The Gonzo Daily: Merrell F Calling From A Star German book review translated

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

Merrell F Calling From A Star German book review translated

http://rocktimes.de/gesamt/f/merrell_fankhauser/calling_from_a_star.html

Actually funny that I still none of my Merrell Fankhauser -Reviews with the sentence is "Merrell Fankhauser this country an unfortunately still too unknown musician" had begun, but well, now isses out.The musician and (now also for many years) Moderator his own music TV show started in the early sixties with Surfmusic. The years and especially the Zeitgeist were transformed, Merrell made psychedelic and no later than the mid-seventies only his own thing (which it would be unfair to assert that he has not previously done exactly). Already last year, now appeared the English label Gonzo Multimedia his autobiography "Calling From A Star ..." which found its way into this year also in our editorial.

And if the life story of Merrell Fankhauser shall be typed somehow, then it is a very American. The first years of the protagonist with German ancestors were marked by many moves the family to make the dream of their parents what they want and also still be able to make a living, the eternal search for the 'crock of gold', as the Irishman so maintains fair to say. Established over a longer period have beenFankhauser then sometime in California, where the teenage Merrell discovered his love for music, fast cars and flying.

When she was looking for it and fought (both deep in Fankhauser's soul rooted characteristics), then certainly arose possibilities. When his band The Impacts of the opinion was to be good enough to take pictures and can with a little luck, even a connection to a producer came, the first singles and an album emerged. But like so many young musicians (especially at that time) read the guys from The Impacts of them signed contracts before not very well. The largest for any musician drama took place just shortly after starting. Merrells new band The Surfaris was suddenly no longer wanted and he had only a short time later his song "Wipe Out" (from another band who brazenly also be The Surfaris called ) on the radio to hear. The number was a huge hit, only the composer had none of it.

After an early marriage and the birth of his son Tim, the music had indeed temporarily somewhat shorter contact (coal for livelihood finally had to come in), but also never disappeared from his life. In the second half of the sixties appeared (really cool, now more expensively to be acquired) albums of short-lived bands with such beautiful names like Fapardokly or Merrell Fankhauser & HMS Bounty. On the concert front it was good, of which the respective bands and psychologically consumed and physically survived, but due to too small record companies, there was little promotion, no tours and thus repeatedly disappointing sales figures.

To new decade just newly formed band pulls Mu in Hawaii, more accurately on the island of Maui, where a ten-year adventure for Merrell began in the jungle. The band rented rather ramshackle dwellings and drew everything they need with their own hands. Surprisingly, they even managed to make work compatible equipment for professional recordings and the band Mu published in 1971 her first album, which even became a real hit on the West Coast (California) and the islands at that time.But the clocks outside the mainland, as just in Hawaii (and believe me, I know what I'm here talking about) just go much slower than in the rest of the world and so it took stricken three years until the successor disc was created. The band was now also at odds and that was it again ...

But more, I'm going to also not give more details, most still so much that it was not a long time. Oh, only to again to come back to the initially mentioned 'American lifestyle': Life described here is one that can impress not of dogma, of fixed ideas or false sense of security thinking. Without a safety net, not a savings account, no collateral. Merrell Fankhauser always relied on his music, otherwise on its hands when it came to tackle somewhere. He has never had, not even an album that sold particularly well a hit. But the one he has always taken things as they offered themselves on the situation and on the other hand he had always to move a lot of energy and enthusiasm new.

A rock musician who lived health very stable despite the occasional Bierchens, a few mushrooms and the legendary Maui Wowie-grass through the decades. Class (and sometimes tragic) are of course also the stories about encounters with many other (much more famous) musicians, because although he knew not all but very many of them.

This book is written in English, but very fluid and interesting to read, never boring. "Calling From A Star - The Merrell Fankhauser Story" may thus be recommended to anyone who'd like to immerse yourself for a couple of pages in a different world, a different life and a different idea of life as well as their implementation.

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