Coming off last year’s instrumental passion project, The Pianist, recorded during the early morning hours in Michael Kaeshammer’s Victoria home, the piano man is bringing back the full band for his latest album No Filter.
While recording The Pianist Kaeshammer would wake up around 3 a.m., and the music just kept on coming.
“I started recording for this new album (No Filter) initially, and then you have a piano at home, you know how to play it, there’s no time constrictions. I ended up with 60 songs,” Kaeshammer said.
He put together The Pianist using the solo, instrumental work from those sessions, he found that he quite enjoyed recording from home for the first time.
“You’re not at the mercy of a timetable. You can record when you’re inspired,” Kaeshammer said. “It’s definitely something I’m going to be doing again.”
No Filter is a return to the band and vocals for Kaeshammer and his troupe of talented musicians. Both albums are two sides of the coin that is Michael Kaeshammer.
“I play piano the way I play it on both, but dressed up quite differently. If you were to listen to them back to back they are very different albums,” Kaeshammer said.
He finally had the chance this time around to get some friends and special guests on No Filter, including Randy Bachman, Denzal Sinclaire and Joel Parisien.
“The chances never come, their friends and at the same time I’m a fan. I always want to have people playing with me that I love their playing. That goes with the band I take on the road with me as well.
Kaeshammer said he sometimes feels pigeon-holed into playing early piano styles like boogie-woogie, but No Filter was a chance for him to explore a much more contemporary sound.
“It happens to come out as ‘jazz,’ but to me they are just singer-songwriter, more pop-y kind of tunes,” Kaeshammer said. “When I listen to music myself as a consumer I guess, it’s anything, I love classical, but at the same time I listen to AC/DC, good music is good music. Both records represent two things that I just love.”
Kaeshammer comes to the Dream Café from July 26 to 30. Having played at both Dream Music Festivals, Kaeshammer notes that it sounds cliché to call Penticton his favourite place to play, but he has developed a real, lasting relationship with Café owners Pierre Couture and Debra Rice.
“Honestly, it’s my favourite gig of the whole year. There’s a lot of places I go to, and they’re all great, but I’ve gone to the Dream Café so many years in a row, and Pierre and Debra are such great people. We’ve just created a friendship, a real friendship,” Kaeshammer said.
Call the Dream Café to book a reservation at 250-490-9012.