I was curious about the photo of the man on stage playing a whistle that Dale posted. I found their website, the bands name is “Subway To Sally”. The guy’s name is Eric Fish, who is playing on stage. The site is in German (go to the right for English), but it says he plays the flute, bagpipes, whistle, oboe and several others I could not make out.
They look like a cross between Metallica meets River Dance! The reason I posted this on a seperate post other than dales, is I was wondering what he is playing in one of the videos they have posted. Go to their website:
And go to “Downloads” at the top of the page. Once there, click on the second video down, to the right “Liebeszauber”. In the begining, and throughout the video, Eric plays what looks like some type of low whistle, but doesn’t really sound like one. Is this a whistle, or maybe an oboe?
It’s a shawm - a medieval/renaissance ancestor to today’s oboe - and like the oboe is a double reed instrument.
I noted one of the other band members in a photo I found yesterday (not their official site) was playing a hurdy-gurdy. Seems these folks really like to mix in their early music metaphors.
if you look at it carefully there’s a windcap, inside is a reed. it could be a highland pipe chanter with a windcap or it is a rauschfife which is a wind capped shawm. if you like this ckeck out these maniacs:http://www.corvuscorax.de/
Strangely compelling music! I’m one of those Heinz 57 Americans and I could feel my German and Celtic genes stirring and mingling in an unholy alliance.
They sound like a cross between Bauhaus and Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Maybe it’s just the camera angle but those GHBs look huge on that Eric Fish guy. He could really be playing a high G whistle in that pic but he’s so small it looks like an alto G.
I can’t stand metal but I did like the song that I found on the Subway to Sally site (Where is Lucky on their first album) what I wonder is it seems their first album was more punk influenced like the Pouges but then they went all metaly and stuff.
We saw him live a couple of months ago and he is not a tall guy. He is a multi instrumentalist as someone already has mentioned and has a side project doing Crosby, Stills&Nash kind of stuff. GOOD voice reminds me a lot of Rio Reiser in the early 80s. He was guesting along with Colin at the 1000st gig of Fiddler’s Green down in the south of Germany in a castle. Henkersbraut who is a C&F member has a page for Subway to Sally in English which is here http://www.destinationsally.com/
I would call their music a mixture of underground gothic folk rock, their clothes really complement the music style and most of the folks listening to it. They have some really brialliant texts with lots of of “jungian pictures painted”. Herzblut actually is an album we really like a lot.
Thought I’d just add that Eric has a page all on his own, where some of his instruments are pictured: www.ericfish.de I also have pics of some of the different whistles he plays points upwards to URL
Eric does indeed play a shawm (Schalmei) there. He also plays a low whistle from … I forgot… someone in Scotland, different Generations pennywhistles, Yamaha wind controller, oboe, (self build) bagpipes etc. Anything blowable, basically.
And no, Brigitte, he ain’t tall. He’s actually exactly as small as I am! Btw - why don’t you join us for the concert in Bonn next month? It’s in the Klangstation on the 14th April.
