Motivated to check in here again and bring things up to date a bit.  The summer here has been so fantastic and things are looking up so it is a good time to write a bit and put it all in perspective.

The first thing to announce is the new date for the Paul E. Phonics release show.  After the first date was re-scheduled and the seconed cancelled at the last minute a third attempt will be made on Sept. 4, 2010.  Third time is a charm as they say!

Work has also begun on a follow-up E.P. and if all goes well that will be released before the end of the year.  You can also look forward to a few more live shows from Paul E. Phonics in 2010, dates coming soon.

On a slightly sombre note, the future of Fine Print Pariah is pretty uncertain at the moment.  The majority of energy and resources here are being poured into Paul E. Phonics right now which hasn't left much time for getting a live band into shape.  But you never know what will happen, perhaps FPP will be rejuvenated in some way, perhaps in a slightly different form and with a slightly different sound.  We'll see how things go.

And things are evolving in other directions here too.  A brand new project is in the works and will be introduced in a few months, the third addition - or dimension - to 5th Estate Music. Exactly what form this new project will take is not yet clear but it will be more than just music.  The goal is for this to be an onging "work in progress" with frequent output outside the traditional restraints of  "albums" or "E.P." (or "singles" for that matter).

So that's it.  Lot's going on here behind the scenes that will be out there for all to see, hear and experience this autumn.   Stay tuned!

Although the title seems like a great idea, obviously not everyone thinks this way, hence the cancelled Paul E. Phonics release show last Saturday.  Other than one occasion when the evening was accidentally double-booked, I can't think of another instance in my experience where the venue has cancelled the gig.  People do get sick, that I understand, but it is hard to swallow the excuse that there was absolutely nobody who was willing to hang out in the shop for a few hours and sell a few beers.  But apparently that was exactly the situation which I was informed of late on Saturday afternoon leaving me scrambling to contact the people who had confirmed that they were coming and to get the word out online in case anyone else decided to come spontaneously.  Not a fun time but the chance you take when organizing gigs in non-traditional venues I guess.

I would like to be able to say that there will be a new date very soon but that is just not the case and it looks like it will have to wait until autumn now which really takes the wind out of the sails.  I'm sure I could scrape something together in the next few weeks but the weather has been far too good and summer is generally not the best time for indoor concerts anyway.  People want to be outside enjoying it - me included! - the obvious reason why open air festivals are so popular now.

But I don't want to dwell on the negative and come across as bitter because I am not.  I learned many years ago that this kind of attitude will get you absolutely nowhere fast.  What I am doing is simply explaining the situation for anyone who is interested.  I am definitely no superman and I am sure it could happen in the future, but so far I have never cancelled a gig and I am very proud of that fact.  Admittedly there have been a few where it might have been better to cancel, but I stand by going through with it and I believe that one way or the other people always got something out of it even if the performance was a bit shaky. 

And besides, the weather here right now is incredible so who wants to sit around and stew in their own juices!?  New songs are in development, plans for a follow-up E.P. are being made and things are gearing up for the autumn when I will be hitting the stages again with renewed energy and even more determination.  Stay tuned and have a great summer!

Special thanks go out to Peter at "Schallgrenzen" ("Sound Barriers" in English) - one of Germany's top music blogs - for his feature about everything that has been going on here at 5th Estate Music.  Here is an English translation...

Everything takes a bit longer with me, but that shouldn’t be your concern.  I’m happy to leave the daily business of covering the “hottest new shit” to the others.  Now I’m going to kill two birds with one stone starting with an album that was sent to me ages ago.  Paul McCormick is Fine Print Pariah.  A Canadian who arrived in Berlin 10 years ago.  Recorded his debut album there on his own.  The result is a raw record with highs and lows, light and dark, the ebb and flow of the city where he lives and musically miles away from stylistic posing.  That takes backbone and stamina.  On the debut album from “Fine Print Pariah”, the connection to the earthy sounds of Black Sabbath, the psychedelic rock of Led Zeppelin, the progressive worlds of Pink Floyd, the rawness of Iggy Pop and the Alternative Rock of 90s bands like Alice In Chains and Soundgarden can be heard.  But the result is also very personal and one hears the passion pulsating, all a bit weird and painful.

Paul McCormick not only took care of all the instruments and vocals himself, but also the entire production and in doing so has created an album that is strangely beautiful with its old-fashioned sound.  Also with his new baby and the E.P. “Shock & Awe” released under the (admittedly strange sounding) name Paul E. Phonics, McCormick has chosen yet again to swim against the current.  Here it gets even rawer, weirder and darker with experiments drawing from stylistic elements of Post-Punk and Post- Rock and who knows what.  Music that despite its twists and turns, the distorted guitar sounds, the electronic sounds and the plaintive voice, remains touching with its uncompromised, pain-filled rawness and drama. 

Considering this uncompromising attitude, it only makes sense that Paul McCormick has started his own label - 5th Estate Music - to distribute his music.

Schallgrenzen, June 17, 2010

Even though spring still isn't quite here yet you can still feel it in the air and one of the great indicators that it is just around the corner is already upon us.  Yes, it is St. Patrick's Day again and even though it is not really celebrated here in Germany you can rest assured that there will still be people running around with green clothes and painted faces and some craziness will occur in the local pubs, especially the Irish ones.  And not long after that it will be Easter, a bit early this year but hopefully the beginning of an upward swing in the weather.  A good summer is definitely in order after the winter we had here!

So it seems that 2010 is chugging right along at a pretty good pace and we are trying to keep up with things here.  Live shows are being booked for Paul E. Phonics with the first date confirmed, details here.  The goal is to continue with 3 to 4 shows a month around northern Germany and get a short tour together to end the year which should take things a bit further into the south and possibly Poland and the Czech Republic.

There have also been considerations made concerning the Paul E. Phonics debut release which was originally planned as a full album but may now be scaled back to an E.P.  This is not for lack of material - there is actually enough material for nearly 2 albums at the moment - but for other non-artistic reasons.  Releasing an E.P. means fewer songs to get finished and mastered which will allow the release to happen sooner rather than later, a very important consideration.  The idea would be to do a spring release and then another E.P. at the end of the year, maybe late November or early December.  So it would be more like releasing an album in two parts.  E.P.s (and to some extent the singles) seem to be the trend right now with many declaring albums "obsolete" so as much as 5th Estate Music is not here to follow the crowd it is still a good opportunity to experiment with this form of release and compare it to the Fine Print Pariah album release.  Another major difference is that Paul E. Phonics tracks tend to be more "stand alone" productions so it isn't really that important how they are grouped and packaged together which is a lot different than the FPP debut which was created and organized very much as an "album" with the songs working off of each other to create a greater experience.  Not that the Paul E. Phonics stuff is any less artistic, just different.

No final decision has been made but it will be soon and when it is, this will be the place to find out about it.  Until then!

Even though the winter is far from over we figured it was a good time to freshen things up here and get ready for a new chapter in the story of 5th Estate Music.  As you can see, the site now looks a bit better...cleaner and sleeker. 

As for the next chapter, that is the one with Paul E. Phonics as the main character.  The weather has been awful here which has served as a bit of a blessing as far as creativity goes.  With basically nothing to distract or lure anyone outside it has been the perfect time to hunker down in the studio and finally get some Paul E. Phonics tracks finished.  A few preview tracks are ready to be revealed and to go along with all that there is a new website for the project  www.paul-e-phonics.com  It could work out that Paul E. Phonics takes the lead role for the rest of this year but we'll see how things go.  A debut album is in the works and will definitely be released this year, it's just a question of earlier or later at this point.  Work has also begun on a follow-up Fine Print Pariah album so that will be an important priority later on in 2010.

Speaking of Fine Print Pariah, there has been a lot of interest from podcasters recently and there will be updates in the news here when songs are played of course.    Efforts will be made to keep this ball rolling but chances are there won't be that much news for a while. We will try to keep things updated on what is going on behind the scenes though.

All in all, exciting times here.  Until next time!