NEWS:
Bill Kaffenberger and Duane Horst will be appearing together in concert for free from 8 pm to 10 pm on Saturday 18 July 2009 at Bella Cafe, US Route 1 at Boswell's Corner, Stafford, VA.
Bill's second CD "Jingle Jangle Morning" is now available and is full of that jingle jangle Rickenbacker sound.
Visit Bill on the web at:
http://www.sonicbids.com/BillKaffenberger
FIRST CD: THIS WORLD IS BOUND TO FALL
Features heavy doses of that jingle-jangle electric Rickenbaker sound made popular by Roger McGuinn and the Byrds on such hits as MR. TAMBOURINE MAN and TURN TURN TURN. Of the songs on this CD, Bill wrote 10, 1 is by a friend of his, 1 was written by Eric Von Schmidt and 1 written by Joni Mitchell. The songs have modern themes that deal primarily with relationships and problems, joys and sorrows, that we all face on a daily basis, but with an underlying optimism that everything will eventually turn out alright. Primarily folk-rock with touches of acoustic here and there. Listen to it softly on your portable CD player and contemplate or crank it up LOUD on your home stereo and dance (SMILE) !
Biography
Bill, now a resident of central Virginia, was born in Washington DC and grew up in the Northern Virginia area. His musical influences range from classic artists such as Bob Dylan, the Byrds, the Beach Boys and the Beatles to folk artists such as Leonard Cohen, Judy Collins, and Tom Rush as well as some things from more modern artists like System of a Down.
Bill has been singing and playing acoustic and electric folk rock for many years in coffeehouses, churches and other venues, primarily throughout the MidAtlantic region. He has upcoming appearances in Fredericksburg, VA, Richmond, VA, Bealeton, VA, and College Park, MD, among others. He has performed both solo and as a group member. He uses an Epiphone acoustic 6 string, a Yamaha acoustic 12 string, and a Rickenbacker 370-12 Electric 12 string when he performs. His most unusual singing experience was performing folk music for a hall full of country music fans at the Crossed Timbers Country Opry, in Stephensville, Texas.
Bill has written and co-written nearly 100 songs and previously has released three albums of original material.
Commentary on Each Track on the CD:
1. SHE'S SO REAL... A song I wrote about a year ago, meeting someone and the mystery of not knowing exactly where the friendship will go. Soundwise, I was trying for something in the late 1965 Byrds era, lots of Rickenbacker electric 12 string guitar on this one. Crank it up loud and dance!
2. WHAT AM I DOING HERE... Co-written with my friend Jim Howard, this was originally intended to be a country song but morphed into something entirely different, an acoustic tribute to Vincent Van Gogh and not giving up on your dreams.
3. IF I ASKED... Another of my new songs, a romantic country ballad.
4. JOSHUA GONE BARBADOS... Written by Eric Von Schmidt, I first heard this song on an old Tom Rush lp and always wanted to record it. I tried to get somewhat of a droning Rickenbacker sound and wanted it to be similar in style to The Byrds' "Bells of Rhymney".
5. LITTLE OLD MAN... A soft but sad song I wrote about a character named Freddie, a homeless man well known in years past in the Georgetown area of Washington DC. A nice Rickenbacker lead break in the middle.
6. IN A WINTER'S DREAM... I wrote this song a few years back about the awe and wonder of staring up at the star filled midnight sky and contemplating the universe. Based on an actual experience two of my friends and I had in the Blue Ridge Mountains late one night long ago. I was trying for a sound that combined the feel of The Byrds' "Wasn't Born to Follow", "My Back Pages", and "5-D" all in one song. Not sure if I succeeded but still hope you enjoy it.
7. MAYBE BY THEN... My favorite guitarist is Roger McGuinn, but my favorite songwriter has got to be Gene Clark. I wrote this sad love song purposely trying to come up with something in Gene Clark's style with a nice McGuinn-like Rickenbacker break in the middle.
8. WHITE GULL JOURNEY... An experiment. This was one of the first songs I ever wrote. The basic vocal, guitars, and bass track was done when I was in high school on an old sound on sound reel to reel tape recorder. I digitized that and added another acoustic gutar, some Rickenbacker 12 string lead, and some backwards 12 strings swirling about in the style of The Byrds' "Younger Than Yesterday". The mix is a bit muddier than I had wanted but I decided to include it anyway.
9. PRAISE THE LAMB OF GOD... Written by my friend Richard White. I always wanted to record a good Gospel song in the style of The Byrds, so here it is!
10. SAD SAD WORLD... Another sad love song I wrote in the style of Gene Clark. The Rickenbacker lead is recorded in sort of a 1960s psychedelic style.
11. THIS WORLD IS BOUND TO FALL... Another of my new songs, similar in style to "Glory Glory" from The Byrds' "Byrdmaniax" lp. I did some souped up phasing on the Rickenbacker lead part.
12. URGE FOR GOING... A Joni Mitchell song I first heard on an old Tom Rush lp. I always thought this would sound good in more of a soft rock style with lots of Rickenbacker 12 strings on the lead break.
13. BONUS TRACK: LITTLE OLD MAN (acoustic demo)... An earlier version of song number five above.
PRESS REVIEWS
Eric Sorensen Reviews Bill Kaffenberger's CD (used with permission)
www.fufkin.com
"CD of the Month" honors go to This World Is Bound To Fall by BillKaffenberger.
Fans of Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Herb Eimerman, Ted Holden, Phil Angotti, Horst-Peter Schmidt's work with Different Faces and Starbyrd and fans of chiming Rickenbacker 12-string music will really dig this full-length disc. The jewel case artwork should be a HUGE clue regarding the disc's contents, since Bill is pictured three times with his mapleglow Rickenbacker 370RM 12-string guitar.
"She's So Real" leads things off with a track that sounds like it would have fit very nicely in Roger McGuinn's Back From Rio album. As the last jangly Rickenbacker riffs fade out, Kaffenberger segues quickly into the catchy acoustic counterpoint song "What Am I Doing Here." What follows these first two tracks is a succession of eleven more nifty tunes, and ten of the total thirteen tracks are Kaffenberger-penned songs. On those tracks that feature the most pronounced 370RM guitar riffs, it is difficult to avoid further comparisons with McGuinn. "Joshua Gone Barbados," "In A Winter's Dream," "White Gull Journey," "Praise The Lamb Of God" and "Urge For Going" all sound like Byrds and McGuinn-influenced tracks. On those songs that are inspirational or spiritual in nature, you can almost imagine Roger plugging in and accompanying a group at a folk mass or folk service. "Urge For Going" is a five and a half minute joyride that explores a McGuinn-cum-Kaffenberger treatment of Joni Mitchell's classic song. I'm almost convinced that Bill rode along with Joni and Roger during those mid-70s Rolling Thunder Review bus tours! Bill Kaffenberger deserves a big thumb's up for this Amariah Recordings-released gem of a disc. Long may you run, Sir Bill!
3 June 2005, Eric Sorensen, pop music columnist
www.fufkin.com
Byrds Flyght Web Site Reviews Bill K.'s New CD (used with permission)
Raoul Verolleman of Byrds Flyght
Bill Kaffenberger - This World Is Bound To Fall
There are many artists that have been influenced by The Byrds and Roger McGuinn's Rickenbacker 12 string guitar style. Long time Byrds/McGuinn fan BILL KAFFENBERGER is one of them. A member of the Yahoo Byrdmaniax mailing list, Bill has just released his 4th CD called THIS WORLD IS BOUND TO FALL on AMARIAH Records.
An excellent piece of work, this is just what we Byrds fans need to get our shot of Byrds/McGuinn/Rickenbacker 12 string sound. Bill wrote 10 out of the 12 songs on this CD. He is credited with lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitars, electric 12 string guitar, production, engeneering, mixing and mastering.
Raoul Verolleman, June 2005.
http://users.skynet.be/byrdsflyght/main.htm
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