{"id":33874,"date":"2020-02-18T08:27:55","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T13:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=33874"},"modified":"2020-02-18T08:30:09","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T13:30:09","slug":"on-stage-the-picturebooks-focus-on-motorcycles-and-metal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=33874","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: The Picturebooks focus on Motorcycles and Metal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Picturebooks<\/p><\/div>\n

Heavy rock music and motorcycles have been linked since the late 1960s. The link can be traced back to Peter Fonda\u2019s motorcycle movie \u201cEasy Rider,\u201d which featured Steppenwolf\u2019s song \u201cBorn to Be Wild.\u201d The song\u2019s lyrics introduced the term \u201cheavy metal\u201d \u2013 \u201cI like smoke and lightning, Heavy metal thunder, Racin\u2019 with the wind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The tradition of loud, powerful music teamed with loud, powerful bikes is being carried on into the 2020s by the Picturebooks, who will be performing on February 19 at the Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684, http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Picturebooks — Fynn Grabke and Philipp Mirtschink — are a German rock\/blues duo whose music is on the heavy side They are equally immersed in the world of music and the world of motorcycles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, they are touring the started in support of their new album, \u201cThe Hands Of Time,\u201d which came out this past spring via RED MUSIC. The tour, which also features The British Lion, began mid-January in Florida and the concert in Lancaster is the penultimate show.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band began in the duo\u2019s hometown of G\u00fctersloh, Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe met at a local skate park,\u201d said Mirtschink, during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll my buddies were listening t band\u2019s like Limp Bizkit while I was listening to Bowie, the Cure, Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know each other. Then, one day I was wearing a Roxy Music t-shirt at the park and he was wearing a Black Flag t-shirt. We started talking and chose to hang out together and form a band.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Picturebooks\u2019 first two records were \u201cList of People to Kill\u201d in 2009 and \u201cArtificial Tears\u201d in 2010. The band featured Grabke (guitar, vocals), Philipp Mirtschink (drums) and Tim Bohlmann (bass). Bohlmann left the group in 2010, shortly after the release of \u201cArtificial Tears.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a third guy \u2013 but he\u2019s gone,\u201d said Mirtschink. \u201cHe kind of Yoko Ono-ed us. It had to happen. Phillipp and I had to go our own way after two albums with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was four years between \u201cArtificial Tears\u201d and the release of the \u201cImaginary Horse\u201d album in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a break,\u201d said Mirtschink. \u201cI didn\u2019t listen to other music for two years. We got into motorcycles \u2013 I don\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was more than just riding choppers. The two friends spent time as gearheads saving motorcycles from the scrapheap.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started out with scooters and Vespas,\u201d said Mirtschink.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe always wanted to move up to Harleys. We started to build choppers and began winning contests.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, Grabke and Mirtschink put their creativity to steel, grease, and carburetors building heavily customized Harley Davidsons while everything from classic rock and punk rock to garage rock and classic country blasted from the boombox.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Grabke, \u201cMotorcycles saved our lives back then. They brought us back to music to be honest. After being a band for a long time — going through all kinds of stages career-wise — we reached a point where it didn\u2019t feel right, and we felt the need to separate from it for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe kinda got lost in the desert, building and riding bikes. At home, we built a motorcycle garage next to our studio and we had a lot of time to think about music and the band and what we really wanna get out of it. It paved our way to where we are now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mirtschink said, \u201cWe just focused on motorcycles for a purpose. We developed a different creative output. Creativity is a muscle you need to train, and we needed to rain our creativity. We now write songs super-fast.\u201d
\nVideo link for the Picturebooks \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/-17Zf-rcCjM<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The all-ages show at the Chameleon Club will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $23.50.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Blue Stones<\/p><\/div>\n

Another rock duo from a foreign country will be visiting Philadelphia this week when the Blue Stones bring their \u201cHidden Gems Tour\u201d to <\/span>MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 215- 925-6455, www.milkboyphilly.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the Picture Books, the duo — guitarist\/vocalist Tarek Jafar and drummer Justin Tessier — create a stadium-sized sound in the studio and onstage. They are touring in support of \u201cBlack Holes,\u201d their debut album which was released last year via Entertainment One Music debut.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been friends since our early school days at St. Ann\u2019s High School in Windsor (Ontario),\u201d said Tessier, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Chicago. \u201cWe even played on the football team together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were in university, we decided to jam. It was almost by accident. We started playing together late 2009. Our first shows were bar gigs in Windsor in 2010. We started writing serious music in 2011.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The band\u2019s first recorded output was \u201cThe Blue Stones EP\u201d in 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe always just did EPs to attract attention,\u201d said Tessier. \u201cThe first one was about 10 years ago. Technically, \u2018Black Holes\u2019 is our first full-length.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Blue Stones have wide variety of influences ranging from Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin to Kanye West and the other \u2018Stones,\u2019 the Rolling Stones.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur influences come a lot of ways,\u201d said Tessier. \u201cOur music has changed a lot since we first started. Our goal always has been to make the kind of music we like to listen to.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith us, songwriting is back-and-forth. Tarek writes all the songs and lyrics. He\u2019ll start out with a melody. Once he fills out the basic song structure, we start working on it together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just finished recording 11 songs at North of Princess Studio in Kingston (Ontario). It will come out as an album eventually but we\u2019re going to drip-release songs along the way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for the Blue Stones \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/h95STxWYTL0<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at MilkBoy Philly, which has JJ Wilde as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Anna of the North<\/p><\/div>\n

A few days before the end of last October, Anna of the North released\u00a0her sophomore album \u201cDream Girl.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, the versatile Norwegian rock\/pop artist arrived in America to begin a month-long tour to support the album \u2013 a tour that visits Philadelphia on February 18 for a show <\/span>at The Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

With the ability to span genres, <\/span>Anna of the North is one of the most promising music talents to come out of Norway in years. She released her first album \u2013 \u201cLovers\u201d \u2013 in 2017. The title track appeared in the 2018 Netflix film, \u201cTo All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The two albums are instantly recognizable as projects by Anna of the North, whose real name is Anna Lotterud. But they are also distinctly different from each other \u2013 like kids who are obviously siblings but totally unlike each other in looks and attitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded \u2018Dream Girl\u2019 a bit of everywhere,\u201d said Lotterud, during a phone interview last week just after she flew in from Oslo, Norway.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did some in London, some in L.A. and a lot in Norway. I spent about two years making it. I began working on it in November 2017 and it was released in October 2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLovers\u201d is still attracting listeners\u2019 attention having garnered more than 200 million streams. The record\u2019s word-of-mouth success culminated in the title track taking off via a surprise sync in \u201cTo All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before\u201d and is still streaming over 100K times per day — nearly a year after the film\u2019s release. The tune made the top 100 charts in 171 countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit bi-polar with my albums,\u201d said Lotterud, who grew up in <\/span>Gj\u00f8vik, Norway and later spent a year in Melbourne, Australia studying graphic design.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe songs on the first album were more together \u2013 with one sound. The songs on the new album are all over the place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On the first album, Lotterud was one <\/span>of the two original members of electro-pop project Anna of the North. \u201cDream Girl\u201d was made after she split from her long-time musical collaborator\/producer Brady Daniell-Smith, with who she had formed the project in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started writing for the second album, it was my first solo project,\u201d said Loterud. \u201cYou could hear the freedom in it. It\u2019s an important album for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a lot. I tried different things. I wrote songs in different ways. I was free and didn\u2019t have to stay in one genre. It\u2019s colorful and it\u2019s a journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started writing the songs, I was more happy. It was an interesting time in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking as a duo, you have different ideas and you have to respect the other\u2019s ideas. This one was freedom for me. No-one could tell me what to do or how I should do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lotterud is like the mother of very different siblings offering a diplomatic reply when asked which is her favorite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love both albums,\u201d said Lotterud. \u201cNow, I need to find a middle ground. I need to find where I am now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThis is my second time to tour the states, but it will be my first time to play a show in Philadelphia. It should be a lot of fun. I\u2019m looking forward to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my live show, I play a lot of songs from both albums. I play the biggest songs likes \u2018Lovers,\u2019 \u2018Thank Me Later\u2019 and \u2018Dream Girl.\u2019 I won\u2019t be playing any songs I\u2019ve written lately.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am always writing. I have to write. That\u2019s the best part of being a musician.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Anna of the North \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/83nYuUfIpfE<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at The Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Heavy rock music and motorcycles have been linked since the late 1960s. The link can be traced back to Peter Fonda\u2019s motorcycle movie \u201cEasy Rider,\u201d which featured Steppenwolf\u2019s song \u201cBorn to Be Wild.\u201d The song\u2019s lyrics introduced the term \u201cheavy metal\u201d \u2013 \u201cI like smoke and lightning, Heavy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[11883,6518,11882,11881],"class_list":["post-33874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-anna-of-the-north","tag-featured","tag-the-blue-stones","tag-the-picturebooks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33875,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33874\/revisions\/33875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}