Soren Juhl

[sorenjuhl]

“Travel report” from Dublin

Last Friday marked my very first trip to Dublin, Ireland.

I was going for some sightseeing and topping the trip by attending Bruce’s second gig at Croke Park.

Having planned this trip for months I was really exited to go. I love travelling – I love to see and feel other cultures, doing some tourist-must-sees, meeting new people and brush off my english.

The Bruce-fever stroked me already when we touched down at Dublin airport – being there around 6 pm I could actually make it for the first show – just needed a ticket :D

Me and my wife went out to catch something to eat. On our way we passed a pop-up-restaurant called The E Street Inn – celebrating Bruce and The E Street Band! We skipped this place in favour of Bushes pub – got a nice juicy burger and crispy fries and they played Springsteen only! Perfect dining music! Bruce and burgers = heaven! :D

Afterwards we went for a stroll down to Croke Park to catch a feeling of the atmosphere and the surroundings. I was really struck by how big the stadium was!

We could easily hear the band, actually the sound was quite good from behind the stage. We got a glimpse of Bruce, Nils and Soozie :) We got a snip of The Promised Land, Waitin’ On A Sunny Day, Tougher Than The Rest. Later from within our B&B I could hear Bobby Jean as I was slipping into The Sleepylands.

We spent Saturday sightseeing onboard a hop-on/ off bus tour. On our way the bus guide told us Springsteen was staying at The Merrion Hotel. We couldn’t resist and after dropping off the bus we headed back to the hotel to try out our luck. We had a chat with other fans but no sign of Bruce.

Later that evening we were joined by another “Bruce-couple” from Norway – enjoying a good meal, chatting about big stuff, small stuff and of course Springsteen. I had my first Guinness ever – thanks to my Norwegian buddy! I enjoyed it very much! Later we were joined by even more Bruce fans – fans that I know from Twitter. It’s really great to meet people that share the same interest as yourself. Even if you’ve haven’t met before it’s easy to chat and feel some kind of connection. It’s really a certain kind of comradeship.

Finally, Sunday = Bruce-day! I got dressed in my Bruce-suit wearing: The River cap, The River shades, My selfdesigned Meet Me In The City-Tee and a replica of the famous River shirt! Got an acknowledgment from Nils on Twitter! :D

We headed out to Croke Park and as we walked closer to Croke Park the streets were filled and packed with people. It was so well organised. Instructions was easy to understand and once inside the stadium we were guided to our seats. Very nice staff – great Irish hospitality/ service I guess! We had great seats in the lower part of the stands. Great view of the stage and the sun was shinning!

And then – BOOM! At 7 pm Bruce walked onto the stage and sat down by the piano leading into a solo version of Incident On 57th Street. When playing a solo quietly and soft in front of a crowd of 80.000 the impact of the performance was even more powerful I think! Goosebumps – first round! Bruce’s voice was clear and strong! That song means a great deal to me personally and back in time I did a piece of artwork of that particular song.

The ESB joined in – starting an electrifying show. Bruce had his I’m-gonna-rock-this-crowd-to-pieces-face on – looking almost “angry” :) The crowd responded enthusiastically to his commitment by singing along, jumping and raising hands – and even in the stands the people would get off the seats from early on! Soooooo great! I had “concerns” if the party would make it to the stands – but it sure did!

Both Nils and Stevie were sharp playing some really cool guitars parts! Just to mention a few – Saint In The City, Youngstown, Murder Inc. and Because The Night. Blasting!

Bruce ended the show as quietly as he had started it by playing Thunder Road solo acoustic. A very emotionel performance. Goosebumps – second round! :)

Some how the show felt rather short (approx. 3 hours, 15 min) – but I guess time flies when you’re in good company, right!? We left the stadium in high spirits.

Onboard my flight back home I browsed my videos and pictures on my cell – my “wingman” turned out to be a fan too – so once again I had a great chat with a person I’ve never met before. We talked Springsteen and shared tour memories. I couldn’t ask for at better way to wrap up my Irish trip.

My next show: Copenhagen!

[sorenjuhl]

My typographical portrait of Bruce Springsteen.

The portrait is created from all his officially released songs and cover songs also. During the process I ran out of song titles so I had to add more songs that Bruce has covered or rearranged live on stage. I don’t have all his songs he has ever played. I just used as many as I needed. So you will miss out some lesser known songs.

The positions of the songs are placed randomly, except The River, The Promise and Backstreets. Those songs had to have more attention as those songs mean a lot to me personally.

Actually I started out using another picture for reference but about 1/3 into the project I had to cut it and start all over again. It’s just didn’t work.

For this piece of artwork I used the picture shot by Herb Ritts known to many as the image is used as cover of Peter Ames Carlin’s “Bruce”. To me this is the best book I have ever read about Bruce and I like Ritts’ close-up cropped cover – so it was an obvious choice for me to pick this photo.

Maybe you’re familiar with typo images of Barak Obama, Steve Jobs and Morgan Freeman? Well, that’s my inspiration. I love that kind of art and I had to try it out myself and of course it had to be Bruce :)

I’ll have this printed as a poster – so I can enjoy this and go searching for a specific song “hidden” in his face.

So, in the end – I hope you’ll enjoy this together with me :)

[sorenjuhl]

That Ballroom Sound

On dec 23 2014 I was really overwhelmed by the announcement by Springsteen – the official release of the legendary Agora, Cleveland show from 1978! WOW!

It remains as one of the best live shows of Springsteen and among the most widely circulated bootlegs among fans.

Personally I have had the bootleg in my own personal vault for years and it is among my top 5 favourite live shows ever.

A dream come true or is it?

I’d never thought that we would be treated by live gems like this one as an official release. As soon as the announcement popped on my Twitter newsfeed I jumped right onto the Live Springsteen site to go shopping!

I bought both the mp3 files and the audio cd. I bought the mp3 files so I could listen to the official edition immediately because the cd is first sent on January 23.

Honestly I was surprised to learn that the sound was only slightly better than my own bootleg of the radio broadcast. If I may be a bit impertinent I can’t hear the difference!

Sorry, this is not meant as out of respect for those sound engineers and their work on this recording. I know that a recording depends on the source and of course you cannot turn a recording into a better recording than the source. This doesn’t sound like a soundboard recording. It sounds as a recorded radio broadcast like the bootleg.

Maybe this show isn’t available as a soundboard recording. I don’t know. This would explain it I guess.

Take the famous Roxy show of July 7 1978. The show is a main source (8 tracks) of Live 1975-85 album. I can clearly hear the difference from my bootleg and the Live 1975-85 album. Also 'For You' was recorded and later released as a B-side on CD in Japan only (Live Collection EP).

Other great official examples are:

Complete show at Hammersmith Odeon ´75

Nassau Coliseum December 31 1980: – Rendezvous (Live), Tracks – Merry Christmas Baby (various cds) – 4th of July, Asbury Park Live 1975-85

Nassau Coliseum December 31 1980 – Incident on 57th Street

Great, great sound – the level of vocals are great, you can hear the details of the different instruments… ... is just – that awesome “ballroom sound”!

So, Boss-man I’m asking: can we please, please have that “Ballroom sound” of the “vault shows” yet to come?

Thanks!

UPDATE:

Got this reply from another fan, I think this explains it:

"The problem is that the recording is from a stereo master that was mixed live. It is still better than the radio broadcast. But they didn't have the multitracks to do a new mix this time. That's why it doesn't sound as good as some other shows. What you are hearing in this recording, is the way it was mixed live in the arena. Some people say that a 24 multitrack recording is out there. I don't know if that's true."

Thanks to Martin!

[sorenjuhl]

Purchase the Outlaw Pete Mug

Quick SURVEY:

Many have ask me if they could buy the Outlaw Pete Mug.

Due to the low quantities and the custom art print, the costs of producing the mugs are expensive. The shipping is also expensive due to the weight of the mug.

No delivery by Xmas time is possible. Mugs are white, not black inside like mine as this is another supplier.

Orders must be prepaid via Paypal.

Mug: 18 US dollars

Shipping: 10 US Dollars in Europe 13 US Dollars (Rest of the world)

If you’re interested let me know. Keep in mind, you get something very limited and special that you can’t get anywhere else :)

[sorenjuhl]

Celebrating the release of #Springsteen 's remasters box - we're going back to Asbury Park!

[sorenjuhl]

I’m Outlaw Pete - can you read me?

As an illustrator and a cartoonist I welcome the arrival of the brand new illustrated book “Outlaw Pete” by Bruce Springsteen and Frank Caruso.

Today I got my copy. I was quite surprised by the size of the book. It’s bigger than I expected it to be. I guess it’s same size as a vinyl record – I’ve never owned vinyls :)

Size matters! The bigger illustrations the better :)

So, what is Outlaw Pete? Obviously a book – “a children’s book” quote: Springsteen on The Daily Show. Inside the paper folded cover, the book is referred as an adult book by Dave Marsh.

Personally I don’t see this as a children’s book. It’s not a book I would read out loud for my kids. To me, this is a coffee table book. An adult book. An artist’s book. In the end - a Bruce Springsteen fan book.

If I was not a fan of Springsteen’s I probably wouldn’t buy the book. Not because it is a bad book. Not at all. But I think that a book like this, is a book for fans of Bruce. Maybe also for illustrators like myself searching for inspiration.

I find the artwork by Frank Caruso very interesting. On the first page I spot what I don’t see often - a mix of ink, raster and oil or acrylic. The whole scene is created of paint except from the baby OutLaw Pete, who is inked and shaped and shaded by rasters. You can actually see the paint strokes by Caruso. Really powerful!

Turn to the page “Folk, my name is Outlaw Pete.” This is a “classic” cartoony style - ink and a strict number of colours which emphasises the West and the world of the settlers.

Most dramatic is the entrance of Bounty Hunter Dan - covered in dark tones he rides in from the East and Caruso has created Dan busting out of a mayhem created from brush strokes only.

One of my favourite spreads is the one with Bounty Hunter Dan laying in the sun and the icons of Dan whispering in Pete’s ear. I like the way the colours matches the dramatic scene of Pete’s awful crime. You can sense the hot air and the smell of the blood seeping into the hot sand and the last whispering words of Dan.

I think the “blizzard spread” would have done even stronger using the image on the right side only as Pete is just sitting there on his pony almost invisible.

I like the book. I like it as a piece of art. A project formed by two artists. I see it as the powers of two great artists, Bruce as storyteller and Caruso as an illustrator showing how artworks can emphasise and support the lyrics.

That being said I think it would be great if Bruce would have the courage to write a complete children’s story. Bruce has shown him as a great storyteller and I’m sure he’d pull it off with success and reach an even broader audience - beyond the coffee table and fan communities.

Happy reading! Soren

[sorenjuhl]

A delivery icon #art #icon #graphicdesign #illustration #doodle #vector

[sorenjuhl]

Free delivery icon in progress. #illustration #doodle #pencilart #graphicdesign

[sorenjuhl]

3 crew members are honoured from The København, by 1928 the largest training vessel in the world. Disappeared without a trace in December 1928. #visitdenmark #bornholm

[sorenjuhl]

Do you dare enter this house of the Vikings? #Vikings #visitdenmark #Fyrkat #fortress

[sorenjuhl]

The Vikings have left long time ago but still the fortress Fyrkat is well worth a visit! #Vikings #visitdenmark #fortress

[sorenjuhl]

Working on a green web design 🍃 #doodle #art #illustration #design #pencilart

[sorenjuhl]

More studies of bugs and mushrooms #illustration #doodle #sketch #art #pencilart

[sorenjuhl]

I've done some studies of mushrooms today 🍄🍄🍄 #mushroom #doodle #sketch #art #pencilart #illustration

[sorenjuhl]

Bruce portrait

One project I have had for a long time in my mind is a portrait of Bruce created from his song titles. This is a huge amount of work but I think that the result will be that the time is well spent.

This is the loooong list of the songs I've picked from his official website.

Any missing?

4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH) ACROSS THE BORDER ADAM RAISED A CAIN AIN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU AIN'T GOT YOU ALL I'M THINKIN' ABOUT ALL OR NOTHIN' AT ALL ALL THAT HEAVEN WILL ALLOW ALL THE WAY HOME AMERICAN BEAUTY AMERICAN LAND AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) ATLANTIC CITY BACK IN YOUR ARMS BACKSTREETS BADLANDS BALBOA PARK BE TRUE BECAUSE THE NIGHT BETTER DAYS BISHOP DANCED BLACK COWBOYS BLINDED BY THE LIGHT BOBBY JEAN BOOK OF DREAMS BORN IN THE U.S.A. BORN TO RUN BREAKAWAY BRILLIANT DISGUISE BRING 'EM HOME BRING ON THE NIGHT BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE BUFFALO GALS CADILLAC RANCH CANDY'S BOY CANDY'S ROOM CAR WASH CAUTIOUS MAN CITY OF NIGHT COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) COUNTIN' ON A MIRACLE COVER ME CROSS MY HEART CRUSH ON YOU CYNTHIA DANCING IN THE DARK DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN DARLINGTON COUNTY DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN DEVIL'S ARCADE DEVILS & DUST DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? DOLLHOUSE DON'T LOOK BACK DOWNBOUND TRAIN DOWN IN THE HOLE DREAM BABY DREAM DRIVE ALL NIGHT DRY LIGHTNING EASY MONEY EMPTY SKY ERIE CANAL EYES ON THE PRIZE FACTORY FADE AWAY FIRE FOR YOU FRANKIE FRANKIE FELL IN LOVE FROGGIE WENT A-COURTIN' FURTHER ON (UP THE ROAD) GALVESTON BAY GAVE IT A NAME GIRLS IN THEIR SUMMER CLOTHES GIVE THE GIRL A KISS GLORIA'S EYES GLORY DAYS GOIN' CALI GOOD EYE GOTTA GET THAT FEELING GROWIN' UP GYPSY BIKER HAPPY HARRY'S PLACE HEARTS OF STONE HEAVEN'S WALL HEY BLUE EYES HIGH HOPES HIGHWAY 29 HIGHWAY PATROLMAN HOW CAN A POOR MAN STAND SUCH TIMES AND LIVE? HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING? HUMAN TOUCH HUNGRY HEART HUNTER OF INVISIBLE GAME HURRY UP SUNDOWN I WANNA BE WITH YOU I WANNA MARRY YOU I WISH I WERE BLIND I'LL WORK FOR YOUR LOVE I'M A ROCKER I'M GOIN' DOWN I'M ON FIRE ICEMAN IF I SHOULD FALL BEHIND INCIDENT ON 57TH STREET INDEPENDENCE DAY INTO THE FIRE IT'S A SHAME IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY JACK OF ALL TRADES JACKSON CAGE JACOB'S LADDER JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART JESSE JAMES JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON JOHN HENRY JOHNNY 99 JOHNNY BYE-BYE JUNGLELAND JUST LIKE FIRE WOULD KINGDOM OF DAYS KITTY'S BACK LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS LAST TO DIE LEAH LEAP OF FAITH LEAVIN' TRAIN LET'S BE FRIENDS (SKIN TO SKIN) LIFE ITSELF LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE LION'S DEN LIVIN' IN THE FUTURE LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD LIVING PROOF LOCAL HERO LONESOME DAY LONG TIME COMIN' LONG WALK HOME LOOSE CHANGE LOOSE ENDS LOST IN THE FLOOD LUCKY MAN LUCKY TOWN MAGIC MAN AT THE TOP MAN'S JOB MANSION ON THE HILL MARIA'S BED MARY LOU MARY MARY MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS MARY'S PLACE MATAMOROS BANKS MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER MRS. MCGRATH MY BEAUTIFUL REWARD MY BEST WAS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH MY CITY OF RUINS MY FATHER'S HOUSE MY HOMETOWN MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN MY LOVER MAN MY LUCKY DAY MY OKLAHOMA HOME NEBRASKA NEW YORK CITY SERENADE NIGHT NO SURRENDER NOTHING MAN O MARY DON'T YOU WEEP OLD DAN TUCKER ONE STEP UP ONE WAY STREET OPEN ALL NIGHT OUT IN THE STREET OUTLAW PETE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN OVER THE RISE PARADISE PART MAN, PART MONKEY PAY ME MY MONEY DOWN PINK CADILLAC POINT BLANK PONY BOY PROVE IT ALL NIGHT QUEEN OF THE SUPERMARKET RACING IN THE STREET RADIO NOWHERE RAMROD REAL MAN REAL WORLD REASON TO BELIEVE RENDEZVOUS RENO RESTLESS NIGHTS RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN ROCKAWAY THE DAYS ROCKY GROUND ROLL OF THE DICE ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) ROULETTE SAD EYES SANTA ANA SAVE MY LOVE SEASIDE BAR SONG SEVEN ANGELS SHACKLED AND DRAWN SHE'S THE ONE SHENANDOAH SHERRY DARLING SHUT OUT THE LIGHT SILVER PALOMINO SINALOA COWBOYS SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE SOMEDAY (WE'LL BE TOGETHER) SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT SOUL DRIVER SOULS OF THE DEPARTED SPANISH EYES SPARE PARTS SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT STAND ON IT STATE TROOPER STOLEN CAR STRAIGHT TIME STREETS OF FIRE SURPRISE, SURPRISE SWALLOWED UP (IN THE BELLY OF THE WHALE) TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME TALK TO ME TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT TERRY'S SONG THE ANGEL THE BIG MUDDY THE BROKENHEARTED THE E STREET SHUFFLE THE FEVER THE FUSE THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD THE HITTER THE HONEYMOONERS THE LAST CARNIVAL THE LINE THE LITTLE THINGS (MY BABY DOES) THE LONG GOODBYE THE NEW TIMER THE PRICE YOU PAY THE PROMISE THE PROMISED LAND THE RISING THE RIVER THE TIES THAT BIND THE WALL THE WAY THE WISH THE WRESTLER THIS DEPRESSION THIS HARD LAND THIS LIFE THIS IS YOUR SWORD THUNDER ROAD THUNDERCRACK TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS TOUGHER THAN THE REST TROUBLE IN PARADISE TROUBLE RIVER TUNNEL OF LOVE TV MOVIE TWO FACES TWO FOR THE ROAD TWO HEARTS USED CARS VALENTINE'S DAY WAGES OF SIN WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY WALK LIKE A MAN WE ARE ALIVE WE SHALL OVERCOME WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN WHAT LOVE CAN DO WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT WHEN YOU NEED ME WHEN YOU'RE ALONE WHERE THE BANDS ARE WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY WITH EVERY WISH WORKING ON A DREAM WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY WORLDS APART WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY WRECKING BALL WRONG SIDE OF THE STREET YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) YOU'LL BE COMIN' DOWN YOU'RE MISSING YOU'VE GOT IT YOUNGSTOWN YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY ZERO AND BLIND TERRY

[sorenjuhl]

I found this little red mushroom today. Very beautiful I think. #mushroom #forest #nature #olympus #omd #em5 on Flickr.

[sorenjuhl]

My guitar sounds waaay much better with @jakeclemons signature on it! 😂🎷 #jakeslocal