Alev Lenz's Blog: Where have u been?

Well, well... I have been gone for quite a while and I haven't been keeping

you updated! Shame on meeee.... So here's we go! Seatbelts fastened for a little recap of my journey!

I have been in turkey for the whole month of april to release and promote my record!

And the album is out in turkey now aswell. It came out in may! Check out my turkish record company's website!

I gave some interviews, my video is on rotation on MTV and Dream TV and I was guest in the famous TV show by Okan Bayülgen, that changes names every season! This season it was called Disko Krali.

Here are some pics from me being interviewed for MTV NEWS, some screenshots from

the actual broadcast, a little blurry one from my interview for one of my favorite radio stations in Istanbul, Acik Radyo, two videos of the live performances at the TV Show Disko Krali and some backstage pictures!

So now you've seen the videos. My performance was at 3:30 am! Can u believe it! The TV Show starts at 12:30 am and goes until 5pm! So A LOT OF WAITING for everybody...

Here are some backstage pics. This is where u wait and/or watch the show!

First

Soundcheck....

... then waiting...

...and waiting...

Poor audience :-), they are THE BEST! They sit there for hours and then still manage to keep up the atmosphere!! Thank u guys! My performance at 3:30 am wouldn't have been possible

without you!

And of course there is also a great team behind the stage. They are really an awesome crew, having everything ready you need!

In between all this action I also participated in a university project at Bilgi Üniversitesi! We shoot 5! (yes, believe it or not) videos at the same time. Students are going to use the material out of the pool of shoots to make their very own video. I think they will be done cutting soon and since I am in Istanbul again in a couple of weeks, I will choose one and post it on my website asap!

Here's a picture of the campus! It is AMAZING! Santral is the newest campus of Bilgi with a museum and three restaurant on campus. One of them is OTTO Santral, one of the branches of OTTO. The original Otto is one of my favorite bars in Istanbul. Order findikli vodka! Love it!

Right next to the original OTTO is Babylon. One of Istanbul's greatest music venues. While I was there I was so lucky to watch my friend Erim host the talkshow Lokal Anestezi at Babylon several times with great guests like Sevval Sam and CEZA. CEZA I already know from a couple of years ago when we performed together in Berlin in my rockbanddays. Again on Okan Bayülgen's TV show! That year it was called ZAGA show I believe!

Wanna take a little stroll down memory lane? This way!

It was great to see CEZA perform again and the talkshow with him was really interesting. He really has something to say. I think he's a great artist.

Me and Erim

CEZA live@Babylon, Lokal Anestezi

And then I had to say goodbye Istanbul!

But...

HELLO LOS ANGELES!

I got invited to LA to the VILLA AURORA by one of the fellowship holders to join a lecture with my music!

The Villa is the former home of exiled German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger (I am reading "Die Füchse im Weinberg" right now. For those of you who also finished "Marie Antoinette" by Stefan Zweig within a couple of days, this might be

something for you aswell) and is now an artist residence and historic landmark.

The Villa Aurora Organisation's main concer is to promore and foster German-American cultural exchange and to remember the European exils that settled in Southern California.

I felt very lucky to be part of that great place!

I forgot to take pictures of the fantastic grand

piano I was able to play during my stay at the

Villa... Boooo! It was the grand piano of Ernst Toch. It was a real pleasure to perform, practice and write songs on it!

It was great to live at the Villa, in the Pacific Palisades, to enjoy the creative atmosphere and meet the nice staff and the interesting artists at villa.

This is my desk in my room, my "desk" in the garden and the view over the beautiful pacific ocean!

But as you know me, of course I couldn't be satisfied with playing just a show in LA! I wanted to see and experience as much as I could.

So I had to rent a car.

At first I though, "oh maybe I can do without, can't be that bad... I can walk, just like in NYC!" Oh, was I wrong! Nothing goes without a car in LA! NOTHING! Not even grocery shopping!

I wanted a stick at first but the car rental had none.

I was quite happy afterwards though, not to have gotten a stick. LA traffic with a stick would not have been possible... and automatic is sooooo releaxed...

So I drove around a bit and found a Bansky on one of my tours!

He is all over da planet! I really liked the "Village Pet Shop and Charcoal Grill " in NYC.

And the huge "let them eat crack" piece.

But maaaan, I am just a follower... aren't we all? I really have no clue of street art. But I try to keep my eyes open without someone opening them only to things they want me to see. I try. We should all.

But by the way, here's another street work artist who I found being all over the place aswell. Not as famous, but I know him from Berlin. Or maybe he is? I wouldn't know... Anyways, his yellow fists are on many walls... But he really must be out of his mind spraying entire Asmalimescit in Istanbul like that! Jeeeee....!!

For those of you who have a clue about street art, please don't laugh. I really am no expert. Just a blogging musician!

Here's one more funny wall painting from LA. Number 1 looks scary. His wife does too!

Well, of course I didn't just drive around. I met wonderful people and saw wonderful places.

Having already informed myself about the music scene in LA (also with a little help from my friends of course! Thanks Erik!) I went to see THE RESCUES play at Hotel Cafe.

What a great live band! And what a great venue! It reminded me a little of The Living Room in NYC or a bigger version of Rockwood Music Hall.

I would love to play there soon!

Here a picture of The Rescues Live!

The drummer was standing during the whole show... The whole band standing in one line. Great appereance, great show and great voices, all of them!

On the night of my concert at the Villa, I also met a very nice couple who told me about a museum I should definitely go see. I listened to their advice, had a great time and made some other great friends. That's how I did it with my whole trip to LA by the way. I didn't take a look into any tourist guide. I just followed advices, recommondations, everything by word of mouth and told people to meet me in their favorite bars and restaurants. And with a map in my hand I drove where I was told and I discovered a lot of LA. This is one of my ways of trying to not only see the things on the top shelf.

Anyways, he museum I was talking about was The Museum Of Jurassic Technologies! If you're in LA, go there!

A Venice MUST!

This is one piece of one of the several exhibitions in the museum. It is about all the dogs Russia sent into space. Sounds weird? It is!

Like I said, I've seen great places and met great people. Of course also in the museum. David, the owner of the museum is a very warm and kind person. So was Eva whom I met that day aswell. I also got to know Moritz, A German Sound Arist. Check him out!

I love to connect with german artist abroad, it is fun to talk about home.

It made me think of Laura. I met here on day in NYC at the Sidewalk Cafe. She was performing and I liked her songs and especially her witty lyrics. Then Lach said something about "german artist". I went straight up to her and she was from Munich! My hometown! And her mother was turkish too! And she was a piano playing songwriter! That was crazy. Check her out too!

Moritz just came to Berlin last weekend and we went to see The Ettes at Bassy and Laura and I have been friends now for over two years, always exchanging what we are up to next and filling one spot ant each others concerts.

I am so happy and blessed to frequently meet so many nice and interesting people. They make my life so much more colorful.

Always keep your eyes open! Be Aware! Great and interesting people are everywhere! Caution! You might find how lovable humans are.

Moritz also showed me some more hidden treasure of LA. Like the Velaslavasay Panorama. A painted panorama picture in an old movie theater. A 360 painting with sounddesign by Moritz.

Later that week we had dinner with David and Moritz and some of their freinds. Most of them artists aswell. I got to see some fine works of art that night and made friends with even more fantastic people in LA. Thanks for having me as a guest that night Nana nad making me feel so welcome!

Here's a little movie and some pics, two from inside the old movie theater. Beautiful venue. Or movie set. Or for a photoshoot. or... simply a beautiful sight.

There's another upright piano on stage! GREAT!

Unfortunaltely you can't really hear Moritz's glacier sound...

One thing I couldn't miss in LA, one thing I wanted to do since I heard about his weekly gigs at Largo was to go see Jon Brion perform live! He is simply a genius. He would already be a genius for having produced Fiona Apples first Album, but he also produced her follow-up albums, Rufus Wainwrights record, Aimee Mann, the "Mangnolia" Soungtrack, wrote the Soundtrack for "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind" and "I heart Huckabees" and so on. Can it get any better?

I was lucky to be in LA in may, Jon was performing every friday at Largo so I finally got to see him play.

Cameras weren't allowed, but I could resist to take a shaky picture of the piano out of my bag. Me spyyyy.... Jon had like 50 guitars on stage, a drumset, millions of loopers and things with buttons and keys. He played full band songs just by himself; looping the drums, playing the piano, strumming the guitar and singing choirs and main vocals. Ahhhh, my brain started to hurt from just watching. Great! I know one other great atrist that looped himself and enitre band and orchestra and was f***ing awesome. Karl Blau opened for Laura Viers one night some years ago in NYC. He is also part of her band. But that was really insanely beautiful! He also brings out a record monthly and designs the covers. Each piece is handmade. And sent to u for a little donation. I don't know if he is still doing that, but he was then. Check him out!

But let's get back to LA:

We're almost at the end of my little trip... On my last days I did a photoshoot at the Villa.

I will have the pics soon and put them online! Some of them I might even use for my new album I have been working on during my days in Istanbul and LA and right now.

I already know which color it will have and what the concept is about this time... I am SO EXCITED. It is so marvelous to write and think and write and rewrite and rethink and shape a whole new thing which isn't there yet. But u know it will be soon. U can see the outlines, how things get clearer. But you can rush, you can run towards or it will fade. You have to wait and see and let it come towards you and try to describe it, try to feel it. Paint in all colors you know... Ahhh... I love it. I love writing. It is the most exciting thing to do.

This is my bath during the make-up session for the shoot!

Below you can see Matt the photographer at work on the terrace of the Villa and a polaroid example!

Alev In Wonderlaaaand!

One more info before we leave LA.

A journalist from "Deutsche Welle" followed and filmed me during most of my activities in LA. He was filming for a coverage that will be broadcasted soon on TV at "Deutsche Welle". For those who don't know, "Deutsche Welle" is Germany's international broadcaster. As soon as I have the date when I'm on I will let you know and I will also try to upload a small extract on youtube, if I am allowed to.

That was it, my little trip! At least I thought so. But then I got an offer to play at the famous Hillside Su Hotel in Antalya! Of course I said yes, booked a flight and after a one night stop over in Berlin I found myself in a beautiful hotel in Turkey.

The sea in this area of turkey has the clearest water ever. I simply love to swim there. For me it is like healing waters! I love it! I didn't get to swim in LA, so this was a real treat for me and the perfect concert preparation!

The concert itself was by the pool, a very new setting for me. It was great! Watch the video from my song "Biggests Adventure" on youtube! It was fun doing the talking trilingual!