

I just love the feeling and atmosphere at festivals. It’s not what fashion magazines tell you. At least in Germany it’s not like Coachella. You don’t wear a crochet dress or high heeled boots. It’s just not gonna happen – unless you want to change your dress’ color from white into brown. Instead you wear shorts, a shirt and if it’s really muddy you should wear your gumboots. That’s a realistic festival outfit. Period.

Every fashion magazine is writing about the perfect festival outfit but no matter which festival I attended I never saw any of these outfits because they’re not really practical for a festival. There are some festivals where it seems that music became just a side note. More important are the models and Youtuber who attend this festival, the fashion trends which are spotted there and the other crazy activities you can do there. Yes, doing a bungee jump can be crazy I guess. But does it need to be at a festival? Do I need a tattoo studio at a festival? I don’t think so. How many famous Instagram or Youtube stars are only going there because they are getting paid for doing it and posting photos? A lot.

So sometimes I have the feeling that this Woodstock atmosphere from 1969 is lost. I know that festivals belong to the entertainment business and bands can make a lot of money when they play festivals, just like the promoter of a festival. Sometimes I wish it would be more about the music than about money, fashion or trends. But since it’s the 21st century it’s not gonna happen again I think.

                                 The best weekend of your life

Anyway I’m glad that I attended so many festivals over the years. It definitely became a hobby for me. Maybe it’s a hobby that’s not really cheap but I’m feeling so free and happy when I’m in a crowd full of music lovers who are waiting for the next band to play. Then I don’t care about the mud or about the ugly toilets on the festival area.

Speaking of this…..yes the toilet situation at festivals isn’t always the best one you can have. But you’ll survive it. Trust me! Just bring enough disinfectant! You can even shower at festivals! Wow, how surprising! Sometimes you have to pay for it but trust me, it will be worth it! Maybe you’ll see things at the festival you don’t want to see but life goes on. I’ll post an article in the next days about things that happened to me at a festival – no matter if disgusting or funny.

When I tell people that I love festivals many of them respond like “Oh my god, I would never attend a festival because it’s so ugly and people are smelly”. Yes, sometimes. But most of the times it’s great because you can have the best time of the year on a weekend at a festival. Surely it’s often depending on the weather – especially in Germany – but no matter if rain or hot sun, I experienced every weather condition at a festival and never wanted to leave because of the weather.

                                      Like a parallel universe

Spending a weekend at a festival is like doing a short vacation in a foreign country.  One year I was on the train back home when I heard a guy saying 

“Being at a festival for a weekend is like living in a parallel universe. You only care about your barbecue, your beer and the bands you wanna see”

And he was right. If you’re on the way back home from a festival it’s like coming back into the real life out there after living in a bubble for three days. I like it! After waking up in the morning you have toast with Nutella for breakfast and drink your first beer, later on you do barbecue or canned ravioli. Trust me, nowhere else will canned ravioli taste so good! Maybe you’ll play some drinking games like “Flunkyball”.  It’s VERY famous at German festivals: Two teams, everyone has a can of beer. One team has to throw a ball to knock over a  bottle in the middle of these two teams. If the bottle falls down, one person of the other team has to place it upright again. During this time the other team can drink the beer until the bottle is placed again. The team who emptied the beer as the first wins. Later you’ll take a “Wegbier” while walking to the festival area. “Wegbier” is a common word in Germany for a beer you drink on your way to the festival area. Everyone loves it. But you can also have a “Wegcoke” or whatever you want. Then you’ll go to the big stage and wait for your favorite bands to play.

                             The best bands at one same place

I saw some of the best concerts I’ve ever been to at festivals. Foo Fighters 2015 at “Rock im Park” or Incubus at “Hurricane Festival” 2011, just to name a few. Sometimes you wouldn’t see these bands at other places because they only do a festival tour in Europe or Germany and don’t play solo shows.

I’m very grateful that I’m able to attend festivals and see all these bands because I know that it’s not possible in every country. I think Germany is one of the fewest countries with many, many festivals. No matter if big or small, one or three days. There are festivals for local bands, famous German musicians or festivals with international known artists. And I’m glad that I could attend a few of them to see some of the greatest bands on earth – and I’m still not done with it although my parents often ask me when will I be too old to attend festivals? Well, I guess not yet!

So, if you ever have the opportunity to go to a festival – go for it! Not because it’s trendy and everyone should have done it once to be “cool”. No. But you should go there if you’re into music and want to spend one weekend at a field in the mud to have a great time with your friends while seeing your heroes playing on stage!

[order-disorder-blog]

Hello There!

I’m a history student from Germany and after already establishing a music blog in German I thought about writing about my favourite topics in English: music, concerts, festivals but also travelling and random thoughts about life.

The title “Order & Disorder” is based on a same-named song by the band Dot Hacker. Maybe you already know this band, if not, then feel free to check them out! Great band! So I thought that I will tag my articles either to “Order” or “Disorder”. I’m not quite sure what I exactly I will write about. I just see what comes to my mind...

 I Hope you like my articles! I try to update on a regular basis!