Pretty Pleas

Pretty Pleas' Darlings 20.09.2025

Well on September 20th we celebrated with many of our musical friends from Vienna in what we called Pretty Pleas' Darlings…It was a great evening filled with guest appearances from Heartbreak Rebellion, Portobello Express, Noid and Christian, Axel Freud, Bernhard Gold from the Jaybirds and Andy Abraham….Time ran a little too quick and we had to improvise but i think everyone had a pretty great time….It was special to do an evening like that and next year we'll do another Darlings show

The Making of In Circles and Lines: Paolo Tornitore and the return of the prodigal son...

Conan: He is strong! If I die, I have to go before him, and he will ask me, "What is the riddle of steel?" If I don't know it, he will cast me out of Valhalla and laugh at me. That's Crom, strong on his mountain!

Pretty Pleas started as a band called The Morse Code named not just after the dots-dashes communication symbol but as a homage to Inspector Morse and his rigid code of honor and dignity. We formed about two weeks before the Pandemic hit. After a long absence from performance and raising my little ones, I was ready to get back in the game and of course none of us could foresee how the pandemic would change the world. I met George through a mutual friend and we decided we got on, dug each other and then came Paolo, originally as our drummer and we had a co-lead singer, Kathi Harder. I loved that line up...we were like an indie Fleetwood Mac. Someday we will bring Kathi Harder on stage. That lady can sing!..

Eventually Paolo started enjoying the songs so much he switched to his natural instrument which is piano/keys. Which also started the long journey for a drummer that wouldn't be resolved for some time until B.B. Kong arrived. The tales we could tell of trying out drummers are pretty hilarious now, but back then it was one crazy frustration after another...

Paolo Tornitore grew up in Salerno, Italy and studied piano and from an early age was a film enthusiast. You can hear Morricone and a lot of classic film soundtrack work in his writing. His piano and keyboard playing took him all over Europe playing in different bands. Paolo, George, Kathi and I instantly bonded and some of the earliest songs we worked on together feature on In Circles and Lines. Aeromancer will always be the song that brought us really close together. It was that first song that we knew we had something with. Another's Cup was also another song we did as well as The Watcher. As time went on and we suffered the masking and the lock downs and the "can we rehearse?" or "is it not allowed?" ...Those truly were dark days but they tempered us like a knife. Kathi, went on sabbatical to Ireland and she's still there. Paolo got a great opportunity to head the Music department at a private school in Vienna and wanted to focus on that and develop his own band, Away For Awhile who played with us at Kramladen last year.

George and I have always missed Paolo and after a couple of years we ran into him and started talking about the record we were working on and how we need some new parts and he was definitely more available now timewise and we told him about our situation and how we'd love him to come in and play on some songs. He came into the studio with all of his parts already recorded against the tracks we sent him. Always remember how lucky you are when you work with talented people that have their you know what together.....we stitched them into the material and viola! Instant Beauty....As I wrote yesterday, Jasmin Nagl brought her magic...and Paolo brought his. He has a real modernity to his style that blends with classic and timeless harmonic and melodic counterpoint. He has such a flair for subtle, deft parts as well as full on drop your jaw stuff. Some of my favorite things he does are barely audible but they add to the overall sonic landscape. The parts he put on things like Broke, Aeromancer, and The Watcher are just positively pastoral and compelling. He told us that whenever we are recording he'll be there and he also said he would do as many gigs with us as he can schedule wise. You will meet him at our album presentation on September 21st at Kramladen. So most of the time over the next years you will see us with Paolo. He's a super special honorary member of Pretty Pleas working in a partnership with us as co-Arranger, guitarist, keyboardist and always as a dear friend. We like Paolo so much and you are going to adore his playing.

Oh...and Paolo and I share a deep love for cinema but particularly two films: John Milius' Conan, The Barbarian (The Riddle of Steel!) and John Boorman's Excalibur.

Merlin: "Now look, I once stood exposed to the Dragon's Breath so that a man could lie one night with a woman. It took me nine moons to recover. And all for this lunacy called, "love", this mad distemper that strikes down both beggar and king. Never again.".....but yes Merlin has returned!

The Making of In Circles and Lines: Jasmin Nagl and her vibes

It's not a secret that Pretty Pleas were once upon a time, a quartet...but one of the members had issues and left. Unfortunately it meant that we had a lot of parts we had recorded that had to be deleted.

Fortunately, we discovered that the record itself could have been released without any of those parts and it still would have been pretty darn good, so the challenge was not to fill the absence of something, but to create something that hadn't been there. We had two people to do that, that represented two approaches. A more modern approach and a bit of a retro approach...which is what we are anyway. We love Power Pop, New Wave and modern rock, but we also love classic 60s beat, garage and psychedelia as well.

The first person I thought of from the retro standpoint was Jasmin Nagl AKA Jasmin Hasenorgel. She's one of the most unique musicians I've worked with. A really intuitive and brilliant organist with a real melodic soul. I mean, Jasmin can go from lovely twee Elvish parts that have you dancing around in the woods to classic 60s grooviness to superbadass fire breathing dragon playing...

She came in one day and tore through 5 songs and we were super chuffed...she even joined the band for a few weeks, but in the end scheduling and the investment of time were things she couldn't fully commit to...but that's okay. We're just happy that she came in and played on the record.

Her contributions to Ghosts alone merit strong worship. We're big fans of Jasmin Nagl.

Thank you Jasmin Hasenorgel
 

The Making of In Circles and Lines: The Artwork and Georg Möhrke

The Making of In Circles and Lines / 6 Days until release 13.9.2024
Georg Möhrke : The Artwork

After we decided to join Konkord Records, Wolfgang Reitter and I discussed album art for the album and we talked about all the record covers we liked. That was actually really fun. Wolfgang recommended the artist Georg Möhrke.
On December 30th of last year we met George at Café Bräunerhof. We sat down, had some coffee, talked about music and bands and ate a great breakfast together and began the original discussions of how we wanted the artwork. You'd might be surprised to know that the original cover used the "Riesenrad". It was mostly because every morning on my way to work my train went through Praterstern and I saw that big wheel, that circle connected by lines. I do have to admit I was one of the few that liked that idea...I was ridiculed by others for it...I guess if you live in Vienna your whole life that wheel means something different to you than it does to me... For some time that was going to be the cover art, but then in a fever dream, our George Clavicle had an epiphany and designed what would become the cover on a piece of scrap paper....circles and lines....records are circles and lines...life is too...we move in circles and convince ourselves we are moving in lines...and sometimes it's the other way around...
Georg Möhrke is a beautiful man with a creative soul and a really interesting graphic artist. He listened to our ideas, offered suggestions and made what was good, better. He was patient with us and you have to be with a rock band. It's a bit like herding cats... Everyone has different ideas and he was open to exploring all of them....Democracy for governments is essential...in art it can slow down the process...so we agreed that our George and Georg would oversee the project.

Georg Möhrke took our renewed ideas and also pulled the angel from the stone...He came up with a great layout, we took some polaroids at our rehearsal studio and he suggested we come up with an image for each song and we would use that for the liner notes for each lyrics printed. We had to capture things, ideas, moments that best represented the songs. You'll find them only in the vinyl version on the sleeve.

He came up with the unique printing idea using the special process you'll see when you get it. It's lovely and striking. Both our George and Georg worked together to develop the artwork and though records are about the music, who of us hasn't gone to a record store and sifted through the vinyl to be captured by a cover. The artwork of an album is essential.

It's funny because Wolfgang and I originally talked about all the great Power Pop and New Wave covers we liked and we had different ideas but in the end George's fever dream brought our initial idea to fruition.

It was great to work with Georg Möhrke and I hope we can continue the relationship for the next few records.

The Making of In Circles and Lines: Andy Abraham and farbTon studios

As we near the release of In Circles and Lines on September 13th, we would like to take you behind the scenes on how this album was made and introduce you to the very important people that made it happen. First and foremost, the album began with the sessions at farbTon Studios and with Andy Abraham. Andy for those of you who don't know is one of the most naturally gifted musicians, producers, engineers I have ever known. Without him this album would not exist. His pedagogic style of inspiring and working with musicians is uncanny. Working with him and developing the raw materials and songs of the album was akin to the story of Michaelangelo and the Angel I often tell to my students.

Michaelangelo was one of the most important artists of the Renaissance and though he is known mostly for his painting in the Sistine Chapel, his sculpture work is incredible. Like most artists of his time, he subsidized his life by teaching. One day he had a batch of new sculpture students and on their work tables was a block of soapstone. He said to the students today we are all carving angels. The students looked aghast, they complained..."Master Michaelangelo, it is our first day and you want us to carve an angel, why not a dog or a shape?". The artist replied "It's easy, all you have to do is chip away everything that isn't an angel".

Andy is very much like that. He helps you pull the angel out of the stone. Working with him as a guitarist was so educational and so much fun. He taught me that though you can be an amazing guitarist and be able to solo effortlessly, in melodic music, in pop, etc you simply build a palace out of small parts that fit together. He changed and improved my playing immeasurably. We call him Magic Andy....While in his own music he's an astounding Blues guitarist, he knows that what works the most for Rock, Melodic Music, Pop is the simple question..."Does it serve the song?"....Thank you Andy...we are forever in your debt and we are looking forward to starting the next record already.

For those of you interested in working with Andy or taking lessons here is his website
https://www.gitarrenunterrichtwien.fun
 

In Circles and Lines

Well folks a long journey is just about at the end. Our debut album, In Circles and Lines will be released globally on September 13, 2024 on all digital platforms and will be available in deluxe and standard vinyl and CD in select retailers in Austria and Germany. You can also purchase the vinyl or cd online through Konkord Records webshop. We'll be presenting the album live and in its entirety at Kramladen in Vienna on September 21st, 2024 and will be joined onstage by our wonderful musical soulmate Paolo Tornitore who will handle keyboards and additional guitars….but if you're in Vienna and itching for a copy on Friday September 13th, go directly to Recordbag and pick yourself up a copy.
We'll see you soon. Lots of great things happening for Pretty Pleas in 2024/2025…..

Here's a trailer for the album.

Standing on a beach, staring at the sea....

Well, Pretty Pleas are in holiday mode. I'm in NJ at my childhood beach, Long Beach Island and George, Bernd and Paolo are in various compass points around the globe….time to reflect, time to write new songs, recharge our batteries and get some input, so that this fall we get some output….

Konkord Records presents Pretty Pleas "In Circles and Lines" Album Presentation

Konkord Records presents
Pretty Pleas
"In Circles and Lines"
Album Presentation

September 21, 2024
(Herbsttagundnachtgleiche und Internationaler Tag des Friedens)

Doors 19:00 uhr
Eintritt : Free

Side 1 - 20:30

Intermission: 20 minutes

Side 2 - 21:20

"Melancholy never sleeps"

Pretty Pleas and Konkord Records present their debut album, In Circles and Lines on Saturday September 21, 2024.

Supported by SKE/Austro Mechana

In 2023 on the strength of several well developed demos sent to Viennese Record Company Konkord Records, das höfliche Label signed Pretty Pleas and this began a partnership to create a debut album that would reflect the energetic, melodic and emotional content of the band.

Andy Abraham, veteran musician, producer and engineer recorded the band at his farbTon studios in Simmering. Several guest musicians were brought in to fill out the trio's vision of Moody Art Pop. One of the musicians brought in, Paolo Tornitore was an original member of the Mark I version of Pretty Pleas:The Morse Code. Sessions went so well with Tornitore that he has re-joined the band in a special capacity as co-arranger, keyboardist and second guitarist.

Pretty Pleas are:
Daniel Smith - Vocals, Guitar
George Clavicle - Vocals, Bass
B.B. Kong - Drums
with
Paolo Tornitore, Co-Arranger, Keys, Guitars, Percussion

In Circles and Lines is a collection of songs that cover the whole range of emotional themes of life. Heartbreak, joy, lost love and also new love, loneliness, the transitional nature of experience.. ... all of these themes figure into their songs. Pretty Pleas are not a political band, their politics are the politics of how we as people relate to one another

The album will be performed as a record with side 1 starting, followed by an intermission as we flip the album over to side 2 and then a nod to World Peace Day for a finale
CDs, Vinyl in both colored and standard black versions will be available for purchase at the event. As the event itself is free, we encourage everyone to buy a copy of the album in whatever format works for them. The band will be available to sign any copies.

We really hope to see you all there. This is a night that has been a long time coming and we value and cherish your participation in this release party.

Szene Wien 30th of June with Goodhair Brothers

twas a night where a lot was going against us. A Sunday night a Sweltering Day, followed by very stormy weather, the European Football Championships, School had let out on Friday 28th which generally means a lot of people split town, the Lido Sound Festival in Linz with the Libertines…so needless to say right off the bat you get a lot of people that weren't going to come, and then you just get the rest of the people that can't be bothered. But in the end we had a nice little crowd of friends and strangers and boom some magic was made. Goodhair Brothers were their usually bombastic lovely selves. Such nice people who play such delicious music. They are a wonderful band.

Here are some videos of All Souls and Coyote Airplanes

Summer is upon us

Well my darlings, summer is upon us. We've got a great open air free concert at Szene Wien Soundgarden on June 30th with Goodhair Brothers… I think you'll dig them too. Thy're great . George, Bernd and I are working hard to bring you a great show. You'll get a new song and a song we haven't played for awhile in a whole new arrangement and a surprising cover….

Looking forward to see you all at Szene. The last show before we see you on September 21st for the album presentation of In Circles and Lines at Kramladen.

Snapshots from the Neon Forest...