Hi folks,

I’m back from Nashville and I’m so very pleased with the way things went.

I think we recorded a real wonderful album. It’s almost all-acoustic, it’s got 12 songs, and it features some of Nashville’s finest players. My dream team for this album was available and it was an absolute joy to work with these great guys and amazing musicians: Dave Jacques (John Prine, Todd Snider, Greg Trooper) played upright bass, Bryan Owings (Buddy Miller, Shelby Lynne, Amazing Rhythm Aces) played drums, and Fats Kaplin (Tom Russell, Kevin Welch, Dead Reckoners) turned in stellar performances on steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and accordion. With me singing and playing acoustic guitar, the four of us did all the tracking in two days. George Bradfute overdubbed some fine guitar, dobro, and cello, I added some harmonica and Dave Coleman came in to sing beautiful harmonies.

After that, my right-hand man, sound engineer, and co-producer George Bradfute and I had a great time mixing this baby and watching mastering genius Jim DeMain put the finishing touches on the album. I am so proud of and happy with this record. I really think you’re all going to like it a great deal.

However, with record companies operating the way they do, it might be a while till the record actually sees the light of day. It certainly won’t be on the shelves for your Christmas shopping so don’t hold your breaths. We’ll certainly keep you updated here!

Besides recording, I also played a bunch of real nice gigs. The highlight certainly being my 30-minute set at Western Beat with an all-star cast of Nashville hotshots: Billy Block on drums, George Bradfute on bass, Dave Coleman on guitar, and Fats Kaplin on steel, fiddle, and accordion. That show was recorded and I hope I can get my hands on those tapes!

I also had a good time playing at The Sutler, The Bluebird, Brown’s Diner (w/ Bianca DeLeon), The French Quarter Café and The Family Wash where Dave Coleman and I opened for Mack Starks who cut some of my favorite records in recent years– and he also turned out to be a great guy. Do check him out! We took some pics at some of those shows and posted them for you in the gallery.

Thanks to everyone who made my time in Nashville so enjoyable and rewarding!

You can get a whiff of the Americana songwriting scene on November 12 at the Immerhin in Wuerzburg. Bianca DeLeon, an Austin, Texas-based songwriter, and me are going to do just what we did at Brown’s Diner in Nashville – play you some songs, spin a few yarns, kick back, and have a good time. Come on out, I plan on having a good time!

See you soon,
Markus

PS: By the way, there's a funny video of a remarkable night at www.bluerose-records.com. At label head Edgar Heckmann's birthday party I climbed the stage to jam with Elliott Murphy, Todd Thibaud, Joseph Parsons and Todd's great band. Our version of the Rolling Stones classic "Dead Flowers" is downloadable in the news section. You may see me bopping along in the back and you might even hear me sing harmony to Todd in the second verse. Although (or maybe because) my contribution is minimal, it's certainly a fun video to watch.