Philly is a great city…it has a good arts/music scene and all of the other diverse things you'd expect from as major city, plus lots of history that was central to the formation of the country.  I studied music privately at Settlement Music School, which is the largest community school of the arts in the USA and who's alumni includes many famous musicians and artists, even Albert Einstein!  I did study music theory at my high school, but by my senior year I'd scored 100% on the placement test, so they put me in the back of the room with a keyboard and I would just work on stuff on my own. 

 

After I realized I was useless at sports…ha ha.  I started taking piano lessons at age 6, but I'd already been asking my parents to get me lessons for a year or two.  I studied piano for about 10 years and switched to bass during high school.  

 

There are so many…I play jazz, latin/brazilian, rock, pop, etc., etc., so there have been many influences in all of those fields. When I first started playing electric bass, Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones on bass) was a big influence on my rock playing.  I learned alot of those great bass lines from the records and that was an education in itself.  Then there are all the great players on other instruments, as well as composers and lyricists who have influenced my musical style in a broader sense, beyond just playing the bass.

 

Part of the process of growing as a musician is to study other musicians and take bits and pieces from what makes them connect to you and combine them with your own personality and skills to eventually have your own voice.  So, ideally, we should all be our own favorite musicians, but that's always a work in process…check back with me in 100 years!

 

I'm grateful to have been afforded many great memories and opportunites because of playing music. Playing the Concert for Diana with Rod was a highlight, as was meeting Prince Charles…a few times!  Opening for Stanley Clarke at the Academy Of Music in Philadelphia when I was about 20 is another.  Performing a featured duet on center stage in the Broadway show "Swing!" for a year was a unique experience as well, and releasing my own CD and selling out the release concert in NYC was a bit of a milestone. 

 

It's a collection of 13 original songs that I've written over the last several years and released in the 2nd half of 2009.  The production ranges from full band plus string quartet and backup vocals all the way down to just guitar/voice, and even one song with just upright bass and voice. For the most part it's a "singer-songwriter" record with the focus being on the stories and poetic-style lyrics supported by the music, not necessarily a commercial or pop sounding record.  

You can sample the songs and buy the CD or download the mp3s at www.cdbaby.com/cd/conradkorsch or download on iTunes at http://lnk.nu/itunes.apple.com/xif.  You can also hear 3 full songs on my myspace page at www.myspace.com/conradkorsch.  Be sure to send a friend request on Myspace and Facebook as well…!

 

Yes, all of the music, lyrics, string arrangements, production, etc.

 

I can't say I have a single favorite..they're all special to me for one reason or another, depending on my mood.

 

Next question, please…Ha Ha.  Yes, some do, but many of the songs that seem like I am just laying my own story out there in plain words are actually fictional, while I tend to shroud the more personal stories in characters and metaphors.  Sometimes.

 

Well, since making the CD there have been some standout moments:

* "I'm Leaving" was featured in the TV show "Royal Pains"

* "Firefly" (which features a duet with Rosanne Cash, who's band I used to play in) was brought to life through the choreography of Andrea Kramer and premiered at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

* "Weeping Willow" was chosen to be the opening track of the 2010 Cape May Singer-Songwriter Festival's compilation CD.

 

That's one of those personal ones with the characters and metaphors…I wrote it about a long distance relationship.  It didn't quite work out like it does in the song though!

 

Well, I play BASS in Rod Stewart's band, and I generally make a living playing upright and electric bass.  On my CD and other projects that I compose and produce I often play guitar, keyboards, some percussion, and I sing, as well as writing some string and horn arrangements, but that's when I am in my own studio and can take my time.

 

I've done a couple of full band + string quartet shows in NYC that were a blast, as well as some smaller solo shows.  I'm booking some solo shows on nights off while on tour in Europe this summer with Rod.  So far, I've got the "Regal Room" in London on June 2nd, which also does a live webcast, and "Sandbar" in Manchester on May 25th as part of a music and poetry night. These will be solo shows where I play acoustic guitar and sing, sometimes loop recording and overdubbing myself live.  I'm working on booking some shows in Germany during the week of July 5th (currently I've got July 9th at "The New York Grill" in Albstadt and July 12th at "Vogler" in Munich), and my friend Everett Bradley (who works with Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, STOMP! + Jon Bon Jovi) will most likely be joining me on percussion and background vocals for those shows.  I'm also putting some stuff together in Norway for another week of solo shows after Rod's tour and finally fly home to perform in the Huntington Summer Arts Festival in Long Island on August 8th.  Keep an eye on the "Calendar" page of my website www.conradkorsch.com and my myspace page for details.  

 

In addition to the instruments I played, the following Rod Stewart alumni also contributed: Matt Beck (alot of  electric guitar), Shawn Pelton and David Palmer on drums, and a string quartet made up of several of the string players who also worked with Rod on some of the Songbook stuff: Jonathan Dinklage and Antoine Silverman on violins, Hiroko Taguchi on viola and Anja Wood on cello.  Also Thad DeBrock played electric guitar on "I'm Leaving", Joy Askew (formerly with Peter Gabriel and Joe Jackson) sang background vocals and plays keyboards in the live band, Rosanne Cash sang the duet on "Firefly", and Alex Brofsky played french horn.  I've known many of those musicians for years and was very happy to have their support on the album and at the CD Release Party concert (David Palmer was particularly generous by flying from LA to NYC to perform in that show!). Everett Bradley was also extremely helpful along the way by listening with fresh ears and offering feedback.  He doesn't play on the CD, but there's a video on www.youtube.com of him playing a percussion solo and singing a bit in a duo song with me at my CD Release Party…he's an amaging musician.  Also on youtube is a 5 minute video of highlights from that night…just search Conrad Korsch + Joe's Pub...check it out and leave a comment!

 

When I'm not on the road I tend to stay very busy working in NYC in recording studios, Broadway pits, TV shows and live music venues, as well as doing smaller tours with other artists. Following this summer tour, I expect to start the Fall with my regular gig in the house band of the Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon's NYC broadcast, followed by some tour dates with Christopher Cross, and then hopefully will tape season 2 of the new Emeril Lagasse TV Show which Martha Stewart is producing.  I played in the house band for the entire Spring/Summer 2010 season (under the direction of Dave Koz and alongside Rod's old guitarist Jeff Golub) which taped in March.  I will continue to try to get more exposure for my own CD as well, though some live shows and hopefully some more licensing opportunities, and will try to find time to pick back up on a project which I've started producing for another artist through my "Scrumptious Music" production company.