steven backer

Echoes from a Prepared Piano*

2009-06-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

Years have passed; some tones have faded while others ring still. I've finally gotten around to posting last year's recording of "Future Returns" for Electromagnetically-Prepared Piano. Enjoy.

listen here

* this post was inspired by hearing an amazing performance at Fabrik by Hauschka, a modern day master of prepared piano (mit Ebow auch) .

The French Connection

2009-05-28T01:32:00.000-07:00

Last May we went on an amazing trip to France. We wined, we dined, but most significantly, we reconnected with family and friends. It couldn't have come at a better time, as the isolation of living in a foreign country where you don't speak the language was beginning to "hit home," so to speak. Our French Connection was a glorious adventure into the extra-Parisian side of the country - the southern-central-a-little-to-the left region. I think the French call it Dordogne, and Ariège.

Our trip fell over Whit Monday, so naturally we had the day off of work. We managed to get in our longest stretch of vacation away from work yet - 6 days, Friday to Wednesday - which is almost laughable by European standards. What an amazing 6 days.

While traveling from Bordeaux, our flight destination, to Dordogne, our...destination,we stopped off in the famous wine region and commune of St. Émilion for lunch and a preview of what was to come. Then, we went on to rendezvous with our friend Susie and her family in Badefols-sur-Dordogne, for a few days in the charming French countryside, filled with biking, dining, and in general, a repetition of those things. It was so wonderful to be around so many familiar people, many of which we had just met, but could converse freely with.

More pictures from Badefols-Sur-Dordogne here.

After our long planned trip to Dordogne, we ended up making a last minute stop in the Ariège region to visit for a couple days with my Aunt and Uncle. Dipping into the Pyrenees, Tarascon-sur-Ariège was just another "duck leg in the confit", if I might invent a saying. This place further cemented my understanding that France is so much more than downtown Paris - filled with pristine mountains, rustic countryside, and a sincere and venerable charm. We spent more time outdoors than in, and even managed to visit a medieval castle for a sunset dinner. What more can you ask of France?

More pictures from Tarascon here.

Being, Below Buda's Belly

2009-05-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Budapest in May. Hungary was the furthest east I had ever traveled in the world. It certainly differed from our home base of Northern Germany, but was still distinctly Western from a global perspective. Before our trip, I ran across this interesting article which sheds a little light on the state of modern Budapest. Our trip began with a rainy but pleasant departure from Berlin...

Once in Budapest, we stayed on the Buda side of the river at this hotel - on a boat - that Jen had picked out. Hmmmm....

Perhaps the best part of the trip was caving underneath Buda. We were taken on an amazing guided tour of a very large network of caves, where we got down and dirty - sliding on our bellies, squeezing through tiny holes (see Jen below! ;), and generally contorting our bodies in ways we would regret the following day. The caves are highly recommended activity if you find yourself in Budapest

More scenes from underground can be seen here

Budapest is a beautiful city that showed us yet another facet of small-but-sundry Europe. Here are a few more highlights from our trip:

...and a whole lot more pictures can be found here

Dutch Tulips

2009-05-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hiking in the Ith

2009-04-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

A very nice hike in the nearby Ith "mountains" of Northern Germany. Some pics here. We opted to follow the trail with the mushroom marker rather than the one with the evil stinging bees marker.

Das Blaue Wunder

2009-04-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

A few scenes from a hill in Hannover. via a cellphone :(. the rest here.

this flickr user has a nice one...

Visions of Northern Italy

2009-04-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

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Verona

We flew into Mestre (i.e. not-quite-Venice) late night, and found our way to the main station. After realizing we couldn't buy train tickets for the next day due to too many people sleeping on the floor of the ticket office, we settled on a panini and some much needed rest. In the morning, we hopped on a train heading to Verona, and spent the afteroon admiring the cheese in this charming city.

Lake Como

Como

Another evening arrival at our next destination - Lake Como – though it was still light enough to be floored by the scenerey, upon seeing our surroundings after stepping off the train. This was a little corner of Italian paradise that we had no clue existed...

Bellagio

(a.k.a. not that far from Clooney's...)

We took the 1 hour 'fast-boat' (hydrofoil) up the lake to beautiful-beyond-description Bellagio (yes, like the Casino), which is located at the point on the lake where its lower two legs meet. Looking straight out from the point, you're surrounded by the Italian alps and Lago di Como - it's absolutely stunning.

more Lake Como (incl. Bellagio) pics here

Bergamo

The rest of the Bergamo pics are here

All Verona, Lake Como, and Bergamo pics here

Münsterland

2009-04-04T10:01:00.001-07:00

Münster, Germany - "Bicycle capital of Germany"

Kaki King @ Gleiss 22.

A little sunlight on the Promenade.

A few more pictures here.

FLUFF-HEAD!!!!!!

2009-04-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you Mr. Miner, for a fine article
(and of course the links to the music)!

DB, take two

2009-03-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hot off the heels of Hampton, we found ourselves attending another show, back home in Hannover. Seeing David Byrne at the Aegi Theater would be our first musical experience in our still-quite-new German hometown - not counting the manhole cover that sings, street performers, or anything related to work.

The theater was quite nice, not too far from the Maschsee (but still a little too cold at this point to even think about venturing towards it). We did however, find quite pleasant sushi (in Hannover!!!) at Gaststätte Kyoto.

Jen had waited in a very long line back in October, during a trip she made to Hannover, to get these tickets. It turned out that the line was for AC/DC and not David Byrne, so when she finally got to the counter, there was no problem getting two nice seats. We ended up literaly front and center of the balcony; it was excellent.

I had previously seen Byrne play, much earlier in the tour, at Davies Symphony Hall back home in SF, and had been so impressed that I knew Jen would enjoy having the opportunity to finally see the show that she "missed". We had planned to see the Davies show together, but a last minute trip to Germany prevented Jen from using her ticket - at least then and there.

The show was similar to the one I had seen in SF, characterized by a performance of most of the new material from David Byrne and Brian Eno's (somewhat) recent album, Everthing That Happens Will Happen Today, mixed with a healthy dose classic Eno-era Talking Heads material. I'm always itching for a Crosseyed and Painless, and where Hampton "fell short" ;), Byrne delivered. The music was complemented by well-thought out and visually void-filling dance by 3 (or more) dancers for most of the show, adding the depth and the theatrical component requisite for performing at places like the Aegi Theater and Davies Symphony Hall. While this show didn't include an audience-humping leather-clad marching band (see: Extra Action Marching Band), there was still some excitement in air (a few dancers in the crowd, though none in our section). If you have the chance, this is definitely a performance that has proven itself no-less-than-amazing to audiences worldwide - as if Remain in Light wasn't proof enough to warrent fighting it out with rabid AC/DC fans for a chance to see a great rock show.

Southbound

2009-03-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

During my recent East Coast reunion tour, I was fortunate enough to be able to swing by my old stomping grounds for a few days - North Carolina. It was wonderful to be able to see a few family members and friends, as well as to introduce Jen to a little bit of NC.

A few pictures can be found here, including one of Prissy Polly's BBQ in rural Kernersville, which makes one of the best Eastern style BBQ pork sandwiches I've ever had!

How $1,500 Headphones Are Made

2009-03-19T10:50:00.001-07:00

Hey, that's my office! ;-)

via Slashdot by kdawson on 3/15/09

CNETNate writes "A tour of Sennheiser's Hanover factory reveals for the first time how its audiophile headphones are assembled by hand. The company recently announced its most expensive and innovative headphones to date, the HD 800, which discarded the conventional method of headphone driver design for a new 'donut-shaped' ring driver idea. Only 5,000 of these headphones can be made in a year, and this gallery offers a behind-the-scenes look at the construction process."

/-* HAMPTON *-\

2009-03-14T08:00:00.001-07:00

Yes, we went. From Germany. All it took was three flights, a rental car, and a little luck in the lottery. And it was absolutely worth it.

We hung with friends - those near and dear, nepharious, and new. We basked in the amazing energy of the weekend. We lived the life again. We ate Virginia BBQ*.

My last shows were Vegas '04 (my few pics; more here). Perhaps not quite as "disappointing" as Conventry, but I certainly had not made my peace with the PHiSH before they broke up, "forever". After all, I had been roaming the country with this crew for almost a decade. I was at IT, and I remember Mike saying "NO", whatever his (or other's?) reasons were (regretfully, my friends left a message protesting this on Mike's hotline on the ride home from Maine). Well, no one could believe the Fluffhead opener, although, as one blogger pointed out, it was right in front of us:

FLUFF:

HEAD:

I won't go on and on with reviews, as there are plenty on the net that are quite descriptive and well-written (a few here, here, and here). I did especially enjoy the Fluffhead (of course), Stash (my first live song (Walnut Creek '97) and still a fav), Bowie, Taste, Ghost, Tube (always hoping for it), and the most exploratory endeavor of the weekend -DWD.

Strangest part of the weekend: Feeling comforted by the strip malls and box stores, after struggling in Germany to find so many things.

Plenty of pics here. Setlist here. Audio here (pay for soundboards, since you didn't care, and missed the freebies) or, as always, get free AUDs here.

Thanks to Everyone who made this happen. See you on Europe Fall Tour 2009 ;-)

*One of the non-musical highlights of the weekend was definately the local BBQ. We managed to drop into a BBQ joint before all three of the shows, and in a rare flash of genius opted to even bring post-show BBQ platters to the lot. My favorite, boasting a selection of six, count 'em, six sauces was the Country Grill and Smokehouse. SW Texas and Eastern NC sauces were somethin' special!

A Phishy Night For The Allmans

2009-03-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

I told you kids to hit this up! Trey and Page (and some guy named Buddy) joined the ABB at the Beacon on Thursday. Read about it here

Allman Brothers '09 Beacon Run

2009-03-01T02:05:00.001-08:00

Anyone in the NY area should definitely not miss this - annual ABB at the newly remodeled Beacon! I saw them at the Beacon (before the facelift!) there on April 7th, 2007. Was in the area for work, and ran solo to the show, which was absolutely amazing. Everyone freaked about Bernie Williams on guitar, but I was blown away (as usual) by Derek Trucks. Go see these shows if you can! Wish I could!

--------------------------------------------

via JamBase on 1/2/09

TEN NIGHTS IN MARCH TO CELEBRATE FOUR DECADES OF LIVE MAGIC

The Allman Brothers Band will celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2009 the best way they know how: on stage and on the road. ABB have confirmed they will kick off the year with 10 shows at New York City's newly-renovated Beacon Theatre, where they've played 175 times since 1989. Ticket information will be announced in mid-January. The group will, as usual welcome many special guest musicians during this run. "I'd love to tell you what we have planned," Gregg Allman recently told Billboard, "but it's just kick-ass, that's all I can tell you."

2009 Beacon Theatre Dates
Mon 3/9 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Tue 3/10 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Thu 3/12 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Fri 3/13 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Sat 3/14 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Mon 3/16 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Tue 3/17 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Thu 3/19 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Fri 3/20 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Sat 3/21 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre

Den Haag Blaag

2009-02-22T12:00:00.003-08:00

We took a long weekend trip to Den Haag, a modern city not nearly as overrun with tourists as others nearby (...). It was a lovely and relaxing weekend.

Finally, some decent sushi in Europe at: NOH

Absolutely wonderful Sicilian meal on V-Day at: Vino e Cucina (thanks for taking such good care of us! Cannolo and Muscato - molto buono).

A nice walk from the city center, through the park to the beach "Scheveningen".

and of course, nice shopping (Dutch candy is so sweet and scrumptous).

Other than that, we just sat around drinking coffee in cafes, playing chess, browsing English bookstores, buying Dutch cheese, and taking in the city. Nice, relaxing place. Actually, it was a bit of a shock to be back in an "English friendly" area after our initial 6 weeks in Germany.

Some pics here

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2009-02-17T23:58:00.001-08:00

A friend makes it...

2009-02-12T11:03:00.001-08:00

Check out Dan's work on this album, hot off the net.
(nice work, mayun!.)

Ich Liebe Berlin!

2009-02-01T02:12:00.000-08:00

Jen and I took our first trip outside of Hannover since arriving, opting for a 36 hour excursion to a city we had both visited before (and will surely visit again) - Berlin. Berlin is one of those cities, like SF or NY in the US, that always has more to explore. It's very obvious from within that it also has one of the most vibrant and cutting-edge arts scenes in the world. We knew we wouldn't be disappointed.

Saturday morning, we hopped on an ICE train, and arrived in Berlin less than two hours later, relaxed and ready to go. Traveling by train really is so much more comfortable, and all around better, than by car or plane. Thanks Deutschebahn!

We were able to secure a reservation for the night at a hotel we had tried to stay at on previous trips to Berlin - the Arte Luise Kunsthotel. This beautiful hotel boasts rooms each individually designed and decorated by a different artist (Kunst=art auf Deutsch). Some of the rooms are more traditional, while some are pretty out there. I think this was the first hotel I'd ever stayed in, where I knew that my room was really different from all the others. Neat concept. Here are some pics of our room, done by Heiner Meyer: here, here. I also took this picture of the hotel from afar, which I rather like (peach colored building behind the train).

After arriving at our wonderful accomodations, we spent some time unwinding. We walked around the famous Friedrichstrasse shopping area (buying a few english books along the way), ate some absolutely amazing Thai Food (with green peppercorns still on the stem), bought some "cheap art" for the apartment, and generally took in the sights and sounds of Berlin.

Next, we headed over to the Transmediale festival (which had helped prompt us to come to Berlin in the first place). Honestly, it was a bit unremarkable, though, we did arrive at the very tail end. I think the week before had been much more exciting. There were a few interesting things I liked: Tantalum Memorial, and Overbug.

One of the main draws for us to the festival was a bit more mainstream, and in our realm of understanding - a concert. Earlier in the day, we had discovered that the show we wanted to see wouldn't begin until 11pm - typical European nightlife style. So, after a nap and a bite, we started our night. By this point, it had also started snowing again.

The venue was deeper into the former East Germany than I had ever ventured (probably the furthest east I've ever traveled in the world), and it was instantly obvious we were no longer in the tourist-ridden areas of Berlin. The club, Maria am Ostbahnhof, was in and of itself worth the visit. While you could never tell from the outside, the inside of this place had quite a few rooms loud and quiet, a small kitchen, many bars, two stages and pretty decent sound. Just like in San Francisco, you never know what's lurking behind the graffiti.

photo: wikimedia commons user Nicor

Our musical destination was all about dubstep, a fading genre encompassing elements of both dub and electronica. Sorta like King Tubby meets Squarepusher (not really, but the best I could come up with). You can some of this on iTunes (of course); there's a decent station called DubTerrain.net (also on iTunes radio, filed not-exactly-accurately under the 'Reggae' genre) that plays all dubstep if you're lookin' to take a listen.

While living in San Francisco, Jen and I became addicted to listening to the Dubstep Allstars series after work, especially tracks by Benga (see here, here) and Skream (see here, here, and here). When we found out they would both be playing at MAO as part of the festival (CTM) in a show entitled Round Black Ghosts, we decided to make the trip to Berlin.

After arriving at the club, it was apparent that "I'm getting too old for this". We arrived close to 11:30, and could only hang til about 2am. We never did see Skream (upon arrival, we saw he was scheduled to perform from 3:15-5:15am), but got to take in a lot of other great dubstep. In particular, a performer named Bass Clef had an impressive take on it all, incorporating elements of live performance (trombone, whistles, etc.) quite fluidly into his live DJ set.

The next morning, we recharged with some yummy snow pea and creme fraiche covered pizza at Twelve Apostles, strolled through the local KunstMark (and encountered the same woman we had met two years earlier, who made our lovely dishware), reveled in some decadent drinking chocolate at Cacoa Sampaka, and made our way back to the Hauptbahnhof (train station / mall!).

36 hours after leaving Hannover, we were back home again, with satiated souls ready to take on the work that Mondays always bring. Ich Liebe Berlin!

A few more pics here

Deutschland!

2009-01-13T00:29:00.001-08:00

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I'll be living and working in northern Germany (Hanover, Lower Saxony) for most of 2009. It should be an amazing experience; one to tell the proverbial grandchildren about. I hope to post regularly to this blog - about my travels, surroundings, encounters, experiences, and love of German beer and sausages. Check back here soon for more...

Also, If anyone wants to visit Jen and I either in Germany (or elsewhere in Europe), we would love to see some familiar faces, and have plenty of space for guests. Auf Wiedersehen Kalifornien!

Finally on Facebook

2009-01-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally bit the bullet, and finally signed up for Facebook. Amazingly, it's quite nice being out of that cave. Facebook is much more interesting and worthwhile than I had previously assumed, and I've enjoyed starting to reconnect with lots of old friends. If you're into that sort of thing, why not "friend me"?

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-26T13:43:00.001-08:00

Giant squid holiday card
Originally uploaded by hine

What a weekend...

2008-10-07T19:10:00.001-07:00

Wow. So much happened last weekend:

The Audio Engineering Society convention returned to San Francisco for the weekend. It was nice to see old friends, and to also meet a lot of new and interesting people.

AES wasn't the only thing to return to SF; the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was back for more! This annual "bluegrass" festival in Golden Gate Park, a gift to the city from gazillionare music-lover Warren Hellman, featured 5 stages of free music for all throughout the weekend. I only caught a little bit on Friday, but it was absolutely wonderful. Jerry Douglas provided the perfect theme music for us to slide on into the park by, and then came a real treat.

After the age of 14, I was never overly amazed with Led Zeppelin. However, it's classic music and I have great respect for what it did for (rock) music as a whole. So, I was actually pretty excited about seeing Robert Plant, Allison Kraus, and T-Bone Burnett perform while the sun set. Their voices (as well as the backing band) were spot on and unfaltering. Robert Plant is a magician! I loved the new original songs, but hearing this Battle of Evermore was really something special:

Finally, after work Monday, exhausted from the previous many days, I dragged myself to something I could not miss: David Byrne playing 'Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno', at the Davies Symphony Hall. The effort paid off. I'll let others describe it, as I doubt I can do it justice. Wow.

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/15290/David-Byrne-10.07.08-S.F./

Set list:
"Strange Overtones"
"I Zimbra"
"One Fine Day"
"Help Me Somebody"
"Houses in Motion"
"My Big Nurse"
"My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks)"
"Heaven"
"The River"
"Crosseyed and Painless"
"Life is Long"
"Once in a Lifetime"
"Life During Wartime"
"I Feel My Stuff"
Encore:
"Take Me to the River"
"The Great Curve"
"Burning Down the House"

Heavenly New Byrne/Eno album

2008-08-18T19:34:00.001-07:00

Kay and Pawpaw's Wedding

2008-08-14T20:10:00.001-07:00

My grandfather was recently remarried, to a lovely woman and longtime friend of his, Kay Burk. Family and friends gathered for a perfect weekend down in San Diego. The ceremony was held at The Inn at Rancho Sante Fe, a beautiful place. Check the pics here.

Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and more...

2008-08-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wow. Absolutely amazing. Just listen to a few of the clips. It's funny - I've always wanted to see Santana, and when I finally hear him play, while certainly amazing, I find myself more enamored with Trucks and Tedeschi. What a show...

Soul Stew Revival
Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, July 27 2008.

1. Don't Do It -- Marvin Gaye
2. People -- Susan Tedeschi
3. I Wants to be Loved -- Muddy Waters
4. Anyday -- Eric Clapton (Derek and the Dominos)
5. Just Won't Burn -- Susan Tedeschi
6. Sweet Inspiration -- The Sweet Inspirations
7. Hercules (part 1, part 2) -- Aaron Neville (featuring Carlos Santana)
8. Tell the Turth -- Eric Clapton & Bobby Whitlock (Derek and the Dominos)
9. Sugar -- Stevie Wonder
10. Get out my Life -- Allen Toussaint (Albert King)
11. Glad You're Gone -- Susan Tedeschi
12. Key to the Highway -- Big Bill Broonzy (Derek and the Dominos)
13. Gonna Move -- Paul Pena
14. The Weight -- Robbie Robertson (The Band)

The Green Mountain State

2008-07-27T13:24:00.001-07:00

...working for a week in Vermont. Stayed at this wonderful B&B called The Sampler House. Great place, great state, great people.

Some pictures here

Santa Cruz Surf Festival 2008

2008-06-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

My friend Kurt and I are making a surf kayaking movie. We've actually been slowly assembling it over the last year and a half. We've now got about 30 minutes of edited HD footage, which looks a whole lot better than this youtube broadcast, but you'll have to wait for the forthcoming full length feature for that...

Here's a sneak peak. You can see my buddy Kurt take the two waves at 4:46 and 5:05.

My Pictures at Flickr

2008-06-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Can always be found here. Enjoy - and send me yours!

Modern Beet

2008-06-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Check out Jen's cooking blog, Modern Beet, which she made to "share recipes and food experiences". Mmmm!

Electromagnetically-Prepared Piano

2008-06-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

Phishy Stats

2008-06-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

Why? Because it was interesting and enjoyable. ;)

Awesome Airboat Rides!

2008-06-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

I recently went on an airboat ride up the St. John's River in Florida. It was awesome! If you've never been on an airboat ride, I highly recommend it. We were recommended Lone Cabbage Fish Camp - it couldn't have been more authentic, and enjoyable. Plus they have tasty frog legs! See more pics here.

My new weblog...

2008-06-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

I've created a new webpage. This is it. Enjoy!