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View Full Version : roll call - german/european mandolists



french
Feb-04-2004, 4:09pm
just interested in seeing how many german (first)/european (second) mandolists are hanging out here.

i live in a place called korschenbroich, between düsseldorf (de) and mönchengladbach (de), a bike ride from the dutch border.

- tom

Christine W
Feb-04-2004, 4:49pm
Well I was born in Brema Haven and grew up in Munich. My mother was german and my father was russian. Does that count. I live in the US now though. I've been to Dusseldorf as a child. The rest of my family lives in Berlin and Walsrode. Oh yeah and I play the mandolin of course. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

JiminRussia
Feb-06-2004, 5:19pm
Just a bike ride huh? The Tour de France is a bike ride too you know http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Klaus Wutscher
Feb-06-2004, 8:52pm
Vienna, Austria. I would say that qualifies as a close second, but still quite a bit away from M´gladbach

mandodana
Feb-07-2004, 12:16am
I'm American but I lived in Heidelberg for several years. In fact, I only moved back to the U.S. a few months ago. I could go for a nice schnitzel und pommes about right now. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

hellindc
Feb-07-2004, 12:39am
I hope "french" doesn't mind if I intrude on her\his thread to ask some advice. I'll be staying in Geneva from mid-March to mid-May. Does anyone know of any good venues or festivals to check out in the region? I'm going to do some weekend trips during this time, so it does not have to be immediately in Geneva. Also, I would like not to take my mandolin with me but to rent or buy something inexpensive. What are my chances?

I play a lot of bluegrass, blues, alt-country, fiddle tunes, etc., but my tastes in music are across the board. Thanks for your help, and don't let me distract you from comleting the roll call.

otsaku
Feb-07-2004, 1:44pm
i'm in copenhagen , denmark

wouldn't mind finding some mandolin players here so I can get started http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-07-2004, 2:37pm
I am a Brit (born in Germany just a bike ride from Munchengladbach) and now living in France just across the border from Geneva (I also have the honour to be the current president of FBMA - that's France BMA).
Hellindc,get in touch through the board's message system and I'll reply. We can meet up - I am 20 minutes from centre of Geneva. I think Wildfire will be in or around Zurich some time then (not a lot going on in Geneva). I have a band so I could organise some kind of a music session in any case.

Bluegrasstjej
Feb-07-2004, 4:52pm
I'm Swedish, I live in Vänersborg in the central-south of Sweden.

John Ritchhart
Feb-08-2004, 3:48am
Another American living in Europe. Switzerland. I can't call myself a "mandolinist" but I bang around on one. The Swiss Bluegrass Music Association has a website I think that lists the festivals for the year.

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-09-2004, 2:50am
Hey jbrwky, which part of Switzerland are you in? Hellindc and I are getting set to hook up in the Geneva area around March. You can't be more than 3 hours away!!!
The Swiss BMA are very active and involved in EBMA (E for European).

Sellars
Feb-09-2004, 2:53am
I'm in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

we should all meet each other at the EBMA festival in May (or june, i keep forgetting that)

Spencer
Feb-09-2004, 6:01am
There are several BG mandolin pickers here around Copenhagen, myself included.

Spencer

scs@mek.dtu.dk
www.copenhagenmountainboys.dk

HoGo
Feb-09-2004, 6:35am
I'm in Slovakia, central Europe. Not many mando pickers this far east. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Bluegrasstjej
Feb-09-2004, 8:24am
I'm in Slovakia, central Europe. Not many mando pickers this far east. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Cool! What music do you play? And what is Slovakian folk music like?

HoGo
Feb-09-2004, 8:47am
Mostly bluegrass (surprise, ehh), but I can play almost any style, including Slovak folk music which is based on fiddles. There is still a page of my band "Steam" I used to play with. We did some Skyline style music. But I played also with traditional bluegrass bands. Once we tried to combine Slovak folk with BG and found one tune that's almost identical to Cripple Creek, our guitar player was also the player of Fujara (2m long Slovak pipe- very special sound) so he played an intro on this. People liked it, and we did, too. I met with a band Downhill from Sweden two years ago on EBMA festival, they were great! I never thought there are such good bands there.
But I wonder why I don't see any Czech pickers around! I suppose they are playing instead of talking.:)

Klaus Wutscher
Feb-09-2004, 12:23pm
HoGo: Actually,there´s a lot going on in Slovakia, especially in the Bratislava region. I frequently meet slovakian pickers at festivals, and quite good ones too! (If you are into bluegrass, of course)

John Ritchhart
Feb-09-2004, 2:12pm
Xtopher, I'm in Zug, just south of Zurich.

mad dawg
Feb-09-2004, 2:31pm
Are there any fellow Siemens employees in this thread?

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-09-2004, 4:39pm
jbrwky. Ok, so that's about 3 hours from here. It's also closer to where most SBMA events happen. I shall try to make to some concerts this year and I'll contact you before then. Maybe we'll get to meet up (like they all do in the US on this message board!).

hellindc
Feb-10-2004, 12:49am
What's remarkable is how something like this can hook people up. Xtopher has been very kind and gracious already in responding and offering more hospitality that a stranger would expect. Jbrwky, I hope our paths cross as well.

HoGo
Feb-10-2004, 4:46am
Klaus, I know all of them and they all know me. I used to play with two bands from Bratislava even though I live 200km east from there (Zvolen). I do not know what you call "a lot of going on" but my estimate is at most two dozen bluegrass mandolin pickers that played with bands on public. I know almost all of them personally or at least I know they exist. My favorite is M.Barok, now with new band Meantime (http://www.bluegrass.sk/meantime/) (after I left the band) soon to appear in the West (Ewob events). They are the best Slovak band (together with Fragment), really driving modern BG.
OK. Time for a new guestion: How many pickers are there in your country? What is your estimate?

Jose
Feb-10-2004, 8:53am
I'm from Spain and I live in Bilbao, Basque Country. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Bluegrasstjej
Feb-10-2004, 9:08am
Mostly bluegrass (surprise, ehh), but I can play almost any style, including Slovak folk music which is based on fiddles. There is still a page of my band "Steam" I used to play with. We did some Skyline style music. But I played also with traditional bluegrass bands. Once we tried to combine Slovak folk with BG and found one tune that's almost identical to Cripple Creek, our guitar player was also the player of Fujara (2m long Slovak pipe- very special sound) so he played an intro on this. People liked it, and we did, too. I met with a band Downhill from Sweden two years ago on EBMA festival, they were great! I never thought there are such good bands there.
But I wonder why I don't see any Czech pickers around! I suppose they are playing instead of talking.:)
Wow, that sounds really interesting. Is there anywhere on the web where I can listen to Slovak folk music?
Downhill are very good, there are actually many good Swedish bluegrass bands. At the moment it seems like all of them offer sound files at their homepages, so if anyone is interested, just let me know and I'll give you the links.

HoGo
Feb-11-2004, 4:59am
Well, I don't know of any site with Slovak folk music. The best guys that play it are kinda old grandpas from mountains.... There are some interesting similarities to BG music like up-tempo tunes played in either instrumental and sung versions, high pitched male vocals, bass plays first and third in fast tunes and second fiddle or viola plays kind of chops on off-beat, first fiddle takes solos. and there is also a hammered dulcimer rolling behind (I once heard a gipsy play Foggy Mt. Breakdown on dulcimer note for note like Scruggs, at 150bpm, my jaw was on the floor http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif ) or taking breaks....

Martin Jonas
Feb-11-2004, 5:20am
Another German here (from Cologne), although I've been living in the UK for the last ten years. I play a fairly eclectic bunch of tunes, including much Irish and British folk, bluegrass and US traditional and some German folk songs. The mandolin is well suited to German folk songs and I play a lot from a cool 1912 edition of the Zupfgeigenhansel (a collection of German folk songs arranged for guitar). Some of the more creditable traditional German folk bands (e.g. Liederjan and the band Zupfgeigenhansel, which is named after the book) include a lot of mandolin and lute-like instruments on their albums.

Martin

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-11-2004, 7:41am
In answer to the question "how many pickers?" ... Here in France there are 150 members of fbma and probably another 100 (or maybe even more) who don't want to join.
More and more mandolins can be seen at our events - there must be well over 20 serious players (playing in bands) ranging from near beginner to seriously good (Christian Seguret actually taught at the Bluegrass section of ETSU - not bad for a Frenchie!!!).

Klaus Wutscher
Feb-11-2004, 1:32pm
HoGo, well 2 dozens pickers seem to be a lot for me...Here in Austria we have (of course) Nugget... and then we are done, really. There used to be two other bluegrass bands (I played in both of them at the same time) but they both disbanded, so essentially, there are no other bands I´´m currently aware of. I play in a coutry band at the moment and get to play more gigs in a year than I´´ve played the last four years in both bands together... does that tell you something? Anyway, I´m having fun. But coming to Slovenia or check rep. for a festival or two in the summer would really be fun....

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-11-2004, 4:54pm
Talking of Nugget, do you know if Thierry Massoubre is playing with anyone at the moment?
BTW, Nugget is a great band for anyone who has never heard them - a mix of Austrian, Slovakian, Czech and "used to be French" (Thierry).

Klaus Wutscher
Feb-13-2004, 12:20pm
Xtopher- Thierry is currently playing in two country bands, giving them a distinct bluegrass flavour. Actually I have the agreeable job to play mando and sing in one of the two bands which is called Big John & Nashville Express
(www.nashvilleexpress.at) The other band is called Route 66 ( not sure about their website) Needless to say, there is a lot to be learned from somebody like Thierry (I find singing harmony harder than picking and Thierry is real serious about good harmonies)

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-17-2004, 6:09am
Hey Klaus? Thanks for the answer (I only just came back in this morning).
Please say Hi to Thierry from me in France.

Christopher Howard-Williams
Feb-17-2004, 6:10am
BTW my full name is Christopher Howard-Williams.