As you know from earlier posts about my (lifelong and obsessed) Beatles interest – not least The Day I met Paul McCartney and recording at Abbey Road myself – this seemed like an opportunity not to miss. And where better to see something Beatles related than at (“now they know how many holes it takes to fill the”) Albert Hall?
I soon found some incredibly expensive VIP tickets for the (already sold out) world premiere and somehow managed to convince my wife Paula to celebrate her birthday there. (She does love the Beatles, but still…).
And so, the day before yesterday, on April Fool’s Day (a day I once sang about here), it happened!
My expectations were realistic, not to mention even somewhat pessimistic. I certainly knew it wasn’t going to be like watching the Beatles themselves (or even a solo Beatle) in real life. And having been involved in many Beatles tributes myself, I’m fully aware of many of the challenges in making the illusion (even remotely) believable. But I was pretty soon relieved to see that they had captured the ambience of the inside of the Abbey Road studio really well. The John impersonation on “All You Need is Love” which kicked off the show wasn’t entirely believable though. It had something to do with the pronunciation, and also with the fact that John’s very distinctive voice has always been a tricky one to find sound-alikes for. But when they went back to the beginnings and kicked of a rockin’ “I Saw Her Standing There” it became clear that this was going to be a high-quality performance. Above all the Paul sound-alike offered quite a few “wow” moments. He sometimes sounded more like a twenty-something years old Paul McCartney than Paul McCartney himself does nowadays. So, songs like “Yesterday”, “Blackbird”, “She’s leaving home”, “Magical Mystery Tour”, and “Helter Skelter” became some of the evening’s finest. But in the end, all performers did a really great job. “George”, for instance, did a beautiful acoustic version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. That was one of the many moments when I just leaned back, “enjoying the show”, thinking about how much The Beatles mean to me and how big part they’ve played in my life. Which of course is nothing new. I’ve even come across on Swedish radio talking about how The Beatles are my religion.
So, to sum it up, the show was highly entertaining and if you’re a Beatles geek, make sure NOT to miss any of the upcoming shows on their tour. It was extremely well-done and accurate in detail. The George Martin character was spot-on (almost as good as this one). It was so good that I have no problem in disregarding the fact that they had gotten the order wrong in the solos of The End, which (as we all know, right?) should be Paul, George, John and not George, Paul, John.
Anyway, just to be anonymous (although fake “VIP” through paying a ridiculous amount of money) and be a “regular” guest doesn’t really suit me. Having met the great Sir George Martin, and performed for Cynthia Lennon, taken selfies with James McCartney, Olivia Harrison (after a McCartney show in London in 2009), and with engineer Ken Scott in Abbey Road Studios (in conjunction with a lecture by the writers behind the incredible Recording the Beatles), it only felt natural and almost strangely “logical” that I would bump into the show’s supervisor Geoff Emerick himself in the corridors of Albert Hall. The sound engineer on Revolver (the best record ever made!) among many many others. A very important person in developing the sound of the Beatles. As concert producer and promoter Stig Edgren says: “Geoff is instrumental to the aspect of authenticity because nothing that you see or hear in the show is fabricated. We’re not fictionalising what it was like in the studio. For every song we have a schematic drawing on where the members of the Beatles were, where the vocal booths were, where the instruments were.”. So, as you can understand, Geoff Emerick is THE GUY. I can certainly recommend his book Here There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. It’s an amazingly entertaing book who brings you inside the studio with the Beatles in a way that no other book that I can remember does. It doesn’t deal with family histories, groupies, business, tours, drugs, and all that other (also interesting) stuff. It focuses on the recording of the music in a unique way. And I don’t think you have to be a musician to enjoy it.
When I spotted Geoff, of course I asked (kindly, I hope) for the possibility of a selfie together with him. He was very nice, and willingly accepted to pose in a picture. I presented myself as a “musician from Sweden” (which is true, right?) and I handed him my flyer for my debut album Soundshine. He looked at it and jokingly said “–I will frame this!”. So I’m hoping that beside his multi-platinum discs for Revolver, Sgt Pepper, and Abbey Road he will now have on his living room wall, framed, the flyer of the Paul McCartney of Piteå, David Myhr.
There’s not been much news here on my blog since The Day I met Paul McCartney. It’s kind of hard to match I guess. Since then I’ve been slowly adjusting back to normality. But there has more great moments. One of the true highlights was to see Jeff Lynne’s E.L.O. live in concert in Hyde Park in his first festival concert in over 28 years. Check out my wife and I helping Jeff out with the background vocals here.
But the BIG NEWS today is – I have a NEW SINGLE out: “VÄNTA INTE PÅ MIG”!!!
The single is released on the world’s best record label Lojinx and is distributed by Border in Sweden. This is my first (and last?) record release in my native language Swedish. “Vänta inte på mig” means “Don’t Wait for Me” in English and “No Me Esperes” in Spanish.
The song is the result of a new songwriting collaborationship that came about when film music composer Jimmy Lagnefors (En gång i Phuket, Sommaren med Göran, Solstorm, Bröllopsfotografen, Mammas Pojkar) invited me to the delicate task of writing a song that “could have been the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest winner forty years ago”. The song plays a crucial part in the coming romantic comedy Micke & Veronica which is the big Swedish cinema release this upcoming Christmas featuring David Hellenius and Isabella Scorupco.
In the movie itself you will not hear me singing though. In the key scene where the song is featured it will be performed live with one of the actors behind the vocal microphone. This means that the single I’m releasing today will be the only official studio version of the song and it will be featured on the film’s soundtrack in the near future.
Just like that. Out of the blue! While you’re all out there lazing on all the sunny afternoons I am delighted to bring you a little surprise from the David Myhr record label head quarters at Lojinx, England. Soundshine is available as of TODAY on vinyl. Yes indeed! A real 33 1⁄3rpm microgroove vinyl record. An LP (Long Play)! Get your copy now by clicking this link: http://ljx.cc/soundshine
Up until now I’ve been watching the whole vinyl revival thing from a distance. I’ve remained a digital guy, fascinated as I am with streaming services like Spotify. Having said that, there’s a particular magic about the old LP format that not even I can resist. It obviously has a lot to do with nostalgia. As a small kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s the LP was the medium on which I discovered music (alongside the cassette). I’ll never forget when my sister-in-law Agneta borrowed me her copies of The Beatles red and blue albums. Or how I went to the local record store and bought my own copy of Paul McCartney’s then brand new Tug of war. Not to mention browsing through my brother Niklas record collection discovering David Bowie, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, and other “hip and happening” artists (as you can see I was retro even as a twelve-year-old).
In a (very) old blog post I wrote about how I miss record stores and now the time has come to admit that I also miss the smell, the sound, and above all the look of the LP format. And finally, the longing after something “real” became so strong that I decided to put some hard-earned money into making a vinyl version of Soundshine in hope there’s at least a few people out there that just like me are looking forward to opening it up in the new format, to enjoy the artwork (now bigger than ever!), read the lyrics, the never-ending thank you list, the credits, and everything on the inner sleeve. (Stuff that seems to be completely forgotten these days but which for us music nerds is half the fun). And then to put down the needle and enjoy listening to something so old-fashioned as a “Side A”, flip it over, and then “Side B”.
The two last songs will differ from the digital version. The backwards mumbo jumbo at the end of “Icy Tracks” is gone and the never-ending outro of “Ride Along” is somewhat shortened. This is due to the physical limitations of the LP format. But funnily enough I think it (if possible?) actually may increase the listening experience.
Included with the album is a digital download in case you (just like me) don’t yet have your vinyl player set up. In other words you can still enjoy the packaging and hang it on the wall alongside your Nickelback, and Michael Bolton album covers (they’re the ones you’re supposed to mention when you’re being ironic, right?).
I know you’re in the middle of your summer cocktail right now, but hey – a copy of this very exclusive edition is just a click away at the Lojinx store for 15£ (including V.A.T.).
Remembering the highlights of 2013 and all the blog posts I never found the time to write. Like this previous one for example. Another fantastic memory is when I played for the first time live in The Big Apple, New York City. As a solo artist that is, because already in 1998 I played there a few times with my former band The Merrymakers. See photo from that occasion here.
Anyway, the background was that my wife Paula and I went to New York City for vacation, staying at an East Village hotel but also for a few days staying at our great friends Tony (from The Mockers) and Vanessa’s place. I had previously been contacted by an American promoter named Dean Dedopoulos about doing a live show in New York and I thought that this could be the moment to meet the American auidence for the first time since the release of Soundshine. If not with a full band, at least a solo acoustic performance. Here’s a video with some glimpses from the concert:
Dean (featured with me in the first photo below) is a passionate, enthusiastic and highly energetic guy and he got going. He booked a super cool venue called Stage 72 on West 72nd Street (guess what I was thinking?), and we also found a support act called The Whims who also backed me up on a few songs towards the end of the concert, including a couple of Merrymakers numbers, and of course, like any gathering of melodic pop should include, a Jellyfish song!
On April 5, the event took place. Obviously I was quite nervous. After all, I’m not really used to “headline” concerts in New York and I wasn’t sure if I could expect anyone to come or not. Well for sure, Paula, Dean and his wife, and our hosts Tony & Vanessa were going to come. As well as The Whims. But apart from that…? To my big relief the place became really crowded (after all it wasn’t The Madison Square Garden). And some other good friends showed up like Seth (also from the Mockers) and Kathy, Javier Piñol who made a guest appearance on bass, Todd Stanton (the man behind this video) and his family, singer/songwriter Eytan Mirsky, my friend from grammar school – now famous hair stylist guru in NYC, Krister Atle, record label owner Mark Hershberger (also responsible for the video above – thanks a lot Mark!!!), radio profile David THE Boogieman, Eric Kern from the group Vegas with Randolph (who helped out on the piano on a couple of songs including Merrymakers Japan -97 smash hit “Monument of Me”), his band mate John Ratts, and many other wonderful people who made the night a very memorable one for me. And I hope I didn’t make them regret spending their Friday evening with me and my music.
Here’s also some pictures from the event courtesy of Alex Wender, Mark Hershberger, Todd Stanton, Vanesssa Trost, and a few more (please let me know if you think you should be credited here). Please note the cool T-shirt made specially for the event by Andrew Stanton.
Thanks a lot New York! It was too long between the concerts in 1998 and this one in 2013. I hope to be back much sooner than 2028!
Newsflash! It seems that Swedish media finally have “discovered” Soundshine! In the new issue of “Studio” (4-2013) which is a music magazine specializing in recording and music production (and that I’m an avid reader of myself) you will find a three hour(!) long “mix video” featuring myself talking about the writing, recording, and production of my song “Never Mine” which as many of you know is the opening track of my solo debut album Soundshine. (Feel free to have a listen on the Spotify player to the right!).
The magazine says (kindly) that Soundshine is a “fantastic solo debut” and that it’s “sprängfyllt med gnistrande poppärlor” which would be something like “filled to the brim with glimmering pop pearls”. Don’t know if that works in English though… Should anyone (except for me) be on the look for nice praise over the album in “real” English you can also check out Hooks and Harmony who named Soundshine the album of the year (followed by interview here).
In the STUDIO interview I talk about how the idea for the verse melody came to me already back in 2006 and how I reworked it over a two year to period until I finally was happy with it and how the song was put on hold while The Merrymakers were still active (or should we say inactive?) as a band but became an obvious choice for me to include on my album once I was a solo artist. By then it was up to no one but me to decide whether my songs were good enough or not – and guess if they were! (Insert laughter here…)
I also discuss at length about the choice of co-producer (and drummer) Andreas Dahlbäck, session musicians Anders Petterson, Rikard Lidhamn and more, and you will see unique video clips from the recording, how the drums were miked etc. Above all the mix video contains a detailed run-through on-screen insight into my Logic (recording software) project. There you will see which instruments are part of the arrangement and how they were recorded and treated from a production perspective.
Also, in the last part of video you get to meet Marcus Black who mixed the whole album where he discusses his approach to mixing in general and to the mix of “Never Mine” in detail (with an on-screen run-through of his Pro Tools project). At the very end we talk a little bit about the mastering at Abbey Road and you will be invited to see the mastering room of senior engineer Steve Rooke who apart from my album has worked with among many, many other artists Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Not to mention the recent re-mastering of The Beatles themselves.
The magazine also features an article about myself and the recording of Soundshine. So if you are in Sweden (or know Swedish) and you are interested in the above I hope you find your way to the magazine store this month. Or if you’re living the modern digital life you can buy it as a pdf here.
UPDATE: As en Easter egg STUDIO magazine is offering the video link for free! Just click the picture below to get access to the three hour video (in eight parts). Remember to click the HD symbol so it becomes grey (not white) in order to get high quality.
A million big humble thanks to chief editor Mats Stålbröst and business manager Andreas Hedberg at STUDIO for showing an interest in my music and sharing it with their readers.
Please let me know what you think about the article in the comment section below or at my Facebook Page.
What “a day in the life”! Recording at ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS!!!
I have always loved the Beatles. And I will surely do ’til the day I die. One of the biggest highlights in my “Beatles career” (update: THIS was bigger!!!!) was to be able to spend a day in legendary Studio 2 at Abbey Road to record an alternate version of my song “Never Mine” which is the opening track of my debut album Soundshine. Check out the video and continue reading below for full background story.
Since my first visit to London back in 1990 I have never missed the opportunity while in town to visit the famous crossing at Abbey Road. But until 2011 I had never been able to actually enter the building. It was in May when I did it for the first time since I (in a strike of megalomania) had chosen this legendary place for the mastering of Soundshine. Read more about this occasion in this blog post.
Little did I know then that the doors would open for me again only six months later, and this time to RECORD in frickin’ Studio 2!!! Yes, THAT studio…!
How that came about – from out of the blue – is something you are more than welcome to read about in this blog post from Nov 2011.
I wrote then; “today we’re not here to try to change music history but more to study the process of how music history was made from within the actual room were a big part of it was created. I hope to be able to share the result with you sometime in a not too distant future”. That distant future is NOW! Almost fourteen months later…! The reasons for the delay are many. One being that Thomas Juth who took the initiative (which I will be forever grateful for!) is a highly demanded sound engineer in London and therefore hasn’t been able to find the time to work on the mix from this little “hobby project” (although very close to his heart). Thomas is a really sweet (and also cool) guy who has worked with many great names and I mean GREAT(!). Read more about his impressive track record on his own home page.
However, when I was asked to be part of a free download sampler (yes that’s where you’ll find the song I’m talking about here!) released by the music blog Real Gone (who by the way made a really nice review of Soundshine here) I decided it was time to have a proper mix made. The mix is a combination of Thomas Juths ground work and Soundshine engineer Marcus Black’s fine adjustments.
I really wanted to be able to offer a video clip as well but there was no time and no money (as always…). But then Christmas came I and went to Spain with my wife to spend time with her family. And in between tapas, dinners, family life, and a gig at Festival Alta Fidelidad in Madrid, I finally found some time to take my first, stumbling steps as a video editor using Final Cut Pro X. And with the very little rough material I had from my iPhone standing on a tripod (and a couple of other cell phones in the room) I’ve tried to make a little video documenting this very special moment.
It was really a day in paradise for us Beatle geeks and we spent more than half of the precious ten hours staring at Beatles microphones and Beatles compressor and that kind of stuff. The recording became kind of secondary and something we really did “just for fun”. Considering all this I’m really happy with the final result. It’s obvious that we do not hide our love for the Beatles in the way it’s produced and played. And that’s also my reason for not releasing it on Spotify or iTunes or on CD. As much as I love the Beatles, and to play their songs, I don’t want my own stuff to be TOO Beatlesque and end up being categorized next to The Rutles.
To put even more weight into this occasion I decided to write a little piece of lyrics for this world premiere:
It was fourteen months ago today
Thomas Juth invited me to play
To try to recreate the Beatles style
was guaranteed to raise a smile
So may I introduce to you
The song you’ve known for just a year
David Myhr’s “Never Mine” in Abbey Roooooooooooaddd….
Special thanks to Thomas Juth and his brother Fredrik Juth (who played bass and drums) for inviting me to this very special occasion. Thanks also to Michael Bianco, Dyre Gormensen who were part of the recording process. And to Andrew Campbell at Lojinx who co-ordinated the Real Gone release. To Amy Campbell for shooting some nice photos (including the one above) at Abbey Road. And to Henrik Irgens and my wife Paula who also made the day even more pleasant through their sheer presence.
It’s time to say goodbye to the year of 2012 and I want to do it by saying thank you to all you wonderful people who have been involved in one way or another in the events surrounding the release of my solo debut album Soundshine.
To do so I have put together a four minute long slide show that will take you through memorable moments from recording sessions in Stockholm and at Abbey Road in London to gigs in Tokyo, Osaka, Madrid, Burgos, London, Stockholm, and Piteå. But more importantly it shows some of all the great meetings I’ve had with music lovers, music colleagues, fans, friends, family, band mates, record label and music publishing people, and a couple of idols as well.
The soundtrack consists of a medley of all the songs on Soundshine in a “don’t bore us – get to the chorus” fashion. The photos were taken by among others Amy Campbell, Paula and Carol Muñoz Macaya, Kiki Fukuzumi, Jonas Förare, but also by many more… thanks!
So, from the bottom of my heart – thank you to each and everyone who has supported the release of Soundshine (and that includes all of you who didn’t end up in the slide show as well)!
Hope to see you all again in a not too distant future!
Six months before the Japanese release of Soundshine and nine months before the European release I entered the main stage at PDOL (an abbreviation for “Piteå Dansar och Ler”
which is Swedish for “Piteå dances and smiles”). It’s an annual street festival in my former home town Piteåway up north in Sweden which usually gather at least some 25,000 visitors.
For the occasion I used the same backing band as I did on my premiere show in Piteå earlier the same year. Andreas Dahlbäck on drums who also played drums on the album and acted as my sounding board in the recording process which led to me entitling him “co-producer” of the album. Robert van der Zwan (Poplabbet) and Krille Eriksson played guitars, Erik Jonsson (The Fix) played bass, and Joel Sjödin (Mankind) played keyboards. An amazing backing group if you ask me. Furthermore we were joined on two songs by the horn section Horny Minds from local blues heroes Ramblin’ Minds, and last but not least we were honored to have one of the finest Swedish current female pop artists around… Edith Backlund!
I have played at this festival a few times before over the last twenty years, both with the Merrymakers in the 90’s, not to mention our short “revival” in 2007, and also at reunions of my early bands from my youth (Ant-Mansson and 2nd Hand B band). I’ve also played there with the ABBA tribute band Super Trouper in which I play the part of Benny Andersson. However, this was the first time that I entered the main stage of the festival, and what’s more as a solo artist. In that sense it was kind of a big moment for me so I decided to document it properly which included renting a multi-track recorder and hire a film crew.
Time has proved it difficult to come out to meet audiences in other countries with a full backing band. Instead I’ve made solo acoustic gigs – like for instance in Spain in March. It’s true, there are rare exceptions like when I played in Tokyo with local backing musicians or in London on the Lojinx release party where I had a full band. But as the situation is right now it doesn’t look like a proper world tour with a full backing group is happening…
Therefore, I am now very pleased to be able to share this live experience and fond memory with anyone, anywhere, who might be interested. The 47 minute film documents not only the entire show including all the talk between the songs (subtitled in English – only for you!), but also a little bit of life back stage including the nervous artist only seconds before going on stage and the after show hugs while the credits are running to the soundtrack of the re-mix of Looking for a life.
Put on your best headphones, get your beverage, sit back, and enjoy! A splendid time is guaranteed for all! I really hope you like what you see and hear and if you do, please feel free to comment, and of course to share. For those of you who want to have a high quality, hi res experience, I am open for burning DVD’s of the occasion. Don’t hesitate to contact me in order to discuss the practicalities…
And hopefully one day I’ll be able to bring the band, come to YOUR town and play IRL!
Following the “incredible success” (hey, I got one comment, didn’t I!?) of this summer’s posting of the chords for “Looking For A Life” (check it out even if you already did – updated layout!) it’s time to take up guitar practicing again. We’ll just have to move in from the camp fires to the in-door log fire. In today’s acoustic guitar master class by senior lecturer Myhr we’re going to study the famous chords of C and F. Well there’s one or two more but not many. We’re talking basic stuff here! However what’s a F/C? Easy! That’s a F but using the 5th note (the C) as the bass note. Em/G? Same way of thinking. Use your logic! The C -> F/C is a popular trick used many times in rock history. For instance in “Like a rolling stone”, “Angel of Harlem”, “I’ve gotta feeling” (though in the key of A), and many more. And now my song from my album Soundshine called “Don’t say no” can be added to the list.
So, all you acoustic guitar strummers out there – by “popular demand”, or at least from P J in Florida and his dogs (see comment to the previous blog plost) – here’s the lyrics and chords for “Don’t say no” (please comment if the font size is to tiny or if you find other problems) :
Feel free to listen to the song by clicking the Spotify widget to the right (song #7).
And if you want inspiration on how to strum this song with your right hand and how to move your body while playing in a classic Petty / Jeff Lynne style check out this video from the actual moment of recording please feel free to enjoy this video (blame my MacBook for making the image mirrored after filming with PhotoBooth…):
Remember to not keep pushing your dreams away! Thanks a lot for stopping by!
Posted: May 26th, 2012 | Author:David Myhr | Filed under:post | Tags:mommyheads, mosebacke, soundshine | Comments Off on David Myhr acoustic solo live at Mosebacke, Stockholm, June 2nd, supporting The Mommyheads
On June 2nd I will be performing solo acoustic live at the legendary venue Mosebacke in Stockholm. The evening will be filled with music with the main act being “the greatest band you never heard of”: The Mommyheads.
Here’s a picture of me and Adam Elk and one of me and Michael Holt from my home studio when he recorded the great solo for “Got you where he wanted” on my new album Soundshine.
As the devoted Mommyheads-fan Anders Lundquist from the on-line publication Obladoo (who made an interview with me a while ago) put it the Mommyheads play “Great, intelligent pop music with a progressive twist. Influences: XTC, The Beatles, Radiohead, The Band, Gabriel-era Genesis and King Crimson.”
Also sharing bill with The Mommyheads this night you will You Say France and I Whistle and The Loulou Sisters. We are all invited personally by the Mommyheads for this goodbye party celebrating (or should I say mourning?) the end off their European tour.
