ANOTHER YEAR IS DRAWING TO ITS CLOSE. ANOTHER YEAR WHICH WASN'T AS EASY AS I HOPED IT WOULD BE. YET WHATEVER OBSTACLES LIFE THROWS AT YOU, IT NEVER FAILS TO BRING THOSE HAPPY LITTLE MOMENTS AS WELL. THOSE LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE INSIDE. THOSE LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE.

I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU ALL WHO MADE ME AND THE BOYS IN THE BAND SMILE THIS YEAR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH INDEED! ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING WITH YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR . . .

I'M ALSO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR YOU. YEP, THAT'S RIGHT. A LITTLE VIDEO CLIP. OR MORE PRECISELY, "THE CANTERBURY TALES PART 1", RECORDED LIVE AT THE DYNAMO CLUB IN ZURICH, FEBRUARY 2ND, 2003. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO RIGHT HERE, IF YOU LIKE (WMV FILE, 3:30, 22.7 MB).

HAVE A MERRY cHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

ANDRE

HI EVERYONE! HOW ARE YOU? I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT SUMMER. A BIG THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO MADE THIS YEAR'S LIVE PERFORMANCES SUCH MEMORABLE EVENTS. SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR GUEST MUSICIANS MICHAEL FEILER AND DOMINIK KESSELI, WITHOUT WHOM REBSTEIN WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AGAIN, GUYS!

GOOD THINGS FIRST. THE FIRST OUTTAKES OF THIS YEAR'S DEMO SESSIONS ARE FINALLY AVAILABLE ON OUR SOUNDS PAGE. NEW PICTURES AND LYRICS HAVE BEEN ADDED AS WELL. SO HAVE THE FIRST BAND MEMBER PROFILES. MORE TO FOLLOW SOON . . .

AS FOR CONCERTS, THE "ACOUSTIC" LINE-UP IS GOING TO DO ANOTHER ONE OF THEIR MORE INTIMATE EVENINGS IN THE FABULOUS CELLAR BAR OF THE RESTAURANT LION IN BISCHOFSZELL ON DECEMBER 6, 2003. AND IF YOU KNOW US, YOU KNOW YOU CAN EXPECT TO HEAR SOME BRAND-NEW TUNES THAT NIGHT AS WELL! TICKETS ARE 18 SWISS FRANCS. ADVANCE BOOKINGS AVAILABLE.

BEST OF ALL, THOUGH, OUR LONGTIME MANDOLIN PLAYER AND DEAR FRIEND UWE RECENTLY BECAME FATHER TO A BABY GIRL! WE'RE ALL VERY HAPPY FOR THE YOUNG FAMILY.

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS HAPPY EVENT ALSO MEANT NEW PRIORITIES in UWE'S LIFE, WHICH, I'M SAD TO SAY, LEAD HIM TO SAY GOODBYE TO BEYOND THE FIELDS. WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE THINGS HE DID FOR THE BAND OVER THE YEARS AND WE WISH HIM AND HIS FAMILY FOR THE FUTURE ONLY THE VERY BEST OF THINGS IN LIFE.

THIS, FINALLY, LEADS ME TO ADDRESSING ALL YOU FOLKIES OUT THERE! IF YOU SHOULD HAPPEN TO BE A REALLY MEAN MANDOLIN PLAYER, OR, EVEN IF YOU JUST KNOW ONE, TELL ME ABOUT IT . . .

TAKE CARE YOU ALL,
ANDRE

CARE FOR SOME FOLK ROCK? BECAUSE THIS SUMMER YOU'LL GET PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR AND SEE BEYOND THE FIELDS LIVE! HERE'S WHAT'S NEXT:

SATURDAY, JUNE 21 - OPEN AIR FESTIVAL GRIENEN, WINTERTHUR, ZURICH
(17:00-18:30 / FULL BAND)

SATURDAY, JULY 12 - ST. MORITZ (ACOUSTIC SET)

SATURDAY, JULY 19 - REBSTEIN, SG
(CUP TOURNAMENT CUM BAR FESTIVAL)

REBSTEIN WILL SEE US DO BOTH A 60 MINUTE SHOW WITH THE ENTIRE BAND PLUS SEVERAL SHORTER ACOUSTIC GIGS WITH A SMALLER LINE-UP. BTF WILL APPEAR IN DIFFERENT BARS AND TENTS BETWEEN 8 PM AND 2 AM IN THE MORNING! EXPECT US TO THROW IN A COUPLE OF IRISH TUNES FOR GOOD MEASURE AS WELL. MORE GIGS WILL BE POSTED AS THEY COME IN.

FOR THOSE WHO WONDERED, YES, THIS SPRING'S DEMO RECORDING SESSIONS ARE OVER. WE'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME PROPER MIXING. SO PLEASE BEAR WITH US . . .

BUT DON'T WORRY, I STILL HAVE NEW SOUND FILES FOR YOU! TWO OF OUR BRAND-NEW SONGS, RECORDED DURING A RECENT, QUITE "UN-ACOUSTIC" SESSION WITH THE ACOUSTIC LINE-UP!

LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, I ALSO ADDED NEW LYRICS AND SONG NOTES TO THE SITE.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT ONE OF OUR SUMMER SHOWS . . .

SO LONG,
ANDRE

HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU? SURE DO. IN FACT, THERE'S QUITE A LOT HAPPENING WITH BEYOND THE FIELDS AT THE MOMENT. SO LET ME BRING YOU UP TO SPEED.

ME, I JUST FINISHED SOME NEW YET OLD-FASHIONED LO-FIDELITY HOME DEMOS. AMONG THEM A FAIRLY NEW TUNE ENTITLED THE FALCON LIVES. FIND THE LYRICS HERE.

THE BAND, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON SOME PROPER RECORDINGS. LAST WEEK I DID PILOT TRACKS FOR SOME 21 SONGS. THIS WEEK IT'S BASS, DRUMS AND MANDOLIN. SO WATCH OUT FOR BRAND-NEW SOUND FILES ON THIS SITE IN THE MONTHS TO COME.

AS FAR AS GIGS GO, BEYOND THE FIELDS WILL PLAY AT THE OPEN AIR FESTIVAL GRIENEN IN WINTERTHUR, ZURICH ON SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2003. THE ENTIRE BAND, THAT IS, 90 MINUTES, THE FULL ROCK BAND TREATMENT!

ALSO, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THE "ACOUSTIC" LINE-UP IS STILL SET TO DO A MATINEE PERFORMANCE AT THE OPEN AIR FESTIVAL BISCHOFSZELL ON SUNDAY, MAY 25. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THAT, GO TO WWW.OPENAIRBISCHOFSZELL.CH.

THE FALCON LIVES INDEED.

ENJOY THE SPRING!
ANDRE

BTF TO PLAY AT EMERGENZA FESTIVAL

THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! BEYOND THE FIELDS WILL PLAY AT THIS YEAR'S EMERGENZA FESTIVAL, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE FULL BAND HERE, FIDDLE AND ALL.

IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE EMERGENZA FESTIVAL IS.
IT'S A HUGE BAND CONTEST WITH UP TO SEVEN BANDS PER NIGHT. EACH BAND GETS HALF AN HOUR TO PRESENT THEIR MUSIC. AFTERWARDS THE AUDIENCE VOTES FOR THE BANDS THEY WANT TO SEE AGAIN IN THE NEXT ROUND.

BEYOND THE FIELDS WILL PLAY ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND,
AT 22:30 PM. THE VENUE IS THE DYNAMO CLUB IN ZURICH.

ADVANCE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FROM ME AT CHF 15 PER TICKET.
SHIPPING IS ON THE HOUSE.

looking forward to seeing you IN ZURICH!
ANDRE