The Sherman Blog

First gig since forever

2010-10-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

Man, this year has been tough. Barely made it through sane and alive, yet here I am. Weak but breathing. I just gathered every little piece of strenght I could find and booked the first Sherman-gig in ages. I have no idea how it's gonna turn out, I'm just doing it. I need to get out of my house. One step at a time.

Guitarshop No.1, Gothenburgh

December 11

1:30 PM

Switch

2010-07-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

I'm writing in Swedish, by doc's ordinance. I'm not letting you guys read/hear anything yet. Some 5-10 songs written. None recorded. Even though I'm not raised in a Stockholm suburb in the 70's, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, lyric-wise. It feels less pretentious than it did in the past and it's more honest than anything I've ever written. It feels. Ask me in 5 months and I will disagree.

Silent Way

2010-04-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Alone through the mist

I hear the jackals screaming

This road wants me here

My orders are to give in

I run, got short sight

One meter at a time

The best of ability

Trust me we still got time

Deinstitutionalized

2010-04-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

Back from the ward. Drugged to the teeth.

And then there were three... no five

2009-12-28T05:43:00.001-08:00

A fifth member has been recruited to the ship. Björn Sandberg will be handling the keys live from now which brings a significant non-usage of the ADAT-backtracks and clicktrack, which feels like a great relief. Björn is a nice guy who me and Andreas have been playing with before so we are more than delighted with bringing him onboard. To victory!

Vintage shop gig

2009-12-17T05:08:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna play at a new vintage guitar shop called "No1 Guitarshop", in Gothenburgh (damn Gothenburgh! U stalkin' me?). Can't wait to put my hands on some of those guitars! Gonna be splendid.

February 13 2010

Don't miss!

Out,

Calle

Kontiki again

2009-12-17T04:25:00.000-08:00

I played at Kontiki, Gothenburgh, yesterday, again. It was very nice. I actually enjoyed it and for once it was very non-painful. My good friend Magnus Markling played banjo on "Hope Coming In" and "Where To From Here" which seemed appreciated by the audience. He did a good job. The pain of playing live has nothing to do with being nervous for me; no stage fright or anything like that. It has more to do with me being anxious of doing the songs justice. There's so much emotion and personal stuff in there that I want to convey and usually I'm all empty and non-talkative afterwards. But this time was different. It was actually pleasant.

Also appearing that night was Nina Ingemarsdotter and Annelie. They both did good gigs and we all hope to work together again in the future.

The Tramsessions-shooting now up!

2009-12-14T08:39:00.000-08:00

Kulturhamnen jan 21

2009-12-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

Januari 21, 2010, Kulturhamnen, Gothenburgh.

Gothenburgh seems to be my second home by the sea (take the hint). This time performing at "Färgen Sisu" at Kulturhamnen. Looking forward to play again. Been a while. Hoping it will be the launching of a winter/spring-tour.

Good day today. Got things done. Hopes for feedback.

Out,
C

The russians know their shit.

And the work goes on

2009-11-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well, the single "Nothing But Love" is in (hopefully) good hands and all I can do is wait and continue with my work. Writing and recording new material. Currently there are some 5 songs in circulation with working titles:

"Hösten 2009" - Roland TR808 drum machine + Yamaha CP80 and accoustic guitars. A lot of anxiety and "lostness" in the lyrics. This one's been draining all of my energy. But it's really good. Or will be. When it's done.

"One Hell of A Drive" - Fast song with tom-beat and accoustic guitars along with organ, mellotron and moog. The mellotron strings in the chorus gets a 60's vibe according to Padoan. Maybe he's right. I love this song. Lyrics about hard work, hope and the painful journey to follow your call.

"And There I Found You" - Perhaps one of the hardest songs to write, even though it's based on 3-4 chords. Anyway, it's a ballad. Don't know if it's supposed to be organ-driven or guitar-driven. Working on some kind of mix between the two. There's a really haunting delayed strat swelling in on a simple thing that really set the mood for the song. Lyric-wise it's one of the hardest ones to write too. Maybe too honest and depressing. But with a little hope.

"The Ocean" - Sort of the sequel to Nothing But Love (the first single of "Meanwhile"). I've really tried to make it as simple as possible with verse and chorus only based on two chords; G major and E minor. The verse melody is played/sung by different instruments/choirs throughout the song in a kind of symphonic way. The song right now consists of the TR808 drummachine, my friend Simon's precision bass (played thru Pod 2...works perfectly), some DX7-ish vibrating sound and of course the accoustic guitar which I really don't know how to fit into the song properly. Maybe abandon it totally. Killing darlings tend to be effective. Lyrics about following your heart and leaving everything that defined you, in search of something more true and honest, and what happens when you get lost. Sort of like one of the lyrics described above. This is gonna be a hit I think. One of the most commercial songs I've written.

"Hope Coming In" - One of the very very VERY few shuffle-songs I've wrote. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, "dansbands-groove" is perhaps a good way of describing it. Anyway, it's a song about hope but played through minor chords. Influences but Kings of Convenience and Coldplay song "Spies".

Maybe I'll stick to these 5 songs and release as EP. Plus one more song maybe. There's some kind of post-rock (you know, Sigur Ros-ish) thing I've been working on, based on 4 chords and a really simple melody consisting of like 3-4 notes. Otherwise I'm still struggling with my mood and getting the dishes done. More melancholic than cheerful, but with hope this time. Pray for me. To whatever God you like.

Out
/Calle

It's out!

2009-10-28T13:49:00.001-07:00

ALBUM RELEASE TODAY!
Order 11 tracks and a little "booklet" at http://www.sherman.nu

Tramsessions

2009-10-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Played live in Gothenburgh, at a tram (aka spårvagn) yesterday. It was a nice quite big audience (which was behind me and don't show on pictires) and Jerry & Anna (hosts of it all) where very nice and seemed happy with the shoot. So was I. I think. I may change opinion when I'll see the video. Soon to be broadcasted at http://www.thetramsessions.se

Keeping you guys posted. Pictures by Magnus Markling.

/Calle

Sunday post-gig

2009-10-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

So we played at Popsoaré Special yesterday,on hemmaplan. Just piano and guitar this time. It was pretty ok I think. Except for Kristofers guitar and DL4 pedal giving him trouble, and me forgetting the second half of the second verse in Maybe This Time. Myself I felt pretty weird most of the gig, but not nervous or anything. Anyway, some people came up to us after the gig and said they really liked the show, which made us happy. And by us I only mean Kristofer and me this time. It's always nice to recieve words of appreciation from people you don't know.

Went to parents place afterwards and have spent the day there today drowned by coffee and deep talks with Kris. His cup ended up on the floor though. Came home to my appartment a couple of hours ago. Went for a run which made me feel mellow and weird. Need food and clothing. Soon running out of money. Life is hard. Don't try it at home.

Sherman interview for Jönköping Nu

2009-09-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Made an interview with a local news paper, Jönköping Nu, about this saturday's gig at Popsoaré Special. Another one with Jönköpings Posten was made yesterday and will be published shortly. Here's the Nu-interview. Pretty fair I guess.

http://www.jonkoping.nu/?option=com_content&task=view&id=20102&Itemid=2

Songs

2009-09-28T03:16:00.003-07:00

And here's some songs from the album for ya.
http://www.myspace.com/shermansweden

The damn album's ready!

2009-09-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

This is it. I'm letting it go now. The album's finally finished. 11 songs in pretty different styles, connected by 2 or 3 themes throughout the album. I started getting insane by it all and was ready to give up a few times but somehow managed to hang in there. Killing a few darlings and Zoégas coffee made it happen. Have no idea where this is gonna lead to, except for a little publishing deal which I'll tell you more about later. Album release by end of september.

Over and out,
HQ

Vätterfesten 13/8

2009-08-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

The Sherview

2009-03-22T04:13:00.001-07:00

Sherman was recently interviewed for the local newspaper. Read and digest:
http://www.jnytt.se/nyhet/22464/sherman-vill-forena-kansla-och-kontroll

/Cale

More gigs

2009-03-13T03:21:00.000-07:00

Mitt Andra Hem, Gothenburgh, April 25
The Tramsessions, Gothenburgh, April 10
Fight Club, Stampen, Stockholm (early May, date not confirmed)

We're really looking forward to coming out playing for you guys! Especially The Tramsessions feels like something really interesting and exciting, both musically and promotionally. See you out there!

/Sherman

First appearance booked

2009-02-21T04:49:00.001-08:00

The first Sherman appearance is now booked.

Where? Radio P4 Jönköping
When? 11:35 AM

Out,
Calle

Walk-in-studio

2009-02-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

Padoan has a perfect walk-in-closet which elegantly serves the purpose of vocal recording. Today I'm going to his place to lay down some vocals for Take 45 and Little One. Expect miracles. I'm going in!

Firsh rehearsal down the tube

2009-02-13T10:53:00.001-08:00

We went into rehearsals the other day. I was frightened to the teeth but still excited and thrilled. We rehearsed Nothing But Love, The Numbers and Dogsitting and I must say the guys had done their homework exceedingly well! It was both interesting and a little shaky for me to play with a new drummer, something I haven't done for a really long time. Andreas made a really good job though and there was a positive, serious and fresh vibe in the room which he contributed to in to a large extent. Boberg brought his convincing bass leverage with commitment and his own lines as usual, and that really made me feel safe and relaxed. Myself, I was glad to pick up the guitar again, something I also haven't done in a really long while. Being the chapelmaster of Replay, with it's entertainment-focused approach, have had me glued to keyboards for 2 years now. So playing guitar again felt like a huge relief and like catching up with and old friend. Padoan couldn't make it due to his recent car-breakdown, which was urgent to fix. He'll be there next time tho.' The guys are excited and I feel honored to have them on board. It feels mutual.

Arpeggiators and chorus guitars

2009-01-30T02:51:00.000-08:00

Spent the yesterday afternoon working on one of the more experimental and, to it's very extent, challenging songs called Take 45. A quite contradictive song with lyrics about not over-working things and not giving up on your immediate creative ideas to a more "safe, commercial platform". The contradictive about the song is that I've been working on it for really long now and made a lot of takes and trying to make it work and to actually get it somewhere! You could say that it's being over-worked but on the other hand it's musical nature is very much unsafe and unexplored territory for me which is explored carefully and slowly. This song anyway, is quite monotone and sterile if you will. It travels on the basis of a a monotone rythm figure by drums and a synth bass. They serve as some kind of industrial engine along with arpeggio synths, analog pads, conversation samples and of course, mellotron. I just couldn't the "Tron" be. It's a fantastic tool for bringing atmosphere and "human" feel to your work. I actually let the Tron play Cello for once, instead of the usual choir, flute or "yes-strings". Also there's chorus Rush-80's-ish overdrive-guitars in there. Takes you back to Rush's "Grace Under Pressure" from 1984.

Some songs are written and completed in an instant, while others can take years. No rule apply here really, exept for the fact that the songs being written and recorded fast tend to appeal to people more and have more hit potential. However, I think it's crucial for an artist, actor, writer, producer or painter if you will, to stray off into unfamiliar and threatening areas beyond the safe and bullet-proof instances already habiting your studio walls. So maybe that's why this song takes such a long time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Sorry, I just had to use that cliché. To finish off, I've always found the songs that doesn't follow the red line and suddenly wonder off to some weird new place tend to apply much to me. It shows that there is more to the creative force behind the music than just a guy wanting to make safe hits. Safe hits. I like that expression. I think I'm gonna use it in a song.

Over & out,
C

News feed so far

2009-01-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

2009-01-27
2 new demo songs finally up on myspace! "Dog Sitting" and "The Numbers". I spent the evening building myself some kind of singing booth here in my apartment so I could get rid of the very unsexy natural room-ish reverb my living room generates when I'm recording vocals. Yay, I finally managed to get the vocals down for these two songs that's been laying here for about a year now. About time.

Give myspace the glad hand and check 'em out:
http://www.myspace.com/shermansweden

---------------------------------------------------------------------
2009-01-24
Live songs setlist now preliminary set! The band will go into rehearsals in early February.

1. Safe & Sound
2. This City Is Mine
3. Nothing But Love
4. Crossing The Border
5. Wednesday Again
6. Take 45
7. The Numbers
8. Little Sweet One
9. Dog Sitting
10. The Truth Upon These Hands
11. A Duck!
12. Maybe This Time
---------------------------------------------------------------------

2009-01-10
Sherman band members now official!

The "Sherband" currently consists of:
Calle Rydberg - Lead vocals, guitars, keys
Kristofer Padoan - Guitars, vocals
Daniel Boberg - Bass
Andreas Staberg - Drums
Alesis Adat - Keyboards, vocals, samples

Big live premiere date to be added real soon.