„6, drugs & rock’n’roll? Let’s rock all 12!“ – Volume 4
Cheerioh!
Welcome to the fourth volume of my new newsletter! Without big words – let’s dive into my music, Rock’n’Roll and the latest from life as a stage artist without safety net.
All volumes of this newsletter as well as more posts are always available on my blog.
Today: Artists – life in free fall
I keep hearing from employees that safety and a stable working environment are important to them. You want to finish work as punctually as possible and be able to rely on certain things, e.g. always enough work, guaranteed wages or regulated work processes.
For me, such structures have always been a hindrance in some way. One reason for this lies in the creative work. An essential part of my work is creative. Certain ideas come to me neither under pressure nor through structure. There are many strategies for promoting and generating creativity, but that also needs an appropriate space. To be really creative, I have to break free from a lot of things – even if only for the moment. Both the constant pursuit of security and structured work processes are a hindrance. Stress also prevents creative development. To put it figuratively: It is not enough to hold onto the railing cramped on a cliff. You have to jump. And to get to the other side, you have to get rid of as much ballast as possible – otherwise you will crash. After a certain age, everyone probably understands how difficult this can be.
This letting go, jumping, being creative is not a one-time thing, but a constant process – a bit like a life in free fall. Maybe a little like a parachutist who keeps flying up to jump out of the plane again and again, just a little higher each time.
I also have to be free for the stage. Only when I can open myself completely through my art – with all my fears, abysses, mistakes and weaknesses – then what I do becomes really good and enables the audience to identify with it. While in other professions it is sometimes enough to simply work hard, learn a lot and put in the appropriate effort, that is not enough on stage. Every time it’s like jumping off a cliff – sometimes into cold water, sometimes over a manageable chasm, sometimes with a run-up, sometimes without seeing the other side.
It is the certainty of uncertainty, the acceptance of failure, the joy of always going one step further than the time before. As an artist you are a pioneer, discoverer and adventurer at the same time.
While some do not understand this at all and mistakenly think what I do is a hobby, there are others who admire exactly that with the words “I couldn’t do it”. However, I believe that anyone can learn that, if only they are willing to go that route.
blu12 perspective
Every month – right here – you will get my very own personal perspective: today it’s the view on the bay of La Spezia. The words in the picture are part of my song „Talisman“ (engl. translation: „Your fate is a talisman, hangs on a rope around your neck. It would still shine today if you hadn’t used him as a scapegoat. Buy yourself a new one, a pebble will do as well.“), which is about the sequence of events in life and how people load themselves with things as a result of those causalities.
News in short:
- blu12 plays in places where culture is really needed – in the context of the mitossi Crazy Heart Tour! You know of suitable locations? Write me!
- The 5 th volume of the Mitossi Radio Show – exclusively on Patreon with blu12 live – will be released during the holidays with a special edition, don’t miss out on that: https://www.patreon.com/mitossi (every support rocks! Patreon posts are in German & English, the Radio Show moderation-parts currently only in German)
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At this point I want to wish you: rockin’ holidays, may you dance at least as much as you eat, choose your gifts thoughtful and sustainably and start the new year instead of with firecrackers with a firework of new ideas!
blu12 backstage journal
What am I doing all day? What’s new & what does that mean for you?
It’s that time again: right now there is more going on backstage than on stage. Although we do not have an official lockdown (probably in order to wriggle even better this year around aid packages for affected industries), most of the events cannot take place. All (my) music events until (at least) the end of the year have been canceled or will not take place at all. Despite sophisticated and tried and tested hygiene concepts and 2G +, the German bureaucracy manages to make even smaller events impossible, while thousands of people are sitting in the football stadium without a mask. But I don’t want to get upset here – because we’re already used to being last and left behind. As the saying goes: the last will be the first – at least if you work on it. And that’s exactly what I’m doing with the new blu12 stage. The aim is to be mobile and self-sufficient in every imaginable place (including my tour bus roof) to play music.
The central element of the lighting concept only arrived today: 6 Ape-Lights – small LED spotlights, which wirelessly create the right ambience thanks to the integrated rechargeable battery and 2.4 GHz remote control.
Apart from the light, one of the biggest challenges in the technical field is the monitor system. In the context of the stage, monitoring means that part of the process that ensures that the musicians hear themselves (while the pa-system provides the audience with sound). Often one uses corresponding floor monitors, which sound on the stage. However, in order to reduce the size of the luggage and to have less weight on the tour bus roof, I am currently trying out in-ear monitoring, in short: headphones. The whole thing should of course work wireless. The choice of headphones turns out to be particularly difficult. As a “beginner” in the field, a high-end device might not make that much sense. It shouldn’t be cheap either. In particular, it should sound flawless and sit properly in the ear. In the meantime I’m already testing the third system – let’s see how long it will take until I’m initially satisfied.
In-ear monitoring also offers the possibility of always having the optimal sound in the ears even in noisy environments (e.g. loud audience) or when moving on stage, in order to deliver the best possible playing quality.
What is still missing is a new battery system in the tour bus to either charge all devices or to supply them with power directly on site. In addition, the roof structure is still pending, which should enable a clearly visible stage to be set up in almost every location in the future.
This “mobile stage” project is financed, among other things, by the GVL scholarship program “Neustart Kultur” ( culture fresh start), where my project was selected accordingly. By the way, the whole thing is expected to be ready to go in February 2022.
The “mobile blu12 stage” (I’m still open to suggestions for a name for the project!) will not only be bookable then, but will also be on the road with mitossi’s Crazy Heart Tour. I’m also already thinking about how the idea can be expanded internationally – after all, I’m always drawn to the beautiful coasts of this continent …
The end of the year 2021 for me will be like taking a big breath for a great year 2022. So no matter how hard the surge of the Corona waves will be, I’ll get out my surfboard and rock with you towards the sandy beach. This year let’s toast with a Sex on the beach, rock’n’roll music and fireworks of joyful anticipation, and leave out the good resolutions.
We’ll read each other in exactly one month when „6, drugs & rock’n’roll? We rock all 12!“ is back.
Martin aka blu12 aka Rampensau
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