May 2013
3 posts
Real Roots Café review My Rocket Ship
Here’s the original Dutch review (http://www.realrootscafe.com/2013/05/17/markus-rill-and-the-troublemakers-my-rocket-ship)
- and here’s my translation with Babelfish help.
Markus Rill is a German singer-songwriter (Frankfurt, 1970) who now delivers his tenth CD since 1997. He received his musical education (like many others) in Austin, Texas, where he lived in the 90ies as an English...
Rookie review of My Rocket Ship
There’s a new German magazine dedicated to Roots- & Americana music named Rookie. It’s written & produced by Rolling Stone writers & editors. Jörg Feyer has long been my favorite German writer on all things Americana and he wrote a lovely, perceptive review of My Rocket Ship.
Flying solo
The toys I used at analoghaus, some are mine, some are Tom’s
Hi guys,
last week I spent a couple days recording some solo songs at Tom Ripphahn’s analoghaus studio in Karben. I had a whole bunch of songs that I strongly feel are good songs worth recording. However, it’s clearly too soon to record a full-band follow-up to My Rocket Ship a few months after the album’s release date. I was also...
April 2013
6 posts
Share the faith - excellent review from the UK
I admit that I’m particularly curious about reviews from native speakers. Here’s a good one from NetRhythms in the UK.
Markus Rill & The Troublemakers - My Rocket Ship (Blue Rose)
The second album in as many years from the German singer-songwriter continues to establish his credentials as an honorary Austinite, again evoking comparisons to Steve Earle. Although you’ll hear...
Ehrenorden aus der Oberpfalz
Expuls, Kulturmagazin für die Oberpfalz, April/Mai 2013
Markus Rill & The Troublemakers - My Rocket Ship (Blue Rose)
Es ist unglaublich: Markus Rill kommt wirklich aus Würzburg und nicht aus einem staubigen Kaff irgendwo in Texas. Leider muss man fast sagen, dann wer kauft einem Deutschen denn dieses tief verinnerlichte Americana-Gefühl ab. Rill hat schon immer passable bis gute Platten...
A Swedish review from Rootsy
Here’s a Swedish review of My Rocket Ship from http://www.rootsy.nu/recension.php?id=2144
And here’s a translation with the help of some Babelfish.
Markus Rill & The Troublemakers - My Rocket Ship (Blue Rose Records)
As a young talented musician Markus Rill lived in Austin, Tx. for a while soaking up the music scene. He later played at the Bluebird Café in Nashville and SXSW in Austin....
Adventures past & present - the April newsletter
Würzburg/Germany, April 9, 2013
Hi folks,
plenty of news and since I’m an organized German, I’m breaking the newsletter down into three parts.
1. I’m very happy that No Depression - the bible for all things alt.country - have taken note of me for the first time. They’re calling My Rocket Ship “my best work to date” and flatter me with saying “Rill...
11 tags
Four days on the road
Hi guys,
The Troublemakers had a great run this last weekend playing gigs in Uettingen, Berlin & Lauchhammer. On Sunday I played a solo gig at the opening of the Rock & HiFi Museum in Marksuhl/Thüringen.
A short recap. Since regular Troublemakers drummer Aggi couldn’t make the trip, my longtime friend Leonardo von Papp took his place for these gigs. We had two afternoons of...
A couple of new reviews
Ein interessantes, etwas anderes Kurzporträt im Frizz Magazin: http://www.frizz-online.de/stadtmagazin/aschaffenburg/magazin/b/bandbesprechung-42013—markus-rill-128
Eine Rezension von My Rocket Ship in der Wasser-Prawda http://www.wasser-prawda.de/platten/songwriter/item/markus-rill-my-rocket-ship-blue-rose-records.html
March 2013
6 posts
CountryMag review My Rocket Ship →
Great review from CountryMag
No Depression review of My Rocket Ship →
Go East on Easter
I’m very much looking forward to taking the band on a short tour this coming Easter weekend. On Friday we’ll be at Bassy’s in Berlin, one of the coolest clubs in Germany’s coolest city. And on Saturday we’ll be at Real Music in Lauchhammer near Dresden. The Real Music folks are excellent music lovers who have built this venue from the ground up and are constantly bringing great American acts to...
Dying Bed live 2013
My mother passed on August 7, 2001. In the following days and weeks I wrote a lot of songs about her and her passing. Some angry songs, some self-pitying songs, some very sad songs. None of them seemed to do her justice or to encompass and convey my conflicting feelings. I wrote this one - as I remember it - about half a year after her death so it must’ve been early 2002. It helped me then...
New song: A Poor Man's Set Of Wheels
Hi guys,
in the time between finishing the new album “My Rocket Ship” and its actual release I wrote a bunch of songs. Here’s a new one I like quite a bit. I don’t usually write upbeat and very rarely write love songs but I think this one qualifies. Jan and I recorded this for the CouchByCouchWest festival - a fun alternative for those of us who’ve stayed at home on...
Hervorragendes Gespür für tolle Songs
Main-Echo, 2.März 2013
Hervorragendes Gespür für tolle Songs
Konzert: Markus Rill and The Troublemakers begeistern im Miltenberger Beavers
Miltenberg Ein volles Haus hat Markus Rill mit seiner Band The Troublemakers dem Miltenberger Beavers am Donnerstag beschert. Das Konzert entpuppte sich als eine spannende Reise durch verschiedene Gefühlswelten bei perfekt inszeniertem Klang in einer Mischung...
February 2013
14 posts
A great CD release show
Photo by Andreas Heimbeck
We had an excellent, wonderful CD release show on February 9 at Kellerperle in the band’s hometown of Würzburg/Germany. I trust you’ve seen some of the photos at www.facebook.com/markusrill.
I was kinda sick that week and we had played for too long the night before in Frankfurt. We met at the venue at 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon. The plan...
Johnny's Garden review of My Rocket Ship
Dutch website Johnny’s Garden have reviewed My Rocket Ship. You’ll find the original Dutch review here.
http://www.johnnysgarden.eu/?q=content/markus-rill-troublemakers-my-rocket-ship
This is an English translation with the help of a few babelfish.
My first purchase of a Markus Rill album goes back to his debut Gunslinger’s Tale (1997). Since then I have always remained interested...
3 tags
Heilbronner Stimme review our gig at Red River
Heilbronner Stimme vom 16. Februar 2013
My Rocket Ship review in Main-Echo, Feb 9, 2013
Es ist das Feuer der Leidenschaft
Americana: Der aus Goldbach stammende Markus Rill veröffentlicht mit The Troublemakers das Album »My Rocket Ship«
Da ist dieses eine Lied, »Way Down«. Markus Rill und die schwedische Sängerin/Gitarristin Annika Fehling schrieben es, als nach einem gemeinsamen Konzert in Hamburg das Hotel wegen Feueralarms geräumt werden musste. »Wir kamen aus unseren...
Chill Music's glorious review of My Rocket Ship
Einfach hier klicken, um zur Originalrezension in Deutsch zu gelangen.
Here’s the English translation: MARKUS RILL has been Germany’s finest Americana musician for a long time now - and he has a bunch of new stories to tell. It hasn’t been all that long since his last album Wild Blue & True was released on Blue Rose Records but if you look at this internationally renowned...
Main-Echo-Porträt, 8. Februar 2013
Inne halten im Einklang von Raum und Zeit
Rock-Musik: Der gebürtige Goldbacher Markus Rill gründet sein neues Album »My Rocket Ship« auf dem vertrauten Terrain von Heimat
Würzburg Markus Rill ist einer, der landläufig »ruhiger Mensch« genannt wird. »Ruhe« bedeutet nicht Wortkargheit, über Musik beispielsweise kann Markus Rill ohne Punkt und Komma stundenlang reden und dabei inhaltlich durchaus...
Good review from Musikreviews →
Gästeliste review of My Rocket Ship →
My Rocket Ship reviewed by Benny Metten
Benny Metten at http://www.ctrlaltcountry.be/ has reviewed My Rocket Ship and given it 4,5 out of five stars. Here’s what he has to say (several online tools have helped translate this from Dutch to English):
MARKUS RILL & THE TROUBLEMAKERS “My Rocket Ship” (Blue Rose / Sonic Rendezvous)
(4,5*****)
Oh my, this man is so extremely good at what he does! Each time Markus Rill from...
A lovely tweet
If you’re like me, I’m sure you’d trust the musical opinion of a a man who’s played piano for Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, The Box Tops and Gretchen Peters. His name is Barry Walsh, he tweets as @barelywashed
Just heard @markusrill’s new album, “My Rocket Ship”. Fabulous new songs. “Facts About My Life” is a fav. Buy this!...
Free To Fly - our video
"Melancholie & Lebenslust" - Main-Post vom 1....
„My Rocket Ship“ – Echter Folk mit lakonischen Geschichten auf Markus Rills neuer CD
Der Sänger, Gitarrist und Songwriter Markus Rill ist ein Main-Post-Journalist; das muss wissen, wer hier etwas über seine neue CD lesen will. Um eine Gefälligkeitskritik auszuschließen, hat sich mit dem Autor dieser Zeilen einer um die Geschichte gekümmert, der erklärtermaßen wenig mit der aktuellen Folkmusik...
Rocktimes review My Rocket Ship →
Click on the headline to read the review. This must be a really good record :-)
January 2013
15 posts
What I'd sound like if I was three Swedish girls
Swedish trio Glimra have just released their debut album which includes a couple songs I co-wrote with my good friend Annika Fehling - who happens to be a member of the band. Their new single is “Lat drömmarna vara kvar” and here’s the video:
And here’s Annika & my acoustic duo version “Not Too Late To Dream”
<a...
Blue Rose Radio Show, Jan 21, 2013
Hi guys, last Monday I was the featured guest on the Blue Rose Radio Show to talk about my upcoming album My Rocket Ship with label head Edgar Heckmann. Here’s an edited version of the first hour in which we talked about the album. I’ve edited out my songs cause you can hear them in the player to your your right. In the show’s second hour we discussed the Blue Rose...
3 tags
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (12): Far Too Long Too...
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in this blog.
Far Too Long Too Far
This just poured out one night as an expression of how much I missed my partner and our daughter. I only see them on the weekends that I’m not gigging. That’s just not enough time to be spending with a three-year-old. Anyway, I always figured this was just...
Praise from Beale Street
The good folks at Beale Street Belgium are enjoying the new album. Here is the original review by Francois Braeken in Dutch http://www.bealestreet.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=810:markus-rill-a-the-troublemakers-my-rocket-ship-&catid=32:cd-recensies-januari-2013&Itemid=850
and here’s an English translation with the help of some Babelfish-type websites:
We...
I'm up for a Grammy (I think) →
There’s a blog entry on the official GRAMMY site discussing Americana music’s global reach. “In Germany there is the talented Markus Rill practicing his brand of singer/songwriter craft that would fit comfortably at any Texas roadhouse.” Pretty darn cool. Click on this post’s title to follow the link.
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (11): Way Down
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in this blog.
Way Down
Annika Fehling and I wrote this song while we were on tour together at the height of the financial crisis. There was no avoiding the topic.
You may have heard the other story that goes with this song before. There was a fire alarm at the hotel we were staying at in...
The Glitterhouse review of My Rocket Ship
From the Glitterhouse mailorder catalog for February 2013:
Markus Rill & The Troublemakers – My Rocket Ship
Der Würzburger mit dem amerikanischen Herzen und der rauh-rührenden Sandpapier-Stimme ist zurück, und das besser, reifer, abgeklärter denn je. Der Singer-Song-Rocker ist seit Jahren eine bewährte Bank, war jedoch selten ein Mann für Überraschungen (was in meinen Augen durchaus ein...
What the people are saying ...
My Rocket Ship by Markus Rill is the best thing I’ve heard in a good while!!It’s sorrowful and sweet and everything in between. #BuyIt
— Laura (@MagicMuze) January 15, 2013
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (10): In My Bones
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short blog instalments with song snippets.
In My Bones
One of my favorites on the new album. It was a challenge for me to try to write a song that is less about telling a story that goes from point A to point B but more about conveying a feeling – and yet not losing movement in the lyric...
Hooked On Music review My Rocket Ship →
1 tag
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (9): For The Stars
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short blog instalments with song snippets.
For The Stars
I’ve learned to live without what I desire and with what I got that don’t mean that I’m satified and it don’t mean I’m not
These two lines came to me out of the blue. I felt it was a real interesting,...
2012 in review
Photo by Daniel Biscan
Hiya folks,
time to look back on what went on in 2012. A pretty darn good musical year for me.
Some of the highlights:
In February Aggi, Felix, Chris and I spent four days at 7V Studios in Bockenem (Niedersachsen’s hinterland) to record a new album. My longtime friend Achim recorded us, my even longer-time friend Volker (also known as Vince by me and VB by everybody...
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (8): One Fix Or...
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short blog instalments with song snippets.
One Fix Or Another
Sometime in 2011 I bought myself a six-string faker banjo (fancy name: banjitar or guitjo) and this is the first song I wrote on it. In fact, it got started on the way home. I pulled over on the side of the road to play it and...
My favorite music of 2012
Hiya folks,
as is customary, here’s my favorite albums of 2012. With the caveat that the list may look different on a different day and I haven’t heard everything. But I have been pondering this for a couple weeks and this is the best I can do.
My favorite song of the year: Five Minutes by Gretchen Peters
Contenders: Mother Blues by Ray Wylie Hubbard Two Yellow Roses by Ed Romanoff The...
December 2012
5 posts
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (7): God Believes
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in this blog. This week, since it’s Christmas and this song fits the occasion better than any other on the record, here’s God Believes in its entirety.
God Believes
I used to not believe in anything but myself and rock’n’roll I used to think that I knew everything but lookin’...
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (6): When The Night...
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short blog instalments with song snippets.
When The Night Calls
While I’ve always loved soul music, my appreciation and knowledge of it has grown in the last few years and so has my desire to try to write something that could be called soul music. On my last album Wild Blue &...
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (5): My Rocket Ship
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short blog instalments with song snippets. This week since it’s the title track and I’m feeling generous, here’s the entire song.
My Rocket Ship
The central song of the album on various levels. For one, it’s a love song for music, for my guitar. The places it’s taken me...
High hopes fulfilled
Photo by Chris Weiß
Sometimes it happens that you have high hopes that get fulfilled. This was true of our gig at the Würzburg Stadtfest on Friday.
We had been looking forward to playing on a nice big stage with good sound, and to playing a 120-minute set with no breaks, pauses or intermissions.
Usually we play small clubs and bars, 45 to 60 minute sets, two to three a night. When we do play...
Countdown to My Rocket Ship (4): Never Come To...
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short blog instalments with song snippets.
Never Come To Know
This was the first real co-write from scratch with my buddy Daniel Biscan. He’d helped me before on finishing When The Night Calls (more on that in a few weeks) and then he sent me the initial idea for this one. He had a...
November 2012
6 posts
My Rocket Ship Countdown (part 3): The Facts About...
My new album “My Rocket Ship” will take off on February 8. Until then I’ll introduce you to a song a week in short little blog instalments with song snippets.
The Facts About My Life
Life for people with handicaps may look much different than it does for others. However, I gathered that it feels much the same: An unpredictable succession of minor and major joys, frustrations, moments of feeling...
