ppaab61e01.jpg
Photo courtesy of  Pablo  Funky
So where to begin? I recently took the plunge and moved to what is surely the grooviest city in Europe. With the possible exception  of Barcelona (which admittedly bequeaths sun, sea and the greatest football team on earth), Berlin is indeed everything one could possibly want from a place to live. More vibrant than Iggy on speed although greener than most cities I’ve been to, Germany’s Hauptstadt comes replete with oodles of culture, history, rock’n’roll, great architecture and loads more besides…

So yeah, to quote JFK, ‘’ich bin ein Berliner.’’

And jolly inspiring it is too. Have already formed a new band called David Marx & The AK-Poets, which thus far consists of Kai Wiergert  on bass/double bass along with Johannes Fuchs on piano/organ. Still in need of a drummer mind, although we haven’t as yet gone all out to find one (as we’re still in the midst of initial rehearsals). That said, we embark on our first recording next weekend - songs under consideration include ‘Holy Water,’ ‘Sandino’s Tears,’ ‘Fists In The Pocket’ and ‘Blood Orange,’ while our first gig is confirmed for Weds November 24th at The Jagerklause in the former East Berlin. http://www.cityspy.info/berlin/rec/jagerklause.htm - www.jaegerklause-berlin.de

I will also be playing a solo gig at the same venue on Weds October 13th.

Other AK-Poets gigs are in the pipeline - so watch this space.

The Forward I wrote for Al Gregg’s book The Wrong Outfit (all about Chelsea and the advent of Punk) was published on AuthorHouse a couple of weeks back - which, among others, includes the literary thumbs-up from both Dave Parsons (he of Sham 69) and Honey Bane. For further info, here’s the publisher’s link: www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore

Talking of books, my current reading includes Bob Dylan In America by Sean Wilentz, No Such Thing As Society by Andy McSmith, Jilted Generation by Ed Howker and Shiv Malik and (what is so far a more than riveting read) Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes.

As for music, the best thing I’ve heard in a very long time is the thoroughly fantabulous and totally invigorating second Grinderman album. Simply called Grinderman 2, it’s as brash as it as rash as it is hornier than an Italian Erection Convention. For further explicit substantiation, have a read of my review: http://davidmarxreviews.blogspot.com/

Till the next time, stay cool and stay in touch (and as always, many thanks to Bob for running this here site).

Adios,
David Marx
(October 2010).


Previous news from Dieppe France November 2009