Erja Lyytinen Interview

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“I was breast feeding at the gas stations and behind the scenes and a nanny in the tour bus.  It was a bit crazy.  I wouldn’t do it again!  Take two babies on tour?  Don’t do it!!! “

Wise words for all the up-coming female guitar players, of whom there seem to be many at present .  The New Year saw Finnish slide guitar Goddess Erja Lyytinen playing in Helsinki to a crowd of over 85,000 people.  “It is”  she smiled during her show recently at The Harmonie “Just as much fun to play for you here in Bonn tonight!”.  And who could doubt the sincerity of that warm smile on her face?  Erja Lyytinen has a relaxed air of warmth and happiness about her offstage too, as I discovered during a pre-concert interview.  Motherhood has made her a more relaxed person as she explained…

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Thorbjorn’s Tornado’s Blow in to Bonn

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Thorbjorn Risager has good reason to like Bonn.  It was here on the Harmonie stage not so long ago that he collected an award from the German music industry, the prestigious ‘Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik’.  Here too that he and the Black Tornado band recorded his (excellent) live cd/dvd ‘Songs from the road’ on RUF Records.  Bonn likes the affable Dane very much too, and a big crowd has turned out at the Harmonie this evening despite the chill of what Britain has described as ‘The Beast from the East’ weather front.  Inside, the music goes down like a warm, smooth bourbon and in no time at all Risager’s Tornado’s have blown the Beast from the East clean away.

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Return of Mr Music!

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MrMusic-5

He’s back!  Bernie Gelhausen is re-opening Bonn’s best Record/CD Shop on Saturday (3 March).  At 11.11am in Münsterstrasse.

3songs had a sneak preview inside the new Mr Music store and it certainly has cult status written all over it.  True, it’s a smaller place than the shop that Gelhausen ran for 25 years in Maximillianstrasse but there will be plenty of vinyl for the old-school collectors, alongside a good selection of CD’s.

Old time feeling. Remember the joy of flicking through vinyl LP’s?

In keeping with the local appeal the new Mr Music will be limiting it’s concert ticket sales to local events and the opening times, at least initially, will be shorter: 2pm to 7pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 4pm on Saturdays.

It goes without saying (but I will anyway!) that stores like this rely on people supporting them – so please, before you press that ‘Order’ button on Amazon, drop by at Mr Music and see if they have it/can get it first.  There will be a friendly smile and good advice from the staff for sure.  When did you last get that from a website?

For German speakers, an introduction to Mr Music can be found HERE courtesy of WDR German Television.

 

 

 

 

Erja Lyytinen/Ina Forsman – Finnish Blues

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Erja_Lyytinen-47It’s rare, but every so often concerts come along with two musicians whom I would happily go see either one in a separate show.   Value for Money is how the marketers would label it.  Two for the price of one.  It was bitter cold outside, but the prospect of catching two of the very best Finnish Blues girls in one show was enough to head for Bonn Harmonie.  The hot slide guitar skills of Erja Lyytinen and  Ina Forsman’s warm silky vocals would, I hoped, be enough to defrost my fingertips.  Hot Blues on a cold night…

 

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Competition Time!

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You and a companion can be on the guestlist for March 5th at Bonn Harmonie to see Unchained Mad Dogs.

All you need do is tell me which famous singer the musicians in Unchained Mad Dogs used to be in the band of.
First correct answer by Email to: 3songsbonn@gmx.de wins!  Please state ‘Mad Dogs Competition’ as the email subject and include your name so that I can pass it on to the organizers for admittance.

The Heart & Soul of the Blues

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Heart & Soul have been, yes, the heart and soul of Blues parties in the Bonn area and beyond for some sixteen years now.  I’m not usually  a fan of cover/tribute/memorial bands but the very best are just too good to miss – and since John Belushi’s death in 1982 rules out an appearance by the original Jake and Elwood I’m more than happy to head to Bonn Harmonie without expecting great things.   As it turns out, the current incarnation of Heart & Soul is actually very much a great thing.  Join me as the prisoners take some exercise.

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