Peter Glaeser

Warwick Promo Video

Peter Glaeser — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:08:14 +0000

The following video was made for the University of Warwick Students’ Union in 2007. I thought about sharing this one with you because it brought back a lot of memories to me.

When we went to Warwick there were hardly any online video portals. You should really check out YouTube. You’ll be surprised how much stuff you can find there now.

Pretty Small Band at MusicMan

Peter Glaeser — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:31:40 +0000

Just found a website of the Pretty Small Band at MusicMan. There you can view set lists, listen to audio samples and book the band.

The Pretty Small Band is a jazz combo founded by Steve Pretty as a student band at the University of Warwick. I had the honor to be the band’s first bass player. We had weekly performances (every Tuesday I believe) at The Graduate (a bar at Warwick’s students’ union).

After finishing university Steve became a performing arts professional, appearing on stage acting, singing, conducting and playing instruments. He and the Pretty Small Band are based in London now.

The original members of the Pretty Small Band in 2001:
Adam Byron (p), Peter Glaeser (b), Steve Pretty (tp, dir), Tom Ward (sax), Andy Twigg (dr)

My 30th birthday

Peter Glaeser — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:43:42 +0000

I would like to thank everybody for their birthday greetings. I’ve been a little bit for a couple of days so I couldn’t really do much this weekend. But I’m still glad you all remembered this special day. I’ve received tons of messages by email and through Facebook, Xing and other social networks.

I have to apologize to those who tried to reach me on my mobile phone. The first person called even before 9am, way too early for a Sunday, especially a birthday Sunday. So I just turned the damn thing off, went back to sleep, and forgot to turn it back on again. There were a lot of missed calls and in the end the battery died.

Blitzeis

Peter Glaeser — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:33:55 +0000

Yesterday Berlin was hit by what Germans call “Blitzeis”. It was raining but the ground temperature was still below zero. So all the rain turned into ice within a few minutes after hitting the ground. There were about five hundred of car accidents and two hundred people got injured because they simply slipped while walking on the street.

No more smoking in Berlin

Peter Glaeser — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:46:35 +0000

Just to let you know that the new anti-smoking regulations went into effect with the beginning of 2008. It is now prohibited to smoke in any publicly accessible building including restaurants and bars. There are two exceptions only:

Bars, clubs and other locations that do not serve food are allowed to create separate smoking rooms.
You turn your bar into a club that is accessible for members only.

Today it was really nice to go out for lunch and leave the restaurant without the usual smell. I really appreciate the fact that I won’t have to wash my new winter coat after every restaurant or bar visit.

I’m quite confident that this new law is going to work out. Smokers seemed to be absolute cool about the new regulations and went outside. But then again, it’s been like that in several countries for years already, even in Italy …

Another small drum set in Berlin

Peter Glaeser — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:41:37 +0000

Apparently Berlin has become the capital of cool drum sets. Here’s another one from a band playing near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. In the background you can see the construction site of the new American embassy.

The bass drum is the size of some people’s snare drum. Maybe it is a snare! And the tom looks like a bongo. I like the way the cymbal is attached to the snare. No extra stand necessary.

Cardboard bass drum

Peter Glaeser — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:28:52 +0000

There are various musicians and comedians on Berlin’s Hackescher Markt everyday. This one is special though. A while ago I saw a small jazz band with one of the coolest mobile drum sets that I have ever seen. The bass drum is a banana cardboard box, connected to a piece of wood and a Berlin newspaper. Genius!

Mallorca

Peter Glaeser — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 11:24:07 +0000

We went to Mallorca for a week in March. We stayed in Alcudia in the northeastern part of the island where it was less crowded. But we rented a car and also saw the rest of the island such as the historic village of Valldemossa, the city and beach of Palma, the bays and beaches on the east coast.