BARON ZERO (Home)

The day is November 26, 2008 and I'm sitting in the Taj Mahal hotel as the terror attack which would claim the lives of 164 people is about to begin. As the first gunshots explode a few meters away, I start running in the opposite direction. Only to find myself injured and quickly unable to walk anymore.

Hopping on one leg, I manage to find a place to hide from the shootings. As I remain there the whole night, unaware that a few floors above parts of the hotel are already in flames, I can only think of 2 things: that my 2 year old son will never have memories of his father and that no one will ever hear the songs I have kept in me for so long.

In the early morning, as I finally find my way out of the smoking building into the light of another day, l promise myself these steps will be the first ones towards something different. In many ways recovering from the operation on my leg is the easiest part. This night has planted a seed inside my soul that nothing can root out, forcing me to face the dreams I let slip away long ago. What if the life I have built for myself stood in the way of these dreams ?

Reinvention has been a long time coming, marked by the adoption of a little Indian baby, a move back to Europe and several jobs. And weighted down by more breakdowns and relapses than I care to remember. But the songs are finally here to be heard. Full of a devil may care attitude which cannot quite conceal the fact that something is broken deep inside, the cracks and the scars which we all share.

And knowing full well that since we all have to go down someday, we might as well go down in style.

01/06/2013: WE ALL NEED TO PLAN AHEAD AND PRIORITIZE, EVEN MUSICIANS

Especially musicians I would say, starting with myself.

So, now that the first demo has been finished (what, didn't listen to it yet ?) and the show is on the road, it is time to start planning ahead. What am I going to work on over the next few months decades ?

Here is a quick run-through what is cooking in BARON ZERO's kitchen:

1. NOMAD'S LAND: first priority is to record all the songs I have in stock and put together enough material for an album, hopefully by the end of the year. I will probably put out an EP with the best songs first.
2. LIVE AT HUTAB: "one voice, one guitar and 19 classics reinvented". Since last year, I've been sitting on close to 20 songs recorded during my last acoustic concert; I'm planning to mix them into an album which I will make available on this blog.
3. IN THE SHADOWS: talking about "classics reinvented", I still have in the back of my mind to make an album of covers a la Baron Zero.This would include some of the songs I have played live but in full electric versions.
4. REMIXES: again an idea I had for a while which is to ask a number of people to make remixes of some of the songs. Should include "Positive" for a release on World Aids Day (still haven't forgotten about the "Indie music against AIDS" idea).
5. COLLABORATIONS: more to come on this at some point, but I'm likely to be involved in a few side projects as singer and in a completly new musical direction. This should ne a lot of fun !

So what do you think, this is obviously enough to keep me busy throughout this life and the next: what should be the priorities ?

03/05/2013: WHEN DO YOU KNOW IT IS TIME TO BURN YOUR BRIDGES ?

One of my favourite motto has to be: "there is always a plan B". And in truth I have always tried to be one step ahead of my life and make sure I have options available whatever happens. In itself nothing wrong, in fact I can say this attitude has served me well untill now.

But I'm starting to have the feeling plan B might be holding me back from putting all my heart into plan A, from being able some day to live from music.

So here is a new motto which I'm trying to keep in mind: "freedom is more important than security". And to show that I'm ready to walk the talk, I have just turned down a job offer as marketing director for an iconic Austrian brand (hints for the Austrians - it is sweet and sold in a pink packaging).

For the first time in my life, I feel that I'm ready to walk into the unknown. I've never been as excited ... and terrified. Am I throwing the career I took so long building into the wind ?

But the wind in my face is also here to remind that to reach your dreams, all you need to do is spread your wings and dare to fly ...

15/04/2013: TIME TO PICK UP THE PIECES AND MOVE ON

Almost two months since the day when I became a "future ex" marketing director. The first few weeks were difficult enough, actually much more than what I would have expected. I guess however cool you want to appear about your work, it still hurts deep inside when someone comes along and seems to view everything you have done as useless.

Well good ridance, you have bought yourself a new toy, up to you to break it if you want. But don't come running back to mama afterwards.

So, enough of the mourning, time to pick up the pieces and get moving. There is a new life waiting for me just around the corner. I only need to be able to put the pieces in the right order:

• PLAN A - clearly my heart tells me this is the perfect opportunity to finally focus on making music. I'm exactly at the point where I'm young enough to give it a shot and old enough to have nothing much left to prove. But my head is saying "Huh, huh, even if you have talent, do you really think you can live from this ?".
• PLAN B - which brings us to plan B. I'm realistic enough to know that making money from music will take time (if ever) and I need to find some paied activities besides. Setting myself up as marketing consultant is one obvious direction: I have the experience, I have the contacts, all I need to make sure is that it does not end up taking all of my time.
• PLAN C - in addition to freelance consultant, another thing I was always interested in would be teaching. In this case, I could relatively easily teach marketing in universities, I certainly feel I have a few things to share with students. Good thing: it would still leave me time for music. Bad thing: obviously not the quickest way to get rich.

So here you are: I have a few aces up my sleeve and I will try to build myself a new life starting from these. The toughest will be to find the time, keep the momentum when things start to look grim and find the right balance between the different pieces.

And in truth, what is the worse that can happen ?

As the (self made) Chinese say goes: "if you aim for the stars, the worst that might happen is that you end up on the moon". 

18/02/2013: ONCE AGAIN, I FIND MYSELF SEARCHING HARD FOR THE SILVER LINING

The Germans bought the company, they came and they fired everyone ...

I actually half expected they would announce I do not have a job anymore this morning but I was taken aback (like everybody else) to hear that the other 120 people working on the site were fired as well. Although I have only worked there a couple of years, it is hard not to feel heart-broken at the thought of how the long history of what started as a small family company is going to end.

At the same time, if I'm honnest with myself, I have to recognize that things are pretty much going according to the plans. When I made the decision to move away from Singapore, it was with the idea of finding a job which would leave me more time for music. Maybe even the possibility to work part time. So, in a sense I should be satisfied with the situation: here I am, with a few months ahead of me to focus on making more music.

I always believed that things happen for a reason. Last time I found myself in a similar situation was more than 10 years ago. And I always thought that I did not quite make the most out of it. So maybe this is another chance to chase up my dreams of living for and from music. Maybe this is actually the last chance and I should not blow it away this time.

It is hard not to feel scared like shit but at the same time, this is just what freedom may taste like.

What do you think ?

Should I take the jump ?

06/02/2013: ANOTHER MOVE, ANOTHER FLAT, ANOTHER CITY

10th move in the last 20 years !

This time that things are reasonably out of control

... meaning that at least after a week we have managed to move the right carton boxes in the right rooms !

18/01/2013: FINALLY BACK IN STUDIO TO RECORD ... A TV ADVERTISING

 

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon in studio with some musicians to record the music of the new TV ad.

 

Not quite a recording session for the Best of BARON ZERO but I did enjoy my bout as producer. Probably one of my dreams jobs !

21/05/2012: THE PROFOUND HUMANITY OF THE DALAI-LAMA

I had the immense priviledge of spending three days with the Dalai-Lama last week.

Obviously not one to one, I took part in a 2 day seminar and attended his public talk on the "Art of Happiness" on Sunday morning, both arranged at the occasion of his visit to Klagenfurt in Austria. 

Since I already missed twice the opportunity to see him in France, I was thinking how unlikely it was that of all the places to live (after London, Paris or Singapore), I would finally end up in exactly the right place.

"If you can't go the mountain, let the mountain come to you" one might say.

The most amazing thing during these 3 days was to see how profoundly human the Dalai-Lama is. He is of course famous for his deep sense of humour but what is unique is his ability to laugh at himself and not take himself seriously. It is this simplicity and this humility which has really impressed and touched me the most.

The governor of Carinthia (who I must admit despite our very different political opinions seems to be very supportive of the Tibetan cause - which gets to show you always have something in common with people, even when you first believe the contrary) put it in quite a nice way during the final speech: "the Pope has the papamobile but you simply walk amongst the people".

14/05/2013: SEEING THE DALAI-LAMA IS MORE EXCITING THAN A RADIOHEAD CONCERT

Only a few days till the 14th Dalai-Lama arrives in Klagenfurt on the first stop of his visit to Austria.

I'm probably more excited than if Radiohead were coming to play in my living room !

01/05/2012: HAVE A SAY "WHAT SHOULD COME NEXT FOR BARON ZERO"

Following on from the last concert, I have given some thought about what I should be focusing on for the next few months. The list is still open and, as is almost the case with yours truly, almost certainly going to change quite a few times.

But here it is anyway:

1. Live album: I have started to work on the material I have recorded on Easter Sunday, with the idea of posting all the songs on the internet and, if the quality is good enough, to release them as a CD. So keep an ear to ground on this one !
2. DJ set: something I have been keen to do for a long time and since Bastille Day will fall on a Saturday, I'm playing with the idea of a "French Guillotine" set (100% French remixes) for the occasion. Could be quite fun (in a  kind of "let's not lose our heads" way).
3. Acoustic gig: as mentioned previously I have started to practice to go completly unplugged for the next concert. The date is not set yet but the location is and it is likely to happen over the summer.
4. New songs: beside recording a few old and new songs in acoustic form (starting with FIREBIRD which I played live for the first time on Easter), I'm also keen to work on a new song for next Xmas. Without giving too much details, it will be a cover of a classic seasonal tune, treated half way between Dean Martin and Jet. More to come on this at some point.
5. Remixes: as every year World Aid's day will take place beginning of December and I'm thinking of knocking up a couple of remixes of POSITIVE for the occasion. Or maybe to ask a few friends to have a go at it.

What do you think ? Is this too much on the plate ?